When Nya and Wu returned to the Bounty, they discovered the disconnected line and complete silence.

"Great," the former complained as she picked the phone up, placing it back on its holder. "Now Lloyd and Red are missing. What's next?"

Because the telephone was back, it was able to receive messages. As it rang, an answer button was blinking blue on the bottom left. She pressed it to hear the voicemail.

It was Lloyd's frantic voice. "Sensei! We're all at Doomsday Comix. Garmadon's turned the others into kids, and we're about to face a real, live Grundle! If you get this message, this isn't a prank, come quick!"

The sensei frowned. "Oh dear. Well, there's only one person who could help return the Ninja back to normal."

And so being the only two left, they hit the bike one more time to head to Jamanakai Village. They stopped at a simple tea shop.

Opening the door, Wu didn't hesitate to greet an old woman behind the counter. "Hello, Mystake... we need a special tea."

And a rude one, too. She whipped her whole body around. "They're all special, you old fool!"

"But this one can turn someone... ahem." Nya cleared her throat. "Older."

The woman now smiled. "Ah! You seek Tomorrow's Tea. I only have one in stock in the back. Follow me."

Leading them away, she stood on the highest step of her ladder, pulling the cord in the middle of the room to give them some light.

"It should be here..."

That didn't give them any reassurance.

Nya's eyes widened in slight fear. "It's gone!?"

"Just misplaced. I know it's here somewhere."

Wu had his hands behind his back. Despite his calm stance, he too was freaking out on the inside. "We need to find that tea before it's too late!"

¤ ¤

While they were in search of the special tea, the baby ninjas watched among the other children as Lloyd stood with his fellow opponents. There were about eight of them, with the comic store owner tossing questions left and right.

Right at the entrance, away from all the action in the back, sat the Dragonfire siblings. It was a bit odd for Red to be face-to-face with his six year old sister after just seeing her at seventeen, but that was the least of his worries.

"I don't know what went through their minds," she spoke in that tiny, high pitch. "Those swords were plastic as fuck. If that dinosaur is invincible against steel, what will those be to him?"

Her brother couldn't help but laugh at her swearing. It sounded far too immature now.

"It's not fucking funny! I am clearly stressed and you are laughing."

"Hearing it now, I'm sorry to say, is hilarious." He calmed himself down before looking out the door. The sun wouldn't be shining for much longer. "But you're right. The worst those will do is give it a headache. We need a true source of light."

Scarlett attempted to create her power again. Nothing but little sparks came out. "That's not even fire. Clearly I can't do shit while I'm cute and tiny."

She looked up at her current guardian for the day. "You can probably do stuff with your magic, can't you Red?"

He recalled the conversation he had with Wu about his own powers. Not only did he have the ability to attack and defend, but create as well. It was a very versatile art.

"I'm not sure how much help I can be..." The older sibling turned away for a moment. "I still have some training to do, too."

"Well until we have more help, you're our best shot at beating it. And besides, this is your chance to really show it off to us! We were only able to see that little bit of magic the day we first saw each other again, and only I saw you use it after against those evil ninja clones. I'm curious to know what you've been doing for the past few years."

Red slowly nodded. She was right; out of all of them, he was currently the one with the most power.

Little by little, the children were eliminated each round. And soon enough, the sun went down. Scarlett moved to join her friends in the circle, while her brother stayed closer to the door. It felt a bit awkward to stand among those less than half his size.

McCallister didn't seem to mind as he excitedly continued his announcements, facing the remaining contestants. "It's down to the final two! This question is for Lloyd."

The crowd of children all chanted, "Lloyd! Lloyd! Lloyd!"

"What is Fritz Donnegan's famous catchphrase?"

Confidently, Lloyd placed his hands on his hips. "Fair? Fair is not a word from where I come from."

"Correct! We're all tied up."

As the kids all cheered, the other little boy with a red scarf gave Lloyd an unamused stare. The former grinned.

Zane leaned over to whisper to his teammates, "It's getting dark. The Grundle will be on the prowl soon."

"Don't worry." Kai smiled. "I got faith Lloyd can win those Illumiswords."

The sound of aggressive licking made them all slowly turn their heads to the left.

"Is this really the best time to be eating cotton candy?"

Jay only smirked in the direction of the fire ninja. "It makes me feel young! Deal with it."

"Hey, so, um," Scarlett began, "am I the only one that sees those swords as plastic? Like, you guys really think they'll do something against the dinosaur?"

The boys glanced at each other before nodding.

"Remember? He said they hate light," Cole recalled.

"Yeah... and he also said they were authentic replicas."

They stopped and looked at each other again.

"Nah, you're being paranoid," Jay spoke before going back to licking his delicacy.

"Super paranoid," Kai agreed.

"You guys literally suck."

"Final question!" The comic store owner shouted to bring everyone's attention back to the game. "The first person to answer this will win."

He then turned around. "In the latest issue of Starfarer, how did Fritz Donnegan escape the Imperial Sludge?"

Lloyd began to panic, as he never got a chance to even look at the comic due to the ninja not allowing him to. "Uh, it uh... oh, but I haven't read the latest issue!"

However, the nasally child next to him answered with full confidence. "By reversing the polarity of the ship's gravity transducer!"

"We have a winner!"

Lloyd faced his friends, swallowing. The crowd cheered except for the five, who frowned in disappointment.

Not that it was his fault, of course. He'd be sure to let them know that had they allowed him to read the comic, they probably could've had those glowy sticks in their hands.

But it didn't matter, anyway. Because now that the sky was at its darkest, the glass ceiling shook. The lights went out.

"Who shut off the power?" the owner asked.

The sign collapsed, making everyone gasp.

"Red..." Scarlett lowly called for her brother.

He stepped closer to the group, holding his hand out. "I know." Purple mist coated his fingers.

"It's here," Kai whispered.

Though he probably had a very vague idea, Mother Doomsday still questioned him. "What's here?"

Jay nervously laughed. "You know that theoretical discussion we had earlier?"

The crimson, scaly head appeared above them all.

Now he knew for sure. "Not the..."

The giant, three-clawed foot stomped and almost shattered the ceiling.

"Grundle!"

Everybody screamed as green acid dripped from its sharp teeth. That would also slowly break the glass.

"We have to get out of here!" Zane shouted as they all ran to the door.

However, because of the sign collapsing, it barricaded them in.

"The door is jammed! We can't get out!"

Red created a large ball of magic in his hands. "Out of the way!"

Fortunately, they listened and swerved either left or right. He launched his power and practically incinerated the door. It might have been a little much, but it gave them a way to exit.

The civilians didn't hesitate to rush out of there, save for the store owner. That gave the Grundle more than enough time to rush toward the middle of the ceiling, catch its foot in one of the broken panels, and then fully fall to the store floor after so much weight and movement.

Because of Garmadon's wish from the Mega Weapon, the beast had only one craving for dinner. And that was the children it found when it slowly turned its head.

Red quickly stepped in front of them, sending waves of magic at the dinosaur. It flinched each time it was hit, at least giving the baby ninjas time to run behind it.

"Go, get the Illumiswords!" Kai ordered the others.

"Those fake ass things..." Scarlett muttered under her breath. As they scurried, she held her hands in front of her chest in an attempt to manifest her powers.

It was very weak. But perhaps if she concentrated...

The little heroes opened up the panel encasing the prizes. They each grabbed their respective uniforms, save for Scarlett, as hers wasn't up there. She was also fine with not having a stupid glow stick.

The Grundle was pissed at the constant magical attacks. No matter how many times it tried to stray away to search for the ninjas, the man continued to ambush it.

"Red!" Scarlett called for her brother from a short distance away. She was alone. "Remember what you did with that ninja star! You can get rid of this thing, too!"

Though it's true he made it disappear at the time, he denied the idea. This was far different. "I can't! What if there's no other way for you all to become adults again?"

Jay scoffed. "Well that seems like a problem for later, doesn't it!?"

Hearing her voice first, the dinosaur turned around to face the baby model. It didn't hesitate to open its mouth, ready to chomp.

She screamed, taking multiple steps back. Eyes widened, the magic wielder held his hand out, where a plain, square shield appeared in between them. As the beast bit down, its head hit the platform and it bounced back.

She sighed in relief. "Oh, thank god. Hey, that was cool!"

Red blinked. "Huh..." He'd never done something like that before.

Wu was right. He did have the power to create.

That little bit was enough for the main four to return, back in their ninja suits and holding the glow sticks as weapons. They were pretty big and loose considering the size difference, but they'd make it work.

"Hey, McNasty!" Cole called out.

There was the rest of its meal.

"I thought Ninja were on your menu!"

Lloyd and Scarlett had hidden further behind as the others confidently stood strong despite the odds against them.

Even though she hated those things, the tiny source of light actually stunned the Grundle. It whipped its head back, forth, and all around to evade the pink with a squeal.

"It's working!" Kai happily cheered.

That's when they got in over their heads. Jay jumped up and the beast knocked him away with its mouth. His sword was bent and no longer glowing.

Kai whacked the Grundle with his and was met with the same fate. It didn't even feel it. Cole tried the same thing, though his somehow stayed intact. Zane's, unfortunately, did not.

"Oh... we got a problem, guys!" Jay cried.

The Grundle then aggressively swiped them away like useless objects on a table. They were knocked into the cashier desk.

Red put up another shield in front of the ninja babies just as the monster walked toward them. They felt sort of relieved when it wasn't able to eat them alive, though still let out little shrieks.

To make things better, Lloyd rose from McCallister's chair behind them. "Let me help out!"

"Lloyd!"

Scarlett popped her head out from under the desk as well with a cheery smile. "I'm here, too! But not much help today."

The ninja in green placed his hands together, creating a small ball of energy. However, in that ball, was one of the brightest forms of light anyone had ever seen, and especially for the Grundle. As the green aura lit up the entire store and possibly beyond, the reptile squealed once more as it turned away.

The children cheered, thinking they had the upper hand. They were proven wrong when the dinosaur managed to land a harsh swipe with its tail, knocking absolutely everything back. Lloyd was tossed against the wall, and the desk had fallen on top of Scarlett, who gasped. The four ninjas were sort of thrown on top of it.

The Grundle picked up a smaller bookshelf and didn't hesitate to chuck it at Red, knowing well now that he was a distraction from its main course. The man, with wide eyes, swiped his hand from left to right. A sharp wave of magic sliced the shelf in half, fortunately landing on either side of him.

But he wasn't aware that it tossed yet another right after. He couldn't slice that one in time and so was hit, sent flying against the wall with the heavy pressure of over three hundred pounds.

The ninja children up front all gasped. "Red!"

Scarlett couldn't see due to being trapped under the desk. "This is giving me severe dejavú!"

The older man groaned, pushing the shelf off of him. "Fuck."

The Grundle slowly turned its head. Now there was nothing to stop it from enjoying its dinner.

"Oh gross..." Cole worriedly held on to his sword. "This is the end, isn't it?"

That's when everybody's saviors rushed in through the massive hole in the door. Wu and Nya quickly examined the scenario before taking action.

She went to help Red to his feet. "You okay?"

He lightly huffed, knowing well that the adrenaline keeping his pain at bay would wear off later on. "I've seen better days."

The sensei had a strange object in his hand. "Use this!" He tossed it to the ninjas. The Grundle got distracted by the new voices.

Jay caught it. "What is it?"

"It'll turn forward the hands of time, turning you old, and reducing the Grundle back to dust and bones! But be careful... there's no turning back!"

By now, the four were able to stand up on the fallen desk. Any distance from the dinosaur was welcome.

Jay eagerly held up the Traveler's Tea. "Grundle, prepare to be extinct!"

"Wait!" Cole held onto his arm, stopping him. To buy them some time, he held the last glowing sword to the Grundle, making it turn away again. "But what'll happen to Lloyd? He'll grow old too!"

The future hero didn't seem to care. "Just do it!"

That's when it hit the ninja in blue. "You'll miss out on the rest of your childhood, dude!"

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

The Grundle had enough. It strongly bit down, making all four of them jump back in fear. Jay let go of the tea.

It flew up in the air before landing right on Lloyd's chest.

Scarlett could only look at him. "Lloyd..."

He didn't need to see the beast to know that he had no other choice.

And he'd be lying if he said he didn't want to. Then again, as a child, the consequences didn't seem as grave at the moment.

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

And so with zero hesitation, he stood up and chucked the Traveler's Tea right at the eyes of the Grundle.

Wu couldn't believe it. "He used it!" Frankly, neither could Red and Nya.

Because of the effects, the hide of the beast began to dissipate. The Grundle spun around and around until everything about it disintegrated.

"And it's working!" Nya cried.

Soon, there was nothing left but the many bones that dropped to the floor with a quick flash.

The room was silent.

Then, one by one, the ninjas rose to their feet. They were back to their grown age, properly fitted into their ninja suits. Each one took their hood off, revealing their matured faces.

"What happened?" Kai asked.

Cole smiled. "We're not kids anymore!"

As she was a lot taller now, the desk was no longer covering Scarlett's entire body. She was able to push it off of her, rising to her feet. She too was once again a teenage girl.

She placed her hands on her chest. On her rear. On her hips. She sighed in relief, a warm smile creeping up her lips.

"Oh, thank god," she muttered.

Nya gasped in joy. "It worked!"

McCallister almost couldn't believe it, placing a hand over his mouth. "They are the real ninja."

Wu asked the most important question. "But what about Lloyd?"

It took a few, long seconds. But eventually, right in the middle of the group, a tuft of blonde hair made its appearance. Then rose a boy much older than they expected, appearing the age of his comrades.

Lloyd looked down at his new body, confused. Even his face had changed a bit. The team around him all had different expressions of shock.

"I'm... older..."

Wu stared at his nephew, his tone grave. "The time for the Green Ninja to face his destiny has grown nearer."

But the five stepped closer to the blonde, shock subsiding into confidence. They each sent him a nod, signaling one thing; they'd be there every step of the way.

And so the new teen glanced back at his uncle with a determined smile. "I'm ready."

That was it. Even though there was such a drastic change in the team, there was nothing more to be done except for move on. Life wouldn't stop; if anything, for Lloyd Garmadon, it would speed up.

They all left the comic store. McCallister called over the blonde, holding out the recent edition of the one story he truly wanted with teary eyes. "Here you go, Lloyd. You can have my copy of Starfarer. You deserve it."

"That's okay," he politely declined, gently pushing the book away. "I already know how it ends."

As he joined his waiting comrades, the owner was left to think on those words.

Walking next to Jay, Red whispered, "I told you."

Knowing what he was referring to, the ninja in blue let out a hmph.

It wasn't a strong thought now, but as their teacher had said earlier, the final battle was now much closer than anticipated.