At the Destiny's Bounty, the Ninja are trying to figure out how to stop Pythor from unleashing the Devourer while examining a Fangblade hologram.
"They got the first one, but there are three more, and we just need one to stop Pythor. They have a map, and we don't, so they question remains: how are we gonna find them first?" Nya questions
"I still can't get over the fact that you were the mysterious Samurai. Is anyone else blown away like I am?" Jay asks excitedly
"We're over that. Can we move on?" Kai says annoyed
"Someone's a little hot under the collar" Jay mumbles
"It appears his impatience is because he has not found inner peace and unlocked his full potential like you and I have, Jay" Zane says
"Great observation, Mr. Roboto, but Cole and Aria haven't found it either" Kai crosses his arms
Aria suddenly gasps "I remember where I've seen the fangblade"
"where?" Kai asks
"Cole Cole Cole, the book the book the book" Aria excitedly jumped up and down
"Oh yeah" Cole leaves the room and returning with a picture book.
Aria eagerly takes the book from him and shows to the rest of the team, the Blade Cup from the photo album.
"That's it!" Jay shouts
"Back when I grew up, there's this pretty big competition where every year the winner gets the Blade Cup. My dad and Aria won it multiple times" Cole explains
"You never told us your dad was an accomplished athlete. What sport?" Zane asks
"Oh, h-he's a, uh...a blacksmith" Cole says
Kai shrugs "Nothing wrong with that. My father was a blacksmith, too. But I've never heard of a competition-"
"Uncle Lu's not a "blacksmith" blacksmith. He's a Royal Blacksmith" Aria corrects as she turns the page of her album to show them a picture of her and Cole's dad holding the blade cup
"But how did the Fangblade become a trophy?" Kai questions
"Well, supposedly, the Blade Cup was made by this guy who collected priceless artifacts. His name was something like, uh, Dutch...no, Clutch. Clutch Powers! Anyway, it gets passed on to each year's winner" Cole explains
"who is currently in possession of the trophy?" Zane asks
"I don't know I haven't spoken to my father in years, Aria?" Cole turns to her
She shrugs "I haven't competed since I became a ninja, I don't have the blade cup nor do I know who does"
"Well then, we'll call him up" Kai says
"NO" Cole and Aria shout
"Why not?" Kai questions
"He thinks I'm in Ninjago City training at the Marty Oppenheimer School of Performing Arts" Cole groans "He wanted me to follow in his footsteps. But when I couldn't sing or dance, well I...I ran away. Aria was his prodigy, she can sing and dance. But when he sees I can't dance, he'll know I've been lying in all the letters I've been sending him"
"He doesn't know you're a Ninja?" Zane asks
Cole sighs "What? You gonna crack some joke that my old man wears a tutu?"
Kai shakes his head "No, but if we're going to have any chance at getting that Fangblade before they do, we better get our own act in tune"
"Then how about we go see Uncle Lu" Aria suggests happily
-
The Ninja finally located Lou's home and jumps off the Bounty. The Ninja use their Golden Weapons to land safely. Cole opens an instrument case.
"Alright, hand them over" Cole says
"Ah-uh. But no mortal shall possess all four" Jay chuckles before giving him the Nunchucks of Lightning.
"You wanna remind me again why we can't keep our weapons?" Kai asks as he and Zane give Cole their weapons as well.
"I told you, my dad can't find out I'm a Ninja. And I don't feel like making up excuses why I'm carrying a giant scythe around with me" Cole says as he closed the case
"And what about Aria's fans?" Kai questions
" I left them on the Bounty" Aria tells him
"do you think that's a good idea?" Kai asks
"It's not like their's a relentless bounty hunter going after my weapons" Aria shrugs
"Just remember the plan: we find out who has the Fangblade trophy, we snatch it, and then we get the heck out of town" Cole knocks on the door.
"Just a moment" Lou calls out before he opens the door.
Cole smiles "Hey, dad. How long has it been?"
"What? You too good for the doorbell?" Lou slams the door on them and Aria laughs
Aria rings the doorbell and it sings "welcome"
Lou happily opens the door opens again "Haha. Come on in, son. It's been forever. Oh my little Aria my favorite niece"
Aria hugs him and laughs "Uncle Lou I'm your only niece"
So Cole what did you bring? A quartet? Come in, come in. I've got a kettle of lemon honey tea on the stove right now" Lou said heading inside
After being seated, Cole groans. Aria sat on the counter while Lou serves the ninja tea.
"Did my son tell you I broke my foot? It was the cha-cha but I swear the percussionist had it in for me" Lu says
Cole sighs "No, dad. I didn't tell them about your silly stories"
"Silly stories?" Lou questions
Kai shook his head "Oh, what he meant was, we've been busy training at the...uh..."
"Uh, the Martha Oppenheimer. Yeah" Jay says
Aria covers her face in embarrassment
"Martha Oppenheimer?" Lou questions suspiciously
"What he's trying to say is the Marty Oppenheimer School of Performing Arts" Zane clarifies
"Right! Well, um, see, we have this final research paper we're doing on the history of Ninjago talent, and what we really wanted to know was how can we get our hands on the Blade Cup?" Cole asks
"You're talking about getting your hands on the Blade Cup? The most prized and heavily guarded award in all of Ninjago, the symbol of excellence in harmony and grace? You can't just get it, you have to earn it. You have to exhibit style. Perfect pitch. Push the boundaries of artistic license and win this year's Ninjago Talent Show!" Lou says "Is this why you came? You knew I was injured and when my quartet insisted we shan't go on, you four have come to take our place! Haha, ingenious! My son, bringing forth the next evolution of the Royal Blacksmiths! Let me hear the sweet, sweet sound of harmony"
Aria immediately covered her ears. The ninjas try to sing Harmony, terribly, Cole groans and Lou cringes.
"Look, dad. We just need the trophy" Cole says annoyed
"Yeah, we're bringing home the gold and-and we want you to train us" Kai intervenes
Lou sniffles "I've never been more proud. If you'll excuse me, I need to write a song about my feelings"
Lou went into the other room.
"are you nuts!" the ninja shout at Kai
"Look, we enter this competition so we can get close enough to the Blade Cup. Once we get the Fangblade, we leave town" Kai explains
"Why can't we just win it?" Aria asks
"Because none of us are good enough" Kai says
Aria looks offended "Excuse me but unlike you guys-"
"Ok so it's settled" Jay says and Aria growls in annoyance
-
Later the ninja Ninja are "training."
"Okay, from the op. Five, six, seven, eight" Lou plays some keys on a piano.
The ninja sing terribly again
"Stop, stop. Ugh. If my ears weren't attached to my head, they'd be running away! Kai, love the energy, hate the hair" Lou hits Kai on the head with his cane "Jay, you're giving a lot, but I need more. Zane, you're like a machine. Don't change anything. And Cole, try to act like you wanna be here."
"He's worse than Sensei Wu" Jay whispers to the other ninja
"Okay, moving forward. Let's take a look at the big show-stopping climax. Cole, we can't have history repeating itself." Lou says
Cole sighs "Dad, it was the Triple Tiger Sashay. I was seven"
"What's the Triple Tiger Sashay?" Kai asks
"Only the most difficult dance move ever created" Cole replies
"It's true. Many professionals have dare tried, but it's never been successfully completed" Lou says
"Hence, my father though a seven year-old could. But I ended up falling on my face, humiliating myself, and letting my quartet down" Cole argues
"If you're going to win, you have to go big! Alright, time for a break. Take five" Lou leaves the room
Aria sat in the kitchen eating cookies as the ninja continued practicing outside. Aria followed Lou into the dining room to drink tea with him.
-
At the Concert Hall, contestants are practicing singing, beatboxing, and juggling. The Ninja are practicing their routine. Jay and Kai bumps into each other.
"Ow! Dude you gotta follow me" Jay says annoyed
"Follow you? You're two beats off" Kai argues
Zane interrupts them "Actually, 2.72 off of the beat"
"Guys, guys! Let's not make this any harder than it needs to be. We just stick to the plan and keep up the charade until the trophy's revealed. Once we steal the Blade Cup, we can argue all we want once we get back home" Cole says
"But this is your hometown, Cole. Don't you want to try and win it?" Jay asks
"You really should just be trying to win it fairly" Aria comments
"Ugh, they only dance step I wanna perform is called "get-me-out-of-this-nuthouse-and-let's-burn-these-memories-from-my-head." Cole says
"What?" The heard Lu question
Cole turned around to see Lu "Dad, I..."
"You...you were going to steal it?" Lu asks, unbelieving his ears
Cole sighs "Dad, I didn't mean for you to hear that, but-but I'm glad you did. There's something I've been wanting to tell you. All these years, I haven't been training to be a singer or a dancer. I found something new that I'm really good at. Dad..." He uses Spinjitzu to change into his gi "I'm a Ninja" Lou gasps "And the truth is, if we don't steal that Fangblade-I mean, Blade Cup-there's other people that will. Bad people. Serpentine. And we need it to save the world. I know how ridiculous this sounds, but I'm proud of who I am, and I want you to be proud of me, too"
"I can't be proud of any son who thinks stealing is right. And I'm not gonna wait around to watch you make a mockery of our family's legacy" Lu says angrily
Cole shakes his head "Dad, I-" Lou walks away and Cole groans.
"I'm sure he didn't mean that" Kai says placing a hand on Cole's shoulder
Jay walks up "Maybe if he saw you in action-"
"No, it's-it's okay" Cole says as a group of disguised Serpentine walk out of a dressing room "Treble Makers?"
"Wait a minute. What are they doing here?" Jay question
The ninja looked out to see Pythor at the judges table
"It looks like we're not the only ones planning to steal the Blade Cup" Kai says
"Then I say we make our move. We can't risk losing out again. I say we steal it" Jay says
"We're not gonna steal it. We're gonna win this competition, but we're gonna do it our way" Cole declares
"Our way? " The ninjas question
The Serpentine and Skulkin cheers when the disguised serpentine finished singing, but everyone else boos. Pythor scores it a 10, but the judges scores 6. The former intimidates them to flip their score cards to a 9.
"Next up, The Royal Blacksmi-Uh, hold on. Uh, this just in, there's been a switch. Taking the stage next is Spin Harmony!" the announcer shouts
"If we're gonna do this, I want everyone to see who we are" Cole said
"Ninja, go!" the four shouted
The Weekend Whip plays as the crowd cheers. Pythor orders the Serpentine to attack them. Cole does the Triple Tiger Sashay on three Serpentine. Everyone but the Serpentine and Skulkin cheer.
"Oh, he did it! The Triple Tiger Sashay! He's danced the impossible!" The announcer shouts
The judges gave them a 10 but Pythor gave a 0, but the audience boos him. The ninja head to the back sulking.
"What are we gonna do know?" Jay asks worriedly
"More importantly, where's Aria?" Zane questions
The Ninja look around.
"Guys" Jay points to a corner of the stage to see Aria in a beautiful costume doing dance turns
"Aria's a dancer?!?" Kai shouts
Cole looks at him annoyed "I told you guys that"
"She's competing" Zane states
The ninja all crowd around to watch as Aria was called on stage.
Aria breathes out and mumbles "this is for Lloyd, we're gonna save him"
The judges gave her 10s and Pythor gave a 0. Judge 3 manages to get his arm out and writes a 1 on his score card, turning it into a 10. The crowd cheers.
"What? Wait. I didn't write that" Pythor says agrily
"It's a perfect score! Aria Lord wins the Blade Cup once again reclaiming her tittle!" the announcer shouts
"Oh, this is a travesty of epic proportions! I demand for there to be a recount!" Pythor shouts
They handed her the Blade cup and Aria headed back stage where the ninja hug her immediately.
"that was amazing!" Jay shouts
"you're a great dancer" Zane adds
"thanks boys" Aria smiles
"it looks like you took all of Cole's talent" Kai joked and they laugh
Cole sighs "Winning this doesn't feel the same without my dad being able to-"
"Cole!" Lou came in "I saw it all, son. I saw it all" he hugs Cole
"You saw me dance?" Cole asks
"More importantly, I saw you fight. Those Serpentine were up to no good, trying to steal the show, and I saw you stand up for what is right. I was wrong. I shouldn't have pushed you so hard to follow in my footsteps. Everyone is born with a special talent inside that's just been waiting to get out. And you were born to be a Ninja" Lou says
"You're not mad?" Cole questions
"How can I be? My son's a hero!" Lou replies happily "besides, dancing is Aria's talent"
Aria nods in agreement "Damn straight"
"Language!" the ninja all shout
"seriously, who taught you those words" Kai questions and Aria shrugs
"Eh, sorry to interrupt your little family reunion, but did you know" Pythor rips off his fake beard "it's me, Pythor"
"oh boy, didn't see that coming" Aria says sarcastically
Jay hides a laugh and Pythor rolls his eyes.
"You couldn't fool us, Pythor" Cole says
"I didn't want to miss our big show stopper" Pythor says as two Constrictai pushes a crate and knocks over stage lights over Lou, Cole quickly jumps to cover him.
Pythor laughs as he escapes with the Blade Cup while the other Ninja coughs from the dust.
"They took the Fangblade!" Aria shouts
As they gather around the pile.
"Cole" they say sadly
"he's fine" Aria sighs
the ninja looks at her "how-"
"Cole's relationship with his father not knowing who he is was holding him back, now that uncle Lou knows who he is and is proud of him, Cole can feel proud of himself for who he is, and accept that. Look" Aria explains and points to the briefcase where the Scythe of Quakes is glowing "He has reached his True Potential"
Cole grunts while lifting up the debris with his newfound powers.
"Ugh, great. So now me and Aria really are the only ones who haven't figured out our special power" Kai says annoyed
Cole returns to normal "Is everyone alright? What just happened?"
"We're all okay, son" Lou replies
Back at Lou's house, the Ninja are drinking tea.
Jay sighs "I guess the scorecard now reads Pythor-two Fangblades, Ninja-zero"
"Yeah, but all we need is one, and there are still two left to find" Cole encourages them
"Who knows? Maybe when I unlock my True Potential, I'll turn into the destined Green Ninja" Kai says
"Keep dreaming" Aria said "The only thing you're destined for is a more inflated ego"
The ninja laugh and Lou walks in.
"It may not be the trophy, but it sure will look good on my wall" Lou hangs up a picture of the Ninjas with the blade cup.
"and yet I was the one that won" Aria comments
Jay pats her head "at the end of the day Aria it was a team effort"
"Team effort my ass, I was the one that worked on that dance, all you guys did was fight some serpentine and do spinjitzu" Aria argues
"now now Aria, we're all winners" Zane says
"I'm still better then all of you" Aria crosses her arms
Kai chuckles and walks over to her "Looks like we're last huh?"
"I don't mind" Aria smiles "saving the best for last, right?"
Kai smiles and ruffles her hair "Your right kiddo"