Ninjago: Crystalized

Crystalized is a sub-theme of Ninjago that was released in 2022.
== Story ==
Miss Demeanor has settled a deal with a seller over some Vengestone and is about to have him paid when a few explosive shurikens land in front of them. She demands all her henchmen to find them but later, the ninja take them out and make their grand entrance as the New Ninja. Disgusted with how she received newbies for all the crime she's done, she fires a few distracting flame balls while criticizing them before escaping with the Vengestone, telling them that she will not accept their presence and to send the real ninja instead. Soon, a few police cars and Gayle Gossip arrive. The Police Commissioner then sees them and asks who they are. The New Ninja declare themselves again before disappearing with a smoke bomb, leaving the Police Commissioner to wonder what happened to the old ninja.
The scene switches to show the Monastery has been neglected for a long time. Down in the Hangar bay, Cole, P.I.X.A.L., and Zane are working on their vehicles. On-screen, they overhear Gayle Gossip's report about the Vengestone operation, the New Ninja, and the mayor's statement about both Ninja teams after the original team wasn't seen for a year. When Cole hears how the mayor complained about how destructive they were, he shuts off the TV and asks the others if they could seriously believe what the mayor had said. But Zane simply tells him that the mayor is right and the new ninja would not be as destructive as they were. Surprised, Cole asks how he could say that so calmly and Zane reveals that he has turned off his emotion meter to avoid grief and increase his productivity. Cole angrily tells him that is not a solution before leaving to find Wu.
He goes to his room, where boxes of scrolls have been taken out, and sees Wu going over one in hopes of finding a solution to bringing Nya back. Cole tells him he would have found a solution already and informs him of the Vengestone crisis. They agree to get the team back together. Cole and Zane find Kai at a dojo, teaching kids to obliterate their enemies before they see them coming. They successfully recruit him back into the team, since he wants to avoid teaching kindergarteners, and go off to find Lloyd, who has become a window washer. When he comes down to their windows, they greet him happily and tell him the plan but Lloyd apologizes and says that he's got a lot of windows to do. Lloyd continues down and Kai and Cole pop through the window next to his set, asking whatever happened to "Ninja never quit". This causes Lloyd to snap back, saying that he can't be responsible for anyone ever again. The others watch him continue down and decide to give him time to reconsider while they visit Jay instead.
They find Jay at Lighthouse Island, where he has worn a beard wig and is talking to half full glasses of water. They try to reason with him to return to the Monastery and invite him to join a daring Vengestone quest but he declines both, stating that everyone forgot and seemingly didn't care that Nya left. Unable to convince him to return, the team is about to leave when Cole spots something and tells Jay he has to see it. Jay is soon at the beach to view the many lanterns floating along the ocean, which were in memory of Nya, and grabs a nearby one as Kai, Cole, and Zane join him. They were followed by Lloyd, who had changed his mind, and told them that Nya would kick their butts if they gave up. Inspired, Jay forcefully tears his beard off as the others make a pact before he joins in: For Nya.
A boat is caught in the storm and in the process, a crewman is thrown overboard. His crewmates scramble to rescue him and briefly see a bright light swim through the ocean. Suddenly, a Water Dragon rises out from the sea behind them and sets the sailor, Kwon, down on the boat. Kwon thanks her, and when the dragon answers his thanks, the crew gasps and realizes Nya has come to their aid. The dragon confusedly repeats the name he said, before diving into the ocean again. The crew watch her go as Kwon thanks her again.
Down below, the dragon swims through the sea, trying to recall where she has heard the name Nya. She is able to remember that once there was a Nya from Ninjago but cannot remember anything else. She is soon approached by another water spirit who questions her actions. The dragon tells her she interfered because it's who she is, yet she cannot remember who she was. They travel to the bottom to see if a boat was what she was looking for but it does not help her. So the water spirit suggests her to look above on the surface instead to which the dragon thanks her and says she will.
On her way to the surface, she sees lights floating along the water. The lights turn out to be lanterns with messages and she reads some of them about thanking Nya and missing her presence. The last one she reads tells her Jay must be very sad without Nya and asks her to come home. At Jay's name, she regains her memories, reminiscing those of her closest friends, family, and herself. She transforms into her humanoid water form and declares herself as Nya. Above the waters, she sees where the line of lanterns ends and swims for Lighthouse Island.
However, when she arrives, she finds the lighthouse empty, except for some more lanterns and paintings of herself and Jay. She wonders how long she's been gone when she sees Jay's portrait of himself with a beard and she suddenly loses form. She struggles to maintain it and realizes she has to get back to the ocean. There, Nya finds the water spirit and tells her she remembers everything about herself and who Nyad is, the one who fought off Wojira. Although Nyad doesn't remember that and simply tells Nya that was nice. Nya then begs for her help to break free from the ocean to go home but Nyad tells her that is impossible since she merged with the sea, connecting her completely with the sea forever.
Discouraged, Nya sinks to the bottom and Nyad comes after her, asking why she was sad when she had everything in the ocean forever. Nya replies that she can never be happy in the ocean when all her friends were back home and she fears of forgetting everything again. Nyad apologizes and tells her with the sea connected to her elemental powers, there was no way she could give those up. At that, Nya realizes that if she could give up her powers, she could sever herself from the ocean. Nyad tells her it could be possible but tells her she is her powers and asks what she would be without them. Nya confesses that was her greatest fear, becoming ordinary, but knows that losing her friends would be worse. She hugs Nyad and thanks her for everything, telling her she has to go. When Nyad asks where, Nya says "Home" and takes off to find her friends.
At the hangar bay, Cole ponders how so much Vengestone could be moved without any detection. Zane theorizes the Vengestone has to be moving underground, but Lloyd states that the Serpentine would know about it. Cole decides to start over with what they knew, which frustrates Kai since they've been going in circles for hours. Lloyd asks Jay to see if he has any ideas, but he is unfocused, still mourning Nya's loss by looking at glasses of water. Impatient, Kai shouts at him, and a grumpy Jay replies that he doesn't know. He then says that they cannot work together due to Nya's absence. Kai counters this by accusing Jay of being useless, which nearly causes a fight before Lloyd suggests a break. Jay begins to state that taking a break wouldn't work when a pizza box catches his eye, giving him an idea.
The ninja head to the N line of the subway tunnel where they reach a brick wall. They look for opening mechanisms, but are unable to find any. Suddenly, the ninja hear a sound come from one of the crates near the brick wall. Cole cautiously approaches the crate and removes the tarp, revealing an old man sleeping on Vengestone. He hops out of the crate and asks for a signature from the ninja, when flames suddenly appear from behind.
The ninja turn to find Miss Demeanor and her henchmen. She is pleased to see the real ninja instead of the New Ninja she fought back at the docks. Kai attempts to use his powers to no avail, since he is surrounded by Vengestone which suppresses Elemental Powers. Observing this, Miss Demeanor orders her gang to attack the ninja. While fighting, the ninja are greatly outmatched, showing a lack of chemistry and strength. Cole knocks Jay over with Spinjitzu, Lloyd is nearly hit by a henchman Zane is fighting, and Kai and Zane struggle to fend off "low-level thugs." Miss Demeanor then taunts the ninja's sloppy fighting.
Just then, the New Ninja arrive and start their catchphrase, but Miss Demeanor interrupts them and orders her henchmen to attack them instead. The ninja are upset with the New Ninja's interference, but they ignore them, taking out the thugs and saving the ninja. The Teal Ninja deals a final blow and defeats Miss Demeanor.
Aboveground, the ninja and New Ninja watch as Miss Demeanor and her henchmen are escorted into police cars. The Police Commissioner heads over to them. Lloyd thinks that he is addressing them, but he walks past and congratulates the New Ninja instead. Afterwards, Cole thanks the New Ninja for their help. The Fuchsia Ninja reveals that they were inspired by the ninja to protect the weak and calls the ninja "old-timers." This offends Kai, and the Teal Ninja doubles down by calling the ninja "out of shape." Lloyd points out that they tracked down the villain, but the Teal Ninja reveals that they had planted a tracking device in the crate, which would have led them to the true villain if the ninja hadn't interfered. The Orange Ninja then informs her team that the mayor wanted to thank them personally and they leave with a smoke bomb, after which Kai voices his hatred towards the new ninja team.
At Ninjago City Hall, Mayor Ulysses Trustable plays mini golf in his office when Dwayne interrupts him. Dwayne explained that the ninja were here to see him, and Trustable gave excuses to not see them, but the ninja were already in his office. The ninja then try to get the mayor's permission to release Aspheera in order to restore Nya, but Trustable refuses to allow Aspheera back onto the streets. After failing to come to an agreement, the ninja left Trustable's office.
Back at the hangar bay, Lloyd suggests breaking Aspheera out illegally which Wu condemns. The rest of the ninja agree, but Wu refuses to help, saying that Aspheera could not be trusted and leaves. Once they were in agreement, Lloyd gives out the plan: he, Kai, and Zane would break into Kryptarium Prison to free Aspheera while Jay and Cole would break into the Borg Tower vaults to retrieve Aspheera's staff. While the ninja were gone, Skylor would keep a frozen Nya intact using replicating powers so Zane could help out at Kryptarium.
At Kryptarium Prison, a disguised Kai, Lloyd, and Zane were able to get inside through a vent. Realizing there were thermal sensors ahead, Zane decided to freeze Kai and Lloyd to lower their body temperatures so they would not be detected. He then picked up the two and was able to get by without being detected, thanks to having low temperature.
Concurrently, Jay and Cole were able to get into Borg Tower by disguising themselves as security guards. They enter the elevator, but neither could remember the bypass code required to activate the elevator. Cole enters a code that Jay suggested, but it was incorrect and the elevator's security alarms went off. Both ninja blame each other for not listening to P.I.X.A.L. when she gave them the code. Realizing the elevator was not going to work, Cole opens a hatch on the elevator's floor and slid down the cables with Jay reluctantly following.
After getting through the sensors, Zane finds the hatch closest to Aspheera's containment chamber. He then throws a throwing star at a button which activated the bridge leading to Aspheera's cell. Aspheera, who was working on an origami snake notices the bridge coming to her and was surprised to see the ninja. The ninja offer Aspheera a chance for freedom if she helps the ninja restore Nya to her human form. Thinking about it, she agrees to help the ninja. Zane proceeded to drill a hole using a laser cutter so that Aspheera can get out of her cell. They start to shimmy up the cable holding Aspheera's cell, only for Aspheera to accidentally hit Zane's laser cutter out of his hand with her tail. The laser cutter went off and a single shot ricochets off multiple surfaces, slicing through the cable and causes the chamber to fall, thus sounding the alarm. The ninja and Aspheera scale up the cable quickly with Kai being the first to the hatch, only to be met by multiple security guards.
Meanwhile, Skylor's powers begin to fade away before P.I.X.A.L. brings in a cooling unit to help Skylor out.
Back at Kryptarium Prison, the ninja and Aspheera flee through the hallways from the guards and manage to get away when Zane freezes the turn in the hallway, making the guards slip into a pile up. At the Borg Tower vaults, Cole and Jay reach the floor where the vault was before they use their powers to blast the door open, only to find the vault completely empty. At the hangar bay, Skylor's replicated powers continue to fade rapidly as P.I.X.A.L. brings in another cooling unit. Skylor comments on how the ninja were supposed to be back hours ago with P.I.X.A.L. wondering where they could be.
Mayor Trustable was having Dwayne fix up his portrait on a wall when Noble calls to tell him that another group of New Ninja broke into Kryptarium Prison and freed Aspheera. Ulysses then tells him to have them found and arrested.
Back at the hangar bay, Skylor senses Zane's powers wearing off but a few moments later he arrives to freeze Nya. Meanwhile, Kai and Lloyd are showing Aspheera around the Monastery and bump into Wu. Wu confronts her to tell them he had nothing to do with the ninja's doings and would never have brought her here, but would not stand in the way of her freedom if she helped Nya. They bring her down to the Ninja Cave, where Aspheera takes a look at Nya herself. They discuss about removing her powers to which Aspheera mentions she cannot help without her staff but Zane assures her it would arrive soon. Unfortunately, Cole and Jay arrive from Borg Tower with the news that everything has disappeared. P.I.X.A.L. then calls up Cyrus Borg to ask him where he moved his staff so they could steal it and save Nya's life, much to Kai's surprise when he sarcastically suggested it. They later discuss the convoy's schedule and when to ambush them before P.I.X.A.L. goes down to work on some upgrades for their vehicles.
Soon, the ninja are on their way for the staff while also admiring their vehicles P.I.X.A.L. remodeled and going over the plan. They arrive at the convoy's route and Zane detects Aspheera's staff in one of the trucks. The ninja sans Zane set their vehicles to auto before jumping on while Zane however lifts the truck into the air. The ninja then break in, only to find the New Ninja lying in wait for them and a fight breaks out, which creates an imbalance and Zane struggles to control the truck from swinging wildly all over the streets of Ninjago. In addition, the Teal Ninja throws an explosive shuriken into one of the jet's engines, causing everyone to lose altitude.
Meanwhile, Dwayne rushes in to tell Mayor Trustable one of the trucks has gained the ability to fly, which the latter denies is not possible. But Zane crashes into the Mayor's Office from behind and into another building as he tries to gain back the altitude they lost. Annoyed, Kai complains to Zane to not crash into every building and ends up saying his name. At that, the fight stops and the Teal Ninja quickly takes Lloyd hostage while Kai tries to lie about the name but the Teal Ninja unmasks one of the black-clad ninja and discovers that Lloyd is under there. In all the confusion, the ninja manage to escape with the staff on Zane's jet after he drops off the truck on a roof.
Afterwards, the Teal Ninja calls Ulysses to tell them about the old ninja pretending to be the black-clad ninja. Enraged with their recklessness, Mayor Trustable declares the ninja to be public enemies number one through five.
At the hangar bay, Skylor was struggling to keep Nya frozen intact. P.I.X.A.L. informed Wu that the ninja collected Aspheera's staff and were on their way back, so they needed to stall Aspheera before she got bored. Meanwhile, Aspheera was looking around and after pressing a few buttons, she found the Golden Weapons. She tried to take them, but Wu got in his way. Aspheera was bored that she couldn't do anything and tried to leave, but Wu prevented her from doing so. Aspheera promised she wouldn't leave if she could challenge Wu in a series of contests. Despite it sounding silly, Wu accepted participating in the contests, in order to stall Aspheera long enough for the ninja to return.
Aspheera and Wu lifted weights, arm wrestled, played pool, did a staring contest, and flipped pancakes with Aspheera winning all of the contests. After competing with Aspheera, Wu returned to the hangar bay only to see Skylor's powers run out and the coolers to blow up. Luckily, Zane arrived just in time to freeze her. Lloyd then gave the staff to Aspheera, but instead of using it on Nya, she started to attack the ninja.
The ninja dodged Aspheera's attacks with Lloyd wondering how she could betray the ninja so quickly. While they are fighting, the police arrived at the monastery and Aspheera believed they were after her. However, Kai and Zane confessed they revealed their identities when they were trying to retrieve Aspheera's staff and the police were after them instead. Aspheera freaked out believing they would all go to prison, but Lloyd revealed a secret tunnel out of the hangar bay. Aspheera demanded for the tunnel, but Lloyd would only show her if she saved Nya first. Aspheera bitterly agreed and began taking Nya's powers.
While the ninja watched, the New Ninja entered the hangar bay. The ninja saw them and after a verbal argument began fighting them to give Aspheera more time. Meanwhile, Aspheera commented about how powerful Nya was and not knowing the consequences of draining her powers. Just as she finished her sentence, a shockwave swept from Nya causing everyone to be knocked out.
Some time later, Nya was back in her human form and Jay ran over to see if she was alright. At the same time, Lloyd escorted Aspheera to the secret tunnel and allowed her to escape. Lloyd then turned himself in with the rest of the ninja as they were happy to see Nya back.
After Aspheera left the hangar bay, she returned to the pyramid making origami snakes. Soon, she was greeted by three crystal spiders with a hologram being projected by one of the spiders. The Kabuki Mask asked if she was interested in joining the Council of the Crystal King to exact revenge, to which she happily accepted.
Following Lloyd, Kai, Jay, Zane, and Cole's arrest by the New Ninja for freeing Aspheera from incarceration and stealing her staff, a trial at the Ninjago City Courthouse is taking place for the team. Dareth serves as the team's lawyer and tries to defend them by reminding the Judge, William Toughbutt, about the Ninja's heroism and protection to Ninjago. Toughbutt agrees with what they had done and mentions they won't be sentenced to life, and instead ends up sentencing them for five years in Kryptarium Prison. A sentence that leads to a protest by the many witnesses in the courtroom as the Ninja are taken away while Nya helplessly watches. Placed into their cell at Kryptarium, Zane notes that there are only bunk beds enough for four of them and calls on one. Annoyed at his lack of emotion, Cole tells him to turn it back on. He does so, which led to a loud screech before Cole turns it back off. As Kai intends to break out using his powers, Lloyd stops him and insists they leave everything to Dareth.
At the monastery, Dareth tries to think of a solution, alongside Nya and Skylor, but Wu does not take part as he believes the Ninja have no one to blame but themselves for disobeying him in breaking Aspheera out, but Nya takes the blame for herself, insisting that it was her own fault before leaving the room. Wu then tells Skylor that Nya was never powerless, even during her tenure as Samurai X.
While among other prisoners in the exercise yard at the prison, inducing glares from prisoners, including Ultra Violet and Mezmo, Jay approached Lloyd, Kai, Cole and Zane, telling them he joined the 'Needles' club before finding themselves in the presence of Ronin, a former ally who tried to rob the Keepers of their prized possessions, who then told Jay that the Needles club is just for those learning to knit, amusing the other prisoners. As Ronin prepares to intimidate them, a guard stops him before informing Lloyd that he has a visitor. As he escorted him down the hallway, the guard tells Lloyd he and several other guards appreciate what he and the Ninja had done for the city before the crimes he committed. Reaching the visitor's room, the guard directs him to the last booth, where his visitor was waiting, which Lloyd believed it was Master Wu, but instead, it was an individual wearing a kabuki mask. He explains that he came to warn him that he is forming a council for an individual called the Crystal King and wanted to see the despaired look on Lloyd's face when he told him before leaving.
Lloyd then attempted to pursue him, but was stopped by the guards, who mistakenly believe he was attempting to escape. Taken back to his and the others' cell, Lloyd tells them of the Kabuki Mask's plan and that they must find a way to get out of prison. In the Kingdom of Shintaro, the former king Vangelis, who is confined in a room, plays a lyre before a hole is cut in the ceiling, surprising him, and a Crystal Spider arrives with a mask, similar to the one he had as the Skull Sorcerer before the spider plays a message from the Kabuki Mask, inviting him into the council. Vangelis accepts, putting on the mask, which glows pink.
Skylor and Dareth arrive at Kryptarium Prison to visit the Ninja, and were nearly denied access due to their affiliation and the guards believing Dareth is more like a nightclub owner, pretending to be the Ninja's lawyer, until he shows them his attorney license. In the visitor's room, the Ninja tell them of Lloyd's encounter with a guy in a kabuki mask, who told him about the Crystal King and organizing a council. Skylor then informed them that Vangelis had escaped from his prison in Shintaro as Dareth then tells them that he is gonna try to file a mistrial, until Zane tells him otherwise. As their visiting time is up, Jay asks Skylor how Nya is, and she says the judge is denying her visitation rights and that she blames herself for their incarceration because she is powerless. Kai then tells him his sister is tough before they're moved back to their cell.
Back at the monastery, Wu comes across Nya cleaning out her room of ninja essentials since she feels there was no need to train as she doesn't have her Elemental Power anymore and is still blaming herself for the boys' incarceration. While resuming cleaning up, Wu comes across a drawing of Samurai X and a family, and shows it to her, with a message from the child who drew it, thanking her for saving them. Inspired, Nya comes across her old Samurai X blueprints.
In the exercise yard, the Ninja are having lunch, with Cole complaining about the cake and Zane complaining about the motor oil he was given when the ninja encounter their old enemy: Pythor, accompanied by a group of inmates, including Ultra Violet, Killow, and Mezmo. The Anacondrai proceeds to mock the surprised Ninja and mentioned how he got nabbed by the New Ninja before making fun of them, and mentioned rumors of the Crystal King gathering a team of Villains and is waiting for his invite. Then when Kai attacks him, he then starts a food fight with the Ninja by grabbing his fellow inmates' food and tossing them at the Ninja. Before the others could join in, the guards stop them and force them back to their cells with Pythor proclaiming 'All hail the Crystal King!'
In the hangar bay, Nya shows P.I.X.A.L. the blueprints and had made some modifications to it for her to invent, which will take hours, but starts work on it as soon as possible.
Later that night, three Crystal Spiders infiltrate Kryptarium Prison, waking Lloyd as they pass by the Ninja's cell to Pythor's, where they wake him up to play a message from the guy in the kabuki mask, inviting him to join the Council of the Crystal King, which, after a second to wake up properly by slapping himself in the face, he instantly accepted. From their cell, the Ninja notice the glow the crystal spiders were giving off before Kai shoots at the bars on their cell, setting off the alarm. Reaching his cell, they see crystals spiders leading Pythor out of a recently made hole before they attempt to go after him, with the guards on their tail, believing the Ninja were attempting to escape. Coming across a pathway, Pythor sees a hovercraft arrive to pick him up, just as the Ninja start to catch up. One of the spiders soon self destructs, blowing up the pathway and blocking their chance to catch Pythor. However, Kai manages to jump over the gap and attempts to shoot the hovercraft, but hits a lookout tower. As they helplessly watch Pythor leave, Zane uses his Ice power to extinguish the flames and Cole tells them that the damages done in the attempt is gonna add 20 years to their sentence before being forced to surrender as the guards surround them.
In their cell, the ninja are awoken by a guard to assign them to work detail, where they're put on a bus, alongside Mezmo and Fugi-Dove, the latter asking Jay his reason for being in prison as well as their 'rivalry,' miffing the latter. Once the assigned prisoners were on board, the guard gives them some ground rules about the work detail, which is picking up trash along Route 22 before the bus takes off. However, on the way, they encounter an old man, which is actually Dareth in disguise, trying to fix his van. With the driver and guard distracted, Nya shows up in her new Samurai X MECH to break the ninja out. Once they hide behind a rock, Nya signals Dareth to pick them up, which he does so, while turning the vehicle onto its back exit to prevent the other inmates from escaping before taking off.
In his office while playing golf, Dwayne informs Mayor Trustable of the escape, who then calls the Police Commissioner. Learning the Commissioner cannot comply with the order to pursue and arrest the ninja, due to jurisdiction, which he seemed to have forgotten, Trustable sends his phone into his fish tank, and orders Dwayne to bring in Hounddog McBrag.
While still in the getaway vehicle, Dareth took off his disguise and told them his strategy was breaking them out. He then told them there is a change of clothes in the back, which Fugi-Dove had somehow managed to smuggle himself into. As they continue along, a police car started to pursue him, and Dareth goes off road, managing to drive over a rock, which the police car rolls on before the van returns to the road, only to face engine troubles. Unable to fix it, due to a blown piston, they, after changing out of their prison uniforms and into their new suits, along with Fugi-Dove, start moving on foot, completely sweaty and dehydrated from the vast heat. Lloyd then remembers Twitchy Tim's gas station, which Zane tells him is over 5 miles away, and they make their way to it.
Back at the bus, three trucks arrive at the scene, and Hounddog McBrag exits it to give a speech to the officers about the ninja's escape before ordering them to find them. At night, the ninja, Dareth and Fugi-Dove hide behind a rock as a helicopter passed by over them before Lloyd makes a plan to split up in order to reach the station with Kai, Zane, and Dareth in one group, and Cole, Jay, Fugi-Dove (who wants to 'lecture' Jay more), and Lloyd in another before taking off, with Fugi-Dove cooing, leaving Jay completely miffed even more.
Having separated to throw the police off, Kai, Zane and Dareth move along in the desert, with Kai and Dareth exhausted from dehydration. Kai spots a van and successfully gets the driver's attention, while Zane activates his cloaking device to look human. The driver, a girl named Sally, asks what they're doing out in the desert. They manage to deceive her and ask for a ride to Ninjago City, to which she agrees.
In the van, Sally plays a song she wrote and reveals that she is moving to Ninjago City to become a singer. Dareth compliments her song, but Zane expresses his confusion to the song's lyrics. He then asks about a photo of Sally and her parents. Saddened, Sally begins to cry, and Zane stops the van. As they try to comfort her, Sally confesses that she ran away from home, stealing the van and denting the front bumper in the process — which she describes as "borrowed without asking" and "changed its shape." Just then, a police helicopter arrives, and Sally, thinking they were sent by her parents, immediately drives off.
Kai attempts to explain that they were the ones being pursued and has Zane deactivate his cloaking device, but she doesn't notice and keeps driving. The van ends up at the edge of a cliff. Hounddog McBrag orders the ninja to surrender, after which Sally finally realizes their true target. Kai reveals that they "borrowed something without asking", and Sally lets go of the brake in shock, sending the van over the edge and into the ravine. As the police express their shock, McBrag takes one of the trucks and drives into the ravine in pursuit. The vehicles go through some rapids before Zane freezes the ravine behind them, trapping McBrag and enabling the ninja's escape.
Back on dry land, Sally expresses her excitement at the adventure, but begins to sob again when the van falls apart. She wishes that she could turn her emotion meter off, so that she wouldn't miss her parents and that everything would be fine. Zane comforts her, telling her about Dr. Julien and how unpleasant emotions do serve a purpose. He explains that her emotions are telling her to go home, and consoles her when she expresses worry about not being forgiven by her parents.
Later, the four arrive at Sally's home. With the ninja's encouragement, she knocks on the door, and her parents immediately embrace her. Kai notices Zane smiling at the sight and asks if he turned his emotions back on, which he confirms and reveals that he realized the benefit of emotions, even grief. The trio then leaves to continue their journey.
Jay, Cole, Lloyd and Fugi-Dove continue journeying through the Sea of Sand to find Twitchy Tim's gas station, while Fugi-Dove continues to annoy Jay about turning to a life of crime, even giving him ideas for his criminal alias, eventually coming up with 'Blue-Jay,' which Cole agrees is catchy. Hounddog McBrag and his policemen learn that the ninja could be hiding at Twitchy Tim's gas station. Jay, Cole, Lloyd, and Fugi-Dove come across a nearby road and continue forward as they finally reach Twitchy Tim's gas station and meet up with the other ninja, Dareth and Twitchy Tim, while Cole rushes inside for water.
The rest of the ninja scan for potential villains that the Kabuki Mask could recruit for the Crystal Council. As they eventually agree that the Mechanic could be the next recruit, they are forced to hide as Hounddog McBrag and his forces arrive at the gas station. However, Twitchy Tim accidentally exposes them of their hiding place, although Fugi-Dove manages to sacrifice himself to the police, allowing the ninja and Dareth to get away. Kai uses his Fire on one of their vehicles and drive off with the other, leaving the police stranded.
The ninja arrive back at Ninjago City, searching for the Mechanic in his headquarters. The Mechanic then appears and attacks the ninja, who seems to gain the upper hand until Lloyd pushes an arcade cabinet on him to trap him. Kai, Jay, Zane and Cole then tie up the Mechanic in the Noodle Truck of Crime, as Zane projects a map to track Lloyd with a GPS device as he goes undercover disguised as the Mechanic. A Crystal Spider appears and projects the Kabuki Mask's invitation to "the Mechanic", as they head down underground.
Lloyd, still disguised as the Mechanic, follows a crystal spider down the Ninjago Metro to the Council of the Crystal King. Unbeknownst to him, he is also being followed by another crystal spider.
Meanwhile, the other four ninja continue to track Lloyd's progress in the Noodle Truck of Crime. The real Mechanic is tied up at the back of the truck, whilst Jay and Cole find a box full of noodle soup. Kai and Zane then stop the truck near the entrance to the abandoned airline. At the same time, Jay has Zane put his noodle soup on the instant noodle maker. The Mechanic stealthily shrinks himself out of his bonds by letting his robo arm loose.
Back at the Ninjago Metro, a crystal spider opens up a secret entrance on the wall. Hesitating, Lloyd narrowly makes it through the closing wall and enters a vehicle which travels at a high speed that the other ninja are unable to catch up with.
As Kai drives the truck, the Mechanic breaks free and fights Jay and Cole. The Mechanic then manages to stop the Noodle Truck of Crime, tumbling it over and escapes to the sewers, heading underground to the Ninjago Metro, while the other ninja give chase.
On an underground platform, the ninja are unable to locate the Mechanic. Jay notices light at the end of the tunnel, hinting at a train. Silently lowering himself from the ceiling, the Mechanic pushes the ninja in front of the oncoming train. Jay goes under the train while the others Spinjitzu to the sides. During the ensuing fight, the Mechanic overpowers all four ninja, and manages to escape once again by hitching a ride on a train for a meeting with the Crystal King. Cole attempts to warn Lloyd, but the velocity of the vehicle is interfering with the signal, so there is nothing else the ninja can do. Unbeknownst to them, a crystal spider had recorded their conversation, and left to report it to its master.
Arriving at the Oni Temple, Lloyd walks through a hallway with an army of Vengestone-carved soldiers flanking a narrow walkway. He then encounters the other villains in a meeting chamber, assembled by the Kabuki Mask: Pythor, Aspheera, and Vangelis, alongside Mister F, the newest upgraded model of Mr. E.
The Kabuki Mask then appears and meets with the assembled villains. He reveals that he is merely the Crystal King's servant, and decides that his plans and intentions will not be revealed to them right now; as someone in their council is an impostor. Aspheera accuses Vangelis because of his mask, whilst he accuses Mister F for his helmet.
However, a crystal spider shows a video of the ninja from earlier, revealing that Lloyd was disguised as the Mechanic. Lloyd attempts to escape, but Pythor catches him using his Anacondrai invisibility, so he uses his Spinjitzu to fight the villains.
Mister F then fires a blast at Lloyd, knocking him out of his Spinjitzu. Kabuki Mask then approaches him, mocking Lloyd about coming all the way to seek the truth, curious that the Green Ninja couldn't guess who he is, or if he could feel it. He then provides him with a clue: a familiar lullaby. While Kabuki Mask slowly approaches Lloyd while singing, Vangelis, Pythor, Aspheera, and Mister F gather around him, as he's losing consciousness.
The Green Ninja watches as the Kabuki Mask slowly removes the mask from his face, and his voice changes to that of a female's. When the mask is fully removed, Lloyd expressed horror and disbelief as the person's true identity is revealed to be Harumi before he finally blacks out.
Hounddog McBrag and two policemen arrive at the Monastery of Spinjitzu where they encounter Wu. McBrag then claims that since the ninja are now fugitives, the Destiny's Bounty must be impounded under law enforcement. While the Bounty is being confiscated, Wu states to the marshal that the ninja had saved Ninjago many times and should be praised as heroes, though Hounddog McBrag only states that they only did that when they were heroes and they must be taken to Kryptarium Prison. He then hands him an opened envelope from the Postman, and threatens to arrest Wu should he hold any information on the ninja's whereabouts and leaves.
Wu then leaves to hangar bay, where P.I.X.A.L., Nya, and Skylor are tracking the ninja through the N line, searching for Lloyd. Jay comes across an old, classic subway vehicle along the way, and they continue their search on afterwards. However, they do not notice that a Crystal Spider is secretly following them.
Meanwhile, Lloyd is trapped in a Vengestone cage above a pit of lava. He tries to convince Harumi to change her mind, but he only falls to her manipulation once more. However, when Lloyd remarks that she doesn't want innocent people to get hurt, she has a saddened look, right before her eyes suddenly glow purple with anger, and she proceeds to manipulate Lloyd by convincing him that he has a hidden dark side like his father, and prepares to send Crystal Spiders as an attempt to kill the ninja within an explosion, as Lloyd is forced to painfully watch.
Unbeknownst to them, however, they survive and find refugee in the old subway car. With Lloyd believing that his friends are dead, Harumi once again tries to manipulate him to join the Crystal King. Lloyd initially refuses, but as Harumi plans to dispose of Wu, Nya, Skylor, and P.I.X.A.L. next, Lloyd's eyes begin to glow purple and he ruthlessly breaks out of his cage. He proceeds to attack Harumi and Mister F. With the latter knocked down, Harumi tries to aggravate Lloyd further in this state, and in doing so, he shoots purple energy blasts at her. After realizing what he's doing, he regains his senses before being shot down unconsciously by Mister F, as Harumi says, "Welcome back, Son of Garmadon".
The four original ninja are still trapped within the BRTM-12 in the N line. They try to figure a way out, but their attempts only lead to the roof beginning to cave in on them, so they attempt to contact Wu, Nya, P.I.X.A.L., and Skylor, but with no luck. Zane then proceeds to attempt amplifying Kai's communicator, in hope that then they'll be able to reach them.
Soon afterwards, the Council of the Crystal King arrive at the hangar bay to take the Golden Weapons, to which Wu replies that they should take them - if they could. To which, a fight breaks between Wu and the others, and the Crystal Council.
As they fight, Skylor, P.I.X.A.L., and Nya are later overwhelmed, until Wu is the only one left, and is able to hold off Aspheera, Vangelis and The Mechanic for a while. Just before they can gain access to the weapons, P.I.X.A.L. summons multiple MiniPix to attack them. While the effects are efficient, tons of Crystal Spiders soon appear and shoot down the MiniPix. As they do so, Aspheera tells Nya that Harumi sends her regards, surprising her before she and the others are defeated. With all of them out of the way, the four villains were able to steal the de-powered Golden Weapons, and the Crystal Spiders are implanted as bombs. One MiniPix manages to reassemble itself and save P.I.X.A.L., Wu, and Skylor, but was unable to find Nya. When Nya wakes up - shortly before the Crystal Spiders blow up - she hurries to her Samurai X MECH, protecting herself from the explosion of the monastery.
The others grieve over Nya's apparent demise, until she breaks through the ruins in the Samurai X MECH, which had also been damaged. They soon receive a signal from Zane, who requests for their help before the roof caves in even more, but they manage find an escape hatch and go through it, securing them for a little while. Nya heads off to save them, and Wu wishes her good luck.
The Council of the Crystal King arrive at the Crystal Temple with the Golden Weapons. Lloyd, completely wrapped up in Vengestone chains, hears that Wu and the others lost to the Crystal Council, and Harumi says to Lloyd that because she felt hurt after losing her parents to the Great Devourer's attack, it is Lloyd's turn to feel loss, and tries to manipulate him into using his anger to become like his father, but Lloyd resists. Meanwhile, the Crystal Council leaves to prepare the ritual for the Golden Weapons.
Meanwhile, Kai, Jay, Cole, and Zane are still trapped within the rubble. They manage to find an exit by following a rat, but they fail to find a way to the surface. Once they reach as far as they can go, Jay tries singing a song as they wait for the others to arrive for help, but the rubble begins to collapse. The others try to hold a giant boulder above them, but are not strong enough to lift it for long. Just when their demise is near, Nya arrives and saves them in her Samurai X MECH. After hearing word that the Monastery of Spinjitzu was destroyed and Harumi has resurfaced, the others head off to an "old base," just before Hounddog McBrag could arrest them.
Nya and the others return to the Samurai X Cave, where they reunite with Wu, P.I.X.A.L., and Skylor. As MiniPix Seven fixes up the power in the cave, they question what Harumi's motives could be with the Golden Weapons, and they figure out a plan to save Lloyd. Back at the Crystal Temple, Aspheera begins a ritual for the Golden Weapons, transforming them into the Weapons of Destruction. During the ritual, the Overlord begins to take physical form, emerging from his crystal, leaving Lloyd in shock by the return of Ninjago's greatest enemy as the Overlord maniacally laughs and proclaims that "It ends now."
After returning to Ninjago, the Overlord tells Lloyd how his grandfather, Garmadon, and the ninja have failed to defeat him many times. As Lloyd believes that there's still hope to stopping the Overlord, he promises to destroy Lloyd's hope and uses his powers to grant the Council of the Crystal King new powers and the Weapons of Destruction, and begins to move the Crystal Temple airborne. He offers a chance for Lloyd to join his side, but he refuses, kicks the Scythe of Destruction into the central crystal, sending the temple tilting to the side, and manages to break free of his Vengestone chains. Vangelis recovers the Scythe and flies after Lloyd, only to be knocked aside by a Vengestone statue.
The Overlord, after rightening the temple, orders the Council to hunt down and destroy Lloyd through the temple, with Harumi being overall reluctant to do so. As the chase occurs, the Overlord awakens his Crystal Warriors. Lloyd is eventually cornered by the Crystal Council (except Harumi). He tries to convince them that the Overlord will destroy everything, but the Mechanic says that the Overlord will not destroy them, and the Council throw their weapons at Lloyd, although he dodges and the Weapons cause an explosion, due to the immense power of all four Weapons at once. As he escapes, Harumi leads the members to go the opposite way that Lloyd went, and Lloyd gets chased by a Vengestone Guard. Lloyd manages to save himself from falling off the temple.
Harumi arrives and convinces Lloyd to join the Overlord's side, but he still refuses, and decides to jump off the Crystal Island and take Harumi with him as the rest of the Council watch in confusion and shock, even refusing to jump after them. Lloyd manages to swim out of the river with Harumi. Back at the Samurai X Cave, the ninja try working on their vehicles, but fail to get them working. Suddenly, Lloyd's tracker goes off, alerting the ninja of his location at Primeval's Eye. In order to save Lloyd, Wu and the others decide that they must break the law twice and steal back their old vehicles and the Destiny's Bounty back, to which they all agree to.
Two security guards are patrolling the police impound lot. The four ninja and Nya form their plans to retrieve their vehicles back while Nya takes back the Destiny's Bounty. As the ninja get their vehicles, Zane is caught, though Wu surprises them and locks them in a booth, finally deciding to stick by the ninja's side. The ninja then reactivate their vehicles, and Wu boards the Bounty as the group take off.
Meanwhile, Lloyd and Harumi (as Lloyd's prisoner) traverse through Primeval's Eye. Harumi tries to get into Lloyd's head as usual, though he refuses to listen and forces her onward. As Harumi eventually manages to attack Lloyd with a nearby leaf hitting him, she steals back her Katana and flees as Lloyd gives chase. However, they both fall into a pit of quicksand. Left with no other option, Harumi hands Lloyd her sword as he cuts a vine to pull him out, and cuts another one to free Harumi. Lloyd then forces Harumi to have her hands tied up, but is attacked once more. As they get into a brief argument, the rest of the Crystal Council arrive on Dragonides to find Lloyd and Harumi.
As they hide, Harumi kicks down Lloyd to give away their location. As Lloyd tries to restrain Harumi, the Crystal Council attack him with their Dragonides, though Lloyd manages to escape. As Lloyd reaches a dead end though, he is confronted by Harumi once more. Suddenly, Wu and Nya appear on the Bounty, as Lloyd jumps aboard. As the Crystal Council attack them, Zane, using his Golden Dragon Jet, fights the Council in an aerial battle. With the Council taken out, Lloyd and the others notice the Crystal Island airborne and slowly moving towards Ninjago City. As Lloyd tells Nya and Wu that the Overlord has returned, Wu orders Kai and Cole to fall back on their attack. Lloyd then stares down at Harumi as she smiles and flees, while Lloyd and the others take off.
Garmadon, who was waiting for his pizza delivery, was surprised to see Lloyd and Wu before he lets them in his apartment. Wu then begins to question Garmadon about the latter's presence in the city right under his nose. After helping the Ninja defeat the Oni, Garmadon went to find out what it meant to have life, even scaring some kids, including Leroy during his walk. He disrupts a man feeding pigeons and a chicken, burned a bush that a gardener had just trimmed and disrupted a kids' game of tug-a-war by cutting their rope in half, thinking they were trying to break it with force.
While walking along the city, citizens scared by his presence, Garmadon remembered what Vinny Folson had once told him before arriving at his apartment, where after reassuring a frightened Vinny, he moves in with him. Garmadon explained how he wanted to know more about life from him, having helped some people recently, which he found the experience confusing before Vinny tells him that there is goodness in him, even if his Oni side was brought back. Vinny then gives Garmadon a bit of advice about how to try and be polite and to smile more, which he does, including retracting his lower arms, and tries to smile, but it was too creepy around the citizens. Upon receiving his long overdue pizza, Garmadon tells Lloyd and Wu about the day Vinny gave him a plant as a gift and a lesson on empathy, which he learnt from his father. Garmadon slowly nurtured the plant, even naming it Christofern.
Lloyd impatiently refuses to believe his father had changed and simply demands how he knew the Overlord was returning through newspaper clippings he was sending to Wu. Garmadon explains he could sense anger and hatred, which is how he knew, and was surprised to hear Harumi was alive, still regarding her as a daughter to him, but refuses to help, taking up a vow of not resorting to violence as a result.
Annoyed, Lloyd, along with Wu, leaves the apartment, only to hear a noise and come back to see it destroyed, Christofern damaged, and Garmadon transforming into his Oni Form to attack some Crystal Warriors in retaliation, which makes Wu believe that it could help defeat the Overlord, and that Lloyd should unlock it.
In the rice fields, Cole attempts to defeat some Crystal Warriors, but is knocked back, disabling his vehicle before Jay arrives to extract him, only for the both of them to be saved by Nya aboard the Destiny's Bounty.
Regrouping at the Samurai X Cave, Wu explains the warriors are immune to any attack thrown at them, except Oni Form, which he learnt from Garmadon, who makes his presence known before Kai, Jay, Cole and Zane prepare to attack him, but were stood down by Wu, who wants Lloyd to achieve Oni Form himself. As Garmadon harshly teaches Lloyd, which miserably annoys them all, even expressing to channel rage through the face, and inadvertently says that everything has an opposite, giving Wu an idea about Dragon Form and, along with P.I.X.A.L., heads for Domu to see Misako.
Meanwhile, Gayle Gossip reports on the situation with Vinny Folson having caught the warriors infecting a man, turning him into a crystal zombie before they cross over to Mayor Trustable. The mayor discreetly asks Dwayne to get his car ready before discovering he is live, and attempts to calm the press down. While further back the New Ninja attempt to fight the Crystal Warriors, only to end up turning into zombies themselves. This panics the mayor, who immediately told everyone to run for their lives.
Back at the cave, Garmadon keeps chastising Lloyd for his failures and brags how the latter wants the Overlord and Harumi to win, infuriating Lloyd, who soon conjures Destruction before being warned by the others and immediately extinguished his hands, disappointing Garmadon. This ultimately leads to everyone arguing with Garmadon over his lessons and insulting Wu before they intend to go back out and take on the Crystal Warriors. P.I.X.A.L. then reveals she coated their vehicles with a coating that the temple will boost their power, instead of draining them. With everything in motion, they all take off with Garmadon muttering to Wu that they don't stand a chance.
The Crystal Island continues to float across Ninjago City, as the citizens are attacked and surrounded by Crystal Warriors. However, the four ninja (Kai, Jay, Zane and Cole) arrive and destroy most of the Crystal Warriors with their newly-powered vehicles. The citizens all cheer by the arrival of the ninja, and as it is being filmed by Vinny, some Kryptarium inmates are watching the fight from Kryptarium Prison. Some of the prisoners insult the ninja and claim that once they break out, they'll be able to do what they want without the presence of the ninja, only to be silenced and corrected by Ronin. From the Destiny's Bounty, Nya reports that the ninja are using too much of their vehicles' engines and are told by her and Lloyd to ease up on using the energy. Wu then appears, wearing the Dragon Chestplate, with some modifications from P.I.X.A.L. However, when Garmadon claims that the Dragon Chestplate won't protect him from the Overlord, Lloyd scolds him for evening fighting with them if he believes they will lose in the end and leaves as Wu chases him. A sadden Garmadon carries Christofern in a soda can, as he explains to Nya its relevant purpose and how the plant helped him to understand compassion and humanity. When Nya explains that the plant will need water to grow, she leaves, saddened about not having her powers.
On the Crystal Island, Harumi notices Zane incoming on his Golden Dragon Jet. As the Overlord is confident that Zane's jet will malfunction like it did the last time, Zane strikes some blasts at it. Realizing his overconfidence got the better of him, he unleashes some Dragonides to attack Lloyd, Wu, Nya and Garmadon at the Destiny's Bounty. As they attack them, a Dragonide crushes Christofern, which triggers Garmadon's Oni Form. At the same time, Nya struggles to summon her Water powers. Garmadon takes flight and destroys some of the Dragonides. However, as he notices Harumi, she jumps on a Dragonide and destroys one of the ship's engines. Wu then files to and scales the Crystal Island with the Dragonbone Blade.
Meanwhile, a Dragonide lifts up Kai's Golden Dragon Raider and tosses it on Cole's Dragon Cruiser, causing the two to crash into a wall. At the same time, a Dragonide jumps on Zane's Golden Dragon Jet and rips off one of its thrusters, holding the jet down and is crashed onto a highway in the city, and is badly damaged in an explosion. Wu then scales the top of the Crystal Island and engages in an epic, one-on-one fight with the Overlord. Despite Wu's best efforts, he ultimately loses and is struck down by the Overlord. However, Wu manages to reach to the Chestplate's wings. The Overlord then uses his Darkness to strike at the central crystal, and finally unleashing his true power never seen before by the ninja; crystalizing all of Ninjago City.
He then uses his power to shoot a blast at the Bounty, setting it on fire as it descends. Jay notices, but he crashes his Golden Dragon Motorbike into some crystals. Lloyd tries to reach for the airbreaks, but even though he succeeds in it, the Bounty scraps on a building, causing the ship to be split in half, with Nya falling down on the front half, though her fall is secured by the rails, whilst Lloyd and Garmadon's fall ends in an explosion, as the Overlord floats back onto his throne, claiming that the end has now begun with all of the ninja separated.
Wu freefalls in the sky, until he is grabbed by a Dragonide, until he manages to break free before coming across the canal and detaches his wings to fall in. Nelson and Antonia arrive to rescue him.
Meanwhile, The Mechanic approaches the front of the Destiny's Bounty, searching for Nya, who is trapped under the mast. Upon finding her, the Mechanic mocks her lack of powers before telling the Crystal Warriors to crystalize her. Before they could have the chance, Jay arrives on his bike to knock them away, and prepares to help Nya, who insists he leave her, but Jay refuses, stating he had just got her back. As they try to lift the mast, more crystal warriors arrive, and a nearby fire hydrant suddenly bursts and blasts the warriors away with Water, surprising Jay, who believes Nya is starting to regain her powers. Eventually, he manages to free her and they take off.
Nelson and Antonia bring Wu to the newspaper warehouse, where Sammy is leading the paperboys to certain routes before Nelson and Antonia arrive with Wu, whom they immediately assist before learning that they intend to fight back, but Wu objects and demands they evacuate.
As they make their way through the crystal invested streets, Jay gets an idea and with Nya slowly regaining her power, she can use them to communicate with the whales to send Benthomaar a message for his, and his kingdom's help.
At the warehouse, Wu prepares the paperboys for evacuation, only to hear the sounds of crystal warriors surrounding two people, upon being cornered in the alleyway, and, along with the paperboys, save them. Inspired by their bravery, Wu uses their radio to give out a speech, proclaiming the news never sleeps, anyone listening in is an honorary ninja and that they never quit.
The rear half of the Destiny's Bounty crashes into the streets of Ninjago City before Garmadon digs himself out of the wreckage and finds Lloyd trapped under a mailbox next to him. Offering assistance to Lloyd, the Green Ninja refuses and instead reminds Garmadon of all the times that he wasn't there to help his son. Lloyd then uses Spinjitzu to free himself. As Lloyd leaves to look for the other ninja, Hounddog McBrag pulls up in his police truck. He soon got out to proclaim Lloyd under arrest and refuses to listen to him about their current situation. Garmadon adds that Lloyd never surrenders and attempts to attack McBrag with Destruction, but Lloyd shoves him down, the blast instead hitting a sign forcing McBrag to dodge. Lloyd and Garmadon escape into the sewers.
McBrag enters the sewers, where he hears noises and assumed it was Lloyd and Garmadon, only to discover it was some crystalized Hypnobrai before Lloyd saves McBrag by knocking them down with his Elemental Power, leaving the latter speechless as the former takes off.
Elsewhere in the streets of Ninjago City, Dragonides fly overhead as Antonia leads some stray citizens back to the Paperboy's hideout. One of them reveals herself to be Misako, and Wu welcomes her. She has retrieved a scroll from the Library of Domu, but she does not understand the language it was written in. The scroll is the last prophecy of Quanish the Elder. Wu expresses his dislike of Quanish and calls him a fool, but Misako counters that he had prophetic abilities, which he had used to predict not only the return of darkness, but also the chance of victory for the light. According to Quanish, during the final battle, followers of the First Spinjitzu Master would be required to face a hard decision. If these followers recalled their courage and fight for the greater good, then they would be granted Dragon Form. Wu is reluctant to believe Quanish's far-fetched prophecies, but Misako reminds him that these prophecies are all that they have against the Overlord. She also says that even though the depictions seemed easy to understand, the words were indecipherable, to which Wu says that they will have to rely on the images and pray that his views on Quanish were wrong.
In another part of the city, P.I.X.A.L. defeats two Crystal Warriors before going further into the city. Nearing the location where Zane's jet crashed, she sees the wreckage of the jet further down an abandoned highway. After removing some debris, she is surprised to see Clutch Powers in the jet's cockpit. "Clutch" suddenly morphs into Akita, who morphs into Racer Seven, who in turn morphs into Benthomaar. P.I.X.A.L. deduces that Zane's cloaking feature must have been damaged in the crash, and she removes the cockpit's windshield. Zane's decapitated head falls out, along with his arms. As P.I.X.A.L. picks up Zane's head, it assumes the Ice Emperor's likeness, and it declares that Zane does not exist anymore. P.I.X.A.L. notices that they are not far from Borg Tower, and ties Zane's parts to her back before heading towards the tower. She almost manages to avoid patrols of Crystal Warriors, but the "Ice Emperor" speaks up suddenly, attracting all the Crystal Warriors' attention. In their last moments, P.I.X.A.L. declares her love for Zane, who as the Ice Emperor retorts that love is for the weak. A large prison bus drives up and clears all of the Crystal Warriors away. Ronin emerges from the bus' doorway, calling for P.I.X.A.L. to board the bus.
As Ronin drives away, P.I.X.A.L. questions why Ronin is out of Kryptarium Prison, and is surprised to see Ultra Violet, Killow and Fugi-Dove on the bus as well. Fugi-Dove tells the story of how the power in the prison was suddenly cut, and how the inmates took the opportunity to escape. Fugi-Dove also claims that he stopped everyone else from escaping, but Ultra Violet disproves this claim. She tells the accurate version of the story, where Ronin was the one who blocked the inmates' way during their escape. He told them that they could choose to be the criminals that society thought of them as, or they could stay back and fight for their city, and maybe make their mothers proud, the final reason making Fugi-Dove cry. After the inmates all agreed, they found the bus in the prison and drove it away to where they are now.
Upon reaching Borg Tower, P.I.X.A.L. meets Cyrus Borg, who had been busy, working on a new series of mechs that he failed to notice the attack. As P.I.X.A.L. opens up the giant window shutters behind Borg, the inventor is surprised to see the Overlord's forces rampaging outside and cannot believe that the Overlord has returned. P.I.X.A.L. requests Borg's help in fixing Zane. Borg begins to talk about the time needed, but a giant shockwave ripples through the room from outside. P.I.X.A.L. laments that the one thing they do not have is time.
Kai regains consciousness in the wreck of his vehicle before managing to get out and comes across Cole, who's disoriented from the crash. Hearing Pythor close by searching for them, Kai grabs Cole and they head for an alleyway as Pythor started to close in on them. Their attempt to hide behind a dumpster fails when Cole, in his disoriented state, gives away their position and Kai tries to fight back.
Skylor soon showed up, and absorbs Kai's Fire and Cole's Earth before using them to block Pythor's view to make their getaway. Upon escaping the alleyway, Skylor explains how the Destiny's Bounty was destroyed, surprising Cole, who recovers from his disoriented trance, and quickly hide before they could be spotted by Harumi, who was patrolling on a Dragonide.
Kai soon leads them to Benny's Arcade Emporium for shelter, where they come across Jake, who had the same idea. As Skylor objected to Kai's solution and more potential hiding spots too far, she receives a transmission from Wu, proclaiming 'the news never sleeps,' which makes them realize he is at the newspaper warehouse and head for it.
Meanwhile, while trying to find a way back to the surface, Lloyd and Garmadon end up in the library of the Serpentine City, and discovered they had already evacuated. Garmadon then remarked they wouldn't be useful and tells Lloyd he must achieve his Oni Form, to which Lloyd mentions it is his greatest fear before asking if Garmadon cares about something. Upon Garmadon showing Christofern, Lloyd stubbornly tells him plants don't count.
Kai, Cole, Skylor, and Jake eventually reach the warehouse, only to find themselves cornered by crystal zombies before the paperboys arrive and save them. As Wu tries to comfort a couple he and the paperboys first saved, the man asks about their son, but Wu tells him it's too dangerous to go out and search for them before Kai, Cole, Skylor, and Jake arrive. Jake immediately spotted the couple and ran towards them, relieved to see his parents before they all embrace while Wu came over to the others. As they express joy at seeing each other again, Skylor looked at Jake and his parents, smiling at the reunion.
At the newspaper warehouse, Kai gives off a speech about their current situation before giving everyone noodles, which makes the survivors happy before moving to help Skylor. He then brings up how they should be a couple, but Skylor then remarks the times he neglected her, so he tells her the things he went through before she tells him once it's over, then they'll talk it over.
While looking at the scroll, Wu is unable to translate the writing on it before Misako suggests he take a break. Pretty soon, they hear from Cole, whom along with Nelson managed to tune the radio to their frequencies. Wu then speaks with the remainder of the team: Lloyd and Garmadon in the Serpentine City, Jay and Nya on their way to the harbour, and P.I.X.A.L. at Borg Tower with the dismantled Zane, Ronin, Ultra Violet, Killow and Fugi-Dove. Cole then prepared to reveal their location, but Wu tells him not to, and he simply states 'the news never sleeps,' which everyone translates it to the warehouse and explain each others' plans. Jay and Nya would head over to the harbour for Nya to use her recovering Water powers to send a signal to Benthomaar and the Merlopians, Lloyd and Garmadon would keep trying to search for the Serpentine, and P.I.X.A.L. will meet up with them once Zane is repaired and the new mechs are finished, although they have minor difficulties with them.
Wu then remembers their time in Shintaro and that Vania said she and her army would help them. As Cole has doubts about it since their radio would be unable to reach them, Vinny Folson suggests the Ninjago News Center, which is on the other side of town, and Racer Seven, now calling herself 'Blazey H. Speed', volunteers to drive them over in the NGTV News van.
Meanwhile at Borg Tower, P.I.X.A.L. helps Ultra Violet get used to her mech. It peeps into Violet's head that she could use it to beat the ninja but P.I.X.A.L looks at her sternly. Fugi-Dove proceeds to joke around with the mech, claiming to be "Mega-Dove" now, though he accidentally throws his mech into a TV frame. Cyrus calls Pix over for Zane and tells her that he's essentially in a coma due to his memory banks taking damage. Cyrus tells her he will try his best and P.I.X.A.L understood.
Later, Cole, Vinny and Blazey go to the NGTV News Truck. Cole questioned if it would really get them through but Blazey confirms she can do it. She fires a laser blaster at a nearby car to attract the attention of the crystal zombies. They jump into the van drive through Ninjago City.
At Borg Tower, everyone prepares to leave but Zane still hasn't awoken. P.I.X.A.L tried talking to Zane, reminding him of what he had done for her. Pixal joins the rest to leave but Zane wakes up, he and Pixal hug in rejoice as he explains that hearing her voice brought him back, which moved everyone, especially Fugi-Dove to tears. PIXAL calls Mini-Pix for the mech she made and Mini-Pix begins to bring it. PIXAL then proclaims that she is ready to fight.
Racer 7 escorts Cole across Ninjago City to send for help, and Lloyd gives Garmadon a chance to prove he has changed.
At the newspaper warehouse, Nelson informs Wu of the ninja and Garmadon arriving. As they're all relieved to see each other, Wu shows them some of their allies, Ronin of which surprises Lloyd. Wu then showed the ninja and Garmadon the scroll from Quanish the Elder, with Garmadon remarking him as a fool. Partially defending him, Wu explains that Quanish prophesied that the defenders of Ninjago would achieve Dragon Form through certain motions displayed on the scroll, which Kai believes is to 'jump up, kick back, whip around, and spin.' The paperboys clear some space for the ninja to attempt to achieve Dragon Form, but ultimately fail.
At the Crystal Island, the Council of the Crystal King is reprimanded by the Overlord for their failure to capture the ninja before Harumi and Mister F come forth, the latter of which intercepted a part of Cole's message with the motto 'the news never sleeps', which leads them to discover they're hiding at the warehouse. At Borg Tower, Cyrus Borg notices the temple moving on the radar.
With the ninja still unable to achieve Dragon Form, Wu throws the scroll in anger before Nelson noticed a certain part folded revealed something and informs them. Cole folds the rest of it, to which Wu discovers writing in Old Tongue: "Only if the allies unite through a selfless act, will main and might prevail the light, and dragon take flight." At that moment, Cyrus radios in to warn them of the Overlord approaching the warehouse. Kai insists on evacuating the refugees, but Cole objects to it before Garmadon makes a plan to attack the Overlord from the back and Lloyd, much to the former's annoyance and reluctance, joins in. As Kai and Cole insist on coming as well, Wu tells them they need to draw the Overlord's attention. Once they barricaded the alleyway and welded the roller doors shut, that would result in an attack from the front, which they, along with Ronin's group in their mechs, would defend, but Killow is forced to give his up as transport for Lloyd to the temple. Witnessing P.I.X.A.L. hug and wish Lloyd luck, Garmadon asks why she didn't say the same to him, which Lloyd insists she was uneasy with his father fighting, but Garmadon believes P.I.X.A.L. doesn't trust him, and asks if Lloyd trusts him, to which he replies that he might before they take off.
On the ground, the council and Crystal Warriors arrive at the warehouse, where Cole thinks they should talk it out before Jay does so, which fails miserably before they all charge toward them. Atop the temple, as the Overlord and Harumi watch the battle, Lloyd and Garmadon arrive to battle them themselves.
As the ninja reclaim their individual Golden Weapons, they channel their Elemental Powers to break the crystals corrupting them and restoring them back to their pure energy once more. This renders the Crystal Warriors powerless, and they are destroyed by the members of the Resistance. However, just when they think they've secured victory, Aspheera claims that the ninja and the others will be corrupted by the Overlord before being frozen by Zane. The Overlord only begins to grow stronger in power, and fights back Harumi, Lloyd and Garmadon. Wu finally realizes that what Aspheera said was accurate; that the Overlord plans to corrupt the Elements of Creation, which will petrify all life in Ninjago, and that they are too late to stop the Overlord's plan.
Atop of the Crystal Island, Harumi, Lloyd, and Garmadon continue to battle the Overlord. However, the Overlord once again overpowers all three of them, and knocks back Garmadon, leaving him severely injured. The impact causes him to revert to his normal form, and as Lloyd tries to reassure him, Garmadon claims it is too late for him and seemingly dies.
As the Overlord taps into the central crystal to begin corrupting the Elements of Creation, Lloyd, completely enraged, transforms into his Oni form and knocks back the Overlord with Destruction. However, he quickly reverts to his normal self after looking at his reflection, giving the Overlord the opportunity to knock Lloyd off the Crystal Island before proceeding to tap the crystal again, this time preparing to corrupt all life in Ninjago.
As Wu realizes that it is too late to stop the Overlord's ultimate goal of petrifying all life in Ninjago, he states that their last hope is to reunite the weapons, freeing the elemental power bestowed in them. The ninja fly up to a building and say their last words, believing this to be the end. The destruction of the Golden Weapons summons a golden beam of light, countered by a blast of darkness from the Crystal Temple. Ultimately, the temple's blast wins as it spreads corruption throughout Ninjago, crystalizing all below (including the ninja).
Despite this, the powers of the weapons form the Golden Ultra Dragon, which catches Lloyd from his fall. Believing to having succeeded in petrifying all life in Ninjago, the Overlord spitefully prepares to kill Harumi, but the Green Ninja arrives upon the Golden Ultra Dragon to fight the Overlord.
Fighting one-on-one for the first time since the ultimate battle, the Golden Ultra Dragon uses Earth, Fire, Ice, and Lightning to attack the Overlord. Using their combined powers, Lloyd and the Golden Ultra Dragon were able to use a powerful beam of golden energy on the Overlord, immobilizing the Crystal King before shattering him to pieces. Lloyd and Harumi reunite, alongside with Garmadon, who reveals he was faking his death in an attempt to draw out Lloyd's Oni Form. The three fly on the Golden Ultra Dragon to escape the collapsing Crystal Island. With the defeat of the Overlord, everyone (including the ninja) is freed and witness the Crystal Island being destroyed by a burst of light, which erased the infectious crystals and restoring peace to Ninjago.
The ninja, alongside some of their friends and allies head onto a building to meet with Lloyd, Garmadon, Harumi, and the Golden Ultra Dragon. The ninja are uneasy by the presence of Harumi, though Garmadon and Lloyd reassure that she is now on their side. The ninja realize the Golden Ultra Dragon is a combination of their elemental powers and bid them farewell as the dragon fades away. Wu comments that their powers will return in time, and that for now they must rebuild.
Somewhere on a distant mountain, Garmadon replants Christofern, and feels proud for what he has accomplished and leaves to help the ninja rebuild the Monastery of Spinjitzu.
As the ninja struggle to rebuild it, Dareth arrives with their friends, families and allies whom fought aside them during the Overlord's conflict, deciding to help out with the reconstruction of the Monastery. Christofern is seen on the mountain once more, flourishing healthily.
== Characters ==
=== Ninja & Allies ===
=== Vengestone Army ===
== Sets ==
Category:Ninjago
Category:Themes introduced in 2022
Category:Subthemes