(Ready Player One FF) 'Three hidden challenges reveal three different keys. Are you ready, players?'
Riptid3 (riptide) and Art3mis are known as the sixer fixers or the 3 duo; two of the most deadly players in the OASIS are looking for the egg that H...
Geez, choosing an outfit is more of a pain in the ass than I thought. Aech isn't helping...
"Buckaroo Bonzai?! Really?! Z, you gotta be more careful about who you meet out on the OASIS," Aech coaxes me against what my thoughts are saying.
"Aech, Ri- I mean, Art3mis gets me. She'll get my outfit, there's just this connection. I mean, sometimes, we even..." I just messed up, oh shit. I told Aech I liked Arti earlier today...
"Finish each other's sentences? And we're you about to say Riptid3..?" I look down guiltily.
"Maybe..?"
"You're totally stuck in Lala land with Ty as your angel." Aech sighs and continues his rant. "We have that, me and you."
"Yeah, I know. But that's because we're best friends, dude."
"Either one of them could be a dude too, dude," Aech says.
"Nah, come on," I say back. Ty is too 'feminine'.
"I'm serious. She could actually be a 300-pound dude who lives in his momma's basement in suburban Detroit. And her name is Chuck," he says while clapping me on the shoulder. "Think about that."
I don't want to think about that!
Riptid3's P.O.V.
I haven't worn a dress in years! The last time was for some birthday party here in the OASIS. That was a madhouse... ANYWHO-
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Her dress ^
I'm following Arti inside the Distracted Globe. The outside was so vibrant; I can't imagine what the interior is like. We open the gargantuan doors and are blinded by flashing lights. People are dancing midair, platforms are suspended by spiraling ropes of purple. As soon as I regain my vision, I gaze in awe at what's below me. Purple walls, reflective floor, mini booths, classic songs, and crowds of people.
I'm pulled, both mentally and physically, of my wonder phase. She drags me towards a brightly lit area. There were flashes and people yelling.
Who's the fucking celebrity?
What surprised me is Arti taps the suited man in front of her on the shoulder. He turns around so I try to look at his face, but Arti drags me with her to the other side. She did it again but didn't move. The man turns towards us and I'm greeted with silver-blue hair.
"Get outta town. Buckaroo Banzai!" Ari exclaims from my left.
"Huh?" Parzival questions while gazing at her.
"I like it! I like Buckaroo Banzai!" she says.
"Oh thanks!" he replies while gazing at his outfit.
"It's great!"
"Yeah, you look- great!" he says.
"Oh, why thank you!" Arti says while spinning. Classy!
He then looks over at me and his jaw drops.
Is there something on my face? What is it?!
"Close your mouth before flies get in there," I say while putting my finger under his chin and shutting his mouth.
"Alrighty... we have important stuff to talk about," Arti says while walking away from us.
???? P.O.V.
"Alrighty... we have important stuff to talk about," I hear muffled in my earpiece. Then I hear a call coming in.
"What?" I groan.
"Is he gone yet?"
"Oh, it's you. And no, he's not."
"There's something else I want you to do."
"I better get paid four times more than usual."
"Done."
"Thanks for being cooperative. What is it you want?"
"The blue girl, bring her to me, alive."
"Shouldn't be a problem. They're here. Conversation's over," I say and hang up.
This should be easy.
Riptid3's P.O.V.
"Halliday built this for her but was too scared to take her here. So he hates this place," Arti explains.
"'A creator who hates his own creation'," I quote. "It all makes perfect sense!"
"And the leap not taken?" Parzival questions.
Arti points downward and I see a never-ending hole. Yet, a bunch of people is dancing in midair. Arti holds her hand out to Parzival.
"Shall we take it together?"
"Alright," he says and grabs her hand. But what I didn't expect came next; he reached down and grabbed my own hand. I glanced up at him but he was staring down into the abyss.
What are you up to, Z?
All of a sudden, I'm pulled forward and next thing I know, I'm falling. Then, we're pulled back upwards.
Arti and Parzival start dancing and I'm "standing" to the side while laughing my ass off. Then an old school song comes on: "Stayin' Alive." Disco floors appear beneath both Arti and Z. I laugh even more because they both look ridiculous. The floors disappear and Parzival then glides over and takes my hand, pulling me towards him and Arti. It's my turn to dance with Z.
He pulls me into a waltz, which I'm terrible at. Hell, I'm terrible at dancing of any kind!
"I want to know more about you," I hear him say out of the blue. "I want to meet you in the real world."
"Trust me, you'll be disappointed," I reply. "This isn't me. This isn't my real body, my real face."
"I don't care."
"You should," I say.
"My name's Wade."
"What?!" He starts to speak again but I cover his mouth. "Are you crazy?! You never use your real name in the OASIS!"
We suddenly stop, all on Parzival's behalf. He looks at me with a serious expression with compassion in his eyes.
"Don't you get it, Ty? I'm in love with you."
Just as my emotional walls started to break, the walls of the dance club broke.
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