(Second person POV)
Stopping the Fangpyre before they could tie Ed and Edna in chains and then throw them into a broken refrigerator, you managed to persuade the snakes into using thick ropes instead. It'll minimise their discomfort, you thought as you stood on the doorstep of the caravan that didn't belong to you.
"I'm sorry about this," you smile respectfully at the couple who were simply tied to their dining room chairs, "I wish I could do something to make the two of you feel more comfortable, but I doubt I could push my luck any further."
"O-oh no, I'm just glad you managed to make those snakes keep us in our own home," the woman responded, seeming a little more relaxed at your kind manners. "I was worried they would take us to their burrows!"
"They will not do such a thing. Not when you two are under my watch," you assured her, still standing outside as the two hadn't permitted you to enter. "I wish that there was a better way to settle everything, but unfortunately I am unable to change Lloyd's mind."
"Lloyd? Is that uh, the boy with the hood?" Ed chimed in, seeming more comfortable with the atmosphere once you promised their safety.
"Yes. I won't ask you to forgive him for his actions just because he is young, but I hope that you will accept my apology," you answer, bowing to the two to show that you were sincere. Being met with silence, you felt a little disappointed at the reaction despite knowing that was the most probable one. Who's going to forgive a group of people who just barged into their home and destroyed their things, turned them into a snake, and then tied them up so they could lure their son to them and then beat him and his friends up? You for one wouldn't, probably explaining why you didn't join the Ninja when they asked you to.
"Aw, raise your head," the woman's voice cut through the uncomfortable silence, "It's alright, dearie. There are some things we just can't control and I'm sure you tried your best to convince them to not do this so it's not your fault."
Stunned to silence, you lifted your head and stared at the lady in shock, unable to comprehend why she would forgive you just like that.
"You're right, hon," the male to her right added, a smile on his face as he beamed at you, "You did what you could and we're grateful for that."
Opening your mouth, you tried to say something in reply, only for the words to die in your throat as you looked at the two in surprise. Like a goldfish, you repeated the action before giving up on trying to answer and instead asked "May... I come in?"
Before you could start to wonder if you were pushing your luck too far, Edna beamed "Of course! I was wondering why you were standing out there in the dark and not coming inside," Stepping into the caravan, you glanced behind you to check if anyone was watching, only for your search to come up empty.
Shutting the door behind you, you headed towards the blinds and pulled them shut to prevent any unwanted eyes from peeking inside. Then, you headed towards the couple and made your blade fans materialise from your pocket dimension. "Excuse me," you mutter as you slash through the rope that was tying the two up, much to their relief. "I'm releasing you from your bonds on the condition that you don't leave the caravan and act as if you were tied up under the circumstances that someone comes in," you smile, not entirely sure why you did what you did.
"Oh, thank you, dearie," Edna smiled, heading to the kitchen before asking "Would you like some tea? I've only got bagged tea though,"
"That would be much appreciated," you reply, jamming a chair under the doorknob to prevent anyone from entering or exiting, "Thank you very much."
Once the water had finished boiling, the lady placed a teabag into a mug and poured the hot liquid into the vessel before handing it to you gently. "Careful, it's hot," she cautions as you nod in response, saying another "Thank you" as you watch her make a cup for herself and Ed.
"I'd like to ask some questions if you don't uh, mind," the man pipes up, taking the hot liquid from the other human and setting it down on the table, getting a pointed look from Edna.
"That would depend on what questions you ask and if I know the answer to it," you reply, taking a sip of the boiling liquid like it was nothing, which it was for some reason. It was warm and should have been scalding even, yet you downed it like normal water. "I would also like to ask some questions in return if that's alright with you."
"Alright. Do you mind if I go first?" he asks as you tip your cup as if to say 'Go ahead'. "Do you know what the uh, Serpentine want with our son?"
"Your son's name is 'J' and he knows Spinjitsu, right?" you make sure, getting a nod in response, "I'm not entirely sure what the Fangpyre want with him and his friends, but I do know that Lloyd wants to get revenge on them.
He first tried to threaten the people of Jamanakai Village with the prospect of releasing the Serpentine on them if they didn't give him candy. The Ninja came in and reprimanded him by hanging him on a sign and taunting him with the sweets he desired.
This, however, doesn't justify Lloyd at all as he went on to unleash the Hypnobrai and wreak havoc on the town, stealing confectionary and hypnotizing villagers. He was once again stopped by your son and his friends. Later on, the Hypnobrai revolted against his command and acquired a new leader, angering Lloyd with their betrayal. He managed to steal a map with the locations of the five Serpentine tombs and found his way to the Fangpyre tribe, setting them free. The two made a deal to get revenge on the Ninja and then the Hypnobrai and the only reason they came here was to expand their army.
I overheard you two talking about your son, 'J' and I recalled that he was one of the four ninja that Lloyd wanted to make pay for his humiliation so I told him, which leads us to now." you explain, earning a stunned silence from both Ed and Edna. "I understand if you don't believe me as for what I just told you to be true, your son 'J' would have to be the so-called 'villain', which is not something a parent wants to hear their child be called, especially since you two have known him your whole life and he is currently a ninja, someone who's job is to save others, not turn them into the very enemy they need to face.
However, just know that my teacher despised lying and liars, a trait that seemed to have been passed on to me as it is my pet peeve. I would not lie unless I had no choice and as of now, I swear upon my name and my teacher's name that I am not."
"I... I sssee..." Ed muttered, his snaky accent starting to show through, though the man didn't seem to notice as he swallowed the lump in his throat, "I'll check to sssee Jay'sss ssside of the ssstory and I jussst hope that thisss wasss sssome sssort of misssunderssstanding,"
"...I hope so too," you reply, brow furrowing slightly in concern as you took another sip of your tea that had gone lukewarm through your recounting of events. "Now then, my turn." Clearing your throat, you noticed the male tense up as you looked into his eyes and asked "What are your names? I don't believe you've mentioned it to me yet,"
Staring at you in disbelief, the human let out a breathy laugh as the female that sat by his left chuckled alongside him. "My name'sss Ed, Ed Walker, and thisss isss my wife, Edna. Our ssson, asss you know, isss called Jay. For my next quessstion, why are you with Lloyd when you don't ssseem to sssupport hisss decisionsss?"
"...To be perfectly honest, Lloyd reminds me a little of myself before I met my teacher. I feel somewhat responsible for him and he's a very interesting kid. He acts differently from how my books say normal children should and I'm curious as to why. Plus, he also makes for good company at times," you answer, looking down at the mug in your hands that was slowly losing its warmth. "Now then, how do you spell your names?"
"Oh, I can anssswer thisss one," Mrs Walker chimed in, a bright smile on her face despite her circumstance, "Edna isss ssspelt E-D-N-A, Ed isss ssspelt E-D, Walker is ssspelt W-A-L-K-E-R and Jay isss ssspelt J-A-Y. Asss for my quessstion... Who isss your teacher, if you don't mind anssswering,"
"My teacher's name is Kusho, K-U-S-H-O and I don't know what his last name is. He is the original Elemental Master of Void and is at least four hundred years old. He taught me next to everything I know, but all of his knowledge may be outdated, hence why I'm avidly learning about the world as much as I can. Honestly, I am surprised that the spoken language has stayed next to the same, though the same can't be said for the written language..." Pausing for a moment, you looked up from your tea and asked "My next question is... isn't jaywalking a crime?"
Hearing this, the couple let out another series of laughter, confusing you slightly as you sat there silently, looking them over.
"Oh, dearie, yesss, yesss it isss," Edna managed to gasp out between chuckles, reaching out and patting you on the head. "You're adorable! You're jussst Jay'sss type! I can't wait for him to be properly introduced to you!"
Type of what? you wondered, waiting for the next question when the jiggling of the doorknob caught your attention. Placing a hand to your lips, you used your gravity element to make the rope you had cut gently wrap around the two humans' wrists, making sure that it wasn't going to chafe their skin but seemed tight until closer inspection.
Moving the chair out of the way, you opened the door to see a short hooded figure standing in front of you. "(y/n)!" Lloyd's familiar voice called out in relief as a chartreuse-green filled his aura, "You just disappeared and I-" Catching sight of the old couple that was 'bound' behind you, the boy crossed his arms and looked away in indignation. "-wasn't worried about you at all!" he finished, pretending to seem indifferent to your presence.
"Really? Because I didn't miss you either," you replied, dead calm as you studied the child's expression, his face falling at your proclamation.
"R-really?" he murmured, his eyes already wet with a sheen of what you assumed to be sweat as he grabbed onto the ash-coloured cloth of your cape in worry.
"Of course not," you answer, patting the kid on the hood in reassurance, mostly because you wouldn't know what to do if he began leaking water from his eyes. "Anyway, I've been interrogating our hostages and they haven't revealed any information on your enemies' whereabouts yet."
"Oh, okay," the boy sighed in relief at your first sentence as he didn't seem to care about the second half in the slightest. Still hugging your waist as if he was scared that you would disappear right in front of him, the male murmured "Can... Can I come in?"
"You mean 'may'," you corrected before adding on "And it's up to Mr and Mrs Walker if you are allowed in." Looking to the couple who shared a glance before nodding, you stepped aside and shut the door behind the boy.
"W-why are you doing thisss?" Ed spluttered, pretending to struggle in his bonds, "We don't even know who you are!"
Glaring at the man, the child growled "I am Lloyd Garmadon, son of the Dark Lord! I'm here to get revenge on the Ninja by luring them here using you two as bait! Then, I'll attack with the entire force of the Fangpyre and once they're destroyed, I'll move on to the Hypnobrai!"
"What in the world did my ssson do to earn the wrath of Lloyd Garmadon?!" Edna gasped, playing along with the 'frightened and helpless hostage' act to get to the truth.
"He and his friends threw me on a sign and taunted me with candy! They stopped me from playing around multiple times and even destroyed my treehouse fortress!' the kid pouted, crossing his arms to make himself seem more intimidating, but it seemed to have the opposite effect on the couple as they looked on in pity.
"How could Jay! How could he do sssuch horrible thingsss to a nice boy like you!" Ed sighed, shaking his head in disappointment as he subtly pressed on, hoping to be able to make the child reveal the details too.
"W-well," Lloyd stammered, looking down at his hands before glancing back up at you. Directing your attention away from the boy, you pretended to be too attentive to your drawing to notice his nervous look. "I-I dunno! I didn't do anything wrong and I was only trying to have some fun..." he grumbled, unable to look anyone in the eye and instead opting to stare toward the door.
"Oh my," Mrs Walker exhaled, looking down at her lap, "I am ssso sssorry for Jay'sss behaviour. I ssseemsss that I mussst give him a good talking-to.
"You know," you piped up, accidentally startling the nervous kid, "No one's going to get upset at you if you did something wrong. If you tell the truth, I'll be really glad,"
Silently contemplating your words, Lloyd gulped audibly and shuffled closer toward you, hands gripping your clothes again for comfort. "...I... F-fine... I was trying to make the villagers give me candy..." he finally admits quietly, his voice just barely a whisper that would have gotten lost in the ambience if not for the confines of the caravan. The silence that followed his words made them sink in deeper than they should, the boy defended "B-but that's only because they-"
"It's alright," you comfort softly, tousling with the child's golden locks the way your teacher did whenever you got upset, "You don't need to justify anything."
"Sssorry to interrupt, but how doesss (y/n) fit into any of thisss?" Ed inquired, "It currently sssoundsss like she shouldn't be involved."
"She's my second in command!" Lloyd boasted, his confidence returning as the attention shifted off from him, "I worked extremely hard to convince her to join my side and I obviously succeeded!" Rolling your eyes, you said nothing to save the child's pride as Edna gave you a knowing look. "She's super cool and super strong! She also can cook really well, and she's got an awesome home too!"
"Speaking of home," you interrupted, "I believe that we should all get some rest now. It's rather late and I'm rather certain the rest of the snakes are already asleep."
"Aw... I was just going to them some more about my achievements," Lloyd huffed as you patted the kid on the head.
"Come on, little overlord. Nobody can take over the world or get revenge on no sleep," you remarked as the couple you still had tied up nodded in agreement. "Head back to my camper without me, but take Dart with you. She'll protect you if you run into any trouble on the way. I need to have a little... chat with our hostages but I'll join you shortly."
Finally relenting, the boy allowed you to hand your dragon to him, wrapping her currently snaky form around his neck before you gave him your keys and sent him on his way. Closing the door behind him, you turned to Mr and Mrs Walker, letting the rope that was 'binding' them fall free. "I'll have to lock the caravan door so you two can't leave but I'll allow you two to move about within your home," you explained as you watched them rub their sore wrists, serpent-like fangs already beginning to sprout.
"Thanksss, sssweetie," Edna beamed, picking up the mugs that were all completely drained of the liquid they once held.
"Have a pleasant rest," you smile, bidding them goodnight with a wave as you exited their home, using your gravity element to pull a large chain toward you from atop a pile of junk. Wrapping the metal loops around the door so that it wouldn't slide open, you made sure to secure the shackles so that no one could open it without brute-forcing it with a heavy weapon.
Heading toward your home, you caught sight of the Fangpyre army resting behind a large pyramid of objects, the four members keeping watch nodding at you in acknowledgement as you passed by. Waving back in reply, you decided to use your umbraportation powers and Shadow Step right outside your van, double-checking the environment to make sure it was still well camouflaged.
Stepping inside, you found Lloyd snuggling Dart who was in her dragon form, his posture seeming extremely uncomfortable on a chair that was dragged from its original place at the dining table to face the entrance. ...He must have fallen asleep waiting for me to come back... you thought as you locked the door behind you, the gentle chiming of your Clarity Bell and the soft click-clack of the heels of your daisy-white knee boots filling the silence.
Picking the child up from his slumped position on the seat, you carried him and your dragon up the ladder to your now shared bedroom, thinking about how thankful you were to have mastered the gravity element the entire way there. This only added fuel to the fire that was your determination on finding your teacher as a wave of reminiscence washed over your tired mind against your will.
Walking back downstairs, you got ready for bed and threw on your nightwear, hanging up your outfit in your pocket dimension as you had pretty much cleaned out the entire van of your possessions already. Though you didn't want to fall asleep and risk living through... that nightmare again, your body had different intentions in mind. As soon as your head made contact with your pillow, you almost instantly blackout, falling into the tendrils of sleep that began digging into your skin, unwilling to let go until you've had your rest. And so, you didn't resist, feeling the consciousness slip away from your grasp little by little...
Author's note:
Sorry for the late-ish update. I had to rewrite this chapter as the whole thing got deleted during a blackout. (つ﹏⊂) I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless. This chapter was 3100 words long and I'll see you in the next one :)