The waiting room was tense. Everyone inside was quiet, and trying to occupy themselves with one thing or another. But everyone kept glancing towards the two in the first round. Snotlout was just leaning against the wall. He looked like he was deep in concentration… or sleeping, they couldn't really tell. Gustav looked like he was trying to calm himself.

He knew being in the top sixteen meant he'd have to fight strong opponents, but he never expected to get one of the strongest right off the bat. He'd been hoping for one of the twins or that Norman guy. But he couldn't fret over it now. This was the hand he'd been dealt, and he'd find a way to deal with it. "You okay?"

He looked up and saw Hiccup giving him a concerned look. Gustav gave a nervous smirk. "H-ha! Of course I am! Do you think I'm nervous or something! I-I'm pumped! I'm going to power through the first round and take this whole thing!"

DB sighed. He felt sorry for the kid. He didn't stand a chance against Snotlout. Heather rolled her eyes. There was no point collecting data on the first battle. She knew Snotlout had gotten stronger, much too strong for Gustav to take on. She wouldn't get any impressive data from this.

"That's the spirit." Hiccup said giving him a thumbs up. "Just go out there and give it your best shot. I think you can do it." Gustav wondered if he was just patronizing him, but he looked serious. Did Hiccup really believe he had a chance against Snotlout?

"You shouldn't get his hopes up just for him to fail." Heather pointed out. The others turned towards her, Astrid and Camicazi shot her a glare. "Don't give me that look. It's crueler to lie to him about what's going to happen. Statistically speaking, he stands no chance against him. So telling him he could win is just setting him up to fail."

Hiccup looked towards her. "You don't know that he can't win. You never know what could happen in a battle, right? He's got just as much a chance as anyone of us here."

She rolled her eyes. "That's sweet, but the fact is the chances of him winning are slim to none. There's a bigger chance of a meteor cashing down on Snotlout then Gustav beating him." Snotlout opened his eye and scowled at the comment. "Not that I'd want that to happen." She said slyly.

Camicazi stepped beside Gustav. "Don't let her get to you kid. None of us were anywhere near as strong as you when we were your age. You're good."

A man suddenly stepped into the room. "Excuse me. But the first round is about to begin. Will the first competitors please follow me out to the arena?" He asked.

Snotlout stood and headed for the door. Hiccup nodded towards Gustav, and Camicazi knelt down and kissed his cheek. "Good luck cutie." She said winking at him. He blushed and quickly made his way out the door. DB nodded towards him as he walked out.

"So… how long do you think he'll last out there?" Tuff asked.

"A minute, maybe two." Ruff answered.

"Alright folks! The time has finally come to get started! Are you all ready to see some awesome battles?!" Blader DJ shouted. The crowd cheered loudly, eager to get the competition going. "I thought so! Let's get ready to kick off the first round! Give it up for our first contestants!" DJ shouted before pointing to the left.

"In this corner we have the hot headed powerhouse, the trailblazing, eyebrow raising, inferno master Snotlout!" He shouted. The crowd cheered as Snotlout walked out with his fist raised into the air. "He and his Monstrous Nightmare have blazed through the competition so far! Will he use that same fire to reach the finals and grab the championship as well?!"

DJ turned towards the other side of the stadium. "And in this corner, we have our youngest competitor! The little guy who fought the odds and earned himself a spot with the big boys! Gustav! Can he and his Flame Nightmare keep it up and fight their way to absolute victory!"

Gustav tried to look confident as he walked out. As if facing Snotlout wasn't bad enough, he felt like everyone was staring at him. Well, they were… but still.

"Now, the Nightmares will clash! Which one of these two will come out on top?! We're about to find out! Bladers, are you ready?!" DJ shouted. Snotlout nodded before putting his Monstrous Nightmare on his launcher. Gustav gulped, but then nodded as well. He prepared to launch Flame Nightmare. "Alright then! 3!"

"2!"

"1!"

"Let it rip!"

Snotlout and Gustav both shot their Nightmares into the stadiums. The two blades landed on opposites sides, and began zipping around the stadium. Gustav narrowed his eyes. He knew if this got dragged out, he wouldn't stand a chance. He needed to finish this as quickly as possible. "Flame Nightmare, Flame Star, level five!"

Fire began swirling around Flame Nightmare. It quickly rushed right at the opposing bey. "Oh, and Flame Nightmare is already using its special move! It seems Gustav is trying to end this right out of the gate!" DJ yelled. Flame Nightmare slammed into Monstrous Nightmare. It pushed it back a bit, but the other bey bucked forward and knocked it away.

"What?!" Gustav couldn't believe it.

Hiccup frowned. He shouldn't have been surprised after that display of power he showed against Thuggory, but it was still impressive that Snotlout could shrug off attacks like that. "I told you he didn't stand a chance. All you did was give him false hope." Heather said looking annoyed.

As much of an annoyance as he was, she had a bit of a soft spot for Gustav. She would have preferred he been able to brace himself for the lost. Now he was just going to take it even harder. "The battle isn't over yet." Camicazi stated.

Heather frowned. "He just hit him with everything he had, and it did nothing. He's got no more aces up his sleeve."

"Battles aren't all about tricks and moves…"

Snotlout smirked. "Not bad Gustav, you really have gotten stronger." He said crossing his arms. "But you still got a ways to go against me. Nightmare!" Monstrous Nightmare rushed forward and smashed into Flame Nightmare. It pushed it back towards the edge of the stadium. Flame Nightmare just barely managed to move before getting pushed out.

"Oh! Flame Nightmare just barely managed to avoid a stadium out!"

Gustav balled his fist up. His strongest attack had been completely shut down. What was he supposed to do now? Snotlout hadn't even begun to show what he was made of yet, and he was already at a dead end. "GAH! Screw it! All I can do is attack, so I'll just keep attacking!" He yelled angrily. "Flame Star, level five!"

Flame Nightmare flared up again and charged. Monstrous Nightmare met it head on, they clashed, and they were both knocked back. "Again! Keep going!" Gustav yelled. Flame Nightmare once again flared up and went at it.

Snotlout chuckled. "Just going to go in head first huh? Fine, let's go!" Monstrous Nightmare met it head on again, and the two just kept clashing in the middle of the stadium.

"And the two Nightmares are clashing head on! It looks like this has turned into battle of endurance! Who's going to break down first?!"

Gustav kept his eyes locked onto the battle. The beys clashed again, and both went skipping back. He scowled. Snotlout still wasn't using his fire. He was giving it everything he had, and Snotlout was barely even trying. "I know you're stronger than me…"

Snotlout looked up at the boy with a raised eyebrow. Their beys clashed again, and this time locked up in the middle of the stadium. "The whole reason I started looking up to you was because you were so strong. I wanted to be strong like you…" He said. "But I'm tired of looking up to people! From now on people are gonna look up to me!"

Flame Nightmare started to glow brightly. "I'm not gonna be a follower, or play second fiddle to anyone anymore! I'm gonna be the one at the top!" A storm of fire began ensnaring Flame Nightmare. "And I'm gonna start by beating you! Nova Flame!"

The fire intensified, and began pushing Monstrous Nightmare. "Good gravy boats! Flame Nightmare has suddenly taken control of the match! It's pushing Monstrous Nightmare to the edge of the stadium with an amazing new display of power!" Heather grew wide eyed. That was new. Hiccup and Camicazi both smiled.

Snotlout smirked. "Heh, you really are smarter than me. You figured it out years before I did." He said before suddenly growing serious. "But that still doesn't mean I'm just gonna let you win. Nightmare, Inferno Dome!" Monstrous Nightmare suddenly stopped, and dome of fire burst from it. An explosion of heat shot up into the air.

The audience could feel the heat from their seats, and DJ had taken cover behind his podium. The blast sent Gustav flying back, and he landed on his back. The fire died down, and a few seconds later his bey landed a few feet beside him. He looked over and saw his Flame Nightmare, which had a little smoke coming off of it. "I… I lost."

"Wow! Amazing! Monstrous Nightmare ends the bout in a single move!" DJ yelled. "The winner of this battle is Snotlout! Meaning he moves on to the next round!"

Gustav picked up his bey and looked down at it. He couldn't believe it. He'd pushed himself past his limit, but he still got defeated so easily. He gripped Nightmare and squeezed his eyes shut. The last thing he wanted to do was end up crying in front of thousands of people, but… he felt so bad. He'd trained like crazy for this, and it was already over.

He was so far behind Snotlout, behind almost everyone here. He still had so much longer to go… but he was going to get there! He quickly wiped the tears from his eyes. "Y-You may have won this time, but I'm not even close to done! I'll come back even stronger and totally own you next time!" He shouted. "Just you wait and see!"

Snotlout cracked his neck before turning and walking off. "Yeah, yeah, I hear you." He said waving back at him. "I'll beat you down anytime you feel like it. So bring it."

Back in the waiting room, Heather hummed. The outcome was still what she'd predicted, but she hadn't seen Gustav getting that new power. Maybe she would have to keep an eye on him after all. Hiccup and Camicazi both smirked. Gustav lost, but he was still his usual self, bouncing back immediately.

Dagur scowled. Snotlout had gotten soft. He could have finished that fight from the beginning, and he knew it. Why did he bother humoring that little brat? He hoped he didn't expect the same mercy.

"Alright everybody! It's time to get to round two!" DJ said holding up two fingers. "In this corner, we have the…" He looked at the card and squinted. "The baron of bruising… okay? The roughest rowdiest one of the bunch! Tuffnut!" Tuffnut came out pumping his fist in the air.

"His opponent, the cutting edge elder! The sub-terra terror, who has buried his opponents, Alvin!" Alvin walked out with a scowl on his face. The sooner he finished this, the sooner he could get back and get something to drink. "Are you ready?!"

Tuffnut rolled his shoulders back. "Totally ready." He said smirking. He pulled out his bey and the other backs in the waiting room looked surprised. That wasn't his Zippleback. The bey was a reddish orange, with a milky white mixed in.

"I've never seen that one before." Hiccup said narrowing his eyes.

Ruff chuckled. "We don't always use Zippleback you know. They're only for our team combinations. We have our own beys for one-on-one battles." She explained. "That's his Typhoomerang."

Hiccup looked at the bey closely. It was obviously an attack type. That fusion wheel, while not quite as sharp as Heather's Razorwhip, was something to be weary off. Alvin pulled out his own bey, Whispering Death. "A defense type?" Fishlegs questioned.

"A balance type."

They all turned over and saw Snotlout laying on one of the benches, yawning. "How do you know?" Heather questioned.

Snotlout just smirked. "Cause I do." He said causing her to pout. "Anyway, this is a waste of time. No way Tuff's going to win this."

Ruff frowned. "Hey! Just cause you got stronger doesn't mean you can act like some big shot now. Tuff may not be too bright, but he's good enough to take down some old man."

"He'll lose." Snotlout repeated.

The others glared at him, but then turned back to the screen. Alright then! Let's began! 3!"

"2!"

"1!"

"Let it rip!"

Tuff shot Typhoomerang into the stadium, and Alvin sent Whispering Death in as well. They landed, and Tuffnut immediately went for the attack. "Alright Ty! Crush him!" It went crashing into Death, but the other bey pushed back and sent it bouncing.

"Didn't even leave a scratch…" Legs said worriedly.

"You need to have some more power than that if you want to put a dent in my Death boy." Alvin said cracking his neck. "That type of attack won't even scratch the surface."

Tuff growled and Typhoomerang charged at Death again. It kept hitting it over and over, but Death didn't budge. "C'mon! How tough is this thing?!" He shouted angrily.

"Oh! I don't believe it! Typhoomerang is going all out, but it can't even move Death! Can this bey really be a balanced type?!" DJ asked in disbelief.

Tuff growled once more, and Typhoomerang backed up before charging. It smashed against Death. It kept pushing, and eventually managed to inch back Death. "Oh, not bad." Alvin said smirking. "But not good enough." Death bucked against Typhoomerang and sent it bouncing back again.

Tuff looked at him in disbelief. This thing was way too sturdy for a head on attack. "Alright then, try this one on for size!" Typhoomerang zipped off to the side and off the edge. It went soaring up into the air. Once it got above Death, it came spiraling down towards it, sparks of flame flickering around it. "Typhoon Boom!"

"OH! It appears Tuffnut is going for the kill!"

Ruff smiled. "There's no way that old geezer can stand that attack."

Alvin chuckled. "Now we're getting somewhere." He said. Typhoomerang crashed down onto Death, and dust and debris was sent flying into the air.

"Oh! Typhoomerang landed with a devastating attack!" DJ yelled as everyone looked towards the center of the stadium. Typhoomerang was wobbling a bit, but still spinning. "There's Typhoomerang, but Death is nowhere to be found!"

Ruff chuckled. "Because there's nothing left to find."

"Well, it seems as if Death has been completely blown apart! So the winner is-" The stadium suddenly began to shake. Tuff nearly fell over. He looked down at the stadium and saw cracks beginning to form underneath Typhoomerang. "W-what's going on?!"

Suddenly, Death came shooting out of the ground, hitting Typhoomerang from below. It sent it flying up into the air. "What?!" Tuff said shocked. Typhoomerang went flying out of the stadium and landed behind Tuffnut. He turned back and looked at his bey, jaw dropped.

"I-I don't believe it! Death just shot up from underground and uppercuted Typhoomerang out of the stadium! T-the winner in a shocking turnaround, is Alvin!"

The crowd was silent for a few moments before suddenly bursting out in a cheer. They hadn't expected this old man to be able to put on such a show. "No way. Just no freaking way." Ruffnut said. How could her brother lose to this old fart?

"It went underground? How?" Fishlegs asked.

"The old geezer is a ringer huh…" Heather muttered.

"Told you." Snotlout said shrugging.

Hiccup watched as the old man caught his bey and began heading back to the break room. Himself, Snotlout, the Gang leaders, the masked women, this old man. This tournament was full of surprises.

But one thing was for sure. The gang leaders were definitely not the only one to look out for in this tournament.

He heard a giggle and looked over towards Camicazi. "Well, that was certainly a show." She said before standing up. "But I think it's about time we got out there and really show them what a battle looks like, huh Astrid?"

Astrid got up and well and cracked her knuckles. "Hmm, got that right." She said. "We're finally going to settle this once and for all."

The two began making their way towards the stadium. They didn't need to wait for their names to be called. They were both eager to get this started. Hiccup watched the two blondes walk off. Hiccup could feel the tension between the two of them. "This… isn't going to be pretty, is it?" Hiccup asked.

"No. Not it is not." Legs said.

Heather smirked. "Oh, this is going to be interesting." She said pulling out her laptop.

A/N: WOW! It had been a while since I updated ANYTHING. I mean, crap. I was trying to get things done after work, but my cat was biting at his tail(and still is) and I've had to deal with that.

Well, I finally got this updated. Expect my other stories to be updated soon.