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.

26. Depths of Despair

R: Ultra Evolution

Book 26: Depths of Despair

4:35am

An eerie silence had fallen over Renegades HQ, as everybody slept, the hectic hustle and bustle of the day making way to a desolate calm, the hard working hands at rest. Room after room was filled with the events of the day, with hopes and dreams, with conflict and unrest, with fears and with optimism, people wondering about the past, worrying about the present, wishing for the future, in equal regard. From a towel where milk had been spilt by a desperate friend to game controllers left strewn by new friends, each item a memory of an event past.

In the small hours when everyone was dead to the world, Astrid walked in like a zombie, scanning her card without a reaction, and slowly making her way through the doors without closing them, navigating the corridors and the foyer, and walking into the lounge area, where she would fall, not unconscious but asleep, draped on the back of a chair before she could even consider sitting down on it.

Almost exactly three hours later, she felt a gentle rocking, and while initially she didn't respond, the persistence of it eventually stirred her, and she slowly opened her eyes to see Blair stood next to her, a kindly, understanding face. 'Kris told me. If you need it, there's a spare bed on the first floor, I can put a notice on to not disturb you.' 'You know?' 'I know. About Maddy?' She just nodded and burst into tears herself, trying to explain the aftermath of the reveal.

Flashback: In the hospital, after the reveal

As the counsellor walked back in five minutes later, Maddy was openly weeping and sobbing over her news. 'This could have been the fresh start, this was… my baby, my very own flesh and blood, I don't care there's no Dad, I'd do it all on my own.' There were a million and one things Astrid wanted to say, that she nearly did say, but instead she just consoled Maddy, clasping her tightly.

'It will all be ok. We'll just concentrate on getting you out of here, and then you can take as much time as you need to grieve.' 'I can't, I just can't do this anymore! I don't want to be without my baby!' As she continued to mourn explosively, all Astrid could do was hold on, looking at the counseller for assistance, and they somewhat reluctantly walked up, but only stated 'We are available 24/7 if you need to talk about this', before walking away again, leaving Astrid equally devastated.

Maddy's heart-shattering grieving and wailing continued for a number of hours, until she eventually cried herself all the way to sleep, exhausted from the combined strain of her operation and news. When she fell asleep, Astrid was still cuddling her tightly, trying to squeeze out the pain from her best friend who had been there for her on so many other occasions. But she knew deep down that she couldn't do anything but be present and hope that she was enough. Despite being past her own limits, she knew that she had to continue being strong.

That is why when Kris walked through the doors to the ward 40 minutes later, she took a huge breath. Seeing the state she was in, her recently ex-boyfriend just put his hand on her back. 'You're going to destroy yourself. I'll stay here just while you get a couple of hours back at the base. You can't look after Maddy if you can't look after yourself, and she looks like she's out for the count.'

He then saw the look on her face, and immediately knew something wasn't right. 'Something's happened, hasn't it?' She just nodded sadly, but somehow found the resolve to hold back her own tears. 'What is it? You can tell me, I'm never going to stop caring about you and you need to unload.' She couldn't even bring herself to say the words, but managed to form them enough for him to lipread. 'Maddy was… pregnant? And she's'

He then stopped in his tracks, and fell silent, his head dropping as he did. It took over a minute for the usually opinionated Salemite to muster any words in response, and the only words he could come up with were 'I'm so sorry. I can't even… begin to imagine. But she's in safe hands with me, I won't tell her you told me.' Astrid responded with a single weak, exhausted nod, and walked out of the hospital, with an expressionless look on her face, and half asleep eyes, almost zombie-like.

Meanwhile, at the hospital

After spending several silent hours with Maddy, Kris had to go to the toilet, but when he returned mere minutes later, he found her bed empty and her IV drip disconnected. Initially he just presumed that she had gone to the toilet herself, but then he was shocked when a porter walked past him and told him 'If you're looking for Maddy Smith, then I'm afraid you missed her, she was discharged about 10 minutes ago.'

Infuriated, he got right in their face. 'Discharged? How can you be discharged not even 12 hours after finding out you just lost your first baby that you didn't even know you were pregnant with? Is it just me who that's insane to?' Indifferent, the porter shrugged, and started remaking the bed she had been in, removing any trace of her having ever been there to begin with, walking past him several times without even acknowledging the situation.

This prompted Kris to rush out of the hospital, frantically checking both directions, before following a hunch and turning left out of the hospital, expecting to find her at the nearby pub or hiding in one of the numerous alleyways that the area consisted of. His hunch of direction proved to be right on the mark, but not in the way he expected, as when he approached the pub, he spotted her in the distance, walking slowly down the pavement.

Realising immediately that it was her, he shook his head, and ran to catch up, dodging oncoming traffic having paid little credence to the double set of traffic lights separating him from her. As he lurched past the cars though, he saw a strange sight, as she stopped for a moment, before sitting down at the bus stop, and slowly lowering her head, as if to cry, reflect, fall asleep, or some combination of them all.

Reaching her, he didn't say anything initially, before sitting next to her, and in a somewhat jovial manner, telling her 'If I'd known you were going home, I would have booked you a taxi. Beats getting the bus anyway, and it's quicker.' 'It's fine.' 'Seriously, I know I wasn't with you the entire time, but I really don't think you're in a state to be going home like some random commuter.' Quietly, she responded 'I'm fine. But thanks.'

'What for?' 'Nobody's expecting you to do any of this for me, I don't even expect you to be nice to me.' 'You're talking ridiculous now' he admonished, utterly perplexed at her attitude. 'Besides, I don't want to be a bother, so I'll see you later.' He refused though, and insisted on calling a taxi anyway. While phoning them, he told her 'You need to look after yourself now more than ever.' 'Why, not like there's anything wrong with me, I'm outta hospital now.' Despite her insistence, Kris stayed with Maddy and made sure that the taxi arrived, before seeing her into it.

In the base

Despite having attempted to pass the interview calls to her manager, Rio was still fielding a myriad of calls from every angle, frustrating her as she attempted to get on with presidential business. 'As I say, you're going to have to talk to my manager, I don't know what my availability is. No I'm not palming you off, I'd love to open your Grocery store, I loved shopping in McMillan when I was younger. Yes, I will let him know that you're my top priority, thank you. Ok, bye.'

As she terminated the call, she slammed the phone down on her desk, with it almost bouncing straight off as a result. While she was picking it up, she shook her head, bemoaning the situation she was in, and briefly musing 'I swear I could really use Maddy right now', before realising what she was saying, and calming down 'But Maddy isn't here right now, so I just need to keep going, because she managed to be a champion and President at a way worse time.'

Upstairs

Having been asleep for several hours, Astrid woke up, and still remembering the previous night, shot straight across the corridor like a bullet and into the far room, where Freja was sat sifting through the pictures from her shoot the previous day, bursting through the door with great force and velocity before slamming it in fits of tears and choking, before violently throwing up into her friend's recycling bin.

'Hey hey, what is it?' Astrid tried to tell Freja the truth, but so traumatised was she that she could barely form the words, let alone speak them. 'M… Mma… Mma…' 'Maddy' 'Maddy… R… Rhy… Rhydi…' 'Rhydian? He's an arsehole, yeah.' 'Nnnnn baby.' Confused, Freja rubbed her on the back to try and calm her down. 'Right, just take a moment, breathe, get a glass of water if you need, tell me what's going on.'

After taking a breath, she tried again. 'Maddy…' This was when she realised though that she couldn't bring herself to say it again, and instead changed the story. 'I… saw Maddy… she was dead… he was over her.' 'Maddy's going nowhere' she responded kindly. 'Because we're going to protect her. If that means paying for her to go to this place, then so be it, and if it means she stays with us and we stay with her 24/7, then so be it. Because we're going to get her back on track, and nobody can do it better than us.'

Tears still in her eyes, but her breathing normal again, Astrid smiled and nodded up to Freja, who put her laptop down and reached over, barely stretching her 4'11 frame into a gentle hug with her Viking buddy. 'Now why don't you stay here for a while, just have some quiet time in here, Phil and Hannah have Maddy at home, and she's going to be ok there for a while, until she's ready to come up here.'

Not aware she was discharged, this confused Astrid. 'She… she can't be, it's not even 24 hours since' 'Apparently she discharged herself this morning, so she must be feeling a bit better I guess, let's face it, she did promise to look after herself.' Astrid knew this seemed wrong, but in her emotional and mixed-up state, she didn't know how to express this, and so she said nothing, hoping that it would all work out.

Ashworth Brook Farm

As Phil was cooking breakfast for his beloved wife, they were both surprised when the front door lock turned, and Maddy walked in, looking apparently completely normal. 'Hello, if I'd known you'd been discharged, I would have come and picked you up.' 'It's fine, I just got the bus back to the base and then Primal'd back here, saves you a job anyway, and I didn't want to wake you up too early.'

'You know I'd get up at any time to help you' 'It's fine though, because I don't need it.' 'How did the surgery go then?' 'Yeah, it went fine, I'm still a little bit fluffy mentally but that'll wear off in a couple of days.' 'How's the pain now?' 'I've still got painkillers in my system, so it's fine at the moment, but we'll… just see I suppose. So I'm going to… just go upstairs. Sleep things off I think.' 'Ok that's fine, just let me know if you want anything to eat' 'Will do' she responded as she walked up the stairs, surprising him.

'Seems alright anyway.' 'That's your opinion' Hannah responded in a rather prickly manner. 'Why, what's your opinion?' She turned around sharply, and told him 'I love you to bits but I really do think that you're blind sometimes. Did you not see the way she was staring straight through us? Or the way she wasn't even thinking before replying? Something's happened and she doesn't want to tell us. In fact, I'll find it out.'

So Hannah rang Astrid up, but was surprised when Belle answered the phone. 'Astrid's in bed, so I was given her phone to mind.' This caught Hannah much by surprise. 'In bed? Usually Astrid's out of bed before dawn, this is extreme by anybody's standards let alone hers.' 'All I know is she only got in at some point in the early hours, I was just coming back from the toilet, I presumed it was Kris but I figured it must have been Astrid this morning, because Kris was at the hospital.'

'Look, Maddy's hiding something from us, and we need to know what.' 'Yeah, there's a couple of things going on… to be honest, you shouldn't be asking me, I don't want to talk about her like she's not here or anything. If you want to know, wait to talk to Astrid or Blair, they don't have as much riding on not telling you anything. I'm sorry.' She then hung up the phone, and Hannah went to get her jacket on. 'I'm going straight down there to find out what's happening. You stay here with Sky.' Understanding, he just nodded. 'Drive safe.' She looked over at him, a feisty look in her eyes. 'Promise.'

Upstairs

While this was going on, Maddy sat quietly in her room, hands trembling, as she stared at a picture of a happily grinning Dan on holiday, with music gently humming its way through the room like a soft breeze on a warm summer's day. Through tears and shaking, she quietly asked the picture 'I… know this is a lot to ask Dad, but… could you make room for a little cub up there Dad? If I'm lucky enough that is…'

In Washington

Hannah arrived at the apartment, and without wasting a second, walked straight up to the door, and hammered on it, making sure to be heard loud and clear. And within seconds, it swung open, and Ally was stood there, closely followed by Rio. 'Ally, what've we told you, never answer the door unless… oh… hi Hannah, did I forget some kind of lunch meetup again?' 'No, I need to talk to Blair, is she home?' 'Yeah, just give me a moment, we were just going to be heading to the base shortly.' She then called up the stairs. 'Blair, Hannah wants a word with you now!'

Showing the respect she had for her mother figure, Blair came down down the stairs within seconds, wearing pyjama trousers and a polo shirt. 'Sorry to keep you waiting. What did you want to talk about?' 'Something's going on with Maddy, and I think it's been going on for a while. I'm sick of being kept in the dark, so whatever it is, just tell me.' Sensing that she had to come clean, Blair turned to Rio. 'You get going, I'll be with you when I'm done here.' 'Blair…' 'It's senseless you waiting when I'm probably going to be a good half an hour.'

Understanding, Rio looked to Hannah. 'That ok with you?' 'As long as somebody tells me what's going on, I don't give a monkeys. Sorry, I didn't mean to be so rude, I just want answers.' 'No, totally understand, to be honest I don't know all the details myself.' As Rio left with Ally, Blair led Hannah into their living room. 'Sit wherever. Coffee?' 'Black please. So just so we know what's going on' It was then that Blair said the word. 'Maddy's had a miscarriage.'

These words reverberated through Hannah's mind as the coffee was brought in. 'Not the way I wanted to tell you, I'm sorry.' Stunned into silence, all Hannah could do was cry. 'That would explain why she was staring through us, she must be absolutely crushed. But… I didn't even know she was pregnant.' 'Neither did she, it looks like Lukas made her miscarry the baby while she was brainwashed. She's just been through so much though… did you get my email about the cutting?'

'I did, I heard Astrid tried talking to her about it.' 'Didn't go well did it? Apparently she was talking about it like it was absolutely nothing, I mean how do you even do that?' 'It's normal to her, she's been abused that much by them that it's nothing to her anymore, it's just a daily occurrence. I get the feeling that we'll never know the extent of what happened to her.' 'You don't think she'll tell us?' 'I don't think she remembers, either she was too deep under control or her brain shut off to protect her.'

Shaking her head, Hannah then mused 'I just wish someone told me sooner.' 'She wasn't even diagnosed 24 hours ago.' Aghast, Hannah asked 'What - and they released her from hospital straight after?' 'No, according to Kris she discharged herself in the early hours, he couldn't get much of an answer out of the hospital after that.' She then held her finger up for a moment, and called upstairs. 'Kris, I know you're busy, but any chance you could come down here?' 'Sure thing Purp.'

A couple of minutes later, a jaded-looking Kris walked down, his mullet standing out atop his head. 'You talking about last night?' 'Yep.' 'You've probably heard all I know, I heard about the baby loss from Astrid.' Confused, Hannah then asked 'No offence, but why were you even there, I thought Freja and Astrid were supposed to be staying with her the entire time? More to the point, I've not heard anything from Freja for a couple of days.' 'That's 'cause she's not well. Or at least she wasn't yesterday, I heard she's a bit better today.'

Kris then explained his own whereabouts. 'So I've been in Boston for a few days visiting family, my cousin's recently got engaged so I was back there, and while I was over there, I heard that Astrid was with Maddy in hospital, so I flew back a day early and went straight to the hospital from the airport. I told Astrid to go home because like, she ain't slept in days, she's going to be absolutely spent, and that was before everything. I honestly just hope that she's coping.'

At Ashworth Brook Farm

Maddy was spending the day in her bedroom, having told Phil that she was sleeping off the after effects of surgery. But in reality, she was preparing her own demise, as she wrote down the names of various Renegades on a board hung above her bed, as she was on the phone. 'I promise Astrid, I'll be ok, you can't miss out on this tomorrow.' 'I'm not leaving you for some dumb rock climbing event.' 'It'll be a couple of hours, and I'm not going to be alone, I've got Mam and Dad with me. Please, I don't want you to miss out.'

'Maddy, the answer is' 'C'mon, I need the distraction. If I'm thinking of what you're doing and how much fun you're having, then I'm not thinking of what's happened to me. And maybe when I'm feeling a bit better, I can start to join you, starting small obviously, but I'd love to do this with you.' After a deep breath, Astrid agreed. 'Fine, but I'll be visiting you as soon as I'm done, ok?' 'Yep that's fine, just want you to enjoy yourself. Anyway, Phil's calling to me so I should go.' 'Stay strong champ, you've got this.' 'Thank you.'

As she hung up, Maddy started crying again, but quickly wiped the tears away. 'No time for that right now. Right, so she's going to be distracted, Rio… I could tell her Phil wants one of their coffee dates… yeah, that would work. If she's off meeting Phil then Blair will be in the base managing everything, and she's not going to have the time to think about anything, so that's all sorted, Jana…'

She then stopped to consider her next move. 'How do I distract you? You won't buy that I'm good, you don't have any events on in the near future, you've not been in the club long enough to have properly bonded with anyone, so my best bet is… keep you in the base. I'll just tell you that there's some new texts, I know you're into your Wolfblood history.' While she continued plotting, she also made sure to drink plenty, to keep up the pretence of healing.

At the base

Having been out of the office for several days, Rio was busy trying to plough through an absolute mountain of paperwork, all while also forwarding more interview requests to Phil and signing autographs sent to the base by mistake. 'So I need to get someone in to sort the door, just hope they don't react too badly when I explain the issue, and I need to get Sean to put those CCTV cameras up again since they're just falling down constantly.'

While she was doing this, Blair walked into the office, and reached her hand out. 'You finished over there then?' 'Yeah, I told her what I know, Kris filled her in on a few other details. But I'm here now, so what do you need help with, because no offence, but it kind of looks like you're drowning in paper here, and you've also got the small matter of being champion to worry about, so…'

Gratefully, Rio just nodded in return. 'Yep, I absolutely could do with more than just a hand, this stuff is all just way on top of me. It's not running the place that's the issue, it's… all this (gesturing to the paperwork), I mean everything seems to need repairing, and everything there needs a new piece of paper, and I can't find any invoices or anything for the CCTV.' 'That would be because Sean never officially charged for them, Maddy transferred some money to him but I don't think he ever saw. Why don't you give me any papers that need filling out for work being done, and you can sort out the rest of the stuff?'

Rio obliged, and with their new system, the paperwork started flying into the files, with Blair signing off on a myriad of different jobs to be completed to help the base run efficiently, and Rio looking after scouting reports, scanning Arena course requests and sending them to Hannah, and signing off on opening an Australasian branch of the Renegades to boost their recruitment from that part of the world.

When this was finished, Blair saw, and decided to encourage her friend to look after herself. 'You go and take a break if you like, Ally was talking about wanting to go down to Sunderland Town Centre for something… well when I can get anything out of her, she's read that magazine front to back about 8 times now and won't put it down. I'm just going to grab lunch, and then continue sorting the rest of this, should be done within the hour.'

Reluctant to leave, but aware she needed to pace herself, Rio agreed. 'I'll take a few minutes to myself, and then me and Ally can go down there and grab some lunch while we're out.' 'She'll love that. Trust me, everything's good here.' Rio gave her a friendly pat on the back as she walked out of the office, but behind her back, Blair mused about the real reason for her helping. 'Just remember, the more you do this, the less likely she is to try and force you to become president.'

At Ashworth Brook Farm

Maddy was sat in her bedroom, hair roughly tied up in a familiar ponytail with black and white ties, and was busy watching some of her actions while under control, from attacking Phil and Hannah to trying to spear Ally, standing in as Rhydian's shield, beating up Bolton, trying to destroy Blair and Astrid, strangling Kenzie and Denzil, and lying on Rhydian's lap, completely mindless, glassy-eyed and obedient.

She would watch this for hours, absolutely obsessed with it, and as the collection concluded, she would rewind to the start and start watching all over again, repeating and repeating and repeating as if it was the world's most interesting and layered film. Each time she just stared at the screen, the flashing pictures washing straight over her, as she relived every single action she took while under control. It was as if they had entranced her all over again.

After several hours of watching, she would stand up, and after getting changed into the white and black shirt and black miniskirt that she wore while enthralled, she just stood in front of the full length mirror on her wardrobe door, and stared at her own reflection, giving it an evil yet vacant gaze. She would just stay still, silent, watching herself, inspecting every single millimetre of her controlled and captured body, imagining what it was like while she was truly powerless.

'Maybe… this is what I deserve? Maybe this is what was always fated to be, maybe this is where I should be. Maybe I should go back to him, offer myself up, a criminal getting her ultimate punishment. Because maybe the ultimate payment for my crimes is to forever relive them, to make the efforts everybody went to completely pointless, to fall back in line, forever trapped in a false reality.'

At this moment, her gaze shifted, and she saw Rhydian shouting down her ear, dominating her and using her as his puppet and shield. 'Or maybe that wouldn't be punishing all the criminals. All evildoers must be punished, and he deserves punishing as much as I do. Because he created the crimes I committed, he was the enabler, he was responsible like I was responsible. The only way my soul will ever find peace… is by returning to nature. And I should end where I started, a watery grave where none will interfere.'

In the base

Dakota was looking at plane tickets online, when she felt a presence behind her, and as she looked back, Freja was standing behind her, watching what she was doing. 'Don't take this the wrong way, but is there a reason you're spying on me?' 'Sorry, I was just kind of lost in thought.' 'Anything I can help with?' Thinking for a moment, Freja nodded, and pulled up a chair next to the Kiwi.

'Actually, there might be. See, Lydia and Belle' Groaning, Dakota responded 'Not this again, look, as far as I'm concerned neither of them deserve you with the way they're acting, Belle's been all over the place, and I know she's got this whatever in her brain, but it doesn't change the fact that she's erratic as all hell, and Lydia's been an absolute bitch, and that's coming from one of her only friends here, plus her obsession with keeping you away from Belle is giving me real controlling stalker vibes.'

She then looked over, and saw a stern look on the diminutive twin's face. 'Sorry, got gobby again didn't I?' 'I was actually going to say that they both want me to move out of the base, Lydia wants us to reunite with our Mum who barely acknowledged our existence the past 8 years in Ibiza out of some kind of idea that we're going to paint the town red, while Belle wants me to move with her to Leeds and… I have no clue what we'd do, awkwardly stare at each other all day? So since you're looking at moving out'

'Denny tell you?' 'No, I just figured since you're looking at one way tickets to Auckland, you might not be coming back. Anyway, I just figured you might be able to give me a little bit of advice - should I at least consider moving out of here, like why are you doing it and do you think it's a comparable situation?' Dakota had a think for a moment, and then came back with an answer.

'It's nothing to do with me. The situations are like, leagues apart. I'm looking at moving out because I'm kind of homesick, and I'm worried that while I'm here, I'm suffocating Denny, I've always been right over him protecting him, but now he's got really close with Ally, and this might be the only opportunity he ever gets to truly be his own person outside of being my brother, he doesn't need his big sister hovering over him. Besides, Lydia's really the only person I talk to here after I shot myself in the foot with the stuff about Maddy not being President again.'

Feeling sympathy, Freja put her hand over Dakota's. 'Look, I know I reacted kind of bad when you said that about Maddy, but you were right, things have been more peaceful recently, and Maddy needs to be thinking about herself rather than anybody else. I think I get you, and being cooped up her is never going to be the best thing for you, you need to be out doing things, making a difference that you can see day to day, and doing it your way like you always have. I hope you don't quit us because of what you said.'

Dakota then clarified that 'I'm not quitting the Renegades, no chance, I totally believe in so much of this. But you're right, I need to do this my way, I need to make my own mark and my own difference on a smaller scale where it matters to me and I can see what I'm doing, I want to make the difference but I can't wait for it and hope it makes a difference in six months, I'm someone who wants to be in the thick of the action. But in terms of you, you're settled here, you've just found you, so why disturb that?' This gave Freja a lot of food for thought as she walked away.

In Sunderland Town Centre

Rio was celebrating some rare time off by having a shopping trip with Ally. 'So where do you want to go, and don't just say "Ice Cream", because we do that after we've done the boring shopping.' Beaming at her, the youngster shouted 'Game shop!', eager to find something else to play with her new friend Denny. 'Well we'll have a wander round, and then circle back there afterwards, how does that sound?' She nodded enthusiastically, but her glee was short lived, as when they turned the corner, they were mobbed by cameras and microphones.

Frightened, Ally immediately clutched onto the tails of Rio's jacket, while the cameras asked relentless questions. 'Tell us more about your medical condition.' 'Is it true that you claimed James caused it to get him sent down?' 'Isn't it selfish being champion with a terminal illness?' 'Should Rhydian get the title back because you can't guarantee to defend it?' 'How does it feel being a fluke champion?'

Angered, Rio started shoving them away. 'Go away, I'm having some time with friends and family, any interviews go through Phil, and none of you will be getting one.' While this was going on though, two of the interviewers had surrounded Ally, and one got right in the terrified child's face, asking 'Is it true that you're being tested for the same mental illness that Rio has?' This was enough for Rio, who pushed that particular invader straight to the ground.

This only caused the cameras to cram in closer though, leaving her with no room to move at all, which was when Tony turned the corner, and seeing the trouble Rio was in, pulled Ally clear, before walking up to the rude press, and using his considerable wingspan, the 6'3 former underworld enforcer backed them up slowly. 'If you want an interview, you'll have to book it in. In the meantime, clear off.'

When they tried pushing back though, Tony started to push them harder. 'If you'd all like to get run over, then by all means continue. Otherwise, you've got 10 seconds to clear off, and leave these two alone, because she has no interviews booked in today and none of you appear to have any authorisation, in fact I'd say your bosses don't even know you're here. Now feck off before I get nasty, because you don't want to see me when I'm nasty.'

These threats were enough for all the remaining journos to clear off with the exception of one, who tried to get back into Ally's face, only for Rio to grasp him by the throat and back him up into a wall. 'Leave her alone and go away immediately, otherwise real bad things are about to happen to you. I'm not putting up with this shit anymore, if you want an interview, you're going to do it the correct way, otherwise you're getting nothing at all.' She then stepped back, before hoofing him between the legs, as a rather pleased Tony applauded her work.

As they walked away, she was thankful for his presence. 'Cheers for that, but… why were you here?' 'Getting me shopping for the week, what - you didn't think I survived on tins of baked beans like Hitler did you? Even enforcers need to eat once in a while.' 'Sorry, I didn't even think.' 'And don't worry about thanking me, I know you had them if you weren't protecting this little one… just to check, she doesn't bite if I ruffle her head does she?'

Laughing, Rio informed him 'Not unless you ruffle too hard.' As he gently patted the 10 year old on the head, she smiled up at him. 'I might seem a bit scary, but if you're on my side, I'm not a terrible guy.' He then got all the way down to her level, and asked 'You having a day away from Mummy?' She nodded enthusiastically, as Rio looked at him in admiration. 'You really got me out of a situation there.'

'Don't mention it, I wasn't having them harass you like that. I'm used to dealing with unruly customers anyway.' 'Oh yeah, I meant to ask, you were talking about Rhydian hurting a friend of yours, was that the guys from the Underworld?' 'Yep, they're the guys, Jimmy boy was the best man at my wedding.' 'So you used to work for them?' Correcting her, he wagged his finger and told her 'Worked with them. I never worked for them, I was what you might call an independent contractor. They had an issue, they called me up, I did the job, collected the dough, played cards with them till the sun went down and then went home.'

'Do you still work with them?' 'Oh no, got out of that business years ago.' 'Fell out with them or' 'Just went straight, wanted to provide a legit living for me kids. Got triplets at home, Elsa, Molly and Kiya, when they were born 4 years ago, that's when I went straight, opened up my own security business, train up bouncers and security guards, that kind of thing, also provide the odd service for hire myself. The guys totally understood, I just want my kids to grow up seeing that Daddy's a decent man making an honest living for them.'

'So when Hannah got in contact with me regarding some protection services at a pretty premium, I was more than happy to oblige for them.' 'You knew them before?' 'Eh, a little. It's not the first time they'd been in contact with the Underworld, so I knew of them, not personally but I'd seen them around, was impressed with the way she dealt with the boys getting rowdy, he's got one hell of a business brain on him.'

'Hear you two talking business frequently on the plane and stuff.' 'Yeah, we have some good chats me and the boss. Tell you something, he's going to make a lot of money one day when this duelling malarkey's over for him, he's a vicious negotiator and an extremely smart guy. My kind of guy. My advice is never do any money negotiating yourself, he's going to get you better than the best deal, he could hold Fort Knox to ransom.'

'I know, it's not like I need the money, but the way he negotiates is really something else, he got me almost the champion's share of the purse for the title duel, and that's despite that being against WDC regulations.' 'I've seen people double the money they offer him just by the way he looks at them. If he wanted, he could be a multi-millionaire within a few years, purely on good old-fashioned business. And now you've got the lady back, there's nothing stopping him anymore.'

At Ashworth

Maddy was feeding Skylar and putting fresh blankets in his cot, but while she did this, she openly admitted her plan to him. 'I'm about to tell you something really important Sky, so just listen and understand. You're not going to see me around anymore, because tomorrow, I'm going to be going away… I'm going to commit suicide. Now I know you don't understand yet, but I hope that when you're old enough, you'll understand that it was for the best.'

'See, you might love your big sister, but she's really a horrible, horrible person who did something so evil that…' After taking a moment to regain her composure and force back unconscious tears, she continued explaining 'I don't deserve to be here anymore, and because nobody else will do anything to punish me because they all think I'm the victim, I have to do it for them.'

She then picked him up, and bouncing him up and down gently, started singing to him. 'And when I'm gone, just carry on, don't ever mourn, I hope that one day, you can rejoice hearing my voice. Just know that I'm looking down on you smiling, and that I didn't feel a thing. When I'm gone, just carry on, don't mourn, rejoice, every time you hear the sound of my voice. Just know I'm looking down on you smiling, I didn't feel a thing.'

As she sang, she looked down, and Sky gave her a massive cute smile, which took her aback, and briefly made her waver, as she burst into floods of tears, before she forced them down once more. 'No, I have to do this… I have to set him free and I have to set myself free. When I serve my punishment, I'll be free of the twisted Alpha I became, and my soul will be washed clean again. This is the only way. When I'm gone, just carry on, don't mourn, rejoice…'

The next day

Phil was just in the process of making breakfast for himself, Hannah and Maddy, when the Alpha walked downstairs with a camera and tripod. 'You going somewhere Mads?' Overacting slightly, she raised her hand gently to her face, and told him 'And I forgot to tell you - I'm going on a trip to the riverbank, I was looking at cameras for Sakura while I was waiting for surgery, and it kind of got the spark going again for me. I'm hoping this will just bring some peace and tranquillity to me.'

Impressed, he smiled. 'Well just keep in touch, and I'll see you later.' As she went to walk to the cloakroom though, he stopped her for a moment. 'I know what's going on with you, and I want you to know that I'm really proud of you for how you're dealing with it, but I don't want you to think you can't talk to me, because you can. You always can.' This made Maddy's decision waver again, but eager to not have her mind changed, she hastened away, quickly telling him 'Thank you for everything.'

As Hannah was refilling Skylar's bottle around 15 minutes later, Maddy walked past, wearing a backpack. 'Just headin' out Mam.' 'Ok.' As she was leaving, Hannah suddenly turned around. 'Oh Maddy?' She briefly froze hearing this. 'Yeah?' 'Could you pick up some more baby formula on your way home? It's the anti-Lactose one with the blue label.' She just smiled, and nodded. 'Yeah, of course.' She then walked out the house, while Hannah put the lid on the bottle, and walked over to Skylar. 'There we go little man, this will make you grow big and strong.'

While she was doing this, Astrid walked in, smiling as she did. 'Hey, I told you I'd feed him.' 'Astrid, you've fed him all day. And most of yesterday. And you changed his nappy three times today already. I can't just leave you to everything.' 'I honestly don't mind.' 'You're an angel, but no, you go and do that rock climbing event you were keen on.' 'How did you know about that?' 'Because Maddy booked you for the event last week, she told me to keep it a surprise for you.' This pleased the Norwegian greatly. 'Thanks. You sure you're ok?' 'Yeah I'm fine, you go and enjoy yourself.' Smiling, she took her rock-climbing boots, and walked out of the door.

Meanwhile, in the base

Rio was cleaning the medical bay when she got a text from Phil, reading 'Astrid got Skylar for a while, want to discuss deck with you, meet me at Koffee Klub in 30 minutes.' Seeing the text, she smiled to herself. 'Typical Phil, he could spend a day with his wife but no, he wants to check I'm ready for my first defence instead. Well, can't keep the guy waiting.' She quickly dried out the work units, and then got her jacket on, passing Blair as she did. 'I thought you were deep cleaning the medi bay?' 'Yeah, Phil texted, he wants to do some deck work. Said to meet him in half an hour at Koffee Klub.' Blair seemed a little surprised at that, but shrugged, and smiled back. 'Better get a move on, with your little legs it will be about an hour to there by foot.' 'Oh funny. Laters.'

Blair then went back to the office, and started diligently filling out some paperwork. However, something still wasn't sitting right with her, even after she got a message herself, explaining that they were at the Koffee Klub and that she could join them, an offer she politely refused. Despite this, she continued to just fill in the paperwork, in order to help Rio keep up with the demands of being Interim President and WDC Champion.

25 minutes later

Having finished the papers, Blair went to the kitchen to do herself a coffee. It was only when she returned that she noticed an irregularity, as she still hadn't received any notification from Rio that she had arrived. At first, this wasn't much of a thought. That was, until she received a social media notification. As she opened it up, it showed Astrid scaling a small rockface at incredible speed and precision, barely stopping for breath before reaching the top. But it wasn't the impressive nature of the climb that caught her eye though. Rather, it was who wasn't there - the baby she was supposed to be looking after.

So immediately, she looked through the event's social pages, until she found a phone number for one of the organisers, and got on the phone. 'Hi, this is Blair E. Flannigan, I'm looking for my friend, an Astrid Hofferson, there's a family emergency and I need to speak to her.' It was nearly three minutes until she heard the breathless voice on the other end. 'Blair, what's going on?' 'Is Skylar with you?' 'No, Hannah said that I should have the day off looking after him, Maddy booked me tickets for this event. Why?'

'Because Rio got a text from Phil saying that he was meeting her at the Koffee Klub for a deck build session.' 'Bit of a strange place to do it, but it's all good.' 'He said that you were looking after Skylar.' Astrid then paused for a moment, but stayed positive. 'Hannah's probably not had chance to tell him yet. Why don't you ring him?' 'Sure.' She then put the phone down, and frantically dialled Phil's number, only for it to go straight to voicemail. Blair then made a destined decision to not leave a message, but ring Hannah instead. Except it wasn't Hannah that answered, but a completely unaware Phil.

'Hi Blair, sorry, Hannah's just changing the lord's nappy at the moment, I've got no chance with those' 'Why aren't you at the Koffee Klub?' 'What - the one near the base? Why would I be?' 'Because you texted Rio saying you would be?' 'Blair, I've not seen my phone in days. What makes you think that I would be' The phone cut off while he was speaking. He found it strange, but shrugged. The situation confused Blair for a few seconds, before she came to a horrifying realisation.

She quickly grabbed one of the tablets from the office, and opened up some tracking software. She then tapped in Maddy's name and phone number, and started tracking her phone. Sadly the signal cut off somewhere in the woods. Blair banged her head off the desk for a moment, before she saw Jana casually passing by. 'Hey Jana, need some local knowledge.' 'Sure.' She then brought the tablet to her. 'These woods, do you know if they lead anywhere?' 'Yeah, they lead towards Church Way, and the youth club, it's on the way to Tynemouth.' Blair paused for a moment, and then, a horrible thought crossed her mind. 'THE BRIDGE!' Before she could say anything, Jana found herself being dragged down the stairs.

As they ran through the door, they encountered Jade, who was bringing a bag of food in. 'Thought since you've not had chance to eat, we could have lunch together.' 'No time, Maddy's trying to kill herself.' Jade saw the seriousness of the situation, and picked Blair onto her back. 'Jana, you up for a sprint?' 'For Maddy, anything.' The two of them nodded, and then raced off across the land, trying to close a near 45 minute gap.

Near the Nightmare Bridge

Having reached her destination, Maddy took off her backpack, and took out a handheld camera, filming herself through it, wiping away the occasional tear. 'Hi guys. Look, there's no easy way to say this, but… by the time you see this, I'll be dead. When I was with Rhydian, and, like with Akiza, I did some really terrible things… I murdered someone. I took a life, and I need to face justice. And honestly, I just can't do any of this anymore. I'm sorry, but this is what's best for everyone.'

'Mam, I mean… Emma, I hope that in time, you learn to forgive me for what I did to your husband, if I'm lucky I will go where he is. Astrid, I would prefer you to look after Diesel, but if you can't, please find a great place for him rather than some animal shelter. Mam, Dad, please look after Skylar, and maybe one day…' She briefly paused at this point in the windy conditions, before stopping her crying. 'Maybe one day you can tell him that I wasn't all bad. I love you all, and thank you, the Renegades are the best family in the world. Goodbye, and I'm sorry.'

She then put her camera down without stopping filming, and slowly stripped to just a vest and trousers, before walking slowly to the bridge. She got up onto the edge for a moment, and looked down at the water, before holding her arms out wide, and falling forwards. In her mind the fall lasted minutes, but in reality it was no more than 20-30 seconds, as she smacked the water at an incredible velocity and force. There were bubbles briefly, but then she sank without a trace.

As she descended into the desolate depths, Maddy closed her eyes, and felt the last of her oxygen slowly slip away, every moment feeling like an hour, as she went further and further down towards the bottom. It wasn't as peaceful as she expected, but she accepted it, having chosen her fate. But as she started to feel the struggle of her lungs trying desperately to locate more of their lifeblood, she suddenly felt something else, a presence, an apparition almost. Initially she ignored this feeling, but after a few seconds which felt like hours, it got too strong to ignore.

As she opened her eyes, she couldn't believe her eyes, as Dan was there, cloaked in a golden light. Through the insulation of the water, she just about managed to bubble out the word 'Dad', and she heard him speak loud and clear. 'Maddy, don't do this. You know it's wrong.' 'But I killed you, I need to be punished.' 'You've punished yourself already, for a crime that wasn't yours to commit. You didn't want to do it, you tried not to but he forced you. It was his crime that you took the blame for.'

'I still killed you' 'I haven't truly died. My body might have gone, but I'm still here. I'm always here. As long as you remember me, my memory is alive. As long as you're alive, my blood is alive. As long as you continue to help our species, to help those who you chose to represent, my impact is alive. My body is no longer around, but our bodies are only a temporary shell. As long as you live on, I live on in you. That is how you keep my memory alive. Now remember who you are, be relieved of your burdens.'

As he proclaimed this, Maddy's eyes opened wide, and she desperately started swimming up, trying to save herself. Despite her weakened physical state, she powerfully fought, ascending up the distant depths at a steady and strong pace, and within mere minutes, she saw the light of the surface. But by this time she was utterly exhausted and quickly running out of oxygen, and as she reached out her fingertips towards the surface, she took one huge gulp, and then blacked out, sinking back down from whence she came.

6 minutes later

As the three of them arrived at the bridge, Jana immediately recognised Maddy's camera, while Blair noticed her hoodie. 'Well she's definitely been here at least. Quickly, look if there's any trace of her in the water, look for bubbles or ripples, anything that looks different in the water essentially.' They each looked at the water, but there was absolutely nothing, no sign of Maddy, nor of anybody having recently entered, and more importantly, no sign of life.

Jana and Jade looked at each other, devastated, but when they looked back, Blair had stripped to just a thin vest and mini shorts. 'What are you doing?' Jade asked, freaking out. She looked back at them with eyes of steel, and told them 'If she's under there, I'm going to pull her out, dead or alive.' Without hesitation, she marched to the side of the bridge, and dove into the water, immediately disappearing under the waves of the rough Tyne.

As she did, Jana looked at Jade. 'How good is Blair at swimming?' 'Ex Marine. She's done diving at depths before, but never in a river so cold.' Jade then knelt down. 'Allah, if you hear me, please use your godly power to keep my beloved safe. المغطي الله، هي أف إنفينيتي ميغة، بليس كيب مي بالوفد صف أس شي تريس طه صف ث سول أف أنظر. بليس جرانت حر ث عنجدل سطرينجث طه أشف حر تاسك، سرند حر وإذ يور بروتستف ميغة، عند لة حر عمرج أنك مور طه ث لغة.! (Allah, he of infinite might, please keep my beloved safe as she tries to save the soul of another. Please grant her ungodly strength to complete her task, surround her with your protective might so that she may come back to the light.)

In the Tyne

As Blair dove deep under the water, the temperature of it was bitterly cold. But this didn't seem to affect her, as she swam strongly, knowing to follow any slight disturbance in the incredibly strong current. Despite this, there was nothing to see in the murky black depths, and as she continued to swim, she started to kick up silt from the depths of the river, leaving her almost completely blind. Unknowing of where she was, she decided to pause for a moment, and feel the current, letting it guide her downstream. And soon, she saw a figure, sinking slowly to the very bottom.

With all her determination, Blair pushed harder than she ever had before, and caught the body. Opening her eyes, she was just about able to make out the scar on Maddy's back, confirming it was her. She then continued upstream, and horrifyingly, started having to dodge around other bodies, those who were unfortunate enough to not be stopped nor rescued, who had already met their watery demise. She continued to push on through, until a hand reached out and grabbed Maddy's leg, pulling her back towards the depths, a dying soul wanting company on their trip to the afterlife.

Next time: Time is running out, and Blair and Maddy are both trapped underwater. Will either of them survive? R: Ultra Evolution Book 27: Goodbye Maddy Smith