What even is Unity? | Ninjago

Depression & Acceptance

Depression: sadness and longing, pain that can be very intense and come in waves. Life can feel like it no longer holds any meaning.

Searching for someone had never been so difficult. They barely knew the merged realms, the layout, where everything was.. It was nearly impossible to track someone so unpredictable down. They constantly forgot the way to the Monastery, let alone everywhere else.

It was quiet, almost eerie, and it freaked them out. They had gotten so used to being in a place with loud people, the constant sound of laughter and the TV. The group often distracted themselves with board games or video games they'd played a hundred times over. It didn't seem right. Now, they were out in the forest, the dark, silent forest, turning over every rock and stone.

The siblings didn't entirely know what they were doing. They hadn't formed a plan before they left, both of them just in a state of panic or shock and in need of getting outside. To be honest, how were they to come up with a plan for something they weren't sure of? Nya had somehow convinced herself that they wouldn't have to look far, that Jay would feel a kind of force keeping him nearby.. It was clear she was wrong, but that didn't stop her from living in delusion.

None of this really seemed real.

She hadn't had a moment to rest. Once they'd finished the Tournament and saved the world for what felt like the hundredth time, she began packing her bags. She wasted no time whatsoever, hoping so badly that her love hadn't gotten far.

Doing anything, however, felt draining. Even packing completely exhausted her. Any thought of seeing him again, the way he looked at her with such hatred.. It terrified her. How could someone who loved her so dearly, more than anything in the world, change to someone so corrupted?

She missed that twinkle in his eye, his smile everytime she entered the room.. She missed everything about him. When her eyes had lay upon him in that tournament arena, his slightly more muscular build, his messy auburn hair, his soft freckled face, she finally felt home. She felt like perhaps all they'd worked for had been worth it, not even considering who he was stood beside. Never in a million years had she expected he wouldn't remember her at all.

None of it made sense. How could someone just wake up somewhere unknown with no memory of anything? Not a single thing. Surely he hadn't forgotten everything, right? Surely he had to remember something? Even a vague voice in the back of his mind that he recognised. God, she so badly hoped it would be her voice he had some recollection of.

"Jay?"

It hurt to say his name. It hurt to even think it. Before the Tournament, every memory she had of him was happy, joyous, one worth thinking of. Now whenever his name drifted into mind - not that it ever really left - all she could picture was his crimson eyes, his cruel glare towards her, his deeper, more malicious tone. Yet, no matter how suffocating those thoughts were, she still felt like nothing would be worth it without him around. She knew that wasn't the real him, and some part of her believed the real Jay was still in there somewhere, even though all the signs pointed otherwise.

She didn't want to give up on him. After all, Jay never gave up on her when she merged with the sea. What was the point in throwing away everything they had now? It wasn't like he was gone, he just needed to be found .

Finding him was the hard part. Kai wanted to come along with Nya, and originally she thought maybe it was because he didn't want her to be on her own - and perhaps that was part of the reasoning - but the more Kai showed his concern and kept her grounded, the more evident it became that he wanted to find Jay just as much as she did.

"Jay?" she called his name again, this time louder. With each cry, she sounded more desperate.

The further they made it into the forest, the more defeated she felt. Checking the surrounding area of the Tournament grounds felt like a good idea because perhaps Jay might've left something behind, a clue of some sort, except they'd been searching all day, in the tree branches, behind tree logs, in different clearings... and nothing. It was as if he'd never even been there.