The Eras Of Michael Jackson: Brotherhood

Chapter 11: Resurgence of a Dangerous Past

Scream and TDRCAU were welcomed back warmly by the others, as they mingled amongst one another like old times. Michael's strength was getting stronger, as he was no longer a prisoner on the couch. The sight was wholesome but still incomplete as two Eras were still missing from this picture.

The night was still early, only about 9:40 pm. Dangerous stood outside on the balcony, taking in the view of the colorful, twinkling city. He exchanged his grey multicolored jacket for his black and gold militaristic style one. Appropriate for the battle that he can't avoid, waiting for him in a few hours.

Dangerous turned around to the incoming footsteps from behind. Bad, along with Smooth and Thriller joined him on the balcony.

Thriller leaned on the balcony alongside Dangerous. "How's it going?"

Dangerous shrugged his shoulders with a sigh as he kept his gaze toward the city. Thriller tilted his head to his side, golden irises still sparkling from his latest mission. "Not so great, I take it."

"I knew this moment was coming, I didn't think it was going to be here so soon."

Bad sidled next to Dangerous as he leaned against the railing. "Can't say that I'm not nervous about the situation myself."

"We all are, we didn't want you to worry so much, so we didn't mention it for a while." Smooth interjected.

"The truth is, I've been thinking about this moment ever since you guys came to the airport to find me. Actually, I've been thinking about it since then. Seeing you guys in person, just made it more real." Dangerous threw his head back.

"I think you'll still be able to convince him. RTT might be a little easier to convince out of the two." Thriller pondered.

"Even if he is, he along with HIStory needs to be here." Smooth added.

Dangerous shot up from the railing as he approached Smooth, he could feel his heart beginning to race. "What if they refuse? You remember back in the day, how the house was. How tense it was? Some of my brothers wouldn't even look me in the eye, and if they did, they looked like they wanted to kill me."

Smooth grabbed Dangerous as he could see the Era starting to sweat. He gave him a gentle shake as he led him to a table and sat him down. "Dangerous, calm down. I knew how you feel, we all remember those days. We got some heat from the others too, because we didn't want to pick sides."

Dangerous feverishly nodded as he took a few deep breaths. "I remember that too. I felt even worst for it."

Joining them at the table, Bad and Thriller knelt down in front of Dangerous. "Try not to work yourself up about the past. In order for any of us to continue to have a future, HIStory is going to have to come home, whether he likes it or not. Same for RTT, this grudge won't matter if we're all dead." Thriller added.

"Thriller's right, even if they refuse, they both won't have very long to keep the grudge going. Michael's doing better now, it's no telling what will happen if they don't show up. Hopefully, it won't affect him too badly." Bad rubbed his neck.

"We all got your back on this, Dangerous. Do the best you can with those two. It's not like they have much of a choice if something happens to Michael anyway." Smooth reassured.

"I-I suppose you're right." Dangerous stood up from the table and walked back towards the railing, he then turned around to face his brothers again. "Give me a few minutes, and then I'll be ready."

The trio nodded as they went back inside the house. Dangerous leaned against the balcony with his arms stretched across the concrete railing. He tilted his head back once more, looking towards the night sky. He took a deep breath, held it, then exhaled. "God give me strength, for the sake of us all." He closed his eyes as he inhaled, held it in a bit longer, then finally exhaled.

His dark eyes fluttered open, as his chest heaved up and down. He slowly rose up from the railing, the gold accents on his jacket gleaming under the moonlight. He was finally ready to go into battle.

With each step to the door, flashbacks painted his mind. The memories from back in the day were clear and crisp. Each moment of that night, leading up to the weeks panged against his temple. 

Once inside, he headed downstairs and towards the living room where all of the Eras congregated. Soon he was hit with another memory, the warm, friendly looks on his brothers' faces seemed foreign to him as years ago, they were daggers of contempt. Each dagger was more painful than the next.

He shook off the dark photographs of his mind once Bad approached him, wrapping his arm around him.  The whole scene was a blur, as the various goodbyes and good lucks from the other Eras seemed muffled as his heartbeat drummed loudly in his ears.  

All he could do was give a nod towards Thriller's gleaming smile and Smooth's reassuring wink as he was being escorted out the front door. The closing door woke him up from his trance and the cool wind roused him even more.

Bad unlocked the doors to the black Jaguar and he opened the driver's side. Dangerous entered the passenger's side and strapped himself in. As Bad cranked up the engine, he glanced over and took note. "No turning back now, you ready?"

Dangerous glanced back at his brother as he moved some stray curls from his eyes. "Yeah, I'm ready."

"No matter what happens, I'll always have your back." Bad extended his hand towards him.

Dangerous returned the favor as the two of them shook on it. "I'll have yours."

Bad smiled as he shifted gears, he drove away from the mansion and onto the street, heading back east towards the downtown area.

Dangerous glanced out the window from time to time, trying to distract himself. Unfortunately, his mind decided to finish the playback on the tapes of years ago. Those flashing lights going several miles an hour were reminiscent of him being on a plane, watching those lights becoming colorful dots painting the darkness. 

He shook his head, trying to shake it off once more. He could feel Bad giving him the occasional glances, his confident smile fading slowly into a worried frown. He hated that look, hated it on him, hated it on Smooth, and he loathed it on Thriller, as he always tried to let his optimism shine through, only to fall worrisome. 

He couldn't blame them for it, if he had to choose, it would be the sharp spiteful stares he got. You knew where you stood with those because the answer was clear. The worrisome stares were nothing more but pure agony as there was no clear standing, and what he hated the most about that was the uneasiness.

That was an uneasiness that came without a remedy.