'This is it,' Kenny told the others as the commentators gave out who was playing whom.

'For the first match it's Ray versus Kim,' AJ Topper told the people in the stadium / and the rest of the world because of the volume . 'For the second match it's Kai against Jimmy.'

Great Hillary thought. Kai against my little brother. That will be good for a laugh. She then realised that neither hers nor Lenny's names had been called out. Oh no.

'And for the third match it's,' AJ Topper seemed to hesitate.

Please no Hillary thought desperately. No.

'It's Hillary against Lenny.'

'Shit,' she accidentally muttered angrily.

'You say something?' Kai asked her.

'No,' she replied innocently.

She knew he'd heard what she'd said but that was the least of her troubles at the moment.

'This is gonna end up the same way as the semis did,' she told Kai. 'I can see it coming.'

'Good luck Ray my man,' Tyson told him confidently.

'Yeah, good luck,' Hillary told him half-heartedly. 'You're gonna need it,' she muttered as soon as he was no longer within earshot.

After Ray had come back triumphant their worries were lifted, slightly.

They all wanted to have a whitewash for this match. But most of all Hillary did so she wouldn't have to be relied on.

She half wanted her brother to win the next match but that would mean that she would be relied on. Again.

She suddenly realised something. Crap! she thought. Jimmy still hates me! He's gonna tell Kai everything! I'm screwed!

A few minutes into the match both their blades were wobbling slightly.

'Come on Kai,' she muttered. 'I don't want to be relied on again like the semis.'

'Final attack!' Jimmy commanded.

His blade charged at Kai's and knocked Dranzer clear out of the dish.

No! Hillary thought angrily. It's not fair!

As she got up for the final battle she passed him.

'I'm so sorry,' he whispered to her.

'Hey, don't worry about it,' she told him confidently.

She sounded confident but most certainly wasn't. She'd have to fight him. The one she loved... or, used to anyway.

'Well well well,' he began. 'We meet again.'

'Yeah, I'm upset too,' she joked. 'And this is why you did the radio request?' she asked taking out her blade.

He nodded and copied her.

They said the three, two, one, let it rip and launched.

'I'm so pleased you heard it,' he told her.

'Yeah well, I'm not, turns out they played it at just the wrong moment so they heard it,' she told him.

'Oh,' he began. 'I'm so sorry.' She caught the sarcasm in his voice.

'Thanks for acting like you cared,' she told him returning her attention to the battle.

'Everything we did, everything I did, that means nothing to you?' he asked.

'Well,' she began. She lost focus.

No! I won't let him get through to me. I won't let him break me now. Now, the only thing that matters is this match and this match alone.

'Shut up,' she told him angrily. 'Phendrano! Freeze attack!'

She wanted this to be over. The quicker it was the quicker she could get away from... him.

'I like you Hillary, always getting straight to business,' he told her.

She smiled at his compliment. 'It's my way of getting things done.'

'However, it won't save you. Parasite!' he commanded. 'Decompose!'

What looked like a zombie octopus appeared and began to attack Phendrano ruthlessly. / It sounds funny but on Halo it's practically harmless but is still supposed to be scary

'You deserve better than this bitbeast Hillary,' he told her. 'I can get you a much better one.'

She became seriously agitated at this. She glared at him, anger in her eyes.

Phendrano began to fight back now.

'Don't ever say that,' she warned him.

'Why? It's the truth.'

Phendrano began to fight back even harder.

'I know that's not true,' she told him in the same, agitated, voice.

'Then you know nothing,' he told her.

That was it. She'd had it. Now she had no mercy left in her being.

'Phendrano! Final attack!' she commanded.

'You're a foolish girl Hillary, if you hadn't left then you'd get a much better team than them,' he told her.

'If I remember rightly, you're the one who left, you said you'd come back but you never did,' she countered.

'I offer you a better bitbeast, a better team, but still you won't take it,' he began. 'The only way left is to destroy your bitbeast from the inside, out.'

'That's it,' she began, even angrier than before. 'You can criticise my team, oh hell you can even criticise me. But no one criticises my bitbeast. Phendrano! Destroy him now!'

Phendrano began to fight back even harder.

'Is this what you want?' he asked her. 'To see my blade hit the dust?'

Hillary lost her focus again. She shook her head, yet again breaking herself out of the trance. 'After what you've said, that would be me going easy on you.'

'Don't you remember?' he asked. 'All we had? Together. If you come back I can make that return Hillary. The only reason it didn't work out was because of your brother. Now it doesn't matter. Do you want to pick up from where we left of?'

'She's losing it,' Dizi commented.

She became a slight bit calmer. But she didn't want to admit the truth. She could tell him when all this was over. No! She had to say it now.

'Don't you get it?' she asked. 'I do. But it's been a long time since then. I'm happy now.'

'Are you?' he asked her. 'And why is that? Do you love one of them?'

That was when she became so angry she completely lost control.

'Don't ever say that,' she warned him through gritted teeth. 'I certainly do not. After what you've put me through it'd be the last thing I'd do. They're my friends. And I've got more respect from them in one day than you have given me in one year. I don't know why I ever wasted my time with you. You...'

She so eagerly wanted to tell him how she felt.

'Say it Hillary,' he told her. 'What am I? A son of a bitch? A bastard? I know you too well to know that you don't mean it.'

He had her there. She didn't mean it. She didn't mean any of it.

She shook her head vigorously.

Focus, focus she told herself. He's only trying to distract you.

She tried to concentrate but couldn't stop thinking about then.

'Don't you get it Hil?' he asked. 'I want you to be mine again.'

This threw her off completely. She tried one last time to snap out of the spell after that.

'Final Attack!' she yelled. Energy was shot at Parasite and his blade soon stopped.

The match had finished and now that it was she could speak to him without being distracted from anything.

'I do get it. I just can't go back to then,' she told him. 'I'm sorry.'

She then walked away from him trying not to look upset.

'Hil, you did it,' Tyson told her happily.

'Yeah,' she said half-heartedly. She glanced behind her and saw his sadness. 'I did.'

'Are you alright?' Max asked.

She shook her head. 'Yeah, I'm just a bit, tired, that's all.'

'It's official,' Bradd Best began. 'The Blade Breakers are winners of the Vodafone tournament, and, if weather permits, there'll be a disco here for the teams who have taken part.'

'Can we go Kai?' Tyson asked.

'You can,' he replied monotonously.

'Come on Kai,' Hillary told him. 'I never dance, I just go to have a drink.'

When they were back in the locker room the boys were standing chatting but Hillary stayed away from them and was leaning on the wall, her eyes were closed in the true Kai tradition.

Why does he want me back after that, after then! she thought.

'I guess I should give you my congrats,' she heard Kai say who was coming towards her.

'Thanks,' she said half-heartedly opening her eyes but only looking straight ahead of her.

'I guess talent runs in the family,' he told her leaning on the wall next to her in the same way she did.

She laughed slightly. 'Somehow I figured he'd tell you.'

'Look, I'm sorry about before.' She felt him put his hand on her shoulder.

'Don't worry about it,' she told him, smiling. 'Coming tonight then!'

He nodded. 'Do I have a choice?'