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.

44. Star 2 - The ReEnforced Star

Renegades: A New Dawn

Chapter XLIV: Star 2 - The ReEnforced Star

WDC Presents: Condenar card

WDC Tag-Team Championships - Frozen Diamonds (Blair Flannigan and Rio Kastle) vs. [c] The Regiment (Kari Tsukumo and Radley)

Caprice Morris vs Justin Pipe

Denzil Davis and Kenzie Calhoun vs. The Regiment (Corporal Pez de Fuego and Sgt. Tyranno Hassleberry)

Akiza Izinski vs. Brooke Angharad

Eagle Adams vs. Tee Taylor

Cross-Promotional Duel: Declan Akaba vs. Phil Robinson

Duel 2 in the Seven Stars Series: Astrid Hofferson and ? vs. Kalin Kessler and ?

Two days before

Maddy was in the basement of the base with Sakura, undergoing a battery of tests. 'Why do I have to do all this shit again?' 'Do you want to be cleared?' 'Yeah, but' 'Just do it then.' As she got on a treadmill, Hannah walked in, completely bewildered at what she saw. 'Do they normally have X-Ray machines in gyms?' 'We should have been done by now but she's spent the past 20 minutes arguing with me about it.'

'I don't even know what you're doing. All I know is I got a call from Taylor at 4am complaining that her room was vibrating.' 'Maddy wants to return to duelling, so I'm giving her a full fitness test. If the results are decent, I can look at clearing her as early as the Anniversary show.' 'But that's in less than 3 weeks.' 'I know, but it would make my job way easier. I'm just not letting her do it if she's not in reasonable condition.'

Around 10 minutes later, the tests were all finished, and as Maddy let her hair down, she noticed Hannah stood in the corner of the room. 'When did you get here?' 'Around 10 minutes ago, while you were on the treadmill. How do you feel?' 'Awful, my fitness is totally shot.' 'It will be, you've barely been able to do anything for two months.' 'It's not just that, I… kind of just don't feel like me anymore.'

'Well you're going to be just fine, as soon as you're able to go again. And when I pop, I'm going to be joining you.' 'Feels like you've been pregnant forever.' 'You're not even the one carrying it! I've been carrying this lump for the past seven months+.' As they continued to discuss Hannah's pregnancy and Maddy's fitness, Sakura walked back into the basement, furiously scribbling down notes as she descended the stairs.

'Right Maddy, I'll quickly go through the most important things with you. Your peak heart rate was 178, which is a little higher than I'd like but not a huge issue, your resting heart rate was 82, which is fine, blood pressure is 140/88, which is getting better, your oxygen levels are all good, and your scans are showing signs of improvement.' As Sakura continued to write her observations down, Maddy was getting impatient. 'So where are you going with this?' 'I am officially clearing you to return to duelling in 10-14 days.'

As she smiled, Sakura wasn't finished. 'I have a couple of provisos though. Firstly, you're keeping your drinking down.' 'Haven't drunk in nearly two weeks.' 'Secondly, I've entered you into an event in York next week, it's a local duelling event, just so I can assess how you're getting on.' 'Sure.' 'Finally, you're wearing the rib brace I designed until the x-rays show your ribs have healed.' Maddy rolled her eyes listening to this, but before she could respond, Hannah intervened. 'How about you give her some time to think about it?'

'That's fair. How about I give you a week to chew over it?' Actually, that event in York, you go there without the brace, and then we'll talk afterwards.' Maddy didn't say a word, but stuck her hand out, which Sakura accepted as a handshake. 'You're free to go.' 'Thanks.' When the President was safely out of earshot, Hannah started to question Sakura's plans.

'So you're not making her wear it in York?' 'No.' 'What's the point then? I mean if she needs the brace, she's going to be in absolute agony.' The response was a major surprise. 'That's literally the entire point. You've had broken ribs before haven't you?' 'Yes, three times.' 'They hurt like hell.' 'You're telling me? It felt like I could barely breathe for two months. But I still don't see where you're coming from with all this.'

'Maddy is never going to ask for that rib brace. Not right now anyway. So she is going to duel in York and she is going to find out just how painful doing anything strenuous with broken ribs is.' 'So you're going to make her beg for the brace?' 'I wouldn't quite put it that strongly, but she'll be desperate for it. Sometimes that girl doesn't know what's best for her, so she needs a little… coercion.' 'You're really sounding sinister about now.'

Hearing this, the doctor burst into fits of laughter, not stopping for several minutes. 'I didn't think I was that funny…' Regaining her composure, Sakura held back more giggling. 'Sorry, I don't know what came over me there. I'm not trying to sound sinister, it's just nice to be able to say how I feel without someone listening in to the conversation.' 'In other words, you only chose this basement because it's soundproof.' 'Basically. Also it's big. Anyway, better be getting to the airport.' 'I'll give you a lift down.'

At the airport

Hannah and Sakura arrived at the airport, finding Rio leaning on a gate. As they drove past, they appeared to wake her up, and she stopped their car. 'Rough night?' 'Something like that. Listen, Sak should just drop off here now, Phil isn't in a great mood and I'm not sure it'll be improved by you driving down here when he said about you looking after yourself after the other day.' 'Well he can deal with it. I did tell him that I'm fine, I just grazed my leg.'

They then parked up, and Hannah put her sunglasses on, before walking straight up to her husband, who seemed extremely surprised at her presence. 'What brings you here my lady?' 'Oh, my lord, I came to see you… and drop Sakura off. How wonderful it is to see your face my love.' 'Thine rose is the sweetest I hast ever smelled. May I smell it once more?' She then put her finger to his lip, and smiled. 'Not until you're back home. Then you can smell whatever you like.'

As this Shakesperian drama continued, Blair got off the plane, her long violet hair in a plait with a blue scrunchie in the bottom. 'Are we actually leaving the ground today? We've been here for an hour.' She then saw Hannah, and leapt off the stairs of the plane. 'Hey, I didn't know you were coming.' 'I'm not, I was just dropping Sakura off.' 'Oh ok' she said, disappointedly. Hannah noticed this, and came up with a solution. 'I'll tell you what, I've got a scan at the hospital on Thursday, and Phil can't come because he's down in Leicester on business for the day.'

'Which I told you I will talk to them about postponing it.' 'No you won't, this deal is potentially worth £40,000 in profits this year.' Interested in the business side, Blair started questioning. 'Go on, what's the deal then?' 'It's to provide boxes of fresh vegetables to a subscription delivery service in the Leicester area, sounds like they're buying into the publicity of me and Hannah running it. So it means being in Leicester at half 8 in the morning.'

Hannah then got back on topic. 'So as you can tell, he won't be able to come to my scan. So, how do you fancy coming?' 'Yeah, I mean I'd love to, thanks.' 'No big deal, I could do with the company. Besides, it means I don't have to drive.' 'Erm… is now a good time to mention I'm only a provisional?' 'That's fine, you can drive if you've got me in the car with you. If you don't mind obviously.' 'Of course not.' With that, Hannah kissed her love a temporary goodbye, got back into the car, and drove off smoothly.

Two days later

Having recovered from the jetlag of the flight to Puerto Rico, a smaller group than normal (missing Lydia who was ill and Belle who couldn't get a visa) arrived at the arena, with an interviewer immediately rushing over to them. 'Phil, you're in the sub main-event with Declan Akaba, a lot of people are saying that this could be a 5* duel. Your thoughts?' He looked at the interviewer, before brushing him aside.

While Rio and Blair went off to prepare for their title shot, Phil pulled Freja over to one side. 'So you wanted to see me?' He nodded, and silently passed her a deck. 'But I'm not scheduled to compete.' He smiled to himself, and said 'Make yourself scheduled' before going back to his own preparations. Seeing this, she put her hands up, and walked away, not wanting to annoy him. As she looked at the deck, she smiled. 'I'm going to be the best damn servant he's ever had.'

In the entrance gate

As the show was gearing up to begin, Sean caught up with Rio and Blair. 'Hey kids, Phil just wanted me to' He then paused a moment, staring at them, causing Rio to question 'Have you just had a stroke?' This brought his mind back to earth. 'No no, sorry, I was just… what on earth are you two wearing?' The girls smiled at each other, and then replied. 'Katie designed them for us.' Staring at the ruby red one-piece outfits, Sean's initial reaction was quickly discarded for a more mature response.

'They look totally uncomfortable.' Blair just laughed the suggestion off though. 'You kidding? Felt on the outside, wool and cotton on the inside, it's basically like wearing a giant onesie.' 'They're super comfortable. So you had something from Phil?' 'Yeah, he's busy prepping himself, but he recorded a message earlier for you.' He passed a phone to the girls, and then withdrew. 'Right, as you can imagine I'm prepping for the duel with Declan, so I'm not able to be with you right now. But I just wanted to give you a quick message to remind you to talk about tactics before the duel.

Breaking from recent tradition, the show opened not with a Young-Gun Championship contender's duel, but with 4th July playing, as the challengers for the tag titles walked out, by themselves. 'The following duel is under Championship Rules, and is for the WDC Tag-Team Championships, with a 60 minute time limit. Introducing first, the challengers, representing the Renegade nation, they are the team of the Jewel of the St. Clair, Blair Flannigan, and Cold-Blooded Rio Kastle, the Frozen Diamonds.' As the two near-sisters walked down wearing matching ruby red one-piece outfits, the commentators checked in.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to WDC Condenar. We're starting off with a rematch of a feud we have witnessed all year to this point. Blair and Rio are two of the shining lights of the Renegades, and they have their eyes set on tag gold now. Blair's relatively new Shaddoll deck uses the grave as a second hand to provide devastating disruption, while Rio's Frostburn Evo deck is a reworking of an earlier deck and takes many cues from the deck of Hannah Cummings from the legendary M18 Connection. Will this prove to be a lucky charm?" In the zone, the girls crossed right arms with each other, before raising their right hands, in what was appearing to be a symbol of some sort.

The Regiment's music was next. 'Introducing their opponents, they are your WDC Tag-Team Champions, Kari Tsukumo and Radley, the Regiment.' They then entered, as a social media exchange between Blair and Kari was shown, with Kari referring to Blair as a "choker" and a "self-righteous bitch", while Blair responded by accusing Kari of "inventing an imaginary brother to cause issues", and labelled Kari's performance against Belle as "flatter than her chest", calling it "humiliating to lose to someone who's been duelling as much time as she's been a champion". While the champions stormed down, they got a bio.

"Title defence Number 4 for Kari and Radley, who have established themselves as the team to beat around these blocks. Kari is a rather intense customer who takes this job very seriously, and her Most Violent Utopia deck is no exception, being able to pivot from a steady control strategy to a horrifying aggro deck in a split second, and she has produced excellent performances again and again. As for Radley, his Fire Brotherhood deck is made up of Fire Fist monsters, which reminds him of the brotherly relationship he once shared with Kris Travis, a relationship he accuses the Renegades of ruining. This has become an incredibly heated feud of late, and shows no signs of slowing down.'

In the zone, the two teams faced off, with the four of them all exchanging one barbed insult after another. Eventually the referee came between them, and after much negotiating, got both teams to their respective zones. Rio and Blair won the coin toss, and then, much to Kari's annoyance, spent nearly eight minutes discussing the merits of going first or second, eventually deciding on first.

WDC Tag-Team Championships: Frozen Diamonds (Rio Kastle and Blair Flannigan) LP:8000 vs. [c] Kari Tsukumo and Radley LP:8000

(Rio hand: Preparation of Rites, Aurora Wing, Blizzard Vision, Ritual Cage, My Body as a Shield)

Turn 1: Rio: 'I'll start. I'll activate Preparation of Rites, which allows me to add Nekroz Kaleidoscope to my hand. I'll set a monster, set three Spell/Traps, and pass.'

(Radley hand: Fire Formation - Tenki (x2), Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Coyote, Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Elephant, Fire Formation - Yoko)

Radley: 'Leave this one to me Kari. I draw. I'm starting with Fire Formation - Tenki. This will search out Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Spirit. Then because I control a Fire Formation but no monsters, I summon Fire Fist - Coyote (Atk:2000-2100). Then I'll summon Fire Fist - Elephant (Atk:1000-1100). And Elephant's effect sends Tenki to the graveyard (Atk:2100-2000, 1100-1000), so I can summon Fire Fist - Spirit (Atk:200). Level 3 Spirit, tune Level 5 Coyote so I can summon Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Kirin (Atk:2000).'

'Kirin on summon allows me to grab any Fire Formation from my deck and set it face-down. I'll set Fire Formation - Tensen, then I'll attack your Set monster with Kirin.' Kirin swung his heavy-headed weapon at Rio's monster, crushing it (Aurora Wing Def:1600). 'When Aurora Wing is destroyed in battle, she revives herself in Attack mode (Atk:1200).' Seeing that he couldn't naturally get over the monster, Radley resigned himself to dealing no damage. 'I'll set two and pass over to you.'

(Blair hand: Aleister, Invocation, Sinister Shadow Games, Nephe Shaddoll Fusion, Shaddoll Dragon, Battle Fusion)

Blair: 'I draw. I summon Aleister the Invoker (Atk:1000). When I summon Aleister, he can search a copy of Invocation for me.' Seeing how dangerous this was, Radley was having none of it. 'I activate Breakthrough Skill. This negates your Aleister's ability, so you can't search.' As the effect was stopped, Blair smiled to herself. 'From my hand I activate Invocation. This will fuse together Aleister with the Aurora Wing that Rio controls in order to summon Invoked Cocytus (Def.:2900). I'll set three and pass.'

(Kari hand: Xyz Change Tactics, Rank-up Magic Astral Force, Xyz Reborn, Zubababancho Gagagacoat, Gagaga Gardna, Xyz Import).

Kari: 'My turn. I think I'll summon Gagaga Gardna (Atk:1500). And because I control a Gagaga monster, Zubababancho Gagagacoat can join it (Atk:1800). Then I'll activate Xyz Change Tactics and overlay my monsters to summon Number 39 - Utopia (Atk:2500). With Change Tactics, whenever I Xyz summon a Utopia monster, I can pay 500 of our Life points to draw a card (Regiment LP:8000-7500).'

'Next I'll activate Rank-up Magic Astral Force.' 'Going straight for that then?' 'I'll use Astral Force to rank up Utopia into a monster two ranks higher. Rank-up Xyz Evolution! Meet the next generation in Utopian monsters, Number 39 - Utopia Beyond (Atk:3000, Regiment LP:7500-7000). Don't forget, Utopia Beyond makes the Attack of all of your monsters 0. Now attack Invoked Cocytus.' Beyond used its sword to slice straight through Cocytus, but failed to leave a mark on the challengers' Life total. 'I end my turn with a face-down.'

(Rio hand: Nekroz Kaleidoscope, Blizzard Falcon)

Rio: 'My turn. I'll summon my Blizzard Falcon (Atk:1500). Then I'll activate my face-down, the Continuous Spell card Blizzard Vision. This allows me to target my Falcon, and create a Normal monster clone of it, but with no stats (Atk:0). And I'll overlay it and my Aurora Wing to build the overlay network and Xyz summon Ice Beast Zerofyne (Atk:2000-1900).' 'Who cares - you're not matching Utopia Beyond anytime soon.'

It was Blair who had other ideas though. 'I activate my face-down Shaddoll Core. This Trap summons itself as a monster (Def.:1950, Level:9).' 'Now I activate Zerofyne's ability. Perfect Freeze.' As the effect was declared, a chilling wind blasted through the arena, leaving every other card on the field covered in a cool frosting of ice. 'This negates the effect of every face-up card on your field, and for each face-up card on the field, she gains 300 Attack (Atk:1900-3300).'

Seeing her opportunity to get stuck in, Rio gave the slightest grin. 'Zerofyne, hammer away with Icicle Storm!' The Ice Beast flew into the sky, and started raining down an absolute torrent of sharp icicles onto Utopia Beyond, destroying it effortlessly (Regiment LP:7000-6700). 'Blizzard Falcon, destroy Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Elephant.' The Falcon swooped in with wings made of solid ice, and sliced the Fire Fist in half, causing an explosion (Regiment LP:6700-6200). 'I'll end my

Turn.'

(Radley hand: Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Panda)

Radley: 'I draw. You're going to regret not doing more to hurt us - I draw. I'll start with my face-down Fire Formation - Tenki, which adds Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Leopard. I'll bring it out immediately (Atk:0). Then I'll trigger its effect, to tribute a Fire Fist monster, like itself, and set a Fire Formation directly from my deck. I'll grab a copy of Fire Formation - Ingen.' As he did, Kari looked round at him in surprise. Meanwhile Rio and Blair gave each other a knowing glance, having both seen this.

'Now I activate Fire Formation - Yoko, and let that trigger the effect of Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Panda in my hand, to summon itself because I just activated a Fire Formation (Atk:2100). He then summons out a Fire Fist from my graveyard, like Spirit (Atk:0). Then I'll tune Level 5 Panda and Level 3 Spirit to Synchro summon another Kirin (Def.:2800). With Kirin's effect, I'll get a copy of Fire Formation - Sinto. I'll set one and pass.'

(Blair hand: Shaddoll Fusion)

Blair: 'I draw. I'll activate Shaddoll Fusion. Because you have a monster Special summoned from the Extra deck on the field, I can fuse monsters from my deck. So I'll fuse Naelshaddoll Genius and Reshaddoll Wendi to Fusion summon El Shaddoll Shekinaga (Def.:3000). Genius' effect in the graveyard will negate the effect of your other Kirin, and Wendi allows me to summon Helshaddoll Hollow from my deck, but it has to be face-down. I end my turn.'

(Kari hand: Xyz Import, Gagaga Head, Rank-up Magic Quick Chaos)

Kari: 'I draw.' Kari assessed the field, but with knowledge of Shekinaga's effect, quickly determined that she couldn't do much. 'I summon Cardcar D (Atk:800), and immediately use its effect. If I tribute it, I get to draw two cards, but in exchange it immediately becomes the End phase of my turn.'

(Rio hand: Nekroz Kaleidoscope, Nekroz of Valkyrus)

Rio: 'I draw. I'll flip up Hollow (Atk:2900), and then use its effect.' Blair then looked at her. 'You know how it works, right?' 'Yep. I'll send El Shaddoll Grysta from my Extra deck to banish Kirin.' Hollow shot a stream of fire into the air, which got twisted into a black hole right above Kirin, slowly drawing the mighty monster in. 'Hollow, attack Kirin.' This time, the fire from Hollow burned straight through the other Kirin, destroying it. 'Zerofyne, Icicle Storm.' Sharp icicles rained down again, which dropped Kari and Radley into a significant disadvantage (Regiment LP:6200-4200). 'I end my turn.'

(Radley hand: Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Dragon)

Radley: 'I'll summon Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Dragon (Atk:1800-). Then I'll use its effect to send my two spent Tenkis to the graveyard and revive Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Kirin (Atk:2000). Now I activate Fire Formations Tensen and Ingen. Tensen you don't need to worry about, but Ingen allows me to combine the power of Dragon and Kirin, in order to Fusion summon!' The challengers then looked at each other in surprise. 'Radley knows how to Fusion summon?' 'Listen I didn't know he knew how to tie his laces until yesterday.'

He quickly interrupted the comedy double-act to declare 'I Fusion summon Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Swan (Atk:2600-2800). When Swan is summoned, it deals you 200 damage for every Fire Formation on my field, which is two (Frozen Diamonds LP:8000-7600). I'll enter my Battle phase, and use Swan's second ability. During the Battle phase, I can send Ingen to the graveyard, and destroy Shekinaga.'

Having successfully worked out that Shekinaga needed Blair to have a Shaddoll card in hand for its effect, Radley was able to summon Swan, and get rid of the other Fusion monster, before attacking into Zerofyne and roasting it (Frozen Diamonds LP:7600-6800). 'Oh, and when Ingen went to the graveyard, it returned Dragon to my hand.' With this momentum shift, Radley felt satisfied. 'I end my turn right there. Good luck.'

(Blair hand: Terraforming)

Blair: 'I draw.' Seeing her draw, she smiled. 'Not bad, not bad. I'll activate Terraforming. This lets me search out any Field spell that I like from my deck. I think I'll grab Magical Meltdown. Then I activate Magical Meltdown.' Radley thought he was being clever by countering here, but was unaware of what Blair really had planned. 'I'll activate Ultimate Fire Formation - Sinto. This negates your Field spell and destroys it.'

As he did, she was vindicated. 'Honey trap, complete. I'll activate the effect of Invocation from my graveyard. I can shuffle it into the deck, and add Aleister back from my banished zone to my hand. I'll summon Aleister (Atk:1000), and use him to add Invocation to my hand. Then I activate Invocation, and banish Genius from my graveyard, to Fusion summon Invoked Magellanica (Def.:3300). I end my turn.'

(Kari hand: Xyz Import, Gagaga Head, Rank-up Magic Quick Chaos, Gagagarevenge, Gagagarush, Utopic Onomatopoeia)

Kari: 'Right, let's go! Because I don't control a monster, I can summon Gagaga Head without a tribute, by reducing its Level to 4 (Atk:2100, Level:6-4). Then it can revive up to two Gagaga monsters from my grave. I'll revive Gagaga Head and Zubababancho Gagagacoat (Def.:2000, 100). Then I'll overlay them both to Xyz summon Gagagaga Magician (Atk:2000). With the effect of Head, when it's used for an Xyz summon, I draw a card. But for now, I'll activate Gagagarevenge, to bring back Gagagacoat (Atk:1800). Now I'll overlay again, with Gagagacoat and Gagaga Gardna, to Xyz summon Gagaga Cowboy (Def.:2400).'

With the momentum rolling, Kari made her move. 'Cowboy, use your effect! By detaching an Xyz material, it can deal 800 damage.' The material vanished into Cowboy's pistols, which shot out sparks at Rio and Blair (Frozen Diamonds LP:6800-6000). 'Now I'll overlay my two Xyz monsters to build the overlay network and Xyz summon Number F0 - Utopic Future Slash (Atk:0). Then through having Gagagaga Magician as a material, Future Slash can detach two materials to negate its own effects, but set its Attack at 4000 (Atk:0-4000).'

Radley then started frantically signalling to her partner, but she completely ignored him trying to direct traffic. 'Future Slash, attack Invoked Magellanica.' Having missed a path to victory, Kari sent her Future Slash into battle, easily turning the Invoked monster into a puff of smoke, as if it was conjured. 'Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Swan, attack directly.' Swan conjured a pillar of fire, and threw it straight at its opponents (Frozen Diamonds LP:6000-3300). 'I end my turn (Atk:4000-500).' As Radley continued to glare at his partner, Rio signalled to her partner, making a square with her fingers, which Blair nodded at.

(Rio hand: Nekroz Kaleidoscope, Nekroz of Valkyrus, Trade-In)

Rio: 'My turn. I'll activate Trade-In, so by discarding the Level 8 Nekroz of Valkyrus' Kari interrupted, shocked at what her opponent was playing. 'Did you just say Nekroz?' 'Erm… yeah, I think so anyway. I'll draw two card off that.' Seeing two clutch draws, she smiled. 'Time to put the breaks on. I activate Nekroz Kaleidoscope. So you know how Ritual summoning normally works?' 'Yeah…' 'Well this one doesn't. I can summon any number of Nekroz Ritual monsters from my hand by sending an appropriate Level monster from my Extra deck to the graveyard. I'll send the Level 12 Five-Headed Dragon to summon Nekroz of Clausolas and Nekroz of Trishula (Def.:2300, Atk:2900).'

'Trishula's effect on summon allows me to banish a card from one of your hands, one of your graveyards, and one of your fields. I'll rid Radley of Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Dragon, Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Swan, and Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Spirit.' This seemed like a strange decision, but Rio had noticed the previous turn's misplay, and was eager to prevent it happening again. 'I end my turn.'

(Radley hand: Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Hawk)

Radley: 'I draw.' Disapproving of his draw, he huffed greatly, but eventually resigned himself. 'I'll set a card and pass.'

(Blair hand: Shaddoll Falco)

Blair: 'I draw.' Tactically, Blair decided to forfeit some damage for the ability to keep Clausolas' effect hidden. 'I'll attack straight into Utopic Future Slash with Nekroz of Trishula.' The mighty ice attack froze the Future Slash to the bone, but didn't destroy it (Regiment LP:4200-1700). 'I'll set a monster, and end my turn.'

(Kari hand: Xyz Import, Gagagarush, Rank-up Magic Quick Chaos, Utopic Onomatopoeia, Battle Fein)

Kari: 'My turn. I'll rebuild the overlay network with Utopic Future Slash. Future Xyz Evolution! I Xyz summon Number F0 - Utopic Future Dragon (Atk:3000). Attack Nekroz of Trishula!' For a moment, it looked like this rash attack would cost she and Radley everything. 'I'll activate Nekroz of Clausolas' effect. Once per turn, it can make the attack of one Extra deck monster on the field 0 (Atk:3000-0).' Panicking, Kari found a solution. 'From my hand I activate Battle Fein. By banishing another card from my hand (Xyz Import), the Battle phase ends immediately, and then we both draw a card.'

Frustrated, Rio stepped back down, while Kari took time to assess her hand. Seeing little other option though, she just ended her turn, setting two cards. As the 60 minute time limit passed halfway, Rio limbered up for her turn.

(Rio hand: Cursed Ritual, Land of Frozen Flames)

Rio: 'Let's go! I activate Cursed Ritual. This destroys every Ritual monster on the field.' As she said this, everyone looked shocked, to the point where even Blair was questioning her partner. But she hadn't heard the rest of the effect. 'Then, for every monster tributed, it's owner draws a card. But if a monster with more than 2000 Attack was tributed, then they get to draw another.' The upshot was Rio destroying her own field to draw three cards. And it had worked out tremendously.

'I activate the effect of Nekroz Kaleidoscope in the graveyard. By banishing it and Nekroz of Trishula, I can add a different Nekroz Ritual spell direct to my hand. I'll grab Nekroz Cycle. Which I'll activate immediately. So you know how Ritual summoning usually works?' 'This again? Yep.' Rio then smiled. 'Well this allows me to Ritual summon a monster that is in my graveyard! I'll send the Level 3 Gorgonic Golem to an early exit, so that Nekroz of Clausolas can take its place (Def.:2300).'

At this point, the heated duel started to get nasty. 'So you think you're special? Just because you're Ritual summoning from the graveyard? Then again, you thought you were special just because you nearly died, so that makes no change.' Rio had a rebuttal however. 'I don't think I'm special because I was shot in the head. I think I'm special because I'm about to win. I activate Nekroz Mirror. So you know how Ritual summoning usually works, right?'

By now Kari was sick of hearing this. 'Just tell me what bullsh*t you've got this time.' 'Oh nothing, I was going to say that this works exactly the same way. I'll tribute Dance Princess of the Nekroz and Nekroz of Brionac from my hand, to Ritual summon Nekroz of Decisive Armour (Atk:3300).' Rio was about to declare Clausolas' effect, when Blair signalled over to her, holding her ring finger sideways. This made something completely different occur to Rio though.

'I forgot, Dance Princess of the Nekroz has an effect when she's tributed.' Considering the delay, Kari immediately appealed to the referee, who signalled for the effect to continue, as Rio hadn't activated any other effects since the summon. 'With Dance Princess being tributed by a card effect, I can return a banished Nekroz monster to my hand. So you'll be seeing Trishula again very soon. Nekroz of Decisive Armour, destroy Utopic Draco Future.' Decisive Armour shot down Draco Future with cannonballs from its armour, but couldn't destroy it (Regiment LP:1700-1400). 'I end my turn.'

(Radley hand: Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Buffalo)

Radley: 'My turn.' Seeing his hand, he started to consider what options he had in his deck, and came to a risky conclusion. Not that it would be seen this turn however. 'I'll set another monster and pass.'

(Blair hand: Aleister the Invoker)

Blair: 'My turn.' As she saw what she had off the top, she fist-pumped. 'I summon Aleister the Invoker (Atk:1000).' As Aleister entered the field, he stepped in the red square created by Magical Meltdown, and it glowed all around him as his book opened. 'When summoned, Aleister can search out a copy of Invocation. Then I'll activate Invocation, banishing Aleister from my field, and from Rio's graveyard, Blizzard Thunderbird, so I can summon Invoked Cocytus (Def.:2900). Finally, I'll use Invocation's effect to return itself to the deck and Aleister to my hand.'

'Cocytus, attack Radley's older monster.' 'You realise you summoned it in Defence?' Blair then got annoyed. 'Have you seriously not watched any of my duels since I came back? Cocytus can attack while in Defence, but it uses its Attack stat for damage calculation.' This proved to be a slight error in thinking, as the water dragon-akin Cocytus roared into a wall (Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Hawk Def.:1500-1600). 'Hawk gives every Fire Fist on my field 500 more Attack and Defence points if I control a Fire Formation. And I've still got Tensu.' Funnily enough, as Hawk boosted itself up (Def.:1600-2100), Kari silently realised her missed opportunity from a couple of turns earlier (Frozen Diamonds LP:3300-3100).

'Decisive Armour, destroy Hawk.' The mighty Nekroz made Hawk's meaty 2100 Defence look like little more than a starter, blasting it into pieces. 'When Hawk is destroyed by a card effect, I can set a Fire Formation Spell directly from my deck. I'll grab Yoko.' Her work done for the turn, Blair made sure there was no more disruption to cause, before ending her turn.

(Kari hand: Utopic Onomatopoeia, Battle Fader)

Kari: 'I draw. I'll go straight to battle, and' she then paused for a moment, and realised the honey trap that had been laid out. So instead of getting aggressive, she held back. 'I'll just end my turn.' Seeing this, Radley started to get animated with her, having not seen the ploy. Meanwhile, Rio mouthed "Mode 5" to Blair, who responded with a firm thumbs up.

(Rio hand: Land of Frozen Flames, Double Rank-up Magic Red Strike Force)

Rio: 'You're through! I activate the effect of Nekroz of Clausolas, to make Utopic Draco Future's Attack points drop to 0.' 'I'll use Draco Future's effect. By detaching a material (ORU:1-0), it can negate the effect, and then take control of Clausolas.' Reluctantly, Rio accepted losing her monster, before moving straight to battle. 'I'm going to attack Utopic Draco Future with Nekroz of Decisive Armour. Fire at will!' As it did so, Draco Future was shot down again (Regiment LP:1400-1100). 'Next I'll attack with Cocytus into the other set monster.' The monster turned out to be Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Buffalo, who couldn't quite stand up to the power (Def.:1000-1600). 'I switch Draco Future to Defence (Def.:2000), and end my turn.'

(Radley hand: Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Snake)

Radley: 'I draw. I summon Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Snake (Atk:1800-1900). Then I'll activate Fire Formation, but immediately use Snake to send it and Tensu to the graveyard (Atk:1800), and draw a fresh card.' Seeing the card, he saw victory in sight. 'I end my turn with a set Spell/Trap.'

(Blair hand: Exchange, Aleister the Invoker)

Blair: 'My turn.' Seeing an unusable card in her grip, she considered getting more aggressive, but opted to hold back. 'Decisive Armour, destroy Snake.' This was the moment Radley made his move. 'I activate Ultimate Fire Formation - Seito! To activate this card, I must banish seven Fire Formations from my graveyard.' 'But that's' 'All of them? Yeah, it is.' Getting more aggressive, Radley removed all the Fire Formation cards from his graveyard, and a massive seven-headed dragon-like creature appeared on the field.

'Now I can revive as many Fire Fists as possible from the graveyard. And being 2-2, it means I can also count Kari's field, so I can summon up to eight monsters. I summon Fire Fists Elephant, Kirin, Panda, Hawk, Spirit, and Buffalo (Def.:1800, 2800, 400, 1500, 200, 1000). Then as a bonus, I can set as many Fire Formations as I like from my deck, up to the number of monsters I just summoned. I'll set Tensen, Kaiyo, Tenken, Tenki, Domei, and Yoko.'

As Kari questioned her partner's choices, Blair took a moment, and then pointed to Rio's hand. She responded by pointing to one of the cards in her grip and pointing back at her partner. Blair had made her decision. 'Death or glory baby. I'm going to attack your Snake with Decisive Armour.' Radley seemed delighted, until he realised what Blair was doing. 'You want it you get it. I'll activate Tensen, Tenken, and Kaiyo. Tensen gives 700 more Attack points to Snake, and Tenken makes it immune to your card effects for the rest of the turn. Plus each one gives an extra 300 Attack and Defence to everything on the field (Def.:2700, 3700, 1300, 2400, 1100, 1900, Snake Atk:1800-3400).'

This desperate play from Radley was enough for Decisive Armour's cannonball to ricochet off Snake, straight back at its owner (Frozen Diamonds LP:3100-3000). As the Battle phase ended, the more knowledgeable members of the crowd rose to their feet at the incredible play they had just witnessed from the Renegade, and Blair and Rio just looked at each other, and smiled, despite both clearly struggling physically, Rio in particular. But there were yet more surprises, as Blair was about to demonstrate, as the clock ticked down to six minutes.

'In Main Phase 2, I'll activate Exchange.' Radley and Kari both seemed confused at this, and they were even more confused when they learned what the play was. 'I'm now allowed to see another player's hand, and swap a card with them. I choose Rio.' Without even looking at each other's hands, they threw a card to each other, knowing what they needed. 'Now I'll activate a new Field Spell - Land of Frozen Flames.'

The raging red square that was Magical Meltdown quickly faded away, in support of a frozen wasteland that appeared to have ice-cold volcanoes all around. 'Now I can use any Water monster as two materials for an Xyz summon. I'll overlay Invoked Cocytus! With this monster I build the overlay network, and Xys summon Dragonlark Pairen (Def.:1300).' 'Some threat that is.' 'You need to consider one thing - as long as you have an Extra deck monster on the field, Pairen can't be destroyed by battle or by effects. I end my turn (Snake Atk:2700).'

(Kari hand: Utopic Onomatopoeia, Battle Fader, Xyz Unit)

Kari: 'I draw. I'll just end my turn, there's nothing I can do.'

(Rio hand: Aleister the Invoker, Double Rank-up Magic Red Strike Force,

Rio: 'I draw.' As the time was right, Rio's right eye lit up red, and she smiled. 'Easy mode is off now. I activate Double Rank-up Magic Red Strike Force! This allows me to banish a monster from the graveyard, and then Double Rank-up a monster on the field to an Xyz monster of the banished Type or Attribute. I'll banish Blizzard Falcon and target Dragonlark Pairen. Renegade Xyz Evolution! In the depths of your misery and hopelessness, a new threat will drag you down to the depths of defeat! I Xyz summon Number 110 - Ragnar the Sea Ghost (Atk:2400). While Ragnar is on the field, it is immune to battle and targeting card effects.'

'Now attack Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Buffalo with Rising Rage.' A ghostly figure, appearing to have the appearance of an elderly man, surged out of the prison on the field, and grasped Buffalo, dragging it into the prison, never to be seen again. 'I end my turn.'

(Radley hand: Rekindling)

Radley: 'My turn. I'll tune Level 3 Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Spirit to Level 3 Hawk, in order to Synchro summon Vulcan the Divine (Atk:2000). The moment Vulcan appears, I can return one card on each field to the hand. I'll choose one of my face-downs and your Ragnar the Sea Ghost.' Rio however, had a different idea, as her hand glowed red. 'From my graveyard I'll activate the effect of Red Strike. By halving our Life points (Frozen Diamonds LP:3000-1500), I can negate your monster's effect, and then rank up my Ragnar into a monster one Rank higher. Chaos Xyz Evolution!'

When this was declared, the iron sealing Ragnar's prison broke open, and the ghost soared into the sky, creating its own Xyz network. 'Unleash the cursed fiend whose power is so great it had to be sealed for the world's protection, break the binds that chain him to his prison so that he may rise anew!' The same figure then appeared, now wearing chains and with a scarred red face. Appear Number C110, Ragnar the Sealed (Atk:3050).'

'When Ragnar is summoned, I can banish one card from the field, and you can't respond. I'll take care of Utopic Draco Future.' The Chaos Xyz monster floated around Number F0 for a moment, and drew a circle around it, which turned into a prison of chains, dragging it down into the abyss. 'I end my turn.'

(Blair hand: Pot of Avarice)

Blair: 'I activate Pot of Avarice. By shuffling back five monsters into the graveyard, i can draw two cards. Then I'll activate Instant Fusion. By paying 1000 Life points (Frozen Diamonds LP:1500-500), I can summon El Shaddoll Winda from my Extra deck (Atk:2200). Then I'll activate Invocation!' 'You hard drew it?' 'Yep, and it spells your doom. I'll fuse El Shaddoll Winda with the Cocytus in my graveyard to Fusion summon the strongest of Aleister's creations. You're in a world of trouble against Invoked Elysium (Def.:4000). I end my turn.'

(Kari hand: Utopic Onomatopoeia, Battle Fader, Xyz Unit, Gagaga Magician)

Kari: 'I draw. I summon Utopic Onomatopoeia (Atk:1500). And with its effect, I can summon Gagaga Magician from my hand (Atk:1500). Then I'll overlay them both to summon Number 39 - Utopia (Atk:2500).' As she did, someone wearing a Regiment shirt in the front row held up seven fingers, which Kari saw, and then started to consider her move. Very carefully. Eventually, she appeared to have made a decision. 'I'm going to… end my turn… actually I'll set this one card' As she saw the amount of fingers go down, she hung out, until finally saying 'I think my turn is… done. Over to you.'

Just as Rio went to draw for turn, with lethal at hand, a buzzer went off, as the time limit had elapsed. As generic music played, the two teams both seemed shocked at the time limit having expired. While Rio was talking to the referee about extending the time limit, to no avail, Kari was taking the opportunity to leave with her title belt when Blair caught up with her, and they got into another war of words which concluded with Blair socking Kari directly in the mouth, and a large punch-up ensued. While they brawled all around the duel arena, Rio and Radley started arguing about who would have won.

After this lasted for several minutes, Radley picked up his belt and went to leave, only for Rio to grab the strap of the title, leading to a tug of war. Notably, the crowd in Puerto Rico cheered every time Rio pulled the title, and booed when Radley pulled it back, which seemed to be making him more annoyed. Despite his significant size advantage, the Floridian was unable to snatch the belt away from her, increasing the tension, until Bolton Andrews walked out, not that they noticed.

'Stop this right now.' As they continued to ignore him, he signalled up to the stands, and a dozen security officers ran down, and separated the warring teams, with one of them taking the opportunity to smash Blair's elbow with a baton while neither team was looking. Bolton then began his address, as Blair clutched her arm in pain. 'Right, now that you're both listening, I have a couple of announcements. Firstly, I will be acting as the Commissioner for now, as I have been reappointed as Mr. Adams' assistant.'

'Now for the matter at hand. I have just come off the phone with the Board of Directors, they are most intrigued at this situation. As a result, in three weeks, at the WDC's Anniversary Show, they have demanded a rematch between the Frozen Diamonds and the Regiment.' As both teams nodded, there was a twist in the tail. 'However, they have said that there have been enough matches between you now and this feud cannot go on forever. Therefore, they have also dictated that whichever team loses will not be allowed a rematch as long as the other team are still champions. You will receive the contracts through the post in the next few days. Good luck duellists.'

Backstage, Rio pulled Blair over immediately and got her to sit down. 'What happened out there?' 'One of those fucking security guards just smacked my elbow with their night stick.' Rio then immediately got her phone out. 'Hey Sak, it's Rio. We kind of need you down near the duelling zone, Blair just got her elbow caved in by one of the security staff. Thanks, sorry about this.' 'You don't need to do this Rio.' The reply was conclusive. 'Yes, we do.'

Less than three minutes later, Sakura arrived to check on Blair. 'Right, which arm?' 'Right.' 'Lift it up then.' As she lifted the arm up, she came to a quick diagnosis. 'I don't even need to touch that, that elbow is 100% broken. Can I just have a feel though?' 'Whatever you need to do.' The moment Sakura touched the injured elbow, Blair let out a howl of pain. 'I'll get you something for the pain in a minute. This was a targeted attack - they knew exactly where to hit. Have to do an X-Ray but I think that's got multiple breaks.'

Backstage, Astrid was wandering around, debating who to choose as her partner for the main event, as Sakura lent an ear. 'Maddy's my tag partner, but she's still not cleared, I can't go Blair because that's what they would expect, I can't go Rio because she's exhausted after that duel, Freja is so far under Phil's influence that he's making her use a deck she doesn't understand, Phil won't because he doesn't like me, Hannah's refusing to come out of retirement for this'

It was the medic who then came up with an idea. 'If it helps, I saw Kris beat Blair in the arena the other day.' 'Isn't he using that new deck that he doesn't understand?' 'Who said he didn't understand it? He looked awesome against her, I've never seen someone dominate Blair like that. Besides, he sort of is your boyfriend, you kind of owe it to him to… I dunno, consider it?' 'I guess I should talk to him about it at least.'

Elsewhere, Eagle was talking to a staff member when Caprice walked up, and quickly shooed him away. 'I was just having a good conversation with him as well.' 'Listen, we don't need stupid guys in our lives. We are strong, independent women, and we need to be proud of it. No more begging guys for attention, and no more hiding behind stupid nicknames.' 'Stupid nicknames? What are you on about?'

'Listen Sara, you've got a wonderful name. So why are you hiding behind this "Eagle" stuff?' This made the young woman think. 'I… don't actually remember. I think I just thought it sounded cooler and the fans would like me more.' 'You don't need their acceptance, they are paying to see you. They are paying to see US. All those fans out there, they are here because they want the opportunity to be in our presence. So why don't you hold your head high, and be proud of who you are. Anyway, I've got to take care of another guy who thinks he's better than any woman just because of Biology.'

In the duelling zone

Justin came out first, with Nico Smiley now representing him. And boy did Justin have more nonsense to spout. 'One of the keys to being a Player is to be seen. If a woman doesn't know that you are there, they will not be able to rely on you when they need a protector. They will not have the safety of that shield against the cruel world. You need to always be there, always be visible, make sure they know that you are nearby. If they claim they "don't need you", they are just a better conquest.'

Mercifully, his mad rantings were interrupted as Caprice's music started. She had barely got out of the entrance gate however, when as she posed, Freja ran up from behind, wearing a dark blue and black leather bodysuit, smacking Caprice in the back of the head with an iron whip several times, before throwing her head-first into the gate. She then walked down, running her fingers through her long and low slick ponytail, while she got an analysis.

"Freja McKinna appears to have had a little bit of a makeover. The Renegades' wildcard, she is now part of a subgroup called the "Robinson-Cummings Dynasty", and appears to be much more serious now. She's even been given a brand new deck to match the makeover." What the commentators were unaware of was that Freja had not long been placed in a powerful trance by Phil. The exact effects were being kept secret by him other than her being "more of an assassin".

As she reached the zone, Justin approached her, but she just pushed him to the ground. 'It's ok missy, I'm here to protect you. I know how desperate you were to come for my sanctuary, you made yourself look more powerful so that I had to show how much I can look after you. You needed to see that I could guide you through the darkness' At this point, Freja grabbed the book off him. 'If you ever want to see this again you're going to shut up and duel. I have orders and they aren't from you.' Barely blinking, she activated her duel disk, followed by Justin after some advice from Nico.

Freja McKinna LP:4000 vs. Justin Pipe LP:4000

(Freja hand: Trade-In, Archlord Kristya, Cyber Angel Benten, Drytron Alpha Thuban, E.M.R)

Freja: 'I'm going first. I draw.' Freja then took some time to look at her deck, before beginning her turn. 'I'll Trade In, discarding Archlord Kristya to draw two cards. Then I tribute Cyber Angel Benten from my hand' Immediately, Justin was pushing his luck. 'Hey sweetie, you can't do that. Would you like me to show you how to play? It's understandable, it's a difficult game.' Her response was to flip the bird at him. 'I don't need help, we've been going through this deck all week. Also, I'm not your sweetie. I tribute Cyber Angel Benten from my hand to Special summon Drytron Alpha Thuban (Def.:0).'

'That… ain't a pretty little Fairy.' 'Yeah, well we've changed, because now I've got someone to serve. Because Benten was tributed by a card effect, she can add a Light Fairy from my deck to my hand. I'll choose another Benten. Additionally, because Alpha was summoned with its effect, I can add Cyber Angel Dakini to my hand. Next I'll tribute Benten to summon Drytron Zeta Aldihibah (Def.:2000). When I summon Zeta, I can add a Ritual Spell to my hand. I choose Meteonis Drytron. And the effect of Benten triggers again, grabbing me Herald of Ultimateness.'

'Now I have two Level 1 monsters' 'Wait, they're Level 1?' 'What about it?' She asked indignantly. 'I'm overlaying Drytron Alpha and Zeta to build the overlay network and summon Rank 1, Drytron Mu Beta Fafnir (Atk:2000). And now I activate Meteonis Drytron. So you know how Ritual summoning normally works, right?' Having seen the opening duel, Justin just rolled his eyes. 'What this time?' 'Meteonis Drytron doesn't take cost based on Levels, it's based on Attack value. And with the effect of Mu Beta Fafnir, I can detach materials to pay the cost of the Ritual summon. So I'll detach the 2000 Attack point Drytron Zeta as the material to Ritual summon Herald of Ultimateness (Def.:3000). I end my turn setting one.'

(Justin hand: Gravekeeper's Stele, Gravekeeper's Spy, Gravekeeper's Guard, Magicalized Fusion, Necrovalley, Allure of Darkness)

Justin: 'It's ok, you don't need to get defensive, you've got me now. I draw. I'll start with Allure of Darkness, to draw two cards' 'Herald's effect, discarding Eva to negate your Spell.' As his Spell card wilted in the light, Justin was going to get more bad news. 'Eva effect in grave, I'll banish two Light Fairies, Benten and Kristya, to add Diviner of the Heralds and Eva to my hand.' 'Well I won't let you do that again - I activate Necrovalley.'

Without any doubt or hesitation, Freja struck again. 'Herald effect, discarding Diviner.' Lacking options now, Justin resigned himself. 'You don't need to fight it, your natural urge is to look for protection, look for salvation, I can offer all of that.' Freja just laughed him off though. 'You really don't get it? I don't have "natural urges", I've been programmed to serve. The only salvation I need is my master telling me I've done well. So end your turn, unless you think you can find my good side.' 'I know I can. I set a monster, set a face-down and end my turn.'

(Freja hand: Cyber Angel Dakini, Burial from a Different Dimension, Eva)

Freja: 'I draw. I'll activate Burial from a Different Dimension. This takes up to three banished monsters, and returns them to the graveyard. I'll target my Benten and Kristya. Then I'll activate the effect of Drytron Zeta in my graveyard, to tribute Cyber Angel Dakini from my hand and Special summon Zeta (Def.:2000). With Zeta, I'll get another copy of Meteonis Drytron. Which I'll then activate, because Meteonis can summon Ritual monsters that are in the graveyard. I'll tribute Zeta and detach Alpha from Fafnir, to Ritual summon Cyber Angel Dakini (Atk:2700).'

'When Dakini is summoned, she can force you to send a monster on your field to the graveyard. Choose carefully' She stated mockingly, knowing that he had no choice. As Gravekeeper's Guard departed, Freja got ready to swing in. 'Dakini, swing in!' The Cyber Angel spun her staff up to a high velocity, before smashing Justin in the face (Justin LP:4000-1300). With lethal at hand, Freja suddenly ended her turn.

(Justin hand: Gravekeeper's Spy, Magical Dimension)

Justin: 'I draw. I activate my face-down Gravekeeper's Stele.' Still with no emotion, Freja declared 'Herald effect' again, discarding Eva. 'Eva effect, banish Benten and Kristya, adding Cyber Angel Natasha and Arcana Force XV: The Devil.' 'In that case I'll set a monster and end my turn.'

(Freja hand: Cyber Angel Natasha, Arcana Force XV: The Devil, Mind Control)

Freja: 'Draw.' As she did, her master gave her an instruction through the earpiece she was wearing. 'Finish him my puppet.' She then looked up with deathly eyes. 'He has spoken, and your end has arrived. I'll tribute Drytron Mu Beta Fafnir and Cyber Angel Dakini so that I can call upon the personification of death itself, Arcana Force XV: The Devil (Atk:2500). When it's summoned, a coin is thrown. Heads and it destroys a monster on your field when it attacks. Tails and it destroys every other monster on the field when it attacks.'

Before the coin had even landed, she went straight to battle. 'Arcana Force XV, attack!' As it did, its Tails effect triggered, and destroyed everything on the field, before a large, whipping tendril appeared, and smacked Justin right around the face (Justin LP:1300-0).

As Justin kneeled, defeated, Freja walked over, picked up his book, and tore it apart, before dropping the remains in front of him. As DJ Tanner came over to conduct an interview, Freja took the microphone. 'For too long the Renegades have been mocked, ignored and walked on. We won't take it anymore. The time for fun and games is over, from now on we're taking this world. And if anyone tries to stop us…' She then looked down at the camera with evil eyes. 'We'll destroy them all!' She left, leaving the message loud and clear.

In the car park

Kenzie and Denzil were talking ahead of their debut when they received a surprise visit from Blair, who had heavy wrapping on her elbow. But Denzil immediately had things on his mind other than the duel. 'Saw what happened with your arm earlier, what's the damage?' 'Smashed my elbow into a jigsaw, nothing I can't cope with. I was just here to talk about your duel coming up. You're finally becoming pros.' 'Man, I thought this day would never come. Never thought I'd see my name in lights, never thought I'd be in the big fights'

Kenzie then laughed and put her hand in front of his mouth. 'Save that for our entrance, k?' 'You got something planned for it?' 'Yeah, you could say something like that. Haven't you Denzil?' He smiled, and pulled a microphone out of his jacket pocket. 'You bet I do.' 'Fancy giving me some bars?' 'Nah, you can wait like everyone else.' Just then, Blair's phone started ringing. 'Sorry about this, I need to take this call.' 'Yeah, no, we get it, you're a busy person.'

When Blair got back to the rest of the club, she played the message that Maddy had left her. "We are the Renegades, the greatest force this planet has ever seen. And we need to truly make our mark, establish our dominance, for too long we have been taken advantage of. I want you all to prove that the Renegades are once more, the single most important entity, and we are to be feared by all those who oppose us. You will now receive a text with details of your target.' As the message ended, they all received the same text, and immediately understood their task.

A few minutes later, Kris was hunting for their target, when he felt a strange sensation behind him. Turning around, he saw Astrid lightly kicking the backs of his legs. She then cracked up laughing. 'What's funny?' 'The fact I've been doing that for about five minutes.' 'So, I take it you want something? If it's your Kransen, I heard that it got stolen.' 'It's made, I was literally just wearing it, then it was like this rush of air, and it was gone.' Not wanting to play detective, Kris changed subject. 'So you wanted something?' 'Yeah, I've got this duel later, it's a tag, and I was wondering if you'd team up with me?' Kris seemed to be astonished that she was asking.

'You sure?' 'Absolutely, you're awesome.' 'Thank you.' 'So is that a "yes"? Or do I have to flirt?' 'We know what happens when you flirt - someone ends up with an axe in the head.' 'You're making it sound like I'm not feminine.' 'No, I'm making it sound like you're terrible at flirting.' 'So is it a yes or not?' He didn't say anything at first, instead putting his arm around her. 'You know, I think I could just about do that.'

In the duelling zone

The Regiment, being represented by Hassleberry and new recruit Pez de Fuego (David Asun under a Lucha mask) were stood in the zone when some relatively generic hip-hop started playing over a bodhran beat. As Kenzie and Denzil entered alongside Blair, he started rapping. 'Kenz and Denz as if you need to ask, you really think we can't see you under that mask? As for Hassleberry your hair looks like a girl, looking for too long makes me wanna hurl.' The Sergeant was left humiliated by this comment, but there was more. 'And Claude got choked out by a girl, man that's gotta suck. But my trainer's an ex-Marine, so she don't give a f**k!' As Blair laughed to herself, Kenzie took the mic. 'And if you try your stupid army talk with us, we'll nail you right up yer barracks!'

As they entered the zone, the fans already behind them, Kenzie and Denzil got a full introduction. 'Introducing their opponents, making their WDC debut, and accompanied by Blair Flannigan, they are the team of Denzil Davis, and the Fire from the Saltire, Kenzie Calhoun!' Soon enough, before their duel began, the commentators introduced them.

"Here we have Denzil Davis and Kenzie Calhoun, a team straight out of the Renegade Arena Advanced Course. Denzil, originally from Moss Side in Manchester but now competing out of Leicester, is a talented rapper as you may have just heard, and has been trained by our very own Blair Flannigan. His Karakuri Twist deck is highly difficult to combat, as it switches battle positions of monsters on the field at breakneck speed. Kenzie Calhoun, from Fort William in the Scottish Highlands, just missed out to Denzil, finishing 6th in the course. Her Muskets at Dawn deck is built specifically to take advantage of the grind game we often find here, creating opportunities to snipe damage. Now you will see that Kenzie has earphones in when she duels. That is due to an eyesight issue, and has been cleared with the WDC's Board of Directors, the earphones feed her information about the cards and directly plug into her duel disk.'

The Regiment (Sgt. Tyranno Hassleberry and Col. Pez de Fuego) LP:4000 vs. Kenzie Calhoun and Denzil Davis LP:4000

(Denzil hand: Karakuri Merchant "Inashichi", Karakuri Anatomy, Karakuri Trick House, Cyber Summon Blaster, Karakuri Bonze "Kunamzan".

Turn 1: Denzil: 'I'll start Kenz.' 'You got it Denz.' 'Let's start the beat! I summon Karakuri Merchant "Inashichi" (Atk:500). Then I'll activate Karakuri Anatomy. Each time a Karakuri changes its Battle position, this little thing gains a counter, you with me still?' 'Of course.' 'Well let me know if you need things breaking down for ya. When this card has two counters, I send it to the grave and draw two cards. Then I'll use Karakuri Bonze "Kunamzan" in my hand, which summons itself as a Tuner. All I have to do is switch Inashichi's battle position (Atk:2000, Inashichi Def.:1500, Anatomy Counters:1).'

'Now I'm Synchroing these two off.' Denzil then decided to start freestyling again. 'Yo guys, get ready for the freakdown, because these monsters gonna bring the beatdown. Yeah, this guy's my best, like King Kong slamming on your chest. When me and my guy are done, all you can do is run! I Synchro summon. This Shogun gonna lead you home hun, I summon Karakuri Shogun "Burei" (Atk:2600). Burei's effect on summon allows it to summon a Karakuri from deck, and I choose Karakuri Gama "Shirokunishi" (Atk:200). Then I'll use Burei's effect to switch it to Defence mode (Def.:1000, Anatomy Counters:2).'

'Now I have two Anatomy counters, I can send Anatomy to the graveyard and grab two more cards. After that, it's Synchro time again! I tune Level 1 Shirokunishi to Level 7 Burei. If you thought Burei was bad, this guy's just rad, a Steel Shogun so cold, it'll execute anyone, young or old. I don't care what it has to do, as long as it sees us through! Meet Karakuri Steel Shogun "Bureido" (Atk:2700). And Bureido has an effect to summon a Karakuri monster from my deck. I'll summon Karakuri Gama "Shirokunishi" (Atk:200). And I'll activate Karakuri Cash Cache, which targets Shirokunishi, changes it to Defence mode (Def.:1000), and adds Karakuri Ninja "Kuick" to my hand.'

'That in turn triggers Bureido, which will draw me a card. Now I'll tune Level 1 Shirokunishi to Level 8 Bureido!' As they combined, a single large blade appeared in the centre of the field. 'Time to get serious, one hit from this gonna leave you delirious. That said if you thought you were gonna win the whole lot, I gotta say you've been smoking pot, but you know what, that ain't so hot, 'cause you ain't got what we got and that's the final dot! I Synchro summon Karakuri Super Shogun "Bureibu" (Atk:3000). And Bureibu has an effect to Special summon a Karakuri monster from my deck. How about you meet Karakuri Barrel "Shinkuro" (Atk:400). I'll end my verse with two face-downs.'

(Pez hand: Crusadia Leonis, Crusadia Arboria, Crusadia Draco, Crusadia Testement, World Legacy Succession)

Pez: 'I draw. I will start with Crusadia Leonis (Atk:1200). Then I will use it for a Link summon. Appear, Link 1, Crusadia Magius (Atk:100, Link Arrows: Bottom). Because I now control a Crusadia Link monster, I can use its Link arrow zone to Special summon Crusadia Arboria. All Crusadia Link monsters gain Attack equal to monsters in their Link arrow zone (Atk:800, Magius Atk:900). And because Arboria was summoned to this zone, the effect of Magius adds Crusadia Maximus to my hand.'

'Now I will Link again with two monsters, to summon Link 2, Crusadia Spatha (Atk:500, Link Arrows: Left, Bottom). Then I will summon Maximus to one of Spatha's Link arrows (Atk:1600, Spatha Atk:2100). Then another Link, Maximus and Link 2 Spatha into Link 3, Crusadia Equimax (Atk:2000, Arrows: Bottom Left, Bottom Right, Top). And it gains Attack equal to the monster it points to.' As this was declared, Bureibu glowed brightly, as Equimax faced it (Atk:2000-5000). And I will boost it further with Crusadia Draco (Atk:600, Equimax Atk:5000-5600).'

'Equimax, attack Bureibu!' Seeing that he had been outfoxed by the veteran Spaniard, Denzil had to think on his feet. 'I activate Karakuri Gold Dust. This switches one Karakuri on the field to Defence mode, and another one gains its Attack points. I'll switch Bureibu to Defence mode (Def.:1500, Shirokunishi Atk:400-3400). So, how desperate are you to get some damage in?' It was this gloating that cost Denzil, as Pez de Fuego thought better of his instincts. 'I will continue to attack Bureibu. And in the Damage step, I will activate Crusadia Testament.' As the Spell was activated, Bureibu was sliced in half by the Equimax riding into battle (Kenzie and Denzil LP:4000-1800).

'After the battle, Testament will draw me cards equal to its Link Rating. As you can see, the rating is three.' As he drew three cards, Denzil looked pensive, clearly being outplayed by his far more experienced opponent. He looked around at Blair for support, and she just stood with her arms folded, still having faith in her student. 'I end my turn with three Set, and wish you the greatest of fortunes.'

(Kenzie hand: Magical Musketeer - Caspar, Magical Musketeer - Mastermind Zakiel, Magical Musket - Last Stand, Magical Musket - Cross Domination, Fiend Griefing, Magical Musket - Dancing Needle)

Kenzie: 'No way am I losing to someone whose name is a file format!' Hearing this caused Denzil to turn around in confusion. 'Y'know, Pez de Fuego? PDF?' He then rolled his eyes, finally getting the joke. 'With you now. How long did it take you to come up with that one?' 'About as long as it took you to take your turn. So about 20 minutes.' 'At least I've done something.' 'It's literally my first turn.' She then noticed her hand shaking less, and looked up at Denzil. 'Thanks, I think I needed that.'

After a deep breath, she took her turn. 'I draw. I summon Magical Musketeer - Caspar (Atk:1200). Then I'll activate Magical Musket - Cross Domination. This targets a monster on your field, and reduces its Attack to 0, while also negating its effects.' Seeing the danger, the Spaniard decided to do something about it. 'I will activate Magic Jammer. By discarding the last card from my hand, I negate your silly little Spell.' 'Nuh-uh, I'll activate Magical Musket - Last Stand, which negates your Magic Jammer.'

While the newest Regiment recruit processed Kenzie activating a Counter Trap from her hand, the mighty Equimax was crippled, taking a fizzing red bullet from a spiked musket barrel (Atk:5600-0). 'Caspar, attack Crusadia Equimax.' The valiant musketeer lifted up his arm gauntlet, and shot out a three pronged hooked weapon, which caused Equimax to crumple to the ground (Regiment LP:4000-2800). 'I'll end my turn with a face-down.'

(Hassleberry hand: Dinowrestler Iguanodraka, Big Evolution Pill, Spacetime Transcendance, Dinowrestler Coelasilat, Dinowrestler Rambrachio, Dinowrestler Valeonyx)

Hassleberry: 'I'm sure you think you're cool just because you can rap, but have you ever excavated a dinosaur bone?' Kenzie and Denzil looked at each other, and both shook their heads. 'Now that's what you call cool. Talking of cool, Dinowrestler Coelasilat has the trick of summoning itself if I control no monsters (Atk:100). And by discarding Dinowrestler Valeonyx, I can summon Dinowrestler Iguanodraka (Atk:2000). But they don't need to stay around, not when Level 2 Coelasilat can tune to Level 6 Iguanodraka. Dinowrestler Giga Spinosavate, front and centre soldier (Atk:3000).'

Suspicious of Kenzie's apparently weak field, Hassleberry made the decision to deal with it. 'I activate Spinosavate's effect, to destroy one monster you control. I'll destroy Caspar.' Kenzie had one parting gift though. 'I'll chain Magical Musket - Dancing Needle. You see, the Musketeers can activate the Musket Spell/Traps on either of our turns, and Dancing Needle banishes three cards from the graveyards. So I'll banish your Iguanodraka and Valeonyx, and Crusadia Equimax.' A red needle was materialised, which shot into Hassleberry's graveyard and removed the cards, just as Spinosavate snapped Caspar's spine.

'And now Spinosavate is allowed to come charging in at your Barrel.' A dust cloud was created by the high velocity at which the Dinowrestler charged its enemy. Hassleberry was dismayed however, when Denzil and Kenzie were unharmed (Denzil and Kenzie LP:1800). 'Hey what blows?' 'Yo, Barrel switches to Defence mode when it's attacked (Def.:400). And also it can't be destroyed by battle once in every turn.' Kenzie then joined in. 'Let that burn!' 'I'll end my turn there.'

Nervous still, Denzil took a moment, then looked behind him at Blair, who just mouthed "You got this" at him, and smiled. This vote of confidence was just what he needed, as he limbered up, before taking his next turn.

(Denzil hand: Machine Duplication, Karakuri Gama Oil, Karakuri Trick House, Karakuri Ninja "Nanashick")

Denzil: 'I draw. This move's so sweet it's gonna make you weep. I activate Karakuri Gama Oil, to revive my Shirokunishi (Def.:1000). Then I'll Machine Duplication, which summons two more copies of Shirokunishi from my deck (Def.:400)x2. Now I'll tribute Kunamzan to Tribute summon Karakuri Ninja "Nanashick" (Atk:2200). When Nanashick is Tribute summoned, I can draw a card for every Defence position Karakuri on my field. So that's three more cards.'

'Now I'll discard Noisy Gnat from my hand. While you're all distracted by the noise this guy makes, one more Level Nanashick fakes (Level:5-6). Meaning I can tune Level 1 Shirokunishi to Level 6 Nanashick, to summon another Karakuri Shogun "Burei" (Atk:2600). Now Burei can summon a Karakuri from my deck, like Karakuri Ninja "Kuick" (Atk:1700). But I can do better than that, like tuning another Shirokunishi to Burei to Synchro summon Bureido (Atk:2700).'

'And Bureido summons another Karakuri from my deck. This time I'll choose Karakuri Muso "Haipa" (Atk:2100). But he ain't staying, I'm overlaying both my Level 4 Haipa and Kuick, to Xyz summon Dugares the Timeless (Def.:1200).' He then looked at his partner. 'Hey Kenz, you don't need your Battle phase do you?' 'Not really.' 'Great. By skipping our next Battle phase, Dugares can detach both materials to double the Attack of Bureido until our next Standby phase (Atk:2700-5400). Attack Dinowrestler Giga Spinosavate with Samurai Slayer.' Bureido lifted its sword, before impaling th Dionwrestler with it (Regiment LP:2800-400).

As the battle ended, Spinosavate was still around, despite being nearly disembowelled. 'Spinosavate has a cool trick, by destroying one card on our field, it survives. A card like Crusadia Draco.' Pez appeared to have no issue with this, but Denzil came to a realisation. Looking over at Kenzie, he signalled to her, before ending his turn without setting any cards.

(Pez hand: Crusadia Power, Link Restart, Crusadia Maximus)

Pez: 'I draw.' Overconfident in his partner's strategies, Pez made a surprising move. 'I will set one monster and then I will end my turn.'

(Kenzie hand: Fairy Wind, Magical Musketeer Mastermind Zakiel)

Kenzie: 'My turn.' Seeing the way, she realised she had some cleaning up to do. So staring at Denzil, she stated 'I switch Bureido to Defence mode (Def.:1700).' He clearly took the hint. 'I activate Karakuri Trick House. When a Karakuri changes Battle position, this destroys one card on the field. And I'll pick David's set monster.' As Pez fumed about the wrong name being used, his Crusadia Maximus was caught in a strange subspace from the Trick House, and ripped apart. 'I'll set one and pass.'

(Hassleberry hand: Big Evolution Pill, Spacetime Transcendance, Night Beam)

Hassleberry: 'Now I draw.' 'Yeah well you're never going to get chance to do anything with it. I activate Fairy Wind. This destroys all Spells and Traps on the field other than itself and deals 300 points of damage to both teams.' As Hassleberry counted the damage, he realised that with five set cards on the field, the Regiment had fallen victim to some clever teamwork (Regiment LP:400-0, Kenzie and Denzil LP:1800-300).

With a debut triumph under their belts, Kenzie and Denzil fist bumped, as the crowd started cheering immensely for them. Blair then walked over, and with her one good arm, the three embraced. Meanwhile, Claude started berating Hassleberry and Pez for their loss, and for the first time, the Sergeant bit back, chewing out his superior, to the point where Radley and Kari had to make a reappearance, breaking up the argument.

Enraged by the apparent disrespect, Claude then pointed at Kari and shouted 'She can follow orders. She played for a draw just so we could keep those titles!', leading to Radley shoving his tag partner to the ground, disgusted at the revelation. The Regiment left in two groups, with Pez and Hassleberry following a steaming Radley out, followed by Claude and Kari, who was trying to talk to Radley as they left.

Backstage

Before her duel with Akiza, Brooke was being interviewed by DJ Tanner. 'Brooke, you are new to the professional ranks, but you're challenging Akiza Izinski. Why?' 'Because I came here to win. And I might as well begin with one of the top people here. I know how good Akiza is, but she doesn't know how good I am. I don't know if I'm going to beat her, but I'm going to try.' 'Now I understand you have a link to Puerto Rico, do you not?'

'That's right, my Dad is from Navarro in the Caguas Valley, and one of my Uncles still lives in San Juan. It's actually the first time I've ever been here, so I'm a little nervous, but… I'm getting a little choked up here.' She then signalled to someone unseen for some water. A cloaked figure came into shot with a water bottle, and then threw the contents into the eyes of DJ, causing her to scream as she was temporarily blinded.

This allowed several figures wearing Renegades hoodies to run in, and attack. One of them grabbed DJ in a rear choke, while another forced a chloroform-soaked cloth onto her face, causing the interviewer to slip into unconsciousness within a minute. They then picked her body up, and carried her away, as cameras followed them to a large yet nondescript estate car. When there, they lifted her body into the rear of the car, and Taylor took her hood off, winking at the camera, before all getting into the car and speeding off.

While the commentators digested what they had seen, the picture cut to nearby, where Declan Akaba was entering the building, in a blue hoodie and red scarf, with Nico Smiley running up to him. 'Mr. Akaba, may I say' 'I would rather you not Nico. I'm not here for a social occasion, remember?' As he said this, another interviewer, this time a male with a thick Irish accent, approached Declan with a microphone.

'Mr. Akaba, welcome to the WDC.' 'No welcome needed, I won't be staying long.' 'You've got this big duel tonight against Phil Robinson, the current WDC World Champion, what is your approach for a duel such as this?' Still not even acknowledging the interviewer with a single glance, he stoically stated 'I have no special approach for today, I can assure you that I will win, and that's all I care about. If this company won't send me their best representative, then I have no challenge.' He walked off, leaving the interviewer stunned. 'Ladies and Gentlemen, Declan Akaba, grossly underestimating the challenge ahead of him.'

The duelling action then continued, with Akiza making her entrance. As she did, a video of Brooke's challenge was aired, along with a notice about the upcoming Baltic Championships Super 8s, to be held the next week. Akiza's bio was then assessed. "Akiza Izinski is one of our most experienced duellists, and her current feud with the Renegades is one of the most explosive yet. Her Torture Therapy deck attempts to create the conditions she claims she was subjected to as a member of the group, healing herself while hurting the opposition. After a Wild-Card Warriors draw last time out, she'll be hoping to claim victory this time."

As she entered the zone, she didn't have any time before Brooke's music hit, and she walked out carrying a Puerto Rican flag to a rapturous response. 'Introducing her opponent, from Rhyl, Denbighshire, Wales, she is Brooke Angharad.' The Welsh Wonder walked down, full of confidence, and embracing the reception she received. "Brooke Angharad, 20 years old from North Wales, finished 3rd in the Renegades Arena finals, defeating multiple time Amateur Champion Myka Grainger in the final, so we know she's heavily skilled. Her deck which she simply calls "Citadel", focuses on the gathering of Spell Counters to pay for powerful effects. She's also regarded as a very defensively sound duellist, so this duel could go the distance again."

In the zone, Brooke stepped up to Akiza, and smiled, before taking a microphone. 'Bet you're wondering why I challenged you? Well, I want to be the best duellist in the world, so I need to see exactly where my skills are at. And I heard that if you ask nice enough around here, you get what you want. My Dad lived around these parts, so I know all about hard work, he worked 18 hour days for five years after he met my Mum just so they could buy an apartment together, so let's go!' As the somewhat hyperactive taff left for her section, Akiza just rolled her eyes, this clearly not who she was after.

Akiza Izinski LP:4000 vs. Brooke Angharad LP:4000

(Akiza hand: Lonefire Blossom, Aroma Garden, Basel Rose Shoot, Red Rose Dragon, White Rose Dragon).

Turn 1: Akiza: 'I'll go first. I summon Lonefire Blossom (Atk:500). And I can tribute it to summon Talaya, Princess of Cherry Blossoms from my deck. She gives all Plants on the field 100 more Attack points for each one on the field (Atk:2800-2900). I'll set one card and pass to you.'

(Brooke hand: Servant of Endymion, Reflection of Endymion, Magical Dimension, Mythical Bestiary, Spell Power Mastery, Spell of Pain)

Brooke: 'I draw. I'll set the Pendulum scale with Scale 2 Servant of Endymion. Then I'll activate Mythical Bestiary. By sending two cards from the top of my deck to the graveyard, Servant gets two Spell Counters. And because I activated a Spell card, Servant gains another Spell Counter (SC:0-3). Now with the effect of Servant, I can remove those Counters to summon it from my Pendulum Zone, and a monster who can hold a Spell Counter from my deck, then they both get a Spell Counter. I'll grab Reflection of Endymion (Servant Def.:1500, Reflection Atk:1850).'

'When Reflection is summoned, it bounces two cards to the hand - one from your field, and one from my field that has a Spell Counter on it. I'll bounce Servant of Endymion and Talaya back to the hand. Then, Reflection gains the Spell Counter that Servant had (SC:1-2). Reflection, attack directly.' Reflection produced a powerful light-based attack, which razed the ground in front of it (Akiza LP:4000-2150). 'I'll set Servant back in my Pendulum zone, set two Spell/Traps and end my turn.'

(Akiza hand: Aroma Garden, Red Rose Dragon, White Rose Dragon, Aromage Jasmine, Talaya, Princess of Cherry Blossoms)

Akiza: 'Anyone who associates with the Renegades will fall, however insignificant. I summon Aromage Jasmine (Atk:100). And I'll activate Aroma Garden, which I'll use straight away to give me 500 more Life points and Jasmine 500 Attack (Akiza LP:2150-2650, Jasmine Atk:100-600, Servant SC:0-1). Then with Jasmine's effect, I'll draw another card. Now I'll activate Basal Rose Shoot, to summon Roxrose Dragon (Atk:1600). Roxrose's effect on summon allows me to add a card which mentions Black Rose Dragon from my deck to my hand. I'll pick up Blooming of the Darkest Rose.'

'Next I'll tune Level 3 Roxrose to Level 2 Aromage Jasmine. Plants with the most delicate of flowers, combine your majesty to create the sweetest scent that a monster could ever produce to subdue any resistance! I Synchro summon Garden Rose Flora (Def.:1600).' Seeing the apparently weak Flora on the field, Brooke knew that not everything was as it seemed. She wasn't daunted though. 'Give me your best shot, I want to have your best.'

Despite the fighting spirit, Akiza was showing no sign of respect. 'With the effect of Garden Rose Flora, I can destroy Aroma Garden, and replace it with a Rose Token.' Rose Flora circulated a blinding light from her hand, which made the garden vanish, before a Rose Token bloomed on the field (Atk:800). Now I'll tune the Level 5 Synchro Tuner Rose Flora and my Level 2 Rose Token.' As she did, a pink light appeared on the field. 'Moonlit flower, arise and conquer my enemy! I Synchro summon Black Rose Moonlight Dragon (Atk:2400).'

'When Moonlight Dragon is summoned to the field' 'It can bounce one of my Special summoned monsters back to the hand.' 'Correct, just like Reflection of Endymion.' With Reflection no longer around, Akiza almost cracked a smile. 'Moonlight Dragon, attack the scum.' Moonlight Dragon unleashed a horrific looking attack with its sharp barbed thorns, slamming into Brooke and leaving visible cuts on her face and arms (Brooke LP:4000-1600). 'I end my turn with one face-down.'

(Brooke hand: Magical Dimension, Reflection of Endymion, Reflection of Endymion, Endymion, the Mighty Master of Magic)

Brooke: 'You're as much of a challenge as I thought you'd be. I draw.' Seeing the card, Brooke grinned. 'Looks like I'm still in it. I'll set my other Pendulum Scale with Scale 8 Endymion the Mighty Master of Magic (Servant SC:1-2), and then I'll Pendulum summon two copies of Reflection of Endymion (Def.:2700)x2.' 'That triggers Moonlight Dragon, so one of your Reflections is headed straight back to your hand.' Unable to trigger her Magical Dimension, Brooke didn't have much choice but to let this happen. 'I end my turn with another Set card.'

(Akiza hand: Red Rose Dragon, White Rose Dragon, Talaya, Princess of Cherry Blossoms, Lonefire Blossom)

Akiza: 'I draw, and this is the last turn you're going to see. First, I'll summon Lonefire Blossom (Atk:500). And I'll tribute it through its effect to Special summon another copy of Talaya, Princess of Cherry Blossoms (Atk:2800-2900). This will allow Moonlight Dragon to trigger, and return one of your Reflections to your hand.' 'Well the effect of Reflection allows me to bounce back Talaya to your hand. Enjoy having two of them in your hand.' Brooke was pleased with the outcome, not realising that she had just fallen for Akiza's ploy.

'In that case I'll summon White Rose Dragon (Atk:1200). And when it's summoned, it calls out a friend - Red Rose Dragon (Atk:1000). Now Level 3 Red Rose Dragon tunes to Level 4 White Rose Dragon, so that I can summon my mighty Black Rose Dragon (Atk:2400). Now Black Rose, use your second effect.' Brooke just giggled to herself hearing this. 'I totally forgot Black Rose had a second effect.'

'Well after this you'll never forget the power of the Black Rose. By banishing Lonefire Blossom from my graveyard, I can switch Reflection of Endymion from Defence mode to Attack, and reduce its Attack to 0.' Black Rose's dark thorns glowed a light purple, and it wrapped them around Reflection, dragging it to a standing position (Atk:1850-0). 'Now attack Reflection with Black Rose Thorn.' Black Rose did its duty, smashing through Reflection with a sharp thorn and narrowly missing Brooke's eye in a destructive end (Brooke LP:1600-0).

As Akiza's winning attack went through, she just stared right on through, showing no joy or shred of emotion at winning, as she was joined by Kieran, Nash, Lukas, Tee, and Kenta all joined her in the centre of the duel field. She then took the mic, and simply stated 'We are Junction 7 and we have a mission', before leaving, without saying what the "mission" was. Coverage then flitted backstage, where Astrid and Kris were waiting for an interview.

'Ladies and Gentlemen, in the Main Event it will be Duel 2 in the Best of Seven Series for the WDC Championship, as champion Kalin Kessler and a partner of his choosing will take on my guests at this time, the Top Contender to the WDC Championship Astrid Hofferson, and a man we have seen very little of for a number of months, Kris Travis. Firstly Astrid, Kalin has chosen not to reveal his partner before the main event, but you have. Why?'

'It's simple, I want to have all my weapons completely visible so he has no excuses when I take the title away from him.' 'Does it concern you who his partner may be?' 'Not in the slightest, I can beat anybody he puts in front of me.' 'Now the choice of your partner, Kris is a little bit of a… surprising pick, is he not?' 'Why's that? He is extensively experienced in this scenario, and I have complete faith that he can help ensure victory.'

'Now Kris, you've been gone for a very long time. We are aware that you have overcome cancer in that time, but what else has kept you away?' 'Just building up strength. When I had cancer I lost nearly 30 pounds of muscle from my body, so you have to rebuild that. But I'm now the best version that I've ever been.' The interview was going to continue with Kris' opinion of Kalin, but it was interrupted by Bolton Andrews.

'Mr. Travis, will you please excuse us a moment?' 'You can talk to her, but I'm going nowhere.' Clearly less than happy with this, Bolton continued. 'Ms. Hofferson, as you can see these LFD runts are starting to overrun our company, and we need all our big stars in action. So with that being said, we need to know when Maddy is back to fight for us?' Apparently annoyed at the demand, Astrid snapped back at him.

'You have the cheek to ask that? Maddy hasn't just been on some holiday, she was fighting for her life at one point, she's had an entire kidney transplant. And what did she receive from this company? Did she receive some sort of financial help, or some kind of well wishing? No, she didn't receive so much as a get well soon card. The only thing you gave her was a letter demanding that she concede her title to you. Hell, you threatened bailiffs to take it off her. It took her father threatening legal action against the company for you to give her the 90 days that I might add, you wrote into her contract.'

'Ms. Hofferson' 'No, I'm not done, you're going to stand there and listen to me. You wanted an update so you can have one, Maddy was undergoing tests yesterday, and when she returns, trust me, you'll wish you'd never tried to make her the girl next door face, because you tried to divide us yet we're more united than ever. You're going to be real sorry real soon.' Angered by her insolence, Bolton put Astrid in a near impossible situation. 'Right, for that, your next two Best of Seven Series duels will be during the Baltic Championships. I hope you enjoy nine duels in five days with that poorly little neck of yours.'

Bolton smirked, until Astrid stopped him. 'You know what, bring it on. If I'm fated to win, the gods will keep my body held together that long.' Full of confidence, she then declared Hvis polargudene anser meg verdig til å være deres dødelige representant, frykter jeg ingen kamp! (If the polar gods deem me worthy to be their mortal representative, I fear no battle!), before uncharacteristically spitting in the face of Bolton. As she left, she shouted 'Du kan ta alle pengine mine, jeg bryr meg ikke!' (You can take all my money, I don't care!).

As the camera panned following her, it came upon a red estate car with a clearly fake numberplate on the front. Taylor then stepped out of the car, wearing black lipstick and high heels. As she walked back in, Bolton confronted her. 'Right, I'm not going to let you have me running some kind of circus. I want to know where you took DJ Tanner.' Taylor just feigned ignorance though. 'I have no idea what you're talking about, I just got here.' 'We have CCTV of you' 'I guarantee you don't.'

Taylor then produced a small roll of tape. 'I told you, you don't have CCTV of us. Now if you would like to accuse us again, I suggest you prove your accusations. Otherwise, we have some work to do.' Bolton then decided to try and get clever. 'If you're going to test me like that, I might as well test you. We have our Anniversary Show coming up in three weeks, and I've been on the lookout for a marquee duel. So we will have the Black Rose, Akiza Izinski, vs. Taylor Swift.' Taylor just smiled. 'Bring it on.'

In the duelling zone, Tee and Sara (the former Eagle) were facing off, in the latest match of the apparent triangle series involving they and Justin. And already, Sara was preaching about honesty. 'You should really join us, me and Caprice, we'd be amazing together.' 'My only loyalty is to Mistress Akiza, she brought me everything I have ever achieved.' 'You can't really believe that.' 'I do. And if you don't, then you have to be eliminated.'

Sara Sawyer LP:4000 vs. Tee Taylor LP:4000

(Sara hand: Tribute Doll, Barrier Statue of the Stormwinds, Mist Valley Apex Avian, Solemn Warning)

Turn 1: Sara: 'I'll go first. Because I control no monsters, I can summon Solar Wind Jammer (Def.:2400-1200). Then I'll activate Tribute Doll, to sacrifice Wind Jammer for Mist Valley Apex Avian (Atk:2700). Next I'll summon Barrier Statue of the Stormwinds (Atk:1000), which prevents you from Special summoning any monsters unless they are specifically Wind attribute. I end my turn with a face-down.'

(Tee hand: Blue-Eyes Alternative White Dragon, Red Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon, Dread Dragon, Cards of Consonance, Influence Dragon, Dragon's Gunfire)

Tee: 'I draw. I'll activate Cards of Consonance, discarding Influence Dragon to draw two cards. I'll set a monster, set three Spell/Traps and pass.'

(Sara hand: Mist Valley Falcon)

Sara: 'I'll summon Mist Valley Falcon (Atk:2000), and switch Stormwinds to Defence (Def.:1000). Then I'll attack your monster with Apex Avian.' The winged menace swooped down low, in order to destroy Tee's monster (Dread Dragon Def.:400). 'When Dread Dragon is destroyed, I'll search for a Level 3 or lower Dragon, and I'll pick up Masked Dragon.' 'I'll still attack with Falcon. When I do though, I have to bounce one of my own cards back to my hand. I'll choose my set card.' As the card returned to her hand, Sara's Falcon cut the air with its sword, sending the fragments into Tee's Life points (Tee LP:4000-2000). 'I end my turn with a Set card.'

(Tee hand: Blue-Eyes Alternative White Dragon, Red Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon, Masked Dragon, Rose Curse)

Tee: 'I draw. I'll set any monster, and then end my turn with another Set card.'

(Sara hand: Heart of Clear Water)

Sara: 'I'll start my turn with Heart of Clear Water, which will equip onto Stormwinds. This will protect it from destruction by battle, or any card effect that targets it.' Sara was acutely aware that Tee had the opportunity to destroy her monster, but didn't do so, and had no intention of giving her any more opportunity. 'I'll attack your Set monster with Apex Avian.' Apex Avian crashed straight through the Masked Dragon, ripping it apart in the process.

'When Masked Dragon is destroyed, it floats into another copy of Masked Dragon.' Realising that she didn't have a great deal to fear, Sara went the aggressive route. 'I'll use Apex Avian's effect, bouncing itself to negate your Dragon's effect.' Doing this left Tee open, and without even needing to speak, Sara sent Falcon in for the final blow, bouncing back her Set card again (Tee LP:2000-0).

After the duel, Sara had her hand raised in victory, and then took a microphone. 'Seeing as I just won, and I am the ultimate role model for young fans, I would like dear Bolton to come out here and declare me as the WDC Young-Gun Champion. Especially since the "current" champion hasn't been seen around these parts. I'm sorry if you had health issues, but that doesn't mean you can hold that title hostage.'

Tee then pushed her to the ground and took the microphone. 'Who said anything about you being the champion? I should be champion, I can beat people without hiding behind walls, and I'm not so much of a coward to not use my own name. I'm more established than you. So I should be given the belt if anything.' The squabbling between them continued, until Justin decided to interrupt them both, carrying a new copy of his book.

'Neither of you should be the champion, and to be honest, I don't think either of you really want to be champion. Think of all the danger you're putting yourselves in, literally anybody could come in and they could do all sorts to you. But if I was the champion, you'd both be safe from harm, you could be with me all the time and still have protection, because in front of every good woman, there is a better man keeping her from harm.'

As they continued to argue, the Renegades logo appeared on all the screens, and then Hannah appeared on them, to probably the biggest ovation of the entire show. She was sat at home, shoulder length hair straightened, wearing the faintest hint of foundation. She waited a minute, and as nobody noticed she was there, coughed loudly to garner everybody's attention.

'Hey guys, just dropping in because I've been watching the show live, and it's funny, because I could have sworn I heard you arguing about who the WDC Young-Gun Champion should be.' Before she could say any more, Justin interrupted. 'Hey babes, you look gorgeous, you should really call me sometime, I could provide you with everything you could ever desire. All you have to do is bring me that title belt.' 'Justin, if you ever try and flirt with me again I'm going to grab you by the privates and twist so hard that no woman would ever go near you.'

As fans chanted obscenities at Justin, Hannah continued. 'As I was saying, I heard you arguing, and I'd like to make something clear - none of you are the WDC Champion. However, the actual champion has made a challenge. So at the 15th Anniversary Show, it will be Justin Pipe vs. Sara Sawyer vs. Tee Taylor, vs. the WDC Young-Gun Champion, the returning Maddy Smith.' Justin in particular seemed delighted at this, but there was a stark warning before Hannah left. 'Oh, and just to warn you, if you think you know Maddy, then think again - betrayal does a lot to a champion.' The Renegades logo appeared on the screens, and then the video cut off.

Shortly after, the picture cut to Phil with a handheld camera, ahead of his duel shortly after. 'Betrayal. It's a funny word isn't it? The idea of wanting something, no, being promised something, and then having it snatched away from you at the last moment, people failing to keep their guarantees. But is there a different type? You see, I volunteered myself to defend this organisation against any and all invaders, including Declan Akaba. But what do I get? My daughter being threatened with legal action, and my wife being sent threatening letters from the Board of Directors regarding social media.'

'So you want to talk about betrayal, let me talk to you about betrayal, and defending a rotten organisation who I should just cut off like some sort of gaping necrotic wound. But I haven't done. Because I understand loyalty, and I understand that without the power I have, none of these youngsters I've brought in would be going anywhere fast. You don't want new stars, you want some puppets. So yeah, I've not done things the "right" way in bringing people in, but none of you have done things the "right" way as regards my family.'

'So what I'm going to do now is I'm going to go out, put on a show, make an example of an invader, and then I'll cash my winner's cheque, and then I'm going to start coming after the company itself, because this company is dying and I'm not going to stand there and watch it happen. I will not rest until we control this entire company, because once that happens, then and only then, will the world truly believe in the power of the Renegades.' The footage then cut off.

As the commentators hyped up the duel, Declan walked out first, walking straight down while Chazz, Sledgehammer, Justin and Nico watched on from behind him. "Declan Akaba is the President of the Leo Federation of Duelling, and is regarded as one of the natural geniuses of duelling. While his active appearances are rare, his D/D/D deck is feared as a deck of extreme power and versatility that only he has the ability to truly master. But will he be able to see of the WDC's resident tactician?'

The answer would soon become apparent, as Phil's music hit and he walked out wearing all black, his facial hair now dyed jet black as well, flanked by Freja, Rio and Blair. "Declan may be a natural genius, but Phil isn't exactly a rookie either. The veteran World Champion has been involved in a number of extremely long and testing duels recently, but he always finds the tools to come through whatever he's facing down. We believe he is using a specially modified version of his Temporal Space deck, which uses the devastatingly powerful Timelord monsters to great effect. He's never lost with this deck, so Declan is facing a huge challenge here.'

In the zone, the two faced off, but nothing of note happened before the announcer came in. 'The following is a special Interpromotional Duel. At the request of Mr. Akaba's camp, this will be held under Standard Rules with an 8000 point start. Introducing first, representing the Leo Federation of Duelling, from Providence, Rhode Island, USA, he is Declan Akaba.' Declan raised his hand, just enough to acknowledge the paying fans, while not taking his eyes off his opponent.

'And introducing his opponent, representing the World Duelling Corporation and the Renegades, from Manchester, England, he is the WDC's World Champion, the Northern Nightmare - Phil Robinson.' Phil just raised his hand himself, clearly all business. As the announcer withdrew, Declan turned around, and ordered everyone in his corner out of the duelling zone. After much debating with Chazz, he eventually got his way. Seeing this, Phil turned around to his squad, and gave a knowing nod, which led to Phil and Declan being alone for their duel. With the lights down low, the duel began.

Interpromotional Duel: Declan Akaba (LFD) LP:8000 vs. Phil Robinson (WDC) LP:8000

(Phil hand: Gabrion, the Timelord, Athena, Michion, the Timelord, Time Maiden, 5 Card Salute)

Turn 1: Phil: 'I won the coin toss so I'll start. I draw. I'll summon Gabrion, the Timelord (Atk:0), and end my turn.'

(Declan hand: D/D Vice Typhon, D/D Nighthowl, D/D Swirl Slime, D/D/D Doom King Armageddon, Dark Contract with Patent Licence, Dark Contract with the Gate)

Declan: 'I draw. I see no reason to not start strongly, I activate the Continuous Spell card Dark Contract with the Gate. Now every turn, I am allowed to add a D/D or D/D/D monster from my deck to my hand, and I choose D/D/D Rebel King Leonidis. Then I will trigger the effect of D/D Swirl Slime in my hand. By sending it and other materials from my hand to the grave, I can Fusion summon. I'll send itself and D/D Vice Typhon to my graveyard, so that I can summon D/D/D Flame King Genghis (Atk:2000).'

'Then I'll Normal summon D/D Nighthowl (Atk:300). When this monster appears, I can revive a monster from my graveyard. I choose D/D Swirl Slime (Atk:200). Now I'll link off Swirl Slime and Nighthowl, to Link summon. Appear, Link 2, D/D/D Abyss King Gilgamesh (Atk:1800). And when Gilgamesh is summoned, I can take any two D/D monsters, and place them in my Pendulum Scales. So I'll set my Scales with Scale 1 D/D/D Destiny King Zero Laplace and Scale 10 D/D/D Savant Newton.'

Gilgamesh then glowed brightly, before sending a blast directly at Declan (Declan LP:8000-7000). 'The cost of using Gilgamesh will be paid by summoning Rebel King Leonidas, which summons itself upon me taking effect damage, and restores the points (Atk:2600, Declan LP:7000-8000). I will end my turn there.'

(Phil hand: Athena, Michion, the Timelord, Time Maiden, Five Card Salute, Solomon's Lawbook)

Phil: 'I draw. During the Standby phase, Gabrion returns to my deck. But it's going to be replaced by Michion, the Timelord (Atk:0). Michion, attack Gilgamesh.' Michion fired a brilliant blast of fire from its hand, which razed the front of Gilgamesh but did no actual damage. 'At the end of the Battle phase, Michion will halve your Life points (Declan LP:8000-4000). I end my turn with a face-down.'

(Declan hand: Dark Contract with Patent Licence, Dark Contract with the Swamp King)

Declan: 'I draw. During my Standby phase, I would be due to take 1000 points of damage from Dark Contract with the Gate, however Rebel King Leonidis prevents me from taking such damage. Then I can use Gate's effect to add D/D Necro Slime to my hand. Then I will activate Dark Contract with the Swamp King, to fuse Necro Slime with the Vice Typhon in my graveyard, to Fusion summon D/D/D Oracle King D'Arc (Atk:2800). I end my turn.'

(Phil hand: Athena, Time Maiden, Five Card Salute, Sandaion, the Timelord)

Phil: 'My turn. At the end of my Draw phase, I'll activate my face-down Solomon's Lawbook. This skips my Standby phase for the turn, meaning that Michion doesn't have to leave the field. Michion, attack Gilgamesh.' In a repeat of the previous turn, Gilgamesh was charred but unhurt by Michion. 'As you know, at the end of the Battle phase, your Life points are halved (Declan LP:4000-2000). I end my turn. I must say, I was expecting more from someone of your reputation.' The stinger came when Declan spoke. 'Yes, and me you. I will say I was rather hoping to face your daughter, not a second-rate tag duellist.' His opponent tried to feign ignoring the taunt, but it was obvious that he was angered by the comment.

(Declan hand: Dark Contract with Patent Licence, Contract Laundering)

Declan: 'I draw. During my Standby phase, I would take 2000 damage from having two Dark Contracts on my field. However, Oracle King D'Arc instead allows me to gain those Life points (Declan LP:2000-4000). As I have nothing I need to do right now, I'll pass my turn.' 'Don't mock me.' 'I am not mocking you, I merely don't wish to halve my Life points for no reason.'

(Phil hand: Athena, Time Maiden, Five Card Salute, Sandaion, the Timelord, Infinite Machine)

Phil: 'During my Standby phase, Michion will return to my deck. Because only you control monsters, I'll summon Sandaion the Timelord (Atk:4000). Sandaion, destroy Oracle King D'Arc.' Sandaion released powerful earthen might straight towards D'Arc, destroying the Fusion monster with its might. 'I end my turn.'

(Declan hand: Dark Contract with Patent Licence, Contract Laundering, Dark Contract with the Eternal Darkness)

Declan: 'I draw. As you know, due to the effect of Leonidas, I take no damage from my contracts. I will pass again.'

(Phil hand: Athena, Time Maiden, Five Card Salute, Infinite Machine, Gabrion, the Timelord)

Phil: 'I draw.' As he drew, he noticed an answer to Declan's board. 'I'll summon Gabrion, the Timelord (Atk:0). Gabrion, attack.' The aquatic Timelord fired a flood's worth of water into Gilgamesh, which appeared to cool off the earlier burns. 'Because Gabrion landed an attack, I can now shuffle back every card from your field into the deck. But I'm nothing if not giving to guests in my company, so for every card shuffled into your Main Deck, you can draw a card. I end my turn. Good luck rebuilding'

(Declan hand: Dark Contract with Patent Licence, Contract Laundering, Dark Contract with the Eternal Darkness, D/D/D Divine King Zero Rage, D/D/D Vice King Requiem, D/D Vice Typhon, Dark Contract With the Gate)

Declan: 'You seem to misunderstand business.' 'And why is that?' 'Because you seem to believe that you are impervious to challenge. Any company can be dismantled so long as the right tools are present, and can therefore be rebuilt in any new structure. Similarly, as long as I have the correct tools, I can rebuild my field in any new structure. I will start with Dark Contract with the Gate, which will call upon D/D Nighthowl.'

'Then I will set my Pendulum Scales with Scale 0 Divine King Zero Rage and Scale 4 Vice King Requiem.' 'So you're Pendulum summoning a bunch of weenies.' Without the faintest hint of hesitation or question in his voice, Declan revealed some layers from his grand plan. 'Not quite. Instead I will use the Pendulum effect of Vice King Requiem. By destroying Dark Contract with the Gate, I can summon Requiem, and reduce its Level by one (Atk:2800, Level:8-7). Next, because I have Zero Rage in my Scale, I can Normal summon this with no tribute - D/D Vice Typhon (Atk:2300).'

'Now I will overlay my two Level 7 monsters, in order to build the overlay network and Xyz summon Number 28 - Titanic Moth (Atk:2400).' 'Never seen anyone use that before.' 'Yes, well you've never seen me before. I activate the effect of Titanic Moth. By detaching one Xyz material, I can deal 500 points of damage to you for every card currently in your hand.' The four cards in Phil's hand turned into fiery spores, which bombarded him (Phil LP:8000-6000). At this point, Declan could have attacked directly with his Moth's effect. But he instead decided to proceed with caution. 'I end my turn by setting three.'

(Phil hand: Athena, Time Maiden, Five Card Salute, Infinite Machine, Graceful Charity)

Phil: 'I draw. Let's get something going - I activate Graceful Charity. I'm not one for charity normally, for me it begins and ends at home, but I'll buck the trend to draw three and discard two. Then I'll banish Time Maiden from my graveyard in order to summon any Timelord I like from my deck, so long as it has 0 Attack points.' Starting to overthink, Phil started getting clever. 'I summon Raphion, the Timelord (Atk:0).'

'Raphion, attack.' Raphion sent a chilling gust of wind into Declan's field, to apparently no effect. 'Because Raphion battled, the Attack points of the monster it battled come out of your Life points (Declan LP:4000-1600). 'I end my turn, setting four.'

(Declan hand: D/D Proud Chevalier, D/D Pandora)

Declan: 'I draw. I scale up Scale 1 D/D Proud Chevalier, and then I will tribute Titanic Moth to Tribute summon D/D Pandora (Atk:1700). Then I will use the effect of D/D Necro Slime in my graveyard, to banish it and D/D Nighthowl from my graveyard, and summon D/D/D Flame King Genghis (Atk:2000). Then I will use the effect of Vice Typhon from my graveyard, to fuse it and Requiem to summon D/D/D Dragon King Beowulf (Atk:3000). Then the effect of Genghis will revive Oracle King D'Arc (Atk:2800). I end my turn.' Seeing that his hard work had once again come to nothing, Phil paused for a moment in sheer disbelief. He then took his turn.

(Phil hand: Athena, Hailon, the Timelord)

Phil: 'I draw. I activate my face-down Five Card Salute! Now I draw until my hand has five cards, but if I don't use at least three by the end of the turn, I lose 4000 Life points. Not that I intend on that happening. I summon Hailon, the Timelord (Atk:0). Then I'll activate Celestial Transformation, to summon another one - Lazion, the Timelord (Atk:0).' Declan at this exact moment realised what was planned, and put an immediate stop to it. 'I activate my face-down Dark Contract with the Eternal Darkness. Now as long as my Pendulum Scales contain two D/D monsters, you can't target monsters on the field with card effects, nor use them for a Fusion, Synchro or Xyz summon.' Hands tied, Phil reluctantly ended his turn, unable to land any significant blows.

(Declan hand: Dark Contract with Errors)

Declan: 'I draw. During my Standby Phase, I would take a combined 3000 damage from my two Dark Contracts. However, Oracle King restores my total by that amount instead (Declan LP:1600-4600). Then I will use Dark Contract with the Gate to search out D/D/D Oblivion King Abyss Ragnarok. Which I will then summon, using the effect of Zero Rage in the Pendulum Zone (Atk:2200).' At this moment, Declan decided to try and end proceedings.

'Now I will Xyz summon - overlaying Level 8 Abyss Ragnarok and Dragon King Beowulf.' As he did, a single pair of glowing eyes emerged from behind him, a regal monarch sat upon a throne. 'I summon the almightiest of the Different Dimension Demons. The ultimate challenge for any opponent is D/D/D Duo-Dawn King Kali-Yuga (Atk:3500).'

As Kali-Yuga exerted its presence, Declan showcased its power. 'When Kali-Yuga is summoned, for the rest of the turn all other cards on the field have their effects negated, and new cards cannot be activated. In addition, I can detach a material to destroy all Spells and Traps on the field.' Kali-Yuga raised its hand, and a huge storm managed to lay waste to the field. But Declan wasn't done. 'Now my board of monsters can attack you with no fear.' Phil could only watch as his mighty Timelords, the deck many thought to be invincible, were crushed by the overwhelming power of Declan's skill (Phil LP:6000-0).

Following his truly crippling victory, Declan looked up, and saw Phil, on his knees, totally stunned. The LFD President walked over to him, and offered a handshake, which Phil reluctantly accepted. But then came the knife in the back, as he said 'You duelled well for your limited skill level. Next time, why don't you send your daughter, she might provide a sufficient challenge.' He walked away, leaving his opponent to stew.

Backstage

The result had affected Phil so much that rather than going back to the rest of the club, he immediately left the arena, and got into his car. After a few minutes to reflect on what had happened, he drove off, headed straight for the airport. Behind him, a male figure with slightly tan skin watched him leave. In one hand, they held a wallet. In the other, they held Astrid's kransen, and Rio's missing ring.

Before the main event, a promo package for the Baltic Championship Super 8s played, confirming them to be over four days, with the final four moving onto Day 5 to fight for the title, and guaranteed entry into the season ending World Championships. The Anniversary show was also promoted, with Rio and Blair vs. Kari and Radley and Taylor vs. Akiza being confirmed.

The main event then began, with Astrid's music playing she and Kris down to the duelling zone, with Karis raising his right hand in salute. In place of her Kransen, Astrid now had a thick red headband borrowed from Maddy, and Kris had his now shoulder-length hair down, along with a touch of eyeliner. "Astrid Hofferson finds herself a duel down in this series despite dominating Kalin in their first duel last time out. Her Nordic Mythologies deck takes advantage of the synergies between Nordic and Valkyrie monsters, as well as a slew of high level monsters and tactics to dominate opponents. As for Kris Travis, he hasn't duelled in months due to numerous health issues, but promises that his new Stolen Information deck can help him get the edge on his opponents. Now the mystery of their opponents.'

The mystery didn't last long, as Kalin made his appearance to his old music while he was a member of the Enforcers group. Shortly afterwards, a short man with a thick, metal headband around the front of his head and spiked carrot-coloured hair appeared alongside him, causing fans to erupt. "So the mystery man was Crow Hogan, with Kalin reforming the Enforcers. Kalin is the WDC Champion in a record equalling 6th reign, and his Infernity deck is a big part of why, providing unmatched consistency and explosivity. As for Crow Hogan, the Brooklyn native has been duelling part-time in LFD for the past three years, but his Blackwing deck is as powerful as ever, with swarming for days. As they say, birds of a feather flock together.'

In the duelling zone, the two teams faced off, and Kris and Crow came nose-to-nose. They were quickly split up by the referee, and the coin toss took place. 'Kalin, as the champion, you call - Heads or Tails?' 'Heads.' As the coin landed, Astrid and Kris nodded to each other. 'Tails. Astrid, would you like to go first or second?' She just smiled. 'I'll go first.' Kalin seemed somewhat surprised by this, but shrugged. Little did he know that Kris and Astrid had a gameplan.

Duel 2 in the Seven Stars Series: Renegades (Astrid Hofferson and Kris Travis) LP:8000 vs. The Enforcers ([c] Kalin Kessler and Crow Hogan) LP:8000

(Astrid hand: Valkyrie of the Nordic Ascendant, Garmr of the Nordic Beasts, Fenrir the Nordic Wolf, Raigeki, Goddess Skuld's Oracle)

Turn 1: Astrid: 'Right, I'll start by summoning Valkyrie of the Nordic Ascendant (Atk:400). Then I'll Link it off. You're not the only one who knows a few tricks Kalin.' She then dropped to a knee and said a prayer. 'Gullveig, kjære gudinne som ser det andre ikke kan, pryde mitt felt med nytt liv. Dukke opp fra Bifrost, Gullveig of the Nordic Ascendant (Gullveig, dear goddess who sees what others cannot, grace my field with new life. Appear from Bifrost, Gullveig of the Nordic Ascendant) (Atk:800).'

'Gullveig's effect will activate now, banishing herself alongside Garmr and Fenrir from my hand, to summon three Nordic monsters directly from my deck. She grants life to thee, Nordic Smith Ivaldi, Tanngrisnir of the Nordic Beasts, and the Tuner, Nordic Beast Gullinbursti (Def.:700, 1200, 100). When Ivaldi is summoned, it searches out a Nordic Relic from my deck, like Nordic Relic Laevateinn, and the effect of Gullinbursti allows me to add back Valkyrie of the Nordic Ascendant.'

'Now Level 3 Gullinbursti syncs to Level 3 Tanngrisnir and Level 4 Ivaldi. Odin, as you sit atop your throne on Valhalla, hear my prayer, descend from your lofty peak to reign over all opposition to your unrivalled glory. King of the Polar Gods, your humble servant summons you to this battle! Descend, Odin, Father of the Aesir (Atk:4000). I end my turn.'

(Kalin hand: Infernity Necromancer, Infernity Wildcat, Tour Guide from the Underworld, Infernity Inferno, Infernity Dwarf)

Kalin: 'You keep saying your prayers, you'll be begging for the ground to swallow you up by the end of this!' Hearing this, Crow looked round in surprise. 'Calm down man, she's just embracing her heritage, you're sounding real antsy right now.' 'Let's see how I sound after this - I summon Tour Guide from the Underworld (Atk:1000). And the effect of Tour Guide allows me to summon a Level 3 or below Fiend from my deck. So meet Infernity Wildcat (Atk:1400).'

'Then I'll discard Infernity Dwarf to summon another Infernity Wildcat from my hand (Atk:1400). Now for a trick that you didn't expect - I'm going to use my two Wildcats to double tune my Level 3 Tour Guide from the Underworld.' As he did, the two Wildcats turned into rings of darkened flames, with three black stars being emitted by Tour Guide. 'Shadows fall and the Reaper rises, your end is at hand! I Synchro summon something you could never expect - Cyrstron Quariongandrax (Atk:3000).'

'When Quariongandrax arrives, he banishes one monster from your field or graveyard for every monster used as material to summon him. That'll be Ivaldi, Gullinbursti, and your stupid overgrown old man over there.' As the cards vanished under the power of a vicious whirlpool, Astrid was furious at Kalin's taunts. 'How dare you insult a god! What gives you the right to tarnish the name of a deity?'

'Because unlike you, I don't need some holy figure to tell me what it is I can and can't do. I don't need some ancient unfrozen god, and I don't need my supposed "best friend" to order me to kidnap a backstage interviewer, and most of all, I don't need to drag some cancer patient out here because nobody else will be my partner. Quariongandrax, attack them directly.' The mighty monster rained down golden sparks, which dealt the first damage (Renegades LP:8000-5000). 'I end my turn.'

(Kris hand: SPYRAL GEAR - Drone, Phoenix Wing Wind Blast, Peeking Goblin, Raging Red, SPYRAL Super Agent, SPYRAL Quik-Fix)

Kris: 'You know Kalin, you're talking like she forced me to be here. But hey, you do you and be a dick, because we're going to win regardless. I'll summon SPYRAL GEAR - Drone (Atk:100).' 'I see you've become one of those.' 'Yeah, something like that. I'll activate the effect of Drone.' Drone flew over from Kris' field, and shone an ultraviolet light onto the top of Kalin's deck. 'This shows me the top three cards of your deck, and lets me put them back in any order.' 'Do I get a look?' 'No.'

As the light shone, a screen was projected by the Drone, showing Kris the three cards. After some discussion between him and Astrid, he selected a new order for the cards. Meanwhile Crow was trying to encourage Kalin to calm down after his earlier ranting. 'Next I'll activate Spyral Super Agent's effect in my hand. I have to guess if the top card of your deck is a Monster, Spell, or Trap. If I guess correctly, Super Agent is summoned. I guess Monster.'

'Not much of a guess is it?' Kalin was correct, as the top card turned out to be Infernity General. 'I summon SPYRAL Super Agent (Atk:1900). Now I'll Link off both my monsters to Link summon twice the fun - SPYRAL Double Helix (Atk:1900). Double Helix's effect, by guessing the top card of your deck allows me to summon a SPYRAL directly from my deck, or, if I prefer, add it to my hand. I think it's going to be… hey Astrid, what do you think it is?' Having feigned thinking for an extended period, she smiled at him and said 'Monster?'

With that, Kris had a decision to make. 'I summon SPYRAL Master Plan (Atk:1200). Once per turn, Master Plan draws up the plans for a SPYRAL MISSION card, and adds it to my hand. I choose SPYRAL MISSION - Assault. Then I'll Link off Master Plan and Link 2 Double Helix, to Link summon Link 3 - Knightmare Unicorn (Atk:2200, Arrows: L,R,BC). When Unicorn is summoned, I can discard one card to send your Synchro monster that I'm not even trying to pronounce back to your Extra deck. And the effect of Master Plan adds from my deck to my hand a SPYRAL monster, and the Field Spell Spyral Resort.'

The combo resolved in Kris' unicorn firing a pulse of dark energy into the Quariongandrax, forcing it back to from whence it came. 'Now I'll add SPYRAL Resort and SPYRAL Sleeper from my deck to my hand. Unicorn, attack Kalin and Crow directly.' Unicorn galloped into the game, smashing into an invisible wall, the only thing stopping it goring its opponents (Enforcers LP:8000-5800). 'I end my turn setting two.'

(Crow hand: Blackwing Kris the Crack of Dawn, Blackwing - Shura the Blue Flame, Blackboost, Blackwing - Simoon the Poison Wind, Blackwing - Chinook the Snow Blast, Blackwing - Sirocco the Dawn)

Crow: 'Let's see what I can do. I draw. Because we control no monsters, I can activate the effect of Blackwing - Simoon the Poison Wind from my hand. It needs me to banish Chinook the Snow Blast from my hand, and place a Black Whirlwind from my Deck face-up in our Spell/Trap zone, but then I can Normal summon Simoon (Atk:1600). That triggers my Black Whirlwind, which adds a Blackwing to my hand, but its Attack kinda has to be lower than Simoon. I'll add Blackwing - Gale the Whirlwind.'

'Then I'll Special summon Gale because I control a Blackwing monster (Atk:1300). With its effect, Gale halves the Attack of Knightmare Unicorn (Atk:2200-1100). And I'll also summon Blackwing - Kris the Crack of Dawn (Atk:1900). And these birds of prey are waiting to strike!' On command, the birds came in with piercing beaks and suffocating winds (Renegades LP:5000-1400). 'Heh, this was easier than I thought. After the Battle phase, I'll tune Level 3 Gale to Level 4 Kris in order to Synchro summon an old classic - Blackwing Armor Master (Atk:2500). I end my turn with a face-down. During the End phase, Black Whirlwind goes to the graveyard and we lose 1000 Life points (Enforcers LP:8000-7000).'

(Astrid hand: Valkyrie of the Nordic Ascendant, Goddess Skuld's Oracle, Raigeki, Nordic Relic Draupnir)

Astrid: 'I draw. I'll start by activating Raigeki to destroy your monster.' Lightning bolts struck the ground repeatedly, destroying both of Crow's monsters. 'Next I'll activate Goddess Skuld's Oracle. Skuld is the goddess of the present, and that is exactly what she is about to manipulate. We get to see the top three cards of your deck, and then put them back in whichever order we like. I'll set a monster and pass my turn.'

(Kalin hand: Infernity Necromancer, Infernity Inferno, Infernity General)

Kalin: 'I draw.' With little to do, he just set a monster and passed turn.

(Kris hand: SPYRAL Quik-Fix, SPYRAL Sleeper, SPYRAL Tough)

Kris: 'I draw. I summon SPYRAL Tough (Atk:1900). Then the effect of Tough, I can declare what kind of card is on the top of Crow's deck. If I'm right, your set monster is destroyed. I'm going to pick… Trap.' As Blackwing - Backlash was revealed, Infernity Necromancer was punched straight through by Tough. 'With that I can now activate the effect of Goddess Skuld's Oracle, to reorganise the top three cards of Kalin's deck. Tough, attack directly.' SPYRAL Tough charged at full speed towards Crow and Kalin, knocking the latter clean off his feet (Enforcers LP:7000-5100). 'I end my turn.'

(Crow hand: Blackwing - Shura the Blue Flame, Blackwing - Backlash)

Crow: 'I draw. I'll set a monster, set a Spell/Trap and end my turn.'

(Astrid hand: Nordic Relic Draupnir, The Transmigration Prophecy)

Astrid: 'I draw. I activate the effect of Goddess Skuld's Oracle. Time to reorder your deck again Bird Boy.' The process happened again, with an unfavourable card being placed on the top of the deck. 'I end my turn with a face-down.'

(Kalin hand: Infernity Inferno, Infernity General, Infernity Dwarf)

Kalin: 'My turn. I'm not going to be as… forgetful as my partner over there.' 'Hey man, watch what you say, I'm not even being paid to be here.' Kalin decided to ignore Crow'd comment, and instead got aggressive with what little he could. 'Blackwing Shura, attack her Set monster.' Shura flew straight in towards Valkyrie (Def.:200), before roasting it with fierce blue fire. 'When Shura destroys a monster in battle, I can summon this from my deck - Blackwing Calima the Haze (Def.:1800).' 'Well I'll activate Nordic Relic Laevateinn, which will destroy Shura.' 'Whatever, I end my turn.'

(Kris hand: SPYRAL Quik-Fix, SPYRAL Sleeper, SPYRAL GEAR - Last Resort)

Kris: 'I draw.' As he drew, he saw Astrid frantically signalling to him, pointing to Kalin's monster, and then to his graveyard. He responded by getting aggressive himself. 'Playtime's over boys, because we're the Renegades, and this is OUR company. I'll banish SPYRAL Double Helix and SPYRAL Master Plan from my graveyard in order to summon SPYRAL Sleeper (Atk:2800).' Seeing the towering figure in front of them, Crow seemed to be somewhat intimidated.

'I'm going to then equip Sleeper with SPYRAL GEAR - Last Resort from my hand.' As he did, Sleeper gained a heavy layer of rusting metal for armour. 'Now Sleeper can't be destroyed by battle, or card effects, and it can't be targeted by your card effects. And every turn, I can destroy one SPYRAL card on my field and two cards on your field. I'll destroy Sleeper, Calima, and your Set Backlash.' Sleeper revealed his hands to be full of bullets, and shot around the field, the bullets bouncing off Sleeper itself however.

'Why's your monster still there?' 'We can target it with card effects, but nobody can destroy it with them.' 'So, how exactly ARE we supposed to get rid of this thing then?' This question offended Kris. 'It's really simple - YOU DON'T.' Astrid then interrupted to activate her face-down. 'I activate The Transmigration Prophecy. This will target your Armor Master and Calima in the graveyard, and send them back to your deck or Extra deck.'

Seeing that he had been outfoxed, Kalin rolled his eyes. 'Annoying little bug.' 'Less of the little, I'm taller than you. And speaking of taller, SPYRAL Sleeper is taller than all of us.' 'And he's ready to attack.' Sleeper unleashed a high-tech laser from its hand, lowering the Enforcers' Life points further (Enforcers LP:5100-2300). 'I end my turn.'

(Crow hand: Blackwing - Brisote the Tailwind)

Crow: 'I draw.' Unable to process what was going on, he just started at his Level 5 monster until his five minute turn time limit expired.

(Astrid hand: Night Beam, Guldfaxe of the Nordic Beasts)

Astrid: 'I draw. SPYRAL Sleeper, attack them directly!' Astrid's well thought out strategy paid dividends, as she and Kris rounded up a comfortable if close win (Enforcers LP:2300-0).

When the duel finished, Kris and Astrid left the zone and started celebrating how easy it was, even sharing a cheeky kiss. Meanwhile, Kalin and Crow got into a significant argument, leading to Kalin shoving his old friend to the ground, and storming out. As the show closed, the scoreboard ticked over to 1-1 in the series. What fans watching on television missed was Astrid announcing the next duel.

'You want excitement after that Kalin? You want excitement? Well why don't we give people excitement? No Life points, no stalling, a 20 minute Exhibition Duel.' Fans cheered at the prospect, while Kalin and Astrid stared each other down.

Next time: Maddy is back in charge of the Renegades, and she is determined to sort out all the divides within the club. But when she finally looks at what she is becoming, a transformation occurs, and the world will never be the same again. It will be the Don of A New Era