Chapter 21

"Bro why are you here?" Sammy lazily opens the door of his apartment looking disappointed at Adam showing up.

"I'm here to check up on you, and my daughter" Adam replies, bowing his head.

"You sure you ain't got some other place to be? Some job to do?" The skater's response is cold with a sarcastic undertone.

Adam sighs "I know I did the both of you wrong. But please, just let me check up on Cherry and make sure she's ok after last night? After that I'll go home and I won't bother either of you again until you feel like talking".

Sammy glances back, feeling guilty after giving his big brother a cold welcome "sure, come on in",

"Thanks" Adam says as he enters whilst briefly placing his hand on Sammy's shoulder.

"What are you doing here? I told you I don't wanna see you!" Cherry's reception is even colder. She is sitting on the couch in front of the TV with her arms folded. Her eyes glare at Adam with anger.

"Just hear me out, please?" He insists.

"Hear you out?! My bandmates are still missing after the explosion, my side aches like hell and I can kiss goodbye to any future I've ever wanted in music. My head is still banging from what went down last night at the concert hall! So forgive me but your issues with mom are the last thing on my mind!"

"Sweetheart, my department is doing it's best to find your friends and anyone else who may have escaped or survived that place! What you went through last night was terrible and I'm sorry you got hurt. You do have a future in music, you don't need no Y-Scholarship to confirm that! You have the raw talent that will see you through".

"How would you know? You've never once stuck around to attend any of my gigs!" She turns her head away from him.

"Who used to listen to you play the guitar when you were a little girl? Who even got you that thing in the first place huh?! I remember staying up every night to hear you sing. Ok, I might have missed your audition and some other stuff lately but I always carry this with me when I'm working." He pulls out an old mix tape of hers. "I even sometimes listen to this on stake outs just to hear your voice. I am proud of you Cherry and I'm sorry I couldn't always be there for you growing up" he stares at her with regret in his eyes.

Cherry takes the mix tape from him then glares down at it, turning it from side to side. "But you're not a fan of this type of rock" she says.

"Only when it's you, I can put up with it" Adam smiles.

Cherry can't help but grin back at him.

"Look, whatever shit happens between me and your mom, you know we both love you and your brother and there is always a home for you at my place whenever you need it."

"Thanks daddy," she smiles.

"The same goes for you too sunshine!" Adam says, grinning at Sammy.

"Thanks but you know I love my independence" he smirks.

"You two understand from last night that a lot of shit is starting to go down again in this city. Anytime you wanna come back and fight with us you're always welcome" Adam replies.

"I know", Sammy proudly answers.

"And as for you, I want you to train with me, Axel and Blaze. There's space for you to come and fight with us also. Sammy wasn't that much older when he started".

"Hell yeah!" Cherry's eyes light up with excitement.

"So it's true then about Blaze? She's really alive?" Sammy questions him.

"Yeah. Just don't mention anything to Leon yet, neither Blaze or him know the truth about each other".

#Door knocks#

"You expecting anyone?" Adam frowns.

"No, one sec" Sammy says as he gets up to answer it. He is greeted by three familiar faces at the door along with a friendly looking pooch.

"Sup Sammy?" Axel smiles with Leon next to him and Blaze behind them. After acknowledging them, Sammy can't help but stare in awe at Blaze, in disbelief that she is still alive.

"You must be Adam's younger brother!" That familiar British accent brings back so many memories for Sammy as she shakes his hand. "Nice to meet you" Blaze smiles.

"Oh, we've met before…. I was still a teenager…" Sammy awkwardly replies as she stares at him puzzled.

"Zan is tryna help Blaze get her memory back. We've made a lot of progress so far but there's still a way to go" Axel explains.

"Hey, have I seen you rollerblading by the tracks before?" Blaze queries.

"I haven't skated there for years!" Sammy smiles "that must be your memory kicking in" he enthusiastically says.

"That's a relief!" She shyly grins.

"By the way, Sammy here used to have a crush on you and Cherry over there was adamant you were some sort of princess!" Adam laughs. His brother and daughter instantlty avoid her gaze, feeling embarrassed.

"So kids, there's some things the adults here in this room have to discuss, why don't the three of you go and take the dog for a walk or something then pick us a takeout" Adam demands whilst reaching for his wallet.

"Wait, what do you mean the three of us?! The only kids here are Cherry and Leon!" Sammy responds with irritation.

"You know what I mean..." Adam shrugs.

"By the way, I'll remind you that this is my apartment…" Sammy huffs whilst taking the wallet.

"Yeah but you won't say no to Sushi if it's on me!"

"Don't sweat it bro, I'll take pleasure in ordering the most expensive thing on that menu then.." Sammy grins as he, Cherry, Leon along with the dog leave the apartment.

"Little shit!" Adam jokingly mutters under his breath.

"So what did you want to discuss this time then?" Axel queries.

"Last night was pretty fucked up". Adam dives in straight to the point. "Underneath Wood Oak's sewage system, the Y-Syndicate have installed these large speakers with streams of poisonous liquid below that is leaking into the water supply. I suspect that's what has been making people sick!"

"Shit, that's terrible" Blaze replies.

"That's not even the worst of it! They're using some sort of sound waves in their music to manipulate people. It drives them crazy to want to kill each other".

"Oh my God…" Blaze gasps, placing her hand over her mouth.

"What is it?" Axel asks.

"The same thing happened the day I got out of hospital almost 9 years ago. I remember this classical music being played around the whole place. Doctors, patients and nurses were going crazy trying to kill one another" she explains.

"Exactly! I remember that too when I was there trying to find you." Adam replies.

"It's ok, I know what happened now with the baby…" Blaze anxiously says to him.

"I tried until the very end to find you too, when the place exploded I thought you were still in that coma or sick and didn't make it out. Estel who was with me took Leon then went with Max to the wilderness to give him to Axel".

"Shit! They've probably got Max under their influence this way. When I saw him yesterday he was constantly listening to music" Axel remembers.

"But you realise these sound waves they're using don't affect any of us with powers" Blaze remarks.

"Precisely. So last night when Floyd and I went to get Cherry out, the whole concert hall including her were out of their minds. Neither him or I were affected".

"So what's the plan then?" Axel queries.

"I've contacted the head of Wood Oak's water supply. They've noticed a slow contamination in the system and are trying to resolve it but we have to get to the source underground. As for the Y-twins, those motherfuckers are smart! We need to bide our time, keeping track of these events they're doing and who they're working with. This is DJ K Washi. I had the experience of meeting the bastard last night. 150 people were in that concert hall all under his instructions to kill each other" he says, passing a photo of the DJ to them.

"So are you two in this with me then?" Adam asks.

"Adam I wanna help, but I just got my life back. Besides you got Floyd, Sammy, Zan, Estel all on your side now" Axel sighs.

"What about you Blaze?"

"I can still fight but I don't know how much use I'll be with these seizures I keep getting. I've only just got my life back also" she looks down feeling guilty.

"I understand," Adam nods. "Still it was worth a shot asking you two" he half heartedly smiles.

"Although, something didn't seem right earlier on" Blaze frowns, concerned.

"What do you mean?" Adam raises his eyebrows.

"I didn't wanna say anything earlier but when I went back to my apartment to pack a bag, I think someone had been inside but there was no break in".

"How do you know?" Adam asks.

"Just a feeling I got" she sighs. "Plus there were a whole load of cars parked outside the block that I didn't recognise".

"We should check it out before you go back there" Axel says to her.

"I can get my team to observe from outside, I'm sure that block is one of the syndicate bases. For now, stay away from there but I might need your key to the building".

"Sure!" Blaze says as she throws it towards him.

The trio spend the next hour catching up and discussing plans of how Adam and the rest of the team are going to save Max and take down the syndicate.

"Ok, so 5 mixed sushi boxes and one childs box. I think that's right?" Sammy seeks reassurance from Cherry.

"Remember dad hates tuna!" She replies.

"Well, it will teach him to stop making us do his errands" the three of them laugh as they walk back to the apartment.

"Your dog is pretty cool, he's so well behaved and cute" Cherry smiles at Leon whilst holding the lead.

"Yeah Charlie is awesome, but he's Blaze's dog" Leon replies.

"But that means that…!"

Sammy interrupts "still though, I bet you love hanging out with Charlie and Blaze". He discretely shakes his head at Cherry to remind her not to say anything about her being Leon's mother.

"Hey Leon, are you ok? You've been quieter than usual, I mean I'm not complaining but…" Cherry quizzes.

"Something weird happened earlier" he frowns.

"Really? What?" Sammy replies.

"When I got out of school with my teacher, her and dad were kissing," Leon says disgustedly.

Cherry can't help but try to contain her laughter "in front of your teacher?! Man, that's embarrassing!" she comments.

"But why would dad do that if he still misses my mom?" Leon shrugs.

"Cos that's what adults do sometimes. I mean look at my dad, don't pretend you've never seen his girlfriends he's bought home. Are they my mom? No. Sometimes our parents are not meant to be together. Blaze seems nice though, and she is your… I mean she's cool!" Cherry awkwardly explains, trying not to let any information slip.

"She is awesome and even likes all the same things I do." Leon replies.

"So what's the problem then?"

"I think my mom is still alive," he sighs.

"Who told you that?" Sammy asks with concern.

"Uncle Max once told me…"

"I wouldn't pay too much attention to Uncle Max, he's on drugs!" Cherry abruptly replies.

"Cherry!" Sammy gives her an annoyed stare with his eyes popping out, feeling uncomfortable revealing that in front of an 8 year old.

"What?! It's true though!"

"Let's take this food upstairs and eat, I don't know about you but I'm hungry…" he quickly changes the subject.

It's well past 9pm by the time Axel, Blaze and Leon return back.

"Are you sure it's a good idea for me to stay?" Blaze nervously questions.

"Leon, can you go and find that packet of food for Charlie please?" Axel asks as soon as they walk through the door.

"Sure!" he replies.

Axel sighs, answering her question once Leon is distracted. "There's no way you can go back to that apartment now on your own. And besides, I was thinking maybe tomorrow we could tell him the truth."

"Ok. Only if you think he's ready for it" Blaze anxiously nods.

"Don't worry, everything is gonna be ok" he gently squeezes her hand then lets go as soon as Leon runs back towards them.

"I've just given Charlie his food. Do you mind if I go to bed now?" The boy asks.

Axel answers, feeling pleasantly surprised. "Well that's a first! It's only 10:30. Usually by now you're still fighting to stay up!"

"Well I go back to school tomorrow and I'm tired from training today" he replies.

"Ok, sure go ahead" Axel shrugs.

"Do you want me to send Charlie up to keep you company after?" Blaze asks him.

"It's ok for tonight. He snores really loud and I think he should sleep next to you instead in case you get sick again" Leon smartly answers, still willing to go through with Max's plan even though they made it back home later than expected.

Axel's phone suddenly pings. "I gotta get this, it's Adam. Goodnight kid and make sure you brush your teeth!" He rushes off, walking into the next room leaving Blaze and Leon on their own together.

"You said you usually read your dad a bedtime story and last night you read to Charlie. Wanna read me one tonight before you go to sleep?" Blaze asks.

"I told you, I'm really tired now and I just wanna sleep. I can tuck myself in" Leon answers. He starts to walk upstairs, leaving her feeling anxious again so she dives in straight to the point to get his attention to clear the air.

"Hey I'm sorry about what happened earlier at your school" Blaze remarks.

He turns around to face her from halfway up the stairs "what do you mean?" Leon asks, feeling puzzled.

"Sit down.." she pats one of the steps, encouraging him to sit next to her for a moment.

"Ok…" he awkwardly takes up her offer.

"I was talking about when you saw your dad and I earlier, I'm sorry about that".

"Oh when you two were kissing? Yeah that was grose! But it's no big deal. I mean I like you and it's clear dad does too but it ain't like you're ever gonna replace my mom any time soon" he casually shrugs her off.

Blaze takes a deep breath, looking down at the ground avoiding his gaze as he gets back up to run upstairs.

"You know my memory is like crap right now but do you wanna know what the biggest lesson was that I learned in life?" She asks whilst turning around to face him, still sitting on the step.

"What's that then?" He raises his eyebrows as he gazes down at her from the top of the stairs.

"You and I are pretty similar. Sometimes we say things without thinking just because of how we're feeling at that moment. I have the same problem too".

"I don't understand," he gives her a puzzled frown.

"Leon, sometimes you have to realize that what we say can hurt other people without us ever realizing."

"What did I say?" He defensively shrugs, the exact same way as his father.

"Don't worry about it. Goodnight" Blaze forces a smile, staring at him solemnly whilst trying to hide how she is really feeling and the fact that deep down that comment he made hurts like hell.

"Goodnight!" He casually answers before running into his room and shutting the door.