Epic

Generations ago, violence was banned on New Earth. Society is governed and conflicts resolved in the arena of a fantasy computer game called Epic. Win and you earn access to university and community resources; lose and your life inside and outside the game is worth nothing. When Erik dares to subvert the rules of Epic to seek revenge for his parents' unjust treatment, he and his friends find themselves up against the ultimate masters of the game: the Committee. If they win, they may hold the key to destroying Epic's tyranny.

Ghost is part of a street hacker airboard gang who lives to break rules in the virtual world of Saga. When they realize their world is being periodically invaded by strange human beings, they don't know what to do — until they learn the truth: Saga is not just their world. It is a sentient computer game, the replacement to Epic on New Earth. The Dark Queen who controls Saga is trying to enslave both its people and the people of New Earth, and she'll succeed unless Ghost and Erik from Epic figure out what to do.

In the virtual universe of Edda, everyone is made of pixels — except Penelope. While her body is kept alive in a hospital bed, her avatar runs free, able to go anywhere and do anything, including creating deadly weapons for her guardian, Lord Scanthax. When Scanthax decides to invade another virtual world, Erik from Epic and Ghost from Saga are drawn into the conflict. The virtual universes are soon alive with fighting, and three teenagers who want peace may be the only ones who can stop it. The third and final book in the trilogy.