"No, no, no, it's not just a game. It's a new way of life.

What about Space Ball?"

No! I'm talking about TREEE: The World Tree, the VR game that's sweeping the world!

What about Space Ball, the zero-grav capture the flag game of the future?

That's fun too. Sun's Iluminator's win every time, don't they.

Shh. Don't tell. That's a secret.

Sure... What about TREEE?

There's a prophecy. And you're on track to saving the world.

Really?

Really.

Sweet!"

One day, I bought a defective copy of TREEE, the virtual reality game that nearly everyone on this war-torn earth plays after the sirens die down. And it launched me into an unfamiliar virtual world-

-but wait!

(checks timepiece)

Oh no! I'm late to my Space Ball, a zero-grav team capture the flag game! Oh no!

I hope nothing bad happens there! That would be horrible!

[author here: slow story alert? did I say that? whoops. the story goes fast sometimes. like a rollercoaster. don't say I didn't warn you.] Crossposting to RR through the username TheSecondNarator, but this is RR. So, instead, hello!