Mala was skipping across some blocks of ice towards the wall against which Astrid was currently leaning on.

"You look exhausted, War Maiden," Mala noted.

"We've been away from over 24 hours, plus its plan practically non-stop fighting," she said.

"True, but alas, the fighting has not yet ceased," said Mala.

Jinbe then rose from the surface. "Which is why we need to get to the other side and assist Hiccup."

"I can't believe you sent over the wall without any help," said Astrid incredulously.

"I could only throw one person over the wall, and Hiccup had the best shot of surviving," Jinbe pointed out.

"Yeah, for five minutes!" Astrid snapped.

"Be quiet, you two," said Mala as she pressed her ear against the wall. She could hear several noises on the other side. "As I thought, the fighting has now intensified."

"Agreed, but how do we get over there?" Astrid asked.

Meanwhile, inside the Plaza, the fighting had intensified now that Stoick's men were inside.

"Mess them up, good boys!"

As the fighting continued, Gobber approached Oars, who was flat on the ground.

"Oars, thanks, old friend," said Gobber.

Stoick was now walking straight towards the scaffold. "Clear a path for me and be quick."

His men immediately began charging the Marines, creating a path for him as he channelled his power through his axe.

"What are you guys? He's gearing up," said a Marine.

"Sure you want to do that?" Asmund asked as he stepped forward. He then jumped into the air and outstretched his hand. "Ice Fall!"

He unleashed a blast of ice that threw Stoick in place; he was now trapped in a massive block of ice.

"Stoick's a popsicle! We've got him!"

Asmund wasn't so certain.

"Oh no," said one of Stoick's men.

However, the ice began to crack from the inside, and Stoick freed himself. Thankfully, the ice was incapable of freezing the shockwave from his attacks.

"He broke out," said Asmund. "Those vibrations can't be frozen. Tough luck." He then jumped into the air and outstretched his hands. "Ice…"

Stoick quickly swung his axe and went straight through his body, shocking the Marines.

"Admiral Asmund!"

"Is Asmund dead?"

Asmund was perfectly fine as he grasped hold of the battleaxe's hand. "No, doing fine, thank you." When he grasped the battleaxe, ice began to form around it and extend. "Ice Block: Artisan!"

Then, ice spears formed around him, but a glimmer of light caught his eyes. Then, suddenly appearing out of nowhere, Sven smashed through the ice with his diamond skin and smashed Asmund to pieces.

Asmund, however, was beginning to regenerate, though Sven's attack did take its toll.

"Go, I'll fight," said Sven.

"I'm counting on you, Sven," said Stoick as he walked past.

"I had him, damn," Asmund cursed as blood trickled out of his mouth.

The pirates began to engage the Marines in an attempt to get to the scaffold.

"The scaffold is straight ahead, but first, we need a break for these grants!"

"Hurry up and die," said a Marine as he knocked a pirate to the ground. "You are the rest of you, filthy pirates!"

Hiccup wasn't paying attention to anything else around him as he ran towards the scaffold.

"Most… save… Ace…" Hiccup panted.

Wrinkly looked down at Hiccup, feeling completely torn between his duty to his family and the oath he made to the Navy. Sander could tell he was faltering but remained quiet, but he narrowed his eyes with a warning.

Gustav and Sven were hiding and watching the battle erupting into pure chaos.

"The encircling walls came up," said Sven. "How come? Why haven't they surrendered yet? Damnit, Stoick and Dragon are almost to the scaffold."

Gustav remembered his last conversation with Hiccup before they parted ways. One where he promised that he would grow strong enough to capture him so that he could become a Marine Admiral.

Gustav clenched his fist. "I made us both that promise, but I still haven't improved a bit. Hiccup… I've got to fight."

Hiccup was still pushing on by taking down any Marines who were adopting his way, and that was when he came face-to-face with Marcus. He moved so fast that Hiccup barely had time to move and got grazed when he swung his sword. Hiccup then crashed to the ground hard.

"Dragon Conqueror Hiccup, I, Marcus, will be the Navy Vice Admiral that will cut him down," he said. "It ends here."

Hiccup was utterly exhausted; it was a miracle that he had blacked out yet.

"No disrespect, Vice Admiral, but that's not going to happen," said Hiccup as he slowly lifted himself up.

"Shave!" said Marcus.

Hiccup quickly swung his tail at him, but he had already vanished before it made contact. He then appeared directly above Hiccup and launched himself into the air.

"Moonwalk!"

He then launched himself straight at Hiccup in midair, striking him once more with his sword.

Hiccup picked himself up and attempted to concentrate. "Beta Mode!"

However, he was too worn out to transform, and another Vice Admiral launched himself straight at him. This one apparently has eaten a Dog-Dog Fruit as he was in his hybrid form, which resembled a Dalmatian, raising his claws.

"You're finished, Dragon!" he said, thrusting his claws at him. "Finger Pistol!"

He struck Hiccup, knocking him right back. Hiccup tried to get back up, but exhaustion was now hitting him hard.

"Dumb kid," said the Vice-Admiral. "He's too green."

"One thing is certain, he never gives up," said Malcolm.

Hiccup was getting back up, though he was still clearly exhausted. Then, a bright light appeared before him, and he saw Kia blast a laser straight through him. It then exploded behind him, knocking him forwards.

Wrinkly could only watch and clenched his fist; he wanted nothing more than to jump down and help Hiccup.

Sander noticed that his resolve was starting to wane. "Wrinkly, don't you dare forget whose side you're supposed to be on."

Wrinkly then looked away.

Hiccup was flat on the ground and didn't appear to be moving as Kia approached him.

"You're full of courage, aren't you?" said Kia. But take this word of advice: If you're simply not strong enough, no matter how courageous you may be, you won't come close to saving him."

Hiccup opened his eyes and looked at Ace. "Ace…"

Gustav and Sven just watched, helpless and horrified.

"He just can't compete with the admirals," said Sven.

"No way," said Gustav. "Hiccup, get up!"

Hiccup was starting to blackout; it took every bit of willpower he had left to keep his eyes open.

"Why don't you just give up?" Kia asked.

He kicked him with a lightspeed kick, sending him flying across the air and straight towards Stoick. Stoick quickly held out his hand and caught Hiccup.

"Hey, that's Hiccup!" said some of his men.

"Ace…" said Hiccup.

"Well, seems the Hairy Hooligan brand is losing some of its punch," said Kia. "Surely you could have done better than allowed your son to lead the attack. I mean, look at him; the boy is hardly breathing. Guess that's partially my fault."

Stoick glared at him.

Kia then raised his finger, prepared to fire a laser at Stoick, but some of his men quickly jumped into the line of fire.

"No one blasts Stoick!"

"We'll block the beam!"

"Such a devoted crew," said Kia.

"I see him!" said a voice above them. "He's right over there!"

Everyone was confused, even Kia, who ceased his attack.

"Who is that?"

"And where is it coming from?"

It was then they saw a large shadow casting over them. And they looked up and saw Mala's giant head poking from beyond the outer wall with Astrid and Jinbe by her side.

"What the?!"

"That face… why is it so gigantic?"

"I don't know, I think it just does that."

"Hiccup!" Astrid and Jinbe yelled as they jumped down.

"Is he still alive?" Mala asked.

She then injected herself with some hormones and shrunk her head back to normal size. She jumped down, joining Astrid and Jinbe on the ground.

"Ah, you're the one to accompany my son, aren't you not?" Stoick asked, looking at them.

Hiccup regained consciousness. "Astrid? Mala? Jinbe?" He then struggled, trying to free himself from his father's grip. "Let me go. I'm so close to him; let me go!"

"Enough," said Stoick and tossed him over to his men. "He has done his fair share. Treat him."

"Roger!" they said as they grabbed him.

"Let go of me!" Hiccup yelled. "I do not have time for this. Let me go!"

He struggled so much that none of them could hold on to him, but when they released him, he automatically fell to the ground.

"I've got to… I've got to," said Hiccup, picking himself up. "Ace needs me… he needs me! I won't lose him… I won't lose my brother! I'll save him!"

He was about to charge again, but Astrid quickly moved him and struck him across the head, knocking him out cold. He then began to collapse, but Astrid quickly grabbed him.

"Sorry, Hiccup, but you going to get yourself killed," she said, hugging him tight. "Is there a doctor here? We need help."

The ship's doctor then quickly rushed up and began to examine Hiccup. "He is in bad shape."

"Please, surgeon, do everything within your power to help him," Jinbe pleaded as he approached. "Hiccup, can you hear me? Stay with us, friend."

Stoick sighed. "He's just like his mother; she couldn't sit still either. Ace would never admit it, but he's just like his father. He's impulsive, reckless and charges in without thinking."

He then turned his attention towards the Marines, took several steps forward, and gave a small chuckle. "If you're ready to die, step up and meet your maker!"

The Marines were more than a little terrified; after all, they had just witnessed Stoick's true power firsthand.

"Oh no, not again."

Stoick then began to charge his power through his battleaxe. He swung his blade, but something blocked it, causing a massive shockwave. It turned out that Magnus had stopped it with his leg.

"You… you're always sailing around wreaking havoc," Magnus glared. "But here you are through."

"That's what you think," Stoick smirked.

"I'll be right back," said Jinbe. "You wait here."

"You're leaving?" Astrid asked.

"I must, I won't rest until Ace is safe," he said.

"Then I'm coming with," said Astrid as she stood up.

Both Stoick and Magnus slammed their fists against each other, creating another powerful shockwave, and they appeared to be evenly matched.

"Stay away from them! It's too dangerous!"

A Marine swung his sword at Izo, but he dodged it and shot it to pieces with a single gunshot.

"You shot it," the Marine gasped.

Izo smirked. "What a brittle sword."

He then shot the Marine.

Three swordsmen jumped at Hawkeye, but he easily blocked their attack. Then, with a single swing of his sword, he cut them down. However, despite being badly wounded, the three of them simply got back up.

"Move it, Stoick is coming through."

"You think yourself brave, but if you had any fried a swordsman, you'd know when to admit defeat," said Hawkeye.

Atali was attacking both marines and pirates alike.

"Move!" she yelled, knocking them out instantly with several powerful spin kicks, turning them to stone. "Insolent wretches. Hiccup, I do hope that you succeed."

"She's attacking both sides?" said one of Stoick's men.

"Atali Boa has completely lost it," said a Marine. "Everyone coming eyes quickly!"

Atali merely blew a visible kiss and held it like a bow. "Slave Arrow!"

She then unleashed a flurry of arrows, and everyone was turned to stone when they landed upon them.

Moria was unleashing his shadow bats upon Stoick's crew with glee. "Lovely… the corpse count is still on the rise."

Ace was in complete anguish over everything he was witnessing. Wrinkly was just the same. He knew how much this was hurting his grandsons, and there was nothing he could do to help.

Kia was blasting everyone inside when the Seventh Division Commander Raze, a man with long dreadlocks, slammed his ball and chain through his stomach. Naturally, he turned to light and disappeared, unaffected by the attack.

"Quick moving around!" Raze roared. "You're mine."

Kia then appeared before him. "Am I? It sure feels like I'm roaming free."

The Hairy Hooligan Pirates were still fighting hard, but the Marines were fighting just as hard. However, they were taken completely by surprise when the pirates of the New World arrived on the scene.

"Those of the New World pirates that were trapped in the bay!"

"Sorry for the wait!" said Carla.

"Nice, about time."

"Just great," said Sachihiro. "We turn away for one second, and this happens? Uncle is not going to like this. We had better clean up, so get ready. Show no mercy to our enemies. It's fine if a few soldiers get caught in the crossfire. Fire, Pacifistas!"

The Pacifistas fired upon the pirates, turning the entire battlefield carnage.

Gobber took advantage of the smoke and began making his way towards Ace. 'Hang on, Ace. I'm coming for you.'

He then flew into the air in his Phoenix form straight towards Ace.

"These flying!" a Marine gasped.

"What are you waiting for?!" Sander barked. "Shoot him down!"

The Marines began to shoot everything they had at Gobber, but he was practically invincible in his Phoenix form. It was like they were shooting fire itself.

"It's going straight through him!"

"Never mind that just keep shooting!" Sander roared.

The admirals were too busy with their own fights to do anything.

"This looks bad," said Kia.

"Yeah!" Sven cheered.

"Yeah, Commander Gobber!"

Gobber was almost to Ace, and Sander was just about to make a move against him. However, Wrinkly suddenly appeared right in front of Gobber, blocking his path, and dealt a powerful blow that sent him crashing back down into the Plaza.

"Gobber's down!"

Gobber reverted back to his human form. His Phoenix powers saved him, but Wrinkly's punch left him rather battered.

"What's the big idea?" Sander roared, looking down at Wrinkly as he landed at the base of the scaffold. "I never gave you orders to start fighting."

"This is bad," said Mala. "We now have to fight Old Wrinkly?"

"This can't be good."

"The legendary Navy hero."

Wrinkly then sat down on one of the Admiral seats.

The Marines beamed when they saw that he had entered the fray.

"We've got this now. They're finished."

"He's the best gatekeeper there is."

"Oh man," Ace gasped.

"Wrinkly," said Stoick with dread.

"If you want to reach the scaffold, you're going to have to make it through me first!" Wrinkly challenged.