AN: Welcome to the twenty-first chapter of "Nature Versus Nurture!" All that's left after this one is a single chapter; I'm so sad but so proud. The key song and its selection for this chapter is "Long Live" by Taylor Swift, "I had the time of my life with you." The other songs and their sections for this chapter are "O-O-H Child" by The Five Stairsteps and The Guardians of the Galaxy, "Some day, yeah, we'll put it together and we'll get it all done"; "Entertaining Angels" by Newsboys, "One to another, do you remember me? I feel so small, are you listening"; and "Wake Me Up" by Avicii, "Wake me up when it's all over, when I'm wiser and I'm older, all this time I was finding myself and I didn't know I was lost."
Nya held the stack of clothes out to the four boys. "These are some of your favorite casual clothes when you're older. Hoodies, sweatpants, t-shirts… They won't fit you now, of course."
"But they will fit us in a few minutes," Cole figured out, looking up at Nya thoughtfully. He took the clothes and looked at them. "Whose is whose?"
"Cole, you have the black pants, black hoodie, and dark gray shirt. Kai, you have the red hoodie, maroon sweatpants, and red and yellow shirt. Jay has the white shirt and blue hoodie and pants, and Ghost has the light gray shirt and white hoodie and pants. If all else fails, they're in age order," Nya explained. "I'm gonna go see if the teas are ready to be combined yet."
She headed out the door of the bedroom, closing it behind her. Walking down the halls, Nya tried desperately to rein in her thoughts of "what ifs." What if the teas didn't work? What if only one of the teas worked and the boys were stuck as children in teenage bodies or teenagers in child bodies? What if the teas only worked for one or two or three of the boys and one or more of them was left out? What if-
"Hush, brain," Nya said out loud. "Worries don't subtract from tomorrow's troubles, they only add to today's."
Somewhat, although not completely, satisfied with that, Nya turned the corner and entered the kitchen. "How's it going, Sensei?"
"Very well. The teas have been brewed and Lloyd is mixing them right now," Sensei Wu answered her, pointing to Lloyd, who was stirring a steaming bowl of what had to be the combination of Tomorrow's Tea and the Tea of Restoration with a ladle.
Lloyd didn't look up, so intent was he on his task.
"Looks good. All we have to do now is get out four cups and pour the teas in, and have the boys drink it, of course," Nya noted.
Sensei gestured at a tray sitting on the counter, where four pristine cups stood waiting. "Cups, check."
"Tea ready to be poured in, check," Lloyd added. He walked over and gingerly began ladling the teas into the cups, portioning the mixture out evenly until there was none left.
"I'll carry the tray in. Would you go get the boys?" Nya asked Lloyd.
Lloyd shrugged and nodded, leaving the kitchen for the boys' bedroom.
Hefting the tray with the four cups ever-so-carefully, Nya headed into the dining room. She set the tray down gingerly and put out the cups slowly, very slowly, not wanting to spill a single precious drop of the teas.
She stood back and sighed. "This is going to work. I know it will."
"Of course it will," Lloyd's voice chirped.
Nya turned around and saw the four boys filing into the dining room behind Lloyd. Normally, they would be chattering up a blue streak, but they were silent.
Each of the four young boys sat by a cup. They stayed quiet, fiddling with their too-large clothing.
"Are we ready?" Sensei Wu asked, coming into the room.
Nya nodded. "I think so. Who wants to go first?"
None of the four boys moved for a long moment. They just stared at each other.
Then, slowly, hesitantly, Cole raised his hand just above his head. "I will."
"Are you sure? What if it doesn't work?" Kai ventured.
"It will work," Nya said more firmly than she believed it.
"I trust you," Cole said simply, stating more in that short sentence than he could in the long years that were about to pass. He picked up the cup gingerly, held it out in front of him and took a deep breath.
"Wait!" Zane blurted. All eyes turned to him, still unused to the sound of his voice. He blushed, searching for words. "...See you in a few?"
"Yeah! W-w-we'll see you in a few!" Jay echoed eagerly.
"See you in a few," Kai repeated.
Cole nodded and brought his cup to his lips, tilting it up. In one gulp, he swallowed the tea. Putting down the cup, he whispered back, "See you in a few."
A strange light flashed through the room, whiting out the vision of all the occupants. When it cleared, the chair by the teacup was empty.
"Cole!" Everyone shouted as one.
But before anyone could do anything, a voice groaned. A hand gripped the side of the table. And up came Cole, now wearing a hoodie that fit just right and a bewildered but content look on his matured face. He groaned again, rubbing the back of his head with one hand. "Okay. I take it back. That definitely WAS the weirdest mission we've ever been on."
"Cole!" Lloyd squealed. He leaped to Cole's side and hugged him. "I missed you! I missed you so, so much!"
"We all missed you," Nya added. She wasn't sure if she was laughing or crying. Both, she figured.
"I think I missed me too," Cole said slowly. "I- wow. Everything's coming together in my mind."
"Like how?" Nya questioned.
"It's like everything that just happened, did just happen, but also like it happened when I really was a kid. It's fuzzy and clear at the same time," Cole explained. He shook his head. "Yeah. Fuzzy and clear. It's weird."
"But it's okay?" Lloyd asked.
"Yeah. It's all okay," Cole stated. He turned to look at Kai, Jay, and Zane. "Don't worry, guys. It's okay."
"Good enough for me," Kai declared, and he gulped down the tea mixture in his cup.
A bright light flashed again and Kai was reeling in his seat, clothes fitting, smile on his face. "It's good to be back."
"W-we didn't even get to say 'see you in a few' to you!" Jay complained.
Nya barely even heard him. She flung herself at her big brother. "Kai! It's you!'
"Nya! It's me!" Kai sing-songed back teasingly, wrapping her up in a hug.
"Hey, Kai," Lloyd said with a big grin.
"Hey, Lloyd," Kai said back, smiling.
"Hey, Kai," Cole put forward.
"Yeah, yeah, hey to you too," Kai tossed back.
"Are you two ready?" Sensei Wu asked Jay and Zane.
Jay looked uncertain.
"At the same time?" Zane offered.
Jay looked a lot more certain. "At the same time. Yeah, okay. I can do that."
"On the count of three," Lloyd instructed. "One, two, three!"
Simultaneously, Jay and Zane tossed back their heads and poured all of the tea into their mouths, swallowing at the same time.
One more time, a bright light flashed through the room.
Jay and Zane, now normally sized, exchanged grins.
"We're back," Jay said smoothly, a little breathlessly. "Oh, we're back."
"We are back," Zane stated. He sounded almost choked up, Nya thought.
"Hey, Jay. Hey, Zane. How good of you to join us," Kai teased.
"Good of you to have us," Jay shot back. He looked around, a goofy look on his face. "What? No one else is going to have any tea? Nya? Lloyd? Sensei Wu? Didn't you guys want some tea too?"
"I've had enough tea to last me a lifetime," Lloyd sighed, but he was smiling.
"I'm good, thanks," Nya laughed.
"I, too, must sadly decline the tea offer," Sensei Wu chuckled.
Jay faked a pout. "Seriously? You guys aren't going to have some tea? Not even Sensei Wu? How rude. It's almost as if something weird is going on here."
"You're the something weird," Lloyd retorted.
"Oh, how mature of you," Jay teased, but he was smiling.
Lloyd grinned. "What, I'm the one who's supposed to be mature? You're the one who just grew like fifteen years in five seconds."
Everyone laughed at that.