The Eras Of Michael Jackson: Brotherhood

Chapter 5: Pathway to Preservation

The metal gate to the lavish mansion slid open as Smooth pulled into the driveway. The group left the garage and went inside the mansion.

Grinning from ear to ear, Thriller spun around, taking in a deep breath. "Home sweet home."

"Hey Michael, you up?!" Bad called out as he made his way toward the staircase.

"In here!" Michael called out from the room in the front.

Michael lounged on the plush leather recliner in a dark robe and his pajamas, he shut off the tv and turned his attention to his ambassadors, who joined him.

"How are you feeling?" Smooth asked.

"Well as you can see, I'm able to walk downstairs now, but my muscles ache like hell. The pain is still there, it goes in waves. One minute I'm able to go up and down stairs, then the next minute, I'm paralyzed for a few minutes and have to wait until the pain subsides before I can move again."

Taking off his hat and massaging his temples, Smooth let out a sigh. "Jesus."

"Have you tried taking anything for the pain?" Thriller pondered.

"Yes, but it doesn't help that much. This isn't just any ache that Advil can fix. Not even my stronger pain medication could relieve this."

Dangerous glanced over at Michael before turning his attention toward the ground, as he started to bounce his leg once more.

"Enough about me right now, I have some good news. Most of your brothers are here within the city, except for HIStory who's still out of the country."

Dangerous rested his leg. "Do you know when HIStory will be back?" Dangerous mumbled.

"No, when I do, I'll contact you if you haven't already found him first."

"Okay." Dangerous resumed bouncing his leg. Bad glanced over taking notice of his behavior.

"If you guys have any problems, call me." Michael coughed.

"You really need to rest, Michael." Smooth insisted.

"Don't worry, I will."

Bad stood up and clapped his hands together. "Alright, let's get a move on, you rest up. We'll let you know when we found everyone." Bad walked out of the living room and headed towards the garage.

"We'll keep in touch." Thriller stood up and followed Bad with Smooth tagging along.

Dangerous placed his shades on the top of his head, he nodded at Michael and turned to leave before he felt a clammy hand grip his wrist. "Wait."

Dangerous turned to face Michael, who gave him a concerned look. It hurt Dangerous to see his eyes all dreary and bloodshot. "You seemed bothered the entire time, is something wrong?"

"N-No." Dangerous looked at the ground.

"Yes, what's bothering you?" Michael persisted.

Dangerous's breathing became shaky, he looked as if he was going to pass out. He quickly sat down and tried to collect his thoughts.

"Is this about HIStory?" Michael raised a brow.

Dangerous felt his heart jump, he started to speak but no words came out. He nodded feverishly as he held his head down.

Michael sat up in his chair, letting the leg rest down. He leaned over until he was at eye level with his younger Era. "Dangerous."

Looking up at his elder, he simply shook his head. "That's all I could think about since they came to find me. I thought I put those feelings to rest, I thought I put the past behind me."

"I know it's hard, I've experienced that feeling multiple times but it hasn't stopped me from moving forward. Now I won't lie to you and say that this will be an easy reunion between the two of you, but you need him, I need him, and your brothers need him to come home because his life is on the line too."

Dangerous sat up and turned towards Michael. "But how can I convince him too, I just know he'll throw it in my face, and plus it's been six years since we spoke. You remember how tense it was in here after all that."

"That's what I remember the most, I never saw him so angry, neither of us did. But you must deliver this point home to him, he can either be angry standing or be angry lying down. You can convince him, but ultimately it is up to him to keep holding on or to finally bury that horrible past."

Dangerous nodded.

Michael placed his hand on Dangerous's shoulder. "You suffered enough, but you'll suffer more if this issue isn't resolved. Trust me when I say this, he'll soon have no choice, once the walls start closing in. Now go, like I said if you have any trouble, call me."

Dangerous nodded again. "I'll call you, you need anything before I leave?"

"No, I'm going to stay down here for a while." Michael pulled out his leg rest and settled in his chair.

As Dangerous left the living room, he flinched once he saw Bad leaning up against the wall. "Shoot! I thought you left, where's Thriller and Smooth?" Dangerous whispered.

"They left, but we'll be meeting up with them soon. Come on, I got the car running."

Bad and Dangerous walked into the garage, where a black Range Rover was waiting for them with the engine humming. The two got in and left, driving down the driveway and onto the main street.

"You know where they went?" Dangerous asked.

"Call Smooth and tell him that we're on the road."

Dangerous pulled out his cell phone and dialed Smooth's number, he placed the phone on speaker and waited for the line to pick up.

"Hey Dangerous, where are you guys?" Smooth answered.

"We were calling to ask you that." Dangerous replied.

"Riding down 21st Street, we're going to stop and get some gas first, you know the station across from the Walgreens?"

"Yeah, I remember that one."

"We'll be there shortly."

"Alright, we'll see you soon."

Dangerous ended the call and put his cell phone away in his pocket. He sighed and leaned against the window. "How much did you hear?" Dangerous glanced over at Bad.

"Enough to know things between you and HIStory still haven't changed. I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but I've noticed that you've been acting strange since we left the airport. I know some of it is probably jet lag, but I don't think I ever saw you this down before."

Dangerous shifted in his seat. "I haven't felt this way in a long time either, especially now since Michael's sick."

Bad nodded in agreeance. "Six years HIStory's still holding on to that grudge? Thought he would be over it by now."

Dangerous shifted again in his seat. "I rather not talk about it right now, but best believe you're going to hear some things when we find him. That's the part I'm not looking forward to."

"Don't worry bro, you know I got your back. HIStory will be back home, whether he likes it or not, we can't afford to fail if we want to live and keep our legacy." Bad reassured.

Dangerous gave a small smile. "Thanks, man."

"No problem, I'll have to give Thriller a call to have his undead friends come through and drag his ass back."

The two shared a laugh as they drove down the street. It was the first feeling of relief Dangerous had all night.