On the scaffold, they were still waiting for the executioners to replace the ones Viggo took down.
"This is ridiculous," said a Marine officer waiting at the base of the stairs that reach the scaffold. "What could possibly take so long?"
"I'm back, sir; sorry for the wait," said a Marine as he approached with a pair of executioners. "These two replacements should be able to carry out the execution, sir."
"All right, fine, hurry and get them up here then."
"Right!"
The executioners then began to make their way up the stairs.
Hiccup had turned back to his human form and turned his gaze upon the scaffold.
"Remember, Hiccup Haddock Energy Hormone may get you pumped for now, but if you fall again, that's it, you'll be dead," Mala warned. "Energy Hormone only tricks your body into thinking you're okay. It's not actually healing your injuries at all."
Hiccup knew she was right; he was still a bit tuckered out. "That's all right. If that's the case, then I just won't fall again."
"Do not kill yourself in the process," said Mala.
"Crap, it's happening!" Hiccup panicked.
Sure enough, they saw the executioners making their way onto the scaffold, where they turned to face Ace. Without a moment's hesitation, Hiccup launched himself forwards.
"Hold on!" Mala yelled.
"You're not executing Ace while I am around!" Hiccup vowed.
"He's crazy, though it's not like he's going to change his mind under the circumstances," Mala acknowledged. "I guess I might as well give him some backup."
She then began to chase after him.
The Marines suddenly began to turn their focus towards Hiccup.
"He's over there!"
"Dragon is still alive!"
"Not for long, he's not!"
A group of Marines held their swords to block Hiccup's path, but he nearly kicked them to one side.
"Move it, I've got him," said a Marine with a whip.
He cracked his whip, which wrapped itself around Hiccup's neck and pulled him in. Another Marine then jumped in with the dagger at the ready.
"I'll finish him off!"
Hiccup merely transformed his hybrid form and slapped his tail against the Marine. He then grabbed hold of the whip and began to spin around before releasing the Marine, then collided with the Marine with the dagger.
"Enough crap," said a Marine with a bludgeon. "You're not taking another step."
More Marines began to surround Hiccup.
"We've got you surrounded now."
"Yeah, he's right; there's no way you can defeat all of us."
"The Navy always wins; you might as well give up."
Hiccup soon found themselves surrounded by many heavily armed and angry-looking Marines. He knew fighting every single one of them would be a hassle, a hassle he had no time for, but it was the only way to get through them to Ace.
"Out of the way!" Mala's voice yelled. Mala then suddenly jumped into the fray. "Death Wink!"
She then blew away the Marines with her shockwave attack. "I've cleared the way for you."
"Thanks, Mala," said Hiccup gratefully.
The Marines were heavily injured, and then Gustav made his way onto the battlefield.
"Hiccup…" he said, clenching his fists.
"You going to fight?" a Marine asked at his feet.
They then heard footsteps as Hiccup and Mala rushed forwards. The Marine immediately panicked and quickly called away to safety, but Gustav remained standing there.
"Gustav?" Hiccup stared.
"I see it now," said Gustav. "If Hiccup and I never met back then, I couldn't have made it this far. All right, focus. If I want any hope of growing stronger as a Marine, I have to fight old enemies no matter who they are. This is war. I'm sorry, Hiccup, but I'm going to have to kill you."
He then began to focus, but Hiccup showed no hesitation and clenched his fist.
"Dragon…"
"Shave!" Gustav yelled, vanishing.
Hiccup, however, anticipated his movements and punched him hard in the face. "…Fist!"
Gustav fell to the ground and barely remained conscious as he watched as Hiccup kept running forwards.
'I guess I got carried away again,' he said. 'I'm useless after all. Guess it's back to the trial board.'
Sven arrived a few moments later, just as he lost consciousness. "Gustav!"
Hiccup kept on heading towards the scaffold as the executioners getting ready to execute Ace.
"Ace!" he said.
Then suddenly, both he and Mala were struck by a beam. They looked up and saw a pair of Pacifistas bearing down on them.
"Not you again," Hiccup groaned.
"Those dirty frauds impersonating my friend," Mala glared.
The Pacifistas began to open fire on Hiccup.
"Hiccup D Haddock," they said, identifying him.
"These things are annoying," said Hiccup.
They began to charge for an attack, but Atali somersaulted and landed right in front of Hiccup, giving them a new target.
"Atali, what do you think you're doing?" Hiccup gasped.
The Pacifistas then began to identify Atali.
"Atali Boa, one of the Seven Warlords," they said.
There was a very tense moment, but the Pacifistas ceased their attacks.
"Please remove," they said politely. "You are standing in the way."
Atali stood in silence for a few moments before jumping into the air. "I never gave you permission to address me in such a manner!"
She then kicked one of the Pacifistas across the face, which turned to stone and began to crumble.
Stoick had just taken a very hard hit, and there was a burning hot hole in the middle of his chest.
"Is that it?" Stoick taunted, though clearly hiding the pain.
Gobber limped towards him. "Hold on, Stoick. I'm coming."
Then suddenly, lasers shot right through him.
"Wow, it went straight through," said Kia, pointing his finger at him. "Take a few more of these and have yourself a nice long rest, okay."
Gobber then burst into flames and rushed towards Stoick. "Yeah, just try and stop me!"
"Ah, that certainly throws a winkle into my plan," said Kia. "Regeneration, huh? So that must be why they call you the Phoenix. Hey, give me a hand, will you?"
Vice-Admiral Gorg suddenly jumped right in front of Gobber. Then, shooting up his fur cape, a pair of arms instantly grabbed Gobber. When he was restrained, Gorg placed a pair of Sea Prison Stone handcuffs on him.
"Sea Prison Stone?" Gobber gasped.
Kia then fired a laser again, striking Gobber, and this time, it had an effect on him.
"Commander Gobber, no?!" Gobber's men cried as they watched him collapse.
"Oh, it hurt that time, huh?" said Kia.
Asmund managed to freeze Sven solid, and he collapsed, too.
"They got Sven, too. He is frozen solid!"
"That's two Commanders down. What should we do now?"
"Take out the head, and the body will follow," Asmund ordered.
Stoick was gritting his teeth in the pain in his chest, but he couldn't give up after seeing Hiccup getting back up.
Astrid and Jinbe were fighting side-by-side when they noticed Stoick.
"He's in danger!" Jinbe yelled.
"Jinbe, look out!" Astrid yelled.
It was too late to change, so it managed to wrap itself around Jinbe's neck.
"Hold still, you monster!" the Marine cried.
The Marines continued tossing change at Jinbe until he was utterly trapped. Astrid tried to rush in to help, but she, too, found herself chained up.
"You fools!" Jinbe yelled as he struggled to free himself. "I will not be chained!"
"You better let go of me if you know what's good for you!" Astrid snarled.
"Good now, close in fast!" Sander commanded. "Forget the others in attack, Stoick, with everything you've got."
The Marines instantly charged at Stoick, weapons drawn. The swordsmen jumped and plunged their weapons into his chest while the Rifleman began shooting holes into him.
Stoick's men watched in horror at this relentless attack upon their leader.
"Stoick?!" they cried.
One of the Marines then fired a bazooka right at Stoick's face, and for a moment, every one for his head had been completely blown off. His body began to topple backwards, and Stoick quickly moved in.
"We'll save him!" they yelled.
Stoick, however, suddenly redeemed his footing, proving to everyone that he was still alive.
"No, stay back," he ordered.
Everyone gasped, and all eyes fell upon Stoick.
"You punks really think that's all it takes to defeat me?" Stoick roared as he stepped forward. "Just a few toy swords and guns?"
The Marines were shocked as Stoick straightened himself, and when the smoke cleared, they saw that apart from his face being a bit bloodied, he was perfectly fine.
"I can tell you all apart single-handedly, but you know that, don't you? Because you quake when you hear the name Stoick the Vast!"
He then raised his battleaxe and sliced it down straight at the Marines, blowing them all away. It was like he made his very own tornado, and all the Marines were caught up in it. This sudden show of power was more than intimidating for the Marines.
"That's insane."
The Marines that were sent flying into the air soon crass land on their comrades down below; it was like the very sky was raining Marines. However, despite this, Stoick was still relatively weakened from the constant fighting and his injuries, not to mention the poison that was currently running through his veins.
"This is our chance!" said Sander, seizing this opportunity. "Quickly before he recovers!"
Sadly, a good majority of the Marines were still winded from Stoick's last attack, but many of them managed to get back on their feet.
"Everybody follow me!"
"Sir!"
Stoick was now too weak to move. "What did he say? That's a good one; I don't need to recover from scratch like this. Do you think that this will stop me? That I will lie down and give?"
He then stood up straight and looked at the scaffold, proud and strong. "I am not such a fool; I know what will happen if I falter even for a moment. What will happen if I die."
The rest of the Marines continued to hammer at Stoick's men.
"And knowing that cold truth," Stoick continued. "I cannot allow myself to submit not until the bitter end. So, I will wait until I've taken care of the future for my sons."
The Marines had surrounded him from behind and were ready to strike.
"Got it, Ace," said Stoick, looking up at Ace.
Ace just stared at him, shocked that he was willing to go so far just for him.
"Oh, Stoick," Ace cried.
"Old fool has lost it," said a Marine.
They were just about to pounce when Astrid and Jinbe freed themselves from their chains.
"What the hell?"
Then, a good portion of the Marines were taken out, and everyone's eyes widened as Astrid, Jinbe, and the remaining commanders positioned themselves behind Stoick.
"Dammit, and we were so close too. Bastards have formed a barrier around Stoick's back. You want us to bury you with the old man?"
Jinbe glared at them. "Your mockery does not sway my honour."
"For guys who claim to be representing just as you have a dirty way of accomplishing it!" Astrid glared.
"It is our pride and joy to stand beside him!" said Flashburn.
Stoick looked back at them. "You bunch of fools. Getaway."
Squall was watching as the Marines began to surround Stoick.
"Stoick," he said softly.
"What are your orders, captain? Shouldn't we go and help defend Stoick too?"
Squall couldn't get the fact that he betrayed Stoick out of his head. He then turned around and walked away, confusing his men.
"Captain Squall? Where are you going?"
"Don't follow me," he said. "You've done well, but the cowardly traders such as myself must face his punishment."
His men looked at one another and began to follow him, wondering what he had planned.
Sander looked down at Stoick. "Concerned about the future? I'm happy to show it to you now. Let's end this." He then turned to the executioners. "Execute him!"
The executioners then raise their blades.
"Ace, no!" Stoick's men cried.
Hiccup kept on charging towards the scaffold, but he knew he would not be able to get there in time.
"I'm too slow," he said.
Ace just sat there, still ready to accept his fate.
"Don't make me laugh," said Stoick as he made his way to the scaffold. "You think I can't stop those runts from doing it."
He then tried to concentrate, focusing on the executioners, but his wounds were far too severe. He suddenly fell to his knees and popped up quite a bit of blood.
"From the start, this was the only way!" Sander yelled.
"Ace!" Hiccup yelled as he charged on through, taking beating after beating.
He continued knocking back the Marines as he tried desperately to get close, but there were too many of them.
"Don't do it!" Hiccup yelled before he was punched in the face.
The executioners then swung their blades down towards Ace, and everyone's eyes widened in horror.
"Don't you dare!" Hiccup roared.
Then, something unusual began to happen; the Marines just toppled over and were rendered unconscious. It wasn't just them, as the executioners also collapsed, and several of Stoick's men. Everyone just stared at Hiccup breathlessly.
Hiccup didn't appear to notice and kept on running, but now we have a clear path towards the scaffold.
"It's not over yet!" Hiccup yelled.
"Did you just do what I think you did?" Mala gasped.
"It's the Congress Spirit!"
"He did the exact same thing on Valkyrie Lily," Astrid gasped.
"Well, damn, this is a mess," said Asmund.
"There's a surprise for you," said Kia.
"Hiccup is just for surprises today," said Stoick with a smile.