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.

46. One or Eight, Part 1

Renegades: A New Dawn

Chapter XLVI: One or Eight, Part 1

The main group of the club were on the plane to Tallinn, Estonia, for the Baltic Championships Super 8s. But the conversation on the plane wasn't of the hectic workload, nor of the six days away from home. Because all the conversation was about Freja, who wasn't on the plane, for a very good reason, that Jana (who had got back from visiting family in Bridgend two days previously) was trying to establish.

'So what happened?' 'Freja paid Lydia to ambush me and put those stupid headphones that Maddy insists on keeping charged up at all times on me, which obviously put me in a trance because they are super powerful. She ambushed Jade herself while she was making our dinner, and then forced us to striptease for Phil.' He then looked around with sunglasses on. 'And I might add that she lied to me, saying that you'd agreed to do it because Jade was.'

'Yeah I wasn't blaming you.' 'I know, just want to get the story straight for her.' 'So anyway, she then did a runner the next morning when she found out that we were on our way to the base, only for Hannah to bring her straight back, and now she's suspended, so she's not allowed to be with us basically.' 'And Lydia?' 'She just about got away with it, but she's on cleaning duty for the next week.'

Flashback: Two hours after the end of Chapter XLV

Maddy was calmly waiting in her office when she finally got the knock she was waiting for. 'Come in' she declared, and Hannah walked in, with Freja next to her, handcuffed. 'Sorry for the delay, she tried letting herself out of the car when we got off the A19.' 'Thanks for bringing her down.' 'You're welcome. Blair do your hair?' 'Yeah, did a decent job didn't she?' 'Not half, I might have to get a cut and colour from her myself.'

As Hannah slammed the door shut, Freja went to sit down. 'Don't bother sitting down, you're not gonna be here long. As a result of your recent actions, I have been given very little choice but to issue you with a fourteen day suspension from the Renegades.' 'Hang on… what?' 'During your suspension you may not make official appearances or engagements with the club, you will also be required to move out of the base and will not be allowed back on the premises, unless it is with advance permission from myself. Hannah has kindly said you can stay with her while you're suspended, you have one hour to collect your belongings and leave, the hour will start the moment you leave this office. Do you have any questions?'

'Yeah, why?' 'I think you can answer that yourself. I warned you yesterday about staying in line, I warned you about your conduct, and the worst thing about what you did isn't that you didn't take no for an answer, it isn't you paid off your own sister to do your dirty work, hell, it isn't even that you broke into someone else's home to do it, or that you started using very sensitive and powerful equipment for your own weird fantasies, it's that you couldn't even take responsibility for it. I want this to be a wake-up-call for you.'

'How do I get back in?' 'At 9am on the day your suspension ends, your card will be automatically unfrozen. If something happens to your I.D. Card in the suspension period, you will have to use the intercom to explain that your suspension has ended. Please will you now leave the office.' 'I have nothing to put my stuff in though.' 'My advice is to take only what you absolutely need in the next two weeks, there are holdalls in the foyer, anything you leave will be left where it is for your return.'

Freja then reluctantly left the office, and started packing one of the holdalls. Nearly 20 minutes later, she was packed up and ready to leave. Maddy followed her and Hannah out to the foyer, where she scanned the door open. Before she left, Freja looked back at Maddy, who stared at her impassively. 'How could you do this to me?' 'It isn't personal Freja, I'm doing what I have to. You've got fourteen days to find your priorities.' Freja exited, and the door slammed shut.

Flashback Ends

'So she's living at Phil and Hannah's?' 'Yep. Hey Phil, any chance of that being permanent?' 'If she has to, but I'd prefer her to mend bridges. I've asked her, and she really doesn't know right now. I would like to apologise again for what she did.' Blair though seemed much calmer about it after time to reflect. 'I totally get it, she's just trying to do what she thinks will satisfy you, she's not bad, she's just overeager.'

'I've had a word with her about it, and made it clear that if anybody else is joining her, they have to contact us about it directly. As for her living with us more permanently, that's something she'd have to initiate the conversation about.' 'Go on then, do you have an opinion on what happened with Freja?' 'Nothing that I'm at liberty to share.' 'Spoilsport.'

As they landed in Tallinn, they departed the plane, only to encounter the Regiment, who had apparently mended fences after their issues in Puerto Rico. As soon as Radley and Rio locked eyes, they squared up to each other, until they were gradually dragged away by their respective parties. Unusually though, no trash talking occurred, just a tense stare-off ahead of not only the upcoming Tag Title duel, but also their clash in the Super 8s.

Tondiraba Ice Hall

Reaching the imposing building the finals were being held in, the nerves were kicking in, at least for Rio. Astrid had a far icier composure, being aware that she had to duel at least nine times over the next week. That was, until Jade managed to engage her in conversation. 'Have you ever been here?' 'Me? Plenty of times, but never to duel. When I was young this would be the one time a year that me and my mother did anything together, we'd come to watch the World Ice-Skating Championships here.'

'You ever ice skated?' 'Yeah, probably could have had a crack at being professional if I'd ever tried, but I never had any doubt what I wanted to do, ever since I first saw Uncle Finn compete, see, we didn't have television for a long time because I grew up in a little village called Alta, way up North.' 'How's your Mom doing anyway?' 'Dunno, I don't speak to her really, she still lives remote and doesn't have any electricity. Last time I spoke to her, I gave her some money to move back to Denmark and start up a seamstress business. She said she'd send me a postcard when she moved but never did.'

Walking into the arena, a staff member nervously came up to the club, aware of DJ's kidnapping. 'Excuse me, Mr. Adams has requested that all the Super 8s competitors assemble in the arena.' Rio briefly looked back at Phil and Blair who both nodded, and Jade and Astrid exchanged pleasantries before they and Jaden left. After they had, Jade turned round to her girlfriend.

'Hey, why did you never tell me that Astrid was so cool?' 'I didn't know she was, she never tells me shit.' 'Maybe it's my warm and loving face.' 'Or the fact you never stop talking. Seriously living with you and Rio is it any wonder that I never say anything? I can't get a word in edgeways.' 'That's kind of true actually.' 'Enjoy it while it lasts, because when Ally arrives, nobody is going to be getting a word in.'

In the arena

MGA was stood in the centre of the duelling zone, as fans started to arrive, the Super 8 competitors were lined up by the entranceway. 'Thank you all for coming, and welcome to the Baltic Championship Finals. I have called all of you here so that I can go through a couple of rules and regulations regarding the Super 8s stage.'

'First of all, you will be assigned starting points for this stage. These will be based on the positions that you finished in the regular circuit. So that would be Saeed - 3 points, Hofferson - 6, Typhus - 9, Jaden - 12, Radley - 15, Kieran - 18, Lukas - 21, and Rio - 24. Each duel will have a strict 20 minute time limit, and have an 8000 point start. Now for the scoring system - if you win a duel, you will receive 7 points. However, if you win that duel by 6000 or more Life points, you instead receive 10 points. If you draw, be that through a tied duel or through the time limit expiring, you will both receive 5 points. If for whatever reason you are disqualified, you will be deducted 10 points, and your opponent will receive 5. Any questions?'

There were none from anyone. 'You can all go, the first duel will be Lukas vs. Typhus in around twenty minutes.' As they all went to leave, Rio was physically pulled back by Michael, who got right in her face. 'Let me make something clear missy - you're not going to get away with fluking your way through like you have so far. If your girlfriend Blair, or your dirty little affair of a World Champion so much as step foot in the duelling zone while any of the duels are ongoing, you will automatically be disqualified from the competition. Our Baltic Champion will be someone respectable.'

Noticing this going on, Jaden and Astrid both came over, and Jaden pushed Michael away. 'You get off on bullying people who make you money or something?' Rio then nodded to Jaden, who stepped away. 'I don't need you to fight my battles Jaden.' She then squared up to Michael, unintimidated. 'I'm not going to win this because I've got help, I don't need anybody's help to do that. I'm going to win it because I'm good enough, and I won't let anybody stop me, least of all some jumped up executive who only got his job because his father was co-owner of the company.'

In order to prevent a scene, two members of security took it upon themselves to walk over. 'Everything ok here?' Rio just nodded at them, and said 'We were just leaving.' The three of them left, with security behind them to make sure that they did. When Michael looked up, he saw that fans had started flooding in, and they mostly seemed to appreciate him being punked out by Rio.

As they returned backstage, Astrid's phone started ringing. 'Hey Maddy, how you feeling?' 'Better, I would have come with you but Sakura wouldn't let me.' 'I mean you were totally laid out with the flu two days ago' 'Don't be so loud about it, I told you that I'm on business.' 'Yeha yeah, I know you're not allowed to be unwell, it's totally stupid but I get it.' 'I just wanted to say, if that thief comes after you again, just stay alert. They can't just vanish into thin air, which means that you can find them. If something happens, get Jade or Jana on the case.'

'Yeah I get it, super smell and all of that.' 'As long as you do get it, I don't want anything else going missing, not least because I'm sick to the back teeth of listening to Dad complain about his wallet.' 'Not surprised, he's barely shut up about it.' 'Is he near you?' Looking over her shoulder, Astrid saw him on his phone. 'Depends…' 'K, I'll let you go before you inevitably blab.' 'I will not' The call cut off before she could finish her sentence, leading to a generous amount of Norwegian swearing.

As Astrid came off her phone call, she turned around just in time to see Lukas' trust Gustav Max roll over Typhus (Typhus LP:3000-0, Lukas LP:4200). With Lukas putting seven points on the board and moving top of the leaderboard, there was no ceremony, as he quickly left having claimed a win. Meanwhile Typhus watched on, realising that if he was going to get anything out of the event, he would have to think differently.

Next up was Astrid. None of the Super 8s cast were coming out with music, but that didn't stop the crowd heftily supporting the local(ish) girl. As she walked down, she gave the crowd a hearty wave, and they chanted for her in response. She was quickly joined by Radley, who got a less than charitable response from them, a response not helped by him flipping the double bird at them.

'The Baltic Championships Super 8s continue with the following duel. Introducing first, residing in North Shields, England, with six points, Astrid Hofferson. And introducing her opponent, residing in Santa Rosa, California, with 15 points, he is one half of the WDC Tag-Team Champions, Radley.' With the introductions sorted, the two competitors began.

Baltic Championships Super 8s: (15pts) Radley LP:8000 vs. (6pts) Astrid Hofferson LP:8000

(Radley hand: U.A. Stadium, U.A. Midfielder, U.A. Midfielder, The Warrior Returning Alive, Solemn Warning)

Turn 1: Radley: 'I'm first, and I'll start with the Field spell U.A. Stadium.' Unveiling a new singles deck, Radley posed as a large sports arena materialised around them both. 'Then I'll kick off with U.A. Midfielder (Atk:1200).' 'God, I can't escape football, first Blair then you.' 'Difference is that I can actually play.' 'I dunno, she looks pretty good. Anyway, you were saying?' 'When I summon a monster, Stadium allows me to add U.A. Dreadnought Dunker to my hand. Now I'll return Midfielder to my hand to summon Dreadnought Dunker (Atk:2500).'

'With the effect of Stadium, because I Special summoned a U.A., all monsters I control get another 500 Attack points (Atk:2500-3000). I'll throw down two backrow and end my turn.'

(Astrid hand: Guldfaxe of the Nordic Beasts, Heavy Storm, Nordic Relic Laevateinn, Tanngrisnir of the Nordic Beasts, The Golden Apples, Valkyrie Dritte)

Astrid: 'I draw. I'll set a monster, then I'll set three cards and send it back.'

(Radley hand: U.A. Midfielder, U.A. Midfielder, Discord)

Radley: 'I draw. I summon U.A. Midfielder (Atk:1200). And with the effect of Stadium, I'll add U.A. Perfect Ace. Then I'll return Midfielder to my hand and summon U.A. Perfect Ace (Atk:1500-2000, Dreadnought Dunker Atk:3000-3500). Dreadnought Dunker, crash her set monster with Diving Disaster.' The basketball-themed monster smashed through Astrid's set Tanngrisnir with a ball of light, dealing piercing damage as it did (Astrid LP:8000-5300).

'That stung a bit. When Tanngrisnir is destroyed, I can summon two Nordic Beast Tokens (Def.:0)x2. I'll also activate The Golden Apples. Thanks to the fruit of the gods, I restore any vitality I just lost, and I get a Malus Token whose Attack points are equal to the points I regained (Astrid LP:5300-8000, Malus Token Atk:2700). And I'll activate Nordic Relic Laevateinn, which will… I dunno, someone think of a clever basketball pun for me. This is where I need Blair, she knows this stuff.'

As Laevateinn destroyed the Dunker, Radley knew that he'd missed an opportunity to use his Ace's negation effect. 'Perfect Ace, destroy a Nordic Beast Token.' The Ace swung his electrified tennis racket, and swatted the token away. 'I end my turn with another Set card.'

(Astrid hand: Guldfaxe of the Nordic Beasts, Valkyrie Dritte, Valkyrie Sechste)

Astrid: 'I draw. I summon Valkyrie Dritte (Atk:1000). When I summon Dritte, I add a Valkyrie card to my hand, like Valkyrie Vierte. I end my turn.'

(Radley hand: U.A. Midfielder, U.A. Midfielder, U.A. Man of the Match)

Radley: 'I draw. I'll summon U.A. Midfielder (Atk:1200). And I'll use Stadium to add U.A. Blockbacker. Then I'll bounce Midfielder for Blockbacker (Def.:2700, Perfect Ace:2000-2500). Perfect Ace, attack Valkyrie Dritte.' Astrid had no response to her Valkyrie being served right out of the game (Astrid LP:8000-6500). 'I'll set one and pass.'

(Astrid hand: Guldfaxe of the Nordic Beasts, Valkyrie Sechste, Valkyrie Vierte, Ivaldi the Nordic Smith)

Astrid: 'I draw.' Looking at her hand, Astrid was very clearly waiting for something. 'I'll set a monster, and use my Malus Token to attack your Perfect Ace.' The colourful Token monster proved its worth by releasing a fierce stream of fire, destroying the Ace (Radley LP:8000-7800). 'I end my turn.'

(Radley hand: U.A. Midfielder, U.A. Midfielder, U.A. Mighty Slugger)

Radley: 'I draw. I summon U.A. Midfielder (Atk:1200), and use Stadium to grab a copy of U.A. Dreadnought Dunker. Then I'll bounce Midfielder for Dreadnought Dunker (Atk:2500-3000), and attack your face-down monster.' Radley's attack was more than enough to destroy Astrid's Valkyrie Vierte (Def.:1400, Astrid LP:6500-4900). 'I end my turn.'

(Astrid hand: Guldfaxe of the Nordic Beasts, Valkyrie Sechste, Ivaldi the Nordic Smith, Mimir of the Nordic Ascendent)

Astrid: 'My turn.' As she drew, she hesitated for a moment, and saw the line. 'I'll start with my set Heavy Storm, to see off every Spell/Trap on the field.' A vicious storm raged, which took care of every Spell or Trap on the field, including destroying the Stadium that Radley had been using to such great advantage. 'Then I'll summon Nordic Smith Ivaldi (Atk:1500), and use it to search out a Nordic Relic. I choose Nordic Relic Hlidskjalf.'

'Now I'll activate Hildskjalf. By taking a vow to only summon Aesirs from the Extra deck until my turn has ended, I can summon another Nordic monster from my deck. I choose Ljosalf of the Nordic Ascendant (Atk:1400). Then Ljosalf's effect, I can target Ivaldi and summon from my hand a Nordic monster with a lower Level. I summon Mimir of the Nordic Ascendant (Atk:800).' Radley still didn't seem concerned however, as the clock ticked down to just six minutes in an enthralling duel.

'Where's your Tuner Astrid? Where's your Tuner?' 'Who said I need one? I'll use Mimir to Link summon.' As he saw this happen, all Radley could say was 'Oh…' 'Maiden of the gods, she who was thrice reborn, resurrect your being so that you may call the gods to my side. I Link summon, Link 1, Gullveig of the Nordic Ascendent (Atk:800). Gullveig's effect allows me to banish three Nordic monsters from my hand or field, to summon that many Nordic monsters from my deck. So Guldfaxe, Ljosalf and Ivaldi will be the sacrifices as I summon Guldfaxe of the Nordic Beasts, Alviss of the Nordic Alfar, and Mimir of the Nordic Ascendant (Atk:1600, 1500, 600). And now I will use their vessels for the rise of the almighty grace of Thor, Lord of the Aesir (Atk:3500).'

Radley didn't seem even slightly concerned though, as he was prepared. 'I hope you enjoy not attacking, because when Thor is Special summoned, Blockbacker will switch it straight to Defence mode (Def.:2800). Also its effects are negated, in case that was going to help.' In a pinch, Astrid had few options. 'I'll end my turn.'

(Radley hand: U.A. Midfielder, U.A. Midfielder, U.A. Powered Jersey)

Radley: 'I draw. I'll activate U.A. Powered Jersey, equipping it to Dreadnought Dunker, which gains 1000 Attack points, does Piercing damage, and when it destroys a monster, it can attack again (Atk:3000-4000). Dreadnought Dunker, destroy Thor with Diving Disaster.' The Dunker did his job once more, with his new shining jersey providing more power to smash through the Aesir god (Astrid LP:4900-3700). 'And now I can attack Gullveig with it.' Gullveig was absolutely obliterated by the powerful attack, but Radley's nervousness about investing further cost him lethal (Astrid LP:3700-500).

'I end my turn.' 'During the End phase, the effect of Thor allows him to rise once more if I banish my Guldfaxe from the grave (Atk:3500). Then you will take 800 damage.' Lightning struck all around them, and then it hit right in front of Radley, causing the gap to shrink slightly (Radley LP:7800-7000).

(Astrid hand: Valkyrie Sechste, Nordic Relic Draupnir)

Astrid: 'I draw. I activate Nordic Relic Draupnir, equipping it to Thor and boosting his Attack by 800, which makes him superior in strength to your Dreadnought Dunker (Atk:3500-4300). 'Thor, attack his Basketball… guy… with Thunderbolt Bludgeon.' Thor swung his almighty hammer, which caused the lit-up jersey to fizz and explode alongside its wearer (Radley LP:7000-6700). 'I end my turn.'

(Radley hand: U.A. Midfielder, U.A. Midfielder, Loop of Destruction)

Radley: 'I draw. I'll end my turn with one face-down.'

(Astrid hand: Valkyrie Sechste, Five Card Salute)

Astrid: 'I draw.' 'I activate Loop of Destruction. It destroys Thor, and then we both lose 1000 Life points.' The explosive-laden strap wrapped around the leg of Thor, and quickly exploded, which ended the duel with less than two minutes remaining (Radley LP:6700-5700, Astrid LP:500-0).

After the duel finished, Radley fist pumped at the seven points, but more importantly the statement win. As he went to leave, he walked straight past Astrid, but tapped her on the back as he did, leading to her following him and them exchanging a few words. When he left, she stayed slightly longer to address the crowd, and show off her language skills.

'Tänan teid kõiki tulemast ja vabandan, et ma ei saanud just praegu teie kõigi eest võita. Ma tean, et olen valel pool Läänemerd, kuid veetsin noore tüdrukuna selles hoones palju tunde ja armastan teie linna. Luban proovida ja olla kodune lemmik, mille üle uhke olla.' (I thank you all for coming and apologise I could not win for you all. I know I'm the wrong side of the Baltic Sea, but I spent many hours in this building as a young girl, and love your city. I promise to try and be a home favourite to be proud of.) This made the crowd cheer, as Radley's points total went up to 22.

Backstage, Akiza was with Lukas, awaiting an interview. 'With Akiza Izinski here, to discuss the tremendous opening win for Lukas Chipperfield in the Super 8s. Akiza, Lukas hasn't been in significant form of late, but he looked determined against Typhus Markars. How do you prepare for an event like this?' 'You don't, you just take every duel as it comes. Lukas is focused, and when he's focused, he can destroy anyone. Nobody can live up to the level of power that Lukas brings, and nobody can live up to the focus and drive that doing it for me gives to him, and certainly nobody here can withstand him.'

Akiza was just about to talk about who Lukas wanted to beat the most, when Phil walked over, wearing sunglasses and a cap, delivering a slow clap. 'Did you want something?' 'Well you were talking about how unstoppable a force Lukas is, but remind me if I'm wrong, you were saying that in Vilnius, right before Rio beat him.' 'She cheated to win, because if we're being honest, Rio has to cheat to win. You should take her place in the tag title duel because you might have a chance then.'

'Well Lukas is going to have the chance to prove it later on isn't he? Well when I say prove it, I mean try to actually damage Rio, let's face it he's not going to win.' 'Well after your performance against Declan, I don't think you should be making any predictions on people winning.' 'That one… that one stings a bit. I have no excuses, Declan completely trashed me because I underestimated him. But at least I wanted the challenge. And Lukas is up for a challenge. And wherever you left Tee, she likes a challenge, she's gone as far as signing her own death warrant for the anniversary show. You on the other hand, get away with a "celebrity" duel against somebody who has never duelled before.'

'Because of course I made that duel.' 'I'm just saying, you weren't arguing.' This was severely annoying Akiza, who eventually snapped. 'You want me to make a challenge? You want me to challenge someone? Fine, I'll make a challenge, any of your "Dynasty", first day of the Anniversary show.' Expecting Rio to be nominated, his reply shocked her. 'I think I'll hand you over to Belle, it's about time she had a challenge.' Akiza nodded, silently accepting the challenge.

Meanwhile, Astrid was contemplating her path through the rest of the Super 8s, when Blair walked past. They didn't initially say anything, but then Blair briefly backtracked. 'Hey, what did Radley say to you? Out there?' 'Just said that I did well, and he was probably dead next turn, I think he thought my hand was useful.' 'Bit patronising to be fair.' 'I mean he was nice which is something.' 'This is a gorgeous place, I'd kill to duel here.' 'You can have one of mine if you like' Astrid joked, while making a mental note.

Back in the duelling zone, they were all ready for the next duel, as Jaden and Saeed both came out. 'The Baltic Championships Super 8s continue. Introducing first, residing in Omaha, Nebraska, with 12 points, Jaden Yuki. And introducing his opponent, residing in Coventry, England, with three points, Saeed Ul-Habarak.' The two competitors stepped up to each other, and Saeed offered a handshake, which Jaden promptly ignored to some boos.

Baltic Championships Super 8s: (12 pts) Jaden Yuki LP:8000 vs. (3 pts) Saeed Ul-Habarak LP:8000

(Jaden hand: Evil Hero Adusted Gold, Elemental Hero Clayman, Gozen Match, There Can Be Only One, The Dark - Hex Sealed Fusion)

Turn 1: Jaden: 'I draw. I'll activate the effect of Evil Hero Adusted Gold in my hand, discarding it to get a copy of Dark Fusion. Then I'll activate it, to fuse Elemental Hero Clayman and The Dark - Hex Sealed Fusion in order to summon Evil Hero Infernal Sniper (Def.:2500). I'll end my turn with two face-downs.'

(Saeed hand: Steelswarm Sting, Steelswarm Cell, First Step Towards Infestation, Mystic Plasma Zone, Mausoleum of the Emperor)

Saeed: 'Let's see what I can do then.' 'As soon as your turn begins I'll flip up Gozen Match and There Can be Only One. With Gozen, you can only control one Attribute of monster, and with There Can be Only One, you can only control one monster of each type.' Unsure of how to combat this tactic, Saeed eventually decided to play it safe. 'I'll set a monster and pass.'

(Jaden hand: Negate Attack)

Jaden: 'I draw. During my Standby phase, you'll take 1000 points of damage due to Infernal Sniper.' The Sniper did its job by shooting out a burst of fire at Saeed, which dropped his Life points (Saeed LP:8000-7000). I end my turn setting one.'

(Saeed hand: Steelswarm Sting, First Step Towards Infestation, Mystic Plasma Zone, Mausoleum of the Emperor, Steelswarm Cell)

Saeed: 'I draw. I'll set another monster and pass my turn.'

(Jaden hand: Marriage at Burial)

Jaden: 'I draw, then you take 1000 damage (Saeed LP:7000-6000).' Seeing the draw, he smiled. 'Here's something from a friend of mine - I activate the Spell card Marriage at Burial.' 'Hey, I know that card, Maddy's great to watch.' 'You're going to be wishing you were facing her in a minute, because I'll banish Hex Sealed Fusion and Clayman to Fusion summon a 2nd Infernal Sniper (Def.:2500). I end my turn.'

(Saeed hand: Steelswarm Sting, First Step Towards Infestation, Mystic Plasma Zone, Mausoleum of the Emperor, Steelswarm Mantis)

Saeed: 'I draw.' Seeing the draw, he groaned. 'Any one but that.' 'Drew Mantis?' 'You got it, I'll sack a Cell for Mantis (Atk:2200).' 'Yep.' 'I'll end my turn setting one.'

(Jaden hand: Power Wall)

Jaden: 'My turn. During the Standby phase, you lose 2000 Life points from my two Snipers (Saeed LP:6000-4000). 'I'll set another card and end my turn.'

(Saeed hand: Steelswarm Sting, Mystic Plasma Zone, Mausoleum of the Emperor, Fiend Griefing)

Saeed: 'I draw. I'll activate my face-down First Step Towards Infestation, which bounces my Mantis to my hand, and draws me a card. Then I'll tribute my other Cell to summon Mantis (Atk:2200), and activate the Field spell Mystic Plasma Zone.' The field changed to become a dark, stormy setting, with lightning striking. 'This gives 500 more Attack to Mantis (Atk:2700). Attack one of the Snipers.' 'I activate Negate Attack. This stops your attack then ends the Battle phase.' 'Figured so, I'll just pass to you.'

(Jaden hand: Super Polymerisation)

Jaden: 'I draw (Saeed LP:4000-2000). I'll just pass my turn.'

(Saeed hand: Sting, Mausoleum, Griefing, Steelswarm Genome)

Saeed: 'I draw. I'll set again, and then attack one of the Snipers.' As he did, Jaden just watched his monster be destroyed. 'I end my turn.'

(Jaden hand: Super Polymerisation, One Day of Peace)

Jaden: 'My turn (Saeed LP:2000-1000). This one's over, I'm activating One Day of Peace.' As he did, turning off damage until the end of his turn, Saeed realised the jig was up, and quickly conceded. Noticing this, Jaden clarified with the referee briefly, before it was announced that he had won. Jaden took the 10 points and immediately left, while Saeed stayed a moment to thank the fans.

As he returned to behind the curtain, he found Blair waiting for him. 'How was that for you?' 'Not bad, but those Traps should have affected you as well.' She patted him on the chest as she passed, and shared some fighting words. 'Why don't you leave the floodgates to me, big boy.' He looked back as she left, but far from being annoyed, he couldn't help but snigger. 'You've come a long way kiddo.'

Elsewhere backstage

Before Rio's first duel of the Super 8s, she sought out her manager for a little bit of advice. 'Hey.' 'You ready?' 'Almost, just wanted a chat with you.' 'Anytime, what's up.' 'Nothing big, I'm just sort of after some advice, how do I deal with the time limit, and the format and everything.' He looked at her and just smiled. 'If you're thinking about the time limit, you're going to lose. If anything the time limit is a blessing, because you don't get chance to overthink everything.'

'Thanks.' 'As for the format, all you can do is treat every duel as one duel. I'll keep you posted on the standings and what you need to do. You just need to duel your natural game, be yourself, and the results will come. You've got seven very strong opponents. But they're seven opponents you can beat. You already know the strategy against Kieran.' 'Hard and fast.' 'That's my girl. Hard and fast, don't let him set up anything. If you give Kieran some space, then you're in trouble. Now you go and smash it.

In the duelling zone, Kieran was the first to emerge, wearing a plain white shirt and trousers, not acknowledging the crowd once. Rio then appeared, and she had one-upped Astrid by wearing a blue shirt with black trousers and white boots to reflect the Estonian flag, which hadn't gone unnoticed. 'The Baltic Championships Super 8s continue. Introducing first, residing in Dartford, England, with 18 points, Kieran Byrne. And introducing his opponent, residing in Washington, Tyne and Wear, England, with 24 points, our current points leader - Rio Kastle.' Rio raised her arm, but was clearly focused on her opponent. A brief stare-off ensured, before Rio activated her duel disk, and Kieran followed suit.

Baltic Championships Super 8s: (18 pts) Kieran Byrne LP:8000 vs. (24 pts) Rio Kastle LP:8000

(Rio hand: Nekroz of Unicore, Nekroz Kaleidoscope, Advanced Ritual Art, Dance Princess of the Nekroz, Nekroz of Clausolas)

Rio: 'I'm going to kick this off. And I'm going to do that with Nekroz Kaleidoscope.' 'Had a feeling you'd do this.' 'With Kaleidoscope, I'll send the Level 7 Clear Wing Synchro Dragon so that I can summon Level 3 Nekroz of Clausolas and Level 4 Nekroz of Unicore (Def.:2300, Atk:2300). 'I end my turn with one set card.'

(Kieran hand: Superheavy Samurai Big Benkei, Superheavy Samurai Kabuto, Machine Duplication, Superheavy Samurai Big Waraji, Superheavy Samurai Thief)

Kieran: 'I draw. I have no Spells or Traps in my graveyard, so I can summon Superheavy Samurai Big Waraji without a tribute (Atk:800). Then I can immediately sack it to summon Big Benkei (Def.:3500). Big Benkei, attack Nekroz of Unicore.' The mechanical samurai lumbered forard, being allowed to attack while in Defence, and impaled Unicore on its dual-pronged weapon (Rio LP:8000-6800). 'I end my turn.'

(Rio hand: Advanced Ritual Art, Dance Princess of the Nekroz, Nekroz of Valkyrus)

Rio: 'I draw. I'll activate Advanced Ritual Art, so when I Ritual summon this turn, I can use Normal monsters from my deck. I'll send two copies of Mild Turkey, to Ritual summon something slightly more threatening - Nekroz of Valkyrus (Atk:2900). Then I'll use Valkyrus' effect, by tributing the Dance Princess of the Nekroz in my hand and Nekroz of Clausolas from my field, I can draw two new cards. I'll end my turn with a face-down.'

(Kieran hand: Superheavy Samurai Kabuto, Machine Duplication, Superheavy Samurai Thief, Superheavy Samurai Blue Brawler)

Kieran: 'I draw. I'll summon Superheavy Samurai Thief through its effect, because I control no Spells or Traps (Def.:1000). With Thief's effect, I can tribute it to destroy your face-down, then set it to my field.' 'I'll chain Reckless Greed. I have to skip my next two Draw phases, but in exchange, I can draw two cards.' 'I'll still get the card from you.' 'By all means.' Having taken the Reckless Greed, his next move would surprise her.

'I summon Superheavy Samurai Blue Brawler (Atk:0). With its effect, I can immediately switch it to Defence (Def.:2000). Now I'll Machine Duplication.' Rio was astonished at seeing this. 'But you don't run Spell/Traps.' 'I do if it will destroy you. This summons two more Blue Brawlers from my deck (Def.:2000)x2. Big Benkei, destroy Valkyrus.' The lumbering Nekroz monster was impaled by the shockingly swift Samurai, destroying it (Rio LP:6800-6200).

'Blue Brawlers, go on in.' Kieran was expecting a response, and was incredibly surprised when she took all the hits (Rio LP:6200-200). 'I end my turn.'

(Rio hand: Nekroz of Trishula, Reinforcement of the Army, Ice Mirror, Raging Storm Dragon - Beaufort IX)

Rio: 'Got nothing to lose now. Due to Reckless Greed, I have to skip my Draw phase. I activate Reinforcement of the Army, to grab a copy of Shurit, Strategist of the Nekroz. Then I can activate Nekroz Kaleidoscope in the graveyard, banishing it and Clausolas to add Nekroz Mirror from my deck to my hand. Now Nekroz Mirror! I'll tribute Shurit, Strategist of the Nekroz to Ritual summon Nekroz of Trishula (Atk:2700).'

Kieran barely reacted to this, despite being aware of Trishula's power. 'With Trishula, I'll banish Big Benkei from your field, Kabuto from your hand, and Thief from your grave.' As this happened, the clock ticked past three minutes. 'Also with the effect of Shurit, I can search out any Nekroz Ritual monster, as long as it's a Warrior. I'll take another Trishula. Now attack Blue Brawler.' Trishula came surging in with a sharp sword, but was only able to scratch up the Brawler.

'Blue Brawler can't be destroyed in battle.' Keeping her frustrations in check, Rio took a moment to regain her composure. 'I end my turn.'

(Kieran hand: Superheavy Samurai Drum)

Kieran: 'I draw. I'll set a monster and pass my turn.'

(Rio hand: Ice Mirror, Raging Storm Dragon - Beaufort IX)

Rio: 'Due to Reckless Greed, I'm still serving my two turns of no Draw phase. So I'll just switch Trishula to Defence (Def.:2000) and end my turn.' Rio had correctly identified that Kieran wanted his monster to be destroyed, so she decided to prevent this from happening. And Kieran was happy to acknowledge this. 'You're pretty smart, I'll give you that.' Rio didn't react to the compliment though, as she was more focused on the duel itself.

(Kieran hand: Superheavy Samurai Soulbuster Gauntlet)

Kieran: 'I draw. I'll just pass my turn.'

(Rio hand: Ice Mirror, Raging Storm Dragon - Beaufort IX, Nekroz of Trishula, Kuji-Kiri Curse)

Rio: 'Reckless Greed's restriction has ended, so I can draw again. I activate Kuji-Kiri Curse. By discarding the 2nd Trishula, I can draw two cards. Then I'll summon Gora Turtle (Atk:1100), and activate Ice Mirror, to summon another copy of Gora from my deck (Def.:1100). I end my turn.'

(Kieran hand: Superheavy Samurai Soulbuster Gauntlet, Superheavy Samurai Soulhorns)

Kieran: 'I draw. I'll just pass straight back to you.'

(Rio hand: Raging Storm Dragon - Beaufort IX, Nekroz of Sophia, Raiza the Storm Monarch)

Rio: 'My turn. I'll tribute Gora Turtle to summon Raiza the Storm Monarch (Atk:2400). When Raiza is summoned, I can put a card from your field on the top of your deck. I'll choose one of your Blue Brawlers. Then I'll end my turn.'

(Kieran hand: Superheavy Samurai Soulbuster Gauntlet, Superheavy Samurai Soulhorns, Superheavy Samurai Blue Brawler)

Kieran: 'I'll just set a monster and pass again.'

(Rio hand: Raging Storm Dragon - Beaufort IX, Nekroz of Sophia, Nekroz of Clausolas)

Rio: 'I'll draw.' Finally, Rio had what she required in hand, to try and fight back. And she intended on making the most of it. 'I'll activate Nekroz of Clausolas' effect in my hand, to discard it for a copy of Nekroz Cycle. Now I'll activate Cycle, but this is a lil' different. See, the monster I'm summoning requires the tributes to be three monsters of different types on my field. So I'll tribute the Warrior-type Nekroz of Trishula, the Winged Beast-type Raiza the Storm Monarch, and the Aqua-type Gora Turtle, in order for me to summon Nekroz of Sophia (Atk:3600).'

At this moment, Kieran realised that Rio's careful buildup play had all been for a reason. As he secretly admired her play, Rio pulled the trigger. 'Sophia's effect when she's summoned allows me to banish all other cards on the field, as well as every card in either graveyard. Restart the Cosmos!' With this declared, Sophia glowed, and pillars of searing light erupted from all around the field, as well as both of their graveyards. 'Sophia, attack directly.' Another fierce pillar of light was unleashed, and Kieran took his first damage, almost half his Life points (Kieran LP:8000-4400). 'I end my turn.'

(Kieran hand: Superheavy Samurai Soulbuster Gauntlet, Superheavy Samurai Blue Brawler, Machine Duplication)

Kieran: 'I draw. I'll summon Blue Brawler (Def.:2000), and then end my turn.'

(Rio hand: Raging Storm Dragon - Beaufort IX, Impcantation Talismandra)

Rio: 'I draw.' In her hand, she now saw a way to remove Blue Brawler from the equation. 'I activate the effect of Impcantation Taismandra in my hand. By revealing the Ritual monster Raging Storm Dragon - Beaufort IX in my hand, I can summon Talismandra and from my deck, Impcantation Candoll (Def.:0)x2. With the effect of Candoll, because it was summoned from my deck, I can add the Ritual spell Impcantation Inception to my hand.'

'Then I'll activate Inception, which can summon any Ritual monster so long as I'm only tributing Impcantation monsters for it. I'll get rid of Talismandra and Candoll in order to summon Beaufort IX (Atk:2800). It's not staying though, because once per turn, it can bounce back to hand both itself and your face-up Blue Brawler.' Storm Dragon lived up to its name by turning into a raging hurricane, and charging into the Brawler, throwing it back to the hand. 'Sophia, attack directly!' Now with all the momentum, Rio's second direct attack sent Kieran's Life points hurtling towards the abyss, and put her on the verge of a famous victory (Kieran LP:4400-800). 'I end my turn.'

(Kieran hand: Superheavy Samurai Soulbuster Gauntlet, Superheavy Samurai Blue Brawler, Machine Duplication, Cyber Dragon)

Kieran: 'I draw. I'll just summon Blue Brawler (Def.:2000), and pass.'

(Rio hand: Fairy Meteor Crush)

Rio: 'I draw!' Briefly looking back, Rio saw that there was barely 90 seconds left on the clock. But she had no intention of holding on for the draw. 'I activate Fairy Meteor Crush. Now when Sophia attacks your Brawler, she's going to deal 1600 points of piercing. Which if you're not up to date, is twice your current total. Nekroz of Sophia, attack Blue Brawler.' As the attack surged in, Kieran would have the last word. 'I activate the effect of Superheavy Samurai Soulbuster Gauntlet. I guess I have to thank you in a way, Machine Duplication being in my graveyard would have stopped me activating this, it doubles the Defence of Blue Brawler until the end of the turn (Def.:2000-4000).' The attack reflected off Blue Brawler, and while the damage amount itself was small, it was still too much for Rio to take (Rio LP:200-0).

As the duel ended, a rather relieved Kieran took a deep breath, knowing how close he came to an unlikely defeat. He spent a moment looking at a despondent Rio, who was rueing her impatience, before he decided to leave, not before looking back at her though, and saying nothing, but giving a knowing nod, respecting her tenacity. She stayed in the zone for nearly three more minutes, before Phil came out and sat down with her. He put his arm around her, said something that made her smile, and then they left together.

Backstage, they had a talk. 'I fucked that one up, totally.' 'No, you didn't. You had no idea he had Gauntlet in his hand, I think he'd been sitting on that for a while. You've got six more duels, just try not to let that one play on your mind.' 'I guess so, I'm just frustrated, that was totally winnable.' Phil decided at this moment that brutal honesty was required. 'Honestly, I don't think it was. I think you got closer than you had any right to. What was your opener?'

'Unicore, Dance Princess, ARA, Clausolas and Kaleido.' 'Pretty crusty. It's not bad if your opponent has a strategy dedicated to the Extra deck, but he doesn't need the ED really. It's one of those things where you had a bad open and the matchup wasn't good to begin with. But you were great out there.' 'Who've I got next?' 'Lukas.' 'Guess I'm keeping this deck in then.' 'You've got a good matchup with either deck.'

During the short interval after the first set of duels, the Renegades logo appeared on the screens. But everyone got a surprise when DJ Tanner appeared on the screens, now sporting bleach blonde cornrows, and a brand new Brooklyn accent, which was considered rather unusual for the native of Atlanta, Georgia. She had deep red and purple eyeshadow, made to vaguely resemble bruises, and she was smiling.

'Hi everybody, I just wanted everyone to know that I'm perfectly safe. In fact, I am more than safe, because I spoke to Maddy, and she made me realise that I wasn't being appreciated at all by the WDC, or by the fans, or in fact, by anybody. Speaking to most people I wouldn't have thought it, but with Maddy, it was different… she understood me, like nobody ever has before. The Renegades, so many people seem to think that they're evil. But they're not.'

'What they are is revolutionary, they are trying to save the world from itself, and if that means having to cut a corner or go against everybody else, why not just do it? I mean look at me, I was just a lost soul, wandering in an abyss of regrets and loneliness. They didn't kidnap me, they saved me, and they could save everyone else as well. All you have to do is raise your red right hand.'

She raised her hand, as Maddy walked onto screen, wearing a long black trench coat and black fedora, which was tilted to hide her eyes, although the gold glow could still be seen. 'In 11 days, at the Anniversary show, the Renegades will be reborn, and your world will be irrecoverably altered. Either you raise your red right hand, accept me as your saviour and admit our superiority, or you PERISH.' As she said this, DJ started laughing manically, as the video shut off.

Back from the break, and the next match was up, this being a battle of the "home favourites". 'The Baltic Championships Super 8s continue. Introducing first, residing in Rucava, Lithuania, with 9 points, Typhus Markars.' Typhus raised his arm, but didn't quite get the rousing reception he was hoping for, despite being largely cheered for. 'And introducing his opponent, residing in North Shields, England, with 6 points, Astrid Hofferson.' As she was introduced, Astrid raised her arm, and the fans gave her a very similar reception, apparently torn between the two.

Baltic Championships Super 8s: (9pts) Typhus Markars LP:8000 vs. (6pts) Astrid Hofferson LP:8000

(Astrid hand: Guldfaxe of the Nordic Beasts, Guldfaxe of the Nordic Beasts, Nordic Relic Draupnir, Nordic Relic Megingjord, The Golden Apples)

Turn 1: Astrid: 'I'll start. I summon Guldfaxe of the Nordic Beasts (Atk:1600), and end my turn setting two.'

(Typhus hand: Inzektor Giga-Weevil, Inzektor Hornet, Inzektor Dragonfly, Final Inzektion, Cyber Jar)

Typhus: 'I draw.' Aware that the last time he had faced Astrid he had lasted barely a minute, Typhus decided to take his turn slowly. Very slowly. So slowly in fact that an entire minute passed without him making a play, causing the referee to intervene. 'Typhus Markars, if you continue to stall, you will be disqualified, and Astrid Hofferson will be awarded five points.' This suddenly seemed to spur him into life, as he started to make plays.

'I summon Inzektor Dragonfly (Atk:1000). And I'll use its effect to equip Inzektor Hornet from my hand to it, giving it Hornet's Attack power of 500 (Atk:1000-1500). But by sending Hornet to the graveyard (Atk:1000), I can destroy Guldfaxe.' As the Hornet stung the horse to death, Typhus had his play. 'Now I'll use the effect of Dragonfly to summon another Inzektor from my deck - Inzektor Giga-Mantis (Atk:2400). Mantis, attack directly.'

The fearsome looking Mantis originally appeared to have dealt a key early blow (Astrid LP:8000-5600), but she had other ideas. 'Attack order is important Typhus - I activate The Golden Apples. This restores all the damage I took (LP:5600-8000), and uses the damage absorbed to create a Malus Token (Atk:2400).' With little other option, an annoyed Typhus ended his turn.

(Astrid hand: Tyr of the Nordic Beasts, Nordic Relic Draupnir, Nordic Relic Hlidskjalf)

Astrid: 'I draw. I activate Nordic Relic Hlidskjalf, which summons a Nordic monster directly from my deck, but it comes with the restriction of not permitting non-Aesir monsters from my Extra deck while it's on the field. I summon Svartalf of the Nordic Alfar (Atk:1400). Then I'll summon Tyr of the Nordic Champions (Atk:2000).' After taking a moment to calculate damage, she moved straight on to battle.

Tyr, destroy that Dragonfly.' Tyr wasted no time in proving his name against Dragonfly, taking it down in a superb midair sight (Typhus LP:8000-7000). 'Then I'll attack with Svartalf, followed by the Malus Token.' The two monsters attacked, Svartalf emitting a pink cloud, and the Token firing out a strange multicoloured beam, dropping Typhus' Life points by over half (Typhus LP:7000-3200).

'In Main Phase 2, I'll tune Level 5 Svartalf to Level 4 Tyr and Level 1 Malus Token.' She then started saying a prayer, but barely got a sentence in, before he interrupted her. 'Niekam nerūpi tavo idiotiški rimai, kale!' Her response surprised him. 'Suprantu, kad klausei dievų?' 'You speak Lithuanian?' 'A bit. Enough to know what you said. Thor, I pray to you, strike him down with the force of 1000 Elephants rampaging through the halls of Valhalla! (Atk:3500). I end my turn.'

(Typhus hand: Inzektor Giga-Weevil, Final Inzektion, Cyber Jar, Fiber Jar)

Typhus: 'I draw.' Again, Typhus took much time over his turn, before setting one monster and ending his turn.

(Astrid hand: Nordic Relic Draupnir, Monster Reborn)

Astrid: 'My turn.' Not trusting Typhus, Astrid kept her powder dry. 'I'll go to my Battle phase, and destroy your Set monster.' She was right to not overcommit, as he flipped up the legendary monster Cyber Jar (Def.:900). 'The effect of Cyber Jar destroys every monster on the field.' As the Jar was flipped up, it opened up and became a black hole, which drew Thor in, destroying it. 'Now we each reveal five cards from the top of our deck, summon any Level 4 or below monsters revealed, and everything else goes to the hand. Turn player first.'

Astrid shrugged, and revealed her five - Nordic Relic Draupnir, Mara of the Nordic Alfar, Tyr of the Nordic Champions, Valkyrie Brunhilde, Alviss of the Nordic Alfar. 'I'll summon Mara, Tyr and Alviss in Attack mode (Atk:1000, 2000, 1500), and add the other two cards to my hand.' Typhus then drew his, one at a time. But instead of getting irritated, Astrid kept calm and waited. After almost another minute, with the referee preparing to warn him once more, he revealed his cards - Inzektor Giga-Weevil, Armor Blast, Inzektor Giga-Mantis, Inzektor Axe - Zektahawk, Inzektor Hornet.

'I'll set the Hornet, and add the other four cards to my hand.' As he did, large portions of the crowd started chanting for Astrid, which really started to grind his gears. 'So you don't care about someone who's ACTUALLY from the Baltics, but you like some chick from the far north? Give me a break!' By now, there were merely four minutes left. 'I'll pass over to you, but not before I banish Guldfaxe from my graveyard to revive almighty Thor (Atk:3500, Typhus LP:.3200-2400)'

(Typhus hand: Inzektor Giga-Weevil, Final Inzektion, Fiber Jar, Inzektor Giga-Weevil, Armor Blast, Inzektor Giga-Mantis, Inzektor Axe - Zektahawk, Battle Fader)

Typhus: 'I draw.' Seeing that his hand still wasn't helping much, he closely inspected his options, spewing another 40 seconds in the process. Eventually, dissatisfied with his hand, he decided to try for a refresh. 'I'll set a monster and pass.'

(Astrid hand: Nordic Relic Draupnir, Monster Reborn, Valkyrie Brunhilde, Big Bang Shot)

Astrid: 'I draw.' With the preparations complete, Astrid looked for the kill. I'll adorn Thor with Nordic Relic Draupnir, which gives him a further 800 Attack points (Atk:3500-4300). 'Then I will also empower him with Big Bang Shot, granting another 400 Attack points, and allows him to pierce through your measly defences.' As she raised her arms to declare an attack, the fans played along, which made Typhus completely lose his cool. The moment Thor went in for an attack, going into Fiber Jar (Def.:500), Typhus went to walk out of the duel, only to swing back at the last moment and nail Astrid in the top of the neck with a metal spike.

As she slumped to the ground, injured, the crowd completely turned on her opponent, who just stood over her, before realising what he had done, and running away from the scene. She wasn't moving, until Rio and Kris ran down to help. They called for further help after assessing the situation, but there was clearly nobody coming.

Backstage

Jade was watching on with baited breath when her supersonic hearing picked up a faint flicker of a conversation. As the rest of the club were shouting, she looked at Blair, and signalled, to which her girlfriend responded. 'Everybody, quiet.' The Iranian then started to listen incredibly closely to the commotion that she had picked up, and found something. 'It's Bolton, he's threatening to fire the medical staff if they treat Astrid.'

Jade then ran out of the box after she heard Bolton leave, and immediately found the medics, responding by holding one of them up against a wall, as her eyes glowed. 'I'm not here to negotiate, go out there and help Astrid out, otherwise you're going to be worrying about a lot more than just being fired. How does six months in a Russian gulag sound! Working 20 hours a day, getting half a mouldy loaf of bread for food, getting a metal whip on your back if you stop for even a moment? I have contacts and I'm not afraid to use them.'

In the duelling zone

Astrid was just starting to get up, when her arm gave way due to the lack of feeling in it. As Rio and Kris went to try and lift her to her feet, the crowd went wild. Kris looked around, for just long enough to see Radley running down. There, he nodded at Kris, who nodded back, and then the three of them helped to carry her out, as the fans chanted "Thank you Radley".

Backstage, Kris was unconvinced by his ex-tag partner's intentions. 'What's the catch Radley?' 'Nothing. I respect Astrid after earlier, and I can't stand the slimy toad who attacked her. Anyway, I'm off.' Radley quickly made his excuses and left, leaving the intimidated medical team to check on Astrid, who was now fully conscious, but was complaining about having no feeling in most of her body. Around 10-15 minutes afterwards, she and Kris returned to the hotel, to give her chance to recover.

While she was receiving treatment, Kieran and Saeed were duelling. A tense duel finished after 11 minutes, with Kieran edging a 2900 Life point victory, despite having dealt no damage in the first nine minutes. Backstage, Kieran was returning from his duel when Akiza approached him. Before they could talk though, he noticed an interviewer waiting around nearby, so he gave her a knowing look, and she held her hands up before walking away. He then took his chewing gum out of his mouth. 'You want something, spit it out.' 'Well I had been asked to do an interview with you, but it appears that there were some things that you needed to discuss.'

'They're none of your business, but if you want a stupid interview, now's the time.' 'Well the big question that I've heard from a lot of people is, the Brave Bones have multiple horses in the race here. Lukas and yourself are both in the Super 8s, and could both reach the final. What happens if you both reach that stage?' Kieran wasn't giving anything away though. 'We've had conversations, I'm not at liberty to discuss them.'

'What does this mean then?' 'It means that I'm not telling you what was said. Those conversations are only the business of me and Akiza. If she makes them the business of Lukas, that's her call. At the end of the day, I don't turn up "for the love of the business", I don't turn up "because I want the fans' adoration", I turn up because I want to win. The winner gets the lion's share of the money, and that's why I'm here. So unless you need to ask any more pointless questions, I'm outta here.' He left, as the interviewer wondered why they even bothered.

There was no time to dwell on the interview however, as the next duel took place. Jaden, in his now signature Renegades tracksuit, and Radley, fresh off his uncharacteristic show of kindness earlier. In the zone, the two faced off, and stared at each other for a long time, before the duel began.

Baltic Championship Super 8s: Jaden Yuki (20 pts) vs. Radley (22 pts)

(Radley hand: U.A. Hyper Stadium, U.A. Midfielder, The Warrior Returning Alive, U.A. Goalkeeper, U.A. Turnover Tactics)

Radley: 'I'll start. I activate the Field spell U.A. Hyper Stadium.' A different stadium to the one used against Astrid, yet somehow even more grand, surrounded the field where they faced off. 'When this is activated, I can add any U.A. monster to my hand. I'll get myself a copy of U.A. Dreadnought Dunker. Then I'll summon U.A. Midfielder (Atk:1200), and then bounce it back to my hand to summon U.A. Goalkeeper (Def.:2800). I end my turn with one face-down.'

(Jaden hand: Polymerisation, Elemental Absorber, Elemental Hero Ocean, Elemental Hero Liquid Soldier, Metamorphosis, Elemental Hero Solid Soldier)

Jaden: 'I draw. I summon Elemental Hero Solid Soldier (Atk:1300). Then I'll activate Polymerisation, fusing Solid Soldier and the Liquid Soldier in my hand to Fusion summon Elemental Hero Sunrise (Atk:2500). With Sunrise on my field, every monster I control gains 200 Attack points for every Attribute on my field (Atk:2700).'

'Then I have three effects to activate. Sunrise allows me to add Miracle Fusion to my hand, Solid Soldier will revive Liquid Soldier, and Liquid Soldier allows me to draw two cards, then discard one.' As the combo resolved, Jaden got his Liquid Soldier back, now powered up (Atk:1400-1800, Sunrise Atk:2700-2900). And I'll activate Metamorphosis, to tribute Liquid Soldier for Elemental Hero Marine Dolphin (Atk:900).'

'With the effect of Marine Dolphin, I can discard a card to look at your hand, and select any monster in it. If I control a monster with higher Attack, I can destroy your monster and deal 500 damage.' Jaden already knew which card he was planning on ridding Radley of, but still gladly took the opportunity to scout his opponent's hand. 'I'll destroy U.A. Midfielder. Sonic Sonar.' The shrieking sonar from Jaden's Dolphin saw Radley take the first damage of the duel (Radley LP:8000-7500).

'Now to go to battle. Marine Neos, attack Goalkeeper.' 'I'm guessing you're not just taking damage because you're masochistic.' 'Sunrise's ability activates, which destroys your Goalkeeper on attack declaration.' 'I'll activate the effect of U.A. Goalkeeper. Once per turn, it can allow a U.A. monster to avoid being destroyed, including itself.' With no replay occurring, Jaden surprisingly took the first battle damage (Jaden LP:8000-6100). 'Sunrise, attack Goalkeeper.' With its protection now expired, the Goalkeeper conceded to the might of Jaden's Sunrise. 'I end my turn with a face-down.'

(Radley hand: The Warrior Returning Alive, U.A. Dreadnought Dunker, U.A. Signing Deal)

Radley: 'I draw. I'll activate The Warrior Returning Alive, which adds U.A. Midfielder back to my hand.' Jaden though, was aware of Radley's hand. 'I activate D.D. Crow from my hand, which will banish U.A. Midfielder from your graveyard.' This forced Radley to improvise. 'I activate U.A. Signing Deal. This allows me to summon a U.A. monster directly from my deck, but its effects are negated and I lose Life points equal to its Level x 300. I summon U.A. Midfielder (Atk:1200, Radley LP:7500-6300).'

'Then I'll bounce Midfielder back to my hand, in order to summon U.A. Dreadnought Dunker through its own effect (Atk:2500). Dreadnought Dunker, attack Elemental Hero Marine Neos with Diving Disaster.' The big dunk came from the Dunker, smashing through Marine Neos, as Jaden's damage started to rack up (Jaden LP:6100-4500). 'When Dunker deals damage to you, it can destroy a card on the field. I choose Sunrise.' Dunker produced a large ball of light, and threw it straight into the Sunrise, causing it to flare out in a vicious sight, exploding with light. 'I end my turn.'

(Jaden hand: Elemental Hero Ocean, Miracle Fusion, Graceful Charity)

Jaden: 'I draw.' Needing a good draw, Jaden got it. 'I activate Graceful Charity, which draws me three cards, and then I discard two. Then I'll activate Miracle Fusion, fusing together the Liquid and Solid Soldiers in my graveyard to summon Elemental Hero Absolute Zero (Atk:2600). And because I banished Liquid Soldier for a Fusion summon, its effect activates again to draw two cards and discard one.'

'Then I'll summon Evil Hero Infernal Gainer (Atk:1600). Absolute Zero, attack his Dreadnought Dunker.' The Dunker tried to attack Absolute Zero, only to get wiped away by a chilling attack (Radley LP:6300-6200). 'Infernal Gainer, attack directly.' The Fiend, clad in skeletal armour, unleashed a thunderbolt from his hand to ensure that Radley wasn't going to get the bonus points at the very least (Radley LP:6200-4600). 'I end my turn.'

(Radley hand: U.A. Midfielder, U.A. Turnover Tactics, U.A. Player Manager)

Radley: 'I draw. I'll summon U.A. Midfielder (Atk:1200). And because I summoned a U.A., I can summon U.A. Player Manager from my hand (Atk:2000). When Player Manager is summoned, I can destroy a card on your field, like Infernal Gainer.' The Player Manager took his jacket off, and threw it at Infernal Gainer like a discus, beheading it. 'Now I'll activate my face-down U.A. Turnover Tactics. Because I control at least two U.A. monsters, every monster on the field is shuffled into the deck.'

As Radley explained this, his two monsters put their gloved hands together, which created a sudden hurricane, spinning every monster back. 'Now I summon an amount of U.A. monsters from my deck equal to the amount shuffled back, and you summon monsters equal to the amount of monsters that went back to your Main deck. Which if you were paying attention, was 0. Meanwhile, I'll summon U.A. Blockbacker (Def.:2700) and U.A. Playmaker (Atk:2600). My monsters aren't allowed to attack this turn though, so I'll let you go.'

(Jaden hand: Miracle Fusion, Neos Fusion, Negate Attack, Marriage at Burial, Fusion Substitute)

Jaden: 'I draw.' Seeing a difficult hand, Jaden went to make a move, only to then recant, and consider his play a bit more, eventually choosing a different, low-risk path. 'I activate Neos Fusion.' 'It took you almost a minute to decide on that?' 'Save your taunting, I don't care. This will fuse together the Elemental Hero Neos and Rainbow Dragon in my deck, so I can summon the unbeatable Rainbow Neos (Atk:4500).'

'Yeah, well as soon as you summon it, Blockbacker will switch it to Defence mode and negate its effects. Let's see that miserable defence then.' He got a nasty surprise when the powerful Fusion did change position though (Def.:3000). 'Yeah, I wanted a weak defence.' 'Well I'm sorry I couldn't provide that for you, I'll provide my lawyer's phone number as an apology. Just let me end my turn first, I suppose I'll set a card as well.'

(Radley hand: Reinforcement of the Army)

Radley: 'You're real funny, you know that? I draw. I activate Reinforcement of the Army, to add U.A. Midfielder from my deck to my hand. That ends my turn.'

(Jaden hand: Miracle Fusion, Marriage at Burial, Fusion Substitute, Elemental Hero Clayman)

Jaden: 'I draw. I'll set a monster and pass my turn.'

(Radley hand: U.A. Midfielder, U.A. Penalty Box)

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

(Jaden hand: Miracle Fusion, Marriage at Burial, Fusion Substitute, Fifth Hope)

Jaden: 'I draw.' Jaden considered his play closely, but realised that with Blockbacker's effect, he had little option. 'I end my turn.' With 60 seconds left, Radley started his turn. But he had no idea that there was so little time on the clock.

(Radley hand: U.A. Midfielder, U.A. Mighty Slugger)

Radley: 'I draw. I'll tribute Blockbacker for U.A. Mighty Slugger (Atk:2300). Mighty Slugger, attack Rainbow Neos.' 'What's the face-down?' 'It's not my face-down, it's what's on my field. Playmaker's effect activates, reducing its own Attack by 800 to pump up Mighty Slugger (Playmaker Atk:2600-1800, Mighty Slugger Atk:2300-3100).'

The power boost was just enough for the Slugger to slam an electrified baseball bat into Rainbow Neos, frying the monster. 'Playmaker, attack directly.' The attack from Playmaker was significant, but not enough to finish Jaden (Atk:4500-2700). 'I end my turn.' With merely 15 seconds on the clock, Jaden noticed, and took his turn immediately.

(Jaden hand: Miracle Fusion, Marriage at Burial, Fusion Substitute, Fifth Hope, Cemetery Bomb)

Jaden: 'I draw.' Seeing the last seconds ticking away, Jaden decided on a hail mary play, using a card given to him by Maddy. 'Activate Marriage at Burial, fuse together Solid Soldier, Ocean and Sunrise for Vision Hero Trinity (Atk:2500), doubles Attack and attacks thrice, attack for game.' Radley could have prevented the attack with Penalty Box, but in the frantic situation, he didn't have time to react, and Jaden's hail mary play hit just as the clock hit 0 (Radley LP:4600-0).

After the duel had finished, there seemed to be some confusion, as Jaden seemed to think he was out of time, while Radley was despairing, convinced that he was in time. The referee conferred with her colleagues, who had rushed up from backstage, and after comparing stopwatches, they came to a conclusion. 'The referee has ruled that the duel was finished the moment the attack was declared. Therefore, the winner of the duel is Jaden Yuki.' As the announcer declared this, a slow motion replay was shown, with the clock stopping at 14:59.87, giving Jaden the win by the smallest of margins.

When it was announced, Jaden punched the air in delight, while Radley nodded, knowing that he could have prevented the damage with smarter play. After the confusion, he walked straight out, while Jaden basked in the madness. Soon enough, he too had left, taking seven points with him.

Backstage, Rio was preparing to finish the day. Having already prepped her deck especially for the duel, she took some deep breaths to regulate her breathing (as her nerves made her suffer from an elevated heart rate), and then put her jacket on, zipping it up the entire way. She took her belt, and fastened it across her waist at a 45 degree angle (a fashion tip picked up from Blair, who was obsessed with the 80s), sliding her deck clip onto the front of it. As she got the call, she walked straight through into the arena.

As she did, the crowd gave her a rousing reception, and she responded in kind, waving to them. Lukas was a lot less friendly however, storming straight through, and immediately pushing Rio when he arrived, leading to her socking him in the face. The fight was quickly broken up however, and the intros were done. 'The following is a Baltic Championships Super 8s duel. Introducing first, residing in Washington, England, with 24 points, Rio Kastle. And her opponent, residing in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, with 28 points, Lukas Chipperfield.'

As the two high flyers activated their duel disks (with Lukas in 2nd and Rio 4th), the crowd broke out in a chant of "Ragna Nation", cementing themselves as fans of the Idahoan over the Tasmanian. With several security guards bordering the zone to prevent a fight (and to prevent Phil coming in), the duel began.

Baltic Championships Super 8s: Lukas Chipperfield (28 pts) LP:8000 vs. Rio Kastle (24 pts) LP:8000

(Lukas hand: Heavy Freight Train Derricrane, Night Express Knight, Revolving Switchyard, Super Express Bullet Train, Crusher Run)

Turn 1: Lukas: 'Considering you let old Mikey boy bully you earlier, this will be like taking candy from a baby. I'll start with Revolving Switchyard.' As a large train switchyard appeared, Lukas continued his play. 'I summon Night Express Knight, reducing its Attack to 0 to summon it (Atk:3000-0). Then I can Special summon Derricrane by halving its Attack (Atk:2800-1400), and that triggers my Switchyard, summoning Ruffian Railcar from my deck and making it Level 10 (Atk:1800, Level:4-10). And because I summoned Railcar, I can summon Super Express Bullet Train from my hand (Atk:3000).'

Now I'll overlay Knight and Derricrane to summon Superdreadnought Rail Cannon Gustav Max (Atk:3000). With its effect, I'll detach a material, to deal 2000 points of damage to you. Fire on command!' The cannonball volley from Gustav hit Rio, requiring her to brace (Rio LP:8000-6000). 'Next I'll use Ruffian Railcar's effect to deal 500 points of damage to you.' The railcar scraped across the rails of the Switchyard, digging up sparks as it did, causing further damage (Rio LP:6000-5500).

'Now I'll overlay Railcar and Bullet Train in order to build the overlay network, and summon another Rail Cannon Gustav Max (Atk:3000). Now I know your brain doesn't exactly… work right, so I'll take this slowly, Gustav Max's effect deals 2000 points of damage to you. Understand?' Rio didn't respond, plotting her imminent revenge (Rio LP:5500-3500). 'I end my' 'Are you ending your Main phase?'

'What does it look like… oh wait did I need to explain the rules to you? The rules are that I burn you to death, I win and you sit there crying like a little baby.' A smirk then came across Rio's face. 'From my hand I'll activate the effect of Nibiru the Primal Being.' 'Whatever.' His confidence was soon to be proven misplaced however, as a huge meteorite appeared in the sky, flaming up as it did, and crushed his entire field, turning it into scrap metal. All that was left was a single, small human-like figure.

'What on earth?' 'Nibiru punishes you for summoning at least five times during your turn, by tributing every monster on the field. Nibiru summons itself to my field (Def.:600), and leaves you a little memory - a Primal Being Token, whose Attack and Defence is equal to that of the monsters tributed to summon Nibiru (Atk/Def.:6000/6000). And I'll summon it in Defence mode.' With his entire field and hand having been wiped out by his excess greed, Lukas had little option but to set his last card and pass turn.

(Rio hand: Preparation of Rites, Nekroz of Unicore, Nekroz of Brionac, Share the Pain, Dimensional Barrier)

Rio: 'I draw. I activate Share the Pain. With this, we both tribute a monster for no effect. So I hope you weren't expecting that Token I kindly gave you to protect you for long.' As the Token and Nibiru itself vanished from the field, Rio prepared her next move. 'Preparation of Rites, searching Nekroz Kaleidoscope. Then I'll discard Nekroz of Brionac, using its effect to add Nekroz of Gungnir to my hand. You with me still, or do I need to slow down?' As Lukas nodded, she looked at the crowd. 'You ready to speed this up Ragna Nation?'

As they cheered, she started to get comfortable. 'I'll activate Nekroz Kaleidoscope, sending Level 11 Star Eater to summon Nekroz of Unicore and Nekroz of Brionac (Atk:2300, 2500). Unicore then Brionac, attack.' The two monsters went in, one after the other, and dealt a large amount of damage to Lukas, with Rio now in total command of the duel (Lukas LP:8000-3200). 'I'll set a face-down and pass.'

(Lukas hand: Rank-up Magic Cursed Reverse)

Lukas: 'I will NOT lose to some little punk! I draw.' Seeing the card, Akiza's spell over him tightened, and his hand started shaking. 'For you Mistress Akiza, anything. I activate Rank-up Magic Cursed Reverse. This revives an Xyz monster from my graveyard, and revives it, before ranking it up.' Lukas was then lashed with darkened vines, having failed to mention that the cost of his Spell was paying 2000 Life points (Lukas LP:3200-1200). 'Return, Superdreadnought Rail Cannon Gustav Max.'

He then looked down, and his Gustav Max was trying to revive, but appeared to be pinned underneath a golden prison, as did his Extra deck. 'What… what are you doing?' He looked over, and Rio had caught him in an inescapable trap. 'I activate Dimensional Barrier. This forces me to call a summoning mechanic, and for the rest of the turn, you can't Special summon monsters of that type. I choose Xyz.'

Realising that there was nothing he could do, Lukas started going mental, shouting and screaming and swearing at Rio, who didn't react to him. She wasn't in a trance though, rather she was going to a dark place in order to block out the abuse. After a lot more swearing and shouting, Lukas' turn ended automatically as he had gone an entire minute without playing a card.

Rio: 'I draw. Brionac, attack.' The inevitable happened, as Brionac's attack cut down the rest of Lukas' Life points, leading to Rio winning in under three minutes. (Lukas LP:1200-0).

After the duel, Rio raised her arm, and posed for the crowd, until Lukas ran over to attack her. He got more than he bargained for though, as she kicked him hard in the gut, stunning him for a moment, which allowed Blair to run down and clamp on a bulldog choke, slowly bringing him to the ground. As soon as he went limp, she let go, as to not cause unnecessary damage. The first day ended with Rio stood over him, raising her right arm again as the table after Day 1 was posted.

Super 8s Standings (after Day 1)

Kieran Byrne, Played 2, 32 points

Rio Kastle, Played 2, 31 points

Lukas Chipperfield, Played 2, 28 points

Jaden Yuki, Played 2, 27 points

Radley, Played 2, 22 points

Astrid Hofferson, Played 2, 9 points

Saeed Ul-Habarak, Played 2, 3 points

Typhus Markars, Played 2, -1 points

That evening, Rio and Phil had a talk about the day. 'So how do you think it went?' 'Yeah not bad, I was kinda kicking myself against Kieran because I really felt I could win that.' 'Understandable, but I think it would have been incredibly difficult. You rebounded well though.' 'I had no intention of losing to Lukas, I was kind of hoping I'd go first but luckily I had Nibiru and he was an idiot.' 'You've just got to take advantage of your opponent's mistakes.'

'Any idea who I've got tomorrow?' 'Just let me look at my schedule.' After looking on his phone for a moment, he had an answer. 'Hope you like curtain jerking, you're up first at 12pm against Typhus. If today is anything to go by, he'll be playing for the draw, so I suggest… have you got your Chain Burn stuff with you by any chance?' 'No, I left it back at home, wish I'd remembered now.' 'Well in that case, we'll see how much of a burn deck we can put together, but otherwise it might be best to just keep the bird deck in reserve. I'm much more concerned about your other duel.'

'Go on.' 'Jaden.' Rio seemed excited at facing him, surprising Phil. 'Me and Jaden have been duelling loads in the arena, I swear it feels like a 5* classic each time.' 'Well don't focus on having a classic, focus on winning.' 'Yeah I get it.' 'As long as you do. You're in 2nd at the moment, but there's only a four point gap to joint 4th. If Jaden beats you tomorrow, you're potentially ending up down in 5th at the halfway stage.'

'Listen, you're stressing out WAY too much over this.' 'My job is to be your manager, and that means not only coaching you but being your advisor. And my advice is to make sure that you take the maximum amount of points. Spend a bit less time posing for the fans, aim to be getting quick wins and the 10 points.' 'Yeah I get it, you want me to duel just like you.' 'Trust me, that's not a good idea. It's more to duel aggressively and with purpose. The duel with Lukas was good, you showed some urgency and ruthlessness. Now I'll get started on constructing a burn deck, you join me whenever you're ready.'

Meanwhile, Sakura was just walking in when she saw Kris. 'Hey, how's Astrid doing?' 'Yeah not too bad, she had a hot bath which helped, and she seems to be more comfortable.' 'Just between us, she really shouldn't be competing.' Kris didn't seem to think this was a secret however. 'Between us? Everybody knows that she's in no shape to be competing, Astrid knows that she isn't, she admitted to me last week that she needs an operation.'

'An operation? Is that what she told you? Try full-on Spinal Fusion surgery. She's needed that since Texas in fact, if I wasn't being privately employed by Maddy for this it would be grounds for me to lose my job. That's how serious it is. And Corticosteroid injections will only do the job for so long.' 'So what are you saying?' 'I'm saying that I'm going to give her an ultimatum tomorrow - she has to choose between the Baltic Championships and this stupid Best of 7 Series.' Hearing this, Kris walked off whistling to himself. 'Rather you than me Sak.'

Outside the hotel, 4:25am

While everybody else was fast asleep, Rio walked outside with a training jacket on, where she found Astrid and Jaden stood, talking. 'You wanted to talk?' 'Listen, the three of us are all representing the club, right?' 'Last time I checked.' 'But we're all in this competition for ourselves, and we're going to have to face each other in this stage.' Jaden then asked the all important question. 'So, what do we do about each other.'

Immediately, Astrid had her answer. 'May the best Renegade win is what I say.' Jaden then had an issue. 'We might find ourselves in a situation where one of us is out, and the other needs points.' 'In that scenario, if I was already out, I'd throw the duel if it meant a Renegade winning the event. It's the only time that I would.' They then noticed that Rio was being strangely quiet on the subject. So Astrid directly posed the question.

'So Rio, what would you do in that situation?' 'Simple - I'd go all out unless I had no chance of qualifying. Then I'd make sure whichever one of you two was up against got whatever you needed. But otherwise, I'm not holding back against either of you. If anything I want to beat you even more, because I know how fucking good you both are. I mean the last time we faced off Astrid, we were there for over an hour. At the end of the day, only one of us can win, and what difference does it make who we beat in the final?'

Jaden then gave his opinion. 'Quite frankly, we deserve the best from each other. Iron sharpens iron, and we need to be sharp if one of us is going to win.' Astrid then decided to leave, but not before patting both her compatriots on the back. 'Hope you enjoy losing guys.' She left for her morning run, as Jaden and Rio looked at each other. 'You know, she sounds so full of herself when she's happy.'

Later that morning

Rio was just getting her gear together for the day when there was a knock on her room's door. As she opened it, Blair walked in, carrying Rio's deck case. 'Hey, where did you get that?' 'Phil was just making some adjustments to your deck.' This seemed to frustrate Rio. 'I told him I wanted to finish it myself.' 'Yeah, well he said you were talking about an Aggro burn deck last night?'

'More like HE was talking about it.' Blair then sat on the bed. 'I'm sensing that you might have had an argument… again.' 'I just wish he'd listen to me more.' 'Not listening? That's… probably a first.' 'So I'm up against Typhus, right?' 'Yep.' 'And he proved yesterday that he's got no intention of trying to actually win. He'll be playing for the draw. So I was going to play Lyrilusc, because it can deal so much damage in one go.'

'Gotcha.' 'But he wants me to play Chain Burn, because he's been obsessed with me playing it since I OTK'd Jade with it in the arena.' 'You do realise you don't HAVE to do exactly as he says, right?' 'I know, but I trust him, and I'm scared that I'll get this wrong if I don't.' 'At the end of the day, you just gotta trust yourself sometimes. You're the one playing the deck, it's what you're comfortable playing.'

Meanwhile, Astrid was getting back from her morning run when Sakura came up to her. 'Listen Astrid, we need to talk.' 'Can it wait? It's just that I really need a shower, and I want to get my hair dried before we leave, it goes really heavy otherwise.' 'I really think we need to talk now.' 'Tell you what, we can talk on the way, ok? Thanks.' She then ran off to grab a quick shower while she had the opportunity.

Nearly an hour later, Astrid emerged, her hair in a braided bun and pinned neatly. 'Quick shower eh?' 'It was, I wasn't even in there 10 minutes. It took most of that time to dry out my hair. So you wanted to talk?' 'Yeah, I really don't think you should be doing the Super 8s and the Baltic Championships.' 'I know, you never stop telling me.' 'Seriously Astrid, I know that you're passionate and hard headed, and you REALLY want to prove yourself, but you're pushing your neck to breaking point.'

'I'm not pulling out and that's the end of the conversation.' 'You're not listening' Astrid stopped her, and snapped back. 'THAT is the end of the conversation. I am not pulling out, end of story. There's nothing else to discuss about it. In fact, I'd probably be doing better if I didn't have you on my back about this constantly. I'm not giving up, you can't make me, and if you try I'm not going to be the only one with a broken neck.'

With this chilling threat, she walked off, leaving Sakura shocked. As was Kris when he caught up with her. 'I've never heard Astrid speak like that before.' 'I don't know what's got into her, she's just being so aggressive over the idea of not competing. I know I've been saying it a lot to her, but it's only because I know what the consequences will be if she doesn't get this sorted.' 'Frankly, I think she knows the consequences as well, but she's denying them. Like playing Russian Roulette with her own body.'

In the duel arena

The 2nd day's action began with a recap of Day 1, and a showcase of the duels that were yet to come. Rio then entered to start the day, wearing a light grey shirt and trousers. As she walked down, she was still clearly troubled by her deck issues, and walked down with limited confidence. Typhus then appeared, seemingly recovered from his madness of the previous day, smiling and waving at the crowd. The moment that they started chanting "Ragna Nation" though, everything changed, his demeanour becoming more frustrated with the crowd's continued refusal to outright support him.

'The Baltic Championships Super 8s continue with this, your opening duel on Day 2. Introducing first, residing in Rucava, Lithuania, with -1 points, Typhus Markars.' Typhus tried to bow to the crowd, who just completely blanked his intentions. 'And his opponent, residing in Washington, England, with 31 points, Rio Kastle.' Rio raised her arm, and large portions of the crowd burst into another chant for her.

Baltic Championships Super 8s: Rio Kastle (31 pts) LP:8000 vs. Typhus Markars (-1 points) LP:8000

(Rio opening hand: Accumulated Fortune, Pot of Duality, Pot of Prosperity, Chain Detonation, Chain Strike)

Rio: 'I'll start.' After taking a moment deciding between her Pots, Rio opened the duel. 'I activate Pot of Duality. This allows me to excavate three off the top of my deck, add one to my hand, and the other two go on top of my deck in any order.' Flipping up Chain Strike, Poison of the Old Man and One Day of Peace, the choice was obvious. 'I'll add Poison of the Old Man to my hand, put the other two back. I'll set five and end my turn.'

(Typhus hand: Hallowed Life Barrier, One Day of Peace, Inzektor Centipede, Inzektor Orb, Rush Recklessly)

Typhus: 'I draw. I'll summon Inzektor Centipede (Atk:1600). Centipede, attack.' Rio had little choice but to take the damage, having no monster to protect her (Rio LP:8000-6400). 'Anything at the end of the Battle phase? 'No, I'd tell you if I did.' 'Ok, no need to get angry. During my Main phase 2, I activate One Day of Peace, so we both draw a card and there's no damage until the end of the next turn.' This would appear to be a good time to activate her cards, but Rio decided to hold out, and just drew. 'Your cards that bad?' 'Maybe.' 'Fine I end my turn with four face-downs.'

(Rio hand: Chain Strike, One Day of Peace, Sky Scout)

Rio: 'I draw. I summon Sky Scout (Atk:1800).' 'And I'll activate Inzektor Orb, which equips to Centipede and gives it 500 Attack (Atk:1600-2100).' With this, Rio decided to dig further. 'I activate Pot of Prosperity. With it I'll banish three cards from my Extra deck, and then excavate the top 3 cards of my deck. I add one to my hand, the others go to the bottom of my deck.' Excavating again, Rio found Just Desserts, the third Chain Strike, and the card she was looking for.

'I'll add Eater of Millions. Then I'll banish four cards from my Extra deck and my set Chain Detonation face-down to summon Eater of Millions, who gains 100 Attack for every card that is banished face-down (Atk:500). Attack Inzektor Centipede! When Eater of Millions is involved in a battle, its opponent is banished face-down.' As Centipede readied for the attack, the Eater opened its gaping, endless mouth, and swallowed the monster whole. 'I end my turn.'

(Typhus hand: Inzektor Hornet)

Typhus: 'I draw.' Seeing an opportunity, Typhus started "considering" his play again, but this time, the referee was wise to it. 'Typhus, if you do not make a move right now your turn will automatically end.' 'Yeah, just call it, whatever.'

(Rio hand: Chain Strike, One Day of Peace, Blizzard Vision)

Rio: 'I draw. I'll attack with both of my monsters.' Having nothing to protect him from the attacks, Typhus took his first damage of the duel (Typhus LP:8000-5700). 'In Main phase 2, I'll activate Poison of the Old Man, and chain Chain Strike. So this is 1600 damage coming your way.' This was a carefully designed play to try and bait out any responses, which worked. 'Not happening, I activate Hallowed Life Barrier, to avoid the damage by discarding my Inzektor Hornet.'

'You know that you don't need to tell me what you're discarding, right?' 'Not like it makes a difference.' 'I'll set two and end my turn.' Typhus then decided to really rile up his opponent. 'Might as well just give me the win.' 'Why's that?' 'Well… respectfully, someone like… well… like you, could never last the course anyway.' 'Meaning?' 'Well I mean it's only a matter of time before you roll over and have a seizure or a brain haemorrhage or something. Tell you what, quit now, give me the points, and I'll pay your medical bills the next time you inevitably end up in surgery.'

'Not funny.' 'It kind of is, if you think about it.' 'What bit is funny?' 'The fact that you think you're a legit pro duellist, and not just some sick kid who lets down every single side she's on. You're the weak link of the Renegades, you're the weak link of your team' Infuriated, Rio fired up. 'And I'm the weak link who's going to cave your SKULL IN!' Little did Rio know that Typhus didn't even believe much of what he was saying; he was simply stalling for time, as the clock was down to four minutes as a result of the glacially slow action.

(Typhus hand: One Day of Peace)

Typhus: 'I draw. I activate another One Day of Peace, which draws us both one card, then neither of us take damage until the end of your next turn. Can I just say' 'No, you can't. You can end your turn.' 'I'll set a card first. Then, I'll end my turn.'

(Rio hand: Blizzard Vision, Solemn Judgement, Pot of Duality)

Rio: 'I draw. I activate Pot of Duality, to flip the top 3 cards of my deck, add one to my hand, you know the deal.' With a sly smirk on his face, he tried to plead ignorance. 'I don't actually remember how it works.' 'Flip three, add one, other two top of my deck.' 'That's not an explanation.' 'Yeah, it's the condensed version, I know you're playing for the draw, I'm not stupid. It might fool someone like Lukas, but I've still got enough brain cells' she said, while resolving Duality. Finding Nightmare Wheel, Ring of Destruction, and Hope for Escape, she quickly added the former to her hand. Not that she'd ever get to use it.

'I activate Disturbance Strategy, to shuffle your hand back into your deck and then draw fresh. Except you can't, can you?' 'Watch me.' She drew her cards, as Typhus had got his restrictions mixed up, believing that Duality didn't allow drawing for the rest of the turn instead of Special summoning. 'I'll set two more, then end my turn.'

(Typhus hand: Chicken Game)

Typhus: 'I draw. I activate the Field spell Chicken Game.' Knowing that this would turn off damage potentially, Rio decided now was the time to go in. 'I'll activate my face-down Ring of Destruction. This will destroy Sky Scout, and we both take 1800 damage. Then I'll chain Poison of the Old Man to deal 800 damage. Chain 4, Wall of Revealing Light, pay 6000, Chain 5, Accumulated Fortune, Chain 6, Chain Strike.'

The chain resolved, revealing that Rio had played the combo to perfection, as while Typhus would be taking damage, Chicken Game wouldn't be able to protect him from any of it as Wall of Revealing Light dropped her Life points lower, while stopping monsters Typhus controlled from attacking if they had less than 6000 Attack points. Typhus' own card was stopping Rio being KO'd at the same time (Typhus LP:5700-700, Rio LP:6400-400). This had another consequence which Typhus was about to discover though.

'Now I'll activate the effect of Chicken Game, to… you…' It was Rio's turn to bask, having manipulated the points to ensure that Typhus couldn't pay 1000 points to draw a card. 'I end my turn.'

Rio: 'A monster does it. I draw.' Seeing the card, she shrugged. 'It'll do, I activate Dian Keto the Cure Master to regain 1000 points (Rio LP:400-1400). Then I'll pay 1000 with Chicken Game (Rio LP:1400-400), to draw a new card.' Rio was about to play her card when the buzzer went off, to signify the end of the time limit. 'The result of this duel is a Time-Limit Draw.'

After the duel, Typhus celebrated the five points like he had won the lottery, dancing around the fans, who were getting increasingly sick of his antics. As he tried to hype the crowd up, Rio walked straight to the back, shrugging off the fans in her upset state. Backstage she also shrugged off Blair and Jade, preferring to be alone with her thoughts. Elsewhere, Phil had seen the duel, and shook his head, knowing that his plan had blown up in his face again.

Backstage, Typhus returned only to be informed that he was scheduled for an interview. 'Typhus Markars, you appear to have had a little bit of a change of attitude since you started the Super 8s. Can you tell me what's going on?' Typhus just gave a sly smile in response. 'You know, I'm not currently at the same kind of level that some of these guys are. I mean that Scandi girl isn't going to make it, but the rest of them are some other level.'

'So, I need to do whatever is necessary in order to get ahead. Look, I just faced Rio, right? She's a nice girl, I like Rio, I think we could be friends. But when it comes to this, friendship means nothing to me, I'll do whatever I have to in order to get ahead, even if it's playing for the draw. Five points is five more than I could have got there, if she couldn't beat me that isn't my fault.'

'Now we still need to address what happened against Astrid. You viciously attacked her when you were about to lose, costing yourself 10 points. What was the reason for this unprovoked attack?' 'She had no right to be the crowd's favourite, I'm the local, just because she has a fanciful story about visiting the area once and because she's pretty, she gets all the attention. As for why I attacked her like that though, let's just say a certain Lieutenant owes me €100,000.' Upon the revelation, he walked away.

While this interview was going on, Radley took another 10 points for his score, seeing off Saeed in around 100 seconds thanks to direct attacks from Player Manager, Dreadnought Dunker and Playmaker. Afterwards, it was announced that there would be a break from the Baltic Championships, for the third duel(s) in the Best of Seven Series, Pick your Poison.Kalin was up first, entering with his harmonica around his neck, seemingly unperturbed by the disastrous tag duel previously. 'The following is a Pick your Poison duel in the Seven Stars Series. Introducing first, from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, the WDC Champion, the Reaper - Kalin Kessler.'

In the zone, he awaited his fate. Which came soon after, as relatively unsurprisingly, Kris appeared, Astrid stood behind him. 'And your Poison, from Salem, Massachusets, he is the One and Only - Kris Travis.' The unheralded member of the club walked down with a swagger, saluting the fans as he did for his first singles duel in several months. In the zone, he and Kalin had a brief face-off, before they commenced.

Seven Stars Series (Pick Your Poison): Kris Travis LP:8000 vs. © Kalin Kessler LP:8000

(Kalin hand: Infernity Launcher, Infernity Break, Upstart Goblin, Infernity Necromancer, Infernity Wildcat)

Kalin: 'I draw. I'll activate Infernity Launcher. Once per turn, this allows me to send an Infernity monster from my hand to the graveyard. I'll send Infernity Wildcat. Then I'll set two cards and summon Infernity Necromancer (Def.:2000). And when my hand is empty, which it is, Necromancer revives Infernity Wildcat (Atk:1400). Then I'll activate the Upstart Goblin I just set.' 'Yeah, pretty clever.'

'You're not around as long as I am without picking up a trick or two. I'll draw a card and you can have some Life points (Kris LP:8000-9000).' Seeing the top card of his deck, he smiled. 'I activate the effect of Infernity Archfiend.' 'You didn't…' 'I did. The effect of Infernity Archfiend when I draw it while I have nothing in my hand, allows me to summon it, and then search another Infernity card (Atk:1800). I'll add Return of the Reaper.'

'Now Level 3 Wildcat, tune to Level 3 Necromancer, so that I can summon an old friend from an old friend - Red Wyvern (Atk:2400). Then I'll use the effect of Infernity Launcher, sending itself to the graveyard so I can bring back Infernity Necromancer and Infernity Wildcat (Def.:2000, Atk:1400). That means I can tune Level 3 Wildcat to Level 3 Necromancer and Level 4 Archfiend! Shadows are enveloped by even darker shadows, and a new evil rises from the mists. Appear, Beelzeus of the Diabolic Dragons (Atk:4000). I end my turn.'

(Kris hand: Spyral Super Agent, Spyral Sleeper, Spyral Resort, Spyral Quik-Fix, SYRAL GEAR: Drone, Machine Duplication)

Kris: 'I draw.' With his hand, Kris looked raring to go. 'Nice combo Kalin.' 'Thanks.' 'You've not seen ANYTHING yet though. I summon SPYRAL Quik-Fix (Atk:500). When I summon Quik-Fix, I can add a SPYRAL Gear card from my deck to my hand. I'll grab SPYRAL GEAR - Big Red. Then I'll activate Machine Duplication, to summon two more Quik-Fixes (Atk:500)x2. And each one of those can add a SPYRAL Gear. I'll get a Utility Wire and a Last Resort.'

'Now I'll Link off two Quik-Fixes in order to summon Link 2, Spyral Double Helix (Atk:1600, Link Arrows: Bottom Centre, Left). Then I can use the effect of SPYRAL Super Agent in my hand, to look at the top card of your deck. I'll say it's a Monster.' Kalin flipped the card, and showed that it was indeed a monster - Infernity Archfiend. 'Another Archfiend? I see how this one is going. Super Agent summons itself by the way (Atk:1900). When it's summoned, Super Agent can destroy a Spell or Trap on your field. I'll get rid of your face-down.' Infernity Break quickly bit the dust, with Kalin completely unable to activate it as he didn't have an Infernity on his field.

'Now I'll use the effect of SPYRAL Double Helix. I predict the top card of your deck, if I'm right, I can either add a SPYRAL to my hand from my deck or Special summon it directly from my deck. I reckon it's a monster.' As they already knew, it was Infernity Archfiend, so Kris got a monster from his rapidly decreasing deck. I summon SPYRAL GEAR - Drone (Atk:100). Drone, I activate your effect, to see the top three cards of your deck and put them back however I like.'

Kalin quickly flipped the cards, revealing Archfiend, Morphing Jar, and Reasoning. This gave him something to mull over, not really wanting Kalin to have access to any of the cards. 'I'll put Morphing Jar on the top, then Reasoning and then Archfiend.' 'Got it.' 'Then I'll activate the Field spell SPYRAL Resort.' As he did, a futuristic-looking Laboratory covered the battlefield, filled with computers and holographic screens. 'This allows me to add SPYRAL Master Plan to my hand.'

Despite the long combo, Kalin still wasn't entirely impressed. 'Yeah, using a bunch of cards is one thing, you've still not ACTUALLY done anything yet.' 'I know, I'm getting there. I'll Link off SPYRAL GEAR: Drone and the last SPYRAL Quik-Fix, to Link summon Link 2, Knightmare Goblin (Atk:1300). When Goblin is summoned, I can discard one card to get an extra Normal summon this turn. But because it's co-linked, I also draw a card.' At this point, Kris appeared to be showing a little bit of frustration at not drawing a specific card.

'Fine, I'll just have to Link off again with Goblin and SPYRAL Super Agent, to Link summon Link 3, Knightmare Unicorn (Atk:2200). Unicorn's effect allows me to discard SPYRAL Master Plan to spin back your Beelzeus to the Extra deck.' While Beelzeus had some protection, it didn't include returning to the Extra deck, leaving it with no defence for the Unicorn. 'Then I can draw. Now I'll banish Quik-Fix and Master Plan from my graveyard for SPYRAL Sleeper (Atk:2800). And I'll equip it with SPYRAL GEAR: Last Resort from my hand. This makes it immune to battle or being destroyed by card effects.'

It was at this moment that Kris realised he had misplayed, but knowing that it wouldn't make a practical difference to the likely result, he shrugged it off and continued. 'I activate SPYRAL Sleeper, attack Red Wyvern.' Kris prioritising destroying Red Wyvern over Sleeper could have appeared to be cautious, but to Kalin, it stank of fear, as he took 400 damage (Kalin LP:8000-7600). 'Then I can attack with my other monsters.' The monsters in question were Double Helix and Unicorn, which together attacked for 4100 points (Kalin LP:7600-3500). 'I end my turn with two face-downs. During my End phase I'll let Spyral Resort get destroyed rather than shuffle a card back.'

(Kalin hand: Return of the Reaper, Morphing Jar)

Kalin: 'I draw.' Taking his time, he came to a realisation, and decided to gamble on Kris not being too aggressive. 'I'll set a monster and end my turn.'

(Kris hand: SPYRAL GEAR: Big Red, Machine Duplication, SPYRAL GEAR: Last Resort, SPYRAL Super Agent)

Kris: 'I draw! I activate the effect of SPYRAL Super Agent, to flip the top card of your deck, and summon itself if I'm right. I'm saying it's a Spell card.' Kris knew from the previous turn that the card was Reasoning, as he himself had put it there, meaning he was able to summon his Agent (Atk:1900). Then I'll Link off Double Helix and Super Agent in order to summon Link 2, SPYRAL Double Helix (Atk:1900).'

'Double Helix's effect, I'll call Spell.' As it was still Reasoning, Kris got another monster from his deck. But his choice seemed rather odd. 'I'll add another SPYRAL Sleeper. Then I'll banish Double Helix and Super Agent from my graveyard to summon SPYRAL Sleeper (Atk:2800).' Kris was just about to declare the effect of his Sleeper, when he realised that Kalin had painted him into a corner. 'I can't activate it…' 'Because I only have one card on the field, and you need to destroy exactly two on my field.'

'Fine, I'll just go to battle and destroy your Morphing Jar with SPYRAL Double Helix.' Double Helix did just this, frying the Jar with an electrical hand (Def.:600). 'Morphing Jar makes us both draw until we have five cards in our hands.' 'That it does.' As turn player, the onus was on Kris to draw first. On the one hand, it helped to refresh his hand somewhat. On the other hand, his deck was reduced to a slightly concerning 19 cards. Kalin then drew the same, knowing that he needed something to stop himself being killed.

'Now my two Sleepers can attack directly.' 'I'll activate Battle Fader, to fade your attacks.' The bong of the bell was enough to slow down the Sleepers, which just stood with a lumbering yet ominous presence. 'I end my turn with a Set card.'

(Kalin hand: Return of the Reaper, Infernity Archfiend, Infernity Launcher, Monster Reborn, Guerilla Kite, Pot of Avarice)

Kalin: 'I draw. I activate Return of the Reaper, which will bring back Infernity Wildcat (Atk:1400). Then I'll summon Infernity Archfiend (Atk:1800). Now I'll tune Level 3 Wildcat to Level 4 Archfiend in order to Synchro summon Dark Highlander (Atk:2700).' Seeing the Highlander arriving, and knowing what it could do to his Last Resort, Kris acted quickly. 'I activate my face-down SPYRAL GEAR: Utility Wire. Because I control Super Agent' 'Double Helix?' 'Yep.' 'Gotcha.'

'Because of that, I can send your Dark Highlander back to the top of your deck. Except it won't go there.' With Highlander sent spinning back by Kris' play, Kalin prepared to continue his plays. 'I activate Pot of Avarice, to shuffle five cards back into my deck and draw two. I'll return Upstart, Archfiend, Morphing Jar, Launcher, and Return of the Reaper.' As he drew, he saw a line to get what he wanted.

'I'll activate Double Summon, to be allowed to Normal summon another time this turn. I'll use that summon for this - Infernity Guardian (Atk:1200). Then I'll activate Infernity Launcher, set two, and use the Launcher effect to summon back Infernity Necromancer and Wildcat (Def.:2000, Atk:1400). Now Level 3 Wildcat tunes to Level 3 Necromancer and Level 4 Guardian, to Synchro summon Beelzeus of the Diabolic Dragons (Atk:4000).'

'Beelzeus, I'm activating your effect. By halving the damage it does this turn, this Dragon can reduce the attack of one of your Sleepers to 0, and I gain Life points equal to its Attack points. I'll target the one equipped with Last Resort (Atk:2800-0, Kalin LP:3500-6300). 'Then I'll activate my face-down Monster Reborn to revive Infernity Archfiend (Atk:1800). When Archfiend is Special summoned while I have an empty hand, it can grab another Infernity from my deck, like Infernity Avenger (Atk:100).'

'Now Level 1 Avenger tunes to Level 4 Archfiend, so I can summon the pair of Fiends which always play the bad cop - Stygian Sergeants (Atk:2200). Sergeants, attack SPYRAL Sleeper.' The now powerless Sleeper was unable to muster any resistance as the Sergeants literally ran over it (Kris LP:9000-6800). 'Now I'll take out Knightmare Unicorn.' Beelzeus breathed hot fire onto the Unicorn, destroying it but only dealing half damage through its own effect (Kris LP:6800-5900). 'I end my turn.'

(Kris hand: SPYRAL GEAR: Big Red, Machine Duplication, SPYRAL GEAR: Last Resort, Graceful Charity)

Kris: 'I draw. I activate Graceful Charity, drawing three cards and then discarding two. Then I'll summon SPYGAL Misty (Atk:1500). Then I'll activate SPYRAL GEAR: Big Red to revive Drone (Def.:100). Drone's effect allows me to see the top three cards of your deck, and stack them in any order.' As Kris flipped the cards, he discovered Morphing Jar, Crackdown, and Card Destruction. 'I'll put Card Destruction on the top, then Morphing Jar and Crackdown.'

'Now I can use Misty's effect.' 'Can we skip the whole "card guessing"?' 'Sure, I'll draw a card. Then I'll take out Stygian Sergeants with SPYRAL Sleeper.' Sleeper picked up Kalin's twin-headed monster, and simply snapped both necks, destroying it (Kalin LP:6300-5700). 'I end my turn.'

(Kalin hand: Card Destruction)

Kalin: 'I draw. No surprise here, I'll activate Card Destruction. I don't have a hand to discard, but you're going to discard four.' As he did, Kris finally noticed that his deck was looking somewhat thin, but didn't twig that this was Kalin's plan. 'Now I'll use Beelzeus' effect targeting Misty (Atk:1500-0, Kalin LP:5700-7200). Beelzeus, attack.' While it appeared to be a slight misplay for Kalin to target Misty with the effect of Beelzeus, in reality Kalin was making sure he wouldn't be caught out by whatever Kris drew. He was pondering this as Misty was annihilated (Kris LP:5900-4650). 'I end my turn.'

(Kris hand: SPYRAL Tough, SPYRAL GEAR: Fully Armed, SPYRAL Resort, SPYRAL MISSION - Recapture, R:Reincarnate

Kris: 'I draw. I don't like having quiet turns, but this one's kinda it. I'll set a monster, activate Resort to search for a SPYRAL Tough, and end my turn setting two backrow. At the End phase, I'll use Resort to return Super Agent to my deck as its maintenance cost.'

(Kalin hand: Morphing Jar)

Kalin: 'I draw. I'll just sweep up the field, destroying your Set monster.' Beelzeus roasted the set SPYRAL Tough, destroying it. 'I'll set a monster and pass.'

(Kris hand: SPYRAL GEAR: Fully Armed, SPYRAL MISSION: Rescue)

Kris: 'I draw.' What Kalin didn't know was that his deck destruction strategy was completely backfiring. 'I activate my face-down SPYRAL MISSION - Recapture.' 'And?' 'You're going to see… in a moment. Now I'll activate my other face-down, R:Reincarnate. Once per turn, this revives a monster from my graveyard. But all the R cards come at a cost, and this one is equivalent exchange. If I want to revive a monster, I have to banish a card from my graveyard in return.'

'But you've got loads of cards in your graveyard.' 'Yeah, you put most of them in there dumbass. So thanks for my Super Agent (Atk:1900). And when Super Agent is revived, the effect of Recapture allows me to steal your Beelzeus until the End phase. Only catch is that he can't attack directly.' Super Agent, being the ace he was, produced a rod which shot out a large net, covering the Diabolic Dragon. This was followed by it being slowly drawn in towards Kris' field, still covered in the net.

'Now I have control of your Dragon, I can attack Morphing Jar with it.' As the Jar was roasted, Kalin invoked its effect. 'We both draw until we have five cards in our hand.' 'So you're drawing five, and I'm drawing three more.' 'Correct.' 'Now I can attack with my other monsters.' First, Super Agent shot a hooked dagger out from his pocket, then Sleeper appeared to switch on, and launched a large punch which ripped through the sky itself (Kalin LP:7200-2500). 'I end my turn setting one, and you can have your Dragon back.' The net that had bound Beelzeus vanished, and it returned to Kalin's field.

(Kalin hand: Gift of the Mystical Elf, Soul Charge, Dark Tuner: Nightmare Hand, Infernity Avenger, Descending Lost Star, Book of Eclipse)

Kalin: 'I draw.' Seeing a rough hand, he decided to hold out the best he could. 'I'll use Beelzeus' effect on your Super Agent (Atk:1900-0, Kalin LP:2500-4400). 'I end my turn with a face-down.'

(Kris hand: SPYRAL GEAR: Fully Armed, SPYRAL Tough, SPYGAL Misty, SPYRAL MISSION: Recapture, Book of Moon)

Kris: 'My turn, let's see if we can't finish this off. First up, I'll use SPYRAL Sleeper's effect, to destroy two cards on your field, and one on mine. I'll destroy my 0 Attack Super Agent along with your set card and Beelzeus.' 'Beelzeus IS immune to being destroyed, but not from being targeted, so I'll have to activate Descending Lost Star now to revive Red Wyvern (Def.:0, Level:6-5).

'Fine, I'll use the effect of R:Reincarnate to bring back Super Agent (Atk:1900), and Recapture will take your Dragon for myself once again. Then I can attack your monster with Beelzeus.' The dragon breathed black flames, roasting the Red Wyvern until it became blackened. 'Now attacking for game!' 'Say that to Gift of the Mystical Elf!' Kalin's Trap gained him back 300 Life points for every monster on the field, which, with 3 on board, was enough to keep him surviving, as he took a punishing onslaught, barely hanging on (Kalin LP:4400-5300-600). As he did, he breathed a momentary sigh of relief, but knew that he was relying on finding the correct card off the top of his deck. Little did he realise that he already had the key in hand. Meanwhile Kris ended his turn, knowing that he was on the verge of victory.

(Kalin hand: Grinder Golem, Dark Tuner: Nightmare Hand, Infernity Avenger, Book of Eclipse, Infernity Necromancer)

Kalin: 'I draw.' He sighed, sensing the game was lost. 'Yeah, you got' It was at this very moment that the champion took one final rueful look at his hand. And suddenly, he noticed a path. 'I am so stupid! I'll summon Grinder Golem to your field, by summoning two Grinder Tokens to my field (Golem Atk:3000, Token Atk:0)x2. Then I'll tribute both Tokens to summon Dark Tuner: Nightmare Hand (Atk:0). When Nightmare Hand is summoned, I can summon a Level 2 or below monster from my hand. I summon Infernity Avenger (Atk:100).'

'Going for one last Synchro play?' 'No, I activate Book of Eclipse. This flips every monster on the field face-down.' As he did, Last Resort was destroyed. 'Then I'll end my turn, and during the End phase, I can flip up every monster that was flipped down. Then you draw a card for every one that was flipped back up. Which was six.' Kris drew the cards, but came to a horrific realisation as he did. 'I… I'm out of cards.' He then had flashbacks to the Morphing Jars and Kalin's stallish play with Beelzeus. 'Sorry Kris, but a win's a win.' He just nodded, accepting that he had been outsmarted by a wily veteran.

As the dust settled on Kalin's win, he nodded in respect to Kris, who nodded back, before they both walked away. After a short recess, it was Astrid's turn. As she stepped up to the zone, she was introduced. 'The following is a Pick your Poison duel in the Seven Stars Series. To win the point, Astrid must win by more than … Life points. Introducing first, from Alta, Norway, she is the Top Contender to the WDC Championship - Fearless Astrid Hofferson.'

Astrid raised her arm in focus, waiting to see who Kalin had chosen. She got a huge surprise when some unfamiliar music hit, and Nash walked out, in his human form, wearing an all new purple jacket. 'And your poison, from Twin Falls, Idaho, he is the Fallen Emperor - Nash Kastle.' He walked down, smiling, and immediately activated his duel disk. 'Long time no see. Hope you're having fun holding my sister back.' 'Shut up and duel already.'

Pick Your Poison: Astrid Hofferson LP:8000 vs. Nash Kastle LP:8000

(Astrid hand: Vanadis of the Nordic Ascendant, Guldfaxe of the Nordic Beasts, Valkyrie Vierte, Nordic Relic Draupnir, Nordic Relic Laevateinn)

Turn 1: Astrid: 'I'm first. I'll summon Guldfaxe of the Nordic Beasts (Atk:1600). Then I'll equip it with Draupnir, granting 800 extra Attack points (Atk:1600-2400). I'll set two and pass.'

(Nash hand: Depth Shark, Fish Sonar, Sharkraken, A Legendary Ocean, Cyber Shark, Rank-up Magic Barian's Force)

Nash: 'I draw. I'll activate Fish Sonar.' As he did, a sonar wave started pulsating around the field. 'This adds any monster that mentions "Umi" in its card text or a Level 7 or below Water monster from my deck to my hand. I'll get a copy of Dream Shark. Because I control no monsters, I can summon this without a sacrifice - Depth Shark (Atk:1400). Then I'll summon Dream Shark, which needs no tribute because I have a Water monster on my field (Atk:0).'

'Now I'll overlay my two Level 5 monsters! The fallen emperor calls upon his most faithful soldier to once again take the field of battle, release your weapon and slay all who stand in your way, Valiant Shark Lancer (Atk:2500).' Hearing this, Astrid muttered to herself 'And people think I go on way too long'. 'Shark Lancer's effect activates. By spending one of its materials, it can destroy one monster on your field.'

The Valiant Lancer swung his lance around, before bringing it down right on top of Guldfaxe, destroying it. 'Now you can swing in directly with Shimmering Spear.' The lance in question shone brightly, before it was fired away, taking out some of Astrid's Life points (Astrid LP:8000-5500). 'I end my turn.'

(Astrid hand: Vanadis of the Nordic Ascendant, Valkyrie Vierte, Reinforcement of the Army)

Astrid: 'I draw. I activate Reinforcement of the Army, to find Nordic Smith Ivaldi. Now I summon Ivaldi (Atk:1500). When I summon Ivaldi, I can add a Nordic Relic from my deck to my hand. I'll add Nordic Relic Hlidskjalf. Then I'll activate Hlidskjalf, which summons Nordic Relic Gullinbursti (Def.:100). Gullinbursti's effect then summons Vanadis of the Nordic Ascendant from my hand (Atk:1200).'

'Now, Level 3 Gullinbursti, tune to Level 4 Nordic Smith Ivaldi! Baldur, sønn av faren, stig ned fra Valhalla og gi meg din makt, må blodet ditt bare renne når seieren er nær! Appear before this battle, Baldr, Heir of the Aesir (Atk:2000).' 'You call that a monster?' 'Wait until you see him in battle. Baldr, attack Valiant Shark Lancer with Bloodstained Brutality!' The long haired, Samson-like Baldur came charging into battle, and as he did, his arm glowed.

'When Baldur is in battle, he can equip himself with any Equip spell from my hand or graveyard. And it just so happens that he can't be destroyed by card effects while he has a card equipped. So he gains the power of the Draupnir that is in my grave (Atk:2000-2800).' The Valiant Lancer fought bravely, but ended up being slain in a fierce battle (Nash LP:8000-7700). 'I end my turn.'

(Nash hand: Sharkraken, Cyber Shark, Rank-up Magic Barian's Force, Lantern Shark)

Nash: 'I draw. I'll summon Lantern Shark (Atk:1800). When it's summoned, I can summon a Fish monster from my hand, as long as it has a Level from 3 to 5. I summon Cyber Shark (Atk:2100). When I Xyz summon, Lantern Shark can be treated as a Level 5 monster, so I'll overlay Lantern Shark and Cyber Shark to Xyz summon Number 73: Abyss Splash (Atk:2400). Once per turn, Abyss Splash can double its Attack points until the end of your turn, but any damage it inflicts is cut in half (Atk:2400-4800).'

'Now attack Baldur with Final Fall.' The back and forth continued, with Abyss slamming a fierce wall of water into Baldur, defeating him (Astrid LP:5500-4500). 'My turn's done.' 'During the End phase, Baldur's effect allows me to add any Nordic Relic and any Nordic monster from my deck to my hand. Then Baldur himself returns to the Extra deck. I'll get Hlidskjalf and Valkyrie of the Nordic Ascendant.'

(Astrid hand: Vanadis of the Nordic Ascendant, Valkyrie Vierte, Nordic Relic Hlidskjalf, Valkyrie of the Nordic Ascendant, Aiviss of the Nordic Alfar)

Astrid: 'I draw.' As she did, she saw her hand, and the path became clear, lighting up like the night sky. 'I need to be like the night - spectacular at the right moment.' As she said this, Nash just looked on, totally baffled at what he was listening to. 'What's that in sentences that make sense?' Irked, Astrid rolled her eyes. 'For that, you can lose!' After a moment of psyching up, she embarked on an extremely risky play that would require most of her hand.

'I'll activate Nordic Relic Hlidskjalf. This will revive the Nordic Smith Ivaldi in my graveyard (Atk:1500). He'll grab me a copy of Megingjord, but he isn't staying, as he becomes the tribute for a LInk summon. 'Maiden of the gods, she who was thrice reborn, resurrect your being so that you may call the gods to my side. I Link summon, Link 1, Gullveig of the Nordic Ascendent (Atk:800).' Nash didn't initially seem concerned, but what happened next would shock him.

'Gullveig effect, I'll banish Vanadis, Valkyrie, and Aiviss from my hand, to summon three Nordic monsters from my deck. Appear, Svartalf of the Nordic Alfar, Mimir of the Nordic Ascendant, and Tanngrisnir of the Nordic Beasts (Atk:1400, 600, 1200).' 'Sweet move.' 'There's more though, because I banished Aiviss of the Nordic Alfar. And Aiviss finds his full potential when working with Gullveig. So much so that if I send to the grave, a Nordic monster from my field, and two others from my deck, I can instantly Synchro summon an Aesir.'

Nash seemed to be relatively ok with this, until he came to a sudden realisation - that Astrid was going to send Gullveig herself. 'I'll send Gullveig along with Mara of the Nordic Alfar and Tyr of the Nordic Champions. Odin, father of the polar gods most powerful, I declare my body to be your vessel, my will to be your weapon!' As she declared this, her skin looked to be straining, as if she truly were the vessel of a god. 'I Synchro summon Odin, Father of the Aesir (Atk:4000).'

'Then I will Synchro again, Level 5 Svartalf will sync his power with Level 2 Mimir and Level 3 Tanngrisnir. Loke, asernes far, lån meg din makt, jeg vil være ødeleggelse instrumentet for deg og din dødelige rival Odin, ødelegge denne trusselen mot vår sivilisasjon! Appear the second god, Loki, Lord of the Aesir (Atk:3500).' Now facing down two gods, Nash began to realise how big his task was, but he wasn't backing down. 'Do your worst.' 'I will do, but I'll let you go first (Abyss Atk:4800-2400).'

(Nash hand: Sharkraken, Rank-up Magic Barian's Force, Poison of the Old Man)

Nash: 'I draw.' He had a decision to make here, as he knew that not using his monster's effect would lead to it being destroyed. However, using it and attacking would trigger the Trap that he knew Astrid had set for him. In a certain bind, he took a minute to assess his options ,weighing up the likelihood of her having access to another monster, as despite having a significant lead, the sheer power of Astrid's monsters would have him on the verge of losing. Eventually he decided to exercise caution.

'I'll activate the effect of Abyss Splash, to detach an Xyz material and double its Attack until your next turn ends (Atk:2400-4800). Then I'll end my turn.' 'Not tempted to attack?' 'I know you're luring me in, you don't need to make it obvious.' 'I know that you know. I just thought you were a bit less of a coward.' 'I'm not a coward!' Astrid smiled, but he wasn't falling like she thought he was. 'But I'm not stupid either.'

(Astrid hand: Valkyrie Vierte, Pot of Duality)

Astrid: 'I draw. I activate Pot of Duality.' 'Why are you using that when you need to Special summon?' 'That would be telling.' With her Pot, Astrid excavated Ride of the Valkyries, Valkyrie Erda, and Guldfaxe of the Nordic Beasts. 'That's kinda good, I'll take Valkyrie Erda, then end my turn (Atk:4800-2400).' 'Not tempted to attack? Could have drawn a card.' 'I'll pass on that thanks.'

(Nash hand: Sharkraken, Rank-up Magic Barian's Force, Poison of the Old Man, Dream Shark)

Nash: 'My turn.' As he drew, he saw a card which helped out. But he opted to not use it immediately. 'I activate Rank-up Magic Barian's Force.' Seeing the card, a smile came across his opponent's face. 'I was waiting for that.' This ranks up my Abyss Splash into a Chaos Xyz monster. Chaos Xyz Evolution! I Xyz summon Number C73 - Abyss Supra Splash (Atk:3000).' Astrid seemed relatively unconcerned with this development, knowing what she had face-down.

'I'm going to attack Odin with Abyss Supra.' 'By all means.' Nash then braced himself for a counter attack as he nervously used the effect of Supra (Atk:3000-7000), but Astrid didn't do anything, fully aware that Megingjord couldn't activate after Supra's effect (Astrid LP:4500-1500, Abyss Atk:3000). Astrid may have survived the turn, but she was far from unscathed, as the tensing up during the attack had set off her nerve issue again. With no feeling in her entire right hand side, she continued on. 'Do whatever you will, I won't back down.'

There wasn't anything that he could reasonably do however, so after some consideration, he ended his turn. 'During the End phase, I can banish Vanadis from my graveyard and Odin is reborn (Atk:4000). Then I get to draw a card.'

(Astrid hand: Valkyrie Vierte, Valkyrie Erda, Nordic Relic Laevateinn, Ride of the Valkyries)

Astrid: 'I draw!' She saw the card, and knowing it was the time, held it up high before activating it. 'Walkuren Ritt!' Nash could do nothing but mutter the name of the card. 'Ride of the Valkyries.' 'This enables me to summon any Valkyries from my hand. Appear, Vierte and Erda (Atk:1400, 2000). While Erda is on the field having been summoned, Abyss Supra loses 1000 Attack points (Atk:3000-2000).'

'Now I can use Vierte's effect. Because I control one other Valkyrie, I can excavate the top card of my deck, and if it's a Normal spell or Trap, I can activate it.' She excavated the card, but realising it wasn't suitable (Fenrir the Nordic Wolf), she sent it to the graveyard.

'Odin, I activate your effect, which makes you immune to his card effects for the rest of the turn. Odin, attack his monster.' With no more materials to go around, the Xyz monster had no more turns, being ripped apart by lightning from Odin's sceptre (Nash LP:7700-6700). 'Now my Valkyries, ride in.' The two female warriors rode in with their swords, slashing through Nash's points (Nash LP:6700-3300). 'Finally I can attack with Loki.' 'I activate Poison of the Old Man to regain 800 Life points (Nash LP:3300-4100-600).

Astrid was frustrated at not finishing him off, but knew that with her face-down, she could quite easily finish him off on her next turn, if not before then. 'I end my turn. During the End phase, every monster on my field is shuffled into my deck due to Walkuren Ritt, except for Odin, whose effect still protects him.'

(Nash hand: Sharkraken, Dream Shark, Saber Shark)

Nash: 'I draw.' As he did, he realised that he knew it was time to reveal his last trick. 'Because you control a monster and I don't, I can summon Dream Shark (Atk:0). Then I can immediately tribute it to Special summon Sharkraken from my hand (Atk:2600). Now I'll Normal summon Saber Shark (Atk:1600). Up to twice per turn, Saber Shark can increase or decrease the Level of a Shark on my field by one. I'll choose to decrease Sharkraken's Level once, and increase Saber Shark's once, both to Level 5.'

'Now I'll overlay my two Level 5 monsters to build the overlay network! I Xyz summon the personification of the last emperor - N.A.S.H Knight (Atk:1700). And for his effect! He can detach both his materials to arm himself with a Number card with a Number between 101 and 107 from my Extra deck, and then he can also steal a monster that you control.' This looked to spell doom for Astrid, but she still had a move to make. 'I activate Solemn Authority! This makes all Aesir monsters immune to targeting for the next three turns.'

'No matter, I'll attach Number 101: Silent Honor Ark.' As the Ark descended from an unknown plain, it found itself being absorbed by Nash Knight, becoming an attachment below. 'Now I'll rank up N.A.S.H Knight. Chaos Xyz Evolution! I summon CXyz N.A. Knight (Atk:2000, Materials:2). Once per turn, it can detach one to use itself as the material to summon any Number from 101 through 107 from my Extra deck.' No sooner had the CXyz Knight arrived, than it vanished back into the portal, ready to appear anew again.

'I summon Number C101 - Silent Honor DARK (Atk:2800, ORU:2).' Thinking she knew what he was planning, she tried to get him to rethink. 'Just so you know, what you're about to do is real cheap.' It never occurred to her in the heat of battle that he didn't have sufficient Life points to crash his monster and regain more. 'You have no idea what I'm doing. Just like you have no idea what's best for my sister!'

'That changed quickly.' 'You'll soon see things escalating. I rebuild the overlay network once more with Silent Honor DARK. BARIAN XYZ EVOLUTION!' As he did, a small ball of red chaos energy appeared on his field. 'You're going to pay for your people's sins. I Xyz summon CXyz Barian Hope. It gains power with its fallen allies, 1000 Attack for every material (Atk:3000, Materials:3).'

'The effect of Barian Hope allows me to detach a material (Atk:3000-2000, Materials:3-2), and copy the effect of any fallen Number in my graveyard. Including Number C73 - Abyss Supra Splash. Fell that god, make it feel my pain!' As Barian Hope attacked with his lance, he was imbued with the power of C73, while Astrid could only watch in horror and wonder where she lost it (Atk:2000-6000, Astrid LP:1500-0).

After the duel, Nash pumped his fist slightly, before looking down at Astrid, who appeared to have reaggravated her neck during the duel. As she desperately tried to get some life back into her arm, he signalled to the crowd, before leaving, having not acknowledged Astrid once since the end of the duel. As he left, he audibly stated 'You're next Rio', showing that he was still firmly not done with trying to make her leave the Renegades.

In the zone, Astrid was receiving some treatment from Sakura, who was just putting a neck brace around her for safety as fans chanted her name, when Bolton's music played, and he appeared in the stands. 'Hurry hurry here, we need to move on with the show. Astrid, the schedules have been changed, so your next duel is going to be right now.' Angered by this, Sakura grabbed a microphone as Bolton turned to leave.

'Listen here, I don't know what you're getting out of bullying injured competitors, but she is one of the biggest stars this company has, and if you keep forcing her to duel' 'We're not forcing her to do anything. Listen here you ungrateful little punk, your Uncle might have had some clout around here but you don't. You're duelling right now, and if you can't hack it, you should just go and pull out, leave like he did, unlike him you wouldn't be much of a loss. Kieran, get out here!'

Shortly after he said this, Kieran did come out, to a chorus of boos. As he reached the zone, Astrid pushed Sakura away, and squared up to him. 'Didn't know you were a corporate sellout.' The reply surprised her somewhat. 'I'm not. I didn't know about the schedule change until you did. Quite frankly he can go to hell for all I care, I'm just here to duel and win.' Astrid smiled, spat some blood out from her cut mouth, and activated her duel disk. 'Glad we agree.'

Kieran Byrne (32pts) LP:8000 vs. Astrid Hofferson (11pts) LP:8000

(Kieran hand: Superheavy Samurai Thief, Superheavy Samurai Transporter, Superheavy Samurai Trumpeter, Superheavy Samurai Big Waraji, Superheavy Samurai Big Benkei)

Turn 1: Kieran: 'Since you can't even stand up at the moment, I suppose I'm going first.' 'Do what you like.' 'If you insist.' 'Because there are no Spells or Traps in my graveyard, I can summon all three of these monsters with no tribute - Superheavy Samurai Transporter, Superheavy Samurai Big Waraji, and Superheavy Samurai Trumpter (Atk: 1200, 900, 300). Then I'll tune Level 2 Trumpeter to Level 5 Big Waraji and Level 5 Superheavy Samurai Transporter. Roll out, Superheavy Samurai Steam Train King (Def.:4800). I end my turn - let's see if your almighty gods can help you out of this one.'

(Astrid hand: Nordic Relic Svalinn, Ride of the Valkyries, Nordic Smith Ivaldi, Tanngrisnir of the Nordic Beasts, Nordic Relic Hlidskjalf, R:Blowback).

Astrid: 'I draw.' After carefully considering her options, Astrid silently ended her turn. 'Giving up that easily? I expected something at least.'

(Kieran hand: Superheavy Samurai Thief, Superheavy Samurai Big Benkei, Superheavy Samurai Soulbeads)

Kieran: 'I draw. I'm going to equip Steam Train King with Superheavy Samurai Soulbeads. These beads protect it from card effect destruction once per turn. Now attack.' 'From my hand I activate R:Blowback. Not only is your attack negated, but you lose 100 Life points for every card on the field.' Steam Train King came powering forth, but even its immense power wouldn't allow it through the forcefield (Kieran LP:8000-7800). 'I end my turn.'

(Astrid hand: Nordic Relic Svalinn, Ride of the Valkyries, Nordic Smith Ivaldi, Tanngrisnir of the Nordic Beasts, Nordic Relic Hlidskjalf, Graceful Charity)

Astrid: 'I draw. You believe in angels?' 'Only my sister, but that… sounded wrong honestly.' 'Yeah I get it. Anyway, there's an angel I want you to meet, 'cause she's delivering some Graceful Charity. I'll draw three and discard two.' As she drew, Astrid suddenly started to see a strategy forming. She only needed to survive. 'I'll discard these two, then I'll set a monster and a backrow, and pass.'

(Kieran hand: Superheavy Samurai Thief, Superheavy Samurai Big Benkei, Superheavy Samurai Flutist)

Kieran: 'I draw. I summon Superheavy Samurai Flutist (Atk:500). And you're going to hate hearing him play, because he can tribute himself to summon out Superheavy Samurai Big Benkei from my hand (Def.:3500). Big Benkei, attack that monster.' The gargantuan monster's boots flamed up, before it came charging in across the ground, smashing into Astrid's monster (Tanngrisnir Def.:800), and destroying it.

'I should report you for animal cruelty. Instead, I'll punish you with the effect of Tanngrisnir, which leaves me two Nordic Beast Tokens when it's destroyed (Def.:0)x2. 'Steam Train King will take care of one of those mongrels.' Kieran's Level 12 behemoth rolled in at frightening speed, smashing into the Token and turning it into mere embers. 'In my Main Phase 2 I'll use Steam Train King's effect to banish every Spell/Trap from either graveyard, and for each one, you lose 200 Life points.' The tight and wary duel continued as Astrid took a huge 200 damage from his effect, evening up the scores (Astrid LP:8000-7800). 'I end my turn.'

(Astrid hand: Nordic Smith Ivaldi, Valkyrie Dritte, Valkyrie Vierte, One for One, Svartalf of the Nordic Alfar, Loge's Flame)

Astrid: 'I draw. I activate One for One.' 'Pretty sweet card.' 'Can say that again, it allows me to discard my Svartalf and summon a Level 1 monster from my deck. I summon Valkyrie Sechste (Def.:2000). When Sechste is Special summoned, she calls out reinforcements, in the form of another Valkyrie from my deck. Gallop on, Valkyrie Erda (Atk:2000). With Erda on the field, all monsters you control lose 1000 Attack points (Big Benkei Atk:1000-0, Steam Train King Atk:2000-1000).'

As she did this, Kieran stood, totally perplexed at what he was watching. 'Have you been paying any attention?' 'I have, and I'll summon Valkyrie Vierte (Atk:1400). During my Main phase, she can excavate one card from my deck for every other Valkyrie I control, and add a Normal Spell/Trap to my hand, sending the other cards to the graveyard.' Excavating, she found Graceful Charity, Ride of the Valkyries and Valkyrie Brunhilde. 'Aww deck, you shouldn't have - I'll add Graceful.'

'Then I'll activate Graceful, you know how it works. I'll set two, and pass.' 'That's it?' 'Yep.' The clock reached five minutes as Kieran drew for his next turn, and already a draw appeared likely.

(Kieran hand: Superheavy Samurai Thief, Superheavy Samurai Trumpeter)

Kieran: 'I draw.' 'I activate Loge's Flame.' As she did, several wispy flames appeared in front of Astrid's Valkyries, creating a protective barrier. 'Only strong monsters can pass through this barrier of fire - monsters who have 2000 or less Attack points can no longer attack.' 'Well I should find an answer then. I'll Superheavy Samurai Thief through its effect because' 'You have no Spells or Traps in the grave, I get it (Def.:1000).'

'Well here's something you don't know - by tributing Thief, I can destroy your Loge's Flame and set it in my Spell and Trap zone.' 'Is that your target?' 'Yes.' 'Good, I can respond with Imperial Custom then. I'm not much of a monarchist but this I can get behind, all Continuous Traps on my field are now safe from destruction as long as Custom is up.' With his main plan gone, Kieran had to think on his feet.

'I summon Superheavy Samurai Trumpeter (Atk:300). Then I'll tune it to Level 8 Superheavy Samurai Big Benkei, so I can summon another supersized threat - Superheavy Samurai Warlord Susanowo (Def.:3800). Every turn, Susanowo can steal a Spell or Trap from your graveyard, setting it to my field. And when it leaves the field it's banished, so you're not getting it back at all. I'll take your Graceful Charity thanks.'

'I'll activate it immediately to draw three and discard two myself. I end my turn.'

(Astrid hand: Meteorain, Threatening Roar)

Astrid: 'I draw. I end my turn with a face-down.'

(Kieran hand: Superheavy Samurai Blue Brawler)

Kieran: 'I draw. I'll use the effect of Susanowo to set the other Graceful Charity from your grave to my field. I'll activate it immediately, and do a better job with it than you. I summon Superheavy Samurai Magnet (Atk:900). The effect of Magnet allows me to summon another Samurai from my hand and change its Battle position. I summon Blue Brawler (Def.:2000, Magnet Def.:1900). I end my turn.'

(Astrid hand: Meteorain, Mage Power)

Astrid: 'I draw.' Seeing her hand, the plan was forming, but she still needed some more tools. 'I'll just pass.'

(Kieran hand: Superheavy Samurai Blue Brawler, Superheavy Samurai Battleball)

Kieran: 'I draw.' Frustrated, Kieran racked his brains for a way to out the tricky Trap that was preventing an offensive charge, but alas he was unable to. 'I'll just pass my turn.'

(Astrid hand: Meteorain, Mage Power, Goddess Verdande's Guidance)

Astrid: 'I draw.' Inspecting her hand, she was still looking for the inspiration that would truly bring her hand alive. 'I activate Goddess Verdande's Guidance. This lets me predict the type of the top card of your deck, and if I'm right, it's set to your field. Otherwise, you get to add it to your hand. I predict Monster.' Astrid's obvious hunch turned out to be on the money, as Superheavy Samurai Big Benkei was revealed. 'Then I can add Goddess Urd's Verdict to my hand. I end my turn.'

(Kieran hand: Superheavy Samurai Blue Brawler, Superheavy Samurai Battleball, Superheavy Samurai Soulbuster Gauntlet)

Kieran: 'I draw.' Kieran was about to set a new monster, when it occurred to him that he didn't have any Main monster zones left. 'I'll end my turn.'

(Astrid hand: Meteorain, Mage Power, Goddess Urd's Verdict, Trade-In)

Astrid: 'I draw. I'll set another Spell/Trap and pass my turn.' As her opponent started to get confused at the lack of Urd's Verdict landing on the field, the duel reached its final third, and the fans were starting to get restless at the lack of action. But Kieran's draw for turn was about to change the state of play.

(Kieran hand: Superheavy Samurai Blue Brawler, Superheavy Samurai General Coral, Cosmic Cyclone)

Kieran: 'I draw.' As he saw the draw, he knew the time to push was now. 'I activate Cosmic Cyclone.' Astrid's eyes opened wide as she saw this, but she wasn't panicking just yet. 'This gives me the ability to banish one of your Spell or Trap cards. I'll send Loge's Flame packing.' As the cyclone ripped through the field, the flames protecting Astrid vanished in a puff of smoke, blown out by the vicious winds.

'Superheavy Samurai Steam Train King, attack Valkyrie Erda.' 'I activate Threatening Roar to blank the Battle phase.' 'In that case I'll just use the effect of Steam Train King to banish all the Spells and Traps from the graveyard and deal you with 200 damage for each one (Astrid LP:7800-7400). 'I end my turn.'

(Astrid hand: Meteorain, Mage Power, Goddess Urd's Verdict, Trade-In, Magic Planter)

Astrid: 'My turn.' As she drew, her body tensed up. 'I activate Magic Planter, it allows me to trade Imperial Custom for two more cards.' She drew the cards, and then looked at them out of the corner of her eye, before launching into her move. 'I'll tribute both of my Valkyries to summon Valkyrie Brunhilde (Atk:1800).' 'She's pretty weedy.' 'She won't be when she gains 500 Attack points for every monster on your field. I'm seeing five (Atk:1800-4300).'

'Then I'll activate Mage Power and my set Meteorain. So now she can deal piercing, and for every Spell or Trap on my field, she gains another 500 Attack (Atk:4300-6300).' 'Yeah this is fine, I can take this.' There was one more card though, as her eyes widened. 'Let's dance! I activate Icaron's Destruction Ballad - Terpsichora!' Activating this made Brunhilde's eyes glow bright red, and her skin start to tense up and crack.

'Terpsichora forces Brunhilde to dance beyond even her heavenly limits, and attack every monster on your field! Brunhilde, dance and destroy with Hero's Fall!' The formerly delicate Valkyrie rode on her horse, spear in hand, and slashed right across Kieran's entire field, causing a shock result as the crippled Astrid scored a remarkable 10 points against the leader (Kieran LP:7800-0).

There was a moment of silence after the duel as everyone processed the majesty of what they had just witnessed, before she got out and dodged, grabbing her neck as she did. Conformation then came through of her 10 points, and she raised both arms in delight. Meanwhile Kieran stood shocked, but walked over to Astrid, and got down on one knee to speak to her. 'You're f**king good. Really good. I'll see you around.' 'You too.'

Backstage

During the break in proceedings, Sakura was taking care of Astrid. Which included delivering some home truths. 'You can't continue like this Astrid.' 'Sure I can, I was just having a bad moment.' She went to leave, but Sakura pushed her down to the bed again. 'No, we are having this conversation RIGHT NOW. So you've got two choices, listen of your own accord or be handcuffed.' The Norwegian relented, and stopped resisting.

'Go on then.' You can't continue like this. You urgently need to get this neck looked at, not by me, not by Maddy, but by a proper place with all the equipment. It is getting to the point where you're risking your future here. You can't just have injections of painkillers and expect that to sort it. I'm honestly scared for you, because I don't know what's going on there. I know you've got… a thing… about anaesthetic, and about surgery in general, but if you don't get this looked at, I hope you enjoy your career being over.'

The medic then delivered a chilling ultimatum. 'I've booked you in to a specialist clinic in Glasgow next Wednesday.' 'But that's the first day of the trial.' 'I know, but I am not risking this any longer. I spoke to Maddy, she gave the go-ahead. So you're booked in for a full check and scan, and you will find out exactly what's going on. If you don't go, then I will tell the Board of Directors that you've been duelling with a broken neck, and I'm taking them to court if they don't pull you out of active competition immediately.'

'You can't do this to me!' she protested, but it was in vain. 'Oh, and don't even think about lying about the diagnosis, the results are being emailed straight to Maddy, and she's going to forward them straight to me. Although if you doubt me, you could ask her.' Surprisingly, Astrid took her up on the option, holding her hand out for Sakura's phone.

'Hi Sak, you spoke to her yet? I told you, she don't bite.' 'I'll do more than bite when I get hold of you.' 'I was hoping we'd be able to talk about this face to face, but Sakura approached me this morning about your issues, we were on the call for about an hour.' 'And?' 'We agreed that we'd rather you face your fears than face the end of your career.' 'So I don't get a say?' 'Listen, we've been giving you your way for months, and this is where we've ended up. At some point, someone needs to shake you up and down and tell you that you're being too damn proud.'

'I REFUSE to look weak to people.' 'By people do you mean some great big oaf from Denmark? Fuck what he thinks, nobody else thinks you're weak by any means. Dad's still dealing with the post concussion symptoms from you kicking him two months ago! Just go for the scan, if it turns out you need some kind of operation, we'll sit down with Sak and discuss our options. But you have to get something done about this, you'll have a new lease on life when it's done.'

'I mean I can't afford to be out of action right now.' 'We will discuss our options once we know what needs doing. In the meantime, just look after yourself, keep out of trouble, and keep up with the massages, that should be easing the issues a little bit. We'll talk about it more when you get back. But stop giving Sakura a hard time, she's really trying her best.' 'Yeah, I get it' 'Chances are it's something easy to fix. So just try and enjoy duelling. You got a great win just now.'

'You were watching?' 'Fuck yeah. I want to see how everyone's doing. Now you go and… actually I have no idea what you're doing right now, having lunch probably.' The call then cut off, and Astrid passed Sakura her phone back. 'I just want you to see that I'm not doing this for my own good, I'm trying to get you fixed. The last thing any of us want is for you to miss any time at all. If you want to talk about it, I'm always around.' 'You know, I think I should.' Sakura then sat down and started explaining the mechanics of what was going on.

While that was going on, Nash had stopped to provide an impromptu interview. 'Ladies and Gentlemen, what a return for Nash Kastle. Where've you been then? It's been months since we saw you.' He smiled politely at her, then gently removed the microphone from her, and made it clear that he wanted her to go. 'So people now care where I've been do they? Why don't you try at home, sitting, because I was sent home because I was "causing too much of a scene" for the board by wanting my sister back.'

'My sister, Rio, you may know her, was stolen from me months ago by a band of psychopaths who managed to twist and corrupt her, and only by being shot are glimpses of her old self returning. Then I got a phone call, from Kalin. He proposed that I help him out in this pick your poison challenge, just as a way to get back in here, and get Rio back from the mentalists who took her. So consider this a warning - I'm not going away until I get to speak to her, bring her back home.' He stormed out, leaving the interviewer shocked. 'Ladies and Gentlemen, Nash Kastle, who clearly has some anger issues.'

After the break, two more duels were completed, with Radley securing a healthy win over a disappointing Lukas, the seven points taking him ahead of Kieran to the top of the Super 8s. Typhus also edged Saeed by 400 Life points in the battle of the bottom, keeping himself somewhat in contention. This set up a massive final duel of the second day though, with any win taking Rio back to the top, and putting her to the top of the group. Meanwhile, Jaden winning would take him into the qualification places, and potentially ahead of his opponent.

Backstage, Rio emerged from the room she had spent all afternoon locked in, and walked straight to the entrance gate without saying a word. Jaden then walked up to her, and put his hand on her shoulder. 'Hey, good luck out there.' 'Yeah, err you too.' As he walked away, he was stopped by Blair. 'Don't expect a classic, she's not there mentally.' He just stared at her sternly. 'We'll see about that.'

In the zone, preparations had been made for the final duel of the day, and the competitors emerged. 'Ladies and Gentlemen, the following is the final duel of Day 2 of the Baltic Championships Super 8s. Introducing first, residing in Omaha, Nebraska, with 27 points, Jaden Yuki.' Jaden raised his hand, and got an excellent reception. 'And introducing his opponent, residing in Washington, England, with 36 points, Rio Kastle.' Rio raised her arm, getting an even better response than her opponent, but she was so laser focused that she didn't even notice the competing chants of "Everyone Loves Jaden" and "Ragna Nation".

Eventually, the two walked to the centre for a handshake, and Jaden whispered to his foe 'You sure you're ok?' She didn't acknowledge this, but hastily turned away. They then went to their zones, and began the duel.

Baltic Championships Super 8s: Rio Kastle (36 pts) LP:8000 vs. Jaden Yuki (27 points) LP:8000

(Rio hand: Lyrilusc - Turquoise Warbler, Lyrilusc - Bird Call, Where Arf Thou?, Lyrilusc - Phantom Feathers, Lyrilusc - Cobalt Sparrow)

Turn 1: Rio: 'I'm first. I'll summon Lyrilusc - Turquoise Warbler through its effect because I control no monsters (Atk:100). And these birds of a feather flock together, so Warbler can summon out another Lyrilusc from my hand or graveyard. Meet Cobalt Sparrow (Atk:0). When Cobalt is summoned, I can add another Level 1 Winged Beast from my deck to my hand. I'll add Sapphire Swallow.'

'Then I'll activate Where Arf Thou?. This adds a Level 1 monster from my deck to my hand, but if it isn't Normal summoned this turn, I take 2000 damage when my turn ends. I'll grab Lyrilusc - Beryl Canary. Then I'll Normal summon Beryl Canary (Atk:200), and overlay Cobalt Sparrow and Turquoise Warbler to Xyz summon Lyrilusc - Recital Starling (Atk:0). When she's summoned, she can give one monster on the field 300 Attack for each material she currently has. I'll give them to Recital (Atk:0-600). Then I can use her effect to detach a material and add Celestine Wagtail to my hand.'

'Now I'll use the effect of Sapphire Swallow, to summon itself and Celestine Wagtail from my hand (Atk:100, 200). When Celestine is Special summoned, I can add a Lyrilusc Spell/Trap to my hand, and I'll get Bird Strike. Now I overlay my three Level 1 monsters to build the overlay network and Xyz summon Lyrilusc - Ensemblue Robin (Atk:0). For each material it has, Ensemblue gains 500 Attack points. And because it has Beryl Canary as a material, it gains another 200 Attack points (Atk:1700). I end my turn with two Set cards, and because I Normal summoned Beryl Canary, I don't take any damage at the End phase.' The breathless turn ended with Rio getting a round of applause from the appreciative crowd.

(Jaden hand: Elemental Hero Solid Soldier, Elemental Hero Stratos, Polymerisation, Elemental Hero Shadow Mist, Form Change, Mask Charge)

Jaden: 'I draw. I summon Elemental Hero Stratos (Atk:1800). When I summon it, I can grab any Hero monster from my deck, and I'll add Liquid Soldier. Then I'll activate Polymerisation, to fuse together the Solid Soldier and Shadow MIst in my hand to Fusion summon Elemental Hero Escuridao (Atk:2500). For every Elemental Hero in my graveyard, he gains 100 Attack points.' 'He could gain all the Attack in the world, I don't care. By detaching a material, Ensemblue Robin will destroy it (Atk:1700-1200).

No sooner had Escuridao arrived than the beautiful yet shockingly vicious Robin ruthlessly cut its throat with wings like razor blades, removing it from the field of play. 'Well I also activated the effect of Solid Soldier in my graveyard, to revive Shadow Mist (Atk:1000). When I Special summon Shadow Mist, I can add Mask Change from my deck to my hand, and I'll activate it immediately, tributing Shadow Mist to summon Masked Hero Dark Law (Atk:2400).'

'Ensemblue's effect isn't once per turn (Atk:1200-700).' As the Robin went to rip apart Dark Law, Jaden had a play to respond. 'I'll chain Form Change. This allows me to return Dark Law to the Extra deck, and replace it with a Masked Hero of the same Level but a different name.' Knowing that whatever he summoned would be the last victim of Ensemblue, Jaden spent a little bit of time considering what monster he'd be most willing to give up. Eventually he made a punt. 'I summon Masked Hero Vapor (Atk:2400).' 'Ensemblue effect.' 'Vapor can't be destroyed by card effects.' 'Cute. Too bad that Ensemblue negates the summon as well.' Vapor also fell victim to the Robin, who was now out of material.

With that, Jaden was free to attack, having run out of extension options. 'Stratos, attack Lyrilusc - Recital Starling.' Rio understood this decision, and had a big decision of her own to make. Knowing the context, she decided to let the attack go. 'The effect of Recital Starling makes you take the same Battle damage that I do.' Stratos blew away the Starling, dealing both of them with their first damage (Jaden LP:8000-6800, Rio LP:8000-6800). 'I end my turn.'

(Rio hand: Lyrilusc - Bird Call, Lyrilusc - Sapphire Swallow, Wing Requital)

Rio: 'I draw. I'll start with Lyrilusc - Bird Call. This will grab me a copy of Cobalt Sparrow. Then as I control a Winged Beast, I'll be allowed to use Sapphire Swallow's effect to summon itself and Cobalt Sparrow (Atk:100, 0). I'll fire off Wing Requital next, paying 600 Life points (Rio LP:6800-6200) to draw two cards, as I control at least two Winged Beasts. One of them is Beryl Canary, and by locking myself into Xyz monsters from my Extra deck for the rest of the turn, I can summon Beryl Canary and revive a Lyrilusc from my graveyard. I'll grab Celestine Wagtail (Atk:0, 200).'

'Wagtail gives me another search, and I think I'll get Bird Sanctuary. Now I'll overlay Sapphire Swallow and Beryl Canary to build the overlay network and Xyz summon another Lyrilusc - Ensemblue Robin (Atk:1200). And the effect of Sapphire Swallow will attach the Recital Starling in my graveyard as another material (Atk:1700). And I'll overlay my Cobalt Sparrow and Celestine Wagtail to summon Lyrilusc - Promenade Thrush, who also gains 500 Attack for every material (Atk:1000).'

'Then I'll activate Lyrilusc - Bird Sanctuary. This allows me to attach Promenade Thrush and all its materials to Ensemblue Robin (Materials:3-5, Atk:1700-2700). And because I control an Xyz monster with at least three materials, I can also draw a card from Sanctuary. Ensemblue, attack Elemental Hero Stratos with Swooping Annihilation.' Ensemblue swooped low from the sky, and split Stratos clean in half, leaving Rio on top (Jaden LP:6800-5900). 'I end my turn with another set card.'

(Jaden hand: Elemental Hero Liquid Soldier, Mask Charge, Dark World Dealings)

Jaden: 'I draw. I activate Dark World Dealings, forcing us both to draw a card, and then discard one card.' Rio immediately drew and discarded the card she had drawn, while Jaden did the same. 'I activate Mask Charge next. This returns Mask Change and Elemental Hero Shadow Mist from my graveyard to my hand.' He noticed that Rio wasn't interacting, as she was so in the zone that she wasn't even acknowledging him. Seeing the field, it was clear that he needed to make a sacrifice in order to deal with the Robin.

'I'll summon Elemental Hero Shadow Mist (Atk:1000). Then I'll activate Mask Change.' 'I hope you know that you're an idiot.' Jaden just smiled. 'I've been told that a few times. I can use this to send Shadow Mist to the graveyard, and summon Masked Hero Anki (Atk:2800).' 'Yeah, I'm going to Ensemblue this, you probably guessed.' As Anki was decapitated (Ensemblue Atk:2700-2200), Jaden's plan was coming together.

'Well when Shadow Mist was sent to the graveyard, it got to search out a Hero monster from my deck. And I'm picking up Elemental Hero Bladedge.' Rio then saw his plan. 'I guess it's a good job you can't Normal summon again this turn.' 'I end my turn.'

(Rio hand: Lyrilusc - Bird Strike, Slower Swallow)

Rio: 'I draw. I summon Slower Swallow (Atk:100). Then I'll tribute it so that I can invoke its effect during my next Draw phase. For now though, you just need to worry about 2200 points coming your way.' The Robin swooped down low again, demolishing more of Jaden's total, which he seemed to be getting a touch concerned about (Jaden LP:5900-3700). 'I end my turn.'

(Jaden hand: Elemental Hero Liquid Soldier, Elemental Hero Bladedge, Neos Fusion)

Jaden: 'My turn, and you know what's coming. Once per duel, when Elemental Hero Necroshade is in the grave, I can summon a high level Elemental Hero without a tribute. I summon Elemental Hero Bladedge (Atk:2600). Attack Ensemblue Robin with Slice and Dice Attack.' In a desperate attempt to dissuade Jaden from destroying her Robin, Rio revealed a Trap she had been sitting on the entire duel.

'I activate my face-down Lyrilusc - Phantom Feathers. When your monster attacks, its Attack points become the same as those of a Lyrilusc on the field. I choose Ensemblue Robin (Bladedge Atk:2600-2200).' Jaden's response was made with absolutely no hesitation, as he was determined to be rid of the menace once and for all. 'Keep on going!' The two monsters collided in mid air with their slashing attacks, resulting in bits of monster raining down on the field.

'Now your Robin's gone, I can activate Neos Fusion.' 'Seriously B, you'd do that to me?' 'I'll fuse together Elemental Hero Neos and Rainbow Dragon to Fusion summon Rainbow Neos (Atk:4500). I end my turn - do something about that.'

(Rio hand: Lyrilusc - Bird Strike, Kinka-Byo, The Dark Door, Lyrilusc - Cobalt Sparrow)

Rio: 'I draw. I'll summon the Spirit monster Kinka-Byo (Atk:100). With its effect, Kinka-Byo revives a Level 1 monster from my graveyard. I summon Lyrilusc - Cobalt Sparrow (Atk:0). When Cobalt is summoned, it searches out Turquoise Warbler. Now I'll overlay my two monsters to Xyz summon Lyrilusc - Assembled Nightingale, who gains 200 Attack points for each material (Atk:400). Then I'll activate the effect of Celestine Wagtail in my graveyard, which attaches itself as a material to my Nightingale (Atk:600).'

'Assembled Nightingale can attack directly so long as it has materials. Go get 'em!' Rio's Nightingale soared into the sky, and fired off thousands of sharp feathers from its wings, raining down the pain on Jaden, as the shocked crowd looked on in admiration (Jaden LP:3700-1900). 'You're still not getting rid of Rainbow Neos.' 'Yeah, that's for my Main Phase 2. Because I successfully attacked directly this turn, I can rank up Assembled Nightingale into Rank 12 Divine Arsenal AA Zeus - Sky Thunder (Def.:3000).'

The crowd (and Jaden) marvelled at the gigantic robot suddenly descending onto the field, as Rio took further control of the situation. 'Zeus has an effect, but it comes at the cost of two materials.' 'What's the effect?' 'Not much, just sending every other card on the field to the graveyard.' Zeus launched a series of rockets (Materials:4-2), which blasted the entire field, leaving a wasteland with Zeus the only survivor. 'I end my turn.' By this stage, the crowd were firmly in favour of Rio, with Jaden starting to get booed.

(Jaden hand: Elemental Hero Liquid Soldier, Dark World Dealings)

Jaden: 'I draw. I activate Dark World Dealings again.' As he drew, he suddenly appeared re-energised. 'I'll discard this, and then summon Elemental Hero Liquid Soldier (Atk:1400), and activate Miracle Fusion, to fuse Liquid Soldier with the Solid Soldier in my graveyard to Fusion summon Elemental Hero Absolute Zero (Def.:2000). And because of Liquid Soldier, I can draw two cards and then discard one. That's my turn.'

(Rio hand: Lyrilusc - Bird Strike, The Dark Door, Lyrilusc - Cobalt Sparrow, Lyrilusc - Sapphire Swallow)

Rio: 'I draw. I activate the effect of Divine Arsenal - AA Zeus, detaching its last two materials to send Absolute Zero to the graveyard.' 'That triggers the effect of Absolute Zero.' 'Well what choice do I have?' Zeus disposed of Absolute Zero with ease, but the freezing aftermath from the Fusion destroyed it as well. 'I end my turn with a face-down.'

(Jaden hand: Generation Next)

Jaden: 'I draw. I activate Generation Next! Because my Life points are below yours (Jaden LP:1900, Rio LP:6200), I can summon a HERO monster from my deck or graveyard whose Attack is less than the difference in our Life points. I summon Elemental Hero Absolute Zero (Atk:2500). Attack Rio directly!' Jaden's attack turned out to be the first damage he'd dealt in six minutes, as Rio had nothing to block it with (Rio LP:6200-3700). 'I end my turn.'

(Rio hand: Lyrilusc - Bird Strike, The Dark Door, Lyrilusc - Cobalt Sparrow, Lyrilusc - Sapphire Swallow, Double Summon)

Rio: 'I draw. I activate Double Summon, so this turn I can Normal summon twice. I'll bring out Cobalt Sparrow and Sapphire Swallow (Atk:0, 100). Then I'll overlay them both to Xyz summon Lyrilusc - Assembled Nightingale (Atk:400). And I'll use the effect of Celestine Wagtail in my graveyard to attach it to Assembled (Atk:400-600, Materials:2-3). Assembled, strike now!' The Nightingale sung as it soared, and reduced Jaden to the brink of defeat (Jaden LP:1900-100). 'I end my turn.'

(Jaden hand: Share the Pain)

Jaden: 'I draw. I activate Share the Pain, so now we both have to tribute a monster for no effect.' 'Sure, I'll tribute Assembled Nightingale.' 'And I'll lose Absolute Zero. Not ideal, but it has to be. I end my turn.'

(Rio hand: Lyrilusc - Bird Strike, The Dark Door, Polymerisation)

Rio: 'I draw. I'll set one and pass.'

(Jaden hand: Elemental Hero Clayman)

Jaden: 'I draw. I summon Elemental Hero Clayman (Atk:800). Attack with Clay Clobberer.' The Hero made of clay launched a blistering punch, dealing some much needed damage (Rio LP:3700-2900). 'I end my turn.'

(Rio hand: Lyrilusc - Bird Strike, The Dark Door, Polymerisation, Lyrilusc - Bird Sanctuary)

Rio: 'Not exactly much of a clock is it. I draw.' It was at this moment that she started to get a little bit frustrated. 'I end my turn. Just need to draw one more starter.'

(Jaden hand: Disaster Conspiracy)

Jaden: 'I draw. Clayman, attack.' Another slug from Clayman closed the gap up slightly more (Rio LP:2900-2100). 'You've got three turns. I end my turn with a set card.'

(Rio hand: Lyrilusc - Bird Strike, The Dark Door, Polymerisation, Lyrilusc - Bird Sanctuary, Lyrilusc - Celestine Wagtail)

Rio: 'I draw.' As she drew, she angrily kicked the edge of the zone. 'Come on! I'll set a monster and pass.'

(Jaden hand: Change of Hero - Reflector Ray)

Jaden: 'My turn. Clayman, attack.' The weak-statted Hero surprisingly launched a third successful attack, destroying the set Wagtail. 'I end my turn.'

(Rio hand: Lyrilusc - Bird Strike, The Dark Door, Polymerisation, Lyrilusc - Bird Sanctuary, Wing Requital)

Rio: 'I draw.' Seeing another useless card, she was starting to get concerned. 'Please, don't do this to me. I'll set one and pass.'

(Jaden hand: Change of Hero - Reflector Ray, Yubel)

Jaden: 'My turn. I activate my face-down Disaster Conspiracy. Now when I deal Battle damage to you, you have to send two random monsters from your deck to your graveyard. Clayman, hit it.' Another attack sent Rio's points spiralling dangerously low, and there was worse to come (Rio LP:2100-1300). 'Now with Disaster Conspiracy, you have to send two monsters to your grave.' The two monsters that the Trap randomly selected turned out to be the two remaining copies of Turquoise Warbler from her deck. 'I needed those…' ;I end my turn.'

(Rio hand: Lyrilusc - Bird Strike, The Dark Door, Polymerisation, Wing Requital, Overlay Regen)

Rio: 'I draw.' Another blank, and now she was really sweating. 'I… I end my turn.' The crowd couldn't believe how the duel had turned, nor could Jaden, who by now was being showered with boos, a very rare occurrence for the legend. And he very much noticed it as well. 'Don't blame me guys, I'm not making her draw bad.'

(Jaden hand: Change of Hero - Reflector Ray, Yubel, Polymerisation)

Jaden: 'My turn, and I'll go straight in once again with Clayman.' A 4th direct attack, and it was all down to the last turn, not just of the duel, but of the day (Rio LP:1300-500). 'Disaster Conspiracy activates.' This time, the Trap sent two different monsters - Celestine Wagtail and Beryl Canary. 'Always good ones.' 'I end my turn.'

(Rio hand: Lyrilusc - Bird Strike, The Dark Door, Polymerisation, Wing Requital, Overlay Regen, Lyrilusc - Bird Call)

Rio: 'I won't lose, I can't. I draw!' With the sheer power of her will, she found something, and breathed a huge sigh of relief. 'I activate Lyrilusc - Bird Call. This lets me search my deck for a copy of… a copy of…' A horrible realisation then dawned seeing her remaining deck. 'I… don't have any monsters left in my deck.' She then stopped, simply in disbelief at what had happened, and her turn ended without another word. Only tears.

(Jaden hand: Change of Hero - Reflector Ray, Yubel, Polymerisation, Elemental Hero Neos)

Jaden: 'Clayman, do what you have to.' In a remarkable turnaround, Clayman took out the rest of Rio's Life points, a heartbreaking end to a pulsating duel.

After the duel, Jaden went straight over to Rio, and she fell into his arms. 'I'm sorry, I hate winning that way.' 'I know, it's not your fault.' 'For what it's worth, you were awesome.' A sudden thought then ran through Jaden's mind. 'Why are you running so few monsters?' 'I was worried about bricking, I was running two Avarice but Phil told me to cut them for deck space… he cost me again.' She walked off to the back, as fans applauded her and Jaden. The leaderboard at the halfway stage was then shown.

Radley, Played 4, 42 points

Kieran Byrne, Played 4, 39 points

Rio Kastle, Played 4, 36 points

Jaden Yuki, Played 4, 34 points

Lukas Chipperfield, Played 3, 28 points

6. Astrid Hofferson, Played 3, 19 points

7. Typhus Markars, Played 4, 11 points

8. Saeed Ul-Habarak, Played 4, 3 points

That evening

After a hard day's work, the camera operators were walking back to their operation truck, which had been parked a couple of miles away. As they did, they chewed the fat over what they had witnessed that day. As they approached the truck though, one of them got a phone call. 'Evening. There's something going on? Yeah, we gotta get this on film.' Getting off the film, he just signalled to his colleague, and they rushed away.

Outside the hotel, they found the scene that they were looking for, as Phil and Rio were in the middle of a blazing row. 'Why can't you just trust my instincts for once! I was right both times today!' 'You employ me for advice, I gave it to you! You can't blame me for your own mistakes, I wish I could duel for you but sadly, I can't!' 'Why would you wanna do that, because you have no faith in me? Well guess what, nobody else does! Only one person thinks that I can win this thing, and that person is me!'

'If I didn't think you could win it I wouldn't have entered you! Now stop being such a fucking child and try admitting that you fucked up!' 'I fucked up? I FUCKED UP? Why don't you try taking responsibility? You're the one who insisted that you were right, I did exactly what you wanted! I tried to be what you wanted, I tried to be totally submissive like Blair is for you, roll over like a little puppy! Because that's what you want, you want a little puppy dog to follow you round, make you look good!'

'Well you're not exactly doing that right now are you? My reputation is on the line here, you're far better than you've been showing but you need to learn to show that for yourself. I can't be there all the time babysitting you through everything.' 'Babysitting me? You don't even know how the deck works! I mean you might if you paid any attention to me, but you spend all your time with your new pet project!'

Blair then came rushing over to split the two of them up, and the camera crew moved in closer, only to have them stopped by her hand. 'If you get that camera any closer to my face, you're going to be wearing it!' She then dragged Rio into the hotel by her arm, while Phil seethed. One of the camera operators then moved in, and asked for a comment on the situation, to which he responded by picking up the cheeky fellow, and throwing him through one of the ground floor windows of a nearby apartment complex. He then walked away as people checked on the fallen employee, the Renegades in complete disarray

Next time: The Super 8s conclude, Rio comes up with a plan to repair damage, Astrid battles forwards against her own health, and there is a winner-take-all Renegade showdown in Renegades: A New Dawn Chapter XLVII: One or Eight, Part 2