The Renegade Revolution

Chapter 36: The Problem Solver

After Phil's win, Hannah looked over to Maddy. 'Maddy, you want Spider Web?' 'No tah, won't last long enough.' 'Kenta is' 'Old, washed-up, and overrated in his prime. Don't know why he's back.' Maddy then upped and left, despite her duel not starting for 20 minutes yet.

25 minutes later

Maddy and Kenta were facing off in the duelling zone. 'You talk big little girl. All talk and no talent.' 'Listen, I'm kinda busy – can we make this quick?' 'You do not deserve to be against me. Find me a real opponent.'

'I'm not the opponent you want.' 'Correct.' 'Because you can't beat me. Different people duel for different reasons. You duel because you have nothing else in your life. I duel because I want to. Because I love it.' They then activated their duel disks and began.

China Championship Semi-Final 2: Kenta Kobayashi LP:4000 vs. Maddy Smith LP:4000

Turn 1: Kenta: 'You can begin.' 'Why?' 'Because I just said, you can begin.' 'Fine. I summon Phantom Skyblaster (Atk:1100). His ability brings out a Skyblaster Token for every monster I control. So that's one Token (Atk:500). I end my turn with 2 face-down.'

Maddy: 'I draw. I can see what you're trying and it won't work. Your plan involves surviving a couple of rounds. It can be arranged for you not to. I summon Fighter Ape (Atk:1900). But why stop there when I can summon Egotistical Ape by discarding Bunilla (Atk:100, Level:5-4).'

'I activate Discord. This stops you from Synchro summoning.' 'Tip for you, don't blow your load. Dad may be wrong about a lot of stuff, but he's right about one thing.' 'What?' 'Mystical Space Typhoon. You should never leave home without one. So Discord is disconnected.'

'Now I can tune Level 4 Fighter Ape with Level 4 Egotistical Ape. Let these two Beasts run the wilds together, let them roam the plains, they combine to create the force of heaven! I summon out the meaning of heaven and hell – Lightning Tricorn (Atk:2800).' 'Interesting tactic.'

'Even better is Solidarity. I know it's older than you, but when it gives you this power, why change (Atk:2800-3600).' 'Just destroy my Phantom Skyblaster then.' 'Why would I do that? I can target your Skyblaster Token.' Lightning Tricorn pranced towards Skyblaster Token, and lightning shot through the battlefield and the veteran from Kyoto (Kenta LP:4000-900).

'Is that your move then?' 'Not quite. Not when I have Thunder Short in my hand. This deals you 300 damage for every monster on your field.' Thunder Short saw a lightning bolt appear above Phantom Skyblaster, and it dropped through Skyblaster, before it impaled Kenta (Kenta LP:900-600). 'I end my turn with a face-down.'

Kenta: 'I draw. I tribute your Tricorn to summon out Dogoron, the Mad Flame Kaiju to your field.' 'I activate Gift of the Departed. With this, when Tricorn leaves the field, you get slammed with 1400 points of direct damage. So you can summon Dogoron, but you'll never get to use it.'

As Dogoron started to materialise, a spirit came out of Tricorn, and slammed Kenta (Kenta LP:900-0).

After another big win, Maddy raised her fist, and picked Kenta up, before throwing him into the front row. Having done that, she flicked her medium-length brunette hair into the air, before pointing 2 fingers at Kenta and leaving.

Meanwhile, Phil was just preparing his deck for the final, Blair and Rio watching on. 'So how do you prepare it anyway?' 'Glad you asked Rio. It depends on the opponent. For example, Maddy is focused on Special summoning and quick damage. So I can either create a restriction deck to cut off her Special summoning, or try and out-pace her with quick damage of my own.'

'Can guess which one.' 'Go on Blair.' 'Restriction, because you don't do quick' she sarcastically quipped, making fun of her manager's duelling style. 'Correct answer. I'll do just what I did last time – stop her making moves.'

'You won't.' 'Pardon?' Blair then went on to explain her words. 'You're underrestimating Maddy.' 'She was all over the place the last time she faced me.' 'Yeah, she's also a quick learner. Unless you can pull off an invincible lock within 2 turns, you'll find that you don't have the time left to spare.'

'I just beat Astrid, so I can beat Maddy.' 'They are completely different. Astrid was duelling with pent-up frustration because she's had so many setbacks and you got into her head. Maddy is duelling with no pressure.'

'What, so I can't beat her?' 'Honest truth, no, not with your plan. You need to catch her out. What better way to catch her out than to go ultra-aggressive.' 'It's a good point Blair, but I believe I can out-strategise her.' 'Yeah, you can. Question is, can you out-duel her? Can you take it by the scruff like you did Hannah in Worlds, or with Birchall in Australia?'

Phil then left, to ponder Blair's words of wisdom. Rio however, was more concerned with the reasons for which Blair was under tutelage. 'Hey B, if you know all this stuff, why do you even need him as a manager?' 'Simple answer?' 'Truthful answer.' 'It's because I'm not good enough to be World Champion yet. I proved that when I duelled him in London – I can't be relied on to get the job done on the biggest stage against the biggest opponents.'

'It's a reason I guess.' 'I'm good enough to be at the top. But I don't get it done when I need to. Like against him: I could easily have won, but I tried to be too clever. I could easily have taken the deck-out win, but I didn't.'

'You didn't because you believe in winning on your own merits. You wanted to beat him directly to prove you had the spirit to be in the club.' 'I guess I did actually, I just wanted to show how good I was, and didn't think about what was easiest. I wanted to prove to myself that I could beat him.'

'That's exactly it – you've not got anything to prove to anybody else, it's you – you're trying to prove that you can compete, but you're the only person who doesn't see it. Everyone else thinks you can, but it's just that you're doubting yourself.' Rio then put her hand on Blair's heart. 'Everything you need, it's in here already. You've got all the ingredients for a Mud Pie, you've just got to put them together in the right way.'

'Thanks Riri, you're a real help. Now what about you?' 'Pardon?' 'You're keeping awfully quiet about yourself. Why are you with Phil? What are you trying to learn?' 'I want to know who I am.' This made Blair laugh. 'Sorry, but I think you need a psychologist for that.'

'That's not what I mean. I mean, I know I'm a decent duellist, everyone tells me I'm more than good enough to be pro. I just don't know what kind of duellist I am. It's easy for you, because you do one thing brilliantly: observe. You watch your opponent, and then find their weak spot, like a sniper. I don't know what I am though.'

'I get you – you want to be a better duellist, but you can't improve until you've found out just what you're best at.' 'Exactly. I just want to be brilliant in one place like you.' Blair smiled. 'I think I can help you.' 'Really?' 'Yeah. How about me and you stay on a day here to try out that new simulator to the east of the city? I can watch you duel and see if I can work out what kind of duellist you are.'

'You think that'd work?' 'Sure. I'll note down what the styles are, and see if you fit into one.' 'Thanks B.' 'Not an issue. While we're at it, we can work on our team skills.' 'Sounds good to me. By the way, gonna take you into Newcastle next week, hear they do great shakes.'

Meanwhile, near the car park

Maddy, Lydia and Freja were just leant against the wall. 'Aren't you going to make any changes to your deck at all?' 'Already done it.' Freja then piped up. 'More importantly, what about you – when you getting a boyfriend?'

'Soon as I can man, Rhydian might leave me alone then.' 'Just ignore lover boy, we'll deal with him if he continues.' 'Don't bother, he won't get the message. I made it clear to him, he's either with us or against us, and he made the wrong choice.'

'Nervous about the final?' 'Yeah. Times like this I kinda wish I was still on the Coke – made me more confident.' 'You've got no pressure on you. Just go out there and enjoy it. Who cares if you lose – it's not like you're never gonna win. It's your 3rd go.'

'How are you always so cool Freja?' 'I ain't cool, just don't give 2 fucks about anything. Best bit of being a model – you just turn up when you're needed, get treated like royalty, get paid, go home. Lydia, you got my cigs?' 'Freja, I thought you were cutting down.'

'Yeah, I am – only 8 a day rather than 20.' 'Hate to think what your lungs look like.' 'Who cares. Rather die age 40 but enjoy myself than shelter till 100.' As Freja smoked, Maddy laughed. 'Thanks Freja, cheered me up.' 'As I say, just do it how you like. If you lose, at least you look good doing it.'

In the duel arena

As Phil made his way down (on his own), he looked tense and uncomfortable, taking his jacket off before he was even halfway down. But that didn't stop him looking focused as he raised his fist, and pointed at his Renegades ID.

Maddy then followed him down, looking much more relaxed, but not signing any autographs like she had her previous duels. When she arrived in the duelling zone, she howled, the crowd responding, and adjusted her leather vest.

The two looked at each other, and a tense stand-off ensued. Eventually, Phil activated his duel disk and Maddy followed suit fairly quickly, starting the final.

China Championship Final: Phil Robinson LP;4000 vs. Maddy Smith LP:4000

Turn 1: Maddy: 'I'll start. I activate a Spell: Synchronised Realm, and summon Monoceros through his ability by banishing a Spell from my hand (Atk:1000). Next I summon Uni-Horned Familiar (Atk:0). With Uni-Horned Familiar on the field, Monoceros can get a nice tune-up. I Synchro summon my Thunder Unicorn (Atk:2200)'

As Thunder Unicorn appeared, a purple orb shot at Phil, reducing his points (Phil LP:4000-3500). 'Yeah, didn't mention – Synchronized Realm deals 500 damage every time I Synchro summon. And it gets worse for you, because Monoceros' ability activates when it's a Synchro material. I choose a Tuner used to Synchro summon with it, and bring it back. You remember Uni-Horned Familiar (Atk:0).'

'Now I tune Level 2 Uni-Horned Familiar with Level 5 Thunder Unicorn. Electricity cracks across the sky, and these hooves race across the land. I Synchro summon Voltic Bicorn (Atk:2500, Phil LP:3500-3000).

'What now after that?' 'I end my turn with 2 face-downs.'

Phil: 'I draw. I summon Nuvia the Wicked (Atk:2000).' 'Creepy ass monster man.' 'I activate Nuvia's ability. When it's Normal summoned, Nuvia is instantly destroyed.' 'Uh oh, seen this before.' 'Now a monster of mine has been destroyed by a card effect, I can summon Meklord Emperor Granel from my hand. His Attack points are exactly half of my Life points (Atk:1500).'

'Next I activate Granel's ability.' 'I activate my face-downs. With Alchemy Cycle, the Attack of Voltic Bicorn decreases to 0 (Atk:2500-0). And with Empty Dowsing, all effects that target monsters whose Attack or Original attack are 0 are negated this turn.'

'Fine. Granel, shoot her Life points down.' Shots were fired from Granel's arm, bouncing off of Voltic Bicorn and onto Maddy (Maddy LP:4000-2500). 'Empty Dowsing's effect activates. Because I just took over 1000 points of damage from a monster whose original Attack is 0, I can look at the top 5 cards of my deck, then put them back in any order I like.'

She took her cards, and her eyes lit up, before she put them down again, re-ordered. 'I end my turn with a face-down.'

Maddy: 'I draw! Let's get something going then – I activate 5 Card Salute. Now I draw until my hand has 5 cards in. And they're just the cards I need – I equip Synchro Boost onto Voltic Bicorn, giving it 500 Attack points and a Level (Atk:500, Level:7-8). Now I will summon Bicorn Re'em (Atk:800).' 'Weak, boring,' 'Fine, is this weak? I activate Tannhäuser Gate.' 'Where did you get that from?'

'You gave it to me, the day we met. Soon you'll wish you hadn't. Because my monsters are of the same type, and both have no more than 1000 Attack points, their Levels get combined. Bicorn Re'em is Level 4, and Voltic Bicorn is Level 8 (Level:12).'

A menacing aura then surrounded Maddy. 'Not this again, you can't handle it.' 'I now equip Voltic Bicorn with Dual Overlay. Costs me half my Life points (Maddy LP:2500-1250), but allows me to use Bicorn as two Xyz materials. I overlay my three Level 12 monsters to build the overlay network. Feel the earth, hear the trees, dance the dance of death and bring me victory! I summon out myself, Number 97: Maddy, the Legendary Wolfblood (Atk:4000).'

The power surged through Maddy's body, as a miasma crept up through her. But then Maddy opened her eyes. 'I now control and embrace my power. When Dual Overlay is used to Xyz summon a Rank 10 or higher monster, I can banish it and two other cards from my graveyard to add a Spell card to my hand. I banish Dual Overlay, Monoceros, and Thunder Unicorn to activate Forest Spirit's Protection, stopping all other card effects on the field (Granel Atk:1500-0).'

'Now it's time to take you out with Alpha Claw!' Maddy's wolf form ran towards Granel, which shot at her to no effect, before she pounced, ripping it's head off with her teeth and slicing it's body down in two with her claws, causing it to go up in flames (Phil LP:3000-0).

After the duel ended, Maddy just jumped up and down in joy as Lydia and Freja ran down to congratulate her. Meanwhile, Phil was just sat there, stunned. As Marc came over several minutes later, the World champion was still down, Hannah notably absent.

Marc bent down to talk to him. 'Phil, this must be difficult right now, but is there anything you can say at all after that?' He said nothing, Eventually, he got up and walked over to Maddy, raising her (slightly embarrassed) hand in victory, as the crowd went nuts.

He then turned to Maddy, who was just being congratulated by Blair. 'Maddy, you've won only your third professional tournament. And 5 minutes 29 seconds, that is the 4th quickest final win ever in the WDC. Please, if you can, your thoughts.'

Eventually, she laughed. 'Damn, above 5 minutes. Seriously though, I'm just thrilled. I never ever expected to get this far in a million years. But yeah, I'm delighted, and I duelled really good all day. It's just something I would never have expected. So thank you. I mean, a few months ago, I was just a 17 year old girl from Stonybridge, wanting to do a Photography course at Uni, now I'm a Pro duelling champion, like, insane man.'

'I am pleased to inform you that I can officially present to you right now, a cheque for 1 Million Chinese Yuan!' As the cheque came, Maddy laughed. 'Yo Blair, what's that in Pounds?' 'About £110,000.' 'Everyone, your winner, receiving the Crystal Bowl and a cheque for 1 Million Chinese Yuan, she is your Miracle – Maddy Smith.'

Maddy then took the cheque for photos, before raising the trophy in the air. Just as the celebration was about to end, however, she took a mic. 'Please, save my music just for a moment will ya? I wanna talk to Phil, I mean Dad.'

As she said this, the defeated M18 native looked around, his face full of frustration and regret. 'I just wanna thank you for all the help you given me. I woudln't be half the duellist I am without learning from you. You and Mam, you're both amazing, and I just wanted to thank you both. That duel against you in London was one of the worst moments of my life. But looking back, it was also one of the best.'

Phil then walked over, and they shook hands, before Maddy lifted her trophy again, Lydia and Freja holding her money for her.

24 hours later

Maddy came down, looking exhausted, with just Lydia around. 'Morning, how'd you sleep?' 'Sleep? I#d be so lucky. Didn't get a wink. So yesterday, it did happen, right? It's not I'm going mad due to lack of sleep.' Lydia then laughed. 'It happened alright.'

'That's a point, where is everybody?' 'Phil and Hannah set off early to go to the Estate agents, Walka's got some thing in Denmark to deal with, Freja's got a modelling thing this morning before we go to that prison to negotiate with Belle, Akiza's dealing with Lukas, and Rio and Blair stayed over in China to work on their doubles skills.'

'Thought Rio was getting Lukas.' 'Akiza's persuaded Hannah that she's the right person for this one.' 'Don't like that one bit.' 'Trust me, you don't know angry until you've heard Rio.' 'She phoned?' 'About an hour ago. Doesn't help that nobody told her about it. So she's in a pretty shitty mood right now, and sort of wants to stick 500 pins in Akiza.'

'Dunno what's with Akiza, she's, like, really helping me, but' 'She's struggling to tell the difference between personal ambition and club ambition. Her heart's in the right place, but she doesn't seem to recognise that she isn't always the best person for the job, Bacon sandwich?'

'Sure, thanks.' 'You know, you would make a really good pres.' 'Well it ain't happening is it? I ain't getting that opportunity, not as long as mam sees me with Astrid.' 'It's not you with Astrid, it's about herself.'

'Really don't get you.' Lydia then passed Maddy her breakfast and sat down. 'Hannah is a little bit of a weird personality. She's got a slight inferiority complex, and she's constantly trying to prove herself. She feels that she always need to be showing how good she is, because she's taken her fair share of abuse.'

'Right.' 'And it hurt.' 'Right.' 'She tries to put herself in a situation where she's the one in power. Truth be told, she doesn't enjoy the pres stuff – she wishes she could be free from it all.' 'How do I help?' 'Just keep working hard. She will let you take over eventually, I'm sure. She just wants you to show her that you can handle the role on a more permanent basis. I'll try and have a word with her later, Freja probably has done already without telling me, but that's a different story.'

'What I don't get though is why she don't tell me these things.' 'Simple – she doesn't want you putting on a facade. She wants to see your skills in a more natural environment. So do as she says, but stay popular in the club, and keep coming up with ideas to make the club even better. Eventually, she will come round and see you're the person she's been looking for and hand over the reigns so to speak.'

'I already tried giving her an idea but she wasn't interested.' 'What, with the rulebook you suggested? I wouldn't say she wasn't interested, more than it's not something she's considering at the moment.' Jodi then walked in on the conversation.

'Hannah likes the idea of a rulebook for everyone.' 'Why not do it then?' 'She isn't in the business of nicking other people's ideas. She's said about putting some rules up around the base though.'

'On another note Jodi, when you planning on duelling?' 'Dunno. I got my deck ready, but I don't wanna do the whole pro duelling stuff.' 'Why?' 'Don't see the point really.' 'What do you wanna do with your life then anyway?'

'Nothing really.' This confused Maddy. 'I don't understand.' 'I was brainwashed, right?' 'Right.' 'I was programmed differently – I've been programmed not to have future desires of my own. Only to be loyal to the club.' 'Damn that's harsh.' 'Could be worse – I kinda like it actually. Keeps me objective about everything.'

'Don't you miss dreaming though?' 'Not really. Never too much of a dreamer anyway, so there's not a lot to miss with that. I'm sure Phil would re-program me if I asked him to, but honestly, I'm happy just how I am. If I had to serve him every day for the next 80 years I'd be fine with that. The sad thing is, it doesn't feel like I truly exist in this world.'

'Sounds horrible man.' 'Because I haven't got any ambitions or dreams, doesn't feel like I fit in. I never have anything to do. Phil's trying to get away from the whole hypnosis and brainwashing stuff now he's got Hannah and he's starting a family and all, but I feel like I'm missing something.'

'Feels like you need to serve.' 'Exactly. Thing is, I don't really want to have ambitions. Because most people's ambitions, they never actually come true. They're just things which they think sound cool, when in fact they would never want to do them and never actually do.'

'Is there nothing you miss at all?' 'I miss college I guess, I was doing well on my course when Phil brainwashed me. Once I was called to serve I was withdrawn immediately. But I'd be fine with all that if he had something for me to do. If this is my life I want to get on with it.'

Lydia then stood up. 'Going so soon?' 'Yeah, Freja's just text me, we're meeting up in Thirsk where she had her shoot, then being driven down to the prison in Leeds. Does Sean know about our power?' 'Yeah, I tried explaining it to him last week. He'll understand when you transform.'

'Cool. Hopefully it doesn't take too long, I hate having to transform like this. It's cool for a few minutes, gets real irritating after that.' The elder twin then left, leaving Maddy and Jodi to talk further.

80 minutes later, in Leeds

As Sean's car pulled up near the prison, Lydia and Freja stepped out, and immediately transformed into two middle-aged women in frumpy dresses. 'Lyds, we look ridicoulous.' 'Let's just get this done and get outta here.'

They then walked in, and went to the front desk. 'Can I help you?' 'Yeah, we're here for visiting.' 'Names?' 'Charley Taylor.' 'And?' Sorry, I'm Jodie Taylor.' 'Here to see a Belle Dingle?' 'That's right.' 'And what relation are you?' 'I'm her Aunt, Jodie's her first cousin.'

The officer shrugged his shoulders and then buzzed them through, to meet up with Belle. She was sat there in her prison clothes, medium-length blonde hair looped, a depressed look adorning her face. Lydia and Freja sat in front of her, and then began to explain.

'Hi, we're Lydia and Freja Mckinna, you received a call about us?' 'Yeah, Renegades wasn't it?' 'Yes.' 'What did you want? I couldn't quite make it out.' 'We run an organisation, a shelter if you like, for the gifted and talented in society. We know a lot about you and we want you to join.'

'Even though I'm in prison?' Freja then spoke, ignoring her sister's orders. 'We saw the stuff about the case, and, like, we didn't believe it. We didn't believe you were a murderer, this was a complete accident, this was just a little argument.'

'Yeah, and now I'm stuck here for 10 years.' 'If you join us, we can get you the best lawyer to get you out of here within days.' 'What do you want from me exactly?' 'This is a mutual relationship. We want your service and your knowledge. And we can offer you the one thing nobody else, no other service could ever offer you.'

'And what might that be?' 'Revenge.' Belle then flinched. 'I...' 'You want revenge, don't you? Just join with us and we will give you revenge against all of those who accused you, who betrayed and belittled you, everyone who told you that you were a murderer.'

The young teenager from Leeds then smiled. 'Revenge.' 'That's right, let your rage build. You want to join us.' Belle then smiled. 'Right, what do I have to do?' Lydia responded, not with words, but a contract.

'This contract explains everything we're about and what would happen if you joined.' 'But the prison guard.' 'I can deal with him.' Freja then left to distract the prison guard, while Belle looked through the contract.

'Says it's a Faustian at the bottom. Don't you sign those with blood?' 'Yeah. It's a blood contract which is unbreakable.' Belle then let her hair down. 'I like the sound of the club. Please, let me join. I'll do anything for you, whatever you want from me.'

'Good. Now here's what will happen: you will come back to the base, and officially be converted, for security reasons. Your identity will then be changed, and you will officially be welcomed to club duty. If you agree, just prick your finger with this needle, then put the pen on the finger, and sign the contract in blood.'

'And this lawyer?' 'Will be notified as soon as we leave.' Belle then took the needle, and pricked her finger, before soaking the pen in blood, and signing, without hesitation. 'I can't wait to meet everyone.' 'Thank you. Here's our business card: call this number when you're released, and a car will pick you up within an hour, bring you straight to the base. One warning though: the chances are that you will never speak to your family again. We will be your family from now on.'

'I understand and I accept. As far as they're concerned, I've left the country and I'm not coming back.' 'Good. Now listen to these instructions carefully: when you ring the number, you must quote the following: "The door to hell is open for business". Quote that and you will be told that "You will be transported to the Renegades' base to begin your new life". Then press 1.' 'Got it.'

Just then, Freja came back. 'My disguise is fading Lydia.' 'Belle, we'll speak again soon. Make sure nobody sees that card.' 'I will do, thank you.' The twins then rushed out, with Freja's disguise failing just as they got out of the doors. So they ran straight to the car, and Sean sped off, stamping on the accelerator pedal, with Freja texting as they set off.

4 hours later

Belle was sat quietly in her cell, thinking about the deal she'd just made, when the flap opened. 'Ms. Dingle, you have a visitor.' The door then opened, and a woman with medium-length brown hair twisted up into a bun walked in, wielding a clipboard and briefcase.

The door then slammed shut. 'Hi, Belle Dingle isn't it?' 'Yes.' 'Can you produce the card you were given earlier?' As she flashed the card, the visitor smiled. 'Hi, I'm Frances Bishop QC, I've been sent by Renegades President Hannah Cummings. I understand that you're in need of a legal representative to get you out of here?'

'Yes.' 'Right, I have the basic details of your case, I need you to explain exactly what happened, in your own words. Please tell me anything you can remember.' 'And you guarantee I will get out of this hell-hole.' 'I can't guarantee anything. I will tell you how confident I am once you've told me everything.'

'Right, so it was about 8 months now, and me and my friend Gemma, we were coming back from a party, there was this boy she was dating, and I'd slept with him. I didn't know she was dating him, and told her.'

'And?' 'And she attacked me – she went straight for my eyes, grabbed me, tried to choke me, and I was scared for my life.' 'So?' 'I fought back, I punched her and we started wrestling on the ground. I then got up and pushed her, and she lost her balance, she flipped over backwards and landed on a rock head-first. She died in hospital 3 days later.'

'And you?' 'I ran off to get help immediately. But after it emerged I was fighting her, I was framed – everyone accused me of murder, they said I threw her onto there.' 'Right.' 'At court, they weren't interested in listening to me, it was clear there was only one verdict, so I pleaded guilty to avoid spending my whole life in jail.'

'Does sound like a miscarriage of justice to me.' 'So yeah, I'm angry. I'm livid that I've been treated like a monster when I'm just a teenager who made a mistake.' '19 is no age to be imprisoned like this. I feel I have a very strong chance to bust you out of here.'

'Thanks.' 'Listen, once you get out of here, you'll be safe – Hannah will look after you.' 'I don't need looking after, I want to get back at everyone.' 'She'll help you do that as well. You can get revenge and they will make sure you're safe. Now I've got to go and plan out our case, we go to court in 3 days. Stay strong until then Ms. Dingle.' 'Thanks, you can just call me Belle though.' 'Ok Belle, look after yourself.' 'Thank you.'

The next day

While Phil and Hannah were house-hunting again, Rio and Blair returned, carrying a bucket, as Sean greeted them (as a regular in the base). 'Hi girls, enjoy China?' 'It was alright.' 'The shakes were good, and the duelling was alright.'

'And the bucket?' 'I was getting to that.' Rio then made the big announcement. 'We're doing a whip round for Phil and Hannah.' 'Pardon?' 'We're raising money for Phil and Hannah's new house.' 'You do know the houses they're looking at are pretty expensive don't you?'

'Duh, that's why we're doing it! They'll bankrupt themselves if we don't.' 'Go on then, lead by example – what have you both put in?' 'I put in £10,000, and Blair put in £3500, because she's tight.'

'For the last time Rio, I'm not tight. That's all the money in my bank at the moment – I spent everything else paying off loans.' 'So Sean, you got anything to spare?' 'Listen girls, this is real cute. But I've already got some money set aside for it. It's sitting at home at the moment – I'm giving them £12,000, because this is Phil's dream and they deserve it.'

Lydia and Freja then walked by, and Freja noticed the bucket. 'If that's for Phil and Hannah, give us about an hour and we'll put some money in.' 'Thanks.' 'Not a problem. Really cool what you're doing by the way.' 'Thanks Freja.'

'Oh yeah, you won't have heard, will you?' 'Heard what?' 'Well, like, Maddy heard about how angry you were with' 'Don't mention her name, I only just got her calm.' 'And she felt that it was unfair. So she's looking for a couple of ones for you to recruit.' 'Really? How's she going to do that?'

'All she said was something to do with her soul.' 'Are you sure she wasn't talking about Seoul as in the city?' 'Ah she might have been. Never heard of it anyway.' 'So how did your little meeting go?' 'Oh yeah, that was cool.' Meanwhile, Lydia looked a little bit scared, which Rio picked up on. 'You ok Lydia, you look frightened.'

'I've never seen anybody that hell-bent on revenge. Never mind being converted, by the time the court case comes, I think she'll have converted herself mentally. Makes Phil look forgiving.' 'Sounds pretty brutal to be her.' 'No kidding. But we got her signature fairly quickly, which is a good job considering Freja nearly lost her disguise.'

Meanwhile, in the basement study

Maddy was just reading peacefully when Walka burst in, causing some books to thud on the ground. 'Did you want something?' 'I wanted to consult you on something.' 'If this is another attempt to get me out for a date, you already had an opportunity.'

'Not that this time. I've been thinking that since I joined up with the Renegades,' 'Sorry, is this going to take long? I've got an appointment with Blair to get my hair done in 15 minutes and I've still gotta find out about Ancion.'

'About what?' 'Never mind.' 'Right, so I have been thinking about changing my duelling identity back to my real name.' 'And you needed to ask me about that because?' 'Because you are smart, intelligent' 'They're the same things. Listen, if you want an image consultant, I'm sure Freja's not busy right now. But I'm the wrong person to be asking, and I'm definitely not the person to flirt with right now.'

'Do you not want to know my real name?' 'I've known your real name for weeks man.' 'Really? Did Astrid tell you?' 'I have no idea what your obsession with her is. And no, she didn't. I saw it on your phone contract. You want to be careful about where you leave things Claude Duane.'

Claude then left, and Maddy picked up her phone. 'Jana, it's Maddy. When you get this, I need to speak to you about Ancion. I can't seem to pick it up.'

Next time: Blair and Rio get to show their teamwork, Rhydian makes his intentions clear, and have the M18 Connection met their match in Project Ego II? Coming up: The Renegade Revolution Chapter 37: Heart and Seoul