Author's Opening Note: I've decided to publish the final movie adaptation after finishing this one instead of switching over to the one-shot fic. This will free up my schedule sooner rather than later.
Review Responses
Zabaniya: Well, if you don't like how my story is written, don't read it. Simple as that.
BIGPLNTPWNR17: I'm very happy to hear your feedback :) I liked Killer Klowns from Outer Space too, but I'm not sure if I'll ever adapt it.
CrowMan: Thank you very much for your positive feedback and encouragement. It's possible, but unlikely, that I'll come back to this someday, but it'll be a while. As for your "Crow" idea, I'll keep it in mind for my one-shot fic.
Mr. Unknown: It's okay. I appreciate you understanding that I have other priorities in my life. And I like your idea and casting choices. I liked "Fury Road" and I'll keep your casting choices in mind for a one-shot adaptation.
EmeraldStirling: I'm happy to hear that I inspired you. I'll definitely check out your TF2 viewing fic and I'll think about being your beta reader. No promises, though. As I said, my free time has become limited lately. But I'll definitely PM you about my upcoming story and see what you think about it.
Pharamine: Indeed. I'm sorry, friend. Such is life. But, yes, I will be using ideas for this fic in my one-shot. And yes, POTC will be included.
ranjira1988: Yes. I'm strongly considering writing an Alien: Isolation adaptation for the one-shot fic with Ruby as Amanda Ripley.
hadowwolf1997: I'm very glad to hear that you liked my choice to cast Sun as Indy :) Unfortunately, the next adaptation after this one is likely to be the last one. At least for a while. But I'll likely write more Indy adaptations in my one-shot fic.
blaiseingfire: Thank you very much :)
StoryBoard101: I apologize for the disappointment. But life is just getting in the way. I may write more POTC chapters in the one-shot fic, though.
HunterPrimeAW5M3: I'm a fairly big Godzilla fan, so I'll probably make a one-shot adaptation for the Monsterverse.
TheFishKing: I do, but I rarely use it. I'll post the other stories on there when I get the chance, but right now I'm very busy.
Monster King: Thank you, but I'm afraid I'll have to wrap this up after the superhero adaptation.
daniel. santiago.4545: Thanks. I'll still be writing stories, but after the full-length superhero adaptation, this one will be on hiatus.
StrongGuy159: I've never seen that movie. I'll give it a watch and see if I can write a one-shot adaptation.
Kamen Rider Sentry: I've never heard of that series, but your idea sounds interesting. I'll take a look into the series and see if I can write a one-shot for it.
Memnon45: Everything is fine in my day to day for now. It's just that new circumstances are taking up more time in my schedule. But, if the opportunity arises, I'll come back to this story.
keybladelight: I don't think that's going to happen. Sorry.
Yawar: I never saw that film, but I've heard good things about it. I'll check it out and see if I can write a one-shot.
Aminelover: I'm sorry, but I don't think I'll ever get to the sequels. At least not in full-length format.
GojiraFan455516: Nope. Everyone is going to be terrified and awe-struck by the Red Death.
ultima-owner: Oh, absolutely. He could probably give the Grimm Wyvern a run for its money.
LoamyCoffee: Thank you for understanding. I love this story, but I must get my priorities straight. Such is life.
Luffy L Deathwalker: I doubt that I'll write a full-length adaptation of The Chronicles of Narnia, but it's possible I'll write a one-shot for it. As for allowing the villains to watch the multiverse, I'll need to think about it.
VirusChris: Thanks for pointing out those flaws for me. And you're right. I missed an opportunity there when the villagers make Ozma/Stoic believe that Oscar/Hiccup is dead. I'll add that later.
Inspiration: How To Train Your Dragon
Disclaimer: The following is a non-profit story for entertainment purposes only. "RWBY" is the property of director and animator Monty Oum (RIP) and production company Rooster Teeth, and "How To Train Your Dragon" is the property of director, production company DreamWorks Animation, and distributed by Paramount Pictures.
Open to Oscar seated at his desk laden with drawings, deep in thought. He idly flicked a pencil, sending it rolling up and down the desk. He perked up at the sound of footsteps behind him.
"He's so conflicted," Clove noted sympathetically.
"It's so ironic. He wanted acceptance from his tribe so much, but the only way to do it was befriending a dragon," Penny described Oscar's difficult situation.
Marrow shrugged. "Better that than killing him if you ask me."
"Dad! You're back! Peter's not here so..." Oscar babbled as he quickly stood up and hid the drawings behind him.
"I know," Ozma answered simply as he squeezed in through the door. "I came looking for you."
"You did?" Oscar shut his notebook as he blocked Ozma's view of the drawings.
"You've been keeping secrets," Ozma said sternly, sounding almost accusing.
"I…uh…I h-I have?" Oscar stammered, believing he'd been caught.
"Just how long did you think you could hide it from me?" Ozma asked, his eyes squinted.
Some people went rigid at the mention of that, thinking that Ozma had gotten wise to Toothless.
"Please no..." Oscar whispered for Toothless' sake.
"No. No, not Toothless," Ruby ground out.
Oscar averted his gaze. "I-I don't know what you're..."
Ozma cut him off. "Nothing happens on this island without me hearing about it."
Oscar looked at his father. "Oh...?"
Ozma stepped forward. "Let's talk...about that dragon."
A few people gasped softly in alarm, thinking the truth was out.
Vine shook his head. "No. There's no way he could know about Toothless," he doubted.
Oscar went pale then decided to come clean. "Oh, Brothers. Dad, I'm so sorry. I was going to tell you. I just didn't know how to..."
Ozma then burst out laughing loudly, much to Oscar's confusion.
The audience was confused as well.
"Huh? Why is he laughing?" Nora questioned.
"I don't think it's about Toothless. He wouldn't be laughing if that were the case," Ironwood reasoned.
Oscar laughed nervously along with his father.
"You're not upset?" Oscar asked, baffled.
"What?! I was hoping for this!" Ozma proclaimed with a broad smile.
"You were?" Oscar asked, even more confused.
"You were right, General. He wouldn't react this way if he found out about Toothless," Penny said logically.
Oscar wiped his forehead. "Well, that's a relief," he said.
"I'll say," Ruby sighed. "Brothers forbid, I don't even want to imagine what would happen to Toothless if Ozma ever discovered him."
"And believe me, it only gets better!" Ozma said jubilantly. "Wait till you spill a Nadder's guts the first time! And mount your first Gronckle head on a spear! What a feeling!"
Ozma emphasized his point with a light smack on Oscar's shoulder, knocking the boy into the wall.
"Careful, Ozma," Oscar said. "You don't want to knock other me out before my next fight."
"You really had me going there, son! All those years of the worst Viking Berk has ever seen. Brothers, it was rough. I almost gave up on you," Ozma rambled on with pride in his son.
Oscar got back to his feet, his face grimacing at the situation.
"And all the while you were holding out on me!" Ozma finished.
Many people frowned or scowled at Ozma for being so blunt with Oscar.
"Wow. He doesn't mince words, does he?" Qrow said with disapproval.
"Plus, this is incredibly ironic," Vine remarked. "He's finally got his father's approval."
Ozma did a religious sign. "Oh, God of Light Almighty!" he proclaimed, taking a breath before he sat down on a stool.
"With you doing so well in the ring, we finally have something to talk about," Ozma said softly with relief.
Oscar sheepishly averted his gaze, a soft sigh escaping his lips. There was an awkward pause between the two of them. Ozma's smile faded away as he readjusted himself.
The audience shared the awkward silence between Ozma and Oscars counterparts. A few people coughed or adjusted themselves in their seats.
"It's only created more distance between them," Maria succinctly described the scene, prompting silent nods.
"Here, I brought you something, to keep you safe in the ring," Ozma presented a horned helmet
Oscar accepted the gift. "Wow. Thanks," he thanked honestly as he caressed the helmet.
"Your mother would have wanted you to have it. It's half of her breastplate," Ozma revealed fondly.
Oscar quickly withdrew his hand with a nervous chuckle.
Ozma tapped his own helmet. "Matching set. It keeps her close, you know," he stated.
Most of the audience burst out with laughter while a select few were impressed by how well-endowed Oscar's mother was.
"That is so awkward," Yang said after catching her breath.
"Damn. Ozma was lucky to find someone with huge…tracts of land," Qrow commented vulgarly. [1]
"Uncle Qrow!" Ruby scolded, while a few others laughed at the reference or glared at Qrow's perversion.
"It makes me curious if Oscar's mother was killed by a dragon," Penny theorized with a sad expression.
"It certainly seems possible. And it would explain Ozmas overprotective tendencies," Ozpin agreed with Vines speculation.
"Wear it proudly. You deserve it," Ozma said with pride. "You've held up your end of the deal."
Oscar squirmed a little before faking a yawn. "I should really get to bed."
Then the two began to awkwardly talk over themselves.
"Yes, good. OK, good talk," Oscar babbled.
"I'll see you back at the house.
"Great. We should do this again."
"Thanks for stopping by...and for the breast hat," Oscar finished the exchange.
"Well...uh…ep. Good night," Ozma bid his son before finally leaving Oscar looking even more conflicted.
The audience laughed again at the awkwardness with the breast hat.
"It's so weird wearing something that held his mothers' boobs on his head," Nora giggled.
"Well...it's still a thoughtful gift," Blake noted.
"And it shows he loved his wife," Elm smiled sweetly.
"Breastplate jokes aside, this is really beginning to snowball for Oscar," Jaune remarked.
"So, what does he plan to do?" Ren asked the big question.
Nobody had an answer, knowing that Oscar was in an almost impossible situation.
The next day, a Gronckle was hovering around the ring, searching for a target. Ruby took cover behind a wooden barrier to find Oscar already there.
Ruby put her axe to Oscar's throat. "Stay out of my way! I'm winning this thing," she threatened.
"Please, by all means," Oscar agreed.
A few people looked off-put by Ruby's increasingly hostile behavior.
"I can't approve of Ruby's behavior…but letting her win would make things easier for Oscar," Ironwood commented with a sip of water.
Ruby stood up and charged towards the dragon. Overhead, an assembled crowd of Vikings cheered her on.
Oscar stood up and scanned the crow. Amidst the crowd of onlookers, he spotted Ozma, still looking prideful. He locked eyes with his son, and then gave him a nod of encouragement. Oscar adjusted his new helmet and gave his father a feint small.
Unbeknownst to Oscar, the Gronckle spotted him and flew towards him.
"This time, this time for sure!" she assured herself. Ruby caught her breath behind a barrier. She frowned, determined and eager.
With a battle cry, she jumped out from cover, axe raised high. And as she cleared the barriers, she stopped in her tracks, looking exasperated as she saw that Hiccup had already put the Gronckle to sleep with Dragon-nip.
Oscar then looked at Ruby and shrugged while the Gronckle snored next to him.
Ruby snapped. "No! No, son of a half-troll, rat-eating, munge-bucket!" she ranted furiously, swinging her axe around.
"Whoa! Chill out, sis," Yang held a hand up at the screen.
"Yeah, other me. Don't be a sore loser," Ruby criticized her counterpart, although she secretly wished she had won, she was still happy for Oscar.
"Other me isn't happy about this either," Oscar mentioned with a sip of soda.
"I've never seen Ruby that mad before," Jaune commented, feeling a little intimidated.
A loud clacking sound rang out. From the crowd above stood the village elder: Maria Calavera with her eyes intact. In her hand, she held a staff which she tapped lightly.
"Wait, wait," Ozma quieted the crowd down so Maria could make her decision.
Maria pointed at the screen. "Look, there's me…with my eyes intact."
"A village elder? What does that mean?" Jaune questioned before chowing on some popcorn.
"Well, Maria utilizes her wisdom to help make decisions, such as choosing who will make it to the final dragon training round," Gold-Sith answered, eliciting nods of understanding.
"So, later," Oscar tried to walk away.
Peter grabbed Oscar. "Not so fast."
"I'm kind of late for..." Oscar tried to excuse himself.
"What?! Late for what, exactly?" Ruby shouted lividly.
Everyone was becoming a bit disturbed by Ruby's rage, especially Ruby herself.
"Seriously, Ruby. You've gotta chill out," Blake advised strongly.
"Yeah. All that anger could get you in trouble…or worse," Yang spoke from experience as she tapped her prosthetic arm.
Ozma held out his hand. "Quiet down! Elder Maria has decided," he ordered and the crowed went silent.
Peter stood behind Oscar and Ruby. He pointed to Astrid as the crowd waited in silent excitement.
Maria shook her head 'no.' The crowd exclaimed 'Oooooh!'. Peter then pointed to Oscar. The elderly Viking nodded a 'yes.' The crowd cheered loudly. And infuriated Ruby stared daggers at Oscar.
"I understand becoming a dragon slayer has probably been a lifelong dream, but she shouldn't behave like this," Weiss criticized, speaking from experience when she was bitter about Ruby making team leader.
Ruby, Yang, and Blake all gave Weiss thankful smiles at how much she'd grown since her Beacon days.
"You've done it, Oscar! You get to kill the dragon!" Peter congratulated as he put an arm around Oscar's shoulder.
"That's my boy!" Ozma cheered from above.
The other recruits converged onto Oscar, while Jaune lifted him onto his shoulders and carried him the cheering spectators.
"Yeah. Yes. I can't wait. I am so..."
Cut to the cove as Oscar arrived with a basket on his back.
"...leaving! We're leaving," he finished.
"Leaving? He can't be serious," Clover said disapprovingly.
"I know he doesn't have many options, but leaving his hometown seems a little extreme," Ironwood frowned.
"Given how high the stakes are, it may be the only way he can protect Toothless and avoid his father's wrath if he ever learns the deception," Vine reasoned.
Toothless was gone, but Oscar kept thinking aloud.
"Let's pack up. Looks like you and me are taking a little vacation. Forever," Oscar declared
Oscar set his basket down, crouched, and opened it.
"Oh, man," Oscar mumbled, clearly troubled.
Oscar stood up…and there was Ruby sitting on a rock right in front of him, sharpening her axe with a rock.
Oscar recoiled with a gasp. "What the?! What are you doing here?"
The audience recoiled as well, immediately expecting trouble.
"Oooooh boy," Oscar drawled nervously, knowing Rubys counterpart could easily kick his butt.
"I have a feeling this won't end well," Marrow said.
"For Ruby, Oscar, or Toothless?" Harriet asked.
"Yes," Marrow nodded with a smirk.
Harriet rolled her eyes. "Freakin smartass." [2]
"I want to know what's going on," Ruby demanded, hopping down from the rock.
Ruby stalked toward Oscar, the latter backing up in near panic.
"No one just gets as good as you do. Especially you," Ruby said angrily. "Start talking! Are you training with someone?"
"Uh…t-training?" Oscar stammered.
Ruby seized Oscar's harness. "It better not involve this."
"I know this looks really bad, but you see..." Oscar struggled to come up with an explanation.
"Interrogation feels a bit out of line, Ruby," Weiss scolded her partner.
"Other me is a bit... nastier here. I guess her prides dented," Ruby reasoned, but didn't agree with her counterparts' actions.
"Well, that's just unwise letting her anger cloud her judgement like that," Clover shook his head.
Suddenly, the two heard a twig snap. Ruby gasped and threw Oscar aside so she could investigate the noise.
Oscar got back up. "You're right. You're right. You're right. I'm through with the lies. I've been making outfits," Oscar lied through his teeth as he walked alongside Ruby.
"So, you got me. It's time everyone knew. Drag me back, go ahead. Here we go," Oscar desperately put Ruby's hand back on his harness, trying to get her to drag him back.
But instead, Ruby twisted Oscar's hand backwards with a crack, forcing him back to the ground.
"Agh! Why would you do that?!" Oscar complained, as he tried to get back up, but Ruby kicked him down
"That's for the lie," Ruby said before bouncing her axe off Oscar's stomach. "And that's for everything else."
Just then, an angry growl emanated from the trees nearby.
Ruby's eyes widened. "Uh-oh…" she mumbled, knowing she messed up.
"You shouldn't have done that," Jaune said softly.
"Get out of there, Ruby," Weiss warned in a small voice.
Ruby squinted her eyes…and spotted Toothless only a hundred feet away, glaring at her.
"Oh, man," Oscar muttered, as he began to rise up again.
Ruby gasped "Get down!" she warned as she dived onto Oscar.
Toothless roared and bounded towards the pair.
"Run, Ruby!" Yang and Qrow cried out together in warning.
"She won't leave Oscar behind. At least she's decent enough to do that," Maria pointed out.
Ruby rolled off of Oscar. "Run, run!" she cried as she readied her axe.
"No!" Oscar knocked Ruby's raised axe away, then stopped Toothless from tackling her.
Oscar slid Ruby's axe away as he faced Toothless.
"It's OK! It's OK!" Oscar calmed Toothless down. "She's a friend."
Toothless reluctantly obeyed, clearly disagreeing with Oscar. The boy got between Ruby and the snarling dragon.
"You just scared him," Oscar explained.
Ruby was outraged. "I scared him?! Who is…'him'?"
"Ruby, Toothless. Toothless, Ruby," Oscar succinctly introduced the two of them.
Toothless hissed at Ruby with a leer. And that was it. Ruby shook her head in disgust, turned, and took off running.
"Da da da. We're dead," Oscar deadpanned.
Despite the situation, a few people chuckled at Oscars words.
"You can't be surprised, other me," Oscar said plainly.
"Of course, she's not going to accept a dragon as a friend. Not right away, at least," Winter agreed.
Satisfied, Toothless turned and began to walk away.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Where do you think you're going?" Oscar questioned Toothless in protest.
Ruby ran through the woods as fast as her legs could carry her.
"He's gotta stop her," Jaune said begrudgingly.
"I doubt the other Vikings will believe her," Ren reasoned.
Clover shook his head. "It's still too much of a risk," he agreed with Jaune.
Ruby had just clambered over a fallen tree when Toothless suddenly seized her by the arm and lifted her into the air. She was terrified as Toothless flew above the treetops.
"Oh, great God of Light! This is it!" Ruby whispered as she looked down and saw the forest a hundred feet below her.
"I didn't mean like that!" Jaune objected.
"Oh boy. I'm in trouble now," Ruby said, hoping Toothless wouldn't kill her counterpart.
"Hey! Put her down!" Yang shouted protectively.
"Don't hurt her, Toothless!" Oscar pleaded.
Ruby let out a prolonged scream of horror as Toothless and Oscar carried her over to the tallest tree they could find. Toothless then dropped her onto one of the upper branches while the dragon perched on the very top, the tree bending and creaking under his weight.
Ruby hung on for dear life. "Oscar, get me down from here!" she demanded.
"You have to give me a chance to explain," Oscar implored.
"I am not listening to anything you have to say!" Ruby refused as she shimmed a bit to the right.
"Then I won't speak. Just let me show you. Please, Ruby," Oscar said gently as he offered a hand.
"Listen to him," Weiss strongly recommended. "Or you can try climbing down that tree by yourself."
Ruby nodded. "Yeah, other me. Stop being so stubborn."
Ruby shifted her gaze from Oscar to the ground, then back to Oscar. With no other choice, Ruby grunted and hoisted herself over the branch and climbed up to Toothless, swatting Oscar's hand away.
Ruby ignored him and climbed on his back, seating herself behind Oscar and gripping the saddle.
"Now get me down," Ruby demanded.
"Toothless, down. Gently," Oscar commanded.
Toothless slowly spread his wings.
"See? Nothing to be afraid of," Oscar assured.
Unfortunately, neither of them could see the dragon's mischievous expression.
Everyone noticed the look on Toothless' face and became alarmed.
"I wouldn't be so sure, other me," Oscar said doubtfully.
"Oh boy..." Jaune mumbled.
"You'd better hold on tight, sis," Yang warned softly.
Ruby gripped her cloak. "Oh no..."
Without warning, Toothless swiftly shot up towards the sky while Ruby began screaming her head off.
"Toothless! What is wrong with you?! Bad dragon!" Oscar scolded.
Ruby struggled to avoid falling off as she wrapped her arms and legs around Oscar.
Oscar turned to Ruby. "He's not usually like this," he chuckled nervously.
"I think maybe he's teaching Ruby a lesson," Ren guessed correctly.
"To be fair, she was being pretty nasty to Oscar," Nora defended.
"Well, this'll definitely be a lesson I won't forget," Ruby admitted.
Toothless evened out, and then tilted downward.
"Oh, no," Oscar muttered, realizing what was going to happen.
Toothless dove towards the water, Ruby screaming again all the way down. As he reached the water, Toothless began to skip across the water like a tossed stone.
"Toothless, what are you doing?! We need her to like us!" Oscar reprimanded.
Toothless ignored Oscar, flew back up high again, and began to spin.
"And now the spinning. Thank you for nothing, you useless reptile," Oscar insulted in a deadpan tone.
Toothless went into another dive, this time while spinning.
"All right, all right. That's enough!" Ruby complained.
"I don't know what she's so scared of. I'd be having a blast if I were your counterpart," Nora grinned did a duel fist pump.
"Of course you would," Weiss sighed.
Finally, Ruby gave in. "OK, I am sorry! I'm sorry," she apologized as she buried her face into Oscar's back. "Just get me off of this thing."
Overhearing her, Toothless finally stopped his wild flying and straightened out.
When Ruby found the strength to open her eyes, she was mesmerized by her new surroundings. There were bright golden clouds rushing past as Toothless flew on. She raised her hand to touch one of the clouds, then raised both of them above her head, a beaming smile on her face. Serene music played throughout the scene.
Not long after, day shifted to night. The moon shined bright, as did auroras spread across the sky.
Toothless flew beneath the auroras and beneath a blanket of white clouds. Below them was a breathtaking view of Berk. The villages torches were seen flickering in the darkness. Ruby tucks her arms into Oscar's vest, burying her chin into his shoulder while the boy smiled nervously.
Nearly everyone felt their hearts melt while the women all cooed at the cute scene.
Yang put her hands to her cheeks. "Oh my Gods! You two look so cute together!" she squealed.
"It's even more adorable than Ruby and Weiss' romance in the pirate film," Elm commented with a touched smile.
Toothless flew higher than Berk's tallest mountain and began to fly over the open sea, leaving the village behind.
"All right, I admit it. This is pretty cool," Ruby conceded. "It's amazing. He's amazing," Ruby patted Toothless' side.
"Cool? This is awesome!" Ruby would have given anything to be in her counterparts boots right now.
"He sure is," Oscar agreed with Ruby's counterpart.
"Awww. I knew she'd warm up to him," Maria said sweetly.
The trio flew on for a bit, approaching a thick, gloomy grouping of clouds.
"So, what now?" Ruby broke the silence.
Oscar sighed, having no answer to Ruby's question.
"Oscar, your final exam is tomorrow. You know you'll have to ki-" Ruby stopped herself before whispering. "...kill a dragon."
"Don't remind me," Oscar groaned.
"Ruby is right. Once Oscar gets into that arena, he'll be forced to tell the truth," Blake said worriedly.
"What'll he do, though? Reveal Toothless and show he's a friend?" Oscar suggested, unable to think of something else.
"I don't think that'll work, kid," Qrow doubted.
Suddenly, Toothless' looked alarmed, his pupils narrowing. He quickly dived into the clouds for cover.
"Toothless, what's happening? What is it?" Oscar asked.
Toothless barked at Oscar to stay quiet. Out of the dense clouds, a Monstrous Nightmare appeared to their right.
"Get down!" Oscar hissed as he and Ruby ducked.
A second Nightmare appeared on Toothless' left, screeching.
"What's going on?" Ruby asked.
"I don't know," Oscar replied. "Toothless, you gotta get us out of here, bud."
Toothless hissed in refusal. Then, one after another, more dragons carrying stolen food materialized in the thick clouds. Hundreds of them.
"Wow. Look at them all," Harriet noted the sheer number of dragons.
"And look at how much food their carrying," Vine added. "It's a miracle the Vikings aren't facing starvation because of the raids."
Winter looked pensive. "Is it just me, or they're all flying in the same direction?"
Penny observed the dragons flight pattern. "No, you're right, they are," she nodded.
"It looks like they're hauling in their kill," Oscar observed.
"Uh…what does that make us?" Ruby asked nervously.
A Hideous Zippleback eyed the dragon riding pair but didn't attack. The dragons kept flying in formation until they reached a cluster of sea stacks and dove down toward them. Ruby gave a short cry of alarm as Toothless followed the flock of dragons through the sea stacks.
"I have a feeling we're about the see the dragon's nest," Ozpin said apprehensively.
"You're not the only one," Oscar muttered.
"I wonder what it looks like," Ren said curiously.
Suspenseful music played as the flock of dragons emerged and approached the base of a volcano, little glowing rivulets of molten lava running down its sides.
Oscar and Ruby cried in alarm as the dragons all swiftly filed in through a crack on the side of the mountain and flew through a long, winding tunnel. It led to a huge, inner chamber full of rocky shelves upon which Dragons of all species sat and nested. In the center of the cave was a red, steamy pit.
"So, they're nest is in the center of a volcano," Oscar observed.
"Hmmm, sounds fitting for dragons," Maria nodded as she sipped her tea.
"Yeah. That's pretty much how I'd picture it in my head," Ren agreed.
Oscar and Ruby stared in amazement. "What my dad wouldn't give to find this," Oscar said.
The dragons all hovered over the pit and dropped their stolen food into it. Toothless strayed from the other dragons and landed on a small dark shelf to stay hidden. Oscar and Ruby peeked around, watching as the food continued to be dropped into the pit.
"It's satisfying to know that all of our food has been dumped down a hole," Oscar snarked.
"They're not eating any of it," Ruby pointed out, puzzled.
"She's right," Marrow scratched his head. "But why would they go through all that trouble raiding food just to drop it down that pit?"
"I think you were right, Ozpin. There is something bigger at work here," Oscar agreed with the professor's earlier statement.
The last dragon to contribute was a Gronckle. It hovered over the pit and regurgitated a single fish, letting it fall into the pit. There was a loud, deep roar in response from down below.
The frightened Gronckle tried to fly away, but before it could, a colossal dragon head rose up from the steamy pit, snapped its jaws around the much smaller dragon, and swallowed it whole.
The audience yelped or gasped deeply in surprise and shock at the sheer size of the gigantic dragon.
"Holy shit!" Harriet swore loudly.
"Way...way bigger," Oscar softly rephrased his statement.
"And I thought the Grimm dragon was huge..." Jaune muttered. [3]
Oscar and Ruby stared in horror while the other dragons shrank away in equal horror. The enormous dragons head alone was as long as a Viking ship. Its scales were grayish blue with red spikes here and there, a coral shaped frill, a stubby horn on its snout, and three sets of eyes.
"What is that?" Ruby whispered waveringly.
With a low growl, the behemoth lowered itself back down into the pit.
"That's a good question, what is that?" Maria pointed at the screen.
"That is the Red Death," Gold-Sith answered simply in a chilling voice.
"Good name…except it's not completely red," Penny noted with a tilt of her head [4]
The Red Death rose back up, sniffed the air and looked up, spotting the trio with its twin eye sets.
"All right, bud, we got to get out of here... now!" Oscar instructed Toothless.
Toothless immediately took flight, barely avoiding the Red Death as it lunged forward and snapped its massive jaws shut. Toothless flew up the caldera alongside a swarm of hundreds of other dragons as they fled the in terror of the enormous dragon.
Sometime later, Toothless returned to the cove and touched down on the beach.
"It totally makes sense. It's like a giant beehive. They're the workers and that's their queen. It controls them," Ruby said to Oscar.
"More like they're slaves, and he's their slave driver," Blake scowled.
"So, the whole war between Vikings and Dragons is because of the Red Death," Ironwood deducted.
"Unquestionably. And if they don't deliver enough food…they get eaten instead," Ozpin finished assessing the situation.
"Oh no…those poor dragons. They're being forced to rob and fight Vikings just to survive," Elm said sympathetically.
Ruby hopped off of Toothless. "Let's find your dad," she began to make her way toward Berk.
Oscar jumped off Toothless. "No! No," he shouted, stopping Ruby. "No, not yet. They'll kill Toothless."
There was a pause between the two as Oscar struggled to think of a solution.
"Poor kid. So much weight on his shoulders," Harriet said sympathetically.
"This kind of dilemma would be difficult for anyone," Ozpin commented.
"He doesn't want to deceive his father any longer, but on the other hand, he doesn't want to give up Toothless either," Penny stated astutely.
"Ruby, we have to think this through carefully," Oscar insisted as he turned to walk away.
"Oscar, we just discovered the dragons' nest, the thing we've been after since Vikings first sailed here, three hundred years ago and you want to keep it a secret?" Ruby asked incredulously. "To protect your pet dragon? Are you serious?"
Oscar turned around. "Yes," he answered firmly.
Ruby was taken aback.
"And he's not my pet he's my friend," Oscar declared his loyalty to Toothless.
Nora nodded sharply. "That's right. Oscar would never sell out his friend," she crossed her arms.
There was another pause. More tense this time.
"OK. Then what do we do?" Ruby asked.
Oscar averted his gaze. "Just give me until tomorrow. I'll figure something out," he answered, but sounded uncertain.
"OK," Ruby answered softly before punching Oscar's arm. "That's for kidnapping me."
"Oh, come on! Give me a break already," Oscar shouted indignantly.
"Yeah, other me. Besides, you started it," Ruby scolded her counterpart.
"You even admitted it was cool," Nora finished angrily.
Oscar rubbed his arm before glancing at Toothless for support, only for the dragon to snort dismissively.
Ruby then grabbed Oscar. He prepared himself for another punch. But instead, she quickly kissed the boy on the cheek.
"That's for…everything else," Ruby said awkwardly.
Ruby and Oscar gaped and blushed at the screen.
"D'aaaw!" Yang, Weiss, Elm, and Nora all cooed in adoration.
"That was so cute!" Elm gushed.
"She's got a crush~" Harriet said in a sing song voice
Ruby hurried off while Oscar stood there stunned while holding his cheek. Toothless approached Oscar, staring at him.
"Ah-w-w-what are you looking at?!" Oscar stuttered in embarrassment.
Yang giggled. "Hey, since he's a dragon, Toothless would be the perfect wingman," she joked, eliciting groans all around.
The next day was Oscar's final exam. All of Berk's inhabitants had gathered at the arena to watch it.
"Oscar! Oscar! Oscar! Oscar!" the crowd chanted.
Ozma began to address the crowd. "I can show my face in public again!" he started off playfully, his voice echoing. "If someone had told me that in a few short weeks Oscar would go from, well, being Oscar to placing first in dragon training, well, I would have tied him to a mast and shipped him off for fear he'd gone mad! And you know it!"
Ozma and the crowd laughed together.
Oscar stood at the entrance to the ring, listening to his father and looking burdened.
Oscar himself shifted uncomfortably in his seat, sharing his counterparts troubled feelings. The rest of the audience stared silent and uneasily at the screen.
"It's time for the moment of truth," Ozpin stated sternly.
"But here we are. And no one is more surprised or more proud than I am," Ozma continued. "Today, my boy becomes a Viking. Today, he becomes one of us!"
The crowd roared with cheer.
Ruby approached Oscar from behind. "Be careful with that dragon."
Oscar watched as Ozma walked to his stone chair. "It's not the dragon I'm worried about," he replied.
"What are you going to do?" Ruby asked, worried.
"Put an end to this. I have to try," Oscar declared.
Oscar turned to face Ruby. "Ruby, if something goes wrong, just make sure they don't find Toothless."
"I will," Ruby promised. "Just promise me it won't go wrong."
"So, he's hidden Toothless, then," Winter noted.
"Well, at least Toothless should be safe," Ruby looked on the bright side in case the worst happened.
Oscar was about to answer when Peter appeared. "It's time, Oscar. Knock 'em dead," he encouraged.
Oscar put his helmet on and entered the ring, looking very tense.
A few people were tense as well, feeling there would be huge trouble if something went wrong.
"Well...here goes nothing," Oscar, knowing there was no turning back.
"Whatever you do, good luck with it, sonny," Maria said earnestly.
All around him, the crowd cheered Oscar on, including the other recruits.
"Yeah! Show 'em how it's done, my man," Ren cheered Oscar on.
The crowd chanted Oscar's name as he approached a weapons rack.
"Oscar! Oscar! Oscar! Oscar!"
Up above, Ozma, Peter, and Maria all watched as Oscar grabbed wooden shield and a dagger from the weapons rack.
"Hmmm. I would have gone for the hammer," Ozma muttered to Peter from his seat.
"Me too. Hammers are the best!" Nora agreed with Ozma.
"If I were a Viking, I'd like a pair of iron gauntlets," Yang lightly pounded her fist into her palm.
"A longsword and wooden shield for me," Jaune weighed in.
Oscar turned to face a dragon cell door and took a deep breath. "I'm ready."
The door bolt was raised. The crowd went silent while Oscar braced himself, hoping this would work.
Then the doors blasted open, and out came a Monstrous Nightmare, covered flames. It tore out of the cave, roaring furiously while the crowd above jeered at it.
The Nightmare clambered across the arena walls and chain enclosure, hissing at the annoying crowd of Vikings and spitting a fire blast that narrowly missed them.
"Whoa!" a few people yelped or recoiled.
"Jeez. These arena fights are dangerous, even for the audience," Yang
"It's impressive that Vikings are able to capture dragons for training and tournaments," Ironwood remarked positively.
It then climbed up the roof of the arena and hung there like a bat until it spotted Oscar
The Nightmare descended to the arena floor, leering at the boy. The crowd went silent, excited for the big fight they expected.
"Go on, Oscar. Give it to him!" Ozma egged Oscar on from above.
The dragon crept toward Oscar; its eyes narrowed. Then, Oscar deliberately dropped his shield and dagger.
Up above, Ozma looked confused. "What is he doing?" he asked.
Ruby watched with apprehension as the scene unfolded.
The audience leaned forward slightly in silent wariness.
Oscar held his hands out. "Hey, it's OK. It's OK."
But the Nightmare kept advancing, growling and glaring at the boy.
Finally, Oscar removed his helmet, prompting the Nightmare to stop in its tracks.
"I'm not one of them," Oscar declared as he threw the Viking helmet aside.
The puzzled dragon glanced at the helmet, then looked at Oscar. It seemed to be calming down. Ozma leaned forward, dumbstruck. The crowd gasped and muttered amongst themselves.
"Well, that's just disrespectful," Maria frowned.
"Yeah. That was made from his mother's breastplate," Ren reminded.
"They're right. You could be handling this a bit more carefully," Ozpin chided Oscar's counterpart.
"What's he thinking?" a male Viking questioned.
Everyone shifted their gazes to Ozma, who was becoming angry and worried. Oscar avoided Ozma's glare and kept his focus on the Nightmare, his hand still held out.
Ozma had seen enough. "Stop the fight," he ordered as he rose from his seat.
"No!" Oscar refused. "I need you all to see this. They're not what we think they are."
The crowd gasped again as they watched both Oscar and Ozma with growing apprehension.
"We don't have to kill them," Oscar insisted as he reached toward the Nightmare.
"Listen to him. There doesn't have to be a war any longer," Clover implored Ozma's counterpart.
"I have a feeling Oscar won't get through to him," Ironwood said skeptically.
"I said, stop the fight!" Ozma roared as he stepped forward and slammed his hammer onto the surrounding iron enclosure.
Startled by the noise, the Nightmare snapped at Oscar's outstretched hand, causing the boy to recoil backwards.
"Dad...er...I mean...Ozma no!" Oscar stammered loudly and awkwardly.
"Curses! Look what my counterpart did!" Ozpin said angrily.
Ren sagged in his chair. "We should have known something would go wrong," he groaned.
With its aggression returned, the Nightmare shot out a stream of flame that nearly hit Oscar.
Meanwhile, at the cove, a resting Toothless suddenly lifted his head in alarm, his eyes wide with concern.
Blake blinked. "He heard that all the way from the cove?"
"Wow. He's got great hearing," Marrow complimented.
"Lucky for Oscar," Elm said, hoping Toothless would come to the rescue.
Back at the arena, Oscar was running for his life as the Nightmare pursued him.
"Out of my way!" he pushed through the crowd toward the arena.
"Oscar!" Ruby cried out.
Ruby looked behind her and found an axe, which she quickly used to wrench open the arena gate and squeeze through.
Back at the cove, Toothless desperately climbed up the stone walls. This time though, with great determination, he managed to claw his way up and reach the top with his forelegs.
"Great job, Toothless!" Ruby hollered.
"His friendship with Oscar gave him just the boost he needed to climb out of there," Vine said admirably.
"At the worst possible time," Blake added negatively.
At the arena, Oscar narrowly ducked a jet of flame from the Nightmare. He rushed over to a weapons rack to try and arm himself, but the swift dragon crushed it and continued its pursuit.
Toothless ran through the forest towards Berk, bounding like a big cat and taking flight once he got enough speed.
"Wait…if Toothless shows up at the arena, what then?" Ruby asked with worry.
"Well, if he saves Oscar…maybe it'll convince Ozma to have a change of heart about dragons," Qrow theorized, although he doubted it.
Ironwood shook his head. "I don't think so, Qrow."
Ozma reached an overhead gate, lifted it open, and ran into the arena.
"Oscar!" Ruby called out to the boy still being chased by the Monstrous Nightmare.
Thinking fast, Ruby picked up a hammer and chucked it at the Nightmare, striking it in the head. It turned its attention to Ruby and began to chase her instead.
"Thanks for having my back, Ruby," Oscar said gratefully, earning a smile and a nod from the red reaper.
Ozma raised another arena gate. "This way!" he waved toward the recruits.
Oscar and Ruby ran for the gate, the latter made it, but the former was cut off by a stream of flame against the doorway. The dragon then pounced onto Oscar and pinned him to the ground with its foot, ready to kill him.
The audience's eyes widened in terror, and they braced themselves, hoping that Toothless would save Oscar at the last second.
But then, just in the nick of time, a familiar din filled the air. Peter looked up just in time to spot Toothless rise up outside the arena and fire a purple blast of flame clean through the enclosure, barely missing the crowd and exploding in the center of the arena and creating a thick cloud of smoke which he swiftly disappeared into.
The Vikings looked down to witness wings poking out of the clearing cloud of smoke. Then Toothless and the Nightmare then tumbled, fighting savagely with claws and biting.
"Night Fury!" Peter whispered in awe and fear.
"Just in the nick of time," Qrow sighed with relief.
"That a boy, Toothless!" Nora cheered the dragon on.
"You're the luckiest kid in the world to have a dragon like Toothless watching your back," Maria complimented Oscar's counterpart.
"Be careful, Toothless. Don't get hurt too bad," Penny cautioned.
Toothless kicked the Nightmare off him and placed himself between Oscar and it.
The Nightmare growled and tried to circle around to get at Oscar, but Toothless ferociously blocked him off causing the Nightmare to give up and scurry away.
Oscar climbed to his feet and grabbed Toothless' head. "Toothless, go. Get out of here," he tried to shoo the dragon away.
The gob smacked crowd became angry as several armed Vikings dropped down into the arena.
"Go, go!" Oscar cried as he urgently pushed against Toothless, but the dragon refused to leave.
"No! Don't you dare hurt Toothless!" Nora shouted at the screen.
"Listen to him, Toothless!" Elm urged the dragon.
"Yeah! Get out of there while you still can," Yang shouted with a hand to her mouth.
Ozma grabbed an axe and ran into the arena.
"Ozma, no!" Ruby cried in a panic.
Toothless spotted Ozma charging toward him and narrowed his eyes.
"Dad, no! He won't hurt you!" Oscar pleaded
"I wouldn't be so sure of that, other me," Oscar disagreed with his counterpart.
"This is getting way out of hand," Ironwood stated.
A few other Vikings tried to attack Toothless. But he easily swatted them aside like rag dolls, keeping his focus on Ozma.
"No, don't! You're only making it worse!" Oscar begged.
Toothless pounced onto him. They both rolled across the arena.
"Toothless, stop!" Oscar reached out.
Toothless pinned Ozma to the ground and inhaled deeply, preparing a fire blast.
"No! Nooooo!" Oscar screamed.
Everyone gasped with horror or cried out in alarm.
"Toothless, no!" Oscar cried out.
"Don't do it!" Ozpin yelled.
"Stop! Don't kill him!" Ren shouted.
"I can't look!" Ruby covered her eyes.
Just in time, Toothless stopped and swallowed back the blast and turned to Oscar, confused.
"Get him!" a male Viking shouted.
The other Vikings rushed the distracted Toothless, piling on, and pinning him, down. Sad music played as the scene drew to a close.
The entire audience was saddened by Toothless' capture.
Ruby put her hands over her mouth. "No, Toothless!"
"Leave him alone! Please," Weiss pleaded at the screen.
"He didn't do anything wrong! He saved Oscar's life!" Nora cried while Ren put a comforting hand over hers.
"No, no! Please just don't hurt him!" Oscar pleaded as he tried to intercede, but Ruby held him back. "Please don't hurt him!"
Ozma got to his feet. Another Viking handed him an axe to kill Toothless, but he pushed it away.
"Put it with the others," Ozma commanded before turning his furious gaze to Oscar.
Oscar went pale. "Oh man, I'm in for it now…" he murmured.
"That's how mom and dad looked at us when we were in trouble," Ruby whispered to Yang, the latter nodding slowly.
"What are they going to do with Toothless?" Elm asked hesitantly.
"Nothing good, that's for sure," Maria dreaded.
Oscar was shoved into the dark hall, the only light coming from the open door.
"I should have known," Ozma said softly but angrily as he closed the door behind him "I should have seen the signs."
"Dad?" Oscar said meekly.
Oscar rubbed his arm in discomfort. "Well...it looks like I've got some explaining to do," he whimpered.
"Don't be too hard on the boy," Ozpin implored his counterpart.
Ozma stormed Oscar. "We had a deal!" he shouted.
Behind them, the door creaked open, spilling light back into the chamber.
"I know we did…but that was before...ugh…it's all so messed up," Oscar groaned, completely flustered.
Ozma turned around. "So, everything in the ring, a trick?! A lie?!" he pointed accusingly.
"Well…technically, yes. But with all the best intentions," Vine tried to defend Oscar.
"Even so, nobody likes to be deceived, especially by a family member," Weiss said with sorrow, referring to her mother being manipulated by Jacques.
"But he was doing this for everyone. To stop the fighting between Vikings and Dragons," Jaune defended Oscar.
"I-I screwed up. I-I-I should have told you before now. I just..." he struggled to explain. "Take this out on me, be mad at me, but please, just don't hurt Toothless."
"The dragon? That's what you're worried about?!" Ozma asked in outrage. "Not the people you almost killed?!"
"Of course! He's, my friend! Oscar protested.
"Well…m-maybe other me can back him up," Ruby suggested desperately.
"I don't think it'll make any difference, sis," Yang doubted, judging from how angry Ozma was.
"He was protecting me! He's not dangerous!" Oscar insisted.
"They've killed hundreds of us!" Ozma thundered, growing angrier by the second.
"And we've killed thousands of them!" Oscar shot back.
"Thousands?" Blake's ears flattened.
"Man. They've suffered far more than Berk has," Winter realized solemnly.
"Plus, they've got the Red Death forcing them to feed it," Maria brought up, her eyes arching in sorrow. "It truly is a tough life for a dragon."
"They defend themselves, that's all! They raid us because they have to," Oscar tried to explain. "If they don't bring enough food back, they'll be eaten themselves."
Ozma paced back and forth in front of Oscar, trying to calm himself down
Oscar paused before continuing. "There's something else on their island. It's a dragon like-"
Ozma spun back to Oscar. "Their island?" he interrupted, realizing what Oscar meant. "So, you've been to the nest?"
"Did I say nest?" Oscar mumbled, realizing he's spilled the beans.
"Oops…" Oscar said meekly, his pupils dilating.
"Oh no…" Nora sagged in her chair.
Elm did a 'stop talking' gesture. "Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" she said through clenched teeth.
"How did you find it?!" Ozma demanded as he towered over Oscar.
"What? No, I didn't. Toothless did. Only a dragon can find the island," Oscar revealed.
Almost everyone groaned or facepalmed at Oscars loose lips.
Yang threw up her hands. "Well, the cats out of the bag now. No offense, Blake."
"None taken," Blake waved it off.
Ozma glared fiercely at Oscar. Then his eyes flared as he seemed to form an idea. Oscar watched with horror, understanding what his father had in mind.
"No, no, no. No, Dad. No, please, it's not what you think," Oscar begged. "You don't know what you're up against. It's like nothing you've ever seen."
Ignoring him, Ozma pushed Oscar aside as he started to head out.
"Listen to him, for the Brother's sakes," Ozpin implored his counterpart.
"Oscar's absolutely right. I doubt that all of Berk could stop the Red Death," Ironwood said skeptically.
"Dad, please. I promise you; you can't win this one!" Oscar shouted in a panic.
Still, Ozma paid no heed as he nearly reached the doorway.
Oscar urgently chased after. "No, Dad. No," he pleaded as he grabbed his father's arm. "For once in your life, would you please just listen to me?!"
Ozma threw Oscar off him, knocking him to the floor. Ozma coldly turned to stare at Oscar, who stared back in shock.
"You've thrown your lot in with them. You're not a Viking," he declared before pausing. "You're not my son."
Shocked and appalled gasps filled the theater at Ozma's words. Ruby, Nora, and Weiss even teared up a bit while Yang, Winter, and Harriet all glared with their fists clenched.
Oscar flinched. "W-what?" he whispered, his jaw dropping.
"That's just unacceptable," Maria glowered at the screen.
"What kind of father are you?!" Harriet yelled.
"How could he do that?" Ruby asked shakily as she wiped her eyes. "He just wants to stop the fighting!"
"Oh, Ozma...now you've gone too far!" Ozpin was completely incensed at his counterpart.
With that disownment, Ozma shoved through the door, leaving Oscar alone and devastated.
"Ready the ships!" Ozma called to the Vikings outside as he shut the door behind him without looking back.
As he stepped outside, Ozma staggered a bit, looking as broken as Oscar was. He wanted to go back and take back what he said. But it was too late.
Ruby sniffled. "Go back and apologize," she pleaded.
"It's too late now, kiddo. What's done is done," Qrow sighed with a slow sip of water.
"Ozma and Berks entire army will be done if they go to that Gods-forsaken island," Harriet said correctly.
Blake lowered her head into her hands. "Things have just taken a turn for the worst..." she proclaimed in a low voice.
Down below at the docks, a large fleet of ships had converged at the dock. Weapons of all kinds were gathered up and loaded into the ships. Disassembled catapults were gathered up and lowered down from the cliffs. Below on the docks, Vikings loaded the artillery into the ships. Children and elderly Vikings had gathered to on the walkways to wave goodbye apprehensively to the departing army.
Finally, a whining Toothless chained down to a palette, and restrained with a heavy neck ring. He was then lifted into the air with a crane and loaded aboard Ozma's ship, He was tired and very miserable.
From a cliff high above the docks, Oscar watched powerless and saddened at the state of his dragon friend.
"Oh poor Toothless," Nora cooed with a hand to her chest.
"And Oscar," Yang added sadly.
"To see his new friend like this…it must feel terrible," Marrow shook his head slowly.
"For both of us," Oscar murmured with a downcast look, barely holding back tears.
Ozma crossed over to the bow of his ship shoved off and joined the amassed fleet of adrift in the harbor.
"Set sail! We head for Helheim's Gate!" Ozma ordered his men, his brow was furrowed, all warmth gone.
Ozma then looked up and spotted Oscar watching the fleet from the overlooking cliff. They locked gazes, regretful and hurt. It was as if Oscar was trying one last time to warn his father not to go. But Ozma stubbornly looked away and turned to the restrained Toothless, the dragon fuming.
"Lead us home, devil," Ozma sneered at Toothless.
"The fool…he's letting his hatred of dragons cloud his judgement," Ozpin criticized his counterparts rashness.
"He thinks he's leading the Vikings to victory. All he's really going to get is a massacre," Clover said morbidly.
"Your right. They won't stand a chance against that giant beast," Maria concluded.
Oscar watched in silent solemnity as his father's fleet departed, knowing they wouldn't be coming back. Ruby silently approached him from behind and stood beside him on the cliff.
"It's a mess," Ruby declared softly. "You must feel horrible. You've lost everything. Your father, your tribe, your best friend."
"Thank you for summing that up," Oscar said sarcastically.
"Are you trying to cheer other me up? Because you're not doing a very good job," Oscar criticized Ruby's counterpart.
Ruby frowned and cleared her throat. "My bad..."
"Why couldn't I have killed that dragon when I found him in the woods?" Oscar lamented. "Would have been better for everyone."
"Yep. The rest of us would've done it," Ruby admitted. "So why didn't you?"
Oscar didn't answer, unable to come up with one.
"Why didn't you?" Ruby asked again.
"I don't know. I couldn't," Oscar turned his back to Ruby.
Ruby didn't buy it. "That's not an answer," she needled.
Oscar became irritated. "Why is this so important to you all of a sudden?"
"Because I want to remember what you say right now!"
Oscar rolled his eyes. "Oh, for the love of... I was a coward. I was weak. I wouldn't kill a dragon," he ranted.
"You said 'wouldn't'," Ruby corrected.
"Whatever!" Oscar shouted. "Three hundred years and I'm the first Viking who wouldn't kill a dragon."
"First one to ride one, though," Ruby pointed out.
At that, Oscar perked up, having never thought of it that way.
"That's true. I doubt any other Viking can make that claim," Winter agreed with Ruby.
Maria nodded. "Indeed. In fact, I'd say taming and riding a Night Fury is just as impressive as slaying one."
"Hell yeah! You're awesome, Oscar," Nora lauded, while a few people smiled and nodded in agreement.
Oscar smiled back. "Thank you, everyone," he thanked.
"So?" Ruby continued pressing.
"I wouldn't kill him because he looked as frightened as I was. I looked at him and I saw myself," Oscar revealed.
"Birds of a feather," Elm said accurately with a sip of diet soda.
"Yeah. They were meant to be friends," Ruby nodded.
"And now I'm going to lose him. Along with my father," Oscar grieved under his breath.
"Don't despair. It's not over yet," Ozpin assured, his voice only audible to his host.
"I bet he's really frightened now," Ruby looked out seaward, then back to Oscar. "What are you going to do about it?"
Oscar shrugged. "Eh? Probably something stupid," he answered.
"Good, but you've already done that," Ruby said teasingly.
"Then something crazy," Oscar rephrased as he ran off.
"That's more like it," Ruby smile eagerly as she quickly followed.
"All right! They're gonna save the day…" Nora cheered before looking unsure. "…somehow."
"With the head start the fleet has, they'll never be able to catch up, even with the fastest ship they can find," Ironwood said realistically.
Ren tapped his chin. "I don't think they'll be using ships," he said as a scenario formed in his mind.
Cut to the Viking fleet just as it coasted into the heavy fog, that concealed Helheim's gate; the Dragon Nest. Ozma stood on the bow of the lead vessel.
One after another, the ships entered the fog. Visibility dropped nearly to zero.
"Get low, and stay within earshot," Ozma instructed his crewmembers from the bow of the lead vessel.
"Here! One length to your stern," a Viking instructed.
Peter approached Ozma. "Listen, Ozma, I was overhearing some of the men," he whispered, hoping to ease some tension. "And, well, some of them are wondering what it is we're up to here. Not me, of course."
"Basically, they're heading straight into the hornets' nest blindfolded," Clover said concisely.
"This is even more foolhardy than my counterparts' actions in the previous film," Ironwood referred to his alternate self in "Aliens".
"I know you're always the man with the plan. But some, not me, are wondering if there is in fact a plan at all and what it might be," Peter finished nervously.
"Find the nest and take it," Ozma answered coldly.
"Ah, and send them running," Peter said. "The old Viking fallback. Nice and simple."
"Poor bastards have no idea what's waiting for them," Qrow muttered darkly.
"If only they knew, they'd be sent running," Weiss said before correcting herself. "Or sailing, rather."
"If they don't turn back now..." Jaune began but couldn't finish his sentence.
Ozma noticed Toothless's 'ears' twitching.
"Shhh," he shushed the other Vikings silent.
Toothless raised his head and turned to the right: in the direction of the island.
Ozma moved to the stern of the ship and grabs the tiller. "Step aside!" he said as he moved the helmsman aside.
Ozma turned the ship, following Toothless' head movements. The ship narrowly missed a sea stack that suddenly appeared from the thick fog.
"Bear to port," Ozma commanded.
The order was given from ship to ship as the fleet continued forward.
Back at Berk's dragon arena, all of the recruits had gathered in front of Oscar standing in front of the cages.
"If you're planning on getting eaten, I'd definitely go with the Gronckle," Jaune advised.
Ren pushed his way up to Oscar. "You were wise to seek help from the world's most deadly weapon. It's me," he boasted.
"Now's not the time to be getting cocky," Ren reprimanded his counterpart.
Cardin stepped forward, shoving Ren away as he faced Oscar "I love this plan!"
"Uh…I didn't..." Oscar started before Nora stepped in front of him.
"You're crazy," Nora said before her tone turned sultry. "I like that."
Ruby grabbed the horns on Nora's helmet and pulled her away from Oscar.
Oscar blushed a little while Nora looked embarrassed.
"Nora!" Ren chided his partner, who chuckled sheepishly.
"Oooh! Oscar's getting all the girls, now," Yang teased as she pinched Oscars cheek.
"Cut it out!" Oscar whined in embarrassment.
"So, what is the plan?" Ruby asked as she locked eyes with Oscar, who smiled back in relief.
Back on the misty sea, the Vikings fleet silently cruised through the water in single file. On the way, they passed by a shipwreck wedged between two sea stacks.
"That's not really encouraging," one of the Vikings said with a frown.
"I was wondering where that went," Peter tried to joke.
"Good man, Peter. Always trying to create levity in dark times," Ozpin praised his old colleague.
"Imagine how many Vikings died trying to find that island throughout Berks three hundred years of history," Winter said grimly.
"Only for even more to die on this suicide mission," Qrow finished.
A clicking buzzing sound filled the air and steadily grew louder becomes audible, growing louder. It seemed to be coming from only one direction.
Ozma sniffed the air. "Stay low and ready your weapons.
Stoick's ship suddenly stopped to a halt as the keel dug into a black sanded beach. Ozma hops overboard. The buzzing sound stopped. Above him, he spotted a dark, craggy volcano towering in the gloom.
"We're here," Ozma declared.
Behind Ozma, more ships hit the beach and the Vikings prepared for battle.
Everyone looked worried for Ozma and the Vikings.
"Oh man…there's no going back now," Marrow said.
"What Ozma did to Oscar was undeniably cruel, but even that doesn't warrant death," Ozpin conceded, hoping against hope that the Vikings wouldn't be slaughtered.
Oscar stepped away back an open door, drawing a Monstrous Nightmare out of its cave. It snorted and stepped into the arena, placated by Oscar's outstretched hand - focused on him. The other teens stared in bewilderment.
Cardin slowly picked a spear laying near his foot, but Ruby stopped him.
"Don't push your luck, Cardin," Jaune warned sharply.
"What's he doing, anyway?" Harriet wondered.
"I think he's about to teach everyone how to ride dragons," Penny guessed, eliciting excited looks from the audience.
Oscar stopped in front of the group, with the Nightmare only inches from his hand. He reached over and grabbed Cardin's hand.
"Wait! What are you?!" Cardin said in near panic.
"Relax," Oscar assured. "It's OK. It's OK."
Oscar replaced his hand with Cardin's, putting him in control of the dragon as he placed it on its snout. The Nightmare snorted but kept calm. Cardin chuckled nervously. The others watched in amazement. Oscar then turned and walked away.
The audience looked excited and renewed with hope that the recruits would save the Viking army from being wiped out.
"You were right, Penny. He's teaching them how to tame and ride dragons," Winter nodded, eager to see how the other recruits took to it.
"Oh. My. Gods!" Nora punctuated in a high voice. "We're all going to ride dragons into battle!"
"Oscar, here are you going?" Ruby asked.
Oscar pulled a bundle of rope from a supply crate. "You'll need something to help you hold on."
The teens eyed each other apprehensively and looked up to reveal. All of the other assembled dragons stood in the ring, expectantly facing the teens.
"This is gonna be so cool!" Yang laughed excitedly.
"I know!" Ruby squealed as she bounced in her seat.
"Let's just hope they reach the island before it's too late," Ironwood said forebodingly.
"They better fly fast then," Clover said seriously, bidding the recruits luck on their rescue.
Author's Closing Note: This chapter was a big one: Almost 11,000 words, so this update was a little delayed. For those of you who haven't voted on the poll yet, do it as soon as you can, because I'll be closing it as soon as I publish the final HTTYD chapter.
Author's Points
[1]- Indeed he was, lol. Plus, I just had to slip in a Monty Python and the Holy Grail reference.
[2]- A nice little shout-out to Dragon Ball Z Abridged.
[3]- For those of you who are curious, the Grimm Wyvern measured 107 meters in length and has a 170 meter wingspan according to info I gathered. The Red Death is considerably larger, measuring 120 meters long and 30 meters tall but has a shorter 150-meter wingspan.
[4]- I said the same thing when I learned the dragons name. And as it turns out, there is a similar dragon in the HTTYD-verse named the green death. Oh well.