Chapter 22
Axel wakes up glancing at the bedside alarm clock by his side displaying 6am. He lies there spooning Blaze close to his body who is fast asleep. He awkwardly watches Charlie snoring on the bottom edge of the bed, hoping that tomorrow night he will sleep in Leon's room. Axel does his best to quietly pull his arm away to try not to wake Blaze, then he gets up and quietly opens the door to encourage the dog to sleep downstairs or in the hallway.
"Come on boy, there's a nice bed for you right outside in the hallway…." he says to Charlie. "Please don't give me that cute stare, it's just nice to get a bit of privacy..." Axel sighs as the spaniel perks up his ears, glaring at him with sadness in his big brown eyes.
"What do you want, chicken? Beef later?" He tries to bargain.
"Are you having a conversation with the dog?" Blaze yawns.
"Charlie and I are just coming to an understanding. Baby I know he's cute but he can't sleep on the bed anymore…"
"You should have mentioned something earlier!" She grins. "Charlie, go to your bed in the hallway!" She points outside. The dog immediately follows her orders, leaving Axel surprised.
He closes the door then quickly jumps back into bed. "Now that we have some privacy…"
"Oh no! Don't assume that just because the dog is outside now that I'm in the mood. You have to work much harder than that, besides I gotta get up and train" Blaze replies.
"I gotta get up and train too, but something is telling me to stay here for another half hour" he says, kissing her neck.
"Stop it," she laughs.
"Ow you know you don't wanna really get outta bed this morning.."
"Is this your way of trying to seduce me?" Blaze raises her eyebrows.
"Maybe…" They start to kiss each other.
To their disappointment, Charlie suddenly starts barking repeatedly in the hallway.
Axel huffs "what now?!"
"He probably needs to go to the bathroom…" Blaze says as she gets up out of bed wearing a t-shirt and shorts.
He quickly reaches for his own T-shirt next to the bed then follows her to see what all the fuss is about.
"What's wrong?" Axel asks.
"He keeps scratching on Leon's door, I don't know what to do…" they both look at each other nervously.
"I'll take a look," Axel replies.
As soon as he opens the door, his heart stops for a moment with fear as he notices the window open and the bed empty.
"Shit, he's not there!" Axel panics. The two of them immediately run downstairs to search the whole house but Leon is nowhere in sight.
They also look outside and around for anything suspicious. "Maybe he went back to Adam's or Shiva's place if he forgot something" Axel tries to make sense of the situation.
"No, this is all my fault! Leon was upset last night before he went to bed. He told me after seeing us kiss yesterday that I could never replace his mother. He's been acting weird since I showed up" Blaze panics.
"It's ok, this isn't your fault. Let me call Adam and see if we can get the feds on this."
"I feel terrible, Leon could be anywhere right now!"
"For an 8 year old you'd be surprised, he knows how to take care of himself from living in the wilderness. I'm sure he couldn't have got far" Axel replies, trying to stay calm.
6 hours earlier.
Leon patiently waits staring out of the bedroom window. So far he has stayed up for the past hour and is starting to fall asleep after a long day. He notices a black truck pulling up further down the street, hoping that Max will still go through with the plan.
He is relieved when he spots the wrestler cautiously approaching the house with a large ladder.
"I think this is much safer than a rope!" Max quietly says as he holds the ladder secure on the ground.
Leon quickly reaches for his small backpack containing his sketch pad and comics before he climbs out of the window onto the ladder.
"Don't rush kid.." Max watches him with caution from the bottom but the boy climbs down it with ease.
Once he's safe on the ground the two of them quietly walk towards the truck with the ladder at a steady pace. Max folds it away once they are further down the street to avoid making noise right outside the house whilst Leon jumps into the passenger side.
"Do you reckon mom is still awake now?" He asks.
"It's possible" Max answers whilst concentrating on the road. "Try to get some sleep, the journey will take us a couple of hours."
"Will we still make it back in time for the morning?"
"Sure kid" Max forces a smile.
4 hours later and they're still on the road driving towards a remote location. When Leon wakes up in the passenger side, the first thing he notices is the time.
"Uncle Max, we have to go back! Dad is gonna be up soon and he'l know I'm not there! Why are we still driving?" He asks, confused.
"Don't worry, we're here now" Max replies, pulling up outside an old derelict building. The sun is starting to rise outside and from the barren surroundings of the place, Leon realizes they are very far away from Wood Oak City right now. It is dark and the November air is cold so Leon is starting to lose faith in Max.
As they step out of the truck, Diva, Ms Y, Raven, Nora and several other fighters including Goro and Dylan stand with their arms folded staring at the boy.
"I wanna see his powers" Ms Y demands as the boy nervously stares back.
"Leon, why don't you show Ms Y here your chi, both types" Max calmly suggests.
"You lied to me! Where's my mom?!" He angrily answers.
"Don't sweat it kid! We're not here to hurt you. In fact my colleagues here will take good care of you" Ms Y replies. She slowly walks forward towards him then crouches down onto the ground glaring intensely at Leon in the eye with her sword in one hand.
"I know where your mom lives," she softly says to him.
"But Max said…"
"Let me tell you a story, kid. When I was a little girl, not much older than yourself, a gang broke into our house one night in search of our father. My twin brother and I were fast asleep when they arrived. My memories of that night are vague but I do remember that in the space of 3 minutes, those men shot my brother and I right here in cold blood." She then lifts her hair to reveal a scar on one side of her skull.
"They also hung our mom over the bannister. Our scientists were able to save my brother and I who remained dormant and frozen for 10 years! Can you believe that?! But unfortunately they couldn't save our mother."
"That's terrible," Leon gulps, showing her some remorse.
"It is," she nods. "But you'll never guess who did this to us" she gives him a sinister smile.
"Who?"
"Your mother's family were that gang. A few years later my father had them all killed off. So if you're curious about her, rest assured that she and your dad will be joining us very soon. Did you know that they both killed my father too?"
"What do you want from me lady!? I can't bring back the dead!" Leon snaps back.
"I told you, his sense of humour is just like his mother's" Max smirks, folding his arms.
She smiles, pursing her lips at him before continuing her conversation. "What I need from you is simple. In a matter of days, you're going to sit and watch us kill your parents so that you can experience exactly what my brother and I went through."
"You're evil lady!" He stares at her with hate in his eyes.
"And you're not as smart as you should be, young man! Really you left home for nothing, Blaze Fielding is your mommy by the way!" She smirks at him.
Leon freezes in front of her in shock as the young boy's eyes start to water. Suddenly out of nowhere, he projects a fireball towards Ms Y's ribs, catching her off guard before he runs towards the gates in the other direction.
"No so fast boy!" Mr Y blockades then grabs him.
"Let me go!" Leon shouts.
"Diva!" Mr Y clicks his fingers. "I've had enough of this!" He says to her whilst restraining the boy.
The tall fighter in stilettos crouches down in front of Leon holding a snake wrapped around her body.
"I said let me go!" He tries his best to break away from Mr Y but he is not strong enough.
"I hope you like snakes…" Diva grins at him. The green eyed reptile quickly leaps forward and bites him on the arm. It causes a small electric shock which results in Leon immediately passing out and collapsing to the ground.
"Take the boy and make sure his hands are restrained at all times. We can't take any risks when he wakes up!" Mr Y demands. Dylan lifts him off the ground before carrying Leon into the derelict building.
"Have you tried calling Shiva?" Adam asks Axel and Blaze who look exhausted and worried out of their minds.
"Yeah, he's not at the dojo either" Axel shakes his head.
"We will find him, plus Leon is a smart kid! If he can handle the wilderness, for sure he can handle Wood Oak City" Adam says to Blaze who is stressed out and feeling guilty about her last conversation with him.
"Do you think you could call Cherry or Sammy over? They went out with Leon yesterday maybe he said something…" Blaze suggests.
"They're already on the way!... Speak of the devils…" the doorbell rings.
Adam opens the door to find Cherry standing outside. She slowly limps into the house.
"Where is your Uncle?" He queries.
"Uncle Sammy just dropped me off, he has to get to work!" Cherry answers.
"I see".
"What's so urgent anyway? Why am I here?" Cherry asks, puzzled as she takes a seat in the living room. Axel then calmly sits next to her.
"I know you're not feeling great, but we need your help" he says.
"What's wrong?" She worriedly frowns.
"We think that Leon ran away last night and he's been missing ever since. I know he's had some problems at school and a lot is going on right now that maybe he's finding it difficult to handle. But did he say anything to you last night out of the ordinary, please could you tell me".
Cherry focuses her thoughts, remembering their conversation outside the sushi restaurant.
"I mean, everything seemed normal at first. He seemed quieter than usual so I asked him what was wrong. He first mentioned catching you two kissing but we just laughed it off. He said something strange though after that…."
"What did he say?" Axel probes.
"Leon was upset at what he saw because he believed his mom was still alive. He had no idea she is you" Cherry glances at Blaze.
"Did he say how or why? Leon didn't know anything, this is the first I've heard of this…" Axel asks her with concern.
"He said Uncle Max mentioned it to him, why?"
Axel immediately realizes where Leon is. Him and Adam look at each other with horror on their faces.
"Max is many things, but do you really think he would take Leon like that?" Adam queries.
"I know my son, he wouldn't just run away like that. Max must have spoken to him, he was acting up after the school meeting…. Shit, that's it!" Axel figures it out.
"Wait, wasn't he with his teacher yesterday?" Blaze asks.
"His teacher dropped him off at the school library in the other building. Max had to have been there…. Shit!" He panics, digging his forehead into his hands.
"He's not answering his phone!" Adam interrupts.
"Because Max has taken him! Leon trusts him, Max has been in his life ever since he was born. The only way he would have left home is if someone he trusted persuaded him… fuck I'm gonna kill Max!" Axel loses his patience, pacing up and down the room.
"Remember what I told you about those sound waves, Max is under the influence of the Y-twins." Adam replies.
"What do they want? Why would this guy Leon trusts take him to them?" Blaze worriedly asks.
"Because they want you and me." Axel answers her with regret on his face. "Your family's criminal empire killed their mother. We killed Mr X who was their father. It's simple, they want revenge".
"We have to get him back! I'll do whatever it takes" she promises.
Axel takes a deep breath then he reaches for his cell phone to call Max.
The others in the room wait silently to hear if he answers when Axel places the phone on speaker mode.
"I was wondering when you would call…" a male voice on the other end of the phone call who is not Max picks up.
"Where the fuck is my son you piece of shit!" Axel angrily replies.
"To you, I'm Mr Y. I don't believe we've had the pleasure of meeting yet…"
"I don't give a fuck who you are, where is Leon and how much do you want?"
"You should know that my sister and I are mega rich, whatever you pay us in ransom won't make a difference."
"Then what the hell do you want then?"
"If you want to see your son again alive, you'd better listen carefully to my instructions."
"I'm listening…"
"I'd suspect you'll gather your team with Hunter, afterall a war is coming and he understands what we're about to do to this city. If you all make it alive to Y-Tower, in three nights time there's a fight with your name on it against Max. It will be the biggest fight Wood Oak City has ever witnessed. If you win against your opponent, your son lives. If you lose, choose to fight with your powers or refuse to fight to the death, Leon here will die. Is that clear?!"
"Yeah, it's clear. It won't come to that and I'll fight him" Axel agrees without a choice.
"Oh and don't forget to bring Blaze along too. If you lose against Thunder, she'l be next to face him in the ring".
"You'll be next to die!" She promises down the phone.
"It's a pity Blaze. My father wiped out your whole family and now we'll kill your son too. You'll have nobody left…. That's right, we know your little secret."
"If you hurt him I'll…." Blaze angrily snaps.
"Don't…" Axel whispers to her shaking his head "it's what he wants…"
"Before I hang up and go through with this, I wanna make sure Leon is alive" Axel demands.
"I thought you'd never ask," Mr Y enthusiastically says. He holds the phone against the boy's ear because his hands are tied.
"Daddy?" His voice comes across shaken and scared.
"Leon! Are you ok?" Axel frantically asks him.
"I'm ok! I'm sorry, it's all my fault I left. I'm so sorry…" he cries down the phone.
"It's ok, I'm not angry with you, I could never be. Listen to me, stay calm and do exactly what these people say. We're coming to get you ok? Everything is gonna be…."
"Ah that's enough now. You have your proof now that he's alive! You'd better get yourself ready for the fight Mr Stone, I'll be seeing you in three days. That's if you even make it to Y-Tower alive" Mr Y heckles. The sound of his laughter is so similar to Mr X it brings shivers down Axel's spine.