"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?!"

Spitelout slammed his hands down on the oval table where he, Gobber, Chancellor Stoick, and other major faculty members were having meeting. Along with them was Wolflegs, who stood with his arms crossed.

"The School Duel between Duel Academy and North Academy is the biggest match of the year!" Spitelout yelled, "We can take no chances, so it's clear that Wolflegs should be our rep!" He pointed to Wolflegs.

Stoick nodded, "Wolflegs is our best student, but he's a third year student and I've received word that North Academy will be using a first-year student."

"Why would they do that?" Spitelout demanded.

The Headmaster shrugged, "Who knows, but in the spirit of competition I think we should use a first-year student as well," He turned to the upperclassman, "You understand, don't you, Wolf?"

Wolflegs nodded, "Of course, Chancellor."

Stoick turned back to his fellow faculty members, "Now then, the only question is who this first-year should be…?"

Before anyone could say anything, Wolflegs folded his arms, closed his eyes and replied with, "There's your son."

That thought made Stoick look at him, intrigued by the thought of the Slifers, while it made Spitelout cringe at the idea.

"The boy is only talented there's no denying that," said Gobber.

Banner nodded as he petted Pharaoh, "I agree, Hiccup is our best new student." He looked down at his cat. "Don't you agree?"

Pharaoh only mewled in response.

Spitelout rolled his eyes and threw his arms up, "Oh, well if the cat says so…"

"Chancellor," Wolflegs turned to the large headmaster, "I know selecting him would show favouritism to the other students, but he'll make Duel Academy proud, trust me…"

Stoick looked at him for a few moments, and then nodded; "All right then, it's decided… unless someone has any other suggestions?" He looked at his colleagues.

Spitelout grit his teeth at the thought of Hiccup representing them in the School Duel, 'Hiccup Haddock… that Slifer Slacker! Every time he does well, he make me look bad! There has to be someone else…'

At that moment, a smile spread across his face, "Wait! Of course, Speedfist Boilson." He cried, "He should represent us!"

"Speedfist?" The chancellor asked intrigued.

"Oh yes!" Spitelout nodded, "He's far more qualified. He's scored the best on the written exam of all new applicants and even defeated my son before he left. His duelling and grades are remarkable," He approached Stoick and leaned forward, "It should be him!"

Stoick sighed before he said. "Well, how about a Duel-off then?"

Wolflegs nodded.

"For real?"

Gobber smiled and nodded as he heard Hiccup's reply to the news he had told his class, "Yes Hiccup and Speedfist will be duelling in a duel off to see who will be representing us in the School Duel against North Academy."

Hiccup turned and looked up at Speedfist, who was smiling down at him from an upper row.

"I look forward to an exciting match," said Gobber.

Once class was finished Ragnar and Fishlegs approached Hiccup excitedly.

"All right, Hiccup, you might actually be in the School Duel," said Fishlegs.

"This has to be the first," said Ragnar. "A Slifer taking part in such an important duel. You're about to make history."

"That if I beat Speedfist," Hiccup reminded and looked up at Speedfist. "Well, Speedfist, I guess made the best man win, huh."

"Best deck," Speedfist corrected. "And I assure you, Hiccup, that deck will be mine. You see I've been formulating a new set of cards to defeat you and your monsters ever since my duel with Snotlout."

"You said you would…" Hiccup got to his feet, smiling, "So are ya finished?"

Speedfist shook his head, "No, but it will be soon, definitely before tomorrow." He turned to his opponents. "I hope to have a great match against you. See you at the arena tomorrow." He said before turning and walking away.

Hiccup smiled before giving a nod to Speefist, silently saying that they hope for a fun time. As Speedfist walked off, Fishlegs and Ragnar approached him.

"Speedfist's made a whole deck just to duel you with?" Fishlegs asked, making sure he heard that right.

"I dunno whether you should be really honoured or really scared," Ragnar added.

"I suggest a mixture of both," said a voice.

They turned and found Astrid, who had been the one that had spoken, and Heather approaching them.

"I suppose it's best to be a little cautious than having your face down in the dirt," said Ragnar.

"Yeah, especially since he mop the floor with Snotlout," said Heather.

"I guess the only way gonna find out is when we duel," said Hiccup.

"You do have a slight advantage of Speedfist not knowing every card in your deck," said Ragnar.

"True, but he knows the card you most use," said Astrid. "I'd advice caution you saw how he outsmarted Snotlout."

"Snotlout is easy to outsmart," said Ragnar. "Don't forget I technically defeated him."

"No, Astrid's right," said Hiccup. "I have a feeling that this is clearly my toughest match yet and that counting the duel I have with Gustav when he used Yugi's deck."

"How is this gonna be tougher?" Fishlegs asked.

"Because Speedfist is using his own cards in his own strategies at least with Gustav Hiccup knew what he was up against," said Heather.

"You best prepare," said Ragnar placing a hand on Hiccup's shoulder.

"I was sorting through my deck first thing tonight," said Hiccup.

Later that night, Hiccup was in his dorm room looking for is cards figuring out the best way to take on Speedfist. The only problem was he wasn't sure which cards Speedfist would use, he had only seen him duel once and that was only one of his six decks.

"Speedfist uses science and formulas when duelling," said Hiccup rubbing his chin. "So I can expect cards that work well together."

Ragnar and Fishlegs watched as Hiccup sorted through is cards.

"He's been like that for hours," said Fishlegs.

"I suppose he wants to prove that formulas and calculations can't predict everything," said Ragnar.

"You think?"

Ragnar looked at Fishlegs. "There are some things that science can't explain for example the luck of the draw. We much doubt that Speedfist could predict Dawnfang's drawing skills and his predictions."

"He did get one wrong," Fishlegs pointed out.

"Which is exactly my point," said Ragnar. "You can't predict anything, not truly. Hiccup knows this which is why he put so much faith in his deck."

Fishlegs just stared at him blankly trying to figure out what he meant.

Ragnar then approached Hiccup. "You really should get some sleep," he suggested.

"I know, but I can't help but worry about tomorrow," said Hiccup not looking away from his cards. "Speedfist isn't going to take any chances and neither can I."

"Well, I suggest you take some fresh air and relax," said Ragnar. "Your can do fine."

Hiccup nodded and put his cards back together in places deck and his slot. "You know what, I think you're right could do with some fresh air."

They then watched as Hiccup exited the dorm room.

"You think is gonna be okay?" Fishlegs asked.

"I'm confident he will be," said Ragnar.

Hiccup was wandering through the forest and he didn't realise that he was heading the direction of the Abandoned Dorm, until we saw Astrid with a rose.

"Oh, hey Astrid," said Hiccup.

Astrid looked up and was surprised to see him. "Hiccup? What are you doing here?"

"I went for a walk and I guess I just didn't realise where I was heading," said Hiccup rubbing the back of his head.

Astrid laughed. "Thinking about tomorrow are we?"

"Wouldn't you?"

"I would be worrying myself sick I would in I would win," said Astrid proudly.

Hiccup shook his head and then looked at the rose in her hand. "Still haven't found anything about your brother?"

Astrid sighed. "No, psyche disappeared off the face of the earth."

"I'm sure he's okay," Hiccup assured.

"I wish I was so certain," said Astrid looking at her rose.

Then without thinking Hiccup placed his hand over hers. "You can't give up hoping. I'm sure one day you'll find out what happened, because I'm sure I'm gonna find out what happened to my mother."

Hiccup then looked down and realised he was still holding Astrid's hand and quickly pulled away from her. The two of them blushed furiously and looked at one another awkwardly.

"What exactly happened to her?" Astrid asked trying to escape this awkwardness.

"I'm not sure," said Hiccup. "There was no sign of a struggle at first the police thought she just left home. They asked me questions, but when I left to hang out with Ragnar she looked perfectly fine. Busy designing her new cards and then when I return she was just gone as was all the work."

"But she was working on the Dragon Knights was and she?" Astrid asked.

Hiccup nodded. "She was and as far as I can tell they were never put into production. So you can imagine my surprise when one day I got a delivery of a deck of cards that she created."

"And no one knows where the package came from?"

"I asked the post office, but there wasn't return address," said Hiccup. He then looked at his watch and realised it was getting late. "I should probably head back to the dorm I'm gonna need my sleep for tomorrow."

"Good luck I'll be rooting for you," said Astrid as Hiccup headed back to his dorm.

Astrid looked at her hand where Hiccup had touched her. His touch felt so warm and reassuring, Hiccup was the only person that she felt a deep connection with. He didn't flirt with her constantly like Snotlout did and he certainly wasn't as annoying as Harold had been. She then shook ahead ferociously getting the thoughts out of her head.

"Come on Astrid you're not just some cheery little schoolgirl, you're a tough and skilled duellist," she said to herself. However she couldn't stop herself from looking at the direction Hiccup went.

Meanwhile Speedfist was in his dorm room, sitting at his computer. He had been doing research on Hiccup's deck, and he was still trying to figure out how to successfully defeat him.

He typed away on his keyboard, "Countless equations, a myriad of theorems, yet still…" He rubbed his chin, eyes never leaving the screen, "I have yet to solve the problem that is Hiccup's decks…"

Speedfist clicked the mouse a few times until a familiar set of monsters came to the screen, "The Dragon Kinghts. Very interesting specimen. Able to become dragons were on the field or in the graveyard." He then pulled up an image of Toothless. "Toothless, based at able to be summoned by using one less sacrifice if the opponent has a monster on their field and whenever he destroys a monster that monsters attack pointed out to its own as damage." He then pulled out an image of Stormfly. "Stormfly, a most troubling and beautiful foe, she is able to annihilate the opposing player's field."

He clicked the mouse again and another recognizable set of images came to the screen, "Even if I do stop them, he still uses fusion monsters, but not that very often so I would be a fool if I focused my deck on that. Still I haven't seen the entirety of his deck, but it is clear that his most powerful monsters are indeed the most dangerous."

He leaned back in his chair, hands behind his head and eyes focused on the computer ahead of him.

'Think Speedfist, think!' He racked his brain. "I could assemble a deck to handle each one of those monsters, but that would leave far too much to chance. There must be a simple way to neutralize the threat… some strategy to stop those monsters…"

That's when it hit him…

"Wait a moment, that's it!" He reached over and let his fingers fly across the keyboard, "It's so obvious! Hiccup Haddock… the code to your cards… has just been cracked!" He smirked.

The next morning, everyone sat down in the appointed arena, eager to watch the Duel-Off to see who would represent their academy in the upcoming School Duel. Ragnar and Fishlegs were sitting in the bleachers, waiting to see the battle that was about to unfold.

Spitelout looked at the audience and raised his hands dramatically, "It's time, duellists! To find out who will be representing our most illustrious academy in the annual School Duel!"

Cheers erupted all around the arena as Spitelout nodded, taking in the applause before waving to one end of the platform. "Introducing first from the Ra Dorm Speedfist Boilson!"

Cheers came as fellow Ras and friends of Speedfist clapped for the genius as he took his spot.

"And next…" Spitelout waved to the side. "From Slifer… some kid," Spitelout continued, less enthusiastic this time as Hiccup walked up.

"Here go," said Hiccup looking at Speedfist. "Good luck, pal."

"I appreciate the sentiment," said Speedfist. "But with the deck I prepared I don't need luck."

"We'll see about that," said Hiccup raising his Duel Disk.

"Go Hiccup!" Fishlegs called from his seat in the stands, "This is what you trained for!"

"He'll be fine…" Ragnar assured with a smile. "He's tough!"

Above the seats, at the railing surrounding the stands, Wolflegs walked over to Astrid and Heather, who were both standing side by side, eyes focused on the two duellists.

"It will be instinctive versus intelligence here," said Wolflegs.

"I guess, but Hiccup is a lot smarter than he looks," said Astrid.

"True, but unlike Speedfist uses pure instinct when he's duelling," said Heather.

"Guess where about to find out which is stronger," said Astrid.

"Without further adieu!" Spitelout yelled.

"Let's duel," they said.

Hiccup: 4000

Speedfist: 4000

"All right, first move!" Speedfist drew, "I summon Carboneddon in defense mode!" He declared as he placed a card sideways on his disk. A grey, metallic dinosaur appear on his field kneeling and crossing it's arms for the guard. (ATK: 900/DEF: 600) "That'll do for now."

'Carboneddon?' Hiccup asked himself. 'All that talk of building an entire deck to take me down and this is all he uses?' He didn't buy it.

"Not the best start…" he mumbled. "Speedfist has to be up to something."

Hiccup drew his card. "First things first, I summon Dragon Knight Hookfang."

Speedfist watched as the muscular knight appeared on Hiccup's field. (ATK: 1400/DEF: 800) 'Hmm… only one turn and he already drew a difficult monster content with.'

"Off to a good start there!" He called out.

"Yeah, sure am," said Hiccup. "And I got news for you it's only going to get better. Hookfang attack!"

Hookfang then slammed his mates into Carboneddon destroying him.

"I'll end my turn with a face down." Hiccup finished as he inserted a card into an empty slot.

Speedfist nodded, "You don't waste any time, Hiccup, I like that," He drew his next card and looked at it. 'Here it is! The one card that will win me this duel! But first…' "I'll summon Oxygeddon in attack mode!" He declared, slapping the card onto his disk. The green pterodactyl made of Oxygen screeched as it appeared on the field, stretching out its wings. (ATK: 1800/DEF: 800) "Now, Oxygeddon, attack Hookfang!" He ordered.

"I don't think so, I've got a trap card Dragon Defender!" Hiccup announced revealing his facedown card. "Thanks to this card all Dragon types monsters on my so the bill can't be destroyed in battle. Unfortunately I still take damage from your attack."

Oxygeddon's attack hit Hookfang dead on, but he was able to hold his ground. Hiccup placed himself as the attack hit him.

Hiccup: 3800

Speedfist: 4000

"Well played, Hiccup," Speedfist praised, "Of course I would expect no less." He looked at the card he had drawn earlier, 'Of course when I use this card, it won't matter how well you play.' He thought before he tuned back into the duel. "I'll go and place this card facedown," he inserted the card into a spare slot, "And I'll end my turn."

"Ah, man," said Fishlegs. "Hiccup has already taken damage."

"Don't worry about it, Legs," said Ragnar. "Hiccup will be to make comeback next turn, after all he may have your life points but thanks to that move he's going to have more monsters."

"Okay, my turn," said Hiccup as he drew. "And I summon Dragon Knight Fanghook!"

The young knight appeared on his field and looked at Hiccup eagerly. (ATK: 1400/ DEF: 800)

"And now I'm going to have Hookfang attack Oxygeddon entities bowing against the monster he gained additional 400 attack points," said Hiccup as flames shot around Hookfang.

Hookfang then slammed his mace against Oxygeddon and destroyed him completely.

Hiccup: 3800

Speedfist: 3800

"Now I'm going to have Fanghook go for direct attack!" Hiccup announced.

Fanghook then ran up to Speefist eagerly and slammed him with his mace.

Hiccup: 3800

Speedfist: 2200

In the stands, Stoick turned to Gobber, who was sitting a row or two behind him. "That's my boy, he's quite the duelist."

Gobber nodded. "Aye, we teach our Slifers well…" he chuckled, "When they don't ditch class… even though Hiccup is one of the only Slifers that actually comes to class."

Unfortunately, Spitelout wasn't enjoying the duel as much as the others. He was panicking because of the way it had gone so far.

'Why did I open my big mouth and nominate Speedfist for this match?! He's getting creamed, I'm getting humiliated, and worst of all…' He pulled his hair hard, 'Hiccup's looking better than ever!'

"Looks like it's back to the drawing board with you Speedfist if you want to beat my deck," said Hiccup.

Speedfist smiled. "No, Hiccup, I think not. You see, I've already beaten your deck, it's just a matter of showing all of my work," He then added in his mind. 'And the matter of allowing Hiccup to play a card that will enact my master plan to bring down his deck…'

"Now, let's get back into the fray, shall we? It's my turn," Speedfist drew his card, "I'm summoning Hydrogeddon in attack mode!" He paused as a large monster composed of muddy water came to his aide. (ATK: 1600/DEF: 1000) "Hydrogeddon, attack Fanghook!"

Hiccup watched as a stream of water erupted from the Hydrogeddon's jaws and rammed itself into Hookfang, blowing the young knight to pieces.

Hiccup: 3600

Speedfist: 2200

"Next, I'll activate Hydrogeddon's ability," Speedfist continued, "Whenever he destroys a monster in battle, it allows me to summon another Hydrogeddon," he plucked a card from the pile of cards in his disk, "and look, I happen to have one here in my deck!"

Hiccup groaned, he had a feeling he knew what was coming next.

Speedfist took another card from his hand, surprising the crowd. "Next, I play the Equip Spell card, Living Fossil! I can now summon a monster from my Graveyard as long as I equip it with this. So the monster I'll bring back is…" He reached down to his slot as a card popped out. "Oxygeddon, rise again, old friend!" He called as he slapped the monster card onto the field again. (ATK: 1800-800/DEF: 800) "Of course, his attack points are lowered and his ability is cancelled, but it's worth it!"

"Now it gets good," Once again, Speedfist took a card from his hand, "I play the Spell card, Bonding H2O! With this card Hiccup, as I'm sure you remember, when I bond two Hydrogeddons and one Oxygeddon, they do the same thing that two hyrdogens and one oxygen molecules do… they become water! Or in this case," he paused as his three monsters swirled around and around until a huge serpent made from deep blue water appeared in front of him. (ATK: 2800/DEF: 2600) "The almighty Water Dragon!"

"That's not good," said Hiccup.

"Incredible," said Ragnar.

"That's one impressive monster," Stoick mused.

Gobber nodded, "Yes, and an impressive move, too," he looked at the duel, "It'll be tough…"

Now, Spitelout was enjoying the twist. He giggled from his place on the sidelines, "Finally, I knew it was a good idea for me to nominate Speedfist for this match. Speedfist's looking magnificent, I'm looking brilliant, and best of all, Hiccup looks like a complete fool!"

"And I believe you remember my Water Dragon a special ability, now all your Fire attribute and Pyro Type monsters now lose their attack points which means Hookfang is about to get drenched," said Speedfist.

Suddenly a huge wave emerged from Water Dragon and slammed into Hookfang and a large amount of steam was exiting from his body. (ATK: 1600-0)

"It's your move now, Hiccup," Speedfist nodded to his opponent, 'And if you plan to take on my Water Dragon, there's only one move you can make, and it's the move I've been waiting for…'

"How's Hiccup going to take on that thing?" Fishlegs asked. "Hookfang has lost all of his attack points."

"It all comes down to this next move," said Hiccup.

"Well, Speedfist, it's likely always say when the going gets tough the tough get going. So here I go!" said Hiccup as he picked up his next card.

He looked at the card he just drew and saw it was Toothless and if you combine that with his Dragon Knight Axe he will be able to win the duel right away that is unless that face down card prevented him to do so, but it was a risk he was going to have to take.

"All right, you got your favourite monster out so allow me to summon mine," said Hiccup. "I now tribute Hookfang in order to summon Dragon Knight Toothless!"

"I don't think so Hiccup!" Hiccup stared in shock when Speedfist's facedown finally opened. "The Mask of Restrict! So long as this card remains on the field, neither of us can tribute monsters!"

"Wait!" Hiccup gasped. "I can't tribute any of my monsters anymore?"

"I'm afraid not," Speedfist folded his arms, "Which essentially means you can't summon any of your powerful monsters. No Toothless, no Stormfly, and none of the other ones you might have."

"No sacrifices?" Fishlegs gasped. "But summoning powerful monsters is how Hiccup always wins his duels."

"Compute it anyway you like, Hiccup, but the answer will still be the same… you can't win!" Speedfist chuckled as his Water Dragon loomed over Hiccup's and his failed attempt to power up summon Toothless. This would have to be his toughest duel of his life.