The night after Mastermind met his future 'inlaws', Mastermind got down to working on ways to combat Doctor Louis D'Ville. He needed to beat the Doctor in order to retain the X-Treme Title.

Mastermind walked into his gym with the X-Treme Title hanging over his shoulder. There waiting for him in the ring was his newly brought Personal Trainer, a Maxwell Gemmell. Mastermind climbed into the ring, and shook his hand.

MAXWELL: "Please to meet you Mastermind."

"You're one of the top Personal Trainers here in Wellington, thank you for spending the week with me."

MAXWELL: "You pay the ultimate, and I'm here to do what you asked."

Maxwell took the X-Treme Title from Mastermind's shoulder and looked at it.

MAXWELL: "This is a beautiful title, so is this belt, the most important thing in your possession at the moment?"

Mastermind nodded.

MAXWELL: "I can't hear you?"

"Yes it is. It's very important to me. Apart from Maria, this is what I fight for."

MAXWELL: "I've studied videos of Doctor Louis D'Ville. He is one mean son of a bitch, no wonder he won that King of the Ring tournament last month. He goes to dark places deep within himself. Are you willing to go there, to keep on the same level as him, or better yet a different level?"

"Yes."

Maxwell yelled:

MAXWELL: "Sorry I couldn't hear you."

"Yes sir, I am sir. I want to keep this title sir."

MAXWELL: "Then be prepared for a deep and darkest week, because when you step into the ring with the good Doctor, you both are going to go to the darkest place, to win that title. But you will go the furtherest once I'm through with you. Now lets get going."

Maxwell hung the X-Treme Title on the wall of the gym so that Mastermind can keep an eye on it.


For the next few days Maxwell made Mastermind work on weights, run on treadmills, cycle on cycling machines, row on rowing machines, and just about everything. If he wasn't pushing himself Maxwell would yell:

MAXWELL: "I don't see you fighting, I don't see you going to that inner most place. Do you want to keep the X-Treme Title? You don't look like you do. If you want to keep it, keep going deep inside yourself, keep fighting, keep pushing.... Do it, harder, smarter, faster."

So Mastermind would have to keep digging deeper, keep pushing himself, keep going where he really didn't want to go to, but had to. Deep into himself, deep into the darkest places, that sometimes he feared to go, and every time he went there, he could virtually see that darkness. He would break and stop what he was doing, and go into a panic attack.

"I... I can't... do... it."

Each time he had sweet pouring down his face.

Maxwell kneels down beside him.

MAXWELL: "You can do it Mastermind, you have done it. You're the X-Treme Champion. You need to keep to that place. I know it's scary, but in order to keep that title, you need to do it."

"What if I can't come back? What if I'm stuck there?"

MAXWELL: "You will come back, all you need to spend is 15 minutes there during the match. In order to beat the Doctor. Feel it, hear it, see it, do it."


Towards the end of the week Mastermind spent a lot more time in his dark place, but it was still too raw for him. He would see images of his past, that he wanted left in his past. He saw his father at the worst time, and he saw himself at his worst, and usually spending time recovering with Maria that helped him pull himself away from the bad memories.

Just before he was due to fly to Sweden, he was lying in bed with his head on Maria's chest. She was stroking his hair.

"I have to go to my dark place when I step foot in that ring with the Doctor, I hate it so much."

MARIA: "You spent an entire week building up to this match, you know the Doctor will go there without any worry. You want to keep that belt, you need to go there. You know what it's going to take to beat the Doctor. Just do it for that Wednesday Night. Then you don't have to go back there ever. I have every faith in you that you can come back from that darkness. All you have to do is compete against the Doctor, go to your place, wait for the bell to ring, and come back. 15 minutes."

Mastermind turned over, and looked down into Maria's beautiful face.

"I am so glad that you are here supporting me through this, I don't know if I could have done it on my own."

Maria smiled but shook her head.

MARIA: "No, you wouldn't have been able to go through this by yourself. I'm just glad that I'm here for you. I wish you would let me go to Sweden with you."

"I would love you to, but it's too dangerous, and I don't want any idiots trying to kidnap you. We'll work on it in the new year."

Mastermind kissed Maria and then the passion began....

---

Next day Maria was walking with Mastermind through the airport on their way to the lounge where Mastermind was due to board his jet.

MARIA: "Remember once that match starts, go quickly to your dark place, that way you can compete with Doctor D'Ville. Then as soon as you hear the bell again, get out from that dark place, and concentrate, then when you can give me a ring."

"Sounds like a great plan."

They got to the departure gate. Mastermind looked down into Maria's eyes.

"I will be back soon. I'll try and take another couple of weeks off, and prepare for a big 2015. Rugby World Cup year."

Maria smiled.

MARIA: "I so can't wait, I love you very much."

"You know how much I love you."

They smiled at one another and then kissed for a few minutes, before Mastermind pulled away, and walked off, finally letting go of Maria's hand once it was outstretched further enough.

Maria watched him disappeared through the doors. She knew how much this match meant to him. She knew how much that the X-Treme Title meant to him. She knew that it was going to be a big risk for him to go to that dark place, a dark place that meant so much of his past to him, a dark place for him to confront his past, a dark place that could turn him into something that he wasn't. She was going to be really worried until after the match was over about his mental state.

He was on his own. She could no longer do anything for him, except be there in support.