Chapter 9: Master Wu's Secret

I opened my eyes and found myself on a white hospital bed, next to a huge pile of chocolate. I looked around and saw that all of my friends were here too. Someone must have brought us to the infirmary once the minister had knocked us out. Speaking of which, how could he just do that to Garmadon? He was just talking to us. So maybe they were all lies, but still.

I sighed, pushed myself up so I could reach the pile of small treats, and took a bite of chocolate. It helped a little, but I still felt depressed. I ate another one. Across from me, Cole had finished his entire pile. The others were starting to wake up.

"The Minister just attacked us!" Jay was saying. "How could he do that?"

"I don't know, but what do you think happened to Garmadon?" Nya asked, completely changing the subject.

"Based off the Minister, the Dementor's kiss does not sound favorable," Zane surmised, sitting perfectly straight in his bed.

"And I never got to hear what he was going to say to me," Lloyd said sadly. "The last thing I heard was Garmadon calling my name."

I sighed. "Well, there's nothing we can do about it now."

"Or maybe you can," someone said.

I jerked my head and there was Master Wu, standing in the middle of the infirmary. When did he show up?

"I too would like to speak with my brother again. The minister is foolish, and will set the Dementors on Garmadon before we even have a chance to interrogate him, but all is not lost."

"Really?" I asked.

Master Wu pulled out an hourglass on a chain from his robe. "Did you ever wonder how I was teaching both Elemental Magic and Defense Against the Dark Arts?"

"Well, yeah," Jay said.

"I used this time-turner to be in both places at once, and now, you can do the same to rescue my brother before it's too late."

"Seriously?" I asked. All of this seemed to good to be true. How was going back in time even possible?

Master Wu nodded. "Just place this around your neck and turn the hourglass—twice should do it—and make sure you are not seen." The professor gave the time-turner to Lloyd. "Save your father before it's too late."

Lloyd got out of the bed and put on the necklace.

"Wait," Cole said. "That's chain's so small. We're not all fit in it."

"No," Wu said simply.

"So then who's going with Lloyd?" Jay asked.

"Not you," Cole asserted. "You'd just run away first sign of a Dementor."

Jay's face turned red. "Oh yeah? Well, with your fat head, you wouldn't fit in the first place."

Cole jumped out of bed. "Say that again. I dare you."

"Boys, calm down," Nya snapped.

Jay glared at Cole, but stopped speaking. Thank goodness. Still, the unspoken question loomed over our heads. Who would be traveling back in time?

A voice broke the silence. "It should be Lloyd's decision," Zane said reasonably.

We all looked at the first year, who didn't meet our gaze. He fiddled with the chain of the time-turner for minutes that felt like an eternity. He mumbled something that we couldn't make out.

"What?" Jay asked.

Lloyd looked up at me. "Kai," he said louder.

Me? Lloyd chose me? How was I supposed to respond to that? I walked forward, as if in a dream. A cold chain brushed the back of my neck. The hourglass turned back in slow motion.

"Remember, you cannot be seen," Wu reminded us as the room disappeared.

Everyone disappeared from the beds. In fact, the entire infirmary was empty. The lights were out.

I lit my wand and looked around. "What time is it?" I asked.

Lloyd peered into the darkness. "Sometime before midnight?" he guessed.

I made my way to the door, while Lloyd stayed rooted to the spot. I sighed and turned back to him. "We might as well make our way outside. There's nothing we can do in here."

Lloyd hesitated. "Just be careful. It would be really bad if we ran into ourselves."

I nodded, then opened the door ever so slightly and took a peek around the corner. "All clear," I whispered. We snuck down the corner and I went to turn right toward the main entrance.

"Wait," Lloyd whispered urgently. "Let's go out by the courtyard. Then we won't see our other selves at all."

That was smart. I nodded and we went the long way outside. It was better than taking any risks. There was the veil. I wondered if we should go through it or not. We were invisible on this side, but at the same time, we couldn't see what was going on. However, it was pitch black and the mountains were full of places to hide. I extinguished my wand and plunged through, Lloyd at my side.

A gasp roared in my ears and I quickly pulled the first year behind a rock. I hoped no one heard that. The numbing effect of the Dementors was starting to get to me too, but that was no reason to get careless.

When my heart stopped pounding, I pushed my back away from the hard rock and glared at Lloyd. "What are you doing?" I hissed.

"You didn't hear that?" he asked.

I shook my head, then realized he couldn't see me in the night. The stars and moon offered a lot less light than I thought they would. It didn't help that a strange mist seemed to have descended on the mountain.

"No, what?" I replied.

"When we were going through the veil, I thought I heard flames."

"Flames?" I repeated.

"You know, the crackling of fire? I thought we were jumping straight into an inferno."

"No," I assured him. "We're fine now, but we won't be if we're seen."

Lloyd got my point and fell silent. Maybe I was too hard on him. Both our nerves were on edge. I wished I could see his face. I sighed as loudly as I dared and pressed up against the rock, trying to listen for our other selves.

"Expecto Patronum." Zane had cast his patronus/shield thing. It was glowing enough that I could finally see what was going on. Everyone had collapsed, except for me and Zane, and what was with my hair? Yikes.

"What's going on?" Lloyd whispered to me.

"The Dementors are here," I replied. "Zane's shield is going to give out any minute, and then Garmadon is going to come to our rescue."

The bluish light flickered, then went out. Wow. I got that spot on. I watched myself try to cast my own weak patronus, but utterly failed. That was irritating. When all this was over, I was going to have to learn how to cast a proper patronus like Wu's dragon or Garmadon's shark.

A mist rolled over the clearing, reaching its long fingers as far back as our rock. I shivered and tried to shake off the cold gloom. I couldn't afford to think back to that day. "Get a grip," I told myself.

The dark was getting on my nerves. I lit my wand again, but kept it behind the rock just in case anyone was still with it. I highly doubted they were, but it never hurt to be safe, as I had learned over the last two years. Where was Garmadon? A Dementor had just grabbed me by its disgusting, rotting hand. Did this happen last time? Come on. Come on. I silently begged. Where are you?

"Is he coming?" Lloyd asked.

"Expecto Patronum!" the dark wizard bellowed. I breathed a sigh of relief. We were saved.

The mist cleared and our other selves began to wake up one by one. Garmadon ran over to Lloyd's side, and the other Lloyd tensed beside me.

"L-loyd!" the warlord cried.

Now that I knew what was going to happen, I sniggered. "L-loyd," I repeated back to myself and started shaking with laughter.

"Quiet," Lloyd said.

I couldn't stop. My nerves broke and all the nervous tension came out in a giant flood. I kept laughing, just because it felt so good. Especially after that Dementor attack. Lloyd had woken up and revealed who our rescuer really was. Jay's pale face in the red light of Garmadon's eyes was priceless. I doubled over, leaning all my weight on the rock.

"Stop it," Lloyd insisted.

But I couldn't stop. I really needed this.

"Kai, I'm serious. You need to stop."

"Kai."

"Kai!"

He clamped his hand over my mouth, but it was too late. A head peaked around the corner of our rock. I froze. Oh no. No, no, no. This wasn't happening. I did not just get us discovered.

I tried to take in a deep breath. Maybe we could pull this off. After all, these were weird circumstances. Maybe…

White hair and kimono glinted in the darkness. All my hopes died. It was Zane. And Zane wasn't going to be fooled easily. He looked over at the circle, and then back at us.

"Kai? Lloyd?" He asked uncertainly.

Great. Just great. I had just broken the number one rule that Master Wu told us not to do at all costs. We had been seen.

Oh no! Kai blew it! Tune in next week! Thanks for your support!