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.

21. Visions of Sin

R: Ultra Evolution

Book 21: Visions of Sin

The club were on the way back from Barcelona, with an exhausted Maddy sleeping serenely, Astrid acting as her pillow. 'You ok under there?' Blair whispered to her, but she just nodded back calmly. 'I'm just glad we've still got her, and now things can start improving. Rhydian's out of her life and that's the important thing. Now I just hope she doesn't make me go down a bra size' she joked while drawing attention to the… very specific place where Maddy's head was.

'If she does, I'll give you some money for it' Rio told her while laughing, leading to her being told 'It's fine, I can afford it and everything, just means I have to go shopping.' 'You do realise you can just order them online?' Freja then chimed in with 'That would require Astrid to know what the internet is, I'm pretty sure where she's from they still communicate with pigeons.' Everyone laughed at this, as the flight took them back home.

The next morning, 9:40am, in the base

After a long sleep, Maddy slowly woke up, seeming slightly brighter again. 'Feels like I was asleep for years' she groaned while trying to regain some sense of self. She then stretched, and downed her glass of water as Astrid walked in, carrying some mini boxes of cereal. 'Good morning sleepyhead, how are you feeling?' 'Tired, you?' 'Thanks for asking' she glowed. 'I'm great. I went out early this morning and got some of these little cereal boxes from the shops, I did think the three of us could have breakfast together, but Freja… where is Freja anyway? I sent her out for fresh air an hour ago.'

Maddy wasn't listening though, as she had noticed something else - Astrid's custom shirt. 'That picture… I drew that!' Astrid said nothing, but placed her arms behind her back and swung around, showing off the shirt. 'You can thank Katie, I wanted something that would leave an impact, she did all the rest. Tell you something, her shop's absolutely gorgeous, reminds me of when I was young and used to help Mama making clothes. That's probably what I'd be doing if I wasn't duelling.'

Still in shock, Maddy stood up, and started stroking the picture on the shirt, almost in tears. 'It's so beautiful. That picture as well, it's' 'The one picture you've drawn that you like. I've got the original pinned up in my bedroom, it means more to me than you could ever imagine.' Maddy then smiled at her, having regained something she'd forgotten. 'I remember drawing that, the idea just came to me in the middle of the night. Thank you for reminding me.' Astrid hugged her, and told her 'There's nobody more important in the world than you.'

Meanwhile, in the foyer

Freja had just returned from some Astrid-mandated fresh air when there was a knock on the door, so she shouted 'If you're a delivery driver, knock once more and leave the package. If you're here for anything else, use the intercom, the guest password is above it.' Seconds later, the intercom buzzed. 'It's Jana, Rio said to be here for 10 for my initiation.' Satisfied, she walked over to the heavy doors, and tapped in her club code before selecting the green button, and the doors slowly eased open to unveil Jana standing neatly, her hair wrapped up on the top of her head, bound by a black fabric scrunchie, wearing a smart white blouse and a long black skirt down to her knees.

'Wow, someone's made an effort.' 'Why, what did you wear when you were recruited?' 'I don't know, I was brainwashed at the time' she responded honestly. 'Sorry, I' 'It's fine, you didn't know. You look fantastic.' 'Thanks, I thought I should at least try. Do you know where Rio is?' 'She's probably in the office. I'll go and get her for you.' As Freja ran off, Jana started adjusting her hair slightly, using her phone as a mirror.

Rio then arrived, also surprised to see the guest looking so smart. 'Well somebody scrubs up well. You want to come with me?' Smiling, she gestured for Rio to lead the way, and the two of them walked off, chatting as they did. 'Getting here alright?' 'Yeah, early start but I didn't have any issues getting here, had more trouble getting in.' 'Sorry, I forgot to tell you that the code's above the keypad, I should really put it somewhere better.'

As they arrived at the office, Rio switched the computer on, as the process began. 'So I have to ask this before we start, do you still want to join?' 'Yes, I absolutely want to do this still.' 'Brilliant. So I'll just be taking some of your details, and then we'll get your picture taken, Maddy's pretty tired after getting back from Spain but I've managed to rope Blair into doing the photos instead, she's probably trying to work out how the camera works right now.'

'I forgot to warn you all, Maddy has really expensive and complicated taste in cameras.' 'I tried setting that up earlier, it was all in double dutch. And that's after she told me how to use it.' 'Don't worry, I don't understand them either, and the amount of times she's talked to me about cameras, that's an achievement. I remember in school we used to just sit in the dark room for hours at a time chatting about them, even then her knowledge was ridiculous.' 'Well I'm going to see if I can turn one of the bedrooms into a dark room for her when she's feeling better, so she can work on her photography. Right, this has finally loaded up, the one bad thing Maddy did as president was get us signed up to this awful wi-fi.'

'Right, so full name.' 'Full name as in full full? Because it's about seven names long.' 'Just first, middle and surname.' 'Ok, Jana Aurora Vilkas.' 'Aurora? Unique.' 'My Dad, Alric, he's always had this thing about the Northern Lights, he saw them when he was a teenager, and ever since he's been obsessed with it. But my Mum insisted when I was born that I have a good Welsh name, even though she's from Lithuania, so they agreed on Jana.'

As Rio laughed, she moved to the next box. 'Birthplace?' 'Born in Royal Glamorgan Hospital in Pontyclun, but raised in Abergele up near Rhyl.' While Jana wrote the spelling down for Rio, she continued reminiscing. 'We moved up to Stoneybridge shortly before I finished primary school, still no idea why, but I guess I got to meet Maddy, so there's that.' 'You get on from the start?' Jana just sniggered as she replied 'No! We absolutely hated each other, we had this horrible rivalry going for months, it was only after Shannon talked to us both separately ironically. Weird how everything panned out.'

'Birthdate?' '14th December 1998, so I'm a couple of months younger than Maddy.' 'Funny, I would have had you as older.' 'Yeah, we get that a lot. Trust me, I don't know who gets more irritated by it. Probably me because Maddy's usually chill.' 'Where is it you're currently living?' 'Right now?' 'Yeah.' 'It's a small two up two down in Sandfields in Swansea, still live with Dad.' 'Are you wanting to move in here?'

'Short-term I'm planning to, for Maddy. Long term I have no idea.' 'Ok that's fine, we'll sort you a bedroom out later.' 'Any special rules?' 'Not aside from no smoking in there. You'll be given a copy of the rulebook anyway.' 'Are there any curfews?' she then inquired. 'Just because I sometimes stay out a bit later.' 'Curfew's whatever time the last person goes to bed, usually around midnight ish, but that's only if you don't have your card anyway.'

'Yeah, I meant to mention, it wasn't working earlier.' 'That's fine, it's because your membership isn't on the system yet. Once it is the system will recognise you.' 'Any rules against transforming in the base?' 'If it's not a full moon, I'd prefer you not to, but if you're going to, just give us some warning. I'm pretty sure most people know you're a Wolfblood by now, you're round here often enough.'

'So next is criminal record.' 'Nothing major, I got a couple of warnings when I was in my late teens for… come to think of it, I think Maddy's got all the same convictions. It was a caution for trespass, we were both caught trying to steal our blood results from Newcastle General because this was when we were doing anything possible to hide the secret, and we both got done for disturbing the peace at this climate protest even though we were just passing through. Oh, but I don't have one for kicking the shit out of a police car, so that's one she's got over me.'

Struggling to stop laughing, Rio quietly asked 'Why did she do that?' 'I think… and don't quote me on this one, that it was because she was having this really shitty day, and then on the way back from college she was nearly run over by them, so she just got in this huge rage like Maddy does, and knocked seven bells out of the car. She got off with a caution after Emma paid for the damage, think it came to about £800. Trust me, there are a million stories of things like that, when Maddy gets in a grump, things happen. Like that time some guy tried bullying her at college, so the next day she gave him the world's biggest wedgie. It wouldn't be as funny, but he's like 6'5 or 6'6, and she just kicks him right where it hurts, and gives him a wedgie.'

'So that's it for criminal convictions, any medical conditions?' 'No, I've got a couple of little things like a migraine and a small issue in my shoulder, but it's nothing that antibiotics don't deal with.' 'The way you've got your hair I'm not surprised you've got a migraine.' Jana smiled, and told Rio 'Well I thought I should make an effort, so I dug out this old thing that I've not used in ages. Kind of ready for the bin to be honest, took me ages this morning.'

'Well if you ever need any scrunchies, just ask Blair, she's got a whole army of 'em. She says it's because of how thick her hair is, but I'm convinced it's just that she keeps hurting her fingers messing around with Phil's car. Almost done now, any family?' 'Obviously Dad' 'Alric.' 'Yeah, he's kind of a curmudgeon, but he's good when you get to know him, raised me well on his own.' This surprised Rio. 'I didn't know he was a Single Dad.'

'Yeah, he and Mum split up when I was a baby, she kind of stayed in my life for a couple of years but then shacked up with some other guy and ran off to live in Miami. I get birthday cards and the occasional letter, but other than that it's me and Dad. So whatever we argue about, I'll always be thankful to him, because he's always been there for me.' 'He know about you moving in here?' 'Yeah, he's been telling me to get my own place for years. Me and Maddy were talking about getting our own little wolf pad before she joined the Renegades, but this is something she always wanted.'

'Anybody else?' 'Nobody that I'm in constant touch with, I get a phone call from my Grandma back in Rhondda every couple of weeks, the phone signal's horrendous down there so it has to wait for her regular visits to the hairdressers. Which reminds me, I really need my ends doing.' 'Good job Blair's a trained hairdresser then.' Laughing, Jana asked 'Is there anything Blair doesn't do?', to which Rio responded sharply with 'Clean up after herself. Or cook, although she has got better recently, I've never met anybody who can burn Baked Beans. At least now her food's… edible? It always tastes weird, that's why Jade does most of the cooking at our place. Just don't tell her I said that, she's doing me a huge favour.'

Smiling, she responded 'Don't worry, I won't do. I just want to tell you that you're doing a really good job, I know it can't have been easy… well obviously I know it's been the total opposite, but I just wanted you to know how well you're doing.' Rio though, wasn't sure. 'To be honest, I'm just exhausted from it. I was supposed to be training in the medical department by now, that's why I put in my resignation, but it got refused, and now I'm stuck here. I know so many people would kill for this, but it's just not me. Meanwhile you come in and immediately know how to cure Maddy, it's just incredible how you did that.'

Trying to find a crumb of comfort, Jana had a proposition. 'Well just because you're in here, doesn't mean you can't train up. Because Wolfblood medicine isn't really that complicated, it's just about knowing what different herbs and plants do with each other, and a tiny bit of thinking outside of the box. I've got a load of old medical texts and guides at home, some of them are a little dusty, but if you like I can bring them over when I bring my stuff here.'

This surprised Rio, but she gratefully agreed. 'Just whatever you can part with really, I don't want to take anything you're using.' 'Honestly I don't use most of them, I consulted them a bit when we were trying to find the cure, but even then it was something that wasn't even mentioned in them that was the solution, it turned out to be this old wives' tale from when I was a baby. If you want once we've done this photo, I can talk you through it.' 'Thanks.'

In the meeting room

Maddy was finishing her breakfast when there was a knock on the door, so with a mouth full of honey and oat cereal, she shouted 'Come in', and the door creaked open, as Belle quietly snuck into the room, carrying a cup of coffee. 'I figured you could do with the energy, I don't know if your tastes have changed but it's always been coffee, milk and two sugar.' As she went to leave though, she heard a voice asking her to 'Stay a few minutes… if you're not busy.' 'I mean if you want me to.'

As Belle took a seat, Maddy held her hand. 'You were there when I was brainwashed, weren't you? You were pretending to be the same.' 'I didn't know what to do, we just seemed so powerless, because we never thought about how to fight against you, we were just useless and… I couldn't imagine you suffering there alone, I just needed to be there, it was really selfish and all, but I thought I could make a difference.'

'You risked everything just so I wouldn't be alone, even though I couldn't thank you. That means more than you could ever understand. And I'm so sorry that things between you and Freja have gone bad just because of me, you're really great for each other. I just want you to know that as long as I live, I'm never going to forget what you did for me, you did something that nobody else could.'

The words struck a chord, as Belle's head dropped. 'I… know what it's like. To be alone in prison, trapped, suffering in this crime of your own making, just this cold and dark cell, where it's just you and no light, the walls feel like they're closing in on you. I couldn't let anybody else be there.' Maddy didn't speak, but reached out and offered a hug. 'I think you should talk to people about this, let them understand. Because what you did was tearing you apart as well. But I'll never forget what you did.' Belle smiled at her, but secretly, she was in the midst of her own battle.

In the medical bay

Astrid was having a once over before trying out a new hobby. 'So why are you going rock climbing again?' 'I used to love climbing small cliffs when I was young.' 'I take it this was before you broke your neck?' 'I mean yes, but it was also before I was as strong as I am now.' Seeing her warnings were getting nowhere, Sakura just facepalmed, while moaning 'Why can you not just choose a non-deadly pastime? Between you rock climbing, Blair's caving, and Freja threatening to become a tightrope walker'

'Yeah, I think Freja might have been kidding you on that one. Thing is, it was this or Falconry, because I've always wanted to try that, but I can't forget the words Maddy shared with me a couple of months ago.' Putting on a mediocre Geordie accent, she said "Astrid, gotta be honest with you, it's difficult to do falconry where there's no falcons".' Laughing as she loaded up a local anaesthetic in a syringe, Sakura informed Astrid 'You realise there's an outdoor centre half an hour from here? I'm sure if you ask nice enough they'll advise you on that. Right, you're just going to feel the slightest scratch now.'

While she was being injected, Astrid smiled to her. 'Thank you, I'll try that. But I want to get back into climbing anyway, I have so many good memories of it, and Scotland's beautiful for its cliffs, it's just like home. Well… I guess here's home now.' 'I thought home for you was Phil's place.' 'I was just helping to look after Sky, once Maddy's back up and running I'll probably be moving back in here. Mind you, I wouldn't mind continuing to spend time with the little guy.'

'I'm sure he'll be more than fine with that' Sakura told her while putting her instruments away. 'So what's the verdict with me doc?' 'Nothing to note, you've lost around a stone since we last talked but I think that's stress related, your neck is… well in the same condition it was as far as I can tell, you're still going to need to get an operation at some point but you know that, and you're a little banged up from recent events, but nothing that some antiseptic cream won't heal.'

Astrid then went to leave, but Sakura had a sound piece of advice first. 'Make sure you're looking after yourself in all of this. Maddy's got all of us, and you can't continue helping her unless you're looking after yourself as well.' Astrid just smiled politely, and said 'Thank you', before bowing ina traditional Japanese manner, making Sakura grin. 'Someone's been learning.' 'No harm in manners' she cheekily replied as she walked out of the medical bay.

In the kitchen

Blair and Freja were cooking lunch, and the twin was taking the opportunity to talk to the big sister of the club. 'Hey, I needed some advice, can we talk a bit?' Blair turned her head swiftly, her shoulder-length hair following quickly, and responded 'Fire away, although I'm pretty sure I know what this is about, and her name begins with a "B".' Freja just nodded, as Blair sat on the kitchen counter.

'So what is it?' 'I feel like I'm being really selfish by being the way I am, because I just want to look after Maddy, but at the same time, I've got all this with Belle hanging over me, I… think I want to forgive her? But I don't know, I don't know if I want to, or even if I can, for what I went through and she wasn't here, I'm sounding really selfish but I needed her' she sighed while looking directly into Blair's soft cocoa-brown eyes.

'You're not being selfish. Just tell me one thing - is this anything to do with Lydia?' 'Yeah… no… ok, maybe a bit.' 'I get you. Firstly this has nothing to do with her, because this is your decision. Just think - after that thing with me and Jade, why did you change? What made you want to stop acting the way you were doing?' This gave Freja food for thought, as she questioned this herself. 'I never really thought about it, but I just wanted to be taken seriously. I realised that I wanted to actually be part of all of this, not just be clinging on.'

'See, you want to be taken seriously. So why are you letting other people tell you how to feel? You're not alone Fre, you've got all of us.' 'If you were me' 'I'd be asking for the same advice. Perhaps you just need some… outsider I guess? Someone just to remind you that the world isn't ending tomorrow. Why don't you take some time, and then if you still think you want to forgive her, try talking to her. But you need to tell her how you feel.' 'Thanks.'

Blair patted her on the shoulder, and told her 'Don't thank me, I should be thanking you. Because what you did to save Maddy' 'Was stupid, irresponsible' 'One of the single ballsiest and badass things I've ever seen. You had the courage to do something so ridiculous that it wouldn't have even been in the radar of anybody else, and put that into action. Quite honestly, we wouldn't have Maddy back without you, me and Astrid would probably be brain deep in Akiza's spell by now without you, all of this, is because you were brave enough to take a chance. So thank you.'

In the meeting room

Maddy was reading a photography magazine when Dakota walked in, surprising her. 'Didn't think you wanted to see me.' 'It's not I didn't want to see you, just waiting for your strength to get back up.' 'I'm not exactly sure it is' she responded, surprising Dakota. 'Well you look way better, I mean I'm still not convinced Blonde's exactly your colour, and you're still hiding away, but you're looking way better now you've not got all the pressure on you.'

This was when Dakota steered the subject to why she was actually there. 'While you've been gone, Rio's been awesome as president, I didn't think she had it in her' 'I always did. Just needed to be put on the spot and she delivers' Maddy told the Kiwi, returning the praise. 'Thing is, she's handled it so well that there's no reason for you to put all that pressure on yourself again, why not just take some time out?'

Knowing exactly what Dakota was doing, Maddy told her straight. 'I might not be able to get my head straight, but I know what emotional manipulation is, don't forget I nearly married Rhydian. Twice. I know Rio's been amazing, and everyone loves her, but the truth is that it's way too soon to be talking about me becoming president again. My head's a million miles from there right now.'

'Well if your head's like that, why don't you just go and do something normal like watching the TV or something? I'm sure the one in here works.' 'It does' Maddy confirmed. 'Even if it's just the news or something, might help you to get your head in one piece again.' Dakota then patted her on the back and casually walked out of the room, completely oblivious to Denny being stood near the door.

Elsewhere, Freja and Astrid were having lunch together, and Freja was ready to make an admission. 'Look, I'm not going to compete in this tag tournament thingy, I'm just not ready to team with her like nothing ever happened, like I've sorted my shit out in my head. It's not her fault… it's mine… it's…' 'It's nobody's fault' Astrid told her while reaching out. 'It's just something you need time for, that's inevitable. Which is why… I've come up with a solution that hopefully will help you both.'

Surprised, Freja signalled for her to explain. 'How about I team up with one of you? And if we win the titles, then when you're getting on again, I'll step aside or whatever.' 'I mean… it's not a bad idea I guess, and it would save us pulling out as well, but we might need to change the name.' 'Why?' Freja laughed, and told her 'Well you're not exactly screaming "Bad Breed" are you?'

Astrid responded by pulling the brown hair bow from the bottom of her braid and then swiftly loosening the links of it, before throwing her wavy blonde hair over her face, and in her thick accent, seductively asking 'Is this bad enough for you?' 'Yeah, I guess, but…' 'No buts, if you and Belle want to do it together when you're ready, just give me the word and I'll step away, no issue.' 'That's it?' 'That's it' she promised firmly, before insisting 'No strings attached.'

Considering the situation, Freja started to warm to the idea, but, conscious about the situation, she was keen on Belle making the decision. 'Discuss it with Belle, see what she thinks, and if she agrees, let her decide which one of us it is, I don't want to take away her opportunity when she deserves it and it's not her issue.' 'Ok, well I'll talk to her about it. Just remember one thing though - Belle never asked for you not to be told.'

Understanding what Astrid was saying, Freja told her 'I'm going back to spend time with Mads, it might just help me focus on something. But if you could talk to Belle in a bit about this, I'd be grateful, I just think it's better coming from you.' 'Ok, whatever you want.' 'Oh, and if you're going to be "bad", then you're going to have to get edgier, maybe a bit of mascara?' 'I wouldn't go that far' Astrid chortled in response while going to find Belle.

While all this was going on, Rio was finally getting the opportunity to have a catch-up with Maddy, who was looking brighter by the hour. As she walked into the room with a microwaveable soup for her lunch, she smiled to Maddy, who flashed an embarrassed smile back. After putting the tray down, the two presidents awkwardly sat in silence for several minutes before Maddy finally broke the deadlock.

'Erm… I don't know how to really say this, but thank you.' 'For what? I didn't even do anything. Apart from being such a coward that I couldn't attack you.' 'All this… it still exists, doesn't it? You're responsible.' 'I'm not' Rio replied regretfully 'I'm just the figurehead' 'I think we both know that's not true. You're doing a better job than I ever did, I think everyone knew that I was just hanging on, out of control, but you, everything's working, peace, harmony'

'It's easy to look that way, but you don't know the half of what's happened. It's really humbling for you to say what you did, but it's not true, I'm not better than you. You're a natural, but it's this… thing that we've both had, this responsibility, it's a poison chalice. It does things to you that twists you, I can't explain it, but Hannah became someone she wasn't, you became someone you weren't, it's turned me into'

'What you always were. Brave, but you've got a heart. You understand what it means.' 'All this, I never wanted it. When I put in my resignation, I meant it.' This is when Maddy revealed something. 'I know. I knew all along. But I knew that if something happened suddenly to me, everyone needed someone they could rely on, someone who would be brave enough to put their best foot forward and find a new way. When I'm better, I think you should stay as President.'

This was met with incredible resistance though. 'I can't. Because I don't want it to turn me into something I'm not, and this isn't where I should be. I should be fixing people, not leading everyone into battle against them. I saw the effect the role had on you when you stayed in it, and I understand why now. This job breaks you. And I don't know if I have the time to be broken like that, because I don't know when my last day is. This is your revolution, if you quit then you should choose'

'I did' Maddy responded point blank. 'I chose you because you're the best choice. Do you know how much I would have loved to choose Blair or Astrid? You were the right person Rio, I don't know what else to tell you.' 'Why though?' she questioned in sheer confusion. 'Because everyone else would have tried to follow my lead. You were the only person to admit that I was wrong, that we could do something else. When I became president, my first ambition was to improve on everything that I saw which could be improved. Just like you did. You fixed here.'

With these words echoing in her brain, Rio left to find somebody to consult on what she'd heard, while Maddy tried to relax. But she couldn't, because all she could think of was what she couldn't think of, her thoughts those of her lost thoughts. So instead, she decided to start reading through a special book Belle had created for her, running her through some carefully selected notes of what she had missed while under Rhydian's thrall.

Outside the base

Blair was standing around in a Detroit Red Wings ice hockey jersey and mini shorts, waiting for Jade when she arrived, grinning. 'You wanted to talk to me?' 'Yeah, I got a call from Redrock Homes, you know that newbuild we were looking at?' 'What - the one that's £200,000?' 'Yeah, well Frances spoke to them as our solicitor, and they've said that if we can put in an offer of £175,000, they'll consider it.' Delighted, Blair nodded enthusiastically. 'I'd say let's do it. I mean we could stump up the rest, but'

'You're not selling your gramma's jewellery' Jade sternly responded, putting her girlfriend firmly in her place. 'Why?' 'Because I know how much that means to you, and because you're not putting everything into this. We're supposed to be doing this together.' 'You realise this is the dream place if this comes off?' Smiling, Jade told her 'That's why I had Frances on the job, only the best for us. We'll just see if we get it.'

In the base

Rio was in her office, when Drake walked in casually, in a denim jacket and jeans. 'How are you?' 'Yeah I'm good kid. Saw your performance back in Barcelona, doing pretty well for yourself.' 'Yeah, pity they're not allowing me into the tournament anyway, some shit about "We can't risk you being in there". You'd think I'm a minute away from dead.' 'It's just stupid' he told her 'If people had that attitude with me, I'd be nowhere still, like I used to be. The moment I got back from Afghanistan, I just got totally forgot about.'

'What even happened out there?' 'Was in a standard order jeep, just out of Helmand Province, when an IED blew up nearby, the vehicle was obliterated. I was in the back, the guys in the front were dead before the exploding ended, the guy next to me bailed the moment it blew up and escaped with burns.' 'And you?' He raised his metal leg up onto the desk as he stated 'Right leg got mangled, left leg was broken in three places, burns across my entire body, charred lungs, I died twice on the helicopter back to the medical tent.'

'But you're still here.' 'They stabilised me after a few days, flew me back to Walter Reed in D.C., had two surgeries on my left leg, four skin grafts for the burns, spent five months in hospital before being discharged to continue the recovery. By which they meant give me a pitiful pension that was barely enough to live on, and abandon me. Spent years moving from area to area, job to job, until I found stability in downtown Detroit, this garage owner served in the Air Force at the same time I was in the Infantry, he told me he'd give me 12 months to prove my worth, arranged the apartment for me to live in, that's how I met Alex, she was taking a work experience kid to the garage, saw the robo-leg and got talking.'

'So if you were in the army' a confused Rio asked. 'How did you meet Blair?' 'I was contacted by an old friend of mine, they knew I was living in Detroit at this point, asking if I'd mentor this kid from Shelby who was serving, she was committed but had these real bad mood swings, and was very down on herself and isolated, they saw something in her and wanted to make her into the perfect soldier. But I knew from when I first met her that she wouldn't be.' 'Why?'

He just laughed to himself, and told her 'Because soldiers don't have consciences. But she does. She overthinks every single decision, every single move, she cares about what she does, she believes in protecting the people who deserve it and need it, not the people we're told to. I ended up telling her after a few months that she had to make a decision, she had to either leave her conscience and emotions at the door, or she had to choose them over the Marines. Except the commanding officer took the decision away from her. So what's your story then - how did you end up with this brain injury?'

'This guy, James' 'If it's Birchall, I know all about him, I've heard a lot from a lot of people.' 'Yeah, so he kind of came here to try and kill us all because Hannah wouldn't get with him.' 'Over Phil? Didn't stand a chance' Drake told her, making her laugh. 'So he attacked us, knocked me out, and then shot me point blank in the back of the head. It's only because he's a terrible shot that I survived.'

'But then' 'Went to the doctors a couple of months later, they told me I had this incurable brain condition, I'll die, could be soon, could be ages away, but it's going to kill me if nothing else gets me first. I could just wake up one day and not be me, and it's absolutely terrifying, it still kills me inside.' Drake though, had some wise words for her. 'You've come this far, you've survived the impossible once, so you're going to be around for a long time yet.' 'That's the thing, I don't know I will be. That's why I gave you that money, I wanted to leave an impact on somebody.'

'Well it's never too late to do that. I'm going to tell you what I told Blair on the day she left the Marines with her discharge - seize every day, make it your day. If you ever get the sniff of an opportunity, you have to snatch it with both hands. Because you never know when the chance will slip away. If you want something, you have to go for it with all you have. It's your life, you rule it, you use it.'

The friendly discussion was then interrupted by Astrid walking over to them hastily. 'Hi Drake, great to see you. Erm Rio, you don't happen to have seen Belle around?' Surprised at the question, Rio responded 'No, why?' 'It's all good, just need to talk to her about this upcoming tag title tournament.' Rio sighed, and replied 'Freja's not still' 'Yep, she wants me to team with her. Which I'm happy to do, but I need to discuss it with Belle first.'

Denny then approached Rio, and waiting for a moment to enter the conversation, he stood quietly until Astrid noticed. 'Do you want a word with Rio?' she asked, and as he nodded, she moved out of the way. 'So what's up Donny?' 'I heard Dakota talk to Maddy, I think there's something going on, can I talk to you about it?' 'Yeah, you want to talk privately?' she posed, and as he nodded to her, she looked at Drake. 'You do what you have to kid.'

As they retired to the office, Astrid was still looking for Belle, but instead found Lydia, who was increasingly smug at the apparent downfall of Freja and Belle's friendship. 'What's up, looking for golden child?' 'If you're talking about Belle, then actually, yes.' 'Do you want my help?' The swift reply was 'Erm no, you two constantly arguing about… everything is the entire issue right now.' 'I was only offering' 'Well don't.' She then rushed off again.

Several minutes later, Astrid located her outside, sat on a wall and rocking back and forth. So the Norwegian gently approached, and tapped her on the shoulder. 'Hey, I was just looking for you' 'Lydia's already told me, she overheard you both talking.' 'Yeah, well I want to explain it, because let's be honest, she's not exactly going to tell you all the little nuances, is she?' Belle shook her head while the situation was explained.

'Freja doesn't hate you. She really does want things to get better, we talked about how much she wants to forgive you and for things to return, it's just that right now Maddy's her priority, and she's working through things. And this is a great opportunity, so what she told me was she doesn't think she can team with you right now.' Staring distantly, she responded 'So what happens - you just swoop in and take my place?'

'Freja asked if I could take someone's place. If you want to team up with me, I'll go and discuss that with her.' 'What do you want though?' Astrid put her arm around Belle, and told her 'I want you two to make up. Honestly, I want to team with both of you, because I think it would be fun being a little bit bad. But right now' 'The best thing for us is to do our own thing. Away from each other.' 'Just until you're both ready to talk.'

'I'm ready when she is, but she just doesn't want to. I tried to explain, I tried to make it better, but I just can't, she won't let me back in. I want her to understand that I did what I did because I had to.' 'And she will, but you need to give her the time, because Maddy is taking up so much of her attention right now.' Without even looking at Astrid, Belle told her 'Do it. Team with her. She deserves it.'

'Ok, well I'll do my best to help get Maddy back up to strength, and when she is, we can get you both to talk.' 'Could you just tell her how sorry I am again?' 'I will do' Astrid promised her 'But don't give up. We'll get there.' 'I hope you're right.' As Astrid walked away, Freja walked past her, going to talk to Belle. But before she could, she heard Belle talking… apparently to herself. 'I know I fucked things up, you don't need to keep telling me that! Yeah, I don't blame her, I'd hate me too. Please, just leave me alone!' she cried, as Freja shook her head silently. 'I need to tell Sak about this.'

Freja dashed back into the base, and found Sakura carrying a bowl of noodles. 'Hey Sak, you don't happen to be an expert on Schizophrenia do you?' The question caught the good medic very much off guard. 'Erm… not really, is this about Blair?' 'I thought she had Bipolar?' Freja questioned, embarrassing her. 'Ah, I always get those confused.' 'It's about Belle.' 'I thought you wanted' 'You know as well as I do the situation's way more complicated. Look, she's out there talking to herself like she's lost her mind, I know it's her Schiz, can you help?'

'Regrettably, you've just chosen my absolute worst subject. Mental health isn't exactly my forte, erm… I really can't think of much I can say which will help aside from try talking to her about it? I know you're not quite at the talking stage right now, but… I'll see if I can find anything for you anyway. I'm sure I have some papers somewhere that might help.' 'Thanks, I'll go and ask Phil, he kind of knows everything.'

Blair then passed by, and seeing her, Freja hailed her over. 'Hey, a couple of things.' 'Ok, shoot away.' 'Firstly, do you know anything about Schizophrenia? It's a long shot, but' 'If this is Belle, I saw her too, I know a few things about mental health, so I'll try and talk to her. What else was there?' 'Oh yeah, Astrid was wondering if me and her could duel you and Rio later.' 'Can do it now if you like, I'll check Rio's ok for it, but she's not long finished lunch so should be fine.' 'Thanks, I'll be in the arena.'

In the meeting room

After some thinking, Maddy took Dakota's advice, and decided to watch some television. After a couple of minutes of flicking from channel to channel, avoiding TV soap after TV soap and endless shopping channels, she eventually settled on one of the abundant news channels. But she was totally ill prepared for what she was about to learn, as a big news story flashed up on the screen.

'So now we return to our main headline this lunchtime, as police in Canada continue to investigate the brutal killing of a UK citizen in Toronto. Daniel Smith, 41, was found badly beaten along his wife Emma outside a derelict property in the Etobicoke area of Toronto nearly four weeks ago now. A spokesman for the RCMP today confirmed to BBA News that they currently have no leads, and have appealed to the public to find out if anybody knows anything, or knows the whereabouts of Ms. Smith, who was seriously injured but is expected to make a full recovery. To tell us more, here's David Stiletto in Toronto for us.'

Maddy didn't hear the end of the piece however, as the moment she heard the words and saw the face, her eyes filled up with tears cueing up impatiently to emerge. 'He's… dead? No… he can't be… who would do something… like that? I mean… he can't be… I can't never see him again, his last memory of me, my last memory of him…' This is where Maddy stopped, and her brain started on a lightning fast rollercoaster ride, a blizzard of suppressed and lost memories suddenly filling her head.

She saw images, mere flashes, short enough to be dizzying in speed but long enough to see every single moment. From the brick attacks to Jess being mutilated to butchering and eating her first kiss' remains to murdering her own father to trying to spear young Ally with only Astrid stopping her. Eyes wide open, she started screaming and crying, before running away out of the base, as Denny unsuccessfully tried to approach her.

Seeing how bad the situation was, the young Kiwi ran straight to the arena, where the tune-up duel was happening. As Freja concluded her turn with she and Astrid trailing significantly, he suddenly spoke up. 'Maddy ran out of the base crying, Dakota told her to watch the news and I think there was a story about her Dad on there.' Immediately, the four of them looked around at each other, and Rio told the others 'You go after her, I need to stay here.' Before she even finished talking, the three had dropped what they were doing, and raced away, as Rio rushed back to the office. 'Can Dakota Crowley come to the office please, that's Dakota Crowley to the office right now.'

At Ashworth Brook Farm

With Maddy seemingly well on the road to recovery, Emma had driven up to Norden to have lunch with Phil and Hannah. After this, they were talking through the situation. 'So do you have any idea what they did with this Kincade fellow?' Talking through a chocolate biscuit, Phil told her 'Last I heard, they were planning on wiping his memory and then releasing him into the wild. That way he's not a threat anymore.'

'So I take it Maddy's memory issues are due to that as well?' 'No, that's all down to the fact that so much of her actions were linked to that rose.' 'What - an actual rose?' 'It's what you might call metaphysical, Akiza psychically manifested a rose seed in her brain, and as the days progressed, that seed was growing by feeding off her brain. That's why she was screaming the way she was, it was literally parasitically draining everything she had ever known, and it wouldn't let her preserve any fresh memories.'

'Sounds brutal, I'm just glad your lot got her out of there.' 'So am I, they can really pull together when they need to. But I hope you see now how much Maddy means to everyone, she's just got this infectious personality that makes her so easy to get on with and to believe in.' 'She really believes in all this revolution stuff doesn't she?' Hannah smiled, and told her 'You don't know the half of it. She's given so much for all of this, maybe a little bit too much at times. You want another cup of tea?' 'Thanks love, two sugars.' 'Coffee Phil?' 'Please, one' 'One sugar, splash of milk, and a homemade shortbread on the side.' 'Whatever did I do to deserve you?' 'I still question that frequently' she told him in return, while Emma looked around their spacious living room, before picking up a large resin crocodile on the top of a shelf.

'Where'd you get this from?' she enquired, before continuing 'This is really cute.' Seeing what she'd picked up, Hannah gave a slightly awkward smile, as Phil explained 'We got that along with the novelty plates and a bunch of old toys from an antiques fair a few months ago, Hannah saw that and just had to have it, so £115 later.' 'It was 105 actually' she responded while bringing the drinks in.

Before they could talk any further about resin crocodiles from antiques fairs though, Emma's phone started buzzing. 'It's Maddy, wonder what she wants. Hi sweetie, I'm just with Phil and Hannah, how are' 'WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME!' she cried from the other side of the phone, shocking Emma. 'I don't know what… what you mean, just try and calm yourself down pet, everything's ok.'

'I KILLED him! Why didn't you tell me that I killed him!?' 'I don't know…' 'I KILLED DAD! I KILLED HIM AND NOBODY WOULD TELL ME!' she continued to screech through enough tears to drown small children, as the sound of cars rushing by filled Emma's ear on the other end. 'I don't know what you're talking about, but please just get yourself to safety.' 'You do though!' 'I don't, I… I didn't think you ever did' her mother stuttered, leading Maddy to a shocking realisation.

'Oh my god, they didn't tell you? They DIDN'T TELL YOU? I killed him! And everyone lied to you! Like they lied to me, they told me I was a good person!' 'And you are!' 'I KILLED HIM THOUGH! I'M SORRY!' The phone line then went dead, but before Emma could inform Phil or Hannah of what she had heard, Phil showed her a text from Blair reading 'Maddy knows, we're on way to find her, don't panic". 'Trust them, they've got this.' 'Do they know the area?' 'Yes, and you can guess who showed them around.'

In the base

Dakota arrived in the office, but Rio immediately signalled for her to shut the door. As she pushed it ajar, the Interim President told her 'Properly. For your sake.' As the New Zealander pulled up a seat, Rio immediately confronted her. 'I just had Denny in here a few minutes ago.' 'Why are you telling me this, you wanted us to spend time away from each other' 'Because he was talking about you. I've just had him in here telling me that he thinks you're bullying Maddy into quitting as President, taking advantage of how she is at the moment. Have I not made it clear enough?'

Unrepentant, Dakota made her views clear once again. 'Everything has been better since' 'Since what? Since she got kidnapped? Brainwashed? Tortured? Mentally obliterated? What is your game here? Drive her into an institute?' Shrugging, she responded 'If that's what it takes, I don't have an issue, I just don't want her ruining everything you've done right, I want you to stay because you've given us a renewed focus.'

'Well you're not getting what you want' Rio replied stroppily. 'I don't intend on staying as president, regardless of what you think people want. Because this role destroys people, and I'm not letting that happen, I want to get out in one piece. Let me make this clear - the next time you say ANYTHING like that in front of anyone in this club and I find out, I will take that as treason and you will be suspended before you can say Rio chewed my ass out. Now right now we have bigger issues, and if anything happens to her, then I will have no hesitation in pointing the fingers to you. So you'd better hope nothing happens.'

In the woods

Astrid frantically looked high and low, near and far for Maddy, aware that even in her much weakened state, the Alpha could still move far quicker than she could herself, but that she wouldn't have been able to for long. So thinking fast, the Scandinavian clamped her arms and legs around a tree, and almost slid up it, her arms pulling her body up, and her legs then firing up like pistons, a perfectly coordinated machine. When she reached the top, she took a moment to look out afar, turning in all directions, but was unable to see anything other than trees, grass, and the country lane that went past them both.

As she slid back down, she noticed Blair carefully walking towards her, and ran up to her. 'Anything?' 'Negative, you?' 'Nothing.' 'Right, splitting up clearly didn't work, so now let's try calling out, see if she responds.' 'I tried calling out as I was walking, but clearly she wasn't around.' This is when Blair's phone suddenly buzzed. 'Probably Phil replying to… no, it's Freja, it says "She's safe, beach". I know exactly where they are, follow me.' 'Ok.'

As they ran, Astrid quizzed her. 'So how do you know?' 'It's the same beach that she took me and Ally to that time, she said that when she was upset she'd sometimes just go down there and walk on the sand barefoot. Some shit about crabs helping her connecting with nature, I thought she was just chatting but maybe she actually meant it?' 'This whole area's just got a strange connection with her.'

Upon arriving at the beach, Blair immediately went to rush to Maddy, but Astrid pulled her back, and just pointed down to the jutted rocks, where Freja and Maddy were cuddled up together, releasing all their pent-up tensions and frustrations. 'You phone Rio, let her know everything's alright, I'll watch these two. I think they need it.' As Blair walked away, Astrid quietly mused. 'You spent so much time looking after her, you never thought why you missed her.'

On the beach, the girls were finally able to spill their feelings out. 'I took a life, an actual human life, and people just expect me to get over it? They didn't even tell me.' 'We couldn't tell you, not while you were how you were. I was going to talk to you in a couple of weeks, but as usual I spend all my time being told what to do. I'm trying to look after you but all the time I'm just everybody's little toy. That's why this happened, because I failed to protect you.'

'It doesn't change the fact I'm a MURDERER' 'YOU'RE NOT A MURDERER, RHYDIAN IS! Emma was there! Donna was there! They saw you, you tried SO hard not to, he was right in your ear, he told you he owned your soul, there was no way you could resist him!' 'She… knew?' Maddy asked, referring to her mother. 'She knew all along, she told me not to tell you at all, but I couldn't let you find out this way. You're not a murderer, you were a puppet.' 'It was my hand' 'Guided and positioned by him. You're not a murderer, you're my friend, and I… I need you.'

Starting to understand, Maddy held her tighter. 'I… just can't accept this fact that he helped bring me into the world, and I took him out of it.' 'You know what his last words were?' a desperate Freja then propositioned. As the tearful Maddy looked at her, she was told with a soft voice 'He turned to Rhydian, and told him that he'd created a monster. Because he didn't see his daughter there, he saw a mindless weapon, a vicious out of control monster that looked like her. You're not that monster now, you're Maddy.'

Freja appeared to be going to storm off, but Maddy kept a hold of her. 'Why are you' Drying her tears, Maddy smiled, and through a stuffy nose, told her 'Friends listen to each other. But I've not listened to you yet. Why is Lydia still ordering you around?' 'Because she can, because that's clearly just what I'm worth. I've been trying everything to protect you, and people just treat me like I'm a baby still.'

Maddy kissed her on the head, and told her 'You're not a baby. You're a beautiful grown-ass woman and you're one of my best friends in the world. I wouldn't have got through since I came back if I didn't have you with me. You've protected me from everyone and everything.' 'And yet I'm still just everyone's bitch, everyone's running joke, because I caused all of this by the stress I put you through'

'When I got stressed with you it's because I knew this… absolute queen that's next to me was always in there. You weren't at fault' 'But Lydia' 'Lydia says a lot of things. Doesn't make them true automatically.' 'Now I've got that, and the thing with Belle, and I'm just expected to smile and move on' 'Make the decision you think is right, because you know best. If you're not ready to forgive and forget, tell people that. They'll have to deal with it, because you deserve better.'

Freja then noticed Blair and Astrid watching them, and sighed. 'They found us, better go now.' Maddy though, had a different idea. 'Do you want to stay?' 'I mean yeah, of course I want to stay with you' 'Do it then. See, the most beautiful thing in the world's just coming.' This beauty she talked about was the sun starting to set over the horizon. 'It's pretty gorgeous isn't it?' 'Yep…' Freja sighed in return, relaxing into her troubled friend. 'You've always got me.' 'And you me. I'm going nowhere from now on.'

Next time: Akiza pays for her mistakes, Maddy hides her feelings, and a surprising new challenger emerges for Rhydian. R: Ultra Evolution Book 22: Six Flags