After the brothers received their sore bottoms. Metagamer removed Smart Mouth's soap, and sat everyone around the coffee table. Encouraging Mouthy to set out the food and drinks. While confiscating the booze, as Stead had the cookies.
Soon after the food was on the table, Step Daddy Steady came into the room, and took Mouthy away. Giving the boy quite the tongue lashing for being rude, after he was repeatedly told to behave.
After getting an earful, Smart Mouth rejoined his "Guests". Metagamer left them to it, saying she was going to talk with the rest of Spike's Hoard. Although he insisted she wasn't going anywhere, and that all 4 boys best play nice together.
Once she was gone, Kirito took out a Pensieve. One of those memory sharing, magical devices.
It worked a bit differently, then Harry Potter, as you just stick your head in. From there, you can choose to show which memories.
Parzival looked nervous, "We figured, maybe, as a good way to get to know each other..." he trailed off, looking at the floating Basin.
Kirito asked, "Who's going first?" not wanting to volunteer himself.
The boy's, learned so much about each other... realizing all of them had hard lives... filled with tiny moments of brilliance.
Born as Narusaka Kazuto, Kirito was adopted by his aunt and uncle, after his biological parents died in an accident, when he was a year old. They gave him their own family name, and never told him he wasn't their biological son... the kid had to figure that out on his own.
Regardless, his new parents raised him, as if he was their own son. With all the love and nurturing any boy could need.
Practically as soon as he could walk, Kazuto was forced to join the neighborhood kendo dojo. Alongside his cousin / perceived older sister
However due to his aunt's influence, as an editor for a computer systems magazine, Kazuto became more interested in computers, and dropped the course.
This decision earned him a heavy beating from his grandfather, prompting Suguha (Kazuto's cousin) to defend him, by promising to practice enough for both of them.
At the age of ten, Kazuto discovered that he was adopted, and started unintentionally distancing himself from the family.
After turning 14, Kirito was chosen to be one of the one thousand beta testers for the closed beta of Sword Art Online, the first game to use "Nerve Gear". What would later be called "Dreamscape Helmets".
A year of testing later, and Kirito joined the official version. Becoming one of the 10,000 players trapped inside the game "Sword Art Online".
He remained a solo player for the majority of his imprisonment. Willingly taking on the role of a "Beater", to reduce discrimination against other former beta testers. As well as actively taking part in Boss battles.
Kirito temporarily became a member of the Moonlit Black Cats. After helping them safely escape a dangerous dungeon, but returned to being a solo player when a fatal error resulted in the death of the other guild members.
At some point in the game, Kirito became known as "The Black Swordsman" due to his tendency to wear black clothing.
3 years into the game, Kirito ran into "the girl of his dreams". Having bumped into her numerous times. However, this was the first time they got to actually stay with each other.
Choosing to forget about escaping for a little while, they both tried to temporarily live in a cabin they stumbled on. This turned into a year of bliss for both of them.
Unfortunately, just as Kirito decided to leave the escape plans to other people, she tragically died. Although they never officially married, only engaged, he listed himself as a Widow.
After being found by Klein, the Samurai took the Swordsman as his ward, with Kirito not having the will to argue... and when Kirito did recover... he found he enjoyed their oddly platonic relationship.
Kirito eventually put an end to the game, by defeating the final boss, in a one on one fight. Thus freeing everyone.
However... he couldn't keep away from Nerve Gear. Later being Approached by the High 5 themselves, and asked to protect other players from rogue hackers that infected the game. Becoming the first and last defense against cyber terrorism.
He was currently living in one of the "luxury" cubical buildings, within the Real World. Much like Ollivander... as that's were most Age players are stored and monitored... as they are considered a treasured resource.
The "Adult Nursery" Facilities, had a lot of benefits to them. The luxury cubical chambers (yes, those holes in the wall were considered "Luxury, based on there storage and Television access.), all the high end stores within the facilities, the pool, the indoor park, the adult sized playground and arcade, and the petting zoo, were just a few of the real world benefits, to registering as an Age player.
Sure, they could only access child Avatars, from that point onwards. But the drones that operated the facility, didn't actually force the age players to let other players adopt them. The facility might encourage it, but they also acknowledge there was something special about Ageplayers that bounced between families.
They even allowed Ollivander to remain between families, given he still wasn't over the last break up. And was not quite ready to look for a replacement.
Besides, Age players got the best intellectual jobs, within the Oasis. Even if the universities they worked at often allowed any random player to act as "Teacher". The "Students" actually worked with the AIs, creating scientific theories and inventions, as well as cultural advancements. Ideas the AIs improved on.
It's part of the reason Mouthy's fan comics were so well known. As an Ageplayer, going to school. His creative outlets were given more priority, in advertising.
Ollivander studied like a good little boy, and worked on making scientific advancements, as that was required, but he was there for the creative classes. Where he both learned how to improve his hobbies, and was guaranteed a lot more people would see them.
This earned him good coin. Even though all media was free to access. Having a purely digital economy, made it possible to reward people, without penalizing others.
Smart Mouth should really get back to school soon. He's taken too long off. Sure, school wasn't mandatory, and Ageplayers "skipped" all the time, with no penalties... but it really was a fun place.
Besides, it was only 4 hours long.
Parzival was next, and last. Probably because everyone knew everything about him. They freaking taught his history to school children, nowadays. With multiple movies starring him. It was kinda hard not to know about him... but seeing the real thing... just enforced the real life tragedy of it all.
He really was named "Wade Watts", because his dad was a dork, and thought it sounded like a Superheroes secret identity. Like Peter Parker, or Bruce Banner.
Wade was born to a couple of dumb teenagers, soon after all the small towns had been deserted. His parents had been some of those refugees. Living in "the stacks", a place where all the trailers and RVs people used, to get to the big cities, were literally stacked on top of each other.
Just a few months, after Wade was born, his father was shot to death, while looting a grocery store, during a power outage... Apparently the man had been mostly trying to steal diapers, and other necessities he struggled to afford.
Parzival's mother, Loretta, had to get two full-time jobs after that. Both, in the Oasis. By Day, She worked as a telemarketer... but by night... she wasn't anything as glamorous as a caped vigilante... she was a virtual escort.
Loretta introduced her child to the Oasis, at a young age, as a means of babysitting him, while she worked.
There, Wade played various games, watched nearly every movie and show in existence, and learned all kinds of useful life skills. Including his tech savviness.
When Wade was 11, his mother died from a drug overdose. Which is sadly, too often the fate of those that struggle with drug addiction as she did.
After that, Wade moved in with his aunt, and her "Endless stream of hard loving losers"... one thing the vids didn't know, was these men were often abusive to both his aunt and himself... in more ways then one.
Wade dived further into the Oasis, often as an escape from his crappy life.
His aunt tried her best to take care of him... but that mostly meant hiding him in one of the neighbors homes, when her Boyfriends were feeling particularly brutal.
The neighbor was a friendly cat lady... who may have been a tad overly enthusiastic about her religious beliefs. But unlike the Stereotypes, she was actually a good person. Even realizing the bible didn't actually teach anything against Homosexuality, directly, as she actually bothered to read the thing.
Most of Wade's waking hours, were spent in his secret hideout. A van, within the junk yard of cars, that got abandoned after gas became too expensive, and everyone in the city switched to electric... which, given how often the batteries of those things need to be replaced, wasn't actually any better for the environment.
At first, Wade attended school in the real world. But then volunteered to go to school in the OASIS. A new phenomena at the time.
However, he didn't have enough money to do anything else. Wade was often bullied by the richer students at the school. Since he only wore the default options for clothing. The kids quickly picked up, that meant he was too poor to buy literally anything else. However, since it was a no PvP zone, he was safe from injury... and learned to wield his words as hard as any fist.
Wade largely slacked off during school. However, he still earned enough credits to graduate.
In his spare time, Wade obsessed with Halliday's Hunt for the ultimate "Easter Egg". Learning everything he could about not only pop culture, but Halliday's life.
This is how he met his best friend, Aech, a Mod Designer, and virtual mechanic.
Later, he met his first girlfriend... Art3mis, a well-known Gunter, sharing a common interest in Halliday's history. However, EVERYONE knows how that ended.
But they started out, really hitting it off. Together, they studied Halliday's life, and learned of all the regrets the man had.
Including his unrequited love for Ogden Morrow's wife, Kira... and losing Morrow as a friend, after forcing him to sign away his part of Gregarious Games.
Parzival and Art3mis formed, what was supposed to be, a temporary alliance with Aech, Daito, and Sho. The other winners of the first challenge in "The Hunt for Halliday's Easter Egg"... or at least, the players that weren't working for I.O.I at the time.
Parzival and his new allies completed the second Challenge together. Forming strong bonds as they worked on the puzzle.
Within a few months of working together, and just before the "Battle for the Oasis", they decided to "Clan up". As they had become close friends, and wanted to make their final stand, as an official team.
They called themselves "The High 5"... based on a running joke that everyone refused to give Parzival high fives... and a bit of a pun, considering there were 5 of them.
During the battle, which consisted of nearly every player in the world, going after I.O.I. . . . well I.O.I. activated an artifact, to kill all Avatars on the entire planet, where the final challenge took place. Including themselves.
Respawn took less time, back then, and they were hoping they could get back to the planet, before anyone else.
Unfortunately, for them at least, though extremely fortunate for the rest of the world, Parzival had scored an Extra Life. So he had more then enough time to complete the 3rd, and final, Challenge.
After, Parzival, apparently, won the third task. A gateway opened to Halliday's AI. Where the boy was given a contract to sign. However, Wade recognizes it is the same contract, Morrow signed to turn over his part of Gregarious. Parzival refuses, saying he won't make Halliday's mistakes...
Now that moment... is rather iconic, although the vids do make it a bit more grand, with an added speech about the importance of Friendship. That apparently didn't happen in real life.
The AI reveals that the contract was the final test and, after talking with him for a while, gave Parzival "the Golden Egg" and control of OASIS.
Once Wade returned to the real world, Morrow appears, having tracked them down during the beginning of the final challenge.
Morrow offered Wade his services. Which the teenager gladly accepted. Wade decided to run OASIS, with the other members of the High Five.
Parzival and Art3mis, decided to get an apartment, together. They dated for a little over three years... even got engaged at one point... but that all came crashing down, when she discovered Parzival is an age player.
The reason for the breakup, only really became public knowledge, after babies became more rare, and Ageplayers were better accepted as a coping mechanism.
But Parzival's life did work out... despite being a public stooge, so the military can do whatever the hell they want is...
Ollivander never realized, just how little power the High 5 actually have... and how much they fight against many of the militaries more fucked up decisions.
Like that period where they were killing everyone who committed a crime, or when they stole the last of the children from their parents.
The High 5 could do little more then complain, behind closed doors.
The boys finally left the Pensieve... it was just after 7AM. They had to wake up, and start getting ready for their real world jobs.
They said their goodbyes, both to each other, as well as to the members of "Spike's Hoard", and Metagamer. Before finally logging out, and thereby returning to the real world.
Although not before making plans to go on an adventure together. After all, tomorrow night, they would all wake up back here.