The next morning Misty was with Wu and Nya, "Ah, They should be back by now,"

"Oh, I fear something horrible has happened to them."Wu said and then turned to Lloyd and said, "Lloyd you're in charge of the Bounty while Nya and I have a look around town."

"Uh...yeah, sure thing," Lloyd said

Lloyd went back to reading his comic book.

Lloyd and Misty went back inside and the phone rang Lloyd was playing a video game and answered the phone, it sounded like Jay's voice on the other end.

Misty grabbed the phone from Lloyd and said, "Jay is that you."

"It is Jay! Let me talk to Sensei! Where are you? Why didn't you come back? Wu's our looking for you." Misty said

Jay said something about a bus, and Misty said "Uh, could you repeat that?"

"Never mind, it's a bit complicated. Just meet us at Buddy's Pizza in ten minutes and bring our weapons!"

"Weapons?" Misty said and then the line went dead.

Lloyd and Misty exchanged looks but gathered the weapons and made their was to Buddy's Pizza.

-Time Skip-

Lloyd was Misty walking through the pizza place carrying the weapons when Lloyd was stopped by a little kid in a booth and he answered "Beat it brat! I'm on a mission."

The kid grabbed Lloyd's arm and said, "It's me. Kai."

Lloyd looked at the boy with a skeptical look.

But the boy continued to stare at him and so did the other little boys with him.

Lloyd gasped and ended up dropping the weapons, which landed on Misty's foot. She bit back a bad word and heard Lloyd say, "Whoa, what happened? You're.... Uh, uh, small!" And Lloyd shouted

Everyone in the pizza place stopped and stared at them because of Lloyd's outburst. While Misty stared at the kids in front of them, she would have never admitted it out loud but they looked so cute!

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

"Typical Garmadon," Cole said scowling

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

Lloyd bent down and picked up the weapons, and was laughing Misty was trying to suppress her own laughter.

"What's so funny?" Kai demanded

"Whoa. I guess you now know what it feels like, to be treated differently." Lloyd said and placed the weapons on the table.

"Exactly what I was thinking." Misty agreed with a smirk.

"Look, this is serious. If we don't turn big so that we can use our Spinjitzu, we don't stand a chance against the Grundal." Zane said

"Well, what about me and Misty? We know Spinjitzu." Lloyd said

"Yeah, but you don't know the Grundal. We all need to be at full strength. What we need to do first is to find someone, you might know more about how to defeat one of these things." Kai said

Misty noticed that Lloyd seemed like he wasn't focusing and Cole snapped at him.

"I am, and said, "I think I know just the guy," Lloyd said

"Part of me wants to believe this is going to end well, while the other part of me knows it won't knowing us." Misty sighed but followed, the ninja when they gathered up the weapons and followed Lloyd to a shop.

"You brought us to a comic book store?" Cole shouted

"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 said

Kai stopped him and said, "We're not going to pick up your stupid comic, Lloyd! This is serious business!"

Lloyd pushed the ninja up to the counter and said, "Fellas meet Rufas McCallister A/K/A "Mother Doomsday."

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

"Wh- sold out?!" Lloyd shouted but after seeing Misty raise an eyebrow at him he said, "Ah! Uh! Oh, uh, actually Mother Doomsday, we need help."

"Well, color me intrigued." Mother Doomsday said

"There's a Grundal on the loose, and we need to know how to deal with it," Lloyd explained

"Ah, a theoretical question." Mother Doomsday said

"Sort of..." Misty muttered under her breath

"Yeah, theoretical. Can you help?" Lloyd asked

"Dromaeosaurid Theropod Grundalychus. Whoo. Although extinct, there has been a plethora of films, television, and comics, exploring the mythology around the primordial predator, supposedly, they always get their prey." Doomsday said and he held a comic in his hand.

"Sounds like he knows his stuff," Kai said

Lloyd pushed forward and said, "Can it be stopped?"

"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," Doomsday explained

"Swell." Cole sighed

"You said it." Misty huffed

"Second of all, it's nocturnal and will only hunt at night," Doomsday added

"Oh, good. It's still daylight, so we can relax for a bit." Jay said and then quickly added, "Ahem. I meant, theoretically."

"And the only way to defeat it is with light, like a vampire with enough of it, could potentially destroy him." Doomsday said and walked over to a display case of light-up plastic swords and added, "If I had my weapons of choice may I recommend the Illumisword, these are authentic replicas that would come in handy, were you to live long enough to actually face a Grundal, and if swords are your thing, maybe I can interest you in an authentic Ninja Gi, signed by the very Ninja that saved the city."

"Ah... We'll just take the light swords." Kai said but was stopped by Doomsday as he said, "Not so fast, This Starfarer combo pack can only be won, in the Fritz Donnegan trivia battle royale. Do you have what it takes to be the best?"

Jay turned to Lloyd and said, "You can do this Lloyd."

"Sign me up," Lloyd said

The ninja turned to Misty and said "Misty do you know any of this stuff?"

"Not really I've always preferred manga over this stuff... like "Kiss him not Me, Orange, i am here, Waiting for Spring, Things like that, Oh and I've just recently started reading a series called "Accomplishments Of The Duke's Daughter" And it's amazing bec-" Misty trailed off when she noticed the judgmental looks. She was receiving from the Ninja. "Hey, you asked!" Misty said defensively.

-Time Skip-

Night had almost fallen and it was down to the final two, "This question is for Lloyd." The crowd cheered for him and the question was, "What is Fritz Donnegan's famous catchphrase?"

"Fair? Fair is not a word from where I come from." Lloyd said

"Correct! We're all tied up!" Doomsday said

Everyone cheered and Zane alerted the others to the daylight had been demising at a quick pace.

"Final question! I first person to answer this will win, in the latest issue of Starfarer, how did Fritz Doonegan escape the Imperial Sludge."

"Oh, now we're dead." Misty muttered just before Lloyd started stuttering, and said, "But I haven't read the latest issue!"

The kid next to him said, "By reversing the polarity of the ship's gravity transducer."

"We have a winner!" Doomsday said

Everyone but the ninja cheered and Misty muttered under her breath, "This is why I enjoy mangas..."

All of a sudden the light went out. "Who shut off the power?" Doomsday said

Just then the sign outside fell, "It's here." Kai said

"What's here?" Doomsday asked

"You know that theoretical discussions, we had earlier? Ha, ha, ha." Jay said

Just then the Grundal came into view it was on the roof and stepped onto the glass past and the glass under it started to crack, it looked down into the shop.

"Grundal!" the crowd shouted

"We've got to get out of here!" Zane shouted the ninja ran for the door but it was jammed

The Grundal fell into the shop after the ceiling gave out and its tail smashed the display case that held the ninja suits. The ninja went and collected the suites and the swords and Cole shouted, "Hey, McNasty I thought Ninja were on your menu."

At first, the swords seemed to work but they broke easily only Cole's was still working, the Grundal knocked the Ninja into a shelf and closed in on them.

Understandably they screamed, Lloyd used a chair and raise up behind the shelf the ninjas were in front of and said, "Not to worry! we'll take care of this!"

Misty created a Crystal mirror and held it up and Lloyd used his elemental power and the light was made brighter by the crystal. At first, it appeared to work but the Grundal uses its tail and swatted both Misty and Lloyd Misty's mirror shattered on contact and she went flying and hit the wall, Lloyd was knocked back behind the shelf.

"Gross! This is the end isn't it!" Kai said. Just then Nya kicked the door open. And shouted "Everyone out!" the people who had been in the store ran out in a panic, "Use this!" Wu shouted and threw a jar to the Ninja. "What is it?" Jay asked catching it

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

Grundal, prepare to be extinct!" Jay shouted

"Wait! But what'll will happen to Lloyd? He'll grow old too! Misty's not in reach anymore but he is!" Cole shouted

"Just do it!" Lloyd shouted

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

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

Just then the Grundal knocked the light sword from Cole's grip and then snapped at the ninja sending them tumbling back behind the shelf where Lloyd was the jar flew up and landed in Lloyd's lap.

The Grundal approached the ninja, and Lloyd said, "Fair? Fair isn't a word from where I come from!" And he stood up and threw it at the Grundal it smashed into it. And the last thing he thought before he tossed it was, "At least Misty will still have her childhood. He then looked at the beast only to see that Misty was hanging onto one of the Grundal's foot and incasing the other in crystal. "What are you doing!" Lloyd shouted

"Making sure the target doesn't move!" Misty snapped back.

"But you'll grow old too like me!" Lloyd shouted

"So, our destinies are entwined and that means you're stuck with me and I'm with you!" Misty shouted as the tea whipped around her and the Grundal screams filled the room the Grundal swirled around and around turning back into bones and then a huge flash of light and an explosion. Misty felt herself slam into a display case, When everything settled the Ninja stood they were back to normal.

"What happened?" Kai said

"We're not kids anymore," Cole said looking down at himself

"It worked!" Nya cheered

"They are the real Ninja" Mother Doomsday gasped

"But what about Lloyd?" Wu said he hadn't noticed Misty had been clinging to the Grundal before the tea had made contact.

Lloyd stood up and looked at himself, "I'm older..."

"The time for the Green Ninja and the purple ninja to face their destinies has grown nearer," Wu said

"I'm ready." Lloyd said and then said, "Wait that means... Misty where are you!"

The other ninja looked around and then a comic display was pushed over and they hurried over to find Misty. Now older and she said, "Gee, now I'm glad that wasn't Manga do you know how heavy some of those can be?"

The other ninjas stared at her unable to say anything at first. "What are you all staring at?" Misty asked she was on the ground and on her knees and seemed to be trying to reorient herself. She hadn't noticed yet that most of her gi was now torn and in shreds.

"You're... different." Cole said as he stared at her.

Lloyd's eyes glanced at Misty and he quickly looked away before his eyes could linger any longer.

Nya hurried over with a blanket and wrapped it around Misty's shoulders to cover her and helped Misty to her feet. Misty stumbled slightly her legs wobbly. "Easy, Misty it's okay," Nya reassured her gently.

The team made their way back to the Bounty, Nya and Misty hurried ahead, to find Misty some more suitable clothes. Once the two girls arrived back on the ship. Nya hurried Misty into her room and had Misty sit on her bed. As she rifled through her closet to hopefully find something to fit Misty's new body.

Misty sat on the bed still wrapped in the blanket and nervously tugged at the strands of her hair which had grown longer. Nya returned to her carrying a red dress held it out to Misty with a bright smile and said, "This is one of the old dresses I grew out of it a couple of years ago, but never had the heart to throw it out,"

Misty reached out and took the dress and she said softly, "Nya, do I look strange now?"

"What? No, you don't look strange at all!" Nya said she reached out and took Misty's hand in hers and said, "You look beautiful Misty! Why do you think you look strange,"

"The others acted weird when they first saw me... even Lloyd," Misty replied, and she tightened her hold on Nya's hand.

"They were just surprised Misty, even I was surprised I didn't expect you to look like you do now... but it's a good change," Nya said kindly as she pushed the hair out of Misty's face.

Misty smiled and said, "I can imagine how shocking that'd be," She met Nya's eyes and said, "So there's nothing to worry about my appearance?"

"There's nothing to worry about," Nya replied and she ruffled Misty's hair and added, "You can get changed in here and we'll go to dinner together!"

Misty smiled and said, "Thank you for letting me borrow the dress Nya!"

Nya smiled and said, "You can keep it I have a feeling it's going to look very nice on you,"

Misty changed into the dress and it fit her well, the dress ended just above her knees. Both she and Nya then went to dinner where they ate with the others. Misty noticed dinner was usually quiet. But she didn't mind it had been a long day and she was just relieved that everyone was home and safe.

They were getting ready to sleep. The boys were in one room and Misty was in hers with Nya who was promising she would take Misty somewhere to find some clothes that would fit her better now that she was older.

~In the Boy's Room~

"So.... are we going to discuss what happened..." Jay said as he was laying in his bunk bed.

"What is there to say?" Lloyd asked as he stared up at the ceiling.

"Well, um let's all be honest I don't think we all expected Misty to look like she does," Jay said he sounded a bit awkward as he said it.

"I think it's a bit of a shock for all of us." Zane admitted.

"She sure looks a lot.. more... different, Honestly I could have never imaged her ever not being a cute little kid, and now..." Kai said and then added quickly, "I can still only see her as a sister."

"Of course," Zane said agreed

"Um... you know, I like Nya so yeah," Jay said

"What else would we see her as?" Cole said it was the first thing he had said in a long time, even during dinner Cole had been abnormally quiet and barely spoke. Although his glances at Misty did not go unnoticed by the others. Especially when she had come to dinner in one of Nya's borrowed dresses.

"You've been awfully quiet Cole... what do you think about Misty's change?" Jay asked

"I'll admit what your all avoiding saying, She's nice to look at that's for sure! Nice face, a nice body, and a wonderful personality to top it all off. Who wouldn't find her a catch? But that shouldn't get any of us distracted she's going to end up with Lloyd in the end." Cole said dismissively and rolled over in bed to stare at the wall.

"What?!" Lloyd shouted and sat up straight in bed looking at Cole.

"What?!" the other three ninjas echoed and all sat up as well.

"We'll you know their destinies are intertwined... what else is that going to mean?" Cole said flatly he didn't sit up in his bed.

"And what do you think about this revelation Lloyd?" Kai asked turning to Lloyd

"I...I don't know, I've never... well I never imagined that it would mean, me and Misty end up together, I mean it could just mean that we work as a team together." Lloyd said awkwardly

"Do you really believe that's what it means?" Cole answered flatly.

Lloyd didn't answer and stayed silent, but he finally said, "I don't think there's a chance that it would mean anything else, to be honest."

"Without a perfect match-machine like Misty said I doubt she'd ever say anything about a potential relationship," Kai said

"You never know someone could one day invent one," Zane said

"Sure that will definitely get her to accept a relationship," Jay said sarcastically and then added, "Have you met the same Misty I know."

"She said she would consider it," Zane said

"She was begin sarcastic... does anyone else not know when she's being sarcastic?" Jay asked

"Now thinking about it, I suppose she was begin sarcastic," Zane said

Lloyd then looked over to Cole's bunk and said, "So you think she's pretty Cole?"

Cole was quiet and he then said, "I haven't really noticed enough yet to say,

Kai then let out a scoff and said, "Your joking right Cole? I totally saw you glancing at Misty during dinner. You've definitely noticed and we've noticed you noticing,"

"Okay then yeah I think she's pretty. Is that what you wanted out of me Lloyd?" Cole asked he then rolled over in his bed and he was staring at the ceiling as he said, "What does it matter what I think, like I said it's going to be you and her in the end."

"And like I said we're just friends!" Lloyd said

"But the real question of the evening is would you be okay if you two became more," Jay said in a game-host-like voice.

"Let's not discuss this now," Lloyd muttered and he turned over in bed.

"Then when will we," Jay said cheerily

"He said not now," Cole said sounding annoyed

"Fine... not now I guess," Jay said reluctantly and turned over in his bed.

And they stayed silent for the rest of the night, But Lloyd couldn't help but think about what the others said about Misty and him, would they really end up together?