R:Ultra Evolution

by Primal WolfBlood

Follow the Renegades as they continue their quest for fixing the world, taking on all comers, including fellow revolutionaries Junction 7 led by their unhinged leader Rhydian, and the sinister Style Council, led by the devilish Caprice. To survive in this cut-throat world, they will have to evolve their power even further beyond. It's a battle for success and survival.

5. Roots of the Problem

R: Ultra Evolution

Book 5: Roots of the Problem

The next morning's news bulletins opened with a shocking scene of chaos at the Manchester Arena. '27 people have been arrested after a professional duelling event in Manchester ended in chaos last night. After the home favourite Phil Robinson lost to Welshman Rhydian Morris, an already fiery crowd started hurling rubbish and storming the inside of the arena to get to Morris for comments made about them during the contest. Greater Manchester Police have released a statement confirming that 27 individuals aged between 16 and 52 have been arrested on suspicion of rioting and criminal damage, with all having been released on bail while investigations are ongoing.'

'Now Declan Akaba, CEO of the Leo Federation of Duelling where this took place, joins us now from the company's offices in California. Mr. Akaba, thank you for coming on North West News.' 'You're welcome, I feel it is important for me to be on here.' 'Now we saw the situation in Manchester yesterday, what is your view on it?' 'We as a duelling industry have cultivated a passionate fanbase, and Mr. Robinson is someone who always gets strong reactions in Manchester, he is very passionate about being from the area. Last night was a reaction to a very heated situation between two rivals, and I don't believe was caused by any one fan.'

'Who was it caused by then?' 'The fans in question. We had over 9000 people in attendance, of whom only 27 caused the issues. A vast majority of this 9000 figure would have felt passionately about Mr. Robinson winning the title, but did not cause such issues. Unfortunately, this is a situation which will occur in any sporting or entertainment venture, a small minority of "fans" will take the chance to act like thugs.'

'We saw scenes of Mr. Robinson and his Renegades group being offered various weapons before the event.' 'I can confirm that over 30 people were turned away at the doors after a firm frisk search, we did increase security ahead of the event. I too have seen the footage, and Mr. Robinson can be seen pushing away these offers. We have also received intel that a bulk of the fans who caused the issues were considered to be intoxicated, and as such we have put restrictions on alcohol sales at our events for the foreseeable future.'

'If I may, what are these restrictions?' 'We will, in the next month, be implementing systems whereby fans must have an LFD membership card to purchase alcohol.' He then held up a silver card with the stencil of a lion on it, while talking. 'These cost a flat fee of $20 per year, and allow fans to have various benefits which I will not be promoting here, they can find them on our website. But the point I am making here is regarding alcohol sales. It will be mandatory for fans to scan these cards to buy alcoholic drinks, and no fan will be allowed to buy drinks on more than three separate occasions. Fans will also be monitored by security for disruptive behaviour.'

'Now we have heard from Bolton Andrews, the Interim Commisioner for the WDC, he has said that he "believes Mr. Robinson and his influence on crowds is an issue and he should be suspended while the investigation takes place", what is your view on this?' 'Mr. Robinson is not signed to our company, and therefore we have no legal framework with which to suspend him. I have spoken to the World Duelling Corporation's Board of Directors, and they have informed me that at this time there are no plans to suspend Mr. Robinson, as he was suffering with a concussion at the time, and therefore could not incite a riot knowingly.'

'Finally, there has been a lot of rumblings regarding the situation with Mr. Morris and Mr. Robinson's adoptive daughter Maddy. Can you shed some light?' Declan refused to comment though. 'I have heard many of the rumblings which you have, however I cannot comment as I am not directly involved in the situation, and I do not keep personal contact with any of the parties. My personal hope is simply that the situation can be sorted out between them.' 'Declan Akaba, thank you for your time.' 'You're welcome.'

Manchester Royal Infirmary

Phil was sat, reading, while Hannah was on a video call with Dan and Emma. 'So that's basically the situation.' 'How's Phil doing now then?' Looking over to him, Hannah smiled. 'He'll be fine. He's got a concussion from hitting his head on that chair, but they're expecting he'll be fine in a couple of days.' 'I'm fine now.' 'Apart from the fact that you can't remember anybody's name aside from me, yeah. But you know, we're all working hard to try and find a solution to the situation with Maddy.'

'I don't doubt that' Dan replied, finally getting chance to come onto the call. 'We'll fix the situation, if Maddy's going to listen to anyone it's going to be to us.' 'Please be careful, Rhydian's more dangerous than he's ever been, I think prison's done something to him.' Emma was confident though. 'We know what we're doing. One thing that is inevitable is that a cub will always listen in the most dangerous situation, they always look out to those who mean the most. Now there was something else we wanted to discuss.'

'Of course.' 'When we get Maddy back, we're going to move down to Devon for a few weeks, we've got some family down there. It's just for a few weeks to let the heat die down, let her get whatever he's done out of her system.' 'Of course, we'll look at the situation to see if there's anything we can help with, but detoxing could do her some good.' 'I'm glad that we're in agreement on that. Look after yourselves, and we'll get in contact after it's sorted.' 'Thanks, be careful.' 'We will be.'

As she came off the call, Hannah saw Caprice lurking by the doors, and decided to sort that situation as well. 'Phil, I'll just be two minutes.' 'Sure.' She then dashed off, but instead of speaking to her in the corridor, they instead borrowed the relatives room for a few minutes. 'You might not believe it, but even I have some manners, I was hoping to get your attention there.'

'I think you owe me an explanation.' 'I don't owe you anything, but… I kind of need your help and think it might be mutually beneficial.' 'Go on.' 'You know that I've got respect for Maddy after a duel, she's incredible, but the bigger thing is that I hate Rhydian and Akiza for what they've turned Tee into.' 'What's that to do with you anyway, you've been theming after her for ages.' 'It doesn't matter, what matters is that I think we could help each other.'

Seeing where this was going, Hannah decided to hear her out. 'If you want something, just ask me.' 'I'm not very good at this, but this is me asking you for help. I want to get Tee out of whatever she's in, and I can't do it without the Renegades. You're the experts in all this weird stuff, so if anyone can help, you can. Also there's strength in numbers. In exchange, I'll help you with Maddy.' Interested, Hannah put her on hold. 'Leave it with me, we've got a little bit of a leadership issue right now, but when that's sorted, I'll consult people about it.'

At the base

Blair was still trying to encourage Rio, with limited success. 'You can ask me 1000 times, I can't, I can't lead people, I just proved that. We had a chance to help Maddy but I chickened out.' 'It isn't chicken to care, there will be better opportunities.' 'There won't be though, because with Bolton, we're never going to get another opportunity. What kind of message does that send? It's easy for Maddy, she's the natural, she was born for this, I wasn't, I'm just some rich girl in a world she doesn't understand.' She then walked away leaving Blair despairing.

Meanwhile, there was still speculation over what was going to happen, spearheaded by Jodi. 'I heard that if Rio doesn't take the role up then it automatically reverts to the old president. Might have to get ready for Hannah to return.' Kris shrugged as a response, stating 'I think it should go to a snap election. I'd put myself forward for it, let's face it I have been helping to keep the books. You Jodi?' 'Not for me thanks.' Lydia then put herself forward. 'I'd run.' 'You think you're the president anyway the way you go on about people.'

'That's not fair.' Kris then remarked 'It absolutely is the way you treat Belle and Freja in particular. I know you'd like to be pres, but, and don't take this the wrong way, I don't think anyone else would.' Denny then spoke up saying 'I think Astrid would be good, she's really kind but scary when she's angry, she's basically Maddy but not a wolf.' This got Jodi thinking. 'I'd never thought of Astrid that way, but I guess that's why they're friends.' The argument continued all morning with names being brought up and shot down for various reasons.

In Canada

Rhydian was sat back watching Maddy in her black and white shirt and skirt when he recieved a phone call. 'Hi Rhydian, it's Emma, I'm just wondering if you're still coming tomorrow.' 'Yeah, that's the plan, I was actually going to contact you about that later.' 'It's just I know we weren't sure when we'd be getting in, but we're due to arrive around 10 tonight, so we'll be in a hotel overnight for the jet lag before coming tomorrow. Just to check, we're clear on the plan?' 'Yep, we come, show you proof of where we're taking her, and give you the address so you can come and visit. We'll even show you the return ticket for three months' time.' 'Great, I'll see you then.' 'Yep.'

As he put the phone down, Kieran was stood by him, checking his own phone. 'I take it you don't trust their bull?' 'The only person I trust is Maddy, because she'll never let me down.' He then shouted over. 'You'll never leave me, will you Maddy?' Glassy eyed, her response was 'No Master Rhydian, I love you.' By now, the blonde highlights were creating streaks through several strands of her hair on each side, and she was starting to lose all of the memories it had taken her a lifetime to accumulate.

Enjoying watching her clean, he got up to his feet, and walked over, stroking her hair and kissing her neck. 'The pain you're feeling right now is only temporary, I promise you. Just a few more weeks like this and then the true you will emerge.' 'And I will devote my entire life to your love and service.' 'And eventually, we'll have kids, and start the new generation of our species. Far away from any corrupting influences.' 'And we will love each other forever. You as my Master and me as your slave.'

At the base

There was still an uncomfortable tension in the air, as the Maddy and presidency situations created increasing amounts of strife. There had even been increasingly loud voices popping up, spreading more fear and doom. 'Getting her back's going to be impossible, if Phil can't stand up to Rhydian then how's anyone else supposed to?' 'He's not even the obstacle, it's Maddy, she's like a zombie.' 'We should just accept that she's never coming back and concentrate on defending ourselves from Akiza, he might leave us alone then.'

In the office, Blair was running the club on a day-by-day basis, but only for very limited club activities, with all scouting and outreach missions cancelled for the foreseeable future. Even then, she was struggling, with no support nor advice, with nobody to turn to for a helping hand, and only Jade to comfort her, when she wasn't looking after Ally or trying to encourage Rio to take up her new found destiny.

After another tough day at the office, she sat there quietly after everybody else had gone to bed, and silently cried to herself, looking at a picture of her Alpha. 'Why did you do this to us Mads? Why didn't you just ask for help, we could have got through all of this together. Now you're being turned into some kind of sex zombie, and I'm just the idiot who's running a club she has no business leading. Why did you do this to us? We all just want you back. Because we love you.'

In a cafe near the condo

Akiza was having a quiet cup of tea when Claude walked in, dressed in military wear. 'Way to make yourself inconspicuous. If Rhydian sees us together he'll have a fit, he's paranoid already.' 'You have those pictures?' 'Depends if you have the money you promised.' After Claude slid a cheque over, she looked at it. 'That will do. I'm trusting that this is going to clear now.' 'Do you really think I'd be that stupid?'

'I don't know, this is pretty dumb.' She then handed over a large envelope. 'The pictures are in there, do what you like with them.' 'So why are you working with me?' 'Let's just say that my plans far exceed Rhydian's. You see, Rhydian only sees Maddy as a love, he wants her to live with him in forever harmony.' 'And?' 'He could have any stupid hybrid he wants, but no, he has to have her specifically. She's worth so much more than that.'

'What are you on about?' 'I don't know the full extent, nobody does, but Maddy's power far exceeds what a normal human or even normal wolfblood can do. I can't explain it, but I can't let Rhydian have that power.' 'Why even invite him in then if you took control of her?' 'Because my spell wasn't powerful enough for her, and I knew that. She has shown a resistance to normal methods that is unlike anything even Phil and Hannah have ever seen. If I can harness her power, I can create a nuclear bomb in effect that I have full control over.'

'And what do you do then?' 'Whatever I want. With that amount of power, I can do whatever I like, and nobody will be strong enough to prevent me. I can rule the entire world. And if you work with me, we can make all of that happen, you get the power, and I get someone who will take care of Rhydian when the time is right.' 'Rhydian's no problem, I can deal with him easy. But before any of that, I want to take advantage of her current state.'

'Meaning?' 'I want a night with Maddy. I don't care if it's my bed, someone else's bed, do you know how difficult is is regaining my reputation when people know that she turned me down the way she did, and especially that that scorny little' 'Language now' 'The point is, I won't stop until I get her. I'll pay you more money than you've ever seen.' 'I'd love to, but making it happen is a different matter, you'll get a couple of hours maximum.' 'And why's that?'

'Because that's how long she spends alone. See, Maddy is at his side all day through everything. The only time that they're apart is in the dead of night, because she doesn't sleep.' 'What - at all?' 'No, too much pain from the rose draining every little piece of her sanity and identity. So if you want her, you're either going to have to become a skilled cat burglar, or come up with some other strategy.'

Exeter Airport, near Devon, England

Dan and Emma were waiting at the airport when a BMW M5 pulled up, and Donna dashed out, her shoulder-length mousey coloured hair being buffeted by the strong coastal winds. 'Sorry I took so long, the traffic was absolutely ridiculous on the motorway, and then my sat-nav decided to take me down some roads with ridiculous speed limits, I mean why would they put a 20mph speed limit on a dual carriageway, it's not like the weather's been that bad.'

'Well the important thing is that you're here. Did you bring the cure?' 'Yeah, based on what you and Jana told me, there should be a good chance of this killing whatever parasite's infesting her brain. I also thought we might need to knock her out if she's really being as violent as it sounds' 'You mean you didn't see it?' 'See what?' 'She totalled Phil, gave him a nasty concussion.' 'I mean Phil gets concussed just by thinking too hard. But I tend to get the events on replay, I'm way too busy for that sh*t.'

'What do you do anyway? Outside of whatever it is you do for Phil.' 'I'm sort of a free radical, I used to be a Chemistry teacher at a high school until I quit because everyone was making fun of my size, now I just do whatever I can, I spent some time as a lab technician, worked for a few drug companies, now I just fill my time eating popcorn and casually browsing adverts. If it wasn't for Phil I'd probably be back in Poland by now.'

'So you were saying about knocking her out' Dan asked, getting the subject back on track. 'So I've brought some bleach and acetone for homemade Chloroform, and because I wasn't allowed to bring much of that' 'You're allowed to bring that?' an amazed Dan responded. 'I did have to tell a couple of lies and claim that I'm a chemist doing some demonstrations in Toronto. It doesn't matter if I can't go back to Canada after, it's hardly a dream destination. Oh, I also brought some Propofol, just incase the chloroform doesn't stretch as far as I calculated.'

Emma then laughed to herself. 'It's times like this where I'm thankful that Maddy got us in touch with each other.' 'Yeah, it's nice to be able to help, she's helped me out plenty, and me and Phil have known each other pretty much since I moved to England.' 'When was that?' After some hard thinking, she responded with 'I want to say 2003? I was 22 when I moved here. But we can talk more on the plane, don't want check-in to close.' With that, they entered the airport, and after a little bit of difficulty getting through security, set off on their rescue mission.

At Ashworth

Astrid was faced with a day she thought would never come. Having previously tried and failed to pluck up the courage, this was the time that she promised herself she'd get past her fears and feed Diesel. After taking two fresh mice out of the freezer, she walked over to his enclosure, but the sight of the reptile almost sent her running away again. As she went to walk away though, she took a breath, and psyched herself out. 'You said you'd do this for her, don't let her down.'

Eventually, she took another breath, and took the rodent, before gently placing it in his enclosure, on the other side to where he was, and then sharply removed her hand, but sliced her hand on a jagged edge as she did. After quickly stopping the bleeding she made sure to wipe the blood away from the glass, and while she did, she spoke to the animal like she'd always known him.

'I know this is weird, and I'm not as good as she is, but I promise you that Maddy will come home. You know what they say about cubs always finding their way back, and this is no different, she'll come back. You can believe me on that one.' As she walked away though, she had private doubts. 'I hope I'm right, but I don't see how I can be. Rhydian has such a grip on her that I'm not sure any of us can break it, and she's not going to be able to without us. But I don't think any of us can do that.'

Jade's flat, Washington

As Rio was continuing to be stubborn, Jade and Blair had another issue to deal with. 'I told you, wanna come!' 'Ally, I've already told you, as long as Maddy's like this, we can't, you're going to get hurt.' 'But I can help.' 'You honestly can't, it's taking all of us and even then we're struggling.' 'No! Wanna come!' 'Ally, you can ask a million billion times, but the answer isn't changing. If you came with us, and you got hurt or worse, I wouldn't be doing my job looking after you.'

As the argument continued to rage, Jade suddenly had a different perspective, as she hailed Blair over to discuss. 'It's not happening, I keep telling her.' 'I know, but… would it really be so bad?' 'Jade, you know what you're suggesting, right?' 'I know it sounds ridiculous, but I just have this feeling. Ally's always been a good luck charm for us, she's the one who's got us closest to finding out what's going on with Maddy right now, and… I can't explain it, I just have this feeling that it's what we need.'

Blair still wasn't convinced though. 'You know I trust your instincts, don't you?' 'Of course.' 'Please don't get offended then when I tell you that I'm not betting Ally's safety on your instincts.' 'It's easy, all we do is don't let her out of our sights, because the last thing Rhydian's going to do is let Maddy anywhere near any of us. I think the reward outweighs the risk, and besides, she's already seen something we didn't once, she might see it again. Please B, I'm not asking you just for her, I really think she's onto something here.'

Starting to be swayed, Blair considered the options. 'If we do, and this is a huge IF we do, she's not allowed to go anywhere unsupervised. Outside of being in a toilet cubicle with no access to windows, she's not allowed to go anywhere without someone we trust keeping an eye on her.' Seeing the opportunity, Jade pushed. 'I guarantee you on our relationship, on my life, that she is not going to be allowed out of anybody's sight. In fact I'd suggest two people unless we're somewhere secure. It's not like this is something I just plucked out of thin air, I've been thinking about this for days.'

Finally, Ally's guardian relented. 'Fine, but we need someone who will look after her. I can't as long as Rio's being awkward, because I'm basically in charge of everything, you can't because you've got that Doubles title now, Rio can't because she's a mess mentally, Astrid can't because she's banned from arenas, so we have to find somebody.' 'Belle?' 'Lots of things I trust her with, babysitting maybe not one of them.'

Jade had another thought though. 'Do we really need one person? How about we just take it in turns? Like shifts almost.' Tired of arguing, Blair simply stated 'We'll see how it works at the next event. But this is 100% on you.' 'Trust me, she will be safe as houses.' 'You're not exactly filling me with confidence here.' Jade just put her arm around her girlfriend to calm her nerve. 'This will work.'

They then went back to Ally. 'Right, me and Jade have been talking, and we've decided that you can come to the next event.' As Ally cheered though, there were conditions. 'We're not doing this free of charge though. First of all, if you try running off at any point in any way, you're going straight home. Secondly, you have to be with one of us at all times unless we've told you otherwise. Finally, under no circumstances are you to approach Maddy in any way, shape or form unless we say you can.' The youngster's face turned more serious, and she nodded in agreement. 'I understand.'

'Can you repeat what I told you?' She stood on the chair, and put her hand on her chest, reciting. 'I am not allowed to run off at any time even for a second, otherwise I go home and can't come again. I have to be with one of you at all times unless you've told me to be with someone else, I'm not allowed to approach Auntie Maddy because she's all mean at the moment, and I'm not allowed to approach strangers or kick Rhydian in the penis.'

Jade couldn't help but burst out laughing at the last remark, but less amused as ever was Blair, who gave her girlfriend a helpful elbow to the arm. 'Thank you for listening, but we've had this conversation before, you're not allowed to approach strangers or kick them in the penis at any time unless we asked you to.' 'What if Auntie Rio tells me to?' 'Don't, especially if you smell alcohol on her. Or Cannabis, she's been using a lot of that recently. Talking of, have you come out of your sulk yet?'

Rio though, had her earphones in listening to music, so Ally took one of them out. 'Hey give it back.' 'I was just talking to you Rio.' She then looked over her shoulder. 'Sorry, I didn't hear you.' 'I'd guessed. I was just asking if you'd rethought on the presidency yet' 'No.' 'Please Rio, you know it's the right thing.' 'And you know I'd be useless. It's just not ever happening, so please don't ask me again, besides, you're doing a great job I'm sure.' 'A great job? Morale's lower than ever and we've got about 15 unpaid bills. And that's without doing anything like scouting rotas or outreach.'

Rio held her hand in response. 'But you can do it because you're not me. You're strong, you're brave, you're clever, and you already know how to lead because you do it every day, you're the one who everyone looks up to. Just stick with it and I'm sure it will become easier for you.' 'It's not right though, you should… you know what, never mind.' Rio then plugged back in as Blair and Jade both looked increasingly frustrated at the situation.

Maple Leaf B&B, Toronto

After checking in to the B&B, Dan, Emma and Donna were having a midnight meeting planning out the next day. 'So what time are we meeting them?' 'I'm thinking 11, it was due to be 10:45, but if we meet at 11 then we can catch him in a rush hopefully and get away before he suspects anything. Then that smashing lad Jack's waiting for us, and we've got a taxi booked from the airport straight to the base. We're meeting up at a small abandoned garage about 20 minutes from here, and the journey back avoids speed cameras so we should just be able to go flat out.' 'Got it. What do I do if Rhydian gets suspicious?'

'If he's on his own, feel free to knock him out. If he's with others, then our priority is getting Maddy into the car and getting to the airport, once we're back there he can't do anything to us. We know the script, you just stay hidden in the car just in case he recognises you from somewhere, however unlikely that is.' 'Good job that I'm short then.' They laughed together at this line, but there was an air of apprehension about it all, knowing that they had an almighty job the next day.

The next morning, in the condominium

Maddy was stood being prepared for the day. First Rhydian completely undressed her, and took the opportunity to sensually feel up and down her body, enjoying what he was confident was the start of a permanent solution. When he turned away to pick up her clothes, Akiza took the opportunity to pick up a camera, and take pictures of her in the nude, as part of her twisted arrangement with Claude.

Once he had picked her clothes up for the day, he turned to Akiza. 'Sort her hair.' Stealthily hiding the camera in her bag, Akiza walked up to Maddy, and ripped the black and white hair bows out of her hair for the first time since her hypnosis, and disguised by Maddy's bare body, Tee took more pictures for her. Once her hair was down, Akiza ran her fingers through it, removing any imperfections as per Rhydian's demands.

As she did, she admired the highlights that seemed to be slowly spreading every single day. 'The spell is clearly working.' 'How long has it been' an impatient Rhydian asked, to which Akiza looked at her phone, and replied '10 days. We're getting close to Stage 2 being complete, and that will be her memories gone alongside her personality. Then we'll be draining her entire identity, not that she can feel any of it anyway.'

She then separated the hair into two sides, and slowly braided one half, overlaying the strands tightly until the entire side was fully plaited. She then brought the braid back up towards the top of her hair, before wrapping it around into a bun, and putting a black hair bow in it. She followed this up doing the same on the other side, and fastening it with a white hair bow. Double bows in, it was time to dress her.

The attire of choice was the usual white and black long sleeve shirt, which she had her arms brought up for before it was slid on. Her tights were then forced all the way up, being as skintight as was possible while still fitting, before inserting a black pleated miniskirt onto her, and her look was complete as more images were captured of the prone, brainwashed Alpha. The entire time, she didn't resist once.

As she was finishing being prepared with a pair of ballet shoes, Rhydian was discussing the insurance of the spell. 'So Maddy's linked up now?' 'Yes, she and Tee are part of the hive mind, their thoughts… or lack thereof, are interconnected. The moment one of them steps out of line, the other forces their rose to awaken and make them obey. It's absolutely foolproof, and works a charm.

Rhydian then got his jacket on, and took Maddy, starting to leave. But as he saw Akiza coming with him, he stopped her. 'You stay here, me and Maddy are going alone.' 'You don't want any backup?' He just smiled. 'This little one is a one girl bowling bomb, if anything happens, I just click my fingers, and she defends me. I really don't need anyone else with me, Maddy's the only one I need now. You just look after here.' The two then left, as Akiza got on the phone. 'I've got more pictures for you Claude, but I think we're going to have to up the price.'

In Washington

Blair and Jade were still trying to persuade Rio over a hearty lunch. 'You know you can do this.' 'You can try however many times, you're just wrong Jade, I can't. If it was that easy then we wouldn't need a president. The fact is we need someone strong and courageous, and I'm just not the person that fits, I'm the rich girl with a brain injury and no clue what she's doing or even if she's going to be alive in three years' time.'

As the argument continued, Blair's phone started ringing. 'I'll just be a minute.' She then answered and got a surprise as to who was on the other end. 'Hello, this is Blair Flannigan's phone, if you're after someone called Christian then maybe try putting less 3s in.' 'Hey Blair.' 'Astrid? I forgot you had a phone, what's up?' 'What's going on with Rio? I heard she's refusing to take the presidency.' 'I don't really know, she's just refusing, I don't think she honestly believes she can do it.'

There was then an unusual suggestion. 'Send Rio over to the farm and I'll talk to her.' 'But what can' 'Just do it please, it's your best shot by the sounds of it.' Lost for other ideas, the Michiganer relented. 'Ok, I'll let her know.' 'Just tell her that I need to talk to her, say Hannah said and I'm sure she'll come willingly.' 'I'll try it.' With this new information, she made her way back to the dining room, and mentioned it.

'Rio, it's Hannah, she just asked if you can pop by the farm later, Astrid needs to talk to you or something.' 'Erm… ok? Let her know that I'll be there as soon as Jade finds her sense of direction.' With a mouth full of spicy fritter, Jade argued 'I've been much better lately, it's been 3 weeks since I last teleported anyone into a bin.' 'You managed to end up on top of a chicken coop just 3 days ago.' 'We don't count that.' 'Yes we do.' Blair laughed, and told "Hannah" 'She'll be there soon.' 'Thanks.' 'No problem.'

In the base

The ongoing tension wasn't the only issue, as Belle was starting to act increasingly erratically, from spending hours on endlessly rearranging the kitchen only for everything to end up in the same place it started, to cleaning all of the base's windows, even though they were all already clean. She had also stopped looking after her appearance, her normally neat hair was rough and unkempt, and she was wearing stained shirts and trousers with holes in them. And this hadn't gone unnoticed, as after a few hours, Freja sat her down and tried talking to her about the situation.

'Belle, what's up, you've been really weird today. You have for a few days actually.' 'I… I think it would be better if I was gone, I don't really belong here anyway, and I couldn't do anything for the person who truly believed in me, the person who thought I should get out of Young Offenders.' 'That's nonsense, we all believe in you, and it's not just you who couldn't do anything, none of us could. We're all in the same boat here.'

'I… I just can't do all of this, she was here last night, and she was shouting at me, and she told me how much I could have done to help her, and I just can't anymore.' Freja didn't seem too concerned though. 'You'll be fine, we'll get through this.' As she walked away, she turned to Denny, who was passing. 'Be careful with Belle, I'm not sure she's taking her meds properly, her Schizophrenia's playing up something rotten.'

With that warning, Denny came over to Belle, sitting by her. 'You seem very down. Is it the situation?' A nervous and vulnerable Belle just nodded as a response. 'Just between us Denny, I think it might be better if I go and join Maddy, I just… I need to help her, I need to be with her, she's the only one who believes in me even when I can't.' Denny's response was 'I would miss you. But I can't tell anyone.' 'Thanks, I think I just need to be by her side.'

At Ashworth Brook Farm

As Rio arrived at the farm, Hannah was waiting outside for her, hair wildly fluttering in the wind. 'If you're looking for Astrid' 'Kind of why I'm here.' 'She's on the farm feeding the animals.' 'Which way's the farm again? I've kind of only been a couple of times.' 'It's just a few minutes down the road, by the train station.' With this information in hand, Rio took her concerns with her down the narrow curving country lane to the farm, where she found Astrid in overalls, hair wrapped in a braided bun, tossing out feed for the chickens while singing to them.

As she saw Rio, she signalled over. 'I would ask how you're doing but that's probably a daft question.' 'Yeah, I wanted to talk about you actually.' 'Me?' 'A little birdie' 'Blair?' 'Kris actually, has been telling me that you're refusing to take the presidency even though you're the one?' 'I'm not "the one", if Maddy had known any of this would happen she would never have rejected my resignation. Or at least she would have put someone suitable in charge.'

'But you're so strong, why not you? Surely you've been through more than everyone.' 'I mean everyone's got their own story, I'm just one.' 'You have though, let's face it, you survived being shot in the head. I know you don't want to hear this, but you're an inspiration, and you'd actually make an awesome leader for us.' 'I absolutely wouldn't, I'm just… I'm not ready, and I don't think I ever will be. It's cool that people think I could, but that's all just theory, they don't know the real me.'

'People do, especially Maddy.' 'What do you mean?' 'Nobody believes in your ability to lead more than she does. That's why you're in the position you are, she knows what you can do, even if nobody else believes.' 'Why would anyone believe in me for this though?' This was when Astrid let Rio into a secret that she had been hiding.

'You know that Maddy almost didn't take the presidency don't you?' 'Really?' an astonished Rio asked. 'She nearly didn't take it because she thought you were better suited for it. Look, I know I really shouldn't be telling you this because it's private and all, but I read her diary the other day, and it said that she wanted to be like you, someone kind and brave who people would look up to. She thought she was missing the one thing you have.'

'What's that?' 'A heart. The heart to understand people and sympathise with them, the heart to really get to know people, and the heart to know when to back off and when people need your support the most.' 'But she did all that.' 'And she learned how to from you, from watching the way you talked to people, and especially from the way you supported Blair after her ordeal. Because you stood up for her, but it was always thinking of her first.'

This started to get Rio thinking. 'I didn't realise I ever had that effect.' 'It's like my mama always told me, "you'll always have an effect on people, but the sign of a truly good person is when they don't allow themselves to see the effect they have". You've inspired everyone in so many ways, the fact you've got this condition that could kill you at any time, and yet you've always stood up to be counted, you're always there. I got hurt and was off active duty for weeks.'

'You broke your freaking neck Astrid' Rio shouted, accidentally upsetting the chickens in the process. So while Astrid calmed them down, she continued the heartfelt chat. 'The point is, I took time away, and mine wasn't life threatening. You returned as soon as Maddy would allow you, and even then you wouldn't be held back, you pretty much forced her. Thing is, you've had such an impact but you'll never know because you're a good person.' 'That might be, but I can't become president, because I'm not as strong or as brave or as good a fighter.'

'Don't be then, be a different president. Right now everyone's hurting, we don't need someone who talks a good game, we need someone who truly believes that everything will be ok, someone who is willing to inspire everyone. Don't try and be a knockoff Maddy or Hannah, because you're awful at being them. You're the best at being Rio Kastle, and right now, that's what we all need. We need someone to stand up and be Rio. Now are you going to help feed these animals?'

Abandoned Garage, Toronto

As Dan and Emma pulled up at the dirty complex, Maddy was stood there alongside Rhydian, her eyes glazed over, her twin braided buns tight in. Donna was waiting nearby, hoping to swoop in and help save the Alpha. 'Thanks for this Rhydian, and I'm sorry we're late. The traffic was awful on the motorway, I think some poor soul's flipped their car over and there's debris all over.' Rhydian seemed somewhat frosty though. 'So, what do you want?'

'I thought we'd already been through that.' 'Yeah of course, sorry. So you're taking her back to Canada?' 'Er no, we're living down in Devon at the moment. We didn't tell anyone because we didn't want this move getting messed up, and we've only moved back in the past few weeks.' 'That's fine. So you want Maddy back?' 'Yeah, I mean you can totally keep as much contact with her as you like. You're better for her than that lot anyway.'

Rhydian then nodded at Maddy, who walked over silently. 'Thanks again Rhydian, you're an absolute angel.' Dan then reached his hand out, and Rhydian shook it, before Emma looked at Maddy. 'Right missus, let's get you home. You've caused a lot of people a lot of undue stress.' As they started to leave however, Rhydian had a surprise. 'Hey, just one more thing - I'm not that stupid. Maddy, attack!'

In a split second, Maddy flipped, and smashed both Dan and Emma in the face with vicious punches. Donna came rushing in, only to be speared a full 180 degrees, dropping her chloroform as she did. Maddy then started to beat them both to a fine pulp, not caring once at their screams of desperation. She picked up Dan, and as he begged her to calm down, speared him into a brick wall.

Meanwhile Rhydian saw Donna trying to contact Phil and Hannah, so he stamped on her phone before kicking her in the head until she was completely unconscious. He then looked over at Maddy, and in a fit of rage, demanded 'Finish them!' Initially she didn't, totally conflicted and her remaining instincts starting to kick in. That was until Rhydian got in her ear again. 'Remember your Faustian contract Maddy. You're my slave, powerless against the night flower, you will follow all of my orders, you are nothing without me! Now OBEY ME!'

She looked over sadly, but the rose allowed no resistance, it draining her resistance and causing intense screaming and crying, and soon the reply came. 'Yes Master Rhydian, I will obey.' She picked up a metal bar, and then walked to a near unconscious Dan, who got one look at her empty eyes, before looking at Rhydian. 'You monster!' That was the last thing he said as Maddy pummelled him over 20 times with the metal bar, before picking up his limp body and spearing him through a nearby garage. She then picked Emma up onto her shoulder, and on Rhydian's command, threw her head first into a brick wall.

With that done, the brainwashed Alpha picked up the none-moving Donna. 'Maddy, put her in the van, we're going to have ourselves another member of the hive mind.' She walked the unconscious Pole to the van, and then dropped her in there, before standing staring at the destruction she had caused as Rhydian smiled, and kissed her on the neck. 'You made the right decision Maddy. Soon enough, we will never have this issue again.' On his order, she got into the van, and after he got in as well, they drove off, leaving both of Maddy's parents for dead.

Next time: In the fallout from the brutal attack, Rio has to pick up a shattered and broken Renegades, but when a visitor comes knocking with an olive branch, will the most unlikely of deals be struck? Meanwhile Belle returns to Maddy, but not everything is as it seems. Renegades: A New Dawn Book 6: Stems from Misery