R: Ultra Evolution

Book 30: Freja's Choice

2:30am, Renegades HQ

All was quiet and peaceful at the base, apart from in one single room. In Room 7, Freja was fidgeting, moaning and groaning as she endured night terrors, each one worse than the last. As she tossed and turned, and cried and screamed, Astrid just watched on from the door, keeping a careful eye over her, wondering when her friend's torture would stop. But alone in her nightmares, all Freja could see was futures, three of them, each pertaining to the decision she was being forced into.

Future 1

Entering her bedroom, Freja saw Lydia standing, looking somewhat entitled, while Belle just waited quietly. As soon as she saw her sister, Lydia snapped 'Come on then, spit it out', to which Freja replied 'And that is why I'm choosing Belle. You've been an absolute bitch for months, you're barely acting like my sister, you've become entitled.' Shocked, Lydia asked 'What - so you're choosing someone who made you think she hated you, someone who lied to you for weeks, someone who went swanning off to Toronto to play spies, over your own flesh and blood who's bailed you out so many times?'

'At least she was trying to help Maddy, all you did was stand by and insult her. I've never said you didn't do enough for me' 'So why are you choosing her over me then?' 'Because she actually cares about me now. My feelings don't matter to you, you proved that, you seem to think that because I was a little shit, now that I'm actually doing something with my life, you own me. And I'm just not putting up with it anymore, so I'm choosing someone who actually cares.'

Furious and embarrassed, Lydia burst into tears, and stormed out, the reaction shocking Freja greatly. Belle gave her a moment, and then approached, just telling her 'It's ok, you know that you made the right decision. Lydia's just upset because she knows that you're right, she hasn't deserved to call herself your sister. You deserve so much better than the way she's treated you, and I'm not perfect, but I at least appreciate you.'

Several hours later

Having given Lydia most of the day to calm down, Freja gingerly attempted to approach her, but as she did, she couldn't help but overhear Lydia on the phone in the meeting room. 'I'm sorry she's not coming Mum, she's just too busy sleeping around to care about either of us, we've barely spoken in months. Yeah, the last I heard she was 25 with three kids from three mystery dads, and she's got a 4th in the oven. She's just gone totally off the deep end, which I don't blame her with some of the stuff she's been through, but I guess a slut's a slut.'

Before their mother could respond though, Freja ripped the phone out of her sister's hand, terminating the call before slapping her. 'Seriously?' 'It's not my fault that you've had your mind twisted by some maniac.' 'He isn't some maniac, and he's not twisting my mind, you're the one who's being an absolute bitch, and is now acting like a little baby. What's next, you gonna throw your toys out of the pram again because I made a friend without you watching over me?'

Instead of doing this, Lydia tackled her through the ajar door of the room, and they started brawling down the stairs, rolling down the steps while pulling each other's hair and laying punches, kicks and even bites into each other. As they reached the bottom, they rolled straight into Astrid, who pulled them both apart, and held them both far enough away to stop the brawl. 'Both of you, stop it. Lydia, upstairs. Freja, with me.'

Surprisingly, Lydia listened, and walked away, but less happy was Freja, who was led away by Astrid to the medical bay. 'What's up then?' 'I'm sick of being treated like the poor relation, I'm sick of being the butt of every joke, I'm sick of being the punchline, I just want to be respected. You should know better than almost anybody what it's like being disrespected by your own family like that.'

Astrid's response was far from what she was expecting though. 'I do know what it's like when your family hate you, but the difference is that I'd fight tooth and nail for them, or at least until they disown you.' As for refusing to even go over there and the things you've said about your mother, seeing mine again was the single best day of my life. No offence, but you really need to check your priorities.'

The next morning

As her alarm blared, Freja rolled out of bed, and after taking a moment to stretch, wandered over to her wardrobe, but when she opened it, she had to take a moment to wipe her bleary eyes, as all she could see was a near-empty wardrobe. And deep in the back of the wardrobe, she found a note, with a short message to her from Lydia, explaining where all her clothes had gone.

'To my former sister, you made a decision which once and for all betrayed me and Mum, your only true family, in favour of some stupid criminal whose only contribution to us has been dividing us, making us weak. Which is fine, because you are independent and you do get to make your own decisions. But since you're brand new to all this "being grown-up" shit, you need to learn that decisions have consequences."

"Therefore, I left in the early hours to go to Ibiza to see Mum. I sold your ticket because you clearly didn't want to be a part of the family. If you're wondering where your clothes are, I've taken all the ones that either I or Mum ever bought for you or paid for you to get, so you can actually pay your way for the first time in your life. I hope you know you're never going to be forgiven for this. Lydia."

After spending time trying to wrap her head around the situation, Freja headed down the stairs, only to find that everywhere she went, she had people turn their backs on her, pretending she didn't exist. So she walked, head down, noticing the crude and dirty looks everywhere while she advanced through the hall, in and out of the lounge area, until eventually she found her only backup - Astrid.

She turned out to be mistaken though, as even Astrid wasn't interested, turning away immediately. 'Please, I know you got the hump a bit yesterday, but I really need somebody in my corner here, I did what I thought was right, you were the one who's always encouraged me to make the right decision for myself, so what gives - has everyone suddenly forgotten the past few months? It makes no sense.'

Astrid didn't respond at first, leading Freja to tap her on the shoulder. 'Are you even listening to me? I know that it wasn't the easiest conversation yesterday, but I totally get how you feel.' She responded by simply stating 'You brought this on yourself', before walking away, touching her neck as she did. As a distraught Freja turned away though, Astrid looked back, a solemn expression on her face and tearing up, suggesting that she may not have made the decision off her own back.

Meanwhile, isolated by everybody else, Freja returned upstairs, where Belle was still sat scrolling through her phone. 'Don't worry, everyone's giving me the cold shoulder as well' she remarked while smiling politely. As Freja sat next to her though, Belle admitted 'To be honest I could care less about people giving me the silent treatment, because I've got my sister back, and that's all I really care about.' Freja seemed shocked at first that Belle had talked about being sisters, but realising this was all she had currently, she accepted it and just cuddled up to her while stating 'You're right, we've got each other.'

A little later on, Astrid was preparing to go out as Freja came down again, while the Norwegian told Kris that she was 'Just going to see Maddy at the retreat, only a flying visit.' Suddenly, she saw Freja, and turned away again. 'Am I alright to come and see her?' Rudely rebuffing, Astrid stated 'Maddy doesn't need to see a traitor when she's got enough family issues herself' while walking out of the door.

Freja didn't even have time to reel though as Belle came up behind her, carrying a couple of reusable shopping bags. 'Hey, since things are still kinda icy at the moment, why don't we go and replace all of the clothes that were stolen?' Unable to bring herself to try and protest her innocence in front of anybody else, Freja decided to simply agree. 'Sure, let's just go, things can only get better.'

An hour later

Freja and Belle had managed to blow their budget on a new wardrobe for the twin, but as they were starting to make their way back, Belle noticed a poster on the window of a fish and chip shop, and alerted Freja. 'Hey you might want to see this.' A stunned Freja then saw the poster; a stereotypical wild west warning poster with Freja's face and the word "Slut" in big red letters underneath it.

Panicking, she started tearing the posters down, one by one, but each time she did, another would appear nearby, and she'd rush them away, only for yet more to materialize. Eventually, she approached a passerby. 'Hey, do you know who put these up?' The old man she asked looked down at her, and stated 'You're a disgrace to society, you've got some cheek walking through these parts. She's down there.'

With this information in tow, the two of them went to investigate, and quickly found Lydia stood on a bench, yelling through a megaphone. 'Her list of offences: Being a dominatrix for hire for any sleazy guys that would stick a £20 note down her bra, she served as the personal stripper for an "honourable" businessman. She has a history of nude modelling under various aliases. She kidnapped and forced prostitution on a young mother who had moved to England from America for a better life.'

Seeing that they had arrived, Lydia then pointed Belle out. 'And most of all, harboring a criminal. This innocent-looking girl with her is guilty of murdering her best friend as a teenager, and Freja paid off the parole hearing judge to let her out while she is still a danger to the public. She is also an untreated schizophrenic who talks to dead people and has had her medication confiscated.'

As phone cameras flashed, Freja confronted her sister. 'You know that none of what you just said is true, and you have no proof for any of it because it's all jealous lies. You on the other hand…' Freja leapt onto the bench, shoving Lydia off in the process, and announced to the gathered audience 'The person who has been making these baseless accusations is hiding a little secret herself: a couple of months ago, she assaulted a pregnant woman for no reason.'

She then got the video up on her phone, and passed it to the closest member of the impromptu audience. 'Take a look then pass it along. I want everyone to see this.' Which they did, and as they did, they started heckling Lydia, shouting "abuser" and "witch" at her. Humiliated, Lydia got in Freja's face, and warned her 'The gloves are off now!', before running off before the crowd could get violent with her.

As they got back to the base, Blair was waiting for them. 'Hey Blair' She wasn't willing to casually chat however. I can't believe you're willing to throw your family away just like that when so many of us here have tried so hard to get back in touch with our real families and rebuild those relationships. I know it doesn't matter to you because it's just one person, who cares, but to some of us, we actually care.'

Incensed, Freja tried to respond, but Blair refused to let her. 'You're nothing but a disappointment to all of us. I can't believe that I used to think you were trying to change, you're just a waste of time, a waste of space, and a waste of a membership.' Jade then added 'And it's not like you even have the reason to disown her. It's not like us, my family are a bunch of crazed zealots, and half of Blair's were defrauding her for years, but all Lydia did was point out how she's been babysitting you for over 24 years.' The two of them then walked off.

Shortly afterwards, Freja's day went from bad to worse when Hannah called her up. 'Hey Hannah, are you at least talking to me?' 'I'll talk to you alright' she snapped in a highly charged voice. 'Because of your big mouth and bad attitude and the way you've been with Lydia, Lydia's now had Phil arrested for raping me. Apparently she's got very strong evidence, and Frances has abandoned them because Lydia paid her off.'

Freja's level of shock wouldn't let her try to reply, not that Hannah had any intention of letting her speak anyway. 'It's all your fault for not just keeping your mouth shut, you could have been good and mature about it, you could have been reasonable, you could have tried to find a middle ground, but no, you've got to try and stir controversy and cause trouble, and now my husband's staring down the barrel of several decades in jail. And even if you do get out, I'm making sure you're never allowed anywhere near either of us ever again.'

Ending the call, Freja just put her head in her hands. 'Why is all this happening? I just want everyone to get along, why can't that just happen? Why does everything have to be a war?' As she did, Rio passed by, and told her 'You had the chance to make everything fine, but you alienated the one person who could have done that. Now stop making the place look untidy, Maddy's due back any time.' Rio hadn't even finished her sentence when the door slammed shut. 'That'll be her.'

While everyone waited for their returning Alpha to walk in, several people gave Freja evil looks and whispered about her, but so excited was she that the apparent outcast didn't notice any of the looks nor mumbling nor plotting, as she was focused on Maddy walking in, hair bobbed just below her ears, and smiling. As she walked through the base, she stopped to say hello to everybody, briskly flitting from person to person, speaking briefly with them before ushering herself to the next person. That was, apart from Freja and Belle, who she walked straight past without looking at either of them, barely even acknowledging the fact that they existed.

Not willing to be ignored though, Freja made a point of walking over to her, giving her a seemingly unwanted hug, only to be heartily pushed away. 'The hell are you doing?' 'I just wanted to say hello to you, I've missed you, we all have.' 'Yeah, and I thought I missed you, until I learned the kind of person you are, that is. The kind of person who will betray their own family. I knew there was a reason that I always preferred Lydia.'

Shocked, Freja tried to argue back, but Maddy wouldn't let her as everyone watched on. 'It was your constant misbehaviour, the issues you caused and the stress that led to that made me do what I did, put me in hospital, made me this stupid Mafia Don, made me go after Akiza, and ultimately, led to my Dad's death. Yeah, I'm responsible for what happened to him, but guess what, so are you.'

Again, Freja attempted to respond, but Maddy still suffocated the conversation, getting upset. 'Why couldn't it be you moving away instead of Lydia? I was looking forward to coming back and getting to spend time with her again, but now I can't! You've ruined everything now!' Upset, Maddy stormed off, and Freja followed suit in the opposite direction, upset at her friend's distraught reaction.

That night

Having not been seen for hours, Freja was found by Belle, crying in bed, but her time wasn't about to get any better, as Belle informed her 'We need to go, Rio's just told me that neither of us are welcome in here anymore. I've managed to secure us a bedsit in Leeds for a few days, it was the only place I could find with short notice, but we have to be out of here in the hour. I'm sorry about this.' Shocked and with no way of debating the decision, Freja quickly bundled some clothes into two small bags, before leaving.

On the bus to the train station, Freja was clearly in bits, but Belle seemed more optimistic. 'You know, it could be worse. At least we've got each other, so we're not alone, we'll have a roof over our heads, and now we can move on with our lives. And you know what, give them a few weeks and they might just calm down, and everything will be good again. Otherwise, we'll continue doing what we do separately and prove that we deserve to be brought back into the good graces.' Encouraged, Freja smiled, and tried to think positively.

But her world once again came crashing down as soon as they reached their new bedsit several hours later, as they were greeted by two men in long white lab coats. Without saying a word, they looked at each other, and grabbed Belle by the arms, dragging her away immediately. As she asked what was going on, they explained 'Someone told us that you're a schizophrenic and you're off your medication. So you're going to a safe place with padded walls.'

Freja ran after them, trying to stop them, but as she pulled at them, they just effortlessly swatted her away, as if she had no power at all, and as if they were made of concrete rather than flesh and blood. They entered their car, and as she tried to follow them in, one of the doctors kicked out wildly, and she went flying onto the cold hard ground. And as they drove off, she looked around, and seeing Lydia stood shaking her head, Freja screamed.

3:15am

All was quiet and peaceful at the base, apart from in one single room. In Room 7, Freja was fidgeting, moaning and groaning as she endured night terrors, each one worse than the last. As she tossed and turned, and cried and screamed, Rio just watched on from the door, keeping a careful eye over her, wondering when her fellow Renegade's torment would stop. But alone in her nightmares, all Freja could see was futures, three of them, each pertaining to the decision she was being forced into.

Scenario 2:

After agonising over her decision for some time, Freja walked into her room, where Belle and Lydia were both sat; the former looked calm and confident, while Lydia appeared furious at the situation. 'I can't believe we're being strung along like this.' Seeing that Freja was waiting for her to stop complaining, Lydia then silenced herself. But it wasn't Lydia she approached, but Belle, giving her sister a horrible feeling as she prayed that she hadn't blown her shot at having her sister back in her good graces.

'Belle, we need to talk about this. I want to be friends with you, because honestly, I think you're awesome.' 'That's where a "but" comes in' she responded, predicting the immediate future. 'I'm sorry, I just can't turn my back on my family like that, Lydia's always been there for me, and it would feel like I'm betraying her if I turned her away, we've just been through so much together, it was always us against the world when our Dad was never around, our Mum was on endless benders, Lydia really was more like a mother to me and even after I came here, I put her through hell, so I owe her the world. And if that means not associating with you, at least for a while, then that's what it takes. I'm sorry, it's not my choice, but I can't lose my sister.'

Devastated, Belle walked away silently while a clearly very relieved Lydia applauded Freja's decision. 'I knew I could rely on you sis' she gloated, before patting her on the back. 'I can't believe I thought for a moment you'd go against me, I should have known, I should have had the faith, you were always going to make the right decision. And now you've made the right decision, we can actually move on with our lives, and start painting the town red like we were always meant to.'

Freja then saw her sister casually reaching into her jacket pocket, unzipping it and withdrawing an envelope, revealing the plane tickets to Ibiza hidden within. Knowing what was coming next, Freja attempted to dissuade her. 'Why don't we just give it a while, I've still got so much here, and' Unimpressed, Lydia started wagging her finger at her sister like a disobedient dog, reprimanding her like a stern teacher would do to a particularly difficult pupil.

'Freja, if we're going to be a proper family, we have to move away, leave the Renegades behind, we didn't want any of this in the first place. Of course, if you don't want to do that, I'll just have to sell this other plane ticket, and leave you all alone here, undoing all the brilliant progress that we've made together.' Desperate for Lydia to not abandon her and for her decision to be vindicated, Freja politely nodded, delighting Lydia.

Later on that day, Freja sought Astrid out to inform her of the situation, only to find her sat in a corner, knees up to her face, sobbing relentlessly. As she bent down, Astrid told her through sharp breaths and floods of tears 'She's not coming back!', shocking her. 'Who's not?' She looked up in tears and shouted 'Maddy's not, she's only gone and tried to kill herself, I don't even know where she'd find a gun in there! They're keeping her in a mental hospital for at least six months and we can't visit her.'

Freja then got onto the ground herself, and put her arm around the distraught blonde, holding her tight. 'I promise you, everything's going to be just fine, we just need to ride the storm, we've got each other, everyone around us is on our side, I promise you'll get through this, we'll get through this, because we're strong, and because we're winners, and we're exactly what Maddy will need when she gets home.'

'We're not though… I'm not' 'Yeah you are, you're amazing. And as soon as they realise Maddy made a stupid mistake trying to kill herself and has this incredible support network, because she's got this stunning, beautiful viking heart at home who will look after her and make her feel better, whether she wants to or not. We all believe in you Astrid.' As she considered this, Freja wondered whether talking about the trip to Ibiza at this point was appropriate, but quickly decided that it was a terrible idea.

Going back to her room shortly after, Freja explained the whole situation to Lydia. 'So I just went to talk to Astrid, and' 'Go on, how did she take it?' Lydia begged in a weirdly excited manner, as if she was hoping for a specific reaction from the conversation. Noticing this, Freja briefly paused to consider whether she should say anything, but eventually concluded that she had little choice but to reveal a truth that was sure to get out sooner or later. 'Erm… not great?' Her sister kept a straight, almost concerned face, but inside, she was fist pumping harder than anyone ever had done before, and started jumping for joy, almost doing backflips even in her excitement.

'So what happened?' Unable to even muster tears, Freja just straight-up told her sister 'Maddy's in a mental hospital, she's got hold of a gun at some point and tried to kill herself again. None of them have any idea where she's got it from, nobody knows why she's tried to take her own life again, she's not speaking, all we know is they're saying they're keeping her in there for a minimum of six months, which should be illegal surely?'

Her sister initially appeared sympathetic, and offered her hand to calm her shaking sibling down. 'She ok?' 'I mean I have no idea if Maddy's ok' 'Astrid I meant.' Surprised Lydia asked after her, Freja responded 'Yeah, I mean eventually she will be, just needs to process things.' With this knowledge, Lydia rubbed her sister gently on the back in a show of support, and proceeded to start emotionally manipulating her sister.

'In that case, you should go and live your life to be an example to her. Besides, I've waited so long to be a proper family with you again without having to share you around with two dozen other people.' 'But I need to be here for Maddy and Astrid' 'You don't, because Maddy has Astrid and she has Jana and Danny and everybody else, not to mention Sean who she totally has the hots for, and Astrid will be fine because she's got Phil and everyone around him. I've only got you, and this is our only chance to reunite our family.'

Reluctantly, Freja agreed again. 'I suppose you are right, I should just stick with the original plan. Maddy's going to be out relatively soon, and Astrid won't have much time for me after that anyway, she'll be so preoccupied trying to get Maddy back on track that the most I'll be able to do is be a third wheel in terms of helping her, and none of us want that, it's just going to cause issues between all of us, and that's the last thing Maddy needs in particular.'

Delighted at this way of thinking, Lydia proudly stated 'That's my girl, now you're starting to see things my way. I never had an issue with them, I just don't want you to be an afterthought like you always are, because we're the McKinnas, kids of Joe and Mol, and we deserve better than that, we're the kids who go out, kick ass, drink cocktails, live hard, and make people remember us. This is best for everyone sis.' Slightly more reassured, Freja agreed, and stated 'I'll tell Astrid tomorrow.'

The next day

After getting up late the following morning, Freja spent time psyching herself up to reveal the news to Astrid. She stared in the mirror for several minutes, and practiced talking to her. 'Hey Astrid… got something to tell you, me and Lydia' She then immediately stopped. 'No, mentioning Lydia is the wrong thing to do. This should be my decision, not something she talked me into. Even though she sort of did.'

'So… Astrid… I kind of have some news, I'm going to ibiza for a while, me and Lydia want to… No, that just suggests we're going for the sake of it.' She then took a breath, and tried again. 'Hey Astrid, we need to talk, I'm going to Ibiza for a while, me and Lydia, we're going to try and get back in contact with our Mum, give her another chance like you did for yours. Will you… be ok without us?' She then nodded, thinking 'Yeah, that's the one I think.'

She then took some deep breaths to prepare herself and readied to go and see Astrid to explain herself, only to get a rude awakening when she invited herself into the room, crying and full of anger. 'So when exactly did you plan on telling me? Were you going to wait and see if I worked it out? Or were you just going to disappear and hope that I couldn't find where you'd gone? At least Lydia had the honesty to admit it, even if she did laud it over me.'

Confused, Freja asked 'What are you' 'For HOURS, she was stood there while I was trying to get her to leave me alone, hyping up that you're moving to Ibiza tomorrow. What, and you thought you just wouldn't tell me? Real nice thing that, I thought we were friends, and that you actually cared about me, rather than getting your sister to sing "You're never gonna see her again" to me. I always knew you could be a little sneaky, but I never, ever thought that you were a total and utter dickheaded coward. I can't believe I was ever friends with someone like you who would just send her own sister to do her fucking dirty work for her.'

'Well I'm going to promise you one thing that I can control at least, because clearly I can't control the amount of respect that I am shown, that I am owed, by some pathetic little chicken who can't even bring herself to talk to me and instead has to talk to a mirror and pretend that it's me, there's one thing I can control: if I'm never going to see you again then you're never going to contact Maddy again, because when she comes home, I'm going to protect her with everything that I have, to my last breath I would do that.'

'But… why? I didn't even' 'I don't want to hear your lies anymore, I've been fed them for far too long. Because you're an absolutely miserable human being. Maddy has enough negativity in her head, she doesn't need a backstabber, a turncoat, a back biter around her, she need decent, real people who won't just let her down and betray her trust and confidence immediately. So take me by my word when I tell you that I will move heaven and earth to stop you ever seeing her again.' Astrid then stormed away before Freja could even respond, leaving her nothing short of stunned.

Later on that day, a still upset Freja was starting to pack a bag, realising that she had no chance of repairing her relationship with Astrid after Lydia's meddling, but while she was, she smelled the familiar scent of 'Coffee', before deciding 'Yeah, I could do with one of those. To be honest I could do with a few.' So temporarily pausing the packing mission, she took herself downstairs towards the smell of a freshly brewed elixir, only to be confronted by Blair and Jade, who were having a break from their own packing jobs.

After a tense moment, Blair erupted in a beration for Freja, snapping 'I hope you're proud of yourself for everything you've done. Abandoning Astrid just when she needed you more than ever, because it's not like she's been there for you, is it? All the while you've been whining about having people who care about you, and complaining about some self-imposed limitation to choose between them, oh, and you'll be relieved to know you don't have to say goodbye to Belle.'

'Why?' Jade then told her that 'Not that it's anything to do with you, but Belle's had a major relapse with her schizophrenia, and has been sectioned, which is all your fault, all because you refused to accept her for who she was, you let her get close to you, and then you just walked away the moment someone shouted 'Cocktails on the beach!', because when it comes down to it, as self-centered and ignorant as your sister.'

This would have been a good point for Freja to back down, but instead, she fought back. 'Yeah, because I asked her to get close to me. Why can't you just accept the fact that Belle was already heading that way, and I have the right to be close to my own sister? I don't owe anybody anything, least of all giving up the opportunity to be with my sister because she actually wants to rebuild our family. Maybe it's best that I'm leaving, because clearly none of you want me here.' 'Yeah, maybe it is for the best' Jade returned, as Freja stormed away. All the while, Lydia watched and nodded in impressed contentment.

The next morning, 7:45am

Freja and Lydia were leaving early for the airport, and Freja had her bags packed, ready to say an increasingly unfond farewell to her old life. But as they walked through the base, people staring daggers at them, they passed Astrid, and Freja hung back, much to Lydia's frustration. 'Hey Astrid, please don't let yesterday be the way this ends.' Calmly and without looking at her, Astrid informed her 'Don't worry, I'll tell Maddy exactly what happened, some of us don't hide the truth even if it drops them in it.'

Before Freja could find out what this meant, Lydia handed in both their ID cards to Astrid, asking her 'Could you just pop those in the office? Thanks.', before ushering Freja out of the door quite forcefully, making the elder twin start to question her decision. She never got the chance to think about this though, as Lydia read her facial expression, and cheerily informed her 'Well there's no going back now, next stop Ibiza.'

8 hours later

Having landed in Ibiza, a still bouncing Lydia reached into the opposite pocket from which she stored their plane tickets, and withdrew an old scrap of paper, showing Freja that it said "Cueva de los Muertos Danzantes, 07825, Ibiza, Islas Balearias, Espana", and declared 'She's sure to be there, she always loved being right in her home environment. Let's get going, might get there within half an hour if we rush.'

Lydia then powerwalked through the heat, followed initially at a similar pace by her sister, but as they progressed, Freja's pace started to become more and more sluggish and weary in the blistering Balearic heat and humidity. Not that Lydia seemed to mind, as she repeatedly stopped off at every bar they walked past, chatting sweet nothings to each barman she saw, and acting cool and cocky to every barmaid she encountered, all while pressuring Freja to drink a Cosmopolitan at every stop, which she reluctantly agreed to.

After their half hour walk turned into a near-three hour bender, the sisters arrived at their destination, but Lydia's delight was Freja's dismay, as their destination turned out to be 'Some sleazy bar for desperate drunk idiots.' Sick of Freja's complaining by this point though, Lydia turned around, and just dragged her in by the bottom of her t-shirt, ignoring any pleas for her to let go.

An hour later, Freja was sat at the bar, clearly regretting her decision. 'She's not changed one bit, tell me why I agreed to do this again?' Lydia approached her, and told her 'It's because you knew the right decision was to be part of the family, to be with us and most of all, to contribute to us.' This word confused Freja, but she was about to find out that Lydia's intentions were far from honest.

'See, now we're here, you're going to have to make some money. Because I spent all my money on cocktails and plane tickets, Mum doesn't have any, so you're going to be our breadwinner.' 'And what am I supposed to do?' Lydia laughed in ignorance, and told her 'I dunno, you'll find something. Let's face it, you've never had any issue getting money before. It's time to show us how much you care.'

That night, and every night, in the nightclub attached to the bar, Freja could be seen dancing around a pole, wearing little more than a bra with a broken glass pattern on it and a pair of lacy knickers, while horny tourists and locals reached out and salivated over her slim body, and Lydia and her Mum just sat back, getting so drunk that even if they had have cared about Freja's welfare before, they didn't now.

She was successful though, making more money than any other dancer at the club on a nightly basis, albeit she wasn't seeing any of it, as Lydia was taking it all for drinks and as recompense for years of neglect towards their Mum. While she continued to dance, a particularly inebriated tourist stumbled up towards her, and after having a brief conversation with an incredibly worse for wear Lydia and their supposedly reformed mother, stuck a 50 note into Freja's skimpy bra, and ripped her knickers off before starting to grope her, as Freja screamed.

4am

All was quiet and peaceful at the base, apart from in one single room. In Room 7, Freja was fidgeting, moaning and groaning as she endured night terrors, each one worse than the last. As she tossed and turned, and cried and screamed, Ally just watched on confused from the door, keeping a careful eye over her, wondering when Freja would stop screaming so she could get some sleep and why Blair had sent all their beds to their new house a week early. But alone in her nightmares, all Freja could see was futures, three of them, each pertaining to the decision she was being forced into.

Scenario 3

Both Belle and Lydia were waiting in Freja's bedroom, when she slammed the door. 'Took your time' Lydia immediately quipped, but Freja was far from in the mood. 'You think this is a funny situation? Huh? This has been tearing me apart… you two… have been tearing me apart… for ages. And it isn't fair, and you know what, I deserve better than all of this shit. I am NOT some kind of prize to be won.'

Concerned, Belle reached out to her. 'So… what are you saying?' Freja shrugged her off though, to the delight of Lydia, who went to pat her on the back, only to then be pushed away herself. 'I'm not choosing between you. I'm not being forced to play favourites or pick one over the other. You'll just have to learn to deal with your differences, because I am not choosing.'

Shocked, Lydia just shook her head in anger. 'I didn't fight like this just for you to refuse to side with me, you're absolutely mental, I hope you know that. And when you wake up in the dead of night, and you're missing me, remember you could have had me around still.' She then stormed out, while Belle hung around to tell her 'I understand', before also leaving, booking a train ticket back to Leeds on her phone as she did.

After they left, Freja just took a moment to sit down, and take a deep breath, as Astrid knocked on the door. 'Just want to tell you that I'm really proud of you for that.' 'I'm glad you are, I feel like an absolute traitor.' 'You will do, it's totally understandable, but the thing is, you're putting yourself first, and telling yourself that you're worth so much more.' Smiling back, Freja nodded. 'You are right, and I know that you are, I just don't know how they'll react from here, I mean Lydia clearly hates me now, but I didn't choose Belle either despite all she's done for me.' 'You can't choose your family, but you can choose yourself.' 'And I had to think of myself' Freja responded, clearly trying to convince herself.

'Astrid, since I did decide, can I ask you what you would have done?' She shrugged, and responded 'Dunno, wasn't in the situation. It's your life, you made your call.' 'I'm just thankful I've got you, someone who cares about me and listens and gives me' Freja's thankfulness was rudely interrupted by Astrid's phone ringing, and the Norwegian held her finger out, before standing up. 'Hi there, did you want me? Oh yeah, that situation's totally sorted now, all the drama's basically over. Yeah, I'll be over soon. Bye.'

Coming off the phone, Astrid skipped out of the room with a spring in her step and a gleam in her eyes, even giggling slightly on her way out of the base, while Freja just sat, shocked. 'So much for listening to me… I suppose Phil probably wanted her to come round, we'll just talk later.' She put on an old denim jacket and leggings, and then walked out of the base herself, flicking her hair out of her hood as she did.

The next day

After the stresses of the previous day, Freja got up late, walking down the stairs just in time to see Belle wheeling a suitcase through the base, hugging Astrid and Denny on her way out. As she was about to enter the doorway, Freja raced down and tried to stop her. 'Hey, where are you going?' 'I told you, I'm moving back to Leeds, to try and rebuild my life down there.'

'But I didn't tell you to…' Belle then turned around with a face of thunder, laid Freja out. 'Why do you think every single thing in the world is about you? I used to think you really cared. But the truth is, you don't need anybody because you have yourself, you only care about yourself. I can't believe I ever thought anything of you. I'm moving back to Leeds to restart my life rather than constantly being dragged down. Enjoy actually being able to see Maddy when she returns.'

As Belle departed the base for the last time, Freja watched on in shock, but didn't have long to process anything before Lydia shoulder-barged her on her way past.' 'Stop it!' she screamed, but Lydia barely acknowledged her pain. 'Why are you doing this to me?' Without even looking back, Lydia replied 'You could have chosen me, you could have chosen family, but you didn't, you clearly think you're better than me.'

Without either her friend or sister, Freja took a moment to try and digest everything, before immediately going to seek Astrid out, only to find her in her bedroom, with a dreamy look in her eyes. 'What's up with you?' Smiling, she responded 'He wants me to dance for him tonight, I think we're going all the way.' 'Strange he didn't invite me…' Freja responded, but not thinking much of it, she sat on the side of the bed.

'Do you think I made a mistake by not choosing either of them?' 'Who?' Astrid asked, clearly not entirely remembering the situation. 'Lydia or Belle? You know, in the whole' 'Who cares? You clearly didn't think you needed either of them, when you made your decision it stopped being my concern, I'm preparing to see my master later tonight. I heard he's got something special for me to wear.'

Several hours later, Freja was trying to contact Belle to apologise and to try and put things right with her. But every call went straight to voicemail, every text went unanswered, every message went unseen. Completely lost as to her next step, Freja did the only thing she thought she could do, and phoned Hannah, hoping that the motherly figure would be able to dish out some useful advice.

'Hi Hannah, could I' She was immediately interrupted by Hannah giggling on the other end of the phone, and shouting 'Stop it, stop it, ok? I know!' she shouted while still laughing 'But I have to get this thing out of the way first, I can't just be with you all the time! Yeah, you can do whatever you like, but please just give me a couple of minutes first, I have to deal with this fucking pain!'

After a moment of silence, she was available. 'Can this be quick?' 'I just wanted some advice.' 'Yeah, so as I say, can this be quick? I don't have the time to be waiting for you to spit it out, I do have a life of my own outside of just being an agony aunt.' This took the wind out of Freja's sails, and she paused for several moments, which appeared to annoy Hannah. 'Are you just wasting my time?'

'No… I just don't understand why you're having attitude with me' 'I already told you, I don't have time for this. Look, if you want to talk, just spit it out.' 'I just want advice because nobody's talking to me, Belle's gone and left, Lydia's moving to Ibiza next week and is living in a hotel room until then, Astrid's not listening to a single word I say' 'Astrid's not listening to you because she's hypnotised, something that you pitched. So you can't just turn around and complain about that.'

'I didn't think it would end up with her completely ignoring me though, it was meant to help her cope.' 'You just didn't think, as usual, you just focused on what makes you happy, ignoring the situation. And now you've gone and fucked everything up something rotten, and for once, you're going to have to figure out how to fix this, because I can't do that for you. Now if you don't mind, my husband wants me.' More giggling ensued, as she terminated the call.

The constant rejection and coldness devastated Freja, and she went back to her bedroom to hide for the rest of the day, hoping it was little more than a nightmare she couldn't wake up from. But as sure as day returned to night, she soon came to the conclusion that this was now how things were, her modern reality was that of the traitor, the billy-no-mates, the isolated, with few if any allies left. This was when she looked down at her phone, and found a number she hadn't used in quite some time, leaving a depressed voicemail.

'Maddy, it's Freja, I… I wanted you to know that I'm sorry if the whole thing you've been through was in some way caused by me. You're one person who's always believed in me, who's always been by my side, always supported me even when I didn't deserve it. Well, I might have screwed it up perfectly this time. I know you might not get this message for ages, but please, just know that… I miss you.' She then fell asleep, tears streaming down her face as she did.

As she woke up, she still felt exhausted, as if only a few minutes had passed. But then, she looked over at her alarm clock, and reacted in shock. 'May 13th? You're telling me I've been asleep for two weeks!?' Panicking, she took a moment to sort herself out, before walking down the stairs as calmly as she could, only to find Astrid running around madly, putting streamers out everywhere.

Confused, she asked 'What's going on?', only to be told excitedly 'How've you not heard? Maddy's coming back today. Oh, and Blair, Jade and Ally are moving down to Huddersfield, they apparently found a little place there.' Shocked at all of this news, Freja rushed out of the base, immediately making a beeline for the bus stop, getting it for five minutes to near Jade's flat, where she wasted no time in hammering on the door.

It would be several minutes before Blair answered the door though, dressed in a cut-off sleeveless denim vest and jeans with a red and white polka dot handkerchief acting as a bandanna. And she didn't look impressed at what she saw. 'Look who it is. This had better be news of Maddy being on her way, because otherwise, we've got a property move to prepare for, and I don't treat traitors well.' Shocked, Freja pushed her way past an unexpecting Blair, storming into the flat.

'What is wrong with everyone?' 'Hang on, what's wrong with us? How about what's wrong with you? You're the one who suddenly decided she's too good for everyone, you're the one who decided she didn't need her friends or family, and you're the one who just barged onto private property, so don't go around asking what's wrong with everyone else until you've taken a look at yourself.'

Jade then walked down, and stated 'I don't know why you're even bothering with her Blair, we promised that this would be all about our family from now on, and she never was part of the family and never will be. Not our family, not the Renegades family, and apparently not even her own family. Talking of family, have you sorted the invitations for Ally's party?'

'Hang on' Freja returned 'What party?' 'Her 10th birthday party, not that it's any of your business' Jade snapped back. But Blair had it under control. 'Yep, most of the club are coming, apart from Freja' 'Obviously' 'Mollie's too busy in Switzerland, and Lydia's not cared enough to respond to the invite.' 'How about Belle?' This name pricked Freja's ears up, as Blair told Jade 'Yeah, I was just texting her this morning, she's going to be coming, it's only 10 minutes on the train.'

This shocked Freja, who stumbled over asking 'You've been in contact with Belle?' 'You kidding? We've been in contact most days since it happened, I mean what were you thinking? I can understand having enough of Lydia, she is your sister but she's also an absolute bitch. But Belle? What's she ever done wrong to you apart from honestly try and help to get Maddy back? Why punish her for that? Well, I suppose it doesn't matter anymore. When you want to stop invading our home, the bus back's in 20 minutes by the way.' Blair then put her hand in the centre of Freja's back, and effortlessly shoved her out of the door, slamming it in her face.

This didn't affect Freja too much though, as she was optimistic, knowing Maddy was on her way back. So she dashed over to the bus stop, and made her way back, running into Kris when she arrived, and stopping him. 'Hey, are you at least going to talk to me?' 'Me? I've got no beef, what you did is absolutely nothing to do with me. All I care about is that Maddy's coming back where she belongs, and that people stop arguing like a bunch of babies.'

They then saw a car slowly pulling into the base's driveway, and both immediately dashed back in, with Freja shouting 'She's here!', getting everyone on guard to welcome her back. While everyone waited, several people gave Freja evil looks and whispered about her, but so excited was she that she didn't notice any of this, as she was focused on Maddy walking in, hair bobbed just below her ears, and smiling.

As she walked through the base, she stopped to say hello to everybody, briskly flitting from person to person, speaking briefly with them before ushering herself to the next person. That was, apart from Freja and Dakota, who she walked straight past without looking at either of them, barely even acknowledging the fact that they existed. And while Dakota didn't look too bothered, Freja was crushed, as she turned to Dakota in the search of support.

'Hey, did you just see that?' 'Yep.' 'What's with her being so cold? In fact what's with everyone being so cold, even Blair and Jade don't want to know me.' Dakota though, was equally as unsympathetic. 'Don't come looking to me, I'm out of here and on a plane to Auckland in a couple of weeks, regardless of what Rio thinks. I wouldn't have to, but somebody forced the one person I talk to regularly to leave because she was too selfish to respect family.'

This time though, Freja bit back. 'Yeah, because you care about your family so much, running away halfway across the world leaving your brother here. In the same situation, tell me you wouldn't have done the same thing, because you can't, until you're in that situation, you can't tell me you wouldn't have done that.' 'I can, because unlike you, I actually have respect. I really don't care that nobody's your friend anymore, because you're a terrible friend. Now buzz off.'

A little later on, Freja was still shaken from her constant encounters, so she decided to find Maddy to talk to her. But as she did, she overheard a conversation between she and Astrid in the Norwegian's bedroom. 'So there's a clause?' 'That's what Phil said, as soon as you were back I could just kick Freja to the side, and replace her with you. And let's be honest, there's no Bad Breed without Belle here.'

Already angry, this made Freja boil over, and she stormed into the room, all guns blazing. 'Seriously Astrid? After all the talk of supporting each other, after all we've done together, all the tears we cried, after I put you in touch with Phil when you couldn't cope, and let me guess, you didn't tell her about that bit, after all of that, you're still just going to betray me like this? The fuck's friendship for if it's just thrown away the moment someone more interesting turns up?'

Astrid appeared slightly guilty over this, but Maddy stood up and flashed her eyes in defiance. 'Get over it, it's not like you're never going to hold any title ever again, just give us this one. Besides, you've been running around cryin' about the fact that nobody wants to be friends with you? Don't give us that bullshit, you made your decision, you knew the consequences, you've now got to live with it just like I have to live with the decisions I made. Except at least I took accountability for it, and wanted to be punished for it. Now unless you wanna fight, get out of the room.'

Sensing that she no longer had any business being at the base, Freja ran to her room, quickly packed two bags of essentials, and then without any fuss, left the base herself, Maddy and Astrid watching her go from their bedroom window. As she left, she texted Phil to let him know that she was needing to move back in with him temporarily. Boarding a train to Manchester, she didn't stop to think about the fact that she had received no reply whatsoever.

After several hours of travelling, she finally made her way to his house, and walked in, only to find Astrid and Hannah dancing provocatively for him, both wearing outfits similar to Freja's own dominatrix garb, while he sat there, trousers down and throwing popcorn into his mouth. She coughed to get his attention, and he turned around, seemingly surprised to see her standing there in sweaty and dirty clothes.

'What's all this about?' 'Oh did nobody tell you?' 'Tell me what?' 'I don't need you anymore. Astrid.' Astrid walked over, and sat gently on his lap as he stroked her bum. 'You know what they say, Gentlemen prefer blondes. And this is the best blonde you could ever have got me. Besides, this model's prettier, sexier, younger, and most of all, fitter. I might even marry her, how would you feel being part of the first ever Renegade Harem?' Completely bewitched, the brainwashed blonde responded 'I'd love to Master.' seductively. 'So don't let the door hit you on your way out.'

As Freja screamed, she woke up in a cold sweat. After taking a moment, she looked over at her clock, which read 4:47am. 'Was that… just a dream? Or… three?' She then looked down at a list of pros and cons for each of her choices, and screwed it up, before throwing it in the bin. 'That's not going to help, is it?' Afraid to go back to sleep, Freja started scrolling through her phone, waiting for the morning.

As she did, she stumbled upon photos of she and Lydia when they were young, including a handful with their Mum from their 7th birthday party, who was dressed up like a glamour model, except for big hooped earrings and enough lipstick to paint a wall. Scrolling further, she saw pictures of she and Belle together in Paris and again while celebrating Maddy's return to duelling at the anniversary show. This focused her mind, and she decided to take the day out to think.

Later on, she was catching up on some sleep outside the base, when Astrid sat next to her. 'Bad night wasn't it?' Still concerned over her dreams, Freja turned to her friend and asked her 'If… if you disagree with my decision, you're not going to abandon me are you?' Shocked, Astrid freaked out. 'Not a chance, why, what did I say? Did I… just sound like I wanted you to have a bad night, or'

'No no, nothing like that.' She then attempted to explain her experiences the previous night. 'So you had three nightmares, like they were all some kind of window into the future? And each one was horrible.' 'Kinda like that I guess, there's no other way to explain it.' Her maternal side once again showing, Astrid gave Freja a hug, telling her 'You're not getting rid of me that easily, we've still got to be ok for Maddy, remember?'

That triggered a memory from one of the nightmares. 'So she's… like ok there? There's been nothing with her relapsing?' Astrid beamed, and handed over a letter. 'Just to warn you, her handwriting's not improved, it still looks like a 5 year old's. But no, she's said she's going to take it week by week, but she's really regretting what she tried to do to herself. She also keeps talking about seeing Dan while she was down there, I think she was hallucinating but she's really insistent.'

She then put her arm around Freja, telling her 'I'll never walk away from you like that. You deserve somebody who will always accept you, somebody who appreciates you and somebody who understands that you can't choose your family. Your family will always be there when you need them.' Astrid's musings were interrupted though by her phone buzzing. She took one look at it, and calmly stated 'He's asking after me.' Understanding, Freja told her 'Go and do what you need to do', and Astrid stood up slowly, eyes dipped, before walking off in a trance as Freja took a breath. 'I think I know what to do.'

At Ashworth

'How would you like your eggs?' Astrid asked in a cheery and breezy manner, having been put to work making Hannah breakfast. As she moved around the kitchen with focus and grace, Phil just watched on with a certain sense of pride and accomplishment, knowing that he had done the right thing by granting her wish. As Hannah came down the stairs though, she appeared to still be somewhat troubled by the situation.

'Something's still rubbing me the wrong way about this situation. I just don't see how this is right, this is so not Astrid.' 'I put in all the safeguards, if we're being honest I probably put in more than I needed to. But you didn't see her face there, she was completely hellbent on getting it done there and then. And I'm not seeing this as something long-term, this is to get her through until we have a date for Maddy returning. After that, the need's no longer there.'

After Astrid served Hannah breakfast, Phil invited her to sit next to him, and he started running his fingers through her golden blonde plait. 'See, this is the happiest she has looked in a long time. And while I was shocked at her decision, if this is the way that she has to deal with the situation, then I will help with that. As for this, this is exactly what she signed up for, Astrid knows full well that if this isn't it, she can stop at any time, the trance is loose enough to allow that.' Still far from convinced, Hannah told him 'I hope you know what you're doing', but he just nodded back to her in affirmation.

In the base

Lydia was making herself a coffee when she saw Freja approaching her. 'So I take it you've come to tell me that you want to come with me?' Sitting on the countertop, Freja responded 'Look Lyds, don't take this the wrong way please, because I will never stop loving you, I'm who I am because of you keeping me out of the shit for so long. But I'm not being emotionally blackmailed into choosing friends that you approve of.'

As Lydia's jaw dropped, Belle creeped towards them, having received a message from Astrid earlier on. 'Belle is the best thing that's happened to me in so long, because she cares, she understands, and she makes me better in every single way. You made me who I am, but she's making me become more than I am, and I'm just going to say it, not forgiving her for the whole Canada situation is the most selfish thing I've ever done, because without her we would have failed, and I would have been alone.'

Understanding the situation, Lydia just shrugged. 'Well don't expect me to stick around as you ruin your life with a murderer. I told you, it's my way or I go.' 'Go then, because clearly as long as you're here I can't move on with my life. And you know what, neither can you. You need to go and make your impact, rather than spending all your time worrying about trying to stop mine. So go.'

Agreeing with the sentiment, Lydia went straight to the office, where Rio was writing down some postcodes of potential recruits. Initially, she didn't say anything, but instead handed her ID over. Sighing, Rio gave a half-hearted attempt to keep her. 'Look, just because you're moving away, doesn't mean' 'Don't even bother. I've had it with people pretending crimes didn't happen, and accepting that murderer being with my sister.'

'And what am I supposed to tell Maddy when she gets back? That one of her closest friends just upped and left because she threw her toys out of the pram?' In a cold rebuttal, she responded 'Quite frankly I don't care, this whole situation is Maddy's fault, if she hadn't have been so monumentally stupid and convinced that she can fix everyone, I'd still have my sister. At least when she was with Rhydian she couldn't do any damage.'

Disgusted by the things said, Rio confidently stood up, and told Lydia 'If you weren't resigning, I would have just expelled you for that. I used to look up to you, but you really lost yourself at some point. I just hope for whoever you find next that you find yourself again, because this isn't the Lydia we all know.' This got the younger twin thinking as she left her ID behind, and went to pack her bags.

Half an hour later, she was all set to go, but before she did, she went back over to Freja. 'Just so you know, I've handed my ID in and I'm resigning effective half an hour ago, so this is it I guess.' The sisters embraced in a gentle hug, with both clearly very emotional over the goodbye, and Freja telling her 'Make sure to send me a postcard.' 'I'll tell Mum that you would have come but you were too busy doing your own thing. If you ever change your mind, I'm only a text or a call away.' Smiling through tears, Freja nodded. 'I understand.' After a pinky promise, they parted.

As Lydia was on her way out, she looked back at the base she had called home from the very beginning one last time, and saw Freja and Belle laughing together, as the Leeds native got a tarot reading, which was then interrupted by Astrid running in brandishing another letter. They got chatting while reading, and it appeared Astrid was discussing how her morning with Phil had gone, even mimicking his hand through her hair, all the while Lydia watched on. She took a moment, said 'Maybe it's for the best… I don't belong here anymore', before taking her bag and leaving the base for good, unnoticed and unacknowledged.

Next time: Astrid faces a battle of wits with Caleb, Blair faces a battle of her strategy against Declan, and Rio faces a battle of her temper as Claude challenges her in R: Ultra Evolution Book 31: Unforgiven