The smell of sweat filled the elevator as the doors opened, and Thomas wrinkled his nose. He opened his mouth to complain, but when he realized they weren't alone there, he preferred to keep quiet.

" I know you're nervous, boys. But I want you to remember that I'm proud of each one of you for earning your spot in this final!" A white male, with a black beard and mustache, dressed in an orange sport coat and pants and a cap of the same color, spoke to a group of boys standing in front of him.

They were inside a men's locker room. The locker room of a youth basketball team, judging by the balls thrown on the floor and the uniform the boys wore. Since everyone but the coach had their back turned, they were able to get a good look at the team's regatta logo. Those were Cleston's golden eagles.

Thomas swallowed hard. He recognized every member of that team and knew that, despite not being on the school's main team, they were much better. Those boys used to be his team, but that was before the coach asked him to join the senior team. It was before his life was destroyed.

"Coach Jones?" He called, but neither the man nor the boys paid any attention.

" Do you think they know we're here? " Mikaela seemed afraid to get out of the elevator and looked curiously at the whole scene.

Thomas couldn't answer because his eyes were glued to the back of the boy wearing tank top number eight. He was a tall blonde, the biggest on the team, and he looked a bit distracted. Instead of paying attention to the coach's speech, he kept looking towards one of the locker rooms. Thomas looked at himself, at the version of himself from a few months ago. He knew why his past self didn't pay attention to the coach, and why he wanted so badly to ignore the rant and go to his locker. He remembered that night very well, and it filled him with dread.

Did it have to be tonight? Did my challenge really have to be tonight?

Mikaela held his hand, and that gesture pulled him out of his moment of despair.

"Are you okay?" She asked and offered him a smile.

Coach Jones ended the moment of nice words and, clapping his hands, shouted.

" Go and finish them off, eagles!"

All the boys got up and started screaming like they were a band of warriors going to war and, one after another, they left the locker room behind. All but one.

Please, not this night again.

Mikaela finally got off the elevator and walked over to watch the latecomer. The boy, instead of following his team, walked to his locker and took out a cell phone, with which he started calling someone.

"It's you..." She said when she finally got to see his face. Her tone didn't sound like a question but a statement of the obvious. Looking a little taken aback by what the baseball player was watching, she looked from one Thomas to the other.

Without even looking back at his friend, Thomas pressed the buttons on the elevator panel. Up or down, he didn't care where he went. If he could go anywhere other than it would be enough. Then an invisible force pushed him, and he fell to his knees on the floor. He ended up dropping his shield during the fall and when he tried to retrieve it, the weapon disappeared right before his eyes.

"Are you really leaving before the best part?" The younger version of him glared at him, took a few steps towards him and offered him his cell phone. " He'll answer soon, don't you want to say something to our father?"

"Stay away from me!" Thomas crawled, trying to put as much distance between himself and his magical double as possible.

The other chuckled and took another step forward. And that was all he managed to do because Mikaela brought her baseball bat into her hands and landed a quick, hard hit on his chest. The speed with which the girl moved, combined with her magic, throw the clone away and the boy landed inside one of the closets.

" He said stay away, what part of that order you didn't get? " She said and swung her bat, ready for another swing. Her face made it clear that she wasn't in the mood for jokes.

Thomas, even with the fear that paralyzed him, managed to laugh. If the hard, cold gaze Mikaela wore was being directed at him, he would definitely think twice before stepping on her toes.

"Thanks, Mika." He managed to find his voice and got to his feet. "But I guess I have to face him..."

He didn't have a chance to complete his sentence because he heard the sound of metal being twisted, and he ducked just in time to dodge the closet door clone hurled. Mikaela ran towards her opponent, but this time her staff was parried by Thomas's golden shield. Only the magic weapon was protecting the evil copy.

" Nobody invited you to this chat!"

His other version harnessed the full power of Mikaela's blow and threw it back at her in the form of a blast of magical energy. The girl was thrown backwards, passed by Thomas in a blur, and when she knocked on the locker room exit door she broke through it like it was made of paper. That made his blood boil and he attacked.

"Leave her alone!" Thomas punched his clone, but he didn't even seem to notice his effort.

Laughing derisively, the boy hit him with a kick that made Thomas discover what it was like to be on the other side of an opponent who has super strength. The blow also threw him out of the locker room, and he skidded across the floor of the basketball court, where a game was in progress. The power of the kick threw him almost to the center of the court.

" Come on, I'm just asking you to call our father and tell him what I already said once. It shouldn't be that difficult, do you want my help?" His copy approached and stepped on his back, pressing him in the floor. " He tried to tell you that he was on his way, but because of the rain he would be late. Do you remember that?"

Of course, I remember, I will always remember!

Mikaela's scream made Thomas forget his pain and he tried to break free, but without his powers he found it impossible to get free. An ant trying to move an elephant would have more chances than he. The baseball player was fighting every other member of the golden eagles, even the other team, the coaches and the crowd were attacking her. The girl used her super speed to evade the wave of opponents, but it didn't take long for her to find herself completely surrounded and with nowhere to run.

She's fast, but she can't fight so many.

"What was it you said to him that night?" Thomas yelled as his clone grabbed his hair and pulled his head up. " What is it? Don't want your girlfriend to hear?"

" I HATE YOU!"

His anger made the other laugh.

"Do you think I care? Come on, Thomas," He held the phone next to his ear. "Tell our father the words of that night, or my friends will ripe your little girlfriend to peaces. Or should I say our little girlfriend?"

Out of the corner of his eye, Thomas could see that Mikaela was on the ground with three boys on top of her. A fourth held her baseball bat and was practicing a swing that would hit her on the head.

" SAY IT!!! " The clone lost patience and pressed the cell phone in his face.

Thomas closed his eyes and cried because he knew his father was listening on the other end of the line. Then, with no other choice, he began to speak.

" I'm so sorry, Dad. " He had to fight the urge to scream in order to continue. "I'm sorry I yelled at you... I'm sorry I made you run that night, so you wouldn't miss my stupid game... I'm sorry I killed you and Mom and... Brian... my God. I'm so sorry !"

Thomas felt the pressure that had him on the floor disappear, but he couldn't find the strength to get to his feet. He preferred to kneel down and, still with the cell phone in his hand, continued his conversation with his father. Even knowing he wasn't alone, at that moment it was as if nothing in the world but him and the cell phone in his hand existed.

"I miss you guys so much. So does Brian and he... God... he never said anything, but I know he hates me. And can I blame him? How can I move on knowing what I did to him... to all of you. You tried to tell me that it was better to wait for the rain to stop, even if it meant missing the game, and I forced you to come anyway... I'm so sorry about that, if I could go back in time I would have listened. Please... I don't know what to do. I need you, Dad."

After all that, Thomas kept silent and very still. He didn't know what to expect and wondered if his father would even answer him. He didn't know if he wanted to hear an answer.

" Me and your mother love you, son. " Paul Miller's voice spoke to him through the cell phone. "What happened was an accident and I need you to take this weight off your shoulders. Regardless of anything you said that night, the final choice was mine. I can't let you live with the guilt of an accident on your heart, no one should live that way, my son. Stop blaming yourself and look around, Brian needs you, your friends need you."

"I'm scared, dad."

" That's good, now turn your fear into action. " Paul replied, and he could feel his father's smile. "To protect and serve..."

" The rest is easy. " Thomas completed his father's words.

And suddenly everything was really easy.

He took a deep breath and felt like someone had lifted the weight of the world off his shoulders. He got to his feet and was finally able to look his copy in the eyes. The clone was staring at him with an expression of disgust and hatred, but unlike him, his eyes were completely black and very frightening. Mikaela looked towards him with an encouraging smile, even trapped and kneeling on the ground, she managed to find a way to help him. Something in the girl's green eyes helped drive the fear out of Thomas's soul for good.

Turn fear into action. To protect and serve, the rest is easy. My friends need me.

" That wasn't what you said that night. " The clone accused him. "Do you really think that all those excuses and crying is going to fix what you broke?"

Thomas took a deep breath, smiled, and shrugged.

"I didn't say any of the words I used that night, but I said all the words I needed to get out of my heart. My father is right, I can't live with this guilt and I won't anymore. I can't change the past, but I can't allow fear to stop me from doing something about my present and future."

When he closed the hand with which he was holding the cell phone, Thomas felt his powers return. The device was completely crushed and just like magic his shield was back, leaving his copy unarmed and with an expression of confusion on his face.

" I'm leaving my guilt and you behind! " He hit the ground with his shield and let his magic do the rest. Thomas allowed all of his power to flow from his body into the weapon and then beyond.

The golden power that exploded from the point of impact caused his clone and everyone else who attacked Mikaela to disappear. Disintegrated into thousands of pieces, as if they were all made of black sand. The use of so much energy made Thomas lose his balance, but Mikaela caught him before his face hit the floor.

The two knelt in front of each other, enjoying the moment of peace.

"I think that everything we went through on this test deserve third place on the podium of oddities we've already been through." Mikaela chuckled.

Thomas also burst out laughing and only stopped when he noticed how close his face was to hers. Their foreheads touched each other, and suddenly he couldn't remember how to breathe and think at the same time. Mikaela clenched and unclenched her hands nonstop and looked a little tense.

Does she want me to leave?

"Third place?" He asked. It was the only thing that crossed his mind.

" The girl made of wind is my second place. " Mikaela laughed again and then held both his hands and faced him.

" And the first one? " Thomas needed all his willpower to speak when he noticed that she was getting closer and closer to him. Their lips almost touching.

Then something exploded near them and one of the walls of the basketball court collapsed. When the dust settled, an already familiar figure emerged with his hands on fire and a defiant smile on his face.

" I finally found you! " Daniel said and ran towards them. "Are you done with your trials? I don't know about you, but I'm dying to get out of whatever this is!"

A series of feelings crossed Thomas's body, but he didn't even have time to speak. The ground began to shake, and suddenly all the lights on the court increased the intensity with which they illuminated the place to the point where he was forced to close his eyes.

The whole world spun and the feeling of falling overtook him. His scream joined his friends', and when he finally managed to open his eyes, he realized that they were falling through a very dark hole that seemed to have no end.

Who wants to punch Daniel right now? I love the guy, but his timing is just the worst!

What a night Thomas had,right? But now all the three of our heroes are done with their trials and it's time to get back to the adventure!

Will Thomas and Mikaela talk about what almost happen on this chapter? Keep reading the story and I can promess a nice surprise very soon :)