Chapter 24

There is an awkward silence at the long dinner table. Only the sound of cutlery against their plates echoes inside the old mediaeval styled dining room.

Feeling famished, Leon is the fastest to tuck into his meal consisting of roasted chicken, potatoes, green vegetables and gravy.

"There's also desert if you want. We have our own team of professional chefs here", Steffan informs him.

"Ok," The boy happily nods, having not had a proper hot meal for the last 3 days.

"All I'll ever require of you both is half an hour per day of your energy, that's all. This place is your home now before we can settle back at Wood Oak. Any food you want, a warm place to sleep and security is all ready for you. I can even hire the best tutors. Plus Leon can start daily combat training from next week…" Steffan explains.

"All for the the price of our freedom!" Blaze pessimistically snaps back.

"You should really finish your food there, gotta keep your strengths up now that you're eating for two!"

Blaze arrogantly stabs her knife into one of the potatoes then picks it up to eat it. "This knife isn't sharp enough…" she remarks, staring back at him with hate in her eyes.

"I'm trying my best here Blaze, but you're making this difficult" Steffan shrugs, sitting back in his chair as he takes another sip from his wine glass.

"Difficult? Wait until Axel finds us. He won't let you get away with this!" She grins back at him with determination in her eyes.

"Oh, that actually reminds me! You should know that my team has now uncovered all of the bodies from that plane crash. Would you like me to give you an update?" Steffan asks.

Blaze takes a deep breath as her heart skips a beat. She first glances over towards Leon before turning her attention back to him with fear on her face.

"No, not right now" Blaze shakes her head.

"I understand."

"I wanna know who died on that plane!" Leon frowns.

"Just a whole load of syndicate thugs who worked for Mr Y. We uncovered 18 of his fighters but the man himself is still missing…"

"Ok…" the boy sighs, feeling relieved.

"Why don't you go through to the kitchen over there. There's homemade chocolate cake, Grace will serve some up for you if you ask her nicely".

Leon then turns to look at Blaze.

"Go on…" she nods before he rushes off.

"I don't know what game you're trying to play with him but…"

"There's something you need to know that I couldn't tell you when Leon was here. They've found his body Blaze," Steffan interrupts, informing her with regret in his voice.

"What? No!" She replies with shock.

"I'm sorry. Mr Y brought down that plane and must have jumped out before they crashed. Axel is dead."

"No! You're lying!... LIAR!" She shouts, slamming her fists into the table whilst shaking her head with disbelief.

"I know this is hard to hear but we did everything we could to save him. I wanted to wait until Leon wasn't around to tell you, I'm so sorry…" He says, trying to put one hand on her shoulder.

"Don't touch me!" She hastily backs away.

"I can show you the body if you don't believe me. I never wanted this either, he was my son!" Steffan frowns.

Blaze freezes for a moment, trembling with shock in front of him.

"I can break the news to Leon if it's easier…" he suggests.

"No! I wanna see for myself first…"

"Mom! I saved you a slice of cake. You're probably still hungry, eat this…" The boy rushes back into the dining hall then he places the extra plate on the table in front of her.

"I'm fine, I don't want anything right now. Take your plate upstairs and go to bed!" Blaze tells him.

"But…!"

"I SAID GO!" She aggressively snaps, immediately filled with regret after yelling at him.

Without a second thought, Leon rushes off having witnessed his mother's temper flaring out at him for the first time in his life.

"If what you're saying is true, I wanna see him and I wanna bury him myself…" Blaze breaks down at the end of her sentence as tears begin to roll down her face.

"Ok…" Steffan nods. "Follow me this way…"

The walk down to the lab is quiet and serene. The two of them pass several dead bodies with identified name tags on their bags. Most of which Blaze recognises including syndicate thugs like Barney and Ruby whom she once fought with before. The smell of death becomes stronger with every passing moment.

"Would you excuse me?" Blaze requests. She quickly runs inside one of the lab's bathrooms to be sick. Nothing or no one could have ever prepared her for this moment. The thought of going through the rest of her life without Axel piled with the fact that their chances of making it out of there are not worth baring. She takes a moment to herself in the bathroom, staring in the mirror at her reflection as well as the small bump on her stomach. The worst part of it all is accepting the fact that this baby will never know who her father really is.

Meanwhile outside of the bathroom, Steffan summons Dr Dahm.

"Is the body presentable?" He asks.

"Yes Sir".

"Good. Because I want Leon to also see this. Make sure that all the surveillance is switched on in there…"

Just as he finishes his sentence, Blaze exits the bathroom.

"Are you ready to go in?" Steffan asks.

She gives him a bleak nod, eyes reddened having lost all hope.

"I gave him his own room, and a proper place to rest. Not just some body bag. We can bury him however you want…" Steffan says as he opens another door. "Take all the time you need in there…"

Blaze looks back at him before the door shuts behind her. Her heart pounds fast in her chest whilst she paces forward step by step towards a wooden casket centred at the end of the room. It is surrounded by an array of candles and low lit lighting. As she draws in closer, her worst fears are confirmed when she finds Axel peacefully lying in the casket with his eyes closed.

She places her hand over her mouth, struggling to breathe as she stares down at his body feeling devastated and grief-stricken.

"I can't believe… no, no, no…!" She gently touches his face and holds his hand as tears start to fall over the casket.

The feeling of his skin is different to usual. His touch feels empty and cold, where there is no more life left inside of him.

"I love you so much. I promise I will get Leon out of here, and this baby will grow up knowing that you tried to save us." Blaze then rests her head next to his, heartbroken and not ready yet to say goodbye.

"I kept this, it was the last thing you gave to me with the note…" she smiles, pulling out the chain under her top with his wedding ring around it. "I'll take care of this always… I know marrying you would have been one of the happiest moments of my life. We'll miss you so much…" she sobs, sitting still for several moments in shock, still holding onto him.

"Your note said you had my ring too. Well know that my heart is always gonna belong to you, no matter what…" After another moment of sadness, Blaze tries to look inside the casket as well as the pockets of his jeans in order to find her future wedding ring, but it is nowhere to be seen.

"I wish you were still with me…" she cries, resting her head against his chest.

Suddenly, after a brief pause, Blaze opens her eyes, panicking after feeling a tight grip around her neck. She stares down in disbelief thinking that this whole ordeal is just one big nightmare. Feeling disturbed to her core, she witnesses Axel staring back at her, strangling her.

"Axel, it's me! Let go…!" She struggles to speak. He suddenly pushes her back on the floor then leaps out of the casket.

"What are you doing?! What have they done to you?!" Blaze stares back at him puzzled as he charges forward towards her.

"It's me! Don't you remember?!" She holds her hands up in the air, but he ignores her. He then decides to drag her up off the ground towards the wall.

Again with speed, he grips his left hand around her neck whilst his right fist burns with fire.

"Axel, what are you doing? It's me! Please let me go, I don't wanna fight you…." Blaze's back is now pressed against the wall as he tightens his grip further around her neck.

"I never betrayed you, I swear! Please stop, you're gonna hurt the baby…" Blaze nervously glances to her side, unable to feel the ground under her feet where he has raised her up in the air against the wall. She tightly grips her own hands around his arm that is holding her up by the neck. As the seconds pass by, it becomes more and more difficult to make Axel see sense and he refuses to let go with rage in his eyes.

Blaze now has no choice but to retaliate, firing her own chi from one hand towards his chest. This immediately causes him to loosen his grip and stumble backwards. She falls hard on the ground, catching her breath back whilst smelling smoke. She then looks up at him for a moment, noticing his face reddening with a hint of smoke appearing from his side, coming to the realisation that this is not him!

"OPEN THE DOOR! HELP ME!" Blaze shouts, banging onto the wall behind her. But it's too late. Break charges forward towards her with his fists on fire, attacking with one upper cut after another, punching into the wall over and over again next to her as she tries to avoid most of his punches. All Blaze can do in that moment is curl up on the ground with her arms covering her face and body to protect herself and the baby.

She then realises that she has two choices. Either remain on the floor and die, or get up and fight. Blaze uses her power to send another shockwave into his chest, this time causing further smoke to radiate from his body. This gives her the chance to rise up to standing as she readies her fighting stance. She then cartwheels back, kicking Break to the face, narrowly avoiding his scissor kicks towards her.

Without wasting any time, Blaze then charges forward, fast kicking and punching him repeatedly. His metallic structure is tough on her fists but this isn't enough to deter Blaze. She then attempts to grapple the robot but ends up falling backwards as he uses a fast paced dragon wing against her. Now with his metallic fists out, Break gains the upper hand, charging forward towards Blaze who is now lying motionless on the ground on her front with her hands over her head.

"Shut him down now!" Steffan orders. Dr Dahm immediately presses a button on his keypad that sends the robot into a dormant state once again.

The two of them quickly unlock the door then barge into the room.

"Blaze, can you hear me?" Steffan crouches down next to her, checking her pulse. It is lightly beating but she appears to be unconscious.

"You promised Mr X's robot would not go that far! If she loses that baby, it's on you!" He turns around, aggressively grabbing Dr Dahm by the collar.

"I'll do what I can, I promise!" The scientist places his hands up in the air. "I'm your only hope in saving Blaze and that baby…"

Steffan has no choice but to let him go.

"Get your team to repair the robot then fix up the surveillance up to the moment Blaze started fighting back. I warn you though, I won't hesitate to end your life if that baby dies!" Steffan clenches his burning fist in front of the scientist's face.

Dr Dahm immediately calls upon his fellow scientists who place Blaze on a stretcher then they swiftly take her away to the emergency room.

"What are you gonna tell the boy?" He queries.

"Leave that with me. In the meantime, you'd better pray that my other grandchild is still alive!" He angrily storms off.

Ash and smoke surround the area of the plane's crash site just off of the coast of the island. The words 'Open the Door! Help Me!' echo through the ringing in Axel's ears as he opens his eyes. He finds himself laying on his stomach across the ground, barely able to move or keep his eyes open. "Blaze?!" He shouts, trying his best to scan his surroundings. Axel could have sworn that he just heard her voice, but there is no sign of her around. In front of him on the earth lies Blaze's ring. It reflects the light from the flames close by. Axel painfully crawls forward until he is close enough to reach for it. He then slowly pushes himself up to his knees, scanning the crash site around him.

There is blood everywhere and shards of metal with parts of the plane broken and scattered in the distance. To his horror, he notices his friends and team lying helplessly on the ground, unsure whether or not they are still alive or dead. The closest person to him is Max, so he crawls forward towards him.

"Max? Can you hear me?" Axel tries to listen to his pulse then he attempts to wake him up.

"Max….!?"

To his relief, his friend finally opens his eyes. "Aaahh… I think something hit my head during the crash…" Max complains.

"Can you move?" Axel asks, holding out his hand to help him up.

"Yeah…"

"We need to check on the others if they're alive then get everyone to safety. It won't be long until the twins or Steffan's officers try to find us…." Axel cautiously glances around.

"I hear you!" Max nods, hoping that the rest of the team have made it through the crash alive.