Chapter 2
"Alright students, I'm putting all of this on your next test…" Miss. Swan said, slamming her hand against the blackboard, "And since I'm telling you exactly what's going to be on it, there isn't any reason you should get it wrong."
As the class copied down the notes from the blackboard, Michael let out a quiet sigh and stared out the window. He wasn't really paying attention to the lesson at all… his mind wandered as he gazed at blue sky…
"Come on bro… it's been four whole years… and you haven't said a thing about it since" Leon's words from yesterday echoed within his mind, "Just tell me what really happened…"
Flashback
"You haven't told him, have you?" Michael didn't answer his mother's question.
"I think you should tell him…" William rolled up next to his son, "It's been four whole years"
"And what am I suppose to tell him…" Michael placed his cup down, "That what really happened that day was like something out of an anime… that I ended summoning real creatures and that they destroyed that whole place!" Michael's fist became tighter and tighter, "That everything that happened that day was my fault!"
"Michael, none of that was your fault!" his father grabbed him by the hand.
"Tell that to the people who died that day…" Michael said coldly before heading up to his room.
End of Flashback
"Should I really tell him?" Michael asked himself within his mind, "There's no way he'd ever believe me…"
"You sure look comfortable…" Miss. Swan's irritated voice knocked Michael out of his daze, "My class is apparently very boring…" Michael cringed with fear as she spoke to him, "Sorry I'm such a bad teacher…"
"Me too…" Michael's fear and nervousness was obvious in his voice, "Wait, I didn't mean that! I meant to say that-"
"Ding, Ding, Ding, Dong!" The sound of the bell ringing echoed throughout the classroom.
"Saved by the bell… literally" Miss. Swan giggled, "You lucked out, Michael Scott…" Michael let out a breath of relief, "Next time, I'll make you scrub this entire classroom from top to bottom."
"Yes Miss Swann" he said as he gathered his belongings
"Hold it right there… I need to talk to you for a second" Miss Swann placed her hand on his shoulder
The rest of the class cleared out as Michael sat back down
"What's going on with you?" she asked
"What do you mean?" Michael looked at her
"You seem like you're really distracted…" Nichole Swann said to him, "Is something going on?"
"Not really" he replied before looking down at his deck
"If you need someone to talk to, you can talk to me" Michael looked at her oddly, "Hey, I may not look it, but I can help people with their problems" she smiled at him, "So tell me what's going on…"
"It's nothing you need to worry about…" he answered, "I just have a lot on my mind"
"Well whatever is going on with you, try to figure it out soon" she replied, "Next time you might not be so lucky… and you will have to face your punishment" she smirked, Michael didn't like the sound of that, "Just all joking aside… if you need to talk to someone, I'm not bad at listening" Nichole smiled sincerely
Michael was caught a little off guard… she didn't look scary like she normally did. That smile of hers… she actually looked pretty cute right now, he blushed slightly
"Now what are you waiting for… get outta here, or do you want to clean the teacher's restrooms?" Miss Swann returned to her usual tone
"No thank you…" Michael quickly got out of his seat and left the classroom, now that was the Miss Swan he knew and was afraid of
"Works every time" she giggled
Michael took his usual route home, but soon he felt something tap him from behind
"Hey bro" Leon greeted him, "So what did Miss Swann say to you?"
"Oh hey bro…" Michael replied, "I'm not in trouble if that's what you're asking"
"Really?" Leon was a little surprised
"Yeah, she just told me that next time I might not be so lucky" he chuckled slightly
"Now that sounds like Miss Swann" Leon laughed
"Yep…" Michael agreed, "Well, I gotta get home"
"Hold up a sec…" Leon stopped him, "I want to to meet some people"
"Where are we going?" Michael asked as Leon pulled him along by his hand
Leon eventually led him to the LA TCG Tower… Michael stopped and freed his hand
"What are we doing here?" Michael didn't like the thought of going inside
"Just come on…" Leon said, "I want you to meet them"
"Them…?" Michael looked at him oddly
"I told you I was starting a team…" Leon explained, "I want you to meet the other two members of my team so far…"
"I don't know about this bro…"
"Please…"
"Oh alright…" Michael reluctantly agreed
They entered the tower… Michael looked around. It had been four whole years since he had last set foot in this place… lot had changed, but a lot had also not changed…
The basic layout of the placed had changed, but it was still packed with people… children, teens, adults, even an old man… and all of them were enjoying playing a game they loved
Leon led Michael through the crowd of people to where the K-Terminals were
"So where are these team members of yours?"
"Right over there…" Leon pointed to a terminal; inside was a girl with green eyes and brown hair that stopped at the base of her shoulder blades dueling against a guy. Behind the girl was another girl, she had very long blonde hair that stopped at her knees and blue eyes
"Valdios, double break his shields, Ike!" the 16 year old girl commanded, turning her card sideways, "Rothus the Traveler, break his last shield" an armored robot with track wheels raised its arm cannons and open fired, destroying the opponent's last shield
Her opponent gave an annoyed growl
"Bolshack Dragon, finish it, Todemeda!" the massive dragon roared loudly before unleashing a column of flames at its master's opponent
"Good Game" her opponent said
"Yeah, good game" the brown haired girl nodded her head
"That makes three in a row" the blonde haired girl said
"What's her name?" Michael asked, pointing to the brown haired girl, "She's beautiful…" Leon burst out laughing.
"Trust me bro, she'd tear you apart" Leon placed his hand on Michael's shoulder.
"Her name!" Michael said in an annoyed tone.
"Her name is Rachael West"
"Haven't I seen her around school?" she did look familiar to him.
"Yeah, she's in Miss Swann's class with us, plus she's known as the Fiery Amazon at our school" Leon answered him
"Wait… she's the Fiery Amazon?" Michael was surprised by his words, he heard some dude grabbed her butt last week and asked her out; she gave him a black eye and a busted nose
"Huh, oh hi Leon" the blond girl waved
"Leon, how've you been?" Rachael smiled
"Doing alright, how about you?" Leon greeted her
"I'm alright" she replied.
"By the way, who's your friend there?" the blond girl asked.
"My name is Michael Scott; it's nice to meet you" Michael introduced himself.
"It's nice to meet you, I'm Alexis Twilight" she said very politely.
"Twilight… that's an interesting name" Michael commented.
"Yeah, I know…" she giggled, "But I like it" she smiled.
"Name's Rachael West, nice to meet you" Rachael extended her hand
"Pleasure's all mine" Michael shook her hand.
"You a duelist?" she asked.
"I stopped playing a long time ago…"
"Really?" Alexis was surprised by his words.
"Why did you quit?" Rachael asked.
"It's complicated…" Michael replied.
"What happened?"
"No offense... but I really don't like to talk about it"
"Bro, please…" Michael looked back at Leon, "Just tell me what happened…" Michael turned away as a memory of that day played in his mind, only to have Leon grab his shoulder and turn him back around, "What happened!" Leon's tone had become much more serious, he was tired of asking nicely… he wanted answers, now!
"I don't wanna talk about it!" Michael's tone had become much louder and angrier.
"What could have been so bad?" Rachael said, "You sound like you did something terrible"
"You know, talking about it might help you deal with this problem" Alexis took a step closer.
"It's not that simple!" Michael growled, "Why can't you just drop it!"
"Bro, I'm not dropping this!" Leon grabbed Michael by the shirt, the two glared furiously at each other
"You just don't know when to let something go do you…?" Michael said angrily to his brother
"You know I can be just as stubborn as you are…" Leon replied with the same tone of voice as his brother
Michael could tell by that look in Leon's eyes… he wasn't going to let go until he got the truth…
Michael finally sighed in defeat…
"Do you remember that tournament I went to back in 2011?"
"Yeah…"
"Something terrible happened that day…"
"I heard about that… wasn't there some kinds mechanical malfunction that caused the whole place to-" Alexis remembered what the news had said, only to be cut off midsentence by Michael
"No you're wrong!" Michael raised his voice, "It wasn't some malfunction…"
"Then what the hell happened?" Leon asked.
"A kaijudo duel…"
"Wait… like in the anime?" Rachael was confused, "You do realize that isn't real right?"
"Why do you think the game was canceled so suddenly back in 2006?" Michael glanced over at Rachael, "Rumors were spreading all across the entire planet… of people summoning real creatures into our world."
"Real creatures… how is that even possible?" Alexis was still in disbelief.
Everyone had heard about these rumors but usually dismissed them as just stories.
"I don't know… but that information came straight from a friend of my father who works directly for the DCA…" Michael replied, "The DCA took these rumors and used them to reenergize and create the game we have now"
"So, all those rumors were really true…" Rachael still couldn't believe all of this.
"I know, it sounds like something straight out of an anime or a manga… but believe me, it's the truth."
"So, you're saying that…" Leon wasn't sure he liked where this was going, Michael nodded.
"The guy I played against in the final eight initiated a kaijudo duel" Michael's mind was reliving those memories, "I didn't realize it until I felt blood sliding down my face… a shard from one of my shields cut my cheek…" Michael placed his hand over that spot where it happened.
"Do you know how it feels to have three very real, flesh and blood dragons staring you down?" Michael asked them, "I was scared out of my mind…" Michael shook his head, "No, I think that would be an understatement… I don't think I could have been anymore scared…" Leon, Alexis, and Rachael stayed quiet as Michael continued his story, "This guy, whoever he was, was a real Kaijudo Master… and he didn't care about putting other people in danger" "I still don't even know how I did it, but somehow I accidentally tapped into my own kaijudo powers and I ended up bringing my own creatures into our world… when my turn came around, I just wanted this guy to go away and then all of a sudden, my creatures started attacking on their own… and they didn't stop…"
"What do you mean?" Leon asked
"Valdios started firing his guns and broke the guy's two shields, but then it didn't stop and turned loose on the stadium" Michael answered his question, "Then Twin Cannon started shooting his guns… I had no control over them at all" Michael's fist started to clench, "And the guy just started laughing, like it was all just a joke to him… he turned his creatures on the stadium too" his fist became tighter by the second, "It was complete and utter chaos after that… I remember people running and screaming for their lives, but I was too scared to move, I remember hearing my father calling my name, but when I looked up I saw a piece of one of the rafters falling straight at me…"
"I must have passed out or something, because the next thing I knew I was in a hospital bed." Michael continued, stopping for a moment to breathe, "I heard my mother talking to a doctor and he told her that dad probably never walk again… that he would spend the rest of his life in a wheel chair" Michael said as he tried to hold his tears back, "Mom wouldn't stop crying…"
"Oh man…" Leon whispered.
"But you know what… no one has said a single bad thing about me… not even once… I think I'd feel better if they all just blamed me for the whole thing…" Michael said, "If they'd just say it's my fault that all those people got hurt…" Rachael's fist clenched harder, "If they'd just say it's my fault that my father will never walk again…"
"JUST STOP IT!" Rachael finally shouted as she punched Michael in the face
Alexis gasped as Michael fell backwards onto his backside. Leon was surprised that she would actually punch him. Rachael glared angrily at Michael rubbed his sore cheek
"What the heck was that for?" Michael asked
"Are you really that thick headed?" Rachael's anger was obvious in her voice, "You've been beating yourself up over a freak accident that wasn't even your fault!"
"How would you know how I feel?" Michael said coldly as he got to his feet and turned to leave
"Now hold it right there!" Rachael shouted, "You might just be right about that… maybe I don't know how you feel, but are you so sure you know how your parents feel?"
Rachael's words made him flinch
"How do you think it makes them feel to see their son so miserable?" Rachael stepped forward, "Don't you think your parents want to see their son happy… don't you think they want their son to smile?"
"Your father didn't care about what happened to him, all that mattered to him was protecting his little boy" Rachael's tone had become less angry, "Your life was more precious to him than his own…" Michael began to slowly clench his fist as her words continued to sink into his mind, "Maybe you should stop feeling sorry for yourself and start thinking about the feelings of the people who love you…"
Michael clenched his fist tighter before releasing his grip… he left without a word… a single tear slid down his face… Leon was about to go after him, but Alexis placed her hand on his shoulder and shook her head.
"I think he needs time to think…" Alexis said to Leon.
"What he needs to do is get it through his thick head that what happened wasn't his fault and just move on with his life" Rachael said in a slightly annoyed tone.
"Did you really have to punch him?" Alexis asked.
"He deserved it…" Rachael glared in Michael's direction, "Words aren't going to work… and if you ask me, it's about time he got some sense knocked into him."
"Even so, that might have been a little harsh…" Alexis replied.
"He can't keep running away from his problems…" Rachael returned to her deck, "He's going to have to face the music and deal with it."
"I hope you're right…" Leon said as Michael disappeared out the door.
Michael's walk home was a long and quiet one; Rachael's words kept running through his mind… despite his efforts to drive them out.
What she said back there… could she have been right?
Michael tried not to think about it, but couldn't get it out of his mind… He swore that he would never go back… he hurt too many people that day and he didn't want something like that happening again…
But what if they were right… what if what happened really wasn't his fault?
Then why did he feel so guilty? Why was their still all of this pain in his heart?
Why…
After what seemed like an eternity of walking, Michael finally arrived home. He gently opened to door and heard voices coming from the living room… He heard his mother, father, and even Leon's parents talking…
After closing the door as quietly as possible, he moved closer to listen, but stayed behind the wall so they wouldn't see him
"So Michael still hasn't been able to let it go?" Tim, Leon's father, asked
"No…" William replied, "He still holds himself responsible…"
"The poor dear…" Trudy, Leon's mother, said
"I just wish he would stop blaming himself…" Lisa said, her voice showed concern in its tone, "I hate seeing him so miserable over all of this"
"I know what you mean… I miss seeing our sons having fun like they used to when they were kids" Trudy replied
"I want my son to smile again… I want to see him smile like he did back then, so happy and full of life" William said, lowering his head, "I can't stand seeing him like this… so miserable and full of guilt" William slowly began to clench his fist, "If I could take all of that sadness and guilt and bear them in his place, I'd do so in a heartbeat… just like back then" he remembered what happened that day, "I'd gladly give Michael my life…"
"I hear what you're saying old buddy…" Tim looked to his friend, "If it had been Leon there, I would have done the same thing you did and not care for one minute about myself…"
"I've been doing some research... and I've discovered that there is a new type of surgery out there… one that could possibly repair the damage to the nerves in my spine and legs" William explained
"Really?" Everyone was surprised by William's words
"Yeah, but unfortunately… the whole thing itself is still in its experimental stages" William's tone changed, "And there is a chance that it won't work at all… or worse…"
"And you're willing to take that risk?" Trudy asked
"If it will help Michael to move on…" William looked at her seriously, "Then yes… I'm willing to take the risk"
"How much would this cost?" Lisa asked, William didn't answer her question, "There's no way we can afford something like this…"
"I just want Michael to move on with his life…" William turned to his wife, "And if this will help him do that… then I'll think of a way to make this happen"
Everyone suddenly heard something fall to the ground and the front door open and slam shut. Lisa and Tim got up to see what it was…
Michael's school backpack…
Lisa ran to the window and saw Michael running away from the house…
