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.

52. The Renegade Revolution

Renegades: A New Dawn

Chapter LII: The Renegade Revolution

15 Years ago, two men lead a revolution

A revolution to change duelling

To make it fair for everyone

15 Years later, a new band of revolutionaries

Lead a conquest to change duelling

And allow access for everyone

The more things change, the more they stay the same

As Rio read it, Blair gave her a dig in the ribs. 'Hey, reading out the posters is my job.' 'Soz, forgot.' 'It's fine, it's not a huge issue or anything.' 'So how far is it to Japan?' 'A very long way.' Jack then walked up to them, carrying a coffee with him. 'Hope you're alright for the long haul.' 'How far exactly is it?' 'Well we're flying from here to Heathrow Airport in London, we'll be there for a couple of hours to refuel the plane, and then we'll be flying for 14½ hours to Tokyo's Narita Airport. From there it's an hour on the train.'

'Why are we getting the train?' This was answered by Blair. 'Because Phil wants to go on the Bullet Train.' Jack then provided another reason. 'To be fair if we were flying with that weight on the plane we'd need to refuel twice, probably stop off somewhere in the UAE. Now if you lot don't get on soon, we're going to miss our refuelling stop. I had to barter for this as it is, otherwise we would have had to stop at Gatwick, and nobody wants that.' With Jack's apparent hatred for London's second airport revealed, everyone got onto the plane and they took off.

20 hours later

Rio was first off the plane, weary from the travelling. 'I forgot what sunlight looked like.' Everyone else then flooded off, but Ally stopped behind for a moment and leaned up to the cockpit. 'Thanks Mr. Pilot man.' 'You're welcome kiddo.' Hannah then reboarded to pick Ally up. 'Come on little one. Thanks for this Jack.' 'Not a problem.' 'So, what are you doing with the layoff?' 'Probably have a wander round the area, I'm not allowed to fly again for the best part of a day, so I'll just have an explore of Tokyo. This is actually the furthest I've ever flown, didn't know if I'd be able to manage it.'

With this reassuring news in the bag, Hannah and Ally joined everyone else. But there was just one slight issue. 'Erm Maddy… do you happen to be able to read Japanese?' 'Nope.' 'Not at all?' 'Not in the slightest.' While everyone looked through themselves to see if anybody could read the language, Maddy just watched on, completely underwhelmed. Eventually with the clock ticking, she ended the charade. 'Ok Sak, you're up.' As Sakura looked at the board, she had an answer in seconds.

'Train line 2, transfer at Tokyo Train Station. We've got about 20 minutes to get across the station.' 'And how much time do we need?' 'I can do it in about 7 minutes, but it's easy for me because I'm small enough to duck and dive. Let's go anyway, otherwise we'll never make it.' As they walked through, Blair seemed amazed at the scale of the station. 'Is all of Tokyo this big?' 'Some of it is, but it's just like any other city - there's busy areas and quiet areas.'

'So where did the rumour that you can't read Japanese come from?' Sakura rolled her eyes and shook her head. 'No idea at all. Not like anybody's ever asked me to even. I don't get the rumour, I mean I studied medicine here for four years. How do people think I passed? Actually even I'm not sure how I passed, what with spending most of the last year setting up Phil and Hannah's Japanese fan club and winning Japanese nationals.'

'Hang on - you WON Japanese Nationals? That's like, the holy grail of semi-pro duelling. Even at a Pro level it's awesome.' 'Yeah, it's not like I'm some bigshot, I got through one of the last chance qualifiers and then managed to nick it against Sledgehammer in the finals. He kind of outplayed me but I got a lucky shot or two at the end.' 'Sometimes what you need - I remember when I first qualified for the World Amateur Championship.' This intrigued Sakura greatly. So as they boarded the train a few minutes later, she asked about it.

'How DID you qualify anyway?' 'There was this tournament at Duel Academy, think they called it Generation Next, and the idea was that everyone entered this massive round robin tournament, the winner got an invite to Worlds, just for the experience. I was a second year student, and basically just entered to see how good I was, ended up beating Chazz in the final, something he's never lived down. Not least because he lost out on a massive sponsorship deal his rich family had organised for him by not winning. Got to the Semis that year despite only being 13. Was kind of hilarious looking back, because every one of my knockout matches in the World Amateurs went to time.'

'Sounds like a lot of fun. We absolutely have to duel at sometime.' 'Well I'm not difficult to find. Although I'm not sure I could hang with the champion of Japan, you know you got some serious clout behind you there.' 'Good, I like to hear that. Makes me feel better about my duel later.' 'You'll smash it, you always do. Let's face it - you got my arm back to normal, it's actually the correct colour now.' 'True!'

Eventually arriving at the legendary Tokyo Dome, all Blair could do was gasp in awe. As she just stood in its shadow, Phil walked up behind her. 'Nerves?' 'Something like that. It's enormous, even bigger than I thought. I never dreamed I'd get to duel here.' 'Would now be a good time to tell you that you're opening the show today?' She just looked at him for a moment, startled, before quickly turning back. 'I can handle it, no biggie.' 'You know, you've become quite the actress. It's not an issue to be nervous' 'It's just that I dreamed of competing right here, and now that I am, I just… don't know what to think. It's one of those things that feels like a whirlwind of emotions.'

She then looked around her again, and saw Rio and Astrid giving out some signatures. 'That reminds me, the board emailed the other day.' 'Another privacy policy change? That's three in the last six months, we don't need to know that when you're off the tour they only keep your personal details for 2 years, it's completely useless information.' 'Yeah, it's not that, they wanted me to do a quick Autograph session. You know, as the World Number 1.' 'And?' 'What do you mean "And"?'

'I mean why are you telling me this now, you go and do what you need to.' Hannah then passed him and patted him on the back. 'I think she was asking for you to go with her.' There was a surprise though. 'Actually I was going to ask if Hannah could go with me, but I didn't know where she'd gone. Although now you're listening, could I borrow your hat?' 'Why?' 'Do I need a reason?' He shrugged, and passed her the red and black baseball cap with a red R on the front. Hannah, Blair, Jade and Ally then left, as Phil went over to nosey at what Astrid and Rio were up to.

As he did, Rio was just signing an arm cast in plaster. 'Hope it heals quick.' 'Thank you, you're an inspiration.' She then noticed her manager peeking over her shoulder. 'You realise I can write my own name, right?' 'I'd hope so, you've had plenty of practice over the years. Just wanted to let you know that Blair's just gone to do a little Autograph signing of her own on behalf of the board.' 'That's good of her.' Overhearing this, Astrid couldn't help but let out a cute giggle. 'What's so funny?' 'It's just when you said "A little signing".' 'Why's that funny?' 'Have you seen it in there? There's a huge queue for it.' Nervous, Rio looked at her. 'How "huge"?' '6, maybe 7…' 'Well that's not too' 'Hundred. 6-700. And that was 10 minutes ago. She's going to get the fright of her life when she goes in there.'

In the Dome

As Blair entered, an usher approached her. 'I'm here for the Autograph signing.' 'Ms. Flanningan, with me please.' After bowing with his hands together, she was lead to the table. Except the moment she saw her face, and the size of the queue (which by this time was approaching four figures), she completely noped on the idea. 'No, not doing it, sorry, too many people, too much to do.' She ran off, only to return 30 seconds later with Astrid pushing her. 'Have you put on weight? It's like trying to push a reindeer.' 'Let me go.' 'Like I'm falling for that. You know I don't run with my hair down, so how about you do this autograph signing and stop being… well… you.'

Eventually she relented, and walked down to the signing table, sitting down. As she started the signing, Astrid crept up behind her, and handcuffed her legs to the table, making shush gestures to the crowd as she did, before walking off, pushing her hair away from her eye as she did. With little alternative, Blair signed autographs for nearly three hours, having some decent chats with fans as she did. After about 20 minutes, she was really getting into the signing, when a grizzled man approached the table. 'Could you sign this book please?' 'Of course.' As she looked up, she was stunned at who she saw.

'Dad?' He smiled and nodded. 'I heard you were involved in a massive event and thought I'd come and watch.' 'You're going to be in the crowd?' 'I am. As are Jordan and Andrew Jacks.' 'What - the same ones I knew when I was five?' 'The very same. I can see you're making it big in the world now.' 'Something like that.' He then saw Hannah, and held out his hand. 'I don't think we've become acquainted yet?'

'Yeah, I'm Hannah, I'm the wife of Blair's cousin Phil. It's nice to meet you.' 'Thank you. I want you to know that you've done an incredible job making my daughter believe in herself.' 'I can't take much of the credit really, Phil did a lot of mental work with her.' 'And you were the caring hand throughout that. You all deserve many thanks. As for you, all I want to say is good luck. In every duel.' 'Thanks Dad, you didn't have to come here though.' 'I wanted to watch you. Live in person.' As he left, she shook off the shock and continued the signing.

Elsewhere, Astrid had not long finished her own impromptu signing, when she was approached for an interview. 'Ms. Hofferson?' 'Yes.' 'Janet Sigai, Tokyo Sports. You have a duel Night 2 with Kalin, Duel 6 of the Series. You could win the title here, your views?' 'I'm confident in my own abilities, but taking nothing for granted. I have to put everything into victory, and if the gods allow it, I will be victorious. I will not let Kalin intimidate me nor defeat me, so long as the gods stand in my corner.'

Two hours later, in the Dome

Blair had finally escaped the autographing, and met up with Kris who had just walked into the building. 'This place is huge.' 'No kidding, it took me 20 minutes to find the doors. You aware that you're opening in about half an hour?' 'Yeah, I was just going to touch base with Phil and then head off. My Dad's in the crowd, so I'm properly nervous.' Seeing this, Kris gave some heartwarming advice. 'You know, he'll notice if you go out there and try too hard. Just trust your own instincts, and duel like only you can.' As he said this, the card flashed up on all the screens, including one right next to them.

WDC 15th Anniversary Show, Day 1

Blair Flannigan vs. Col. Pez de Fuego

WDC Atlas Championship: Lydia McKinna vs. Freja McKinna vs. [c] Johnny McGregor

WDC Tag-Team Championships Top Contender's Duel: Team Panther (Zak Zapata/Robert Duman) vs. Junction 7 (Nash/Kieran Byrne)

Belle Draper vs. Akiza Izinski

WDC Young-Gun Championship: Justin Pipe vs. Sara Sawyer vs. Tee Taylor vs. [c] Maddy Robinson-Cummings

As they were looking at the card, two masked figures ambushed them, moving through at breakneck speed, and stealing Blair's new necklace and Kris' phone. As they attempted to escape, Blair caught the shorter figure in a rear naked choke, dragging them away from the doors. Almost simultaneously, Kris caught the taller one's flailing arm in a chicken wing position. As they battled to escape, Blair suddenly noticed that Kris' quandary's hand was glowing a light blue, and they were reaching for the wall. 'Kris, her hand!' Thinking fast, he dragged her away, as Blair let go of the other one, who crashed to the ground. 'Scooby dooby doo, who the fuck are you?' She dragged the mask off, and a woman in her early 20s with short, dirty blonde hair was revealed. 'Hey, you're the girl I helped out a couple of months ago.' The thief then admitted defeat.

'Fine, you got me, just let me check on my brother.' Blair nodded to Kris, who let go. 'He's fine, I just put enough pressure on his windpipe to choke him out.' 'So he'll be ok?' 'Give him a few minutes and he'll be fine.' The woman then tried to quickly reach for the wall with a glowing hand again, but Blair reacted sharply and grabbed her hand. 'You're both coming with us - I'm sure Maddy would love to meet you both.'

By the time they got to the box, the shorter individual had come to, but was unable to escape, both having been handcuffed. As they were lead into the box, everyone seemed surprised. 'Caught the thieves.' Blair then went up to Maddy and whispered something down her ear, making her look round sharply. With that, both thieves were dumped in front of her. 'So, you've been terrorising us all have you? Why don't you introduce yourselves?' As neither of them spoke, Maddy demanded again. 'Introduce yourselves, you have 60 seconds until I set the dogs of war on you.'

Sensing the danger, the woman spoke. 'Dakota Crowley.' 'And you?' 'He's my brother, Denny Crowley. Sorry, he's not good speaking to other people.' 'And the purpose of stealing from us?' 'We wanted to get your attention. You're claiming to stand up for the oppressed and the held back, but nobody's standing up for us. Orphaned, living on the streets, stealing to make a living, nobody stood up for us. So we started sneaking onto flights to wherever the next event is, following you and proving a point. Taking from the rich for the poor.'

Astrid then walked in, smacking her axe face across her hand as she did. 'Let me know when you want them removing.' 'Stop' the order came. 'You gave some of the sharpest revolutionary minds the run around for nearly two months. You've been stowing away on commercial airlines without being caught, and you had the guts to challenge me over our philosophy knowing how dangerous I am.'

Maddy then took her hat off. 'So I'm going to make you an offer, one you should be considering strongly. Join us - join our revolution, tell us where we're going wrong. Show us what we're missing, and help us to destroy anyone who opposes us.' 'Are you… serious?' 'If I wasn't, I wouldn't have said so. It's your choice though.' Dakota looked at Denny, before nodding. 'We'd love to join.'

'In that case I have a little assignment for you both. Go to the car park, and look for Rio. You know what she looks like?' 'Yeah.' 'Good. When you see her, pass her this note from me. She'll explain what you're doing to you. If you impress, you'll have your jackets within a week.' 'This might be a bit… much, but we were sort of wondering if you could sort us out with somewhere to stay.' 'You can move into the base, plenty of us live there.' With that, they left to find Rio, and Blair had a question for Maddy.

'Are you not going to find out what this power is?' 'Not until I can trust them. We don't know if this is dangerous or what. And the last thing we need is some sort of dangerous power being unleashed on us when we're not expecting it. This will test if they have what it takes.' 'Why, what are they doing?' She just looked at the Michiganer. 'You'll see. Now go, you're on first.' Blair sighed, and left to prepare.

In the Management office

Bolton was pacing around, furious at the changes made to the card. 'What do you mean it was a "board decision"? Am I not part of the board?' 'No, you are a general manager appointed by the Commissioner, without the board's consent I might add.' 'You cannot let that girl in the main event!' 'Says who? "That girl" is one of our biggest ticket sellers, merchandise sellers, and gets some of the biggest reactions wherever she goes. Plus it's the big comeback story - we can't not have her in the main event. She's our poster girl for the next 10 years.'

'Oh you're getting snippy because you're a jumped up intern with delusions of grandeur.' 'I'm not a jumped up intern, I'm the Interim Chair of the Board of Directors. And if there's any more like that, we'll be holding a vote on your future first thing Monday morning. Now if you don't mind, some of us have real work to do, like organising the contenders to host the World Championship.' With the call ending, all Bolton could do was shake his head. 'If that idiot hadn't gotten locked up, this could all be avoided.'

In the duelling zone

The show opened with Blair's music hitting, and 15,000 fans cheering as she walked out, wearing a new mask with a cherry blossom design under the right eye, on the background of the Imperial rising sun. 'Your opening duel is scheduled for Standard Rules. Introducing first, representing the Dynasty and the Renegades, from Shelby, Michigan, she is the Jewel of the St. Clair - Blair Flannigan.' The World Number 1 walked out, looked up, and noticing her Dad and Ally in the crowd, smiled to herself.

Walking down, she was analysed by Brad and new commentator Saeed Ul-Habarak. 'Blair Flannigan is our current top ranked duellist, and she's there for a reason, her skill and ability to read opponents like nobody else sees this young ex-Marine with a strong winning pattern. Her Shadows of Thelema deck takes inspiration from the works of Aleister Crowley, and focuses on locking the opponent down with restrictive Fusions, while controlling tempo with dangerous flip effects and consistency tools.' 'I duelled against Blair in a regional event in Newcastle a few weeks ago, and she is tough as they come, she doesn't give you a millimetre, never mind an inch. When you face her, it feels like you've lost before you've started.'

In the duelling zone, she looked around, and took off her mask, as the crowd welcomed her. She raised her right hand in a claw, before grabbing a microphone. 'I said I'd take out every member of the Regiment, and after tomorrow, I will have done exactly that. Claude, you did the crime, and now everyone who stands with you is going to face hard justice. So why don't you send your little Spanish bitch out so I can TAKE HIM OUT!'

With Blair pumped up, the Regiment's music burst out of the speakers, and Pez walked out, Claude by his side. As they did though, Blair drew a police baton from her jacket. 'One step closer to me Claude, and you're never making another deposit into anybody ever again. Because I'll ram this bat so far up your groin that you're gonna be shitting out testicles all week.' With the crowd loving the fighting talk, Claude spoke to Pez, before fleeing. 'Introducing her opponent, from Mondragon in the Basque Country, representing the Regiment, Col. Pez de Fuego.' As he came down, there was more analysis to be done.

'Col. Pez de Fuego was known as David Asun once upon a time, and is a very experienced and wily competitor. His Dragunity Legion build focuses on building up big attacks through extensive equipping of monsters to each other, and is notorious for being very difficult to read. But if anybody can tackle it, it's the World Number 1.' In the zone, the two of them faced off, and Blair slapped him, before walking back to her side, her hair flowing behind her.

Blair Flannigan LP:8000 vs. Col. Pez de Fuego LP:8000

(Pez hand: Dragunity Remus, Dragunity Glow, Dragunity Javelin, Dragunity Arma Layvaten, Dragunity Divine Lance)

Pez: 'I draw. I activate Dragunity Remus from my hand, discard it to get Dragon Ravine. Then Dragon Ravine, I will discard Dragunity Javelin to add Dragunity Legatus to my hand. Because I have Ravine, I Special summon Legatus (Atk:1800). I activate Dragunity Glow, to add Dragunity Primus Pilus to my hand because its Level is at least 5. Now I tribute Legatus for Primus Pilus (Atk:2200). When Pilus is summoned, I equip it with a Level 3 or below Dragon from my deck. I choose Dragunity Guisarme.'

'Now I banish Pilus to summon Dragunity Arma Layvaten (Atk:2600).' At this time, he realised that Blair hadn't said a single word during the entire combo. 'You understand these moves child?' 'Firstly, I ain't a kid. Secondly, I've seen this kind of move about a million times before, I think I know what the deck does by now. So if you wouldn't mind taking your turn.' 'Disrespectful runt. The effect of Layvaten will equip my Dragunity Remus from the graveyard to itself. I then also equip with Dragunity Divine Lance, granting 100 more Attack points for every Level it has (Atk:2600-3500). And with Divine Lance, I can equip Dragunity Phalanx to it. I end my turn.'

(Blair hand: Aleister the Invoker, That Grass Looks Greener, Polymerisation, Instant Fusion, Shaddoll Dragon, Chain Strike)

Blair: 'I draw. I'll start by activating Instant Fusion. By paying 1000 Life points (Blair LP:8000-7000), I can summon Invoked Raidjin from my Extra deck (Atk:1800). Then I'll Normal summon Shaddoll Dragon (Atk:1900), and link it off to summon Link 1, Artemis, the Magistus Moon Maiden (Atk:800, Link Arrows: TC). And I'll activate Polymerisation.' 'This, was unexpected.' 'You're messing with the wrong woman, because I'm going to execute you here. I Fusion summon the cruellest world to ever be seen, and the last afterlife you're ever going to see - the vast span of Invoked Elysium (Atk:3200).'

Facing up to a huge glassy dome with a long tail wrapping around it, Pez started to panic. But Blair was now in full flow and was about to reveal her secret plan. 'Now I activate That Grass Looks Greener. This mills cards from the top of my deck equal to the difference in our deck sizes. Yours has 30, and mine has 55, so I'm sending 25 cards!' As Blair milled the cards, she saw that victory was just within sight.

'I'll start with the effect of Invoked Elysium on the field, to banish Raidjin from my graveyard, and then banish any monster you control which is a Wind-attribute. Then I'll chain Shaddoll Dragon, to destroy your Lance, then Naelshaddoll Ariel to banish three cards from your graveyard. Chain Link 4 will be Hedgehog to add Squamata from my deck to my hand, Squamata's graveyard effect sends another Shaddoll to my graveyard, and I'll pick Hollow, the first Hollow I milled allows me to mill another card for every attribute on the field, which thanks to Elyisum is all six, Chain Link 7 is Shaddoll Hound to change your monster's battle position, Chain 8 is Naelshaddoll Genius which negates your monster's effects, 9 is Reeshaddoll Wendi, which will summon a Beast from my deck face-down, Chain Link 10 is Beast, which draws a card, Chain Link 11 is Shaddoll Falco which summons itself face-down to my field, and Chain Link 12 I'll activate Chain Strike.'

As the chain resolved, a huge, burning chain violently whipped Pez, dropping his Life points significantly (Pez de Fuego LP:8000-3200). 'And now you're all open. Invoked Elysium, attack directly.' The gargantuan Invoked monster came surging in with a beam of light, which sapped Pez's points in an instant (Pez de Fuego LP:3200-0).

With the duel having concluded, Blair stood over her fallen opponent, and then knelt on his back, gloating and basking in victory. This was unsatisfying for the keen competitor though, so she picked up a microphone. 'That was nothing! That was no opponent, that was a joke! And I didn't come all the way out to Japan to win in 60 seconds.' The normally quiet and respectful crowd then started to chant "One more duel", which seemed to inspire Blair. 'Since you asked so nicely, how about a little Open Challenge? Anybody who thinks that they can beat me, come GET SOME.'

There was then a long delay, as nobody appeared to be responding to her challenge. So she turned to the crowd. 'Well, looks like nobody thinks they can beat me. Well, I suppose that it's back to the signing table.' Just as Blair was about to walk out of the entrance gate however, Traveller's Song hit to a huge ovation, and Astrid ran out, only wearing a red shirt and trousers. As Blair turned around, Astrid got a microphone of her own, and she and Blair walked up to each other, face-to-face.

The electric atmosphere picked up mightily as the flash photography enveloped the mighty Tokyo Dome. Eventually Blair handed her microphone over to her old rival. 'I think I can beat you. You've been wanting another crack at me for ages, and I you. Tokyo Dome, tomorrow's 10 years since our first, how about we have a little friendly duel?' She then passed the mic back. 'Let's do this.'

Astrid then started to plait her hair, only for Blair to tap her on the back, and they exchanged some more words. 'What else?' 'Don't bother putting your hair up, let's do it the old time way.' 'Back when we were kids?' 'Exactly.' Astrid responded with a smile. 'Ok American Weirdo.' 'That's the spirit.' The two separated into their individual corners, and began, while the crowd awaited what they expected to be a classic.

Challenge Duel: Astrid Hofferson LP:8000 vs. Blair Flannigan LP:8000

(Blair hand: Shaddoll Fusion, Shaddoll Dragon, Omega Summon, The Book of the Law, Homunculus the Alchemic Being)

Blair: 'I'll start. I'll set a monster, then I'll set two cards face-down and pass.'

(Astrid hand: Valkyrie Erda, Guldfaxe of the Nordic Beasts, Odin's Eye, Ivaldi the Nordic Smith, Solemn Strike, Dark World Dealings)

Astrid: 'My turn.' Eager to get going but not to be caught out, Astrid sent out some feelers. 'I'll summon Guldfaxe of the Nordic Beasts (Atk:1600). Then I'll summon Nordic Smith Ivaldi through its effect (Def.:700). When Ivaldi is summoned, I search a Nordic Relic, like… Svallin. Guldfaxe, attack her Set monster.' As she did, Blair smiled. 'Nice play.' It was indeed, as the monster in question was Shaddoll Dragon (Def.:0). 'When Dragon's flipped up, your Guldfaxe is bounced back to your hand.' 'I thought it might have been Dragon or Squamata.'

'Well you were on the money. You going to attack again?' 'Very funny.' 'You know, I remember when you used to attack all the time, no holds barred.' 'And I remember when you didn't do small talk during a duel. We both changed though, evolved.' 'Sounds about right, I guess we just grew up.' 'Well why don't you show me how much you've grown up? I'll end my turn with three face-downs.'

(Blair hand: Omega Summon, Homunculus the Alchemic Being, Magical Meltdown)

Blair: 'I draw. I'll activate the Field spell Magical Meltdown.' A harshly lit red square fired up around Blair, who just smiled at its familiar power. 'When this is activated, I can add Aleister the Invoker from my deck to my hand. Next I'll summon him (Atk:1000), and add Invocation from my deck to my hand. Now I activate Invocation, which will banish Aleister, and send Homunculus the Alchemic Being from my deck to my hand, so I can summon Invoked Mechaba (Atk:2500).' Astrid smiled seeing this, knowing that she was now in a spot of bother.

'How's your Solemn Strike doing you?' This read shocked everyone, not least Astrid. 'Don't even pretend you don't, you make the same face every time you see that card.' 'What face?' 'The adoring face, as if you want to smooch it or something. You know, the face you only usually use when Kris is behind you.' 'Seriously? Everyone knows now, what is it with everyone spreading my personal business?' 'Sorry, I thought everyone knew… I guess… erm… Mechaba just attack so I don't have to deal with the awkwardness any longer.' The Light Machine charged in on a motorised steed, and speared through Ivaldi effortlessly. 'I end my turn.'

(Astrid hand: Valkyrie Erda, Odin's Eye, Dark World Dealings, Monster Reborn)

Astrid: 'I draw. I'll activate Dark World Dealings, so we both draw one, and then we both discard one.' 'By all means.' As they both drew, Astrid seemed delighted with her draw. Meanwhile, Blair wasn't giving much of anything away, her face full of focus. 'Anything to activate?' 'Nope. You?' 'Not from my graveyard, but I'll happily use Monster Reborn to bring back Guldfaxe (Atk:1600). Then I'll Link it off, to summon the daughter of disaster, the omen of approaching gods, Link 1, Gullveig of the Nordic Ascendant (Atk:800).'

As the Link 1 Fairy appeared through a flash of fire, Blair's face started to crack into a slight grin. 'Gullveig, I don't think we've become acquainted yet. It's a pleasure to meet you, even more so to defeat you.' 'Well if you think it's a pleasure now, don't worry, you won't do for long. The effect of Gullveig allows me to banish Alviss of the Nordic Alfar from my hand to summon Tyr of the Nordic Champions from my deck (Atk:2000). And Alviss' effect, because it was the only card banished for a Nordic Link's effect, it can send the materials for a Nordic Synchro monster from my deck to the graveyard, then summon it.'

After some thought, she began a prayer for the oncoming god. 'Tor, den rasende Tordens store Herre, minn min evige rival om din udødelige, urokkelige kraft og raseri! (Thor, great Lord of furious Thunder, remind my eternal rival of your undying, unyielding power and fury!) Synchro summon! Descend from the heavens with your hammer which brings only the most violent stormclouds, Thor, Lord of the Aesir (Atk:3500).'

'We've had some battles over the years. Rainbow Dragon vs. Thor in Berlin that time' 'Oh the one where I Ring of Destructioned your monster only for you to have your one Solemn Judgement to stop it?' 'The one and same.' 'How about the time I got Thor's Attack up to 28,000 to win my first World Amateur title?' 'What was it - Megamorph then Megingjord and I Massivemorphed it only for you to summon a monster back to my field and hit me for like 25k.' 'Yep. Maybe even the one where Thor attacked Mechaba with Thunderbolt Bludgeon.'

Clearly paying full attention to the duel still, Blair responded immediately. 'Honest.' Astrid couldn't help but let out an exasperated 'Fuck!' while laughing, as Mechaba's Attack points increased drastically (Mechaba Atk:2500-6000, Astrid LP:8000-5500). 'I might have known you'd be fully focused still.' 'Astrid, I'm taking on my favourite opponent, in the biggest place I've ever duelled in, in front of over 14,000 people. I'm not going to get bogged down in the past.' 'Well you're going to be struck down in a moment, never mind bogged down. I end my turn, and Thor revives itself (Atk:3500, Blair LP:8000-7200).

(Blair hand: Keeper of Dragon Magic, Omega Summon)

Blair: 'My turn. I summon the Keeper of Dragon Magic (Atk:1800). And the magic he keeps is the ability to craft any Fusion Spell from my deck, at the cost of my Omega Summon. I'll grab Shaddoll Fusion.' 'Do you want to activate it? Or do you just want to admire the pretty pictures?' 'If I wanted pretty pictures I'd just drop in on you in Maddy's room, I keep telling you that you should be a professional artist of some kind.' 'Yeah, and I keep telling you that becoming a diving instructor isn't "cringe". Your point is?'

Exasperated, Blair just gave up. 'I activate Shaddoll Fusion, to fuse together Shaddoll Beast and Wulf, Lightsworn Beast from my deck to Fusion summon El Shaddoll Construct (Atk:2800). When she's summoned, I can send Shaddoll Core to my graveyard, and then it adds Shaddoll Fusion back to my hand.' 'Geez, you're really keen on that aren't you?' 'Just helps to keep it in rotation. Oh, and Wulf summons itself because it was sent to the grave by a card effect (Atk:2100). Construct, attack Thor.'

As Construct fired a stream of razor-sharp threads towards Thor, the polar god tried swatting them away with its hammer, only for the threads to come back faster each time, eventually overcoming the mighty god. 'Boy do I hate Construct's effect.' 'Something else you're going to hate is Wulf attacking Tyr.' The axe-wielding Wulf charged in, and dodged the sword of Tyr, taking his head off in the process (Astrid LP:5500-5400). 'And I still have two more attacks.' The two attacks she referred to were a flying lance from the Keeper into Gullveig, and Mechaba riding in with a spear (Astrid LP:5400-1900). 'I end my turn.'

(Astrid hand: Ygg the Universal Spirit)

Astrid: 'I draw!' As she saw the card, she couldn't help but gasp. 'I've… never used this before.' She then looked back up at Blair, and smiled. 'You want to see something new?' 'Sure.' 'Because at least two Nordic monsters were destroyed last turn and I control no other cards, I can summon Ygg the Universal Spirit (Atk:0).' 'Astrid, you just summoned a massive tree. Why did you just summon a massive tree?'

'Because Ygg stops every monster that isn't a Nordic or Aesir from attacking. Also, it's immune to card effects, and during every Standby phase I have, it can reach into the underworld and revive a Nordic monster. I summon Guldfaxe of the Nordic Beasts (Def.:1000). Then I'll end my turn.'

(Blair hand: Nehshaddoll Genius)

Blair: 'I draw.' Seeing an immovable obstacle on the field, Blair stopped, considering her move. That was, until she saw the card she drew, and realised that she had the solution which Astrid would never expect. 'Can't be attacked by Nordics or Aesirs, right?' 'Yep, and 8/10 on the pronunciation.' 'Thanks, but you're going to be giving my move more than that. I summon Nehshaddoll Genius (Atk:1800). Then I'm going to Link summon.'

'I'm listening.' 'The materials are two monsters, including an Earth-attribute monster. So I'll set the Link arrows with Wulf and the Earth-attribute Nehshaddoll Genius. Link summon, Link 2, the controller of the earth itself, Aussa the Earth Charmer, Immovable (Atk:1850; Link Arrows: BL, BR). Now the effect of Aussa, it can target an Earth monster in your graveyard, and revive it, but to my field.'

'But I don't…' Astrid then realised the plan. 'Can you… take Synchro monsters?' 'Was it properly summoned?' 'Yes.' 'Then the answer is Yes. I summon Thor, Lord of the Aesir.' Aussa created a circular pit in the ground, and then shone his staff down the hole, from which Thor was dragged out (Atk:3500). 'Thor, attack Ygg the Universal… tree thing… with Thunderbolt Bludgeon.' As Thor smacked his hammer into the tree of life, Astrid just smiled (Astrid LP:1900-0).

With the contest over, Blair pumped her fist in delight, as the crowd applauded her. Astrid then walked over, and they shared a few words. 'You were awesome.' 'Thanks. That deck of yours' 'It was pretty much the Highlander deck, I kind of rushed out here to duel you. But I wasn't expecting how sharp you'd be.' 'Literally, never felt sharper than I do now.' 'Could see that, everything was just so quick and so smooth. I swear you're going to be getting much more than the tag titles duelling like that.' The two of them then bumped fists, and sauntered out together.

As Blair split away, Astrid went back to the box, where she shook her head. 'I'm telling you now - she's going to be World Champion this year. She's just way too good.' This comment seemed to raise a few eyebrows, but the only person to say something was Phil, who was shockingly diplomatic. 'That's the exact performance I've been waiting for from her. That was sensational, doing that to someone of your quality, and with the efficiency with which she did it as well. THAT is what she is capable of.'

Backstage, Lydia and Freja were stood, listening to a cloaked figure, who from the accent alone was clearly Maddy. 'You have a job right now. You are to go out there and prove the dominance of the Renegades. I know you have had your issues, and I don't care. You will go out there, and you will destroy your opponent. After that, you then have permission to rip each other half to death if that's what it takes.' They both nodded. 'Now I won't accept anything less than that title being brought back with one of you. I don't care which one of you. If it doesn't, there will be trouble.'

Meanwhile, Blair had just got away from the entrance gate when Ally and Mark found her. 'We've been looking for you.' 'Yeah I just got away from the gate, how was it?' 'You looked fantastic out there, I can't say I'm an expert on it, but you looked fantastic out there.' Blushing slightly, she smiled. 'Thank you. Astrid's one of my favourite opponents, she just always brings the best out in me somehow.'

'You should have told me that you were the #1 ranked duellist in the world, I would have organised a party for you.' 'I guess I just never really thought about what that meant? All I want to do is just duel and win, I just love being out there, and I'm just glad I was able to put on a show for you all.' Rio then ran over to them. 'Oh, hi Mr. Flannigan, I'm not interrupting am I?'' Not at all.' 'We need to meet with the crew about our big entrance tomorrow.' 'Did the costumes come through?' 'Yeah, Katie apparently sent them over a couple of days ago.'

Blair then looked at her adopted father apologetically. 'You go and do what you need to do, I'm sure that it's going to be worth it.' 'Look, there's a great Steak place nearby, Sak says they do the best Wagyu Beef, I don't know if you'd fancy having a meal with me, Jade and Rio after the event's over for the day?' 'We'd love to.' '7ish ok?' 'Absolutely, we'll be there.' 'Awesome, see you about then?' 'Of course.' Blair hugged him, and then patted Ally on the head, before she and Rio walked away to find the individual, despite neither of them actually knowing who that was.

In the duelling zone, Freja entered first, to the Dynasty's music, looking laser focused. 'The following is a Three-Way duel for the LFD Atlas Championship. Introducing first, representing the Dynasty, from Toxteth, Liverpool, England, Freja McKinna.' As she made her way down in her black and blue bodysuit, the commentators did their job. 'Freja McKinna has become a very dangerous individual recently, working under the tutelage of Phil Robinson of the Renegades' Dynasty subgroup. Her Cybernetic Ritual Evolution deck is a specialist Ritual deck running Light Machines, not dissimilar to her master's Cyber Dragon-based deck, and is incredibly powerful, but equally untested.'

Lydia then emerged, to her own music for the first time. 'Introducing the second challenger, from Renegades HQ, South Shields, England, Lydia McKinna.' Lydia walked straight down, and tried talking to her sister, who simply wasn't listening. 'Lydia McKinna is often regarded as one of the lesser lights in the Renegades, but don't let her lack of reputation fool you. She's a gritty customer who has improved greatly, and her Counter Fairy deck uses many tricky Traps to trip up unwary opponents.' 'Will she be able to co-exist with her sister, who she has had major issues with recently by all accounts?'

Finally, the champion walked down, to the strongest response of the three. 'And introducing their opponent, representing the Leo Federation of Duelling, from Govan, Glasgow, Scotland, the Last King of Scotland - Johnny McGregor.' Johnny made his way down, laughing and joking with some members of the crowd as he did. Entering the duelling zone, he tossed his title to the referee immediately. 'Johnny McGregor is one of the leading competitors for the Leo Federation of Duelling, and has held the Atlas Championship for just over 380 days now, this being his 40th defence of the title in that time. His Gladiators of Glasgow Town deck is heavily based around entering combat with his opponents, and then tagging out afterwards for a variety of powerful effects. But will he be able to cope with the double Renegade threat?'

As the three of them faced off, Lydia was still trying to talk sense into her sister, but she was so deep under Phil's spell that she simply wouldn't listen. 'Fine, I'll just have to take him out myself.' The three got ready to duel, while in the box, Phil was explaining what was going on to Maddy. 'Freja has been told that her first and foremost job is to defeat Johnny. It doesn't matter how she does it, just make sure he loses.' 'But they should be able to work together, right? You've seen how they work together.'

'This is a very different situation - Freja isn't the same person Lydia knows. She's now a cold hearted destroyer, she's only concerned with what pleases me and Hannah.' 'That's real creepy, you know that?' 'That's what she wanted. She wanted to be free of everyday worries, she wanted to be a complete slave. Hannah just provided what she wanted. Rest assured though - if Lydia tries to work alongside Freja's plays, this is for all intents and purposes a Handicap duel, and Johnny doesn't stand a chance.'

LFD Atlas Championship: Freja McKinna LP:8000 vs. Lydia McKinna LP:8000 vs. Johnny McGregor LP:8000

(Lydia hand: Meltiel, Sage of the Sky, Bountiful Artemis, Solemn Warning, Rebirth of Parshath, Airknight Parshath)

Lydia: 'I'll start. I'll summon Bountiful Artemis (Atk:1600), and end my turn setting two.'

(Freja hand: Drytron Alpha Thuban, Cyber Angel Idaten, Meteonis Drytron, Drytron Meteonis Quadrantids, Eva, Cyber Egg Angel)

Freja: 'My turn. I activate Meteonis Drytron. This tributes monsters for a Ritual summon based on their Attack points. So I'll tribute Drytron Alpha Thuban, Cyber Angel Idaten and Eva to Ritual summon Drytron Meteonis Quadrantids (Atk:4000). Now I'll activate the effects of Eva and Idaten. Eva can banish Idaten and the Cyber Egg Angel from my hand to add two Level 2 or lower Light Fairies from my deck to my hand. I choose Herald of Orange Light and Herald of Green Light. Then Idaten, because it was tributed, gives 1000 more Attack points to my Ritual monster (Atk:4000-5000). I end my turn.'

(Johnny hand: Gladiator Beast Darius, Gladiator Beast's Battle Manica, Gladiator Beast United, Gladiator Beast Hoplomus, Gladiator Beast Noxious, Gladiator Beast Octavius)

Johnny: 'My turn kids. I'll summon Gladiator Beast Darius (Atk:1700).' 'I activate Solemn Warning, to pay 2000 Life points in exchange for your monster making a swift exit (Lydia LP:8000-6000). Then with Bountiful Artemis' effect, because I activated a Counter Trap I draw a card.' 'Damn, could be in trouble here. I'll end my turn.'

(Lydia hand: Meltiel, Sage of the Sky, Airknight Parshath, Cursed Seal of the Forbidden Spell, Dark Bribe)

Lydia: 'I draw. I'll attack Johnny directly with Artemis.' The bountiful fairy started rotating quickly, unleashing a burst of light which seared Johnny (Johnny LP:8000-6400). 'I'll set another two and end my turn.' Freja then shouted over. 'You call that attacking? My master would be ashamed.' 'Freja, wake up, you're getting way obsessive over this.' 'You're pathetic, I've seen better from RATS!' 'Just take your fuckin' turn.'

(Freja hand: Herald of Green Light, Herald of Purple Light, Drytron Nova)

Freja: 'I draw. I activate Drytron Nova, to summon Drytron Gamma Eltanin from my deck (Atk:2000). Eltanin's effect allows it to revive a Drytron monster from my graveyard, like Alpha Thuban (Def.:0). Now I'll overlay them to Xyz summon Drytron Mu Beta Fafnir (Atk:2000). When Fafnir appears, it sends Drytron Zeta Aldibihah to my graveyard. Quadrantis is now going to show everybody what a REAL attack looks like, as it destroys Johnny.' As Lydia stared daggers, Johnny made a move.

'Sorry lassy, but I have Gladiator Beast Noxious. When I'm attacked directly, it summons itself out (Def.:1000), and survives that battle. Then I can send a Gladiator Beast from my deck to the graveyard. I'll send Gladiator Beast Bestiari.' 'Fafnir, destroy Noxious.' There was to be no second reprieve for Noxious, as Fafnir smoked it with hot fire. 'I end my turn.' As she did, it was Lydia's turn to gloat. 'Can really see all that amazing damage Fre, I'm surprised he's still standing after that!' 'Just because you couldn't get the job done.'

'No Freja, you couldn't get the job done. Because I always got the job done for you, because you're more interested in having fun than ever being serious. You just proved you can't get the job done, I did more damage than you with a weedy Level 4 monster, and you've got two massive things out. So maybe, just maybe, the issue ain't me sis, it's you.' 'You keep believing that, but only one of us was chosen.' 'Chosen? You practically begged him to take you in after you got suspended for trying to turn Blair into a prostitute.'

In the box

Blair was enraged at what she was hearing. 'What the hell gives her the right to start talking about me like that when she was responsible?' Maddy replied, calm but with a certain rage that was clear to all who listened. 'Club business stays with the club unless I say otherwise. She knows that.' She then looked over. 'Astrid.' The blonde walked over, and folded her arms. 'When this is over, go and bring Lydia straight back to me.' She responded with an affirmative nod. 'Of course.'

(Johnny hand: Gladiator Beast's Battle Manica, Gladiator Beast United, Gladiator Beast Hoplomus, Gladiator Beast Octavius, Parry)

Johnny: 'I draw.' Seeing his draw, Johnny decided to take a risk. 'I'll set a monster and end my turn.'

(Lydia hand: Meltiel, Sage of the Sky, Airknight Parshath, Pot of Duality)

Lydia: 'I draw. I'll activate Pot of Duality, to excavate the top 3 cards of my deck. I add one to my hand, the others get shuffled back into the deck.' She flipped over the cards slowly, inspecting each one as she did (The Sanctum of Parshath, Rank-up Magic Renegades Unite!, Icaron's Destruction Ballad - Terpsichora). 'I'll grab Renegades Unite.' 'You do you lassy.' 'Then I'll tribute Artemis for Airknight Parshath (Atk:1900). Attack his Set monster.' Parshath swung wildly with his sharpened sword, but was unable to put Gladiator Beast Hoplomus to the sword, causing Lydia to shake her head (Def.:2100, Lydia LP:6000-5800).

'When Hoplomus is involved in battle, it can tag out to another Gladiator ready to fight. I'll summon Murmillo (Def.:400). And he destroys your Airknight Parshath.' 'I'll pass my turn.'

(Freja hand: Herald of Green Light, Herald of Purple Light, Cyber Angel Benten)

Freja: 'Since you can't fight your way out of a paper bag, I'll sort him out for you. I draw. I activate the effect of Drytron Zeta Aldhibah from my hand, to tribute Cyber Angel Benten from my hand, and summon Zeta (Def.:0). Then I'll activate Zeta's effect to add Meteonis Drytron to my hand, and Benten's effect will add Cyber Angel Vrash to my hand. Now I activate Meteonis, and with the effect of Drytron Mu Beta Fafnir, I can detach its materials as the cost of the Ritual Summon.'

As Freja began to take charge of the duel, she looked over, and saw that Lydia had decided to betray her. 'Cursed Seal of the Forbidden Spell.' 'Who's the weak one now you arrogant cow! Enjoy not being able to use Meteonis for the rest of the duel.' As Lydia calmly discarded Renegades Unite, Freja was about to retaliate, when she heard Maddy's voice in her brain, and she quickly refocused. 'I will not let you cost me. I will bring the title back to him. Fafnir, destroy Murmillo.'

As the determined slave continued pressing, her Fafnir shocked Murmillo with a bolt of electricity, destroying it. 'Quadrantids, attack him directly.' The mighty Level 12 monster soared into the sky like a bird, before swooping down and plunging its claws into Johnny's chest, causing him significant pain (Johnny LP:6200-1200). 'I'll end my turn there. I will take that title back with me.'

(Johnny hand: Gladiator Beast's Battle Manica, Gladiator Beast United, Gladiator Beast Octavious, Gladiator's Proving Grounds)

Johnny - 'My turn, and I'll activate Gladiator's Proving Grounds, to add' 'Nothing, because I'll activate Dark Bribe.' Lydia's idea was good, but she had failed to account for Johnny's own Set card. 'I'll counter your counter with Parry. All I need to do for this little one is return this wee Battle Manica to the old deck, and your Trap is more fried than a Mars bar on a Sunday afternoon.' As she saw her only counter to his powerful move fall through, Lydia was left looking at her sister, who was as sympathetic as expected.

'Don't look at me for help, you're the one who fucked up AGAIN.' 'Thanks for the sympathy.' 'Listen, as soon as he's done, you're next on the list. Get rid of the deadwood, get the title.' 'Oh yeah, because I was always the deadwood, not the one who thought that rolling dice was the way to win duels.' 'At least I don't have a panic attack every time I'm alone.' The frustrated Glaswegian interrupted the warring siblings at this point. 'Excuse me, am I ok to take my turn again yet?'

With no answer but a pair of death glares, he resumed his play, having been granted valuable time to assess his options. 'I'll get myself a copy of Gladiator Beast Spartacus. Then I'll enter my Battle phase to activate Gladiator Beast United. This fuses together Octavious and Spartacus to Fusion summon Gladiator Beast Tamer Editor (Atk:2400).' 'Didn't think you could fuse your Gladiator Beasts like that' Lydia correctly pointed out. 'Yeah, United doesn't play by those rules. And Tamer Editor also doesn't, as it destroys Mu Beta Fafnir.' Johnny's attack saw Tamer Editor crack its whip over the mechanical dragon, causing it to fall apart (Freja LP:8000-7600).

'Now I'm done attacking, I'll use Tamer Editor's effect, to tame a wild Gladiator Beast straight out of my Extra deck. Meet Gladiator Beast Gyzarus (Atk:2400). And Gyzarus on summon destroys two cards you control. I'll dispatch your Drytron Meteonis and Lydia's Set card.' The flying beast sent rockets flying out of its wings, which made light work of both the monster and the Trap, leaving Johnny slightly confused. 'Hey, that Rebirth of Parshath, why didn't you search that Sanctum card the other turn? You could have used that.'

Struggling for an answer, Lydia blurted out 'None of your business shut up!' at him, while Freja replied cattily again. 'It's because she got greedy, because she didn't choose to follow her path like I did. She can be so much more but she refuses. Now when my Quadrantids bites the dust, it reincarnates into Drytron monsters from my graveyard whose Attack equals 4000. I'll revive Drytron Alpha Thuban and Zeta Aldihibah (Atk:2000)x2. Alpha Thuban adds a Ritual monster to my hand when summoned, and Zeta a Ritual spell. So I'll grab Drytron Meteonis Draconids and Sprite's Blessing.' 'I'll end my turn.'

(Lydia hand: Meltiel, Sage of the Sky, Dark Hole)

Lydia: 'I draw. I activate Dark Hole, to destroy every monster on the field. Enjoy your Fusion monsters Johnny.' A large black hole opened up from apparently nowhere, and the immense gravitational pull sucked everything straight in, leaving all the fields exposed. Except Lydia had another idea. 'Now I'll summon Meltiel, Sage of the Sky (Atk:1600).' At this point, Lydia eyed up Johnny, and prepared to launch an assault. 'Attack Freja directly!' As Maddy shook her head above, Meltiel launched a golden ring of energy at Freja, causing her significant damage for the first time (Freja LP:7600-6000).

As Johnny breathed a large sigh of relief, Freja was unimpressed. 'Very clever, you needed your entire hand just to try and look better than me. Even though you know that I'm just going to beat your face in next turn.' 'Do it then. Since you're clearly so good, and clearly way better than me.' 'I end my turn. Come and get me, if you're not too chicken.'

(Freja hand: Sprite's Blessing, Drytron Meteonis Draconids, Drytron Meteor Shower)

Freja: 'I draw.' Aware that she had the points to spare, Freja refused to waste advantage. 'I'll set a card and pass.' She then looked over at Lydia. 'Try not to fuck up if you get another turn.' Lydia said nothing, but was clearly steaming from the constant jibes.

(Johnny hand: Pot of Greed)

Johnny: 'My go, I'll activate Pot of Greed to draw two cards. Then I summon Gladiator Beast Sagittari (Atk:1600). Attack Freja directly.' The Gladiatorial archer fired an arrow straight at Freja, which she nimbly dodged, still taking damage though (Freja LP:6000-4400). 'When I do that, Sagittari can tag out into Gladiator Beast Darius (Atk:1700). And Darius allows me to revive Gladiator Beast Gyzarus from my graveyard (Atk:2400). Not for long though, because I'm contact fusing these wee mites to summon the gladiatorial conquistador, Gladiator Beast Gaiodia (Atk:2600). I end my turn.'

(Lydia hand: Meltiel, Sage of the Sky, Monster Reborn)

Lydia: 'I'll draw. I summon Meltiel, Sage of the Sky (Atk:1600).' 'That's pathetic' Freja scorned. 'You want to give me some help? Actually I'm not going to ask you, I'm just going to do the Renegade thing and take it! I activate Monster Reborn, which will allow me to revive your Quadrantids (Atk:4000). Now both my monsters can attack you directly! Enjoy losing to your own monster bitch!' Freja could only watch on in sheer disbelief as the power of her monster was harnessed against her, costing her a probable title win (Freja LP:4400-0). 'I end my turn.'

As the dust settled from her elimination, Freja nearly broke her programming to attack her sister, but then at the last moment, held off. This left just Johnny and Lydia left. Meanwhile, Astrid was already making her way down to the entrance gate. 'If Lydia messes this up, boy would I not like to be a fly on that wall.'

(Johnny hand: Premature Burial, United We Stand)

Johnny: 'I draw. I'll activate Premature Burial, to pay 800 Life points (Johnny LP:1200-400), and revive Tamer Editor (Atk:2400). Then I'll use Tamer Editor's effect to summon the biggest of all the boys, Gladiator Beast Domitianus (Atk:3500). And how about a little lesson for you - I activate United We Stand, equipping it to Domitianus (Atk:3500-5900). It's now going to take down your Ritual monster… sorry I mean her Ritual monster.' As the attacks flooded in (literally in the case of the Sea Serpent Domitianus), Lydia could only reflect on her choices (Lydia LP:5800-0).

As Johnny picked up his title and bounced, Freja walked over to her sister, and an argument quickly turned violent, as Lydia socked her sister right below the eye. As Freja responded, Astrid ran out, and held them apart from each other. 'Maddy wants to see you both now.' Without them getting the opportunity to question, they were both taken straight out, as the fans digested what they had just witnessed.

Backstage, the warring twins were brought straight to Maddy in a quiet corridor. Maddy quickly signalled to her friend, who walked off, she and Kris ensuring that no cameras followed them. With the peace guaranteed, Maddy took her hood down, and straightened out her hat, before laying into them both. 'What the fuck was that out there? You had ONE job, one very easy job, I specifically said that you could attack each other after that. Now do either of you understand the word "after"?'

They both nodded, but that wasn't enough. 'Freja, verbally abusing someone who you're supposed to be working alongside isn't big, it isn't clever, and the funny thing is, you would have won if you hadn't have done that.' 'So it's all my fault, that's what you're saying?' 'No, I'm saying that you provoked the behaviour. I'm running out of patience.' 'So do I get another shot at him? You said yourself I had him.' 'Normally I would, but I've had a special request from Dad. He has… other plans. We'll talk about it after you've talked to him. Now go.'

Freja left, and Lydia also tried to, only to be pushed back. 'I didn't say you. We need to talk.' 'Do we?' 'Yes. We had a key opportunity to stake our claim there, and YOU ruined it. I don't care how much you were provoked, it doesn't make it acceptable. You actively ignored orders and turned your back on this club out of spite. Not to mention that what you said about Blair was something that was supposed to stay between club members. You know this full well.'

'So? Blair's not some princess who needs protecting.' Maddy then slammed Lydia against a wall in anger, scaring the younger twin. 'No, but she is adopting a 10 year old. If you fuck this up for her, you're going to be out quicker than you can say "oops". Now if you would like to remain a member of this club I suggest you listen well. You will apologise to Blair, you will go on social media and say that what you said out there was a baseless accusation in the heat of the moment.'

'Sure.' 'And to ease the issues between you and Freja, I will force you to work together. You're going to team together at local duelling events EVERY DAY next week, and if either one of you tries to pull out or turns on the other one, you're both going to be suspended for a month. Do I make myself clear?' 'Yes.' 'Good. Now if I were you, I'd get my grovelling shoes on, and find Blair before she finds you. As for Johnny, leave him to ME.'

In the duelling zone

Claude walked out first for the next duel, accompanied by Pez. 'The following duel is under Standard Rules. Introducing first, representing the Regiment, from Zealand, Denmark, Lt. Claude Duane.' The towering Dane walked down, and immediately threw his jacket off, clearly very psyched up for the duel. There was no bombast, no boast, no hype, there was only focus, as he awaited his opponent.

Sakura's personal music (Imperial City by Jim Johnston) then started as she appeared to a hometown ovation. 'Introducing his opponent, representing the Renegades, from Asakusa, Tokyo, Japan, Sakura Haruno.' She walked down, and as she reached the zone, removed her red jacket to reveal a red and purple floral kimono with a red belt, and the Kanji for "Red Right Hand" on the back. She faced down Claude, and bowed to the crowd, before they started.

Sakura Haruno LP:8000 vs. Claude Duane LP:8000

(Sakura hand: Kagero the Cannon Ninja, Jioh the Gravity Ninja, Ninjitsu Art of Dancing Leaves, Book of Eclipse, Mitsu the Insect Ninja)

Sakura: 'I'll kick off. I'll summon Kagero the Cannon Ninja (Atk:1600). And when Kagero appears, he's able to invite another Ninja to hide in the shadows, face-down on the field. I choose Jioh the Gravity Ninja. Then because I control a Ninja or a Set monster, I can summon Mitsu the Insect Ninja (Def.:2100). I'll set a card and end my turn.'

(Claude hand: Souleating Oviraptor, Double Evolution Pill, Scrap Chimera, Animadorned Archosaur, Babycerasaurus, Blazing Mirror Force)

Claude: 'I draw. I'll start by activating Double Evolution Pill. By banishing the Dinosaur-type Animadorned Archosaur and the Beast-type Scrap Chimera, I can summon Ultimate Conductor Tyranno from my deck, ignoring any summoning restrictions (Atk:3500). Then I'll summon Souleating Oviraptor, and use its effect to add Miscellaneousaurus to my hand.' 'Well when you activate the effect, I'll chain Mitsu. It allows me to flip Jioh face-up, Mitsu face-down, and because I'm targeting a face-down Ninja, I can negate your effect.'

Mitsu quickly infested the Oviraptor, constricting it from using its effect, and then the Gravity Ninja flipped up (Atk:2300). Immediately, it stamped on the battlefield, and started to press down all of Claude's field with an immense gravitational suck. 'When Jioh is flipped up, two of your monsters are flipped down, and then they're stuck there.' 'How long for?' 'Until they leave the field. Basically, I control the pace now. It can go quick (gestures sharply with her right hand into the sky), or it can go slow (gracefully circles her left arm around 360°).' Frustrated at being in the tight situation, Claude shook his head. 'I'll set one.'

(Sakura hand: Book of Eclipse, Book of Moon)

Sakura: 'My draw. I'll flip up Mitsu the Insect Ninja (Atk:200). That triggers the effect of Jioh to destroy your Set Ultimate Conductor Tyranno.' Jioh stood up, and hammered on the ground, creating a shockwave which reached all the way to Claude's monster, destroying it. 'Then I'll tribute Mitsu and Kagero to Contact fuse Meizen the Battle Ninja (Atk:2500). With Meizen out, my Ninjas can attack you directly. Go my Ninjas, deliver crippling blows.' 'Go - Blazing Mirror Force. All your Attack position monsters are destroyed, and we both take damage equal to half their combined Attack stats.'

'Because you activated a card or effect, I can use Meizen's effect to set Senior Silver Ninja on my field from my deck. Then I'll chain Book of Eclipse, to flip every monster on the field face-down, so neither of my monsters are harmed by your Blazing Mirror Force.' Sakura's clever play protected her field, as well as getting her another monster to utilise. This made Claude very cross. 'What do I have to do?' 'I told you, I control the pace. You do things on my time, however I let you. It's the Renegade way. I'll end my turn. At the End phase, you WOULD get your monsters back up, but of course, Jioh doesn't let a silly book stop him.'

(Claude hand: Babycerasaurus, Animadorned Archosaur)

Claude: 'I'll draw, and I'll summon Animadorned (Atk:0). I dare you to stop it this time - I'll use its effect to destroy the Babycerasaurus in my hand, and add Big Evolution Pill to my hand. Meanwhile, the baby will summon a Level 4 or lower Dinosaur from my deck, like Souleating Oviraptor (Atk:1800). Oviraptor in turn can add Super Conductor Tyranno to my hand. Now I'll Big Evolution Pill, tributing my Archosaur so I can now summon Super Conductor Tyranno (Atk:3300).'

'And I'll meet you with a gentle dance. Because I activate my trap - the graceful Ninjitsu Art of Dancing Leaves.' A whirlwind of petals then descended around Sakura' field. 'I need to tribute a Set monster or Ninja for this, and I'll choose to tribute Mitsu. Now I can summon a Ninja from my deck, and I know the exact one - another Jioh the Gravity Ninja.' Mitsu vanished in the leaves, and then in a puff of smoke she was replaced by something much more powerful (Atk:2300).'

'Jioh's effect will now force your monsters face-down, and neither will be allowed to change their battle position.' Jioh once again turned the tables on Claude, leaving him completely stumped. After over two minutes of trying to work out how to win, he just ended his turn.

(Sakura hand: Book of Moon, Ninjitsu Art Notebook)

Sakura: 'I draw. I'll flip up Senior Silver Ninja (Atk:2200), and its effect will summon Mitsu back to my field face-down. Then I'll flip up Meizen the Battle Ninja (Atk:2400), and my second Jioh (Atk:2300), and I'll attack directly with all four monsters.' The line-up of Ninjas took turns one after the other to pummel Claude, taking him out in one shocking shot (Claude LP:8000-0).

As the duel concluded, Sakura celebrated with her home crowd, and bowed, before speaking to them in her native tongue. 'Kite Kurete arigatō, min'na no aijō o kisou koto ga dekite kōeidattashi, itsumo Tōkyō ga koishikatta. Shō o tanoshinde, watashi no nochi ni kuru subete no renegēdo o sapōto shite itadakereba saiwaidesu. Akai migite!' (Thank you all for coming, it was an honour to compete for your affections and I always missed Tokyo. I hope you enjoyed the show and support every Renegade who comes after me. Red Right Hand!)

As Sakura continued to celebrate, Phil and Belle were backstage awaiting an interview. 'I'm with Belle Draper here, along with her… manager?' 'Call me a manager, call me a coach, or just call me an enabler. Because that's what I do, I enable my clients to enter the next level. Take Freja, you've seen her, she's a firecracker. But fire does not automatically equal consistency, I turned Freja from a firecracker into a cold blooded assassin, I turned Blair from a guarded duellist to a natural winner, Rio from easy pickings to an impossible threat. And now, I've got a new challenge.'

'We've not had Belle here long, but already you're expecting to compete with Akiza?' He just smiled. 'No, I'm expecting her to BEAT Akiza. Belle is an extremely dangerous opponent, she duels like nobody else, and she gets written off because of her experience level. She has been duelling, at any level, for around five months. And she's already at this level, where she is not only competing, but she is able to win. Think about the level of dedication that it takes to get to this level in this amount of time.'

'But you haven't yet explained why Belle can beat Akiza?' 'Because she has nothing to lose. Nobody knows Belle, nobody knows what to expect, nobody knows what she's been through. All anyone knows is she's here and she's here to win.' She then gave him a nudge, and as he looked over, she took the microphone, and spoke for the first time in the company. 'Akiza, you have no idea what you're up against. What you're going to face is the last thing you would ever expect, because I've done a lot of bad shit that nobody knows.'

The next duel was for contendership for the Tag titles. Junction 7's music was first, but there was no sign of them. Suddenly a video played of an incident around an hour before. Nash was just arriving, when Rio, Dakota and Denny ambushed him in the car park. On Rio's instruction the newly-recruited Kiwis threw him into the side of a parked car. Rio then threw a steel pipe to Dakota which she used to wrench the car door open. As Denny placed Nash's head in the doorway, Rio kicked the door shut, violently trapping her brother's head. She then stood above his unconscious body, and knelt down. 'You're either with us or you're against us. We're done being soft touches now.' With that, the three left.

As the video played, Maddy looked at Dakota and Denny. 'Good job. Welcome into the Renegades, your initiation is on Monday.' She then saw Rio stood quietly, and went up to her. 'I knew I could rely on you. As agreed, no more against him now.' 'I appreciate that.' 'One thing that will never change is that we are better as a unit. If I promise something, I deliver it. You have my word.'

Belle was out first for the penultimate duel of the day, entering to the Dynasty's music, all the while the cameras were fixed on Taylor, who was sat in the front row wearing all Renegades merch, as a graphic popped up advertising Taylor vs. Akiza for the next day. 'The following is a Challenge Duel. Introducing first, from Headingley, Leeds, England, the Silent Assassin - Belle Draper.' While she made her way down, she got a full analysis.

"Belle has only been duelling for a very short time, but this youngster from Leeds is already starting to develop a reputation for being very talented and gritty, with a backbone of steel. She is a cautious and well-measured opponent for anyone, and her Renegades Saqlifice deck suits that style, being able to provide disruption effects and huge damage depending on the board state. Absolutely not to be trifled with.' As the cameras swung back from Taylor, Belle was quietly stood in the duelling zone, with Phil watching on, having come out quietly and stood by the entranceway.

Then the cameras cut to backstage with Akiza being interviewed. 'Akiza, you seemed to be very surprised when you were informed that Belle was your opponent. Can you tell me why this is?' 'Simply, I thought he would be finding a real opponent for me. No jumped up school student is going to beat me, no matter how convinced they are that she is "the future". I will destroy all of the Renegades, and Belle is no more than a speedbump on that road.'

The camera then followed the Black Rose as she walked down the corridor, to the entrance gate, and emerged to quite a good reaction. 'Introducing her opponent, from Tacoma, Washington, the Black Rose - Akiza Izinski.' As she walked straight down with a purpose and an emotionless stare, she too was presented. "Akiza Izinski is on a one woman mission to destroy the Renegades, and believe me, she will not be underestimating her opponent even slightly. Her deck is poetically titled "Beautiful Pain", and it focuses on inflicting a slow and agonising defeat to her opponent while she only gains strength, she believes it symbolises the torture she's lived with. Belle has her own history though, and she is not going to be intimidated by Akiza's tactics."

In the zone, Akiza and Belle faced off, with the crowd becoming much louder by the second. Neither said anything, but they looked in each other's eyes, and instantly saw the pain and suffering they had both suffered, the mental scars they both had. As a result, neither one said anything; instead, they understood, and then split, activating their duel disks one after the other, starting their contest.

Challenge Duel: Belle Draper LP:8000 vs. Akiza Izinski LP:8000

(Belle hand: Qliphort Monolith, Qliphort Scout, Qlipper Launch, Echo Oscillation, Qliphort Monolith)

Belle: 'I'll set my Pendulum scales with Scale 9 Qliphort Scout and Scale 1 Qliphort Monolith. I'll use the effect of Scout to pay 800 Life points (Belle LP:8000-7200), and add Saqlifice to my hand. Then I'll Pendulum summon Qliphort Monolith (Atk:2400), and end my turn setting one card.'

(Akiza hand: Aroma Jar, Aromage Bergamot, Aromage Marjoram, One for One, Seed of Deception, Child's Play)

Akiza: 'I draw. I'll activate Child's Play, so every time you summon a monster, I gain 300 Life points. I'll set a monster, then I'll set two cards face-down.'

(Belle hand: Qlipper Launch, Saqlifice, Cyber Summon Blaster)

Belle: 'I'll attack your monster with Monolith.' A mystical beam came from the markings on the giant stone, bouncing off another rock (Aroma Jar Def.:500). 'Aroma Jar can't be destroyed in battle because it was flipped up.' 'I thought it might be that. I'll end my turn by setting a 2nd card.' 'And I'll gain 500 Life points as a result of Aroma Jar (Akiza LP:8000-8500).

(Akiza hand: Aromage Bergamot, Aromage Marjoram, Aromage Laurel)

Akiza: 'I draw. I'll just pass my turn and let you go again.'

(Belle hand: Qlipper Launch, Saqlifice, Pot of Greed)

Belle: 'I'll start with Pot of Greed to draw two. Now I activate Cyber Summon Blaster, chain Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your Child's Play, and then I'll tribute Monolith to summon Qliphort Helix (Atk:2400).' 'Adorable, you don't even know how to use your own card.' 'I do, I just wanted to do that so I can Pendulum summon Monolith back from my Extra deck (Atk:2400, Akiza LP:8500-8200). I'll end my turn, and then Monolith's effect in my Pendulum zone draws me a card because I tributed one monster for a summon this turn.' As her Life points increased again (Akiza LP:8200-8700), Akiza nodded in acknowledgement of Belle's play.

(Akiza hand: Aromage Bergamot, Aromage Marjoram, Aromage Laurel, Blessed Winds)

Akiza: 'I draw. I think I'll just set a card and end my turn (Akiza LP:8700-9200).'

(Belle hand: Qlipper Launch, Saqlifice, Qliphort Disc)

Belle: 'I think I'm going to activate the effect of Scout, to pay 800 (Belle LP:7200-6400), and add Qliphort Shell to my hand. Now I'll tribute Monolith and Helix to summon Qliphort Shell (Atk:2800). Shell, attack Aroma Jar.' 'It can't be destroyed by battle.' Belle seemed unpurturbed by this, knowing Shell's power. 'Qliphort Shell when Tribute summoned attacks twice in each Battle phase, and does piercing damage.' As this was revealed, the Shell's spikes all unfolded, as it rotated in, slicing past Aroma Jar, before turning around and doing the same in the other direction (Akiza LP:9200-4600). 'I end my turn.' 'At the End phase, I'll activate Aroma Jar's effect (Akiza LP:4600-5100).' 'And with Monolith, I draw two cards.'

(Akiza hand: Aromage Bergamot, Aromage Marjoram, Aromage Laurel, Terraforming)

Akiza: 'I draw. I'll activate Terraforming, which will get me Aroma Garden. Then I'll activate it.' As the beautiful stately garden bloomed around them, Akiza and Belle's eyes were still locked on each other. 'Now I'll tribute Aroma Jar to summon Aromage Bergamot (Atk:2400), and I'll activate my set Seed of Deception, which will summon a Level 2 or lower Plant from my hand. I choose Aromage Laurel (Atk:800).'

'Next I think I'll activate my other Set card, Blessed Winds. It makes it so that I can send Aromage Marjoram from my hand to the graveyard and gain 500 Life points (Akiza LP:5100-5600). That in turn gives Bergamot 1000 more Attack points through her effect (Atk:2400-3400), and Laurel will make itself a Tuner. Bergamot, roast that Shell.' Bergamot unleashed an overpowering mist of spices, which were enough to melt through the Shell and destroy it (Belle LP:6400-5800). 'Laurel, attack.' A sweeter, more mellow mist spread across the battlefield, which chipped away a little more of Belle's points in front of a captivated crowd (Belle LP:5800-5000).

'After that, I'll tune Level 1 Laurel to Level 6 Bergamot, so that I can summon Periallis, Empress of Blossoms, who gains 400 Attack for every Plant on my field other than herself (Atk:1600). And she can immediately revive Aromage Bergamot (Atk:2400, Periallist Atk:2000). And through Aroma Garden, I gain 500 Life points and all my monsters 500 Attack (Akiza LP:5600-6100, Periallis Atk:2000-2500, Bergamot Atk:2400-2900). I end my turn.' 'And I'll activate my Trap card Echo Oscillation. This destroys my Qliphort Scout, but then draws me another card in return.'

(Belle hand: Qlipper Launch, Saqlifice, Qliphort Disc, Pendulum Paradox, Cosmic Compass, Qliphort Carrier, Pendulum Area)

Belle: 'I'll activate Pendulum Paradox. This adds two Pendulum monsters from my Extra deck to my hand, as long as they have the same Pendulum Scale. So I'll get Shell and Scout back, as they both have a Scale of 9. Next I'll reset my scale with Scale 9 Qliphort Shell, which makes all your monsters lose 300 Attack points (Periallis Atk:2500-2200, Bergamot Atk:2900-2600). With my Scales set, I'll Pendulum summon Qliphort Carrier, whose Attack is set to 1800 because it wasn't Normal summoned (Atk:1800, Akiza LP:6100-5600).'

'Now I'll equip it with Saqlifice, to give it 300 more Attack points (Atk:1800-2100). More importantly, it's two tributes for a Tribute summon now. So I'll tribute Carrier to Tribute summon Qliphort Disc (Atk:2800). When Disc is summoned, it can summon two more Qli monsters from my deck but negates their effects. Including negative effects. Meanwhile Carrier is allowed to bounce your Periallis back to your Extra deck, and Saqlifice allows me to add Apoqliphort Towers to my hand.' Belle's clever move saw Periallis vanish off the field having been swallowed up by the sizeable Carrier, while Qliphort Shell and Qliphort Helix appeared on the field (Atk:2800, 2400, Akiza LP:5600-5300).

'Qliphort Disc, attack Aromage Bergamot.' Bergamot tried to save itself with its toxic mist, but it was in vain as it got lasered to oblivion by the vicious disc (Akiza LP:5300-5100). 'I still have two more attacks. Both go through?' Akiza said little, but was clearly stunned at the sudden offensive (Akiza LP:5300-100). The fans started to cheer Belle on at this point, but she remained aloof, detached even, focusing purely on victory. 'I end my turn with two face-downs. At the End phase, the monsters summoned by Qliphort Disc are destroyed.'

Akiza then dragged herself up, and there was a momentary lull in the action. 'Well, he was right about you being better than I expected. Looks like it's going to be closer than I wanted.' She then looked deep into Belle's detached gaze. 'Schizophrenia? And maybe some kind of empathy disorder? No wonder you're so icy under pressure. You probably don't even know where you are right now.' A sarcastic 'Tokyo the last time I checked' came from the other end of the zone.

(Akiza hand: Aroma Jar)

Akiza: 'I draw. I'll just set a monster first of all. Then I'll activate Blessed Winds, to shuffle Aromage Marjoram back into my deck from the graveyard, and gain 500 Life points (Akiza LP:100-600). I end my turn.'

(Belle hand: Cosmic Compass, Apoqliphort Towers, Apoqliphort Skybase)

Belle: 'If your Set monster is Aroma Jar, then you can flip it up yourself. I'll pass.'

(Akiza hand: Aromaseraphy Angelica)

Akiza: 'I'll draw, and I'll activate Aromaseraphy Angelica's effect to discard it and gain back Life points equal to those of Bergamot in the graveyard (Akiza LP:600-3000). I end my turn.'

(Belle hand: Cosmic Compass, Apoqliphort Towers, Apoqliphort Skybase, Qliphort Cephalopod)

Belle: 'I'll just pass again.' 'No moves you want to make?' Akiza was once again met with total and utter silence. The duel sailed past the 20 minute mark, as the crowd continued to applaud every move.

(Akiza hand: Monster Reborn)

Akiza: 'I draw. I activate Monster Reborn, to bring back Bergamot.' Suddenly, something lit up in Belle's eyes, and for the first time in the duel, her voice started to lift, revealing a subtle Yorkshire accent. 'I activate my face-down Pendulum Area. This destroys both of my Scales, but in return it prevents any Special summons apart from Pendulum summons this turn.' With her comeback move in tatters, Akiza was forced to end her turn.

(Belle hand: Cosmic Compass, Apoqliphort Towers, Apoqliphort Skybase, Qliphort Stealth)

Belle: 'I'll Normal summon Qliphort Stealth (Atk:2800-1800), and end my turn.'

(Akiza hand: Painful Choice)

Akiza: 'I'll draw.' Seeing the card gave her an idea. 'How do you like choosing which card I get next?' 'Well you wouldn't be asking if you had no intention of letting me.' 'I activate my Painful Choice. Now I choose five cards, you have to add one to my hand, the other four go to the graveyard.' After some deliberation, Akiza had the cards lined up. 'Lonefire Blossom, Lonefire Blossom' 'Is the next one Lonefire Blossom?' 'You're catching on! And I'll also have two Aromaseraphy Angelicas.' The choice for Belle was clear here. Except it wasn't, as she pulled a surprise. 'You can have a Lonefire.' 'Oh… ok' Akiza mumbled, very confused at the decision.

It was only after another half a minute of thought that Akiza came to a conclusion. 'You're trying to force me to attack. I'll summon Lonefire Blossom (Atk:500), and then tribute it to summon another Bergamot (Atk:2400). And with it on the field, I'll use the effect of Aroma Garden (Akiza LP:3000-3500, Bergamot Atk:2400-2900-3900). Bergamot, attack Qliphort Disc.' Akiza's monster unleashed its toxic spices once more, which slowly eroded the Disc until it was gone entirely (Belle LP:5000-3900). 'Why did you give me Lonefire then… I end my turn (Atk:3900-2900).'

(Belle hand: Cosmic Compass, Apoqliphort Towers, Apoqliphort Skybase, Kuji-Kiri Curse)

Belle: 'I'll activate Kuji-Kiri Curse. By discarding the Level 9 Apoqliphort Skybase, I can draw two cards. Now I'll set the Pendulum Scales with Scale 9 Qliphort Scout, and use its effect (Belle LP:3900-3100) to get Saqlifice. I'll equip it to Stealth (Atk:1800-2100), then tribute Stealth for Qliphort Cephalopod (Atk:2800).' 'Big deal' a more confident Akiza stated, but Belle was still cool as anything. 'When Cephalopod is summoned, as long as you have more monsters in your graveyard than I do, I gain Life points equal to the difference x300, then you take the same amount of damage.' With Akiza having eight monsters in the grave to Belle's one, Akiza's Life total took a major hit (Belle LP:3100-5200, Akiza LP:3500-1400). 'I end my turn.'

(Akiza hand: Pot of Greed)

Akiza: 'My draw. I'll activate my own Pot of Greed to get two free cards. Then I'll activate Aroma Gardening, and use Blessed Winds to pay 1000 Life points (Akiza LP:1400-400), and revive Bergamot (Atk:2400). Now Aroma Gardening will repay me the 1000 points I just had to pay, because I summoned an Aroma monster (Akiza LP:400-1400). Now Aroma Garden gives me 500 more Life points (Akiza LP:1400-1900, Atk:2400-2900)x2. Bergamot number 1, destroy her Cephalopod and make her suffer!'

Akiza's mad grin at the idea of her foe suffering was short lived, as Belle had kept an insurance policy from the very first turn. 'I'll activate my face-down Qlipper Launch. This gives 300 more Attack to my Cephalopod and negates its effects (Atk:2800-3100).' The minor change in stats was enough to suddenly turn the tables on Akiza, and chip her Life points back down (Akiza LP:1900-1700). 'I end my turn' Akiza muttered, frustrated yet still somewhat confident.

(Belle hand: Cosmic Compass, Apoqliphort Towers, Giant Trunade, Double Summon)

Belle: 'I'll use Scout's effect to pay another 800 Life points (Belle LP:5200-4400), and add another Cephalopod to my hand. Now I'll activate Giant Trunade, to return all our Spells and Traps to our hands.' With this, Belle's eyes lit up in focus and hope again. 'Now I'll summon Cosmic Compass (Atk:300). When it's Normal summoned, I get a Compass Token for every monster on your field (Def.:100)x2. Now I'll use Double Summon, and tribute my Cosmic Compass and Compass Token for another Cephalopod (Atk:2800).' As she did, she locked Akiza in the eyes one more time and simply stated "Game Over", as Cephalopod's effect rounded out a shock victory, as Akiza watched on, stunned (Akiza LP:1700-0).

Seeing the result, Belle showed genuine emotion, pumping her fist in pleasure. She then looked over at Phil, who had a very satisfied smile, and she stopped to sign a handful of signatures before leaving, refusing an interviewer as she did. That left Akiza, who stayed in the zone for some time as she digested the shock loss. Pain and shock in her face, she looked over towards Taylor, but she too, had left.

Backstage

In a quiet corridor, Belle exhaled hugely, and then some tears started to emerge. As they did, Blair and Rio walked by, and the Michiganer immediately insisted on stopping, and she walked up to her recently discovered friend. 'The memory of your first big win never leaves you.' 'I can't believe I just did that.' 'I can. Don't forget you beat Phil in the arena FOUR times in the lead-up to this. You beat Rio twice, you would have beaten me if I hadn't drawn exactly Lava Golem. You just proved that you belong here.'

'It's just not something I'm used to, the whole idea of not just winning, but people wanting me to win, I felt like they genuinely loved me and I belonged there. I'm not Belle the murderer for once or Belle the Schizophrenic.' 'You'll find that - a lot of the fans don't care about your personal life, they don't care what you've been accused of, they just care about you as a person. And they'll respect the fact that you're a winning machine.'

As she wiped her tears away, Chazz, Sledgehammer and Nico walked in, and Chazz was grinning. 'Hey it looks like the dorks have found a new friend. Listen kid, I know you're new here, so let me show you the ropes - I'm Chazz, or "my lord" if you prefer, and the first rule is, kids don't mess with the crew. You got a little bit of beginner's luck, so don't go thinking you're some kind of hotshot.' Belle didn't seem particularly interested in what he was saying, but Blair was eager to confront her old rival.

'You know Chazzie, I thought one humiliating loss to a newbie would be enough for a lifetime. But I mean, if you're that desperate to lose again, I can always phone Phil up and ask if he fancies Belle having a free win.' Incensed, Chazz got right in her face. 'What did you just say?' 'I said that you're not good enough to beat Belle, because you've always been an overrated, jumped-up rich boy who got all his opportunities because his brothers are high flyers in the big city. Of course, you can prove me wrong, but I don't think you've got the guts.'

Chazz sneered, and went to walk away. 'See you in France idiot.' As he did exit, Belle squared up to Sledgehammer. Despite there being the best part of two feet between them in height, she was far from intimidated. 'Once I beat him, you're next. With or without your title.' Nico then made the mistake of challenging her. 'And if he doesn't want to waste his time with you?' She responded by grabbing his arm, and pulling him in, before whispering 'He will do. Because your life depends on it.'

Near the entrance gates

Interviewers were waiting near the entrance, when Maddy walked past silently, wearing her fedora and long coat. 'Maddy, what are your opinions on the main event?' 'Are you fully fit to duel now?' 'What's your opinion on people saying you were scared of facing anybody for the title?' She said nothing, but tipped her hat slightly to reveal black lipstick. She then pushed them all out of the way, walking straight through.

Before the duel, each of the challengers got a showcase of their best moments, alongside an explanation of why they believed they were going to be the champion, starting with Justin. 'My fellow Players, tonight is the start of the liberation, as we save a lost young girl from the pressures of carrying around a title which marks her out as a target. A weak, pathetic schoolgirl pretending she can handle the rigors of being a champion. Well this is the time that she is shown the truth.'

Tee was next, and after her highlights, she made her case. 'The Young-Gun title has been held hostage because our so-called "champion" couldn't be bothered to turn up. Because she was scared that she'd have to face me, and now she's been forced back, I'm going to destroy anybody in my way. That title belongs to me, and it belongs to Junction 7. And there's not a thing that anybody can, or will, do about it.'

Finally was Sara, the former Eagle showing a lot more sass and arrogance. 'Everybody underestimates me, because I used to be happy to be here, happy to be along for the ride. But I can duel circles around all three of them, and they know it, it's why our champion was avoiding coming back for so long. I'm the only one who deserves that title, it deserves a champion of class, and a champion of style. That belt was made for me to hold it.'

Maddy's highlights were then shown, before highlights of the three duels that got the challengers there, and the challenge from Hannah on Maddy's behalf. There was no case from Maddy as to why she would win the title, as once again, she had refused the interview, as she had been doing all week.

Justin was out first in the main event, wearing an opulent all-purple garb, including a loose-sleeved jacket, his left hand just sticking out far enough to be holding his book. He sauntered down, chewing gum and gesturing that the title would soon be around his waist. In the zone, he flung his arms out, and the word "Player" flashed up burning on the screens. As he waited for an opponent, he would start shouting "It's a Player's world now!' to boos.

Sara was next, wearing her brunette hair in dangling plaits at the front, and a silver crown atop her head. Diamantes on her jacket and on her trousers suggested that she had already made plans for the main event money, as well as the extra for winning the title. In the zone, she pushed Justin out of the way, and then signed the word "style" in American Sign Language, before holding her left hand out at a 90° angle.

The last challenger was Tee, who stormed out, with a bandanna as a balaclava, bun tight in and wearing a dark green shirt and trousers, each with "J7" printed onto them in bold gold lettering. Within seconds she had joined the first two in the zone, pulled the bandanna down, and the three then started to argue, and push and shove. All the while, there was zero sign of their opponent.

Another two minutes passed with arguing but nothing else, and then, the first bars of A Promise That I Keep started to play, at ¼ speed. Maddy's name appeared on the screens, stylized as a black sword, which kept spearing out of the "M" in her name, before retracting. There was still no sign, so the referee started to count her out. As they reached three, Maddy finally appeared, walking out in an all black outfit of a Fedora, leather vest (with her corset underneath), and leather trousers, as well as black cowboy boots.

The normally reserved crowd hollered loudly as she slowly walked down, Taylor and DJ by her side, also wearing all black. As she reached the zone, she looked around, before taking off her hat to reveal her new red, black and pink hair, a single hairpin creating a quiff at the top. Her eyes glowed gold and her black lipstick emphasised this only further, causing everyone to back off. Marc Jacobs then made the introductions.

'The following is your Anniversary Show Day 1 Main Event, and is a Four Corners Elimination Duel for the WDC Young-Gun Championship. Introducing first, from Atlantic City, New Jersey, he is the self-proclaimed "Babe Saviour", the protector of the unprotected, and the Player - Justin Pipe.' Justin lifted his book into the air, and posed with it for a moment, before gently placing it back into his pocket.

'Introducing the second challenger, she comes to us from Atlanta, Georgia. Representing the Style Council and all that is beautiful about the world, she is the Style Saviour - Sara Sawyer.' Sara posed again, and motioned that she wanted the belt. 'Introducing the third challenger, coming to us from Ledbury, England, representing Junction 7, she is the Thorn of Lament - Tee Taylor.' Tee barely reacted, but went to get into Maddy's face, only to be repelled again.

'And introducing the final competitor, leading the Renegade Nation, and accompanied by Taylor and DJ Tanner, from Stonybridge, Northumbria, England, for 182 days she has been your reigning and defending WDC Young-Gun Champion, Don Alpha - Maddy Smith.' Maddy raised her red right hand, and then took her title off, passing it to Taylor, who in turn passed it to the referee. As they all activated their duel disks, DJ handed Maddy her deck, and she slammed it in hard.

WDC Young-Gun Championship: Justin Pipe LP:8000 vs. Tee Taylor LP:8000 vs. Sara Sawyer LP:8000 vs. [c] Maddy Smith LP:8000

(Maddy hand: ?, ?, ?, ?, ?)

Maddy: 'I'll start. I activate Future Fusion and end my turn.'

(Justin hand: Gravekeeper's Spiritualist, Gravekeeper's Priestess, Necrovalley Throne, Gravekeeper's Watcher, Gravekeeper's Spear Soldier)

Justin: 'I'll start us off by summoning Gravekeeper's Priestess (Atk:1200).' Immediately Tee started the mud flinging. 'Which part of 2005 did you get that from?' 'You know it's quite cute that you're playing the big girl, but you don't need to, you all deserve protection. When Priestess is on the field, the entire field is treated as Necrovalley. Meaning I can activate Necrovalley Throne. This has two effects, but I'm using it to Normal summon Gravekeeper's Spiritualist (Atk:1500).'

As she arrived on the field, the Spiritualist immediately started laughing, and a purple fog appeared by her. 'While Necrovalley is on the field, Spiritualist can Fusion summon. I'll fuse herself with Priestess to Fusion summon Gravekeeper's Supernaturalist. He gains 100 Attack and Defence for every Level his Fusion materials had between them (Atk/Def.:2000/2000-2800/2800). I'll use his effect, and then end my turn. The effect says that during the End phase, I can add Necrovalley to my hand.'

(Tee hand: Blue-Eyes White Dragon, Shadow's Light, Sage with Eyes of Blue, Blue-Eyes Solid Dragon, Malefic Blue-Eyes White Dragon, Dragon Ravine)

Tee: 'I'll start the real action off with Dragon Ravine.' As the great cliffs comprised the field, everyone awaited her next move. 'Now I'll banish Blue-Eyes White Dragon from my deck to summon Malefic Blue-Eyes White Dragon (Atk:3000). Then I'll activate Shadow's Light, to summon a Light monster of the same type and level from my deck. I'll get Blue-Eyes White Dragon (Atk:3000). Then I'll Normal summon Sage with Eyes of Blue (Atk:0). And Level 1 Sage tunes to Level 8 Blue-Eyes to Synchro summon Azure-Eyes Silver Dragon (Def.:3000). I end my turn.'

(Sara hand: Naturia Blessing, Naturia Hydrangea, Naturia Rosewhip, Naturia Bamboo Shoot, Naturia Tulip, Naturia Sacred Tree)

Sara: 'I draw. I'll activate Naturia Blessing, which allows me to summon Naturia Hydrangea from my hand (Atk:1900). Then Naturia Tulip will join it (Atk:600). Now I'll Sync them off to Synchro summon Naturia Landoise (Atk:2350). I end my turn with a face-down.'

(Maddy hand: Frightfur Fusion, Fluffal Sheep, Fusion Weapon, Edge Imp Chain, Polymerisation)

Maddy: 'I draw. During the Standby phase, I get to send my monsters for Future Fusion. I'll send… 20 monsters.' This surprised everybody, as Maddy threw away over half of her deck, but they weren't prepared for what came next. 'Then I'll activate Frightfur Fusion! This Fusion summons using monsters that are in my graveyard. So I'll banish every monster from my graveyard.'

As she did, a pair of hands on mechanical arms emerged from her graveyard, and slowly started to put together pieces of each Fluffal that she had sent away, crudely stitching each part to the last. Everyone looked on in horror as eventually the monster was created, with Edge Imp Sabres acting as fangs, sharp claws and a pair of red glowing eyes highlighting it. 'Meet your doom - Frightfur Wolf (Atk:2000).'

Eventually it was Sara who broke the silence. 'That thing's horrific!' 'You'll find it worse after its equipped with Fusion Weapon (Atk:2000-3500). Oh, and it can attack once for EVERY fusion material. Wolf, it's feeding time!' The deadly looking, patchwork-like monster charged into battle, savaging every monster that had been left out, and her Alpharic powers saw the opposition take the damage their monsters did, leaving them a trio of crumpled messes (Justin LP:4000-0, Tee LP:4000-0, Sara LP:4000-0).

With all her opponents lying motionless, Maddy stared at them for a moment, before piling them up and rolling them out of the duelling zones, the crowd still fully in support of her. With that done, she grabbed a microphone. 'There's somebody I need to share this with, somebody who… I've let down. Tom Akinowale, you here?' The young man stood up from one of the front rows, and walked down the stairs, embracing her as he did. They shared a long, tender cuddle, before he suddenly slumped to the ground, struggling to catch his breath.

As he looked up, he saw Maddy stood over him, with a steel chain wrapped around her left fist. She walked around him briefly, and shouted 'The "old Maddy" is dead and gone, and she's never coming back!' She then dragged him up to his feet, and pulled him into her chain-covered fist face first, busting his nose in a bloody mess. With him dazed, he was unable to protect himself as she mounted him, and powered her fist into the top of his head, leaving him laying as she stood over him, and raised her right hand in a claw, ending the first day in total destruction.

Three days earlier, in the base's library

Jana was once again reading Chapter 1 of the Alpharic Legends to an engrossed Ally. 'And so the brave Al[ha found herself at a crossroads, where she had to choose between her pack, and the humans she once called family. She chose to cast away her old life to protect her pack and devote her power to them once and for all. Little did she know at the time, but deep down, a deep seated rage was building, ready to consume her soul.

Next time: Maddy sets out the agenda, the Renegades strike hard and fast, Astrid and Kalin clash in Highlander rules, and who will walk away as undisputed Tag Team Champions? Renegades: A New Dawn Chapter LIII: Renegades: Reloaded