Keane LP: 0

Katie LP: 900 [WINNER]

James started forwards before the final buzzer had even sounded, but Katie held up a hand to stop him. James hung back, confused. Katie kept her eyes on her unconscious opponent. 'My ordeal's not over yet…' she thought. She lifted her right arm to point directly at Keane, the metal band with its tiny orange stone glinting in the sun.

As if on cue, the band lit up a pure white, and tendrils of light extended from it into Keane's unconscious body. She felt some small tugs and shakes from the band, but otherwise nothing. Keane, on the other hand, was moving his head, his eyes clenched shut, moaning as though he was having a nightmare.

Then the tendrils retracted, bringing with them two objects: a card and a small orb of light. The orb dissipated the moment it left Keane's body, but the card was deposited in Katie's hand by the tentacle-like things. They disappeared back into the band, which stopped glowing. Katie glanced at the card. It was Keane's Number – Number 94: Matrix Golem.

Lowering her hand, Katie looked at her downed opponent with a sense of detached relief. 'I survived… I saved him…' she thought. She smiled and closed her eyes. Her legs buckled beneath her, and she felt herself falling.

Rough arms grabbed her. Opening her eyes, she was dazzled by the sunlight streaming down from above, no longer dulled out by her Field Spell. Squinting through the glare, she was able to make out the silhouette of the person holding her. It was James.

Gently, he lowered her onto the grass and knelt down beside her. She noticed tears in his eyes. He was trying to say something but no words were coming out. With effort, she reached up and wiped the tears out of James eyes. "Why are you crying?" she asked softly, exhausted.

Finally, James found his voice. "I... you... you're ok. I'm so..." he couldn't manage any more, but he didn't need to. With a sob, he wrapped his arms around Katie and buried his head in her shoulder. She returned the hug, pulling him closer to her. And in that moment, the hurtful memories, as well as the pain from the duel, seemed to diminish. It was wonderful. In the midst of it, she became aware of the other three standing a small distance away, keeping their eyes on them but allowing them some privacy. Matt noticed her looking at him and nodded. Leah and Dan both grinned and gave her the thumbs up. She smiled back.

It was only once they'd separated that the other three ventured any closer. The happy couple stood up together, only for Katie to be embraced by both Leah and Dan at once. She winced in pain, but smiled happily all the same.

Then came a shout. "Keane!"

It was Matt that had shouted. As one, the group turned their heads in time to see Keane staggering to his feet. He was shaken, but otherwise unhurt. He didn't even look at them. With a sense of finality, he turned and walked away.

"Keane!"

"Hey, stop there!"

Either he didn't hear them, or he was ignoring them. Whatever the reason, he gave no indication that he'd heard, and walked on obliviously. James started after him, but Katie caught his hand. "James, don't. Leave him."

"But why?" James asked incredulously. "He owes you an apology after the way he treated you!"

"No..." Katie said weakly. "It's the other way around. I owe him an apology."

For perhaps the first time since they'd met, Matt turned his back on the retreating Keane. He took a few steps towards Katie and spoke softly. "If that's true, then shouldn't we try to stop him anyway?"

Katie shook her head. "No. Because I know where he's going."

James' look instantly changed to a look of concern. "Are you sure about this, Katie?"

She nodded, suddenly very tired. "Yeah... let's get going."

*HALF AN HOUR LATER*

It hadn't take the taxi long to get to them, but it had taken the driver plenty of time to locate the hospital through the maze of pedestrian crossings and one-way systems. Finally, he dropped them off at the hospital's front doors. Just before they left, Matt asked the driver he wouldn't mind waiting around for a bit, as they were unlikely to take very long. The driver agreed. They thanked him and stepped through the double doors of the hospital.

Inside, Leah walked over to the reception desk. The receptionist, noticing the injuries on Katie – who was being supported between Dan and James – immediately began filling in an admission form.

Leah quickly corrected her. "No no, ma'am," she said hurriedly. "We're actually here to visit a patient. Her name's Esta Maxwell."

The receptionist glanced back and forth between Leah, the form, and Katie for a few seconds, then shrugged and started tapping on a computer. "Are you friends of hers?"

"Yes," James said, moving carefully up to the desk. "I go to the same school as her. We've visited once before; we just wanted to see how well she's doing."

The admissions nurse nodded. "Well you know where to go then. Second floor, along the hallway, room ninety-four."

"Much obliged, ma'am." James said, and the group made their way down the corridors and into an elevator. Standing in the lift made Katie feel even more nervous about what lay up ahead. As if sensing that, James squeezed her hand.

*A MINUTE LATER*

Keane heard the elevator doors open, but didn't really register it. Esta had just woken up again, and he was staring at her with an expression of equal parts adoration and incredible sadness. He'd let her down yet again, and it was killing him inside. It must have shown on his face, because the girl reached out and placed her hand gently over his. "What's wrong, big bro'?" she asked weakly.

"Nothi-" Keane started to say, but he was interrupted by a knock at the door. "What is it?"

An elderly doctor poked his head around the door. "Sorry to disturb you, Mister Maxwell, but you and your sister have visitors."

"Visitors?" Keane said suspiciously. His eyes widened in shock as the Deltas filed inside. "No! NO!" he cried, upending his chair as he leapt to his feet. He placed himself between them and his sister, daring them to come any closer. "No! I won't let you lay a hand on her! I won't let you near her! Why are you here?" He was positively screaming at them by this point, and the doctor was concerned by his behaviour.

Katie had expected such a reaction, but it didn't make her feel any less afraid. Keane looked feral, as if he could snap at any minute. "Keane, calm down. I just came here to talk to your sister. Its ok, you don't have to let me near her: I can talk to her from back here if that makes you more comfortable."

"Leave!" Keane growled. "Get out! You've done enough already! Leave us in-" A small tug on his shirt stopped him. Turning, he saw Esta looking up at him with desperate eyes. Immediately forgetting everyone else, he dropped to his knees and clutched her hand. "What's up, sis'?"

She tried to say something, but found it too much of a struggle. Then tried again, and failed a second time. Keane moved his head closer to hers, and she whispered it into his ear.

He shook his head vigorously. "No, sis'... you don't know who these people are. What they've done, it's... it's..."

"It's ok," Esta said hoarsely, but insistently. "I want to talk to them."

Keane desperately wanted to argue, but also didn't want to argue with his sister. Instead he stood up and stepped to one side. "She wants to talk to you..." he muttered, not looking at Katie.

Katie stepped forward and knelt beside Esta's bed. She was acutely aware of Keane, standing only a few feet to her right, and knew that he would lash out at her if she made even one false move. Frankly, it did nothing to calm her nerves.

Katie took a deep breath, and started talking. "Esta... I don't know how much you remember of what happened, but I'm here to clear things up. It... it was me. I was the one who put you in this condition. I wasn't myself during our duel – something happened to me, and it made me do some horrible things." She closed her eyes, the tears starting to flow again. "I'm so sorry, but that's the truth. I did this to you."

"I know," came the quiet reply.

Stunned, Katie opened her eyes and stared at the girl lying in front of her. She didn't look upset or scared. On the contrary, her eyes were twinkling, and her lips were curled in a tiny smile.

"You knew?" Keane gasped. "But... what... why didn't you tell me you remembered?"

Esta seemed to be gaining strength and becoming more animated as the conversation progressed. Nevertheless, her reply was just as soft. "Because I was trying to protect you, both of you..." she said, looking from Keane to Katie. Keane stopped, shocked.

"What do you mean, sis'?" Keane said, once again sitting down in a spare chair beside the bed. He seemed to have forgotten his original fear of Katie, but was still eyeing her warily. The doctor stepped forwards and started to say something. Keane, shot him a glare and said, "Go away. We're fine in here." The elderly doctor started to argue, then shook his head and stepped outside.

Esta took a moment to gather herself before replying. "I've known all along what happened that day, despite what I told the doctors. I knew that if I told the doctors what had happened, they would have Katie arrested, and I didn't want that. I also knew that if I told you I remembered, big brother, you might force me to tell the police. Even if not, you'd probably go after them and risk getting hurt yourself. I didn't want that either..."

Keane and Katie looked at each other, and just for once, it wasn't to glare at each other, though there was certainly plenty of anger in Keane's eyes. It was a look of mutual understanding. Keane turned back to his sister. "But sis', if someone did something like this to you, why wouldn't you want them locked away?"

"Keane's right," Katie added. "I did a horrible thing to you. Why wouldn't you want to contact the authorities?"

"Because..." Esta paused, then went on. "It's like you said, you weren't yourself, were you? I know you, Katie. You're a nice person. You were always kind, always helpful, always smiling. The entire time we were dueling, I was telling myself 'this isn't right - there must be something wrong with Katie.' I was trying to help you in that duel. I was trying to get through to you." She smiled sadly. "I don't think I managed it then, but I think I've managed it now." She looked Katie straight in the eyes. "Well, have I?"

Katie nodded, then broke down completely. She buried her face in her hands, sobbing her heart out. "I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..."

Esta smiled happily, then gently turned to face her brother. "Big bro'... please don't hold a grudge against her. She wasn't herself, and she doesn't deserve to be hated."

Keane looked away. He stood up and walked over to the window, looking out at the sun, which had begun to set. Nobody in the room said anything. Nobody even moved. They were all waiting to hear his decision. Even Esta was looking apprehensive.

Then Keane turned round. He looked at Katie, and for once there was no malice in his eyes, no hatred. His eyes were cold, but completely empty. He paused before speaking, and when he did it was slow and hesitant, as though he was carefully turning over every word. "You're asking me to do the impossible. You're asking me to forgive and forget, but I can't forget. And I won't forgive." He continued before Esta could say anything. "But if what my sister says is true, and you weren't yourself that day, then for her sake I'm willing to try." He addressed Katie directly. "I will never see you as a friend, but you can consider my vendetta against you over."

Katie, still teary-eyed, nodded in thanks, and a great weight seemed to lift from her heart.

James clapped his hands, startling everyone in the room. "Well, now that that's resolved, I think we've outstayed our welcome. You need rest, and I'm sure the two of you have a lot to-" He stopped when he saw Esta shaking her head. "What's wrong?"

"Please don't go yet," she said. "I want you to tell me a story."

James looked puzzled. "A story?"

"Yes," she replied, her eyes shining. "Tell me what's been going on today. How did my brother find you? What happened after that? I want to know the whole story."

James stood there, at a loss of what to say. Katie, on the other hand, smiled and clasped Esta's hand. "Alright. I'll tell you what happened, but I warn you, it's quite a story." Esta nodded and smiled back. Keane, despite himself, felt a sense of calm pass over him.

"Now then, where do we start...?"

Fun Fact #17: Say a fond farewell to Keane and Esta. We do have some ideas for bringing one or both of them back for a brief period in a later chapter, but nothing set in stone. For the most part, consider their roles in the story complete.

Fun Fact #18: Yes, we are aware of the story overhaul plans. Yes, we are against it. Yes, we have signed the petition. So should you.

Fun Fact #19: Number 94: Matrix Golem will be Katie's go-to secondary Number in future duels.

Bonus Fun Fact: If you're reading this, then you're probably re-reading some of our older stories and have stumbled upon this by accident. Or you've been sent here by a hint from a future story. In either case, you'll be the first to see this little sneak preview - Keane and Esta will be returning. Very soon.