Chapter 28

"Finally! We don't have to deal with your snoring anymore," Axel teased as he sat comfortably in the chair next to Max's hospital bed.

"How long have I been out of it?" The wrestler queried, confused by his surroundings.

"About 3 years…"

"Huhhhh?!" Max panicked as he frantically eyeballed around the room. To his relief, Axel started to laugh.

"Nah man, your ass got here last night. Don't sweat it, everything is ok,"

Max couldn't help but exhale a smile at his old friend. "You know what? They say you've changed man, but your sense of humour hasn't!" Max smirked. "So, what the hell happened then last night?" The wrestler started to scratch his head.

"You got stamped on by 200 spectators in the space of 5 minutes. You're lucky to be alive!"

"Abs of steel, hehe!" Max laughed. His proud grin however, quickly turned into an aching frown as he started to feel the extent of his injuries and broken bones.

"Easy now, the doctors said you're gonna remain here for the next two weeks…"

"How bad is it?" He worriedly asked.

"Nothing you wont heal from. Your spine and head are ok. You got a broken collar bone, tibia, wrist and about 15 fractures. Other than that, you're alright and it's nothing you can't handle. The docs were surprised though! You had almost zero damage to your internal organs…" Axel explained.

"Told you, this body is a tank! You should really try taking up wrestling next…"

"Have you seen me?" Axel laughed.

"So what was the deal in that concert hall then? As soon as I started looking for Cherry, I felt like my head was spinning outta control. I thought they must have gassed us or somethin'..."

"No, it was the music they were playing. We managed to get hold of one of K-Washi's records, Zan is about to analyse it but that motherfucker escaped. Something is in that music, possibly sound waves that are causing innocent people to fall victim under their control. We'l know sooner or later," Axel sighed.

"So if Washi made it out on stage after the interval, where the hell were you?" Max frowned.

Axel awkwardly looked away, "I was still backstage. It turned out that we weren't the only ones looking to capture him. I ended up in a fight…"
"With who?"

"Blaze…."

"What the fuck?!" Max reacted surprised, "You saw her then?"

"Yeah...I mean she was masked up so at first I didn't recognise her. I almost killed her until I pulled the mask off!"

"Jesus," Max shook his head.

"Funny enough, that wasn't the worst of it. I gave her my phone so that she could put something in her ears to block out the music. Then she decided to retrieve the record herself behind my back. She took it with her. After that, we traced my phone and it turns out Blaze has been staying in Wood Oak City all this time…. with Shiva," he shrugged disappointed.

"Are you serious?! Did you two get to talk?" Max questioned, astounded that Blaze was even there last night.

Axel sighed regretfully as he looked down. "I said some pretty harsh things to her that I'm not proud of. I don't know, both of us have changed and Blaze made it clear she doesn't wanna see me again…"

"Can you blame her?" Max raised an eyebrow, unsurprised this time. "I mean, when you left it hurt her pretty bad. And she believed you were coming back!"

"That was my fault," Axel gazed downwards with guilt in his tone. "But I think Adam's hiding something from me. Every time I ask him about what happened to her, he just dismisses the conversation. Blaze's sister showed up the other day mad at me…"
"Look, I don't know all the details, but I do know that Blaze was in a bad way after you left. That Christmas, she fell out with all of us except for Adam. He was the only one who saw her after that. I visited a couple of times all those months later when she was in hospital but…"

"Hospital?!" Axel interrupted, concerned.

"Yeah….. wait, Adam didn't tell you?" Max's jaw dropped.

"No. What the fuck happened?"

Max began to explain with regret on his face. "After you left we all thought the city was at peace again, but we still had enemies out there. I don't know all the details, but what I do know is that the Syndicate found her then left Blaze for dead…."

"Shit! Then it's already happened…." Axel quietly replied, shaking his head. He cupped his palms over his nose and mouth with deep worry in his eyes.

"What do you mean it's already happened?" Max frowned.

"The visions…. I've been seeing it for months now! Blaze just laying there dead in a car park…"

Max's jaw immediately dropped once again with shock - Axel was right. How could he even recall the details and events of that night? He thought to himself.

"I should have come back sooner, fuck!" Axel angrily clenched his fists then he started to crack his knuckles with fury on his face. "I thought it was the future! I came back because I wanted to protect her as soon as I knew the city was in danger. I should have known…" he huffed.

"There was nothing any of us could have done and this was bound to happen to one of our team sooner or later. We all knew what we were getting into, including Blaze…"

"But it should have been me!" He suddenly snapped.

"All I know is after that, Blaze wasn't the same again after that. It took her months just to properly walk again, let alone fight. I don't know what happened after, but she ended up dating Murphy. I guess the guy was trying to help her get vengeance for what had happened. But then there was the drugs and eventually, he put her on the run as soon as the feds got a warrant."

Axel shook his head in disbelief, "none of this makes any sense though…"

"Like I said, Adam knows more than the rest of us. If I did, you know I would tell you. What I can say is that Blaze was the last out of all of us to give up on you coming home when the rest of us thought you were dead and gone for good. Maybe you should try and talk to her properly by yourself."

"You know what Blaze is like, she's the most stubborn person I know. She's made it clear she doesn't wanna talk… I gotta go" Axel hastily rushed up to his feet.

"Thanks for the visit," Max nodded.

Axel then handed over to him a new cell phone. "If you need anything while you're stuck in here, you know where I am".

12 hours passed since the concert took place, but Cherry had sat in the same spot, frozen on her bed in the confines of her own sanctuary. Her bedroom was filled with song sheets, posters and an array of guitars she collected over the years lined up neatly next to the purple wall. It was morning, but the teenager hadn't yet had a moment's sleep. Her emotions had run dry and she had felt everything ranging from fear to guilt in one night.

She sat, hugging her pillow as she stared down at the floor.

"Cherry? Are you sure you don't want somethin' to eat?" Adam knocked three times, but there was no response. So he decided to slowly, but cautiously open the door. He took the morning off work just so that he could check up on his daughter every hour to see if she was ok. But Cherry was in a world of her own.

"Cherry, say something to me…. Please?" Adam softly said as he sat down on the bed next to her.

The teenager took a gulp then she decided to lay down, turning her back towards her father. Adam sighed then he rose up to his feet to leave, "I'm here if you need me, ok?"

As he approached the bottom of the stairs outside, Sammy was there giving him a defeated look.

"Want me to talk to her?" He suggested.

"You can try," Adam shrugged. "I gotta go to work," he shook his head with worry on his face as Sammy watched him leave.

The young skateboarder looked up towards the top of the stairs. This reminded him of a time when he himself was a rebellious teenager. The first time that Sammy witnessed crimes in his neighbourhood and on the streets was an unforgettable memory. He had gotten himself into trouble with a gang of hustlers dealing drugs at his school. When they found out his big brother was a cop, they chased him when he was on the way home, eventually tracking him down.

"Yo Cherry, it's me! Wanna see a movie with your favourite uncle?" He cleared his throat outside of her bedroom door.

For a moment, there was no response back from Cherry. Suddenly, just as Sammy was about to return downstairs, the door slowly opened.

"Only if you promise to let me choose the movie…." she half heartedly smiled at him.

"Er… now that's not always a good idea. Your taste in movies is a little…"

"Fine!" Cherry started to close the door again.

"Okay, okay! You can choose, but just this time!" Sammy laughed.

The two Hunters had the house to themselves for the rest of the day. They sat on the couch bingeing on chips and popcorn whilst they enjoyed an afternoon in front of the TV. At this point, anything that could help Cherry to get the events of last night off her mind was a blessing, even if it meant Sammy spending an afternoon sitting through Girls Trip.

Once the movie finished, Sammy reached forward for the console control. "Wanna challenge me to a race now?!" He smirked at his niece.

For a moment however, Cherry was silent, staring blankly into space.

"Do you think I'm useless….?" She randomly asked.

"Huh?!" Sammy turned to face her, surprised with what she was saying.

"I was so scared last night, so I hid in the ladies room…" Cherry guiltily replied.

"It's ok! Whatever happened there last night, you weren't to know that shit like that was about to go down…"

"Daddy warned me. But I still went to the concert anyway," she sighed. "I heard gunshots and all I could do was hide like a baby whilst my friends got hurt…"

"Cherry, that ain't your fault! There was nothing you could have done".

"Paige is on a life support machine, broken and will probably never walk again whilst Maddie is lying in hospital with first degree burns! Their futures will never be the same again. I COULDN'T HELP THEM BECAUSE I WAS TOO SCARED!" She shouted, deeply upset and disturbed.

Sammy took a gulp before calmly replying to his niece.

"Can I tell you somethin'?" He asked.

"Sure," Cherry carelessly shrugged.

"One time, I almost got your father killed. I got in trouble with a gang that operated around my high school when I was your age. One day, six of them beat the shit out of me so your dad did everything to find them…"
"Did he arrest them?" Cherry asked.

Sammy simply shook his head, biting his tongue. "That time, him and Axel took the law into their own hands. So the next day, more of the gang drove by your dad's workplace. They shot him and shot two of his colleagues. You're too young to remember, but if that bullet would have been an inch higher, your dad would have died."

"Shit, he never told me…" Cherry replied with shock on her face.

"It turned out they were part of the old Syndicate all along. For months I felt guilty for getting Adam into this mess in the first place. But then, everything that was meant to happen, happened."

"What do you mean?" Cherry frowned.

"A year later, the Syndicate took him. I still think to this day, because of the trouble I started, Adam was their number one target."

"So what did you do?"

"I kept fighting. And eventually, we rescued him and took down all of them…."

"Wern't you scared?" She quietly asked.

"Every time we took to the streets, inside I was trembling. We fought against men, machines and the baddest criminals in the city who never held back."

"Even Mr X?"

"Even Mr X," Sammy nodded.

"Dad never wants to talk about it with me…"

"Because he wanted to protect you. Even after he was kidnapped, there were measures in place to protect you and your mom so that they could never find you."

"How did you get over that fear then?"

Sammy shrugged, "it was the hardest thing I did but you know what? I had the best team of fighters around me. They continued to train me, they had my back every time, plus they put up with my shit," he smirked.

"Axel and Max constantly put up with your shit, Uncle!" Cherry laughed.

"Blaze too! You probably don't remember her…"

"What?! Of course I remember her!" Cherry excitedly answered. "I wanted to grow up and fight just like her! But dad was always like, girls don't fight…"

Sammy raised an eyebrow, putting her on the spot. "So, do you think you're ready to fight then?"

"Well yeah! I've been asking daddy for so long now! It's just…."

"What?"

"To be as good as you were, I need more training…."

"So instead of sitting around here and feeling sorry for yourself, why aren't you training then?"

"Because dad won't train me, duh?!... And as for you, you're always busy…" she huffed.

Sammy couldn't help but laugh. "Cherry, you realize one of the best fighters, if not, the best fighter in this city has been staying under your roof for the past week?"

"What, Axel?"

"Yeh!"

"I can't just ask him to train me, have you seen his training regime? The man is crazy!"

"He trained me! And if anybody can get you past that fear of yours and fighting like a pro, it's him. Trust me, if you don't ask, you'll never know! Do you wanna fight or not?"

"Yeah, I do!" Cherry snapped.

"Then get up off your ass and do something about it!" Sammy advised, casually handing her the console control. "Now if I have to sit through another girls film this afternoon feeling sorry for you, I'll be the one going crazy! So are you gonna race me or what?"

"You're going down Hunter!" Cherry smirked as she took the controller

Author's Note

So this chapter sees the calm following the storm of the concert. I wanted to focus this next stage in the story particularly on Cherry, who is going through a lot right now after what happened to her friends. This will ultimately become one of the main reasons she will train and fight and now we are very close to the beginnings of the 4th game in terms of story timelines.

I'm sorry it's been a while, but more is coming soon so I hope you enjoyed this chapter!