Renegades: A New Dawn

by Primal WolfBlood

In Part 3 of The Renegade Chronicles, follow the Renegades as they try and recover from the shocking end to The Renegade Revolution, and continue their lives with more action and suspense than ever before, as they learn who the true enemies are, and finally confront Segolia once and for all, to end their clash with each other.

35. The Ultimate Challenge (Part 2)

Renegades: A New Dawn

Chapter XXXV: The Ultimate Challenge, Part 2

… Continued from Chapter XXXIV

While Mike was talking to Maddy, Hannah passed her husband and shook her head. 'That decider was daylight robbery. If I'd drawn anything different I would have probably lost.' 'Not brought anything back then?' She replied in the negative. 'The instinct's still there but the head isn't. I wouldn't place any bets on me competing again, put it that way.' 'Totally done?' 'What more can I do? I just don't love it like I used to.'

Maddy then got up, and passed Hannah, who called her over. 'Hey, congratulations' 'What was Mike saying to you then?' 'Er, he was just saying that his cousin back in New Jersey had to have a kidney transplant a couple of years ago so he knows what I'm going through. Kinda nice for someone to ask about me. Going loo.' While Maddy had her comfort break, Blair came back into the arena and went straight up to Rio.

'What's up?' 'What's up is that I just found the oven on with a cremated turkey inside. I thought you were supposed to be cooking for us, not burning things.' 'Sorry, I forgot the oven was on.' Concerned, Blair confronted her friend. 'What's going on? Your memory's been awful lately.' 'I… guess I've just got a lot on. Just really tired all the time.' While they continued discussing Rio's fatigue, the rally continued.

'Right, we continue. Next up, we've apparently got Kenzie.' As the blonde scot bounced up ready, Phil gave the reasoning. 'Kenzie, you're a fantastic defensive duellist, and you've got a heart and style all of your own. But I really want to see how you can cope with… alternative strategies. Can you cope when your opponent is impossible to predict? Your opponent is one of my guard dogs - Freja.'

As the younger twin walked up, she sneakily kicked Phil in the calf. 'Less of the dog you.' She then met Kenzie in the centre. 'So I'm told you're pretty decent.' 'I've seen you're good.' 'So, you fancy a duel?' 'I mean it's why I'm here.' Freja then activated her duel disk. 'So we starting then?' Kenzie laughed, and leaned in to whisper to her. 'I think you're supposed to go to the end.' 'Oh right.' While they made final preparations, Phil was stood with Myka.

'Well Kenzie's got it easy.' 'Don't let Freja fool you - she might play the fool well, and I mean she plays it brilliantly, but she's especially devious. She'll come up with tricks nobody could ever predict.' 'So you weren't talking about her coin-tossing?' He laughed. 'No, that's a foregone conclusion. You give her an inch' 'She takes a mile?' 'Well I was going to say you're doomed, but that as well.'

The Ultimate Challenge Match 5 Duel 1: Kenzie Calhoun LP:8000 vs. Freja McKinna LP:8000

Turn 1: Freja: 'I've decided that you can go first.' 'Ok, that's cool. I draw. I'll set a monster, set three other cards and end my turn.'

Kenzie: 'Time to try this deck out properly.' 'What do you mean by "try it out"?' 'Well I'm using a different deck. Ojamas were fun but it wasn't cutting it. So I went back to an older deck.' Freja then shouted over to the boss. 'Is she allowed to do that?' Phil just lifted his hands up. 'I never said anybody had to use the same deck. Just that it follows the ban list. Now are you going to let Kenzie take her turn?' He then glared over at Blair. 'Someone's put us behind schedule and I want to get home this side of tomorrow.' She petulantly responded with a puff of the cheeks.

'I draw. I'll summon Jain, Lightsworn Paladin (Atk:1800).' 'So that's what you're doing… cool I guess.' 'Then I'll activate Nobleman of Crossout. This banishes your face-down monster, and if it's a Flip monster, you have to banish all other copies of it from your deck.' A sword came down and Freja's Dice Jar was destroyed. 'Lucky escape.' With no sign of any more cards being banished, Kenzie pressed for a query.

'SInce Freja's not banished any other cards from her deck, am I allowed to look through her deck to make sure she's not hiding them?' Maddy shrugged, and passed it over to Hannah. 'Yes you are.' Freja rolled her eyes, and then banished the other copy from her deck. 'Jain, attack directly.' The Paladin charged in and slashed away at Freja's points, giving her opponent the early advantage (Freja LP:8000-6200). 'During Main Phase 2, I'll activate Hand Destruction. So we both discard two and then draw two. Because I just discarded Makayura the Destructor, I can activate one Trap from my hand. I choose Light Spiral, and end my turn with a face-down.'

'What does your Trap do?' 'You're about to see. During my End phase, Jain's effect mandates that I send three cards off the top of my deck to the grave. And because I did that through a Lightsworn monster's effect, Light Spiral banishes the top card of your deck.' As the top of Freja's deck was spirited away, Kenzie seemed to have some more confidence in herself. 'I can do this.'

Freja: 'I draw. I'll summon Twin-Barrel Dragon (Atk:1700). Now I can target Jain, and' 'I activate Breakthrough Skill, to negate your monster's effect.' 'Seriously? Fine, I'll end my turn with two face-downs.'

Kenzie: 'My turn starts, and I'll tribute my Jain for Celestia, Lightsworn Angel (Atk:2200). When she's tribute summoned by laying down a Lightsworn, I can mill four from my deck to destroy two of your cards. I'm thinking of the two cards you just set.' As the four went off the top of her deck, Celestia took out Freja's backrow (Dimensional Prison and Reversal of Fate). 'One of the cards I milled was Felis, Lightsworn Archer. When I mill it with a Lightsworn, I can summon him (Def.:2000).'

'But he won't stay, because I can tribute him to destroy a monster on your field. Say goodbye to your itty bitty Dragon.' Felis used his entire life force to load up a shimmering arrow, which he fired into Freja's monster, destroying it. 'Celestia, attack Freja directly with Spirit Shatter.' The angelic form fired two halos off, dropping the Renegade's Life points further (Freja LP:6200-3900). 'I end my turn.'

Freja: 'I draw. I activate Fusion Gate. This allows me to banish Fusion material monsters. I'll banish Time Wizard and Arcana Force IX: The Hermit, in order to Fusion summon the Time Wizard of Tomorrow (Atk:2000).' 'New monster?' 'Maybe. It has an effect on summon. I can call a coin toss, then destroy every monster on the field and toss the coin. If I get it right, you lose Life points equal to the combined Attack of every monster destroyed. If I'm wrong, I lose those points.'

'I'm not even going to let you get that far. I activate Bottomless Trap Hole, to destroy and banish your Time Wizard of Tomorrow.' 'Not this time. From my hand I activate Red Reboot. By paying half my remaining points (Freja LP:3900-1950), I can activate it from my hand to negate your Trap and set it face-down again. Then you get another Trap face-down from your deck. But you can't activate any other Trap this turn.'

Kenzie had another trick up her sleeve though. 'Say that to Wiretap. This will not only stop your Trap, but shuffle it back into the deck.' As the combo resolved, Freja looked out of ideas. 'I'll set a monster and end my turn.'

Kenzie: 'Not gonna stop. I draw. And I'll summon Raiden, Hand of the Lightsworn (Atk:1700).' 'Torrential Tribute.' Freja thought the danger had passed for a turn, but she couldn't be more wrong. 'Because I've got at least three other cards in my hand which aren't monsters, I'll activate Single Purchase. This banishes my entire hand so I can add Judgement Dragon to my hand. But for the rest of the turn, I can only summon that monster.'

'Then, because I now have at least four Lightsworns in my graveyard, I can summon Judgement Dragon (Atk:3000). Attack directly.' Kenzie then looked up and saw Freja already walking off as Maddy ruled. 'Because Freja walked out of her zone, she automatically concedes the first duel. First duel goes to Kenzie.' The young Scot looked confused, and returned to the siding zone where Denzil waited.

'Nice first duel.' 'She can't be that bad in Duel 2. She was awful.' 'You were good though.' 'What did I have to do? I just drew well.' 'Making changes?' 'Yeah, don't know what mind you. Shouldn't you be more focused on your duel?' 'Duh - I don't know who I'm facing.' 'I guess so.' Having made only a single change, Kenzie returned to her zone. Meanwhile her opponent had let her hair down, and made a single change herself, before turning back round and walking over. 'Freja, as the loser of Duel 1 you can choose who goes first.' 'I'll go first.'

The Ultimate Challenge Match 5 Duel 2: (1) Kenzie Calhoun LP:8000 vs. (0) Freja McKinna LP:8000

Turn 1: Freja: 'Let's get nasty. I draw. I activate Constellar Belt, then set a monster and end my turn with two face-downs.'

Kenzie: 'Let's go for the 2-0. I'll summon Garoth, Lightsworn Warrior (Atk:1850). That ok?' 'Go ahead girlfriend.' This attitude made Kenzie giggle. 'Then I'll activate Lightsworn Sabre, to give him 700 more Attack (Atk:1850-2550). Attack.' Garoth wielded his sabre with skill, searing Freja's monster (Arcana Force I - The Magician Def.:1100). 'I'll end my turn with a face-down.'

Freja: 'I draw. I activate Arcana Reading. I toss a coin and call it. If I'm right, I get to add any coin toss card to my hand.' 'And if you're wrong?' 'I won't be.' Sure enough, Freja flipped the coin and she called 'Heads', which it indeed was. 'I'll add Desperado Barrel Dragon. I'll then set a monster and end my turn.'

Kenzie: 'I draw. I'll summon Raiden, Hand of the Lightsworn (Atk:1700). Garoth, destroy her monster.' Kenzie wasn't sure what to expect, but it certainly wasn't a measly Black Salvo being carved up by the sabre (Def.:1100). 'Because you just destroyed a Dark-attribute Machine, I can summon Desperado Barrel Dragon from my hand (Atk:2800). And since it's still the Battle phase, I can flip three coins and destroy a monster on the field for every Head.'

She picked up her coin, and launched it into the air. 'Heads.' The second time, the coin crashed off of the ceiling. 'Heads.' The final time, Freja blew on the coin before tossing. 'Tails. Two Heads, so I can destroy both your monsters.' With both monsters gone, Kenzie had to think about her next move. 'I think I'm done for the turn.'

Freja: 'I draw.' With eyes like a hungry shark, I'll start with Fiend's Sanctuary, to summon a Metal Fiend Token (Atk:0). Then I activate Tribute Burial. So now I can tribute summon using a monster from each graveyard. I'll banish Black Salvo and Raiden to summon Arcana Force XXI: The World (Atk:3100).' She tossed another coin, and it crashed to the ground on Heads.

'Let's get nasty now - I'm attacking with both my monsters.' Desperado shot lasers out, and World released light, dropping Kenzie's Life points straight down (Kenzie LP:8000-2100). 'I'll just end my turn and activate the effect of Arcana Force XXI to skip your next turn. Temporal Transience!' Kenzie then looked over to Maddy. 'Am I allowed to concede mid-move?' 'Seriously? It's not like you've not seen everyone else do it already.' With this effective concession, the duel finished. 'Round 2 to Freja.'

After the comprehensive second, Kenzie returned in a total daze. 'I see what he means now about unpredictable. She totally ripped me to shreds there.' Denzil was more bullish though. 'You can still beat her. You just need to be on her from the start.' 'You mean be more aggressive?' He grinned. 'Now you're gettin' it.' With this advice, Kenzie made wholesale changes.

Meanwhile Freja had opted to continue her rather unorthodox style by lying down in her zone, while Lydia tried to get some motivation into her sister. 'What the f**k is wrong with you? One duel you're duelling like a blind man, the next you're duelling like Maddy on heat.' 'Well, I got myself too wound up about duelling well. Also I tied my hair well tight earlier. You couldn't get me a coffee could you?'

'With how the first two duels have gone, you'll be able to get your own in about 5 minutes. Now how about you get up and actually do something?' At this point, Kenzie walked back into the zone. With Freja still not interested in moving, Maddy walked over and started lazily kicking her in the shoulder. 'Do you mind?' 'Gonna keep doing this until you move.' Finally, the Renegades' shortest member got up. 'Right, let's get this over and done with.' 'Kenzie, as the loser of the last duel, you get to choose who goes first.' 'I'll let Freja open.'

The Ultimate Challenge Match 5 Duel 3: (1) Kenzie Calhoun LP:8000 vs. (1) Freja McKinna LP:8000

Turn 1: Freja: 'I draw. I'll start with Twin Barrel Dragon (Atk:1700), then activate Final Countdown.' 'Seriously?' 'Yep. I end my turn.'

Kenzie (FC Turn:1): 'Wanna dance? Let's dance! I'll start with Flourishing Frolic. This lets me excavate the top 3 cards of my deck, and if I excavate exactly a Monster, a Spell and a Trap, I can add one to my hand and the others go to the graveyard.' 'And if you don't?' 'They're shuffled back into my deck. Here goes.' She excavated the cards and quickly revealed her luck - a Monster (Dawn Knight), a Spell (Twilight Twin Dragons), and a Trap (Twilight Eraser). 'I'll add Dawn Knight to my hand and send the other two cards to my grave.'

'Then I'll summon Jain, Twilightsworn General (Atk:1800). He'll let me banish Gragonith, Lightsworn Dragon from my hand so your Twin Barrel Dragon loses 1800 Attack and Defence. 300 per Level of my Dragon (Atk:1700-0). Now attack her monster.' As the Twin Barrel Dragon had it's cannons cut off surgically (Freja LP:8000-6200). 'Desperado time (Atk:2800).'

This time though, Kenzie didn't look nearly as concerned. 'I'll end my turn with three face-downs.'

Freja (FC Turn:2): 'I draw.' 'I activate Different Dimension Ground. So this turn, any monster which hits the graveyard is banished instead.' 'Bring it on. I'll activate two copies of Fiend's Sanctuary, so I get two Metal Fiend Tokens (Atk:0)x2. Then I'll tribute them both for Arcana Force XIX: The Sun (Atk:2900). Now I have to toss a coin.' As she tossed the coin, Freja went to use her power again, but she then noticed Maddy flash her own eyes, which intimidated her enough to stop.

As the coin landed, Freja eagerly checked it. 'It's Heads. That's… a relief actually. Now I can use The Sun's Heads effect to destroy Jain, and you lose points equal to its higher stat.' 'That'll be 1800 Attack.' The Sun melted through Jain entirely, causing Kenzie's points to temporarily equal her foe's (Kenzie LP:8000-6200). 'And now my two monsters will attack for the rest of your points.'

Except it wasn't, because Freja proved once again she can't count (Kenzie LP:6200-500). 'You're going down anyway. I end my turn with a face-down' 'During the End phase I'll activate Needlebug Nest to mill five.' 'What's the point, they're all banished anyway.'

Kenzie: 'I know, that's exactly where I want them. I draw. Because I have at least four banished Lightsworns of different names, I can summon Punishment Dragon (Atk:3000). Then I'll summon Lumina, Twilightsworn Shaman (Atk:1000). By banishing a monster from my hand or graveyard, I can revive a banished Lightsworn. So I'll trade this Wulf for the Tuner monster Felis, Lightsworn Archer (Atk:1100). Now I can tune Level 4 Felis to Level 3 Lumina and Synchro summon Cyberse Quantum Dragon (Atk:2500).'

This was a move which surprised Phil, who was standing near Maddy by this point. 'Not the 7 I was expecting.' 'Why, what were you expecting?' 'Probably Dark Strike Fighter. She's clearly being more aggressive here, so I thought she'd go for the burn damage.' 'I reckon she's made the right decision.' 'We'll have to see.'

'Now I'll just attack your Desperado with the Punishment Dragon.' The enormous dragon didn't waste time with a breath attack, instead stamping Desperado into the ground (Freja LP:6200-6000). 'Quantum Dragon, attack The Sun.' 'Kenzie, I'm terrible at maths and even I can see that it isn't going to work for you.'

But the Scot seemed to have different ideas. 'That's just because I've not told you about Quantum Dragon's ability yet. When it attacks a monster, it can return that monster to your hand and attack again.' Quantum Dragon glowed with a shimmering silver light, and charged, side-swiping The Sun and causing it to turn into pixels, slotting back into Freja's hand.

'Now attack. And as it does, I'll activate Double Tension. Because my monster is making a second attack during the same Battle phase, this doubles it's Attack (Atk:2500-5000). Now hit her!' The attack came soaring in, and Freja could only take it (Freja LP:6000-1000). 'I end my turn with a face-down (Atk:5000-2500). How's that for gettin' nasty?' Freja then smiled. 'Turns out getting intense ain't too bad after all.'

Freja: 'But they don't call me devious for nothing. I draw. I'll activate Fusion Gate, and then activate my face-down Chain Material. So now I can fuse monsters in my deck. I'll fuse Barrel Dragon and Wattaildragon to Fusion summon Panzer Dragon (Atk:1000). Then I'll fuse another Barrel Dragon with Flamvell Guard to summon a second Panzer Dragon (Atk:1000).' 'Yeah, they're great, but what use are they?'

Freja responded with a grin. 'I'll overlay them.' 'Oh… ok.' 'I think I'll Xyz summon a monster called Cyber Dragon Nova (Atk:2100). And then I'll rank it up into Cyber Dragon Infinity (Atk:2100).' As this was going on, Maddy looked at her father accusingly. 'Why did you give her those?' 'I didn't.' He then quickly looked at his deck. 'Look, they're both still there at two copies.' 'Yeah, forgot you don't believe in running three of anything.' Lydia then came over. 'Sorry, they're Ghost Rare special editions. They were supposed to be a surprise birthday present when it's your birthday, but they mysteriously went missing three days ago. Now I know why. Gonna kill her when she gets back.'

Before any more could be said though, Freja had used the ability of Infinity to absorb Punishment Dragon (Atk:2900). 'Now attack Quantum Dragon.' Kenzie could have let the attack go, and still had points left. However in her moment of panic, her eyesight let her down and she misread the point total. 'Here goes nothing - I activate Quantum Dragon's effect.' 'I'll respond with Infinity's negation, to destroy your Dragon.' Infinity charged up an attack, and wiped out Kenzie (Kenzie LP:500-0).

After the duel ended, Kenzie quickly realised her mistake, and flipped the top card of her deck, before looking to the ceiling as Freja came over. 'Woulda lost anyway - Infinity's too strong.' 'What would you have drawn?' 'Dark Hole. But you could have just negated it and I had nowt else. That was… something else.' 'Never know what you're gonna get with me do you?' 'Never know what you're gonna get one second to the next.'

As Kenzie departed the arena, Phil looked over at her as she passed. 'Great effort.' 'Thanks. See what you mean.' 'Trust me, she plays the part well. Also, great first duel.' 'Really?' 'You never let her get anything going. Now go and cool down.' 'Oh I wanted to ask something.' 'Ask away, but I might not be able to answer.' 'How much do these duel disks cost? You know with the headphone connectivity?'

'I mean that's one of only three prototypes. Presuming you finish the course, I'll contact the WDC about the system, and see what they say.' 'Let me guess, it's not within the rules?' 'To be honest the rules don't actually say anything about it. That's why I need to have a chat.' Hannah then grabbed her other half from behind. 'He means that I need to have a chat with them, because I won't get annoyed when they start playing games.' 'Thank you sweetie.' He then turned his attention back to Kenzie. 'We'll get you sorted out. Don't worry about the cost, we can sort it ourselves.'

Meanwhile, Freja dumped her duel disk and went straight to Maddy, 'You know how distracting you flashing your eyes at me is?' 'Well it was either that or everyone finds out you were trying to cheat.' 'It's not cheating, it's using what's been given to me. You're all about self-expression.' 'Time and a place. We're supposed to be seeing how good they are, not how well you can influence coins and dice.'

'You told me to be more intense.' 'I told you to take it seriously, not cheat. You could beat anybody without that.' 'Just because it's something that you can't do, doesn't mean you can stop me.' 'Would you like to try me? Because I'm not going to take shit from anybody, least of all someone who should have my back.' 'If you want to talk about having your back, why don't you have mine and just let me do what I do?'

'Because of fairness. We wanna know how good they are.' 'You don't have an issue when I use it at other times.' 'That's because that's the right time. We're using it against our enemies, not against people we're supposed to be examining.' 'All's fair in love and war.' 'No, not fair. It's not fair if she's being given a harder job because you're manipulating luck. The whole point is these cards are powerful but unpredictable.'

'I don't need you telling me how my deck works.' 'You should understand what I'm saying then.' 'But I don't, 'cos I'm stupid.' 'You're not stupid, you just act it for comedic effect.' 'So I don't understand, but I'm not stupid' 'You don't understand because you're too busy shouting at me.' 'Stop talking down to me - you're not my mother, and you don't know everything like you think you do!' Freja then saw Maddy's eyes glowing dark gold with a hint of black, and this was enough to make the younger twin back off slowly.

After the argument, Astrid immediately went up to Maddy. 'I'm going to go and talk to her.' 'Rather you than me.' 'You sure you're ok?' 'Am I ever?' Seeing the trouble in her friend's heart, Astrid quickly came up with an idea. '8pm, my room. Ok?' 'Erm… sure?' Astrid then walked off to find Freja, while Maddy sat down again.

'All done squabbling now?' She just looked at him with a face of thunder. 'I'm joking. Anyway… onto the next one. We have Belle up next.' As the uptight Yorkshire girl came up, she seemed undaunted by the task. Mainly because she wasn't aware of the task before her. 'Belle, you're great tactically, and a very skillful competitor. However, I want to see if you can deal with being under constant pressure from a skilled tactician. Therefore, your opponent… is me.'

As Phil took his jacket off, Rio stood in his place. 'This is going to be an ordeal for her.' Kenzie then appeared next to her. 'Can I ask you something?' 'Fire away.' 'What's it like having him as your coach?' She seemed shocked at the question. 'I suppose it's pretty cool. He's hard work to please, but he's teaching me so much. Most of all, he teaches you to believe in yourself.'

In the field, Phil and Belle faced off. 'Is this the bit where I'm nervous?' 'Only natural if you are.' Belle quietly put her deck together, before walking to her side, while her opponent limbered up and then joined them. But Ally was more bothered at his rather sculpted facial hair, giggling away.

'What's so funny?' 'That on his face!' Blair then rolled her eyes. 'It's called a beard. He thinks it make him look cool or something. He's been growing it for weeks. He's talking about shaving some of his head as well. Between that and his new-found appreciation for electric guitars, I'm starting to think Maddy's right about his mid-life crisis.' Belle was then asked the important question. 'Belle, as the student, do you want to go first or second?' 'First.'

The Ultimate Challenge Match 6 Duel 1: Phil Robinson LP:8000 vs. Belle Draper LP:8000

Turn 1: Belle: 'I'll start. I draw. I'll set Scale 1 Qliphort Disk and Scale 9 Qliphort Scout in the Pendulum Scales, to Pendulum summon Qliphort Stealth. And due to Disk's Pendulum effect, it gains 300 Attack (Atk:2800-3100). I end my turn with a face-down.'

Phil: 'I draw. I activate Power Bond, to fuse together the two Cyber Dragons in my hand, for Cyber Twin Dragon (Atk:2800-5600). Then I'll also activate Limiter Removal to double its Attack (Atk:5600-11,200). Now attack with Double Strident Blast.' Belle went to activate her face-down, before realising that the damage was too great, and took the full flame from the Twin Dragon (Belle LP:8000-0).

After the first duel, Phil returned to siding, only for Hannah to confront him. 'I thought we were supposed to be testing them, not annihilating them.' 'I am testing her.' '87 seconds that lasted. 87 seconds. Even all of Kenzie and Freja's duels lasted at least 6 minutes.' 'To be fair, I was trying to make it exactly 60 seconds' he quipped, sarcastically. 'Listen, I am testing her. She just got OTK'd. I'm testing if she can bounce back and play her own game still.'

'Fine, just promise you won't cream her clock again.' 'Listen, I have maybe two or three possible hands in my deck that give me an OTK. So it's a real non-issue. But I promise.' Phil then completed his siding. Before he went off though, a stark warning from Hannah. 'Be careful. She's good and that deck can be brutal.' He looked at her with a serious gaze. 'I know. If the Towers go up, I'm in trouble.'

Meanwhile, Fleur was trying to get… well anything from Belle. 'Rough first round eh?' 'Yeah.' 'You still confident?' 'Enough.' 'So, are you making any major changes to your deck? Or maybe switching strategies?' 'Not really.' Getting frustrated, she continued trying. 'Are you going to answer any questions properly?' 'I am.' Belle then got up, bun fully sculpted still. 'Let's do this.'

In the duel field, she still looked confident. 'Not too damaged then?' 'Not really. You've still got to defeat me again.' He listened to this, and smiled to himself. 'This could be fun. Ready?' Belle responded by activating her disk. 'That's your answer.' She then looked over to Maddy, and said '1st again.' 'Game on.'

The Ultimate Challenge Match 6 Duel 2: [1] Phil Robinson LP:8000 vs. [0] Belle Draper LP:8000

Turn 1: Belle: 'I'll start by activating Summoner's Art, to grab Qliphort Disk. Then I'll set the Pendulum Scales with Scale 1 Qliphort Disk and Scale 9 Qliphort Scout.' 'Pendulum summoning?' 'No. Instead I'll pay 800 Life points for the effect of Scout (Belle LP:8000-7200), and add Qilfe's End to my hand. Next I'll Pendulum summon. I can summon monsters of Levels between 1 and 9. I summon Qliphort Stealth and Qliphort Cephalopod. They both gain 300 Attack due to Disk (Atk:2800-3100)x2. I end my turn.'

Phil: 'I draw. I'll start strong by discarding Cyber Dragon for Cyber Dragon Nachster (Atk:100). Next I'll use Nachster's effect to bring Cyber Dragon back (Atk:2100). Next I'll summon Cyber Dragon Drei (Atk:1800). When it's Normal summoned, all Cyber Dragons on the field become Level 5 (Level:5)x3. I'll overlay Nachster and Drei to build the overlay network. Open the door and touch the future, as I summon out the latest evolution of Cybernetic technology. Blast me into tomorrow, Cyber Dragon Nova (Atk:2100).'

'Then I'll rebuild the network with Cyber Dragon Nova. Life and death, a permanent cycle. It's time to break the circuit! Rank-up Xyz Evolution! Upgrade, Cyber Dragon Infinity (Atk:2700). And Infinity can absorb one of your monsters. I think I'll take Stealth.' With no protection, Belle had to let Stealth be taken by Infinity (Atk:2900). 'I'll then equip Gravity Blaster onto Infinity, giving it 400 Attack (Atk:3300). Infinity, attack Cephalopod.' Phil's lethal monster set fire to the Qliphort monster, causing minor damage to Belle (Belle LP:7200-7000).

'Because Cephalopod was Pendulum summoned, it goes face-up in my Extra deck instead of going to the graveyard.' 'I end my turn with a face-down.'

Belle: 'My turn. I activate Trade-In. By discarding the Level 8 Qliphort Stealth, I can draw two cards. Then I'll pay 800 (Belle LP:7000-6200), to add Apoqliphort Towers to my hand.' 'As soon as you add it to your hand I'll activate Mind Crush, and declare Apoqliphort Towers.' Understanding the move, Belle immediately discarded. 'I would have expected nothing less. I'll Pendulum summon back Cephalopod, as well as another Disk (Def.:1000)x2. I end my turn with a face-down.'

Phil: 'I draw.' 'I'll activate Breakthrough Skill. This negates the effect of your Infinity for the rest of the turn.' 'Might have to consider this one… fine, I'll let you have this one (Atk:3300-2500). In that case, I'll set a monster, set a backrow and pass (Atk:3300).'

Belle: 'I'll activate Breakthrough Skill's effect from my graveyard.' 'I'll negate with the effect of Infinity (Atk:3100).' 'Thought so. Now I can tie it. I'll switch both my monsters to Attack mode (Atk:3100)x2. Disk, attack his Cyber Dragon Infinity.' 'Cute effort, but you're about to hit the buffers. I activate Impenetrable Attack. During this Battle phase, CDI can't be destroyed. But of course, Qliphort Disk can be.'

'Because you activated it before damage calculation, a replay occurs and I can cancel my attack. I'll end my turn with another face-down.'

Phil: 'That was close. I draw. I'll summon Cyber Ouroboros (Atk:100). Then I'll use Cyber Dragon Infinity's effect to absorb Ouroboros (Atk:3100-3300).' 'Ever the play maker.' 'I figured your face-down was to protect your monsters from being absorbed.' Belle stayed calm, but to her opponent, it was clear that he'd disrupted her plan.

'Next I'll attack with Infinity.' 'I'll activate my face-down - I have my own copy of Impenetrable Attack.' 'By all means do.' 'Not negating it?' 'No, you're fine. I'll still hit in for 200 points (Belle LP:6200-6000). Then, I'll activate a Shard of Greed and end my turn.'

Belle: 'My turn, and I'll activate Soul Pendulum. Now when I Pendulum summon a monster, this card gains a counter and every Pendulum monster on the field gains 300 Attack.' 'I'll let you keep that… for now.' 'I'll then activate the effect of Qliphort Scout' 'Now I'll use CDI's ability to negate and destroy Scout.' Belle looked on shocked as she paid 800 Life points (Belle LP:6000-5200), only to get nothing in return (Atk:3100).

'I'll try and attack Infinity with Disk then.' 'During the Battle phase, I'll discard Forced Upgrade from my hand to use it's effect, and overlay Cyber Dragon Infinity for a second one (Atk:3300).' 'A replay occurs because it's a different monster on the field. I activate Swords of Revealing Light and end my turn.'

Phil: 'I draw. I'm going to summon Cyber Phoenix (Atk:1200), and then absorb it with Cyber Dragon Infinity (Atk:3300-3500). I end my turn with that.'

Belle: 'I draw. I'll reset the Scales with Scale 9 Qliphort Scout. That's me done.'

Phil: 'Interesting. I'll activate Shard of Greed's effect. Because it's been two turns, I can draw two cards. Both of which I'll set, and end my turn.'

Belle: 'My turn. I'll activate Terraforming, to grab a copy of Laser Qlip. Then I'll activate it and chain Call of the Haunted to summon Qliphort Stealth.' 'Chain blocking? Someone's been paying attention. I'll let that go (Atk:2800).' 'How about another Trade-In? Discard Qliphort Shell.' 'Fine.' 'Then I'll Pendulum summon Qliphort Carrier (Atk:2400).'

'What are you planning?' 'I'll tribute Carrier for Qliphort Monolith (Atk:2400). Carrier's effect activates when tributed, spinning your Infinity back to your hand.' 'By all means try, but Infinity will negate it (Atk:3500-3300).' Belle seemed perfectly fine with this. 'Exactly what I wanted. The effect of Laser Qlip allows me to Normal summon another Qli monster this turn. So I'll tribute my three Qli monsters for Apoqliphort Skybase (Atk:2900-3200).'

'Well it isn't Towers, but it's bad enough.' 'And because you've used Infinity's effect this turn, there's nothing stopping Skybase's effect from taking control of Infinity until the End phase.' Skybase extended two metallic arms, and pulled Cyber Dragon Infinity towards itself. 'Now it's going to attack you directly. Super Strident Shock.' Phil looked at one of his face-down cards, but then took the onslaught anyway, taking hits from it and Skybase which caused immense damage (Phil LP:8000-1500).

'During my Main Phase 2, I'll rebuild the overlay network with Cyber Dragon Infinity to summon Gaia Dragon the Thunder Charger (Atk:2600). Would you like me to explain Skybase's protection?' 'By all means.' Belle then read the card. 'It's unaffected by Spell and Trap effects, as well as effects from monsters with a Level or Rank lower than it's Level, which is 9. I end my turn.'

Phil: 'I draw.' But the draw wasn't what he was hoping for. 'I'll set one and pass.'

Belle: 'I draw. I'll set, then attack with Skybase into your monster.' The Skybase slammed his monster (Cyber Phoenix) straight into the ground. 'When Cyber Phoenix is destroyed I get a free card.' 'I'll just attack with Gaia Dragon for game.' 'I'll stop you with my face-down Draining Shield. So instead of 2600 damage, I'm gaining 2600 Life points (Phil LP:1500-4100).' 'Nice escape, but it won't be for long.'

Phil: 'We'll see. I draw. I activate the Spell card Mind Overlay. I can start excavating cards from the top of my deck. As soon as I excavate a monster, it's banished and I have to Special summon an Xyz monster with a corresponding Rank, and all other cards go to the grave. If I fail to do so, then every excavated card is banished instead. Let's get a high roll.'

As soon as he excavated the second card, he stared at it. 'Not exactly what I had in mind, but let's roll. I excavated the Level 4 Cyber Dragon Drei, which now is banished. The other card goes to the grave. In its place, I can summon my soul - Northern Lights Dragon (Def.:3000).' 'I activate Bottomless Trap Hole. Now not only is your monster destroyed, but it's also banished.'

'That won't work this time around. Northern Lights Dragon is impervious to being targeted if it has no materials. Which it doesn't.' 'Doesn't Mind Xyz come with any costs?' 'Just the fact that the monster summoned can't attack, and if it's destroyed, it's banished. For now I'll just end my turn, and because my monster didn't attack, I regain 600 points. Northern Lights Refresh.' The Dragon glowed in multiple bright colours, and Phil's points went further up (Phil LP:4400-5000).

Belle: 'I draw. I activate Scout's effect to pay 800 Life points (Belle LP:5200-4400), and add Apoqliphort Towers to my hand. Then I'll attack Northern Lights Dragon.' 'By all means do. Because I'll respond with R:Blowback. Not only does it negate your attack, but you're going to get winded by 100 points for every card on the field. I'm counting nine.' The Skybase went to hammer the top of Phil's graceful Dragon, only for a powerful wind to stop the attack and blast Belle with a chilling blow (Belle LP:4400-3500). 'I end my turn.'

Phil: 'I draw.' As he saw the card, he smiled. 'I really love you. Right, I'll activate Overload Fusion' 'Stop there, I activate Cursed Seal of the Forbidden Spell. I'll discard a Spell, and now your Overload is off the table for the rest of this round. I've studied you, and you only run Overload.' Phil laughed. 'Not half bad. Sadly, you're a little mistaken. You see, I don't just run Overload. Not anymore. I activate Future Fusion. I'll have to wait until next turn to use it, but it should be fine. I end my turn with a face-down and reap the rewards of my peace. Northern Lights Refresh.' Phil's points went up further, as his Dragon shone brightly (Phil LP:5000-5600).

On the sidelines, Mitch seemed frustrated with how the duel was going. 'He's just stalling.' Blair wasn't so sure though. 'This is what he does - he soaks pressure up until he finds an opportunity. Then he'll strike fast and hard. You'll see.' 'I'll bet you $50 that he doesn't get her points to 0.' 'Sorry, don't take bets from suckers.'

Belle: 'I draw. I'll activate the effect of Qliphort Scout to pay 800 more points (Belle LP:3500-2700), and add Towers to my hand.' 'Drop Off. Get those Towers out of your hand.' Forced to discard her best option, Belle looked for a solution. 'Since it's the last card in my hand, how about Card of Demise? I can draw three cards, but my entire hand goes to the graveyard during the End phase. I'll set all three though so they're fine.'

Phil: 'I draw.' 'I activate my face-down Final Attack Orders. So now your Dragon has to go on the offensive (Atk:2500). I'll also activate Non-Fusion Area. So good luck getting strong monsters out.' 'Well I suppose there's no better time. I'll fire off an Upstart Goblin. I'll give you 1000 more points (Belle LP:2700-3700) and draw a card.' He saw the card he drew, and giggled. 'How about a little blast from the game's past?' 'What are you talking about?' 'I summon Cyber-Stein (Atk:700).'

Denzil was audibly surprised by this move. 'That card's… like 20 years old though.' 'It is. But there's a reason I have it. It's by no means the first time I've ever had to face down Non-Fusion Area. So, I took special measures. Because Cyber Stein isn't a Fusion summon. So I'll pay 5000 Life points (Phil LP:5600-600), and bring out Cyber End Dragon (Atk:4000). Skybase, attack and destroy Apoqliphort Skybase. Super Strident Blaze.' Belle had no response, leaving the Skybase to be boiled by fierce flames and crumble into ash (Belle LP:3700-3000).

'Too bad you've still got Cyber Stein on the field.' 'Too bad that I've got this - R:Spirit Storm.' Maddy then shouted to him. 'Dad, thought you said no Renegade cards.' 'No, I

just said Renegades Unite. Anyway, this destroys every Spell or Trap on the field, and for each one destroyed, it's owner can add a monster back from the graveyard to their hand. So that's going to be two for me and three for you.' 'I'll add back a Disk and both copies of Towers.' After some time, Phil made his decision.

'I'll add back Nova to the Extra deck, and Phoenix and Drei to the hand. Then I'll activate the Spell card Polymerisation. It fuses together the Cyber End Dragon and Cyber Stein on my field with the Cyber Dragon Nachster in my graveyard. Please welcome Cyber Dragon Eternity (Def.:4000). I end my turn with a face-down.'

Belle: 'I draw. Your Dragon, what protection does it have?' Impressed, he responded. 'Eternity Dragon can't be targeted or destroyed by card effects because I have a Machine-type Fusion monster in the graveyard.' 'Well I think it's worth it anyway. I activate Qlife's End.' 'It sounds quite dramatic, I'll give you that.' 'It summons itself as a monster (Atk:1800-2100). But more importantly, it counts as three Qli monsters for a Tribute summon. So I'll tribute it for Apoqliphort Towers (Atk:3000). I'll then activate Scout's effect to pay 800 (Belle LP:3000-2200, and add Qlimate Change to my hand. I end my turn with a face-down.'

Phil: 'It's my turn.' As he looked at the card, he saw the entire play in front of him. 'I think this is the way. I'm going to activate Extra-Foolish Burial, to pay half my Life points (Phil LP:600-300), and send Dyson Sphere from the Extra deck to my graveyard.' 'That's a weird move.' 'Oh absolutely.' He then signalled to Maddy to watch.

'Until I get a little bit of help from the injured party. I activate Alpha's Prayer: Revenge of the Beta.' This even stunned Hannah. 'I wondered why he had that in the deck.' 'Because I've got five or more monsters in the graveyard including a Rank 8 or higher Xyz monster, I can summon a monster back. Rise, Number 9 - Dyson Sphere (Def.:3000).'

'Then because I just summoned a Rank 5 or higher monster, Rank-up Magic Argent Chaos Force returns to my hand.' 'When did it go into the graveyard?' 'It was the card excavated off of Mind Xyz.' 'Why didn't you declare it?' 'Well you never asked. Now I activate Rank-up Magic Argent Chaos Force.' 'I don't like where this is going.' 'And so you shouldn't, because I'm targeting Rank 9 Dyson Sphere. Chaos Xyz Evolution! I Xyz summon Number C9 - Chaos Dyson Sphere (Atk:3600).'

'Chaos Dyson Sphere, attack Qliphort Disk. And I'll activate the effect of C9. Instead of dealing damage, it turns your monster into an Xyz material.' The spectral canopy star's panels all lit up, and quickly snatched the Disk as a material (ORU:1-2). 'Why would you do that though?' 'In Main Phase 2, I'll use the second effect of C9. For every material that my monster has, you lose 300 Life points. Collateral Carnage.' A powerful storm of lasers hit the field and lowered Belle's points fairly low. Dangerously low (Belle LP:2200-1600).

'And now it's 3rd and final effect. By detaching all its materials, it deals you 800 damage for each one. Fatal Flame!' From the earth in the centre of the star, a series of fire bombs were launched as the star itself spun at blinding speed, ending the exhausting contest (Belle LP:1600-0).

Post-duel, Belle went to walk out of the field immediately, but Phil stopped her and shared a few words of advice, which appeared to be gratefully accepted. As he sat down again, Hannah leant over. 'Well you got there eventually.' 'I could have just gone into Fortress Dragon earlier on, but I didn't think that was fair. I ended up getting too defensive. She's good, but it's not like she didn't have opportunities there.'

'She looked nervous out there.' 'No doubt. If she'd have handled the nerves better, it would have been 1-1. I got defensive and spent half the duel drawing dead cards.' 'Good job you had that Dyson Sphere.' He just nodded. 'C9's a house. A real house.' 'Who's next?' 'Well it's supposed to be Astrid, but she's still not back. So we'll have to move onto the next one.'

In the main base

Astrid was searching the near-dead base, looking for Freja. 'Freja, you here?' There was no response but she wasn't fooled. 'You're going to be here somewhere.' She then heard some music being blasted from upstairs. 'Why didn't you think of her bedroom?' Sprinting upstairs, Freja was found, not crying or despairing, but instead lying on her bed while blasting her eardrums out with some heavy rap music.

'Could you turn that down?' She then opened one eye, and shouted. 'WHAT!?' So thinking on her feet, Astrid grabbed a bank statement lying around the floor and wrote down the message "Can you turn the music down, I want to talk to you". This was enough for the CD to be paused, and Freja to sit up. 'Sit on my bed if you like.'

'I'm fine thanks.' 'So what's she sent you to say?' 'Maddy didn't send me. To be fair she didn't get much chance.' 'Well we can make this quick - who do you agree with?' 'Both of you.' 'Don't get you.' Astrid then let her hair down and propped herself on the wall with her hands. 'You were right. Your ability, you choose to use it. But Maddy's thinking of the good of the kids. Does them no good to lose because you're luck virusing. Cheese?'

Astrid then went to pass Freja a block of cheese. 'I can't.' 'It's good for you.' 'I'm lactose intolerant.' 'I thought it was Lydia who was.' 'Both are. Just has different effects.' 'I know it gives Lydia terrible shit.' 'Maddy been teaching you rude words again?' Astrid laughed at the thought. 'I teach HER bad words. So what does it do to you?' 'Get cold sores all over my mouth.' Her friend responded with a disappointed shrug. 'Thought there'd be more than that. Was hoping your face blew up or something. Ciao.' She bounced out of the room before a bemused Freja could react.

In the arena

With no sign of Astrid still, the running order had to be altered. 'Right, next up we have Fleur.' The 20 year old from Carrickfergus stood straight, nervous about what was to come. 'Fleur, we've been impressed with your resiliency and your application. However we feel that you struggle against opponents who like to play on your turn as well as their own. As such, I chose an opponent who is equally as adept at moving when the spotlight is off them. Your opponent is Sakura Haruno.'

Sakura came down, wearing a red and white kimono, adorned with a cherry blossom pattern. She also wore a pair of ankle-high socks and cloth sandals. She walked over to her opponent, put her hands together, and bowed. 'I'm highly looking forward to our duel.' Fleur though looked very confused. 'Not meaning to be rude and all, but who are you again?'

'I'm Sakura Haruno. I'm the Renegades' official club doctor, trained field medic, and President of the M18 Connection Fan Club in Tokyo. I could try and turn pro duelling, but I'm way too busy.' 'You… don't exactly sound Japanese?' Sakura giggled. 'That would be because I was actually born in Oakland, California. I moved to Japan on my 16th birthday. Shall we begin then?' 'Sure, why not.' 'Fleur, as the student you choose who goes first.' It took her some time to decide, but eventually, she chose second.

The Ultimate Challenge Match 7 Duel 1: Fleur Murphy LP:8000 vs. Sakura Haruno LP:8000

Turn 1: Sakura - 'I'm first then. I'll activate the Ninjitsu Art Notebook. By sending Ninja Grandmaster Sasuke from my hand to the grave, I can obtain an Armor Ninjitsu Art of Rust Mist, setting it face-down. Then I'll summon Ninja Grandmaster Hanzo (Atk:1800). When he's summoned, I can add Ninjitsu Art of Super-Transformation to my hand. I'll set three end end my turn.'

Fleur: 'It's time to bite back. I'll start with One for One. By discarding one card, I can summon Vampire Familiar (Atk:500). Then I'll tribute it for Vampire Scarlet Scourge (Atk:2200). And I can pay 1000 points (Fleur LP:8000-7000), to revive Vampire Lord (Atk:2000). And I'll banish Lord for a Vampire Genesis (Atk:3000). Genesis, attack Hanzo with Crimson Storm.' When Genesis went to attack though, Hanzo had disappeared.

'And just like that you fell for my first ploy.' 'What ploy?' 'Check… your field.' Everything looked normal to Fleur at first. But then she noticed that she had only Genesis out. 'Where did my Scarlet Scourge go?' 'I activated Ninjitsu Art of Super-Transformation. My Ninja was able to take itself and your monster, and turn them into a monster who doesn't exceed their combined Levels, as long as it's of a suitable type. I summon Dark Horus (Atk:3000). Fancy attacking?'

'Yeah… I think I'll pass on that thanks. During Main Phase 2, I'll activate Terraforming, to add Vampire Kingdom to my hand.' 'Because you did, Dark Horus' effect summons out another Hanzo from my hand (Atk:1800). And when it's Special summoned, I can add Twilight Ninja Nichirin, the Chunin to my hand.' 'I end my turn with a face-down.'

Sakura: 'My draw. I'll tribute Hanzo for Twilight Ninja Nichirin (Atk:2300). By discarding Senior Silver Ninja, I can give my Twilight Ninja 1000 Attack (Atk:3300). Now attack Genesis with Vanishing Shadow Strike.' With a cloak of darkness, the Ninja vanished, and suddenly appeared right behind Genesis, turning the Vampire into dust with a pair of throwing stars (Fleur LP:7000-6700).

'Dark Horus, attack Fleur directly.' 'I'll activate Enchanted Javelin, so you're effectively doing no damage.' But Sakura wasn't willing to end her Battle phase so soon. 'Go - Ninjitsu Art of Transformation. This transforms Nichirin into a completely different beast. Literally. I summon Big Koala (Atk:2700). Big Koala, squash her.' The towering marsupial charged straight into Fleur, bouncing her points down to half (Fleur LP:6700-4000). 'I'll end my turn with a new face-down.'

Fleur: 'I draw. I'll activate Graceful Charity to draw three new cards, and then ditch two of them. Now I'll activate Book of Life. It allows me to revive a Zombie from my graveyard, and banish a card from your graveyard. I'll banish your Twilight Ninja Nichirin and revive Vampire Scarlet Scourge (Atk:2200). Then I'll use the effect of Vampire Grace in my graveyard. Because I just Special summoned a high level Zombie, I can pay 2000 points (Fleur LP:4000-2000), and summon Vampire Grace (Atk:2000).'

'Now Grace lets me declare a card type once per turn, and you have to send one of that type of card to the graveyard from the deck. I choose Trap.' 'That's absolutely fine. I'll send Good Goblin Housekeeping.' Without wasting any time, Fleur lined up a big play. 'I'll overlay my two Level 6 Vampires to Xyz summon Pilgrim Reaper (Atk:?). For every Dark monster in either graveyard, it gains 200 Attack. With six right now, it has 1200 Attack. But it won't last long, because I detach one of it's materials (Atk:1400), and we both send the top 5 cards of our decks to the grave.'

As Sakura sent her cards, she made a point of showing the cards she was sending (Twilight Ninja Jogen, Black Dragon Ninja, Ninjitsu Art Notebook, Twilight Ninja Shingetsu, Good Goblin Housekeeping). 'Three Dark monsters (Atk:1400-2000).' 'And now I'll send five.' Fleur couldn't believe her luck when she sent five Dark monsters (Vampire Fraulein, Vampire Grace, Vampire Lady, Zombie Master, Il Blud) (Atk:3000). 'I'll end my turn with a face-down.'

Sakura: 'Why wouldn't you attack my Koala… unless you think I've got a battle trap. I draw.' She looked at the card, and shrugged. 'Well, I guess that solves it. I'll activate Ninjitsu Art of Reincarnation. By banishing one of the face-downs from my field, I can Special summon a Ninja from my graveyard and equip it with Reincarnation. I summon Black Dragon Ninja (Atk:2800). Now for it's effect. If I send Twilight Ninja and Ninjitsu Art Notebook from my field to the graveyard, I can dispose of Pilgrim Reaper.'

A sinister black dragon appeared from inside the Ninja, and swallowed the Reaper up whole, before spitting out its staff, along with a series of bones. 'Attack directly with Force Claw Crash.' The Ninja ran at speed, before vanishing and reappearing behind Fleur, slashing with a claw (Fleur LP:2000-0).

With Duel 1 over with, Sakura was satisfied with her early work. Which meant a very relaxed siding session. Which didn't go un-noticed by Blair. 'Not changing anything then?' 'Why would I? Deck worked nicely, duelled well, all's good.' 'Glad to hear it, you seem all set. So what's with the Ninjas?'

'You ever just get the feeling that a deck's meant for you?' 'Yeah, absolutely.' 'I was like that with this deck. Funny thing is, the first time I played it it actually belonged to my dorm mate at medical school. They let me borrow it and I ended up paying them ¥375 for the complete deck. It's mostly the same deck as well.' Blair then looked over at the other table, where Fleur was madly sifting through her deck.

'You might need some reading material.' 'How long does she have again?' '15 minutes isn't it?' 'I might need something to keep my mind busy then.' Blair responded by passing over a book from her seat. 'What's that?' 'The Art of War. Been reading it a lot recently. Really interesting read. Mind my bookmark though.' 'Thanks.'

On the other table, Fleur was having major headaches with her deck. 'I knew I should have changed the deck.' Intrigued, Phil walked over. 'Issues?' 'No consistency with the deck.' He then shared some timely advice. 'Don't forget, you don't need to use in-archetype cards for consistency. Sometimes generic support is the best. Just remember what you've been taught.' Filled with hope, she cracked on with her work.

Almost 15 minutes later, her time was up. 'Can both duellists please return to the field immediately? Thank you.' As they did, Fleur looked more composed. 'You're a doctor, right?' 'More a medic, but sure.' 'Got a cure for being bitten by Vampires? Because your deck's about to need it.' 'Fighting talk. Bring it on.'

The Ultimate Challenge Match 7 Duel 2: {0} Fleur Murphy LP:8000 vs. (1) Sakura Haruno LP:8000

Turn 1: Sakura: 'You can go first this one.' 'Sure thing. I'll start with Terraforming, to search for Hidden Village of Ninjitsu Arts. Then I'll activate Hidden Village.' The terrain changed, this time to some dark urban rooftops. 'Next I'll summon Upstart Golden Ninja (Atk:500). And his ability allows me to discard Ninjitsu Art of Rust Mist in order to summon Aqua Armor Ninja (Atk:800). That triggers my Hidden Village. When I summon a Ninja, it can recover a Ninjitsu Art from my graveyard. I'm sure you remember Rust Mist. The only thing is, I can't activate the card this turn. Now how about a little bit of Xyz action? I'll overlay my two Level 4s to summon Heroic Champion - Gandiva (Atk:2100). I end my turn with two face-downs.'

Fleur: 'I draw. I activate the Continuous Spell Vampire's Domain. Then I'll activate another - Call of the Mummy. With Call of the Mummy, I can Special summon Vampire Red Baron (Atk:2400). Then I'll Normal summon Vampire Sorcerer (Atk:1800). Now I'll trigger Domain, paying 500 Life points (Fleur LP:8000-7500), and tribute Sorcerer for Vampire Scarlet Scourge (Atk:2200). When Scourge is summoned, I can pay 1000 (Fleur LP:7500-6500), and summon back Sorcerer (Atk:1500).'

'I'll take you on with Gandiva. When you Special summon a monster of Level 4 or lower, Gandiva detaches a material to destroy it.' As the Sorcerer got slayed, Fleur's plan was starting to come together, and she was starting to gain confidence. 'Well when Sorcerer is destroyed, I can pick up a copy of Vampire Vamp from my deck. I'll then overlay my two Vampires for Dhampir Vampire Sheridan (Atk:2600).'

'You're just costing yourself damage here.' 'Or am I? Tell me that when Sheridan detaches a material to send Gandiva straight to the graveyard.' Sheridan signalled towards the Heroic Champion, and a swarm of bats attacked, making Gandiva rot away in front of it's shocked controller. And then it got worse.

'You want to know Sheridan's other effect?' 'If I say no, are you just going to tell me anyway?' Fleur nodded. 'Yep, it's just manners to ask. Because your monster went to the graveyard through a monster effect, I can summon it to my field in Defence mode.' The Rank 6 Vampire summoned more bats, which this time brought Gandiva back, dripping blood from its body (Def.:1800).

'Now attack Sakura directly.' Uncharacteristically for a Vampire, Sheridan fired a stake at Sakura, which took a chunk from her points (Sakura LP:8000-5400). With that, Fleur assessed the field. 'I'll throw two face-downs.'

Sakura: 'I draw. I'll set a monster, and I'll end my turn.'

Fleur: 'I draw. I'll attack into your monster with Sheridan.' Sakura's monster stood little chance of holding out against the Vampire (Aqua Armor Ninja Def.:1600), destroying it. 'In Main Phase 2 I'll summon Vampire Retainer (Atk:1200). That's a turn.'

Sakura: 'My draw. I'll activate Premature Burial, to pay 800 (Sakura LP:5400-4600), and revive Aqua Armor Ninja (Atk:800). Then I'll release it and tribute set a monster, then end my turn.'

Fleur: 'I'll switch Gandiva to Attack (Atk:2100), then go straight into your face-down monster.' 'Before you attack, I'll activate Needlebug Nest. It sends five from my deck to the grave. Still attacking?' 'Always.' Gandiva rode in, lashing out at the face-down monster (Senior Silver Ninja Def.:2200, Fleur LP:6500-6400).

'When Senior Ninja is flipped, I can bring back as many Ninjas from the grave as possible. Be reborn, Yellow Dragon Ninja, Ninja Grandmaster Hanzo, Twilight Ninja Jogen, and Twilight Ninja Shingetsu (Atk:3000, 1800, 2000, 1500). Now because Hanzo was Special summoned, it searches out a copy of Twilight Ninja Kagen.' 'Fine, I'll attack with Sheridan into Ninja Grandmaster Hanzo.' 'Sorry, i can't let you do that.'

'Why?' 'The effect of Shingetsu forces you to attack it instead.' The Dhampir looked all set to destroy Hanzo, until the Twilight Ninja leapt in front of it, and somehow lived to tell the tale. 'Thanks to my face-down Impenetrable Attack, you can't destroy Shingetsu (Sakura LP:4600-3500).

Frustrated, Fleur tried to narrow the field. 'With the Battle phase over, I'll activate Double Summon for Vampire Lady (Atk:1550), and use Vampire Vamp's effect. It can absorb Yellow Dragon Ninja, taking all it's Attack points. Nosferatu's Kiss.' Again though, Shingetsu stood in the way. 'I knew exactly what you were planning there.' 'You did?' 'Yep. Just one issue though - Shingetsu stops other Ninjas being targeted for card effects. And you can't use Vamp's effect on a monster with less Attack.'

'You've really done your homework. And you're positive you didn't know who you were facing?' Phil wasn't happy at the complaining, but Sakura just found it funny. 'Listen, I didn't even know I was duelling until about 2 days ago. Hell, I barely even know any of your names, never mind what deck you use. I'm usually busy patching everyone up. I just know this deck because it's popular at the fan club.' With this issue resolved, Fleur ended her turn.

Sakura: 'I draw.' Looking at the card, she formulated a plan. 'I'll set this, and switch Hanzo and Shingetsu to Defence (Def.:1000, 100). Then I'll attack Vampire Vamp with Yellow Dragon Ninja and force you to activate your face-down.' 'You got it. I'll activate the Storming Mirror Force.' Sakura had little response as all her monsters were blown back to her hand. 'During Main Phase 2, I'll summon Hanzo (Atk:1800). And he searches out a copy of Ninjitsu Art of Super-Transformation from my deck. I'll set one and end my turn.'

Fleur: 'I draw' 'I'll immediately activate Super-Transformation. It lets me tribute my Hanzo and your Vampire Vamp to Special summon Clear Vice Dragon (Atk:?).' 'Attack points?' 'You'll see.' Fleur then formulated a plan. 'I'll summon Vampire Baby (Atk:700). And it's going to get it's feed from your Clear Vice Dragon.' The mystery of the Vice Dragon was then revealed. 'When Clear Vice Dragon battles, it's Attack becomes double that of its opponent (Atk:1400, Fleur LP:6400-5700).'

'Well now I know, I'll attack Hanzo with Sheridan.' Sheridan's league of bats flew at Hanzo, slashing away until destroyed (Sakura LP:3500-2700). 'In Main Phase 2, I'll use Sheridan's other material to dispose of your Clear Vice Dragon.' The bats swarmed the Vice Dragon, and turned into a hurricane, leaving nothing on the field but some bones. 'I end my turn.'

Sakura: 'My draw. I'll activate The Shallow Grave. This forces us to both bring a monster back from our graveyards face-down.' 'Fine, I'll bring back Vampire Vamp.' 'And I'll choose Senior Silver Ninja. Now I'll throw a face-down and end my turn. Flip my Ninja up, I dare you.'

Fleur: 'I draw.' She put the card in her hand, and smiled. 'You know what they say - Death or Glory. So I'll activate my face-down Vampire Takeover.' Sakura looked on, and was rather surprised. 'You're really not backing down.' 'No guts, no glory. I can only activate this because I meet two conditions - I only have Zombies on the field, and I have nothing in my Field spell zone. Now I can activate Vampire Kingdom from my deck.'

A series of buildings shrouded in shadow went up around the field, and Fleur prepared for her big charge. 'Now I can bring back a Vampire from my graveyard. The only catch is that it's in Defence mode. I'll summon Vampire Scarlet Scourge (Def.:2200). And with him, I can pay 1000 (Fleur LP:5700-4700), and bring back Shadow Vampire (Atk:2000).' 'Don't forget, Shadow Vampire's not allowed to attack until next turn.'

This didn't seem to concern the Irish contingent. 'Oh I know. I'll instead activate Cross Attack. Because I control two monsters with the same Attack points, one can attack directly but the other can't attack at all. So Vampire Vamp, it's time to fly!' The sultry female nosferatu glided over the field, gaining 500 Attack from the Field spell in the process, before unleashing a piercing screech (Sakura LP:2700-200). 'I'll end my turn.'

Sakura: 'I draw. I'll flip up my Silver Ninja (Atk:2300). And he'll let me fill my field up again. I summon Yellow Dragon Ninja and Aqua Armor Ninja (Atk:3000, 600).' 'But you could have summoned another monsters.' 'Well I needed an open spot for Flame Armor Ninja to join the party (Atk:1700).' 'Rank 5?' Sakura smiled, but her plan was most sinister.

'Time to harness the way of the Ninja! By wielding the power of the Wind, Forest, Fire, and Mountain, I activate Fuh-Rin-Ka-Zan! I can now choose from one of four powerful effects. I'll choose to nuke your monsters.' The power of teh Trap activated, and from a shrine, four balls of light rose into the air, before a hurricane, sharp cutting leaves, blazing sunshine, and the earth itself all attacked Sakura's field, crushing her monster line-up. 'And now I have well over what I need.' With the four attacks flying in, Fleur had gone down after a brave fight (Fleur LP:4700-0).

The tight second duel had seen Fleur give her all. Which earned her respect from Sakura afterwards. 'You could have had me there. If you'd just gone for it a little more early on, you would have taken it easily. I'd say give it some time and you'll be really quite nasty.' 'Thanks, you're too good to not duel pro.'

'Honestly, I just don't want to. I was offered my pro card a couple of years ago but turned it down because I never wanted to duel for anything but a hobby. Besides, this lot need me too much here. Hey, before turning pro it might be an idea to look at having some time in the semi-pro leagues. You've got three of the big 4 here.'

Fleur then looked over at Astrid. 'Don't you find her... kind of scary?' Sakura burst out laughing at this. 'Who - Astrid? She's not scary! I mean she's a little bit… full on at times, but she's an absolute sweetheart when you talk to her nicely.' 'Thanks.' Fleur then quickly sprinted over to Maddy, who had secretly started drinking cheap beer on the sidelines, and was by now starting to get drunk.

'Hey… um… does Astrid speak much English?' 'Astrid? Yeah, her English is better than mine, she's just a lazy f**ker.' The viking herself then looked over. 'My ears are burning.' 'Just saying you don't like the English language. By the way, I think this one wants to chat. I would say that she wants to get with you, but I'm not sure how happy Kris would be.'

This resulted in the President getting evils. 'What?' 'I wasn't planning on telling anyone that. But yeah, me and Kris, big deal. Not like it's my business or anything.' She then looked over closely at Maddy, and noticing something wasn't quite right, just dropped the subject, as Fleur went over to her.

'I was talking to Sakura and she mentioned that you could tell me about the semi-pro leagues?' 'You're better asking Myka, she's been there more recently. But it's not difficult to get on. Let's face it, I was 13 and I didn't even speak enough English to understand half of what they were saying. Enter some locals as well. I've entered a few.' The drunken party then shouted again. 'Apart from the one you got turned away from because you tried paying in the wrong currency.' 'Will you be quiet? Besides, you're the one that said you were paying.'

Before the argument could get further out of hand, Phil intervened. 'Three duels left. Next one in rotation is Denzil.' The Mancunian stepped up, but had something to say. 'I'll take whoever you got 'cause they ain't gonna forget their experience of me. So step up and you're in for a treat.' Phil seemed rather unimpressed however. 'That barely even rhymed. Anyway, you're a duellist with a great game, you're well balanced but you lack concentration. So your opponent is someone who always has their eyes firmly on winning. I invite you to face Lydia.'

As Lydia stepped to the duel field, Denzil was shuffling his deck, and sneaked a card into his deck (breaching the rules). However this went completely un-noticed due to his stealth. He and Lydia faced off, and he took his chewing gum out. 'How you doin?' 'Fine. I hope you've got your A game.' 'We're gonna find out ain't we? 'Cause in the words of Eminem, you're gonna need a doctor.' Lydia then hit back. 'Also in his words, I love the way you lie.' Denzil then looked over at Phil, who had taken over as referee due to Maddy being drunk. 'I'll take first.' 'Let battle commence.'

The Ultimate Challenge Match 8 Duel 1: Denzil Davis LP:8000 vs. Lydia McKinna LP:8000

Turn 1: Denzil: 'Time to get this thing started. I'm going in so hard that I'm about to' 'Please don't… say any more.' 'I'll kick off with with Solar Wind Jammer. It's a Level 5, so I have to half its Attack and Defence (Def.:2400-1200). Then I'll bring on out a Karakuri Strategist Nishipashi (Atk:500). Now I'll increase my winnings with a Machine Duplication for two other Nishipashis from my deck (Atk:500)x2.'

'Now how about I drop a sick synchro beatdown? Level 3 Nishipashi is going to add itself to Level 5 Solar Wind Jammer. This move's gonna be so crazy it's just like raising daisies. I Synchro summon Karakuri Steel Shogun Bureido (Atk:2800). Now Bureido can grab a Karakuri Muso Haipa from deck.' At this point, Lydia realised that she needed to prevent too much advantage. 'I'm going to use Effect Veiler from my hand, discarding it to negate Bureido's effect for the turn.'

Despite the setback, Denzil still had a plan. 'In that case I'll use Premature Burial, paying 800 (Denzil LP:8000-7200), and bring back Solar Wind Jammer (Def.:2400). Now I'll Synchro with Level 5 Solar Wind Jammer and Level 3 Nishipashi for a second Bureido (Atk:2800). Bureido's effect summons Haipa from my deck (Atk:2100). Then I can tune them into the Level 7 Karakuri Shogun Burei (Atk:2600).'

'Burei can then use its effect to summon a copy of Karakuri Soldier Nisamu (Atk:1400). Which I'll tune with the last Level 3 Nishipashi for another Burei (Atk:2600). Then Burei brings out Karakuri Barrel Shinkuro (Atk:400). Now I'll tune Level 7 Burei with Level 2 Shinkuro into the Karakuri Super Shogun Bureibu (Atk:3000). Finally, Bureibu will get Karakuri Ninja Nanashick (Def.:1800). I'll end my turn with two face-downs.'

Lydia: 'Thought that was never going to end. I'm pretty sure that turn took about as long as Fre and Kenzie's match. I draw. I'll activate Samsara. So monsters that are sent to the graveyard for a Ritual summon instead go back to my deck. Now I'll use Advanced Ritual Art, sending two copies of Aitsu and a copy of Mystical Shine Ball to my graveyard and summon Herald of Ultimateness (Def.:3000). Then Samsara returns them all to my deck. I'll end my turn with a face-down.'

Denzil: 'I draw. I'll switch Karakuri Nanashick to Attack (Atk:2200). This triggers the effect of Bureibu, to banish your Herald. I'll then also trigger the effect of Bureido as well to draw a card.' Seeing the predicament she was in, Lydia considered drastic action. 'I could stop him here, but if I do, I'm dead anyway. If I let this go, I'm dead… unless… fine, I'll let it go.' 'Let it all go?' 'Sure.'

Bureibu brought its sword straight down on top of Herald of Ultimateness, and then turned it into steam. 'In that case I'll hit you with everything I got. Imma 'bout to beat you down so damn hard you won't be able to lift a god damn card. Smash it!' As the attacks came in, Lydia enacted her plan. 'I activate my face-down Cards for Wings. This lets me tribute Fairy-type monsters from my hand or field, and then draw a card for each one. I'll tribute Cyber Angel Benten from my hand.'

As she took the card, she sighed. 'No good. Well I've still got Benten's effect.' 'Benten's effect?' 'Yeah, because it was tributed. I get to add a Light Fairy to my hand. I choose Arcana Force XIV - Temperance, and then immediately discard it to halve the Battle damage.' Lydia's desperate rearguard action saved her from an OTK as Denzil's four monsters smashed into her points with fearsome slashing blades (Lydia LP:8000-3700). 'I end my turn with a face-down.'

Lydia: 'I draw.' Lydia saw her card and was instantly delighted. 'That's just what I wanted. I activate Machine Angel Absolute Ritual. By shuffling Benten back into my deck from my graveyard and sending Blade Skater from my hand to the deck because of Samsara, I can summon Cyber Angel Vrash (Atk:3000).' 'She may look cool but my job is to end her rule. So throw whatever you got at me.'

'Happily. "What I got" is the effect of Vrash. Because she was Ritual summoned, I can destroy every monster of yours Specal summoned from the Extra deck. For each one, you lose 1000 Life points. Then Vrash gets two attacks.' Unluckily for Lydia, Denzil was fully prepared. 'I activate The Huge Revolution is Over. You made a big mistake trying to destroy so much, because this only activates if you're destroying at least two of my monsters. The effect's negated, and your monster is banished.'

'I'll have to use Imperial Iron Wall to prevent banishing then. Meaning Vrash stays on the field.' 'She doesn't destroy nowt though. She's about as threatening as a puppy and I'm about to put her down.' 'Strong words from someone who's about to eat an attack from Vrash. Attack Bureido with Angelic Fury.' Vrash slashed at the Karakuri monster with sharp, angelic wings, causing it to explode (Denzil LP:8000-7800). 'I end my turn with a face-down.'

Denzil: 'I draw.' 'I activate Angel's Mind. I can add a Fairy from my deck to my hand now, so long as it is the same attribute as a monster on my field but of a lower level. So because Vrash is a Light, I can add Honest to my hand.' Seeing the mind games, Denzil decided to play it safe. 'I'll set one, and end the turn.'

Lydia: 'I draw.' Denzil then turned the tables completely on his opponent with an unexpected inclusion. 'I activate Trap Trick. By banishing a Trap from my deck, I can set another copy from my deck and activate it right away. So I'll set and activate Mind Crush.' 'Seriously?' 'Seriously. I name a card, and you discard any copies you have in your hand. So I'm gonna tell you now, your Honest is banned.'

Without her main damage dealer, Lydia had to rethink. 'I think I'll tribute the Cyber Angel Benten from my hand to summon Cyber Tutubon (Atk:1800). And the effect of Benten adds Cyber Angel Natasha to my hand. Then I'll activate Machine Angel Ritual. This tributes Tutubon for Cyber Angel Natasha (Def.:1000).' As the pulsating first duel continued, Blair watched on with a severe sense of pride welling up inside of her.

'Thanks to Natasha, I can negate any attacks aimed at Ritual monsters on my field. Also, I can gain Life point equal to half of Vrash's Attack once per turn (Lydia LP:3700-5200). I end my turn.'

Denzil: 'I draw.' As he drew the card, he laughed. 'You gotta be kidding me? How many of these f**king things did I put in my deck again? I'm going to throw down two face-down cards and end my turn.'

Lydia: 'I draw. I'll use Natasha's effect again to gain more Life points.' 'I activate Karakuri Cash Inn. By switching Nanashick's battle position (Atk:2200), I can negate the effect of Natasha.' 'Destroying it?' 'No.' 'Fine.' 'Due to the effect of Bureido, I can draw a card. And the effect of Bureibu banishes Vrash.' With Natasha's effect out of the question, and her dominant monster gone, Lydia ended her turn quietly.

Denzil: 'This game's mine, let's serve it home. I'll banish Karakuri Cash Inn from my graveyard to trigger its effect and switch Natasha to Attack mode (Atk:1000). Then I'll use another Trap Trick to banish a copy of Cash Inn from my deck for a third copy. And with Trap Trick's effect, I can activate Cash Inn this turn. So I'll switch Nanashick to Defence (Def.:1800), triggering Cash Inn and switching your Natasha to Attack mode (Atk:1000). I'll use Burei's effect to force Nanashick back into Attack (Atk:2200), and then attack into you. Enjoy 9600 damage!' The Karakuris came steaming in, with Natasha being run over effortlessly, along with Lydia's remaining Life points (Lydia LP:5200-0).

As the duellists split up for siding, Lydia seemed somewhat shaken. 'I couldn't get a hit in there, he's just so good.' Rio was with her, and provided a touch of comfort. 'He did draw really well there. You're just too tense.' 'Yeah, 'cause I don't want to look like a complete dummy by losing to one of the arena students.'

'You realise Denzil's been working with Blair right? Trust me he's a totally different animal to the one who started here. Just relax, you'll be better that way.' 'Random thought, but you know your speech is getting clearer, right?' Rio laughed. 'Thanks. I guess that's what seeing a speech therapist every week will do for you. Not to mention a physio, a GP, and brain scans every two weeks for the next 10 months.'

Meanwhile, with Denzil confident, Blair came up to him. 'Did ok for you?' 'Not bad, not bad.' She then broke out into a smile. 'I was pretty impressed. Just a slight tip though - if you're going for an OTK, perhaps wait until you can… you know, actually attack.' 'Yeah, I know. Just didn't think she'd break through the board. Any advice on boarding?'

'You know I can't say. Just don't get cocky, k?' Their little pep talk was interrupted by Kenzie, who apparently had become fast friends with Denzil. 'Hey, you need to teach me to chain block like that.' Before Denzil could show off his bravado, his teacher brought him crashing down to earth. 'You've not seen the basement tapes - I've spent the past three weeks trying to teach him how to do that. And today is the first time he's managed it successfully.'

Nearly 10 minutes passed before Denzil finished siding, with Lydia finishing shortly before him. 'You took a while. What are you up to?' 'I'm not up to nowt, just planning my strategies to knock you out, 'cause I'm going to cut through you like a knife and then my deck's gonna light up your life!' 'Do you ever stop rapping? Because I came to duel.' 'Tetchy man.'

The Ultimate Challenge Match 8 Duel 2: (1) Denzil Davis LP:8000 vs. (0) Lydia McKinna LP:8000

Turn 1: Lydia: 'I'll take the first turn this time.' 'You mad?' 'No, just hopeful. I'll start with Dawn of the Herald. By tributing the Cyber Angel Benten from my hand, I can summon Herald of Perfection (Def.:2800). Then with Benten's effect, I'll search out Vanity's Ruler. Then I'll activate Celestial Transformation, Special summoning Gellenduo from my hand at the cost of half it's Attack (Atk:1700-850). Gellenduo counts as two tributes for a Fairy, so I'll tribute it for Vanity's Ruler (Atk:2500). I end my turn.'

Denzil: 'So with Vanity's' 'You can't Special summon at all.' 'Gotcha. I draw. I'll activate Karakuri Showdown Castle.' 'I'll use the effect of Herald of Perfection to discard Machine Angel Absolute Ritual, and negate your Showdown Castle, destroying it.' 'Well how about another go? I'll activate Terraforming to grab another Showdown Castle.' ' And I'll use Herald's effect again, ditching Celestial Transformation.'

Realizing that Lydia had run out of cards in her hand, Denzil made a plan. 'I'll set a monster, set two cards face-down and end my turn.'

Lydia: 'I draw. I'll attack your monster with Vanity's Ruler.' As the attack came in, Denzil showed his hand (or his face-downs). 'Time to glow bright, glow all night, as I activate the Desert Sunlight.' 'Right, I've totally never heard of that card.' 'It forces my monsters into face-up Defence mode (Karakuri Barrel "Shinkuro" Def.:400).'

The elder of the twins seemed rather perplexed. 'That's really weird, I just want you to know.' 'Replay - you wanna attack still?' 'Sure.' 'In that case I activate Karakuri Klock. Tick tock goes the clock, hope you ain't too attached to your monsters. Tick tock goes the clock, because I'm about to clean your rosters!'

Lydia responded by looking over at Maddy. 'Any idea what he's on about?' 'He means that he's gonna wipe out your monsters. Keep up.' Before Lydia even had chance to think, her monsters both bit the dust, leaving both duellists with empty fields. 'I'll end my turn with this card face-down.'

Denzil: 'I draw. This is basically a top-deck war innit?' 'I suppose it is. How's your luck?' Denzil simply set the card in his back row. 'There's your answer.'

Lydia: 'I draw.' Denzil then responded in kind. 'How's your luck?' She set her card in the back, signalling the lack of a monster.

Denzil: 'My turn. I activate Pot of Duality. I can't Special summon until the end of my next turn, but I can look at the top 3 cards of my deck and add one to my hand, shuffle the others in.' As he grabbed the cards, he started getting visibly frustrated, throwing his head back. 'What is this luck man? I'll add Karakuri Anatomy to my hand. Then I'll end my turn.'

Lydia: 'I draw. I'll set a card and end my turn.'

Denzil: 'And me again. I activate Karakuri Gama Oil, to revive Barrel (Def.:400). Then I'll end my turn again.'

On the sidelines, the students didn't seem especially enthused by the spectacle, with some even chanting "Boring" and "We want Maddy". And, in line with his job, Phil was there to provide insight. 'This was bound to happen at sometime. A total brickfest. They're both paying the price, Lydia for overextending and Denzil for baiting out the negations. We'll just have to see if either can overcome it.'

Lydia: 'My draw. I activate Graceful Charity to draw three then discard two. And because I've now got four Fairies in my graveyard, I can summon Archlord Kristya (Atk:2800). Because it was summoned, Kristya adds back Benten to my hand. I end my turn.'

Denzil: 'I draw. Pass.'

Lydia: 'I'll activate Cards from the Sky. By banishing Gellenduo from my hand, I can draw two cards.' 'Finally. I activate Resource Reflection. Because you just drew two cards, I can draw two as well.' 'Great, might get somewhere now. I'll set both in my back-row and pass.'

Denzil: 'I draw. I activate Karakuri Anatomy, and switch Barrel to Attack mode (Atk:400). Anatomy now gains a counter. If it gains another one, I can ditch it for two new cards. Also Gama Oil gives my Barrel 500 Attack and Defence every time it changes battle position (Atk/Def.:400/400 - 900/900). I end my turn.'

Lydia: 'I'll just attack in with Kristya.' The angelic Archlord produced a powerful burst of light from its hand, deflecting off of the Barrel into Denzil (Denzil LP:8000-6100). 'Don't forget, Barrel can't be destroyed, can't be tamed. It's about time your deck got mamed.' 'I don't even know what that means. If I'd known what I was up against I'd have bought a dictionary. I end my turn.'

Denzil: 'I draw. I switch Barrel to Defence mode (Atk/Def.:1400/1400). And because Anatomy now has two counters, I can throw it out for two more cards. I'll set three and pass.'

Lydia: 'My turn, and I'll activate Fairy Meteor Crush, to punch through your defences.' Kristya's attack came raining in, and this time Denzil's monster being in Defence failed to protect his points (Denzil LP:6100-4700). 'I'll set one and end there. Over to you.'

Denzil: 'I draw. I'm about to turn this thing up to 11.' 'I'd love to see you try.' 'How about if I bring out Karakuri Soldier "Nisamu" (Atk:1400)?' 'Depends what you do next.' 'I'll switch Barrel into Attack (Atk:1400-1900), go into the Battle phase and activate Karakuri Gold Dust. It switches Nisamu to Defence mode (Def.:200), and gives its Attack points to Barrel (Atk:1900-3300). Now attack Kristya and get this game moving!'

As Lydia looked on in sheer disbelief, her plan came crashing down and Kristya was shot down by pellets shot from the barrel (Lydia LP:8000-7500). 'I end my turn (Atk:3300-1900).

Lydia: 'I draw. I'll activate Advanced Ritual Art, to send three copies of Spirit of the Harp from my deck to the graveyard, and summon Herald of Ultimateness (Def.:3000). I end my turn.'

Denzil: 'Don't fancy beating me then? That's fine man, I draw.' He saw the card and grinned. 'That's a damn sweet draw man. Like, I forgot I put this card in. I activate Dark Ruler No More. So now your monster's effect is negated.' 'I'll just use Herald's effect to negate it.' 'Spell speed 4. You can't negate it.' With the Herald now powerless, it was Denzil's time to start making things happen.

'I'm bringing out a Karakuri Strategist "Nishipashi" now (Atk:500). Then I'll use its effect, switching itself to Defence (Def.:1600), and triggering Karakuri Trick House, to destroy your monster.' A small room full of gears appeared on the field, and two shot out, grinding down Herald until it was a fine powder. 'Now Level 3 Nishipashi tunes Level 4 Nisamu, so I can bring the beatdown with Karakuri Shogun "Burei" (Atk:2600).'

'On summon, Burei calls out another new Karakuri from my deck. I'm sure that you remember Nanashick from the first round (Atk:2200). And now my monsters can all attack.' The big onslaught of power from Denzil paid off as Lydia was battered by bone-crunching attacks (Lydia LP:7500-800). Denzil then looked at the last card in his hand. 'Yeah, this will finish you off. I'll end my turn.'

Lydia: 'I draw. This might just do it… it might just do it. I activate Preperation of Rites. It adds Cyber Angel Idaten from my deck to my hand, then adds Machine Absolute Angel Ritual from my grave. I'll now activate Absolute, and shuffle back two Spirits of the Harp, to summon Cyber Angel Dakini (Atk:2700).' 'Looking sharp man, but I'm about to blunt her.' 'I dare you to try when I activate Magnificent Machine Angel. By tributing Idaten from my hand, Dakini gains Attack equal to Idaten's Level x 200 (Atk:2700-3900). And because I tributed Idaten, Dakini gets another power boost to the tune of 1000 points (Atk:3900-4900).'

'Finally, Dakini attacks Burei.' 'I'm about to twist turn your life upside down. I activate Limiter Removal!' As Denzil went to activate it though, a horrid realisation came upon him. 'I… forgot to set it. Serious man?' With Denzil distracted, Lydia had activated Honest from her hand (Atk:4900-7500, Denzil LP:4700-0), to equalise the scores.

No sooner had the second round finished than Denzil flipped the top card of his deck and groaned. 'Fuck me man, that would have taken it.' He then took a breath, and deciding that he was satisfied with his deck, opted to forego siding. Meanwhile, Lydia quietly switched a handful of cards about, and looked to have a newfound focus.

As they faced off one last time, Denzil had a proposal. 'How about less of all that griindy stuff this time?' 'Suits me.' The two shook hands, and separated for their decider. 'Denzil, as the loser of the last duel, you choose who goes first.' 'I'll send her off first man.' 'Let battle commence.'

The Ulitmate Challenge Match 8 Duel 3: [1] Denzil Davis LP:8000 vs. [1] Lydia McKinna LP:8000

Turn 1: Lydia: 'I'm first. I'll start with Trade-In. By discarding Dakini, I draw two cards. Then I'll activate Temple of the Kings. With this, I can activate a Trap card direct from my hand once per turn. I'll use that for Ultimate Offering, then summon Gellenduo (Atk:1700). Then I'll pay 500 Life points for Ultimate Offering (Lydia LP:8000-7500), and tribute Gellenduo for Athena (Atk:2600). Then I'll pay again (Lydia LP:7000), and summon Honest (Atk:1100). Due to Athena's effect, you now lose 600 Life points.' A shot of lightning came from the heavenly Athena, knocking Denzil's points down (Denzil LP:8000-7400).

'Then I'll use Honest's effect to return itself to my hand. And use Ultimate Offering to summon it again (Lydia LP:6500, Honest Atk:1100, Denzil LP:7400-6800). At this point, the realisation of what was happening dawned on the student. 'Yo, is this the Athena OTK?' Lydia finally cracked a smile. 'The one and only.' He responded by putting his hands on his head and laughing. 'Man, I thought I had you. You want to finish it off? Or should I just concede now?' 'Let me have some fun (Lydia LP:6500-6000-5500-5000-4500-4000-3500-3000-2500-2000-1500-1000-500) Denzil LP:6800-6200-5600-5000-4400-3800-3200-2600-2000-1400-800-200-0).

With the damp squib of a decider, the expectation was for Denzil to take the result badly. Instead, he laughed, and walked straight over to his foe. 'Just so you know, you didn't need to OTK me to win. My hand was shit. Nice comeback.' 'Thanks. You're pretty good.' He just looked over at Blair. 'She made me better. You don't want to see some of the batterings I took from her. One point, I went like 8 duels without even attacking. Next level man.'

'Stalling you out then? I think we've all been there.' 'Nah man, I was defending the whole way. She just smashed me around. Kind of needed it probably. She's one hell of a teacher.' Blair then wandered over. 'Don't be too nice about me Denzil, I might think you want something.' He turned around, and offered her a wad of cash. 'It's the least I owe you.' Blair quickly rebuffed the offer however.

'Even if I was allowed to, I couldn't accept that. I'm not doing this because I want payment.' 'Why did you volunteer then?' 'Cause it's fun. Besides, helped to keep me sharp.' 'Why weren't you duelling? Seemed like you just disappeared.' 'I had some personal stuff to deal with. Well, that and a massive staph infection in my bicep. You can still see the scar.' Blair then took her jacket back off and revealed a near-11 inch scar on her upper arm. 'You alright now?' 'Yeah, fit as anything now. I've felt fine for a while, it was just a matter of getting cleared.' 'But you're back now?' 'Now or soon. We'll just have to see.'

Next time: The final two duels, as Mitch and Myka both face off against familiar foes, in Renegades: A New Dawn Chapter XXXVI: The Ultimate Challenge, Part 3