| “ | We can't always fight nature, John. We can't fight change. We can't fight gravity. We can't fight nothin'. My whole life, John, all I ever did was fight... But I can't give up neither. I can't fight my own nature. That's the paradox, John. You see?
— Dutch van der Linde
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| “ | Have some goddamn faith!
— Dutch van der Linde
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Dutch van der Linde was the leader of the infamous Van der Linde Gang, and an antagonist in Red Dead Redemption. Dutch styled himself very much as modern day Robin Hood, robbing from the rich and giving to the poor. His gang was mostly made up of impressionable youths who saw his charisma and romantic image as a symbol of the Wild West who brought into his ideals. However Dutch was slowly driven insane by the futility of his battle against the rapidly modernising west and the growing realisation that his own acts were just as brutal as the men he fought against.This culminated in the disbanding of his gang after a botched robbery in 1906.
Dutch resurfaced in 1911 in West Elizabeth, this time leading a gang of dissatisfied Native Americans. He is hunted down to his mountainside hideout by his former gang member, John Marston and cornered at the peak. Not wanting to be arrested and executed by the law he instead committed suicide by jumping to his death.
Battle vs Kino (by SPARTAN 119)[]
Kino drove north on her motorcycle, Hermes, along a dirt road through a dense forest. She had never heard of the country she was in before- The United States of America. In fact, it wasn't on her map. Indeed, the world maps in this country suggested she had somehow ended up in a different world altogether.
Kino did not mind so much, for the past two years, she lived to travel, to explore. The fact that she might well be on another planet entirely might have unnerved some people, but it cause Kino only excitement. A whole new world to explore. This country she was in now, was unlike anything like the others she had visited. Rather than a small city state like the countries Kino was used to, The United States was a vast nation that took up about a third of an entire continent, having been apparently gradually grown to it's current size due to a belief that it was their "Manifest Destiny" to expand across the continent.
This country seemed generally technologically comparable to her own world, however, they had never seen any sort of artificial intelligence, and were in for quite a shock when Hermes spoke for the first time- they were shocked that a machine could be sentient.
About 100 meters down the road, Kino spotted six men armed with Browning Auto 5 shotguns and Colt revolvers guarding a gate in a wooden wall, beyond which were a number of shacks and, in the center, a tower along the back of a cliff.
Suddenly, the men opened fire. Kino drew her custom .44 revolver, "The Cannon", and fired off all six shots in rapid succession. All six of the men fell to the ground, dead. Suddenly, a machine gun in the tower opened up. Kino turned, driving Hermes into the woods, using the trees a cover.
Kino took an MG-42 she had slung over the back of Hermes, and left, the sentient vehicle saying, "Kino, be careful".
"Don't you worry", Kino replied, "I'll take care of this"
Kino spotted the source of the gunfire, a man in orange standing at the command of a mounted Maxim gun. Kino raised her MG-42 and fired it from the hip, firing off a hail of bullets, not particularly accurate, but causing such a volume of fire that it literally broke through one of the supports of the makeshift "tower".
Dutch Van Der Linde rolled out of the way, surprised that their could be a weapon with a higher rate of fire than his Maxim. Dutch then unslung his Evans repeater from his back and took cover behind a rock.
Kino's MG-42 ran out of ammunition, and and Dutch got up and fired his Evans twice. The bullets whizzed past Kino. Kino raised her semi-automatic rifle and fired three shots, causing Dutch to roll out from cover and run for it, into a mine shafted blasted into the other side of the ledge.
Kino advanced, only to have side grazed when a bullet from Dutch's repeater narrowly missed her. Kino took cover behind a stack of crates and fired off two more shots with her rifle, driving him into the mine.
Kino jumped over the crates and ran forward, up the wooden ramp leading up the ledge. Suddenly, she heard a male voice yell "Put down the gun and I might let ya live", the man said.
Kino saw Dutch aiming straight for her with his Borchardt pistol. Kino put down her rifle.
"And the pistol too", Dutch said.
Kino obeyed and placed the "Ranger" on the ground. Dutch then said, "Now put down yer knife".
Kino drew out her knife, however, instead of putting it on the ground, she pointed it towards Dutch and pressed a button on the side. Dutch was blinded by a red light as the laser sight- though Dutch had no idea what it was- shone into his eye. He fired, but missed, the bullet going a good six feet over Kino's head.
Kino pressed a second button on the side of the knife. A pistol barrel in the handle of the weapon fired. A .22 caliber round struck Dutch right between the eyes, killing him instantly.
Kino then picked up her weapons and returned to motorcycle.
WINNER: Kino
Expert's Opinion[]
Kino won this battle because of the superior firepower of her weapons, including her MG-42 and semi-auto rifle, as well as her superior training and considerable combat experience.
To see the original battle, weapons, and votes, click here.
Battle vs. Ned Pepper (2010 Film) (by Wassboss)[]
Dutch van der Linde: 
Meekwood is not a town that sees many visitors. To even call it a town would be generous as only a few battered buildings adorn the settlement and many of those have been long since abandoned. The only reasons anybody has to visit this squalid place is the saloon, which stands tall in the middle of the town. Five men approach the town on horseback, covered in dust from days of hard riding. The few townspeople who are around watch curiously as the group pulls up outside of the saloon, dismounting and hitching their horses up. Four of the men are Natives; strong, youthful and angry and the other is a white man, black hair tinged grey with age and clearly the leader by the way the other four men defer to him. Dutch van der Linde gestures to his gang and they walk through the door. The place is mostly empty apart from a group of four men sat at the bar, clutching at shots of whiskey.
“I’m looking for Ned Pepper” Dutch says. The men at the bar swivel to face them, eyeing them suspiciously. After a tense silence a man in a battered brown hat replies.
“Who wants to know.”
“My name is Dutch van der Linde. We here heard he was heading this way. We have some business to discuss with him.”
“Business you say? What kind of business.”
Dutch smiles warmly. “Well since you ask so nicely. My associate Quanah has been wronged by a member of his gang. He killed his brother in a drunken argument in a tavern. Tom Chaney was his name.” The man in the brown hat sighs.
“That goddamn fool keeps gettin’ me into trouble. Yeah, I’m Ned Pepper.”
“A pleasure to meet you my good sir.”
“Enough with the pleasantries. Yeah Chaney used to ride with us, but we had to cut him loose, he was a liability.” Dutch’s smile evaporates.
“Cut him loose you say. And where exactly did you cut him loose.”
“I dunno,” Ned replies finishing his whiskey with a gulp. “Must’ve been a few days ago now.”
“I see.” Dutch says suspiciously. It’s at this moment a side door opens, and a man steps out with dark scruffy hair and dressed in battered muddy clothes. He stops suddenly as he spots the group and one of the Natives steps forward angrily.
“That’s him. That’s the bastard that shot my brother.” A gun leaps into his hand but before he can shoot Ned Pepper and his gang draw their own guns and open fire. Dutch’s gang scramble to draw their own weapons and flip over the tables to use as cover, while Ned Pepper and his cronies leap behind the bar. The two gangs trade fire with each other, blasting holes in the walls and furniture and shattering the glass bottles arranged carefully in the bar cabinet. One of the outlaws slumps forward, a hole blown in his face from a revolver round. 
Ned grabs the terrified barman cowering alongside them. “We’re going to get slaughtered if we stay here are there any other way out of this place” he snarls.
“There’s a room where I store all the liquor, but it’s locked from this side.”
“Well then you’d better unlock it then hadn’t you.”
“If I go out there, they’ll kill me,” the bartender says nervously.
“They might kill you. Might. Whereas I will kill you right here, right now. So, which one is it going to be?” He shoves the man away and he shuffles dejectedly out from behind the bar, unlocking the door to the storage room. He’s quickly gunned down in a hail of bullets as Ned Pepper and his gang dash through the door, firing back at the van der Linde gang to cover their retreat. One of the natives rushes after them but as soon as he makes it to the door, he is thrown back by a shotgun blast. The others cry out and in anger go to avenge their fallen comrade, but Dutch stops them.
“They’re going to try escape round the back. Come on boys, let’s cut them off.” He leads the gang out through the saloon doors and back round to where their horses are hitched. The natives grab their rifles and shotguns from the back of their horses, just as the Pepper gang burst from around the back of the saloon guns blazing. Caught out in the open they are forced to use their horses for cover as the Pepper gang make their way over to their own horses. A brief lull as they take the chance to reload gives the van der Linde gang the chance to fire back and an outlaw topples backwards with a bullet through the chest.
Cursing Ned grabs his Yellowboy from its holster and returns fire. Targeting one of the riflemen his first shot hits him in the shoulder causing him to fire instinctively, the bullet whizzing miles wide. The next shot strikes him in the neck, and he drops the rifle, hand going straight to his neck. Even as he is falling another shot slams into his skull finishing him off for good. Switching targets he fires off a bullet that grazes Dutch’s shoulder before he ducks down before he hides behind his horse. Chaney fires off wildly besides him and his erratic gunfire spooks the horses who wrench themselves free of the hitching post and gallop off.
Now exposed Dutch and his remaining two men go on the offensive, marching forward firing rapidly. Chaney goes down in a hail of gunfire, riddled with bullet holes. Outnumbered Ned and his last outlaw flee towards one of the abandoned houses, kicking down the rotting front door and taking cover inside. Quanah checks the body of Chaney and satisfied holsters his gun. “I’ve avenged you brother,” he says mournfully looking up to the skies. Dutch joins him eyes blazing with anger.
“Our job isn’t finished yet, there’s still two of them left. I want you to sneak round back while me and Naalnish distract them at the front.” Quanah nods his head in agreement and carefully sneaks round the side of the house and Dutch and Naalnish take their position on either side of the doorframe. “Come on now gentlemen,” Dutch says loudly “I’m sure we can work something out.” His request goes unanswered and the two carefully make their way into the house. Dutch mimes for Naalnish to search the second floor while he searches the ground one. The kitchen is empty but as he walks through a corridor to another room a body blocks the path. Pointing his revolver at it, he turns it over with his foot only to realise that it’s Quanah’s body, his throat slit.
He catches a glimmer of steel in the corner of his eye and throws himself to the ground as a shot goes off. He empties his revolvers at the location of the gunshot, a small storage cupboard built into the wall. A man’s body topples out and Dutch inspects it, seeing that it is not Ned Pepper but his last remaining outlaw. Naalnish rushes around the corner shotgun raised, only lowering it when he sees Dutch. “What happened. Are you alright?”
“That goddamn maniac almost blew my head off.” Dutch says in a rage. “They killed Quanah and used his body to try and lure me out. Kid had one goddamn job and he couldn’t even do that right. Tell me you found Ned Pepper up there.”
“Sorry Dutch, there wasn’t a trace of him anywhere.”
“Goddammit. That slippery bastard must have snuck out.” Dutch barges past Naalnish and storms out of the house, with the native following closely behind him. A shot rings out and Naalnish drops to the ground, stone dead . Dutch looks around wildly and sees Ned Pepper mounted on his horse and clutching his Yellowboy “You’ve made a big mistake here Mr Pepper,” Dutch says, “You should’ve just handed over Tom Chaney when you had the chance.”
“Ain’t nobody gives demands to Lucky Ned Pepper and lives to tell the tale.” Ned replies. He aims his rifle once more and squeezes the trigger but just hears the click of an empty chamber. He throws it to the ground in frustration and draws his Remington Revolver, engraved with his trademark lucky four-leaf clover. He spurs his horse into action and Dutch draws his own Smith and Wesson revolvers. The two men mentally count down the distance until they are in range and open fire simultaneously. Most of the bullets miss their mark but Ned takes several shots to the stomach and Dutch grunts as bullets hits him in leg. Ned’s horse slows down to a canter and he sloops over in the saddle before falling to the ground, breathing heavily. Dutch limps over to Ned.
“Looks like your luck has finally run out then.” Dutch says mockingly.
“Sure, looks like it.” Ned says coughing up blood. “Can’t believe it wasn’t the law that got me but some crazy son of a bitch and his gang of savages.”
“Savages?” Dutch says slowly loading bullets into the chamber. “We’re all savages out here buddy.” Flicking the chamber back in place he levels the barrel at Ned’s head and fires, finishing off the notorious outlaw. He bends over and picks up Ned’s engraved revolver and turns it over in his hands admiring the craftsmanship. He gives a short sharp whistle and the Count wanders over from wherever it had hidden itself during the fight. Dropping the revolver in his saddlebag he hauls himself into the saddle, wincing at the pain as it shoots up his injured leg. Without even taking a moment to mourn his gang he rides off into the sunset, leaving Meekwood residents to clear up the dead.
Winner: Dutch van der Linde
Expert's Opinion[]
Dutch held the majority of the advantages in this match-up. He swept the weapons category and the X Factors especially in experience where his decades of fighting outlaws and law officials meant there was nothing Ned could bring that would surprise him. Despite this his poor mental health dragged him down considerably and could’ve cost him the match if he flew off the handle at the wrong moment. However expert’s agreed that this wouldn’t necessarily effect his combat ability and was not a problem shared by his men, who with the superior firearms had the advantage over Ned’s outlaws.