Sometimes Dareth Wonders How Much Longer He Can Stand This.

Sometimes Dareth wonders how much longer he can stand this.

The thing about watching this train wreck, Dareth catches himself thinking, in the ruins of ninjago city, is that you can’t stop it, only hope, and deal with the aftermath. The ninja are barreling down the track, brakes ripped out, and their wheels are teetering on the rails, and the only thing that will stop them now is the end of the line. He can see it approaching, the inevitable crash, and there are days where he goes home to his tiny apartment and sits on his couch without the will to bear flipping on the lights, and wonders if he’s strong enough to watch.

But he can’t abandon them.

Sensei Garmadon is gone. Mystake is dead. Wu and Misako don’t count, not really, not with how careless they can be- it’s only Dareth, who is too human and too clueless and too weak. He doesn’t understand the brutal violence of their lives. He isn’t nearly enough but he is something, and he can’t leave them, he won’t. He won’t. He will smile and laugh and urge them to do the same, he will stand by their sides at even the darkest of time, and he will make a difference.

He does something stupid and silly and Lloyd chuckles, it’s the first time he’s heard him laugh in weeks, and he hopes.