Chapter 13: "Scars"

Opening Theme: "Raining" by Art Of Dying

Ending Theme: "Behind Blue Eyes" by Limp Bizkit

"It's been quite some time..." Liam said, stepping down the marble stairs towards the group of friends. "Hasn't it, Mike?"

Mike was silent as he glared up at the approaching Cyber Style master. Behind him, Violet, Danny, Marina, and Josiah could only watch on with bewildered expressions, struggling to process just what was happening. Danny practically had to pick up his jaw from where it had fallen on the ground before muttering in Mike's ear, "Wait, you actually know Liam Carson? Since freakin' when?!"

But Mike ignored Danny's question as he continued to watch Liam, who finally came to a stop at the bottom of the stairway. "I'm glad to see you made it out of Frontier Haven in one piece," he casually said. "I was almost worried that we'd never get to settle our score."

The four friends' expressions lit up with even more surprise as the Cyber Style master's gaze traveled to them. "I take it you're all his friends?" he addressed them. "A pleasure to make all your acquaintances. I'd introduce myself, but I've a feeling that's not really necessary."

Amongst the group, Danny usually would've been the first to respond ecstatically to his favorite Pro duelist acknowledging his existence. But the revelation of his best friend's apparent history with Liam in Frontier Haven had left him, for the first time, at a complete loss for words.

Violet, on the other hand, could feel her gut twisting uncomfortably as her mind raced to put the pieces together. Not only had this all but confirmed her suspicions about Mike having something against the Cyber Style master, but now she couldn't stop herself from wondering just what kind of history Mike could've had with him in Frontier Haven...

"Liam."

Everyone's attention now turned to Mike when he finally spoke up again, his glaring eyes burning into Liam's as he uttered: "What have you done?"

Liam's eyebrows rose at the sudden accusation. "I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about."

"Like hell you don't," Mike snapped back. "I know you had something to do with it."

"To do with what, exactly?"

"The Romans. They're back."

Surprise spread across Liam's face. "The Romans...?" he repeated with disbelief. "I would've thought that you'd put the last of them down after I'd left."

"I thought I had," Mike confirmed. "But I recently found out that they didn't quite stay disbanded—and that they've taken someone I care about."

Those words hit Violet like a sharp jab to her stomach. So this was about Mike's missing friend that Aeron had told them about after all... the girl that Mike had met out in Frontier Haven.

Liam's face turned grim as he looked back at Mike with hardened eyes. "If you're thinking I had some sort of a hand in that, I'm afraid you're mistaken," he stated firmly. "I cut my ties with the Romans for good after I left."

"Yeah... and I remember you saying something similar to that before you tried to kill me," Mike shot back. "So sorry if I find it a little hard to take you at your word."

It didn't seem possible for any more shock to spread across the faces of the four friends behind Mike. Liam, meanwhile, only stood in silence for a moment as he coolly stared through the fiery rage burning in Mike's eyes.

"Believe me Mike, I wish I could help you," he said with earnest. "But I really don't know anything about the Romans' return, or your missing friend, and that's the truth."

Mike's body shook as he and Liam continued to exchange hard glares. Behind him, the others could feel a rising tension in the air between the two duelists, reaching a height that made all of the intense stare-downs between Mike and Josiah over the years seem to pale in comparison.

Finally, Mike let out a scoff. "Fine, then," he said in a low voice, his fists clenched. "If you won't confess to it..."

He proceeded to lift his left arm up, brandishing his duel disk before Liam in a threatening manner. "Then I guess I'll just have to duel the truth out of you!"

Liam took a moment to observe Mike's composure, before letting out a reluctant sigh. "I'm guessing I don't have a choice," he said as he paced a few steps forward, raising his own duel disk arm. "Though I would've preferred to save our rematch for the Pro Circuit like we'd agreed; but I can see there's no talking you out of this."

As the two duel disks sparked to life, Danny's eyes widened with realization of what was about to happen before saying, "We might wanna back up a bit for this..."

Violet, Marina, and Josiah all nodded in agreement, before they began pacing a good distance away from their friend and the Cyber Style master. But as they did, Josiah was the only one with confusion still on his face as he asked, "So, does anyone wanna tell me what the hell's going on? 'Cause I understood NONE of what they were just talking about."

"Sorry man, but that story's a bit hard to TL;DR right now," was all Danny could think to answer with.

The friends now stopped a good distance away from the two duelists, turning back to watch as Mike and Liam dealt their first five cards, their eyes fiercely locked as they cried out in unison: "LET'S DUEL!"

- DUEL -

[Mike - LP: 4000] VS [Liam - LP: 4000]

"Since you're the challenger this time around, I think I'll take the first move!" Liam proclaimed as he drew. "And I'll begin by summoning my Cyber Dragon Core to the field!" [LV: 2/ATK: 400]

"And when it's normal summoned," Liam explained, "its effect allows me to add a 'Cyber' spell or trap card from my deck to my hand. So I'll take my Cyber Repair Plant!"

He took the card from where it had popped out of his deck before continuing: "Next, I'll set two cards face-down before ending my turn. Now let's see what you've got, Mike."

"You got it!" Mike said with ferocity as he drew. "I'll start by summoning my Constellar Algiedi!" [LV: 4/ATK: 1600]

"And his effect also activates when he's normal summoned!" he explained. "Now I can special summon the Constellar Kaus that's also in my hand!" [LV: 4/ATK: 1800]

"Then I'll activate Kaus's effect, which'll raise the LVs of both himself and Algiedi to 5!" [Constellar Algiedi - LV: 4→5] [Constellar Kaus - LV: 4→5]

"Sith that, I'll now overlay them both, and build the overlay network!" Mike exclaimed as a spatial portal opened on his field, absorbing the two monsters. "Xyz summon! Take to the field, Constellar Pleiades!" [RK: 5/OUs: 2/ATK: 2500]

Liam's eyes lit up as he looked to the star-studded warrior on Mike's field. "Constellar Pleiades..." he said with a more somber tone. "That was his monster, wasn't it? So he didn't survive the battle after all..."

Mike ignored Liam's words as he continued: "Now I'll use my Pleiades's effect! By detaching an overlay unit—" [OUs: 2→1] "—your Cyber Dragon Core gets sent back to your hand!"

The small dragon disappeared from Liam's field; however he seemed unfazed by this development as Mike then said, "And with that out of the way, my Pleiades can now attack you directly!"

Pleiades took up its sword and dashed towards Liam, who raised his hand over his set card as he countered, "I reveal my trap card, Karma Cut! So in exchange for discarding the Cyber Dragon Core that you just returned to my hand, your Pleiades is banished from the game!"

A vortex opened before Pleiades with a whistling howl, intercepting Mike's warrior as he was drawn into its depths, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

Mike's expression was irate now as the vortex closed, while Liam watched on with a newfound seriousness in his eyes. "Let me guess," he said. "You were thinking of trying to really hurt me with that attack, given this grudge you seem to be holding against me right now; right?"

Mike's eyes narrowed. "I was considering it," he admitted. "So perhaps you'd like to tell me what I want to hear now, before I change my mind."

Liam shook his head. "I already told you, I don't know anything about the Romans, or your missing friend," he insisted. "I'm sorry."

Mike's glare only hardened at these words. "No... not yet, you're not," he said darkly as he placed a card into his duel disk. "I set a card face-down, and end my turn."

"Back to me, then," Liam said as he drew his next card. "And I'll first activate the effect of the Cyber Dragon Core I just discarded: with no monsters on my field, I can banish it from the graveyard to special summon a Cyber Dragon monster from my deck!

"So come forth!" he said, taking the card that had popped out from his deck. "Cyber Dragon Zwei!" [LV: 4/ATK: 1500]

"Then I'll use Zwei's effect to reveal the Cyber Repair Plant that I added to my hand last turn," Liam said, flipping the card to reveal it. "And in doing so, my Zwei now has the ability to identify as an actual 'Cyber Dragon' for the remainder of the turn.

"Next, I'll reveal my second face-down card: Cyber Network! This continuous trap can only activate its effect once per turn, while I control a Cyber Dragon. And since my Zwei currently counts as one, I'll use this trap's effect to banish an actual Cyber Dragon from my deck!"

Mike arched an eyebrow with surprise as he watched Liam take the Cyber Dragon from his deck, before he went on: "Now, since I've yet to normal summon a monster this turn, I'll take this opportunity to summon my Cyber Dragon Drei to the field!" [LV: 4/ATK: 1800]

"And I'm sure you're familiar with his effect," Liam said with a confident grin. "Like your Kaus, he also raises the LVs of all my Cyber Dragons to 5!" [Cyber Dragon Zwei - LV: 4→5] [Cyber Dragon Drei - LV: 4→5]

"Now, allow me to repay the assault you waged on my life points last turn!" Liam exclaimed as he pointed to Mike. "Attack him directly, my Cyber Dragons!"

The two dragons took to the sky, unhinging their jaws to let loose two simultaneous blasts of blue energy towards Mike, who raised his arms to shield his eyes from the blinding light of the attacks as they engulfed him. [Mike - LP: 4000→2500→700]

The lights of the attacks faded as quickly as they had appeared, bringing Mike back into view as his arms fell achingly back to his sides, looking to Liam as he said, "I'm sure that must've hurt, but I'm afraid my turn's not yet done; for now I'll overlay both of my dragons to build the overlay network!"

Both Zwei and Dre allowed themselves to be absorbed into a spatial portal, and Liam cried out, "Xyz summon! Unleash your fury, Cyber Dragon Nova!" [RK: 5/OUs: 2/ATK: 2100]

Stunned gasps escaped from the friends on the sidelines as Liam's ace monster took to the field. Mike, on the other hand, only eyed the mechanized menace through narrowed slits as he took up a defensive stance, muttering, "That's not good..."

Liam, meanwhile, now concluded his move as he said, "Now, I'll set one more card face-down, before ending my turn."

The cards materialized on Liam's field, before he then aimed a discontented glance at his opponent. "I have to say, I'm a bit disappointed in your dueling so far, Mike," he told him. "I seem to remember you promising to give me a real duel when we next faced off."

"Tch..." Mike growled as he regained his composure. "Well if it's a real duel you want..."

He drew his card with a swift motion of his arm as he shouted, "Then it's a real duel you'll get!"

As he now looked over the cards in his hand, worry was beginning to spread across the faces of the four friends on the sidelines. "Mike's starting to get seriously riled up..." Marina commented with a frown. "He never gets like this."

"You're telling me," Josiah agreed. "Even at my worst, I don't think I've ever seen him this pissed."

Danny's fists were balled, but he remained silent as he shot a glance over to Violet, whose face was twisted with grief the likes he hadn't seen since the early days of Mike's disappearance. And he couldn't blame her; seeing her lifelong love agonizing in his anger—much less over the girl that had gotten her all twisted up only a few weeks earlier—must have been crushing for her to watch...

Back in the duel, Mike finally said, "All right, I'm starting with my Constellar Star Chart continuous spell! So whenever I Xyz summon a Constellar monster, I'll be able to draw another card!

"Then, I'll summon my Constellar Leonis!" he continued. [LV: 3/ATK: 1000]

"And he's got an effect that lets me normal summon a second Constellar monster once per turn! So I'll also call out my Constellar Sheratan!" [LV: 3/ATK: 700]

"And when he hits the field, I'm allowed to add a Constellar monster—like my Constellar Pollux—to my hand!" he said as he took the card from his deck.

"And with that done, I'll now overlay my Leonis and Sheratan to build the overlay network once again!" Mike declared as his two monsters came together in another spatial portal. "Xyz summon! Rise, Constellar Hyades!" [RK: 3/OUs: 2/ATK: 1900]

"And it's at this moment that my Star Chart triggers," Mike reminded everyone. "Letting me draw another card!"

Confusion spread across Liam's face as Mike drew his card. "So you managed to draw an extra card, but so what?" he asked. "Your Hyades still lacks the sufficient ATK needed to overpower my Nova."

"That won't matter thanks to his effect!" Mike retorted. "By detaching an overlay unit, Hyades can force your Dragon to switch into DEF mode!" [DEF: 1600]

Liam watched his dragon curl its tail inwards as Mike went on: "Next, I'll reveal my Xyz Meteor trap! This card grants my Hyades the ability to deal piercing damage if he attacks a DEF mode monster this turn!"

"Oh, awesome!" Danny said as he pumped his arm ecstatically. "So not only can Mike destroy Cyber Dragon Nova, but he'll be dealing a little bit of damage while he does!"

"Actually, I plan on dealing more than just a 'little bit' of damage, Danny!" Mike corrected his best friend. "With the help of a quick-play spell I like to call Blind Spot Strike! This card gives an ATK boost to one monster on my field, equal to that of the DEF of a DEF mode monster on my opponent's field! So Hyades now gains Nova's 1600 DEF as ATK!" [ATK: 1900→3500]

"Now, Hyades!" Mike cried out as he pointed to Liam's monster. "Take down that Cyber Dragon Nova!"

Hyades took up his dual-wield blades and began his charge towards Liam's dragon, but only cleared about half the space between them before Liam countered: "I reveal my Half-Unbreak trap card! With it, not only will my dragon not be destroyed in this battle, but the damage I'll take from your attack is also halved!"

Not a second passed between Liam finishing his sentence and Hyades's swords reaching Nova's steel exterior; however the two strikes merely deflected off of the dragon's surface, eliciting an annoyed, mechanical growl from the beast. [Liam - LP: 4000→3050]

But as the two monsters collided, there was an unexpected side effect that took almost everyone by surprise: a pulse of energy seemed to emanate from the epicenter of the attack, which rushed at everyone all at once as an invisible force momentarily pushing against their chests, making the hairs on their bodies stand on edge as their eyes widened with realization.

"Okay, guys...?" Josiah was the first one to shakily speak up. "Someone please tell me why I just felt the impact of that attack...?"

Danny let out an overwhelmed sigh. "All right, how do I put this..." he figured. "Okay, look, Mike's got superpowers that can turn Duel Monsters' damage real, and I'll bet dollars to donuts that Liam's probably got the same kinda superpower."

As expected, Josiah shot the most unbelieving look at Danny that he could possibly make. "Superpowers...?" he repeated with a doubtful tone. "Real damage? Are you even listening to yourself?"

But as he swiveled his head to look for validation from Marina and Violet, he found his own expression sinking with bewilderment as the troubled looks on their faces told him that there was truthfulness in Danny's words.

Meanwhile, Liam now watched with a darkened expression as Hyades leapt back to Mike's field. "I hate to break it to you, but trying to intimidate me by tapping into your Mark's power is a wasted effort," he said sternly. "You can't force me to tell you what I don't know."

A hiss of frustration escaped Mike's lips. "We'll see about that," he shot back. "But for now, since you at least took some damage, my Xyz Meteor's second effect lets me draw another card!"

He drew his card, glancing at it for only a moment. "I'll set this card face-down. My turn's over."

"Not quite," Liam corrected him. "Lest you forget, your Blind Spot Strike's effect expires during your end phase, meaning Hyades's ATK now returns to its original value." [ATK: 3500→1900]

Mike's eye twitched irksomely as Liam drew his next card, saying, "Now, I think it's long past time I showed you what a real duel really looks like. I'll begin with switching my Nova back into ATK mode!" [DEF: 1600→ATK: 2100]

"Then, I'll activate my Foolish Burial spell card," he continued, "which allows me to send a second Cyber Dragon Core from my deck to the graveyard!

"And now that he's there," he said as he sent the card to his graveyard, "my Nova can activate its effect to detach an overlay unit, and special summon a Cyber Dragon from my graveyard! And since the Cyber Dragon Drei I just detached is counted as 'Cyber Dragon' in the graveyard, I think I'll be bringing that back!" [LV: 4/ATK: 1800]

"Next, I'll activate the effect of my Cyber Network trap again," Liam went on. "So since my Drei also counts as a 'Cyber Dragon' on the field, Cyber Network lets me banish a second Cyber Dragon from my deck!"

Mike's eyes narrowed. "I don't see what good banishing all your Cyber Dragons is gonna do for you."

"With any luck, you won't have to," Liam said calmly as he removed the card from his deck. "Because my Nova's second effect should see to your defeat right now!

"By banishing my 'Cyber Dragon' Drei," he explained as the smaller dragon disappeared from his field, "He gains 2100 more ATK for the rest of the turn!" [ATK: 2100→4200]

"Now take your vengeance, Cyber Dragon Nova!" Liam cried out as he pointed to the monster that had struck his. "Destroy Mike's Constellar Hyades and finish this!"

The mechanical beast once again unhinged its jaw, this time firing its destructive energy beam at Hyades, putting the four friends on the sidelines on edge as they watched Mike try to counter, "I reveal my trap—!"

But it was too late: Cyber Dragon Nova's blast connected with Hyades, who only had a moment to writhe in agony before exploding with an impact that clouded the field in smoke, and shook the asphalt beneath their feet. The tremors stole the friends' footing, forcing them to grasp to each other as they struggled to stay balanced. Their panicked cries were barely audible over the violent rumbling of the ground as the vehicles around them shook, and the lights of the overhead lampposts flickered.

It wasn't long before the tremors finally ceased, and the friends all glanced to Mike's side of the field, which was still shrouded in the smoke of the attack.

"Did... did Mike just lose...?" Violet weakly questioned, trembling.

"Hell no... there's no way...!" Danny uttered, though he didn't sound entirely confident in his words.

But what was revealed when the smoke finally cleared came as quite a surprise not just to the four friends, but especially to Liam: there was Mike, brought down to one knee from the impact of the explosion, but still standing nonetheless. [Mike - LP: 2400]

Liam's eyebrows rose at this revelation. "That last attack should have finished you off," he figured. "But instead, you now have more life points than before...?"

"Heh... that would be thanks to my Nutrient Z trap," Mike explained as he brought himself back to full height. "Whenever I'm about to take 2000 or more points of damage, this card grants me 4000 life points before the attack connects. So my life points rose up to 4700 before your attack hit me for 2300 damage."

The four friends on the sidelines all breathed sighs of relief, while Liam's expression now turned from surprise to impressed. "I see..." he spoke casually. "In that case, it looks like you've left me no choice but to crush you on my next turn."

A hiss escaped Mike's lips. "The only one who's going to be crushed is you," he shot back. "And when that happens, you're gonna drop this innocent facade of yours, and tell me exactly what you and the Romans have done with my friend!"

Liam was silent for a moment as he stared coolly back at Mike, before letting out a contemptuous sigh. "Seems there really is no getting through to you..." he figured. "I move on to my main phase two, and activate my Cyber Repair Plant spell, which adds my third and final Cyber Dragon from my deck to my hand!"

He took the card from his deck, before concluding: "Finally, I'll set two more face-down cards before ending my turn." [Cyber Dragon Nova - ATK: 4200→2100]

As the set cards materialized, the four friends on the sidelines now looked to Mike with anxious expressions. "Not for nothing, guys; but I'm starting to wonder if Mike can actually win against Liam..." Marina said with uncertainty.

"What, are you kidding?" Danny upheld his enthusiasm. "Did you not see how Mike managed to escape losing just now?"

"If he were against any other opponent, I might agree with you, Danny," Josiah admitted. "But Liam has strung Mike along for this entire duel. If Mike wants to have any chance at winning, he's gonna have to pull a serious power move against Liam that he won't see coming..."

Back in the duel, Mike now let out a heavy breath as he tried to calm his posture. Josiah's right... he's managed to stay one step ahead of me every move, he silently figured. So I need to draw something that'll win it for me this turn. Otherwise, I may never get the truth out of him... and I won't be able to save her...!

"It's... MY TURN!" he fervently shouted as he drew his final card, before glancing to see what he had pulled.

Perfect...!

"I'll start by summoning my Constellar Pollux!" Mike began, a renewed vigor in his voice. [LV: 4/ATK: 1700]

"And like my Leonis, his effect allows me to normal summon another Constellar monster while he's out on the field!" Mike explained. "So come on out, Constellar Rasalhague!" [LV: 2/ATK: 900]

"Then I'll use this little guy's effect," he continued as the monster vanished in a shimmer of stardust. "By releasing him, I can revive another Constellar monster that's sleeping in my graveyard! And the monster I'm reviving is my Constellar Algiedi!" [LV: 4/ATK: 1600]

"And now, I'll use these two to build the overlay network one more time!" Mike exclaimed as his monsters were swallowed by yet another spatial portal. "Xyz summon! Defender of the cosmos, Starliege Paladynamo!" [RK: 4/OUs: 2/ATK: 2000]

Liam's eyebrows rose. "Starliege Paladynamo...?" he repeated with curiosity. "Can't say I've ever seen a monster like that before."

"Then allow me to acquaint you with him," Mike retorted. "By detaching both of his overlay units—" [OUs: 2→0] "—he's got the ability to drain all of your Nova's effects and ATK!" [Cyber Dragon Nova - ATK: 2100→0]

"There it is!" Danny exclaimed ecstatically. "Now that Nova's got no chance!"

"But I'm not done yet," Mike continued, "I'll also play my Megamorph equip spell card! So since my life points are lower than yours, my Paladynamo's ATK is doubled!" [ATK: 2000→4000]

"4000 ATK?!" Marina gasped. "But with that kind of power...!"

"Mike can end this duel with one more attack...!" Josiah figured with incredulity.

"See?! I told ya he could do it!" Danny boasted with a broad grin.

Meanwhile, Liam's eyes widened with realization as Mike ardently cried, "Go, Starliege Paladynamo! Put down his Cyber Dragon Nova and end this duel now!"

Paladynamo took up his spatial sword and leapt towards Nova, winding his weapon up for an all-out strike before swinging down on Liam's dragon. The explosion that ensued sent the most powerful shockwave through the entire parking lot so far: the friends on the sidelines were forced to once again grasp to each other, their collective weight keeping them from being carried away by the explosion's gusts. Nearly all of the vehicles around them rattled violently, so much so that even a few of their alarms began to sound off. Above them, many of the lampposts groaned under the extreme pressure of the explosion, with many of their lights flickering wildly before dying out, leaving that space of the parking lot in darkness.

Eventually, the chaos subsided, leaving only a heavy cloud of smoke where Liam's Nova once was as Starliege Paladynamo floated back to Mike's side of the field. On the sidelines, everyone now let go of each other as they looked back to the duel with wide eyes.

There stood Mike, panting heavily from the energy that he'd exerted from using his Mark's power. But now, for the first time in this entire duel, a small smile had finally appeared on his face as he looked to his opponent's now-barren field.

"It's over, Liam..." he exhaled with relief. "I win."

"... are you sure about that?"

Shock replaced the smile on Mike's face as the smoke hanging over Liam's field began to lift, the light of an activated trap card breaking through the darkness as Liam spoke: "I'll admit, that last attack of yours was rather impressive. But I'm afraid you're not the only one who capable of saving themselves with trap cards at the last second."

Stifled gasps escaped Mike's throat as the smoke cleared entirely, revealing Liam's previously-set card as he explained, "Before your attack hit, I'd activated my Defense Draw. Not only does it cancel out the damage from your attack, but it also permits me to draw an extra card."

The shock on Mike's face now spread to the faces of his friends on the sidelines. Never before had any of them ever seen a victory of Mike's stolen away from him so easily. All of them—especially Violet—could feel pain tearing into their chests as they watched Mike's arms drop defeatedly to his sides, his head bowed as as he struggled to wrestle back tears.

"Damn... it... damn it...!" he choked out. "God... damn it, Liam! Just fess up and tell me you had something to do with it!"

Now Liam rolled his eyes. "I won't keep repeating myself about this, Mike," he shot back. "You've had the wrong guy this whole time—"

"YOU'RE LYING!" Mike raged, the outburst bringing taken-aback expressions to everyone as he forfeited to his anger. "FOR GOD'S SAKE, JUST ADMIT IT ALREADY! TELL ME WHERE THE ROMANS HAVE TAKEN HER! TELL ME WHAT YOU'VE DONE WITH CASEY!"

Violet practically felt her heart stop when she finally heard Mike say his missing friend's name. As for Liam, his face now adorned a commiserating look as he swallowed hard. "Casey... you mean that girl you were close to back in Frontier Haven?" he asked. "She's the one they took?"

Mike opened his mouth to answer, but he couldn't find his voice. His hard, angered glare had been reduced to a look of pleading desperation, wanting nothing more than to hear Liam say something that could help him find Casey.

On the sidelines, the others could only watch on with forlorn expressions as they struggled to process what they were hearing. Violet was the most aggrieved amongst them, her soul aching as the name of Mike's missing friend tore a hole into her heart. And Liam's words about her being the 'girl he was close to' especially didn't help her feel much better in that moment.

Now, Liam could only let out a plaintive sigh. "I am truly sorry, Mike..." he said with as much sincerity as he could muster. "But I swear to you, on my family's legacy, that I had no part in the Romans' taking her. Hell, if I had known anything, I would've told you about it right from the start."

Mike's breathing was shaky as he took in Liam's words, finally allowing himself to hear the truth behind them as he dropped his gaze, trying to hide his shame. So all this time, he really had been trying to force an answer out of Liam that he didn't have...

As Mike continued to stifle his tears, Liam now lifted up his duel disk arm again. "From the looks of things, I'd say your turn's just about reached its end," he figured. "So before it does, I'll reveal my Twin Twisters quick-play spell."

The set card flipped on Liam's field as he explained, "Now by discarding the card I just drew, I can destroy up to two spell or trap cards on the field. So I'll destroy both your Megamorph and my Cyber Network."

The two cards shattered in brief gusts of wind, before Liam continued: "With your Megamorph gone, your Paladynamo loses its doubled-ATK power bonus." [ATK: 4000→2000]

"Then, since my Cyber Network has been sent to the graveyard," he went on, "the two Cyber Dragons that I banished with its effect are now special summoned back to my field!" [LV: 5/ATK: 2100] [LV: 5/ATK: 2100]

"Oh, you've gotta be kidding me...!" Danny muttered. "He weakened Mike's Paladynamo and brought out two Cyber Dragons?!"

Mike was reactionless as he looked to the two new monsters on Liam's field. At this point, his reactive senses had all but given up on him, and there was no more strength in him to continue the duel even if he'd wanted to.

"Now it's my turn again," Liam said as he put a finger to his deck. "And given how this duel has progressed so far, I've a feeling that I know exactly what I'm about to draw..."

He drew his card, his eyes narrowing as it came into sight. "Just as I thought," he figured. "I now activate the spell card, Power Bond!"

A swirling vortex appeared on Liam's field as he explained, "With this card, I'll merge the two Cyber Dragons on my field with the one that's in my hand!"

A third Cyber Dragon appeared on Liam's field, before all three mechs were swallowed by the swirling portal. Moments later, the vortex was engulfed in a pillar of blinding light that stretched to the heavens.

"Now witness the ultimate power of the Cyber Style legacy!" Liam cried out as, from the pillar, emerged a gigantic, three-headed mech about half as tall as the nearby stadium. "Fusion summon! Annihilate everything, Cyber End Dragon!" [LV: 10/ATK: 4000]

The dragon let out a low, mechanical growl that sent chills down everyone's spines on the sidelines as they stared up at the massive monster with awe. "C-Cyber End Dragon...?!" Danny stammered out. "I-I though that card was supposed to be a myth...!"

"Well, that 'myth' looks like it's ready to completely obliterate Mike!" was Marina's response.

"Guys, don't worry about it!" Josiah tried to assure them. "Remember, that thing's only got 4000 ATK. Even if he destroys Mike's Paladynamo, he'll only take 2000 damage, so he'll still be in this duel. And Power Bond's adverse effect will cause Liam to lose life points equal to his summoned monster's, which'll wipe him out instantly!"

"I'm afraid that's just wishful thinking, actually," Liam's voice echoed out, gaining back the four friends' attention. "Because in case you weren't aware, my Power Bond's other effect makes it so that any monster it special summons has its ATK doubled." [ATK: 4000→8000]

Everyone's jaws hit the pavement as it became clear who would be walking away from this duel victoriously. Mike, meanwhile, could only look up to the colossal dragon before him with an agonizing stare as his eyes went wide with realization.

"I'm afraid this is the end," Liam said solemnly, before aiming a finger at the latter's last monster. "Now, Cyber End Dragon! Eliminate his Starliege Paladynamo and the rest of his life points!"

Bright, blue energy orbs began charging in each of the tri-headed dragon's jaws, before each simultaneously unleashed their attacks. The three blasts collided into each other to form an enormous giga-blast, which evaporated Starliege Paladyanmo into nothingness before hitting Mike with the force of a meteorite crashing to the earth.

Mike only heard the despaired cries of his friends for an instant before the energy blast swallowed him. He felt his feet leave the pavement beneath him as he was launched from where he'd been standing, pain surging through his body as a memory that he'd been suppressing in the deepest depths of his mind returned to the surface...

- Flashback -

Mike landed hard in the sand from the direct attack Liam's Cyber Dragon Nova had launched on him, the light that he'd been engulfed in vanishing as quickly as it had appeared as his LP hit 0, and his dazed mind struggled to make sense of what had just happened.

"Mike!"

Somewhere, he could faintly hear Casey and Aeron's voices calling out to him as he tried to reorient his senses. Despite his eyes being wide with shock, his vision had gone blurry from the immense light of Cyber Dragon Nova's blast, and the only other thing he could hear was a slight ringing in his ears. But what was really rattling him was the realization of just who this Liam Carson was after seeing his dueling: a member of one of the Dueling Legacy families; an heir to the Cyber Style clan...

A few moments later, he could faintly make out the outlines and shuffles of both Casey and Aeron moving to his sides.

"You all right?" he finally heard Aeron ask him.

"Y-yeah..." he managed to say as he finally found his strength, rolling over to bring himself to a sitting position as he looked to where he knew his opponent was standing. Though his vision was only just beginning to come into focus again, it seemed to him like Liam was standing right before him, looming over him intimidatingly with an unmistakable look of condescending disappointment on his face.

"Don't tell me that's it?" he heard Liam say. "That's the power you used to take down Keir? You've got to be kidding."

Mike's eyes flickered with resent to that comment. As much as he wanted to retort with something to come back to Liam's superciliousness, the fact remained that just had his ass royally handed to him by this guy. There wasn't one move he'd made that Liam hadn't seemed to anticipate and prepare a counter for—nothing less than he'd expect from a member of a Dueling Legacy family, but a stark contrast to the overwhelming power that Aeron had been pitting against him in their days of training together.

As Mike remained silent, Cyber Dragon Nova now disappeared from Liam's field, and their duel disks' deactivation prompted Liam to replace his own back in his hip-slung holster as he let out a huff. "I guess not, then; your beating Keir really was just a fluke," he figured. "You're not anything special after all."

And with that, Liam turned and began making his way back towards Frontier Haven's gate, his opened jacket flapping behind him in the mild desert wind with every step he took. Meanwhile, Mike finally managed to bring himself back to a standing position as Casey put a hand to his shoulder. "Hey, don't listen to him," she said. "He just managed to catch you off-guard."

"No..." Mike muttered back. "No, that wasn't just 'catching me off-guard'."

A look of concern came to Casey's face as Mike continued to eye the departing, brown-coated man that had eviscerated his pride as a duelist, before letting out a heavy sigh.

"Sorry..." he said as he now brushed Casey's hand off of him. "But I need to be alone for a little while."

Casey and Aeron watched as Mike proceeded to walk towards the edge of Frontier Haven, his head hung and his movements slow and weary as he paced along. As he became more and more distant to their line of sight, Casey now turned her concerned expression to Aeron, who met her eyes with an almost-indifferent expression, save for what looked like the slightest hint of sympathy in his crimson eyes...

- Flashback End -

Mike hit the asphalt with a loud thud, eliciting anguished groans and cries from him as he was sent tumbling along the hard, gravelly ground of the darkened lot, before coming to a rough stop on his back, knocking the wind out of him. [Mike - LP: 2400→0]

- DUEL OVER -

[Winner: Liam]

Almost all of his pain receptors were screaming from the abuse his body had taken from his rough landing. He could feel where every cut and scratch had been left on his body, and his lungs felt like they were on fire as he desperately tried to catch his breath again.

"OH MY GOD, MIKE!" he heard Violet horrifically scream from a fair distance away, followed by the sound of the four friends' footsteps as they rushed towards him.

Danny skidded to a stop beside him first, followed by Josiah as they knelt down on each side of his sides. "Hey man, hang in there..." Danny said with urgency in his tone.

Marina was left to hold Violet in her arms, the latter shaking as both hands covered her mouth, trying to keep herself from hyperventilating at the sight of her battered love.

But to their relief, it wasn't long before Mike finally managed to give a long gasp, followed by letting out short pants as he felt the pain in his body beginning to incrementally sting less. Josiah and Liam now put their hands to Mike's back, carefully helping him to sit up.

"I'm... all right..." Mike groaned as he planted his hands, managing to holding himself up as Josiah and Danny backed up to give him room.

"You sure, man?" Josiah asked, looking Mike up and down to observe his condition.

Mike only nodded, before reaching a hand up to silently ask for help standing. Danny quickly obliged as he grasped his best friend's hand in his own, pulling him up as Mike let out disgruntled groans from how sore his body was.

Though he eventually managed to reach his full height again, he still felt somewhat wobbly and weak. Noticing this, Violet quickly rushed to him, gently catching him in her arms as she helped him stay upright. "I've got you, don't push yourself," she told him.

"Yeah man, seriously," Josiah agreed. "You'll be lucky if you didn't break anything after a haul like that."

Mike shook his head wearily, trying to shake his dizziness off. As he did so, however, he and the others heard the sound of footsteps, prompting them to look as Liam approached them, his duel disk deactivated and his Cyber End Dragon no longer hovering behind him.

"Looks like you're not too badly hurt," he stated observantly. "I'm glad."

Danny scoffed. "Are you seriously gonna stand there and tell us that you didn't mean to have your dragon toss Mike like a rag doll?!"

"Quite the contrary, actually," Liam corrected him. "That was my intention, because I wanted him to remember this."

"Remember... what...?" Mike muttered weakly as he glared at him.

"Why you lost," Liam retorted harshly. "You promised that you'd give me a real duel the next time we faced off, but you weren't able to deliver because you let your emotions get the better of you."

Mike's eyes widened as Liam continued: "You let yourself become so consumed by your anger that you lost sight of your goal—abandoning strategy and rational thought to rely on brute force and all-out attacks fueled by your blind rage. An error I would've expected more from the you that I fought two years ago.

"And if that's how you plan on dueling when you finally find the Romans..." he said as his eyes narrowed, "then you'll never be able to save Casey."

Mike winced as he felt those words sink into him like a knife, while Liam now turned his back to the group. "The next time we face off, Mike," he said sternly, "it had better be in the Pro Circuit, when you're finally ready to give me a real duel."

He began pacing away from them without another word, ascending the steps back towards the stadium as the others watched on, struggling as they tried to stomach everything they had just witnessed. But while everyone else's gazes were fixated on Liam, Violet kept her own eyes on Mike, watching as a single tear finally managed to escape from beneath his bangs, silently trickling down his face before falling to the cold, hard pavement below.

Author's Notes

So... sorry to leave this chapter on such a somber and sad note, but... well, that was kinda the idea. xD We've finally reached Mike's first present-day loss... which brings us to finally taking Mike to Developmental Avenue... and yeah. o_o Honestly, I wish I had more to say about this chapter, but there really isn't much else to it, and I'm very physically and emotionally drained at the moment. So I think I just won't bother.

That said, I'll also put the blame on why it took me longer than I thought it would to write this chapter on my inability to really capture the emotion I wanted to put in this, which I (hopefully) managed to do after forever and a half. If I did, please lemme know, and if I didn't quite nail it down, lemme know how I could do so better. ^^

Thanks for reading, as always. Today's usual shout-outs go to Master Of Anime224 for the beta work; as well as my buddy Sunflesh, who came in to help me tidy the rest of it up near the end. I also had a few real-life friends dig into this chapter for me as well, so my thanks go out to them as well.

Onto today's Chapterly Question: "Theorize on how Mike came to take up his Constellar deck that he uses in present-day. Do you think he got it from somewhere, or someone, in particular? Any hints I've dropped in the story so far that could back up a theory?"

With that all said, I thank y'all once again for being here. I'll see you when the next chapter drops; until then, stay awesome.

REMASTERED: 11/14/18