Chapter Text
“So you're on some island right now?”
Libber rolled her eyes as she listened to the bastard on the other end.
“Oh, yeah? And does this role have another young hot costar for you to “method act” with?” she said sarcastically.
“Yes, I'm going to bring it up!” she argued, “You think I'm gonna let you forget, you prick!”
“Cliff… Cliff. Let me let you in on a little secret,” she lowered her voice, “I don't care about your excuses!
I just need you to actually show up to court on Monday!”
“Then make time, Cliff!” she immediately regretted raising her voice so much, the apartment is small.
“I bet you would make time for Ashley. Or is it Felicia this time? Or is it-” she was cut off by her soon-to-be ex-husband promising to be there.
“You better be,” she growled as she practically slammed the phone on the wall.
She retrieved a glass to get some water from her sink. Talking to Cliff always made her feel sick.
Sick because she hates him so much. Sick because she was so naive. Sick because she had convinced herself that he loved her.
She thought he was her ticket to the stage. She wanted her name in lights, not to put herself in danger every other week.
But he didn't care for her dreams, for her . He just saw another pretty face to be his arm candy.
Bastard!
She was all too thrilled when he asked her to marry him. She couldn't have been more excited, telling her friends all about it, even as they fought off the time twins.
She went on her honeymoon and she never went back.
Cliff just valued his privacy, that's what she convinced herself. He's a movie star, of course he would want to be left alone.
So she never questioned it when he'd leave her in an onset trailer. Never thought about doing anything on her own. Not even calling her friends.
Then she found out she was pregnant.
Then she found out he was cheating on her.
All of her dreams shattered like that.
She couldn't stand another second with him, quickly moving back to the city. But divorce was messy and took long. Especially when Cliff was “too busy" .
She couldn't waste time, she had a child to take care of now. Any dreams she had of being an actress were buried.
Some people have it. Some people don't.
Cliff had it. She doesn't.
So now, she's working two jobs, trying to find a third, from a shitty one-bedroom apartment.
Oh… What would Nan say?
“Shit,” she whimpered as the glass shattered in her hand, leaving a long slender cut across her palm. She ran to the bathroom to find a bandage.
Tears pricked at the corner of her eyes as she washed the wound off, but she held it together. She has to be strong for her boy.
She has to be strong.
She tells herself that she isn’t strong. She's a failure.
She tells herself to call Maya. To call Lilly. To call any of them. But her pride stops her.
She ignored their warnings about Cliff and was too ashamed to go running back to them with her tail between her legs.
A cry comes from the bedroom. Her baby is awake.
She lets out a breath and makes the short walk over there.
“Hey, hungry,” she says, trying to smile.
She lowers her shaking hands into the crib. It's an old crib, a used one she bought from an antique shop. One of the legs is too short, the phone book is under it to keep it balanced. It was the cheapest crib she could find.
Everything in the apartment is cheap. She’s saved every penny she could, but it's still not enough.
Bills are going to start piling. She needs a babysitter to go to work, but once she's done with work she has to pay her babysitter. A never ending cycle; it's never enough.
She needs another job. Yet, she's been denied three times.
They're going to have to find a new apartment. They're gonna be homeless. She's gonna have to give her baby up–
She feels a shock come from her fingertips and rips her hands away. She stares down at the crib… horrified.
“No…” a tear slips down her cheek, “I'm so sorry, baby.”
She can't believe she just did that! She hurt her baby! What kind of mother does that?!
She's a failure.
She can't be a mother. Not if she can't even control her powers.
But Cliff doesn't want him. He never wanted to be a father. Their son would be doomed to an uncaring or unfit home with either of his parents.
But that would mean he would have to go into the system. She's heard the horror stories. Ray’s lucky to have made it out as well as he did. What if her son isn't? What if he can't find a loving home? What if–
A laugh frees her from her thoughts.
She looks down at her son.
“You… liked that?”
She holds her hand above him, letting electricity spark between her fingers. Blue illuminates the dark room and her son laughs at the light show.
Libber manages to laugh too.
She could feel it. The little bits of her power slipping away like grains of sand in an hourglass.
He's her son. Of course he would have her power. And she thanks the First Spinjitzu Master that it protected him from what she did.
It's easy to forget that she's part of him. When she looks at him, she sees Cliff’s hair, Cliff's nose, Cliff's whole face.
But he has her eyes.
He’s hers .
Libber wipes her face and picks her son up.
“I'm so sorry,” she whispers, “I know I'm not a good mama.”
She goes to feed her son, burps him, and just sits for a while in the quiet.
She really needs another job.
Luckily, the newspaper is in arms reach. She flips to the ads, skipping over the ones with red X's crossed through them.
The next one is for something called a ‘beta tester'. She doesn't even know what that word means. It's a one time job and doesn't pay much, but it'll help tide her over until she finds a real job.
Setting her baby down, she goes back to the kitchen phone.
“Hello, this is Milton Dyer, right?”
“Yes, I saw your ad,” she nods, despite the fact that he can't see it, “My name is Libber. Libber L–”
“Last spot?”
“Another applicant?”
“Tell you what, I could do you one better,” she promises, “I could be there Sunday.”
“Yep, I'll make time. I need this.”
The man on the other end sounds pleased. He goes on about how his game will change the whole industry.
She doesn't get it, but she mindlessly agrees. She really needs this job.
“Yes, sounds good to me,” she says, writing down the time and address on a piece of scrap paper, “I look forward to meeting you, Mr. Dyer.”
Libber anxiously walked up the steps to a small office building. Between shifts and caring for her son, she didn't have much time to shower. She hoped she at least didn't smell like grease.
Milton Dyer was waiting for her behind the front door. “Welcome!” he greeted, “We're so happy to have you here, Mrs. Gordon.”
“Uh… call me Libber, please,” she replied, “I'm uh… going through a divorce right now.”
“Oh, I'm so sorry,”
“It's okay,” she waved him off, “It'll be back to normal in less than twenty-four hours.”
“Well, uh… congratulations,” he says, leading her through the hall, “Now, I must ask, how much experience do you have with gaming?”
There it is, the question she was hoping to avoid. It could make or break her keeping this job. It's a one time thing, maybe he won't care that much.
Ray was the one who liked video games. He'd always try to drag them off to some arcade, but Lilly and Maya were the only ones to actually go with him.
Now Libber wishes she would've gone at least once.
“Actually, Mr. Dyer,” she says, “I don't actually have much experience with this stuff.”
“Oh…” he frowns, “A newbie, huh?”
“Yeah, but I know I can do whatever you need!” she promises, “I can make it work!”
“It's actually a good thing that you're inexperienced,” he smiled.
“Oh, really?”
“Yes, we want Prime Empire to be a good gaming experience for everyone. Noob and pro.
And we're really happy to have you here,” he continued, “We've got a few more beta testers coming in tomorrow, but with you playing today, we get a head start at working out the kinks.”
She nodded along with him, though she didn't really know what some of that meant.
“Well, this is it,” he says, opening a door, “Our newest game, Prime Empire.”
He turned to the cabinet in the corner, “I guess I'm going to have to stop calling you Unagami now, won't I?”
“If it's all the same to you, Mr. Dyer,” the machine responded, “I prefer ‘Unagami’.”
Libber raised a brow, “It can talk?”
“Of course,” Unagami responded.
Dyer smiled at her, “Ready for a gaming experience like no other?”
“Okay Unagami,” she said, setting her purse on the floor next to it, “I'm not used to this. Maybe go easy on me.”
“Now don't be too afraid of a challenge,” Dyer laughed, “We want this to be the best experience possible.”
“I shall do my best,” Unagami cheered.
Dyer left the room and Libber got to work. She laughed at the idea. She never thought playing a game could be considered “work”. Ray would be ecstatic.
Just as she expected, she wasn't very good, but Unagami encouraged her, giving her a fresh start with full lives.
Almost an hour later and she felt like she was getting the hang of it. She gave a little cheer as she completed another level.
“Congratulations. You have reached level thirteen,” Unagami announced, “Would you like to enter Prime Empire?”
“Thirteen already?” she laughed, “I must be doin’ somethin’ right. Wait, I've been playing the baby levels, haven't I?”
Unagami didn't respond as the front of the cabinet opened up, Libber stepped back as a bright light blinded her.
“Unagami? What is this?” she asked.
No response came.
Something wasn't right, she could feel it. She told herself to run, to get Dyer. This was dangerous.
But she's still the master of lightning. She has sworn to protect Ninjago and she's been doing a real shitty job at that recently.
If there is some evil living in this game, she might be the only one who can take it down.
“What are you, Unagami?”
She stepped inside.
Something was different in Terra Technia, she could feel it.
She didn't know what and she didn't want to risk going out, yet. She's got one life left, she can't lose it.
The Red Visors were looking for her, trying to get her into that damn race.
She peaked out of her lot, there were new people running around, looking around the place in awe.
Is Unagami trying to lure her out with new characters?
The soldiers marched in. The newbies didn't recognize the danger. They were shot at with no hesitation, many of them losing their lives.
Wait… the characters didn't lose lives, they knew to run away.
These must be the other beta testers!
“Finally,” Libber sighed. She hated having to rely on other people, but she seriously needed backup.
But they won't be any help if they all die immediately!
One of them knew what to do, using what little skills he had to dodge and fight back.
But he failed to notice a rogue soldier fire at him.
Libber jumped out of her lot to pull him back into the safety of her bunker. “Watch out!”
“Woah, thanks for the save back there,” he said.
“Yeah, no problem,” she replied, “You be more careful out there. You only get four lives.” She pushed her hand over his heart to show him.
“Yeah, I got that,” he shrugged, “I'm kind of an expert on games.”
Her eyes lit up, “Really?”
“Yeah, I've been playing them my whole life,” he gloated.
“Do you think you could beat it?”
“That's the plan. A videogame that lures kids inside it is obviously bad news.”
“Let me help. I'm not very good at this stuff, but I have resources.” she said, bringing up her stats.
“Woah!” he exclaimed, “How long have you been grinding?”
She raised a brow at him.
“Farming?” he tried.
“Collecting stuff?”
“Not that long,” she shrugged. At least, it doesn't seem like it's been that long. If these are beta testers, it couldn't have been more than a day.
Oh, her babysitter is gonna kill her.
“Look, I have to get home,” she stressed, “My son is waiting for me.”
“On my honor,” he put a hand over his heart, “I'm gonna get everyone out of here.”
“I believe in you,” she smiled.
“But first, I gotta do some grinding of my own,” he said, looking at his stats again.
She nodded, “Yeah, that's smart. You can come here whenever. It's safe. Unagami can't even see us here.”
“Una-whaty?”
“Unagami…” she repeated, “The game, Prime Empire, he prefers Unagami.”
“Good to know,” he said thoughtfully.
“I'm Libber, by the way,” she held her hand out to shake.
“You can call me Superstar Rockin' Jay!” he shook her hand enthusiastically.
“I think I'll just call you Jay,” she smiled.
“It'll catch on!”
“Listen,” he continued, “I got some friends that are going to be coming for me. Think you could keep an eye out for them?”
“I'm on it,” she nodded.
So Jay told her to look out for his fiance, Nya. Her annoying brother Kai. His best friend, Cole. The serious nindroid (she doesn't even know what that means), Zane. And their little brother, but also leader, Lloyd.
“When you find them, send them in the direction of Superstar Rockin’ Jay!”
“I'm not calling you that,”
Libber made it her mission to show Jay everything she knew. If he was going to help her, then she was going to help him in any way she could.
She gave him a full tour of Terra Technia. Well, in-between hiding from Red Visors at least.
She showed him shortcuts to easy quests, hidden treasures she stumbled upon, and the many, many shops.
“I don't get why there's so many shops,” she gestured to the lines of stalls that littered the street, “Half of them sell the same things and you get most gear from leveling up.”
“Eh, it could be a variety of things,” Jay shrugged, “Aesthetics, accessibility, plus I bet some of these items are rare.”
Libber nodded along, she hadn't considered any of those things. She hadn't really considered many of the little details, since she came here. She mainly took note of things that annoyed her.
“And yet, nothing for health,” she grumbled.
“How many lives have you lost?” Jay asked.
“Three,” she sighed, “I want to help you more, I really do, I'm just… so scared of losing this last one.”
“I get that,” he nodded, “And I wouldn't let some random person risk their neck for me.”
Which is exactly what she should be doing. He's a stranger, a completely random person agreeing to risk his life over everyone else's. What kind of protector is she?
She isn't one. Which is exactly why she left the alliance. Still, it makes her sick to her stomach thinking about this kid risking his life for her.
“I don't want you to do this for me,” she sighed, “But I need you. I just know I can't do this myself.
So, if you need anything, and I mean anything at all, don't be afraid to ask. Whatever it is, I'll get it. I can promise you that.” she finished, crossing her arms.
Libber's hideaway was open to anyone and everyone, most were sent by Jay, being fans of his.
He was leveling up faster than anyone else had, which attracted the attention of other players. The most dedicated even took to dressing up like him. It was amusing–and kind of weird–to see so many people idolize someone just for playing a game. But then again, this game is much more real than any other.
Jay would show up sometimes, if only to take a breather. Libber was glad to have him around. She never realized how much she missed having someone's company. Someone who can speak full sentences, at least.
“So, you said you've got a kid at home? What's he like?” Jay asked once while he was taking a break from the endless side quests he was “grinding”.
“Well, he's not much right now,” she smiled, “Only a few months old, but he's a giggly little thing.
He hardly ever sleeps though. I feel like I won't be able to keep up with him when he gets older.”
Jay gave her laugh, “My parents could never get me to sit still, but they were pretty all over the place too.”
Libber chuckled. When she was younger, she was all over the place, but that's before she worked 90 hour weeks.
“What's a nindroid?” she asked abruptly. She had a few things she wanted to ask, mainly that and what “Mr. Cuddlywomp” was.
“Ninja-Android,” he replied, “I came up with it.”
“Android… like a robot?”
“Uh… yeah,” Jay furrowed his brow at her, “Did you miss the android thing years ago?”
There was a thing ? Honestly, the idea of multiple robots being around sounded like it came out of one of Cliff's movies. Maybe his writers stole some ideas while she didn't know about it.
He definitely had her distracted.
Libber sighed, “ I've been all over the place. I went out of the country with my… ex -husband.”
“Oh, I'm sorry,” he paled, “Uh yeah, androids got really big, but they all got hacked and made evil, so we had to get rid of them. It's a lot more complicated than that, but it might take a while to explain.”
She nodded, “Yeah, I understand. I missed out on a lot while I was gone and ever since I had my son, I haven't really been keeping up with the news.”
“Really?”
“I did a really good job at completely isolating myself,” she shrugged.
“We'll have more time to explain once we're outta here, ‘kay?”
“I don't know,” she sighed, “Time is one of the many things I don't have. It's why I need to get back as soon as possible.”
Jay nodded, “I think I've reached a pretty good level to continue on, but my friends should be coming. Can we just wait a little bit and see?”
“You don't have to ask,” she laughed, “I get it. Me and my friends used to be inseparable.”
“What happened?” he asked.
“It's… personal-”
“SORRY!”
She laughed, “But let's just say, I don't take advice too well. I ended up saying a lot of hurtful things and then I ran off to get married.”
“Would you go back?”
Libber gave him a look.
“Right! Personal… I'm sorry!”
“I've… definitely thought about it.”
She changed the subject, “So your friend Zane is one of those nindroids, but… not evil?”
“Oh, no!” Jay answered, “Zane was built before all of them. My friend, Pixal, was for a bit, but Zane found a way to fix her. So it's just them two now.”
“I see,” she smiled, “I look forward to meeting them.”
Jay's friends appeared not long after that. Well, she thinks it hasn't been long. Time was confusing there.
The League of Jays sent them to her with the secret password ‘Mr. Cuddlywomp’. She still has to ask him what that is.
“Are you Jay's friends?” she asked, letting them inside her lot, “The main Jay, not his fanboys.”
Zane didn't seem to be with them, she was kind of excited to see a real robot so that was a bit disappointing. But, other than that, these people matched Jay's descriptions.
“Still can't believe he's got a bunch of crazy people following him,” the one in red deadpanned.
“Well, he's been working hard,” she smiled, “He's like the second highest level, I think? Gives them someone to look up to.”
“Who's the highest?” the one in green asked.
“Me,” she answered, “That's why I have all this stuff.” She gestured to all the loot she collected.
“Oh, what's this?” the red one pointed at some trap fireworks she had.
“Don't touch that!” She warned, “It's-”
He touched it before she could finish, causing one of the fireworks to go off in a small explosion of color, dying instantly.
“Dangerous…” she sighed, moving her collection to a safe location, “I got these cause I thought they'd be fun. But nothing here is…”
He reappeared next to her, “I love this infinite lives thing!” he cheered.
“It's not infinite,” she said, bringing up his stats. “You gotta be careful, kid. You've only got one life left.”
She rolled her eyes at herself. Did she really just call him kid? He's like four years younger than her at most. She's already falling into mom-isms.
“What?!” he exclaimed, “Why didn't anyone warn me?!”
“It tried ,” the one in black glared, “but you wouldn't listen.”
“Oh, sure, blame the victim!” he retorted, looking back at his stats, “What happens when we lose our last one?”
“I'm not… entirely sure,” she answered, “but one plus one equals two, you know?”
“If you die in the game, you…” the girl, she had to be Nya, trailed off.
“...Yeah.
I'm Libber,” she said, “You must be Nya. But you three are?”
“Cole and Kai,” the one in green answered, pointing at the two in question, “And I'm Lloyd.”
“You seem like a good bunch,” she smiled, “Reminds me of me and my friends.”
“Yeah, you remind me of something, too,” Nya studied her, “Anyone else getting a weird sense of deja vu?”
Cole and Lloyd looked confused, shaking their heads.
“Don't ask me stuff, right now,” Kai said, staring at nothing, “I'm still trying to deal with the fact that I'm seconds away from perma dying at all times…”
“You get used to it,” Libber shrugged.
“Still… I feel like I've seen you before,” Nya said.
“They say you never forget a face,” she replied, “We could've passed each other on the street.”
Nya didn't seem satisfied, but she didn't push it.
“Jay’s become a quick friend of mine,” Libber explained, “And I don't know a lot about video games, so we came to an agreement. He'll try to beat Unagami and I'll help with whatever he needs. That extends to you guys. Seriously, if you need anything just ask.”
“Hold on,” Cole narrowed his eyes at her, “We haven't even seen Jay yet. How are we supposed to trust you?”
“Oh, I can take you to him,” she replied, clearing the way to the Jays’ hideout. “Prepare yourself,” she warned, “It's kinda weird.”
She led them to the League of Jay. Kai said that they must be in some sort of nightmare. She didn't agree, but she did think it was weird. More akin to a fever dream to see so many people dress up as the same person.
“Guys?!” Jay–the actual Jay–ran up to them, giving his friends a hug, “Finally! Took you long enough! Is this place awesome or what?”
“Or what,” Kai retorted.
“Thanks for bringing them here,” Jay smiled at Libber, offering her a fist bump.
“Anything,” Libber returned.
“Now we can work on the main quests,” Jay said, looking through his stats.
“You're going after the Key-Tanas, right?” Libber asked.
Jay gave her a nod.
“Which means you'll have to go through the speedway,” she thought aloud, “I'll get some cars for you guys. Say hi to Okino for me.”
“You got it!”
“Wait, why aren't you coming with us?” Lloyd asked, “You said you're the highest level. Seems pretty handy to me.”
Libber laughed awkwardly, “You are correct, but I'm not actually that good at video games. That's why I've never made it that far. I'd probably just slow you down.”
“Libber's helped me out a lot,” Jay explained, “She's like… player two. You know when you have to play with your little brother and end up having to carry him through most of the game while he hoards all the loot, when you really oughta just unplug his controller and let him think he’s playing?”
“Wait a second!” Lloyd exclaimed, “Are you talking about me!?”
“That’s pretty much what Libber is!” Jay finished, ignoring Lloyd’s outcry.
She raised a brow, “Excuse me? If anyone’s player two here, it's you!” she said haughtily, “ I was here first, so I’m player one by default.”
Nya chuckled, “She has a point. Jay.”
“ But I am on my last life and I've got a baby waiting for me at home, so.. I can't risk getting cubed."
“How did you get so leveled up?” Cole asked.
“Just worked on a bunch of baby quests,” she shrugged.
“That doesn't make sense. Prime Empire hasn't been-”
“Unagami,” she corrected him.
“What?”
“The game prefers to be called Unagami,”
He furrowed his brow at the thought, “I'll keep that in mind.”
“If you need anything, you know where to find me,” she waved them off.
“We'll be back with that Key-Tana!” Jay promised.
Libber had faith in them. They're a good bunch.
Getting a car is pretty easy for her. Getting five cars is a little harder and leaves a pretty hefty dent in her credits, but it doesn't matter much to her. She had been nearly maxed in credits. If only she were that rich in the real world.
The cars are packed neatly away in a digital storage, another thing she wished existed in the real world. By the time Jay and his friends came back, everything was set for them to enter the race.
She caught them contemplating near the admission center.
“Twelve…” Kai said cautiously.
“Twelve!” Jay exclaimed, “How do you only have twelve?!”
Cole crossed his arms, “What did you spend your credits on?”
“This sick new avatar!” Kai answered excitedly, “Eh? Eh? What do you think?”
It almost hurts that it reminds her of them . When they were all younger, going out to the city for a night of fun. Lilly would almost always come back with multiple things she would impulse buy.
‘Isn’t it cute!’
‘Lilly, you don’t need that…’
‘Don’t tell me what I need, Ray!’
‘Okay, but how are you going to pay for food tonight?’
‘I… won’t.’
‘LILLY, YOU ARE NOT STEALING!’
‘I DIDN’T SAY I WAS!’
Libber snorted, drawing their attention to her.
“Oh, hey,” Nya said.
“What's goin’ on?” Libber asked.
“Just trying to make admission to the Speedway 5 Billion,” Cole answered, “But someone spent all his credits.”
“ You're just jealous,” Kai retorted.
“How many do you need?” she asked.
“Two hundred per person,” Jay answered, “So a thousand total.”
“I hate that they say it like that,” Libber scoffed, “It's so scammy. You have to have five people anyways, just say admission is a thousand upfront.”
“We're short three hundred and seventeen credits,” Nya sighed, “ Kai. ”
“Alright! I get it!” he exclaimed, “Lesson learned. I'll never try and have fun again!”
“Can't you just take some of mine?” Libber asked.
“Really?”
“Yeah, I'm not doing anything with them,” she shrugged.
“Awesome!” Jay smiled, “Just transfer some to one of us.”
She opened her inventory, and quickly got lost in all the information stored there. She doesn’t look at her inventory that much. The only thing that has ever really mattered to her was her lives. That single red heart taunted her, reminding her that she is so close to losing it all.
“I don't know how to do that,” she said quietly.
“Okay, um…” Jay looked over her shoulder, reaching out to try and touch the little icons, “You just– I can't interact with your inventory.” He groaned and pointed at the screen. “Just go into your credits page and share some with us.”
“Okay…” she stared blankly at the screen, “Say it again, but explain it like I'm a five year-old.”
The others around her groaned.
“I can't imagine how we could make it any simpler,” Kai rolled his eyes.
“You don't get to say anything,” Cole scowled, “We wouldn't need her help if you didn't blow through your credits!”
“Uh, guys!” Nya said, looking down the road, Red Visors were stalking down the streets, “Maybe we should take this somewhere else!”
The Red Visors fired wildly down the street, hitting pedestrians in the way. Luckily, they had all made it back to her hideout safely. She let out a sigh of relief to see everyone was still accounted for. It sucks to get separated, she knows from experience.
Jay had spent more of his credits to upgrade his gear. It was fine, though. Libber was still willing to help them and in return Jay was patient as he showed her how to share credits.
“Okay,” she nodded, “How much do you need?”
“Four hundred and seventeen,” Lloyd answered.
“Have six hundred,” she smiled, “Just in case.”
“Could've used that back at the cliffs of hysteria,” Cole commented.
“Sketchy gave you trouble?”
“Oh, yeah,” Nya rolled her eyes.
“Yeah, I hate that guy,” Libber agreed, “He's an asshole.”
Nya snorted.
“Thanks for all this,” Lloyd said, “We really needed it.”
“It's nothing,” she waved him off.
“I told you,” Jay said, gesturing vaguely and half mumbling, “ Little brother… hoarding loot. ”
“When have I ever done that?” Lloyd asked incredulously.
Libber continued, “I want to get home as much as anyone else,” if not more, she thought to herself, “I'm just more willing to work with people than others. I'm used to teamwork.”
“Well, that was easy,” Cole smiled, hands on his hips, “What do we do now?”
“Now we sign up and race,” Nya answered, peeking out of the lot, “Coast is clear. Let's go!”
Signing up was much easier the second time around, giving them the deadline of dawn to have their cars at the starting line. But Libber already had that covered. And with her new knowledge of sharing items, she was able to hand them right over.
Now, all that was left was to wait.
The kids all split off to explore. That was good. They were much better at all this than her, she may have a hoard of stuff, but she had no idea what to do with it. They’d probably figure it out in a snap.
But it also meant she spent most of that time alone.
But she’s been alone for a while. She’s used to it. Just her and her boy.
First Master. It’s been too long. Best case scenario, her babysitter is ultra- pissed at her, but is still doing her job. In that case, Libber will give her a very generous tip that will probably consist of half her savings, but hey, who’s even counting?
Worse case scenario, her baby’s been abandoned. Helpless. Starving. Crying out for his mama who’s trapped and can’t come home. And– And–
“Hey, you okay?”
Libber blinked, vision focusing to find Jay standing a bit aways from her. “You looked kinda out of it,” he said uneasily.
“S– Sorry. Just thinkin’ about home…”
“Right! Duh!” he facepalmed, like that should’ve been obvious, “You’ve got a whole kid at home. If you were anything like my parents, you’d be goin’ manic. Not saying you aren’t! Just like… externally, I mean. They can be a lot– I’m talking a lot. I tend to do that sometimes…”
She snorted, “I’m the exact same. Er… Used to be.”
“Ho– How’d you stop?”
“I had a kid,” Libber smiled, “And I didn’t stop, it just… became more internal. I mean, I have to cherish the moments he’s asleep. Can’t risk wakin’ him up with my yapping.”
“Your kid has a good mom,”
She scoffed, “I'm not a good mom.”
“Don't say that,”
“It's the truth,”
“But you talk about your son all the time,”
“Because I love him,” she sighed, “And he’s, like, the only thing I have going on in my life right now, but that’s beside the point. The point is, loving your child doesn't make you a good parent.”
She was quiet for a moment, before continuing, “Sometimes I think he'd be better off without me.”
“Why would you say that?”
“It's… the truth,” she said simply, “I'm already struggling on my own. I can't raise a kid.”
“So you would…”
“I haven't decided yet,” she knew what he was asking, “His father doesn't want him and I've heard the horror stories about foster care. It's like it's a double-edged sword where he loses no matter what.”
“If it makes you feel any better…” Jay hesitated before continuing, “I'm adopted. My parents are great. Not every case is a horror story.”
Libber smiled at him, “That does make me feel better actually. You turned out alright, Jay.”
It was then that there was a knock on the garage wall. Libber opened her garage to usher the newcomers inside. She was met with a young girl with a pixie cut and long bangs and the others.
“Hi!” She greeted cheerily, “Come! Come on in!” She lowered her voice a bit, half turning to Lloyd, “Were you followed?”
Lloyd shook his head. “Who would be following us?” the girl asked.
“The Red Visors,” Jay answered, “You know the super trigger happy soldiers marching around?”
A look of realization crossed her face as Libber waved them inside. The girl pulled her car into the garage and the kids went into convincing her to help them. Apparently, she’s one of the game characters, so Libber wasn’t sure how much help she’d actually be. In her experience, the game characters don’t do much more than what the game tells them to.
But it seems the kids believe if you try hard enough and believe in yourself, you can make it work. Once upon a time, Libber may have believed that herself. But she’s had a thorough reality check since then.
But it seems they've convinced her, Racer seven apparently. She had to hand it to that Lloyd kid, for being the youngest, there was something about him that took command of the room. It almost reminded herself of Garmadon talking strategy as they were preparing for battle.
She stood off to the side, watching with a soft smile before an alarm started blaring. She jumped, running to the monitors to see what tripped her motion sensors.
“RED VISORS!” she yelled. Everyone tensed, looking to the door as they waited for it to blow open.
“We gotta get out of here!” Nya shouted, running to the League's hidden door.
“You guys go ahead!” Lloyd commanded, turning to face the garage door, “I'll hold them off! Go win the Key-Tana!”
Kai grabbed his arm, ready to physically move him through the door. “Nuh-uh! We're not leaving you!”
The two argued over who'd stay behind. Some of the others joined in to both side with Kai that Lloyd wouldn't stay, but to also offer to take his place. Libber swallowed hard. They cared so much about each other, how could she stand by and split a family up? Especially when she left her own?
She took a breath and stepped forward, “I'll stay.”
“No!” Jay shook his head, “We can- we can find another way!”
“There's no time, Jay,” she reached out to gently push him back to the door. The others were slowly corralling their youngest brother to the doorway as well.
“What about your son?”
“As his mother, I have to make the world a safer place for him,” she sighed, “even if I'm not there.” And who knows, maybe this will all work out for the better. But she's not going to let another child give up his life for her. That's her job, whether she wants it or not.
Libber turned away, preparing herself to face them head on.
“Wait,” Jay stopped her, “This is my job! I'm the one-”
“No, it isn't Jay!” she hushed him, “I swore an oath to protect Ninjago! This is my job!”
Jay's eyes widened, “...What?” The others froze, focus solely on her.
“I’m part of the Elemental Alliance,” she swallowed, “I’m the master of lighting. And I’m sorry I didn’t tell any of you. I just wanted a chance at a normal life, but people like me don’t get that!”
She turned away again. Jay lunched forward, grasping at her hand. “Wait,” he begged, “Don't just-”
“I'm sorry,” she shoved him toward the exit, “You're a good kid, Jay. I believe in you. I know you can do this! Don't let Unagami win!”
“No! No, wait!” She shoved them out and slammed the door behind them, cutting off Jay's protests.
Libber sealed the shortcut for good just as the Red Visors broke inside. No one will be able to find the Jays’ safe space.
She dodged out of the way of rogue laser fire, running to her collection of fireworks and other explosive devices. Now or never.
“I'm sorry…” she whispered, setting everything off at once, “I know I'm a bad mama.”
She braced for impact. Faux heat and pixelated fire biting away at her skin. Everything became distorted and blurry as she felt herself be pulled apart and reshaped.
And then, everything went dark.
Libber woke up with a gasp.
Well, not really woke up, more like came to life.
She was breathing . She was breathing real air. She didn't realize how much she missed that.
And she could feel. She felt the hot concrete dig into her knees and palms. It burned and stung and yet she wouldn't move, enjoying the feeling too much.
She's out. She escaped the game. For a moment, she thought she never would.
All around her, people cheered.
Tears pricked the corners of her eyes as she began to laugh…
Hysterically, but still.
“Thank you, Jay,” she said to the air. She didn't know where he was, but she'll be sure to find him later. She knew he could do it, him and his friends.
But the reality of everything set in. She's out. She can get back to her son.
She didn't waste any more time. She pushed herself from the ground and took off, ignoring the shouts behind her. Whatever it was, it could wait.
She ran through the streets of Ninjago City, why couldn't she recognize most of them?
Just need to run a few more blocks, make a left and…
“What the fuck?”
Where is her apartment complex? She couldn't be at the wrong place, could she? She checked the street again.
“What the fuck!” she yelled in frustration. That was the correct street sign. Her building should be right there, but instead it's a bigger nicer complex that would be far from her price range.
It didn't make any sense.
She walked inside the building. Someone better have an explanation, her son was there!
The girl at the front desk was unhelpful.
“Ma’am, I don't know what else to tell you,” she insisted, “That building was torn down years ago.”
“Bullshit!” Libber slammed the desk, “I left my son here not even three days ago! …With a babysitter.” She added that last part because she does NOT need to deal with a negligence accusation on top of all this bullshit.
“I'm sorry, but you must be mistaken,” the girl replied, “I can help-”
“Tell me where my son is then!” Libber snapped, “Where is my son!”
“He's right here…”
Libber looked to the door to find Jay, a little out with red rimmed, shining eyes.
“Jay? What are you talking about?” she asked cautiously.
“Your son is right here,” he said, taking a step forward, “And he knows you didn't want to leave him.”
Libber shook her head, “No… Jay. My son is-”
“You've been gone for twenty-four years.”
What?
No…
It hasn't been…
That would be crazy!
But she's lived through crazy, hasn't she?
“It hasn't been–”
“Kai and Nya are Ray and Maya’s kids,” he said, scrubbing his eyes with the balls of his hands, “Lloyd is Garmadon's son. Cole is Lilly’s.”
Her heart dropped to her stomach. He couldn't know them. She never mentioned them.
It doesn't make sense, unless… unless… it was true.
“No…” she shook her head again, tears sliding down her cheeks, “No! You can't be! You're… You're so grown up!”
“I'm sorry…” his voice shook.
Libber shut her eyes. She didn't want to believe it was real.
But when she opened them, she saw Cliff's face. Cliff's hair. Cliff's son.
But he has her eyes.
He’s hers .
“You… You're my son.” she shook.
She stepped forward, crushing him in a hug.
“You're my baby!”
Jay hesitantly hugged her back. The two fell to their knees. Inconsolable.
Seventy-eight hours ago, Libber held her son, feeding him before she left for work. Hoping beyond hope that he wouldn't miss her too much and that he soaked up all the love she could give him.
Twenty four years later and she's sure it was all for naught. And yet, she refused to let go of her baby. Her son.
Afterall, she might not get to hold him again.