Chapter 23

"It has only been 20 minutes since that phone call and he's already started training for the fight!" Adam folds his arms surprised, speaking to Floyd and Blaze.

"The man's gotta do what he's gotta do. Three days isn't much time considering Axel hasn't had a fight in almost 9 years." Floyd replies.

"At the same time, you realize the twins will take this distraction as an opportunity to attack the city. You've seen the poison they've stored for yourself and what they can do" Adam says with concern.

"I know and we're ready for anything. Dr Zan and I have been preparing for this for a while. You two need to get back on the streets to fight asap, plus we need all the help we can get." Floyd glances over towards Cherry in the distance who is sitting in shock on the couch, seeking comfort from cuddling Charlie.

Axel calmly runs over towards the group, addressing Adam first. "You know the score. I'll be back in 30 minutes from my run then we're going straight to the gym to train in the ring."

"Are you sure you can handle your old training routine?" Adam raises his eyebrows pessimistically.

"Who says I'm sticking to the old routine? This ones worse! Besides, what do you think I did in the wilderness all day? Sat around bird watching? I might not have sparred with anyone out there but I got stronger…" Axel reassures him, feeling determined.

"Ok, let's do this!" Adam nods.

"And I'm gonna need the best fighters to practise against. Give Shiva a call while I'm out, plus I need you and Blaze training against me in the ring too. The three of you are the most experienced fighters".

"100 percent!" Adam agrees.

"I need some air…" Blaze sighs, breaking her silence as she hastily walks away.

"I'll see you in half an hour at the gym then" Axel responds to the others, ignoring her then leaving the house to start his run.

"Man's not fucking around!" Floyd says to Adam.

"No. When Axel is serious about something, especially if he has to train, nothing is gonna get in the way of that. That's what makes him a great fighter. We also need to prepare ourselves in the meantime. I'll call Estel over, she's one heck of a fighter. If we're gonna own these streets again, there needs to be more of us this time round" Adam explains.

"Do you think we'll make it to Y-Tower?" Floyd queries.

"We have to otherwise that kid is gonna die and Wood Oak City will die with him" Adam sighs. "Do me a favour, take Cherry with you to Zan's lab, he'l be able to assess her wound to see if she can also join us to fight ''.

"Are you sure about this? She's only 15" Floyd asks.

"Of course I am! I know she's ready for this!"

"What about your brother Sammy?"

"He'l definitely be in on this too, but I have something else I need him to do. I'll explain later... Would you excuse me?" Adam says, noticing Blaze sat outside on the porch ny herself smoking a cigarette.

"Not today seniorita…" he swiftly takes the cigarette away then throws it onto the gravel pathway in the distance.

"What did you do that for?" Blaze looks up at him feeling annoyed.

"Ok where do I start… your seizures? Your Asthma? Not to mention you got training and fighting ahead of you. Come on, pull yourself together!…. Where did you get these by the way? I don't ever remember you smoking!" He asks with concern.

"Don't be mad at her, she's stressed out too" Blaze glances back through the window towards Cherry.

"Cherry gave….!?"

Adam shakes his head and bites his tongue, promising himself that this time he won't snap at his daughter for hiding the cigarettes. Instead, he takes a seat on the porch next to Blaze who has bigger problems with her own child than he does right now. She stares out into the distance with sadness on her face.

"We're gonna get Leon back" Adam promises.

"How does he even do that?" Blaze shrugs with disbelief on her face.

"Who?" Adam asks.

"Axel! I've known the truth about Leon for the last day and this is how I'm feeling, but him? He's the one who raised the kid, you'd think he'd be losing his mind right now but Axel's main concern is just to get up and go, then everything will be ok!… I feel so pathetic right now" she frowns.

"It's just his way of dealing with this. Whenever there was a crisis in our team, he was always the one who stayed grounded, focussed and calm in a situation. He's always been like that, I guess that's what war does to you when you're sent to fight at a young age."

"I guess…"

"If anyone has the best chance of winning that fight, it's him. Max is the type of fighter who takes advantage of his opponent's fears and Axel knows him better than any of us. But that strategy wont work against him, even if he can't use his powers because Axel is not afraid to die."

"But I am… I feel like I've died once already. I don't wanna…" she looks at him with sorrow in her eyes.

"Let me tell you something. I might have the best sense of humour and Axel is the most level headed but you…. Deep down you're the strongest and the smartest out of the three of us. You might have just come back into Leon's life, but one day you'll recall everything you've ever survived from. But right now your son needs you more than ever and so do we. You'll realize and remember that sooner or later".

Blaze pauses as she glances at Adam for a moment, sinking deep into her own thoughts.

"What is it?" He asks.

"The more time goes on, the more things I'm starting to remember. Thanks Adam" she gives him a relieved smile.

"Anytime". He gently pats her on the shoulder before getting up to return inside the house.

So far the first day of intensive training has been a productive one for Axel who has wasted no time and is fully focused on the fight ahead. Adam, Estel, Floyd and Dr Zan have also joined forces to plan how they are going to stop the Y-Twins taking control of the city's population as well as the best route that the group can take to fight their way to Y-Tower.

"Again!" Axel demands, punching his fists together as he and Shiva spar in the ring for the third time today.

"Are you sure about this?" Adam shouts out from the side of the mat, noticing that he has been training non stop for the past six hours. He glances up at the clock displaying 5pm.

"I'm sure!" Axel answers.

"But are you sure you'll have enough energy by tomorrow?" Adam questions him with concern.

"I haven't even used half of my energy yet or any of my powers, don't worry man".

"It's true, you have found true strength inside yourself living out in the wilderness all those years. You're a different fighter now, Max and the syndicate won't expect this" Shiva observes as the two of them ready their stance.

"Aren't you going to watch?" Adam asks Blaze as she gets up to leave.

"I'll be back in five minutes, just gotta use the bathroom" she answers, sneakily taking Axel's cell phone with her under his jacket whilst the guys are distracted.

Once Blaze is outside she manages to unlock his phone with ease, guessing that the pin is of course Leon's birthdate. She takes a deep breath before opening Axel's call history, finding the one recent call made this morning to Max's phone.

Feeling anxious, Blaze then decides to take a chance and call the number. It rings five or six times but just as she is about to lose hope of anybody answering, a familiar voice suddenly picks up on the other end of the line.

"Axel! Mr Y told you already what our terms are! What the fuck do you want now?" Max answers. For a moment, Blaze is speechless and can't bring herself to reply to him.

"What are you too much of a pussy to speak?" He says with irritation in his voice.

"Wait!... It's me. Axel doesn't know that I'm calling you" Blaze quietly says to him.

"What the hell do you want?" Max replies.

"I just… I just wanna know that Leon is ok, that's all. I know how much he means to you, you've been in his life ever since he was born…"

"You don't know what you're talking about" Max abruptly answers back.

"Whatever hate you got for Axel right now, I get it and that's between the two of you. But I know you wouldn't hurt Leon. Just let me talk to him for a minute, please" she begs him. There is a short anxious pause between the two of them.

"Max, I know you're there. Please just let me talk to him…." she pleads with him again, trying to wipe the tears running down her face at the same time.

"I'm sorry, I can't do that" Max coldly replies before hanging up, leaving Blaze sat on the ground by herself feeling devastated.

"This time I want you to use your chi" Axel says to Shiva as the two of them continue sparring.

"But then that won't be a fair fight" he replies.

"Do you think Max cares about a fair fight? If I can face you at a disadvantage without using my powers, that's as hard as it's gonna get right?"

"Very well," Shiva agrees.

The fight starts out with an array of fast kicks, punches and blocks with neither of them winning.

"Where's that power of yours then?" Axel queries after ducking from one of Shiva's signature roundhouse kicks.

"I'm just getting warmed up! Once you're tired I'll use my chi. Now that will be the ultimate test" he smirks.

"Very well…" Axel jokingly mocks his friend.

The practise battle between them continues for another 7 minutes as both men use signature moves against one another but are holding back at the same time from depleting their energy. There gets to a point in the fight when Shiva catches Axel off guard with a quick palm strike towards his chest that forces the fighter to stumble backwards and stops his breathing for a moment.

Shiva then takes the upper hand by finally using his powers and splitting himself into three entities that surround Axel. He quickly has to catch his breath back to withstand this type of attack from Shiva that he is unfamiliar with. Axel does his best to attack each of the three entities whilst defending himself from Shiva's energy outbursts, but it is no use. Axel's fists and kicks only pass through his rival's spirit without causing any harm.

After honing his energy back in, Shiva delivers one more brutal attack 'Final Crash' which sends Axel plummeting to the ground defeated.

He lies on his back on the mat, catching his breath with his arms resting over his head.

"That was a good fight," Shiva says, offering his hand to help Axel up off the ground.

"That was some pretty cool shit you did just there. I ain't the only one whose changed as a fighter" he complements, accepting his loss whilst standing back on his feet.

"I can show you how to do it one day. My Buddha conduct has really helped me connect with my spirit but it requires a lot of meditation and takes time" Shiva explains.

"I'm proud of you brother for turning your life around and staying loyal to yourself."

"Arigato," Shiva bows, thanking Axel,

"You'll have to teach me first how to defeat that move though…" Axel says as the two of them step out of the ring.

Blaze interrupts their conversation, standing with her arms folded outside of the ring. "The only way you can beat that move is to attack the source of its power. Going for his spirit wont do a thing, you have to attack his physical body while it's weak".

"Well done, you remember training with me all those years ago" Shiva nods at her.

"I've been fighting with Adam and Shiva all day, you haven't stepped inside that ring once and suddenly you're an expert because I lost a fight?" Axel raises his eyebrows at her, disappointed whilst throwing off his gloves.

"It's clear that you lost not because of Shiva's power. You lost because you didn't see that coming! Maybe I should be the one to fight Max, he knows you too well and will see your instincts coming from a mile away" Blaze replies, feeling pissed off with him.

"Well if you think you're good enough to take on Thunder without using your powers…." Axel throws over towards her a pair of gloves and some padded headgear.

"What the hell is this for? Adam and Shiva haven't had to wear this".

"The last thing you wanna do is suffer another knock to the head, it might inflate your ego even more" he casually says to her.

"Fuck you!" She barks back, shoving the headset aggressively back into his hands. "I'm not the one with the ego here trying to prove something!"

"Really Blaze? Cos all I've seen you do all day is sit around judging. Where is your fight huh?"

"You can use all the strength you have to prepare yourself for this. But until you learn to fight smart, it won't make a single difference!" She lectures him, staring directly into his eyes.

"I'm doing everything I can and I'll decide what's best for this fight! Sitting around here doing nothing ain't gonna bring my son back!"

"Our son!" Blaze shouts back at him without thinking.

"You've been in Leon's life for two days, just let me handle this…"

"And whose fault is that? He would never have run away if you had told him the truth" she replies, brushing past him then walking off.

Blaze's words hurt and hearing those home truths has hit Axel harder than any fight he's ever had to face. He can't help but freeze in the middle of the room with his head bowed down, ashamed of himself.

"If anybody needs me, you all know where my studio is and where I'll be training. If not, I'll meet you on the streets in three days' time. I'm not giving up on saving Leon, I just have to deal with this in my own way from now on", Blaze says with regret before walking out on the team.