A/N

Artistic rendition of Nya's avatar in this by moi. ^^^

Whenever people don't comment, I'd like to think that I've invested them in the story too much 😂. Don't get too invested, this will be a long one!

Also, exam period is here so sorry that I haven't updated in over a week!

Enjoy!

🕹🕹🕹

🎮ℕ𝕪𝕒🎮

I continue walking as my eyes scan over the flier, but nothing can catch my interest.

Although, I guess I shouldn't have made it too obvious, seeing as my friend was becoming all the more annoyed with me by the second.

"So, you're telling me that out of the 20 something clubs this school has, you don't want to join a single one?"

I fold the paper and give it to her. "Correct."

She rolls her eyes, looking over the list on her own.

Then, a mischievous smile creeps up on her face.

She tightens her ponytail, raising her scarlet hair even higher in the process.

"Or... you could join the club that my entire friend group is in and hang out with us there," she says. "You'll get the extra grade too."

I groan internally. Those 'participation grades' for extracurricular activities are just awful. I don't even know why Principal Garmadon thought they were a good idea in the first place, even if I heard the credit for it belonged to his ex-wife.

Plus, it's not like I've ever met any of Skylor's friends before. Sure, I know Lloyd, but only because I see him hanging out with my brother all the time (yet another rabbit hole there). Other than that, though, I won't know anyone there. Sky and I have just been hanging on our own, I guess...

Maybe it's because our first meeting consisted of her making out with my brother in my room (they still haven't explained that one), but it's always been kind of weird that we're even friends. She's... awesome, honestly. A bit too awesome, even.

Suddenly, the bell rings, and I immediately turn to enter the school. But before I can do so, Sky grabs my shoulder and forces me to face her.

"I just think it'll be a nice distraction, ya know?" she says, her voice and face softening. "It's only late February, after all. And since you didn't join anything in the first two trimesters... Maybe you should at least consider it."

As she walks away to her class, she tosses me a paper ball, which, upon opening, is revealed to be the flyer from before.

I cringe when I read the club's name, knowing fully well I won't fit in.

Still, I give in.

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"The Gaming Club," the sign reads and an anxious pit forms in my stomach. I realise that I know nothing about the subject, nothing about the people there, just... nothing.

I look at the closed door awkwardly, debating whether or not I should knock.

"There you are!"

I turn around and see Sky running up towards me, immediately throwing her arm around my shoulders.

"I'm telling you, you're going to love it," she tells me before opening the door.

But once she does, it immediately closes again.

"Code?" I can clearly hear Lloyd's voice call out.

Skylor rolls her eyes, banging on the door. "Open it, you buffoon."

I hear a few chuckles echo on the other side, followed by a groan.

Then, the door opens.

Inside is... nothing. It's literally an empty classroom, only a few desks and chairs here and there.

And to think the school wanted to fund this...

Of course, I immediately recognise the messy, blond locks and green eyes in front of me as Lloyd, the principal's and history teacher's son.

Behind him, two other girls are talking. One of them is similar to Lloyd having blond (albeit looking like they were dyed white or silver) hair in a bun, as well as eyes as green as his. I don't know a lot about her, but I've heard that she's Cyrus Borg's daughter; could just be a rumour, though.

The other girl, I do recognise from my history class. Her pink hair alone stands out, but the blue streak confirms her identity as Seliel. It's her second senior year by now, but I don't want to know the reason why she didn't pass. She seems chill, just not so adamant about the whole school thing.

Just then, as all eyes are on me, it hits me that almost everyone here is a Senior.

"What's the Junior doing?" says Sky, ruffling Lloyd's hair.

"Hey, Pixal is 17 too!" he protests.

"Unlike you, I am a Senior," Pixal says calmly, her eyes too focused on a tech magazine.

"And the rest of us are older, so no luck there, greenie," says Seliel, popping a lollipop in her mouth.

I step back, looking at Skylor awkwardly.

"And this... is Nya," Skylor said lamely, introducing me to the rest of the club.

"Duh, I know Nya," Seliel said as she was scrolling through her phone. "No need for introductions."

I'm... shocked, to say the least.

"You know me?"

"Yeah. Your notes are better than anything Misako writes on the board," she says. "No offense, Lloyd."

I don't know if I should be offended that she's been copying my notes or feel sorry for Lloyd after she insulted his mum, honestly.

"So... do you play video games?" I ask, putting down my backpack as I sit down on one of the chairs.

"Occasionally," Pixal says. "Game development is my primary focus."

"I like the soundtracks, so that's something," Seliel shrugged.

"I just like the Starfarer games and Fist2Face," said Lloyd, pulling out a portable console from his backpack, followed by a bunch of Starfarer comics.

"And you already know what I play with Kai," Skylor adds finally.

I'm... confused, to say the least.

"Do you have anything in common then?"

They all look at each other, then back at me. Their voices are in perfect sync as they speak.

"Prime Empire."

I blink.

Then, I remember.

I groan internally.

I've never tried the game, but I don't get why it's still so popular. For something that came out like six years ago, it sure refuses to die.

It just... exploded in popularity a couple of years back. It used to be just an arcade machine (one that I'd constantly see whenever Lloyd dragged me into Ninjago Doomsday Comix), but then it started getting ported on phones, computers, consoles... everywhere.

The fad ended quickly, but many people still play it today. And worse thing is... I know the reason.

"Oh my FSM," Seliel puts her hand over her mouth and I get a full view of her black manicure.

As we all look puzzled, she turns her phone around and shows us what's on the screen.

"Can you believe they got a divorce?" she says, her eyes focusing on the picture of the ex-couple. After all those cheating rumours that have apparently been going around about Cliff Gordon, I'm not surprised.

Skylor doesn't look so impressed. "You just learned about it?"

After giving her a glare, she ignores her. "Jason hasn't commented on it yet, do you think he knows?"

Ah yes, Mr Golden Boy himself.

I suddenly remember why this game remains so popular. I guess that when you have all the money in the world, the only thing that's left to do is stream an old game weekly.

Despite knowing nothing about the guy, seeing his pretty face plastered everywhere I go really doesn't help with tolerating him.

He's just another one of those "haven't-worked-a-day-in-my life" kids; plain and simple.

"Cliff and Libber are divorcing?" we hear a surprised gasp and turn around to see Lloyd freaking out. "Who's gonna play Queen Galactica now?"

I may not know much about Starfarer, but I have seen one of the movies with Lloyd. Cliff Gordon obviously plays Fritz Donnegan, the macho, egotistical protagonist, and I do remember a Queen played by his wife. I guess that's whom he's talking about.

I'm not all that mad, though; her character was nothing but a sexualised plot point, anyway.

I'm not in the mood to talk about A-listers when I could be sleeping now, so I try to change the subject.

"You were telling me about Prime Empire?" I say to Pixal.

She opens her phone (as I suspected, the latest one from her father's company) and opens up the mobile version of the game.

Her avatar shows up, which almost looks like a recoloured, robotic version of herself; silver hair, metal skin with purple wires all over it, as well as a set of Samurai armour, albeit with more gadgets than swords.

Her username was just her name, except it was made to sound like an acronym.

"P.I.X.A.L."

"I would highly recommend the game. It has a running history of uniting people and gathering a passionate fanbase."

"That just means they make a lot of money," I say.

"You don't have to spend money," Sky tells me as Seliel is still trying to calm down Lloyd in the background. "And like Pix said, this game unites people."

The look she gives me... I know what she means by it. And she knows that I know what she means by it.

And, despite not admitting it, I know too.

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I unlock the door, but instead of being greeted with the smell of a clean house and baked goods, I am greeted with the same, empty shell I've been living in for the past few months.

The TV is open, and I see a person lazily tapping on his controller on the couch.

Sure, I could make fun of the fact that his hair was a mess, or that he's still in his policeman uniform, but I know that I'm getting no response.

It's been like that ever since they passed. We just... stopped talking, I guess.

He doesn't even say hi as I put down my things.

The game he's playing on the TV...

... Prime Empire.

Maybe it was a sort of confirmation bias, but it's like that video game has been following me everywhere recently.

Whatever, I can't think of it right now.

I grab a yogurt from the fridge and walk down the short corridor, not uttering a word.

We were never the richest family in the world, I will admit; me and Kai shared a room up until it happened.

Now, he just stays in their room; and he won't come out easily.

I mean, he interacts just fine with Sky (who is his girlfriend, to be fair), so his problem must be with... me.

I don't know, I don't care.

I just want to get out of here.

I lock the door in my room, collapsing on my bed.

I look at the ceiling for a few minutes, then at my unfinished homework on my desk.

Duty calls, I guess.

I sit down on the chair and open my old laptop, ignoring the sticky notes reminding me of everything I have to do.

Mr Saunders, our parents' friend, is helping sustain us a bit (heck, Kai wouldn't have gotten a sort-of-job as a policeman if it weren't for him and dad's reputation in the station), but I still feel obligated to earn some sort of money.

I'm lucky my boss is nice, because as much as I love the mech shop, it's a lot of work.

So, I just want to relax for now until I have to go back again tomorrow.

I open my old laptop, finding it already open on my assignment.

However, I can't seem to find the motivation to continue it.

I ponder with my options for a few minutes, finally deciding on typing the link that's been haunting me all day.

https://nww.okinogames.nj/PE

I'm immediately greeted with welcome page.

Would you like to join the Empire?

I click yes.

As the game downloads on my laptop, it forces me to make an account.

I try to think of a username, but I'm obviously not using my real one.

I mean... I like swimming.

User ID:

User0108

Username:

Hydra

Hey, I'm not the most creative person in the world.

Then, I create a character.

Pixal's avatar came to mind as I try to make her look like myself but... different.

Once I'm done, the game finishes installing.

I click the first thing I see, a lobby that almost looks like a lazer tag arena.

I enter, but my screen goes grey the moment I did.

You are dead

Respawn?

Try again

Better luck next time!

As if I don't feel useless enough, everyone kills me the moment I spawn.

I'm ready to quit the game when a window pops up on my screen.

Rockin'Jay has invited you to a private lobby. Join?

Having no other option left, I accept.

But, to my surprise, the person on the other side is... caring. They're funny. They try to teach me how the game works.

They say they have to leave, and I can't help but feel a little disappointed inside.

I let them, but not before they present me a request.

Normally, I wouldn't talk to anyone I don't know online; but when they actually seem interested in hearing my story, I can't help but accept.

I smile, waiting impatiently for the next day to come as I start my homework.