Chapter 44

What felt like minutes was actually hours as Blaze sat on the rooftop of Wood Oak Plaza. The hazy sunshine could barely be seen through the thick clouds of smoke and grey dust that coated the city in the distance. Whatever was going on below in the streets right now felt far away as Blaze sat above 10 stories.

She was still numb. The first time Axel had left felt like a stab in the heart, even though she knew it was coming. This time however, was completely different. She didn't know whether to laugh, cry, scream or give up. The longer she sat there, the harder it was to make a decision. Her heart was telling her that even though the city is in ruins, if there was something she could do to help she would never regret it. But her head was telling her to run, miles away into the wilderness. Maybe there was something out there for her to discover if Wood Oak was a lost cause. It was after all, what kept Axel there for 10 years.

She took a sigh as she closed her eyes to try and find some piece. As her mind began to stop analysing the decision she faced, her body and breath began to relax.

Then suddenly, out of nowhere, an explosion hit the ground floor of the building. The blast was deafening and the concrete below her shook violently. Blaze immediately ran for the fire escape then down to the team's emergency meeting point on the ground floor. As she reached the marble corridor, she could hear screaming echoing in her ears and gunshots. Everything in that moment felt like a blur.

Blaze glanced around as bullets flew past her, almost as if time was slowing down in front of her eyes. Then suddenly, she felt a sharp grab next to her elbow as Adam pulled her to one side behind a door. He forced her behind him as he aimed his firearm forward whilst taking cover behind the corner. "There's two more, copy that", he spoke through an earpiece, warning Floyd who was nearby at the other end of the hall.

They then heard two groans as Floyd shot down the remaining gunmen dressed in police uniform. The others appeared, relieved for a moment, but with caution. It felt like a shock when Shiva and Floyd started gathering the wounded together and the dead from the shots and explosion to one side. Amongst the guests who were unable to leave the city, there were men, women and children scared for their lives. As Adam stepped forward, he shot one bullet into the radio that the police were carrying before it could emit any music. He wasn't going to take any risks, regardless of what their device looked like.

Now was a whole new chaos. The team had a duty to tend to the wounded until they would have to fight again. Adam could tell that this wasn't over yet and that it was only a matter of time before reinforcements would arrive.

"Where the fuck is Axel? We need him now!" He demanded.

Blaze only gave him back a defeated stare as she shook her head.

"Don't tell me he bailed on us again!" Adam growled in anger.

"I erm…" she froze, hesitant to answer him.

"You didn't tell him the truth, did you?" He huffed, avoiding her eye contact. "Look around! Nobody is gonna survive unless we do something! Those people over there are counting on us….Blaze, listen to me!" He shook her by the shoulders.

She then came to the realisation that Wood Oak still needed saving and still needed them. But Adam was right, without Axel and his powers, this was going to be an uphill struggle for the team.

"Wait here, I know where he is," Blaze replied before hastily walking towards the entrance.

"The streets are all on lockdown! They'll kill you out there within 5 minutes!" Floyd shouted from a distance.

"I'll be ok. I'll find a way around them," she reassured them.

Next to the bridge and upon the banks of Wood Oak City River up to where it met the sea, stood the most incredible views of the city skyscrapers. It was almost perfect in scenery, yet many people frequently overlooked this spot. Axel had stood here many times before in the past watching the sunset disappear behind the silver concrete jungle ahead.

This place held many memories for him and the others. During their battles against Mr X and even when they were cops, this very same spot would often become the team's meeting point. The last time they were here, they had celebrated winning justice for the city and defeating Mr X's empire. Flashbacks came to Axel's mind ten years ago as he stood at the very same place with one arm around Blaze, surrounded by the rest of their team. That day was a happy day and although they were all wounded, they each looked out onto a city which had gained back its freedom.

This place was indeed special to all of them and Axel wanted to make sure it was the last place he had stopped off at before returning to the woods. He flung his blue and white shirt over his shoulder then he took a deep inhale of the air from his hometown one last time. By now, it was clear that Blaze had made her decision to stay. She was too stubborn and hard-headed to change her mind, even though he tried to convince her to leave with him.

Then, through the silence, he turned around and to his surprise, she was there.

"Hey," Blaze tiredly greeted him.

"Hey", he smiled. "Remember the last time we stood here?"

"How could I forget?" She grinned back.

"All of us had some good memories here, including Max" Axel guiltily nodded.

"I know. He loved this place," she said looking out onto the water.

"Me too," Axel sighed with regret.

"About last night…" Blaze awkwardly paused "...I err,"

"Go on, say what you gotta say," he probed.

"It felt like the last ten years were just a blur. I wish you didn't have to leave,"

Axel defeatedly nodded to himself whilst staring out at the distance. "I guess you're not comin' with me then,"

Blaze gave him a regretful smile as she stood next to him.

Axel continued. "I understand you wanna do the right thing, you've explained that all but why? I know you, there's nothing left to fight for in this place,"

"That's not true," Blaze shook her head. "You haven't seen what I've seen in this city the past 10 years. Things were even better when the old syndicate was in power."

"So are you saying we fought for nothing?!" Axel frowned.

"No," Blaze shook her head. "But everything got worse after you left", she explained.

"Maybe it's because no matter how hard we try or how hard we fight, this place can never be fixed."

"You don't know that!" She argued.

"Believe me, I've fought long enough to know!"

"So I should be then one asking you 'why'?" Blaze shrugged to herself, looking down.

"Why what?"

"Why go through all that training out in the middle of nowhere, testing yourself and your powers to the limit if you're never gonna use them to do good in this world?"

"Because this world can't be fixed, Blaze. Especially by us. We all have our own true strength to discover" Axel explained.

"That's bullshit!" She snapped. "Look, stop lecturing me on your new-found philosophy, okay?!"

"There's more to life than this place, I just wish you could see it!" He argued.

"And I wish you could stop being so selfish for once in your life!"

"Selfish?! That's rich coming from you! You know what? Why am I even tryna convince you to come with me? You're not ready for this, you're too stuck in your ways…"

"Stop running away and using what happened to Max as an excuse to leave! You're friends here need you!"

"But Max died because of me!" Axel yelled.

"And what the fuck are you doing about that now huh?! Do you think running away is gonna solve it?!"

"I'M NOT!"

"YES YOU ARE!" Blaze yelled back.

They're voices just turned into an echo, both immediately regretting arguing with one another. The couple paused there for a moment in silence staring at each other as if the world around them didn't exist.

Then, suddenly amongst the chaos of their dispute, a calming feeling came over them that neither of them could explain. It was almost as if their surroundings had instantly changed from black and white to an array of beautiful colours. They felt cold, but serene with no explanation for it.

Axel unexpectedly blinked as a small white butterfly flickered past his eyes between the two of them.

"You see her too?" Blaze questioned him, surprised in her tone.

"Her? Since when did you become a butterfly expert?" He replied, confused.

"I didn't," she bluntly answered.

"Well according to Eru, that's my spirit guide. I should probably get going now," Axel sighed.

By now, the conversation between them had quickly changed from a frantic argument to a softer tone.

At that moment, there was so much Blaze wanted to say, but her heart was pounding and the words just wouldn't come out of her mouth.

"Take care of yourself Blaze" Axel gestured with regret before turning to leave.

As he started to walk away, she began to speak out.

"You're right! Maybe this city can't be fixed. But that ain't why I'm still standing here," Blaze shrugged defeatedly with sadness on her face as she glanced up towards the sky. Axel immediately turned around to face her, puzzled by her words as she continued.

"10 years ago, you left me here alone with way more than just your car and apartment", Blaze sighed.

"What do you mean?" He asked her with concern on his face. He could see from her demeanour that Blaze was tense and nervous and had been avoiding this conversation. But finally, she was starting to break down any walls that were left between them.

"What is it?" Axel worriedly asked her.

"A few weeks after you left, I found out I was pregnant…"

She immediately stopped silent, taking a deep breath of air.

As Axel began to process what he was hearing, a cold chill ran down his spine. A mixture of anticipation, hope and fear all rolled into one heavily came over him.

"What happened? Is the baby…?...did you…?" He anxiously asked, not sure at that moment how or what to ask.

"That night the Syndicate tried to beat me to death, that same place that you described you saw in the woods. I was 5 months…. I survived, but the baby didn't," she replied, looking away.

At that moment, Axel felt sick to his stomach, "I'm sorry," he quietly said.

"And since that night, I woke up every morning seeing that butterfly," Blaze covered her nose and mouth, trying her best to stay composed as he stepped forward towards her. "For 5 months, despite what everyone said, I thought you'd come back!

WHY DIDN'T YOU COME BACK?!" She suddenly lashed out, hitting his chest blindly with her fists clenched as tears rolled down her face. All Axel could do was put his arms around her and hug her tight until she held him back. For what felt like hours, the pair tightly hugged one another as Blaze cried out on his shoulder. All of the pain that had built up inside her over the last 10 years inside her was finally surfacing.

"I'm sorry, this is all my fault. We'l get through this, I'm not going anywhere. Everything will be ok, I promise," He kept trying his best to reassure her in her ear whilst holding her tight.

Then suddenly, Blaze abruptly pulled away from his hold, pushing Axel backwards.

"No. No, don't you fucking dare ever promise me anything again! I don't need you and I don't need you here fixing anything!"

"Don't say that," he replied, feeling hurt by her anger.

"Every day I swore vengeance for what they did! I picked myself up, even after my life went downhill following that night. They broke me into a million pieces and killed our baby, but you know what? I stayed and I kept fighting. On my own, I picked myself up day after day when I had nothing left! You spent 10 years looking for true strength when it's right here staring back at you!" Blaze looked in his eyes with anger.

Axel closed his eyes with pain and the deepest regret inside him as she brushed past him. She had nothing more to say and he had no words to say through the shock he was feeling. Axel himself was unable to handle the reality that the person he loved most in this world had survived and almost died through. And there was no way to ever fix that.

"This time don't bother coming back." Blaze bitterly told him as she walked away, leaving Axel to contemplate and reflect on everything she had just revealed.

He buried his head in his hands, full of regret and sorrow. How life would have been completely different if Axel had stayed. He never regretted anything more than this and now was willing to live with that guilt for the rest of his life. There was now only one thing left to do and his decision was clear….