Hiccup and Snotlout were stretching as they prepared for their fight.
"Cap—I mean Harold, go get him!" Heather cheered.
"Hey, Spitelout if you lose this match on going to tell Shanna!" Fishlegs yelled.
"Oh, that's right," said Heather and looked at her pocket. "You can cheer too Ruby. You don't have to worry, nobody is going to see you."
"Uh, okay," said Ruby feeling very embarrassed.
"Okay, it's time to get this match under way!" the referee announced.
Snotlout cracked his knuckles. "You know I would really like if we had much more room to move." Hiccup chuckled slightly. "What's so funny? You excited to fight me that much?"
"I was actually thinking back to the old days, we had this much space back then did we?" Hiccup asked.
"It has been a while," Snotlout agreed. "But which time you talking about?"
"Don't worry, it will come to you," said Hiccup.
He then vanished and next thing Snotlout realised Hiccup had punched him in the face. The entire crowd gasped, completely stunned by Hiccup speed.
"Now I remember," Snotlout smiled.
16 years ago, Hiccup wearing full armour was making his way deep into a prison.
"This place is built like a fortress," Hiccup noted.
"Of course," said his escort. "He is the criminal that burned down the Fairy King Forest four years ago."
Hiccup looked at him as they stopped beyond the cell door. "Correctly if I'm wrong, but haven't you guys executed him 33 times?"
"That's right," his escort nodded. "We have tried everything from beheading to fire, that man isn't human."
Hiccup smiled. "Well, if that isn't a coincidence."
His escort frowned at him. "Huh?"
"Never mind, just open it," Hiccup ordered.
They open the doors and Hiccup entered into the large cell and found Snotlout leaning against the wall in ragged clothing.
"Is it time for another execution?" Snotlout groaned. "I am not budging for that kind of hassle, if you want to do it then just do it in here."
"Oh, I'm no executioner," said Hiccup as the doors closed behind him.
Snotlout frowned at him. "You certainly don't look at. Who are you?"
Hiccup looked at him strongly. "My name is Hiccup and you could say that I'm a recruiter for the king's army. King Topaz has agreed to give you a full pardon if you join me."
Snotlout laughed. "His Majesty wants pardon a convicted criminal? That's a good one."
Hiccup looked at him sternly. "It's no joke. You'll be joining a new order of Knights under my command."
Snotlout snorted. "You? I think I'd rather stay here, but tell you what if you cannot me out of this prison I'll join you."
The two of them then fought and Hiccup managed to strike Snotlout so hard that he was sent flying right through the prison walls and into the open air.
Snotlout laughed. "You really did throw me out?"
"So, are you going to honour our agreement?" Hiccup asked.
Snotlout picked himself up. "I'm a man of my word and I have a feeling that it's going to be a lot of fun joining you."
Back in the present, Snotlout has was inches away from being thrown out of the arena.
"This fight has been decided with one punch!" the referee announced.
Snotlout however quickly placed his feet firmly on the ground at the edge of the ring and then grabbed Hiccup around the waist. He then attended to slam into the ground, but Hiccup placed his hands on the ground stopping his descent and then wrapped his legs around Snotlout's neck and then slammed in headfirst into the ground.
Snotlout however quickly recovered and then grabbed Hiccup's legs and immediately stood up straight and kicked him into the air. Snotlout then immediately jumped and sored up towards Hiccup and then immediately began dealing him a barrage of punches.
"Let's do this!" he yelled as he swung his fists.
Hiccup raised his arms to withstand the attacks and then slammed a powerful fist into Snotlout.
"That's nothing!" he yelled.
Snotlout then stuck the ground so hard that it shock the ground causing the cracks in the rock face to expand.
Everyone just stared dumbfounded as Hiccup landed back onto the ground.
"Is that guy dead?"
"Does this even count as a fight?"
Snotlout however picked himself up with his injuries completely healed much to everyone's astonishment.
"He's not even hurt?"
Snotlout then vanished as did Hiccup and soon the two of them were fighting at close quarters. They were moving faster than anyone could blink and it was hard to tell who had the advantage.
Ake was in the crowd staring at the two of them. 'So these are the Seven Deadly Sins. They're fighting like a couple of monsters.'
Hiccup then punched Snotlout in the stomach causing him to spit out some blood and then punched him once again the face sending him flying. However, when Snotlout struck the ground Hiccup immediately collapsed feeling completely exhausted.
"Oh no, looks like both fighters are down!" the referee announced.
Snotlout then sat up straight with his hand extended towards Hiccup.
Hiccup realised immediately what was happening to him. "So playing dirty already, huh?"
Snotlout chuckled as he rose to his feet. "You know that I'll take any advantage I can get to win a fight."
"What's going on?" said the referee stunned. "All of Spitelout's injuries are completely healed."
Snotlout then charged at Hiccup, who then immediately raised his fist to strike him but he was gone. Snotlout had somehow reappeared directly behind Hiccup and then slammed his fist at the back of his head prowling him into the ground.
"Whoa, these guys are totally crazy."
"Souvenirs! Get your souvenirs here!" Ruffnut yelled holding a tray of action figures.
"Only one piece of gold for each!" Tuffnut yelled.
Snotlout was flexing his arms and was clearly enjoying himself. "I'm floating like a butterfly now."
Then suddenly Hiccup dealt him a powerful elbow into the face from out of nowhere. "And I'm stinging like a bee," he said.
Snotlout skidded across the ground, but he was able to slow himself down. "You're getting slower, are you really going easy on me?"
Hiccup then immediately charged at Snotlout he was indeed moving slower as he was able to avoid Hiccup's punch. Then while Hiccup guard was down immediately dealt a powerful head-butt into him.
"You saw that, didn't you Fishlegs?" Heather asked.
Fishlegs nodded. "Hiccup is moving more sluggishly."
"So you think his stamina is starting to run out then?"
"When Hiccup started to slow down, Snotlout's agility shot through the roof," Fishlegs noted.
Heather gasped as she realised what this meant.
Ruby on the other hand looked confused. "What are you trying to say?"
"Snotlout's magical ability is Snatch is able to sap an opponent's physical skills like speed and power," Fishlegs explained.
Hiccup attacks were having a far less impact than they had done before and Snotlout then dealt him a powerful blow to the head. Hiccup then quickly grabbed hold of his arm and then began to slam into the ground back and forth.
"Is that all you got?" he yelled.
"Harold has turned the tables!" the referee announced. "He's beating Spitelout like a rug, look at that raw power!"
Snotlout then lifted his and immediately began to sap more Hiccup's power which in turn allowed him to free from his grip. He then raised his arm and the muscles began to expand as he struck Hiccup with a powerful blow.
Snotlout was now experiencing a new raw power. "This feeling is your that strength of yours flowing into me. I've never experienced anything quite like it before!"
Hiccup was feeling very worn out and saw that his hands were shaking.
"I wonder how much power I ended up taking!" Snotlout yelled as he immediately jumped into the air. "Time to find out!"
Immediately their punches collided and Hiccup managed to break his wrist and kept on pushing until striking him in the stomach and the sound of bones cracking could be heard. Snotlout spat a lot of blood as he skidded towards the edge, but he stopped before he fell out.
"This has to be some kind of joke," said Snotlout as he began to regenerate. "Just how bottomless is your power?" He then stood up straight and looked at him. "You're clearly stronger than you look."
The two of them then began to advance towards one another.
"All the time you've known me you haven't figured that out," said Hiccup with a stern look.
"At the moment I've been chipping away at your speed and power, but if I want to win this I'm going to have to do a lot more than that," Snotlout smiled as he extended his arms. "So I'll just take it all!"
Hiccup could already feel his power dropping he immediately advance towards Snotlout and began to deal him series of punches.
"Hiccup needs to hurry up and finish him off," said Heather.
Fishlegs nodded. "He's going to have to win this before Snotlout steals all of his power."
Hiccup movements were starting to slow down and Snotlout was an ugly arena quite yet. Eventually he ran out of steam and when he dealt a gentle punch to Snotlout's face he collapsed.
Snotlout smiled. "That was delicious."
"It looks like things have turned around folks," said the referee. "Harold, who had the upper hand for quite a while, has just run out of steam."
Ruby immediately looked at Fishlegs. "Sir Fishlegs, what's going on with Sir Hiccup?"
"Snotlout spat his physical abilities while holding back his own attacks preventing Hiccup from re-energising, now he doesn't have anything left," Fishlegs explained.
Snotlout then began to advance towards Hiccup. "Well, looks like we are finally coming to the end of this little fight. Looks like I win."
"Not quite," said Hiccup looking up at him. "I'm afraid you haven't KO'd me just yet."
Snotlout smirked as he clenched his fist. "That can easily be remedied! All I have to do is just deal you the final blow!"
Toothless soon joined them and looked them. "Can't he uses Inferno ability to absorb the blow?"
Fishlegs grimaced. "Normally he would, but Hiccup his worn out I doubt he could absorb anything in the moment. Plus even if he did Snotlout would just take that strength away."
Heather looked concerned. "If that's the case then why hasn't he surrendered?"
Fishlegs looked at her. "You forgetting how stubborn he can be and then there's that pride of his."
Snotlout raised his fist. "You still have a chance to back out!"
"Wishful thinking," said Hiccup.
"Can't say I didn't warn you!" said Snotlout as he swung his fist towards Hiccup.
"Sir Snotlout, no!" Ruby cried.
Snotlout then slammed his fist right on top of Hiccup and then suddenly there was a massive cloud of dust followed by a quick shockwave.
Ake just stared. "I can't believe he dealt the finishing blow, aren't those guys supposed to be on the same team?"
"I can't believe he actually did it," said Ruby horrified.
"That's nothing compared to what were seen now," said Toothless.
Everyone looked at him in confusion and that when they saw the dust been dispelled and Hiccup was standing and Snotlout was nowhere to be seen. Upon seen him standing there everyone was confused, because a few moments ago he was on the floor at the mercy of Snotlout.
"What the?" Ake stared.
"Look at that," said the referee stunned. "Harold is standing all alone in the ring, but where is Spitelout?"
"He's right over there," Hiccup pointed.
Everyone turned in their eyes widened, because they could all see Snotlout had slammed into one of the stone columns about half a mile away. Most of the bones in his body were broken and he was covered in holes.
"This is incredible, it can only mean," the referee stared.
"That I won," Hiccup included.
"Harold moves onto the next round!" the referee announced amongst the cheers of the crowd.
"And we've sold every single item," Ruffnut smiled looking at her empty tray.
"Now we need to prepare for the semifinal round," said Tuffnut holding out a bag of coins.
Heather and Fishlegs, however was still bewildered about what had just happened.
"Did you see that?" Fishlegs asked looking at Heather.
Heather nodded.
"The fight was over really fast, but I think I saw something kinda strange."
"Well, I could see how it all played out," said Heather gravely. "Snotlout landed a punch with all his strength there's no doubt about it, but as he did that Hiccup crushed his wrist at that precise moment. And then a second later Snotlout's body was sent flying out of the ring."
Heather could picture it all in her mind, Hiccup crushing Snotlout's wrist just as he struck Hiccup. Then Hiccup's eyes became slits and then with one single blow Snotlout was sent flying out of the dust.
Heather looked deeply troubled. "I remember seeing the Captain with the same look in his eye once before. I don't know why, but seen it makes me feel really nervous."
Ruby just looked up at her knew what she meant. 'His eyes turn to slits? It's just like that time at Dalmary.'
"You guys alright?" Hiccup asked as he approached them and everyone clapped as he walked by. "What with the looks on those faces?"
"How are you holding up?" Fishlegs asked curiously.
"I'm fine, the moment I took Snotlout down all the power that he stole entered back into my body," said Hiccup as he stretched.
Heather just shook her head. "But how the heck did he move like that before he beat him?"
Hiccup immediately looked at Heather. "Something bothering you Heather? Whatever is the matter you better get your head in the game, because your next opponent looked particularly tough."
Ake was indeed stretching himself. "Let's get going. Seen an awesome fight like that surely gets a guy pumped up."
"Oh no," said Heather and pulled out a handkerchief and gave it a Hiccup. "Please hold onto this, Hiccup."
Then before Hiccup could say anything she immediately dashed towards the ring.
It only took Hiccup a few moments to realise that he was holding Ruby in his hands, who was covering herself up with a handkerchief, and immediately felt a bit awkward.
Soon both Ake and Heather stepped into the ring.
"I know you can do Dorothea!" Fishlegs cheered.
"Heather try not to do anything crazy okay?" Ruby called.
Heather looked at them and smiled.
Meanwhile Amber and Gael, who was now wearing the armour of an Armorwing were looking around the marketplace for Ruby.
"Princess Amber," he said approaching her.
"Where is she?" Amber asked.
"I've searched everywhere, there's no sign of her," said Gael regretfully.
Amber bit her lip and remember the meeting she had with Alvin.
"I will lure the Seven Deadly Sins to the town of Vaizel," he told them.
"By what means?" Gael asked.
"I will put up Heather's Secret Treasure as an extra Festival prize."
"What about my sister?" Amber asked looking concerned.
"I am confident that Princess Ruby will be right by their side."
Back in the present, Amber looked at Gael.
"Ruby is here, she must be near the arena," Amber concluded.
"How can you be sure?" Gael asked.
"I'm not basing it on what Alvin had said, it's just a feeling I have."
"Then I will keep searching," Gael assured.
They then went their separate ways in order to continue their search.
Meanwhile Toothless was carrying Snotlout on his back, who apparently was unable to move at the present moment.
"Man, I can't believe that I totally forgot about that ace Hiccup's got," Snotlout moaned. "I still have absolutely no idea what that was, even after all this time."
"What I don't understand is why I have to drag you around?" Toothless huffed.
"Hey, it's not my fault," Snotlout moaned. "You see after Physical Hunt my body becomes really heavy after I use it."
Toothless growled with annoyance until they came up to the slope that overlooked the ring.
"Looks like they're about to begin the next round," he said.
After seeing the battle between Hiccup and Snotlout, the crowd was hungry for more.
"Let the first match of the semifinals be again!" the referee announced.
Ake then immediately dashed towards her with a tornado covered fist. "Rising Tornado!" he yelled.
Heather immediately jumped out of the way and avoided the fist which immediately formed a tornado right where she stood.
"If that hits me with full force there won't be anything left," said Heather worriedly.
Ake smiled as he turned towards her. "Whoa, I'm glad you realise what you're up against! But…" He then created another tornado and Heather barely managed to avoid it this time. Ake then kept on his attacks forcing Heather to jump back with each and every one. Just lie back and leave everything to my magic hands, I promise it won't hurt. I'll make it feel like you're flying."
"That guy is amazing," said Hiccup.
Ake continue to press on his attack. "Nothing personal, are you just want to end this quickly because I don't like to hurt girls. No matter how tough they are!"
"Look at that!" the referee announced as you continued to dodge Ake's attacks. "Dorothea is still on the defensive."
"I've got no choice, I really wish I did and had to back a woman into a corner like this," he said regretfully.
He then spread his two fists out and is only two tornadoes appeared either side of Heather preventing her from escaping.
"Tornadoes have formed between Dorothea's right and left and there's no more space behind her, she's been cornered," said the referee.
"Not good," said Fishlegs.
Ake then immediately charged towards her. "Whether you jump up or dive down my tornadoes were cutting to the ground or climb up into the sky!" He then raised his fist as wind began to spin around it. "Looks like this is Checkmate!"
However, Heather then immediately grabbed his fist before he could deal the final blow much to everyone's astonishment.
"Impossible, you said there would be nothing left if my tornadoes hit you full force," said Ake staring at Heather.
Heather narrowed her eyes and then dealt a powerful kick into the gut. "I meant that I didn't want to ruin these clothes I borrowed."
The entire crowd cheered.
Ake smiled. "This is getting interesting," he said as he rose to his feet. "It's been a long time since I could really bring it." He then waived his harms in front of him and immediately formed a massive tornado directly in front of him which he expanded. "You had better run if you don't want to die!" He then spread his arms wide open expanding the tornado even further. "Whirl Shock!"
Heather then was immediately struck by a powerful burst of wind.
"Heather no!" Fishlegs cried.
However when the just lifted Heather was still standing there, though her hair was in a total mess. "Didn't expect that," she said.
"It ain't over yet!" Ake yelled as he slammed his hands into the ground.
Suddenly a massive tornado began to encircle around the entire ring preventing anyone from seeing both competitors.
"How do you like my Super Cyclone!" Ake yelled through the wind.
"I can't see inside it," said Hiccup as he shielded Ruby.
"I think Heather is in big trouble," said Fishlegs.
"If one of her feet leaves the ground it's all over," said Snotlout.
"It's not count her out just yet," said Toothless.
Inside the tornado, Ake was putting everything he had into lifting Heather into the air.
"It's time to fly," he said.
Heather did her best to stand her ground, but eventually she was caught in the air current and was flying up the tornado.
"Victory is mine!" Ake announced.
Heather screamed as he was carried higher and higher into the air, but then her demeanour changed and she looked down at Ake with a stern look. That one look told Ake that he was in serious trouble.
"Heavy Metal!" Heather roared.
Then suddenly every single bit of her body turned to metal and she began falling down towards Ake a brick. Ake was too stunned to move and before he realised what was happening Heather slammed her knees right on top of his stomach prowling him into the ground. The impact was strong enough to cause a shockwave that almost blew everyone off their feet and created a crevice in the valley.
"What happened?" the referee groaned rubbing his head. He then saw Heather standing over Ake, who was clearly unable to fight any more. "Ake is out cold, the winner of the first semi-finals is Dorothea!"
Heather immediately rushed over to Ake. "Hey, you okay?"
"My ass just got kicked is all," Ake groaned.
"I guess I kinda lost it and fought for real, sorry," she said apologetically.
Ake looked at her and smiled. "I got one of the Seven Deadly Sins to go all out against me, it's actually an honour."
Heather panicked slightly. "W-what are you talking about? I'm just a normal girl that is passing through town."
Ake chuckled. "You're not fooling anyone."
"Heather, are you all right?" Hiccup called.
"I'm fine," she said looking back at him.
Ake looked at her. "Heather? I knew it." Heather then dropped him down and stood up before running off. "Hey, wait!"
Heather looked back at him. "I'm really sorry."
Magnus and Skull had seen everything from the waiting room.
"I can't believe it," Magnus groaned. "There's someone out there that can take on a Dragon Knight just like that."
Skull chuckled slightly as he began making his way to the ring. "The world may seem big, but it's smaller than you think. Now it's time to test his resolve."
"And now it's time for the second match of the semifinals!" the referee announced. "Harold versus Skull!"
Hiccup had given Ruby back to Heather and was making his way onto the ring.
"Do your best out there," said Heather.
"Just please be careful," Ruby pleaded.
"Just leave it to me," said Hiccup.
Fishlegs looked at Hiccup. "Hiccup, is that guy truly…?"
Hiccup turned and looked at Skull. "That's what I'm going to find out."
The entire crowd was on edge and they were cheering for both competitors.
"We're counting on you, boy!"
"Give us another awesome fight!"
"Don't lose, handsome."
"Make sure that kid doesn't beat you!"
Hiccup and Skull was soon squaring each other off.
"You really are the spitting image of him so much that it can't be a coincidence," said Skull.
Hiccup looked directly at him. "Tell me are you who I think you are?"
Skull smiled. "Only if you tell me who I think you are?"
"I am."
Skull smiled. "I thought so. In that case can you ask me this one question? How big is the weight of Danafor?"
Hiccup grimaced. "Sometimes it's just too much to bear."
Ruby frowned. 'Father only spoke of it once, that is where I was born.'
"Begin!" the referee announced.
Hiccup then immediately charged at him and raised his fist as flames covered it. "Dragon Fist!"
He then slammed it into Skull and then suddenly he transformed into a flock of crows and that when everything went dark.
Hiccup then found himself in the courtyard of the castle that looked as if it had seen battle and he saw many dead bodies of knights.
"Not again," he said.
"That's right," said a voice behind him and he turned and found Skull charging towards him. Immediately he began to swing several blows at Hiccup, who quickly began blocking him. "This is where you met Astrid when she destroyed Danafor."
"She didn't mean to," said Hiccup.
"Sounds like you're defending her because she's your lover," said Skull.
"Shut up!" Hiccup roared and swung another blazing fist towards him.
However, the moment his fist made contact he turned into black feathers and then reappeared directly behind him and dealt him a powerful sidekick across his head knocking him backwards. Hiccup quickly recovered in time to block a series of blows from Skull, who kept up is attacked relentlessly without pause.
"Was her rage directed towards you, because of what you did to her?" Skull yelled punching him across the face.
"I couldn't lose her," said Hiccup clenching his fist. "Knowing that she was alive was what kept me going for so long."
"But she hated you for it," Skull spat. "Destroying this country might have been her sin, but that would never have happened if it weren't for you!"
Skull then struck Hiccup once more in the face. Hiccup skidded across the ground, but he regained his footing and looked directly at Skull.
"I know," said Hiccup. "It was all my fault, the deaths of millions on my hands because of my stupid pride! But I'll tell you this here and now, I'll do whatever it takes to atone for my sin and know what is going to stop me!"
Skull and immediately charged towards him with his fist raised, but Hiccup then gave off an earsplitting roar that sounded a lot like a dragons and Skull suddenly saw the shadow of a dragon directly behind Hiccup. He tried to hold his ground as best as he could, but then he found himself being blown away.
Suddenly Hiccup found himself back in the arena and a split second he made contact with Skull's face and sent him flying out of the ring. He looked around and saw that everyone was staring at him in confusion.
"What happened?" Hiccup asked.
"The two of you were just standing there!" Snotlout yelled. "And the crowd was getting very impatient."
"What did happen?" Toothless asked.
Ruby nodded. "They just stood there motionless."
"If that is Skull then he must have used Invasion," said Fishlegs. "Invasion allows the user to enter into the opponent's mind."
"Are you saying that Hiccup has been fighting Skull in his mind this entire time?" Heather stared.
"And he was lucky to get out of it," said Fishlegs.
Hiccup then suddenly felt himself every weak went down on his knee. "Second longer I would have been toast."
"I don't know exactly what happened folks, but the winner is Harold!" the referee announced.
Hiccup looked at Skull. "Why did you show me that?"
Skull picked himself up and smiled. "My master assumed that you were still in a rut over that little incident and wanted to see if you could overcome it."
Hiccup groaned. "Of course he did." He then saw Skull leaving. "Where are you going?"
"I've done what I needed to do, but don't worry I won't be far," Skull assured.
There was a 10 minute recess to allow Hiccup to regain his strength and once it was over it was time for the finals.
"It's time for the final round of the Vaizel Fighting Festival!" the referee announced. "It has been a parade of unbelievable fighters this year and this final match will feature the very best of the best."
"I'll look after Ruby while you're fighting," Toothless offered.
"Thanks," said Heather as she placed Ruby down on his head.
"All right fighters, time for you to step into the ring if you please!" the referee yelled.
Hiccup and Heather soon stepped into the ring and both are close were pretty torn up.
Hiccup looked at Heather. "Looks like we'll get your Sacred Treasure no matter who wins this. You know I could for the match if you want."
Heather looks insulted. "And disgrace my warrior name, I think not."
"I was actually hoping if I forfeit I could get away from them," Hiccup pointed.
Heather turned around and saw a bunch of cute girls winking at Hiccup. Judging from the way they were moving, it was clear they had one thing on their mind.
"It looks like Harold has some sexy cheerleaders!" the referee noted.
"I see your point," said Heather and then turned towards him. "But I'm still going to fight with everything I have."
"All right finalists, it's time to fight!" the referee announced.
Heading straight towards Vaizel on the backs of Singetails were Gabrielle and Ase, both wearing dragon knight armour that was presented a Singetail and a Timberjack. On the Singetail opposite then was another Dragon Knight wearing the armour of a Catastrophic Quaken.
"Gabrielle how much further to Vaizel?" Ase asked.
"You really shouldn't get so worked up, Ase. It won't be long," Gabrielle assured.
"I just can't wait any more, I'm ready to unleash the full extent of my new power," said Ase.
In a dark cave not too far way from Vaizel, a beautiful blonde haired girl meditating. This girl was about 20 years old, her blonde hair was tied in a ponytail that ran down the right side of her shoulder. She had steel blue eyes that were intimidating as well as a cute button nose.
She was wearing a red short-sleeved T-shirt and had a set of metal shoulder guards on her shoulders. On her hand she was wearing braces that covered her wrists, she also sported some black leggings and wore a skirt around her waist. Her boots were combat boots that were covered in mud and scratches.
"Focus on your centre, do not allow your anger to cloud your mind," she said soothingly.
"Focus, clouded mind?" said a voice.
The girl was looking at something deep within the cave with burning red eyes.
The girl nodded. "If you allow anger to control you you'll end up hurting those you love."