The Destiny's Bounty flies over Jamanakai Village, Lloyd and Aria were watching some kids play ball.
"Lloyd?... Aria?... Guys!?... Concentrate!"
Aria sighs, Lloyd and her turn and look at the ninja.
"Now that the Bounty is in our possession again, we can train you two more effectively. But you'll have to focus" Zane says "Now, one more time"
"but we've been training all day" Lloyd complains
"It's all to get Lloyd ready to face Garmadon. Now, in position" Kai commands "both of you"
"Alright" Aria agrees
The two kids go up to the middle of the deck. As they put their hoods up Lloyd yawns, then they got in formation. Kai charges at Lloyd first, but Lloyd punches him, knocking Kai back as he yawns again.
Zane and Jay soon come at them from the air and the two kids use spinjitzu, knocking them both down. But as Lloyd lands, Cole comes up to him from behind and slide kicks him, knocking him into the air. As he spins, Lloyd lands facedown as the others take off their hoods, in concern.
"Are you ok Lloyd?" Aria asks going over to him
"yeah" Lloyd gets up "Well that was fun. Are we done?"
"Lloyd" Aria sighs
"Oh, come on. You guys are better than this" Jay complains "What's on your mind Lloyd?"
"Well...The latest issue of Starfarer just came in at Doomsday Comix and it's a limited run, so if I don't go out and get it, it's going to sell out. Last they left off, intergalactic rogue Fritz Donogan was surrounded by the imperial sludge, and if I don't find out if he gets out alright, I think I might have my own doomsday" Lloyd explains
"...it's.. a comic?" Aria questions
"yeah" he looks at her
"Lloyd the fate of Ninjago rests on your shoulders. As the green ninja, you have a giant responsibility to hold. I'm sorry, but you don't have time for such childish things" Kai tells him
Lloyd grumbles "Other kids get to play and have fun, all I ever do is train"
Lloyd walks to the railing and sees the Bounty is almost out of Jamanakai Village, where he hears the children playing in the distance.
Aria walks over to him "Lloyd as ninja we all had to give up something in order to be here"
"Yeah I know, I just wish I could still be a kid" Lloyd sighs "things we're much easier back when we were kids, we use to have a lot of fun"
"Things change Lloyd, I had to give up my childhood for this too" Aria places a hand on his shoulder "we're ninja now"
"yeah yeah" Lloyd looks away
Nya comes up from below deck "Guys, there's been a break-in at the Ninjago City Museum of History and the security cameras picked up you-know-who"
"Garmadon!" Cole shouts
"We have to stop him before he uses the Mega Weapon to start another one of the diabolical plots" Jay says
Lloyd comes up to them, hoping to come, but they look at him, causing him to sigh "Yeah, yeah, yeah. I can't go and it's safer if I stay here and train"
They nod, causing Lloyd to fold his arms in disappointment. Several minutes later they're outside Ninjago City.
"I'm surprised you didn't ask to go" Nya says to Aria
"If Lloyd can't go then I doubt I can" Aria replies "that's how it's been lately"
"We'll be back as soon as we're done" Kai tells them
"We'll be waiting for your safe return" Nya smiles
They soon take off
Lloyd sighs "Too old for comic books-"
"-and too young to fight" Aria continues
"When are they gonna make up their minds?" Lloyd questions
"Come on kids. Show me what you got" Nya says
Lloyd yawns before walking over to Aria.
-
The following morning, on the Bounty, Lloyd is reading a comic book while Aria sat next to him reading her comic.
"Oh, they should be back by now" Nya says worriedly
"Oh, I fear something horrible has happened to them" Wu turns to Lloyd, who was eavesdropping "Lloyd" Lloyd gasps before quickly switching his comic book for a lesson book "you're in charge of the Bounty while Nya and I have a look around town"
"why him!" Aria shouts
"because he's older" Wu replies
"by 5 minutes!" Aria shouts
"that.." Lloyd looks at her "out of everything, that's what you remember"
Aria shrugs, as Wu and Nya leave Lloyd turns back to his comic book.
"this sucks" Aria complains turning her attention back to her comic book as well
-
Later Lloyd and Aria are playing a video game on the console as a nearby phone rings. Lloyd struggles to answer it while still playing the game before he manages to grab the phone, but drops it.
Lloyd puts the phone on speaker while resuming his game "Destiny's Bounty"
"Lloyd, it's Jay! Let me talk to Sensei!"
"Jay? Where are you?" Aria asks
"Why haven't you returned? Sensei's out looking for you" Lloyd adds
Jay groans "Apparently, you need parental permission to take the bus and we can't seem to get out of the city!"
"what?" Aria questions
"Oh, never mind, it's a bit complicated. Just meet us at Buddy's Pizza in ten minutes. And bring our weapons" Jay instructs before the phone hangs up
"Weapons?" Lloyd falls off the seat
-
At Buddy's Pizza Lloyd heads inside with Aria, they look around for their friends. Lloyd's carrying the weapons while Aria's carrying nothing.
"Really? Of all places we could meet, you pick this place?"
"What? I like their pizza"
"Psst, Aria, Lloyd"
Lloyd stops and turns to see a group of kids "Beat it, brat. I'm on a mission" He goes to move again.
"It's me, Kai" the boy who got his attention says
Lloyd looks closer to see his friends, all as young as him and gasps, dropping their weapons "Whoa! What happened? You're, uh, uh, small!"
Everyone in the restaurant turns to look at them.
"Keep it down. We're trying to lay low" Kai whispers "Your father's Mega Weapon not only to turn 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" Jay complains
"Welcome to our world" Aria says crossing her arms
Lloyd laughs and puts their weapons on the table
"Look, this is serious. If we don't turn big so that we can use our Spinjitzu, we don't stand a chance to against the Grundle" Zane says
"Well, what about us? We know Spinjitzu" Lloyd says gesturing to himself and Aria
"Yeah, but you don't know the Grundle. We all need to be at full strength. What we need to do first is to find someone who might know more about how to defeat one of those things" Kai argues
"I think I know just the guy" Lloyd says
-
They come up to Doomsday Comix and enter it.
"You brought us to a comic book store?" Cole questions
"Trust me. If there's anyone who knows how to defeat a monster that doesn't exist, I know just the person to talk to" Lloyd says
"He knows basically everything" Aria adds
Kai stops the two "We're not coming to pick out your stupid comics, this is serious business"
Jay grabs a comic book, gasping "Oh, look. A first edition Daffy Dale. I used to love that nut growing up" He laughs before he soon clears his throat "So juvenile"
Lloyd and Aria guide their embarrassed friends to the register, where a man with a ponytail and beard sirs.
"Fellas, meet Rufus MacAllister" Lloyd introduces
"AKA Mother Doomsday" Aria smiles
"Well, if it isn't Lloyd "Hemorrhoid" Garmadon and "Princess" Aria Lord. Sorry Lloyd, if you came looking for the latest Starfarer, I'm all sold out" Mother Doomsday says
"Wha—Sold out?" Lloyd screams, causing everyone to look at him.
Lloyd shook his head to get himself together "Oh, actually, Mother Doomsday, we need help"
"We have a problem. There's a Grundle on the loose and we need to know how to deal with it" Aria tells him
Mother Doomsday lowers his seat, gets off and comes out from behind the register "Dromaseric theropod grundalicus. Although extinct, there has been a plethora of film, television and comics exploring the mythology around the primordial predator" He grabs a nearby comic, showing the Grundle "Supposedly, they always get their prey"
"Sounds like he knows his stuff" Kai says
"Can it be stopped?" Lloyd asks
Aria notices something and walks away
"First thing you need to know is its thick shell-like hide is invincible to swords, scythes, nunchucks, and throwing stars. So your cheap imitations will do nothing to slow him down" Mother Doomsday answered "Second of all, it's nocturnal and will only hunt at night"
"Oh, good. It's still daylight, so we can relax for a bit" Jay looks outside a window before Rufus looks at him, suspiciously "Uh, I meant theoretically"
"And the only way to defeat it is with light" Mother Doomsday puts the comic back "Like a vampire, with enough of it, it could potentially destroy him" He comes up to a display" If I had my weapons of choice, may I recommend the Illumisword?" He opens the display case, revealing four purple bladed Illumiswords
"These are authentic replicas that would come in handy were you to live long enough to actually face a Grundle. And if swords are your thing" Mother Doomsday points to another case "maybe I can interest you in an authentic ninja gi" The display has Kai, Zane, Jay, and Cole's ZX Gi inside "signed by the very Ninja that saved the city"
"Uh, we'll just take the light swords" Kai goes up to the fake Illumiswords and is about to grab one before Mother Doomsday stops him.
"Not so fast. This Starfarer combo pack can only be won in the Fritz Donogan Trivia Battle Royale" He points to a fan, dressed like Fritz Donogan, talking to some cosplayers "You have what it takes to be the best?"
"You can do this, Lloyd" Jay encourages
"Sign me up" Lloyd smirks
-
Lloyd leaves a message for Master Wu and Nya back at the Destiny's Bounty, quickly telling them of what happened and their current location. Lloyd was tied for first, they were on the final question.
The ninja hear slurping and turn to Jay, who is eating some cotton candy
"Is this really the best time to be eating cotton candy?" Kai asks annoyed
"It makes me feel young. Deal with it" Jay replies
"Final question. The first person to answer this will win" Mother Doomsday turns to the competitors "In the latest issue of Starfarer, how did Fritz Donogan escape the imperial sludge?"
"But I haven't read the latest issue" Lloyd says worriedly to the ninja
The fan smiles "By reversing the polarity of the ship's gravity transducer"
"We have a winner!" Mother Doomsday shouts happily
The crowd cheers. The lights shake before the power goes out. Everyone looks up at the sound of the disturbance as the sign falls off.
"It's here" Kai says
"What's here?" Mother Doomsday asks confused
"You know that theoretical discussion we had earlier?" Jay chuckles nervously
The Grundle appears on the glass roof.
"Not the..." The Grundle steps on the glass, cracking it before looking down "Grundle!"
"We've got to get out of here!" Zane shouts, they run up to the door, but it is blocked by the fallen down sign "The door is jammed, we can't get out."
They look up to see the Grundle move along the roof.
"Look! It's coming!" Jay shouts
The Grundle breaks through the glass roof, landing in the store. Everyone screams, Lloyd worriedly pulled Aria close to him.
"We're doomed!" Jay screams
The Grundle swings its tail at Rufus and the kids, making them dodge as they scream. As it looks at them, the Grundle's tail breaks the glass on the display case to the Ninja's ZX gis. They run down a nearby section as the Grundle turns back to where the Ninja originally were. Jay grabs Kai's gi as Zane and Kai grab some Illumiswords and they immediately glow.
"Hey, McNasty, I thought Ninja were on your menu!" Cole shouts
The Grundle turns to the Ninja, who are wearing their gis while holding the Illumiswords. They wave them in front of the Grundle, who backs away a bit. They start moving forward, waving the Illumiswords as they do so before Jay jumps at it and strikes it, but his Illumisword immediately breaks and stops glowing as he slides back. Kai jumps at the Grundle next and strikes, but his Illumisword also breaks and stops glowing.
"Stupid toy!" Cole strikes the Grundle at its leg
Zane jumps onto the Grundle and hits it with his Illumisword, but it breaks and stops glowing as he lands near the others.
"Oh. We got a problem, guys." Jay says
"Lloyd at this rate the ninja are going to be eaten" Aria looks up at him
The Grundle knocks them into the register as Kai, Jay, and Zane drop their broken Illumiswords. The Grundle comes up to them as it growls, causing them to scream.
Lloyd lets go of Aria and runs over, he raises the seat behind the register "Not to worry, I'll take care of this"
"Lloyd!" the ninja shout
"you idiot don't!" Aria shouts
Lloyd summons his power, the light affecting the Grundle as it backs away and the others cheer, but the Grundle soon uses its tail to knock Lloyd down with the Ninja
"Lloyd!" Aria shouts worried
"this is the end isn't it?" Cole questions looking up at the Grundle
The front door is soon kicked open, revealing Nya and Wu as the Ninja turn to them.
"Everyone out!" Nya shouts
The crowd run out the door as Wu holds up a jar of tea. Aria stayed where she was, behind the Grundle.
"Aria you need to distract the Grundle!" Wu instructs
"What?!" Aria shouts scared "how the hell am I supposed to do that?!"
"You know how" Wu tells her
"Excuse me!" Aria shouts "I don't want to be eaten!"
"Just do it!" Wu shouts "or the ninja will be!"
Aria looks at the ninja "oh what the hell" she slides under the Grundle and stands in front of the Ninja
"Aria" Lloyd says worriedly
"Hey Grundle!" Aria looked into it's eyes "leave my friends alone"
Wu watched as her eyes changed to slits and glowed purple, he mumbles to himself "her dragon eyes"
The Grundle seemed to respond and stared into her eyes, not moving. The ninja worriedly watched the scene in front of them, they had no idea what was happening and they couldn't see Aria's eyes since they were behind her.
"Ninja quickly, use this!" Wu throws tea to the ninja
"What is it?" Jay asks catching it
"It'll turn forward the hands of time, turning you old and reducing the Grundle back to dust and bones" Wu took a step back "But be careful, there's no turning back"
"right!" Jay holds up the Tomorrow's Tea "Grundle, prepare to be extinct!"
Cole stops him "No, wait" he holds his Illumisword at the Grundle "What will happen to Lloyd and Aria? They'll grow old, too"
"Just do it" Lloyd tells them
"But you'll miss out on the rest of your childhood" Kai argues "We can't do that to you two. It's not fair!"
The Grundle started shifting a bit, like it was trying to break out of the trance. Aria kept staring at it, not daring to blink or move. After a bit Aria no longer keep her eyes open and she closed them. The Grundle broke free of it's chance and knocked Aria away with it's tail.
"Aria!" the ninja shout
The Grundle attempts to chomps at them, making them fall as the Tomorrow's Tea soon lands on Lloyd as the Grundle comes closer.
"Fair? Fair isn't a word from where I come from" Lloyd says sadly and looks at Aria
Aria looks at him from the ground "Lloyd do it!"
Lloyd gets up and throws the tea at the Grundle, it spins as its skin dissolves away. The Grundle is again a skeleton as it soon comes apart. Kai, Cole, Jay, and Zane soon stand up, removing their hoods now back at their original ages.
"What happened?" Cole asks in his normal voice once again "We're not kids anymore"
"It worked!" Nya shouts happily
"Lloyd! Aria!" Wu called out
Lloyd stands up, now older with more hair. He and the others are shocked, he has a deeper voice now as well.
"I'm...older" Lloyd looks at himself
"Oh my god!" They heard Aria shout
They turn to look at her.
"..well damn" Kai says in shock and he got elbowed in the gut by Cole "ow"
"You look so good Lloydie." Aria says leaning towards him
Lloyd blushes and covers his mouth "I- uh-"
"You think he just had his sexual awakening?" Jay whispers to the guys
"Jay!" Kai shouts at him
"What?" Jay asks innocently
"Forget about me?!" Lloyd shouts "Look at you!"
"What about me?" Aria questions before looking down, she suddenly blushes embarrassed "Ah!"
The ninja also then took notice of her clothes and looked away.
"My clothes shrunk!" Aria shouts as she goes down covering her chest
"Oh god!" Jay put his hands on his head "What's happened to our little girl?!"
"Are we her father's now?" Zane attempts to joke
Nya walks over and puts her jacket around Aria "there you go.." she stared closely at Aria before turning to the boys "this is unfair, how is hers bigger then mine!"
"Is this really the time sis?!" Kai questions
Aria stood up and looked at Lloyd, who looked away hiding his blushing face.
"Things are going to be a lot more interesting between those two from now on" Zane comments
"you're right Zane" Nya agrees
"Ah, young love" Wu smiles
The ninja walked over to the two.
"We're older Lloyd" Aria says
Lloyd finally looks at her and smiles "Yeah, we are"
"The time for the Green Ninja to face his destiny has grown nearer" Wu says
"I'm ready" Lloyd agrees determined.
They prepare to leave the ruined building as Rufus/Mother Doomsday stops Lloyd while holding a comic book.
"Here you go, Lloyd. You can have my copy of Starfarer." he sniffles a bit "You deserve it"
"That's okay" Lloyd lowers it "I already know how it ends" he leaves to catch up with the others
There comes a time when we all must grow up. When that time comes, it's important not to forget the lessons of our childhood because our childhood is the greatest training one can ever have. Yes, the time until the final battle has grown shorter, but the Green Ninja has grown stronger.
"I'm going to have to buy a bunch of new clothes now" Aria complains
"You and I both" Lloyd chuckles
"You know, I think I might like being older" Aria says
"Me too" Lloyd smiles and holds her hand
They hear a weird squealing noise(*cough*Jay*cough*) behind them.
"Did you hear that?" Aria asks confused
"Nope" Lloyd glances behind him at Jay who was being hit by Cole, he looks back at Aria "let's go shopping."
"Knock it off Jay!" Cole shouts from behind then
Jay whines "but my shiiiiiiiiiip~"