Return

"There," Mistaké said. I blinked and slowly opened my left eye. I could see again, sort of. Things looked a little fuzzier than I remembered, but after getting slashed by a giant snake, I was lucky to see out of that eye at all.

"So, I'm good as new?" I asked the old professor.

"More or less. You're going to be partially blind in your eye for life, and you'll have a permanent scar," Mistaké said.

I gasped. "What?" She handed me a mirror, and I took it, anxious to see what I would find.

A scar stretched from my forehead straight through my eyebrow continuing down my cheekbone. I stared the mirror. It wouldn't be so bad if the scar wasn't so… so… ugly. It was red and stuck out from the rest of my face. I couldn't take my eyes off it, and anyone else probably wouldn't be able to either.

"Isn't there anything you can do?" I asked.

Mistaké sighed. "Magic isn't all powerful. The snake venom infected your skin, and I couldn't reverse all its effects. But, if you really want, I can cast a concealing charm to hide it from view."

"Of course!" Who would want a hideous scar on their face?

"Be warned, this spell will have to be reapplied within a month or so."

I nodded, not really listening. Mistaké sighed again and cast the charm. I looked back in the mirror, and my scar was gone. I grinned. Perfect. Mistaké shook her head and left to attend some other patients.

The door flew open and Nya burst into the infirmary. "Kai!" she cried and she threw her arms around me and I gasped. She was so warm, or maybe I was just really cold.

"Are you okay? I heard what happened."

Thank goodness Nya wasn't mad. I pulled her against my chest. She was shaking. "Hey," I said. "I'm alright, see?"

"Good." Then she jerked away from my grasp and punched me in the arm.

"Ow! Nya!"

"Don't ever do that again! What were you thinking? You could have died!"

I sighed. "I'm sorry," I said.

She froze. "What?"

"You're right," I repeated. "I made a mistake and I almost died and I lost all of my magic. I really messed up this time."

Nya's face melted. "Kai…" Tears welled up in her eyes. "We can fix this. Chen's gone now, I'm sure we can find a way—"

"No we can't!" I snapped. "Chen broke my wand in half! There's no coming back from that."

"We'll get you a new one," Nya insisted.

I shook my head. "Don't you remember when we first bought our wands? The man told us it was made for one wizard and one wizard only. Face it, Nya, I'll never do magic again."

A tear rolled down her cheek, and my chest tightened so much I couldn't breathe. Making my sister cry was so much worse than everything I'd gone through.

"Don't say that," she said. "We'll fix this…we've got to."

I didn't say anything. I didn't want to make her feel any worse. Instead, I tried to muster a smile, but I could tell Nya saw right through me. She sat down on the bed and put her arm on my shoulder. I leaned into her and we sat in silence.

I didn't go to classes the next day. Or lunch. I didn't want the others' sympathy. I just wanted to be alone for a while. I stayed in the Infirmary under the guise of being too weak to return to school. After Zane's repair spell failed to fix my wand, I gave up all hope of doing magic again, and with the school year being almost over; I realized this was going to be my last year here. The door creaked open, and I buried myself under the covers and squeezed my eyes shut.

"Kai, you can't mope forever," Nya said.

I didn't move and she sighed. "Well, when you're ready, you know where to find us."

Her footsteps faded away and I sat up. "She's right, you know," Mistaké said from the back room.

Finally, I got up and left. Depressed or not, I still couldn't stand sitting still. I opened the entrance door and took a deep breath of crisp, mountain air. I stared out at the clear blew sky, and down at the rice patties and the winding path that lead back to Ninjago City. The view was absolutely stunning. If it wasn't for the dark cloud hanging over the city, I could forget all about the Overlord.

I sighed. I was going to miss this place. A shrill cry pierced the air, and I looked up to see a falcon circle above the school, turn and fly out over Ninjago. Suddenly, a golden flashed blocked it from view and Master Wu tumbled out of the sky.

I bounded down the steps two at a time and tried to break the professor's fall. I managed to catch him, but before I knew it, I slammed on ground and the old man was crushing me. I groaned. He shouldn't be that heavy should he? Was my body really that weak?

Wu pushed himself up and pulled me up too. The lines in his face had deepened he looked more tired. It was if he had aged ten years since I had last seen him.

"Thank you, Kai," he said. "But what are you doing out here?"

"What are you doing back?" I countered.

He raised an eyebrow, but answered the question. "I have stopped the Time Wizards for now, and so I have returned to my students."

I smiled. "Good to have you back. I just wish you had gotten here sooner." I stared at the ground and clenched my fists. I knew it wasn't his fault, but if Master Wu had never left, none of this would have happened in the first place.

The professor jarred me out of my thoughts. "What is troubling you, Kai?"

I sighed. "I lost my magic, and I realized that this was the last time I'd see this view again."

Wu frowned. "Lost your magic?"

"Chen stole it from me."

Now he just looked confused. "The young fire wizard in your year?"

I shook my head. "No. Master Chen."

"From the Ministry? What is he doing at my school?" Wu tightened his grip on his staff, and his eyes glinted. I guess he had heard of Chen.

"He's not here anymore. You've missed a lot."

"I see. Please enlighten me."

I shrugged. "It's a long story."

Wu sat down on the steps. "We have time."

"—and then everyone else drove Chen and Clouse out of the school while I stayed in the Infirmary. We got rid of them, but now my wand's broken and my elemental powers are gone." I took a shaky breath. Master Wu waited patiently. "So I'm not a wizard anymore."

"A wizard is not defined by his magic, but rather, his heart." Wu answered. "And your heart is one of the strongest I have ever known."

I laughed bitterly. "Thanks, but I'm still powerless."

The old man frowned. "On the contrary, love is the most powerful magic of all."

"Maybe, but love can't cast spells," I replied.

Wu sighed. "Let me see your wand."

"But it's broken."

"I know."

The professor looked dead serious, so I reached into my kimono and handed him the two broken halves. Wu pulled out his own wand and tapped the two pieces. Gold light flowed from the tip and coated the pieces until the whole thing was incased in what looked like golden glass.

"Reparo!" Wu commanded, and the light faded, leaving one whole wand in its place. My heart stopped.

"You…you fixed it? But how? Zane said it was impossible to mend a broken wand."

Wu smiled. "He is correct, normally it is impossible to mend a wand, but with this," He lifted his wand, and unlike mine, it was decorated with raised ridges and a fancy handle. "I have the ability to cast many spells beyond the normal realm of possibility."

I gaped. "What is it?"

"The Elder wand, made by my father, the Golden Wizard. It is very powerful, infused with the power of creation, but unfortunately, it is also the cause of much bloodshed."

He sighed, and I realized how just old the professor really was. Suddenly, Wu straightened and raised his wand. "Now, for your elemental magic."

He tapped my chest and golden light poured into me, setting my bones on fire. Then, just as soon as it started, it stopped. I looked down at my hands, and they were on fire. I laughed and willed them to grow and shrink. They obeyed. I had my powers back. "Thank you so much! I—" I looked up. Wu groaned, and his eyes rolled back into his head. I killed the flames and caught him before he hit his head on the steps.

"Master?" I asked. "Are you okay?"

He moaned and his eyes fluttered open. "Y-yes, Kai. Forgive me, I am more drained from my battle than I realized."

"What happened?"

"The Time Wizards are two twins who can manipulate the fabric of time itself. One of them struck me with a time spell, but I managed to detain them for now." Wu wheezed and closed his eyes, seeming to age right before my eyes. His beard seemed whiter, his wrinkles deeper, and when turned to look at me, he looked like a pale shell of himself.

"Are you going to be alright? Should I get Mistaké?" I asked. He looked so frail; it didn't seem right. Wu was supposed to be all-powerful, the person to look to when everything went wrong.

"No. There's nothing she can do. Only the Reversal Blade can heal me now, but listen, Kai. There is something you must know." Wu stopped to catch his breath, and he rested his head back against the steps.

"Yes, Master?" I asked, leaning forward eagerly. But up close, I could hear him snoring softly. I sighed. I knew he was tired from his battle and all, but he couldn't just leave me hanging like that. I shook his shoulder gently.

"What? Is it lunch time?" Wu asked.

I struggled to keep my voice steady. "No, Master. You were going to tell me something important."

"Something important? Oh yes, Kai, it's worse than I realized. The Overlord is coming."

I tried not to roll my eyes. "I already knew that, Master."

"No, Kai. He has begun gathering the Golden Weapons. If the Overlord collects all four, he will become the Golden Master, and then, there will be no stopping him."

"We'll stop him, don't worry."

Wu jerked up and grabbed on me. "Listen! The Golden Master is prophesied to enslave all of Ninjago, and cover the land in darkness. You must not let this happen. You must collect the weapons before the Overlord."

"We will, Master," I promised.

Wu relaxed and fell back against the steps, fast asleep. I sighed.

Things just go from bad to worse around here.

AN: that's the end of Ghost of the Past! Thanks for all of you reviewers-you know who you are! Next week I'll be starting the Golden Master!