Chapter 30

Leon stands anxiously observing from a distance with his hands shaking. He grips tightly onto the gun whilst the two men in front of him intensely glare at one another in the eye. Flames burn from Axel's and Steffan's fists all the way up to their forearms.

Eventually, the silence is broken when Steffan is the first to provoke. "So you think you found true strength over the years huh? I took you in, I made you a champion and the fighter you are today. Now you're nothing but a failure!" He snarls.

"You're gonna pay for everything you've done! No one, and I mean no one gets away with threatening my family!" Axel warns him.

He hears a bitter chuckle back, "And you're weak because of them! I'm disappointed in you son, but I'm sure your boy over there will learn one way or another…."

His last comment is enough to send Axel over the edge. The fighter loses his patience, striking with his fist straight to his ribs. He then executes a scissor kick that catches Steffan around the jaw.

"Not bad, but remember I watched you fight for years…" Steffan grins whilst wiping the blood away from his lip using his sleeve. He then counterattacks, using a double dragon wing with his left arm followed by his right. Both of his arms brightly illuminate in the air like a flamed windmill. The force of this attack aggressively throws Axel backwards onto the ground. "You forget where your power comes from, son!" Steffan rolls up his sleeves then he charges forward. He continues his assault, kicking Axel in the stomach whilst he is down on the floor then Steffan projects a firebolt that punishes the same painful injury further.

"Had enough now?!" He glares down at Axel who is holding onto his stomach coughing, but he hasn't given up yet. As soon as he catches his breath, Axel swings his right leg forward, sweeping his enemy down to the ground. The two men then simultaneously kick up off the floor before their fight starts to get bloodier by the second.

Unexpectedly, Steffan then pulls out a knife from behind. He catches Axel off guard by aggressively swinging the blade forward towards his chest. This forces Axel to jump back, resulting in him using more of his chi as defence where he fires another blast of energy. This time the flames catch Steffan directly in the chest. Leon can't help but stand by himself in the distance, helplessly watching as both men continue to beat the crap out of each other. The two of them fire their chi one by one, attacking and blocking in an intense display of bright energy. Each one of Axel's uppercuts punctures Steffans body with a heavy impact followed by burning heat from the flames. Unfortunately, Axel also experiences the same agony back whenever Steffan counteracts. One of the moves his father uses is an array of fast punches that crash into Axel's chest. Each blow is potentially deadly, burning with a red flame that scolds his torso.

With their fire heavy attacks, it is now only a matter of time until one of them weakens when their energy depletes. Axel is the younger fighter, however he is still suffering from earlier injuries, lack of food and sleep that he has endured over the past couple of days since the plane crash. Only adrenaline is the thing stopping his body from shutting down. Although it is cold outside, the heat from the molten lava and sulphur burning in the air is heavy on their lungs.

The father and son violently fight fire with fire, holding both of their palms up in the air opposite each other. Their energies push against one another whilst they both try to keep their weight forward in order to prevent their feet sliding backwards. The heat from their flames is so close to their faces, if one of them slips up or loses his energy, the other will certainly become badly injured. Both men use all of their strength, remaining in this stance for as long as it takes.

"Why did you kill them!?" Axel grits his teeth through the pain, holding onto every joule of energy he has left.

"I didn't!"

"But you did nothing to stop it!"

"I had no choice! I loved your mother and I wanted to be in your life, but she chose another path. Mr X is responsible for your parent's death!" Steffan replies.

"But you allowed him to get away with it!" Axel shouts through the flames.

"I did everything to save you! I convinced him not to harm you and he didn't! For years I wanted to be part of your life…"

"But you chose this life instead! I'm glad anyway that I didn't have to grow up with this shit or have you as a father!"

"I was willing to give you everything, my whole empire! You were destined to be at the top Axel, not some dismissed soldier or ex-cop…"

"I chose my own path because of what happened to my parents! I'd rather die than inherit anything belonging to you!" He angrily shouts.

"Too bad then" Steffan casually replies. "There are always other options and Leon is still my grandson after all. Perhaps once you're dead I'll have that second chance I deserve at being a father figure…." Unexpectedly, Steffan's face turns to one of distress where he struggles to breathe whilst rapidly losing his energy. The flames emitting from his palms then start to slowly die down.

"Too bad I ain't ever gonna let that happen…" Axel promises, knowing that he now has the upper hand in the fight.

Once Steffan's fire has all depleted, Axel also decides cut out his own flames. There is nothing more shameful than an unfair fight against a weaker opponent. So the two of them continue, this time using only their fists and kicks. Steffan digs deep to find any energy he has left where he manages to grab onto Axel's T-shirt. His attempted grapple however, is short lived when Axel unexpectedly headbutts him. He continues to push Steffan back, by punching, elbowing and kicking without stopping. The very existence of his father releases all of his rage, anger and the pain left inside of Axel that has built up over the years. The intensity of every punch and kick is harsher with each passing second until Axel reaches the point when he forgets that he is beating his opponent to death. All Steffan's motionless body can do now is laugh through the pain as his back edges nearer to the toxic water and molten lava behind them.

Until finally, Steffan ends up fallen and beaten on his knees with his face almost unrecognisable.

"There he is, that's the fighter I raised!" Steffan heckles with pride. "Now finish what you've started!" He demands, spitting blood.

Axel then takes a deep breath, raising his burning fist in the air whilst glaring down at his father with hate in his eyes.

"Do it!" Steffan insists.

"Dad, stop! You're gonna kill him!" Suddenly Axel feels the gun pressed against his back.

"See Leon? Your father is a killer!" Steffan shouts. This immediately snaps Axel out of his fit of rage.

Axel can't help but stare down at the old man. From this moment on, all of his anger has been released, but it hasn't made any difference. The only feeling Axel has left is pity.

"You always mention how hard life used to be not being able to raise me or have a family, but that was all your choice. How the hell do you think I felt when I found out the truth about you and what you did?!" Axel yells at him now with hurt and water in his eyes.

"I'm sorry…" Steffan whispers, staring down at the ground with guilt on his face.

"It's not just you." Axel shakes his head then sighs. "I was the one who also made a mistake when I tried to kill you the first time. But ending your life isn't the answer to all this. I'm showing you mercy and this is over now!" To Steffan's surprise, Axel suddenly loosens his grip around Steffan's neck then cuts out the flame in his other hand, sparing his life.

Straight away, Leon follows his fathers example. The boy lowers the gun, then he empties it's cartridge before throwing the weapon and it's parts down on the ground. Axel briefly turns to give him a reassuring smile, signalling to the boy that no matter what has happened, everything is still going to be ok.

He then decides to turn back to face Steffan who is lying on the floor, beaten and badly injured. "I'm giving you one last chance to leave this place alive before the others come to arrest you."

"Thank you…" Steffan gratefully replies, hanging his head in shame as he avoids Axel's eye contact.

Axel then crouches down next to his body, wiping away the sweat and blood under his eyes.

It takes a lot, and all the emotional trauma inside of him to say what he is about to say.

"You're still my father, but I never wanna see your face again. Remember I'm the one who lives everyday with the consequences of what you did and the people you allowed to die."

"I understand…" Steffan nods.

"Understand this then. You'll never again come near me, Blaze, Leon or my daughter ever once she's born."

"I won't…" he nods.

Without saying anymore, Axel rises up to standing. "Come on Leon, let's get out of here." He takes the boy's hand then the two of them slowly walk away without turning back.

"I'm so sorry daddy," Leon looks up at him with tears and guilt in his eyes.

"It's ok. I could never be angry with you and we all make mistakes. That kinda father you see over there, that's not me." Axel crouches down in front of him. "I know you were just trying to protect your mom and the baby but know that you and them are my whole world and nothing is ever gonna change that."

Leon immediately wraps his arms around him, resting his head on his shoulder whilst tightly hugging him.

"I wanna go home…" He whispers.

"Me too. But first we need to go find the others…" Axel takes his hand once again as the two of them head towards the stairwell.

"Dad, wait!" Leon suddenly panics. They're faces turn to horror when they hear the gun clip behind them in the distance.

"Didn't I once say to you that putting other lives before your own makes you weak?!" Steffan hatefully snarls, pointing the firearm in their direction. "I built an empire from nothing! You made a mistake by not finishing what you started…"

"Leon, get behind me!" Axel shouts with urgency as he steps in front of the boy to protect him. He stands only two metres in front of Steffan with his hands in the air.

"Come on then, get it over with and kill me! But do me a favour and aim a little higher, right here above my chest." He demands. "I might deserve to die, but Leon's innocent and he's getting out of here alive, ok?" Axel pleads with him.

"Dad, no!" Leon yells, tightly gripping onto the back of his shirt.

"You can shoot me but just let him live, he's just a kid…" Axel insists.

Steffan's hand starts to shake as he stares back at Axel in the eye, pausing for a moment.

"I'm sorry…"

Unexpectedly, Steffan suddenly turns the gun around, resting it on the side of his head. He then closes his eyes and pulls the trigger.

"DAD! NO!" The loud gunshot sound causes Leon to cry out behind Axel, believing for a moment that his father has just been killed.

Axel freezes in shock for a second as he stares down at Steffan's dead body before he turns around to face Leon. "It's ok, I'm still here. I'm alive, everything is ok I promise…" he tries his best to calm the boy down, lifting him up off the ground and holding him close as tears fall down Leon's face.

"Don't look back, ok? Just keep your eyes shut…" Axel says as he carries him away from the scene, trying his best to shield the boy's view from the pool of blood and brains scattered over the floor next to Steffan's dead body.

"I'm still here, everything is gonna be ok. We're going home, I promise…"

"Last one we've got!" Estel paces backwards after projecting her grenade up in the air, aiming towards the centre of the satellite dish. She runs away once it is in place then she quickly dives her body behind some rocks. The explosion is deafening where it shatters the 20ft high dish into pieces.

"The last signal to Wood Oak is now dead!" Cherry smiles, peaking at the aftermath of the blast from behind another rock.

Estel wipes the sweat from her forehead. "Nice work you two!" She compliments Cherry and Shiva for their efforts.

"We have to get back on that roof now and help the others" Shiva wastes no time where he is keen to help in the fight.

"Agreed," Estel nods.

On the roof of the fortress, Adam, Blaze, Floyd and Max each have their work cut out battling Mr and Ms Y.

"You two motherfuckers are just like your father!" Adam snarls after leaping sideways in order to avoid more flying bullets. Mr Y huffs with frustration when he wastes another round.

"Cover for me!" He orders his sister whilst reloading the gun.

She charges ahead with full steam, pointing her blade straight towards Adam's direction.

"Kikousho!" Blaze fires her chi from a distance which catches Ms Y in the back, causing her to stumble. This gives Adam enough time to grapple and throw his enemy backwards. At the same time, Max and Floyd rush forward towards Mr Y's direction before he has the chance to fire any more bullets. However, their young enemy is too fast for them where he ends up rolling out of the way, giving himself enough time to snap his gun back in place.

"Cover! Now!" Adam yells before further bullets frantically fire again in every direction.

"We need the others!" Blaze says to him as the two of them duck behind one of the broken pillars.

They wait and hide patiently whilst there is a brief minute of silence in the air around them.

"Come on….!" Mr Y teases. "The sooner you all come out, the faster you can die!" He heckles, pacing around with his gun proudly in the air. Ms Y cautiously rises to her feet after falling hard on the ground from Adam's throw. She cautiously starts to scan the area around them, trying to figure out which pillars or monuments they could be hiding behind.

Adam whispers to Blaze "If we both attack first at the same time with our powers from each side, we can…"

"I don't think I can hold them off for long…" she painfully shakes her head with regret.

"Why not? What do you mean?" He frowns.

She then opens the base of her leather jacket, revealing a stab wound from Ms Y's sword on her side.

"Jesus…" Adam gulps looking down at the bleeding slash which is only going to get worse.

"Max is also shot…" They peer to the side where Max and Floyd are also taking cover behind two other pillars. They notice blood stains from his shoulder where one of the bullets has caught him.

"You have to come out eventually…!" Ms Y shouts once again, grinning and patiently waiting for one of her enemies to appear so that they can be shot and killed.

"If I go first, it will give you and the others the chance to escape…" Adam whispers.

"No!… Think of Cherry and Chris. You might be able to take down one of them, but the other twin will have the opportunity to kill you. Don't do it….!"

"We can't just wait…"

"No, please don't!" Blaze insists.

Their eyes widen with horror as soon as they hear a loud thump on the ground. It causes the floor around them to tremble. The noise repeats again and again, similar to metal crashing hard into the concrete.

"What the fuck…?" Adam sweats nervously whilst clenching his fists with his back against the pillar.

"Don't do it…" he lip reads Blaze's words as she tugs on his arm, shaking her head with worry.

He slowly turns his gaze to peer behind them, immediately shocked when he witnesses a large mechanical spider-like weapon moving towards them with Mr Y at the centre of it's control.

"You've always underestimated my abilities, Hunter. Now, get ready because you, your friends and everyone you care for is about to die!" He pledges.