"When will they come?", asked Axel to himself.
He had been holding himself for a long time now and he didn't know how much he could make himself calm and compose anymore. As he started to think, he fell asleep.
He didn't know how much time had he slept this time. Time was a foreign concept for him now. Actually, it was not so bad. In a sense, Axel felt good having no concept of time.
For 16 years, he had been running on the clock. Waking up at 5 a.m., doing the training, and then going through the day. Doing his mission and training himself and his Pokemons.
It was a hectic life. He did enjoy all the rush but something, he also needed peace but he knew that he would have to wake up early in the morning. But now, he could just sleep and do nothing. Of course, he was kidnapped, he was hungry, wounded, and thirsty but he didn't have to care about his next day except for dying tomorrow.
When he woke up, he could hear some voices coming out of the door. This was the first time it had happened. The kidnappers were so silent in doing their things that he would never hear any sound out of the door. Maybe the room could block the sound from the outside but this time he could hear some voices.
The voices were not so easygoing. There were some knocks and things being thrown out. It looked like they were fighting someone.
"Have they come to rescue me?", asked Axel to himself.
And just after a few seconds, the door was knocked heavily. No, it was not a knock. It looked like someone was trying to break the door. The second slam of the door was with much more power and it was broken instantly. The power of that strike was so much that the door flew and almost hit Axel.
Red was the one who had come in. When he saw all the dried blood, nails coming out, and the position that Axel was in, he already understood what had happened. He wanted to go there and give Axel a hug but now he was concerned. He didn't know the mental state of Axel. For a second, Axel could feel pure blood lust from the person that was coming in. But it was just for a second and it just went.
He slowly walked towards Axel and said, "Axel, it is me. You are alright?"
"RED!! Is that you?"
"Yes, it is me. Let me get you out of this thing.", said Red, and within a few seconds, he was out of those ropes and he was now free to move.
Axel tried to stand up but he immediately fell down. He had been sitting on this chair for such a long time that his feet were not supporting him. As he fell down, he used his hand to take out the cloth that was covering his eyes. Red went ahead to support him and make him stand.
Axel slowly opened his eyes. He could see that he was in a completely white room. Everything was white here. The floors and the roofs were white. Even the chairs and his clothes were white. The only other color in the room was the red blood on the floor of Axel.
For some reason, he wanted to capture this room inside his brain. Every floor and everything in this room. He wanted to remind himself where he was tortured so that when he would meet the culprit he would torture them 10 times the amount that he had suffered while remembering this room.
He knew that he was saved. Red was here and maybe even Oak. Even if Oak was not here, Red was enough for all those kidnappers. Red might be the strongest after Oak.
"Axel, do you want to take some time? We can go out whenever we like.", said Red. He just wanted to make Axel feel comfortable.
"There is a guy named L and he had gone out to talk to the main kidnapper about my fate. He may not be here. How many people did you find in this place?", asked Axel.
Red was surprised by the way Axel was talking. He was not mentally challenged. He didn't know what Axel had suffered till now but seeing that Axel was so calm and collected actually scared him.
"We only met with 2 of the kidnappers. They were strong but not so hard to handle. We killed the one and captured the other."
"L had a height of 6 feet and 2 inches. He must be a bulky man with a bit of a fat stomach. His weight should be around 100 kg and his hands have sharp nails. Do those 2 people match that description?", asked Axel.
"No, they do not.", replied Oak as he also entered the room with Shedinja.
Shedinja flew towards Axel and directly hit on his chest.
"Axel, I am so sorry that I took so long.", said Shedinja.
"Don't worry buddy. I know that you did your best.", said Axel patting his head.
He could feel that Shedinja was still tired and was not fully healed. Its health was already fully healed but its body was still tired.
"Red, make sure that you capture L anyhow. I want to face him one on one. Just set a trap here until he returns. As per him, he would come here tomorrow.", said Axel.
Axel then looked at Red and then at Oak and Shedinja and then he lost consciousness.
###
He didn't know when he woke up but when he did he was in a hospital surrounded by his family and friends. He was surprised that the doctor let so many people in.
"Brother!!!, are you okay?", asked Agnes and rushed to hug Axel.
"Yes, I am good."
His mother and father also greeted him. He could see that all of them were worried about him.
As he was trying to talk to them, the doctor came and said, "Please, only 2 people inside. I need to talk to the patient."
Reluctantly, only Red and his father stayed while others went out to give him some space.
"Axel, as far as I could tell, you only have flesh wounds and they could heal in a couple of days. There is nothing to worry about. Your body is very stiff and rigid right now. Nothing a normal exercise cannot fix.
So, you are good to go by night. But what I am worried is about mental health.
You have been tortured for a month and god knows what you have been through. So, I suggest that you visit a psychiatrist. I know a good one so I will leave her number in the file.", said the doctor.
"Thanks for the concern, doctor. But I don't need a psychiatrist. I am perfectly fine right now.", said Axel.
"Well, that is up to you. But if you need anything, just call me.", said the doctor and left the room.
"Red, what about my Pokemons?", asked Axel.
"Don't worry, they are fine. The young ones became very weak since they could not eat for a long time but they are recovering right now."
"What about L?"
"We were able to catch L. The police are investigating right now.", said Red.
"Red, I don't trust those police. If something happens to L like he runs away or is killed, then I will destroy those police forces myself.", said Axel.
"Don't worry. Oak is handling it. Till right now, L has not said anything about his boss but we are getting it. The most important thing right now is for you to rest and relax.
Why don't you go to your home for a month or so?", asked Red trying to calm Axel.
Red didn't know what Axel had been through but he knew that Axel was not in the right mental state. Axel needed the love of his family members and his Pokemons to heal and it might take some time for it.
"Red, you don't need to worry about my mental health. I am okay. All I want to know is about the kidnapper."
"But you will have to stay at home for a month.", said Red.
Axel's father also insisted on Axel coming home for a month. Seeing that he had no way out, Axel finally agreed.
He had a lot of things to do. Like going to Aeus island and the tide battle of the mercenary team. Red and his father were also not in the wrong. Even though he was trying his level best to be as normal as possible, he knew that something had changed about him. There was a primal hunger to kill and destroy in his heart.
###
After 3 days,
Axel was sitting on the lawn enjoying the view. He was in his home right now and he was taking the much-needed rest. Axel's mother and father could say that something had changed in Axel. Not in the obvious way but something deep within.
Tring.. Tring. Tring. Tring...
Katchak!!
"Hey, Axel."
"Ryker, how are you?", asked Axel.
"I just want to know if you are okay. I heard that you were kidnapped."
"I am doing well right now. Thanks for asking."
"I don't know if you know this or not since you were AOL for a month but there is going to be a huge meeting of prominent families after 4 days. All of us young trainers are being invited.
So, I want to invite you too.", said Ryker.
"Who would be there?", asked Axel.
"Everyone. Lyra, Hymer, Steven, Watson, Cynthia, you name it. Oh, Kate would also be there.", said Ryker with a hint of a smile.
"Really? She didn't tell me about it.", said Axel.
"Well, she must have forgotten. So, are you in or out?"
"But I am not from a prominent family?"
"Really Axel? Do you think that you would not be invited just cause of this reason? Besides you are an elder of the Venu family and the Venu family is a prominent family.", said Ryker.
"Just send me the location of that place. I will think about it.", said Axel.
As of right now, he didn't want to meet a bunch of idiots. For a normal day, this would have been great but not now. He needed some peace and he needed to meet with L.
He had been getting regular updates of L and till now L had not said anything about his boss and the real kidnapper.
As of right now, he had been trying to unlock 'Enhanced Health' to finally complete 'Enhanced Survivability.
'Enhanced health' was the combination of all the other skills that he had learned like 'Enhanced stamina' and 'Enhanced recovery'. To consolidate it, Axel must first have a good grasp of other skills and he would have to mediate to combine them into 'Enhanced health'.
His parents and family including members of the Venu family like Mark and Angela were very worried about him but he never felt that he was in some sort of a dark place.
During the kidnapping, Axel did come to know that not all humans were equal. He always believed that no matter how evil, a human would have his humanity. But such was not the case for people like L and his kidnapper.
Axel stood up and dialed a number.
Tring.. Tring.. Tring.. Tring..
Katchak!
"Hey Axel, how are you feeling right now?", asked Red as he picked up the phone.
"Red, I want to know the details about someone."
"Oh, who is it?"
"Bruno Welts. He was the one who fought with me in the league finals of the Kanto region and he had won."
"Any reason to know about him?"