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.

16. The Next Generation

Renegades: A New Dawn

Chapter XVI: The Next Generation

January 2nd

After an enjoyable Christmas and new year, the second day of the year had some changes in store. But the morning began with Phil and Hannah returning to the base after four days away, being greeted by Rio. 'Happy new year. So Phil, how was your Mum and Dad's?' 'Absolutely wonderful thanks. I swear she cooks the best food ever. How are you feeling?'

'Not too bad thank you. Still struggling to talk, Maddy's been hard at work still. Arena's finished though. Like your beard by the way' Rio cheerily stated, looking at Phil's new jet-black goatee. 'Thanks. You're looking well yourself – I think you've put a bit of weight on.' 'I wouldn't know.' 'We'll check later. Maddy still in bed?' 'No, she's gone to the port – got word that Astrid's on her way back from Norway.'

'I thought she said she'd be back before Christmas.' 'She did, but apparently there was some shipping problem.' Phil then had a thought. 'Is Sakura around?' 'Yeah, she's in the medical office.' 'Thanks. I'll leave you two to catch up.'

'Before you go, need to warn you.' 'About what?' Rio then nodded up to the stairs, where Blair was just walking down. 'Blair?' 'She's been real cranky ever since the stuff with Icaron. Like, I've only ever seen her like this after she was raped.'

When Blair reached the bottom of the stairs, she walked straight past Phil and Hannah, only noticing them after she'd already reached the kitchen. 'Sorry, didn't see you there. Enjoy your parents'?' 'Yes thanks. How are you?'

'Some shit never changes.' She then started to make herself a coffee as Phil and Hannah both looked on confused. 'What's up with you?' 'Life.' Hannah then nudged Phil's arm. 'You go and find Sakura – I'll have a word with moody.' 'Thanks.' Phil then dashed off to the medical office.

When he knocked on the door, a voice came from within. 'No Rio, I still haven't got that treadmill, this is a medical office not a gymnasium.' 'Don't worry, you're safe.' Sakura then popped her head around the door, wearing a pair of goggles on her head. 'Sorry, I didn't know you were due back.' 'We came back a day early. Listen, I wanted to have a chat with you.' 'Sure, come in.'

When the door slammed, Phil surveyed the mess that was the medical lab. 'Sorry about the mess in here, I had nothing on today so I thought I'd have a little clean-out, start the new year fresh and all that.'

'No problem. Hey, this isn't what I actually wanted to talk to you about, but what's going on with Blair?' Sakura then held her hands up in frustration. 'Listen, I've been telling her for weeks that she needs to take medication to deal with her bipolar, but she's stubborn and doesn't listen to a word I say.'

'So she's not taking her medication?' 'I only know because Rio found her last lot in the bin.' 'I thought Rio and Blair weren't sharing a room since Rio came out of hospital.' 'They're not – she just did a bad job of hiding them. To be honest with you, I think she's kinda bummed out because of not being allowed to duel, but I'm just looking after her best interests here. And her best interests are to be resting that arm. It wouldn't be quite as bad if Blair put her duel disk on her other arm but she won't.'

'That's because Blair's right arm is about as useful as a chocolate fireguard.' 'I like that one.' 'Thanks.' 'But yeah, you know she doesn't listen to anybody.' 'I think Hannah's testing that theory.' 'So, what did you actually come to talk about?'

'You know what we talked about regarding Rio just before Christmas?' 'I do, and it's still no. I'm not completely insane, and I'm not going to be negligent, even if it is her birthday in two days. By the way, what do you even buy someone who's got more money than they could ever want?'

'Give me time to think on that could you?' 'Sure thanks. Not like I was hinting or anything.' 'I know, no problem. So how's she been?' 'Rio? She's doing better than I could have expected honestly. I'm really not saying that she can't be doing well, just that she's so much brighter. That reminds me, I wanted to chat to Maddy about something.'

'May I enquire what that is?' 'Yeah, I'm thinking of getting Rio some sort of reading tutor. I was going to see if Blair wanted to do it, but she's got more than enough on her plate with her arm, so I'm going to ask Maddy if there's room in the club's budget for that. I hope there is.'

'I would have thought so. But you're better asking her I suppose.' 'Sure. Where's Hannah again?' 'Having a word with happiness.' 'I hope she gets through better than I have. Mind you that isn't difficult.' 'Don't worry about it – Blair's kind of tricky when she's in a mood, and Hannah's the best person at dealing with her.'

Just then, there was another knock on the door. 'Come in.' 'Can't, I'm using crutches!' Phil then opened the door to let Rio in. 'Everything ok?' 'Yeah, came to see Sak.' 'I told you Rio, I'm not your personal gym.' 'It's not about that, I just wanted to thank you for keeping an eye on me.'

'It's my job Rio, I'm the trained doctor here.' 'I know… just that you've been so great.' 'No problem.' Phil then suddenly had a thought. 'That's something Rio, I wanted to talk to you. While I was back home, I spoke to an old contact who is a Muay Thai trainer, and anyway, I explained your situation to him, and he invited you down to have a session, just to try it out.'

Sakura looked nervous at the thought. 'Are you sure that's a good idea?' 'Trust me Sakura – he works with people of all physical shapes and sizes. So do you fancy it Rio?' The Idahoan smiled. 'I'm in.'

'Are you going to clear any of this with me?' 'Relax Sakura. He's been doing this for over 30 years, and he knows all about Rio's situation, so he'll assess where she's up to, and then go from there.' Still dubious, Sakura demanded more proof. 'I want his business card so I can check him out.' Phil then passed her and Rio a card each. 'His name is Kru Richard Dalle, and that has his email address and phone number on.' 'Fine.'

While Sakura left the room to look up the trainer, Rio looked on. 'You think she'll accept?' 'There's no reason why she won't. He's got a lot of experience, I even trained with him myself before forming the Renegades to channel my anger.' 'Did it work?' 'Yep. Got in good shape as well.'

Sakura then walked back in, face like thunder. 'Fine, but I want you to promise that if she gets injured at all, she stops immediately.' 'Sakura, you know I'm not going to let her continue if that happens. In fact, I think that until you're satisfied that she's fine, Rio can come straight here after every session so you can check her out.'

Rio looked at him, confused. 'Can I?' 'Rio, I'm sure that we can reach a compromise here. Sakura's helping us, the least we can do is let her look after you.' 'Fiiiinnnneeee' Rio huffed, before leaving the room, closely followed by Phil.

When out of the room, Rio turned around again. 'Why'd you say that?' 'We play Sakura at her own game. Make her see that she can look after you without turning you into a hermit.' 'I guess you're right.'

Phil then received a call. 'Isn't this a rare treat – don't often get a phone call from you Lydia.' 'Yeah speak about that later. Hannah wants you in the arena immediately.' 'Why?' 'I'm kind of not allowed to say.' 'Fair enough. Tell her I'll be over in five.' 'Sure. This is the last time I'm your go-between though.' 'Any more and I'll put you back under.'

'Don't like threats.' 'It's a promise. Anyway, I'm coming to the arena now.' 'Whatevs.' As he put the phone down, Rio looked over. 'Everything alright?' 'Yeah, Hannah wants a word in the arena.' 'Don't mind if I tag along do you?' 'Hell no – give me someone to talk to. How was new year?' 'Yeah good.'

Upon reaching the arena, they found Hannah stood there, holding her deck. 'What's this then?' 'Well Blair's pretty down, so I thought a little duel here might cheer her up.' 'You know what Sakura said.' 'Yeah, you know she's being overprotective as much as I do. How did your meeting with Sakura go?'

'So-so. Got clearance for the Muay-Thai… mostly.' 'Really?' 'Yes. Only condition is that Sakura gives Rio a little check-up after every session.' 'How much is it costing us then?' 'First session's free as a favour, after that it's £6 a session.' 'Awesome. See you on the other side.'

The arena was expansive, measuring 80ft by 60ft with mild cream walls, separated into 10 rows, each split into halves. Hannah and Blair were facing off on one of the central fields, with electronic scoreboards in front of both of them.

'This should cheer you up. You ready?' Blair didn't speak, but responded by activating her duel disk, and nodding to Hannah, who then did the same. 'Don't fancy speaking? Fine – I'll make you talk.'

Arena Duel: Blair Flannigan LP:8000 vs. Hannah Cummings LP:8000

Turn 1: Hannah: 'I'll start off. I summon Serpentine Princess (Atk:1400). Next I'll activate the Continuous Spell Samsara. So when I Ritual summon, the monsters tributed for it return to my deck. Now I activate Turtle Oath. This Ritual card allows me to tribute Serpentine Princess along with the Gishki Mind Argus from my hand to summon Crab Turtle (Atk:2550).'

'And when Serpentine Princess is returned to my deck from my field via a card effect, it allows me to summon a Level 3 or below monster from my deck. I choose Gishki Diviner (Atk:1200). I end my turn with two face-downs.'

Blair: 'I draw! I activate the Spell card Gem-Knight Fusion. This combines the powers of Gem-Knight Lapis and Gem-Knight Obsidian, so I can summon Gem-Knight Lady Lapis Lazuli (Atk:2400).'

'When Obsidian is sent from my hand to the graveyard by a card effect, it's ability activates and revives Lapis (Atk:1200). Now I'll equip Lapis Lazuli with Broken Bamboo Sword.' As Lapis Lazuli was armed with a snapped bamboo strand, Hannah looked on confused.

'This weapon gives my Lapis Lazuli a grand total of 0 Attack points.' 'And?' 'That's all it does. But when combined with Golden Bamboo Sword, it's much more powerful. This gives me two more cards because I control a Bamboo Sword card other than itself. One of which is Cursed Bamboo Sword. This sword gives Lapis Lazuli no Attack points at all. But by sending Broken Bamboo Sword to my graveyard, the effect of Cursed Bamboo Sword allows Lapis Lazuli to attack directly this turn.'

'But not before I use the effect of Lady Lapis Lazuli. I can send another Lady Lapis Lazuli to my graveyard from my Extra deck and deal you 500 damage for every Special summoned monster on the field. So that's 2000 damage. Go – Lapis Storm!' The Gem-Knight Fusion shone a brilliant blue, firing off shards of stone at Hannah (Hannah LP:8000-6000).

'Lapis Lazuli, attack Gishki Diviner.' Lapis Lazuli floated into the air, and fired two fierce cannons of blue light at Diviner, causing it to disappear (Hannah LP:6000-4800). 'I end my turn with three face-downs.'

At duelside

Phil and Rio were watching the duel together. 'Someone means business today.' 'Forgot to mention, she spent over a week building it from scratch.' 'Interesting. I was thinking that I hadn't seen those Bamboo cards in her deck before.'

'Plenty more where that came from.' 'Meaning?' 'B's rebuilt her entire deck. And let's just say she ain't in a good mood.' 'So that's not all the changes?' 'Far from it. Enjoy.' Rio then sat down and produced a lollipop from her pocket, crossing her legs and grinning.

In the duel

Hannah: 'I draw. I activate Gishki Aquamirror. This allows me to Ritual summon any Gishki Ritual monster. I'll tribute Gishki Vision, which counts as all the tribute for a Gishki Ritual monster. And because of Samsara, it goes straight back to my deck. I Ritual summon the mighty Gishki Zielgigas (Atk:3200).'

'I activate the effect of Zielgigas. I can pay 1000 points (Hannah LP:4800-3800), and draw a card. If it's a Gishki monster, I can shuffle one of your cards back into your deck. I draw.' Hannah then revealed her card to be Healing Wave Generator. 'Too bad. It's fine – I'll activate R: Reinforcements. When I draw a monster outside of my Draw phase, I can use this card and summon it in Defence mode. I summon Healing Wave Generator (Def.:1600).'

'And the effect of Generator allows me to regain Life points equal to the Level of Zielgigas multiplied by 100. As he's a Level 10 monster, I gain back 1000 points (Hannah LP:3800-4800). Zielgigas, attack!'

'I activate my face-down Crystal Wall. All I have to do is discard a Crystal Beast monster, and then the attack is negated. I choose to discard Sapphire Pegasus.' Zielgigas released a torrent of water from it's hand, which was absorbed by the multi-coloured wall of hexagons, never to be seen again. 'The other effect of Crystal Wall allows me to draw two cards. Then I have to discard one.' 'I end my turn.'

Blair: 'I draw. I activate my face-down Ojama Trio. This gives you three Ojama Tokens (Def.:1000)x3. I would tell you their downsides, but you're not going to get that far. I activate another 5 Card Salute to draw five cards.'

'Now I have everything I need – I activate Trap Booster. This allows me to activate any Trap card which happens to be in my hand. I choose Chain Material. Meaning that this turn, when I Fusion summon I can use monsters from my deck. I'll also activate the stormy Field magic of Fusion Gate.'

As the clouds appeared above Blair, she was completely in the zone. 'I activate Fusion Gate. With this I'll fuse together the Lapis on my field with the Gem-Knight Crystal in my deck to summon another Gem-Knight Lady Lapis Lazuli (Atk:2400).'

'Now I use the effect of my first Lapis Lazuli by sending Gem-Knight Aquamarine from my Extra deck to my graveyard. I'm counting six Special summoned monsters out, so you're losing 3000 Life points.'

'Not after I activate Energy-Absorbing Monolith. When you'd deal effect damage to me, this recovers my Life points by the same amount. I'm going nowhere (Hannah LP:4800-7800).' 'We'll see about that. I'll use Fusion Gate again and send another Lapis to my graveyard with another Lazuli to Fusion summon Gem-Knight Lady Lapis Lazuli (Atk:2400).'

'Now the effects of my other two Ladies. I'll send Gem-Knight Red Beryl and Gem-Knight Emerald to my graveyard, and deal you a total of 7000 damage for seven Special summoned monsters out.'

The two Lapis Lazulis both glowed blue, before firing the lights at Hannah, draining nearly all of her points (Hannah LP:7800-800). Relentless, Blair didn't take a second to allow Hannah to talk before making her move again. 'Now I activate Polymerisation. This fuses together the three Lapis Lazulis on my field so I can summon Gem-Knight Master Diamond (Atk:2900).'

'I would mention that Master Diamond gains attack, but it doesn't matter.' 'You can't attack on the turn you activate Chain Material.' 'And you're about to lose anyway. Because Chain Material's banishing effect isn't mandatory for normal Fusion summons, I can use Master Diamond's ability to banish Lapis Lazuli from my graveyard and gain it's effect. So that's 2500 damage coming your way.'

Master Diamond raised his sword to the skies and it glowed blue, before pointing it at Hannah, and the energy flew out of the sword, hitting Hannah and ending the duel (Hannah LP:800-0).

As Blair looked on in delight, Hannah looked stunned, but then smiled and nodded, the duel seemingly having confirmed an internal truth for her. 'Well you got me. You good to go again?' 'Sure.' Phil then walked over and had a word in Hannah's ear.

'Oh ok then. Slight change of plan – I'm not duelling you after all. You've upgraded.' Phil then walked into the zone, and Hannah moved out. 'So it's you then.' 'Indeed it is. Don't think for a second that you're going to beat me with the same tricks you used against Hannah. Those things don't work twice.'

'Don't worry, I've got a plan especially for you' Blair replied sassily, before beckoning Phil to activate his duel disk. 'I'm busy so I'll keep this brief.' 'Didn't know you were in a hurry to lose.' Blair then started squatting down and shifting her hips from side to side as Phil prepared for the duel.

Meanwhile, at the docks, Sunderland

Maddy was getting impatient waiting for Astrid's boat to arrive. 'Geez – she's already a week late, and now this? Kinda wonder why I bother. "I'll be home for Christmas" she says. It's 2nd January and I haven't had so much as a Merry Christmas or happy fuckin' new year from her. All I get is a poxy 20 second voicemail which she reversed the cost of to me.'

Just then Maddy's hyper-sensitive ears pricked up. 'About bloody time too.' Soon after, a large ferry loomed into view, slowly making it's way towards the dock. As the boat stopped, everyone started departing, with no sign of Astrid.

Just as the final passengers were disembarking and Maddy went to turn away, she heard a familiar accent chatting away. 'When you think about it, Norway and England are not too different, just that one has a lot more trees and the other one's warm.'

'You think this is warm?' 'Compared to Oslo it a heatwave here. Not to complain, it's nice and warm, constant negative 10 gets annoying. So you live local?' 'Yeah like about 20 minutes south. Place called Redcar. Can get this bus, gets me right to my front door.'

Astrid then noticed Maddy waiting for her. 'She made it!' Astrid then ran down and hugged Maddy. 'You're here.' 'What – you've finally arrived.' 'Sorry, I had things to sort out back home. This is Sarah – met her on the boat. Sarah, Maddy – my friend, from Newcastle.'

'Oh you're a Geordie?' 'Northumbria technically, live in North Shields now. That's a geet walla bag you got there 'Trid.' 'A what?' Sarah then laughed. 'It's geordie slang – it means you've got a massive bag.'

'Good to see you're making some friends at last 'Trid.' 'Yeah, since I'm moving here permanently now, thought I should get to know people.' Astrid then produced a small parcel. 'What's this?' 'Open it.' As Maddy unwrapped the parcel, she found a small, brown, semi-firm block. 'It's Brunost.'

'Never heard of it.' 'It's a kind of sweet cheese. I eat way too much of it – that's why I'm not so skinny despite moving all the time.' The president pulled off an edge, before throwing it into her mouth, before smiling and talking with her mouth full. 'God that tastes so good!' 'It's really good with crispbread – we call it a "matpakke".'

'This must be well expensive.' 'Not really, people have it for lunch. Put it on cracker or bread like you do any other cheese. I've got loads of other stuff in the bags for when we get back. You totally have to try my family's secret recipe – it's fried reindeer with a raspberry sauce. Been passed down the family for generations.'

Astrid then shouted over to her new friend. 'Going. You have my phone number if you want to speak again.' 'Sure. See you around.' Maddy and Astrid then turned and left, with Maddy cluing her Scandanavian friend into what had transpired over the end of the previous year.

Renegades Rules: Blair Flannigan LP:8000 vs. Phil Robinson LP:8000

Turn 1: Phil: 'You can go first.' 'Fine by me. I draw. I'll lay two face-downs and set a monster in Defence mode. I end my turn.'

Blair: 'I draw. I activate Gem-Knight Fusion. This combines the talents of Gem-Knight Garnet and Gem-Knight Crystal to summon Gem-Knight Ruby (Atk:2500). Next I'll summon Gem-Knight Emerald (Atk:1800). And I'll use the effect of Gem-Knight Ruby. By tributing Emerald, Ruby gains it's Attack points (Atk:2500-4200).'

'Attack his monster with Flare Smasher!' Ruby's halbred glowed red, and sliced straight through Phil's monster (Cyber Phoenix Def.:1600), destroying it. But Phil seemed unfussed by the damage (Phil LP:8000-5600). 'When Cyber Phoenix is destroyed, I draw a card.' 'I'll end my turn with a face-down (Atk:4200-2500).'

Phil: 'I draw. You had way too much fun with your alternate fusion in the last duel, so let me show you how it's done. I activate the Spell card Future Fusion. And time is most certainly not on your side in this case. But we'll get back to that next turn. For now I activate Ancient Gear Drill. This allows me to set any Spell I like from my deck, but it can't be activated this turn. I choose Overload Fusion.'

'Now I'll activate Swords of Burning Light. This protects me from all attacks as long as I control no monsters and you have less than 5 cards in your hand. I end my turn.'

Blair: 'I draw. I'll activate the Continuous Spell Burning Bamboo Sword. Next I'll activate Broken Bamboo Sword, giving Ruby 0 Attack points. And thanks to Burning Bamboo Sword, your next Main Phase 1 is skipped. I end my turn.'

Phil: 'I draw. During my Standby phase, Future Fusion activates. So I can reveal a Fusion monster in my Extra deck and ditch the monsters needed to summon it from my deck. Then next turn I can summon it.' Phil then looked through his deck and selected three materials. 'I'll send to my graveyard Ancient Gear Hydra and two Ancient Gear Golems. So next turn I can summon Ancient Gear Megaton Golem.'

'Don't forget you have to skip your Main Phase 1.' 'I'm fully aware. I'll end my turn with a face-down.'

Blair: 'Back to me then. I draw! I activate my R:Recycle. This allows me to return a card on my field to my hand once per turn and then draw another card. If it's the same card that I just bounced back, then I draw two more and this is banished. I'll bounce back Broken Bamboo Sword and draw.' Blair then revealed the card she drew to be Fusion Tag.

'No matter – I'll activate Broken Bamboo Sword. And when I do, you have to skip your next Main Phase 1 due to Burning Bamboo Sword.' 'A Bamboo lock… how imaginative.' 'You've seen nothing yet.' 'Oh really?' 'Believe it. I end my turn with a face-down.'

Phil: 'It's my turn! At the start of my turn I activate my face-down Cyber Summon Blaster, so when I Special summon a Machine, you lose 300 points. And because it's my 2nd Standby phase after activating Future Fusion, I summon Ancient Gear Megaton Golem (Atk:3300).'

As Megaton Golem arrived, Blair got hit with an electrical impulse which she duly ignored (Blair LP:8000-7700). 'I activate my face-down Bottomless Trap Hole. This destroys your monster and banishes it.'

As an endless hole swallowed up the Megaton Golem, Phil swung into action. 'I activate the effect of Megaton Golem.' 'Just what I wanted – a floating effect.' 'When a Megaton Golem which was Fusion summoned is removed from the field, I can upgrade it. Rise from the ground from which you were born, Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem (Atk:4400, Blair LP:7700-7400).'

'Golem, attack Gem-Knight Ruby with Mechanised Massacre!' Ultimate Golem clamped onto Ruby's head with it's rusting metal claw, crushing it (Blair LP:7400-5500). 'I end my turn with a face-down.'

At duelside

Rio was now watching the duel with Hannah. 'Blair's by no means out yet.' Hannah then smiled at her. 'Listen – Blair has a devious little mind when she really wants to. She's going to have to put it to use here – Phil really wants to prove a point.'

'Worlds?' 'Phil admitted to me recently that it's the only duel he's ever had at the World Championships where he felt lucky to win. Because she absolutely slaughtered him for 90% of that duel, but she couldn't finish him off.'

'Hannah.' 'Yeah?' 'You said Phil isn't at his best?' 'Yeah.' 'What you mean?' 'It's a little weird, but Phil only usually duels around 60-70% of his potential. He's always got something left over.' 'For what?' 'When he needs it. When Phil's at 100% he is absolutely mind-blowing. Not to mention completely and utterly unbeatable.'

'You think?' 'The few times he's been at top whack, it's been against very good opponents – Kalin, Yusei Fudo, Akiza, Jaden, Finn Hofferson. And he's absolutely slaughtered all of them at that level. When Phil's at his A+ game, it's practically an apocalypse. It's spellbinding and frightening at the same time. Finn vanished after Phil duelled like that against him. To this day people say Finn was so scared by Phil at the top level, that he ran away to exile never to return.'

In the duel zone

Blair: 'I draw.' As she drew, Blair had a shark-like gaze in her eyes. 'Trust me – you've seen nothing yet! It's time to show the teeth of my deck – I activate the Spell card Invocation!' Phil looked surprised at this. 'Someone's been busy. Not seen many Invoked engines in my time.'

'Well you're about to learn just what they can do! With this, I can fuse together monsters on my field or hand and monsters in your graveyard. I fuse together Aleister the Invoker and the Ancient Gear Golem in your graveyard to summon Invoked Magellanica (Atk:3000).'

'Next I'll equip Magellanica with Megamorph. This doubles Magellanica's Attack because I have 100 Life points fewer than you (Magellanica Atk:3000-6000). Now attack Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem with Continental Calamity!'

'I activate my face-down Scrubbed Raid. By discarding one card, I can end the Battle phase immediately.' Magellanica's rocky hand approached Ancient Gear Golem and attempted to crush it, only for Golem to block with a metallic claw, causing static to erupt from the rusted metal. 'I end my turn with a face-down.'

Phil: 'I draw. I activate the Spell card Upstart Goblin. It lets me draw a card, but first I have to give you 1000 Life points.' 'Why would you want to give me more… oh' 'With the effect of Megamorph, when your Life points are higher than mine, your monster has it's Attack halved. It's one thing knowing how to use a card, it's quite another knowing how to play it (Blair LP:5500-6500, Magellanica Atk:6000-1500).'

'Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem, take arms and destroy Invoked Magellanica. Mechanised Demolition!' Ultimate Golem lifted it's fist, and punched through the Invoked monster, destroying it (Blair LP:6500-4600). 'I'll end my turn with a face-down.'

Blair: 'I draw. I activate the effect of R: Recycle. By returning my face-down to my hand, I can draw a card. I draw. It's the Spell card Five Card Salute. So I draw until I have five cards in my hand. Next I'll summon Aleister the Invoker (Atk:1000). When Aleister is summoned, I can add Invocation from my deck to my hand. Talking of Invocation, I'm activating it now, to banish Aleister and the Gem-Knight Tourmaline in my grave to summon Invoked Mechaba (Atk:2500). I end my turn with two face-downs.'

Phil: 'I draw. I activate Different Dimension Capsule.' The familiar Sarcophagus appeared on the field, amidst the tense atmosphere. 'This capsule allows me to select a card from my deck, and send it to turns into the future. When it returns, the card goes to my hand.'

'I activate my face-downs Spirit Barrier and Dimension Guardian.' 'That's a very clever move. It also smacks of desperation.' 'Some call it desperation, others call it strategy. Now Mechaba is invincible in battle and I take no damage. So your attack is completely worthless.' 'I'll end my turn.'

Blair: 'I draw. I activate the effect of Invocation in my graveyard. By returning a banished Aleister the Invoker to my hand, I can shuffle Invocation into my deck. For now I'll end my turn.'

Phil: 'I draw. I activate the Spell card Giant Trunade. This forces all the Spells and Traps on the field back to our hands.' 'I activate the effect of Invoked Mechaba. Once per turn when you activate an effect, I can discard the same type of card to negate and destroy your effect. So I'll discard Gem-Knight Fusion.'

As the effect was stopped by a sharp yellow light from Mechaba, the newly goateed world champion took a moment to study the field. ("I need to find a way to shut down Mechaba's effect before she finds a way to supercharge it. And I know exactly what I'm going to do.")

'I'll activate the Spell card One for One.' 'That's not something you normally run.' 'You're not the only one who can modify their deck. I discard one card to summon Cyber Valley (Def.:0). I end my turn.'

Blair: 'I draw. I'll lay a face-down and then end my turn.'

Phil: 'I draw. I'll play a monster face-down and end my turn.'

Blair: 'My draw. I activate Pot of Greed to draw 2 cards.' Blair then smiled at her cards. 'You're going down, thanks to this – The Book of the Law. This allows me to tribute Invoked Mechaba to summon a different Invoked monster from my Extra deck. Mechaba begone! I call upon your power, Invoked Cocytus (Def.:2900).'

'Next I'll equip Cocytus with Fusion Weapon. This gives Cocytus 1500 more Attack and Defence because it's Level 6 (Def.:2900-4400).' 'Very clever – you're defending yourself from my Golem. I must admit I'm… nearly impressed.'

'I'm not defending – I'm attacking. Cocytus can attack while in Defence mode. Attack Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem with Frost Claw!' Cocytus flew up, and it's frozen claws glowed white, piercing through Golem as it attacked, freezing the golem and causing it to fall apart while Cocytus survived due to Dimension Guardian.

'Now your field's empty, I'll end my turn with a face-down.' Phil then chuckled. 'You've done very well, I'll give you that. But you need to remember one thing.' 'What's that?' 'You've not seen the changes I've made.'

Phil: 'I draw! I activate 5 Card Salute. Next I'll summon Proto-Cyber Dragon (Atk:1100). And I flip Card Trooper face-up (Atk:400). With Card Trooper's effect, I can send the top 3 cards of my deck to my graveyard and it gains 500 Attack for each (Atk:400-1900).'

'Even with Gift of the Martyr it's still way off.' 'Which is why I'm activating Overload Fusion.' 'I see.' 'When I Fusion summon a Dark-attribute Machine monster, this allows me to use monsters on my field or, as the case of here, in my graveyard. I banish Ancient Gear Golem, Ancient Gear Hydra, Ancient Gear Gadget, and Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem, so I can summon out an even deadlier monster – Chaos Ancient Gear Giant (Atk:4500).'

Blair smiled when she saw the monster. 'I wondered when you'd go all out.' 'I go all out all the time. Next I'll overlay my Level 3 Proto-Cyber Dragon and Card Trooper to build the overlay network. You want to see something new? Fine – I summon the Spaceway Octobypass (Def.:2400).'

'As I enter my Battle phase, I use the effect of Octobypass. By detaching an Xyz material, only one monster can attack this Battle phase, but in return it can attack directly. I choose my Giant. Attack directly with Gear Gun Shooter!' The feared Giant was warped in front of Blair, and fired a blinding blue light from it's gun, dropping her points (Blair LP:4600-100). 'I end my turn.'

Blair: 'I draw. I activate Magical Stone Excavation. By discarding two cards, I can add back a Spell from my deck to my hand. I choose 5 Card Salute. Which I'll now activate, to draw five cards. I activate Monster Reborn, to bring back Invoked Mechaba (Atk:2500).'

'I now activate the Spell card Invocation! This allows me to fuse together the Invoked Mechaba and Invoked Cocytus on my field to summon the most powerful of all the Invoked monsters.' A harsh light then glowed behind Blair. 'What… is this?' 'Appear Invoked Elysium! (Atk:3200).'

'It's a strong monster. Not strong enough however.' 'I activate the Spell card Extra Foolish Burial, to send Invoked Caliga from my Extra deck to my graveyard. Fuelling the effect of Elysium. By banishing the Dark-attribute Invoked Caliga from my graveyard, I can destroy all Dark monsters on the field. Elysian Judgement!'

Elysium started rotating, and it's centre sphere glowed purple, causing the mighty Giant to vanish in a puff of purple smoke. 'Invoked Elysium, attack him directly!' Elysium shot out a hundred thin red lights at Phil, smashing his Life points down (Phil LP:5600-2300). 'I end my turn with two face-downs.'

Phil: 'I draw!' Phil then looked at Blair with a sinister smile. 'I activate this – the Spell card Unfair Espionage. I pay half of my current Life points (Phil LP:2300-1150), and now this turn if I summon an Extra deck monster, you have to send cards from your Extra deck to your graveyard equal to it's Level.'

'Next I'll activate my own Magical Stone Excavation. By discarding the last two cards from my hand, I can get a Spell back from my graveyard. And I choose this – the Spell card Overload Fusion. By banishing all 6 machines from my graveyard, I can summon one of my old favourites. Overload, overmatched, OVERKILL! Deliver a dance of death, Chimeratech Overdragon (Atk:?).'

'And because Chimeratech is Level 9, Unfair Espionage forces you to send nine cards from your Extra deck.' As Blair scrapped almost her entire Extra deck, Phil kept up the pressure. 'And Chimeratech Overdragon gains 800 Attack for each monster used to summon it. I used six, so that is 4200 (Atk:4200).'

'Overdragon, seek and destroy! Strident Supernova Strike!' As the attack came in, Blair made a desperate move. 'I activate the Trap card Final Fusion! This destroys both our monsters, and we take their combined points as damage. That's 7400.'

The force of Final Fusion was akin to a bomb going off, visibly shaking the arena. When the smoke cleared though, both were still standing (Blair LP:100-50, Phil LP:1150-575), as were both their monsters, astonishing Blair.

'How did you...' Blair then saw the truth – both competitors so evenly matched, they even activated the same card. 'You activated' 'Miracle Day' 'It halves' 'The damage' 'From any' 'Card effect' 'Which would' 'Do damage' 'To both players' 'By ending' 'The battle phase.' Phil then smiled. 'You've bought yourself a final turn. I end my turn.'

At duelside

'It's amazing how similar they are.' 'As in?' 'Well… they both stra… strat… strategise, and that gives them such an advantage.' 'They look similar in that aspect on the outside. In reality they are separated by how they use strategy. Phil often looks more fluent because he strategises in advance.'

'Yeah?' 'What you have to remember with Phil is his mind is like a supercomputer. He's got 1000 strategies ready to go before any given duel. Blair isn't that kind of duellist – she's got a more stunted style because she analyses her opponents during the duel, and then adjusts her strategy based on that. It's what you might call a measured approach.'

'Where would you say I fit in there?' 'I'd say you're closer to Phil than Blair in that respect. Because you always stay true to your particular pace and style, you only adjust which moves you make and when.'

In the duel zone

Blair: 'I draw.' Blair looked at her card and was shocked. 'Maybe… this is it. I summon Phantom of Chaos (Atk:0).' 'What are you planning?' He then stepped back in shock. 'You… you can't be' 'I activate Phantom of Chaos' ability. By banishing a monster in my graveyard, it gains that monster's effects. I choose Gem-Knight Lady Lapis Lazuli. So I send Gem-Knight Sapphire from my deck to my graveyard, you lose 500 points for every Special summoned monster out.' Phantom of Chaos morphed into Lapis Lazuli, before shooting out the blue lights, defeating the world champion (Phil LP:575-0).

Blair raised her fist in victory as the computers flashed up confirming the result. Phil meanwhile, walked straight out of the arena, hi-fiving Blair as he left. Hannah quickly congratulated Blair, before going after her husband, as Kris shared a laugh with the victor.

Main hall

As Hannah located her husband, he was on the phone. 'Yes, I want all of the videos. Asap. Thanks. Yeah, speak to you later.' As he came off the phone, she approached him. 'She's good isn't she?' 'Very good.'

'Who were you talking to?' 'An old contact – you remember I told you about Rata.' 'What – mad nerd Rata?' 'Yep, mad nerd Rata. Anyway, he has recordings of all televised duels from the past four years. So I've ordered a selection of Blair's duels from the past few years.'

'How much did that cost then?' 'He's lending them to me for free – he owes me a few favours. I want to study them and work out where she's improved.' 'You weren't anywhere close to top whack there were you?' 'I'd say about 60%. She's good but she's got a long way to go.'

'Any luck with Sakura?' 'Not really. After Blair's staph infection, she's being really overcautious.' 'I can understand that.' They then overheard Maddy talking to Astrid. 'Yeah, I'm going to release Brooke – she's useful to us more with a mind than she is completely mindless. Might free the others at sometime as well – things need to change.'

Upon hearing this, Hannah turned to Phil. 'I think we should do it – what we discussed.' 'Well if you're going to, leave me out of it.' 'I thought you'd support me.' 'Oh don't get my feelings mixed up. I don't agree with your plan, but I'm not going to talk you out of it – it's your decision I ain't interfering. But all I will say is this: if you're going to do it, please discuss it with her as soon as possible. Don't show her up at a meeting.' 'I'll go and find her right now.'

Quickly, Hannah found Maddy, who was talking with her best friend. 'I really can't stand reptiles. It's my one fear.' 'Come on 'trid, they ain't that bad.' 'Aren't that bad? Scales, they're slimy, and snakes can eat you!' 'No snakes have ever eaten a human… well a full-grown one anyway.'

Astrid then noticed Hannah standing behind them. 'Did you want something or were you admiring Maddy's head?' 'Sorry, I'm not big on interrupting people's conversations. I wanted a quick work with Maddy if that's ok.' 'Sure. I'll cook up that Reindeer – back in 20.'

As Astrid went off smiling, Hannah sat down with Maddy. 'As you know, I have no intention of returning as full-time president.' 'Hang on… what do you mean by "full-time"?' 'That's what I wanted to talk about. As you took over due to my apparent death, legally your presidency is void.'

'Wait, what are you sayin' 'Maddy, what I'm saying is that the presidency is vacant. Now there will be an election, and I'll enter you straight in there' Maddy then stormed off, refusing to listen to any more. 'This is for the good of the club.'

In the arena office

Phil was working through some papers when Rio walked in, knocking on the door as she did. 'Come in.' She sat down gracefully, before pulling her deck out of her jacket pocket. 'You're not busy are you?' 'Too busy for you? Never. No seriously, these papers aren't urgent. What did you want?'

'Well I… I know I'm a long way away yet, but I want to duel again, and I want to start practising in the arena, even if I'm stuck in a wheelchair. So I was wondering if you could sort my deck out for me?' Phil put his hand out, and she handed the deck over, as he pushed the door shut.

As he was looking at the deck, Rio started reflecting. 'I know that everyone expects me to just accept I'm not going to duel again, or at least be out for years or something. But I don't want to settle for that. I'm feeling healthy, I've got my diet right now, I've stopped eating everything in sight.'

'Well this Muay Thai should help. I've been in contact with Richard, the sessions run for two hours on Mondays and Wednesdays, running for two hours.' 'How much is it – I'll wire the money to you.' 'Rio, this one's on me.'

'Seriously though, how much?' 'It's £7 for the two hours. And I've known Richard for the best part of 20 years.' 'Sounds good. I just hate feeling useless.' 'I don't want to get your hopes up at the moment, but let's just say that I'm working on something which will help you get back sooner.'

In Astrid's bedroom

Astrid found Maddy, who was sulking. 'Wanna talk?' Astrid then kicked the heavily dented door shut and sat down, carrying a foam takeaway box. 'Let me guess – your little talk didn't go too well?' 'Mam's said that my presidency's invalid and it's being put up for election.'

'You're kidding.' 'Wish I was.' Astrid then smiled. 'Well it's not like you'd lose the election, I mean nearly everyone loves you. And I doubt there's going to be anyone even standing against you.' 'Hope so.'

'Trust me, you'll be ok. You've done a great job.' 'Glad you think so. Can you be honest with me for a moment?' 'I'm honest with you all the time.' 'Do you think that I need to change how I run things? Like reverting back to the club's old type, not releasing the drones, anything like that?'

'Honestly what the club needs is more of you. It needs more of you and it needs more of your ideas. Like this ID system, it's' 'Great?' 'Yours – you came up with it. The ramps for Rio, you came up with that. What we need is more of you. So just calm yourself down a bit.'

The soon to be deposed president then noticed the box which was held by her Scandinavian colleague. 'What's that?' 'Reindeer burger. I know it isn't conventional, but should taste fine. Now come on – I know how cranky you get if you're hungry.' Maddy then took a bite. 'That's good. That's really good.'

'See, I told you.' 'Guess you're right.' 'Can arrange to have some delivered every few weeks from Norway. Not like I use the money in my bank for much.' 'You've got money?' 'Hell yah. Something around 265000 krone.' 'What's that in pounds?' 'Not a clue.'

'So you're over here for good then?' 'Yeah, just need to get my visa sorted. I was in a rush, so I'm only here on a three week tourist visa. Means I can't work and have to leave in 21 days.' 'I'll talk to Dad about it… if he's not in on it as well.'

'I'll bet you anything he isn't. He wouldn't do that to you.' 'Didn't think Mam would.' 'I didn't, but I trust him more to not do it.' 'I'll have a word with him in a few minutes then.' 'Remember – speak nicely. The last thing you wanna do is alienate him.' 'Thanks.'

In the arena office

As Maddy entered the arena, Rio and Phil were still talking. 'I swear if I ever see him again it's going to be too soon.' 'I honestly can't blame you for saying that, but never say never. You don't know what's around the corner.'

'You want me to give him another chance?' 'No, I'm just advising you not to fully close the door. Because he might change one day, and you might want your brother back.' 'I guess so. Thanks anyway, taken up way too much of your time.' 'No it's fine, as I say these papers aren't urgent.'

'What are they anyway?' 'It's letters templates for anyone who gets accepted for the arena courses, inviting them down for the course. I've got to sign all of these for myself and Hannah.' 'Why for both of you?'

'Don't tell her I said this, but Hannah's vision is a little dodgy – she's quite long-sighted, which makes signing autographs really very awkward. Her close-up vision's only about 15%.' 'Is that why she was always behind on paperwork?' 'It is. Now you go and enjoy your day rather than listening to me going on.'

As Rio left, she passed Maddy. 'Are you ok? You look rough.' 'You'll hear more at the meeting tomorrow, but I've been stripped of the presidency.' Rio's jaw dropped as she heard the news. 'Why?' 'Didn't say. Just something about my presidency being "invalid" or somit.'

'Well just so you know, you're a brilliant president. And an even better person.' Rio then left, as Maddy wiped a tear from her eye. Phil then signalled for Maddy to come into the office, which she quickly did.

'I take it you've spoken with Hannah.' 'You… you knew about this!' 'I did, and I did ask Hannah to reconsider.' 'You knew about this and you decided to conspire against… hang on, you don't agree with her?'

'I asked Hannah not to do it. She's convinced that you're releasing the drones because Astrid's been giving you bad advice.' 'And you?' 'Well I'm just guessing here, but I don't think that you ever intended on making Astrid VP did you?' 'No, not immediately at least. I was actually gonna ask you if Blair refused again.'

'So she's told you there's going to be an election?' 'Yeah.' 'I wouldn't sweat it too much – I don't see anyone relevant challenging you. I did ask Hannah not to, but I dropped the subject when it became clear that she wasn't going to budge on the subject.'

'Sorry I burst in here.' 'It's to be natural. Just have patience – I promise you it will all work out in the end.' 'How did those talks go with Sak?' 'I'm starting to get somewhere – I've got her coming round on Friday to look at the bionic crutches I created.'

'How are they going?' 'I've not seen them yet but Sean said that he and Joe have made a load of progress since I last saw them. They've been working around the clock to get them ready.' 'You think she'll agree?' 'I have ways of making her agree. In all truthfulness, Rio's getting stroger and I'm hoping that she'll allow us to team up.'

'Fingers crossed, it'd do her the world of good.' 'Back to you though, I know it's easy to say, but don't worry too much about it.' 'Is there anything you think I should do differently?' Phil then laughed. 'Nothing to do with me – when you're the president again, you make the rules. Don't take it to heart, Hannah's just doing what she thinks is best. You've just got to be yourself and show everyone when the time's right that you're the rightful president and you know what you're doing.'

In the main hall, 10 minutes later

As everyone lined up for the meeting, Hannah came to the stage, with Maddy standing by her. 'Everyone, thanks for your time. I have a quick but important announcement. Some of you may already know, but I have decided that since Maddy took over the presidency through a will which is no longer necessary, I have rescinded her presidency.'

Most of the club then booed, as Hannah continued. 'Now there will be an election for the presidency. Anyone who wants to stand must write their name down on the list on the president's door in the next 72 hours.'

Maddy then stepped up to the podium as Hannah stepped back. 'I want to be totally honest with you guys – I ain't happy about this situation like clearly none of you are. But we all have to make the best of the situation we're in. So I want to officially confirm that I am standing to get my presidency back. I welcome anybody to challenge me if they think they can do a better job than I have. Until then, I rightfully recognise myself as president still. Now I was going to make the announcement about the Arena, but I guess it's no longer my place is it?'

Mother and daughter then swapped places again, and Hannah made the announcement. 'Now as you are aware, there are duelling courses at the Arena. They will commence sometime on the second week of February. To sign up, you just have to give your name, age, and place of residence, along with a couple other details. You also need to pay a £20 deposit which will be refunded if you don't get on a course. You can either pay the deposit directly through the course website, the address to which is on the door to the arena, or you can pay at the office, as long me or Phil are in there. Any questions? Blair.'

'Why have you stripped Maddy of the presidency?' 'I already explained why Blair.' 'No you didn't. You just told us the reason you were allowed to.' 'Fine, I'll explain this so nobody is in any doubt. The reason is because with everything that has gone on before, I want to start the year with an undisputed president. And what fairer way than throwing it open to everyone and allowing the club members to decide? This way there can be no allegations of favouritism as the person you all deem to be the best for the job wins. Anything else? Yes Belle.'

'How do we know if we get on the courses and what course we're on?' 'Everyone who applies will be invited to a preliminary trial at the end of this month, where they will all go through rigorous testing to decide who gets assigned where. We haven't worked out what trials yet, but me and Phil will be getting together with a couple of other people tomorrow, to discuss that. Until then, thanks, thanks for your time.'

As everyone dispersed, Maddy turned to leave but was stopped by Hannah. 'I would have explained that to you earlier if you hadn't walked off.' 'What I don't get is why you made the decision and then talked to me about it.'

'Because I knew that you'd get offended.' Maddy's eyes then filled, not with rage, but with steely belief. 'And I'm not offended by this? Like, I can take a lot Mam. But I never thought that you wouldn't believe in me. You see the security system that stops strangers from walking in and protects us all? I did that. And the tight discipline here where everyone wears their club jackets to meetings? That was me as well. And the ramps for Rio's wheelchair? You guessed it – me. Point is that I've done so much for everyone's good while I've been president, the least you can give me is a chance to show you.'

'I don't want anyone to think you got here through nepotism.' 'Guess what – two people said that to me. Neither of them lasted the day. I'm gonna tell you something now though – when I reclaim my presidency, all this you see around you, all that I've done so far, that's just the start of what I'm going to do.'

As Maddy stormed off again, Phil was watching. 'What did you tell her?' 'That you don't trust Astrid. No more lies though. If she sees through it, just tell her the truth.' 'Yeah, because "Oh I do want you as president but Blair being president will boost her confidence" sounds way better.'

'I'm telling you now – Blair will not enter.' 'I know she won't. But Rio will probably enter for her. I just don't think that Maddy suits the president's role – you have to be serious and professional and efficient and that's just not Maddy. She's brash and wild and crazy and I love her that way and I don't want her to lose it. I'm worried we're losing the old Maddy.'

As Phil turned away, Hannah stopped him. 'I wanted to tell you something – it's something I've been thinking about while we were away, and I want you to know before anyone else does.' 'Right.' 'I've decided that… I'm done with duelling. I'll still do tag duels when we agree the time's right, but I'm going to announce my retirement in Texas.'

Next time: Kelly, Taylor, and Ashley unite, Blair is put in a comprimising situation, and Maddy has a challenger for the presidency in Renegades: A New Dawn Chapter XVII: The Renegades Band