Renegades: A New Dawn

Chapter VI: Tribes

As the club flew back from Prague, Maddy's actions had everyone talking. With Astrid still entranced, Maddy was talking to Phil on the way back. 'What you did there was impressive.' 'Don't get too excited. It's only Brooke's that is completely legit.'

'Meaning?' 'I'll release Astrid from her spell tomorrow. She sent a letter before Rome, but it didn't arrive until afterwards. The whole set-up was concocted purely to get revenge on Dragan.' 'You know what he did?'

'Trust me, from what Astrid's told me, he's done a lot more than either of us are aware of.' 'What did her letter say anyway?' 'Basically just that she wanted to join and she wanted to tell me what Dragan had done. I'll show you the letter tomorrow.'

The next day

As everyone was up, Maddy sat Astrid in a chair in the office and then worked on releasing her from the spell. Yr wyf yn Gorchymyn i'r enaid gael ei gloi y tu mewn i'r llestr gwag hwn i ddeffro ac i ail-ymddangos. Awaken, Astrid, merch Odin, Tywysoges y Gogledd!'

Astrid then slowly woke up. 'Maddy?' 'The plan went off without a hitch. This is the base.' 'Ow my head.' 'Yeah, forgot to warn you that the spell has side-effects. Headaches, maybe a little memory loss.' 'Not much to forget anyway.'

'Now I'll give you a tour 'round the base in a minute. After the tour, do you want to register now, or wait until your head's a little less spinney?' 'Uh I feel sick.' 'That flight wasn't gentle last night. Jack's a great pilot but even he's no match for turbulence.'

'This… register. What does it even do?' 'So we know all your medical and insurance details, and allows us to get you an ID card, which allows you to get in and out of the base freely. It's a security policy, designed by yours truly.'

'Sure, whatever, I can remember enough.' Lydia then came running up. 'Somebody's not been affected by the turbulence.' 'Yeah, probably helps that I was asleep the entire journey after we left Prague. That's not important though – you got a phonecall.' 'Who from?' 'Dunno but he was very insistent that he spoke to you.'

Maddy then looked back at Astrid. 'I'll be back in a few minutes.' She then shouted across the hall. 'Kris!' 'What's up boss?' 'Could you give Astrid a tour of the base?' 'Err sure, why not?' 'Thanks, you're ace.' 'No problem.' As Maddy rushed off to deal with business, Kris came over to the new girl.

'So you're the famous Astrid.' 'Famous?' You don't use social media, do you?' 'No.' 'Figures. Let's just say you're popular on the internet. Your semi-pro days are legendary.' 'Yeah.' 'Anyway, I suppose I had better give you a look around.'

'So how long did it take to settle in?' 'Not entirely sure I have yet. See, I arrived just days before Hannah was killed. So it's been a case of learning on the job. Maddy's office is up those stairs, on the far right, the new accounts office will be on the other side when it's built.'

'When it's built?' 'Yeah, it's just an empty room at the moment. It used to be a storage room.' 'Where's the kitchen?' 'At the back, it's the big open plan thing. You like cooking?' 'It's relaxing. Grandmother taught me traditional ways.' 'Your grandmother sounds pretty cool.' 'Thanks.'

'This is the main hall, this is where Maddy hosts the club meetings. Basically just giving us updates on absent club members, telling us about what our targets are, and dealing with any general club issues.' 'Doesn't sound too interesting.'

'It's not bad actually, gives some structure and discipline. Over to the right of the main hall is the sleeping quarters. You'll get your room key from Maddy later probably. Sakura's work-area is in one of the empty bedrooms, I think it's Room 2.'

'Who's Sakura?' 'Oh yeah, she's our medic. Unless you ask Akiza. Complicated story. But yeah, any medical issues and Sak will sort you out. Apart from right now because she's out. Don't know where, nobody seems to know anything around here these days.'

'Suppose it's understandable.' 'Yeah with everything everyone's been through.' 'This with Hannah, did you… see it?' 'I didn't see it but I heard the commotion. Pity, I was looking forward to getting to know Hannah.'

Claude then came out of his room and got the shock of a lifetime, having left Prague before the main event finished. 'Oh for god's sake.' He then stormed down and immediately started pushing Astrid around. 'What are you doing here? You don't belong here – go away.'

Kris then stepped in to defend her. 'Who do you think you're talking to?' 'Let's just say me and Astrid know each other.' 'I don't care. She's got more right to be here than you after what you did.' Astrid then moved Kris out of the way. 'Thanks, I can defend myself.'

The two Nordics then faced off, with Astrid smiling. 'Claude.' 'Go away little girl.' 'Haha very funny. I'm going nowhere.' 'You're only here because Maddy likes you. You're no use to anyone here.'

'You're full of nothing but yourself. I'm not like others Claude. I'm not going to be pushed around by you. Because I don't bother about bullies. That's all you are.' Claude at this point was getting very irritated.

'I'm giving you a chance Astrid. Go away or I will make you go away.' 'Try it.' Claude then grabbed Astrid's hair, but she kneed him in the gut. 'That's why I always have my hair done. I'm staying whether you like it or not.' 'This ain't over Astrid.' 'Seems pretty over to me.'

As Claude clumped off, Astrid wasn't happy. 'i came here to work hard and make the club stronger. And this is the welcome I get?' 'Claude's a dick. He's just come back from suspension literally yesterday, and nobody wants him here.'

'Suspension? What'd he do – knock somebody out?' 'Come with me, I don't want anyone else to hear me telling you. We're not allowed to talk about it, but it's only fair you know.' Kris and Astrid then went to his bedroom.

'So what is it?' 'Keep this quiet, but Claude was suspended for trying to rape someone.' Astrid's face dropped when she heard this. 'Who did he try to rape?' 'I promise you this is all true. He kidnapped and tried to rape Blair.'

'God no. Did he… do it?' 'No. He tied her up apparently, but she broke the bed he tied her to.' 'And he's still here?' 'Word on the street is Hannah wanted to expel him for good and turn him into the police, but Blair kiboshed it – some reason she didn't want to press charges.'

'I totally get that.' 'I'm glad you do.' 'Thing is, Blair hates attention. Sounds stupid but she was always the same.' Astrid then passed Kris a small box. 'Looks like a pocket translator.' 'Yeah, I'm more comfortable in my own tongue.'

'Norwegian?' 'Yes. That should translate from it.' 'Nice. Fire away then.' 'Blair mislikte alltid oppmerksomhet. Hun vil bare slå opp, gjøre jobben sin, dra hjem. Alltid virket som hun manglet noe selv, og visste at en dag noen ville dra nytte av henne, og det ville helt ødelegge enhver selvtillit hun noen gang hadde i seg selv, ikke så mye eksisterte i første omgang (Blair always disliked attention. She wants to just turn up, do her job, go home. Always seemed like she was missing something though, and knew that one day someone would take advantage of her, and it would completely destroy any self-confidence she ever had in herself, not that much existed in the first place).'

'I hope you're wrong about it destroying her. She's going through a terrible time at the moment. She saw Hannah as an idol, and she's dealing with personal issues back home in Michigan.' 'I hope she's ok. Don't tell anyone, but I've grown to be really fond of her. She's cool, but never met anyone with such heart and passion for duelling. She could have turned pro after her 16th birthday but she chose not to. Wanted to perfect craft.' Astrid then turned to leave.

'By the way, thanks for… well, you know, earlier.' 'Oh that? You're welcome – Claude's a bully boy and I'm not the only person who doesn't like him around here. You could call him a marked man.'

As Astrid left the room, Kris smiled to himself. He then started writing something on the back of his aeroplane booking conformation, before leaving the room himself.

In the office

As Maddy came off of the phone, she noted something down, and then went to leave the office, only for Kris to burst in. 'Kris, we have a booking system now. Actually who cares? Not like anyone bothers to pay attention anyway. Anyway, you're here now, so what's making you run around like a headless chicken?'

'Are you who I go to to lodge an official complaint about a club member?' 'Yes it is. I can hazard a guess who, but go on.' Kris then handed her the note. 'So you're alleging that Claude physically assaulted Astrid?' 'Yes.'

'In what way?' 'Grabbed her by the hair and started pulling her upwards. I was trying to give Astrid that tour around when they got into an argument because he doesn't like her being here. The guy is cancer.'

'I will speak to Claude later.' 'So what's going on with Blair?' 'You know I can't tell you Kris. And if I could, I wouldn't. The least the poor girl deserves is some privacy.' 'I know, just wondering if she's got a return date yet.' 'As soon as I know, everyone else will know. Now I'm going to the hospital in a few minutes. You still coming?' 'Absolutely.'

As Maddy, Kris, and Jodi were leaving, Astrid ran up, hair done up again. 'Any chance I can tag along?' 'Sorry Astrid, only four visitors allowed at a time. And Kelly's already there, so' Kris then turned back. 'She can have my place. I'll go and visit some other time.' 'Certain?' 'Absolutely.' Astrid then joined the other two in going to the hospital.

That morning, Shelby, Michigan

Blair was still walking around in somewhat of a daze after the day before. Kicking a can lying around on the pavement, it bounced four times, before rolling down an open manhole. Alex was with her, trying to find some sense.

'Blair, what happened wasn't your fault. Gramma just didn't want you to have to see her go. You made everything better by coming to see her.' Blair didn't speak, staying completely silent. 'Blair, you're doing yourself no good by torturing yourself like this.'

With no response, Alex sighed in disappointment. 'Why won't you just listen to me kid? Just talk to me.' As another can flew into the air and hit somebody on the back of the head, but she didn't even lift her head.

A young woman in her early 20s with her hair in a high ponytail then called out. 'Hey traitor!' 'Piss off Sasha!' 'Wasn't talking to you. I was talking to that disgusting tart next to you.' Sasha then ran over and grabbed Blair. 'Give me all your money.'

Blair pushed Sasha away, making her half-sister even more angry. 'You selfish little tart. You won't give me any of your money even though you're making loads. You're f**king loaded! Give me your money or I'll tell the police that you murdered dear old Gramma. And then me and America, we can have all the money that the old bag left. She should have died years ago.'

Blair then started shaking, and her primal spikes appeared on her elbows. Before Sasha could even react, Blair was on top of her, slashing away with the spikes and pummelling her with punches. This continued until the violet-haired vivario looked up for a moment at Alex, leading to the momentum being reversed.

Sasha and Blair then had the mother of all catfights, both of them landing stinging blows, before it was eventually broken up by three local police officers. As Blair was stood up, Sasha went to cheap-shot her with a broken table leg which was lying around on the street, but Blair fainted before she could be hit, and the leg stabbed one of the officers in the neck.

As Sasha was arrested for assaulting the officer and taken away, Alex called for an Ambulance, as Blair lay there, barely moving. Less than 10 minutes later, Blair was rolled onto a spinal board, and taken away to the local ER.

Back in England

At the hospital in England, Rio was awake when Maddy and co. arrived. As they did, Rio seemed surprised. 'A… a...' She then thumped her bedside table in annoyance, before screaming out in pain. As doctors rushed to her, Kelly and Maddy had a quiet word.

'You wanted to talk to me?' 'Yeah, I was with Rio yesterday, and she was telling me that she's having flashbacks. Every time she closes her eyes apparently. Not just of the shooting, but of other things as well, things like the car crash which killed her parents. She thinks she has PTSD.'

'Right.' 'It's nice having me here, but I think she's really suffering' 'Blair's not here.' 'Exactly. Those two have some sort of deeper connection somehow.' 'Probably because they came into the club around the same time.' 'That could be it. Any word on Blair?' Maddy just shook her head. 'None. I don't even know if she made it on time to see her grandmother. Hate to think how all this is affecting her as well.'

'Just feels like we're moving nowhere at the moment.' 'We are, you just need to give it some time. I'll talk to Sak later, see what she thinks about the self-diagnosis.' 'Thanks.' 'Thank you – for staying here.' 'Jade's staying here tonight, so I'll be back at base by 9.'

'Great. How's Rio doing other than that?' 'So-so. Physically she's getting better, but mentally it's slow. She will get there though – she's a tough cookie.' 'I'm glad to hear it. Thanks for looking after her.' 'You're too kind, but she's an absolute sweetheart. Really love her to bits.'

When they came back into the room, Phil was stood there by Rio's bedside. And Rio was stood up, leaning on his shoulder, legs shaking. After around a minute, Rio spoke. 'Move away Phil. I n… need to do thi..s' Phil gently took Rio's arm from over his shoulder, and she managed to walk 8 unsteady steps before falling back, into Kelly's outstretched arms.

'You need to be careful.' 'Have to get back.' 'You will get there. But you need to focus on getting healthy.' 'Is B back?' 'Not yet, no.' 'Hope she's ba… ba...' 'I know you do Rio, we all do.' 'So Astrid, is she' 'Yes.' 'Cool.'

Two doctors then came in, and walked over to Rio. 'Ms. Kastle, if you could please lift your hand up.' Rio then lifted up her left hand (the one she hit the table with), and started wrapping it in a bandage. 'What's up?' 'Broke my hand.'

Maddy then turned away. 'Going?' 'Yeah, I've got some stuff to deal with back at base.' 'What kind?' 'Need to order Astrid's jacket, Kris wants to talk to me about a medical appointment, and Claude's back from suspension, so I gotta sort that out as well. Laters guys.' Maddy left, on her own.

Back in Michigan

Blair woke up in the local hospital, with Alex waiting next to her. 'Morning sweetie. You remember what happened?' Blair nodded. 'Well after you battered her, you collapsed on the sidewalk. I was really worried for a while. But I spoke to the doctor, and there's nothing wrong with you apart from a black eye. But we can't tell if that was Sasha or the fall.'

Blair looked around, and ripped off the hospital gown, before fleeing immediately. 'Blair! Blair! Come back! You've left your' By this time Blair was well out of sight. '… phone.' Alex put the phone in her pocket, before running off after her sister.

As Alex ran, she bumped into America. 'Hey America, you know where Blair is?' 'Like, why would I know? I didn't even know the little roach was back here. Like, I haven't seen her since she ran away and abandoned our family.'

'She didn't abandon us!' 'Well how else do you explain her disappearing in the middle of the night without even leaving a note?' 'She's just really bad at goodbyes… you know what, I haven't got time for this. Blair's missing and I need to find her.'

;Well, like, don't ask me. I couldn't care what happens to her. By the way, she still owes me 300 bucks.' 'How about the small matter of the 9 grand you stole from her? Or the two grand? Or the $763 to pay for your breast enlargement?' Alex then ran off again, trying to find her.

Several minutes of running later, Alex was out of breath. 'Knew I shouldn't have skipped out on my workout this week.' One of her friends then passed by. 'Hey Al, you should have told me Blair was back, not seen her in months.' This caught the 26 year old's attention. 'You've seen her?'

'Sure, she ran past into the old jewel shop on Superior Street.' 'Thanks Jenna.' 'What's she doing back anyway?' 'I'll phone you later. Really need to see her.' 'Ok, good luck.' 'Thanks. Say hi to Dominic for me.' 'Will do. Still on for leg day tomorrow?' 'Don't know yet.' Alex then ran off again.

Entering the old shop, Alex looked around carefully. 'Blair? You in here? Blair?' Alex then had an evil thought. 'I know what'll make her come out. She hates being called by her middle names. Oh Ali, where are you?' As there was still no answer, Alex shrugged her shoulders. 'Mustn't be here then.' As Alex left, Blair leant around the wall, making sure she'd gone. Blair then looked at a picture of Rio in her purse, and started to cry again.

Alex meanwhile, was despairing. 'Why won't you just talk to me Blair? We used to be so close before you left. Like, it felt like me you and Ally were the only family each other had most of the time. Gramma was always there, but it felt like she associated me with those two more. I miss my sister. And now I can't relate to you because you moved… you moved!'

Alex then had a brainwave and took the phone that had been left in the hospital out of her pocket. 'Good job Blair never changes her lock password. Now who can I phone that relates to her? Oh, I recognise that name. That'll do.'

Back at Base

Maddy had just got back to base with Phil when a phone started ringing. 'Dad! Your phone's ringing!' 'Thanks Maddy.' Phil rushed over to it. 'Blair, I was just thinking of' 'Is this Phil Robinson?' 'Robinson-Cummings technically, but yes. Who are you and why do you have Blair's phone?'

'It's Alex.' 'Who?' 'Blair's half-sister Alex. You know, the one who came to fetch Ally after she went Rambo?' 'Ah I remember you now. Hang on, has something happened to Blair?' 'Not seriously no. I needed to talk to you. You know why she came over here?'

Phil then went into Maddy's office, where the young wolfblood was sat. 'I do, her grandmother's ill.' 'Yeah, well her Grandmother died.' 'Condolences on your loss.' 'Thanks. Blair found her.' 'Oh shit, I don't like where this is going.'

'Well it happened two days ago, and since then she's not spoken. Like, at all. Then she got into a fight with Sasha, and these weird purply-black spikes came out of her elbow' 'Really long story, an experiment gone… awry.'

'Yeah, well now I know where she is, but I can't get her to talk to me. I'm worried that she might be suicidal or something. I just wanted to know if you had any ideas on how to get her to talk?' 'I'm really not sure. Especially if she hasn't got her phone.'

'Well could you give me a ring back on this number if you think of something?' 'I will do, thanks.' 'By the way, I heard about your loss. I'm really sorry.' 'The thoughts are appreciated.' 'I'll wait for a call then.' 'Thank you Alex.' 'Bye.'

As Phil put the phone down, Maddy put her arm around him. 'Blair's gone off the grid and won't talk to anybody. And she doesn't have her phone so I can't talk to her.' Maddy then had a thought. 'Let me talk to Sakura about something.'

In the medical office

Sakura was doing a deep clean when Maddy walked in. 'What can I do for our alpha?' 'I wanted to talk to you about an idea I've had. Regarding Rio.' 'Let me get my notebook. And… fire away.' 'Right, so you know Rio's feeling down about being able to do nothing?' 'Yes.'

'Well, I've had an idea to make her feel useful.' 'That's… an interesting way to put it.' 'What else would you suggest?' 'How about… helpful? Worthwhile maybe?' 'Both way better than mine. What's the time?' 'Quarter past 3.' 'Great, I've got enough time to deal with club biz before going to see Rio.'

Maddy then headed back to her office, and got on the tannoy. 'Can Claude please come to the President's Office? Claude to the President's office, thank you.' Over five minutes later, there was still no sign. 'Claude get yer arse up here before I drag you by yer ears!'

Claude eventually arrived at the office more than 15 minutes after the second call, while Maddy was on the phone. 'Yeah, so it's Large that we need. Yep. Yeah, and could you do a wider neck line please? Thanks Kate. Come over next Thursday and we'll discuss that. I'm open to it, but I have conditions. That's why I want you to come over. K, bye.'

She then turned her attention to Claude. 'Shut the door, and I hope you haven't made plans, because this might take a while.' 'What's up darling?' 'Claude, it's very inappropriate to call me darling. Firstly, what happened to reporting here?'

'Well you've been out most of the day.' 'You've had plenty of chance, my office has been empty most of the time I've been here. Anyway, I was going to welcome you back and inform you that I'll tell everyone about not winding you up, but it seems that you've already made your presence known.'

'I have no idea what you're on about.' 'I'm afraid you've been accused of assaulting Astrid earlier today.' 'What's she even doing here?' 'She's a new club member.' 'She doesn't have a jacket or a card.' 'She doesn't have a card because I've not had chance to formally take her details yet. That's what I was going to do now but instead I've got to deal with you grabbing her.'

'Why's she even a club member? She isn't worthy.' Maddy angrily flashed her eyes, making Claude nervous, as he backed down. 'Let me make one thing clear: whether somebody is worthy of being here is up to me and only me. Nobody else. I chose Astrid to be in the club because I decided that her bravery, skill, and heart was something we needed.'

'Fine, Astrid was talking smack to me, so I grabbed her to shut her up. But she's really brave, running behind you.' 'Funniest thing is, Astrid doesn't even know about the complaint. Kris is the one who told me.'

'I want to talk to you now Claude, and I want you to listen. At the moment, I am the only person who wants you in the club. I have received a number of requests for you to be terminated. But I want to give you another chance. If you can stop rubbing everyone up the wrong way and try to get on with everyone, then I want you to stay.'

'And I want to be here.' 'I'm glad to hear it.' 'But I have a couple of ground rules. Firstly, I want you to give a full and frank and honest apology for your actions at the club meeting later today. And second, given what has happened over the past few months, I don't want you to touch or speak to Blair or Rio.'

'What about them?' 'When Rio is out of hospital and Blair is back from Michigan, I will inform them both of this as well. That's just about it I think.' 'Good.' Claude then turned to leave. 'Oh, and Claude.' As he turned around her eyes glowed again. 'If you ever assault any member of this club again, you will be terminated without question or chance to defend yourself.'

As they both left the office, Maddy pushed her hair to the side, as Lydia, Freja, and Sakura were waiting at the door. 'We going then?' 'Guess so.' Before they left, Sakura took the car keys. 'I'll drive – you're working way too hard.' 'Seriously?' 'I'm not letting you drive when you've been up 13 hours.' 'Fine, I can't be bothered arguing.'

As they arrived at the hospital, the medic made plans. 'Lydia, Freja, could you get three coffees please?' 'Sure.' Maddy then looked at her tiredly. 'Who are they for?' 'Me, Kelly, and you.' 'I don't even drink Coffee.' 'You do now. Because you need something to keep you awake.'

When they walked onto the ward, Rio had her eyes shut, humming to herself to pass the time. 'Hey Rio.' 'Evening.' 'How you doing?' 'Still can't walk. Anyone heard from B?' Sakura and Maddy then sat down. 'That's kinda what we wanted to talk to you about.'

Maddy then explained. 'So Blair's grandmother died.' 'She phoned?' 'No, Alex did. Her grandmother died and apparently Blair was the one who found her. And now Blair's gone off the grid. She's hiding somewhere in Michigan and she's not got her phone with her – she dropped it after getting into a fight.'

'So unlike her.' 'So that's what I wanted to talk to you about. Sorry, we. Because I remember hearing Blair talking to you about having two phones.' 'Right.' 'Thing is, none of us have the number. We were wondering if you'd be able to phone Blair to talk to her.'

Without hesitation, Rio nodded, and Maddy passed the Idahoan her phone. 'I can rem… rem… remem…' Rio then took a deep breath, and Sakura tried to help. 'Try to break it down into smaller bits.' 'I can re… mem,,, ber the num… ber.' Kelly then stood up. 'We'll give you some privacy.' As the phone went to voicemail, Rio left a message.

Kelly and Sakura then returned to the room around 10 minutes later. 'Where's Maddy?' 'She's just gone to the loo. You get through?' 'That one goes to voi… yeah that, straight away.' 'You left a message though.' 'Yeah.'

The twins then walked in with the coffee. 'Thanks darling.' Maddy then walked in with two bottles of coke. 'Rio, figured you'd be thirsty, so thought I'd bring you this.' 'Thanks Maddy.' 'No problem.'

One of the doctors then walked in. 'How are you feeling this evening Ms. Kastle?' 'Call me Rio please. I'm not bad.' 'Good. Just taking some blood readings.' 'When can I go?' The doctor just laughed. 'Not funny.' 'You'll be here for a while yet I'm afraid.'

As the doctor walked off, Kelly whispered to Rio. 'We'll work on something. Ain't no doctors gonna keep us American girls down.' Rio then laughed, and hi-fived Kelly. Maddy then made her excuses, and left, warping back to the base.

Back at the base

As Maddy got back to the base, Halldor was waiting for her. 'Ms. Smith.' 'Call me Maddy. You got here quickly.' 'Yes, air travel to here is rather swift from our parts.' Astrid then spotted him, and hugged him. 'What are you doing here?'

'I came to see you Astrid.' 'If this is about him' 'You know that we don't turn our back on family, whatever they've done.' 'Sorry, but he's no family to me.' 'He is, whether you like it or not Astrid. All I ask for is for you to come back and tell him that you forgive him.'

'Ingen Halldor, nei. jeg kommer hjem i desember, kanskje jul. Men dette er meg nå. Og han fortjener ingen tilgivelse fra meg for sine synder-han skulle be til Odin at han har en plass i Valhalla (No Halldor, no. I come back home in December, maybe christmas. But this is me now. And he deserves no forgiveness from me for his sins - he should pray to Odin that he has a place in Valhalla).'

'Jeg ser-djevelen har en holder fortsatt. Vel jeg vil bo og observere-kanskje en ny mening vil danne (I see - the devil has a hold still. Well I will stay and observe - perhaps a new opinion will form).' Maddy then intervened. 'Please can you both start speaking English.' 'He's decided he's moving in.'

Maddy shook her head. 'Seven days. And I don't want you around the base the whole time. Astrid needs time to settle in on her own without you.' 'It is a deal.' 'Now me and Astrid need to talk.' 'I will make myself gone.'

Maddy and Astrid then went into the office to sort out registration. 'Right, full name.' 'Astrid Elena Julia Hofferdottier.' 'Birthplace.' Berk, Svalbard, Norway.' 'How big is this Berk?' '200, maybe 250 people.' 'Sounds small.' 'Yeah, one people.'

'Date of birth?' '9/4/94.' 'Any nationality other than Norwegian?' 'Nope.' 'Any health concerns?' 'James, he attacked me with his boys at Worlds, cracked C3 and C4 vertebrae.' 'That why you didn't travel to Australia?' 'Not cleared. Wasn't cleared for China but neck stopped hurting so much.'

'Any other addresses?' 'Yes, I have what do you call, holiday home, Jan Mayan, Norway. Arctic Poppy og Bearberry Chalet. Live there in summer months when it get too hot in UK?' 'Don't like hot weather?'

'Norway and hot weather don't mix. Trust me, I've been there.' 'Know the feeling. Notable family members?' 'I've got a cousin.' 'Oh right.' 'I'd love to say my cousin's really cool, but sadly, he's called Claude Duane.'

Maddy's jaw dropped at the revelation. 'You?' 'Yeah.' 'And Claude?' 'Yeah.' 'Cousins?' 'Yep, all right. Hey, I didn't say I liked it.' 'Right, erm, that's not creepy at all, being assaulted by your cousin on your first day here'

'When I see Kris I'm going to' 'Kiss him?' Astrid visibly cringed at the thought. 'Ew that's disgusting.' 'I saw the way you looked at each other. Last time I saw that was when I saw Blair with Jade.' 'Who's Jade?'

Conveniently, Jade then passed by. 'Oh Maddy, have you heard anything from Blair?' 'Kinda, I'll explain later. Oh before you go Jade, you ever heard Blair talk about Astrid?' 'Yeah loads. Why?' 'Jade, this is Astrid, Blair's best frenemy in the world, other than myself obviously. Astrid, this is Jade – Blair's girlfriend.'

Astrid then stood up and bowed to Jade. 'I'm not royalty or anything.' 'I know, just common curtsey around my parts. So she finally opened her mouth did she? Nice to meet you.' 'Heard a bit about you.' 'Like?'

'Like how you're the best duellist she's ever faced, and how you're actually a decent human being unlike another blondie she knows.' 'I'm guessing that's Caprice then. You know, we have a term for people like Caprice - Angel-ansikt, men djevelen-baserte.' 'In English?' 'Angel-faced but Devil-based.' Jade then showed off her tongue. 'Aue – mallak allouge wilkin al-qaim ali al-shitan.'

Maddy laughed. 'Arabic – a language I can speak. Kinda.' Maddy then showed off her language skills. 'Angel-konfronteret, men djævelen baseret.' Astrid then giggled. 'Danish, the language that sounds like you're choking on a potato.'

'Who says that?' 'Ah, bokstavelig talt alle i Norge eller Sverige. Og sannsynligvis mest danske folk så vel.' 'Something about Norway and Sweden. Let me guess - "everyone in norway and sweden thinks that, but the Danish people think it's a loada crap.' 'Partly. Most Danes probably agree – that's why they speak English.'

Jade then left and Maddy finished the details. 'Right, any other random family members?' 'No.' 'Halldor?' 'It's… complicated. He's kind of a friend of the family, and also basically a babysitter.' 'Why don't you tell him to go home.' Astrid looked unimpressed. 'You don't think I tried that?' 'Moving on, do you have an email address?'

'You kidding? Berk doesn't have internet.' 'Can you even use the internet?' 'Yeah, like I use it when I'm on the mainland. We're only a 40 minute boat from Oslo.' 'Right, that's nearly done. I can't wait to hear your stories about living in Norway. All we need to do now is get your photo taken and print off your ID card.'

Astrid and Maddy then went to the photography room, which had been hijacked by Freja. 'Freja, how many times – if you're going to use MY cameras to further your career, then please at least tell me.' 'Sorry, didn't know you were doing that.'

Freja then ran off. 'Sorry, we're a mad bunch here. Freja's trying to launch her modelling career – she's already got a nice portfolio of various catalogues.' 'Page 3?' 'No, only back pages at the moment. Lydia thinks she's got a bad agent. So, if you just want to position yourself in front of the screen, and I will take your picture.'

'Any particular pose?' 'No, as long as we can see your eyes and most of your face.' Astrid just stood, arms folded and smiling, as her picture was taken. 'It'll take a couple of minutes for your ID to be printed off. Just want to take your fingerprint and iris readings now – security measures.'

'Who did all this security stuff?' 'I drew the plans up, and Sean, who you'll meet very quickly because he's around here whenever he's not working, he did all the manly electrical stuff. So for the iris, just sit down in front of this laser'

'You're not going to hypnotise me again are you?' 'Listen, you agreed to that. And no I'm not. This is purely security.' 'Right.' 'So sit in front of the laser, and it will scan your eyes.' 'Is it safe?' 'Perfectly safe. You might be seeing spots in your eyes, but that'll clear within about a minute.'

After the security measures were taken care of, Maddy collected the ID from the machine and passed it to Astrid. 'This is your ID card. You'll need that and either your fingerprint or iris to get into the base. The card can take up to 12 hours to activate properly. If you need to leave the base on your own in the meantime, just contact me when you're back.' 'We done?' 'Yep.'

Back in Michigan

Blair was still hiding several hours later, when she realised she didn't have her phone. So she flipped open her spare. 'A message.' She opened up the voicemail, revealing Rio's message to her.

'B, it's Rio. I… I know you blame your… yourself for what happened. Don't. It isn't your fault. I wasn't protecting you. I jumped in front of a bullet for Phil. But you can't run away and hide from the world. I'm fine. I'm alive. Because you have family, family who love you. So stop hiding and go back to Alex and Ally, they love you.'

Blair cried as she heard this. 'You are Blair Flannigan. Contact me when you understand.' As the message ended, Blair wiped her eyes, and ran off. 'Next stop, Washington DC. I'm back.'

In Birchall's apartment

Birchall and Allyx were on their own, with him eating dinner, when a cold wind blasted through the windows. 'Allyx, go and close the windows.' 'Yes master James.' As Allyx went to do that, her thick ponytail following her, she got to the window, and there was a light shining. She then turned around, eyes glowing blue.

'I told you to close the damn window.' Allyx spoke in the same voice that had distracted Birchall before. 'Judgement day is coming. Those who you wronged will have their revenge.' Birchall stood up, startled, and started backing away slowly. 'Who are you? And what do you want?'

'All those who you wronged will have their revenge. Justice will be dealt. Judgement Day is coming. December 12th, Judgement Day is coming.' Allyx's eyes then returned to normal, and she stood there, vacant as normal. As Birchall moved closer to her though, he could see that three letters were tattooed on her forehead: H.R.C…

Next time: Blair returns, Claude causes more issues, and Rhydian enacts a plan in Renegades: A New Dawn Chapter VII: Temptation