Chapter Text
It was just a normal day.
Then they came.
Black, swirling portals opened up in the middle of the camp, and from them, came black smoke and what the residents of the First Realm hoped and believed were fake.
The Oni.
The embodiment of revenge, anger, and the heart of evil.
They all believed that the Oni were gone.
But you can never get rid of evil.
---
Faith shot upright in the bed, shouting, "They are coming!"
That was five hours ago. The ninja had gone to retrieve the one called "Garmadon," as they thought he might be of use regarding their situation. It was dark outside now, the sun having just sunk below the horizon.
As of now, Faith was sitting in the garden right outside the monastery, next to Firstbourne who still lay unconscious. She had with her a red incense pot, a few matches, and a few sticks of incense labeled 'Dragon's Breath.' Striking a match aflame, Faith let one of the incense sticks, and then another, watching the smoke slowly rise into the crisp night air.
This was a special ritual. One to commemorate those who were lost. It only made it more real.
She took a deep but shallow breath, and tried to close her eyes.
But all she saw was the suffering.
The swallowing.
The pain.
Their faces.
Their screams.
There was this feeling inside of her. It opened up a large pit inside of her soul. Faith didn't know what to call it. She had grown up not learning of these "feelings," so they were all foreign concepts to her. But as she sat there, staring at the smoke coming from the incense, she found a name for it. A word that had been said by the ninja while they were travelling across the First Realm.
Guilt.
She felt horrible for leaving them. Felt the aching pain inside of herself whenever she thought back to what had happened. She was one of the five 'Dragon Riders,' as the clan called those who had formed bonds with the five elemental dragons, including Firstbourne. She was supposed to protect them, not abandon them.
She wasn't supposed to abandon those she treasured.
There was yet another emotion that her brain was searching for. Something deeper than "treasured." Yet again another word said by the ninja on their travels.
This one, Faith was pretty sure it was called "love."
She had heard Jay talk about "love," especially regarding one called "Nya," whom she had briefly met before the ninja had departed to the "city." They seemed incredibly close. While she could compare that to some relationships inside the clan, many were kept out of the public eye. The former Dragon Hunters had to be cold, sharp, vigilant, and stay on task. But Faith had tried to move the clan away from that, and so far, she has been successful. They were still vigilant, just more... free. The closeness Faith had observed between Jay and Nya was becoming more often seen in her clan.
Even regarding herself.
Faith's heart twisted.
Above all else, above any other regrets, was leaving her behind. Faith wasn't fast enough. She could've helped her. Could've made sure she stayed alive.
'No. No. She isn't dead. Not yet, anyway.'
The word for that was "pleading."
Faith's mind retreated back to the few months of leisure she had gotten after Iron Baron had passed and the ninja had left. Before all of this. Throughout the stress of running an entire clan, throughout the hardships and struggles, there remained one constant. One person who always stood by Faith's side.
Jet.
And now she was gone. Frozen under the Oni's clouds of black smoke.
She could still see the expression of pure fear on Jet's face. That never happened. Faith had almost turned around right then, almost gone back to help. But there was one reason she didn't. Because in Jet's expression of fear, there had also been a plead.
Fight on.
And so, Faith was.
That's what she was doing, right? What she came here to do?
But she didn't feel like she was continuing the fight. She felt like she was almost forfeiting by lighting the incense. But why?
She knew why. She had given up her namesake.
Faith had given up hope that her clan was still alive.
That Jet was still alive.
She had no faith.
She had no hope.
But still, her mind pushed. There was still an ember of hope deep inside her mind, just hidden under the pain and guilt. Only surviving because of love.
Faith stood up, plucking the incense out of the pot. She dropped it on the ground, and snuffed the heat with her foot, smearing the ashes on the grass.
Despite all she had gone through just in the past day, she would still have hope.
She would carry on.
She would see them again.
No matter what.