Holy crap, 465+ views?  I swear I went to sleep the night I posted this with less than 375. Thank you so much ❤️. Also, sorry for the wait, writers block is a b and I had a bunch of songs stuck in my head while writing this. 😅

Kai POV

It's been a day and a half since Lloyd's and my argument.  He won me over and we set out to head back the way we came and get back to the village. We take occasional breaks due to my sprained ankle, which Lloyd ices every night, but otherwise, we only stop at night. The blonde strolls along the grassy path of the forest a few paces in front of me, constantly looking at his surroundings to be sure that we aren't walking in circles, which is pretty easy to do on the Dark Island if you aren't a skilled navigator.  The leaves and sticks crunch under our feet as we move deeper and deeper into the forest.

"We should be there any time now." The blonde pulls me from my thoughts. He turns his head to me, not slowing his pace. "Seriously, thank you for doing this. I know you didn't exactly agree to it, so I really appreciate it." He says with gratitude.

I give a light chuckle. "Lloyd, you've been saying that ever since we left two days ago! I told you, there's no reason to thank me!"

He laughs nervously. "Yeah, I know. I'm just really thankful."

I laugh with him. "So, any time now?" I echo his first words.

"Yes, the village isn't far. We should get there before sunset."

"Hey, Lloyd?" I ask him. He turns his head once again.

"Yes?" He answers innocently. His eyes sparkle in the dappling light that shines through the holes in the leaves. The larger rays of sun make his pale skin glow golden. For a moment I'm so distracted I've forgotten I said anything, but I shake myself from my trance and resume my thoughts.

"What are you planning to do when we get there, exactly?"

Lloyd stops and fully turns himself around to face me. "I was thinking of observing the village for a while. Just until I'm satisfied nothing is wrong." He adds the second sentence with reassurance to me. "You know, like a ninja."

I smirk at him. "Ah, giving into your ninja side I see." I tease. "Don't get too cocky. You're not a ninja master yet!"

"Says who?" He disappears into the thick foliage. I'm left there looking around to see if I can find him.

"Lloyd?" I call out.

"Yes?" I hear a sweet voice say into my ear from over my shoulder. I jump and turn to the voice, ready to fight if I have too, but in place of an attacker I see the sweet face of Lloyd. He stands straight with his hands crossed over his chest, his eyes kindly staring up at me. He giggles. "Sorry, did I scare you?"

I stand up straight and avoid his gaze. "Of course not!" I say to him. He only laughs.

"But, you didn't hear me sneaking up on you. If I really were an attacker, I could have stabbed you from behind." He jokes.

"Yeah, well you aren't an attacker. Besides, you're way too adorable and cute to be a vicious attacker." I tease him with a smirk. His pale face becomes dusted with a light amount of blush. He clears his throat.

"Well, we should be get going if we want to make it there before nightfall." He grabs his things again and starts to move along, his cheeks still dusted with a rosy tint. He's so cute when he's flustered. We continue to walk towards the village for a few hours until we've broken through the dense jungle and been greeted with a small mountain, the same one the village is located on. Lloyd and I make eye contact. His expression says it all. He's once again thankful I decided to come with.

He then points with a tilt of his head that we should approach the village up from the side so we aren't seen. He leads the way around the side of the mountain. It's a bit of a long detour, but if he feels that we should go that way, then I'll follow. The sun has just began to dip below the horizon when we've rounded the mountain and started to climb up the side. In the distance we can see the village sitting quietly as the sun shines it's last light for the day.  How could anything suspicious be going on here?  Nothing's going on!

Suddenly, I spot movement in the distance.  I turn my head to see a man looking around as he hurries across the clearing and past several houses.  I'm about to point him out to Lloyd when I realize he's already seen him.  Lloyd nods to me and we move along silently, following the man.  We keep our distance as we trail him.  He exits the village and starts to descend to the lower parts of the mountain.  He ends up making his way over and into a dark cave, checking to see if he was followed once more.  We follow him inside, still keeping our distance, and as we go in further I start to see faded light, from a fire no doubt.

Apparently what we thought was a cave was actually a tunnel, because at the end of it is a very large room lit by a rows of torches along the walls.  There is a stone ramp sticking out from the edge of the tunnel that descends all the way down along the wall to the floor.  The ceiling and floor are of equal distance from where we stand.  In the center of the room are a couple vehicles and stone warriors, accompanied by shadow assassins who stand guard all around the room.  The man hurriedly walks down the ramp and over to the white and red stone warrior with four arms.

"Uh- um-" the man starts, speaking Dark Islander.  Man, I should really learn Dark Islander if I'm going to be living here for the next, what, month?  The warrior turns to him, unmoved by his presence. "Y-you wanted to speak to me?" He lets out.  Lloyd and I lay on our stomachs at the edge of the tunnel, looking over at the scene laying out before us.  We can finally see what the guy's face looks like.  It isn't until we look a little closer when I see something familiar about the man.  Lloyd seems to have seen it too, because the next thing he says to me is,  "Kai... it's Dr. Aaron!"

Katelyn POV

"I'm worried!  What if they were caught!  Or worse!" The violet-eyed girl says as she paces around the room.  She stops.  "What is they're dead?!"

I roll my eyes.  "Don't be so dramatic, Ash." I tell her. "I'm sure they're fine. Two of them are ninja and one of them is Haru! They'll be fine. You've been saying this since the day they left.  Also, why are you getting so worked up about this?  This is very out of character for you."

She stops pacing again and turns to look at me. "They've been gone for four days! And Lloyd and Kai have been gone for over a week! You can't tell me you aren't worried!"

"Of course I'm worried! But there's nothing we can do! Besides, you know how big the island is. They probably went somewhere on the other side of the island. We didn't exactly give them vehicles."

"I know, I know." She says. She's about to say something else when Nya comes bursting into the room.

"Guys! Jay and the others are back! And they have news!" She says excitedly. Ashley and I look at each other, then without a second to loose we jump up and bound after Nya onto the deck. Standing surrounded by Cole, Misako, and the teachers, Wu, Garmadon, and Splenda, are Zane, Jay, and Haru. Ashley zooms past me and jumps into Haru's arms. They give each other a light kiss and hug. Nya goes up to Jay and kisses him softly. Cole greets Zane with a hug and Zane starts talking to the others. I go up and hug Haru, welcoming him back safely.

"What happened? Why did it take you guys so long to get back?" Ashley asks as soon as the welcoming party has died down and all attention was back on the topic at hand.

"And what did you find out?" Cole follows up.

"Well," Zane says. "We know where the Overlord's army and fortress is. After we snuck into the Overlord's fortress we found his throne room, and we heard some... interesting information."

"Is there any information on an attack on my village?" Splenda asks him. "We've been preparing the village ever since you left. They will be ready if an attack is to happen."

"No, he didn't say anything about an attack. But he did say something worth discussing."

"What is it?" Master Wu asks. The three look at each other, as if unsure what to say next.

Jay continues for Zane. "They-" He coughs. "He mentioned a trap being set up for two people, and a 'gift' being given to..." he stops.

"Garmadon's children." Haru finishes, looking straight at Garmadon. Everyone besides the three stare in shock at Garmadon. Well, almost everyone. Wu keeps a straight face while Misako looks like a crook who's just been caught in a crime scene. Garmadon just keeps his head down, eyes trained on the wooden deck.

"Wait, but, Garmadon doesn't have kids!" Nya says.

"Yeah, what's going on?" Cole asks around.

Garmadon sighs and takes Misako's hand in his. "I'm sorry, I've lied to you all."

"We've lied to you all." Misako corrects.

"It's true. We do have children. But, if I'm being honest, we never knew we did until around a month ago."

"What do you mean?" Splenda asks him.

He sighs again, and gives his wife's hand a squeeze. "Sixteen years ago, Misako and I were living a simple life with our two children- twins. But one night, on their 1st birthday, the Overlord's shadow assassins attacked us in the night, and they not only took my hand, but our children's lives. He threw them off the edge of a cliff and into the ocean. I thought they were long dead, until 1 month ago. The one thing they had with them when they died was a pendant each, one yin, and one yang.  And, there are two people on this island who have the exact pendants."

My blood runs cold. My breathing stops and the color drains from my already pale face. The people around me begin to turn to me with shocked expressions. I'm left staring wide-eyed at the married couple with utter disbelief. There's no way...

But he continues. "Katelyn..." he says softly with tears in his eyes. "We are your parents."

My knees feel weak and they start to tremble. Tears form in my eyes, but I stand my ground. "T-there's no way..." I say in a crackly voice. "I-I-I have dragon features. You don't!"

My heart completely stops as Garmadon lets go of Misako's hand and steps back. Light forms around him and in place of the light is a pair of dragon wings and a dragon tail. The arms of the wings are black and the webbing on the wings are a dark purple. The base and fur on his tail are black too with purple underbelly scales. "Katelyn, you are a dragonkin. It is a race that exists only in my family, people with my blood. Katelyn, I wanted to tell you, I really did! But I just didn't know how."

I can feel the hot stares of everyone around me but I can't see them, I can't see anything, because the next thing I know I'm on the ground. All I can see is darkness and all I can hear is ringing in my ears, then silence.

Lloyd POV

"Kai... it's Dr. Aaron!" I whisper to him.

"What the heck is he doing here?  Talking to the Overlord's armies?" He asks me as he surveys the ground below.

"I have no idea.  Hold on, they're talking again."

"The master wants updates on the targets." The warriors says slowly in a deep voice.  Strange, I thought they couldn't speak any human languages...

"S-shouldn't I be speaking t-to him then?" Dr. Aaron asks the warrior.  The warrior glares at him which causes him to shuffle back a bit.

"What you say to me, I say to him." He says. 

"Okay, well," he says nervously.  "Lloyd and Kai left a few days ago.  They should be heading back to their village."  Kai and I look at each other, processing what he just said.  Kai could recognize our names being said. He's working for the Overlord!  I piece together in my head.  For how long?!

"Is that so?" The warrior asks Him.

"Y-yes. That is all I know."

He stares at him for a moment, causing Dr. Aaron to shift uncomfortably. "Go." The warrior finally says. The doctor sighs in relief and he hurries up the ramp. I grab Kai and pull him to the side behind a few conveniently placed boulders next to the tunnel. Dr. Aaron rushes past us and hurries down the tunnel. I signal with a tilt of my head for us to follow him. We slip out from the rocks and out of the tunnel. We catch up to Dr. Aaron and I pull out my sword. Kai is about to ask what I'm doing but before he can get a word out, I jump at Dr. Aaron from the side and I knock him off his feet so he lands on his back with my sword to his throat. The color drains from his face as he places his eyes upon me.

"Hello, Dr. Aaron." I say to him.

"W-what are you-" he begins to say in shock.

"I have a few questions for you. Mind answering them?"

~~~time skip~~~

Kai and I managed to find a cave about half an hour from the mountain village in the forest. We sealed the entrance off with many vines and leaves to hide ourselves from any unexpected visitors. Kai made a fire in the middle of the cave and I tied Dr. Aaron up and placed him at the far end of it. Once we've finished we stepped outside to talk about our guest.

"I've gotta admit, suddenly attacking someone and taking them hostage without a plan is reckless." Kai tells me. "I've taught you well."

"Kai, he's working for the Overlord! Who knows what he told that warrior about us? We don't have time for your jokes!" I tell him. The doctors know that we are trying to stop the Overlord, so why sell us out? It seemed like they really wanted us to defeat him. Was it all an elaborate trick to let our defenses down?

"Okay, okay. Let's go interrogate him now, shall we?" He says as he holds the vines up over my head and gestures for me to go in, all gentleman like.  I do so, and I walk into the cave to find the doctor sitting where I last put him.

"Please, don't hurt me!" He says as I approach him.

"I'm not going to hurt you." I reassure him. "I just want to know what's going on here." He stays silent and I go up and kneel in front of him. Man, I hardly know where to start. "Why are you giving information about us to the Overlord?"

"I-I can't tell you."

"Why not? I thought you wanted him gone, yet you help his warriors to track us?"

"I can't tell you! H-he'll kill me! Please, the Overlord will do anything to get what he wants! Even if it means burning down our village and everyone in it!" He tells me in a panic. I look at Kai. I get up and walk out, he follows.

"Judging by your face, I'm guessing he wasn't very helpful." Kai tells me.

"I can't tell if he's bluffing." I confess. "There's a 50/50 chance that he could be evil or just a regular doctor who's scared."

"I'm not sure either. I guess we'll keep interrogating?"

"Do you want to try?"

"Uh, I don't know if I'm the best at interrogation.  Plus, we speak different languages?"

I sigh.  I really need to teach him some words.  "Well, it was worth a shot. Keep watch. I'll only be a moment." He nods and turns his back, watching the still forest for any signs of movement. I walk back into the cave and approach the doctor again. I untie his ropes and toss them to the side. "Dr. Aaron, I can assure you nothing will happen to your village. We want to help you, but you must tell me all you know about the Overlord's plan or else we won't know how to help. Please..." I watch him for any signs of unusual body language, but this time, I use my senses. Being part dragon has it's quirks.

"I told you, I can't tell you. He'll kill me!" As fearful as he sounds, his eyes tell another story...

"Okay, but can you tell me anything? Anything at all?"

"I'm sorry I can't!" A real scared person such as Dr. Aaron would have told me everything the second time I asked. He just seems to be that kind of guy.  Plus, a person who is afraid would have an accelerated heart rate, but... I can't hear a any heartbeat... almost like... there isn't one at all.

I pull out my sword again and I point it at him. He gasps and cowers. "W-w-what are you doing?" He asks me.

"I may not have known Dr. Aaron for long, but I could tell that he was the kind of person who wouldn't keep his mouth shut during an interrogation. Who are you really, and what have you done with the real Dr. Aaron?!" The imposter glares at me and pulls out two small knives from a hidden pocket in his coat. He lunges at me with the knives but I dodge him and I pull his arms behind his back. He stomps on my foot which causes me to loosen my grip and he swirls around and try's to cut me again. I block his attack with one of my arms and punch him in the gut with my other.

Kai bursts into the cave to find me holding the imposter off. By punching him I left an open spot at my side, which he attempted to send his knife into but I blocked it with my hand, causing the blade to stab deep into the palm of my hand. I scream from the sudden pain. I punch him in the face so hard he stumbles back and I grab my sword again, throwing it into the wall behind him, centimeters away from slicing his neck. Kai comes in suddenly and knocks him out with one punch. He grabs the ropes I tossed aside and ties him up once again. I hold my trembling hand up to examine the damage. There's a wide and very deep wound that miraculously didn't go through my hand.  Oh geez that's deep... I'm surprised the blade didn't go all the way through my hand. Once Kai's finished he turns to me with a look of confusion, not noticing the blood oozing from my hand. "What was that?" He asks me.

"That was an imposter." I tell him. "I don't know where the real Dr. Aaron is, but that's not him."

"How do you know there even is a Dr. Aaron?" He asks me. "What if he never existed?" I stay silent at look at the floor. He's right. How do we know if half the people in this village ever existed? How do we know if the village ever existed?

"Nothing is adding up." I say. "There are way too many holes in this story. I mean, my theory was that the village was taken over and forced to act normal so the Overlord could get the jump on us, but this..." I say looking at the imposter. "This is on a whole other level."

"Well, whatever the reason may be, he might know it." Kai says, also looking at him. He looks back at me and finally sees the blood pooling out from the hole in my hand. He gasps. "Lloyd! Your hand!"

I laugh. "Thanks Captain Obvious." He rushes up to me and grabs my wrist, examining my hand. I wince at the sudden action.

"Oh Lloyd..."

"Hey! It'll be fine. There are bandages in the backpack." I gesture with the tilt of my head to the bag. He quickly grabs the bag and he sits me next down near the fire. He grabs the bandages out of the bag and looks at the wound, then back to the bandages again, uncertainty and worry in his eyes. "What's wrong?" I ask him.

He sighs. "Lloyd, this'll need stitches... but we don't have the materials..." I look at him, asking for him to continue. "I'll need to cauterize the wound." I cringe at the words he said. He sees my expression and follows up with, "Yeah, I know. You up for it or do you want me to knock you out?" He asks me. I think for a moment, my heart beating faster the more I think about it. Cauterization hurts a lot, but there's no way I'm having him knock me out for it.  No. Way.

"No need. Do what you have to." He nods, a sorry look on his face. He grabs one of the knives that the imposter was holding but I stop him. "Don't use that, you have no idea where he got it from."

He nods and places the knife aside. Instead, he lights his hand on fire, a low flame dancing around in his hand. He opens up my fist and looks at me one last time. "You sure?" He asks me. He's reminding me there's no going back once he does this. I nod my head, already trying to level my breathing. Suddenly, he quickly presses his hand on my wound. I scream from the horrible burning sensation that becomes worse even after Kai takes his hand off. Kai visibly looks more hurt than me for some reason though. My now out of control trembling gives Kai some trouble as he tries to wrap my hand. After he's finished, he offers me pain meds, which I accept instantly.

Afterwards he constantly asks me if I'm okay, to which I continuously tell him I'm alright. "I'm sorry." He tells me after I've asked him what's wrong for the tenth time. "I can tell it hurt you a lot." He says quietly.  He rubs his arm, his eyes trained into the ground. Wow. I've never seen this side of Kai before. He isn't really the sensitive one of the group. It's actually kind of... cute.

"Hey! It's okay!" I assure him. "Besides, he got my right hand, and I'm a lefty." I say, trying to lighten up the mood. He gives a weak laugh and faces me, looking into my eyes. His amber eyes reflect beautifully in the light of the flames from the fire.

"Lloyd... I..." he says to me. It's then when I realize how close he is to me. His nose is just inches away from touching mine. Despite how close he is, though, I feel so comfortable being close to him.

"Yes?" I ask him. Kai leans in a bit closer when he averts his eyes from mine and pulls away from me.

"We should get some sleep. We have a lot to do tomorrow. Goodnight." He moves across the cave and lays on the ground, facing away from me.

"Um, r-right. Goodnight." I say back to him. I can't help but feel... sad. I'm not sure why, but having him pull away so suddenly... it hurt. It almost hurt more than the cauterization. I stay sitting up, suddenly becoming alert. Someone has to take the first shift. I take one last look at Kai, then I avert my eyes onto the imposter, who still lays motionless against the wall, knocked out cold. Something weird is going on in this village, and I'm going to find out what.