Suddenly a large, yellow robotic hand grabbed Raven and hoisted her in mid-air. Lloyd yelled out,
"Raven!"
"Lloyd!" Raven called back, as the hand pulled her towards the front of the Bounty.
Everyone ran to the bow of the ship, and they saw where the robotic hand originated from. It was a yellow flying contraption with a propeller above it, and it was shaped like a yellow disc. A grey-haired man was inside the disc cockpit, where he was controlling the hand.
"HA HA! I finally caught the thief eh?" The man said.
Raven looked up at the man a few feet above her and said, "Thief?! What are you talking about, I've never seen you before?!"
The old man rephrased, "Well, maybe not you in particular, but the one who gave you the Gem of Ages. That thief, how dare she take it back..."
Then Raven remembered an older woman giving her the Gem of Ages about two years ago.
"Wait, you know her?" Raven asked.
"Not really, all I know is that she always used to get in my way, but now that I have you and the Gem of Ages. I can go back to wreaking havoc on the world. Muhahahaha!" The man laughed.
"Hey! Bring her back!" -Kai
"Yeah! Raven has nothing to do with your problems!" -Jay
"Put her down now!" -Flare
"She was given the Gem of whatever, so it's finders keepers!" -Cole
"It's the Gem of Ages!" The man yelled back and continued, "That gem is important. It can change a person's age to younger and older at will, and it doesn't interfere with time so it can help me rule the world at an age where I was the most gruesome-"
"And the dumbest!" A voice called out that startled everyone.
A cut was heard, and Raven went falling back on the Bounty's deck.
As Raven turned to see who saved her, she came eye to eye with Marcell. Raven backed up a bit and asked,
"Marcell? What are you doing here? Why did you-"
Marcell interrupted, "Because a fool like Carlo is the most annoying person to deal with, and I won't even let you guys deal with him alone. Trust me, my friend and I dealt with him before, and he was extra annoying."
Raven was about to ask Marcell something, when a larger robotic hand grabbed both girls, and transformed into a cage that dangled under Carlo's flying disc.
"I see you've upgraded Carlo! I'm still not impressed!" Marcell yelled out, and Carlo replied,
"And I see your still as obnoxious as ever Marcell! Well, I might as well kill two birds with one stone: capturing the girl for the Gem of Ages, and capturing Marcell for a little pay back. Oh happy day! Hahahahahaha!"
As Carlo began to drive off, Lloyd took a dive towards the cage that held Marcell and Raven. He was able to grab on, and as he climbed up to the cable, Carlo spotted him.
"Oh hoho, so you don't want to give up eh? We'll see about that," Carlo said as he looked at his control panel.
Lloyd was going to cut the cable...
but...
'I don't have a sword to cut this rope with! And I don't want to use my golden powers or Raven might get hurt,' Lloyd thought, then he heard a voice below him say,
"I got your back Lloyd!"
When Lloyd looked down, he saw Jay holding onto the cage with his lightening sword in hand. However, Carlo had pulled a switch and said,
"I hope you like a little electricity!"
The electricity traveled down the cable and around the cage, but not within the cage so Raven and Marcell were unharmed. However, Lloyd and Jay were a bit shocked by the electric attack, mostly Lloyd was.
"Lloyd! Jay!" Raven called out from within the cage. "It's okay Raven, it wasn't that bad. Besides, we're kind of immune to it," Lloyd replied, but then Carlo said,
"What?! Well then take some of this!"
Carlo hit a few buttons and pulled another switch, which made more electricity flow from the cable and cage, and heat was now emitting from it too. Jay could stand the electricity, but the heat of the metal was too much for him to hold on any longer, so he let go of the cage. Before Jay could fall to his doom, Lloyd jumped down and held onto the bottom of the cage, while Jay held onto his legs. Lloyd was slowly losing his grip, and Jay's weight wasn't helping him. Raven and Marcell bent down from within the cage to look at Lloyd. Then Raven said with much concern,
"Lloyd! Jay! Are you alright?! Please, I don't want to see you guys get hurt!"
"Just leave us for now you fools! We'll find a way out!" Marcell said.
Lloyd looked up at them and said, with much determination, "Raven! Marcell! I will save you two! I won't leave you like this. I promise!"
Lloyd looked down at Jay, and then he let go of the cage.
"Lloyd! Jay!" Raven yelled out.
Marcell was surprised as the Gold and Blue ninja went falling to their doom. Carlo smirked and said, "About time they let go," and he continued driving his flying disc forward.
"Hey Lloyd. Now would be a good time TO CALL THE GOLDEN DRAGON TO SAVE US!" Jay yelled out.
"Oh yeah right," Lloyd said, as he grabbed Jay's arm and was about to summon his dragon.
However, right before Lloyd summoned the Golden dragon, they ended up landing on the Bounty's deck without much harm from the land. The others ran up to them in relief seeing as Lloyd and Jay were unharmed.
"Thank goodness you're both alright," Misako said, as she helped Lloyd up from the floor.
"Are you okay Jay?" Nya asked, and Jay replied,
"Oh I'm alright. You know almost falling to my death wasn't HORRIFYING!"
Then Lloyd said, "We need to save Raven and Marcell, fast!"
Then Jay asked, "Hold on. Who's steering the Bounty?"
Down in the Main control room, Sensei Wu was steering the wheel while following Carlo's tracks, as Garmadon and Flare were also in the room.
"You won't get away so easily," Sensei Wu said, and Garmadon added,
"That's right. You mess with one of us, you mess with all of us!"
"Let's get them back," Flare said, as she nudged her fist into her palm.
As Carlo was driving the flying disc, which was faster than the Bounty, he stopped at a nearby cliff-side that was as large as a baseball field. He lowered the cage, pulled off the cable from the cage, and parked the flying disc off to the side. Then he stepped out of the vehicle, making his appearance more clearly seen: he has a short, gray and brown beard and mustache, blue pants with a brown trench coat, and glasses. He walked towards Marcell and Raven, and he smiled when he saw their scowls towards him, as he said,
"Well, how nice it is to have guests on my mountain. Now, would you be so kind younger one, as to hand over the Gem of Ages?"
Carlo extended his hand, but Raven turned her head away and said,
"I would never give you the Gem of Ages. You hurt my friends. I have nothing more to say or give to you."
Carlo chuckled and said, "Oh yeeeah..."
A few minutes later, Raven and Marcell were in two separate cages, dangling on a rock formation that curved like a "C" just above the floor. Carlo stood in front of Raven's cage and said,
"Now give me the Gem of Ages."
Raven shook her head, and Carlo said,
"Alright, I didn't want to do this..."
Carlo walked over to the side of the "C" formation and pulled a secret lever in the side of the wall, which opened the floor beneath Raven and Marcell to reveal a pit of boiling water. Then Carlo said,
"You wouldn't want an accident to happen now, would you Raven."
Raven sneered and said, "Oh please, hot water doesn't bother me."
"Who said you were going in for a dip?" Carlo looked at Marcell, who looked at him in disgust before saying,
"You jerk!"
"Am I?!" Carlo shouted, as he lowered Marcell's cage.
Raven gasped and said, "No, don't hurt Marcell! This is between you and me with the Gem of Ages!"
Carlo sneered and said, "Oh I'm sorry, but if I don't get the gem, then Marcell plummets into the water. Oh and I'm sure she won't die, so I'll just keep raising and lowering her cage until you give me the gem."
Carlo smiled wickedly, and Raven looked at him in surprise. Then Marcell yelled out,
"Raven! Don't worry about me! Just don't give him the gem!"
Raven thought about it, but then she started to panic when Marcell dropped dangerously closer to the boiling water. Carlo taunted,
"Aw, how noble Marcell. We'll see how noble you really are when you're boiling in the water-"
"Wait please!"
Carlo looked at Raven, who held the Gem of Ages in her hands. His eyes lit up as Raven said,
"Fine. You win. Take the gem, just don't hurt anyone. Please."
Carlo raised Marcell's cage, and closed the water floor. He approached Raven's cage cautiously, and snatched the gem out of her hand.
"Finally! The Gem of Ages. Now I can accomplish a life long goal," Carlo switched the gem to the blue setting.
Then he looked at Marcell and Raven, as he grinned darkly and said, "Since you two helped me to obtained the gem, I'll let you share in the reward."
Carlo stood closer to the cages, and as he activated the gem, Marcell and Raven yelled out,
"AAAHHH!"
As the Bounty followed where Carlo had flown by, Cole yelled out,
"There they are!"
The Bounty landed on the cliff-side, close to the edge. The ninja immediately jumped off of the Bounty, while everyone else ran off the ramp.
As they approached the cages, they saw that two people were inside, but they looked like they were knocked out since they were on the floor. Lloyd, Flare, and Jay grabbed Raven's cage and brought it down, while Kai, Cole, and Nya grabbed Marcell's cage and brought it down. They placed the cages on the ground. Then Cole pried open Marcell's cage by two bars, and was shocked by what he saw.
"Uh, guys?"
As they all gathered close to the cage, besides Lloyd, Flare, and Jay, a young female had stepped out of the cage holding her head. When she raised her head up, everyone gasped as they realized that the young girl was actually Marcell, in child form. Everyone's faces were in shock, and Marcell looked at them and then at herself.
"Aw man, are you kidding me?!" Marcell said, with a voice of a child,"Great, just great! That jerk Carlo turned me into a child. When I get my hands on him, he'll pay ten fold!"
"How is this possible? Is this the work of the Gem of Ages?" Sensei Wu asked, and Marcell answered but with annoyance,
"Yes! This is the power of the Gem of Ages that fool was searching for, and now he has it! Darn it! He used me to get it from Raven."
Marcell was more angered at herself for not seeing that coming.
Then Lloyd turned to Raven's cage, and pried open the cage bars himself. He reached in and picked up a young Raven, as he held her in his arms while on his knees, while looking at Raven in worry and sadness. The others walked over, and saw Raven in her child form. Then Raven stirred, and fluttered her eyes open.
"Lloyd? Flare? Everyone. Mar- Marcell?!" Raven said, as she stood up and noticed that she was shorter than normal.
Raven looked at her hands and realized that she was a child again, and that the Gem of Ages was gone.
"Oh no..." was all Raven could muster.
Then Kai said, "We're sorry Raven. We should have stopped Carlo sooner."
Raven looked up and said, "It's okay, Kai, everyone. Besides, now I'm my original age."
Everyone looked at Raven questionably besides Lloyd, Flare, and Marcell.
"Wait. You were always a kid? And you didn't tell us?" Jay asked, a little hurt.
Raven rubbed her arm and said, "I'm sorry guys, it's just, you found me in my older form, and I'm not supposed to reveal the Gem of Ages to everyone. Also, I don't like when people look down on me because I'm young."
Flare knelt down in front of Raven and said, "Raven, whether you're younger or older, it doesn't matter. You are still strong and awesome when you are being yourself. I don't look down on you because you're young. Besides, it's the young ones that can become the strongest of us all."
Raven slightly smiled at this, and then Zane said, "That's right Raven. When Lloyd was your age, he also felt that he was looked down upon because he was young."
"Yeah, and none of us expected that he was going to become the Green Ninja," Jay added.
"And look at him now. He's stronger than any of us," Kai said.
"And he's the Golden Spinjitzu master," Cole added.
Raven looked towards Lloyd, and he smiled and said, "It's true."
Raven smiled back at Lloyd.
Then everyone turned around quickly when they heard a familiar, annoying voice say, "So, you guys made it to my secret base on the cliff-side, eh?"
When everyone turned, they saw a man with short, dusty brown hair that stood straight up, a blue shirt with a black leather jacket and a white sash as a belt, along with blue pants that had chains instead of zippers, and he had the Gem of Ages around his neck. He stood with both hands on his sides, and a triumphed smirk on his face. Marcell stood forward, and snarled at the man,
"CARLO! Turn me back to normal and give Raven the Gem of Ages!"
Carlo put his hands in front of him mockingly and said, "Oooooh, I'm so frightened, the princess of vampires is going to hurt me with her baby teeth."
Carlo started to laugh, which made Marcell furious.
"THAT'S Carlo? I thought he was old?" Jay said.
"He must have used the Gem of Ages to turn himself younger, like Raven and Marcell," Garmadon speculated.
Carlo held the Gem of Ages and turned it's settings red, as he said, with a cheeky grin,
"You know, Marcell, wouldn't it be nice to be older again? Especially if you agree to be my queen."
Marcell looked at Carlo with a disgusted and annoyed expression before saying, "You've got to be kidding me..."
Then she called out, "I would rather walk through a road of coals and broken glass barefooted in the middle of July in the desert, than to EVER consider being your queen!"
Carlo snickered and said, "Okay, okay, it was a joke. Well, I'm just gonna have ta get rid of ALL of You!"
Carlo pulled out a thin, long blue-bladed sword with a red handle and readied his weapon. The other ninja pulled out their weapons and stood forward to him. Marcell and Raven were held back by Nya while Sensei Wu and Garmadon stood in front of them, since the girls wanted to fight but they didn't want them to get hurt.
The ninja, Flare, and Carlo began to fight. Flare and Kai attacked first with fire and energy shots, while Jay jumped over Carlo, and Zane and Cole ran to the sides of Carlo. After dodging the fire and energy attacks, Carlo saw that he was surrounded. Zane shot ice shards with his sword at him, as he deflected the ice shards with a few flips and turns and slices of his sword. Then Cole used an earth attack from the ground, and while Carlo jumped to avoid it, he met face to face with Jay and his lightening sword. Carlo and Jay fought in mid air, until Carlo was able to kick Jay in the ribs, and send him off flying to the ground. Then Carlo landed while Zane and Cole jumped at him with their weapons, but Carlo started to break dance, and was able to kick Zane and Cole in such a way that they went flying in Jay's direction.
As Carlo grinned, Flare and Kai jumped in, and were each taking turns attacking him, while he blocked and dodged their barrage of attacks. Then Flare jumped back, and started charging her scimitar in one large blade. Kai jumped behind Carlo, and back kicked him towards Flare's direction. When he got his footing, Carlo saw that Flare had her sword charged, and was about to attack with a downward strike. However, Carlo raised his weapon to block in such a way, that when Flare attacked, it made Carlo slide back and avoid the full damage of the attack. Flare was surprised at that, but then Carlo jumped behind her, back kicked her up in the air, and then jumped and used an energy-powered hand to hit Flare away. Kai started to fight with Carlo again when he saw this, and noticed that the energy came from his sword.
'Why is this guy so strong? How come we can't beat him?' Kai thought, and Carlo kicked, punched, and grabbed Kai by his foot, and tossed him away.
"Who's next?" Carlo said, when he turned to see Lloyd walking up to him in annoyance.
"Ah, the Golden child comes to fight with me. I am honored, although, I hope you don't think badly of me," Carlo said with a devious smile, as Lloyd looked at him, questionably.
Then Lloyd felt something clamp around his left wrist, as he looked at his arm and saw a transparent bracelet with a dark gem in the center resting on his wrist.
"Huh?" Lloyd questioned, but then the bracelet activated and sparked. Lloyd tried to take the bracelet off, but to no avail.
"What is this?" Lloyd asked Carlo.
"Well, it's a special bracelet I made that latches on a powerful foe, and restrains them from using powerful attacks like your golden powers. I knew it would come in handy against you Golden ninja," Carlo said with his cheeky grin.
Lloyd growled at Carlo, and then he breathed out and said, "Fine. I'll defeat you either way."
Carlo snickered and said, "We'll see Golden ninja. I'm much stronger than I seem..."
During the fight, Wu and Garmandon watched the battle ensue. Then Marcell said,
"Ughh, I don't believe this. Watching from the side lines."
Raven replied, "I know, I wish we could fight too."
Then Raven thought about something, and turned to Marcell and asked,
"Marcell, I've been meaning to ask you. Why did you try to help me before from Carlo?"
She turned to Raven after a moment to think, and replied, "I-I'm not sure actually, I mean Carlo is a big jerk, but I'm not sure why..."
Then Raven asked, "Marcell, would you help me again?"
Marcell looked at Raven with a skeptical look, but then she saw Lloyd land not too far from them. Raven turned around, and ran up to Lloyd, while Garmadon, Wu, Nya, and Marcell followed. Carlo started walking towards them with an arrogant smirk on his face. Wu, Garmadon, and Nya noticed and they started walking towards Carlo to protect Marcell, Raven, and Lloyd since he needed a moment to recover. Marcell wanted to fight, but she stood back to listen to what Raven and Lloyd were talking about.
"Lloyd," Raven said in worry.
Lloyd looked at her and said, "Raven, don't worry about me. Go on the Bounty and get out of here. I just need a minute... he hit me pretty hard in the stomach."
Raven shook her head and said, "Lloyd, I'm not leaving you. I still want to be by your side, even if I'm young, and we can only be friends."
Raven looked away a little sad, although she didn't fully understand why. Lloyd knelt down to Raven's height and said,
"Raven, I know. I wish it didn't have to be this way, but I will never stop protecting you, no matter what happens, whether together or not."
Lloyd and Raven looked down in sadness, which made Marcell's eyes widen.
'Oh my gosh,' Marcell thought and continued to think, 'When he spoke to her before, as a vampire. He really meant what he said. Then that means he really has feelings for her, and her for him... and, I was going to break them apart, for Big Boss? Raven's such a sweet gal, and Lloyd, as I've seen, is a noble guy... Raven isn't evil, why would Big Boss even want her? The only reason would be a bad one... I have to finish the job, but I don't want to hurt them... What am I saying? I actually care about them... Lucy would. She would care about them too. I know what she would say, and, I...'
Marcell clenched her fist in anger at herself, as she looked at Carlo and thought, 'I was unaware of this, but Carlo... he's a jerk. He would have done something like this on purpose since he has the power... OH NO!'
Marcell saw Nya, Garmadon and Sensei Wu get pushed back to where the other ninja were.
Then Carlo turned and grinned evilly at Marcell, Raven, and Lloyd, as he started to laugh, maniacally. Marcell turned to Raven and said,
"Raven. Let's show this fool who really deserves to own the Gem of Ages."
Marcell smirked, as Raven nodded and stood up holding her water staff. Lloyd said,
"But Raven, Marcell..."
Marcell turned to Lloyd and said, "You should have more faith in Raven. She's more powerful than you think. Even as a kid, right Raven?"
Raven replied, "Yes. Now it's my turn to protect you Lloyd, and everyone else. Ready Marcell?"
"Let's rock on."
Carlo saw that Raven and Marcell were approaching him. He started to laugh, as he said,
"You've got to be kidding, right?! I mean come on, what are you two little girls going to do to me- AAAHHH!"
As Carlo ranted, Marcell had flipped in the air and jumped on his back while grabbing his two arms and pulling them back, which caused Carlo to yelp in surprise and pain. Carlo started running in circles while screaming, as Marcell called out to Raven,
"Raven! Hurry up!"
"I'm on it!" Raven said, as she ran towards Carlo to grab the Gem of Ages.
However, Carlo noticed this, and he was able to kick Raven away from him. Lloyd called out to Raven, but in a few seconds, she was back on her feet. However, Marcell had been knocked off by Carlo, and now he was looking at Marcell while holding his sword. Right when Carlo was going to strike, Raven used her water staff to strike Carlo on his back. This temporarily left him vulnerable on the ground, while Raven ran and snatched the Gem of Ages.
As Raven ran towards Marcell, Carlo stood up and yelled, "NOO!", while he ran after Raven and was able to throw himself forward, which made Raven trip over him and drop the gem. The gem rolled away a long distance opposite of where everyone was. Marcell, Raven, and Carlo looked towards each other, and then they all made a break to the gem. Carlo pushed Raven back by her forehead, as he chased after Marcell. Since he was bigger, he made it close to her quick, but Marcell turned and tackled Carlo on the ground. They struggled for a while, until Carlo kicked Marcell off a few feet away.
As Carlo got up, he gasped when he saw Raven holding the Gem of Ages. Marcell looked up while picking herself up off the floor and smiled. Raven stared at the gem for a moment and then a memory of earlier that day came to mind: Flare and Raven were already awake on the Bounty's deck, and they had awhile to talk while everyone else was sleeping.
("Hey Raven," Flare said, and Raven responded with a "Yes?"
Flare continued, "I'm curious, Raven. Did you happen to tell the others about the Gem of Ages?"
Raven looked down from where she was standing, since she and Flare were looking over the Bounty's side, even though Flare was leaning back on the rail.
"Well. I told Lloyd about the gem, but not the others," Raven replied.
"Can you trust him?" Flare asked, not looking in Raven's direction.
She replied, "Of course I can trust him. He is true and honest."
Flare snickered and said, "Yes I'm sure he is, but did you tell him about not actually being your current age?"
"Yes, I told him, and he said that he wasn't always his current age either. He said that a certain tea made him older," Raven replied.
Flare thought about that for a moment, and then about certain events, and asked, "Raven, do you really like him?"
Raven was surprised by this question, so she asked, "What makes you think I do?"
Flare replied, "Because I'm not ignorant, and I can see how you both look at each other. Also, when he was a vampire he wanted you to be with him, and the other ninja know about that too."
Raven eyes widened, as a light blush appeared on her face, but then she signed and said, "Yes. I do like him, very much."
Flare turned over, and leaned on the rail with her elbows and said, "So you have to make a decision."
"A decision?" Raven asked, looking questionably at her friend, as Flare said,
"Yes. Are you going to stay as a child with time to be a kid, or, are you going to stay older and be able to be with Lloyd?"
Raven was surprised by this, since she didn't think about it before. Then Raven signed after five minutes and said,
"I don't know."
Flare shrugged her shoulders and said, "It's your decision Raven, but, just know... you may not have that gem forever, and you may not have the time to make a decision if you wait. When the time comes, will you be prepared to make a decision?"
After ten minutes of just standing around, the other ninja came up from sleeping.)
Raven had her eyes closed as she thought about what Flare said: "When the time comes, will you be prepared to make a decision?"
Then Raven's eyes shot open, because now she knew the answer. Carlo saw this and quickly began running over to her, and when Marcell saw this she started running to defend her. As both people ran over to her, Raven raised the gem in the air and stood looking at both of them with a determined expression. After a few steps, Raven raised the gem higher, and that's when Carlo and Marcell knew what she was planning to do.
"NOOO!" Carlo screamed out, and Marcell smiled and said,
"Do it Raven!"
Then Raven took the gem and slammed it on the ground, scattering the mystical jewel into pieces while a cloud of red had encased Marcell, Carlo, and herself with a flash. The others looked on in surprise, and they began to stand up and run over to the red cloud puff. Those on the Bounty also ran over to investigate the red flash and puff.
Everyone stood outside the perimeter of the red cloud smoke. Then the red cloud started to fade to pink and light pink until it diminished completely. Everyone looked and saw three people on the floor knocked out. They all ran to the three people and stood over them. Wu, Garmadon, Misako, Nya, and Dr. Julien stood near the old man Carlo. Cole, Kai, and Jay stood near Marcell, and Lloyd, Flare, and Zane stood near Raven.
As each person began to rise, Carlo was tied up with his head hanging low in surrender, and Marcell stood up rubbing her head.
"What the... Wait, I'm older again. YES! Woohoo! Ha! In your face Carlo!" Marcell said, as she raised her arms in fists of triumph and pointed at Carlo with one of her hands.
Then Raven rose up, and low and behold, she was also older again. She was rubbing her head as Flare, Zane, and Lloyd helped her stand up. Lloyd picked up the water staff and handed it to her, which made her smile at him, as he smiled back.
"It's good to see you're alright," Flare said, and Raven nodded.
"You are unharmed Raven?" Zane asked, and Raven smiled at him and said,
"I'm fine Zane, actually..."
She turned to Lloyd and said, "I feel wonderful."
Then Marcell interrupted, "Okay, okay, guys let's get it together. Everyone's alright. Now, I believe there is a town nearby who would love to see Carlo again."
Carlo looked up at Marcell, and then his expression turned to horror as he saw Marcell look at him with a devious expression that revealed her razor-sharp teeth. Carlo spoke in a shaky voice,
"N-Not there. N-Not Pulverize P-Peak Town."
Marcell snickered and said, "That's right. You stole a lot of stuff from those people, and committed acts of treachery and mutiny against that town. I'm sure they would like to see you again, when they put you in jail for your crimes."
Carlo looked around and saw that everyone was looking at him like with slow head shakes and a few smirks. Then he bowed his head and mumbled,
"Ooohhh."