The adrenaline of the fight against the Grundle wore off real quick as soon as they all returned to the Bounty.

The ninjas were just glad to be back to normal. Especially Scarlett, as her assets, as she liked to call them, were on her body once more.

Their spirits were high. Knowing that Garmadon had once again failed in the end gave them hope and determination to prepare themselves for his next attack.

Though one couldn't find it within himself to smile. He was more lost than anything.

"I'm gonna head off to bed," Lloyd had told the others. His voice was just slightly deeper than before; puberty may not have hit him completely, but it was getting there fast.

Everyone only watched as he disappeared below deck. The idea that the former child was no longer the eleven-year-old troublemaker they once took care of was a bit difficult to grasp.

They knew nothing would change between them. But for him, it was a major one.

"... well, Sensei? What do you suppose we do about that one?" Cole hesitantly asked.

Their teacher appeared solemn. "Truthfully... I'm not sure. It cannot be taken back... and it is something we will all have to grow accustomed to."

He turned his back to everyone. "Including his father."

¤ ¤

Lloyd himself couldn't sleep that night.

He tossed and turned. Previously, he had not slept with the other boys. He had occupied their "gaming room" since they first brought him back from the battle against Pythor at Darkley's.

He didn't fit in the tiny sleeping bag anymore. He turned to his left, eyes wide open.

He couldn't take it anymore. It was three in the morning. The least he could do is wash his face.

Lloyd quietly rose to his feet. Careful not to make any significant noise, he snuck out of the room and headed for the bathroom.

With the light on, he left the door ajar. He placed his hands on the sides of the sink and leaned slightly forward, taking a minute to really look at himself in the mirror.

His face had less chub in it, was well-structured and had a sharper jaw. The shape of his eyes weren't much thinner, but there was a stark difference between now and when his emerald eyes were previously a bit more doe-y.

His body had changed drastically. Of course he was taller, currently a solid 5'8. Not a single shirt of his fit him anymore, and so he was forced to stare at his lean, though not quite muscular yet upper half; his stomach was just barely toned, giving him the perfect canvas to work on. However, his arms were a different story, appearing strong and robust. Had he continued to train for the years leading up to his current physical age, these would have been the results.

"You'll miss out on the rest of your childhood, dude!"

"We can't do that to you, it's not fair!"

...

"Fair? Fair isn't a word from where I come from."

When Lloyd said those words, he wasn't thinking clearly. He wanted to be the hero he was destined to be. To save his friends and the city from a dangerous beast was a gracious first step.

But as a child, the consequences of that never truly set in at that moment. Though it might have been the only choice, he went through it recklessly. Looking in the mirror now, he couldn't fathom his new appearance. He was grown up now. Even if he didn't feel like it, he would no longer be a child ever again.

His grip on the sink temporarily tightened. His teeth clenched as his head dropped. His right hand moved to strongly cover the top half of his face.

He felt tears sting the corners of his eyes. He didn't want to remove his grip. He couldn't bear to look at himself again.

So instead he backed away, turning to the right. He slammed his back against the wall, staring at the other side. He slowly slid down until he was sitting and hugged his knees, hiding his head in his arms.

The noise had startled the women sleeping in their room. Not that they were ever asleep, anyway. Unlike the boys, they couldn't stop thinking about the events that transpired that day.

"The poor thing," Nya whispered, turning to face the teen. "I can't imagine going through that kind of change. It must've just hit him."

"Do you think we should go check on him?" Scarlett questioned in the same soft tone, staring at her friend in the dark. "I don't want him to be alone."

"You go," she quickly responded. "Out of us all, I think he's attached to you the most."

That made her toss the blankets off to the side, standing up. Incapable of being barefoot, she slid on a pair of thick socks before walking out of the room. They gave her more stealth to go undetected.

She reached the bathroom, finding the light peeking through the small opening in the door. She pushed it open, taking a moment to adjust to the bright light.

The exterior of Lloyd's eyes were red. He hadn't cried, but the urge to left its mark. He was still sitting against the wall, loosely holding his knees together.

Seeing the smaller feet, his gaze slowly lifted until he found the former model standing in front of him. She didn't bother changing out of her black shorts and red tank top.

At first, no words were exchanged. She sort of took the opportunity to get a good look at his new appearance.

It was definitely something to get used to, to say the least.

But just a second later, she got on her knees and wrapped her arms around his neck. Her right hand slid to cup the back of his head.

That was all Lloyd needed to let it out. The tears he forcefully held back returned and fell from his eyes as he slumped his weight onto her, grasping her left arm. She didn't care for the sudden moisture she felt on her shoulder.

She could only imagine the things running through his mind at the moment.

And then he finally spoke, though in pieces. "I don't... know why I did that."

"Because you wanted to save everyone," she quickly answered in a low whisper. "It's in your nature. That will never change. You're a hero, Lloyd."

"I don't feel... I don't feel like a hero." Not once did he look up.

She didn't let him go either. "Well, how do you feel?"

He found her gentle voice so soothing he couldn't help but answer her every time she spoke to him.

"I feel... lost. I don't feel right, Scarlett." His grip on her tightened.

Even his physical strength increased. She was so accustomed to a childlike embrace. He was now a young adult attempting to hold on to the last bit of juvenility he might possibly have left.

She lifted her hand a little more to lightly grab the top of his head. With very minimal force, she pulled it back so she could see his face.

A few tears managed to slip past her shoulder and leave a print on his cheeks. Lloyd wanted to so badly remove himself from her sight, embarrassed at his breakdown. But the way she stared down at him, gaze deeply focused; she didn't smile, but her expression was tender. How she continued to hold him displayed a genuine care.

"Do you feel how you look?" she questioned.

"No," he hurriedly answered. His pupils darted up and down repeatedly, but his face remained still in facing hers. His voice had calmed a little by now. "I look like Jay, and Zane, and all of you. I look older but I don't feel older. I feel..."

Scarlett wanted him to let everything go. Let it out now so that when the time for battle came, it didn't come out then. "What do you feel?"

"I can't, I can't explain it," the blonde sputtered, his voice raising a bit. "I feel so weird. I don't feel grown up at all... but I don't feel like the kid I used to be, either. I just feel... different."

"Well, with a change like that, who wouldn't?"

Scarlett began to rub his head now, up and down slowly. "Funny thing about that... destiny has everything laid out for us the minute we were born into this world. No matter how much we might try to change things, it's impossible. Our cards are on the table, but we can't see them. Not until they come to life.

"The decision you made was a difficult one, but it had to be done. Think about it that way. There might have been a million other ways to get rid of the Grundle, but your choice was the best for a reason. Maybe you stopped someone from losing their life to that thing. You stopped one of those children from losing a limb. You prevented that thing from gravely injuring any of us... do you like the idea of saving people?"

Hearing her words, his spirits seemed to lift a bit. As a child, the thought of being the people's hero didn't really excite him much. Whatever stage in life he was currently at, that thought was now prominent.

"I... I do," he answered her question.

"Then use that. What happened tonight was rough on you, but it only made you stronger. Strengthened your resolve to become the hero you're destined to be," Scarlett confidently lectured. "The obstacles in your way can only make you better. Even if the same doesn't go mentally, physically you've missed out on a lot of training. Use that to train harder than you ever have.

"Because believe it or not, things are going to get so much harder from here. I can feel it. Harder for all of us, and harder for you. Being the Green Ninja isn't easy, but destiny chose you. Destiny knew you could do it better than anyone in the whole world."

This time, he looked up at her on his own accord. Lloyd had never heard such a speech from her before. Even when he would previously be in her arms, listening to her talk about things he knew he couldn't turn away from, he never got this strange sensation he felt now.

She moved her hand down to softly hold his cheek. Finally, the smallest of smiles was on her face. "We all believe in you, love. It's time to put some faith in yourself, too."

He knew he found the right person to confide in. Accept guidance from. It wasn't Wu's guidance, but he deemed this was something only she could give him.

The topless ninja shifted his position to fully wrap both of his arms around her neck and pull her in. She was only slightly surprised, needing just a second to readjust herself as well.

"Thank you, Scarlett," he whispered. "I don't know what I would do without you."

She played with a tuft of the copious amount of hair on his head for a moment. "I don't know what I would do without any of you. Just remember what I said, okay?"

"... always. I always will."

A brighter smile crossed her face. "Can I do something I'm actually good at?"

Lloyd pulled away, confused. She stood up and headed toward the drawers. She searched through each of them until she found a pair of thin scissors.

The black-haired beauty turned back to her friend. "Do you trust me?"

He rose to his feet as well. God, he was even taller now.

"With my life."

That made her heart skip a beat. But she continued to smile, walking over to him and reaching her hand up to touch his hair.

"Get on your knees again. If you're going to look like an adult, we need to fix your style."

"Ah... okay."

He did as told. Truthfully, she wasn't sure if she had a good hand when it came to cutting hair. But she had determination and a dream, and to her that's all that mattered.

Though he did say he trusted her, he would be lying if he said he wasn't a little concerned.

It took just ten minutes and lots of hair moving. But she finally sighed in relief, standing a few inches away from him with a triumphant smile.

"Just needs a bit of cream or gel to hold the style, but god am I fucking awesome."

Lloyd looked in the mirror. She had gotten rid of a lot of extra hair that gave him that bowl cut style. It was now parted at the far right, the majority of it finger-combed to the left and shaping his head. A small bang fell over his forehead. A few baby hairs stood up, but that's where the products would come in.

He believed she did a great job. For once, he fell into the trap of her cosmetic beliefs; hair is about 75% of your appearance. He actually looked his age.

Whatever that was.

"Thank you," he acknowledged. He couldn't help but touch it. "You make everything work."

Scarlett bashfully turned away. "Oh stop it. Just doing what I do best!"

He wanted to tell her that she did a lot of things "best."

"Now, you head on off to sleep." The teen put the scissors down on the edge of the sink. "You have a very big day tomorrow. They're going to train you like it's the end of the world. You need to be well rested."

The tiniest of smiles touched his lips. "You're not off the hook, either, you know."

Just seeing him smile despite the circumstances made her feel like she accomplished something tonight. A light giggle left her throat.

"True. But I cut the hair, so I clean up. Besides, you're the ninja who has to save the world. I'm just the cooler one."

"Yeah, yeah." Lloyd waved her off as he walked toward the door. His smile slightly grew. "I'll see you later, then."

Her expression softened into one of tender affection. "Yeah. I'll see you later."

He uttered one last thing before he left for the night. "Thank you."

When he was out of sight, Scarlett let out a sigh through her nose. "A job well done, you. A job well done."

It didn't take long to clean up all the hair on the floor, clean off the scissors, and wash her hands. When she shut off the lights and returned to her shared room, she tried to quietly slide into bed.

But of course, her roommate heard her. Matter of fact, she never really got to sleep much since she left.

"You were in there for a while," Nya whispered. "How is he?"

"For now, he's okay," Scarlett responded. This time, the sigh she released was through her mouth. "But god, that boy's going to find a lot of trouble in his life. This is just the beginning."