Renegades: A New Dawn

Chapter XXIII: Training Daze

The next morning, all was peaceful and happy. Apart from in Room 9 of the hotel, where Maddy was in the middle of an intense phone call. 'I'm sorry Robert, but your services are no longer required. No, it's not Hannah's call, I'm the one in charge now. Sure you can come down to the base, but you won't get in. There's a security lock which you don't meet the requirements for. No, if I told you the requirements then it wouldn't be secure would it? Right, your obsession with my mam is getting worrying now.'

Hannah then walked in. 'Rob?' 'You guessed it.' 'Let me deal with him.' 'I'm not sure that's a good idea' 'Don't worry, I won't put up with any shit.' Maddy then reluctantly handed the phone over. 'Rob, what appears to be the issue? No, we're not talking about my social media, what is the issue? Fine, we can meet up. How about the Bridge Cafe in Rochdale? I know you don't live too far from there. 2pm tomorrow. Rob, I'm not in love with you, get over yourself.'

As she handed her daughter the phone back, the inquisition started. 'What's going on between you two?' 'Literally all that's going on is me and Rob dated for about 2 years. I ended it well before the club was born, he's convinced I'm still in love with him.' 'Why give him the pilot's job then.'

'Well there wasn't exactly many options. And I didn't know how extreme his views were at the time, I thought he just had a crush on me still. Now why's he saying that we owe him over 2 grand?' Maddy rolled her eyes. 'It's not 2 grand, what happened was when I took over after the shooting I realised that the books were in a complete mess. So I sent Rob an email letting him know that I was lowering our payments to him from £500 to £350 per trip, just until I found somebody to sort the accounts out.'

'And firing him?' 'I told him that his services wouldn't be required anymore about 3 weeks ago because Jack is cheaper and quite honestly, he's a better pilot. I did tell Rob I would pay him all his owed money within a month. And it's not been a month yet. We don't owe him 2 grand, we owe about £600, which I was going to ask Jodi to sort out when we got back to the UK, because I don't wanna rack up massive phone bills.'

With that, they started talking more calmly. 'So does Dad know?' 'About what?' 'You and Rob.' 'He knows we were in a relationship for a good while, the three of us went to high school together. He doesn't know the extent of the infatuation because until recently, I didn't. Don't get me wrong, I'm planning on taking him with me to this meeting. That's why I picked 2pm – he usually goes food shopping about half 1, so we can swing by the Cafe on the way back. I'll discuss it with him a bit later.'

Just then, Maddy got another call. 'I swear if this is him again I'm going to scream.' She then looked at the screen. 'It's 'trid. Hello?' A hoarse voice came from the other side. 'Hi, wanted to let you know I'm home.' 'But I thought you weren't being released until tomorrow. I wanted to welcome you back.' 'It's fine, I promise. When are you coming home?' 'We're leaving Colombia in about an hour, so I'll probably see you tomorrow. You sure you're ok?'

'Just a sore throat, it'll pass. Listen, can Halldor come to the base in the next few days?' 'Make it Wednesday and I'll be there all day. And it will be quiet because of the courses starting.' 'Aren't you taking one of the courses?' Maddy's reply came with a degree of attitude. 'No, I'm not allowed to just in case I give Myka an unfair advantage, not that she needs it. So yeah, I'm stuck in the office all day. And here I was hoping to spend time with my own father.'

Annoyed, Astrid snapped in her mother tongue. 'Slutt å stønne kvinnen, du trenger bare å spørre ham om å tilbringe tid sammen. Jeg vet ikke hvor mange ganger jeg må fortelle deg!' 'Ok ok, I get the message. Just stop shouting.' 'You know what to do.' 'Sure. I'll see you back in England, k?' 'Ya. Love ya sis.' 'And you.'

As the call ended, Hannah moved towards Maddy. 'Maddy, you can always spend time with him. You just need to ask. Ok?' 'I guess.' 'I promise you. Even if he's busy, he'll get right back to you afterwards.' 'Thanks Mam.' 'It doesn't have to be lonely at the top. You can make it anything you want to. Because you're running the most potentially powerful empire and you just have to have a vision.' Maddy then closed her eyes and smiled. 'Thank you.'

At the airport, 2 hours later

As everyone boarded the plane, Maddy came up to Jack and presented him a piece of paper. 'What's this Maddy?' 'This whole empire relies on my vision and judgement. So I wanted to make one thing official. This is a contract to officially become a member of the Renegades as our pilot. Obviously you can read through it first.'

Jack didn't take any time, before signing. 'I was never going to say no. Working for you guys is a load of fun in itself.' 'Now you will be seeing a small increase in your pay… eventually.' 'Listen Maddy, I really don't mind. But thank you.' 'It's no problem, it's the least we owe you.' As the last Renegades entered, Jack smiled. 'Next stop blighty!'

The next day, in the base

As Maddy arrived, she looked around to see barely anyone around. 'It's 10, everyone should be up by now.' A familiar voice then came from the top floor. 'You're late.' By the time the president looked around, Astrid was stood at the bottom of the stairs, with her hair down.

'You look real good for someone who just came out of hospital.' Astrid's expression quickly changed to a serious glare. 'Was he dealt with?' 'Who – Finn?' 'Who do you think?' 'Dad beat him. He's got an open mic in Sweden though. Listen, if you need to take some time to yourself, I totally understand it.'

The reply was blunt. 'Finn betyr ingenting for meg. Jeg sverger full troskap mot Renegadene.' Her friend, despite her limited knowledge of the language, understood immediately. 'Just so you know, you're making the right decision.' 'When I'm back, I'll make sure he's gone forever. He won't show his face in front of me ever again.'

Maddy then quickly changed the subject. 'So how's the neck?' 'This has to be between us.' 'I won't tell anyone anything private, you know that.' 'I've not got much feeling in my right arm. Like I can feel it's there, but nothing else.' 'I'll cut you a deal. I won't tell anybody. In return though, if it's not improved in a week, talk to Sakura.' 'No' 'Yes.' Maddy's eyes then glowed red, and Astrid stopped in her tracks. 'If your arm feels no better in a week, you will tell Sakura.' Her eyes then turned back to normal. 'I'm still not doing it.' 'Fine, you win.'

Astrid walked off just as Jodi came up. 'What was that you did?' 'Post-hypnotic suggestion. She won't know anything about it, but when the time is right, she'll just follow the suggestion. Wait… you know about her arm?' 'It's obvious to anyone with two working eyes… well more like one working eye.'

'How's the other one doing?' 'Still got almost no vision. Guess I only need one though to do my job.' 'You really don't want anything do you?' 'All I want to do is serve Phil and Hannah. That is my job. If I'm making them happy, I'm happy as a result. I mean, there's worse lives to have.'

Bridge Cafe, Rochdale

Rob was waiitng for nearly 20 minutes when Hannah arrived, dressed in a smart red dress and black trousers. Phil followed her in, wearing a baseball cap, black jeans and a navy blue shirt.

'I thought it was just us talking.' 'Well if you hadn't been talking about me so creepily to my daughter, I might have done. Don't worry, I have him housetrained.' 'I'm only here to observe.' An annoyed Rob looked for assurance. 'Not a word?' 'As long as you tow the line.'

Rob then leant over the table to Hannah. 'I want my job back with you guys.' 'Not my decision. Maddy's in charge, she makes the decisions now.' 'Why are you doing this to me?' 'We're doing nothing to you' 'Of course you didn't.' 'Maddy only told me yesterday. But it is her decision not mine.'

'Overrule her then. It's not like she's even your daughter.' This clearly struck a nerve, as Hannah's voice raised from her previous calm disposition. 'How dare you' Before she could finish, Phil interjected. 'You might want to read this Robert.' 'I thought you weren't speaking?' 'Well it's this or let Hannah slap the piss out of you.' 'What is this anyway?' 'It's an adoption certificate. Signed by both of Maddy's biological parents.'

'You mean they know?' Hannah rolled her eyes in disbelief. 'They've been fine with it since October. Maddy visited them in Canada and sorted everything out. So that's enough about her. What is your issue? Because I refuse to believe that this, all this, is just because you're not our pilot anymore. You're not going to struggle to find a job.'

'I can't stand it.' 'Stand what? Come on, I want to know.' 'I can't stand being without you.' 'You're really starting to annoy me now.' 'You were always so quiet and kind. What happened? What did he do to you?' 'Honestly? He freed me from myself. Because I wasn't being me. I'm fiery, I get angry, I'm probably slightly crazy. But when I was with you, I was just trying to be a trophy wife, I just wanted to do what my other half wanted. Because I had this view of a utopia in my mind where we lived together for a perfect life.'

'You can still have that.' 'I can't. And do you know why? It's because that utopia doesn't exist. What does exist is my life. But for that time, it doesn't feel like I had a life. That wasn't your fault, it was mine. I was wasting my life trying to please everyone,I was doing what everyone thought I should be doing. So now I'm living for me. And what I want to do is be with the man I love and in a couple of months I'm going to give birth to his child – our child. It's nothing you ever did. Being with you the way I was, nobody won.'

'I won – we won.' 'No, we didn't. You're kidding yourself if you think we won being together. There was no happy ending.' 'You loved me.' 'I was a teenager when we first got together. I thought I did love you, I was confused. I know you're upset but it's not fair. I had to get away to live my own life. I tried talking to you but you were busy thinking everything was fine. You wouldn't listen to me.'

'We were fine. 9 years, we were together. 9 years.' 'And I never felt it once. I was busy thinking of what everyone else wanted me to do.' 'You're tormenting me Hannah! We are so good together, but you can't see it!'

'Rob, I'm not interested.' He then looked over at Phil. 'It's his fault isn't it? He manipulated you' 'When we broke up, I hadn't spoken to him in over a month. And afterwards, we didn't speak for over a month. I barely even knew he was alive. I just don't love you Rob, and I'm not sure I ever did. I was allowing everyone else to tell me who I should love. Everyone else thinks it's beauty and the beast but it's not. We trusted you to be a friend to us. It's clear that you're not capable of that.'

As Phil and Hannah left together, a clearly desperate Rob wasn't giving up. 'I'll never give you up Hannah! Not until you're free.' Hannah promptly ignored him, while their former pilot looked devastated.

Meanwhile, In the base

As soon as Halldor walked into the base, Astrid ran up to hug him. 'I see you've settled in well.' 'It's wonderful here. I get my own time, my own schedule, but I'm a part of something at last.' Just as she said this, Maddy came down from the office with her hair down and club jacket on.

'Hi, travel well?' 'I did thank you.' As they shook hands, Astrid smiled. 'Would you like a look around, or would you like to cut straight to the meeting.' He turned to Astrid. 'Will you show me around afterwards?' 'Certainly. It would be my honour to.' Maddy then laughed.

'She's not usually this polite. Shall we then?' As the two walked off, Astrid took a deep breath, and walked off to the arena, where Rio and Blair were waiting for the courses to start.

In the office

When they walked in, Maddy walked behind the desk. 'Take a seat if you like.' 'Thank you. I wanted to see how Astrid had been getting on here.' 'Wow, feel like her teacher at Parent's evening. Sorry, got sidetracked. Yeah, really well. She's got an amazing work ethic. We're trying to spread our word, and Astrid is a really good ambassador for us.'

'Astrid has always been a very hard worker. I heard about Claude injuring her neck. How bad was the news?' 'She's got a small fracture in one of the vertebra in her neck. She's also got issues with her right arm at the moment, she's not got any feeling in it, but I spoke to our doctor Sakura, and she thinks it might just be a trapped nerve. We've agreed that if there's no improvement in a week, she'll have a full scan. She was hospitalised, but she came back late last night.'

Maddy then started to look through Astrid's file, and found another concern. 'I just wanted to enquire about something with you.' 'I hope I can provide an answer.' 'Sakura was looking through 'trid's medical record a while ago, and found that she's been in hospital a lot. Like really a lot.'

'Ah yes, I thought she might not tell you. She had an accident when she was six, fell 20 feet down a rocky crag while hiking. She severed some nerve endings in her right arm with the resulting wound. Most were re-attached, but there was significant weakness in her arm. That's when she learned to use her left arm.'

'So she isn't left handed?' 'Naturally, no.' 'That would explain her weakness earlier then.' 'It happened again?' 'Yeah, she's been struggling with her arm since she broke her neck.' 'Always was the determined one. Anyway, I'm guessing this isn't why you called me in here?'

'Yeah, I wanted to ask you about coming here more often.' 'Interesting.' 'I know it's a huge commitment coming here, but… well you saw Astrid's reaction when you got here. I don't know what kind of relation… how are you related anyway? I know I'm being nosey.' 'No, it isn't an issue. I am Astrid's legal guardian.'

'Are her parents still around?' 'I wouldn't know about her father. Her mother Julia is still alive, however she handed guardianship over to me.' 'Why would she do that?' 'Julia was diagnosed around four years ago with cancerous tumours in both her colon and cervix. Both have since been in remission, but it came at a severe cost to her health. She is barely able to stand and wanted someone who could keep an eye on Astrid more easily. Now what were you wanting to talk about?'

'Sorry, got sidetracked. I saw how Astrid reacted to you coming here, and it got me thinking if you'd come a bit more often. I would like to make you what we call a "satellite" member of the Renegades. You have no pressure to promote the club, but you have a card which you can use to get into the base – you're welcome at any time. You've really made her day.'

Halldor smiled at the compliment. 'Thank you, you're far too kind. I would be honoured to spend more time here.' 'All we ask is you let us know when you're coming so we can prepare.' 'Certainly. Incidentally, is there anywhere nearby to stay?' 'Do you have any privacy needs?'

'No more than most.' 'Well we've got a couple of spare rooms here. The only thing is we have no curtains up yet so it might get a little bright in the morning due to the rooms being painted bright yellow. I still don't know why I let Kris buy the paint.' 'That is absolutely fine. I rarely sleep much beyond sunrise regardless.'

'I know someone else like that. Astrid's always up for a run before dawn.' 'Do you join her?' 'Occasionally. Usually when I can't sleep. I actually find it therapeutic.' 'Indeed.' 'Thanks for the meeting anyway. You're going to be staying in Room 14. It's on the first floor, next to Blair's room. Don't worry, you won't hear her snoring, we have soundproofing in the walls.'

Meanwhile, in the arena

Over 35 minutes had passed and still no sign of people for the arena. Suddenly Jade walked in, wearing a thin black vest. 'It's about time, we've been waiting ages for people to turn up.' 'Did nobody tell you?' Rio looked confused. 'Tell us what?' 'The courses don't begin until half 3. Phil and Hannah are stuck in traffic. I was only coming in because you've got a letter Blair. It looks kind of urgent judging by the fact it was sent with express delivery – that stuff's expensive.' 'Thanks Jade.' Rio then peered over. 'What's in there?' 'Beats me, I've not opened it.'

As she slowly slid her finger under the envelope, the flap opened, and a letter was contained inside, neatly folded three times. As she read it, her blood pressure started to spike, and her heart rate accelerated. 'You look sick B.' Blair didn't speak, but sat down, letter locked in her fingers.

'What's going on?' 'It's from David Anderson. He's a friend of the family's.' 'What does it say?' 'Grandma Wilma's funeral is on the 28th. He's asking me to text him to let him know if I'll be there.' 'Is America going to know?' 'If she does she'll do whatever it takes to stop me getting there.' 'You're going though, right?' 'Oh I'm going. And I'll stand up for myself this time.'

Back in the main base

Astrid returned and found Halldor and Maddy waiting for her. 'So, what are you waiting for?' 'You. Once you've shown Halldor around, we've got some news for you.' 'Ok, can't wait.' The two of them left as Maddy looked on. Shortly afterwards, Phil and Hannah walked in, neither apparently in a great mood.

'How did it go with Rob?' 'Don't ask.' 'That bad?' 'That bad. He's completely smitten with me still and is convinced that us splitting up is Phil's fault, big surprise there I know. It's not like everyone outside of these four walls disapproves is it?' 'I'm sorry to hear that.' 'It's fine, it's not your fault. Just getting really sick of the constant judging.'

Phil then took his jacket off. 'Well the course won't wait forever.' 'Do we even know who's taking which course? The tryouts were last week.' 'Jodi said she'll come down to do the draw. Give her five minutes.'

Five minutes later

Right on time, Jodi came down to the arena, with a black wide-brimmed hat and several pieces of paper in the hat. 'Jodi.' 'Yes Maddy?' 'Have you been raiding my wardrobe again?' 'First hat I could find.'

Rio then looked at Blair. 'B, why don't you lend me any of your clothes?' 'Ri, you're like, half a foot smaller than me. If I leant you something I'd never see you again because I wouldn't be able to find you. I can barely find you as it is.' 'Making fun of people's size isn't nice.' 'Well come back and say that the next time you're poking fun at how long my arms are, calling me giraffe.'

'I never knew you were upset by that, it was only ever meant as a friendly joke.' 'Well it isn't funny. Besides, giraffes are boring, all they do is stand around eating…. Whatever giraffes eat, each other probably.' A shout then came from Astrid. 'Sjiraffer er vegetarianer!'

At this point, Hannah interjected. 'You can argue about giraffes later. Start with drawing the advanced course and then move downwards.' 'Sure. The first person for the Advanced course is… Phil. And he will be joined by… Rio.' As Rio's name was drawn out, an uneasy silence filled the room. So Jodi put the name back into the hat and drew again. 'Rio.'

As this was occurring, Hannah had her face in her hand, sighing. So Jodi did it one more time. 'Joining Phil is… Rio.' After this, Phil decided enough was enough. 'Rio, promise me that you'll be completely unbiased.' 'Of course.' 'Fine then, Rio and Phil it is.' After that, Hannah and Maddy were drawn for the Pro course, with Kris and Astrid taking the Amateur course.

Just as Blair was about to walk off however, Phil stopped her. 'Listen, this Advanced course, this isn't going to be a walkover to teach. So I was wondering, would you be able to come and help? There's a few things planned like Duelling Styles and Advanced Strategic Manoeuvring that I think might be right up your alley.' 'Sure, thanks.'

Five minutes after

The lucky 11 Advanced Course students were allowed in, with Phil and Rio stood at the front of the arena. After they lined up, Phil went first. 'I'm Phil, you probably recognise me, if you don't then how did you get in here.' 'I'm Rio, I'm nice really… until you annoy me.' 'Welcome to the Advanced Duelling Course. This course assumes that you are already reasonably skilled as duellists. Most of you will have at least some experience in competition, I know one of you has a lot of experience. But to get to know you slightly, start at the far left, I want each of you to give us your name, age, home-town, and something interesting about you.'

'Becca Jewitt, 27, born in Singapore but live in Watford, and I entered the tour qualifiers in 2014.' 'Mitchell Travis, 25, from Boston, Mass, and my brother is Kris Travis.' 'Belle Draper, 20, from Headingley in Leeds, and my IQ is 181.' 'Jade Goocheneyad, 23, originally from Qa'em Shahr, Iran but living in Newcastle, and I used to be an exotic dancer back in Iran.' 'Fleur Murphy, 19, from Belfast, and I'm the current all-Ireland Under 20 champion.' 'Michael Rawlis, 34, from Buffalo, New York, and I am half Spanish.'

'Kenzie Calhoun, 19, from Glen Clova, Angus, Scotland, and I'm the youngest of nine children.' 'Hey, Donny Anderson, 25, from Sin City, Las Vegas, Nevada, and I'm single if our teacher has her phone number handy.' As Rio blushed, Phil nudged her in the shoulder. 'Brooke Angharad, 20, from Llandudno, Wales, and I started my own business making and selling bandannas to raise the money for this.' 'Denzil Davis, 21, from Moss Side, Manchester, and I was in the crowd when Phil won the world title.' 'Myka Grainger, I'm 24, from Haines Junction, Yukon, Canada, but now living in York, and I am the reigning three time WDC Amateur World Champion.'

With the pleasantries out of the way, Phil gave them a sharp shock. 'Let me make one thing clear. I don't care what you have done, I don't care who any of you are, you all get treated exactly the same.' He then handed out a piece of paper to each of them. 'This is a schedule. Each week we'll go through a different topic related to making you top class duellists.' Rio then joined in. 'The one rule is this: we know best. If you cause trouble, it will be dealt with. For now though, your first duels here.'

Phil then pointed out a large, near-humanoid machine on the wall. 'That is a drone. We use it to keep our skills sharp and try out new strategies. They have a variable difficulty level of 1-10, and the internal computer adjusts it's moves accordingly. This drone is set at Level 5, a nice level for you to get started.' 'Just duel your best. You're not being judged, it's just so we know where you are at. Do we have a volunteer to go first?'

As nobody put themselves up, Phil came up with an idea. 'Rio, get a random number generator up on your phone.' 'Sure.' 'Becca is Number 1, going up to Myka at 13. We'll determine the order through that. Rio, numbers please.' 'Start off with… 7.' 'Kenzie, you're starting.' 'Then 1, 4, 7, 8, 5, 9, 11, 10, 2, 6, and 3.'

50 minutes after

As the final duel finished, the session was ending. 'We have work to do I think. Now at the end of the course, you will be ranked based on your progress and skill, and therefore be placed into duels to determine your final positions on the course. Any questions? Denzil.' 'Yo, what do we get for coming top?' 'That will be announced in the coming weeks. Anything else?' With no more questions, the session finished. '1pm every Wednesday from now on.'

After they had left, Hannah walked in. 'So, how was it?' 'We've got our work cut out here. That drone is average at best and only three of them managed to beat it – Myka, Belle, and Jade. Five of them didn't even get it down by half. But… I saw potential in some of them.' 'You think you can turn them into tour-quality duellists?' Phil silently nodded before adding 'I think we've got better than evens on it.'

Back in the main base

When Astrid got back from showing Halldor around, Maddy was waiting. 'So, what's this news you've got for me?' The president just grinned. 'I've been speaking to Halldor, and we've decided that he's going to become what I'm terming a "satellite" member of the club.' As Astrid looked shocked and delighted simultaneously, Maddy explained it. 'That means he's got free access to the base and can come over whenever he likes with 24 hours notice.'

Upon receiving the news of Halldor's extended stay, Astrid immediately grabbed Maddy in an appreciative headlock. 'Thanks so much!' 'Yeah, I kind of can't breathe.' 'This is so great.' 'Is… there any chance… you could… let go now? I'm… starting to go… kinda faint.' At this point, Kris tapped Astrid on the shoulder. 'You might want to let Maddy go, she looks a little uncomfortable.' Maddy gave a thumbs up to him just before she was released from the vicegrip that was Astrid's arm.

'Um sorry?' 'My neck feels like it's been crushed by a 20 ton anvil. What are you doing here – I thought you'd be saying hello to your brother.' 'Mitch is here?' 'Wait, you didn't know?' 'I mean we've not spoken in about 6 months, but I thought he might tell me.' 'What ARE you doing here anyway? You never told us.'

'Oh I heard Astrid's mate was here so I decided to introduce myself. Hi, I'm Kris, I'm Astrid's boyfriend.' 'You're not my boyfriend' Astrid snapped, despite the rosiness of her cheeks. 'Say that to me when you're not blushing and I might believe you.' As Astrid swung at him, Kris ducked under her. 'Just admit it.' 'I have nothing to admit.'

At this point the president felt the need to intervene. 'Why don't you two go and have this out somewhere nobody can hear you.' 'Behind the bike sheds?' 'Great idea Kris, with just two issues. Number 1, we don't have any bike sheds, and Number 2, we don't have any bike sheds.'

'They're… the same point.' 'I know they are Kris, but I thought it was such an important point I'd mention it twice. Where did you learn that phrase by the way?' 'It's where your parents are at the moment.' 'We don't have any bike sheds… please don't tell me they're screwing in the shelter outside.'

As Maddy rushed out, she found them having intercourse as Kris suggested, behind the smoking shelter. As they continued, she coughed to get their attention. 'What do you think you're doing? We have a very important visitor and the message I want to send is not that this is a place for people to have a mid-life crisis sex session.'

Phi just walked past her. 'I told you Maddy, mid-life crisis doesn't begin until 50.' 'I'm starting to wonder about that.' He then took her to one side. 'I'm trying to help Hannah take her mind off of tomorrow.' 'Why, what's tomorrow?' '20 week scan. It's when we find out if the baby is developing properly.'

'Oh… I forgot about it.' 'We're trying to think of everything but that. And just between us, pregnancy seems to make her extremely aroused. It's becoming a little concerning to be honest.' Just then, Sakura came out. 'Maddy, could I hve a word with you?' 'Sure. I'll talk to you in a bit, ok?' 'Any time.'

In the office

As Maddy sat down, she had a plastic box with her. 'You don't mind do you? Not had lunch.' 'Not at all.' 'What did you want to discuss then?' 'It's about Rio. I've found something interesting recently regarding her neurological issues.' 'Right.' 'I've been trialling her on cannabis cigarettes for a couple of weeks, and I've found that her tremors have reduced massively.'

'No.' 'I completely understand' 'You don't. I was an addict.' 'There's a big difference here – I'm monitoring her. The test has been three cigarettes totalling 2 grams of medicinal cannabis a day. If I get the go-ahead I'm going to try and reduce that slightly. There's nowhere near enough to get her high or addicted.' W

'We are not having drugs here.' 'And I totally agree in nearly all situations. But this one time, I have to play devil's advocate. It will be worth it for her. I have seen the change. All I am asking is to at least try it.' Still reluctant, Maddy decided to relent slightly. 'Reduce the amount like you suggested, but I reserve the right to pull the plug at any time. Also, I want you to explain it to the rest of the club at the next meeting.'

'If that's what you want, I'll do that.' 'Fairest way.' 'I appreciate you hearing me out.' 'I meant what I said – I can pull the plug if I don't think it's working.' 'I understand. I'll go and let her know.'

The next day, in the hospital

Phil and Hannah arrived along with Rio and Blair, with Hannah having her scan. 'Sure you're ok?' 'Yeah I'll be fine. Just worried.' 'I'm sure everything will be totally fine.' 'When's your check-up Rio?' 'Half 2. I was thinking of coming in with you first.' 'Of course that's fine.'

As they got to the check-in, Hannah took the lead. 'How may I help you?' 'We've come to check in. I've got a 20 week scan and my friend has a scheduled appointment.' 'Can I take your names?' 'Of course. I'm Hannah Robinson-Cummings, and my friend is Rio Kastle.' 'That's all fine. We'll give you both a call when we're ready for you.' 'Thanks.'

20 minutes later

After a wait which felt like hours, the call finally came. 'Hannah Robinson-Cummings?' 'Yes?' 'Right this way please.' As they walked in, an imposing-looking sofa stood with various pieces of machinery around it, including a black and white screen.

'Before we start, we just need you to sign this one little form.' 'Why?' 'Nothing to worry about, it's just because it's classed as a "medical examination", so we can't do it without full written permission. Just in case my boss gets onto my back.' Without hesitation, she signed off the paperwork.

'Thank you. Now could you lie on the couch and lift up your vest for me please?' Hannah gently slid out of her thick leather jacket before lying down and rolling her light blue vest up to just below her breasts. Phil then started joking around with her as a way of calming her thoughts. 'Could you lift that slightly higher please?' 'Hey I told you, not before the watershed.'

The ultrasound gel was then gently applied by the doctor. 'Woah that's cold. That's… that's slightly unnerving.' 'Nothing to worry about.' As the probe came out, Phil grabbed his wife's hand. 'Everything will be ok.' 'I'm… I'm really scared.' 'No need. Grab my hand, squeeze as hard as you need.'

As she squeezed, the first pictures started appearing on the screen, and Blair smiled. 'Hannah, look round.' As she did, she saw the first pictures of her baby. 'Is everything ok with it?' 'From what we can tell, your little one appears to be completely healthy. Would you like me to tell you the gender?'

She looked at Phil, and shook her head. 'We don't want to know thanks. Let it be a surprise.' 'Ok that's fine. I'm just going to have another good look just to make sure we haven't missed anything. I think it's going to be a hefty one.' After a couple more trips round, the doc put away her probe.

'I can't see anything which might be wrong. How's your pregnancy been going?' 'Better than I expected honestly.' 'Now I do need to talkto you about something, as your regular doctor, Dr. James, is off sick for at least the next six weeks.' 'Ok.'

'I have been looking at your files, and I need to talk to you about your birthing plan.' 'But it's only 20 weeks.' 'We need to know what we're doing in terms of your birthing. As in, with the damage to your pelvis from when you were a teenager, we don't have a guarantee that the baby will fit through the pelvic canal. Therefore, we wanted to suggest a Caesarian Section when it comes to the birth.'

'No way, not a chance.' 'I think it's something to discuss.' 'Well I don't want it. If I was healthy enough to conceive when I was told I never would, then I'm healthy enough to give birth how I choose. I want to give birth at home, with my family beside me.' The doctor understood. 'We can't force you to have a C-Section unless the health of you or your baby is in imminent danger. I will load your preferences onto the system. You can go any time you like now.'

As she rolled down her vest, she suddenly looked around to the doctor. 'Can I have a sick bucket please?' No sooner had the bucket arrived that she erupted in vomit. 'Sorry, it's the stress.' 'It's perfectly fine. Would you like a glass of water?' 'Please.'

5 minutes later

A calmer Hannah was sat up, catching her breath. 'Sorry I scared you.' 'It's fine.' The doctor then smiled. 'It's perfectly normal to get worked up. Pregnancy is an emotional time.' 'Have you ever had one?' 'I've had two. And I was scared to hell both times. So I think you're doing pretty well. I'll tell you something though – you've got some good ones here.'

'Don't I know it. They're all amazing. Just wish more people would see it.' 'Whoever isn't seeing it will do I'm sure.' 'Thank you.' The four of them left, and then made their way back to the waiting room, for Rio's appointment.

Back in the base

Kris walked into the arena and found Astrid stood there, seemingly just looking around. 'So this is where you were hiding. You know, I didn't mean to annoy you earlier.' 'Sorry.' 'What's this – Astrid Hofferson apologising? I didn't know hell had frozen over.' 'I overreacted. I guess I'm just a loner.'

'I can understand that.' 'I've never really had any bond with anyone other than Halldor.' 'Parents?' 'I never knew my father, and I never got on with my mother.' 'Siblings?' 'My brother is a rapist, and I only see my cousin Andre when he isn't touring.'

'Why in here then?' 'I can't let myself not be able to duel anymore. It's the one thing I've always had.' 'Still do don't you? I mean it's not like you're not allowed. I'll talk to Sak for you.'

'How's your treatment going?' 'They found a bone marrow donor, and I should be having the transplant next week. Then I get a check-up in three weeks to see if it's working. Just living one day at a time for now.' 'All you can do.' 'Sums it up. Thing is, I don't feel sick or anything, so it's probably been caught early. Still can't believe Maddy's footing the entire cost out of the club's own funds.'

Astrid then had an admission to make. 'It's not all out of the club's funds.' 'It's not?' 'They wouldn't come close. Everyone else in the club chipped in some money towards it.' 'I never realised.' 'You don't know where it's coming from, you just know that it's coming.' 'Exactly that. I will be back though. Not as quick as you, but I will be.'

Back in the hospital

After another 15 minute wait, the announcement finally came through. 'Rio Kastle?' 'Yeah?' 'Straight through please.' She walked into the consultation room, and sat down. 'So how have you been getting on since we last spoke?' 'Yeah good. Feeling stronger all the time.' 'I'm glad to hear it. And who have you brought with you?'

Blair took up the mantle of this one. 'I'm Rio's best friend, and I brought my cousin and his wife – we live with them and he's been helping her do some physical therapy.' 'And what therapy is this exactly?' 'She's been doing Muay Thai sessions twice weekly.' Rio's doctor seemed concerned about this, until Phil stepped in.

'It's all well observed, and Richard has years of experience. It's just getting her muscles stronger again. I have a friend who is a physiotherapist and when I pitched the idea to her, she was impressed.' 'Well I'm sure it's working. Have you thought any more of speech therapy?'

'I'd like that.' 'Well that can be arranged for you then. Now I was hoping to do a CT scan on your brain, just to see how you're recovering. Would that be alright with you?' 'Of course.' Rio and Blair then went off for Rio's scan with the doctor.

In the base

Maddy was still in her office finishing off some college work when there was a knock on the door. 'Come in.' When Kris walked in, he immediately looked over. 'What you up to?' 'College work. Only just finished my UCAS application.' 'UCAS?'

'Yeah, it's the system where you apply for universities. I considered taking a year out but Mam and Dad insisted I should go straight for it.' 'Where have you applied to?' 'I applied to Northumbria which ain't far from here, a couple of Manchester ones, and I think I applied to one in Glasgow as well just to fill it out. What did you want anyway?'

'I just wanted to ask if you know anything about Astrid's cousin.' 'I mean I know he's called Andre, and I know he's in a rock band, I got the name of them in her file. They're called… this - Hefðbundin fjöldamorð. Apparently means Traditional War or some shit like that.'

'Thanks.' 'You're welcome. Why did you want to know anyway?' Kris then whispered his answer to her. 'Ohh ok.' 'Get it now?' Yeah, I get it. Good luck.' 'Yeah, might need it.' 'That's what I was thinking.' 'Well, I hope it comes off. Heard anything back from the doctors yet?' 'Yeah, I'm going in for the transplant on Monday, so hopefully I'll be clean in a few weeks.'

'Just keep me updated with it.' 'I will do. Thanks for all of your support Maddy.' 'It's my job. I need to look after you all, it's the promise I made when I became president.' 'You're doing a cracking job so far. Any update on that rulebook?' 'Yeah, it's nearly done. Just getting round to finishing it is the issue.' 'Let me know if you need my help.' 'I will do thanks.'

In the hospital

As the CT scans came back, Rio was sat down to hear the results. 'Would you like the' 'Bad news first please.' 'The bullet that went into the back of your head is stuck and won't come out unless you have another surgery, which we wouldn't recommend.' 'So what's the good news then?'

'While the bullet is stuck in the back of your head, it isn't as close to your brain as the first scans showed.' 'Meaning?' 'Meaning that you aren't in major risk of a bleed on the brain if you hit your head at all. Additionally the scans have showed that the damage to your brain is starting to heal in places.'

'Does that mean I'll be able to talk properly all the time?' 'That's what the speech therapy is attempting to achieve. As for the damage to the Broca, I wouldn't be able to tell you if and when that will start to be repaired. I will level with you, it could take weeks, it could take months, years, it might not heal at all. Overall though, I'm very pleased with your recovery.' 'Thank you.'

Back at the base

When the four of them got back, Maddy rushed over. 'How did the scan go Mam?' 'Everything's fine. Well other than the fact that I threw up out of nervousness anyway.' 'Brilliant.' Meanwhile, Phil was handing over the results of Rio's CT scan to Sakura. 'What do you think?'

'These results are better than I was expecting.' 'So what do you think about Rio duelling at the Baltic Championships in Kalmar?' Sakura then called her over. 'Rio, I've been talking to Phil, and I wanted to let you know face-to-face that as of now, I'm officially clearing you for 1-1 duelling.' 'Thank you so much!' 'One thing though – any knocks to the head and I'm going to pull you immediately for the sake of safety.' 'I understand.'

While all this was going on, Maddy and Blair were conversing about the situation from the previous show. 'So what are we doing about Jaden and Kenta?' 'What do you think we should do?' 'You know my opinion.' 'I agree – pull the trigger. He's got in our way one time too many.'

Next time: The Oriental Express falls apart, Rio returns to 1-1 action, and Blair makes her feelings clear in Renegades: A New Dawn Chapter XXIV: Sneer of Betrayal