𝐇𝐎𝐍𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐀𝐌𝐎𝐍𝐆𝐒𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐒 || ready player one [DISCONTINUED]

0003 - Long Live The Queen

I was able to acquire a red, round-brimmed pirate hat when I re-entered the OASIS after my six month hiatus. It has a veil around the brim so that I can keep my face hidden, but I hadn't made the effort to enchant it. I also had a pistol containing one shot. I suppose part of me knew that I could never really stop being a pirate. A very small, very hidden part.

For my outfit, I do the best with what I have. I choose a cream coloured, cotton dress with poet sleeves, a plaited leather belt and a pair of tan cowboy boots. Even with my hat, I hardly look the menace that I used to be. But, hopefully, not for much longer.

I get a fair few funny looks whilst I stand on the shores of the Vacation Planet where my avatar appears. Opening up my map of the OASIS, I can bring up the location of my old crew members. Even after they killed my avatar, we were still connected as 'friends' when I respawned. This means that I'm still able to see where their avatars are. I suppose, the only reason I haven't tracked them until now is because I thought I was taking the high road by not seeking revenge.

Unsurprisingly, Miiranda, my first mate, the one who put the blade between my shoulders, is on Neonoir, an planet in Sector sixteen, an eternal cityscape where it is always night time. That makes me smile. It being a PvP zone where both magic and technology functions, my great return might be nice and public.

The nearest teleportation point takes me to the entrance of a hotel on a busy street that reminds me of the old photos I've seen of Tokyo, Japan. My nose is immediately filled, courtesy of my Olfatrix tower, with the scents rain and street food. Neon lights blaze over head as far as I can see, the street stretching over the horizon and beyond my vision. According to my OASIS map, Miiranda is only a few streets away in a large parking complex.

I climb the stairwell, coming out onto each floor, taking a look around, then running up to the next level. When I reach the fifth floor, I spot her a hundred feet away. Her avatar isn't the most imaginative; a short, Disney Princess-looking girl, with a ridiculously tiny waist and huge, bleached blonde curls hanging down her back. She's laughing with a group of new friends, her skinny arms looking fit to snap with the weight of two stumbling avatars clinging to her for support.

Adjusting my hat and ensuring the veil is secure all around, I stride the length of the car pack level and stop behind a pillar. Watching as she wrestles her four friends into an ugly, black hovercraft, I wait until all the doors have closed and she's making her way around to the driver's side door.

"Hello, Miiranda." My voice echoes loudly around the car park floor.

She turns around quickly, her hair fanning out behind her. "Do I...know you?" she frowns, stepping out from behind the car and a little closer to where I am now leaning against the pillar.

"Oh Mimi, I'm insulted!" I swagger forwards, the way I used to across the deck of my ship, my boot spurs clicking merrily. "You've forgotten me already." The thickness of my avatar's programmed exotic accent is music to my ears. I felt the need to switch to a common American dialect when I came back to the OASIS, just in case I met anyone on the Vacation Planet who was an ex-fanatic.

"Captain?" Her voice shakes a little. She isn't even able to say my name. This makes me laugh.

Steadying my voice suddenly after the absurd cackle, I articulate, "I want my ship back."

"I'll give you on thing, Captain," Miiranda says nervously. "In two years, you certainly haven't lost your touch."

"No thanks to you."

She smiles as widely as she dares. "I thought you'd bounce back a lot faster than this. I almost forgot about you. Where have you been?"