The Game [ Bear & BlackWingAngel ]

The year was 2021 and as war threatened in reality, a game was released to the public that was a new obsession among those that wanted an escape. It was the newest in technology and the most advanced of its kind, considering that virtual reality had up until that point been a large headset that permitted the person to see the world around them. This game was one that went a step beyond and involved all of the senses.

You didn't just interact with the world of the game - you were a part of it. It had taken hold in the gaming community like a virus and spread like wildfire through the masses. Within a week of it being launched it was making the news and was rated as the most purchased game of the year. The world was constantly expanding and even with the glitches and the problems that the game had, it was found to have one major flaw -- it was the escape that everyone needed.

As people feared the inevitable war that loomed like a shadow over everyone's bodies, they needed to think of something else - anything else - beside the fear that was rising in their throats. OF all the people that would have been needing an escape, none needed it more than Addison. Her parents had taken to the bottle again as her father's mental health declined and her mother raged a not-so-quiet war against the man and his nature of overindulgence. What little money she had was poured into her online life, and she'd saved for weeks to be able to afford the gaming system that was needed to play the game.

But here she was, plugging herself into the game as she sat in her room - possibly the only one that was still clean in the house - and closed her eyes. As the sound of the game booting up played into her ears, she felt a cold chill that pressed down her spine, her body going limp into her bead as her mind drifted off away into the game.

When her eyes opened, she wasn't sitting on her bed anymore in her flannel shirt and cut-off shorts. Her body was leaner now and covered in armor, hair pulled back into a tight ponytail that fit inside of her helmet. The world around her was a loading screen, a bright green circle that read: "Please Wait - Loading Team". Her heart was pounding in her chest as she turned her attention instead towards the rack of guns that lined the wall. She grasped a semi-automatic, enjoying the heft that was in her hands and her smile was slow to her lips as a soft blue light started to appear in the shape of a man.

The words over the head of her new partner for the two player world told her all that she needed to know:

Loading Player Two

War. It was in the blood. Tyler's entire family, bar the ones too young, too old and too sick to fight, have gone off to prepare for the pending conflict. They all swore they would come back to their homes, promising a reunion of the grandest proportions after the fighting ended. But a year had passed and he had heard nothing. Not a single email, nor a brief phone call. He cared for his brothers and sisters as best as he could, swapping the role with his grandfather on a weekly basis. But no matter what he did on his weeks off, be it work or video games, Tyler could not escape the sheer terror that gripped the world around him.

That was when the game came out. A saviour of technological sorts. He pre-ordered it the minute he heard of the damn thing and fought through crowds of other lost souls to grab both console and program before they were all gone. When he got home that night, Tyler could not stop shaking; at last, he was able to escape the utter shit that the world had become. He waited until the first of his free time to play it, itching to get started on the fun that would take him away, far away to a war that he was willing to fight. A war for points, status and fun in the chaos of battle. After all, war was in the blood.

That was last year. Tyler had been through a lot in the game; from objective-based conflicts to full-on skirmishes that turned into massacres, he fought countless opponents and cycled through countless partners. He even discovered an interesting fact: the immersion of the game was so real that players had begun to never leave the hub levels. They remained in private spaces, doing all kinds of deeds that did not involve the use of guns... Or clothes. It seems the creators knew that the game would be the perfect removal from the world as it was, which meant that they knew people would let their inhibitions run free.

So, as he loaded into the lobby for the three-hundredth time, Tyler's thoughts were centered on a singular thing. Would he find the partner that he too could act wild and free with? His eyes opened and revealed the dull fade of the Player Loading silhouette as it peeled away from his armoured, muscular form. In the room was a female player, her hands grasping a semi-auto firmly by the grip. Her armour was also shiny and new, compared to the scarred and worn state of his own. Reaching up, Tyler thumbed the release of his helmet and removed it, revealing the game's Residual Self Image of his black, medium-length hair, his blue eyes and his face, which was marked with a healed over scar from his right cheek to down past his jawline.

"New Player, huh? Welcome to The Game."

Her heart was pounding as the soft blue light gave way to a man, his armor dusty and worn from countless battles in deep contrast to the shine on her own. Sonny's hand gripped the gun tighter as he finally loaded fully into the world, his hand moving to open the helmet. He had to be around her age if not a little oldee, his face scarred in a smiliar way to his armor. Her eyes moved over him slow before she stood prouder, an eager smile on her lips.

"Thanks. I've got this." Her own helmet pulled away with a soft click, revealing herself to him though she was hesitant. Her eyes shone like polished emeralds and her cheeks were flush with excitement, all of the softness of youth and none of the despair of reality. "What battle scenario do you want to go through? It's my first time so I'll follow your lead." She offered motioning to the screen that held all of the availablr settings with various creatures. "I'm Sonny, by the way.: