The Renegade Revolution

by Primal WolfBlood

In Part 2 of The Renegade Chronicles, set 6 months after What Makes an Army's end, this follows the Renegades, as they crusade across the world, entering a world of magic and mayhem as they enter the world of professional card duelling, and encounter new races- Barians, shapeshifters from a completely separate world, and Wolfbloods, humans with wolf DNA hidden inside their secrets

10. Iron Will

The Renegade Revolution

Part 10- Iron Will: The Forever Duel

Reginald eventually left, having verbally agreed to duel Hannah. Blair's win had sealed her progress, and David defeating Kazijima by 3400 Life points with Divine Dragon Aquabizarre had left the group very close behind her.

Group 4:

Blair Flannigan. Wins: 3. Draws: 0. Defeats: 0. LP Depleted: 12000. LP Lost: 50. Pts: 6

David Asun. Wins: 1. Draws: 0. Defeats: 2. LP Depleted: 6200. LP Lost: 8600. Pts: 2

Kazijima. Wins: 1. Draws: 0. Defeats: 2. LP Depleted: 8000. LP Lost: 10200. Pts: 2

Jake Bullitt. Wins: 1. Draws: 0. Defeats: 2. LP Depleted: 4050. LP Lost: 11400. Pts:2

After Blair's win, it should have been time for Group 5. However, due to Blair injuring Jake, Kalin had been given a few more hours to prepare for his duel. Therefore, it skipped straight to Group 6, and Phil (who was wearing a mouthguard to hide the damage done by Hannah's fist) got up for his duel.

'No heroics, you only need to win to deadlock first.' 'I'm not going to do more than I have to. The good thing about the groups is that if you're good enough, you can ease yourself into the tournament and still qualify.' 'Very true.' Phil then left, and emerged for his duel, signing a couple of autographs as he made the walk down.

As Phil crouched down in the duel field, some Russian rock music (Мир номер ноль/World Number Zero by DDT) started and Sergey Volkov came out, draped in the Russian flag. 'Introducing his opponent, from Omsk, Russia, the Cyrillic Psychopath – Sergey Volkov.' The mammoth Russian stamped down to the duel field, and squared up to Phil, who for once was outsized (6'4 vs. 6'6). Eventually, the two activated their duel disks, and started their face-off.

Group 6: Phil Robinson LP:4000 vs. Sergey Volkov LP:4000

Turn 1: Sergey: 'You can start if you like.' 'I draw. I set a monster and end my turn.'

Phil: 'I draw. I'm in a rush, so I'll go ahead and activate Cursed Earth. This nifty Spell lets me summon one Earth monster from my hand, but its destroyed at the end phase of my turn, and I lose half its Attack points. Meet The Trojan Horse (Atk:1600). My Horse isn't staying though, because if I'm summoning an Earth monster, it counts as two tributes, so I can produce a monster with a bit more… punch. Meet Ancient Gear Golem (Atk:3000).'

'You… 3000 is not enough.' 'You're completely right.' 'Huh?' '3000 is clearly not enough. Not for me anyway. But, I have a solution. From my hand, I activate Limiter Removal. This will double the Attack of my Golem for the rest of my turn. Sadly though, when my turn ends, its destroyed. But you're not lasting that long (Atk:3000-6000).'

'Ancient Gear Golem, nail him with Mechanised Melee.' Ancient Gear Golem slammed its fist straight into Sergey's monster (Double Coston Def.:1650), destroying it and turning Sergey inside out with the follow-through (Sergey LP:4000-0000). 'Oh sorry, I forgot to mention that when Golem attacks a weaker monster in Defence mode, you take the excess. Night night.'

Phil then laughed and raised his fist as a different interviewer came over. 'Hello everyone, Marc Josephs here, asking if I can trouble Phil Robinson with an interview after his latest win.' 'Sure Marc.' 'We clocked that duel at 74 seconds. Wow that was fast.' '74 seconds you say?' 'Yes.' 'Damn it- I wanted to get under 60. It's his fault for not speaking English.'

'A quite incredible win, and honestly, you're through to the Last 16 seemingly without a hitch.' 'I'm actually really disappointed- I swear I used to have more competition. But hey, maybe it'll start to hot up now.' 'Obviously you're here to win, but do you mind who you face out of Kalin and Maddy next?'

'I'd honestly forgotten who I could face next. Kalin, he's been around for nearly 300 years, and with Maddy, I've seen her duelling a lot, and trust me, what you've seen so far is nothing. When she gets going, she gets going. So I'll be watching that closely later.' 'Finally, how's your mouth after yesterday?'

Phil then took his mouthguard out, showing the injury. 'Nothing that can't be sorted by dental surgery. Oh, and I'd like to send out a message to a Mr. Dragan. Dragan, I'm warning you, you come anywhere near my girlfriend, and I'll beat you so badly that you'll be choking on your intestines.' After that stark warning, he saluted, and left, having deadlocked 1st place.

When he arrived back in the box, he calmly grabbed a bottle of water and sat down. 'You show-off.' 'That's the way you love me.' 'Are you really in that much pain that you had to get it done?' 'It hurts, but I could have kept it going for a while. Where's Maddy?' 'Dunno- she said she was getting something for facing Kalin.'

'Unless it's Card of Sanctity or Card Destruction, I don't have a clue.' 'Go on then- Kalin and Maddy: who's going to win?' 'If she duels like she has done so far, Maddy's got every chance. But Kalin's a wily opponent.' 'He's caused you trouble a few times.' 'He's beaten me a fair few times. I think we've got a 50/50 record give or take.' 'Yeah, your record's 12-11 in favour of you I think.'

'Do you really not care who you face?' 'I'd prefer Kalin, because if Maddy's going out, I don't want to be responsible.' 'Is this the same person I'm going out with?' 'Yes, it is. It's just that… I dunno, I want to feel like I can go all out.' 'You do realise that she'll kill you if she hears this?' Just then, Maddy came back in, with a pair of silver and purple rollerskates.

'Hears what?' 'Phil was just saying that he doesn't want to face you because he's worried that he's so soppy, he'd let you win.' 'Better hadn't do. Wait, am I?' 'If you lose, yes. If you win, you face… well whoever wins this duel between Radley and Lukas.' Just as that was said, Radley completed his victory by 700 Life points with Coach King Giantrainer, leaving the final group like this:

Phil Robinson. Wins: 3. Draws: 0. Defeats: 0. LP Depleted: 12000. LP Lost: 0. Pts: 6

Radley. Wins: 2. Draws; 0. Defeats: 1. LP Depleted: 8000. LP Lost: 10100. Pts: 4

Lukas Chipperfield. Wins: 1. Draws: 0. Defeats: 2. LP Depleted: 7300. LP Lost: 9700. Pts: 2

Sergey Volkov. Wins: 0. Draws: 0. Defeats: 3. LP Depleted: 4500. LP Lost: 12000. Pts: 0

After that, just one question remained. 'Right, so Maddy, got a question.' 'Go on.' 'What are those rollerskates for?' 'Always wanted to duel in rollerskates.' 'Why?' 'I dunno, they look cool man.' 'How much did they cost?' 'I can't remember, ordered 'em weeks ago and didn't want them getting damaged.'

'Have you ever rollerskated before?' 'What's with all the questions man? Like I'm on bloody question time. And yeah, when I was like about 8 or something. I'll practice first though.' 'Are you planning on strategisitng for the group decider?' 'Nah, I'll wing it man.' 'You're facing a former' 'World semi-finalist, I know.' Groups 7 and 8 then ran to their conclusion, with Bolton knocking off Don by 2000 LP with Blood Mefist, Rachael tie with DOOM, Woodrow Stratus defeated Rob Eckos by 2200 LP with Gilford the Legend, and Johannas Ibaro edge out Saeed Ul-Habarak by 100 LP with Artifact Vajra, leaving their final tables like this:

Group 7

Don Pope. Wins: 2. Draws: 0. Defeats: 1. LP Depleted: 10000. LP Lost: 8500. Pts: 4

Bolton. Wins: 2, Draws: 0. Defeats: 1. LP Depleted: 10600. LP Lost: 9300. Pts: 4

[7] Rachael Eckersall. Wins: 1. Draws: 0. Defeats: 2. LP Depleted: 10700. LP Lost: 10600. Pts: 2

DOOM. Wins: 0. Draws: 1. Defeats: 2. LP Depleted: 8300. LP Lost: 12000. Pts: 1

Group 8

Woodrow Stratus. Wins: 3. Draws: 0. Defeats: 0. LP Depleted: 12000. LP Lost: 5400. Pts: 6

Johannas Ibaro. Wins: 2. Draws: 0. Defeats: 1. LP Depleted: 9800. LP Lost: 10800. Pts: 4

Rob Eckos. Wins: 1. Draws: 0. Defeats: 2. LP Depleted: 8700. LP Lost: 9300. Pts: 2

Saeed Ul-Habarak. Wins: 0. Draws: 0. Defeats: 3. LP Depleted: 8400. LP Lost: 12000. Pts: 0

After this, with Kalin still not ready to duel, it was time for a special feature duel, with Lukas defending his WDC Young-Gun Championship against Blair. 'You ready for this Blair?' 'I've spent 3 years waiting for a title shot.' 'Never received one?' 'Nope. Evidently the good ol' boys club doesn't want some ordinary girl from Michigan holding one of their titles. Or a Renegade for that matter.'

As Blair left, Phil just nodded. 'She certainly has no confidence issues.' 'True. Phil, I really want her in the club.' 'I'm not sure.' 'C'mon Phil, stop keeping us on tenterhooks. Just swallow your pride and admit that I'm right.' 'Is that all you care about?' 'No, I care about the club.' She then ran her fingers through her long ponytail.

'I'm doing what's best for the club.' 'So am I. Phil, you put me in charge of running the club, right?' 'Yeah.' 'It's clear that this entire setup isn't working.' 'I have literally not the foggiest what you mean.' 'What I mean is that if I'm running the Renegades, I don't want to have to get permission from you for everything. I love you, but I want to run it my way.'

'I'm just making sure that the decisions made are right.' 'No, you're making sure that the decisions made are what you agree with.' 'How do I know you're making the right decisions? The plan was for us to run it together because we are stronger together.' 'Yes, we are stronger together. But there has to be one person in charge, it doesn't work otherwise.'

'Seriously though, how do I know you can cope with the pressure of running it all by yourself?' 'Because I've been doing it for 6 bastard months! While you were on holiday, your new girlfriend was turning your dream into a reality. Because you showed me something I could never have hoped to see otherwise. I saw the future, a future I didn't think I'd ever get to see. So I am asking you to trust me.'

Phil simply walked out of the room, leaving Hannah cursing. 'Why did I ever agree to marry that damn man?' Jodi then walked over. 'You agreed to marry him because you love him. And he loves you, which is why he'll come round.' 'You're right, thanks. Why did you join anyway?' 'Was forced. Chained up in school and hypnotised, you know the drill.'

Just then, the announcement was made. 'The following is a Showcase duel, and is for the WDC Young-Gun Championship.' Blair's music then hit, and in an instant, she started the walk down. 'Introducing first, from Shelby, Michigan, the Shelby Rebel – Blair Flannigan.' Blair walked down with the fans clearly not supporting her in the duel. She looked around, and made the Renegade salute, before taking her leather jacket off.

Lukas then re-emerged after his duel earlier. 'Introducing her opponent, from Bishop and Clerk Islands, Tasmania, Australia, Lukas Chipperfield.' Lukas walked out with a big silver and blue belt, which had a centre plate with the words "WDC Young-Gun Championship" written on in black lettering, and two pistols painted on either side of the words "Young-Gun".

He lifted his belt, and then ran down, immediately getting in Blair's face. They then butted heads and started pushing each other around. Eventually, they were split up and activated their duel disks, Lukas passing the belt over to the official.

WDC Young-Gun Championship: Blair Flannigan LP:4000 vs. (c) Lukas Chipperfield LP:4000

Turn 1: Lukas: 'As the champ, the first turn is mine. I draw. I summon Night Express Knight. It's Level 10, but by stripping its Attack points, he can come out (Atk:3000-0000). Next I summon Mirror Ladybug from my hand because I have no monsters in my graveyard (Atk:100). Ladybug's Level now becomes the same as the combined total of my field other than itself. I only control one other monster, so Ladybug becomes Level 10 (Level:1-10).'

'Now I'll overlay these two to build the overlay network and summon Superdreadnought Rail Cannon Gustav Max (Atk:3000). You see this cannon? It's the ability of Gustav Max. By detaching an overlay unit, you lose 2000 Life points. Go Ultimate Cannon!' Gustav Max loaded a cannonball into its cannon, and fired it directly at Blair, wiping out half her points in one go (Blair LP:4000-2000).

'How does it feel? Half gone already.' 'Half is enough.' 'We'll see. I'll end my turn with two face-downs to slow you down a bit.'

Blair: 'I draw.' 'I activate my face-down Cursed Chain. Now for every monster I control, you lose one of the phases from your turn. So now, you can't execute your Battle phase.' 'Fine- I activate the Spell known as Space Cyclone. This removes an overlay unit from any Xyz monster I see fit. And I only see one.'

'Damn, can't use its ability now. It still has 3000 Attack points though.' 'I activate Messenger of Peace. Now, no monster with more than 1500 Attack points can attack. I end my turn with 3 face-downs.' 'You have no monsters? Great.' 'Don't underestimate me.'

Lukas: 'Oh I won't do. I draw. By destroying all the cards in my Spell and Trap card zone, I can summon Snow Plow Hustle Rustle (Atk:2800). Now you lose 200 Life points for each card.' 'I activate Damage Condenser. This reduces the damage to zero, and I can draw a card.' 'I'm done for the turn.'

Blair: 'I draw. Firstly, I pay 100 Life points to maintain my Spell card (Blair LP:2000-1900). The card I just drew was Graceful Charity. By using it, I get three new cards, and discard two. I end my turn with another face-down.'

Lukas: 'Why aren't you using any monsters? Your drawing can't be that bad. Who cares- I summon Lionhearted Locomotive (Atk:2400).' 'It can't attack, I hope you know that.' 'Bet you thought you had the advantage huh? Lionhearted Locomotive's Attack points are halved when it attacks. Which means it won't be affected by Messenger of Peace. I end my turn.' 'During your end phase, Cursed Chain is destroyed because its your 2nd end phase.'

Blair: 'I draw. I pay 100 Life points to maintain Messenger of Peace (Blair LP:1900-1800).' 'You do realise I can slip straight through it.' 'I know you're lying. Because your monster's ability only works when it launches an attack, which it can't. I've come the tough way, I'm not stupid. I activate Crystal Tree. This tree gains a Crystal Counter every time I place a Crystal Beast in my Spell and Trap card zone.'

'Next I'll trigger my face-down Reckless Greed. In exchange for my next two Draw Phases, I can draw 2 cards. Now I summon Crystal Beast Sapphire Pegasus (Atk:1800). His ability lets me take Cobalt Eagle, and put it in my Spell and Trap card zone. I end my turn.'

Lukas: 'I draw. I activate Heavy Storm to destroy every Spell and Trap on your field.' 'Not if I trigger my Dummy Trap.' 'Dummy Trap?' 'Yes. By destroying my face-down Dummy Trap, all my other Spells and Traps are invincible until your turn's End phase.' 'Fine- I'm done for the turn.'

Blair: 'Due to Reckless Greed, I go straight to my Standby phase, paying 100 Life points for Messenger of Peace (Blair LP:1800-1700). I summon Crystal Beast Ruby Carbuncle (Atk:300). Ruby's ability awakens any Crystal Beasts sleeping in my Spell and Trap card zones.' Ruby flashed the orb on her tail, and Cobalt Eagle's crystal shattered, revealing the monster inside (Atk:1400).'

'I throw down a face-down and end my turn.' 'What is your gameplan?' 'To win.' Lukas then started visibly getting impatient. 'Ref, tell her, this is just stalling.' 'Mr. Chipperfield, stalling is not against the rules. You should know that.' 'I know that, but you can't expect the duel to go like this forever.' 'There has been no infringement of the rules. I will intervene if there is.'

Up in the box

Hannah was verbally applauding Blair. 'This is really clever.' 'This seems so one sided, yet she's so calm.' 'Listen, Lukas is losing his rag. That is clearly what she wants him to do. I just worry if she's executing the strategy too well.' 'Don't understand.' 'Blair's totally defensive, but she needs to attack sooner rather than later. Otherwise she'll leave herself dangerously low on Life points. He's bound to have a couple more copies of Gustav Max. She needs to finish him off before he gets chance to summon one.'

Back to the duel

Lukas: 'I draw! By ditching all its Attack points, I summon Night Express Knight (Atk:3000-0000).' 'Just what I expected. As you were.' 'If you're done interrupting, I now summon Heavy Freight Train Derricane through its ability by halving its Attack points (Atk:2800-1400). 'Now I overlay my Level 10 Derricane and Knight to build the overlay network again, and summon another Superdreadnought Rail Cannon Gustav Max (Atk:3000).'

'Now I'll use its ability. I detach an overlay unit to take out 2000 Life points. That means I win.' 'From my graveyard, I activate the effect of Damage Eater. If I banish it from there when I'd take effect damage, the effect is reversed. So instead of losing 2000 Life points, I regain 2000 Life points.'

Gustav Max's cannonball was swallowed by Damage Eater, which then exploded, before Blair was coated in an orange light (Blair LP:1700-3700). 'That's… all my work! I end my turn with a face-down.'

Blair: 'I draw. I'd better take a precaution here. During my Standby Phase, I choose to destroy Messenger of Peace.' 'I really don't understand you.' 'Now I switch all my Crystal Beasts to Defence mode (Eagle Def.:800, Carbuncle Def.:300, Pegasus Def.:1200). Now I'll use the effect of Crystal Tree. By sending it to my graveyard, I can put a Crystal in my Spell and Trap zone for each Counter. I had one, so I'll put Amethyst Cat there. I end my turn with a face-down.'

Lukas: 'I draw. I activate Meteorain. This means that for the rest of the turn, my crew do piercing damage. Now attack! Gustav Max number 1, destroy Ruby Carbuncle.' Gustav Max fired a cannonball at Ruby, destroying her (Blair LP:3700-1000). 'Ruby goes to my Spell and Trap card zone.' 'This will be the final blow. My second Gustav Max can destroy Sapphire Pegasus.'

'I activate Crystal Wall. By sending all the Crystal Beasts on my field to their grave, I can not only negate the attack, but I take no further damage this turn. Now do you regret going all in so soon?' 'Pardon?' 'Oh, forgot to mention: I can only activate Crystal Wall if I lost at least 2000 Life points this turn.'

The second Gustav Max fired off several cannonballs at once, but each one of them smashed upon impact with the wall of crystals Blair had built. 'Seriously? I had you man, I had you! I end my turn. You won't survive next turn.'

Blair: 'Who said anything about next turn? I draw. I activate Painful Choice. This has me draw 5 cards. Next, you get to see them all, and pick one. The one you pick is added to my hand. All the others go straight to my grave.' Blair then took her cards and showed them to Lukas: Crystal Beast Topaz Tiger, Instant Fusion, Crystal Raigeki, Crystal Beast Emerald Tortoise, Rainbow Path.

'I dunno man, it seems obvious, but, why are you doing this to me? I hate making decisions!' 'C'mon, you wanted me to speed up, now you're dawdling.' 'Fine- I pick Instant Fusion.' 'Good choice… for me.' 'What?' 'Have you noticed that my graveyard is full of Crystals now?' 'Yeah, so what?' 'If I have 7 Crystal Beasts in my graveyard, I can summon my ultimate monster. Meet my Rainbow Dragon (Atk:4000).'

'That… that's a mighty fine looking monster.' 'Rainbow Dragon, blast him into next week with Rainbow Refraction!' The seven colours (representing the Crystal Beasts) on the long neck of Blair's Dragon lit up, and a rainbow was formed in front of the Dragon's mouth, before releasing a shimmering stream of light at Lukas, ending the contest (Lukas LP:4000-0000).

After the duel, Blair received her title, and signalled to the fans, who started jeering her. 'Your winner and the new WDC Young-Gun Champion: Blair Flannigan.' As Blair put the title on her shoulder, an interviewer came over. 'Blair, congratulations on the big win. Do you have any comment on this, or your status with the Renegades?'

'My status within the Renegades is the business of us and us only. As for the win, I demanded an opportunity, I got one, and I cashed in. Keep jeering, because I'll have the last laugh.' She then walked off, coming back up. 'Nice win.' 'I see HE wasn't watching.' 'We had a bit of an argument.'

'What- about me?' 'The tension between us over your position lead to it. That isn't directly what the argument was about though. It's because we love each other, we get frustrated, we argue.' Just then, Phil walked back in. 'Good win Blair, I was impressed.' 'Glad you were.' 'You weren't?' 'I was struggling out there. I was wanting to win much sooner, but it just wasn't coming together for me.'

'Phil, can we have a word?' 'No need. From now on, I promise that I'll let you have the final say on everything. I expect you to talk to me, but I'm not going to stop you making decisions.' 'Does that mean I get a place in the Renegades now?' 'No.' 'Come on, you wanted me in.' 'Get to the semis, and I'll agree.'

Phil and Hannah then embraced again. 'I don't like falling out with you, I hope you know that.' 'I don't mind.' 'Sorry I got so angry.' 'You know you're sexy when you're angry? Frightening, but sexy.' 'Why thank you. I just wanted some trust.' 'You were right. I hate admitting that, but maybe I should trust you. Let's face it, this was my idea.'

'I know right? So how about we go out for dinner tonight? I'll pay.' 'Go halves.' 'Fine.' Phil then walked over to Maddy, who had just come back in during the reconciliation. 'So, you looking forward to your duel?' 'Yeah.' 'I hope you know' 'Yeah, I know how good Kalin is. All I ever hear about is how good Kalin is. How about you tell me how good I am?'

'I have done already.' 'You don't believe in me, do you? You don't even want me to win- you want me to fail so you can be right.' 'That escalated quickly' Blair quipped, leading to Maddy confronting her. 'You, you find that funny huh?' 'Well yeah, it's stupid.' 'Stupid? You're the stupid one- at least he wants me in the club. You're just some random person who's teaming up with me. That's the ONLY reason you're here.'

'Oh yeah? You wanna do this?' 'Aren't you gonna bite back?' 'No, because I'm a better person. It's pathetic that you're reacting to advice like this. Kalin ain't like anyone you've faced before, and I don't think you understand that.' 'Have you actually faced him?' 'Yeah, 3 times. And I've never come close to beating him. Everyone else I've faced, I'm fine. Kalin though, he is different- he knows what he's doing. If you don't respect that, you're going to be eaten alive. It's a world of sharks out there.'

'Why are you telling me this?' 'I'm telling you this because you're damn good. I'm not just a duellist, I'm a fan. And I want to see the kind of duellist you become. Also, I support all of you, despite what you think. I want to join because I see your philosophy. So don't listen, I don't care, but just remember what I said, otherwise you'll be destroyed.' Maddy nodded, almost as if she learned something, and then left.

'You didn't have to defend us there.' 'I wasn't defending you- I was defending me. I meant it though- if she takes it for granted, she'll lose.' 'If she takes it seriously, it should be very interesting. A win is far from certain, but she's good.' 'I've been on the tour a while now, she's probably the 2nd or 3rd best natural duellist I've ever seen. Her problem is that Kalin's probably 2nd or 3rd best at strategising.'

'Not kidding. And I've never once seen him lose because his emotions got in the way. In the heat of battle, he's the kind of person you want on your side.' 'You're not making it sound too good for Maddy here.' 'Listen, if Maddy gets in early and gets a massive hit in, she'll probably win. She needs to do that before he sets up though.' In the dead rubber (which occurred directly after Blair's title win), Walka beat Alito by 1000 Life points with Magic Cylinder to secure third in the group.

Maddy was the first out, rollerskating down the ramp. 'The following is the concluding Group 5 duel. Introducing first, representing the Renegades, from Newcastle, England, Maddy Smith.' Maddy's rollerskating antics seemed to really impress the crowd, who were cheering. She then took the skates off as she entered the duelling field.

As she took off her red shirt to reveal the leather vest underneath, Kalin emerged to a rapturous reception. 'Introducing her opponent, from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, 2K- Kalin Kessler.' Kalin walked down calmly, removing his headband as he did. He and Maddy then faced off, and activated their duel disks.

Group 5: Maddy Smith LP:4000 vs. Kalin Kessler LP:4000

Turn 1: Maddy: 'You can start.' 'Fine. I draw. Firstly, I summon Egotistical Ape. To do that though, I have to discard a Beast-type monster. I'll ditch Key Mouse and summon my Ape (Atk:1200). I'll use my Ape's ability now, reducing its Level by that of Key Mouse, which is 1 (Level:5-4).'

'Next I'll summon Lock Cat (Atk:1200). When this purr-fect partner is on my field, I'm allowed to revive a Level 1 Beast from my graveyard. So come back Key Mouse (Atk:100).' 'Hmm- impressive.' 'I now tune my Level 4 Egotistical Ape with my Level 3 Lock Cat. I summon Voltic Bicorn (Atk:2500).'

'And the fun ain't over yet. We now tune Level 1 Key Mouse and Level 7 Voltic Bicorn. Let the storm clouds rumble, and the plains tremble as I bring to you Lightning Tricorn (Atk:2800).' 'As good as I'd expect. You deserve respect for your skills, but you don't deserve respect for your attitude.'

'Oh shut up with the oh so holy me Kalin, you're no better yourself. We all come here, preach our truths, leave again, its what happens.' 'We worked too hard to clear the WDC of filth to let you bring it all back again.' 'See, that's the problem. The Enforcers did exactly what we're doing now. The difference is that you had no ambition. We want to spread our word to the world, rather than just talk about the battle between good and evil. I'll drop a face-down and end my turn.'

Kalin: 'We don't need to talk about it: you ARE the evil, all of you. I draw. I activate Wave-Motion Inferno. Now when I have no cards in my hand, all Infernity monsters gain 400 Attack and Defence points. Also though, I can send it to my graveyard and discard every card from my hand. Next I'll play a face-down and end my turn by setting a monster in Defence mode.'

Maddy: 'Yeah, I knew you were all talk. I draw. I summon Spear Wolf (Atk:300). By tributing this little pup, not only can I deal piercing damage from a Beast's attack, but if I destroy a monster in Defence mode this turn, I can draw a card. Tricorn, attack.' As Tricorn launched itself into Kalin's face-down monster (Infernity Guardian Def.:1700), he acted to stop his monster being destroyed.

'My face-down is Phantom Hand. Because I have a face-up Infernity monster, I can banish my entire hand. And if I have no cards in my hand, Infernity Guardian cannot be destroyed (Guardian Def.:1700-2100).' 'You'll take damage still.' The force of Guardian blocking Lightning Tricorn's attack fed straight through to Kalin, knocking him to the ground (Kalin LP:4000-3300).

'Man, Walka was right about the damage. It's pretty real to me.' 'I end my turn.'

Kalin: 'I draw. During my Standby phase, the cards banished with Phantom Hand are returned (Guardian Def.:2100-1800). I summon Infernity Archfiend (Atk:1800). Now I'll activate Hand Destruction, forcing us both to discard 2 cards and draw 2 cards.' 'Why would you want to do that?' 'Because I have Double Resonator in my graveyard. If I banish it, I can turn Infernity Guardian into a Tuner monster. Now I can tune Level 4 Archfiend and Guardian to Synchro summon your doom! Meet the Hundred-Eyes Dragon (Atk:3000).'

'Now I'll throw down 4 face-downs and use the ability of my Dragon, which allows me to copy the ability of Blackwing – Fane the Steel Chain. Now, I can attack you directly this turn. Attack Maddy directly with Infernity Psyche Stream!' Kalin's 3000 Attack point Dragon splurged out a massive stream of dark energy directly at Maddy, leading to her taking a battering (Maddy LP:4000-1000).

'I can now activate the other ability of Fane, to switch your Tricorn to Defence mode (Def.:2000). I'll end my turn at that. During my End phase, my Dragon's ability resets.'

Back in the Box

'That looked nasty.' 'It's hard to tell at the moment if Maddy's underestimating him, or if he's just on top form.' 'This is Kalin- he's always on top form. It's nice to know that the Enforcers are still around in a fashion though.' 'True. I may have leant Maddy a card myself though.' 'Which one?' 'Shockwave.' 'You sure she's mature enough to use it?' 'I warned her.'

Maddy: 'i draw.' Maddy took one look at the card, and her demeanour changed, with Phil and Hannah being able to hear her telepathically. "It's… it's that card… the one Dad gave me. He told me not to use it until I needed it." She then looked at the rest of her hand and realised something. "Of course, he told me not to use it unless I had no other option. I don't need it at the moment."

She then focused on the duel again. 'Right, I'm going to set a monster and end my turn with a face-down.'

Kalin: 'I draw. I activate Graceful Charity, to draw 3 cards and discard 2. Now I can use the effect of Phantom Hand to banish the only card from my hand. All that is important, because now I activate Hundred-Eyes Dragon's ability, allowing me to copy Infernity Dwarf's ability. Now if I have no cards in my hand, which I do, I can deal piercing damage. Hundred-Eyes Dragon, Infernity Psyche Stream!'

'I'm not going down without a fight Kalin. I activate D2 Shield. This doubles the Defence of Lightning Tricorn until the end of this turn (Def.:2000-4000).' With its power boost, Lightning Tricorn was more than strong enough to hold off Kalin's Dragon, pushing his Life points down further (Kalin LP:3300-2300).'

'That changes nothing. I end my turn. During the End phase, my Dragon's ability returns to normal (Tricorn Def.:4000-2000).'

Maddy: 'Fine- my go. This'll do for now- I activate Nightmare Steel cage. Now for two turns, nobody can attack. With that, I'll end my turn.'

Kalin: 'Out of ideas are we? Fine- I draw. Firstly, I gain back the card banished by Phantom Hand. I end my turn.' 'Thanks for showing me that your face-downs aren't able to touch my Spell.'

Maddy: 'Me again. I'll activate Mystical Space Typhoon. Now one of your face-downs is destroyed. I pick the one on the far right.' Maddy's Typhoon blew across the battlefield, and picked up Kalin's face-down card (Infernity Inferno), destroying it. 'I'll end my turn at that. During my End phase, Nightmare's Steelcage leaves the field.'

Kalin: 'That's bad luck for you, because I draw. I summon Infernity Knight (Atk:1400). Next my Dragon will destroy your Tricorn. Infernity Psyche Stream!' On this occasion, there was nothing Maddy could do to save her Tricorn, as it was destroyed by the intense blast. 'Tricorn has a Special ability. If it's ever destroyed, I can summon Voltic Bicorn back from my graveyard.'

'Not this time kid, not this time. I activate Void Trap Hole. It negates the summoning of your monster and destroys it.' 'Fine, take it.' As Voltic Bicorn returned, a hole appeared underneath it, sucking it into the hole. 'Infernity Knight, end the duel.' 'By summoning Battle Fader from my hand, I end the Battle phase (Atk:0000).'

'I'm done for the turn. You can't hang on forever.'

Maddy: 'I draw. I don't intend on "hanging on" forever. I'm going to take your Dragon down.' 'Pull the other one.' 'I activate 5 Card Salute. It allows me to draw until my hand contains 5 cards. Then, because my Life points are under 2000, I can keep doing that every turn. And that's perfect- I activate Polymerisation. It fuses together Big Koala and Des Kangaroo to Fusion summon the bruiser from down under, the southpaw with the mighty roar, my mighty Master of Oz (Atk:4200).'

'Next I'll activate Mirage Blow. By tributing Battle Fader, if Master of Oz attacks this turn, you're not allowed to activate any spells or traps. In exchange though, it loses 1000 Attack and Defence points at the end of my turn. Now destroy that big ugly dragon with Outback Attack!' Maddy's 4200 Attack powerhouse swung its fist around, and punched Hundred Eyes Dragon in the big central eye, destroying it and bloodying Kalin's mouth (Kalin LP:2300-1100).

Medics came over, but Kalin just pushed them aside, and wiped the blood from his mouth as Maddy grinned madly, her eyes starting to glow gold and her veins starting to flare up. 'Scared of me yet? Wish you hadn't turned up?' 'You're trying to intimidate the wrong person. Serious injury isn't something I fear. You see, a few years back, I was on the verge of leaving everything behind, moving somewhere where nobody knew me, and nobody cared.'

'What stopped you?' 'Phil. He reached out to me, told me to duel him in Manchester. I lost, but the thrill of the duel was enough for me. It made me realise I didn't want to go. Made me realise that I still had that hunger in me. And I still have it now! So if you want to beat me, by all means try, and show me how good you are. Show me that you belong here, and that you aren't here only because Phil and Hannah paid for you!' 'I'd love to take you out this turn, but I can't- I'll play another face-down to end my turn.'

Back in the box

Phil was watching the duel intently, knowing that his opponent next was whoever lost. 'C'mon Maddy, keep your cool.' 'Are you still willing Maddy to win?' 'Of course. But as a competitor, I'm willing them to tucker each other out as much as possible, so the loser's easy pickings for me in the next round.'

'That's more like it.' 'Obviously I want Maddy to win though, because she's a Renegade. I want her to win like I'd want you to win, or me to win, or Jodi if she ever decides to step from behind that computer.' 'I will do sometime, just not right now.' 'Why?' 'I told you, I broke my wrist a few weeks back.'

'You never told me how you did that. Is there an interesting and amusing story behind it?' 'Sadly for you, there isn't, although you'll probably find it funny anyway. I fell down the stairs while carrying Freja's modelling portfolio.' 'Is that it?' 'Yeah- I slipped on the carpet which Sean claimed he could fix.'

'He really will give anything a go. Never let him anywhere near an operating theatre, otherwise he'll dress up in overalls and a face-mask and do open heart surgery.' 'Yeah, well his willingness resulted in me falling on my left wrist and breaking it in two places.' 'Sounds painful.' 'It's not as bad now, but I still can't move it much.'

'How are you using the laptop then?' 'It's touchscreen, and I still have one healthy wrist.' 'See, I'm not joking around.' 'Changing the subject, do you think Maddy can win still?' 'Of course she can. But she's always got an insurance policy if needed.'

Back to the duel

Kalin: 'I draw. I activate my face-down Unique Magic Mirror. This lets me mirror the effect of a Spell or Trap on your field. I choose 5 Card Salute. Now I draw 5 cards. One of which is the Field spell Mausoleum of the Emperor.' An ancient Mausoleum rose up from the ground, pillars surrounding the battlefield.

'Next I summon Malefic Parallel Gear (Atk:0000). Its ability lets me Synchro summon with another Malefic monster in my hand. So I tune my Level 2 Gear and the Level 8 Malefic Stardust Dragon in my hand to Synchro summon Malefic Paradox Dragon (Atk:4000).' '4000? That's a lot. But not as much as you need.'

'It will be. Firstly, when Synchro summoned, Paradox Dragon revives a Synchro monster from either of our graveyards. One liked Lightning Tricorn (Atk:2800). Now, if Paradox Dragon is on the field without Malefic World, its destroyed automatically.' 'Uh, what?' Kalin then laughed manically. 'You're not going to beat me Maddy. When Paradox Dragon is destroyed, I can summon Malefic Truth Dragon (Atk:5000).' 'Wow, that is so cool.' 'It'll be cooler still when it destroys your monster. Attack and destroy Master of Oz.'

As Truth Dragon unleashed a swarm of locusts, Maddy made a fateful decision. Closing her eyes, she took control of her destiny. 'I activate my face-down Shockwave.' 'YOU'RE MAD! YOU'RE INSANE!' 'This destroys your Truth Dragon, and then we both lose Life points equal to its Attack points.' 'But… that's 5000! We'll both lose!' Shockwave triggered, and shot an arrow straight through Truth Dragon, causing a huge explosion that knocked them both down (Kalin LP:1100-0000, Maddy LP:1000-0000).

With the group in deadlock, MGA was forced to come out. Maddy was on a knee, and Kalin was flat on his back. He spoke to the announcer, who then made the decision public. 'Ladies and Gentlemen, as both Kalin and Maddy are deadlocked at the top of the group, this duel will be restarted with 2000 Life points each. The duel will continue until there is a winner.'

Back in the box

Phil was quietly smiling to himself. 'All going well for you.' 'Certainly is. They can carry on for all I like- this is great entertainment. The duel isn't half bad either.' 'Maddy didn't look this good before.' 'She's maturing as a duellist.' 'Isn't it beautiful to see?' 'It is.' 'How you doing there Blair?' 'Watching the duel- it's one of the best duels I've ever seen. Certainly the tightest one.'

Back to the duel

Eventually, Kalin battled back up, while Maddy was watching, on one knee. The announcer then said something else. 'Ladies and Gentlemen, due to the rules of the tiebreaker, Kalin's turn automatically ends.' With that, the duel resumed.

Group 5 Tiebreaker: Maddy Smith LP:2000 vs. Kalin Kessler LP:2000

Maddy: 'I draw. Master of Oz, destroy his Lightning Tricorn.' Master of Oz delivered an arena-shaking punch to Kalin's stolen Tricorn, destroying it (Kalin LP:2000-600). 'I end my turn with a face-down.'

Kalin: 'I… I draw. I activate Monster Reborn, reviving Hundred-Eyes Dragon (Atk:3000). Next I'll activate Graceful Charity, to draw 3 cards and discard 2. Now I'll use the effect of my Dragon once more, to copy Plague Wolf's ability. Now I can double the Attack of my mighty Dragon for the rest of the turn, but it's destroyed at the end of my turn (Atk:3000-6000).'

'Destroy her Master of Oz with Infernity Psyche Stream!' 'I activate Damage Diet, to halve the damage I take this turn.' Maddy's Trap did nothing for Master of Oz, which was torn apart by Hundred-Eyes Dragon (Maddy LP:2000-1100). 'I end my turn.'

Maddy: 'I draw. I'll activate the effect of 5 Card Salute, to refill my hand. When only you control monsters, I can summon Disaster Wolf without a sacrifice (Atk:1850). Next I activate the effect of your Mausoleum to pay 1000 Life points (Maddy LP:1100-100). By doing that, I can tribute my Disaster Wolf, and Mausoleum gives me a second tribute. I'm sorry Kalin, but this is the end. I summon Earthbound Immortal Cusillu (Atk:2800).'

'But… that means' 'I've learned a lot from you in this duel Kalin.' 'Likewise.' 'What I've learned the most though, is that what we're doing is right. I understand now that people won't agree, and there will be obstacles on our path. But I know that I've made the right call- I WANT to be part of this revolution.'

'I think I understand where you're coming from now.' 'I'll make the final attack soft- you earned my respect.' 'Likewise.' 'Earthbound Immortal Cusillu, go in for the mercy kill.' As Maddy said that, Cusillu raised its fist, and hammered down onto Kalin, ending the duel (Kalin LP:600-0000).

After the duel, Maddy stood over Kalin, and raised her fist. Something remarkable then happened, as when she looked around, people had started to chant for her. She howled, and bits of the crowd responded in suit. She then had to face an interview with Marc.

'I'm sorry, but can I just say first of all what an incredible duel we have just witnessed. This was magnificent, absolutely magnificent. Maddy, that was truly something.' 'I know, it was incredible. The buzz, its nothing I've ever felt before. It's… it's addictive.' 'You're facing Radley in the next round. How do you recover from something like this?'

'I've got no idea as well.' 'Well you're up first in 3 days.' 'Sounds like enough time to recover.' 'Ladies and gentlemen, this girl has an incredible story. I'm going to go ahead and call her our Miracle.' 'Miracle? I like it.' 'Ladies and Gentlemen, the Miracle, Maddy Smith!' As the fans applauded, Maddy waved to them and left. As she came back up, the final group table as well as the second round duels were confirmed.

Group 5

1= Maddy Smith. Wins: 2. Draws: 1. Defeats: 0. LP Depleted: 12000. LP Lost: 8700. Pts: 5

= Kalin Kessler. Wins: 2. Draws: 1. Defeats: 0. LP Depleted: 12000. LP Lost: 8700. Pts: 5

3. Walka. Wins: 1. Draws: 0. Defeats: 2. LP Depleted: 8000. LP Lost: 11000. Pts: 2

4. Alito: Wins: 0. Draws: 0. Defeats: 3. LP Depleted: 8400. LP Lost: 12000. Pts: 0

Second Round Draw:

Reginald Kastle (USA) vs. (2) Hannah Cummings (Eng)

(1) James Birchall (Eng) vs. Sara Sawyer (USA)

(3) Kieran Byrne (Eng) vs. David Asun (Spa)

(4) Blair Flannigan (USA) vs. Matti Bogan Jr. (Fin)

Maddy Smith (Eng) vs. Radley (USA)

(6) Phil Robinson (Eng) vs. (5) Kalin Kessler (USA)

Don Pope (USA) vs. Johannas Ibaro (Swe)

Bolton (USA) vs. Woodrow Stratus (USA)

'Hey Dad, facing you in the quarters.' 'You do realise the draw is randomised after the second round?' 'What?' 'Therefore, nobody knows who they're facing in the last 8.' 'I know who I want to face.' 'Blair, I think we all know who you want to face. It couldn't be much more obvious if you wore a shirt saying it.'

'Hey Dad, who do you want to face?' 'Not saying.' 'C'mon.' 'In truth, I don't know. I'll think about it if I beat Kalin.' 'No if about it, you will do.' 'I'm taking nothing for granted.'

What will happen in the time before the Last 16 begins? And who will join the Renegades? To find out, tune in to The Renegade Revolution Part 11: The Renegades Band