Chapter 25

13 years earlier.

Blaze stood impatiently, pacing up and down the empty hallway with her earphones still intact. She had arrived hours ago, long before anybody else. Anticipation for the evening ahead was constantly knocking at the back of her mind. So she softly closed her eyes, then marked her steps as the music rang through her ears on repeat.

"Hey, I thought you could use one of these…"

For a moment, Blaze's heart leaped out of her chest as soon as he tapped her on the shoulder.

"AXEL! Jesus, you scared the shit out of me!" Blaze immediately removed her earphones and caught her breath back.

"Sorry, I can come back later…" he awkwardly shrugged, handing over to her a Galaxy bar he bought from the downstairs vending machine.

"It's ok…. Thanks" Blaze guiltily smiled as she took the chocolate from his hand.

"How come you're here so early? It's only 3pm," Axel asked.

Blaze shrugged, gazing out into the distance. "I guess I'm just…. Nervous?" Her eyes darted around then back towards his.

"Why? You've worked so hard for this! If that stage director doesn't see your talent, then he doesn't know what's good. Plus you know where I am if anyone needs their asses kicked!"

Blaze instantly let out a giggle at his joke. "I doubt that will be necessary. But if my dance partner doesn't arrive here anytime soon, I will be the one kicking Paulo's ass for sure!"

"The guy is probably stuck in traffic out there, I'm sure he'l be here," Axel calmly replied.

"But I told him to get here at 2:30pm sharp! I'm literally gonna go ape shit when I see him!" Blaze huffed.

"Isn't your audition at 7 though?"

"It is, but I wanted to practise and run through our choreography together. I feel so underprepared now…!" Blaze let out a deep, nervous sigh as she defeatedly placed one hand on her hip and the other on her forehead.

"Why don't I run it with you?" Axel suggested.

"Come on," Blaze laughed. "You don't even dance during our undercover bar raids! How are you gonna help me practise?"

"If you must know, I do happen to have a few hidden moves! Just show me what to do and you can properly mark your steps…" he nodded.

"Yeah right!" Blaze arrogantly replied, laughing at him.

"Ok, suit yourself. I was only tryna help. Good luck, I'll see you later" Axel turned to walk away.

"Wait..!" Blaze shouted, feeling bad. "That was a bitch move and I'm sorry,"

"It's ok, I'm used to your many moods" Axel turned back around with a smile and a raised eyebrow.

"Ok, so you put one hand right here behind my back, and I'll grab the other.." she instructed, adjusting their hold.

"...that's it!" Blaze smiled. "Now step back with your right foot…"

The next two hours quickly turned from stress and anxiety to pure fun as the two of them managed to practise and mark out the whole audition routine. The afternoon had flown by and before they knew it, other auditionees started to arrive. The others could see that Axel wasn't a professional dancer, but the pair of them made one hell of a couple with bags of chemistry between them.

"Hey Blaze, I'm so sorry I'm late! My alarm went wrong and then the whole journey was a shambles!... Hey, thanks man," A flustered looking Paulo nodded at Axel.

"It's ok! Don't stress about it," Blaze smiled at her dance partner who was carrying a sports bag and a silver mini suitcase with his shoes and costumes inside.

"Thanks for your help back there," Blaze turned back towards Axel as they separated their hold.

"Aw it's nothing. Good luck partner, you got this!" He winked as he watched her leave for the main reception.

During the hour that passed, Axel waited outside the large studios on the corner of the street. He'd worked up an appetite and by now, it was getting dark outside. The weeks running up to Christmas were particularly notorious for muggings and street violence. Even though he was off duty tonight, Axel could still pick up the scent of the thugs ready to break the law on these streets.

"You're still here?"

He turned around with his hands in his pocket as he heard Blaze's voice, happy to see her.

"Hey, how did it go?"

Without saying a word, she shook her head defeatedly as she stared down towards the ground. "...Oh, I'm sorry" Axel replied.

"You know, I worked so hard! Every morning before our shifts, I was up at 5am practising. But I completely messed it up! They said I was so close to getting the part, but someone else auditioned at the last minute and she killed it!" Blaze sighed.

"That's still amazing how far you got out of hundreds that auditioned. I'm sure there will be more opportunities out there, it's only a matter of time."

"Thanks but, I know it wasn't meant to be. I've accepted the fact that I'm still gonna be a rookie cop for at least the next year or so," Blaze regretfully smiled.

"Rookie? You're only 19 but you ain't no rookie! If anyones a rookie, it's me!" Axel laughed.

"Yeah well, Bernstein hates your ass for not following protocol!"

"I can't help it though," he proudly smirked.

"To be honest, most of the time the hunches you get turn out to be right anyway. I don't understand what his problem is! Once I graduate, I don't think I'll be working at that precinct for much longer," Blaze explained as the two of them stopped outside one of the burger stands on the next block.

"Hey, can I get one cheeseburger and one double with bacon and cheese, both with extra fries, two chocolate shakes and buffalo chicken wings," Axel ordered.

"I am definitely hungry after all that dancing!" Blaze laughed.

"Make that first burger a double then!" Axel turned back to the server.

Blaze took out her purse, "I'm getting this. Thanks for sticking around and helping me practise today" she smiled back at him.

The pair sat down outside on one of the benches as they started to eat.

"So what were you saying about working at the precinct?" Axel asked.

"I don't know, I just hate how it's being run. It feels like the senior officers there are just doing the job for stats and to impress the government. When it comes to the real crimes like on these streets and on the real victims who need us, they don't seem to give a shit".

"That reminds me, there's something I've been meaning to ask you Blaze,"

"Sure", she answered.

"Adam and I, plus a few other officers feel the same way as you about the department. So we've come up with a plan…"

Blaze cocked her head to one side with curiosity. "Why do I get the feeling that this does not sound legit?"

Axel laughed, "You know me so well!"

"So what's this plan you and Hunter got going on then?"

"I think you'd be interested. The last month, he and I have been taking to the streets ourselves every night. Cleaning up the crime around here…"

"What, like vigilantes?" Blaze queried.

"Kinda, but the police are helping and backing us up. Well, Murphy and his officers are at least…"

"Are you serious?! Do you know what kind of trouble you guys could get into with Bernstein if he finds out?"

"So? Do you wanna join us or what? We could use your help," Axel asked.

"Hell yeah, I wanna join!" Blaze grinned, keen to break the rules and make a difference to society.

"Cheers to the newest member of our team then", Axel saluted.

"To our team," Blaze smiled.

The clouds drew in as the rain started to pour down heavily. Then suddenly, he blinked and found himself standing in the same car park that Axel frequently saw in his dreams.

Blaze's body was lying motionless on the ground in front of him. She was lying in a pool of blood, surrounded by blood stained gold knuckle dusters. He tried to shout for help and resuscitate her, but as usual, no sound was coming out of his mouth.

Then he heard the echo of Adam's voice in the distance. "Wake up! "Wake up, we have to go now!"

Abruptly, Axel opened his eyes in a sweat. He had just been laying on the ground outside for hours in a meditative state. At first, he felt dazed and slightly confused, but it didn't take long for Axel to realise that he was dreaming of the past and now he was back to the present.

He slowly stood up to his feet, "everything ready?" Axel asked.

"Yeah, except we have a major problem…." Adam sighed, shaking his head.

"What?"

"Cherry. I think she sneaked out to go to that concert…."

"Shit!" Axel replied as the two of them rushed out the door.


The first half of the concert went down a treat with the audience who was geared up and ready for more to come. The atmosphere wasn't that of a typical Wood Oak tour. DJ K-Washi had a huge following but there were some serious hard core fans of his that would almost go wild into a trance-like state on purpose when they listened to his music. Cherry and her friends witnessed a few of these groups nearby amongst the raving atmosphere. She figured their behaviour must have been a result of the drugs they were taking.

They had now reached the intermission of the concert, but the teenage guitarist still had one eye observing around them just in case her father or any of his colleagues showed up in the main hall.

"You ok Cherry?" Paige asked.

"Yeah! Excuse me, I just need the bathroom…" she paced away as soon as she spotted a figure that she could just about make out in the distance by the entrance. It appeared to be Max standing by the fire exit.

As she drew in closer to the wrestler, Cherry quickly snuck past him as soon as he turned his head to scan the other side of the crowd. Cherry immediately paced forward towards the entrance to the female restrooms outside. There, she had a decent view of the crowds standing in the reception and ticket sales area, buying their drinks and food during the interval.

Cherry gasped as soon as she recognised her father standing by one of the doorways posing as a security guard. She figured that he'd probably taken one of the bouncers out then replaced him to blend in. "Fuck, fuck, fuck!" Cherry hastily whispered to herself, knowing full well that she was already in big trouble just for sneaking out.

There was no way now of getting out of the restrooms without him spotting her as most of the crowd had now returned back inside for the second half. Cherry had no choice other than to lay low and hide where she was, at least until Adam moved.

Outside, Adam discretely spoke through his earpiece. "Axel, can you hear me? You need to hurry the fuck up and find him. They're gonna know something is up….. Ax?...Shit!" He began to panic.

Suddenly, ten large mechanical doors began to activate around the perimeter of the hall over the regular exit and fire exit doors already there. "What the…." Adam looked on with surprise.

And then, out of the corner of his eye, Adam witnessed the Y-Twins approaching the very last entrance on the other side. Ignoring the other bouncers around him, he ran as fast as he could towards them. But it was too late.

By the time Adam drew in closer, they had already entered the concert hall and the doors were fully sealed shut.

Adam frantically tried to break one of the doors, but it was no use. "Max? Max, are you still inside?" He radioed.

"Yeah, did you get hold of Washi yet?" The wrestler replied.

"Max, they've sealed the fucking doors!"

Max carefully reached for one of the metal bars on the fire exit behind him. Although the door opened, he realised that behind it was no longer the pathway to the street. Instead, a solid metal wall was now surrounding it.

"Shit! That wasn't there earlier!"

"Max, find a way out and please find my daughter! I'm gonna see if I can access the controls to these doors. They have to be close by…!" As Adam finished his sentence, the rest of the bouncers dressed in grey and cream suits surrounded him.

"Put your hands in the air!" One of them shouted as he held up a handgun. "NOW MOTHERFUCKER!" The bouncer named Gold reiterated.

Adam slowly raised up his palms but as one of the others closed in on him, the boxer reached forward to grab and twist his wrist. Adam immediately disarmed the guard, effortlessly snatching his gun before holding the weapon against his head with a firm elbow around the man's neck.

"Now you fellas wouldn't wanna do anything stupid now…" He ordered.

"Let him go!" Gold shouted.

"Fuck you!" Adam spat back as he shot him in the chest. The other two bouncers retaliated by firing bullets towards him, but they only ended up penetrating the bodyguard that Adam was holding onto. He had used the large man as a human shield.

With ease, Adam then jumped forward and leapt up in the air into a split kick that immediately knocked both men down to the ground. Bullets were firing everywhere, but no one in the concert hall could hear them due to the loud music playing.

"Where are the controls to those doors?!" Adam demanded, pointing the gun at one of the bouncers laying on the ground.

The man who was bleeding from the side of his head shrugged without giving him an answer. So Adam decided to shoot the bouncer's colleague in the leg.

"I said, WHERE ARE THE FUCKING CONTROLS?!"

"I, I don't know…" Adam then shot the man directly in his thigh. The bouncer immediately let out a cold shriek as all three of them were now laying on the ground in agony, but still alive.

"Now I'm a patient man, but if you don't give me some fucking answers, I'm gonna be firing more bullets at you fellas, understood?"

Inside the restroom, all Cherry could hear was the bass of the music from the hall as well as the echoes of several bullets. At that point, she hid inside one of the cubicles, scared and shaken up. Inside her thoughts, she instantly regretted even coming here, knowing full well that she should have listened to her father. It did give her some comfort however, to know that he was here in the building and if anyone could save those people who were in danger, it would be him.

Cherry locked the door then sat high up with her feet on the toilet seat and her back against the wall. For the first time in a long time, she was frightened and was shaken to her core.


Next the hall on one side was a dark backstage area that Axel was cautiously walking through. So far, he had effortlessly taken out three of K-Washi's bodyguards, but his radio in his ear was failing and there was currently no signal from either Max or Adam. As he kicked down the door to the DJ's dressing room, it appeared empty and in a mess with records, glass and papers scattered everywhere.

Then, at the back of the dressing room appeared to be another black doorway, possibly leading to a different entrance on the other side of the stage. Axel quietly entered the dark corridor, immediately noticing a trail of blood on the ground next to his shoe. As he paced forward, the sound of the music and the crowd became louder. This path was ultimately going to lead onto the stage, but what was going on here? And where was K-Washi right now? His supporting acts were singing on stage, but the man himself was nowhere to be seen.

Then Axel heard a loud groan, as if somebody had just been painfully shocked with electricity. By the side of the stage, DJ K Washi was huddled up on the floor behind the curtain getting his ass kicked by a masked fighter dressed in all black ninja attire. The noise of the music was so loud that it would have been impossible for anyone to notice a sound coming from back there.

The ninja spoke in his ear, then reached for a cable sparking violently with electric current.

"I don't know anything, I swear!" K Washi begged for mercy on the ground with his hands up. It was clear that he was badly injured with his head disorientated and in a daze. Blood was all over his signature helmet and white suit.

"You're gonna tell me what the fuck is going on here!" The ninja demanded, holding up the live wire next to his ear.

"Hey! I need him alive!" Axel spat whilst he snuck up from behind, kicking the live wire straight out of the masked fighter's hand.

Unexpectedly, the ninja quickly leapt up and fought back, delivering several fast flying kicks straight into Axel's chest and face. For a moment, he stumbled backwards towards the dressing room but to his surprise, instead of the fighter taking advantage of this, they froze for a moment in front of him. Through the darkness, Axel could see this was a female fighter, around 5ft7 in height.

"I don't know who sent you, but whatever the fuck is going on, I need him alive!" Axel demanded as he attempted to push the masked fighter to one side.

Instead of allowing him to pass, she stood her ground in front of him, then in one swift move, she ducked and swept the back of his legs.

"Big mistake!" Axel snarled, annoyed as he kicked up off the ground.

As she ran back towards the injured DJ, Axel projected forward a small fire bolt that caught the fighter in the lower back on her right side. To his surprise, she was in pain for a moment, but didn't give up. Instead, she reacted with an elbow strike to his chest, followed by further kicks and punches that he was forced to block.

Back here, Axel had expected to find himself in a fight only with K-Washi, not to have his work cut out with a new killer opponent. She had the advantage in terms of speed, but he used it against her with his strength as his enemy started to become tired. Then finally, as she attempted to grapple him for a throw, Axel blocked her wrists. He then pushed her where her back ended up against the wall. He firmly pressed his elbow against her sternum, stopping her from moving with his forearm.

"I told you, that was a big mistake!" Without hesitation, one of his fists started to flare in flames as Axel got ready to end the fight there and then.

"NO!..." She shouted, recognising that he was above to deliver a signature killer uppercut. "don't!...Please", the fighter breathed heavily.

Instead of punching his opponent, Axel instantly pulled off her mask.

He immediately took a gasp in astonishment as her long brown hair scattered over her face with blood under her lips.

"BLAZE!"

His blue eyes dilated and his tone was full of shock. Blaze however, coldly stared back at him, frozen and speechless.

"Shit, I could have killed you just now! What the hell are you doing here?... Are you ok?" Axel started to panic, knowing that he didn't hold back during that fight, yet he wondered why Blaze didn't stop or say anything.

As Axel caught his breath, he lowered his arm that was across her neck, whilst the flame under his fist depleted.

"Blaze?" This time his tone was almost begging for her to say something back, but instead, she greeted him with a hard slap across his face.

"Get the fuck out of my way!" Blaze angrily demanded as she attempted to pass him in order to finish taking K-Washi in as her hostage.

"I can't let you do that," Axel shook his head.

"Then I guess you'll have to kill me then," Blaze hatefully snarled as her shoulder brushed past his. "...Fuck! He was here just a second ago!" She panicked.

As the two fighters looked down, all that remained was a small pool of blood and the broken electric cable. K-Washi had taken full advantage and had made a run for it during their fight.

"This is all your fault! I had him then you had to show up! Now look!" Blaze shouted in anger.

"You were gonna kill our prized witness against the twins, what was I supposed to do?" Axel argued.

"You don't know that! I was just demanding answers from him!"

"You think he would have survived 300 volts back there?"

"Stay the hell away from me!" Blaze warned as she frantically looked around the backstage area. She limped forward, injured and bleeding from where the firebolt struck her.

"After we find him, you gotta get to a hospital before that wound gets infected…"

"I don't need your advice, I can look after myself!" Blaze huffed.

"Wait…" Axel tried to remain quiet for a moment. He could hear something strange was starting to go down on the stage.

"You honestly think you can suddenly just show up here after 10 years and tell me what to do? Fuck you Axel!" Blaze angrily replied.

"Ssssh, can you hear that?"

"Hear what?!" She irritably answered.

The two of them cautiously glanced towards the stage lights in the distance in front of the curtains. The music had suddenly cut out and the sound of a male voice had taken to the microphone.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I apologise for the interruption to your concert tonight….."

"That's him! That's Mr Y!" Blaze whispered with urgency in her voice.

The Syndicate boss stood at the centre of the stage in his long white coat. His bright fair hair shone under the lights as he addressed the audience. The bloodied DJ K-Washi was now standing behind him.

"Sadly tonight, a group of vigilantes…" he paused, "The same group who killed our beloved father, infiltrated this building and viciously attacked the star of our show in order to get to my sister and I…"

The audience instantly started to boo and whistle.

"Regretfully, for your own safety, we have had to seal the doors of the hall. But I can promise you, we will find them and they will pay for what they have done to him…."

"No, wait! Not yet!" Axel quickly pulled Blaze back by her arm as soon as she attempted to step out onto the stage to make the kill. "We're stuck in here! They'll kill us both and all of those people. Just be patient, they'll get what they deserve…."

"Washi! Washi! Washi!..." the audience began to loudly chant.

The enigmatic DJ stood proud next to his boss as they looked down at over 20,000 people.

"The infiltrators are backstage somewhere and Adam Hunter is outside," K-Washi whispered in Mr Y's ear.

"Good. Then they won't be getting out of here alive", Mr Y smirked. He then turned his attention towards the decks behind them. "Now is the time. Do it!" He ordered.

"But the crowd is on our side, it's only a matter of time until we find them…"

"I said, DO IT! Go and play that record and they will all fall under our control once and for all!" Mr Y demanded once again.

K-Washi then elevated himself in the air once again up towards his decks. This moment was theirs and the Syndicate were about to witness thousands of people falling under their influence.

Washi circled a record in the air, then he gently placed it down.

Mr Y loudly heckled with his arms out to the sides as he stood at the centre of the stage. "Now, let's watch the real show begin, shall we?! Ahhahaha!"


Author's Note

I know this one was a long chapter, but I was really buzzing with ideas here and wrote this within the space of a few hours and couldn't stop! But it was certainly a big chapter in terms of the story, with events unfolding at the concert hall and Axel and Blaze bumping into each other for the first time in 10 years.

Keep your messages and reviews coming and let me know what you thought of the reunion. More is coming in the next chapter and we are about to see what the Y-Twins have planned up their sleeves.

Hope you enjoyed this one :-).