Hiccup rubbed his chin and looked down at the ground in thought. The feeling he had right now was… bittersweet. He and his friends had made it past the preliminary rounds. They had managed to climb over hundreds of people to make it to the top sixteen. That was definitely something to be happy over.

What he was worried about however was his competition. He knew for a fact that at least one of the Three Gang leaders was after him. Whether it was Daggur or Thuggory, he wasn't sure. Then there was his cousin Snotlout, who had come back with power he'd never seen before. It seemed liked just he was starting to get confident, another wall dropped down in his way.

He suddenly felt a slap on his back, nearly knocking him to the floor. "Hey! What are you looking for down for! We made it to the top sixteen! We're supposed to be celebrating!" Tuffnut said chuckling. After sitting himself back up and glanced around at the rest of the table.

Astrid had insisted they go out and celebrate their group making it into the tournament. The twins and Camicazi had decided to tag along. Gustav had thought about it, but then opted for going to see Snotlout. Probably to bug him about his training.

They'd stopped by a pizza place and ordered… probably more than they could eat. Well, Fishlegs would probably finish it off. "That's easy for you to say. You don't have two people targeting your back." Hiccup said sighing.

"Oh suck it up. You're not the only one." Astrid said glancing over at Fishlegs. The boy seemed to be wallowing in his own fear. He still hadn't gotten over the threat Dagur had made towards him. Camicazi told him that he shouldn't worry about it. Dagur made threats all the time, and usually forgot about them. But that didn't seem to ease the big guy's worries.

Camicazi shook her head. "You picked some pretty squirmy friends Astrid. Look, you guys don't need to worry. Dagur could care less about you Hiccup, and he'll probably forget all about you Legs. He only cares about people he considers a strong. Chances are he'll forget all about you by tomorrow." She said waving her hand.

Hiccup raised an eyebrow. "I… I'm not sure whether to be relieved or offended. But either way, I still have to worry about Snotlout."

Camicazi opened her mouth to answer, but then thought about it. "Hmm, yeah, he did match up with Thuggory in a head on clash. Never seen anyone do that. And he does have a grudge against you… you may be screwed." She said chuckling.

"I'm glad you find my pain amusing."

Astrid rolled her eyes. "Stop worrying Hiccup. I'll admit he got a little stronger… okay, a lot stronger. So did you. You beat him before, and you can beat him again." Hiccup looked doubtful, but nodded. "And we can always train some more until tomorrow! I'm pumped up and I need to let off some steam!"

Hiccup chuckled. "I gotta admit, I'm kind of psyched too. I still can't believe we made it to the top sixteen. We're going to be battling on live television."

"I'm gonna wink towards myself in the camera, then go home and watch past me wink to future me!" Tuffnut said pumping his fist.

"Ugly winking to ugly. Isn't that like, a paradox or something?" Ruff said chuckling.

"Let's all aim for the top! Its Beyblade champion or bust!"

Snotlout made his way towards the top of the Berserker base. After his little display of power in the preliminary's Dagur had wanted to talk to him immediately. He didn't know what exactly about, but at this point he didn't care.

As he made his way to the top of the stairs he saw Dagur sitting on the couch, a wide smile on his face. Heather and DB were both standing at his sides, and he could see Gustav hiding behind a vent panel in the back. The little twerp was still sneaking around here. Thuggory gave him a nod, which he returned, and Heather simply smirked at him.

"Well, well, well, the man of the hour is here." He said happily. He sat up and leaned on his knees. "I have to admit, I never imagined you'd come back as strong as you did. I mean, being able to tangle with Thuggory. That's no small feat. To think I was going to kick you out. You may have some use yet."

Snotlout looked him in the eyes. "Honestly, I owe it to my cousin. Losing to him made me realize just how weak I really was." He said looking down at his fist. "I was just trying to cling to you to get to the top. If I was going to get real strength, I needed to work for it myself."

"And so you have." Dagur said pleased. If his second in command could match the other gang leaders, then he'd be unstoppable. "Like I told you last month. My friend has set you and your cousin up in another bracket. With your newfound power beating him should be easy. As for our match. I'll rough you up a bit and you can take a dive. Wouldn't want to damage your bey too badly." He said casually.

Heather frowned. She knew Snotlout had gained a lot of power, but did he really just assume he'd make it to the finals? There was a chance she or DB could go up against him. If DB was insulted by the gesture, then he didn't show it.

"Or, how about this. I defeat my cousin, then I take you down, and win the tournament."

Everyone grew wide eyed. They all turned to Snotlout who was wearing a seriously expression on his face. Dagur looked at him confused. "I… I'm sorry, I must have misheard you." He said before standing up. "It sounded like you just said you plan on beating me. But I know that can't be true. You have to know better than to entertain a flight of fantasy like that right?"

Snotlout smirked. "I didn't stutter." He said meeting the other boy's dangerous glare. "I do appreciate everything you've done for me. I wouldn't have made it this far without you. But like I said, I'm done riding your coattails. I don't need you to climb to the top. I'll do it on my own, with my own power. You can consider this my two weeks' notice."

Dagur couldn't believe what he was hearing. Neither could the others. Was Snotlout being serious? "You… you're serious…" Dagur stepped towards him, teeth grit and eyes dangerous narrowed. "You ungrateful little… I spent years putting up with you incompetence, you weakness. I offer you a chance to follow me to the world championships. And now that you've gotten a little power you want to bit the hands that feeds you?"

"Like I said. I'm grateful. But I don't want to follow the strongest, I want to be the strongest. Standing behind you is only going to hold me back." He said before turning around. "From here on, you're nothing but a stepping stone to the top for me…"

Dagur's eyes turned red. Did he just refer to him as a stepping stone? Him? The leader of the Berserkers? The most feared of the gang leaders? Before he could speak again, DB walked forward. "I'm leaving too…" He said bluntly. Heather grew wide eyed and Gustav had to cover his mouth to keep himself from gasping.

Dagur turned towards the usually stoic Dogsbreath. "Oh, is that so? I suppose you're going to follow your little friend here eh? Is that's what's happening? The second in command leaves, so it turned into a full on rebellion?" He asked, brimming with anger.

DB frowned. "I joined because I wanted to be part of the strong. To be strong. But I haven't gotten any stronger. I battled against Hiccup and… I was going to lose if we'd kept going. Staying here hasn't made me stronger. It's just made me settle. I won't stand for that. I'm not going to follow Snotlout. But I'm not going to stay under you either. I'm going to go my own way." He said sternly.

Dagur leaned back and laugh. "HA! What a touching little speech! Well, is that it then? Anyone else want to leave? Heather? Are you planning on bailing out too?"

Heather looked downwards. "I don't care about being the strongest. I'm perfectly happy just collecting data. I could do that here or… somewhere else." She muttered.

Dagur snorted. "Whatever. Just go, the lot of you. This gang was only something I did out of boredom anyway. By the end of the tournament I'll have no need for any of you." He flopped back down on the sofa and stared up at the ceiling.

Heather looked at him slightly concerned. Not out of any concern as siblings, but just how he'd react. He had earned the name deranged for a reason. He definitely wouldn't just let something like this slide. "I said get out, you ungrateful worms." He said shooing them away. "Scram." DB sighed before heading out, and Heather gave one last hesitant look before following.

Outside, Snotlout left the base of the Berserkers. It felt a bit strange. He'd been part of them for so long, and now he'd cut ties with them. He didn't feel sad or sentimental, he just felt… free.

"Snotlout." He turned back and then saw DB approaching him.

"I hope you're not thinking about following me or anything. I didn't quit this gang just to try and start a new one. I'm on my own from now on." Snotlout said sternly.

DB shook his head. "No, I wasn't. I still look up to you, but I know just by seeing your power in the preliminaries that you're right. I can't get stronger just by following others. I'm going to go forward on my own now. I just wanted to let you know, that if we face off in the tournament, I won't be holding back."

"Neither will I!" They both turned and saw Gustav standing nearby. "I've been training like crazy to try and join the Berserkers, but lately I'm starting to think I'm better off on my own anyway! I'm gonna win this tournament and become the strongest!"

"Guess that makes three of us gunning for the championship." Heather said leaning against the door. "I can't lie and saw I'm craving to be the strongest like you three, but… I do feel fired up for this tournament. Watch out boys, cause I'm not pulling any punches."

Snotlout smirked. "Well then…" He said turning to leave. "…may the best Blader win."

"What exactly are you doing back here?" The masked woman turned around from the edge of the building and saw Alvin staring at her. "I can't imagine you suddenly became sentimental and wanted to visit the old gang." He said glaring.

The women remained silent and turned away from him. Alvin scowled. "Seriously? Why are you trying to give me the silent treatment? I already know it's you Valka. Did you think I wouldn't recognize you?" Once again, she was silent. "Oh well. Guess I'll call up Stoick and-"

"Don't you dare!" The woman snapped.

Alvin clapped. "She speaks!"

The women reached up and pulled her mask off before letting her brown braided hair fall down. She pouted at him. "Why are you here Alvin?" She asked annoyed. She had figured so long as no one she knew too well was near her it'd be fine. But Alvin had to join the actual tournament and spoil everything.

Alvin chuckled. "I came across that meathead nephew of yours Snotlout in the forest. Hot head reminded me of myself at that age. So I threw him a bone." He said before taking a sip form his flask. "And you? What brings you back here? Been quite a long time Valka."

"My leads have… run a bit cold. I have an idea about where to head next, and since I had to pass by here I figured I may as well see how my boy was doing."

"By entering a tournament?" Alvin asked.

She shrugged. "What can I say? It's been a while since I got to just bey-battle. And when I saw that Hiccup was a part of it, I just had to enter. I just knew sending him that bey would work wonders. He'd turned into quite the talented blader." She said proudly.

Alvin chuckled. "Aye, takes after his folks. But your nephew is no slouch either. That boy has a latent talent like I've never seen before. I'm interested in seeing just how far he can take it."

Valka sat down and smiled. "Look at us. Sitting here and talking about the next generation. It wasn't long ago that we were the ones aiming for the top."

"We all have to pass the torch sometime." Alvin said taking a seat himself. "Hopefully those runts will make it farther than we did."

Valka nodded. "I'm sure they will. We'll be giving them a push in the right direction after all." She said smirking. "I have no intention on holding back against either my nephew or my son. It won't help them grow stronger if we just baby them."

Alvin nodded. "They'll have to overcome walls much taller than us if they're serious about reaching the top." He said getting ready to take another drink. Valka suddenly snatched the bottle. "HEY!"

"Constantly drinking is bad for your health." Valka lectured. Alvin grumbled before taking out another flask. Valka shook her head. "Old drunk…"

The crowd cheered loudly as the top sixteen bladers stood on stage.

Hiccup and Fishlegs looked nervous. The former about being in front of such a large crowd, and the latter about being in such close proximity with Daggur. Astrid and Camicazi looked a hundred percent focused. The twins were soaking in the attention. Eret just wore a confident smirk on his face, like he had everything already planned out. Norman just… stood there.

Snotlout was yawning. When was this thing going to get started already? Heather was going over notes on her phone. She wanted to memorize the info on everyone so she'd be ready no matter who she fought in the first match. DB simply stood with his arms crossed, and Gustav was slapping his cheeks to hype himself up.

Thuggory was smiling, looking forward to whatever battle he was going to have. None of them looked like weaklings, so this would be fun. Daggur had an amused look on his face. This was pretty normal for him to be honest, but after what had happened yesterday, Heather couldn't help but think he had something up his sleeve.

Alvin was wearing a scowl. He couldn't sneak any drinks in with all these cameras around. He glanced over at the masked woman. "What's she doing here?" He thought raising his eyebrow.

"Welcome everyone!" Blader DJ shouted excitedly. "Today we're going to be revealing the tournament bracket, and getting through round one! I hope you guys have your socks on securely, cause we don't want them getting knocked off when these epic battles start taking place!" He shouted.

He turned and then pointed towards the large screen in the middle of the stadium. "Let's stop beating around the bush and get to it then! Who'll be the first to throwdown for the title of the strongest! Let's do this!" The screen began flickering, showing names all across it. After a few moments the screen flashed a bright light, and then a bracket appeared. Names suddenly fell down into place among it. "And there we go!"

1. Snotlout vs. Gustav

2. Alvin vs. Tuffnut

3. Astrid vs. Camicazi

4. Daggur vs. DB

5. Norman vs. Eret

6. Heather vs. Miss Mask

7. Fishlegs vs. Thuggory

8. Hiccup vs. Ruffnut

Snotlout grunted. Not because he was up against Gustav, but because he noticed that he and Daggur were on the same side of the bracket. Daggur had said his friend would put him up against Hiccup, but it seemed he had a change of heart. That meant he'd have to face him in the semi-finals. Whatever, that just meant to get to Hiccup, he'd have to beat Daggur.

His former gang leader smirked at him. He was going to show both Snotlout and DB what the cost of turning on him was. He very much doubted Snotlout would lose to anyone else he'd have to face in this bracket. He'd smashed them apart on his way to the top.

Gustav looked slightly nervous. He knew he'd have to face Snotlout eventually, but right off the bat? He balled his fist up. So he had a big hurdle to pass. So what? He'd find a way. "Don't expect me to hold back! I'm coming at you with everything I got Snotlout!"

Snotlout broke his gaze from Daggur and looked down at him. "Hmm? Oh, yeah. Bring it on squirt. I'm not holding back on you either." He said smirking.

Tuffnut smirked. He was up against the old man. This should have been an easy enough win. Alvin on the other hand barely glanced at Tuffnut. Without his sister to combo with, he wasn't much of a threat.

Astrid and Camicazi smirked at one another. They would have preferred to save their showdown for the finals, but they were still eager to settle it. "No holding back." Astrid said.

The other blond scoffed. "Not a chance."

Dogsbreath was glaring at Daggur. He wasn't even paying attention to him. Did he think just because he was Snotlout or a gang leader that it was already decided? Well he'd show him wrong. He knew it would be an uphill battle, but he'd bring him down somehow.

Norman looked towards Eret who shrugged. "Sorry mate, got to take ya down." Norman tried to give his best intimidating look, but it didn't even seem to phase Eret.

Heather scowled and looked at the masked woman. Of everyone here, she only lacked data on her and the old man. To be paired up against her in the first round was a huge setback. "Guess I'll just have to wing it…"

Fishlegs was relieved and worried at the same time. He didn't have to worry about Daggur, at least not until the finals. But he did have to face off against Thuggory. He felt a pat on the back and turned to see the gang leader smiling at him. "You were the one who tanked Daggur's attack right? Not bad. Looking forward to our battle! Let's tear it up!"

Legs looked a bit surprised. For a gang leader he was pretty… friendly. "Y-yeah."

Hiccup looked over at Ruffnut, who was scowling towards him. A month ago she would have been glad to have him as a first opponent, but now that he was so powerful, this would be tricky. Hiccup smiled towards her. "Let's have a good match."

"Yeah, whatever…" She muttered.

He sighed and turned back towards the board. Both Snotlout and Daggur were on the other side of the bracket. Then there was Astrid and Camicazi over there as well. To even meet one of them in the finals he'd have to get past either Thuggory or Fishlegs, neither of whom he thought he was a good match up against.

A smile broke across his face. He should have been nervous. There were so many strong people here. Getting to the finals was going to be a task in itself, never mind winning. But he was just excited. He was here, with a chance to battle all of these guys. All of the worry and nervousness had vanished.

"Now, let's get ready to rumble! We will give our contestants a few minutes to prepare themselves before starting the first round!"

A/N: Alright! I'm back! Know I haven't updated in a while, but I have been B to the IZZY... busy. I've been busy...

Anyhow, I didn't proof read this one, so there might be a few grammar errors. Feeling a bit lazy and am in a rush. Probably go back and go through it later. I also went ahead and revealed that the masked woman was Valka because... let's be honest, everyone knew.

And it looks like the bracket isn't going down as expected. What's going to happen?