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.

41. Zero Star

Renegades: A New Dawn

Chapter XLI: Zero Star

Event: WDC World Tour: Dublin (Dublin, Ireland)

Card:
Tee Taylor vs. Justin Pipe

Phil Robinson vs. Kari Tsukumo

Wild-Card Warriors: The Sledgehammer vs. Ian Jones

Jade Goocheneyad and Brooke Angharad vs. Black Rose Inc.

Top Contenders Duel: Astrid Hofferson vs. Akiza Izinski

Main Event: Kalin Kessler Open Challenge

Having stayed at Jade's overnight, Blair was very excited for her girlfriend's debut on the tour. 'Can just imagine your name in lights and the announcers calling you the World Champion one day, and' 'You telling them off for spelling my name wrong, I know Blair, you've told me like 15 times already and it's not even 8am yet.' 'I know, it's just…'

'I get it, you're excited. So am I, I just want to get going you know, get out there, experience it all like you have. It's not scary out there, is it?' Blair just burst out laughing at the question. 'I mean, like, it's not like you've got people's eyes burning into your soul is it?' Her girlfriend just looked entirely confused.

'Jade, you worked as an exotic dancer in a lap dancing club. You really think you're going to struggle with a couple of thousand people watching you use some cards that they've probably never heard of? Honestly though, if you're anything like me, the moment you start duelling, you'll forget the crowd are even there. You just get into the zone kinda, it's hard to explain but you'll get it. I promise you that you'll be fine. Now finish packing, we need to be at the airport in an hour.'

40 minutes later

They got to the airport, and immediately met up with Jana, who was completely oblivious to… just about everything. 'Hi Blair, how's life, and who's the chick?' 'It's Jade, my girlfriend. You know, the one I've been dating for months.' 'Oh sorry, I don't think I've ever met you. My name is Jana Vilkas, and I'm Maddy's babysitter. How's she doing anyway?' 'She's stopped drinking which is a start. Claimed that you'd locked all her booze in the wardrobe before you left.'

Jana laughed this claim off. 'No, I threatened to. That's it. I've literally spent the past two weeks in Orlando. I'll see you around.' She then quickly rushed off to find Maddy, while Blair and Jade checked in. Shortly afterwards, Freja and Belle rocked up, both wearing black eye make-up and black leather jackets. Freja also had a black choker around her neck and her hair was pulled low in a ponytail, while Belle had her hair in a plait tied at both ends. They were quickly followed by Phil and Hannah.

'Surprised to see you here.' Phil seemed rather perplexed by this. 'You realise I have a duel right?' 'Yep, I was actually talking to Hannah.' 'Yeah, well I figured it's only over the Irish sea. And I've been feeling pretty good recently, even been back to the gym.' 'How long is it?' 'Since I last went to the gym? About four months. I've had really bad morning sickness a lot, and then I came down with a chest infection. Nothing serious, but obviously I've got to be cautious.'

'Understandable, bet you're excited for the birth right?' 'I mean I wouldn't mind getting this weight off of me, and it's not like the sleepless nights will bother me, I never sleep all through anyway, I'm usually on the toilet by half 3.' 'But she will miss being waited on hand and foot constantly.' She then glanced over at him out of the corner of her eye. 'Who said it's stopping? I'll still expect breakfast in bed every day.'

'I'm sure you will.' 'So you got a plan for the birth then?' Blair then looked at her girlfriend. 'Is there a reason you're so interested in all this?' 'Not really, I'm just interested. I mean it's no secret I want a kid one day, but we've got way too much fun to get up to before then.' Hannah just laughed watching this squabble. 'I remember young love.' Phil then looked over. 'Hannah, you're only 30. You're hardly an ancient relic.'

'So do you?' 'Pardon?' 'Have a plan for the birth. It's only the 3rd time I've asked.' 'Sorry, got distracted. Yeah, planning on it being a home birth, I've got a thing about hospitals after I spent so long in them when I was a kid.' 'Can't say I blame you, I'd be petrified of them. I am anyway to be honest with you.' Blair then looked over again. 'Really?' 'Yeah, I've got this thing about being where people go to die.'

'You seemed fine when Rio was in hospital.' 'I was trying to put on a brave face because you were in absolute bits. The amount of times I'd get there or wake up in the middle of the night hearing you crying still sticks with me.' 'Jade, you know I don't like talking about that.' 'You're the one who brought the subject up.' 'Yeah, I didn't expect you to start going on like that.'

As they continued to squabble, Hannah's phone buzzed. 'Go on then.' 'Oi, nose away.' 'Who is it?' 'It's just Brooke, says not to wait for her because she and Lydia are keeping Astrid company on the ferry.' 'That girl's going to have to get over her fear of flying one of these days.' 'Easy for you to say, you didn't grow up on an island in the middle of the Arctic Ocean.'

Meanwhile, Blair had noticed Belle stood quietly, and wandered up to her. 'Just so you know, what the B.O.D are doing to you is absolute bullsh*t.' 'Yeah, thanks.' 'Don't be afraid to stand up for yourself when you're there.' 'I'll leave it to those two, they know what they're doing.' 'Well just be prepared, because they won't let you get away silently. Don't forget, only you know what happened that night. Besides, you're not half bad at arguing back in the base.'

'What are you on about?' Blair smiled at her in response. 'I've heard you and Astrid debating philosophies or whatever it is you were arguing about last night. Just stand up for yourself, and you'll be perfectly ok.' Looking for more advice, Belle opened up slightly. 'Did you ever, you know, stand up for yourself?' The response was indignant. 'Why do you think I've not had any opportunities? It's because I never stood up for myself.'

By the time this conversation finished, Rio and Kris had also arrived. And while Rio contended with Blair's overbearing concern, Kris tried talking to Freja. 'No Lydia around?' 'Nowt to do with me.' 'You still not talking to each other then I take it?' 'Not unless she's willing to talk about sh*t.' 'Have you tried telling her that?' 'Literally texted her this morning. Not my fault she's too ignorant to reply.'

'You two shouldn't be like this, everything was fine' 'Everything was fine until she went all weird and refused to tell me anything. If she can't tell her f**king sister who can she tell?' 'So you… decided to start dressing like a dog?' 'Well if I'm not good at being a sister, I might as well do something I am good at.' Kris though was missing her point entirely. 'Yeah, I'm still not seeing it, sorry. Do you have previous for dressing like that or something?'

'Well there was this one time that I… you know, it doesn't matter.' 'Well you're going to have to throw a guy a bone here… no dog puns intended just so we're clear though.' Getting sick of the conversation, Freja tried to get Kris away. 'You know, I'm sure Astrid wouldn't be happy about you talking like this to a girl dressed like this.' 'Yeah, you clearly don't know Astrid as well as you think then. She's the least jealous person in the world, like half the time I forget we're even supposed to be going out.'

'You think that she'd be fine with, say, you cheating on her?' 'She'd be fine. It's Maddy I'm worried about - she'd hang me by my love shack until the stopcocks fell out if you know what I'm saying.' Freja just looked at him with disgust, said 'I'm going to be sick now', and walked off, resisting her own gag reflex.

Shortly thereafter, they made their way out to the plane, which was still being refuelled and seemingly had a new coat of paint, now a sleek black with red and pink stripes streaking across the body. Just as they were reaching the plane doors, Jack cae sprinting up, wearing a brown leather trench coat and ripped jeans. 'Hope you haven't been waiting long.' 'No, just got here ourselves.'

'Listen, I don't want to be a mood downer, but did you get my text the other day?' 'About the pay advance?' 'Yeah, that one.' 'No problem at all. It'll be with you within the week.' Just then, Jack noticed something under Phil's hat. 'New haircut is it?' Suddenly, the godfather's demeanour changed entirely. 'Blame Blair' was all he said before boarding. As everyone else had boarded by this point, Jack just muttered 'Never a dull moment', before entering the cockpit.

While on the plane, Belle got answers from Blair. 'Hey, what's going on with Phil's hair? He was saying to blame you.' Blair and Jade couldn't help but giggle at the thought. 'Well, Phil's been annoying us ever since he found out we were dating, he won't stop making jokes about marriage, and he took the piss out of a mask Ally made for me.' Jade then started laughing. 'You want to be careful about annoying an ex-hairdresser.' 'I was only ever a hairdresser because it made getting a visa easier.'

'Anyway, so I got revenge by sneaking into his bedroom in the middle of the night, he's a really heavy sleeper so he didn't hear me, and I gave him a mohawk. Couldn't have done it without Astrid holding his head still, delayed her morning run by a whole 10 minutes. Might teach him to be nicer to her as well.' 'Did Hannah know?' 'Nope, at least she found it funny though.'

An hour later, the plane landed in Dublin, and immediately, Phil got his car from the plane as Blair watched on. 'You heading off then?' 'Her appointment's in 40 minutes and we've got to get through the city centre yet.' 'How far is it?' 'About 23 miles.' 'Sounds like you've gotta get going then. We'll meet you at the arena.' 'Have a coffee waiting will you?' 'You wish.'

On the way to the offices, Belle was clearly nervous. 'So will they need to hear from me?' 'I wouldn't have thought so. They've got all the information about you, we've been completely upfront over your conviction, and we've got a little x factor in our back pocket.' 'Which is?' 'When we agreed to give the Top 2 a place on the tour, both we and they signed a contract. Meaning that if they refuse you entry, they're in breach of it.'

'They probably didn't read it properly.' 'Their problem not yours. I've spent enough time with Frances to know that "not reading properly" isn't an excuse. Just let me do all the answering.' Hannah then turned to her. 'I think what he means is that he's already got the answers figured out. Just trust him - he doesn't beam with confidence like this for no reason.'

His confidence was soon evaporated however, by the one thing he hadn't encountered for - midday traffic. After nearly 10 minutes sat in the unmoving traffic, he was starting to lose his cool. 'If we'd left half an hour earlier like I suggested, we'd be absolutely fine right now.' 'We wouldn't have been because Jack's been under the impression for the past week and a half that we were leaving at 10:30am. As it stands we left the ground nearly 10 minutes early.'

Suddenly, Belle's arm reached past them from the backseat, and she appeared to be interfering with the radio. After several minutes, she sat back, and suddenly the sat-nav started suggesting an alternative route. 'I got the sat-nav communicating with my phone, it should be suggesting a quicker route around the traffic. Still be about 10 minutes slower, but it's better than being stuck here all day.' Thanks to Belle's quick thinking, they were able to continue to the offices on the outskirts of Dublin relatively unhindered.

On the other side of the city

The rest of the group led by Blair arrived at the arena in plenty of time. 'Whew, that was a bit of a trek. Just need to find the others now, and then get in there before anybody catches on to the fact that we're down a few numbers.' As they walked around the side of the rather cramped-looking arena, a voice came from within. 'And what time do you call this?'

As they looked around, Astrid was leaning on a wall, wearing a very familiar looking black headband. 'I didn't know Maddy let anyone touch her stuff.' 'She doesn't, she doesn't even know this exists yet. It's a present for her when we get home, replace the one she patched up Blueberry with.' 'You do realise Rio will flip when she hears that term.' Suddenly Rio walked out, hair fastened back and with a bandage on her middle finger.

'Better than what she calls most people.' 'Come to think of it, didn't I say we'd meet you around the back of the arena?' 'I don't take orders from him. Don't now, never have done, never will do.' 'That wasn't even from him. He and Hannah split off at the airport with Belle.' Astrid then looked around. 'Where's the runt?' 'If you're talking about Brooke, you do realise she's actually older than you, right?' 'Seriously?' 'Yeah, only by like a fortnight, but still' 'Doesn't count, I'm taller.' 'Astrid, you're taller than all of us apart from Phil and maybe me.'

While Blair and Astrid tried to measure their heights against the wall, Freja noticed Rio's injury. 'What happened to your finger?' 'Nothing serious, just slightly burned it cooking my pancakes.' 'Still don't understand how eight pancakes count as breakfast. And no, putting bananas on them doesn't make it any more breakfast.' 'I'm not going to take a lecture on being an adult from someone who voluntarily dresses in a dog collar and is even shorter than me.'

'Not my fault I stopped growing at 10. All my bones just kinda went to sleep for a decade. I used to be pretty average height.' 'To be fair, I was always just small.' 'You're like a f*cking bulldog - small but feisty.' 'I try.' Jade meanwhile had a much more interesting question. 'Where's Lydia anyway?' Freja then looked around. 'I honestly hadn't noticed she wasn't here.' 'Apparently she refused to come.'

That seemed to trigger something in the younger twin. 'Oh yeah, I forgot she don't like the Irish. It's because we had a super strict Irish teacher in school, and Lydia always claimed that we were targeted constantly because she was the only teacher who wouldn't let us work together. To be fair it was the only time we ever got any work done.'

The group were then interrupted by a strange noise coming from behind. As they turned around they saw Blair and Astrid trying to wrestle each other to the wall as their quest to find the tallest continued. After about two minutes of everyone just standing and watching, Rio got fed-up and stormed over to them. 'Right, enough babies. How about you stand back to back?' Astrid then looked down. 'Rio, you're a full foot shorter.' 'Yeah, well Jade isn't.' 'To be fair it's only my legs that are long.'

'How d'ya think they measure height? Over here.' As she did, Rio looked around. 'Up.' 'Pardon?' 'Place me on your shoulders so I can be taller.' Hearing this, Jade crouched, and walked forward a couple of inches, allowing her to effortlessly pick Rio up and walk her into position. After measuring with her hand, she came to a conclusion. 'Astrid's taller - about ¼ of an inch.'

While Astrid started winding Blair up about this completely irrelevant fact, Rio and Jade got chance to catch up. 'So you're making that announcement today?' 'I mean it's technically an interview, but I guess?' 'Anyone there with you? I'm always around.' 'It's totally appreciated Jade, but I need to do this myself. Can't spend all my life relying on everyone else.' The girls then walked off, talking while grabbing a coffee.

On the outskirts

The familiar Impreza pulled up outside of a large office complex, and Phil stepped out, wearing a black dress shirt and trousers, while Hannah was wearing a gaping purple and red patterned dress, and Belle had a white shirt and black suit jacket, as well as a black skirt paired with tights for the comfortably warm day. As they entered, Phil approached the receptionist. 'Hi, how may I help you?' 'I'm here to speak to the World Duelling Corporation's board.' He then handed the receptionist a letter, and after some furious typing, she smiled at him. 'Second floor, Room 24. If you phone in, they'll let you in.'

After a short trip in a lift, they reached the office. 'Ready Belle?' She just looked him nervously, and nodded. Phil then phoned in. 'This is the World Duelling Corporation, how may I help you?' 'It's Phil Robinson, on behalf of Belle Draper.' 'You're 10 minutes late.' 'I couldn't drive fast, I have a woman with me who is over seven months pregnant.' 'Fine, I'll let you in.'

As they entered, the 11 board members, including Michael Grey Adams and Geoff Maltby, were patiently sat around a large oak table. Seeing that there was no seat arranged for Hannah, Phil snatched one from near Adams, while glaring at the chair of the board, and placed it nearby for Hannah. 'That ok for you?' 'Great thanks.' Belle then took a tablet out of a box in her pocket, and swallowed it, concerning the board.

'Can you tell me what it is you just consumed?' It was Hannah who quickly gave the answer. 'Paractemol. It's for her migraine, we did warn you about that.' With the situation getting increasingly tense, the chair stood up. 'As two of you will likely know, my name is Clark Maxwell, and I am the current Vice-Chairman of the World Duelling Corporation. Now I understand that Belle here wants to be on the tour, correct?'

'Yes. I had an agreement with the board that the Top 2 of the course would receive a place as professional duellists. Belle finished 2nd, having performed exceptionally throughout the entire process before then.' 'Mr. Robinson, I want you to know that we respect what you are doing, and that we do accept our deal. However, we have a duty of care, and given the serious nature of Ms. Draper's criminal record, we have serious doubts over her suitability for our competitions.'

'I am aware that Belle's record does not make for pleasant reading. However, I do not believe her to be any form of threat at all. I have talked with Belle at length about the circumstances regarding her conviction, and have read files as regards her trial and conviction, and have spoken to my lawyer regarding this, and I've come to the conclusion that she is no threat.'

'But you understand that we have a duty of care?' 'I understand that you have a duty to not just protect the other duellists, but also protect your reputation and public image as a company. I am fully aware of how all of this works. But I want to stress this point very clearly: I have a heavily pregnant wife with me today, and if I thought Belle was any form of danger, I would not have her with me here.'

Michael then piped up, attempting to entrap them. 'You appear to be doing all of the talking here. I'm guessing there's a great reason for that?' 'I have all the experience dealing with you. It was on my advice that Belle has yet to speak here, I know everything that you need to know.' 'Well I wouldn't mind hearing from the horse's mouth so to say, what exactly happened on the night of the 14th May 2013?'

At this point, Belle stepped up to explain. 'We had just been to a birthday party. It was a guy who we both fancied, me and my friend Gemma. There was free alcohol there, and I don't normally drink, but I had a lot of alcohol that night.' 'How much exactly?' 'I don't know, about 1½ litres probably. Mainly weak alcopops, but I also had some shots of vodka.' 'So you were saying?'

'We got into a drunken row about something, I don't remember what, I think we were both off our faces. We went outside to talk it out, got arguing again, she slapped me, and then I pushed her and she smacked her head off of a tree trunk. She seemed ok, slapped me again and went home.' 'Now I believe this Gemma was it? She died, did she not?' 'I was told three days later, she died of a brain aneurysm. She'd suffered a bleed on the brain but because it was a slow bleed nobody knew.'

'And you handed yourself in after this?' 'I went to the police a week later and told them everything. I went to court a few weeks later, and pleaded guilty to Manslaughter.' 'But that wasn't the end of the story?' 'No, I was found guilty, but they gave me "diminished responsibility", because I was diagnosed as schizophrenic the previous year, and the medication I was on didn't mix well with alcohol. I was given three years in prison, but after I suffered a breakdown I ended up serving most of the time on a Psychiatric ward.'

'To be exact, it says here you served five months in prison, and then spent the next year in and out of a psych ward.' 'That's right.' 'What happened after that?' 'I was allowed to serve the rest of my sentence in an open prison because they found some medication that managed my issues. And then the Renegades took me in six weeks before the end of my sentence.'

'What's your view on your crime now?' 'Honestly, I should have been given longer. Because I took a life, and I can never change that. But I'm grateful that I wasn't, and now I'm trying to rebuild my life. I'm not pretending I'm some sort of saint, I'm not pretending I didn't do what I did, I know exactly what I did and the impact it had. But I want to repay the people who gave me a chance.'

'And you feel that your psychiatric issues are now over?' 'They aren't over, but this medication seems to manage them. All I can tell you is that when I went to prison, I was still a kid, mentally at least. But prison changed me, it made me grow up really quick.' Belle then produced a slip of paper from her pocket. 'The girl I killed, Gemma, her Dad sent me this letter when he found out that I was in an open prison.' She then slid it over to the centre of the table, where Maxwell read it to himself.

Once he had, he passed it back to her. 'And you've kept it with you this entire time?' 'I sometimes look at it to remind myself why I'm in this situation. As stupid and insane as it sounds, going to prison was the making of me.' Maxwell smiled listening to this. 'Does anyone else have any questions for Ms. Draper?' As nobody appeared to have anything else to ask, he cleared his throat. 'Right, we're now going to have a private vote on this matter. We will invite you back in when it is complete.'

As they left the meeting room, Belle took a deep breath. 'That was torture.' Phil then looked over at her, and patted her on the shoulder. 'You held yourself together well there.' 'I don't think I would have been able to if I hadn't seen you explain everything first.' 'You need to stop punishing yourself, you know that?' She just looked at him, a sense of vulnerability in her eyes.

'I can't. I took my best friend's life, and I can never escape that. No amount of reform or apologies will bring her back. I was given five years for taking a life, and even then I didn't serve half of that. So I have to be critical of myself, because it's the only way I feel I deserve to be free. I think what I'm trying to say is that I do it because someone has to hold me responsible.' 'So what did that letter say anyway?' Belle just passed it over for them both to read.

"Dear Belle.

I have had time to reflect on your actions that fateful night. I accept that you did not mean to take the life of my dearest Gemma, and that it was an accident caused by mental issues as well as drinking. I wish you to know that while I do still hold you responsible, I hold no ill will towards you.

I also hear that you are serving your sentence back in prison now. I sincerely hope that you can rehab successfully in prison and eventually rebuild your life. One day, I wish for you to return for me to see what you have made of yourself. Until such a day, I wish you the best of luck in your recovery, and implore you to always remember Gemma and keep her in your heart. May the almighty god bless you with good fortune until we speak again.

With sincerity

George Zula Jr."

Reading this, they finally understood. They had no time to discuss it however, as one of the directors walked out of the room. 'You are welcome to come back in now, we've come to a decision.' The three of them walked back in, to listen as the result of the vote was given.

'Ms. Draper, for the record of the tape, we have taken a vote on your membership of the WDC. And I am pleased to tell you that by a margin of 9 votes to 1 with one abstention, you are being allowed in the WDC. This has conditions though.' 'Of course.' 'Firstly, Mr. Robinson, do you agree to take responsibility for everything Belle does here?' Before he could answer, Hannah stood up and approached.

'I accept full responsibility on their behalf. If she does anything which is against the WDC's laws and rules, then I take full responsibility for it. Such is the level of faith I have in her.' 'Ms. Robinson-Cummings' 'Mrs.' 'Sorry, Mrs Robinson-Cummings, I appreciate the thought, however we cannot accept someone who is officially retired from professional duelling as the guarantor for this.'

'But you can if I have something to give up.' She then walked straight up to Maxwell. 'I'm a twice World Champion. That means I have something to give up. So if Belle breaks the rules, and you have evidence of it, I implore you to strip me of all my honours.' 'If you wish that to be, then so be it. However, we have one other condition - as you had 2½ years left on your sentence, we will have you on our probation list for that length of time. With that, there will be zero tolerance as regards your discipline, and you will not be eligible to challenge for the WDC Championship for that length of time. Do you accept these conditions?' She just nodded. 'Your card will be through within a week, and we will arrange things with probation services.' 'Thank you.'

As they left the offices, Hannah looked at the time. 'We're not going to make the start of the show. You'd better call Blair to let her know.' 'Me? Why?' 'Because it was your insistence on not spending time programming the sat-nav that lead to us being late in the first place.' As Phil got on the phone, Hannah had a word with Belle about her and Phil's professional relationship.

'You know, you're going to do really well with him.' 'You think so?' 'He likes hard workers. And he might be a bit overbearing at times, but you're going to learn a lot about the psychology of duelling from him. It's going to be a real professional education for you.' 'Thank you both.' 'You've got nothing to thank us for, it keeps him busy.'

At the arena

The show started with Kalin walking out, holding the WDC Championship and wearing a suit and tie. He took a folding chair with him, and sat on it in the centre of the duelling zone. 'Ladies and Gentlemen, I am your six time WDC Champion. I have not held this belt… in a very long time. Since the year 2011 in fact. During which time I've rebuilt my career almost from 0. I have had to watch so many champions come and go, some multiple time champions, some not so much.'

'But beyond it all, I not only did it, but I did it on my own. I didn't need some big great organisation dictating my every move to me. But my opponent in that title duel, she's different. She has everything dictated for her, she chose to be a cog in the machine that only serves others. And as long as she is under the thumb' He then stared deep into the camera. 'Astrid, you will ALWAYS be weak.'

Fans started chanting for Astrid here, but it wasn't the Norwegian that emerged, but instead it was Blair, having traded her Kabuki mask for a pair of sunglasses. As she slowly walked down to the zone (which under no circumstances was as a result of a knee injury caused by falling out of Jade's bed at 2am), Kalin kicked his chair away and stood up to confront her. In the zone, he offered her a microphone which she accepted.

'I'm not weak though, am I?' 'Depends. Are you under the thumb?' 'If you mean just blindly following orders, no I am not. If you mean being loyal to people I consider family, then I suppose I am, yes.' 'I take it you're here to spank my ass for insulting her then?' 'Nope. Honestly, that's pretty much what we do. Unless it's somebody who we REALLY like. And that list is kinda tiny.'

'So, what brought you out here then?' 'Correct me if I'm wrong Kalin, but you don't have an opponent for this event, do you?' 'No.' Blair then made a surprising challenge. 'You and me, main event. Non-title. Because I'm getting fed-up of waiting around, just hoping my name's going to be picked next. Let's face it, it never will be. Because they are scared of having me as WDC Champion, because they know they won't be able to get it back off me.' The crowd erupted hearing Blair's new found confidence. Even Kalin smirked.

'You always duelled a good game, and now you're backing it up in your attitude. You know what Blair, I'm a proper champion, I accept all challengers and you're on! Main event, Blair Flannigan vs. Kalin Kessler, Non-Title… why do you want it to be non-title anyway?' 'Gotta earn my keep somehow. I figured if I beat you in a non-title duel, then the B.O.D won't have a lot of choice but to accept my status as top contender.'

The two of them then went to shake hands, but as they did, Blair leaned in hard. 'Just remember that WHEN I beat you, I won't be waiting around long to call my shot. I've waited too long already. And I don't intend on waiting anymore.' As she backed up, Blair raised her right hand, and several members of the crowd joined her in doing so.

Backstage, Claude was furious at this development, and pulled a cameraman in to rant about it. 'What gives her the right to start demanding title shots? I'm a former WDC Champion, I've already proven I've got what it takes, and I've already proven that I'm a money champion, people will come from all over the world to see me. But no, some stupid lesbian has to get the glory instead because she's mates with the champion. Well I'm telling you, Blair won't make it to the main event. She's embarrassed me twice, that's never going to happen again.'

He then walked down the corridor, and quickly ran into Belle who was just walking by. 'And who do you think you are?' 'I'm Belle, and you're in my way.' Hearing this, Claude refused to move. 'You clearly didn't hear me. You are in my way. Move or I'll knock your brains out… I'm presuming you have one at least.' Hearing this angered the Dane, and he punched Belle square in the face.

She reeled for a moment as he walked past smirking, before picking up a nearby toolbox and smashing him in the ankle with it. She then dragged him up, and repeatedly smashed his head off of the walls of the corridor, until the dark blue walls were stained with streaks of crimson red, and Claude was left, spark out on the ground. She briefly looked back, before casually turning to a frightened-looking security guard nearby, and simply stating 'I think he might need some medical assistance', before walking back the way she was going in the first place.

As the announcers were reeling from Belle's vicious side, Tee opened the show by walking out alongside Akiza and Kieran. 'The following duel is under Standard rules. Introducing first, representing the Brave Bones, from Ledbury, England, Tee Taylor.' As she walked down, a backstage clip was shown with Akiza taking the stewardship of the Brave Bones, and merging they and Black Rose Inc into a supergroup. Meanwhile, the commentators talked about Tee, and speculated on her ambitions.

'Tee Taylor has joined the newly expanded Brave Bones, now under new leadership, but her loyalties have always remained close to Akiza's. Her Disaster Dragon: Egg Turbo deck focuses less on pure Attack power, and more on gaining advantage through constant resource management, having the capability of answering any issue.' 'You also have to think that whoever wins this will have an eye on the Young-Gun Championship situation, with the title's future still uncertain.' In the duelling zone, Tee dropped to a knee and crossed her arms, staring into the camera.

Her opponent then emerged, as Justin appeared wearing sunglasses and carrying a microphone. 'You know what I hate? Weak, pathetic women who think that they have any worth. Now you guys don't need this mind control mumbo jumbo to get the women in your life to come to heel, you just need to know how to manipulate them, because they are all weak and just want a strong man to look after them.'

He then produced a thick, brown leather bound book. 'Guys, if you don't know how to treat those pesky women in your life, this is the book you need. How to be a Player is a life guide on how to get whichever chick you want. All you need to do is follow the five point guide on how to be a player.' Mercifully, his inane ramblings were interrupted by Kieran grabbing him by the throat. 'Shut up and duel.'

Tee Taylor LP:8000 vs. Justin Pipe LP:8000

Turn 1: Tee: 'I'll start with Cards of Consonance. I draw two cards with this, but only when I discard a Dragon Tuner with 1000 or less Attack. I'll send The White Stone of Ancients. Then I'll activate Hand Destruction, so we both discard two cards and then draw two. One of which is Totem Dragon (Atk:400). But it won't stay, as I'll use Master with Eyes of Blue from the graveyard. I need to shuffle it into the deck, and then send Totem Dragon to my graveyard, but in return I can summon Blue-Eyes Abyss Dragon (Atk:2500).'

'When Abyss Dragon is summoned, I can search for a Polymerisation or a Ritual spell. I'll get Poly. Then I'll activate One for One, to discard one card and summon Protector with Eyes of Blue (Atk:800). And it has an effect I can use, to send an Effect monster, like itself, to the grave and summon Blue-Eyes Jet Dragon (Atk:3000).'

'Next I have Trade-In.' 'How many cards are you going to draw? Also, you need a hand holding them? I know how difficult it can be' 'Oh shut up, you're driving me nuts here. I'll discard Blue-Eyes White Dragon to draw two. One was Soul Charge. I'll pay 2000 Life Points and revive two Blue-Eyes White Dragons (Atk:3000)x2, Tee LP:8000-6000). And I'll overlay them both, to summon Thunder End Dragon (Atk:3000). I'll set one, and at my End phase, Abyss Dragon searches out a Level 8 or higher Dragon. I'll go for Red Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon.'

Justin - 'It's time to show you who the daddy is. I'll start by discarding Gravekeeper's Commandant to grab my copy of Necrovalley. Then I'll summon Gravekeeper's Recruiter (Atk:1200), and activate Magical Dimension, tributing Recruiter for Gravekeeper's Visionary (Atk:2000-2200). Then I can send Thunder End Dragon to the graveyard.' 'So what?'

'Well Recruiter went to the graveyard, meaning that I can use its effect to get a Gravekeeper with 1500 or lower Defence. I'll grab Gravekeeper's Oracle. Not that he's staying in my hand, because I'll use Polymerisation, fusing it and the Visionary in my hand to Fusion summon Gravekeeper's Supernaturalist. It gains 100 Attack for every Level of Fusion material used for it. Visionary's an 8 star monster, and Oracle has 10 (Atk:2000-3800, Visionary Atk:2200-2600). Supernaturalist, attack Blue-Eyes Jet Dragon.' Tee just stood there, letting Supernaturalist turn Jet Dragon into dust (Tee LP:6000-5200). 'Visionary, attack.' Tee looked at her hand, but opted to let this attack also go through (Tee LP:5200-2600).

Justin smirked seeing the damage. 'Typical female, needing protection. Needing a proper man to keep you safe from harm, but playing awkward and setting up barriers. Well after this you can have all the protection you could ever need. I'll end my turn.'

Tee: 'I draw. I'll activate Half Shut. This halves Visionary's Attack points, but prevents it being destroyed in battle this turn (Atk:2600-1300). Then I'll activate my face-down Foolish Burial to send Blue-Eyes White Dragon from my deck to the graveyard. Which sets up for Dragon's Mirror.' 'Been looking in the mirror have we?' By this time though, Tee wasn't taking any nonsense. 'Be quiet. With Dragon's Mirror, I'll fuse three Blue-Eyes White Dragons to Fusion summon Neo Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon (Atk:4500).'

'Every girl needs a big behemoth to protect her I see.' 'This isn't protecting me, so much as it's harming you. Ultimate Dragon, attack Visionary with Hyper Neutron Blast!' The fierce attack from the Ultimate Dragon came surging in, with only Tee's own card protecting the Gravekeeper (Justin LP:8000-4800). 'Because the attack went through, Ultimate Dragon can attack again if I send Blue-Eyes Alternative Ultimate Dragon from my Extra deck to the grave. Hit him again!' The second attack ripped into the Visionary, and was strong enough to knock Justin off his feet (Justin LP:4800-1600).

Tee waited for a moment while Justin started to recover, and then revealed the final twist. 'I can use that effect twice a turn. This time, Blue-Eyes Tyrant Dragon is the fuel. Hyper Neutron Blast.' The final hit was enough to completely wipe out the chauvanist, and give Tee a very significant win (Justin LP:1600-0).

Post-duel, she made the Brave Bones stance again, and quickly left for an interview, while Justin, furious, refused to leave. 'Tee, a very strong victory here today, you must be pleased, no?' She responded by snatching the microphone and looking dead straight into the camera. 'Maddy, I don't know what's going on with your medical issues, and frankly I don't care. If you can't defend your title, you shouldn't have it. After today, I am the rightful Young-Gun Champion, and I DEMAND that you return to face me, or forfeit the title to me.'

As she walked away, it appeared that something was going down in the centre of the zone, as Nico Smiley appeared, and had a decently long conversation with Justin, before they eventually left the arena together, while still deep in discussion. Shortly after this, the show moved on to promoting the main event.

Backstage, Blair was asked for a quick interview by a local newspaper reporter. 'Blair Flannigan, challenging the WDC Champion out of nowhere earlier on. What brought this challenge on?' Still wearing glasses, Blair looked at the microphone, and eventually spoke. 'You follow the WDC regularly?' 'Yes.' 'Do you know how long I've been here now?' 'Err, a fair while.'

'I'll tell you. Four and a half years. And in that four and a half years, I have received how many WDC Championship shots?' 'I… can't think of many off the top of my head.' 'There's a reason for that - I've never received a single shot. Hell, I went on a five month unbeaten streak at one point, and you know what I was told? I hadn't "proven myself worthy". And you know what, Kalin is a good champion, he's a fighting champion. He would have accepted my challenge if it had been for a title shot.'

'But I insisted on it not being. I want to earn this shot, like everyone else has to earn it, so that when I win the title, it sits right, it feels earned, and nobody can dispute who the real champion is.' 'Now there is a contendership duel later on between Astrid and Akiza Izinski. What's your take on that? Will you be watching?' She just looked at him with a menacing stare. 'I'm always watching. I watch every duel here. Know your enemy and you can beat your enemy.'

Just as she was about to leave, there was one more question. 'Finally, we've heard already that your tag partner and close friend, Rio Kastle, has asked for a sit-down interview later. Would you be able to shed some light on what's going on?' The question took Blair completely out of the moment, and she briefly froze, before saying 'I'm sorry, I can't answer that right now', before hurriedly walking away.

As the interview closed, Phil made his appearance, as a video of Kari challenging him to a rematch played. Walking down in his dress shirt still, he took a microphone to address the challenge. 'Kari, I have much better things to do with my time than face you again. I have beaten you once already and that's plenty for me. Now if you would like to offer me, say, a tag title shot, then I might be interested.'

As he said this, Kari showed up, with both Radley and Hassleberry by her side. 'We don't owe you a damn thing.' 'I completely agree with you. That said, if you do want a rematch with me, this is the price you have to pay.' Eventually, she relented. 'Fine, you win, you get a title shot in Belfast tomorrow.' 'At the locals there?' 'At the locals.' Hearing this, he undid his top button and uncuffed his sleeves. 'Then we have a deal.'

As he said that, Taylor walked out to a huge reaction, carrying his deck and duel disk. After they had a quick conversation, she took a seat on the outside of the duelling zone, and handcuffed herself to the chair. Phil and Kari then lined each other up, and began their duel.

Phil Robinson LP:8000 vs. Kari Tsukumo LP:8000

Turn 1: Kari: 'I'll start by summoning Dodododwarf Gogogoglove (Atk:0). And it brings out Gagaga Mancer (Atk:100). Then I'll activate Onomatopickup to search for Onomatopaira, and activate Onomatopaira to discard one card, and add Gagaga Gardna and Zubababancho Gagagacoat to my hand. Because I control a Gagaga, I can summon Gagagacoat (Atk:1800), and it will revive Gagaga Magician (Atk:1500).'

'Now I'll overlay Dodododwarf Gogogoglove and Zubababancho Gagagacoat to Xyz summon Gagagaga Magician (Atk:2000). And I'm not done, because Magician and Mancer overlay next. Shoot him up, Gagaga Cowboy (Atk:1500). Then I'll overlay my two Rank 4 Xyz monsters! It's time to produce an old Tsukumo family special. Appear, Number F0 - Utopic Future (Atk:0). I'll end my turn with two face-downs. Bring whatever you've got.'

Phil: 'It can be arranged.' As he drew, he immediately spent the best part of a minute over his opening move, frustrating his opponent. 'We don't have all day.' 'Nor do I. That said, I'm not planning on losing either. I'll set one monster, set two and pass.' 'And here I thought you'd be trying.' 'Keep talking.'

Kari: 'Instead of talking, I'll be winning. I'll activate Monster Reincarnation, to discard one card and add Zubababancho Gagagacoat back to my hand. Then I'll summon it (Atk:1800), and use it to revive Gagaga Magician (Atk:1500). Now I'll overlay them both to Xyz summon Gagaga Samurai (Atk:1900). And with Samurai's ability, by detaching a material it can attack twice this turn. Utopic Future, attack.' Future swung in with its short, blunt sword, causing no issues for Phil's monster (Cyber Phoenix Def.:1600).

'Not a bad idea, but it doesn't work. Future can take control of the monster it battled after the Damage step. Don't worry though, you'll get it back after the Battle phase ends. First though, you're owed a lot of damage.' Samurai came charging in, swords crossed, and swiped twice, swiping away nearly half of the World Champion's points (Phil LP:8000-4200). 'I'll end my turn.'

Phil: 'You want to be careful about revealing all your secrets too early. I draw. I'll activate Cyber Emergency.' 'I'll stop it by activating Dark Bribe. You might get to draw a card, but it's worth it to stop you searching.' As he took the card, Phil had some bad news. 'I activate the effect of Cyber Emergency.' 'What?' 'Because it was negated, it goes right back to my hand. After I discard one card that is.'

'Now after the rude interruption, we'll try again - I activate Cyber Emergency, do you have a response.' This time she stayed silent. 'I'll take that as a "no", and grab Cyber Dragon Nachster. Now I'll summon Nachster (Atk:100), and use its effect to revive the Cyber Dragon that you so nicely had me discard (Atk:2100). Now I'll use Polymerisation.' This seemed to concern Kari.

'You don't normally use Polymerisation…' Phil though, was typically oblivious. 'I don't normally duel in a dress shirt and trousers either, but we're trying new things today. I'll fuse my two monsters to Fusion summon a monster that's double the fun - Cyber Twin Dragon (Atk:2800).' 'Well there's no way you're getting through Utopic Future.' 'That may be, but there's no way you're going to take Twin Dragon. I'll set one and pass.'

Kari: 'I draw. I'll attack your monster with Utopic Future.' As she did, Phil stayed perfectly calm. 'I'll activate my face-down Magnet Force. This turn, any monster whose original type is Rock or Machine is unaffected by your monster effects.' Phil had made a mistake however, allowing Kari to pivot. 'Fine, I'll show you what you clearly want to see. I activate the effect of Gagagaga Magician. When it's attached as a material to an Xyz monster, I can detach it to negate that monster's effects, but pump it's Attack up to 4000 (Atk:0-4000).'

As the back and forth continued, it was Phil's time to turn the tables again. 'I was rather hoping to keep this for later, but you do what you need to. I'll activate Limiter Removal, to double the Attack of Cyber Twin (Atk:2800-5600). Double Strident Blast.' Future came in with its sword glowing, but came face-to-face with a powerful blast of electricity from Twin Dragon, frying it (Kari LP:8000-6400). 'I end my turn with a face-down.' 'During the End phase, any monster affected by Limiter Removal is destroyed.'

Phil: 'I draw.' He saw the card, and smiled to himself. 'Not a bad rip. I'll activate Graceful Charity, to draw three cards and discard two. Then I'll activate an old favourite - Overload Fusion.' 'Oh wonderful, now what?' 'I'll fuse Cyber Dragon, Nachster and Cyber Dragon Zwei from my grave, and the Cyber Phoenix from my field. Meet the machine that will tear apart your reality many times over! Construct and Arise, Chimeratech Overdragon (Atk:?-3200).'

Watching this, Kari took note of something interesting. 'You didn't use all the monsters from your graveyard… why? Why would you leave it in there, unless you're planning to revive it…' 'I'll set one and attack with Overdragon.' Kari's confusion was briefly interrupted, as she answered the fierce attack. 'Because you're attacking directly, I can summon Gagaga Gardna from my hand (Def.:2000).' The monster appearing caused Overdragon to do no damage, with its multiple attacks only counting on monsters. Phil seemed to be taking this in his stride though. 'I'll end my turn.'

Kari: 'I draw. I'll activate Utopic Matching. This allows me to target a monster in my graveyard, and then draw a card. If the card I draw is a monster of the same Level, I can summon them both and immediately Xyz summon. If not, they are both banished. I'll target Gagaga Gardna.' As Kari drew, she flipped the card over slowly, and the joyful look in her eyes showed her success.

'I'll Special summon Gagaga Gardna and ZW - Unicorn Spear (Atk:1900). Then I'll overlay them both to summon Number 39 - Utopia Rising (Def.:2500).' Phil may have been remaining stoic, but by this point he knew that he was in a real fight. 'Utopia Rising's effect. When its summoned, I can revive another Xyz monster from my graveyard and attack all of Rising's materials to it. I choose Number F0 - Utopic Future (Atk:0, Materials:0-2).'

'Utopic Future won't overcome me.' 'Who said I'm done? I can rebuild the overlay network with Utopic Future now! Let's go - Future Xyz Evolution. As my skills evolve, so does my deck. I only have one mission right now, and that's to slay you! Appear, Number F0 - Utopic Draco Future (Atk:3000).' 'You've really upped your power level.' 'Too right, and I've still got one more trick.'

'Well you've got nothing in your hand, so…' 'I'll go to the Battle phase, and activate my face-down Future Drive. Now Draco Future can negate the effects of your monster during the Damage step.' Phil was now looking a little bit concerned as Overdragon suddenly started malfunctioning right in the middle of the battle with Draco Future (Phil LP:4200-1200).

'And now I can deal you with damage equal to Overdragon's Original Attack points.' Struggling to gain a foothold in the duel, Phil snapped back. 'Overdragon's original Attack is ?, which is treated as 0.' 'I'll end my turn.'

Phil: 'I have answers, I just need to see one.' As he drew the card, he smiled to himself. 'Right on time.' He then looked back at Kari. 'You know one thing about me?' 'You're the World Champion?' 'That yes, but another thing - my deck building is never boring. I'll banish a Light monster and a Dark monster to Special summon Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning (Atk:3000).'

'Seriously? BLS in Cyber Dragon?' 'Yes seriously. Then I'll activate Cyberload Fusion, to fuse my three banished monsters together for Cyber Eternity Dragon (Def.:4000). Black Luster Soldier, attack Utopia Rising with Luster Blade.' The mighty Chaos monster made light work of Rising, cutting straight through with a glowing blade for the execution. 'I end my turn.' 'You forgot about BLS' effect.'

'How foolish. I didn't "forget", I simply chose to not use it. You've improved but mentally you're still immature.' 'I'm still way ahead.' 'Have you won yet?' 'No, but' 'Well finish the job then. I'm still going to win until you beat me.' Kari seemed confused by this conversation. 'What are you after?' 'Wouldn't you like to know.'

Kari: 'I draw. I'll set one and pass.' 'Someone's lost their adventurous spirit.' 'Funny.'

Phil: 'I really liked your move. So much so that I'll copy.'

Kari: 'You really thought I was going to go defensive? I activate my face-down Xyz Reborn, to revive Utopia Rising with a material (Atk:0). Then I'll immediately overlay it. Rank-up Xyz Evolution! I Xyz summon Number S39 - Utopia the Lightning (Atk:2500).' 'Our old friend Lightning, I believe I beat him last time.' 'This time it's different. I'll go to battle and attack Black Luster Soldier with Utopic Draco Future.'

'I'll activate Battle Break, which will destroy your monster as well as negate the attack.' 'Too bad - 'Draco Future can't be destroyed by battle or card effects.' 'Figured as much.' 'I'll then attack Eternity Dragon with Utopia the Lightning, using Lightning's two materials to double its Attack (Atk:5000). Phil didn't react, and Eternity Dragon was destroyed by the sheer power of the Lightning. 'I end my turn.'

Phil: 'I draw.' The moment he saw the draw, everything unlocked for him. 'That's a move. I activate R:Overlay. By banishing a card from my field, like my set card, I can revive a monster from my graveyard, but halve its Attack points. Then I can summon this Trap as a monster of the same Type, Level and Attribute. I'll bring back Cyber Twin Dragon (Atk:2800-1400, R:Overlay Atk:400, Level:8).' He then took the slightly unusual measure of looking back to the stands and blowing his beloved Hannah a kiss before his next move.

'I'll overlay my two Level 8 monsters to build the overlay network now!' He then raised four fingers on his right hand as he chanted. 'Let the holy waters wash over you and deliver the true keeper of hope and courage! Appear, Number R27 - our heart, Northern Lights Dolphin (Atk:3000).' 'That isn't good.' 'Don't worry, it gets worse.' He was about to make a move when he suddenly stopped himself, and changed tactics.

'I'll force you to show your tricks. I'll activate the effect of Black Luster Soldier. By sacrificing its attack this turn, it can banish Draco Future.' 'Fine, you baited it. By detaching a material, Draco Future negates your monster's effect, and I gain control of it.' 'Ironic isn't it? The only way you can beat me is by taking control of one of my monsters. Yet that's what you hate more than anything - taking control.'

'No, what I hate is you wrecking people's lives for your own gain. Splitting up siblings in the World final' 'That was Rio's choice. Nobody else's.' 'Or taking a kid away from her family and friends and pretending she's your daughter, I mean what kind of creep are you?' 'Court documents will suggest you're wrong. Ultimately I'm not here to defend myself from your criticism, I'm here to win. Now you've used up that effect, I can use Dolphin's effect to banish a Spell from my deck and copy its effect. I choose Rank-up Magic Barian's Force. With it, I can rank up Northern Lights Dolphin. Chaos Xyz Evolution!'

As he said this, Dolphin curled up into a ball, and crackled with electricity, as it grew larger and its flesh turned purple, with the shimmering lights on its underside. 'Let the twisted oceans empower you and create the most violent force of nature ever witnessed. Surface, the heart of hatred and soul of sorrow, Number CR27 - Northern Lights Storm Dolphin! (Atk:3000).' 'I'm guessing I'm not going to like it too much.'

'Not really, no.' 'Well I'm just going to use Bottomless Trap Hole anyway.' 'We'll chalk this one up to a learning experience, you can't negate Storm Dolphin's summon. And it's ability halves the Attack and Defence of Utopic Draco Future. Deathly Impaler.' The mighty Dolphin shot its horn out, as if it was spring-loaded, and it pierced Draco Future, before turning around and ripping out its strength (Atk:3000-1500).'

'Well at least I'm not dead this turn. Unless you've got another one of those stupid R cards.' 'I don't sadly. However, I sport many different crests and emblems. Most notably this - I activate Owner's Seal.' By now Kari was starting to look slightly outmatched. 'Right.' 'This returns every monster on the field to the control of their original owner. So Black Luster Soldier is coming back home to Daddy.'

'Black Luster Soldier, attack Draco Future with Luster Blade.' A single swipe of the mighty blade was all it took for Soldier to cleave through Kari's Draco Future, her latest ace going the way of the previous ones (Kari LP:6400-4900). 'And because BLS destroyed a monster by battle, its 2nd effect allows it to attack again straight away.' Suddenly realising her predicament, Kari was forced into a move. 'I activate Ghost of a Grudge. Because you have more than eight cards in your graveyard (eleven), all your monsters lose all their Attack points (BLS Atk:3000-0, Number RC27 Atk:3300-0).' 'I end my turn.'

Kari: 'I draw. I'm not out of this yet - I activate Pot of Avarice. This allows me to shuffle five cards back into my deck and draw two. Next I'll activate Zexal Entrust. It revives Number 39: Utopia from my graveyard (Atk:2500). And the other card I drew was Hyper Rank-up Magic Utopiforce, which ranks Utopia up into a Rank 10 or higher monster. Rank-up Xyz Evolution! I'll Xyz summon Number 99: Utopia Dragonar (Atk:3000).'

'You've got all the moves apparently.' 'Seems like it. Especially when Dragonar has an effect to detach a material and summon a Number from my Extra deck. I'll summon Number 99 - Utopic Dragon (Atk:4000). Then Utopic Dragon can use its effect to revive Utopic Draco Future (Def.:3000). Dragonar, attack Storm Dolphin.' As the attack came in, Phil had an ingenious plan. 'I activate the effect of Storm Dolphin to halve the Attack of Dragonar. And because Northern Lights Dolphin is still a material, I can use the effect twice, to also cripple Utopic Dragon (Atk:3000-1500, 4000-2000).'

Just then, Storm Dolphin started fizzling wildly. 'Using Storm Dolphin does have a downside. When it has no materials, and I have at least one card in hand, it self-destructs. Which allows me to trigger the effect of Meklord Emperor Wisel in my hand, to Special summon it (Atk:2500).' 'I'll cancel my attack then and Utopic Dragon can attack Black Luster Soldier.' 'I activate Zero Gravity, which forces every monster on the field into its opposite position.' (Dragonar Def.:3000, Dragon Def.:2000, Draco Future Atk:3000, BLS Def.:2500, Wisel Def.:2500)

'I'll destroy your Black Luster Soldier then with Draco Future.' The Rank 0 monster cleaved straight through BLS with a sharp blade, but Kari was still unable to deal damage. 'I'll end my turn.'

Phil: 'Back to me. I'll activate my own Pot of Avarice, to shuffle five monsters back and draw two cards.' As he saw the cards he drew, he laughed to himself. 'I'll give you credit Kari - not many people can push me into this much of a corner. Your reward? Annihilation! I activate Extra Foolish Burial, to send Cyberdark Dragon from my Extra deck to the graveyard. All it costs is half of my remaining points.' (Phil LP:1400-700)

'Then I'll activate Overload Fusion. With this, I banish Cyberdark Dragon and Cyber End Dragon from my graveyard.' 'What are you summoning with those?' 'You're about to wish you'd never asked. Meet Cyberdark End Dragon (Atk:5000).' 'That's awesome! It's just too bad I've got Time-Space Trap Hole.' 'I wouldn't bother if I were you. Cyberdark End Dragon cares not for your activated effects, in fact he outright ignores them. Once per turn, it can attach a monster from either graveyard to itself to gain another attack. I'll attach Utopic Future.'

The devastatingly-large Dragon lowered electrical wires down into the ground, before they came slithering back up with Utopic Future entombed in them. 'Cyberdark End, attack.' The mighty monster shot fierce fire and lightning from its mouth, vaporising both Draco Future and Dragonar (Kari LP:6400-4400). 'Wisel, take out Utopic Dragon.' The Meklord Emperor came charging in, and executed the Dragon with a sharp slice. 'I end my turn.'

Kari: 'My draw.' As she saw the card, she breathed a sigh of relief. 'Thought I'd lost it there. I activate Tremendous Fire. I'll take 500 damage, but it's worth it to deal 1000 to you.' 'Would you like to be let down gently, or just get the news straight?' 'Why…' 'I'll take that as getting it bluntly. Meklord Emperor Wisel can negate Spell cards. Nice try.' Seeing the writing on the wall, Kari quietly ended her turn.

Phil: 'Draw. Cyberdark End, attack.' He wasted no time in finishing the contest as Kari ran out of options (Kari LP:4400-0).

Post-duel, Phil, clearly somewhat distracted, walked straight off. An interview came over to ask him about Rio's interview, but he walked straight past, and out of the arena. Meanwhile Kari spent a short time looking through her deck, before putting it back in her pocket and leaving. The commentary team then spent some time discussing the main event, before an interview with Kalin.

'Here with your new WDC Champion, Kalin Kessler. Kalin, we heard Blair challenge you at the start of the show, you two have a deep personal history do you not?' He just looked at her, clearly not enthused at doing the interview. 'If you're looking for some gossip, you've come to the wrong place. Me and Blair have a lot of stuff with each other, and that makes this duel harder. We both know what the other is capable of, and I dare say she won't underestimate me, nor me her.'

'Now she made it clear that it was a non-title duel she was after. What is your view on this move?' 'It's nothing to do with me. If she had challenged me for the title I would have accepted, and if she beats me here I will happily defend against her. Because as I said, I intend on being a fighting champion. And that goes for anybody. Blair, Astrid, Claude, I'll take anybody on. There's no honour in being champion unless you fight for it with every fibre of your being. Now if you don't mind, I have a duel to prepare for.'

In the box, Phil returned to absolute carnage, as half of the furniture in the private area had been overturned. 'Does anybody mind explaining what's going on here?' Blair then sighed loudly. 'Freja's lost her phone.' 'It's not lost, it's stolen, I told you.' 'You've probably dropped it in the parking lot.' 'What, like where you and Astrid were brawling?' Astrid then wandered in. 'We weren't brawling, we were… well, you know' 'Brawling?'

Blair then came up with an excuse. 'We were just… jostling for position? We were trying to work out who's taller.' 'Have you ever thought of a tape measure?' 'Didn't have one on hand.' Freja then interrupted, clearly getting very annoyed. 'Why isn't anyone else looking for my phone? I can't do this alone you know!' Phil then looked at his phone, and looked around to her. 'Freja, Hannah wants to see you.' She immediately stopped looking and stood to attention, before leaving.

As she did, Blair got intrigued. 'Did she actually text you?' Instead of telling her, he just passed his phone over, the text simply reading "Can hear F from here, send her down, I can find some work for her". 'This arrangement is working well for you isn't it?' 'I suppose I am, yes. It was really Hannah's idea, I'm just benefitting from it.' 'Did you get a video of the other night?' 'No, Hannah did though.' 'Any chance of sending it?' 'Ask her.'

Their musings were interrupted by The Sledgehammer walking out, alongside manager Nico Smiley. Except this time they also had Justin Pipe with them, after their earlier discussion. 'Already in the duelling zone, from Melbourne, Australia, Ian Jones. And introducing his opponent, accompanied by Nico Smiley and representing the Leo Federation of Duelling, from Kabukicho, Tokyo, Japan, The Sledgehammer.' Sledgehammer walked down, and then roared in the face of Jones, making the burly Aussie back up hurriedly. Before any more intimidation could take place, the duel began.

The Sledgehammer LP:4000 vs. Ian Jones LP:4000

Turn 1: Ian: 'I'll start by summoning Bujin Yamato (Atk:1800). Then I'll activate a card called Bujincandescence, which prevents Bujin monsters being destroyed by card effects except in the Battle phase. I'll end my turn with three sets and use Yamato's effect to grab a copy of Bujingi Crane for my hand.'

Sledgehammer: As Sledgehammer drew, Nico piped up again. 'As The mighty Sledgehammer does not speak English, I will be confirming his moves for him. He starts strong by summoning Duza the Meteor Cubic Vessel (Atk:1600).' 'That's strong?' 'Do you dare question the might of The Sledgehammer? You will pay for that insolence. Paying by way of Cubic Karma. By sending three copies of Vijam the Cubic Seed from his deck, the unbeatable Sledgehammer graciously grants Duza 800 more Attack points for each one (Atk:1600-4000).'

Ian was clearly not enthused by Nico's… biased commentary. 'Could you just hurry up your turn a bit, I'd like to win before midnight.' As the face-painted behemoth scoffed, Nico looked up to him with a certain sense of mystique and breathtaking admiration shrouding his physique, before a look of thunder shook him to his core, and back to attention. 'Ahem, The Sledgehammer, mighty as he is, will now activate Cubic Wave. It is a card which halves the Attack points of your Bujin Yamato, but doubles the Attack of Duza (Atk:4000-8000, Yamato Atk:1800-900).'

Sledgehammer then muttered something in Japanese, which Nico somehow translated. 'The glorious Sledgehammer says that he believes you will have Honest in your hand, and he believes honesty to be irritating, so he'll activate Dimensional Fissure to stop you using it. Then he will obliterate you with Duza!' Duza created a meteor out of matter in its hands, and with Ian having no response, launched it into Yamato, ending the duel in one turn (Ian LP:4000-0).

Following the easy win, Sledgehammer walked over to Ian, and picked him up, throwing him out of the zone, before revealing that he wasn't totally incapable of English. 'Out of my kingdom.' He was then joined by Justin and Nico, as Justin took a microphone. 'You see, I remember all the times I've been disrespected, all the times I've been put down, and all the times that people made fun of what I stand for, the truth that I represent. Well I'm fed-up of waiting for it to stop, I'm fed-up of waiting for success to find me. So I found someone who understood me, and that was Nico Smiley. Beware, the LFD invasion is coming.'

As they said that, several security guards walked out, ready to remove them. Sledgehammer appeared offended by this, but Nico spoke to him, and persuaded him to walk out on his own, followed by he and Justin. The show then moved on, showing a hype package for Astrid vs. Akiza. But the package was quickly interrupted by a confrontation between Phil and Reginald (Nash), as they were in the middle of a large argument.

'Why do you get to demand an opportunity, they'll just hand anything out these days. When did you start making the rules?' 'We never lost those titles, some maniac decided to lay me out. We just want a fair 1-1 opportunity and they won't grant it to us. If you're not happy, why don't you dig Rob up from where I left him and blame him for this?' 'You've had your time, we want a title shot now. Besides, you framed Rhydian.'

'He pled guilty. What does that tell you?' 'That you set him up.' Before this pointless arguement could continue, Maltby walked in. 'Calm down boys. I understand that you both want the opportunity, in fact I love the fact that you both want a title shot. So what we'll do is in Auckland next week, Phil and Blair can take on you and a partner of your choice Reginald. The winners will get a title shot at the next show afterwards.' Both parties seemed satisfied by this, and Phil flipped off Reginald without him noticing as he left.

As the show continued, Lukas and Stormer of the Brave Bones appeared, but unlike Tee, they didn't have Akiza with them. As they walked down together, they still didn't actually know who they were facing, the duel having apparently been set up by Maltby in secret. In the zone, they both dropped to a knee and made the salute, waiting for their opponents.

Some very unfamiliar music then started, and a lilac masquerade curtain appeared. There was no movement until suddenly, two silhouettes appeared behind the curtain. After nearly a minute of shadow dancing, the curtain raised to reveal Jade and Brooke, standing back to back. 'Introducing their opponents, from Conwy, Denbighshire, Wales, the Dragon - Brooke Angharad, and her partner, from Qa'em Shahr, Iran, she is the Vespertine - Jade Goocheneyad.' Their bios were then analysed for the very first time.

'Brooke Angharad, from a little market town in North Wales, recently came 3rd in the Renegades Arena Advanced Course, defeating World Amateur Champion Myka Grainger in a highly accomplished performance. She runs an Endymion deck which gathers pace through accruing many Spell counters, and is renowned for being a real grinder in duels. She isn't the quickest but has the heart of a lion.'

'Jade Goocheneyad is an Iranian-American who finished at the top of the Renegades Arena Advanced Course, earning her a tour card and a place at the World Championships at the end of the season. Her Dark Performance deck is apparently still a work in progress, but with the help of the versatile Abyss Actors, she's capable of dealing very large amounts of damage in one turn. She also doesn't lack confidence or attacking flair. She and Brooke have called themselves "The Incomprehensibles" due to their difficult to pronounce surnames, and she may well have a point.'

In the duelling zone, the two teams faced off, and had some choice words for each other, before activating their duel disks and starting the duel.

Brave Bones (Stormer and Lukas Chipperfield) LP:4000 vs. Jade Goocheneyad and Brooke Angharad LP:4000

Turn 1: Stormer: 'I'll start. I control no monsters, but Special summoning Speedroid Terrortop will rectify that (Atk:1200). When it spins onto the field, he brings another Speedroid into my hand. I'll grab Speedroid CarTurbo, which is about to race onto the field because I already control a Wind monster (Atk:800). I've not even Normal summoned yet, but I've got a Speedroid Marble Machine lined up for that (Atk:200).'

'Marble Machine on Normal summon searches another Speedroid from deck. This one's Speedroid Taketomborg, which summons itself if I have a Wind monster out (Atk:800). Taketomborg's real purpose isn't in the battle though, he tributes himself to call out a Speedroid Tuner from my deck. Go - Speedroid Red-Eyed Dice (Atk:100). Red-Eyed Dice's ability allows me to make Marble Machine any Level I choose between 1 and 6. I'll go straight for 6 (Level:2-6).'

'Now it's Synchro time! Level 3 Speedroid CarTurbo tunes to Level 3 Terrortop, and Synchro summon Hi-Speedroid Kendama (Atk:2200). And I still have two monsters, so I'll tune Level 1 Red-Eyed Dice to Level 6 Marble Machine, Synchro summoning Clear Wing Fast Dragon (Atk:2500). I'll then Kendama effect banishing Marble Machine to burn 500 of your Life points away.' As the girls took the first hit of the duel (Jade and Brooke LP:4000-3500), Jade revealed the mistake from Stormer.

'I'll activate the effect of Gorz the Emissary of Darkness. Because we took burn damage and control no cards, I can summon him and then you take the damage we did (Atk:2700, BB LP:4000-3500).' Lukas then stared daggers at his partner. 'Good job genius.' 'I'll set two and pass.'

Jade: 'Let's do this. I'll set the Pendulum scale with Scale 3 Abyss Actor - Extras, then use Extras' Pendulum effect to summon themselves (Atk:100). But they aren't staying, because I'm linking them off! Run our show, Link 1, Abyss Actor - Hyper Director (Atk:800, Link Arrows: ). Then I'll reset my Scales with Scale 0 Mellow Madonna and Scale 1 Evil Heel, and use the effect of Hyper Director. It summons Evil Heel from my Pendulum zone, and replaces it with Scale 9 Twinkle Little Star (Atk:3000).'

'With Evil Heel being summoned, Kendama loses 1000 Attack for each Abyss Actor on my field.' Evil Heel rushed over, and delivered a fierce bodyslam to Kendama, leaving it a crumpled wreck (Atk:2200-200). Now I'll use Mellow Madonna's effect to pay 1000 Life points (Jade and Brooke LP:3500-2500), and add Abyss Actor - Superstar to my hand. Now I'll Pendulum summon! Make us laugh, Abyss Actor - Comic Relief, and take your stage, Abyss Actor - Superstar (Atk:300, 2500).'

'Superstar, attack Kendama with Costumeless Crash.' Superstar appeared to look around, as if missing something, before gliding over to Kendama and punching straight through the crippled monster (BB LP:3500-1200). 'Evil Heel, attack Clear Wing Fast Dragon.' 'No chance, I activate Half Unbreak to save my Fast Dragon (BB LP:1200-950).' 'I still have one more attack. This one's from Gorz.' The self-appointed Emissary fired a dark blob into Fast Dragon, which tanked the hit again, Stormer's desperate move having saved his new team (BB LP:950-850). 'I end my turn with 2 cards set.'

Lukas: 'If you want something doing, do it yourself' he snarked towards Stormer, his attitude quickly taking a turn for the worse. 'We never needed you anyway. I draw. I'll summon Rocket Arrow Express because I control no cards, but I have to give up my Battle phase (Atk:5000). Then I'll summon Night Express Knight (Atk:3000-0). And I'm sure you know what comes next - I'm overlaying them both to Xyz summon Number 81: Superdreadnought Rail Cannon Super Dora (Def.:4000). I'll end my turn there.' Jade then connected the dots. 'Yeah, because your Rocket Arrow Expense costs your Battle phase and any chance to set anything.' 'Keep talking, it's still way more than either of you upstarts have.'

Brooke: 'Oh we'll see about that. I draw.' As typical of her style, Brooke took nearly two minutes deciding on her opening move. 'We have homes to go to you know.' 'And I have a duel to win, so if you wouldn't mind shutting up for a minute.' Eventually she came to a decision. 'I'll set my Pendulum Scales with Scale 2 Servant of Endymion. Then I'll activate Spell Power Grasp, to place a Spell counter on her and grab another copy of Power Grasp from my deck. And whenever a Spell is activated, she gains a Spell counter (SC:0-2).'

'For my next trick I'll scale up Scale 8 Magister of Endymion (Servant SC:2-3). Now by removing all three Spell Counters from Servant of Endymion, she summons herself from the Pendulum zone, and is joined by any monster from my deck which can hold a Spell Counter. As long as it has at least 1000 Attack anyway. I'll summon Mythical Beast Master Cerberus (Servant Atk:900, Cerberus Atk:2800, SC:0-1 x2).'

'Now I'll activate Trade-In, discarding another Master Cerberus to draw two cards (SC:1-2 x2; Magister SC:0-1). Now by removing four Spell Counters from my field, Master Cerberus can banish a monster on the field, and steal all its Attack points. I'll banish Clear Wing Fast Dragon.' Master Cerberus raised his staff up high, and spirits emanated from there, quickly absorbing Fast Dragon and its Attack points (Atk:2800-5300).'

At this moment, she nodded to Jade, who set their plan in motion. 'I activate a set card. Forbidden Droplet allows me to negate the effects of your Super Dora by discarding a card, also halving its Attack.' 'No sweat, I'll just make Dora immune to card effects.' 'If I discard a monster with Droplet though, you can't respond with monster effects. Last time I checked, Xyz monsters counted as monsters still. So I'll ditch Abyss Actor - Sassy Rookie (Atk:3200-1600).'

'Now I can Link off both my Servant of Endymion.' 'And my Abyss Actor - Extras.' 'So we can summon a stronger monster! Behold, Link 2, Beyond the Pendulum (Atk:1200, Link Arrows: ). Then I'll link off it and Master Cerberus. Appear, Link 3, Selene, Queen of the Master Magicians (Atk:1850, Link Arrows: ).' 'So what, you just got rid of your only counter to Super Dora.' 'Not quite. You see, Selene gains a Spell Counter for every Spell on the field or in the grave. That includes Pendulum Scales (SC:0-6). And by spending three counters (SC:6-3), she can revive a Spellcaster from my graveyard.' 'But all your monsters went face-up in your Extra deck.'

She then showed a 2nd copy of Trade-In in her hand. 'Not all of 'em. I had everything I needed… apart from another monster in my graveyard. I'll revive Mythical Beast Master Cerberus (Atk:2800). And then I'll Link off Master Cerberus and Selene. Witness the full power of the humble Spell Counter, I Link summon Accesscode Talker (Atk:2300, Arrows: ). Accesscode gains 1000 Attack x the Link rating of whatever Link monster it was summoned with. Selene was a Link 3, so that's 3000 Attack. Oh, and just so we're clear, you can't respond to ANY of Accesscode's effects. Just in case you had some hope still (Atk:2300-5300).'

'And by banishing Link monsters from my grave, I can destroy cards on your field. But I can only banish one Link monster per attribute per turn. Let's banish the Light attribute Selene, and then the Dark attribute Beyond the Pendulum.' This skilled play from Brooke saw Accesscode lance Dora, and then utterly crush Stormer's face-down Descending Lost Star. 'Accesscode, do the honours.' One swing of the almighty lance was enough to instantly end the contest, the newcomers getting the shock victory (BB LP:850-0).

After the duel, Lukas and Stormer got into an almighty row, resulting in a fierce pushing and shoving match only broken up when Tee frogmarched them back. Meanwhile Brooke took a microphone, and made a surprise challenge. 'I'm not here in the WDC to mess around. I want to test myself against the best opponents in the world. Auckland, I want Akiza, 1-1.' With that, they both departed, and hype was built up for the Top Contenders duel.

Before that could take place though, coverage turned to the Commissioner's office, where Maltby was being hounded by Kari. 'Give me another duel with him, I know I'll beat him next time. Did you see how long he was losing for there? I so almost had him.' 'Kari, you know I appreciate a good fighting spirit. But let's be honest, he's beaten you twice now. Neither were any kind of fluke, and besides, he's already in a duel in Auckland.'

'Give me one with Hannah then. If I can't have him I'll happily take her down.' Maltby then put his pen down and leant forward. 'Listen, I've spoken to Hannah as you know. She has absolutely zero intention of coming out of retirement.' 'But I bet you'd soon change your tune if it was Worlds season.' 'You know as well as I do that the selecting of wildcards for Worlds is nothing to do with me. That is for the Board of Directors, of which I am not a part. But since you're so desperate for a dust up, I'll tell you what I can do. There's a young understudy of his, called Belle Draper. How about you take on Belle, and if you win, then I'll make you Top Contender to the Young-Gun Championship.'

'Yeah, some good that is when the champion doesn't even turn up!' 'Maddy is on medical leave for the foreseeable future. If she goes 90 active days without defending her title, she will be stripped of it. Now I have better things to do than argue with you all day.' Just then, Claude walked into the office, still a bloody and bruised mess after his earlier encounter. 'Hey what happened to you?' 'That little bulldog got me - that Draper kid. She ambushed me obviously, smashed me in the face with a toolbox.' Hearing this, Kari turned back to Geoff. 'So would you like me to put you down for a duel against Belle?' 'I'm going to teach her never to cross us again. By the time we're done with her, she'll wish she'd never been born.'

Kari then helped a clearly deschevelled Claude out of the office, as Geoff looked to the sky. 'Sometimes I wonder why I ever agreed to this job in the first place.' Suddenly a staffer burst into the office. 'Mr. Maltby, I think the next duel is off.' He got up, and followed the staffer, while in the arena, Astrid made her entrance, wearing a leather vest not too dissimilar to Maddy's standard duelling garb. As she was entering though, the screens all showed a scene in the lobby area, where Akiza was lay, face-down on the ground, moving but clearly in a bad way, with a swollen face and blood on her neck. There was also a Norwegian flag painted on her back for good measure.

Above her was sat Hannah, casually eating a banana. As Maltby looked around at her, she shrugged. 'I didn't do it. In fact I found her.' As the medical technicians checked over Akiza, one of them reacted badly to Hannah chewing down their ear. 'Please would you not do that, we're trying to do our jobs here.' 'Not my fault I'm eating for two people. You don't know how much hard work being eight months pregnant is, that's your problem.'

Geoff then turned to the staffer who reported the issue, as Akiza was taken away to the medical bay. 'Did she send you?' They just nodded. 'Yes, I was talking to a police officer, they said there's been a robbery here, then I heard her shout over.' 'First I've heard about it. Well keep up the good work, and let me know if you hear anything else about the robbery.' 'Of course.' As Geoff left, Hannah put her banana down and went over to the staffer.

'Good job big boy.' She then looked around. 'Belle, all clear.' As the Leeds starlet came out from hiding behind a metal barrier, Hannah nodded to her. 'Let's get going.' 'What about the guy?' 'He'll snap out of it in about an hour with no memory of today. In the meantime' Hannah's musings were interrupted as she watched Astrid issue an open challenge for the contendership on the big screen. '... and that is why I should have told her first.'

In the arena, the crowd were surprised as the returning Don Pope made an appearence. 'Yo 'trid, I ain't got no damn problem with you sister, I just don't think you should get another title shot. So how about I take it from you and then me and old Kalin can have our own little contest. I could do with some more gold on me girl, and if your lovely locks won't go, it'll have to be your title ambitions.' Astrid's eyes widened at the challenge. 'If you want it, try and stop me!'

Top Contender's Duel: Astrid Hofferson LP:8000 vs. Don Pope LP:8000

Turn 1: Don: 'I'll start, leave you to get yourself ready.' 'You don't need to worry about me being ready, but if you want the first turn, don't let me stop you.' 'Good on you kiddo. I summon Doki Doki (Atk:500). Doki Doki's effect sends Pharonic Guardian Sphinx to the graveyard, replacing it with another Pharaonic Guardian Sphinx (Atk:2300). Now Sphinx will flip itself face-down, and I'll end with two set.'

Astrid: 'For the motherland! Summon Valkyrie of the Nordic Ascendant (Atk:400).' 'No way no how man, I seen this play before, and it's getting a Floodgate Trap Hole.' 'I'd rather lose my monster than let you affect it. I activate Regretful Rewind. When you activate a card in response to my summon, Regretful Rewind returns that monster to my hand, and because it was a Normal summon, I can Normal another monster from my hand. I summon Valkyrie of the Nordic Ascendant (Atk:400).'

'Hey, you just summoned that one.' 'No I didn't, I summoned a different Valkyrie, and I'll have you know they get very offended at comments like those. To demonstrate, I'll use Valkyrie's effect of banishing another Valkyrie and Tanngrisnir of the Nordic Beasts for two Einherjar Tokens (Atk:1000 x2). Now Level 2 Valkyrie, tune to two Level 4 Einherjar Tokens. I ask the Polar gods at this moment, lend me your power, as I become your human vessel! Descend from your throne atop Asgard's peak! Synchro summon! Odin, Father of the Aesir (Atk:4000).'

'And Odin has an ability. Each of my turns, I can make him unaffected by your witchcraft, Spells and Traps will never stop him.' 'A lotta big words for a girl who's about to waste a god.' But Astrid was far from done, as she was hiding her ace in the hole. 'Now I activate Ride of the Valkyries.' 'You still got a monster in hand?' 'Certainly do. With the power of this card, I can summon Valkyrie Erda (Atk:2000). Then I'll activate Monster Reborn, giving new life to Valkyrie of the Nordic Ascendant (Atk:400).'

"Now Level 2 Valkyrie, tune yourself again with Level 8 Erda, as your heavenly powers meld into the holiest of soldiers. Synchro summon! Crusade through my opponent and deliver me the severed head of victory, Baronne de Fleur (Atk:3000).' 'Now you lost me girl, I don't do new age sh*t.' 'Well I'll give you a helping hand, because Baronne is about to destroy your Pharonic Sphinx." Baronne raised its sword, bringing it straight down and slicing through the crumbling Sphinx. "Because that was Baronne's effect, it can still attack. As can Odin.'

'No way no how, I got me a Burst Rebirth. By paying 2000 (Don LP:8000-6000), I can bring my Sphinx back.' 'That was a fatal mistake. Because Baronne can negate any one card effect you activate.' This error of Don's lead to his defeat, through a slash of the sword from Baronne and a singular strike from up high from Odin (Don LP:6000-0).

As the duel ended, Astrid smiled, and raised her right hand. As she went to leave, she wandered up to a camera, and started talking down the lens. "Kalin, that title is mine. Don't care if you win or lose, that title is coming to me one way or another. Whatever you got, bring it on!' She then left, signing autographs on the way out.

The tell-all interview with Rio then came up, as fans watched on, completely oblivious to what they were going to hear. Rio was sat there, dressed smartly, with Sakura alongside her, wearing a dark blue blazer. Marc Josephs was sat opposite them, conducting the interview. 'With me here now is former WDC Tag Team Champion, "Cold Blooded" Rio Kastle, and her guest, Sakura Haruno?' 'Correct, Ha-roo-no. I'm the Renegades' medical advisor.'

'Well Sakura, it's nice to meet you. Rio, we all saw the conclusion of the duel with Astrid in Delhi just seven days ago. What is your view on the situation regarding the ending?' 'Well it wasn't how I wanted it to end (giggles). Listen, I wanted to continue, but the docs and Phil decided it wasn't worth the risk. My body's just been through so much stress recently, and it's better to just take the drop now and live another day.'

'Do you think you could have continued physically?' She nodded intensely. 'Yeah, I was really tired, but I could still go. I mean you probably saw my objection. I just blacked out for a few seconds. Like, I was hurting bad, but I think we both were, we just wouldn't have stopped. All we cared about was winning.' 'I think we all saw that, and it was a hell of a competition. You were just saying about the stress your body's been through, and I understand if you would prefer not to discuss it, but could you give us an idea of what you've been through the past few months?'

'Yeah, so when James, James Birchall, when he attacked the base' 'Which I understand, you can't talk about much for legal reasons.' 'To be honest, I can't talk much about it because I have a massive blank spot for about three weeks. I was watching the Viking Open final the other day, and I couldn't remember a thing about it. Like, I know I was there, but it felt... it almost felt like I was watching a different person.'

'So tell me what you do remember.' 'Like, I remember a couple of events before the Viking, but then there's just a load of nothing and the next I know I'm lay in a hospital bed feeling like death. I've watched the CCTV back since, but I don't remember anything, it's like I'm watching a different person.'

'So you were saying about when the base was attacked?' 'Yeah, I got shot in the back of the head.' She then tilted her head, and showed a scar, about 9 inches long, just below the parietal bone. 'It was about here. The bu... bullet went in, and didn't come out. It's lodged somewhere there, they wanted to get it out, but it was pressing on a vessel, if they had I would have bled to death.'

Sakura then provided some further insight. 'If they had nicked the vessel, they could have stemmed the bleed within seconds, but it would have put significantly more pressure on the brain, which was already recovering from the impact. The resulting pressure could have caused a stroke, or she could have been left completely paraplegic, as it stands there was a 40% chance she would never walk again.'

'So you were in the hospital, how long were you in there for?' 'A few weeks, I think about 4 weeks.' 'Yeah, it was about 26 or 27 days I think.' 'Some of that was spent in a coma, I think I was on life support for something like 10 days, so obviously I don't remember that, but I've been told that they said to Blair "Look, she isn't going to make it, would you like to take her off Life support.'

'And she presumably said no?' 'Think she told them where to stick it.' 'And then came the recovery?' Rio looked at Sakura, who smiled, and held her hand. 'If you need to say it, do. It's your story.' 'And then came something I'm not supposed to talk about. The day I tried to take my own life'

As she said this, there was an audible gasp from the crowd, who went deathly silent. Marc meanwhile, kept his composure, but it was clear that even the consummate professional was having issues keeping focus. 'This is an avenue that I wasn't expecting to go down, so I think the appropriate thing to do here is just to let you explain. That is if you're comfortable sharing this, we completely understand if you'd rather not indulge us in the details.'

'I… I think I just wanted to take back some sort of control, and also I sort of blamed myself for what happened to Hannah. I mean as we know, it turned out she was ok, but I didn't know that at the time, and I... I wasn't in the right mind So I just cut myself, slashed across my stomach, said goodbye to the world. Maddy saved my life that day, and I have to live with the fact that I can't repay her. Because nothing can. And soon, I might not have the chance. Which is really what I'm here for today.'

'How do you mean?' 'I had a scan last week, and then the next day, I get called into the GPs. There I'm told that I've got a de... de...''Degenerative' 'Yeah that, a brain disorder. And that's what I wanted to talk about. Because I... I just think it's important for people to know. Know what he's done, and what's going on with me, why I might need support in the duelling zone sometimes and all that. I've got a brain condition called… erm some help Sak?'

'No way you're going to be able to pronounce it. It's called Corticobasal Degeneration. In Layman's terms, it's a disorder where the nerve cells of the brain shrink and die off faster than you'd normally expect.' 'And the truth is, this condition is going to kill me. Could be soon, could be a long time. I could wake up any day with total amnesia, paralysed, or not wake up at all.'

Marc looked genuinely shocked and upset at this news, and his facade broke. 'Well I've been doing this job, journalism, interviews, in various sports for nearly 20 years now, and this is the first time I have had to confirm that the person I am interviewing is, in fact, terminally ill.'

Rio then started looking at him, but there was something different about the look in her eyes - it was unafraid, more determined, and somehow, more defiant. 'So from now on, I'm just going out there to do my absolute best. I'm leaving it all out there every single duel, and if I win, I win. And if I lose, I lose. But one thing I am damn certain about is that I will take any opportunity I can. If I'm given the chance to win a title, I'm going 100%. From now on it's reaching for the stars, reap the whirlwind. Because I'm Rio fucking Kastle, and I am not afraid of death.'

'It's been very... you know what, this is unprofessional, but this has been the hardest interview of my entire career, to conduct. So I'm asking the WDC crowd, because I can hear them now. I'm asking the WDC World to give this young woman, this courageous fighter, all the respect in the world whenever she comes out to compete, because she has the heart of a lion.'

As the interview finished, Reginald was frantically looking for Rio, and almost ran straight into Sakura. 'Rio, where is she?' 'Pardon?' 'Rio. Where is she? I saw that interview.' 'I'm sorry to disappoint you, but that interview was recorded in Newcastle three days ago.' Suddenly, Jade walked in, and she and Reginald locked eyes.

'Jade?' 'Oh hi Reginald, just so you know I'm still not dead.' 'I did what I thought I had to at the time, said what I thought I had to.' Her stance then relaxed significantly. 'Honestly, I don't care. Not now. Oh, if you're looking for Rio by the way, the last I knew she was planning on taking a trip to Chicago, apparently there's a really good neuro doctor there. She's hoping that they can give her some sort of peace of mind.'

'Well I need to talk to her.' 'Sorry, nothing to do with me. If you want to contact her, you'll have to do it yourself.' Jade then took a business card out, and wrote an email address on the back of it, before passing the card to him. 'If you don't get a reply within about a week, it probably means she doesn't want to talk to you.' He looked at her for a moment in acknowledgement, and turned to leave.

With the coast clear, Sakura looked at Jade in confusion. 'Are you sure giving him that email is a good idea?' 'If she doesn't want to talk to him, she can just not answer. It's not like she's ever had any issue with that before. Besides, it's not like I want to spend 20 minutes arguing with him about it.

Before the main event, another hype package around Kalin's title win played. Backstage, Jade stood quietly while Blair prepared for the duel. Above her normal vest she slid a cream and black pinstripe baseball shirt with "8 Mile" on the front, followed by a white jacket with baby blue trim, making a point of buttoning up the collar only. Finally she twisted her hair up, pushing a bronzed broach in to keep it up, and slid a white bandanna on, tying it at the rear. To finish she picked up a white kabuki mask with blood red tears on it, held by a bronze chain, and hung it down on her neck, before pushing the mask up.

After putting the mask on, she turned around straight into Jade, giving her a fright as Blair pulled her mask down again. 'Jade! What are you doing?' 'I wanted to see how you prepare for a duel. Get some pointers and all that. Plus I kinda just like watching you being so organised.' 'You're weird, you know that?' 'Wouldn't have me any other way though.' Jade then did a standing leap onto the nearby windowsill, allowing her and Blair to have a very passionate kiss.

As they did, Astrid wandered past. She stopped for a moment, watched them, and then just walked on by, but not before saying 'Good luck.' Blair looked up for a moment, before being pulled back into the romantic exchange. This was only interrupted by a staffer passing by them. 'Blair, you're on in two minutes.' He then hastened out, as Blair slid down under Jade. 'Good luck babes.' 'Thanks. Don't wait here for me, I might be a while.' Blair then put the mask back on and went for one of the biggest duels of her career.

In the Duelling zone

As Blair's Patriot music hit, she appeared, the crowd lapping up the sight of her Detroit-inspired gear. She stood for a moment, taking in the raucous atmosphere, before storming down, barely stopping for a moment. In the zone, she took her mask off, and placed it beside her, before plucking her deck from her diagonal, 80s-style belt, and making urgent changes to it.

The familiar harmonica was then heard, and the champion made an appearance, wearing all black. As he walked down, he held his title down beside his leg, the belt brushing the ground as he continued. In the zone, he and Blair came face-to-face, as introductions were made. 'The following is your main event and a Non-Title duel. Introducing first, the challenger, representing the Renegades, from Shelby, Michigan, Blair Flannigan.' Hearing her name, Blair just raised her hand, almost identically to how Astrid had earlier. 'And introducing her opponent, from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, he is the WDC Champion - The Reaper, Kalin Kessler.' Kalin didn't say anything, but handed his title over and activated his duel disk.

Non-Title Duel: Blair Flannigan LP:8000 vs. Kalin Kessler LP:8000

Turn 1: Blair: 'Challenger first. I'll set a monster, set three backrow and pass.'

Kalin: 'I draw. I liked your move so much I'll mirror it.'

Blair: 'I draw. I'll tribute my set Shaddoll Falco to Tribute set another monster, and end my turn.'

Kalin: 'Back to me.' Kalin took a moment to consider his options, but ultimately decided to play it cautious. 'I'll set a 4th backrow card and send it back to you.'

Blair: 'I draw. I'll set another card in my backrow and then pass back to you.'

Kalin: 'Why can't I draw anything? I'll just let you go again.'

Blair: 'My turn. Let's try and go on the attack now - I'll flip up Shaddoll Beast (Atk:2200). When Beast is flipped up, I can draw two cards, then send one from my hand to the grave.' As she drew the cards, she rolled her eyes. 'I'll discard Sinister Shadow Games. Then I'll attack with Beast.' 'I activate Depth Amulet. By discarding one card, I'll stop your attack. There goes Infernity Beetle.' 'I end my turn.'

Kalin: 'My turn. I'll fill out my backrow, and then summon Infernity Archfiend (Atk:1800).' 'I'll immediately meet it with Breakthrough Skill, negating its effect.' 'That's pretty cool. Too bad I have Back to the Front face-down, to bring back Infernity Beetle. And because I have no cards in hand, I can tribute it to summon two more Beetles (Atk:1200 x2). Now Level 2 Beetle tune to Level 4 Infernity Archfiend. I Synchro summon Infernity Doom Archfiend (Atk:2200). Then I'll tune Level 2 Beetle to Level 6 Doom Archfiend, to Synchro summon Void Ogre Dragon (Atk:3000).'

'While I have no cards in my hand, like I do now, Void Ogre Dragon reverses the Attack and Defence of every monster on the field (Void Ogre Atk:3000, Beast Atk:1700). Void Ogre, destroy her Beast.' Blair though, had a nifty plan. 'If Beast is going down, I'm getting something from it first. I activate Sinister Shadow Games. This allows me to send a Shaddoll from my deck to the graveyard, and then flip my Beast face-down. I'll send Shaddoll Dragon. Then Dragon's effect will take out your most recent Set card.' As Kalin's Set card (Full Salvo) was destroyed, so was Shaddoll Beast (Def.:1700-2200).

'When Beast is flipped up, I can draw two cards, then send one to the graveyard. I'll send Shaddoll Falco. And Falco's effect when sent immediately reanimates it face-down.' Kalin considered responding to this, but eventually thought better of it. 'I end my turn.'

Blair: 'I draw. I'll flip up Shaddoll Falco (Atk:600). When Falco is flipped up, it allows me to revive a Shaddoll from my grave, but it has to be face-down. I choose Shaddoll Dragon. Then I'll set one and pass back.' By now the crowd were starting to get slightly restless, but in the box, Phil had noticed a certain pattern to the duel.

'They think this is dull but if they just look closer, it really isn't.' Astrid appeared to agree with the thought. 'If I had a kroner for every time one of our duels went this way, I'd be rich. It's perfect momentum-based play.' 'What it is is a game of chicken. Neither one of them is fully committing because they both know that one false move could be deadly.' 'And these two could do this all day. Neither of these two are going down easily.'

Kalin: 'I draw. Because I drew Infernity Archfiend while I have no other cards in hand, I can summon it (Atk:1800). Then with the effect of Archfiend, I can search Infernity Guardian and summon it (Atk:1800) Now I'll overlay them both to Xyz summon Lavalval Chain (Atk:1800). Now Chain's effect enables it to detach a material, and stack a monster from my graveyard back on the top of my deck.' 'And because you already have a valid target in the grave, you can stack the monster you detach.' 'Correct. I'll detach Archfiend to place Archfiend at the top of my deck.'

'Then I'll activate my face-down Jar of Greed to draw a card. And Archfiend isn't a once per turn effect. So I can summon it (Atk:1800), and grab an Infernity Launcher. Which I'll activate, then sending it straight to the graveyard, to summon back two Infernity Beetles (Atk:1200)x2. Now I can tune Level 2 Beetle to Level 8 Void Ogre Dragon! I forgot to tell you, I got a little bit of help from my friends as well. Once an Enforcer, always an Enforcer! I Synchro summon Hot Red Dragon Archfiend Bane (Atk:3500).'

Blair wasn't at all intimidated by facing down such a large monster. 'I remember that card well. I faced Jack once you know.' 'Did you?' 'Yeah. I BEAT HIM. Difference is, I'm better now.' 'The difference is that you didn't need a babysitter back then. Bane, attack the set Falco.' Bane soared into the sky, before throwing a darkened fireball down directly onto Falco, obliterating it. 'Falco's effect allows me to revive Shaddoll Beast from my graveyard face-down.'

'That doesn't bother me at all. Because Bane destroyed your monster in battle, it can summon two Tuners of the same Level - one from my graveyard, the other from my deck. I'll summon two Infernity Wildcats (Atk:1400)x2. Then I'll take advantage and immediately attack Shaddoll Beast with Archfiend.' 'I'll activate Attack Guidance Armor. This forces your Archfiend to attack another monster on the field. I choose your own Archfiend Bane.' Archfiend's attack was redirected, leading to Bane roasting it as Kalin took the first damage of the duel (Kalin LP:8000-6300). 'I'll end my turn.'

Blair: 'I draw. I'll start by flipping Shaddoll Dragon. When I do, I can bounce a card on your field back to your hand. I'll choose Archfiend Bane.' 'It's a good job I didn't reveal all my secrets - I activate Infernity Suppression, As I control an Infernity, this negates your monster effect, then you lose 100 Life points for each Level your Dragon has.' As Dragon's magical strings travelled towards his monster, Kalin's Trap caused an explosion of flames, melting the strings (Blair LP:8000-7600). 'Well that's one down.'

'So you weren't trying to bounce my monster then?' 'Oh I was, I just didn't think it would go through. Luckily I drew this - Aleister the Invoker (Atk:1000). And when he's summoned, I can add Invocation directly to my hand.' 'I'm not seeing anything useful around for that.' 'That's where this comes in - I'll send Shaddoll Hound from my hand to the graveyard and summon Magistus Grimoire Crowley (Atk:1800). That triggers Hound's effect, switching Bane to Defence mode (Def.:3000).'

'And while we're at it, I'll use Crowley's effect to change its attribute. I choose Fire. Meaning I can now activate Invocation. By banishing Aleister and Crowley from my graveyard' 'You DO realise Aleister and Crowley are the same person, right? Historically speaking.' 'I was aware, but thank you for interrupting me to point that out.' 'You're welcome.' 'I'll Fusion summon the fiery flames of death - Invoked Purgatrio. For every card on your field, it gains 200 Attack points. I see six (Atk:2300-3500).'

'So that's why you switched Bane to Defence mode.' 'Had to make sure I'd get over it. Just to be safe, I'll then use my face-down Giant Trunade to return all Spells and Traps to the hand (Atk:3500-2900). With that, I can attack with Purgatrio. Don't forget, it can attack every monster on your field. Cursed Inferno!' The haunting, infernal Invoked spirit fired chilling flames at Kalin's monsters, destroying them all (Kalin LP:6300-2500, Purgatrio Atk:2300). 'If only… I end my turn with two face-downs.'

Kalin: 'I draw. I set three cards and summon Infernity Necromancer, which switches itself to Defence mode (Def.:2000). Then Necromancer can use its ability to revive Wildcat (Atk:1400). Now Wildcat can modify its Level by one once per turn. I'll decrease it (Level:3-2). Now Level 2 Wildcat tunes to Level 3 Necromancer, to Synchro summon Ally of Justice Catastor (Atk:2200). Catastor, attack Purgatrio. And don't forget, Purgatrio isn't a Dark monster.' As Catastor approached, it produced a glowing saw which vapourised Purgatrio the moment the two monsters made contact. 'What's wrong - you look stressed. I thought you were the prodigy, the genius. Not some weak loser. I end my turn.'

Blair: 'My turn. I'll activate Kuji-Kiri Curse. By sending Helshaddoll Hollow from my hand to the graveyard, to draw two cards. That triggers the effect of Hollow. For every attribute of monster face-up on the field, I can mill a card from the top of my deck.' 'Yeah, still only one.' 'That is until I chain Resh Shaddoll Incarnation, to revive Hollow (Atk:2900).' Blair then milled the cards, and while her face didn't show, internally she was horrified. "Two Book of the Laws? That's where they were? SERIOUSLY?").

After considering her next move, she came to a decision. 'Guess I'm going all in. I summon Aleister the Invoker (Atk:1000) and activate its effect.' 'I activate Pulling the Rug.' 'No way are you playing this piece of shit!' 'It wasn't actually for you, it was for blondie, but it just happens to work against Aleister as well.' Reluctantly, Blair had to end her turn immediately.

Kalin: 'My turn.' Smelling blood, Kalin went on the attack. 'I'll start with Pot of Avarice, to shuffle five monsters back and draw two cards.' Despite clearly being unhappy with his draws, Kalin continued. 'I'll summon Infernity Wildcat (Atk:1400). Then Level 3 Wildcat tunes to Level 5 Catastor, to Synchro summon Hundred-Eyes Dragon (Atk:3000).' 'And so it begins.' 'For you, it's closer to ending. I'll set one, and then activate Hundred-Eyes Dragon's ability, allowing it to copy Infernity Guardian's ability. If I have no cards in my hand, which I do, it can't be destroyed by battle or card effects this turn. Attack Aleister with Infernity Psyche Stream!' The all seeing Dragon roasted Aleister with a purple stream, keeping Blair under intense pressure (Blair LP:7600-5600). 'I end my turn.'

Blair: 'I draw. Well, I guess it's something. I'll set one and end my turn.'

Kalin: 'I'll set a monster, and activate Hundred-Eyes Dragon's ability, to copy Stygian Street Patrol's ability. So now when it destroys a monster in battle this turn, you take an extra 100 damage for each Level the monster had. Attack Helshaddoll Hollow.' 'I'll activate Purushaddoll Aeon, sending Falco to give my Hollow 1000 more Attack (Atk:2900-3900). 'I'll respond with Shrink, to halve your monster's Original attack (Atk:3900-2450).' This exchange ended with Hollow being cleaned out, but Blair's demeanour didn't change throughout (Blair LP:5600-5150-4250). 'You're being typically stubborn I see. I end my turn.'

Blair: 'My turn.' Seeing the card, her eyes lit up. 'Finally! I'll set one and pass.' Sadly for Blair, Kalin had also seen her reaction. 'I'll activate Cosmic Cyclone, paying 1000 Life points (Kalin LP:2500-1500), to banish your new set card.' In a desperate situation, Blair had to risk her life to survive. 'Fine, you got me, I'll Solemn Judgement.' 'I had a feeling you had that. Not sure why you wouldn't have taken out my Dragon though… (Blair LP:4250-2125).'

Kalin: 'My kingdom for a backrow removal card.' 'You do realise Richard III didn't even say that don't you? Old Billy boy made it up because it sounds dramatic.' 'You're getting arrogant, you know that?' 'Some say arrogant, some say confident, I say fed-up of everyone's shit.' 'Well you're going to be even more fed-up after this. I' 'Before you draw, I activate my face-down Shaddoll Schism!' The reveal of this powerful card made Kalin recoil. 'Now… I might be in trouble.' 'This allows me to Fusion summon a Shaddoll monster using monsters in my graveyard, banishing them. But the summoned monster can't attack directly. I'll fuse together Shaddoll Dragon and Shaddoll Hound to Fusion summon El Shaddoll Winda (Atk:2200).'

'Then Schism will banish a monster on your field of the same attribute. So long Hundred-Eyes Dragon!' A dimensional rift appeared right underneath the Level 8 Dragon, sucking it in in an instant. 'Now you can draw.' 'I drew Infernity Archfiend, and because he's the only card in my hand, I can summon him (Atk:1800). Then I'll use it to search out a copy of Infernity Archer. Which I'll tribute Archfiend for immediately (Atk:2000). When I have no cards in my hand, which I do, Archer can attack directly! Take aim and fire!' Archer raised his gargantuan longbow, and fired an arrow at Blair's feet, surrounding her in dark fire (Blair LP:2125-125). 'I end my turn.'

Blair: 'I'm still in this.' 'Keep convincing yourself of that.' 'I draw! I'll activate the effect of Schism again, to banish Hollow and Falco from my graveyard, and Fusion summon El Shaddoll Apkallone (Atk:2500). Then, because Apkallone is Dark-attribute, I can banish Infernity Archer.' Kalin briefly looked down at a Set card which had remained since turn one, but decided against triggering it, instead seeing another monster sucked into the eternal rift. 'I'll switch Winda to Defence (Def.:800), and end my turn.'

Kalin: 'I draw. I'll activate ZERO-MAX. Because I have no cards in my hand, I can revive an Infernity from my graveyard, and then destroy all monsters on the field with less Attack than it. I summon Infernity General (Atk:2700). Say goodbye to all of your monsters!' 'Not quite. You were almost there, but Winda can't be destroyed by card effects. You'll have to work harder than that.' Kalin's move saw Blair's Apkallone make a swift exit from the battle, exploding in the electric field. 'Now seems like a good time to dig. I'll activate my face-down Into the Void. This allows me to draw a card, because my hand has less than three cards. And the card I drew was Toll.' 'What era are we duelling in again?' 'The era where you have to pay 500 Life points to attack. I do as well, but the difference is, I can afford to (Kalin LP:2500, Blair LP:125). I end my turn. What else have you got?'

Blair: 'Plenty thanks! I draw. I activate Pot of Avarice, to shuffle five cards from my graveyard into my deck and draw two cards.' As she drew, Blair saw a potential way out. 'Let's try it. I'll activate my face-down Living Fossil, to revive Shaddoll Dragon (Atk:1900). Then I'll summon Naelshaddoll Genius (Atk:1800). And you know what comes next?' 'You got a Fusion Spell?' 'Not quite. Instead, I'm going to link off my two monsters. I Link summon Link 2, Shaddoll Construct (Atk:1200, Link Arrows: ).'

'Now with her ability, Shaddoll Construct can Fusion summon a Shaddoll Fusion monster using monsters in my hand or on my field. I'll fuse Construct and the Naelshaddoll Ariel in my hand into El Shaddoll Construct (Atk:2800).' Now facing down a new fearsome monster, Kalin showed the slightest bit of concern. 'You aren't going down.' 'Nope. Ariel allows me to banish three cards from your graveyard. I'll get rid of both the Infernity Wildcats in grave, as well as oid Ogre Dragon. Now Construct, attack with Enchanted Threads of Shade!' Construct opened her arms, and thousands of threads came flooding out, destroying General through her effect. 'I can't attack directly with Apkallone because it was summoned by Schism, so I'll end my turn.'

Kalin: 'I draw. I'll set a monster and pass.'

Blair: 'My turn. I'll switch Apkallone to Defence mode (Def.:2000), and set another monster. Then I'll attack your Set monster.' The threads came surging in, but Kalin's monster wouldn't go down (Infernity Guardian Def.:1800). 'Because I have an empty hand, Guardian wasn't destroyed.' 'Yeah yeah, I get it. I'll end my turn.'

Kalin: 'I draw. That doesn't do it. I'll set a backrow and pass.'

Blair: 'My turn. That's… interesting. I'll equip Construct with Fairy Meteor Crush. This allows Construct to deal piercing damage. Then I'll activate Jar of Avarice, shuffling back five monsters from my graveyard to draw a card. Then I'll activate my other face-down Sinister Shadow Games, to send Qadshaddoll Keios from my deck to the grave. With Keios' effect, I can send Helshaddoll Hollow to my graveyard, and Construct gains 900 Attack (Atk:2800-3700). Construct, attack with Enchanted Threads of Shade!' The threads floated towards Guardian, before smashing into the shield-like monster, almost taking the champion down (Kalin LP:2500-600). 'I'll end my turn (Atk:3700-2800.'

Kalin: 'I just can't get rid of you.' 'I know you think you know me Kalin, but you really don't. I'm not giving in. Not now, not ever. This means too much to me, I never get any opportunity. But it's ok for you, you've been around long enough to just click your fingers and get given a chance.' 'Maybe if you stopped running around trying to be the edgy revolutionary, and stayed in line, you'd get the opportunity. It's about time you grew up! My draw.' As he saw the card, he took a breath. 'I'll summon Obsessive Uvualoop (Atk:1200). Then I'll tune Level 4 Uvualoop to Level 4 Infernity Guardian to Synchro summon Beelze of the Diabolic Dragons! (Atk:3000). Beelze, attack Construct and end this charade!' As Kalin laughed, the Diabolic dragon came roaring in, and Blair had no response, all interaction used up, all hope dried up (Blair LP:125-0).

After the duel, Kalin walked straight over to Blair, and offered her a hand up. 'Come on, time to grow up.' She just looked at him, shaking with anger and frustration, and spat at him. 'I'm not the one who changed Kalin.' He wiped the saliva off his face, looked down at her, and picked up his title. As he went to leave though, Astrid's music played, and she walked out, with her hair down and a white cardigan over a plain blue vest.

Interestingly, as she walked past Blair, she stopped, reversed, and knelt down for a moment, giving her a hand up, and then raising her arm to the crowd. As Blair left the arena, Astrid found a microphone, and spoke to Kalin, while he just raised the title above him. 'I'll make this really clear - I want my rematch in Auckland. 1-1, no bull. Because I can beat you and I want to show it.' She then threw the microphone to him. 'I have no time for weak challengers. Come back when you've done something worth anything.'

He went to leave again, but this time Geoff Maltby made his way down. 'Geoff, I respect you but I've got a plane to catch.' 'Don't worry Kalin, this won't take long. I've been listening to everything going on, and I must say, I agree with Astrid. She's the Top contender, and as we have proof that she wasn't involved with the attack on Akiza earlier, we have to respect that. Because I'm not satisfied that one duel is ever enough.'

'So I'm not thinking of one duel. To settle this once and for all, I think we should go big. I'm pitching this - the first ever WDC Best of 7 Series. Seven Stars Series if you will. Seven duels, one after the other at successive events. The winner of each duel will pick the stipulation for the next one. The first duel will be in Auckland, and will be a standard duel with 8k start.' Kalin then looked around, just for long enough to eat a swift running kick to the back of the head, knocking him loopy. As he lay dazed on the ground, Astrid knelt over him, and picked up the title as the crowd applauded, posing over him with it for a moment. She then looked up at it, and threw it down onto Kalin, raising her right hand over him as the show ended.

Next Time: Maddy finally gets some positive news, Astrid creates an opportunity for the Arena graduates, and Blair faces her demons one more time at Wilma's funeral in Renegades: A New Dawn Chapter XLII: Demons Testement