Volume 1 | Chapter 3: "Strength"
Opening Theme: "Raining" by Art Of Dying
Ending Theme: "Behind Blue Eyes" by Limp Bizkit
It was about 8 PM when the moon decided to emerge from behind the veil of clouds in the night sky, shining down on Mike as he walked throughout County Dame, making for its edge while cars and trucks flew by him on the streets. The cityscape was vast and widespread, with various buildings differing in size and shape housing various businesses and companies. The city's residents either lived in apartments scattered amidst the industrious complexes, or owned houses in the suburban area away from the metropolitan noise.
Eventually, he spotted where he was headed in the distance: a long building lined with at least ten doors scattered along its length, atop of which was a sign that read "County Dame Motel" in bold, neon-red letters. It was the only place he knew he could stay without attracting attention, considering the place more often played host to city visitors and tourists. He entered the motel's small receptionist room, which consisted of a single maroon door that must have led inside the room behind the sliding glass window beside it. Behind the glass, Mike saw an old man with stringy gray hair sitting bored in his lonely office, until his eyes locked with Mike's.
"Hello, and welcome to the County Dame Motel!" he ran what must have been his usual introductory spiel. "All I need is your name and how many nights you'll be staying, and you can pay either now or before you leave!"
Mike approached the desk casually as he reached into his duster's inner pockets, pulling out three one-hundred dollar bills and placing them on the desk in front of the old man, who looked from the money to Mike with greedy eyes. It was obvious he didn't get much business as it was, so any amount of money like that placed in front of him must have been like placing a bone before a dog.
"What say you give me a room for two nights, for now," Mike asked calmly but sternly, "and forget the name?"
The old man took a moment to think the offer over before giving into his avarice: "Fair enough," he agreed, taking the money and placed it away in his register before reaching for a small envelope at his side that he handed to Mike. "Here's the key to room 109. Make sure you return it before leaving."
"Right," Mike confirmed. "Thanks."
Without another word, Mike stepped back outside, before perusing each of the doors, searching for the one his key would unlock, until he finally found it near the other end of the building. He took the old, rusted key from the envelope and inserted it into the door's lock, turning it to open the door.
Inside, the small room was the same, faded tan that the receptionist room had been. A box-shaped, twelve-inch television sat atop a desk on the left side of the room from the door. To the right was a small bed with a red comforter and white sheets, next to a small night stand with a lamp. A fairly-sizable window occupied the space next to the door, though it only provided a view of the mostly-empty parking lot through broken blinds.
Mike threw off his duster and boots before rolling onto his bed, pulling from his pocket a small, touch-screen cell phone and its charger. He plugged it into the only other wall socket behind the nightstand, waiting five minutes before it came back to life for the first time in over a year. He unlocked it, bringing him to the home screen that was set with a picture that had been taken about two years ago:
It was Mike, Violet, Danny, and Marina at a beach, right as the summer season was beginning that year. Marina was still the shortest among them, her wet hair still in the braid Violet had put it in earlier that day. She was wearing pink sports shorts beneath a white sleeveless shirt, and appeared to have been laughing as the picture had been taken.
Danny stood next to her, his arms around both Marina's and Mike's necks. His mouth hung open as he smiled; his tanned, shirtless form dripping from his previous dip in the ocean. His bathing suit was a red and orange color, complementing his tan.
To his other side was Mike, who looked annoyed by Danny's arm being around him, but a small smile was still there nonetheless. He too was shirtless, wearing nothing but a black and white-patterned bathing suit, and his hair, which had been a little shorter at the time, was a dripping-wet mess.
Finally, Violet remained leaning into him from the other side. She had been wearing a purple bikini that matched the shade of her hair's highlights. It was as he looked to her when Mike realized that the one thing he loved most about her in this picture, was the one thing about her that he hadn't seen all day: the warm smile that lit up her face whenever she was with him.
With one last moment glancing at the picture, he proceeded to open his contacts menu, pulling up Violet's number before texting her:
Mike: hey its mike. is this still your number?
He waited for a few moments before the text system indicated that Violet had received the message, and was typing back before he received:
Violet: yeah its me, hey :)
Mike smiled slightly to himself. He may not have seen her smile today, but a smiley emoticon would have to suffice for the time being.
Mike: im honestly amazed this phone still works after all these years.
Violet: haha yeah, that is pretty amazing.
Mike contemplated what he ought to say next. She was the one who'd wanted to talk to him in the first place, so he just waited for her to continue. Sure enough, the chat symbolized her typing, but he only received:
Violet: so... :/
He had a feeling that he knew what was going through her mind: this was the first time that the two had spoken privately in a long time, and she was struggling just as much as he was to find the right words to say to each other. So he tried reminding her why he'd texted her in the first place:
Mike: so... there was something you wanted to talk about?
She took a moment before responding:
Violet: um... yeah... nevermind.
Mike: cmon, youre the one who wanted to talk.
Violet: well...
Mike waited again, but not for long:
Violet: why did you go away?
His heart sank. Of course this was what she had wanted to talk about.
Mike: you wouldnt believe me if i told you.
Violet: dont give me that, youve had me believing you were dead for 2 years. :/
Mike shook his head. He should have known a vague answer like that would elicit some aggression from her. And she only continued to beat down on him with guilt:
Violet: and dont you DARE tell me it had something to do with the accident. you know that wasnt fault.
She definitely did know him too well. She had witnessed the "accident" that had killed his parents, and had sat with him sometime later in an attempt to comfort him as he whimpered, over and over again, "It's my fault."
Mike: my actions and the reasons behind them are my concern, not yours.
He knew that was a bad thing to respond with before he'd typed it. But her response was not the kind he was expecting in return:
Violet: you really dont know how much i care about you, do you?
Mike resisted revealing his knowledge of the scribbles that were sprawled on her folders:
Mike: feel free to elaborate if you like.
She would either cave and talked about how she truly felt, or find a way to slide out of it. Her response was option B:
Violet: did you forget that weve known each other since we were kids?
Mike: no, of course i didnt.
He felt the tension that had been building between them settling down, before she replied after a minute or so:
Violet: im sorry... i just really missed you :/
Mike felt a tug on his heartstrings at that.
Mike: ive missed you too.
Another moment passed. Mike wondered if he ought to have hinted a little more at how much he had missed her. But he realized it was too late when she replied with:
Violet: sorry, but i gtg. ill see you tomorrow, right?
Mike sighed. If she hadn't caught on to his cues, there'd be another day to try again.
Mike: of course. see you then, later.
Violet: goodnight :)
And with that, he silently thanked his lucky stars that the drama hadn't lasted long. He had no idea what he'd say if she'd told him the truth about her feelings for him, much less vice-versa. He didn't feel ready to tell her how he felt the same, and to top that off—after the horrid acts he'd committed over the last two years—he didn't even feel worthy of her affection.
He shut his phone off, placing it on the nightstand next to him before rolling onto his side. He didn't even bother to pull the provided comforter and sheet over him; as soon as eyes had closed, he was asleep.
- Flashback -
As Mike followed the man named Aeron through the western-style town of Frontier Haven, he got a chance to take in more of his new surroundings. Aligning the center road of the town was a various mix of shops: saloons, tailors, taverns, stables, etc. Intermingled among the different shops were more plain-looking buildings with no signs out front, but instead were decorated with the likes of flowers, chimes, and other kinds of front-yard ornaments, which he figured were the homes of the townspeople.
Amid the many citizens dressed in the western-style clothes he'd seen earlier, he was also beginning to notice a lot more variety in the garbs that people were wearing: from leather jackets to rags, from farmer's overalls to a young, city slicker's stylish apparel. Some few were also dressed in more foreign garments than Mike was used to seeing, such as robes that looked as though they belonged to Buddhist monks, and Chinese Kung Fu shirts.
Samael wasn't kidding when he'd said he's brought in people from all over, Mike realized as he followed Aeron around a corner into another part of town.
He focused his attention back to the man he was following. Normally, he would get a read on someone's vibe from the moment he met them, but he sensed practically nothing from this man. He seemed incapable of harboring any kind of emotion, and the only word that came to Mike's mind to describe his faint aura was "deathly," which was hardly comforting.
"Tell me something," Aeron suddenly inquired, bringing Mike out of his thoughts with a jolt. "Have you ever had to fight for your life before?"
Mike shook his head at the question. "Not unless you count stopping jerks from beating my friend and I up back in school," he reasoned, though he doubted that this answer was anywhere close to what Aeron was referring to.
It was in this moment that Mike realized that the two of them had suddenly arrived at what looked like the edge of town, as they walked under an arching, overhead sign with "FRONTIER HAVEN" printed on it in big, bold letters.
"So, what exactly are we doing out here anyway?" Mike asked.
"Here is where I'm going to test you," Aeron spoke simply without so much as a glance towards Mike. "To see if you're capable of being one of Samael's soldiers."
Mike stopped in his tracks at this statement. "Wait, what do you mean by soldier?" he asked, his heart rate accelerating.
"Not far from here is another town called Saddlebury," Aeron explained, not losing his stride. "That place is under the control of a man named Keir and his gang of duelists, the Romans. Once every week, someone from that town and someone from our town square off in a duel to the death."
Mike felt his heart jump into his throat at these words, while Aeron continued: "Each week, Samael and Keir take turns choosing two citizens—one from each town—to duel. And since I'm the best duelist Frontier Haven has, Samael's always chosen me to face off against Keir's chosen when he gets to choose who fights.
"Of course..." Aeron finally stopped about ten feet away from Mike before turning to face him. "Samael or Keir could easily choose to pit either themselves or anyone else against each other. But unfortunately—" Aeron almost sounded like it hurt him to say what he was about to. "—Samael believes Keir is too dangerous, and won't even allow me to face him out of fear that I'll lose. And in the last twenty-six years that Keir has led his Romans, no one has dared to challenge him.
"That's why Samael continues to bring out more Mark-bearers like you," Aeron explained with a pointed finger at Mike. "He's hoping to eventually find someone who can outmatch Keir, and finally put an end to this bloodshed."
"That's insane," Mike said with hesitance. "Who would ever agree to something so deranged?"
"Keir forced us into this system years ago," said Aeron. "If we don't fight, he and his Romans would raze Frontier Haven to the ground, and kill everyone here without a second thought."
Mike was silent for a time as he processed what he was hearing. "I'm guessing this Keir guy, and his group of Romans, all have this 'Mark of Death' branded on them too?"
Aeron's answer came in the form of him pushing up his left-arm sleeve, revealing his own X-shaped scar etched into his skin. "Just like you, me, and everyone else in Frontier Haven do."
Now Mike was starting to feel overwhelmed with everything that he was being presented with. So Samael was riding on the hope that he could be the one to defeat this Keir in a duel, and then kill him...?
Mike's blood turned to ice with that thought. He couldn't even imagine having to kill somebody, even if his life depended on it. The idea of dueling to the death alone was barbaric enough.
He managed to lock eyes with Aeron. "Just how would you expect me to kill this Keir guy, anyway...?" he asked with a shaky breath.
Aeron's took the gun from the holster at his side and held it near his wrist, where it firmly attached itself to him as the gun's barrel transformed into a Duel Monsters deck zone; while a part that emerged from its side fanned out to become monster, spell, and trap card zones.
"Put it this way," Aeron stated coldly. "This duel disk isn't shaped like a gun for looks."
Mike's eyes widened, fixating on Aeron's oddly-shaped duel disk. He was so distracted by his realization about the contraption that he almost didn't notice when Aeron then launched a long, steel cable at Mike's duel disk arm, latching onto his left arm tight enough to make him wince with pain.
"I assume the deck case on your belt has your deck in it," Aeron reasoned as he attached the other end of the steel cable to his own revolver-disk. "So let's see what it's made of."
Mike looked from the duel anchor to Aeron as he used his free right arm to reach into his cape, from which he pulled out another revolver-shaped duel disk, which he tossed to the ground at Mike's feet.
Mike looked down to the duel disk before him. If he accepted this duel, it likely meant no turning back from joining this cause to stand against whoever this "Keir" character was. But could he really bring himself to sign on for a job that meant he might have to kill a man, all for people he had just met and had no business with otherwise...?
"What if I refuse?" Mike finally mustered enough courage to retort against this, though he had a bad feeling about what Aeron's answer would be.
"Then you find out the hard way that this is more than just a duel disk."
Just as he feared. So it was either go through with this, or die.
He finally gave in and followed Aeron's example, picking the revolver-shaped duel disk up and attaching it to his arm before taking out his deck and shuffling it. "Guess I don't have much choice," he figured as he slid his deck into the duel disk's deck zone, activating it.
For the first time, Aeron cracked a small smile at Mike's submission. "That's the spirit," he spoke as he drew five cards.
Mike dealt his own five cards before he and Aeron finally cried out, "LET'S DUEL!"
- Flashback End -
The morning sun rose high above County Dame the next morning. The students of Dexterity High stepped off from their buses in front of their school. Josiah Sullivan still remained absent, apparently still recovering from the humiliation he'd suffered at Mike's hands.
Violet stepped off from her bus onto the tiled walkway, her conversation with Mike the previous night running through her mind. She kept her head bowed as she passed through the sea of students, trying to keep to herself so she could think undisturbed.
Her plan to try and muster up the courage to tell him how she truly felt about him had fallen through. In the end, she'd convinced herself not to do it over text, deciding that when she finally got around to admitting her feelings for him, she wanted to do it face to face; not over some text thread where it didn't feel like it meant anything. Violet wanted that moment to show that he meant everything to her.
That aside, there was one possibility that Violet couldn't shake the thought of: what if, in truth, Mike only cared about her as a friend? That was the only thing really holding her back. She'd always dropped plenty of hints to him over the years, but if he'd picked up on it, and still hadn't reacted to it, it either meant he enough of a jerk to let Violet get her hopes up, or he really did like her back and didn't know how to react...
As Violet took her seat in Mr. Carnell's classroom, her mind was so far from reality that she didn't notice as Danny leapt into the seat next to her ecstatically.
"Man, I am SO hyped for today!" he said. "I can't wait for my rematch with Mike!"
He turned to Violet, his smile turning into a concerned frown when he saw how distanced she was before nudging her gently. "Penny for your thoughts?"
Violet looked over to him, before shaking her head. "Just... it's been a lot to take in, y'know? Kinda still getting used to the fact that he's back."
Danny nodded his understanding as he put his feet up on his desk. "Yeah, I gotta admit; I'm still getting over it myself," he said. "But hey, you just gotta be happy about it, right? I mean, yeah, maybe he seems a little different, but at least he's alive!"
"But how different is he, though?" she retorted. "Aren't you even the slightest bit worried that the Mike we lost might not be the same one who came back to us?"
Danny looked long and hard into Violet's worrisome face, even after she looked away from him. Despite his being somewhat slow, it eventually clicked in his mind:
"Oh, I get it," he said casually, leaning back in his chair lazily. "You're worried about whether he might still 'like' you—"
"Don't say it so loud!" she snapped at Danny, startling him to the point that he nearly fell backwards in his chair.
"Sorry..." he apologized sincerely as he readjusted himself in his seat. "But seriously, I don't see why you'd even worry about that. He's an old-fashioned kinda guy; once he sets his heart on someone or something, he stays true to them or that. You really think that might've changed over the last two years?"
Violet wholeheartedly wanted to believe Danny, but part of her just couldn't shake the uncertainty. No one knew anything about what he'd endured while he was gone. Who knew what kind of people he might have interacted with? What if he'd even spent the last two years falling for someone else...?
These thoughts ran through her head as Mr. Carnell walked into the classroom, saying, "All right, everyone settle down. Mr. Stark, feet off your desk please!"
When the last bell rang, Violet and Danny exited their last class, hugging the second floor hallway wall to allow other students to pass by while they waited for Marina to come down from the third floor. Violet was still acting reserved, clutching her books and folders tightly to her chest. Noticing how his friend was still uptight, Danny leaned over to make himself heard over the crowd before asking, "Hey, c'mon and lighten up a little! Aren't you excited to see Mike again?"
Violet shook her head. "Actually, now I'm more nervous about that," she lied. "I kinda forgot what it was like to be nervous around the one you liked, y'know?"
Danny took a moment to consider Violet's words, before shrugging. "No, I don't know actually... I've never really liked anyone like that."
Hearing this, Violet took the opportunity to get her mind off her troubles and tease him a little bit: "Oh, don't give me that. You're clearly into Marina!"
Danny's face flushed red at that. "I. am. NOT!" he shot back insistently. "I only ever became friends with her 'cause you were her first friend when she joined us in middle school!"
"Oh, please," Violet pressed, a smile coming to her face. "The way you two are always arguing? You're practically an old married couple."
"She's a year younger than me!" Danny retorted with annoyance. "I'm not into girls who are younger than me!"
"Okay, okay..." Violet led him on, and his expression returned to normal for only a moment before she then whispered in his ear: "But she's the only exception."
Danny glared at Violet as he breathed heavily. "You can't hit a girl!" she reminded him with a sly smile, knowing that his usual reaction to a wise-ass comment from Mike would be to whack him.
"What're you two talking about?"
Danny sharply turned around to face Marina at the sound of her voice. "Boxing!" he blurted out stupidly. "We were talking about boxing... and how Violet and I can't box... because I can't hit a girl."
Violet was stifling a laugh at her friend's stupid excuse while Marina eyed Danny confusedly. "Okay...?" She sounded like she didn't quite believe him. "Well, at least you're enough of a gentleman to not hit a girl. Now c'mon, Mike's probably waiting for us outside!"
As she finished saying that, the last of the crowd filed through the hallway, and Marina followed suit. Danny stood there, hitting his head against a locker while Violet muttered to him, "Nice cover," before following as well.
Danny hit his head once more before following them, muttering to himself: "Boxing, Danny? Really?!"
The three friends exited the school building as the last buses rolled away from the building into the city.
"So much for 'probably waiting for us,'" Danny chastised as he watched the last bus drive off, earning a glower from Marina.
"Well, you didn't exactly set a time and place for your duel," Marina shot back.
Danny rolled his eyes. "You'd think he would've remembered that school gets out around now," he figured. "He was always the type to arrive ahead of time if he could."
"Still am, actually."
The three friends whipped around quick to see where the voice had come from: Mike had been leaning against the school building with his arms crossed the whole time, hiding outside of their peripheral vision. Just laying her eyes on him made Violet's heart want to leap out of her chest with excitement.
Danny, meanwhile, sported a competitive smirk before walking a few paces backwards along the marble walkway, while Mike took his position across from him, putting ten feet between them.
"You remember our deal, right?" he reminded Mike as he dropped his backpack to his side, pulling his duel disk from it before equipping it to his left arm. "If I win this duel, you're telling us everything you've been up to these last couple of years, a'ight?"
Mike drew his revolver-shaped duel disk from its holster, holding it to his wrist to activate it. "Fine by me," he agreed as his deck protruding from the barrel. "Like I said, you'll have to actually beat me first."
Danny chuckled. "Big talk coming from the guy who hasn't seen my new build yet!" he said as he readied himself in his duel stance.
Violet and Marina stood side-by-side a little ways away from the two guys. Marina seemed passive as she waited for them to begin, while Violet couldn't take her eyes off of Mike. She was trying to take in every detail of his being as it was now—to replace the version of him she had preserved in her memory with what he'd become in an attempt to accept however much he might have changed.
Finally, Mike and Danny drew their five cards, before crying out, "LET'S DUEL!"
- DUEL -
[Mike - LP: 4000] VS [Danny - LP: 4000]
"Feel free to have the first move," Mike offered to his best friend, the hardened expression that he'd showcased during his duel with Josiah returning to his face.
"If you insist!" Danny said as he drew first. "I'll start with my Machina Soldier!" [LV: 4/ATK: 1600]
Mike scoffed. "I thought you said this was a 'new' build," he said. "Yet you start off with your usual opening move."
"Don't worry!" Danny assured him with a grin. "This deck's chock-full of new surprises! Now my Soldier's effect lets me special summon my Machina Sniper!" [LV: 4/ATK: 1800]
"Then I'll activate the spell card, Machina Armored Unit!" he continued. "Which'll come in handy for me a little later!
"For now," he wrapped up, "I'll set two cards face-down, and end my turn!"
"Then it's my turn," Mike said as he drew, before scanning his hand for an opening move. "I'll start by summoning my Constellar Pollux to the field!" [LV: 4/ATK: 1700]
"And with Pollux's effect," he explained as he took another card from his hand, "once per turn, I can normal summon any other Constellar monster in my hand in addition to my normal one! So I'll release my Pollux to advance summon Constellar Alrescha!" [LV: 6/ATK: 2200]
"And thanks to him, I can special summon another Constellar monster from my hand in DEF mode!" Mike continued as he took yet another card from his hand. "So say hello to my Constellar Kaus!" [LV: 4/DEF: 1400] "And with his effect, he raises his level up by 1!" [LV: 4→5]
"Next, I'll banish Constellar Pollux from my graveyard," he went on as he took the monster from the slot in his duel disk, "which lets me special summon my Ghost Ship to the field!" [LV: 5/ ATK: 1900]
"And with that, I've got two level 5 monsters on my field; both of which I'll overlay in order to build the overlay network!" Mike cried out as Ghost Ship and Kaus disappeared inside a spatial portal. "Xyz summon! Descend from the stars, Constellar Pleiades!" [RK: 5/OUs: 2/ATK: 2500]
Danny marveled at Mike's Xyz monster with awe. "Aw man, I get to take a swing at the monster that took down Josiah?!" he said with enthrallment. "Talk about the best day ever!"
"I wouldn't get too excited if I were you," Mike warned his best friend. "None of your monsters have nearly enough ATK power to challenge him."
"Well, it's a good thing I set this card then!" Danny retorted as one of his set cards flipped. "I reveal my Rocket Hand trap, which'll give my Machina Sniper an extra 800 ATK!" A comically-large, red and blue mechanical hand replaced one of Machina Sniper's stock hands, which he proceeded to clench into a fist. [ATK: 1800→2600]
"So Danny managed to power up one of his monsters, but what good is that?" Violet questioned. "His Soldier is still right there for Mike's Pleiades to attack."
"Not quite," Marina corrected her best friend. "Danny's Sniper has the ability to redirect any attack targeting another Machina monster to itself."
Violet's eyes widened with realization. "So even if Pleiades attacks Soldier, he'll just end up attacking Sniper?"
"Right; and when he does, he'll be outmatched by 100 ATK thanks to Danny's Rocket Hand," Marina confirmed, a slight sense of admiration creeping into her voice. "It's actually a brilliant tactic on Danny's part."
Mike, meanwhile, narrowed his eyes as he calculated his next move. "Not a bad play, Danny," he commended, "but unfortunately, you forgot to take my Pleiades's effect into consideration! By detaching one of his overlay units—" [OUs: 2→1] "—he can send your Machina Sniper back to your hand; destroying your Rocket Hand in the process!"
"That's where you're wrong, actually!" Danny countered as Pleiades readied himself to use his effect. "I activate my Rocket Hand's other effect, sending it to the graveyard so I can take out any face-up card on the field!
"And sure, maybe it won't stop your Pleiades from bouncing Sniper back to my hand," he admitted as he placed his trap in the graveyard, "but it'll at least keep you from attacking me directly this turn!"
As Machina Sniper faded away from Danny's field, Pleiades looked up to see a giant, rocket-propelled fist hurling towards him from the sky, leaving no time to dodge before the fist collided with him, exploding on contact.
Mike held an arm up to brace himself from the explosion's impact, before lowering it again when the smoke eventually cleared. "Heh, guess you've got a few surprises after all," he admitted with a bemused smile. "But I doubt you have another one to spring for this next attack!
"Go, Constellar Alrescha!" he cried as he pointed to Danny's last monster. "Destroy Machina Soldier!"
The monster took up its parallel-bladed swords, dashing over to Danny's side of the field and slicing through Danny's Soldier like a knife through butter, destroying it. [Danny - LP: 4000→3400]
As Alrescha took its place back on Mike's field, the latter's eyes narrowed when he saw Danny smirking despite the blow his life points had taken. "I really oughta thank you for that, 'cause now I get to trigger the effect of my Machina Armored Unit!" he explained. "With it, I can special summon another machine-type monster from my deck that has less ATK than the monster just destroyed, and shares that monster's attribute!
"So come on out!" Danny cried out as he took a card from his deck. "Machina Defender!" [LV: 4/DEF: 1800]
"And then, I'll reveal my other set trap card, Time Machine!" Danny went on as his second card flipped. "Which I'll use to bring my Machina Soldier back to my field since it was destroyed this turn!" [LV: 4/ATK: 1600]
Mike arched an eyebrow at this development. He knew exactly what Danny was trying to go for in his next turn.
"Guess I've done all I can for now," he said, folding his arms. "So I'll end my turn there."
"Then it's back to me!" Danny cried out before drawing his next card, grinning widely at the sight of it.
"I'll start with my Double Summon spell card!" he began, "which'll gimme another normal summon for this turn!
"So first I'll welcome back my Machina Sniper that you bounced back to my hand last turn—" [LV: 4/ATK: 1800] "—and then I'll call on my Commander Covington to keep him company!" [LV: 4/ATK: 1000]
It was in this moment that Violet and Marina also realized the strategy that Danny was going for as well. "Wait, is he seriously about to bring out his 'big win' card?" Marina wondered with disbelief. "He's been trying to do that for years with no luck!"
"Guess we underestimated him this time," was Violet's response as she glanced between the two of her friends facing off. "He's got all four of the monsters he needs..."
Meanwhile, Mike watched as Danny exclaimed, "And with that, the stage is finally set! Commander Covington; give the order to have my Machina Soldier, Machina Defender, and Machina Sniper join forces!"
The three named monsters seemed to fall apart among themselves, before those parts began reassembling into one, giant mechanized mayhem of a monster. Mike had to strain his neck to look up at the new creature, which was just shy of half of Dexterity High's height. Marina and Violet, having never seen this creature summoned before either, paced backwards as they marveled at the sight of Danny's ace monster.
"Now bear witness to the most powerful monster I own!" Danny proudly cried out, clearly happier than he'd ever been with himself until this moment. "Assemble with all the firepower of the best militia in Duel Monsters! Take form, Machina Force!" [LV: 10/ATK: 4600]
"Unbelievable...!" Marina uttered under her breath as she looked up at Danny's ultimate powerhouse.
Violet, meanwhile, tore her eyes off of the gigantic mech to spare a look at Mike, who was eyeing the creature carefully—as though he were already trying to figure out the best way to take this massive monster apart.
He seems so much more calculating than he used to be, she silently realized, her eyes flashing to his duel disk's unusual shape for a moment. As if every move that's made is the difference between life and death for him...
Danny, meanwhile, was getting to the part he'd been patiently waiting for: "Now, by giving up 1000 life points," he explained, "my Machina Force is allowed to attack! So go ahead and pummel his Alrescha into the pavement!" [Danny - LP: 3400→2400]
Machina Force brought its fist down upon Mike's Alrescha, flattening and destroying it outright. The shockwaves of the attack forced Violet and Marina flinch, while Mike had to step back a few paces as he watched Force's fist come down right in front of him. [Mike - LP: 4000→1600]
"But wait, there's more!" Danny exclaimed as a fire lit in his eyes that hadn't been seen since the days before Mike had left. "I still have one more attack for ya, courtesy of my Commander Covington!"
Commander Covington charged forward, its skinny arms throwing a punch that shot straight through Mike, who managed to keep himself grounded as the mechanical monster rebounded back to Danny's side of the field. [Mike - LP: 1600→600]
"And that's how it's done!" Danny exclaimed. "Now, I think I'll let you off the hook and end my turn!"
But as Danny looked over to his best friend, he was surprised to find that Mike was smiling—even laughing—despite the onslaught he'd just taken.
"Hey, what's got you giggling over there?" Danny called out to him with confusion.
Mike's laughter ceased as he met Danny's eyes again. "Y'know, it's funny... funny two years can make you forget the definition of 'fun'... but I think I'm finally starting to remember it now."
Though everyone found themselves touched by these words, no one was more so than Violet. Her earlier note of his calculating demeanor seemed to fade away from her mind as her heart swelled in her chest, finally feeling as though her eyes were laid on the Mike that she'd lost was finally starting to come out again.
Mike, meanwhile, brought his attention back to the duel as he drew his next card. He'd been lenient, letting Danny finally have the opportunity to call his Machina Force out for the first time since he'd gotten the card back in middle school. But now, it was time for him to evict his massive mech from the field before it costed him the duel.
"I summon my Constellar Sombre!" he began his move. [LV: 4/ATK: 1550]
"And with his effect, by banishing any Constellar monster in my graveyard, I can bring back to my hand any other Constellar monster in the graveyard I choose!" he explained as he took his Pleiades from his graveyard. "So now, my Constellar Pollux comes on back!"
As Mike added his Pollux to his hand, Danny could almost see the plan that was forming in his head. He almost hoped for Mike to find a way to take out his Machina Force, just to demonstrate how much more powerful he'd really become.
"Now, since I successfully used my Sombre's first effect, I've unlocked his second effect!" Mike continued, "which allows me to normal summon another Constellar monster this turn! So let's welcome back Constellar Pollux!" [LV: 4/ATK: 1700]
"And with these two on the field, I'll now overlay them to summon out a monster you ought to be familiar with!" Mike cried out as his two monsters merged together within another spatial portal. "Xyz summon! Strike with the power of the cosmos, Starliege Paladynamo!" [RK: 4/OUs 2/ATK: 2000]
Danny, Marina, and Violet's jaws all dropped at the sight of this monster. This was the first card of Mike's former deck that they had seen him use so far. It had been the centerpiece of his deck back in the day; the one monster he'd always relied on to bail him out of some of the most dire scenarios he'd ever faced.
As he looked to the new warrior that was staring him down, Danny couldn't help but broaden his grin. "So, your old ace monster finally gets to go against my true ace monster..." he mused with a wide smile. "Who knew it'd take this many years for it to happen?"
Mike returned the smile. "I thought it'd only be appropriate to take down your boss monster with my own," he told him. "And what better way to do it than with Paladynamo's effect!
"By detaching both of his overlay units—" [OUs: 2→0] "—your monster loses all of its effects and ATK points!" [Machina Force - ATK: 4600→0]
"Now go, Starliege Paladynamo!" Mike commanded his ace monster. "Tear down that oversized scrap yard!"
Paladynamo took up his large spatial blade and charged forward, stabbing right into Machina Force's core as it shot right through it, causing a small explosion that triggered the mech's deconstruction.
Violet and Marina watched with wide eyes as Machina Force fell apart above its master, who cried out in panic as he flinched while his monster came tumbling down upon him in pieces. [Danny - LP: 2400→400]
Eventually, the wreckage of what was formerly Machina Force finally faded away, revealing Danny lying flat on the ground with a shellshocked expression. "Man... it's times like these when I'm especially thankful these monsters aren't real," he muttered as he managed to slowly pick himself up. "Otherwise, I'm pretty sure I'd know what being a pancake feels like right about now."
Marina let out a quick gasp of a laugh at this remark, before stifling it just as quickly. Violet turned to look at her with a slight grin on her face, while Marina shot back a quick glare, as if saying: You didn't hear ANYTHING.
Back in the duel field, Mike gave a small "Hmph," before finally stating, "Well, pancake or no pancake, your ace monster's life was unfortunately short-lived."
"Maybe so," Danny retorted as he put his game face back on. "But don't think this duel's done yet!"
Mike's eyebrows rose as his gaze flickered to Danny's Machina Armored Unit spell, which glowed to signal its effect was activating yet again.
"Since you just destroyed a monster with 4600 ATK, I can now summon out any machine with less ATK and the same attribute!" Danny cried as his new Machina burst from the ground before him. "Set your aim on all that opposes you, my Machina Fortress!" [LV: 7/ATK: 2500]
Marina went wide-eyed at this surprise move by Danny. "Well, well," she muttered, impressed yet again. "Danny actually had a comeback for if his ace monster bit the dust. He really has come a long way."
Violet looked to Marina with a playful expression. "Am I detecting a sense of approbation for him from you...?" she teased.
"No... shut up!" Marina denied with a wince, to which Violet responded by playfully sticking her tongue out at her.
Back in the duel, Mike now eyed Danny's Machina Fortress carefully. He'd expected Danny to come back swiftly and strongly, but it didn't shake his resolve. He still had a controlling hand on the outcome of this duel.
"I set two cards face-down," Mike concluded. "That's all for now."
"Then I'm up!" Danny cried as he drew. "And I'm about to bring this duel to an end! Pretty soon, you're gonna be telling us just what you've been up to these last couple o' years!"
Mike remained unmoving, though his stare into Danny's eyes seemed to harden at these words.
His expressional shift didn't go unnoticed by Violet: it seemed that whenever the events of his last two years was brought up, he fell uncomfortably silent, returning him to the cold personality that she'd first seen it during his interaction with Josiah, as well as the first time Danny had asked about where he had been.
Maybe trying to force an explanation out of him through this duel wasn't such a good idea, Violet realized with a worried gulp.
Meanwhile, Danny was waging battle: "Time to take Machina Force's revenge, Fortress!" he declared as he indicated Mike's warrior to his tank. "Open fire on his Starliege Paladynamo and win me this duel!"
Despite its ginormous size, the large tank swiftly swung its large turret arm to point towards Mike's warrior. Violet and Marina held their breaths, waiting to see if Danny really was about to steal his first win away from Mike.
But Mike wasn't ready to go down yet: "I reveal my Impenetrable Attack trap!" he countered as the set card on his field flipped. "And I'll use its second effect to cancel out any battle damage you could deal to me this turn!"
Danny's eyebrows rose as his monster fired away on Paladynamo, whose groan could only be heard momentarily before being eviscerated by the blast. Mike, however, remained rooted where he stood, knowing he was safe from the attack.
"And with his destruction, my Paladynamo's effect triggers," Mike reminded Danny, "which means I get to draw another card!"
As Mike drew his card, the expressions of the girls on the sidelines mirrored Danny's earlier surprise. The latter, on the other hand, was now examining his field and the last card in his hand carefully, calculating what he ought to do.
There's no point in attacking him with Covington if he ain't gonna take any more damage this turn, he figured. But with this card, I might be able to use Covington to my advantage...
"All right, I'll move to my main phase two," Danny decided, "and switch my Covington into DEF mode!" [ATK: 1000→DEF: 600]
"And with that, I'll set one more card face-down," he wrapped up. "That ought to do it."
As Mike drew once more, Danny couldn't help but let a small smirk form across his lips. Go on and try and destroy my Fortress, Mike, he mused in his mind. This time, I'm finally gonna get the drop on you!
Finally, Mike held up one card in his hand. "While you control a monster and I don't, this little guy can be special summoned directly from my hand!" he explained. "Come on out, Constellar Siat!" [LV: 1/ATK: 100]
"Then, I'll call on my Constellar Algiedi to join him!" [LV: 4/ATK: 1600]
"And with these two on the field, I'll use my Siat's effect," he continued, "which allows him to copy the level of any other Constellar monster on my field, like my level 4 Algiedi!" [Constellar Siat: LV: 1→4]
"And with their levels matched, I'll now overlay them to build the overlay network one more time!" Mike cried out as his two monsters were swallowed within another spatial portal. "Xyz summon! Bare your iron fists, Constellar Praesepe!" [RK: 4/OUs: 2/ATK: 2400]
So, he's gonna try and get past my Fortress's 2500 ATK by boosting Praesepe's up to 3400 with its effect, Danny reasoned as he observed Mike's bulky warrior. Almost predictable, but works for me; looks like I'll have the last laugh after all!
Danny clenched his jaw as Mike finally cried out: "Now, Constellar Praesepe! Use your effect to gain another 1000 ATK, and take out his Machina Fortress!"
Praesepe raised his fists as he dashed towards Machina Fortress, ready to deliver the blow that would destroy it. [OUs: 2→1, ATK: 2400→3400]
Danny's grin broadened. "I reveal my trap card, Covering Fire!" he cried out confidently. "When you attack one of my monsters, I can have it gain ATK equal to that of another monster on my side of the field during the damage step! So go ahead and take my Commander Covington's 1000 ATK, Machina Fortress!" [ATK: 2500→3500]
Everyone's eyes were glued to the battle between Praesepe and Fortress as they were about to collide. As Praesepe was about to ram its fist through Fortress's hull, the mechanized monster's turret fired an intense light that enveloped Praesepe before he could reach it, blinding everyone as it blasted the monster out of existence with just enough ATK power. [Mike - LP: 600→500]
As the light of the blast eventually died down and faded, Danny opened his eyes again, panting heavily as he felt the rush of adrenaline pump through his veins.
"Heh... I did it... I actually did it!" he exclaimed between excited breaths. "I'm finally gonna beat you, Mike!"
But as he looked over to his best friend's field, Danny found his expression falling as the smoke cleared, revealing Mike's grinning face.
"I've got to hand it to you, you really have become a much better duelist than you were before," he commended his best friend. "You've proven that to me throughout this duel tenfold.
"Which is why I hate to say this," he spoke coolly. "But you just gave me the win."
Danny, Marina, and Violet's faces turned to confusion as Mike explained: "Arguably, your trap might've won you the duel if I'd tried to overpower your Fortress with any other weaker monster. That's why I called on my Praesepe—and why I had this set face-down."
Danny could only stare in awe as Mike's set card from two turns ago flipped, revealing itself to be Xyz Reborn; the sight of which caused him to bow his head as he laughed. "I should've known," he muttered. "You had it all thought out from the start, didn't you?"
"More or less," Mike replied as he raised his hand to indicate the beam of light that would rebirth his chosen monster. "And now, my Constellar Praesepe rises once again, while my trap becomes an overlay unit for him!" [RK: 4/OUs: 0→1/ATK: 2400]
"And if I'm not mistaken, your Covering Fire's effect expires now," he reasoned, "which means your Fortress's ATK returns to its original value!" [Machina Fortress - ATK: 3500→2500]
Danny could only watch on helplessly as Mike then made his final declaration of the duel: "Now, my Praesepe! Detach your overlay unit, give yourself 1000 more ATK, and finish his Machina Fortress off once and for all!" [OUs: 1→0, ATK: 2400→3400]
Praesepe thrusted its arm into the beast of a tank, its metal exterior grinding loudly against its internal components before exploding, the shockwaves bringing Danny to his knees. [Danny - LP: 400→0]
- DUEL OVER -
[Winner: Mike]
Marina brought a hand to her mouth in her shock. Violet thought she caught a glimpse of what appeared to be pity for Danny in Marina's eyes, but decided not to rib her on it; she'd made both her and Danny blush enough for one day, and she was also barely taking in the ending of the duel just as much as Marina was.
As the duel disks deactivated and the monsters disappeared, Mike began walking towards his grounded best friend, who chuckled as he muttered to himself, "Man... I spent these last two years trying to get as strong as you were... but you just had to go and get even stronger than that."
"Well, I wouldn't put it past you that you could've beaten me," Mike said as he looked down at Danny. "You came damn close."
Violet and Marina approached them as Mike helped Danny back onto his feet. "Guess you don't have to tell us about your last couple of years after all," Danny figured.
Mike scoffed. "You weren't getting that story either way."
"Oh, OKAY!" Danny shot back in an exaggerated rage. "I SEE HOW IT IS!"
That earned laughter from everyone else as Danny stood there steaming, but he quickly simmered down.
"I gotta say, though; that was definitely the most amazing duel you two have ever fought," Marina admitted as she pulled herself together. "But you could still use some work, Danny."
"Hey, at least give me some credit for finally getting my Machina Force out!" he retorted, but Marina just shook her head.
Danny shrugged Marina's indifference off as Violet smiled at Mike, who caught her eye and returned the smile. She had a feeling that the two of them had the same exact thought: they were glad that things were finally beginning to feel something like normal again.
Danny brought his arms up over his head to stretch. "Well, at least we still have a whole afternoon left to hang out..."
He suddenly looked to Mike, his competitive grin returning to his face. "Race ya to the trailer?" he challenged Mike as his arms came down.
Mike only smirked back in response. "You'll lose that, too."
"Not with that long coat weighing you down," Danny shot back. "And... GO!"
With that, the two best friends took off in a mad dash down the sidewalk, neck-in-neck with each other as they raced into the city.
Marina shook her head at the two of them as she stood alongside Violet. "Boys..." she muttered, a mix of annoyance and amusement in her voice, before the two followed suit after them.
Be sure to catch up with the latest "Yu-Gi-Oh! Mark of Death" developments by reading the original story on my profile! And as always, thank you for reading, and stay awesome.
