Late in the day, Hachiman sat on a stone just outside the tower. Merida, Rapunzel, Hiccup, and Toothless all sat along the grass in a semicircle around the god while he pensively stroked his thin bearded chin, as if trying to search for the right words before lecturing his children.

The young heroes looked up at him, worried about what he might say after just informing him that they had failed to retrieve the sword and that they were down to only one ancient volcano.

"Do not get me wrong…I am thrilled that you all got Elsa back but…this puts us in the gravest of predicaments." He rubbed his forehead, letting out a frustrated sigh. "For being the Big Four heroes of this world, you sure have a knack for losing quite a lot."

Hiccup yanked out some blades of grass only to toss them back on the ground. "It takes us a while to get any traction we'll give you that."

Rapunzel played around with her hair to avert Hachiman's disappointed gaze. "We're more used to dealing with the Boogeyman…never any crazy, angry gods."

"Well…" Hachiman stood up. "We shall change that." He stated with such determination in his voice.

The deity stared off into the sky. The others turned to look up as well. Jack Frost arrived on the perfect, green grass with the rest of his friends.

"Well?" Merida asked, wanting to be informed.

"I left Elsa with a jolly good friend of mine at the North Pole. He'll take care of her." He smiled.

"Did she wake up?" Rapunzel asked worryingly.

Jack unfortunately shook his head. "No, she was still completely out of it when I took off."

"She'll be alright." Hiccup assured him.

Hachiman added in, "She overcame an impossible darkness, Jack. After such a great feat her mind, body, and soul need rest, days of it."

"Yeah…I know. I'm just happy she's finally alright. I wanted to stay longer, but…" He stabbed his staff into the grass and straightened up heroically. "We have a job to finish."

Confidence flared in Merida's eyes. "Aye! After everything we've been put through, it couldn't have been all for naught."

Hachiman nodded, "Agreed. Susano is a weeks away from the final volcano…we finally have time to prepare."

Hachiman and Jack Frost took a stroll down a dirt road through the forest.

"Tell me, Frost…how long have you wielded your weapon?"

"I guess since the beginning."

"So you have mastered it, yes?"

"Well um…yeah."

"Show me."

"What?"

"Demonstrate how you use it."

"Mm, okay…"

He stopped and took a stance. The Warrior God waited with his hands folded behind his back.

"Hiyah!" Jack made a plain swing, and then looked at the god, awaiting praise.

Hachiman stared at him, oddly. Was the boy fooling around? Surely this could not be it.

"No wait, I also like this move." He planted his staff into the ground and spun around it to deliver a high kick into the air.

"Whoo-ah! Huh? Whataya think?"

"I think you've never had proper training in your life."

"Hey, that's not true! Well…I…yeah no, not really." He swung his staff onto his shoulders. "But no need. I just do what I do." He said with a smirk.

"And how well did you do against Susano?"

Jack's smirk quickly dropped upon remembering his first fight with the Storm God at the Crescent Isles. Susano was so fast and strong and fierce with his trident-spear that Jack could barely keep up. "Not so good…"

Hachiman walked over to the nearest tree. "You are gifted but you lack discipline."

"Discipline?" Jack chuckled. "Have you met me?"

The deity karate chopped a long piece of bark off the nearest tree trunk. He then bent the wood in his hands into a Bo staff.

"Whoa…"

"Due to time, I cannot hope to pass down centuries of the ancient martial arts onto you, but…" He spun his newly formed weapon around and behind his back, and then spun it around his neck before planting it on the ground. "Perhaps I can teach you the basics."

Jack was impressed with the old man's moves.

The Warrior God and the Guardian now stood on top of the waterfall behind the tower. Jack mimicked his instructor's movements slowly, getting the flow right. Then Hachiman picked up the pace, spinning his Bo staff from one side to the other. Jack did the same.

Frost's curved staff was already an extension of himself, no one could wield it as effortlessly as he could, but now he was practicing discipline, learning to use it more like a skilled warrior. By his teacher's side, he continued to acquire the basic forms, flowing like the water beneath them.

Hachiman witnessed that Merida's archery was dead on. Out on a clearing surrounded by leaning trees, she walked along sideways, nailing every target that he had elaborately set up.

"Excellent marksmanship!"

She whipped around, flipping her bush of hair back. "Wot else ye got?"

The deity smiled at her fiery spirit. He proceeded with her training, taking Merida to a place where he could further test her skills.

They now stood on opposite ends of a wide open field. Hachiman raised his arms, bending dozens of hardened little orbs of dirt out of the ground. Floating behind him, he flung them all at Merida in a series of sets.

The warrior princess took down several out of the air with her arrows, and then leaped forward to dodge more incoming. On a knee, she shot down a few more before the sheer amount of projectiles overwhelmed her.

One orb exploded into a puff of dirty smoke upon impacting her shoulder, causing her to drop her bow. Then the rest imploded onto her, consuming her in a suffocating brown cloud. She rolled backwards across the field until stopping flat on her stomach. She coughed and coughed as she picked herself up.

"Again!" She demanded.

"Are you certain?"

"Ah said again!"

"…very well," He created more, unleashing another wave.

Merida wiped her face clean and spat onto the grass before lunging for her bow. She maneuvered from side to side, shooting down the other oncoming targets with several arrows at a time. All the ones she did not evade, she either shot down or batted away with her bow. The Scottish warrior was fast and fierce all across the field, displaying flawless accuracy.

Merida had honed her skills in the years of countless adventures, both with the Big Four and on her own. Her father and the other great warriors of Scotland had taught her well.

Her instructor tossed her a blade to test her swordsmanship. After a short sparing match he saw that she also knew her way around a sword. Pleased with her skills, Hachiman decided to have Merida assist him in training the others.

Out by the peaceful river, Frost practiced his forms by Rapunzel as she did her Tai Chi. Hachiman told her it was a great way to calm her mind in a meditative state while also learning her moves of the martial arts. The two then heard nonstop shouting over by the tower. They hurried to investigate, but what they found was nothing to be alarmed about.

The Scottish warrior princess was yelling at Hiccup like a drill sergeant to give her more push ups. Despite having been raised by similar speaking Vikings, Merida's loud, heavy accent sounded completely foreign to him. He did not understand a word she is spitting out.

Hachiman observed with a hand on his chin while the others could not stop snickering.

"Why yuh slowin' down!? Ye need more upper body strength!"

Sweat stains grew on his taupe undershirt. He had ditched his armored suit since there was currently no need for it. Hiccup's face was hot, burning red as he almost made it to a hundred. "Why don't you do these then?"

The Scottish princess took a queue from her mother, "'Cause ah am a lady." After her impersonation, she switched back to her hotheaded self, "Now get back at it!"

After completing enough, she made him climb up and down the tower until nightfall.