The Winds Of Change

Chapter 7: A Storm of Wishes

Morro's heart pounded in his chest as he stared up at Nadakhan. The Djinn's presence was overwhelming, his voice dripping with arrogance and power. The storm above the ship crackled with energy, a manifestation of Nadakhan's magic swirling in the clouds.

The rest of the ninja were still engaged in battle below, but Morro felt frozen, his gaze locked on Nadakhan as the Djinn descended slowly toward him, his eyes glowing with that eerie, unnatural light.

"I've been waiting for this moment," Nadakhan continued, his grin widening as he hovered just above the deck. "The ninja are a formidable team, but none of them quite understand the wind like you do, do they, Morro?"

Morro narrowed his eyes, trying to hide the unease creeping into his mind. "You've got it wrong. I'm not here to join you."

Nadakhan chuckled, the sound deep and unsettling. "Join me? No, no. You misunderstand. I'm here to offer you something far more valuable than that. Power. Freedom. Anything your heart desires."

Morro's grip on his staff tightened. He had heard about Nadakhan's tricks—the way he could twist wishes into traps, turning dreams into nightmares. He wasn't about to fall for it.

"I don't want anything from you," Morro growled, his wind powers swirling around him, pushing back against the gusts from the storm. "I'm here to stop you."

Nadakhan's expression didn't falter. If anything, his smile grew wider. "Stop me? Oh, Morro, you think you know the forces at play here, but you have no idea. The ninja don't stand a chance against me. And as for you..." He paused, tilting his head as he studied Morro. "You're still bound by your past, aren't you? Still searching for something you'll never find."

Morro felt a jolt of anger rise inside him, but he shoved it down. Nadakhan was trying to get into his head, to manipulate him. He wouldn't fall for it. Not again.

"Enough of this!" Morro shouted, hurling a gust of wind toward the Djinn. The force of the attack sent the ship's sails whipping in all directions, but Nadakhan merely waved his hand, effortlessly dispersing the wind as if it were nothing more than a breeze.

Nadakhan's smile vanished, replaced by a more serious expression. "Very well. If you insist on being stubborn, I'll make this simple."

With a snap of his fingers, Nadakhan's form shimmered, and suddenly the air around Morro seemed to bend. His surroundings shifted, the ship and the storm vanishing, replaced by a strange, dreamlike landscape.

Morro blinked in confusion. One moment, he had been standing on the deck of Nadakhan's ship, surrounded by his friends. The next, he was alone, standing in the middle of a vast, empty field. The wind was still there, but it felt... wrong. It didn't respond to him the way it usually did. It was wild and untamed, slipping through his grasp like sand.

"What is this?" Morro muttered, his eyes scanning the unfamiliar surroundings.

A voice echoed from nowhere and everywhere at once, low and insidious. "This is your mind, Morro. This is what you fear."

Morro spun around, trying to find the source of the voice, but there was nothing. Just an endless, barren landscape. Suddenly, the wind picked up, howling around him, and the sky darkened.

"You think you've changed," the voice continued, its tone mocking. "But deep down, you're still the same scared little boy who was cast aside, who never got to be the Green Ninja."

Morro's fists clenched, his breath quickening. He knew this was a trick, some kind of illusion conjured by Nadakhan, but the words still cut deep.

"You've always been chasing something, haven't you?" the voice taunted. "Always trying to prove you were good enough. But no matter what you do, you'll never belong. The ninja don't trust you. They never will."

Morro shut his eyes, trying to block out the voice, trying to focus on the wind, on the power he had learned to control. But the voice kept drilling into him, relentless.

"You're weak," it hissed. "Always have been."

"Enough!" Morro shouted, his eyes snapping open as he sent a burst of wind shooting out in all directions, dispelling the illusion around him. The dreamlike landscape shattered like glass, and suddenly he was back on the deck of the ship, gasping for breath.

Nadakhan floated above him, arms crossed, watching with a look of amusement. "Impressive. Most people are too weak to break out of their own doubts. But you... you've got more fight in you than I expected."

Morro straightened, his hands shaking with adrenaline. "You can't get to me, Nadakhan. I've already faced my worst fears."

Nadakhan raised an eyebrow. "Is that so? You've faced your fears, perhaps. But what about your desires?" His eyes glinted, and with a flick of his wrist, he conjured a small, ornate box in his hand, holding it out as if presenting a gift.

"Tell me, Morro. You've spent so much of your life chasing after a title that was never yours. What if, just for a moment, I could give you everything you ever wanted? The power, the recognition, the respect?"

Morro's throat tightened. He knew this was a trap—knew that any wish made to Nadakhan came with a terrible price. But the words still made his heart skip a beat. For a moment, just a fleeting moment, he imagined it. Being the Green Ninja. Being the one everyone looked to, the one destined to save Ninjago.

But then he remembered Lloyd. And Wu. And the others. They were the ones who had saved him from himself. The ones who had shown him that there was more to life than power.

"I'm not the same person I was," Morro said, his voice steady now. "I don't need to be the Green Ninja. I don't need to prove anything to you or anyone else."

Nadakhan's eyes darkened, his grin fading. "You should have taken the offer, Morro. Now, I'll take what I want."

With a wave of his hand, Nadakhan disappeared in a burst of wind, and the storm above the ship roared to life once more. The ship rocked violently as the vortex spun faster, the waves crashing against the hull with renewed force.

Morro stumbled back, regaining his balance just as the other ninja rejoined him on the deck, their weapons drawn.

"Are you okay?" Lloyd shouted over the howling wind, his eyes filled with concern.

Morro nodded, his breathing heavy. "I'm fine. But Nadakhan's not done. He's playing a long game."

"Then we're going to have to stop him before it gets worse," Kai said, his fists igniting with flames. "No more tricks."

The ship lurched again as the storm intensified, and Morro could feel the pull of Nadakhan's magic growing stronger. The Djinn was out there, somewhere, waiting for the right moment to strike again.

"We need to get off this ship," Nya shouted. "We're sitting ducks out here!"

"Agreed," Zane added, his sensors glowing as he scanned the ship. "Nadakhan's magic is destabilizing the structure. If we stay here much longer, the whole thing could go down."

Morro's mind raced. They needed to regroup, to come up with a plan. Nadakhan was too powerful to face head-on without knowing exactly what they were dealing with.

"Let's get out of here," Lloyd ordered, his voice resolute. "We'll find a way to stop him—but not like this."

With a final burst of energy, the ninja leapt from the deck and back onto Nya's water platform, retreating from the storm as the ship faded into the distance.

As they sped back toward the shore, Morro couldn't help but glance over his shoulder at the swirling storm, his heart heavy with the knowledge that Nadakhan's game was just beginning.