Mystake was not expecting visitors, but customers, of course, were another matter entirely. When she saw the trade made by Garmadon and Skales-- she had been watching Skales for a long time, watching him struggle for power and authority, waiting for him to kick start fate-- she knew she was about to receive the ninja. So she readied herself, she brewed her tea, and she waited, standing behind the counter, smiling at the door until it swung open to admit the ninja.
"Welcome, welcome," she said cheerfully, unaffected by the dirty looks the ninja fixed her with, "what can I do for you?"
"I assume you've already seen the Grundle," Wu said, striding over to the counter and leaning across it to be inches from her face. Mystake smiled sweetly, placing a delicate hand over his and pushing him away.
"I have," she said, "and I know why you have come." She jerked her head in the direction of her backroom, laughing slightly at the looks of suspicion on some of the ninja's faces. "I have just the thing for your little Grundle problem."
"What is this 'little thing?'" Kai asked, narrowing his eyes. "And how do you know about all this?"
"I see things," Mystake replied, "I know things. And now, I am helping you. You should be grateful, fire ninja."
Kai scowled, but before he could offer a retort, Zane cut in. "If you are indeed helping us now," he said, "then why would you not help us with the Devouror?"
"Ha! Yes! Thank you, Zane!" Kai crowed. Mystake chuckled, sweeping a finger along her counter top nonchalantly.
"I did help," she replied, "who do you think sent Garmadon to you? Who do you think knew he would be able to save the day?"
There was an awkward pause, which Mystake seemed to relish, before she turned and swept towards the room, waving a hand in Wu's face as he came forwards to join her. "You stay here," she said sternly. It was strange to hear the light, airy tone sapped from her voice, and Wu obeyed her.
"This had better not happen every time we run into trouble," Kai grumbled, "this is the second time we've had to deal with her!"
"You're lucky," Wu told him, "we used to come here all the time. My father thought Mystake was the wisest, most helpful woman in the world... he trusted her with almost everything." He frowned. "Garmadon and I always listened to out mother; she never liked Mystake."
"That," Mystake said, emerging from the backroom holding a large teapot in both hands, "is because I saved her life, and she was too proud to be thankful." Wu opened his mouth to snap at her, but Mystake kept talking over him. "I have your tea here," she said proudly, "Tomorrow's Tea, to make you older."
"How is that going to help us?" Kai demanded, but again, Zane interrupted him.
"Brilliant," he said, "the tea will revert the Grundle to it's original form, sending it back in time to when it was nothing but a skeletal. It will effectively push the best forwards in time to kill it."
"I knew that," Kai grumbled. Nya patted him on the head mockingly.
"Wait," Lexi said, as Wu reached for the tea, "there's got to be a price, hasn't there?"
"Always the clever one," Mystake said, "you remind me of Caliah, you know. Very clever, very mouthy."
Lexi ignored the insult, narrowing her eyes and pursing her lips. "What's the price?"
"Is very simple, very easy," Mystake said lightly, "is nothing more than you... and your brother... drinking the tea as well."
"What?" Everyone chorused, at different decibels and with varying levels of horror and rage. Mystake laughed, shaking her head.
"It will not kill you," she assured Lexi and Lloyd, who had both immediately stepped back and were huddled together, "it will only put you forwards the amount of time I want you to go... and I want you level with them." She nodded towards the ninja, staring at her in disbelief.
"That's insane," Nya snapped, voicing everyone's thoughts, "you can't... you can't ask us to let that happen to them?"
"Yeah," Kai added, "it's their childhood, woman! What is your problem?"
"Should the choice not be their's?" Mystake asked sagely, glancing down at the twins. "No," the ninja chorused, at the same time as Wu and the twins said, "yes."
"Wait, what?" Lloyd's head snapped up as he stared at his uncle in disbelief. "You-- I mean, I want to be the one to decide, but-- why are you backing me up?"
"I know that there's a reason for all this," Wu said tiredly, "I know that, despite being annoying and vague and at times, stubborn and unhelpful--" Mystake smiled and waved, as if she was receiving a compliment on live TV-- "Mystake knows what she's doing."
"But does she, though," Jay said, "because she looks way to excited about destroying their childhood."
"We're almost twelve," Lloyd pointed out, "it's not like we haven't had a long time. And besides-- we need to get rid of the Grundle, and this looks like the only way."
"So..." Nya stared at Lloyd with wide eyes, looking desperate for him to change his answer, "is that... a yes?"
Lloyd nodded. Kai glared at him.
"Don't do this, kid," he said warningly, but Lloyd ignored him, turning around to face Lexi. She was apparently deep in thought, staring at the tea like it was mesmerizing. There was a moment of silence, then she lifted her eyes to stare at Mystake, her gaze unwavering.
"I'm not losing anything," she said softly but clearly, "I never had much of a childhood anyways."
Mystake's eyes almost softened as she smiled down at her. "That's the spirit," she said cheerfully, "now, all we have to do is wait."
"Wait for what?" Kai asked waspishly. He continued to glare at Mystake, although his gaze would occasionally flicker down towards the twins, and he would huff loudly and try to communicate via telepathy that he didn't think this was a good idea.
"For the Grundle, of course," Mystake replied, as if Kai was a fool not realizing that Grundle would be arriving like the postman to her doorstep, "it follows the scent of their blood, you know." She pointed at the twins, who stared at her.
"I'm sorry?" Lloyd blinked, wondering if he'd heard her right. "It follows the scent... of our blood?"
"Yes," Mystake clarified, "now silence. I hear it coming... we must be quick, swift and silent as shadows." She grabbed the tea off the counter and slunk to the door, pressing a finger to her lips. From the base of the mountain, there came the deafening sound of the Grundle crashing up the stairs, howling to raise the dead. Kai stared down at Mystake, cupping her ear to the door, seeing to strain to hear.
"Quiet," he whispered to Cole, "if you're lucky, you might hear it coming up the mountain."
All humour was soon forgotten, however, when the Grundle made it to the top. Mystake leaped back from the door, raising the question of why she ever bothered to crouch next to it in the first place, and unstoppered the tea, holding it out before her like a shield. "Get back," she warned, and mere moments later, the Grundle came crashing through the front wall, causing the ceiling to collapse over it. It shook the debris aside and charged, but it only got about two steps before Mystake threw the teapot directly at it's head. The pot exploded, showering the Grundle with steaming tea, sending it staggering back. The Grundle collapsed onto it's side, convulsing weirdly, as a strange, faint green mist settled over it's body.
The Grundle trembled, it's skin melting away to reveal bones, rusted and ancient. It's eyes vanished from their sockets, it's lips peeling back and fading into the bony jaw. The Grundle went still, lying there in the wreckage of Mystake's shop, unmoving, dead.
"Well, that's that," Mystake said grimly, walking over and kicking the Grundle's side with her toe. It made an unpleasant creaking noise as it shifted slightly. Mystake suddenly grinned wickedly and pushed the Grundle, sending it rolling sideways. She pushed again, and this time it rolled clear down the mountain, tumbling down the rocky slope and smashing to pieces at the bottom. She peered down at her handiwork in satisfaction, then turned back to address the ninja, who were staring at her in bemused silence.
"Now," she said, "time for your tea." She hurried into her backroom (only the front of the shop was damaged, it seemed as though there had been an invisible wall protecting the rest of the shop), emerging moments later with the tea in hand. It was a much smaller pot, and it bore ornate markings, engraved on the sides.
"Those are the symbols of our powers," Lexi said, pointing to the symbols. Mystake nodded.
"Clever girl," she said, "now drink up."
Lexi and Lloyd both stared at each other, silently asking the other one if they really had to do this. But the answer was clear-- regardless of what this meant for them, this had to be done. Mystake knew was she was doing.
And Lexi hadn't been lying when she said she'd never had much of a childhood.
Mystake had poured to individual cups, which she handed down to the twins, watching eagerly as they raised them to their lips. "Bottoms up," Lloyd said flatly, tilting his head back and draining the small glass in one gulp.
The tea tasted warm, but there was really no flavour. It rolled down in his throat and settled in his chest, filling him with a strange, almost weightless feeling. He glanced to his sister, who was frowning, clutching her stomach. Their eyes met and locked.
A sudden mist surrounded them, and Lloyd felt himself growing, like there was something solid in his body, and it was spreading rapidly. He felt stretched, and it was a most unpleasant feeling. He tried to see what was happening to Lexi, but the mist was too thick, and all he could see was green. He heard, distantly, someone calling his name, asking what was happening, but he couldn't concentrate hard enough to make out who was speaking.
He looked down at his hands, which were growing at an alarming rate. He saw his fingers stretching outwards, and his palms were swelling. His hair thickened over his head, his chest broadened, his shoulders squared... he sank to his knees under the weight of the air around him. It was suffocating, it was heavy, he couldn't breathe...
And then, as suddenly as it had started, the mist vanished and the air cleared, leaving Lloyd kneeling on the floor, panting heavily. Someone placed a careful hand on his shoulder, and a voice in his ear asked if he was okay. Kai, he realized. Kai was talking.
"I'm okay." It was odd, to hear another person's voice coming from his mouth. No, it was his voice. His new voice. His older voice.
He allowed Kai to help him to his feet, finding that his legs were rather shaky. Kai supported him, holding him up as Lloyd found his footing on his knew legs. They were longer than before, although, Lloyd noted, not too long... he was level in height with Kai, he realized with dismay. Kai was only 5'7.
He turned to see Lexi, to ask if she was alright. He could hear Nya talking to her, and he heard a voice that sounded something like his sister's, only clearer, and somehow softer, and somehow... beautiful. He turned to look at her, and when he laid eyes on her, his jay dropped.
Lexi was perfect. He skin was pale and smooth, her eyes dark, forest green and sparkling. Her hair was long, sleek, and golden, cascading down her back like a waterfall of sunlight. Her every bone seemed to be shaped to match her skin, her cloths, her posture... she looked like an otherworldly creature, like she wasn't meant to be here.
"Someone's lucky," Kai remarked, nodding at Lexi. She frowned at him, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "Remember, I was only eleven a moment ago," she said.
"You're both okay?" Nya checked. She was supporting Lexi, her height making it easy to do so. Lloyd noted with relief that his sister seemed to be just as small as he was. "We should go... let Mystake... clean up."
"Yes, yes, shoo," Mystake said. She was, once again, standing behind the counter, smiling at the ninja jovially. Kai shot her a dirty look and began helping Lloyd towards the exit, or in other words, the entire front half of the shop. He was followed by Jay and Cole, who both looked extremely uncomfortable, and Zane, who did not look nearly as uncomfortable as was appropriate for the situation.
"Thank you, I suppose," Lexi said, nodding to Mystake, "I don't suppose you want to tell me why you wanted this to happen?" She gestured to herself, refusing to break eye contact with Mystake. She smiled.
"No, clever girl," she said, "now shoo, let me clean up."