The Master of Nature

Sacrificing A Childhood

Hope hardly got any sleep that night. The kid ninja were taken to some daycare where they could be looked after. Hope found it humiliating having caretakers feed her and help her reach stuff.

The next day, the ninja went back to the museum. They decided to just apologize for stealing the sarcophagus so that they could just go back to the Bounty and explain everything.

Of course, poor Zane didn't understand why the others were apologizing at all. "We didn't steal," he said.

"The quicker we get out of here, the faster we can figure out how to return our bodies back to normal," whispered Kai. That was enough to get Zane to understand, and he also started apologizing.

Unfortunately, it turned out that the Grundle bones were also missing, which meant only one thing. Garmadon must have successfully revived it.

But when the kid ninja tried to explain their theory, they got laughed at again.

"Well, we'll keep a good look out for anything that goes bump in the night, okay? Now, you five sit still until we call your parents to come pick you up," said one of the police officers.

"It would be nice if you could figure out where my parents are," muttered Hope under her breath.

"We've gotta get out of here, right now," said Cole.

Luckily, the kid ninja managed to blend in with a group of kids visiting the museum and stole some clothes. Jay complained that he felt humiliated.

As soon as the kid ninja exited the museum, they made a run for it and grabbed a public phone.

It seemed like Lloyd was the only one at the Bounty as the others had gone looking for the ninja. Jay confused Lloyd when he mentioned parental permission, so he instead told Lloyd to meet them at Buddy's Pizza.

Hope used to love going to Buddy's Pizza as a real child, but now she wondered why did she ever like it. The mascots looked creepy and their mouths were completely off-sync with their voices. So she wasn't too happy that Jay chose it as their meeting spot.

Unfortunately, Lloyd didn't recognize the ninja when he saw them as they were a lot smaller and were wearing different clothes. So Kai had to tell him who he was.

As soon as Lloyd realized that the random kids were his friends, he freaked out. "Whoa. What happened? You're, uh, uh, small!"

"Keep it down. We're trying to lay low," whispered Kai. "Your father's Mega Weapon not only turned us into kids, but unleashed a creature whose sole purpose is to hunt down ninja."

"And now, every time we try to tell someone, they won't believe us, 'cause we're kids," said Jay.

Lloyd found this funny and laughed.

"What's so funny?" asked Kai.

"Well, I guess you now know what it feels like to be treated differently," said Lloyd as he laid weapons on the table.

Soon, Lloyd had the bright idea to lead the ninja into Doomsday Comix. Jay got excited on seeing a comic that had been his favourite as a child.

"Fellas, meet Rufus McCallister, AKA Mother Doomsday," said Lloyd.

"Well, if it isn't Lloyd "Hemorrhoid" Garmadon," said Rufus. "Sorry if you came looking for the latest "Starfarer," I'm all sold out."

At first, Lloyd had a meltdown, but then he remembered their mission and asked him for help, pretending that he was asking a theoretical question.

Rufus explained that the Grundle was a nocturnal creature and it's weakness is light. He offered toy lightsabers to the kid ninja on the condition that they win a Fritz Donnegan Trivia Battle. Lloyd agreed to it at once.

Jay found some cotton candy and started eating it. When asked about it, he explained that it made him feel young.

Unfortunately, Lloyd didn't know the answer for the last question as he had not read the latest issue, so he lost. But there was no time to dwell on the loss, for the Grundle had made an appearance for it was nighttime again. However, the door was jammed.

"Agh! We're doomed!" yelled Jay as the Grundle broke the glass roof.

The ninja changed into their gis and grabbed the toy lightsabers, hoping to defeat the Grundle. Unfortunately, the toy lightsabers were flimsy and broke upon contact with the Grundle's scales.

The Grundle knocked the ninja onto the register and opened its mouth, causing them to scream in terror.

Lloyd tried to use his energy ball to defeat the Grundle, but he got knocked back too. Just then, Nya and Wu came inside and ordered the kids to run out.

Wu threw a jar of tea towards the ninja, informing them that it was Tomorrow's Tea and it could make them older and destroy the Grundle. But there was one problem. Lloyd was nearby and would be affected too.

"You'll miss out on the rest of your childhood, dude," Jay told Lloyd.

"We can't do that to you. It's not fair!" said Kai.

"Please Lloyd. You don't have to do this," said Hope.

However, the Grundle swooped its tail and knocked all the ninja except Lloyd out.

~🌷~🌷~🌷~🌷~🌷~🌷~🌷~🌷~🌷~🌷~

Hope woke up feeling disoriented. She stood up and found that she was a teenager again.

"What happened? We're not kids anymore," said Cole.

"It worked!" said Nya.

"But what about Lloyd?" asked Wu.

Hope got the shock of her life when Lloyd stood up, revealing that he had aged up as well. His hair looked better and his gi now fit him, but those were the only positives she could see. "I'm... older," said Lloyd.

"The time for the Green Ninja to face his destiny has grown nearer," said Wu.

Lloyd looked uncertain at first, but when the other ninja went up to him with reassuring smiles on their faces, he said that he was ready.

However, Hope noticed Rufus offer Lloyd the latest Starfarer issue and Lloyd refusing it. It made her sad to be honest. Just because Lloyd's body had grown up doesn't mean that his mind had to.