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.

54. Hard Lessons

Chapter 115: Hard Lessons

As the club flew back from Japan, Maddy and Rio had a full and frank conversation. 'Well done on the win, I never doubted you.' 'Yeah, I really don't feel like I did that much. You know, Blair was just ferocious all duel, and Phil was awesome as well.' 'You were also brilliant, some of your defensive moves were just amazing.' 'It's nice of you to say, especially when you destroyed four people in two days. That new deck of yours is unbelievable.' 'It's not really new, it's just one that I was saving for the right time. One thing's for certain though - nobody's ever calling me plain old boring again after that.' Rio laughed nervously in response. 'I know I wouldn't.' 'Anyway, I hear you got offered a contract by Dad regarding his management?' 'Yeah, it… just feels a little bit weird y'know, it's just that our arrangement has worked so well, and just feels so strange that we'd have to make it legally official.' 'I think I get where you're coming from. You tried talking to Blair about it?' 'No point, she's totally enamoured with the idea. She's spent the entire flight talking about terms with him, I reckon she's gonna be signed as soon as he has access to a printer. There was something else that I wanted to discuss with you though.' 'Sure.' 'When you were confronting Akiza, through the speakers, didn't you think she seemed… I dunno, a little bit calm?'

This appeared to get Maddy thinking. 'Now that you mention it, I guess so. I didn't think of it at the time, but she did seem really chill considering how much she's supposed to hate me. I mean I still regret what I had to do, but I had to, she was actively implicated in an attempted rape, and then tried to launch two hostile takeovers of the club. But you're right, she seemed weirdly calm about it. And what did she mean about "it isn't fated to be our time yet"? What is she achieving by avoiding me.' 'She could be scared of you?' 'Don't bet on it. Akiza got to know me well, she knows what I'm capable of in the right situation. She's stalling for time, the question is for what exactly.' 'Perhaps she wants to know the weaknesses of your deck?' 'I doubt it, Akiza's smart, she knows that she can just go first and floodgate me out of the game. Plus it doesn't take her three duels to work a deck out like that.' 'Talk to Phil about it?' Maddy shot this idea down very quickly. 'Look, he told me for the first time this morning that he believes in me as a leader. You know how much that means to me?' 'Everything, it's been tearing you apart that he wouldn't acknowledge you.'

'So you know why I can't talk to him about this. I can't have him knowing that there's something I can't answer, I need to be completely in control.' 'Would it help if I brought it up to him without mentioning your name?' 'No, there's nobody better at reading between the lines. And you know he'll be right on top of me in about five seconds flat. And then I'll never get his faith back.' 'It's one time.' 'It won't matter, I need to show him that his faith isn't just nepotism.' 'Not that again.' 'I need to show him that I deserve what I've been given.' 'You've proven that already.' 'Have I? The club's fracturing like hell.' 'Just think of how much worse it would be if you weren't here. We need someone of your strength and fairness. You created rules for us all and you showed with Lydia and Freja that if people fail to follow those rules, you're going to punish them, regardless of whether you're "friends" with them. People need to understand that the rules are there for a reason. Hell, you gave me a verbal warning for smoking indoors, even though it was like, five steps indoors. We know what you're about Maddy, you're about the best for everyone.' 'Yeah, that's what you see, but what about everyone else? What about Mam and Dad.' 'Look, they know how well you're doing, even if they won't tell you, they do. Everyone does. You don't need someone to tell you that you're a good leader, the fact that everyone believes it should tell you. Look at Dakota and her brother - nobody else wanted to take them in, but because you said, they're going to make the effort. That's the power of you, nobody else can do what you do. And anyone who can't see that needs to wake up.'

As they landed back in England, Blair caught Rio as she was getting off the plane. 'Looked like you two were having a good chat up there. Care to spill?' 'You know, just stuff about Akiza mostly, we were just trying to work out why she refused to face Maddy there.' This got Blair pondering a bit. 'Ooh I don't know… leave it with me.' 'Just between us, she's also getting kinda funny about Phil not trusting her with the leadership, I think the Akiza stuff's making her paranoid.' 'Hope not, without her we're up shit creek. You remember your title belt?' Rio briefly stopped, then took the belt out of her bag. 'Yep. So glad we got there in the end.' 'Same. You know, it would have meant way less without both of you there.' 'That's sweet, but it really wouldn't.' 'No, it would. I can't think of anybody I'd rather team with… or be best friends with.' The two girls then hugged, as Phil joined them. 'Enjoying being champions girls?' They just smiled at him. 'Good, it's going to happen plenty more for you both.' 'And I can't wait for it. For now though, we need to work out who's defending the titles.' Blair then had an idea. 'RPS?' 'Doesn't really work with three. We'll work something out anyway, maybe take it in shifts or something. Oh and Rio, have you had any more time to think about that contract we were discussing?' 'Yeah, I sort of don't want to discuss it right now.' She then went on ahead, leaving Phil and Blair to talk.

'So you're happy with the terms we discussed?' 'Yeah, totally. If anything you're probably being generous to me.' 'I aim to offer good deals.' 'I know, but… I don't know, I just feel weird about you getting less than you are now.' 'It's fine, I wouldn't be telling you so otherwise. In all honesty, 20% is far more than I'm comfortable taking from you.' 'I get that, but 7.5% really doesn't feel like much.' 'Well where would you be comfortable with?' 'I dunno, I thought 20 was fair with how much you've given me, not just in terms of duelling, but everything else too.' 'Look, this is purely about duelling. The other stuff comes with the territory, it's because I care about you. How about, we get back home, and then in a couple of days we come back and discuss it a bit further?' 'Sure, I just don't you being left out of pocket with all of this.' 'I won't be, I promise.'

Two days later

Maddy was just coming out of the office for a lunch break when Dakota hailed her over. 'Everything alright? How are you settling in?' 'Yeah, good, everyone's real friendly, it's just… there's something I wanted to discuss with you.' 'Of course, do you want to go into the office?' 'Do you think I'd be safer in there?' This question caught Maddy out. 'Safer? Why, what's going on?' Dakota then nervously looked around her, before signalling at one of the meeting rooms. 'Has something happened in there?' 'No, I was pointing to your office.' 'No… my office is the one with the big brown door right in front of the staircase. That's Meeting Room 2 you were pointing at. With me.'

In the office, they started to discuss things. 'So what's up?' 'It's just that I heard that you've got a schizophrenic maniac in the club, and I was a bit concerned about our safety.' 'Oh you're talking about Belle? She's fine, if anything she probably causes me the least trouble of anybody.' 'And I heard she killed someone as well?' 'It's not for me to discuss people's personal business, all I'm going to say is that things are never as they seem here. Belle's had a difficult past, and she's working damn hard to improve her life.' 'I just don't get how it can be safe when you've got somebody like that running around free. You know, just turning randomly, constantly convinced they're being followed, totally paranoid, how can me and my brother be safe here?'

This generalization did not impress Maddy, who quickly put the newcomer right. 'Look, I don't know what stories you've heard, but Belle is no danger to anybody. I'm more of a danger than she is. Honestly, there's two options here - either you get over yourself and start attempting to get on, or you can just leave, because I can assure you that there is no issue.' 'So you're ok with crazed, mentally retarded people around here?' Frustrated, the president flashed her eyes. 'Ok, I'm guessing that means I crossed the line there?' 'Dakota, Belle is perfectly safe. The problem is people thinking she's an issue just because of her history. None of us have the best history, it's part of why we're here. Any fears you have will prove to be unfounded as soon as you get used to her being around. Ok?' Still unconvinced, Dakota nodded politely, and got out before she upset Maddy any more. As she did, she passed by Belle, who was quietly stood on the stairs. Little did she know that Belle had heard the entire conversation.

Outside the base

Jana was arriving to use the base's library again when she encountered Astrid, who was furiously scribbling down ideas, before crossing them out one by one and groaning in frustration. 'If you don't mind me saying, you look like you've had better days.' 'Something like that' she replied through gritted teeth. So Jana decided to try and help out. 'If you want to vent, I'm just saying, I'm not in a rush.' 'You see the 2nd day of the Anniversary show?' 'Yep, I saw everything that happened with the production.' 'So I'm trying to work out how to gain revenge on Bolton to make him regret messing with us.' 'Right.' 'Except I can't think of anything good. I can't just cave his skull in with my axe because I'd be arrested, I can't kick him because I'd get fired, I can't get Lydia to pull his trousers down on national television because I refuse to pay anything towards her idiotic tarot card scam that she's insisting is a "power", I can't get Freja to do it because her master doesn't like me and I'm not paying for her expensive fashion tastes, I mean who pays £900 for a purple leopard print leotard with real diamantes on it?' Jana then took the paper off Astrid. 'Someone who isn't using their own money. Let's see… can't do that because you'd still go to prison, can't do that because there is no chance in hell Maddy's letting him have her address, can't do that because Ally is only 10, can't do that because Maddy would kill you for using her lizard, yeah, doesn't look like any of these work.'

Frustrated and still angry, Astrid lamented her situation. 'That's two he's stolen from me now. In a clean fight I can just clean Kalin out, but it's never a fair fight. Bolton's always just right there, always at me, always looking to trip me up. I just need a way to get rid of him, make sure he never bothers coming back.' Jana then made a fateful flippant comment. 'Just feed him to Maddy.' To Jana, this was just sarcasm. To Astrid though, a proverbial lightbulb suddenly shone brighter than the sun. 'You're right! Thanks Jana.' Astrid bounded through the base doors, as the Welsh teenager looked at her, completely bewildered. 'Erm… you're welcome?'

As she entered, Astrid walked straight past Dakota, who was going in the other direction. 'Hey, how are you settling in?' 'Yeah, erm, not bad thanks. Listen, do you know where I can get sedatives?' Puzzled by this question, the jolly Norwegian paused briefly. 'Is this one of those questions which is actually a really weird Dad joke like Hannah comes out with when she's had a drink?' 'No, it's… actually it doesn't matter.' 'Oh, ok.' As Astrid walked away, she didn't see Dakota put her coat on, nor did she see her get slammed into the wall by a furious Belle. Dakota tried to wriggle out of this issue, but found her arms pinned beneath a shockingly strong grip. 'Let me tell you this once and once only - NEVER start making fun of the fact I have Schizophrenia. It's not something I can help, it's not something I asked for, and I'm trying my best to overcome the issues related to it. If you start making fun of me again, or claiming that I'm some kind of dangerous animal, or try and ply me with sedatives, I'm not going to be nearly as nice about it. My life is not your personal punchline. Do I make myself clear?' Frightened, Dakota just nodded. 'Don't make me do this again.' As she was released, Dakota escaped from danger. Instead of actually leaving though, she waited for Belle to pass, and then ran back into the base.

That afternoon

Phil was walking around the base, stalling for time when he noticed Denny quietly on a handheld games console on one of the sofas in the main hall, with nobody else around. Knowing the pain of isolation, he decided to have a wander over and introduce himself. Denny didn't even react as the godfather sat down next to him. After some tense silence, he decided to strike up a conversation. 'How are you finding it here?' 'Fine.' He then decided to try and match interests. 'You a fan of gaming?' 'Yeah.' 'What types do you like?' 'Anything really' he replied, still not taking his eyes off his console. 'You like platformers?' 'Yeah, they're good. Sometimes.' 'I like them as well. Useless at them mind, I'm pretty sure I've never got through one level of some. You look like you're good.' 'Yeah I suppose.' 'You'll have to give me some tips. Well you don't have to, but it might make me less awful.' This started to fracture the proverbial ice. 'It's just patience I suppose.' 'It would be the one thing I lack wouldn't it?' This made Denny laugh. 'So, New Zealand, what's it like? I've never been.' 'It's… ok. Not too many people where we're from.' 'Nice and quiet, sounds nice. Not like this place, always a drama here.' The quiet New Zealander then finally looked up for the first time, his jet black hair rustling as he did. 'I don't think you've properly met me yet - I'm Phil, or as Maddy calls me, Dad, long story, or as Freja calls me, Master Baby, longer story, or as Hannah calls me, Oi You, not such a long story, it's called being married. Well, sort of married, sort of engaged. I created this club… a while ago now, feels like forever. You got Aspergers?' This surprised Denny. 'How… did you know?' 'It's easy for an Aspie to see an Aspie. When were you diagnosed?' 'Two years ago, 16th May.' 'Ah you see, I was diagnosed way younger, I think I was about 8 or 9. Look, I just want to tell you that whoever you are, you can fit in nicely here.'

'Not gonna get to know anyone. Not with Dakota anyway.' 'Overprotective older sister?' 'Yeah.' 'Trust me, I know a bit about that. And it's not difficult to get to know people here. You absolutely don't need to be chatty to get to know everyone, people will want to get to know you. All you need to do is be able to talk to people a little bit, and they'll figure the rest out. Everyone's got a story here, you're going to be no different. And even if you don't want people to know, you'll find that they work it out sooner or later.' 'Dakota will tell them… eventually. She doesn't like people knowing about our father, but she also gets rattled easily.' 'Well don't expect judgement from anybody. As I say, everyone has a story, but you'll get to learn that.' Rio then called out to him. 'Phil, do you know where the key to the arena office is?' 'I've got it, why?' 'I wanted to submit my training logs for last week.' 'I'll be over in a minute, in the future if a keyholder isn't around, leave the completed logs taped to the door or just hand them to me when you see me.' He then turned to the quiet Autistic Kiwi. 'Trust me, you'll fit right in.' Denny then smiled at him. 'It was nice to meet you.' 'You too.' He then walked away to see to Rio's logs. As he did, Maddy sat there and smiled. 'See, you can be nice when you want to be. Looks like you might be sticking around.'

Just then, Astrid pretty much skipped over to her. 'Astrid, have you been switching breakfasts with Rio again? The last time i saw you this happy was when you got a new shipment of hairspray and it came with two free cans.' 'Yeah, we can talk about that later. I wanted to talk to you about getting revenge on Bolton.' 'Yeah, Jana mentioned that you'd ruled out pantsing him and getting a 10 year old to bite him.' 'Yeah, I was wondering if you'd duel him actually. You know, rough him up.' Maddy looked dubiously at her friend now. 'Look, it's a cool idea, but you've already got me facing Kalin,''I don't mean in Luxembourg. I mean we do something there to entice him in, make him want to face you in France.' 'Now you're talking my language a bit more. But you're in charge of finding a way to annoy him enough, I've got plenty on my plate already. Just this morning I had Dakota complaining about Belle being dangerous.' 'Belle? I've seen more dangerous houseplants. I swear her face would explode if she tried speaking more than two sentences. Actually that would be quite interesting wouldn't it...' Maddy slowly distanced herself from Astrid following this comment. 'You… just enjoy your exploding face fantasies, I'll be in my office.'

Ashworth Brook

Hannah was sat enjoying a quiet afternoon, but that was about to change. As she picked up a wedding magazine, there was a firm knock on the door. 'You'll have to wait a couple of minutes, heavily pregnant women don't move quick.' As she finally reached the door, the arduous effort mandated a brief moment to catch her breath again. Answering the door, Frances was there, marking the first time Hannah had seen her since her official entry into the Renegades. 'Can I come in? I've got some news.' Unhappily, the homeowner relented. As they sat down together, the question was asked. 'So, what order from Maddy brings you here?' 'This isn't club business, it's legal. I'm guessing you got the email about James' appeal?' 'It's all I've been able to think about for days.' 'Well I have good news in that respect - his appeal has been rejected.' 'Already?' 'According to the notification I got, the evidence provided by his new lawyer, oh yeah he's got a new lawyer, Julius refused to represent him again, anyway, the evidence wasn't sufficient to prove that you and Phil had been plotting in any way.' 'That stupid life insurance scam shit again?' 'Didn't say, but I would expect so, it wouldn't make sense to completely discredit his allegations. So his appeal has been rejected, he's going to appeal to the Court of Appeals, but I don't think it's likely that they'll even take the case. Not unless they manage to fabricate a watertight alibi.'

Hannah then smiled. 'Thanks.' 'Now I need to tell you, Damien's trial has been brought forward by three weeks.' 'So it's right after the festival?' 'During, but we can arrange for you to give evidence earlier if you want.' 'Yeah, me and Phil agreed to do an exhibition duel at the festival. Lord knows how I'm going to duel while eight months pregnant.' 'You'll be fine, you're doing brilliantly. Look, I know you were antsy about me converting, but I still want to be your lawyer. If anything, this is going to make me more determined to get justice for you.' Hannah then questioned her over this. 'How long were you planning it for?' 'We got in contact about a week before the trial, but it wasn't the first time we'd talked about it. She approached me about it about two weeks after the shooting, but I didn't think it was an appropriate time to be talking about it, and then I got in contact with her around the middle of January, but she informed me that you were having a presidential election the next day, so she wasn't in a position to talk about it. Then we were going to meet in my office over the mid season break, but she had her medical emergency three days before.'

'So what happened this time?' 'There's not much to say, Dylar paid me a visit, she explained what Maddy's vision for the Renegades was, suffice to say I was pretty impressed, so I gave Maddy a call after I got home that evening. We arranged everything via text, we agreed that if I managed to get James sent down, she'd induct me into the club. I wasn't going into this blind - I knew exactly the world I was entering, and I entered it willingly.' Still slightly unconvinced, Hannah continued to dig deeper. 'And why didn't she tell me or Phil?' 'Because she's the president and doesn't feel trusted. So she wanted to make a big move to impress you. Also it's not like anybody else knew, she told me afterwards that it was literally her, Dylar and Astrid who knew, and Astrid was only because' 'She's the head of security. Me joining the club had no bearing on the trial by the way - I was certain of that rat's guilt to begin with.'

She then moved her hand over to Hannah's. 'How long have you known me now?' 'Best part of a decade?' 'Exactly. When have I ever let you down? This doesn't have to be an issue - this can be an evolution of our partnership. Because now, I can not only help you, but everybody else. Think about it - I can be there for everybody when they need me. You are now all my top priority, and if I ever forget that, she can forcefully remind me where my loyalties lie - with you. I can help to make a better world.' Starting to be convinced, Hannah took a deep breath. 'Well I'm glad we got that cleared up.' 'Me too. Now how about you talk me through your wedding dress ideas - I saw the magazine.' Hannah just grinned hearing this, and they spent the rest of the afternoon talking over coffee and biscuits.

The next day

With Rio busy filling in for Maddy (who was at work), and Blair preoccupied with a football match, Phil had the morning to himself. Except instead of leisure, he was using it to track down Freja, who had been conspicuous by her absence for most of the time since returning from Japan. He had received a tip-off as to where she had been spending most of her time, and decided to have a look for himself, not believing what he had heard. The address he had been given turned out to be in the middle of a bleak housing estate near the center of Newcastle.

As he peered through the window from his car, he could clearly see Freja dressed in tight leather and a pair of black devil horns, with two men who looked to be approaching their 50s. Except they weren't talking. Instead, they were both on their knees, with chains wrapped around their wrists and ankles. She stood above them, and after kissing one of them on the lips, her scarlet-rouge lipstick rubbing off on his mouth, she violently cracked a steel whip over his back, before doing the same to the chains around his wrists, with him seemingly getting aroused from the torture. As this continued, Phil wondered where he had gone wrong in her spell to cause her to break her programming in this particular way. Watching her, he started to realize that he thought he understood her behavior. As this was pondered, she picked out what looked to be a Police stinger device (a mat of nails used to puncture tyres of fleeing suspects), and lay the other man down on there. They exchanged horny words, before she mounted him, pressing his back onto the nails and starting to perform acts with him, something which went on for an uncomfortably long time.

After around 40 minutes of watching her (and gathering evidence), she accepted a large handful of cash from the first man, and they exchanged some more cheeky words. Before she left, he also gave her a slip of paper, which appeared to be some kind of request based on her polite and acknowledging reaction. She then disappeared from view for a few minutes, before walking out of the door, now wearing a light grey hoodie with the hood up, and a pair of stonewash jeans. As she did, she saw Phil in his car, and immediately made a run for it. Instead of chasing after her though, he simply got out of his car, and stated 'Return… Pet.' The moment he said this, she froze, and slowly turned around, eyes totally glazed over, before walking straight over to where Phil was stood. He then pointed to his car, and she walked in, getting in the passenger side, while he entered through the other front door. Having put the child-lock on the doors, he stated 'Return… Human', which was enough to immediately bring her back. Seeing where she was, she instinctively tried to open the doors, to no avail. He then drove her off to a nearby lay-by, where he pulled over. 'Right, would you like to explain what's going on before or after I show you the evidence I collected? And if you don't tell me, Lydia and Maddy are getting all of it.'

In the base

Belle was walking through the base, but something just seemed slightly off. As she walked in, Kris was walking towards her, but seeing her, he suddenly decided to turn the other way, and walk away from her. This was strange, as she thought to herself, but she then put it to the back of her mind and continued into the base. As she did though, it became clear that not everything was as it first seemed. The moment she walked into the main hall, Rio turned away from her, while Donny just put his head back down.

This was a theme that continued, as Lydia completely ignored her, and Sean (who was visiting) also looked away. It soon became clear that nobody was interested in talking to her, as a result of the incident with Dakota. Seeing this, Belle saw the writing on the wall, and quickly dashed upstairs to pack an overnight bag, with just enough clothes to last one night in a hostel. As she left her room though, she found that one person was interested in her, and surprisingly, it turned out to be Rio.

'Don't you have some ignoring me to do?' 'Look, I know that you don't really like me' 'I've never had any issue with you. You're the one who never seemed to like me.' 'Regardless of any opinions I have, I know what it's like to be… unpopular. And not trusted. I just want to say, stick it out. When Maddy's here tomorrow, try talking to her about it all, ok? Until then, just grin and bear it - most of this lot couldn't keep a grudge for a day if they wanted to. Just don't worry about it.' 'Thanks' Belle said, completely seriously. She then went back to her room, while Rio went back down the stairs, but not taking her eyes off the door for a second.

Just outside Newcastle City Centre

Realizing that she wasn't going to get away this time, Freja caved quickly. 'I'm just trying to find shit I'm any good at. I'm just sick of being the misfit, the jokes were funny for a while. Lydia's got this awesome new power with her fortune telling, and she can't even appreciate it. Meanwhile, I've never been good at anything really. The two things I've ever been any use at are being pretty enough to be a half decent model, and serving you and Hannah. And now I feel like that's being torn away from me because I have to be Lydia's sister again. Why can't people just let me get on with doing something I'm good at?'

'You're good at other things.' 'Am I?' 'You're funny. I don't think I know of anybody who makes people laugh back at base like you do. You've got them hanging off your every word sometimes.' 'That's the thing though - people are laughing at me.' 'No, they're laughing with you. Because they like listening to you. Also, Ally's fascinated by your modelling career. Just yesterday Blair caught her sneaking a peek at your portfolio. There is so much that people like you for which you're just not seeing. And I think it's because of our agreement.' Saying this was enough for Freja to turn around sharply. 'Please don't end the deal, I love doing this, I'll start behaving' 'I'll let you into a little secret - you weren't expected to team with Lydia beyond the end of the week. Because I told Maddy that I want you and Belle to team up, and she agreed that it was a good idea. You need to find your own identity so that you're not just Lydia's sister anymore. That's why I think we need to alter the spell somewhat. Not get rid of it, but… make adjustments.' 'As long as I can still serve you the same.' 'It will be more out of choice than obligation. There is plenty we can do, lots of small changes that can be made.'

'Because do you want to know the truth? The truth is, you and Lydia love each other. And you'll learn to show it more if you're not together so much. You need to spend some time apart, and you missy, you need to learn to behave. I'm sorting out management contracts for duelling, and honestly, I want to sign you as one of them, make all of this official. But while you're pulling stunts like you did with Blair' She then desperately interrupted. 'But I already apologised for that' He responded by putting his finger on her lips. 'While you're pulling stunts like that, you're not mentally ready. When you're consistently behaving, and when you're finding your identity outside of me and outside of your sister, then we can look at a contract. But I need you to show me that you deserve it, ok? Prove to me that you can handle the responsibility, and be what I'm looking for.'

'But what are you looking for?' 'I can't tell you. You need to work out for yourself what it is that I need to see, based on what I tell you, based on what you see everyone else doing, and based on knowing what you do best. Because I'm looking for the best version of you. Nobody else, just the best version of you, what can you do which nobody else can? What makes Freja McKinna go from being good to being a champion? And when you know, and you show me you know, that's when I can make our partnership an official long-term prospect. Until then, you've got a lot of growing up to do mentally missy.' Slightly uncharacteristically, Freja didn't speak. Instead she just hugged her master, who responded in kind. 'Now while I'm driving, why don't you delete those photos off my phone for me? I really need the space on there' he quipped. She grinned, and took his phone before he had to ask twice.

In the base, mid afternoon

The base was eerily quiet when Blair walked in, dressed in a yellow and black pinstriped football shirt, the emblem in the top right being os the letters N and S overlapping on a football, and her hair slicked right back in a low ponytail, bound by a pink scrunchie. As she walked in, she noticed the silence immediately, and gravitated towards Rio. 'Hey, how did the match go?' 'Scored twice again. Not bad for a centre-half. What's with the atmosphere?' 'As in…' 'As in there is none.' 'Oh, there's been a thing between Belle and Dakota, apparently Belle attacked her, so now everyone's scared of her, and rightfully so, she's a loose fucking cannon.' This news seemed to make Blair quite cross. 'Why can nobody just try and get to know her?' 'Ooh I don't know… perhaps because she's a weirdo?' 'Wow, never had Riana Kastle down as a playground bully.' 'I'm not, but you've got to admit, she's a little bit…. 'Lonely? Did you ever consider that? I'm really disappointed that nobody's giving her a chance, in fact you know what, I'm done with this conversation, do you know where she is?' 'Probably in her room still. I stopped her leaving with an overnight bag, just in case you didn't think I could be nice to her.' Rio stopped talking, only to realise that Blair was already halfway up the stairs.

In Belle's bedroom

Belle was lay on her bed listening to music through her wireless earphones when there was a knock on the door. She didn't hear it at first, but after a second, firmer knock, she realised what was going on, She got up, taking one earphone out as she did, and answered the door, slowly opening it until she saw a familiar amber eye, at which time the door suddenly swung open, and Blair, taking this as an invitation, walked straight in, letting her hair down as she did. In the room, she went to sit on the floor, only for Belle to signal for her to sit on the bed next to her. 'So, what happened between you and Dakota.' 'Look, I don't need another person ignoring me.' 'Which is why I'm asking you what happened. I don't want to know what Dakota thinks happened, or what anybody else has decided, I want to hear it from you.' 'She was talking to Maddy, she was making fun of my… mental issues.' 'I get you.' 'She kept going on about whether I was a danger, how nobody could be safe with me here, I'm mentally retarded, and I've been working so hard to be normal.' Blair just looked at her, and patted her on the leg.

'That's where you're going wrong. Because you won't fit in by being "normal", because that will just show people that you're scared of yourself.' 'I don't need anybody to remind me what I did in the past, I can never escape that.' 'Use it then. Don't hide who you are, we've all got shit going on. You're not weird, you're not a freak, you've got a mental illness, and that's not something to be scared of. Look, I don't exactly advertise it, but I have to battle with my Bipolar every day, I don't take meds for it, and I never will, because I feel like a husk if I do, I literally feel like a fucking zombie. I mean you know the feeling, you wake up some days and you don't even recognize yourself.' 'It's like you're still you, but you're just living in a totally different reality.' 'Exactly that, you're an outsider in your own life. And then you take your medication and suddenly everything feels completely... nothing almost. Like you just can't feel anything.'

'I still remember the first day that I took the meds, I just felt totally comatose, I didn't even feel alive. Even now when I take them, I just, I dunno, sometimes I'll just stand there and cry or get angry, just because I want to feel something, anything. I don't just want to be the girl in the corner, I want to truly live rather than technically exist.' Blair then provided some reassuring words. 'The thing is, you're awesome Belle. You've got so much to give, but you need to stop running away from everything, and be proud of who you are.' 'I know, it just gets to me when people refuse to try.' 'Look, they're not scared because you've done anything to them, they're scared of what they don't understand. They don't know what living with Schizophrenia is like, they don't know that you have to be drugged up to the eyeballs.' 'Nobody can understand.' 'Try me.' Belle then took a moment, and started to reveal her reality.

'I'm in the worst of both worlds constantly. If I take my medication I'm "cold" and "distant", if I don't take it, I'm a "psychopath", I'm "dangerous" and I'm "scary", whatever I do people just don't like me and it's because of this stupid mental illness I've got. People want to act, act like they see me running away from my past, I know what I did, I've never denied what I did, I plead guilty before it went to trial. And the scariest thing is, I can't guarantee it doesn't happen again, because I am no murderer. I never intended to kill Gemma, it was just one mistake. One stupid mistake, one stupid fucking mistake, I just pushed her, that's all. So I'm sorry if I'm cold or unfriendly, but I can't help it, because otherwise I'm not in control of what I do.' She then looked over and saw Blair grinning. 'Why do I get the feeling that's what you wanted to hear?' 'If you can say that to me, you can say that to anybody. Sometimes, people aren't scared because you're a big scary monster or because you're a threat to their wellbeing or because they can't rely on you. Sometimes they're scared because they just don't understand.' This seemed to steel the Leeds native's resolve. 'Well if that's the case, I'll just have to make them understand.' Hearing this, Blair smiled again and tapped her on the shoulder before walking out of the room.

As she reached the bottom of the stairs, she noticed Sean strolling out of the club kitchen with a can of lager in his hand. 'Been raiding Maddy's stash have we?' 'Nah, just thought I'd get supplies in early, having a lads night out at the old social club, get a few frames in maybe.' 'Sounds like some fun. I'd offer to join you, but unlike you boys I actually have standards when it comes to alcohol.' 'What - the weak shit you drink over in the states? 'No, more of a real ale girl me.' 'So your team doesn't mind?' 'he asked, nodding at her badge. 'Well I don't drink before I go on the pitch, obviously, although I'd still rinse you if I did.'

'So you think you're decent?' 'Yeah, not bad. I mean if you're that desperate to be shown up, I've still got enough in me for a little kickabout now. Tell you something though - the standard's so much higher over here than it is back in the states.' 'That's because we've got the "real" football' Sean sneered, expecting a reaction from his counterpart from across the Atlantic. A reaction that as it turned out, he was never getting. 'I mean you're not wrong there. Like, I get it, "Football" as we have it in the states is alright, it's basically an excuse for you to invite your least favourite friends over and get the beers in. Anyway, I should probably get a shower, I don't want to stink like a boy after all, and my girlfriend is waiting for me.'

'You could just call her "Jade", I know her.' 'By which you mean that you've seen her on the television? Or maybe you looked at her once, I know the bar's not set high in Manchester.' 'I'll have to show you the nightlife down there sometime.' 'Is there a chance of me not picking up syphilis while I'm down there.' Sean just laughed at the comment. 'Let me guess, Phil told you that? Never was a night out kind of person.' As he said that, Ally popped up from behind Blair's right side. 'Take it this is the little runt he mentioned?' 'Yep, this is Ally. Ally, this is Sean, he's a friend of your Great Uncle Phil.' Ally then giggled. 'Auntie Blair gave him funny hair.' Hearing this, Sean looked at Blair suspiciously. 'So it was you was it?' Blair shrugged, and ran off towards the shower. Sean just laughed as she did, and then briefly spoke to Ally, while waiting for Phil to arrive.

An entire hour later, Phil rocked up, with his Dad with him, and entered the base alone. As he did, Sean pulled him over to one side. 'Yo, why's your Dad with you?' 'He's coming with us, I did tell you when we organised this. Don't worry, it's just as much of a lads night out as it ever was. Oh, and Kurt's going to meet us there, he got held up a bit. Why he's texting me when I'm driving I don't know, but there you go. You ready then?' 'Always. You got your cue?' 'Do you not think I would have noticed if I didn't?' As they walked out, Sean patted his friend on the back. 'Better not answer that one pal.'

20 minutes later

As the guys arrived at the club, Phil and Sean went off to get drinks. As they walked up to the bar, Sean got a surprise when Maddy turned around to serve them. 'How are we this evening then?' 'Yeah we're good. How's work been?' 'Boring, as usual. Nowt ever happens really. Apart from the occasional time you get the drunkards, but that only tends to get worse late at night. How you doing anyway?' 'Not bad honestly, just run off my feet as usual.' 'Figures. How's the shop been since I stopped working there?' 'Great honestly. Everyone's working hard with it, I'm promoting Matthew to Supervisor next week actually.' 'You know that's a great choice, I don't think he's been late once so far. And that's with getting the bus from Marsden.' 'Don't know how he does it honestly. I figured I needed to take a step back with Hannah due to pop in a few weeks.' 'Well I'm glad you did, she's going to need the support. So, what can I get you lovely boys?' 'We'll have two litre glasses of beer, a pint for his old man, and whatever this beautiful guy's having.' Phil laughed and sent Sean back to the table. 'I'll have a 0% litre, and whatever you're having whenever you clock off.' 'Well I can clock off whenever I like really.' She then shouted over to the other barmaid: a blonde, no more than 25 years of physical age, the face of a teenage model, and as it would turn out, a California accent which could drive the sanest man insane after mere minutes.

'Hey Fay, I'm gonna call it a day.' 'Oh is that your Dad? He's a real sweet treat isn't he?' 'No, that's his Dad.' 'He's cute.' 'He's also been married for the best part of 30 years.' 'Oh, well enjoy spending time with them anyway.' 'I will do, thanks. Don't forget my discount when we order.' 'Won't do Mindy Moo.' 'I keep telling you, M.A.D.D.Y, it's like Daddy but with an M.' 'Ok, I get the message.' 'Please do.' Maddy then prepared the drinks, before bringing them to the snooker table herself. As she did, she picked up a cue from the rack on the wall. 'So then, who wants a game?' Immediately, Sean laughed her off. 'Yeah right, how big a handicap do you want?' Confident, she laid out the challenge. 'I'll give you a one frame handicap. Because let's face it, you'll need it.' He responded by prompting Phil to lay out the balls in their positions. While he set up the game, Maddy got to know Phil's father a bit better.

'Hi, I know we've not really spoken much, but I just thought this was a good time to… well you know, just introduce ourselves a bit?' 'That sounds great. So what do you want to know?' 'Firstly, how old are you?' '62 in August.' 'Where were you born? Dad mentioned you're not originally a Manc.' 'Bamber Bridge, Preston. So it depends on the definition of "Manchester" I suppose.' Maddy then asked the next question quietly. 'What was he like as a kid?' 'Quiet, a little bit shy with new people, but always highly astute. Always had his head screwed on. Question for you now - you've mentioned before that you met Phil before the whole adoption process, but you never said how?'

Thinking quickly to avoid Phil sounding like a groomer, she came up with a rather ordinary story. 'It was nothing major like, I'd met him at a local duelling event, we kind of got talking a bit because I was looking at getting into it more competitively, and he ended up giving me some pointers, we exchanged contacts and we were talking on and off for maybe three months. So fast forward a year, the whole adoption sh*t happening, I only found out shortly before it went through that it was actually him. Pretty cool if you ask me. Anything else?' 'Just how you are after your surgery. I know it's been a few weeks now.' Maddy just laughed while necking her drink. 'Yeah, it's been a thrill ride. No, I still feel some discomfort, I have some days where I wake up and just can't deal with it all, just want to be sick all day, but yeah, I've been worse I guess. Oh, and if you're wondering, I'm on the alcohol free like Dad - I ain't drunk any alcohol since the surgery, just feel really funny around it, even though that didn't cause the issues.'

By this time, the table had been set and Sean broke off, leaving a long red. Maddy walked up to the table, took a look at it, slowly bent over while trying to hide the pain from her ribs, and cooly dispatched the red. While she started to construct a break, Phil stepped back to talk to watch her. It took all of three shots for him to notice her deliberate way of bending, as well as her slight grimace every time she did. Despite this, he decided not to say anything, in an effort not to show her up, but it was mentally noted by him. Eventually though, Kurt leaned over to him. 'She don't look too good down there mate.' 'She's only a few weeks out of major surgery. She's a tough cookie though, all guts and no brains sometimes. She's not letting something like this stop her from showing up Sean.' 'Not difficult to be fair, Sean talks a good game, but so did Reece and I've literally seen better players at the zoo.' 'Yeah, Sean's not bad for club level, but that's about it.' 'And the girl?' 'Maddy says she's a dab hand, but I've never seen her play sober before. Not bad when she's drunk mind you.'

10 minutes later, and Maddy had cleared the table with a break of 120. She walked up to Sean, and tapped on his wallet in his pocket. 'Winner stays on, you get the next round.' 'Since when?' She just smiled at him. 'Since I said so.' Sean shrugged, and after getting orders, walked over to the bar, while Maddy laid down a challenge. 'So who's next?' Kurt went to walk to the table, only for Phil to replace him sharpish, a certain swagger in his demeanour. 'Go on then. Best of 3 though.' 'Sure, whatever way you wanna lose.' Kurt relaid the balls, and Phil opened up their first frame, only for them to immediately be interrupted when the other barmaid brought the drinks over. As she did, Kurt started to chat her up quietly, until he shouted over 'Hey, why don't you introduce your friend over here?'

Maddy (who had just got down on her shot) rolled her eyes, and got back up, 'Kurt, this is Fay Lucas, she works here and you're just about old enough to be of interest to her, and Fay, this is Kurt, Kurtis Davis, and he was a pro Snooker player about 5 years ago.' 'I literally stopped about 8 months ago.' 'Trust me, when you've had the 8 months I've had, it feels like 5 years. And that's on a good day.' After some more mindless chatter and flirting which was only slightly more convincing than Phil and Hannah's "courting", which itself largely consisted of rude innuendoes and some rare and scattered genuine words, Fay and Kurt exchanged phone numbers, before she returned to an increasingly hefty queue at the bar. As she did, Kurt grinned at her, before showing off the number he had obtained. 'Don't get too excited, you'll find she's about as interesting to talk to as a brick wall. Sweet but total airhead. I'm pretty sure she'd believe that the world is six inch high and the moon is made of Cheddar if you kept a straight face for five seconds. The most gullible person I've ever met, and that includes Ally, who is literally 10 years old. I'm basically the manager here.' Phil seemed surprised at this, until she pulled out the tip of a copy of Icaron's Force from her pocket, and winked at him, with him rolling his eyes and shaking his head in disbelief.

While she was playing, she continued to talk. 'The thing about working behind a bar is, as long as you can keep your calm it's not actually all that hard. Especially when you get to sit down when it's quiet.' Shortly after, she was faced with a shot that she had issues reaching. As she attempted to get to it, Sean wandered over, and gave her a helpful shove up the rear end. After the shot, she jumped back down, and whispered to Sean 'You really wanted to do that didn't you?' That wasn't the only push-back he felt either, as when he returned to the shelf where they were storing their drinks, Phil looked over at him, and simply said 'Don't get any ideas.' Despite this, after she had taken the first frame against Phil (62-34), she walked back up to Sean, and playfully booped him on the nose. 'Next time, it might be… lower.' 'I dare you to try.' 'You don't want to do that.' Before they could continue their teenage dream, Phil started off the second frame, and then started tapping the table with his cue until she looked round, seeing him waiting there for her. 'Ok Mr. Impatient, I'm coming.' They then continued their match, with Phil making a 70 break in the 2nd frame. While he was doing that, he missed Sean and Maddy getting very close, to the point where a drunk Sean started rubbing her hips sensually only for Maddy to slip out underneath him.

As they started to play their deciding frame, Sean started to make very strange comments to Kurt regarding Hannah's weight. 'That bird of his, you think people who go to Weight Watchers are fat, you ain't seen none of her. She's bigger than a fuckin' blimp, and she moves about the same speed as one. Seriously, you watch her waddle down the street, you'd think you're in fuckin' Japan with the sumos and their sushi' This was as far as he got before Phil (who had just won a long safety battle to get in the balls) walked over. 'She isn't fat, she's over 7 months pregnant. You try still working when you're that far along.' Still not taking him seriously, Sean just laughed. 'Yeah, and I should try eating what she does as well.' Starting to get frustrated, but being aware that his friend was just heavily drunk, he just blocked out the insults. The battle between he and Maddy ended up going on so long that Sean and Kurt decided to cut their losses and book their own table for an hour, just to drunkenly hit some balls around. Meanwhile, the battle on the other table lead to Phil and Maddy having quite a nice talk.

'It's just nice to spend time with you like this Maddy, we don't do this kind of thing often enough.' 'Yeah I was thinking that myself. You don't know how much I want to just rewind time to when it was fun, when meeting you felt magical. Back when shit was simple.' 'Well you're going to get the opportunity from now on, because I'm going to make more time for you, and after Hannah gives birth, I'm going to be taking time out from everything else for family time. Nothing is more important to me than you three.' 'I know, I just miss spending quality time with you. But I think we could both make more of an effort.' 'You're probably right, but I should be initiating things.' 'No, I should. Because I'm the one who's been bitching about it this entire time, I should be starting things up with you and Mam. I think there's a lot we could both learn from the last few months.' Phil just shook his head. 'It's me who should be making the effort. Because I honestly thought I was going to lose you when you collapsed, and it scared the life out of me. Because I don't want to lose you, I just want you to be healthy. I'm constantly afraid of you overworking yourself.' 'Trust me Dad, I know my limits.'

Their tight last frame came all the way down to the last two balls. As Maddy lined up a shot at the pink which would win her the match if it went in, she went to cue it smoothly, only to be blasted with a white ball that Kurt had hammered off of his table in frustration, right where her surgical scar was, causing her to slump onto the table. Immediately Phil ran over to her, and she just looked up at him, hair over her face, clearly in excruciating pain. 'I'll be fine, I think I just blacked out briefly.' Phil then called it. 'Right, we're going home. Sean, if you want a lift back to Manchester, you can come with us.' Phil managed to end up helping an injured Maddy and completely legless Sean out of the club and to the car, where he threw Sean in the back and fastened him in, while Maddy got herself in the car. On the way back, Maddy made an admission. 'I think I've been downplaying how much the surgery affected me.' 'You're a lot less healed than you thought you were.' 'Something like that. I'll talk to Sak about it probably.' 'We can think of that on a different day. Right now, we need to concentrate on getting you back home.' 'Dad, it's past 1 in the morning.' 'Well I can't keep Hannah waiting, and I can't leave her on her own all night just in case something happens.'

This idea was shot down immediately when Hannah called. 'Hi sweetie, we're just leaving now.' 'Ok, drive safe. Just want to let you know that I'm at the base.' 'Since when?' 'About 11, I figured it would be a late night, and I didn't want you driving all the way back down here at that time, so I got Jade to bring me here with Primal Eolas. So just drive safe, and I'll see you back here soon, k?' 'Got it. Love you.' 'And you. Be safe.' 'I will be, I promise.' With that, he quietly pulled away from the club.

The next day, around 11am

A remarkably fresh-looking Maddy was just tidying her appearance up, when there was a knock on the office door. As she gave the signal, Belle walked in, fresh-faced and wearing the slightest hint of foundation. 'I'm not too early am I?' 'You're bang on time actually, taking the amount of people who have actually turned up on time for one of these chats to… actually, it's only you. Even Frances turned up 20 minutes late the other day. So, you wanted to talk to me about an idea?'

'Look, I know this is probably a long shot, but I want some kind of meeting with everyone where I just talk to them about my mental illnesses and explain what life's like with them, just so they sort of understand why I can be so… distant I suppose, and that I'm not a danger to them, I'm just someone who has issues.' Belle had considered a whole multitude of responses from Maddy, but the one response she hadn't considered was Maddy giving an impressed smile to her.

'That's the most confident I've heard you since you said you wanted to join us.' 'So do you think there's any chance of that happening?' Maddy said nothing, but instead pulled out a large piece of paper, which was clearly little more than a printed-out spreadsheet. After around five minutes of following the rows with the rear end of a ball-point pen, she came to a verdict. 'Can you have whatever you need to say ready by 4:15pm tomorrow?' 'Yeah, does that mean it's ok?' 'It's a great idea. That's the time most of the club are here, Freja and Astrid are due to be on scouting duty, but I can always just cancel that one, that will make Freja happy. So yeah, let's do it.' As Belle went to leave the office, there was another surprise. 'Oh, and Belle?' 'Yeah?' Maddy smiled again. 'Don't lose that confidence.'

Meanwhile, in Manchester

Phil and Hannah were busy on their travels, looking for something very important indeed. 'I can't believe today is when we finally find our wedding reception venue' Hannah squealed with girlish excitement and enthusiasm. Seeing this, Phil smiled at her lovingly. 'This is a day I thought would never come.' 'Yeah, because you're always busy, because you won't let me do anything.' 'Oh I'm sorry for looking after my pregnant wife, I'll leave you to do everything next time.' 'Who said anything about a next time? There ain't going to be a next time mister.' 'I know. Don't pretend this journey hasn't been fun though.' 'I suppose it's at least been an experience. Not sure I ever want to do it again though. Actually I'm very sure - I never want to do that again.'

Soon enough, they pulled up at the first venue - a stately home in the countryside. 'Ordsall Hall.' 'Bit out of the way isn't it?' 'It is, but we might as well have a look around.' 'Ok, you're the boss.' 'No, we're the boss.' 'I was joking hunny.' 'I know hunny.' They kissed, and exited the car, only to immediately be greeted by the owner of the building. He saw them dressed in street clothes, and immediately stuck his nose in the air. 'Good afternoon, welcome to Ordsall Hall. Your names?' 'Phillip and Hannah Robinson-Cummings.' He then looked through a clipboarded list. 'Ah yes, getting married in three and a half months. Right this way.' They were then taken through to a spacious meeting room, with shimmering chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. 'As you can see, this room is around 450 sq ft, with plenty of room to fit all of your guests, no matter where they may come from. The seats are made of only the finest leather and suede, and there is an adjoining room where you can discuss any business needs with your in-laws, such as offshore bank accounts and upcoming conferences.' 'Erm… that's not the kind of business people we are.' He seemed to scoff at this. 'Ah yes, of course you're not.'

They were then taken into a second meeting room; this one was filled with gaudy orange panels, akin to a cheesy 70s tribute room. 'And this is where we will have the first dance. Obviously the tables will have to be removed, and there is the slight ledge, but I think you will find for people such as yourselves, there will be plenty of room for your level of movement' he said while staring at Hannah's inflated figure. As they moved on, she gave Phil "the" look, and he nodded back. Finally, they were shown a small outdoor marquee. 'Now if the weather happens to be reasonable on the day you come, you can have some of your reception in here if this is what you prefer. You can fit around 20 guests into here, and it also provides an excellent place to hold the wedding itself. So, that would be £215 per guest, plus a fee of £1000 to cover any overheads. I will get the contracts.' Hannah then held her hand out. 'We'd like a few moments to talk about this if that's ok?' 'Oh yes yes, of course. Feel free to discuss things, and then we will' he turned around only to see that they had already walked off to one side.

'Look, this is a nice place, but' 'It's not really us.' 'You were thinking the same?' 'Yes.' 'It's just… this is a place for crusty businessmen on their 5th wife to talk about the stock market with their big city mates, it's not… personal enough.' 'It feels too much like a business and not enough like something intimate. And that's what we're both looking for ultimately - it's got to be intimate.' 'Because this isn't just about us, it's about everybody who brought us together.' 'Let me tell him though.' As they reconvened, Phil told him. 'We've been talking, and we decided that this probably isn't the place for us. We do need to thank you for your time though.' The owner looked rather offended at this thought, but Phil and Hannah just kissed, and walked away without a moment's looking back. Soon enough, they were back in the car, and Phil just tapped his love's hand in solidarity. Gently they pulled away, the gravel crackling under the weight of the Aston Martin's tyres as they did so.

Four hours later

After saying no to a 5th venue, the lovers were getting frustrated. 'I can't believe that they tried to make us sign a no gays contract. No way are we getting married and Blair and Jade not be allowed to come.' 'And don't get me started on the decor - if we wanted beheaded stags on show, we'd get married in a hunting lodge. Then again, it's still better than the ones who turned us away at the door.' 'I mean, who cares whether we vote red or blue? Well apart from the opposition leader's mother anyway. Trust our luck to find that one.' 'And then there's the one up in the hills.' 'What - the one which was struck by lightning three weeks ago? We're not having our wedding photos have a load of scaffolding in them. We're actually getting nowhere here.' Hannah then looked at their schedule. 'Hang on, do we have time to get up to Bredbury?' 'Yeah, should do, why?' 'There was a backup place I rang up while you were getting ready, they're open until 7.' 'Should have more than enough time then.' 'Let's go then.' As they were on their way, Hannah made the phonecall. 'Hi, it's Hannah Robinson-Cummings, we spoke this morning? Yes, we were wondering if we'd be able to pop in in about an half hour? I know we didn't book, but we're really keen on having a look around. Ok, thanks. See you then.' 'So it went well?' 'She'd be more than happy to see us, apparently she's not got another booking until half 6.' 'Plenty of time for us to look around then.' After Hannah tapped in the postcode, they were on their way again.

As they pulled up outside the venue, Hannah admired it. 'Bredbury Hall. Hang on, didn't your Grandad live in Bredbury?' 'He did, for 38 years actually. God knows what made him want to leave Stockport for sunny Sardinia…' Hannah then cuddled up to him. 'Well all I know is I want to live wherever you are. Because nowhere is better without you. And I mean that.' They embraced again before once again leaving the car. As they walked up to the main entrance, a young blonde woman with fiery green eyes greeted them in a soft Irish accent. 'You must be Hannah, and this is?' 'Phil, my fiance.' 'Well it's lovely to meet you both. You must be exhausted after all your travelling today, especially with the baggage' she joked while signalling towards Hannah's bulbous bump. 'Yeah, we are a little tired, been a long day.' 'Oh well this won't take long then. My name is Alice and I am going to be your guide for the day. Would you like to look at the dining room first?' 'Yeah, sure.'

She then took them through to a spacious dining room, adorned with simple yet elegant oak paneling and a long mahogany table. 'So this is the dining area, there is room for around 30 at this table, although we can always change the layout to two smaller tables depending on the amount of guests you have. There is also a second, smaller dining room next door, allowing for a capacity close to three figures.' 'Well we've not finalized the guest list yet, but it's not going to be more than about 40-50.' 'Excellent, I'm sure we can fit everyone in easily.' 'Would you be able to show us where we'd be having our first dance?' 'Absolutely, right this way.' They were shown to a well-proportioned function room, the stench of stale alcohol hanging around the air as an unwanted visitor. 'I'm sorry there's a little bit of a stench in here, we were rented out for a particularly lively work leaving do a few days ago, and the cleaners aren't in until Thursday. I promise we'll have it sorted after then, but just try and take your minds off that a bit. Now for weddings, this is generally where we have the dancefloor, although if you would like something bigger we do have two larger function rooms around the back which we could use with no issue, and you can use this room for light snacks or a buffet depending on the food you're having. Have you had chance to think about the menu yet?'

'One of two discussions but nothing more.' 'Well we have a Michelin Star chef working with us, if you decide to go with here then we can whip up a tasting menu nearer the time, or you can just submit a menu directly to us and we'll sort the rest.' 'Is there anything you can't do in terms of the menu?' 'Outside of extremely rare cases such as ingredients we simply cannot source, we will serve whatever you request. And if there's anything we can't do, we'll let you know in advance as much as possible and also provide a partial refund.' As they walked towards the other function rooms, Phil and Hannah discussed the situation. 'Phil…' 'You've fallen in love with this place haven't you?' 'Yeah, I think it's just right. What about you?' 'I'm… converting. I'm still not convinced about the size of the function rooms though.' His fears were soon doused as they saw the larger rooms, nearly a third bigger. This seemed to be enough for Phil to imagine the possibilities, but there was one more surprise. 'And now for the photos.'

They were taken outside, to the expansive gardens, complete with a flowerbed of peonies and foxgloves. 'So this is our garden area, we have a little beer garden here, these flowers are often popular to take photos in front of. Obviously you're expecting, but are there going to be any other little ones?' 'Yeah, his cousin's 10 year old Niece has recently started living with her and her girlfriend.' The woman grinned hearing this. 'Wow that's amazing. We do have plenty of room for any kiddos to run around, and being primarily thick lawn turf, there is very little danger when they inevitably take a tumble or two. Trust me, I have two 9 year olds who have a habit of breaking bones, and even they couldn't hurt themselves badly here.' As she said this, the couple smiled, and clasped each other's hands. As the woman turned around, she saw this, and came to a conclusion. 'So, would you like to make a reservation?' They just looked at each other and grinned. 'This is the place.' Phil then made the decision. 'We'd like to make a reservation for the 26th June.' This took Hannah totally off-guard. 'But that date's my Mum's birthday.' 'Not just any birthday - it would have been her 50th. How about we celebrate it by making you the princess you've always wanted to be?' She said nothing, but the kiss said 1000 words. For their guest, it only lasted a few seconds. But for them, it felt like forever. One £500 deposit later, and the reception venue was booked.

At the base

All was calm, until an Amber alert went off, signifying an urgent snap meeting. As the club members all assembled in the hall, only Belle was notable by her absence, leading to Rio making a comment to Jade. 'Maybe she decided to walk after all.' Jade didn't seem particularly impressed by the comment, and she said as much to her old friend. 'You know, you can be really malicious and mean-spirited when you want to be.' 'I'm just sayin', you know, she might have decided to get out and dodge while she still can.' Rio's theory held up for all of 20 seconds, until Belle walked to the front, straight past the Idaho pair. Shortly after, Maddy came out of her office, and stepped up to the podium.

'Thanks to everyone for coming to this snap meeting. I have called this because I have been informed of a couple of incidents involving Belle and Dakota amongst other people. And this has brought home a wider issue, regarding how some of you see mental illnesses. I will admit that I'm not well qualified to talk about this. So, this meeting has been called because Belle wanted to talk to you all, just to clear up some issues and misconceptions regarding her mental issues. Any questions?' Immediately, Rio's arm shot up. 'I can't wait for this with how you've been the past few days.' 'Does all this mean we have to like her?' Maddy rolled her eyes hearing this. 'How many times have you been told - nobody here has to "like" anybody. This is so you can understand how Belle isn't a danger to our security, and maybe begin to appreciate that it isn't easy fitting in here.' Just then, Blair rushed in, having been so engrossed in the Arena that she apparently missed the siren for the meeting. 'Let me guess, is the siren still on mute?' 'No, I had my earphones in and was concentrating so hard that I missed the siren.' 'I don't know how you can miss flashing amber spotlights, they were designed specifically to make them unmissable, but sure. TL;DR, Belle's talking about her mental illnesses, although you probably know most of it already. Belle, the stage is yours.'

As Maddy stepped away, Belle walked up, and produced a script for her speech from her pocket. She opened it up and showcased it to everyone, before quickly turning it into a paper aeroplane, and throwing it to Blair. 'I don't need a speech to tell you that I'm messed up. But I didn't choose this, I told you all before. And I wasn't always like this. So I hope you're all listening.' 'I was diagnosed with Schizophrenia when I was 14. I had voices in my head on and off for years, but then I got into a drunken argument with my best friend after a party one night, there was this boy that we both liked, and he asked me out on a date. So we had an argument, she punched me, I pushed her, and she fell backwards into a rock. She died three days later during surgery for a bleed on the brain. After that was when the voices really started. When I was in prison, I got no support for this, and that's when they took over. Because all I could hear was her voice, Gemma's voice, she kept telling me that I was this evil person, and that I should just act like that, hurt people, destroy lives, be alone, because that's what I was born to be.'

'This went on for about a year, until the prison chaplain spoke to me, and then he took his concerns right to the top. I ended up serving the rest of my sentence in a mental ward. I was there for just short of 20 months, when I was released. Then I checked myself back in about 6 months later, because I couldn't cope. I was still being driven to total destruction, I pushed everyone I knew away with my attitude and my behaviour, because nobody could accept that this was who I was now. Because this isn't who I always was.' She then showed everyone a picture from her pocket, of herself from several years before, hair in pigtails, wearing a dark red school uniform. 'This was me when I was 13. I was doing really well in school, I was projected to get almost straight As in my Year 9 exams, and I was popular at school. But the moment things happened, everyone started to turn their back on me. People don't want to know the kid with the mental issues, and it's a bit of a jolt going from having lots of people around you to barely anybody.'

'So I was back on the Psych ward maybe six weeks, when this girl was moved to the room next to me, because we got our own little rooms, just in case we got violent so we could be restrained safely. So this girl was moved to the room next to me, Amber was her name, and we got to know each other kind of well. After… I want to say about six weeks, she told me about the Renegades. She told me who you were, not personally or anything, but she told me who you were and started telling me about Maddy's ideologies, and what the purpose of the club was. She gave me an application, which I filled out, and then thought nothing more of it. About two months later, I got a letter from Hannah saying that my application had been accepted, and I'd have an envoy visit the next week. And the rest is history.'

'The reason I'm telling you all this is because I want you to understand that I was just like anybody else. I just want people to understand that I'm in the worst of both worlds constantly.' Saying this, she produced a small brown bottle of pills from her pocket. 'These are Clozapine pills. I have to take four of these every eight hours to keep my condition under control. But the thing is, that doesn't matter for other people. If I take my medication I'm "cold" and "distant", if I don't take it, I'm a "psychopath", I'm "dangerous" and I'm "scary", because I'm out of control. Not all the time, but it happens. Whatever I do, I have to make sacrifices, I have to be like this, because I don't want to risk hurting any of you. And because I don't know anybody here, that means I'm isolated, which leads to me just being to myself more, it's a vicious circle.' 'So I'm sorry that I'm not as outgoing as people would like, but all I want is for the Renegades to achieve everything, to make this world better. From Day 1 that's all I wanted. I don't expect you to like me, but I want you to understand why I'm the person that you've been seeing. I know some of you have let go of your pasts, but I can't, because it's a reminder of why I have to keep looking after myself, it's a reminder of how dangerous I can be if I let myself. I'm not a monster, I'm just fucked up mentally, but there's nothing I can do about it.'

As she walked back down, a number of club members started patting her on the back and exchanging warmer words with her. All now understood and appreciated her more. All except Rio that is, who just walked off when Belle walked up to her. As she went to leave the hall, Blair and Jade ran after her. 'What the hell Ri, you totally blanked her like she didn't exist.' She responded angrily, lashing out. 'Look, B can have her as a little pet project if it makes her feel better, but I'm not interested. I'm not interested in being her babysitter, I'm not interested in being her counselor, I'm just not interested in her excuses. Maddy said she was going to keep us safe and then she starts letting violent criminals in, and we're supposed to be best friends?' She then looked over, and noticed Blair crouched on the ground. Rio immediately went to check on her friend, only to see as she got up that she had blood right below her eye, and her left eye was bloodshot. Rio then looked at her hand, and saw that the silver ring she had owned since young was now stained with her best friend's blood. 'B, I didn't mean' Blair then pushed her away. 'I don't want to talk to you anymore, I'm done.' As Blair walked off towards the medical bay with Jade, Rio was left to wonder where things started going wrong.

Meanwhile, in the base's library

Jana was continuing to read the Alpharic Legends to Ally. 'What the alpha did not know was that the shadows were closing in. She had chosen her prey, but she had to be careful, for the hunter could always become the hunted, and little did she know that those who she plotted against were already plotting together. Her kindness knew no bounds, but this and the secrets she hid would eventually cause her ultimate decline. Her actions were blinded by hatred, and this meant she could not decipher her enemy's movements, and was unable to see the bigger picture at play.

Next time: Rio and Blair still have issues, Astrid gets more than one surprise, Bolton is lured into a trap, and Maddy puts her health on the line to clash with Kalin in Renegades: A New Dawn Chapter 116: Madstrid Magic