Renegades: A New Dawn

by Primal WolfBlood

In Part 3 of The Renegade Chronicles, follow the Renegades as they try and recover from the shocking end to The Renegade Revolution, and continue their lives with more action and suspense than ever before, as they learn who the true enemies are, and finally confront Segolia once and for all, to end their clash with each other.

42. Will and Testament

Renegades: A New Dawn

Chapter XLII: Will and Testament

'B, what time is it?' '4:33am.' 'Did we really have to get up this early?' 'Technically you didn't, nobody forced you to come. In fact 24 hours ago, you were adamant that you weren't coming.' 'Well it beats being babysat by everyone.' 'By everyone, do you mean exactly Phil and Sakura?' 'Like, I understand the concern, but I don't need wrapping in cotton wool constantly.' 'Sak's cleared you to duel, what more do you want?' 'Her to not bug me about medication every day.' 'It's only because you refused to take it at first.' 'Can you blame me? It looks awful, it tastes worse!'

Maddy then looked around from the driver's seat of the car. 'Welcome to the world of taking medication, population an angry wolf with a new kidney and a quiet schizophrenic named after a Disney character. Y'know, the more I talk, the more normal you look.' As Blair and Rio continued to squabble, Jade smiled at her fellow Wolfblood. 'Thanks for offering to take us.' 'It's fine, I was likely gonna be up anyway. What time's the flight?' '5:15.' 'Got plenty of time then.' 'How far away are we?' 'Without having done the route before, maybe 20 minutes?' 'Awesome, might even have time to grab a coffee at the airport.'

29 minutes later

'So much for that coffee…' Jade mused, astonished at the expansive queue to check-in at the airport. 'Wonder why everyone wants to travel at this time…' 'Probably because the tickets are stupidly cheap. Oh, and because of the strike.' Rio then looked up. 'What strike?' 'There's a strike by pilots, so a load of planes have been cancelled.' 'How do you know that?' Maddy shrugged, and looked back. 'Turns out when you're banned from leaving the f*cking house, you watch the news a lot.' She was then distracted by Blair reaching over, and sliding her a crisp £20 note.

'What's that for?' Smiling sweetly, the reply was enough to melt hearts. 'I just kinda thought it would be nice to repay you. I mean I never can, but you know' 'You don't need to pay me for giving you a lift, it's the first time I've been allowed to drive since my operation.' She then slid the note back, only for a fair skinned hand to push it back again, and this time not letting it be returned. 'I insist.' With knowledge of the advancing time, the young wolf relented, and took the money. As Jade was getting out of the car though, Maddy slid the money into her back pocket, and winked, the Iranian giggling and winking back.

As they walked into the airport, Jade noticed something strange about the luggage. 'Blair, why's there only two suitcases?' 'Oh it's fine, me and Ri always share a case, I really don't take much with me, and a lot of her stuff can be classed as hand luggage.' She then glanced back from the side of her eye. 'Still don't know why you need FOUR toothbrushes though.' Rio replied, in her best schoolteacher-akin voice. 'Hygiene is important children, you should know that as well as anybody.' 'Yeah, but isn't four toothbrushes for three days excessive?' 'I don't think so.' 'Clearly.'

As they passed the coffee shop which Jade had referenced, Rio suddenly looked over at her. 'Hey Jade, could you go and get Maddy a coffee?' 'Sure, what does she like?' After a moment, the response was oddly specific. 'Caramel Macchiato, chocolate sprinkles, extra vanilla syrup, but expressly no sugar.' 'No sugar?' 'High blood pressure, don't mention that to her though, she gets really defensive, thinks you're calling her fat.' 'Got it. Anything else?' 'Blondie for this one' she retorted, pointing at Blair, who immediately turned around.

'Are you trying to set me up again?' 'Hell no! It's like a brownie but with white chocolate. I noticed that you tried to get away without eating anything this morning.' 'Yeah, 'cause we had no bread.' By the time this squabble had run its course, Jade was already leaving the airport to give Maddy her drink. 'Damn she moves quickly.' 'You know why don't you B? It's 'cause of her legs, they're long enough to cover the entire airport in one stride.' Rio then looked around, and saw Blair staring at Jade's long, sultry legs with her tongue slightly out. 'Eww, you're disgusting! Put it away!'

At the car

As Jade got to the car, Maddy had her face down on the steering column. After considering for a moment, she took the strategy of hammering on the window, which woke Maddy up eventually, as she looked up with bleary eyes. 'Sorry, I just came to give you a present from Rio.' She then gently eased the takeaway cup through the gap above the window, before lowering it down with her double-jointed arm. After taking the lid off, Maddy took a sniff, and smiled. 'She knows me too f*cking well. Tell her thanks.' 'Listen, if you're so tired why don't you take a bit of time before driving back?' 'I'll be fine, just have this first.' 'Ok, well take care.' 'Good luck over there.' 'Thanks.'

As Jade walked back into the airport, Rio signalled to her. 'Quick, we're barely holding the queue.' 'Sorry about that.' 'Quit apologising and just show the boarding pass already.' After doing that and getting through a swift bag check, Blair tossed her phone to Jade as they walked through departures. 'Could you text Alex and let her know we're getting on the plane? I can't text while walking.' 'Good job with your sense of direction.'

On the road, around 35 minutes later

As the miles crept up, Maddy gradually started to grow more and more weary, weeks of poor sleep and abusing her body catching up. She continued to drive, but slowly but surely, she started to drift subtly across the road. As she saw a sign for the upcoming motorway services, she went to turn down the slip road, but changed her mind at the last moment, deciding to get home instead. As she swerved back onto the road, she narrowly missed being clipped by a lorry.

She continued on safely for another mile, but then started to fall asleep at the wheel. Noticing this, she had the soundness of mind to dive towards the next services, but as she crossed the carriageway, a black Renault appeared to come out of nowhere, and smashed into the rear end dsof her car, sending the Jaguar airborne briefly, before it came to rest upside down, while the other car was sent spinning down the road, stopping, mercifully, on the hard shoulder.

Norden, England

Phil and Hannah were still in bed when his phone rang. As he went to answer it, she pulled him back under the covers. 'Come back, it's cold without you.' He provided her with a kiss, and then said 'I'll just be a minute. How about you… get comfortable, my sweet.' 'Ooh you do talk nice when you want something.' He then picked up the phone as she stripped for him. 'Hello?' On the other end of the phone, was a tearful and shaken Maddy. 'Dad' 'Maddy, what's up?' 'I… think I've just had a car crash.' Hearing this, he shot up, and clumsily got his clothes on as Hannah looked on. 'What's going on Phil?' 'It's Maddy, she's had a crash. Right, where are you?' 'I… I don't know, some junction, I was just…' 'Calm down Maddy. Are you hurt?' 'My… my ribs are banged up, but I think I'm ok.' 'We'll be there immediately.'

Almost an hour later

As Phil and Hannah pulled up, Maddy was sat on the ground next to the service station, wearing a foil blanket over her. As Hannah went to comfort her, Phil went over to the police officers on the scene. 'I'm Phil, Maddy's my adoptive daughter. What happened?' 'From what we've gathered, she tried to enter the slip road late, and the driver of the other car hadn't put their headlights on. It seems like both drivers were at fault.'

'Is she ok though?' 'Your daughter? She's fine, seems to be extremely shaken though. It appears that her seatbelt snapped and she was thrown clear from the car around the time of the impact. The fact she's unhurt is a miracle.' 'I'm just thankful she is.' 'How long has she been driving?' 'Just short of six months.' 'Passed her test first time? Any advisories?' This line of questioning seemed to put Phil's nose out of joint a bit.

'Why are you asking?' 'Listen Mr… Robinson-Cummings?' 'That's me.' 'Off the record, I'll be honest with you' 'Why don't we keep this on the record?' 'I'll be honest, I don't think she should be driving. At least not on such busy roads. It's a classic issue with new drivers, they run before they can walk, and try to attempt too much.' 'Well excuse me, but I'll have you know she's an excellent driver, and in fact has driven longer distances than this safely.' 'I appreciate you sticking up for your daughter, but in the interests of her safety, I think you should reconsider letting her drive.'

This conversation appeared to be making Phil more agitated at this point. 'If I wanted parenting advice, I would have asked. Now I need to go and check on my daughter if you don't mind.' The officer just laughed. 'Don't get annoyed with me sonny, I've got enough experience to know how these things work. The amount of parents I've had here insisting that their son or daughter is a great driver because they got their licence first time and haven't had an accident before. You know what the difference is here? She's still alive. Don't waste it.' The officer then left to speak to the forensics expert, while Phil went to see Hannah and Maddy.

'How is she?' 'Still shaky, but you'll be fine, won't you?' She then looked up at him, clearly embarrassed. 'I'm sorry Dad.' 'You have nothing to be sorry for.' 'I binned the car, and I caused you to come all the way out here.' He didn't get annoyed, he simply put his arm around her. 'Listen, I couldn't care less if the car was in a thousand pieces and on fire. I just care about your safety.' 'Thanks for not being too annoyed.' 'A car can be replaced. You can't. Now how about instead of hanging around here, we get you home and Hannah will rustle up her famous Bacon Bagels.'

As Phil and Hannah took Maddy to the car, she couldn't help but hear the two officers talking about her. 'So you think she was at fault?' 'Yeah, turned straight in front of the other one. Seen it countless times - young girl, have a licence just to impress a guy, all lipstick and no brains. Just another common-muck teenager I'm afraid.' 'Makes you wonder why they're given licences.' 'Because it makes them look good. Just another average chick.'

In Michigan

As the plane touched down in Detroit, Blair was the first off. 'Right, let's get this over with.' As Jade watched on behind her, Blair realised she was being observed. 'What? Have I said something wrong?' 'No, just thought you'd be excited to be home.' Her reply was as blunt as it was truly honest in her mind. 'My home is England. Not here. This is just a ghost town of bad memories.' As they discussed that, Rio came running up, having been on the phone. 'Guys, Maddy's been in a car crash.' Hearing this, a stunned silence fell on them, before Blair's phone rang. 'Maddy. Hello?'

'Hey, since I overheard Rio on the phone, I wanted to assure you I'm ok.' 'What happened?' 'I… kinda fell asleep at the wheel… I think, I don't really remember, and the other driver didn't have their headlights on, and' 'If you were tired, you shouldn't have driven us down there' before Blair could finish speaking, Jade snatched the phone. 'What did I tell you when I dropped your coffee off? Nobody would have blamed you for getting a couple of hours of shut eye.'

'I know, I wanted to get home though. And I thought I'd be fine. I wasn't going to tell you all because you've got enough on your minds.' 'Still should have told us.' Blair then took her phone back. 'Just look after yourself, k?' 'I will do thanks. Listen, I need to go, I think Astrid's just found out, she's looking for me. Bye.' There was then a thump as she dropped her phone, followed by a commotion at the other end. As she terminated the call, Blair just shrugged.

Before they had chance to really discuss the call however, Alex walked up from the distance. 'Hey Blair, hi guys, nice to see you both.' 'Thanks, you too' Rio replied, slightly gingerly. 'So… erm… how's your… well you know… that…' 'If you're talking about my brain injury, still there.' Surprisingly Rio then produced a smile. 'Well it says a lot that you're still smiling through it all.' 'Not sure it's as much a smile as a mask to be honest. You don't need to be awkward talking about it in front of me though - I know I got it, and it's only gonna get worse, I know that. It's not going away, so I might as well learn to talk about it.'

'Well if there's any way I can help with it just tell me.' 'Not really, just forgive me if I get a few words a bit wrong now and again. Although that's not because of the condition, it's because I got a bullet in my brain still.' Alex seemed rather shocked at this medical practice, not knowing the full story. 'Did they never remove it?' 'They wanted to, but I would have died.' Jade then expanded on it. 'Apparently the bullet is pressing on a major vessel in her brain, and it's real deep in the brain, so if they try and remove it' 'Everything goes.' 'Basically.'

Blair then had a very important question. 'Hang on, where's Ally?' 'Oh, she had school today, and they've got some important exams coming up in a couple of months. So we agreed that it was best she give the funeral a miss, I've got a couple of people lined up to look after her if I end up getting dragged to the wake.' 'Thought she said she didn't want a wake?' 'You think any of them actually care? The only reason half of them are turning up is because they can get drunk afterwards for free. Apparently, Savanna's paying the bar tab, she's not bought any make up all week to pay for it.'

'As long as it's not her and America looking after Ally.' 'You kidding? I wouldn't trust those two with a doll, never mind a real child! No, it's an old college friend of mine, Drake.' 'Wait - Drake Andrews?' 'Yep, why, you know him?' 'Know him? We served in the Marines together!' Alex burst out laughing hearing this. 'Well I never. It's a small world I guess. If you want, we can swing by his before we go, give you lot chance to get changed. It's only about 20 minutes' walk from here to his house.' 'Sure, that'd be cool.'

Back in England

Having eventually caught Maddy coming out of the bathroom, Astrid frogmarched her friend straight to Sakura's medical office. Barging the door open (and disregarding the "No Entry" sign), they discovered the doctor, naked, applying some cream to her body. As she saw them both stood there, she freaked out, and quickly put a nearby white coat on. 'What happened to the No Entry sign?'

'Didn't see it. More importantly, what were you up to in here? Actually I'm not sure I want to know.' 'Not that it's anything to do with… well anyone really, but I was applying some cream for my Psoriasis - I seem to get it really bad on my left side for some reason. Anyway, I'm guessing there's a reason you're both in here?' 'Yeah, her.' Astrid then dumped Maddy in the room, and shut the door, leaving Sakura bewildered.

'I am NEVER going to understand her. She is 100% the strangest person I've ever met. And that includes Wolfbloods, shapeshifters, and even a lesbian who gets offended at the word lesbian. Right, if it's about the car crash, you might have to go to a regular hospital just this once, because my X-Ray machine is totally kaputski right now.' 'No, it's nothing like that, I don't feel too bad after that, just a sore bicep.' 'Well I can diagnose that for you - it's a pulled muscle, it will be better after a good night's sleep.'

'Yeah, that's just the thing - I'm not getting a good night's sleep, that's why I crashed.' 'Erm, your Dad told me that it was the other driver's fault.' 'Yeah, he would. He even spent 10 minutes arguing with the Police about that.' 'Right, so you're not sleeping well. Tell me everything.' Finally, Maddy unloaded on her issues. 'I haven't been able to sleep right through since the operation. I can't settle, I can't stay asleep, I can't get comfortable, and every time I move my ribs are in agony. Gettin' to the point that I can't function. Can't you just bung me up with some pills or something?'

Sakura's reply was as blunt as it was stern. 'Maddy, I'm not giving you sleeping pills. In fact I'm not giving ANYONE sleeping pills. Because all that happens is people get addicted to them, and the next thing you know, they're either in rehab or dead.' 'Right now I think death might hurt less.' Sakura just stared, not impressed at the quip. 'Just give me a couple of minutes. I'm in a bind because I can't give you any painkillers while you're on anti-rejection medicine.'

After a couple of minutes of routing through the draws, and writing up various ideas before crossing them out, she eventually produced a brown glass bottle with a clear liquid inside. 'You have to be very careful with this.' 'What is it?' 'Liquid paracetamol. It's the most I can give you for the pain in your ribs. As for the sleeping, I'm afraid you'll have to help yourself.' 'Can't you suggest anything?' 'Not aside from the usual - regular schedule, make sure you've got decent pillows, all that stuff.'

Just as Maddy was about to open the door to leave, Sakura came up with an idea. 'Hang on, have you tried changing your mattress?' 'Pardon?' 'What's your mattress like?' 'It's fine, I guess. It's a bit worn, but' 'Well how about you try a new mattress?' 'Yeah, I could try it I suppose.' 'Listen, if you ever have an issue with anything, just talk to me. Nothing you say goes beyond these walls.' 'I appreciate it Sak, thanks.' 'Just look after yourself.'

Drake Andrews' house, downtown Detroit

As the group turned onto a ramshackle road filled with foreclosure signs, a man in his early 40s, bald with a ginger beard and a blue checked shirt walked out to greet them, his prosthetic arm difficult to disguise. 'Alex, I didn't think Ally finished school this early.' 'She don't, not until 3pm.' Drake then noticed Blair, and his eyes widened. 'Well look who it is - Private B.E. Flannigan.' He walked over to her, and offered her a hand. 'I heard you moved over the pond to England. Really rain as much as they say over there?' 'Not quite.' Alex then motioned to the door. 'Oh yeah, come in.'

As they walked into the house, it was far from glamorous - a depressing-looking house with granite floors barely disguised by a threadbare carpet, plastered but partially papered walls, and dimly lit narrow hallways. As they sat down on the battered old sofas, they began to talk. 'So Blair, care to introduce me to your friends? At least I'm hoping you're friends and not just some random stalkers.' Blair smiled at his humour, being acutely familiar with it.

'Yeah, they're friends alright. This is Rio, we moved to England at around the same time and became friends.' Rio then pulled Blair over with a vigorous hug. 'You mean BEST friends, right?' 'Ok ok, you're my best friend in the world, can you get off my neck now?' As the Idahoan released her… sturdy grip, Blair introduced Jade. 'And this is Jade, my girlfriend.' Drake smiled back at them. 'Well it's awesome to meet you both. I'm sure I've been introduced by Alex, but I'm Drake Andrews, and I used to serve in the Marines alongside Blair.'

Rio then suddenly asked a rather invasive question. 'Did you lose your arm in the Marines?' Shocked, Blair went to bring her back in line, only for Drake to laugh it off. 'It's fine, it's not like I can hide it. No, I lost it in an industrial accident a few months back. I needed a job after I left the Marines, so I ended up working in a warehouse packaging up white goods for wholesalers. One day I was picking a washing machine up from a high shelf, and it slipped, and I fell out of the scissor lift, the machine fell with me and pinned my arm. By the time I got to hospital, they couldn't save it. One less arm and a permanently damaged leg from the fall.'

'Sounds horrible.' 'Yeah, it's been kind of brutal, but I'm moving through it.' 'I'm glad to hear it.' 'So, how'd you end up in a place like this?' 'Only place affordable that's a reasonable size. The area's starting to rebound at least. It needs a bit of work, I know, but it'll be fine eventually. Besides, it's a home and that's all I care about, it's safe and it's mine. The way I see it, I returned from duty, that means I survived. So whatever happens now, it's kind of a bonus. How's England anyway Blair?'

'Yeah it's pretty awesome. Especially where we live, it's really nice, it's relatively quiet but you're never far from… to be honest, anything. It's really not that big a place when you get down to it, in comparison to here anyway.' 'Alex was telling me that it's nice over there. So how did you and Jade meet?' 'Erm it's a bit…' Before Blair could finish, Jade decided to spill the beans. 'I was an exotic dancer when she was competing in Idaho, Rio took her to where I was working.'

Drake just blinked, shocked. 'That isn't what I was expecting. I mean, I don't mean any offence to you at all or your job, it's just I didn't expect an exotic dancer to be so well dressed.' 'It's fine, I was only doing it because I was flat broke, after moving back to Idaho.' 'Where had you been before then?' 'Russia. It's a long story, born in Idaho but spent most of my childhood in Iran.'

In the UK

Freja was at Phil and Hannah's house, and walked into the bathroom, only to find Hannah in the bath, reading. 'Hey.' 'Freja! Why are you watching me in the bath?' 'Erm I'm not, I just walked in here.' 'You've still not explained why you walked in here.' 'Because I needed the toilet.' 'There's two other toilets in the house. You had to walk past one to come in here.' Changing the subject sharpish, Freja noticed Hannah reading, and got curious.

'So, what you reading?' Before she had chance to answer, Freja wandered around the front. 'Classic Bridal Weekly?' 'Yeah, I can't go wedding dress shopping yet because I have no idea what size I'll need or anything. So I thought I'd get some ideas.' After some awkward silence, Freja piped up again. 'You know he doesn't care what dress you go for, right?' 'Why does everyone say that to me? I know he doesn't care, I could turn up wearing a bin bag and… to be honest he'd probably prefer it because it's easier to tear off, but what about what I want? I wish people would stop presuming I'm just here as some sort of meat.'

More awkward silence, and then more awkward conversation followed. 'So what you looking at?' 'Wedding dresses, we went through that already.' 'No, I mean what kind of dresses.' 'I don't know really. I just want something classy, elegant but still… I don't want anything, like, really puffy or ostentatious. I don't want to look like a cake or a meringue. I just want something subtle, maybe some diamantes on the bust as well, I kind of always thought that looked nice.'

'You realise you could just order the perfect one online?' 'I could, but it's not the same. I used to dream of going shopping for my wedding dress, I spent hours badly drawing what I'd imagine my wedding day to be like. It wouldn't be the same just ordering it online, and I don't know what I want until I see it. There's a certain magic to it all that I just wouldn't be able to replicate.' 'I can just imagine it - you walking down the aisle, Maddy and… actually, what gender is the baby?' 'I don't know, I didn't want to know until it happens.'

'And Phil?' 'Quite honestly, I don't think he even had a preference. I'm not sure he'd ever considered it.' 'Sounds like him.' 'I'm just hoping that I don't go into labour suddenly.' 'I mean isn't that how it usually happens?' 'Not always.' 'What you gonna do - randomly check yourself into hospital because you've decided you're going to give birth?' 'No, I'm having a home birth, remember?' 'When did you mention that?' 'Oh, I don't know, possibly the last thousand times you asked. Considering you seem to ask me about twice a week.'

Just then, there was a knock on the bathroom door. 'Why's someone knocking, it's open.' 'Perhaps they have more manners than you?' She then looked up and behind her. 'Whoever it is, come in.' As Phil walked in, Hannah smiled despite not having seen him. 'I know those footsteps from anywhere.' He responded with a signature deep laugh, booming across the room. He then gently lowered his right arm down, and passed Hannah a glass of wine. 'You do realise you're allowed to look, right? In fact you can jump in if you like.'

He smiled, and just sat on the edge of the bath, as Freja looked surprised at the glass. 'And here I thought you weren't supposed to drink when you're pregnant.' 'Well excuse me madam, but I'll have you know that this is actually 0% alcohol. What exactly is it again my dear?' After taking a moment, he was able to recall. 'Alcohol-free Muscat.' He then had a question of his own. 'What's tiny terror doing in here?' 'She came in for no reason and wouldn't go away. Could you please give her something to do? Something productive that is.'

'Sure, she can start by loading the washing machine. I've just been tending to the pigs, and the clothes need washing.' 'And here I thought we had farmhands for that.' 'Yeah, they're not allowed in the house.' She then slapped him gently on the arm. 'Will you behave.' 'No thanks. Anyway, I would love to stay, but I need to be heading off - Astrid wants to meet me at the arena, she's got some sort of initiative for it. Not that half of them are going to be there.'

'Why?' 'Well, Jade is in Michigan, Kenzie is in bed with severe tonsillitis. Myka is in her own world, and Brooke is having another surgery on her broken hand.' 'Any idea what Astrid wants to tell them?' 'God knows. Some sort of open challenge I presume. Anyway, I'll see you a bit later.' After a tender kiss, he left the bathroom, before almost immediately popping his head back round the door. 'Freja, now.' 'Yes master' she said, gleefully, before bounding out behind him.

In Michigan

With Blair out of the room, Rio started talking to Drake about her past in the military. 'So you were in the Marines with her, right?' 'Yeah, for 15 months to the day. I joined a couple of weeks after her.' 'You remember her from when you joined?' 'Not exactly because I didn't meet her properly for weeks, nothing more than the occasional courtesy. But after about two months, we got deployed to a scouting mission in the Atlantic off the coast of Canada, and we ended up sharing quarters,. She was real nice, but there… there was always just something missing.'

'How do you mean?' After taking a minute to choose his wording, he worked out an analogy. 'You know when you watch someone, and they're really good at their job, but something just looks wrong, they don't look like they fit? That was Blair. She was properly good, she was as strong as most of the guys, we had a swimming test and she was one of the fastest, I think she actually set the division record for the longest time underwater, she managed nearly 4 minutes. She was great at almost everything there, but…'

'Something wasn't right.' 'Exactly Rio, something wasn't right. You could just see that she wasn't truly happy, almost as if she was missing something. You could see her hiding it, but she just started getting worse, she didn't deal well at all with being isolated from the mainland and she was always plagued by financial concerns.' 'So she ended up quitting?' 'Quitting? No, she wouldn't have ever done that. No, she was discharged on medical grounds, she had some sessions with a counseller and he wouldn't clear her to go back out on deployment.'

'Why?' 'Depression. Apparently she was close to a mental breakdown. I don't know what happened after that, she didn't get chance to say goodbye, and we went out to a mission in the Bering strait By the time we got back nobody had any contact details for her.' Alex then revealed why. 'That's probably because less than three months after she was discharged, she moved to England barely telling anyone.'

'But I did get to know her pretty well while we were on deployment.' 'Did you know she was bi?' 'I don't think even she knew. I knew she was… let's say into women, but we never discussed it. Honestly, she helped me more than I helped her, I suppose we were just someone to talk to for each other. I was pretty down myself, I'd broken up with my girlfriend the week before going, and she really helped me come to terms with everything.'

Blair then walked back into the room, wearing a plain black blouse and suit jacket, along with a pair of black jeans. 'I didn't help you with anything, you helped yourself. I was just the only one with so little on that they'd listen. Anyway, you two should be getting ready, pretty sure being late to a funeral is bad karma.' As Rio and Jade left the room, Blair enquired about Ally. 'So what time does Ally finish?' 'Half two, it's an earlier finish today.' 'I'd like to be going before then. If she sees me here, it's going to cause all sorts of issues.'

'She loves you Blair.' 'A bit too much sometimes. The last thing we need is her hitchhiking to England again. Trust me, it's better if she doesn't see me.' Drake then managed to clear up the confusion. 'I think what she's trying to say is that it would be best if you get to the funeral on time. And I don't know if you've noticed, but little miss Ally is quite good at talking.' 'Thanks Drake.' 'No problem, anytime.'

Rio and Jade then came back, Rio wearing an extremely skintight black dress and plimsolls, while Jade was wearing a plain white blouse and ankle-length skirt, alongside a black hijab, crudely tied at the ends. 'Sorry we were so long, Jade's headscarf was too long, so we had to do some emergency adjustments. Hope you didn't mind us borrowing your scissors.' Drake didn't seem to have any issues with it. 'Listen, I didn't know I had any up there, I never go up there.'

'Where do you sleep then?' 'There's a little sofa bed in here, it's actually decently comfortable. Anyway, you should be going, little terror will be here soon.' 'Good point.' Alex then went over to Drake, and hugged him. 'Listen Drake, I really appreciate this' 'It's fine, I got to reconnect with Blair, that's worth any hassle. You just make sure you get there in time, ok?' 'Of course we will.' With that, the four of them left for the funeral. Little did Drake know that Rio was formulating a way of repaying him.

At the arena

As Phil pulled up near the back entrance to the arena, Donny was stood, having a quick smoke, which he immediately put out upon seeing the tutor. 'Don't stop on my behalf.' 'Yeah, I'd prefer not to give a baby cancer.' 'You realise it's my wife who's pregnant, not me, right?' 'Yeah, thought I'd be polite though. You got a free 5?' 'Not now, but after… whatever Astrid's doing, yes, why?' 'I could do with you looking through my deck if you can, I've already stuck the money in the pot outside.' 'I can do that for you. We'll go into the office after this and have a look.' 'Thanks.'

They then went into the arena through the back door, only to see Astrid and the arena graduates (including Brooke) in there already. 'I'm guessing I'm late then?' Astrid just smiled at him. 'Actually you're 10 minutes early. I've been in here half the morning anyway so I thought I'd let them in when they turned up.' With everyone there, Astrid explained why she had brought them there.

'Hi everyone, so I know that this is a bit weird, what with me not even being a tutor and all, but I wanted you to know about a new thing I've got going on here.' She then flipped over a whiteboard to reveal some very neat cursive handwriting. 'It's called Advance Against Astrid. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, any of you can duel me 1-1. In fact, I'll take any number of you on. Any questions?' There was one very important question from Brooke, who clearly hadn't had her hand surgery.

'What are the rules we're duelling under?' '8000 start, and the challenger always picks whether to go first or second. But we can do any other rules if you ask in advance. But you'll have to ask in advance.' Phil then added something important. 'Don't bother looking for her email by the way, she doesn't have one. Well, technically she does, but I'm pretty sure she's never looked at it.' 'I didn't even know.' 'All of us have one, blame Maddy, it was 100% her idea. Anyway, if you want to get in touch, best bet is to contact Blair or Maddy.'

Astrid then lined up in the centremost zone, but Phil had some bad news. 'Astrid, the computers aren't even switched on yet, you didn't tell me what you were doing until just now.' 'Well you'd better hurry up then hadn't you? Come on, I'm sure you've got a home and wife to go back to.' As everyone laughed, Phil resisted the urge to respond, instead setting up the systems, but he had his revenge. As Astrid looked up at the screens, she was astonished at what she saw. 'Why does my name say "Aeroplane"?' 'Well I know how much you love flying, so I thought I'd commemorate it.'

While this was happening, Denzil and Brooke were trying to decide who was going first. 'Toss a coin for it?' 'Nah man, I prefer Rock Paper Scissors.' 'Can't, got a busted hand.' Denzil shrugged, and went towards the zone, only to be herded back by Mitch, who whispered down her ear. 'Oh, there is that.' After the reminder that she did, indeed, have two hands, Brooke competed in RPS… and duly lost anyway. 'Paper wraps rock, I'm up first. Smell you later Taffy.' 'I told you, I don't like that name!'

In Michigan

As the funeral started, everyone stood as the coffin was carried in. Blair, Jade and Rio were sat near the back, away from the rest of the family, not that this stopped Rio from glaring daggers at Savannah, who reciprocated the tension. After the pallbearers had placed the coffin down, they walked to their seats, and then everybody sat down, as the priest took the funeral. 'Dearly beloved, we are here today to commemorate the life of Wilma Ingrid Bierhals. Wilma was not only a dearly loved family member, but a dearly loved member of her community as well. Having lived in this area for over 70 years, the community knew Wilma better than they knew themselves.'

'She was also devoted to her faith, and attended this very church for more than six decades. As such it is perhaps fitting, that her last journey may depart from here, the very house of the god she so devotedly served. Matthew 11:28-30 reads "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.'

'We should be thankful that the lord is merciful, and that Wilma's departure from this earth was peaceful. It is at this time that I think back, to a statement from the Acts of the Apostles. There, it was recounted that after Jesus had finished speaking to his followers, he was taken up to heaven before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. It did not hide them from he however. Just like with Jesus, when Wilma left us, we could not see where she went. But she was looking down on us. It is up to each individual to decide when their time is, and she looked down, deeming you all ready, to continue on your own paths, without her there to guide you. Now we will have our first hymn - The Lord is Our Shepherd.'

As the funeral continued, they came to speeches. After statements from several family friends, as well as Blair's father Gary, there was one speech left. 'Now I believe we are hearing a few words from Wilma's great grandaughter, Blair Flannigan.' Her parents looked shocked as Blair walked to the pulpit, apparently unaware of her presence even. As she stood there, she took a deep breath, and looked up, to see Rio mouthing words of encouragement at her. She smiled to herself, took another breath, and spoke.

'I wasn't Wilma's blood. But that didn't mean that she didn't mean the world to me, and more. Because I knew I always had a friend when I was with her. It's funny, because I was there, right at the end, and yet it feels like I never repaid her, I never showed her the love and affection that she showed me. But then again, I never could. Because that's the kind of person that she was.' As her eyes locked onto Savannah, she continued. 'Because no matter who you were, what you did, she always had something nice to say about you. She would give you the clothes off her back if it meant you would be safe.'

'I know that to many of you here today, she was a close friend, and I know that you adored her for her wit and generosity. But I think she would want you to know that you all meant the world to her. She would always look forward to playing cards with Catherine Bouvoir on a Thursday lunchtime, she visited the hospital on a Monday afternoon to brighten up everyone's day there, even when she was ill herself, she volunteered at the Little League Baseball on a Friday night, she claimed it was because she enjoyed watching the kids play, but we all knew it was because she wanted to see Coach McKinley and his "Adonis body".'

As the congregation laughed through tears, she wrapped up. 'Wilma was never going to go down in history, she was never going to be a great adventurer, she was never going to be a Hollywood star. Because instead, she chose to make her community her life. And it's only now she's gone, that we all realise, just how much we're missing without her. She was never going to go down in world history, because in our little world, she was our history.'

As she went to walk back, her father signalled over to her with two thumbs up, to which she timidly raised half a smile. When she sat back down, Jade immediately put her arm around her, while Rio just stared on, motionless and emotionless, as the funeral continued. 'As these speeches have shown us, Wilma's presence brought us all together, be it geographically, or in a more intimate way. Rest assured that her ascent to heaven would not only have been comfortable, but also safe. 2 Timothy 4:18 reads "The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.' 'Amen.'

As the service continued, the priest shared a personal story about Wilma. 'I remember shortly after I took over here, I'm sure you remember Father Wilson, or at least the older of you do. When he retired, sometime about 2002, and I took over, he was giving me some advice, and he told me to look out for a woman called Wilma Flannigan. He described her as a "battleaxe", and told me that I should watch out for her. But instead, I decided to talk to her. So after one of my first masses I held, I managed to invite her for an impromptu coffee morning.'

'When I was talking to her, the subject of mortality came up. I was still fresh faced in my early 30s at the time, and the subject of a funeral came up. She told me to ask her again on her 100th birthday, because she was so certain that she was going to reach it. It was funny at the time, but I don't think I truly comprehended the fact that she was so determined to make it there. I sat down with her again on her 100th birthday, and she told me that when the time came, she wanted to be remembered "with laughter, not tears". I think I speak for everyone that is here when I say that everyone in the world should have a Wilma Bierhals in their life. Someone to share experience, but also someone who will laugh with you. Someone who makes your life better in everything they do.'

As the curtain was drawn in front of the coffin, the priest brought proceedings to an end. 'If I leave you with one thing from today, let it be this: life is not always judged by miles covered; rather, it is what you accomplish in those miles, and the people you affect on your journey. A journey of a single step may be more valuable than one of a thousand miles. Wilma in her life may not have covered the miles of many people, however how she affected those around her made her life a success. Mass has ended.'

The pallbearers then picked the coffin up, and slowly but surely, marched it out of the church, and into the neighbouring graveyard. After it was lowered into the hole in the ground, the priest stood over the coffin, while mourners each threw a handful of dirt over it. 'We wish for our lord Jesus Christ to guide this soul to heaven. We therefore commit this body to the ground: earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust, in sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life.' As the rain started to pour, the grave began to be covered up, and everyone went their separate ways.

While Blair went to see Alex, and Jade was talking with several other people, Rio quietly went to leave the church grounds. Walking towards the gates however, Savannah and America made a point of both body-checking her. America walked off, sniggering, but the younger of them couldn't help but stick the knife in. 'Don't know why she brought a stupid little BITCH with her.' With the tension in the air already, this was enough to make Rio see red.

'Fancy repeating that to my face? Or do you prefer going behind people's backs?' Despite only being an average 5'6", Savannah still towered over Rio by a full five inches, which she made abundantly clear. 'I would repeat it to your face, but I can't even see it, all I see is air.' 'Must be like being in your head then.' 'Repeat that to my face?' Rio then got right in her face. 'I would do, but I'm too busy staring at your fake breasts. That you probably bought with her money.'

'Yeah, well you wouldn't understand the struggles would you. I ain't like you bitch, I wasn't born into some rich fancy family' 'And yet you're the one who hasn't worked a day in their life while the so called "Rich Bitch" works 6 days a week on minimum wage.' 'You can afford to, that's the difference. I only took what she owed to me, it was her JOB to pay for the essentials for me.' 'She never owed you a damn cent, what you were doing has a name and it's not an obligation, it's called theft. YYou're a common thief.'

By this point Blair had noticed the argument, and was about to go over to break it up, when Jade stopped her. 'Let Rio fight her own fights.' The argument had gotten extremely heated by this point. 'You rich girls, you're all the same, getting everything handed to you by a bank manager, never going in your account and not seeing six figures, you can live some cushy life knowing you never have to worry, and now you're poisoning her mind with that idea, she doesn't have to pay her way. You're a bad influence on her and I can't stand it.' Fired up, Rio's response was sudden. 'Bad influence?' 'Yeah.' 'You think so?' 'Yeah.' 'Well you don't need to worry about it much longer, I'll be just like Wilma soon.'

Savannah took a moment, and realised what she meant. 'You're…' 'Yep, terminally ill. Could be tomorrow, could be in 20 years' time. But we're probably talking sooner. So you don't need to worry about a bad influence.' For the first time in her life, Savannah was stunned into total silence. 'Don't worry about saying you "didn't know" or you're "sorry", turns out you hear it all the time in my condition. It's my reward for taking a bullet to the head to save someone.' Having said that, Rio stormed off, out of the church, leaving Savannah to just stare at Blair talking to her father.

With Blair

Blair was looking for a way out, when she saw her father walking towards her. As she turned away, Alex blocked her path. 'Not this time.' Gary then spoke. 'Blair.' 'Um, hi?' 'It's a joy to see you again. I haven't spoken to you since you moved away. I believe you're living in England now?' 'Yeah, I've got an apartment with my other half.' 'Is he here? Rio, I believe his name is?' She just looked at him awkwardly.

'What's going on Blair?' Alex was just about to try and explain, when Blair blurted out 'I'm bisexual', surprising him. 'So this Rio is…' 'She's somewhere over there, and she's not my other half, she's my best friend.' She then dragged Jade in. 'This is Jade, my girlfriend.' He looked at them, shocked, for a short time, before just smiling. 'If you make each other happy, that's what I care about.' He then extended his hand to Jade. 'It's nice to meet you Jade.' 'Same with you Mr. Flannigan.'

'So how long have you been together?' 'A couple of months. Rio actually set us up to meet each other, me and her were childhood friends.' 'That accent… Idaho?' 'Yep, born in Boise, grew up on the outskirts of Twin Falls, moved to Iran when I was young.' Hearing this got Gary reminiccising. 'Lovely country Iran, mind you I've not been in 30 years. So you have an apartment together?' 'Yeah, I rented the place a few months ago and Blair recently moved in, and I must say, it's never been tidier. Although you could ease up on the bleach a little bit.'

'So… where's Mom?' This lead to an awkward silence. 'Anna… Anna and I are getting divorced. I sent her the papers last week.' 'Oh, what happened?' 'It… was about Ally. America recently started making moves to put Ally up for adoption, and Anna secretly tried to make sure she's adopted out of the country. I understand it's to stop all the strife, but it really isn't going to work that way.' 'So we've got a meeting next Monday with a solicitor regarding me adopting her.'

Just then, they saw Rio and Savannah's argument getting increasingly heated. Blair went to intervene, but Jade held her back. 'Let Rio fight her own battles.' 'That's all well and good, but what if something happens? What if Savannah hits her like she's been known to do and it dislodges the bullet? What if it sets off something else in her brain?' All this talk was confusing for Gary, until the situation was explained.

'Alex, any idea what's going on?' 'The argument, no idea. To be fair I think they could both start an argument in an empty room, no offence intended to Rio.' 'None taken, you're not wrong.' 'In terms of Rio, she was shot in the head a few months ago, The bullet got stuck in her brain, and now she's been diagnosed with a degenerative brain disorder.' 'Wow, I… don't quite know what to say to you all. Would you like me to talk to her?' 'It's ok, it's not like she listens to anyone anyway.'

Blair then turned around, to see that Rio had vanished. Immediately she ran over to Savannah, with Jade nearly falling in her efforts to prevent them reaching each other. 'What did you do with her?' 'I… I'm so sorry. I… didn't know about her illness.' Blair then grabbed her by her collar. 'What did you do?' 'Nothing… we argued, she said she was dying and ran off… I never touched her.' 'Which way?' 'She ran out of the grounds, towards the city limits.' Immediately recognising where Rio was likely headed, Blair ran out with Jade following her closely, while Savannah stood, still shellshocked.

In the arena

As the dust settled, Astrid had cleaned out the entirety of her opponents, with only Belle and Denzil even dealing damage (700 and 2600 points respectively). Upon the last duel finishing, she immediately went to leave, but Kris blocked the doorway. 'What are you doing?' 'Encouraging you to have some fun.' 'I need to make sure Maddy's ok.' 'She will be fine.' He then leant in and mumbled to her. 'Trust me, I have an idea. But I need to talk to Sak first, then I can talk about it.'

She took a step back, and realised something. 'You're serious aren't you? You legit have a plan.' 'As I say, I need to clear it first. You just stay here for a while and wind down, you don't sound good when tense.' 'Thanks.' 'Not an insult, just getting you to… calm down a bit.' 'Thank you, I appreciate it.' They shared the briefest of kisses, before Kris turned to leave, only to swing back by the doorway. 'By the way, you know where I can get any of those potato things, can't remember the name now.' Astrid just giggled. 'They're called Raspeballs, and there's some in the oven.'

While this was going on, Phil and Donny were sat down for their session. 'So what is it you're looking for?' 'I'm using this really cool Lair of Darkness strat, right?' 'Yep.' 'I just have no consistency with it though. I keep just drawing all Traps and no Lair.' 'Right, let's see the deck.' As it was spread across the table, Phil took a couple of minutes to analyse every card, while Donny waited with baited breath. Eventually, he had an answer.

'I must say I'm rather impressed. Not perfect, let's be honest no deck is, but you've got a neat deck there.' 'Anything you can improve?' 'A few things. Firstly you want to keep an eye on your Trap line-up. You're running 14 here, which is realistically too many when you're going to be going second 50% of the time.' 'How many am I looking at then?' 'It's personal preference really, but I would say no more than 10. With a deck like this, I feel like you want to stick to the 20/20 rule. So 20 monsters in the main deck, and 20 Spell/Traps. I would also suggest easing up on the Virus cards, they aren't good unless you have Lair up.'

'So don't run them?' 'Run them in moderation. My suggestion is pick the two you like the best, and run two each. Then run two copies of this - Trap Trick. It allows you to search whatever Trap you want and activate it on the same turn.' 'But you have to banish the other copy.' 'Make it count then. While your opponent is under the Virus, make your turns count. Getting free in three turns is useless if they're dead by then. And your deck is capable of that.'

He then pulled out another card. 'Nightmare Archfiends?' 'Tribute your opponent's monster under Lair, and the tokens can be linked off by Anguish and Rage.' 'That actually works?' He smiled, and opened his knowledge up. 'Here's a pro tip for you - you can use a Token for any kind of effect like that unless it specifically states the monster has to go to the graveyard. The link effects don't care where the monster goes. It's just like playing under Macro Cosmos.'

While this was happening, Astrid and Hannah were watching from the arena. 'He's good at this Deck Doctor isn't he?' 'What you need to understand Astrid, is that he never forgets a duel. Win lose or draw, he always remembers it.' 'That's amazing. I can't even remember what I had for lunch yesterday.' 'Probably fish, judging by the stench on your breath.' Eager to not discuss her breath, Astrid instead changed the subject back to Phil. 'What makes him so good at this? It's like he's been doing it his entire life.'

'I guess it's probably something to do with his Autism. It affects different people differently, but with him, it just seems to have gifted him with an incredible capacity to remember things.' 'Did he ever build your deck for you?' 'Yeah, at the start at least. Just while i was learning some of the ins and outs. It eventually became more collaborative, but he was always the driving force behind it all.'

In Michigan

As Blair and Jade arrived at the wake, Rio was already sat at the bar with a white wine spritzer in hand. 'When did you get here?' 'About 10 minutes ago, I decided to skip the awkward conversation with your parents.' 'It wasn't that bad actually. Bit weird when they didn't know I had a girlfriend, but other than that it was kinda cool honestly.' 'I would have got you both a drink, but I didn't know what you wanted.' After Jade and Blair ordered two orange juices, they sat with Rio.

'So you've been here for 10 minutes drinking on your own?' 'Something like that.' 'This your first one?' '2nd. White always was my weakness.' 'Got to know anyone here?' 'There was nobody else when I got here.' Blair was now getting very concerned about her friend's demeanour. But before she could say anything, Jade did. 'What's up Rio? You've been super tetchy for days, and it's not like you to down a drink in seconds.' 'Trying to take the pain away? I guess this is how Maddy feels.'

In England

Maddy was stood with two large bottles of beer, one in each hand. She took a deep breath, before cracking open the first bottle's lid. She brought the bottle to her lips, inhaling the smell, before pouring the contents down the sink, and doing the same with the second bottle. 'I can't, I'm sorry. Maybe again one day.' She then flung the bottles in the recycling, before walking off casually.

In Michigan

As the wake continued and people flocked in, Jade and Blair were just starting a second drink of orange when Alex wandered over to them with her own drink. 'Hey, Dad was… kind of wanting to speak to you both.' 'Sure.' 'As in… now?' Jade just looked over at Rio, who was now on her 4th drink. 'Sure you'll be ok?' She just looked up and faked a genuine smile. 'I'll be fine, you go. I think he really wants to get to know you.'

After the lovers sat with Gary, Alex quietly sat down near Rio. 'I know you're not "ok". How could you be? Nobody expects you to be.' This was another for the fragile armour to finally crumble. 'Dying's the easy bit. It's hard getting used to it though. My life can't be normal anymore, because I've got this constant expectation that today could be it, today could be the last day. And there's so much I want to do. You know, find a guy, have kids, experience the world, I wanna grow old and decrepit with those two, but…'

'You don't want to hold them back' 'I don't want them to be tied down.' As Rio turned around, Alex saw a sight she had never seen - genuine fear in someone's eyes. Rio's eyes were wide, her muscles tense, her entire face frozen in sheer terror. 'I'm dying, and I don't know if I even want anybody there. I'm just… I don't want to be a burden on them, and I… I'm afraid I'm just going to rot away. I don't want them watching that.'

Alex didn't speak, rather just intensely listened. 'I'm trying to show them a brave face but I don't know how much longer I can.' She then looked back at Blair and Jade, who were having a good conversation. 'They don't need me, but selfishly… I don't want to die. I want to be there with them. I wouldn't even mind if I needed a frame or if I was in a chair, it's just… I don't want them to forget about me.'

'Like, I know it sounds properly selfish, I get it. It's not all about me, I'm just… scared. Scared that I'm going to be so helpless that I can't look after myself anymore, I need round the clock care. I don't want to become a vegetable, and I think that's the worst thing, I don't know if I will or how long it will take. I could wake up tomorrow feeling great or I could wake up unable to move. I might not even wake up at all. I mean, what if I don't get chance to say goodbye? There could be so many things I want to say that I can't.'

Suddenly there was a voice behind Rio. 'Just talk to me.' As she turned around, Blair was sat there, smiling at her sympathetically. 'How much did you just here…' 'I didn't hear any of it, but Jade did.' 'Forgot she's a wolfblood.' 'If you needed to get these things off your chest, just tell me.' Rio then burst into tears and launched herself into a hug. 'Just… don't forget me, ok?' 'I'd have a job. How could anyone forget you? Between your ludicrous obsession with the colour blue, the fact that you are a MUCH better cook than I am, your very slight crush on Donny which you will never admit to anyone, and the fact you're a little dynamo full of nervous energy, how could we forget? Nor are we forgetting any time soon missus. You're not going anywhere. Not now at least. Because one day, me and Jade will get married, and you're walking us both down the aisle. Because there is nobody we would rather have with us.'

As the tears slowly exhausted themselves, Rio had just one more request. 'One thing B.' 'Sure.' 'If it ever gets to the point where I'm not mentally capable of looking after myself' 'If you ever get to that point I'll do the deed for you. But we're not getting there any time soon, if at all.' 'Thank you… for everything.' 'It's fine.' She then looked at the barman. 'Two mojitos please.' She then looked at Rio. 'One more drink won't harm eh?'

While this was going on, America was getting increasingly drunk herself… and irritable. 'Just look at them with their stupid smirks, think they own the whole place just because "Oh look at us we've come all the way from England" well at least they can afford to move over there. As for that stupid blue-haired bitch, she's going to get what's coming to her.' America then grabbed the rest of her drink, and stormed over towards Rio. 'This is for you bitch!' Her toss of the glass was interrupted at the last moment by Savannah stepping in front of her.

'Leave Rio alone.' 'Who do you think you are? And whose side are you on anyway?' 'I'm not on a side. But you don't know what you're doing.' 'I know exactly what I'm doing.' 'You don't. You don't know the danger you're putting her in. Trust me.' 'I don't care.' Desperate to prevent it, Savannah pushed America down to the ground. 'Just… stop. Ok? Just stop it.' Annoyed, she retreated, and Savannah walked back over to her.

In England

As Maddy quietly walked past the medical office, Kris walked out of there and right in front of her. 'Oh hey Maddy, Sakura wanted to talk to you.' 'Again? 3rd time today.' As she went in, Kris just turned around and smiled, as Astrid came over. 'You think your plan will work?' 'Sakura seemed to like it, so hopefully.'

In the office, Sakura sat Maddy down. 'I've just been reviewing your medical records.' 'Why do I get the feeling I'm not going to like this?' 'Well I can't promise you're going to like ALL of the news, but it's quite positive. It looks like your anti-rejection medicine is doing its job really well, there's no sign of any infections, your blood pressure is still a little high but stable, and you've reported no health issues.'

'So…' 'So, I am moving you from the inactive list onto the standby list now. I want another check-up with you in two weeks, but all being well, I think I could clear you to return to duelling.' Hearing this, Maddy's face lit up. 'Seriously?' Sakura wasn't finished however. 'I do have some conditions though. Firstly, you NEED to reduce your alcohol intake. I'm not saying don't drink, but I'd like to try and limit you to 15 units a week.' 'That's what - 5 pints?' '5 pints of beer, not all in the same day.' She just smiled. 'Ok, I can do that.' 'Secondly, I want you to wear the sleep sensor we talked about earlier.' 'Yep, that's fine.'

'Finally, your ribs aren't healing as quickly as I was hoping, likely due to the medication. So, if you're going to return to duelling, I want you to get used to wearing this.' Sakura then produced what looked to be the bottom half of a traditional Victorian corset, with a red fabric front on black leather, sculpted to fit around the ribs, a three inch peak in the centre, and lace securing it at the rear.

Looking at it, Maddy appeared highly confused. 'And what do you want me to do with that?' 'It's for your ribs - it's meant to act as a rib brace. It's thick, it's sturdy' 'And it's like 200 years old. Did you… make that?' Sakura just put her hand on it and smiled. 'Yep. It took me about four hours. I'm only asking you wear it while duelling.' 'I'm not wearing it Sak, I'm sorry, but I'm just not. My ribs will be fine in a couple of weeks anyway.'

'Honestly Maddy, if you think your ribs will be healed in two weeks at the speed they're going, you're delusional.' 'Why, how long do you think it will take?' 'At their current pace, we're talking at least 2-3 months. Trust me, if you want to return before you get stripped of that title, this is the only way.' 'The ONLY way?' She just looked at her president, deadpan. 'ONLY way. Your medical state is not negotiable.' Without saying anything else, Maddy opened the door, and left, carefully pushing it back on the way out.

In Michigan

As the wake continued, Gary reminisced about his late grandmother. 'You know, I remember when I met Anna, I was nervous about her meeting Wilma because of what she would think. I remember them meeting for the first time, and the first thing she said to her was "Don't get pregnant until you know he's a keeper". She ended up getting on with Wilma better than I did at times… I have regrets about that. But this isn't the time or the place. I remember she was so happy when she found out that we were adopting, she already had two wonderful great-grandchildren but she was always a big supporter of disadvantaged children. So when she found out that we were adopting, she wanted to be involved in every step of the process.'

'And the day that we brought Blair home, she was completely enamoured. She can't have been more than a year old at the time, but straight away, you just knew that they would hit it off. Blair really was the apple of my grandmother's eye, her face just lit off whenever she knew that the little scamp was coming. Even when she started to "experiment" with lemon juice and flour on the kitchen floor or broke the stair bannister going skiing, she always understood. You just can't explain that kind of bond, you can only see it.'

Listening to this, Blair started to blush, as Rio started banter with her. 'I mean who hasn't tried to surf on a bannister? I know I did it when I was a baby. How old were you anyway?' 'Six.' 'Ok, maybe I was a little bit younger than you.' 'To be fair I'm shocked you could even reach the bannister.' 'I told you, I was a totally reasonable height for my age. I just stopped growing real early.' 'You know what they say about excuses…'

Meanwhile, America was getting increasingly annoyed listening to this, pushing her short, dirty blonde hair to the side. 'How dare he… how dare he! He knows how much the old bag meant to me. Not that she ever cared, all she talked about was Blair this, Blair that, "Oh dear, do you know when my darling Blair is back, even though she said she was moving to England permanently?" I mean how stupid do you have to be? Anyone can see that I deserved that attention, but I never got any.'

In North Shields

Sakura was locking the door of the medical office when Kris walked by, carrying a cup of hot coffee. 'This one's on me.' 'Thanks. Need it after trying to talk to her.' 'I'm guessing you're talking about our beloved president then?' 'The one and only.' 'Didn't go too well then.' Sakura just shrugged her shoulders in indignance. 'I mean I believe that she's going to reduce her drinking, to be honest I don't think she realises how much she's drinking.'

'Totally, she just gets carried away with it. Ten cans is the same as three to her.' 'I guess it's just a tolerance thing.' 'Anything regarding the sleeping?' 'She's got a new mattress coming tomorrow. It's a start I suppose. Just the ribs issue that we couldn't agree on.' 'I take it the corset was her issue?' 'I just don't think she wants to admit that there is an issue. She's built up this image of the fierce warrior.' 'If only she realised that isn't why people like her…'

In Michigan

As the wake was winding down, Blair prepared to leave. Just as she went to push the large wooden door open though, she was distracted by an old, greying man in a black suit and tie making an announcement. 'Ladies and Gentlemen, I request your presence for just a moment longer.' As everybody turned around, the will started to be read out.

'It states in Ms. Bierhals' Last Will and Testament that she wishes for her will to "be read out loud and proud at the wake, in order to ensure that everybody relevant is there". As you likely already know, my name is David Michael Bierhals Jr., and I am Wilma's nephew, the son of her brother David Sr. I was informed some months ago, and it says again in the will, that I was to be the executor of the will. What I read out next will be the exact words written in the will.'

After clearing his throat, he read it out. "To my family and friends, if you are listening to this then I have finally left. I want you all to know first that the following will has been written out by a solicitor, however they only wrote down the exact words I wanted them to write out, to the letter. Firstly, I leave to my Nephew, the aforementioned David Michael Bierhals Jr., $50,000 and my ancestral home in Berlin. I understand that you have wanted to explore our family's origin, and therefore I leave to you a property from which to base your search."

"To my Grandson, Gary Flannigan, I leave $150,000 and a majority of my possessions, anything not listed later on. I may not possess an enormous amount, however what I do will prove to be extremely valuable to you I wish. This includes all the old family photos which for so long I have held precious.' Gary shed a handful of tears as he heard this news, knowing the difference that the money could make to his life. "To my Great-Grandaughter Savannah, I leave the sum of $15,000, enclosed in a trust fund. This money is to be used for your ambitions of going to college, and therefore will not be unlocked until you can prove you have completed two full semesters. I never disliked you, much as you may have been lead to believe so, I hold the same love for all of you. It is never too late to achieve your potential."

Listening to this, Savannah wept, before just nodding. America didn't seem impressed by the idea though. 'Imagine you going to some lousy college?' But Savannah had a shock for her. 'Yeah, I've kind of already signed up to a course at Bay.' 'Bay College? But that's like, 500 miles away.' 'Just over 400 actually. And that's the point - I can't be a better person here. I'm starting to see how Blair felt when she left.' But the will reading wasn't yet over.

'To my great-Grandaughter Alexandra, who has faithfully been a supporter of my later life ambitions, I leave $30,000 and the deeds to my property in Michigan. I gift this to you in order for you to start your own life instead of running everybody else's, and also so that little girl truly has a home. You belong as a family, and I'm sure that this will help you along the way.' Alex just sat, stunned, while America became increasingly incensed. 'That old bag… I swear the first opportunity I get, the little thing's off to Africa.'

Finally, Savannah appeared to have had enough. 'You know that what you're doing is totally wrong, right?' 'Meaning?' 'If you don't want her, surely you don't care where she goes?' 'I don't, I just don't want Alex having her, because then she'll be the apple of Mom and Dad's eyes.' Savannah just huffed and walked away. 'Can't believe I ever listened to you. You're disgusting.' As she stood in the corner of the room, the last part of the will was read out.

"To my darling Great-Grandaughter Blair, who has inspired me with her intrepid spirit and ability to chase her dreams despite all obstacles, I leave the remainder of my estate, $50,000. In addition, I leave to you my large collection of costume jewellery, which I had valued several months previous to this will at…" At this moment, David started to choke up, before regaining composure for long enough with the help of a quick swig of beer. "Valued at $1,245,000. I expect you may find a use for some of it, however any you wish to sell is yours to do with whatever you wish. May this fund future explorations of your own boundaries, and keep me in your mind when you do. You, my dear, are doing the one thing I always regretted not doing, seeing the world while I had the chance."

"To all those who are not listed in the will who may expect to be; just know that there are no mistakes, only reasons. Some of you may understand why you were not included, however most of you likely do not. You are not beyond rescuing something from your lives, but I prefer to use my estate to help those who were selfless enough to share their time and genuine thoughts with me."

Desperate, America immediately rushed over towards David, and snatched the will. "This… this isn't real, that's it! It's a fake! One of you just wrote this up this morning. I mean, how do we even know you're who you say you are? I've never met you, none of us have ever met you. That clearly isn't the real will.' Finally fed-up of listening to her, Blair got up from her seat, putting her drink down on the bar, and squared up to her adopted older sister.

'What do you want worm?' The response shocked everyone. 'You to shut the hell up.' 'Oh, the worm thinks she's got a backbone now does she?' The elder then started mockingly poking Blair in the chest, but she just looked down at the finger. 'Move your finger or I'll break it, and then break the rest of them. We're supposed to be paying our respects.' 'Why didn't she pay me any respect then and give me some of her money? She was clearly loaded.'

'It's always about money with you.' 'It's easy for you to say, you just got so much from her.' 'Yeah, and I didn't ask for a penny of it.' 'Why are you even here then?' 'Because I cared about her and still do.' Now starting to come unravelled, America became irrationally angry. 'If you cared so much then why did you run off to England?' 'To escape you.' 'Little brat! You know how much you owe me, that money I took was the least you owed me. I should have left you on the streets!'

It was at this moment that America realised what she had just said out loud, as Gary walked up to her. 'You had me believing she was paranoid for years. But it turns out she was right the entire time - you were stealing from her.' 'You know she owes us! She's always been the apple of everybody's eye, "oh look at me, I'm special just because I'm a Lesbian and have a terrorist for a girlfriend and I'll cry if someone insults me."

As people looked on, shocked at America's words, Blair gave her an open-handed slap, discolouring the side of her face, before flipping the bird and turning away. Seeing Blair with her back turned, America took drastic measures, and picked up a glass while most everyone was distracted. Clouded by rage, she charged, just as Rio turned around, and in an instinctual move reminiscent of a previous incident, threw Blair to the ground. America made no effort to stop, and then the shatter of glass on skin rung out throughout the bar. As people stopped sheltering, Rio was stood, blood dripping from a large gash on her forehead, and she dropped the bombshell. 'Bad move - you just glassed a girl with a terminal brain condition.'

Seeing Rio bleeding suddenly sent an increasingly annoyed Jade over the edge, and she went to charge at America, only to be held back by the Idahoan, who took a breath. 'She's mine' Rio mumbled, before walking over to an indignant America. 'Well if you hadn't have got in the way that would never have happened.' Rio nodded, seemingly in agreement, before showing America that everything which had happened had been recorded.

'Now if you like, I could go straight to the police and you'll end the day awaiting charges for Aggravated Assault and Fraud. Or, we could come to an arrangement.' Seeing that there was no other way, America relented. 'Fine, what do you want?' 'I have a few demands. 1. You give Ally up for adoption officially and don't stand in the way of anybody adopting her. 2. Never contact Blair again, not for anything. 3. If you ever steal anything from Blair again, even a cent, I'm going straight to the police with this. Oh, and 4. Don't try and claim the will is fake. If you try and take action over it, you're going to jail.' Reluctantly, America accepted, before storming out.

Two hours later

To erase memories of the difficult wake, Gary arranged an impromptu barbeque. As it was getting into full swing, Rio returned, having been taken to hospital after the glassing. Immediately Blair was fussing over her. 'I'm fine B, promise.' 'You sure?' 'Honestly. My head's been glued up, they did some scans and everything, and the worst I've got is a swollen and lacerated eyelid. I promise you all, I'm fine.'

Seeing that she was back, Gary walked over to them. 'Can I just apologise incredibly hard for everything America has done, if I had truly known' 'It's fine. What matters is that she isn't going to do it again.' 'You know, if you do want to press charges, I wouldn't stand in your way.' There was no intention to, however. 'She wouldn't survive 10 minutes in prison. Besides, keeping her out of our lives is enough.'

He then looked up, and smiled as he saw Blair with her arm around Jade. 'Blair, I know this is a massive ask, and you've got your entire lives ahead of you, but I feel like I should ask - how would you both feel about adopting Ally yourselves?' Both of them seemed totally taken aback by this, but Rio seemed excited about the possibility. Quickly enough, Blair and Jade both walked off together, concerning Gary.

'You… don't think I've offended them, do you?' 'No, I think they're actually discussing it.' 'It's just that Alex has been talking about going back to work, she was working as an Elementary School teacher but took an extended break for Ally.' 'I think it would be awesome, but I honestly don't know about them, because obviously Blair's only moved in with her in the past few weeks. All I do know is they'll be having a good discussion about it.'

As they looked around, Blair and Jade were clearly very deep in a terse discussion, with Jade in particular looking pained at their dilemma. For almost 10 minutes, their debate continued, getting increasingly animated, almost resembling a fierce argument. Eventually, they appeared to have come to an agreement, and returned to give Gary their verdict.

'Right, we've had a talk, and we don't think we're ready to take her on full-time… yet.' 'Yet?' Blair then clarified something with him. 'Ally's academic year finishes in a few weeks, right?' 'It's about two months away.' 'Right, if Alex can arrange for her to take any exams in the next few weeks, she can come and live with us for a few weeks in England, and we'll see how we go with it.' 'And all being well…' 'All being well, we'll look into adopting her. But we're not going to say anything to her about adoption. As far as she's concerned, it's an extended vacation, and she's finishing her school work with us. We'll thrash out the details when we get back across the pond.'

'That sounds fantastic, thank you.' 'Just to check, you HAVE discussed this with Alex, right?' He smiled. 'I'm glad you remembered to ask that. I have, we've been talking about it on and off for a few weeks.' 'And she's fully on board?' 'She's the one who suggested you both. I'll talk to the adoption agency next week, see what the protocol is, and then get back to you.' Blair then grabbed a scrap of paper from her pocket, and furiously scribbled down a note, before passing it to Gary.

'This is mine and Jade's phone numbers, and also my email address. When you've got some answers, just contact us, and we'll get things sorted.' They then looked up from their conversation, and realised something strange. 'Erm guys, did anyone see where Rio went?' 'Sorry, which one's Rio?' 'The one who was just with us. You know, 5ft, blue hair, moderately drunk.'

At the other end of the garden, Alex was just about to go inside, when Rio walked up, and passed her a plain white envelope on the sly. 'Everything ok?' 'Yeah, could you… erm… could you drop this off with Drake? Please.' 'Of course.' 'Thanks.' Before Alex could ask what was in the envelope, Rio had walked off again. 'I wonder what's in here…' She was sorely tempted to open it, but at the last moment, thought better of it. 'I had better get this to him before I get tempted again.'

That evening

Drake was preparing to cook himself some food when he heard a knock on the door. As he opened it, Alex was stood there, with a pair of takeaway pizzas. 'To what do I owe the pleasure?' 'Thought you might fancy the company. Also, it's not like I've got anyone to spend time with.' Ally then came bounding out. 'Mom, why did you never tell me how cool Uncle Drake was?' 'I… didn't know he was.' 'You kidding? He knows Auntie Blair, and that makes him awesome! Also you never told me the time that he wrestled a bear and won.' Hearing this, Alex just shook her head and rolled her eyes.

'Have you been telling her stories again?' 'Got to pass the time somehow. And there's only so much Monopoly you can play.' 'Yeah, about five minutes with Ally because she keeps making up her own rules. The little criminal tried charging me $2million for landing on Boardwalk one time. Anyway, let's get these pizzas before they start to go cold and soggy.' 'Just like Mama made 'em' he joked in his worst Italian accent.

A little later, after they had finished eating and Ally had gone to bed, Alex suddenly remembered the envelope. 'Oh, you remember Rio?' 'The blue haired one, right?' 'That's the one. She wanted me to give something to you.' She then handed the envelope over. 'What's in it?' 'Beats me.' Drake carefully opened the envelope, and took out a letter which Rio had written, in somewhat scrawled handwriting.

'To Drake: Meeting you today and hearing your story was a real eye-opener for me. It made me realise that being unwell, it isn't anything to be embarrassed about. There is something that I never told you when we were talking: I am terminally ill. I've been in denial about it since I got the news, but I have to accept that I have a degenerative brain disorder which means that I will eventually die, probably before my time. And before I go, I want to make a difference to people. People who deserve me and my time.'

'That is why I've written you a cheque for some money. It's not an enormous amount, but it should be enough to get your house renovated or rebuilt, because as it is, it isn't doing you any good. I want you to make the house perfect for yourself, not least for looking after Blair all that time ago. We'll keep in touch, and hopefully we'll get the opportunity to meet again. But if we don't, just know that you are the best of humanity, and deserve everything that anyone can give you. Sincerely, R. Kastle.'

As he was reading, Alex saw a cheque on the floor. She didn't touch it at first, but curiosity got the better of her, and as she looked at it, her face dropped. 'Drake, you want to see this.' She then passed the cheque over to him, and he went white as he read it. $300,000.' There was a note attached below as well, stating "I can't take it with me in the afterlife. Enjoy your new home." Reading that, Drake started to cry. 'That money… it's life changing. I can get the entire place redone with that and save some. That girl…' 'I can see why Blair likes her.'

At Gary's house

The three girls were sat together on a balcony, all wearing pyjamas and drinking mocktails. 'What did you give Alex earlier?' 'Pardon?' 'When you handed that envelope to Alex, what was in there?' 'It was just a little money, help him get his place redecorated.' Blair then grabbed Rio in a meaty hug. 'See, I always knew you were a softy.' 'Can you blame me for feeling for him?' 'Of course not, Drake's awesome, he's just had a really bad lot.'

Talk then turned to Ally. 'So you're going ahead with this for Ally?' 'Yeah, when she finishes school in a few weeks we'll get the ball rolling. Hannah said she'll help vet schools in the area for us, I think she's just happy to get out of the house.' 'Gonna need a bigger apartment then.' At this moment, Jade had a little surprise. 'Yeah, we're already talking about that. There's some really nice 3-bed flats in that new quayside development, so we're going to have a quick look one day next week.'

'That sounds awesome. You'll have to invite me round for the flat warming party.' 'Well I mean me and Blair share a bedroom, so…' 'Ally gets her own room.' Because Rio clearly wasn't getting the message, Blair just told her straight. 'I think Jade's asking if you would move in with us.' Rio just looked around, shocked. 'Really?' 'Rio, you're our best friend, of course we want you to move in. Besides, we could kind of do with the help for looking round places.' Delighted, Rio nodded. 'I'd love to.'

As the girls continued to whittle the night away, Rio had a revelation looking at the moonlight. 'I think… I'm ok. With dying.' Confused, the girls looked at her. 'The past couple of days, it's made me realise - I don't want to live to Wilma's age and end up being confined to a bed for months at the end. I want to go out swinging, I want to make every day count, I'd rather have 25 years of making memories than 100 years of worrying about tomorrow.' She then jumped up onto the balcony, and shouted out to the world. 'I'm Riana Kastle, and I'm stronger than death!'

Next time: Rio makes her return, Blair provokes an old rival, and Astrid and Kalin cross swords in Renegades: A New Dawn Chapter 43: Star 1 - The Morning Star