This Means War - Part 2

Jonathan McClain. A former soldier who bravely fought for his land during the World War 2. Though he, along with others, came out victorious, he couldn't erase the grief and despair within him. Simply because of the loss of his fallen comrades.

But now, he was given a chance to see them again. In exchange of becoming a Shadow Rider, he was promised to use the power of the Sacred Beasts to bring his friends back to life.

And right now, his progress was going smoothly. Deep underground, he was on the top of a stone pillar, where the mystical locks that kept the Sacred Beast cards safe were located. Two of the locks were shining brightly. All because the keys that were taken from Crowler and Zane had been used.

Jonathan reached into his pocket and brought out the key he got from Bastion. He slid it into another lock, making it glow as well. Now, only 7 keys remained. And he refused to rest until he got every last one of them.


Next day

As for the remaining key keepers, they weren't happy about the situation. Bastion lost his key, getting the Shadow Riders one step closer to unleash the three Sacred Beasts. And right now, they waited outside the Nurse's office. Even though his duel wasn't a Shadow Game, the last move that reduced his life points to zero was intense enough to knock him out. Eventually, the doors opened, letting the intelligent Ra out.

"Hey Bastion!" Jaden greeted with a smile.

"How are you feeling?" Andrew asked.

"I'm relatively fine. The duel merely caused me to lose my consciousness." Bastion replied. He then looked a little ashamed. "Although, if there's a part of me that's wounded, it's my pride."

"At least you didn't lose your soul." Shiori said. "I'm just glad you're safe."

Chazz, however, scoffed. "Too bad we can't say the same for his key. Now there are three spirit gates that have been unlocked."

"And that leaves 7 of them remaining." Alexis added.

"We need to take Jonathan down. Otherwise, he'll get his hands on all the keys." Jenny pointed out.

"But it won't be easy when it comes to his deck." Michael stated.

"Indeed." Bastion agreed and had a thoughtful look on his face. "His cards, especially those Reactor monsters, are very powerful. Each one of them deals some damage whenever his opponent summons a monster or activates a card. Something I ended up experiencing first hand. It was like my cards were brought into a war zone."

"And there's also their combined form, Flying Fortress SKY FIRE." Andrew added.

Bastion grimaced slightly at the reminder. "Yes, that's the biggest threat in Jonathan's deck. That mechanical monstrosity took out my best monster before I could use its ability."

"And judging from all the moves he did, he's using a machine burn deck." Jenny deduced. "So, maybe I can duel him?"

Andrew seemed a little concerned. "I'm not sure if that's a good idea, Jenny." When the fairy duelist gave him a look, he held up his hands. "Don't get me wrong, I'm not doubting your dueling skills, but you just recovered from your duel against Kang. Even if Jonathan doesn't play Shadow Games, his cards are very ruthless and brutal. You might end up in the infirmary bed again."

"Who else got a good chance against him?" Jenny questioned.

"This is clearly a job for The Chazz." The black clad Slifer declared. "Just let me have him and he's toast in no time!"

"And how exactly do you plan on defeating him?" Shiori inquired. "My deck should be better suited. With the right combo, I can make one of my ritual monsters immune to the Fortress' effect."

"Maybe." Michael said. "But I think I should duel him."

"Like you would do any good." Chazz said in his usual rude manner.

"Actually..." Alexis spoke up. "It might not be a bad idea. Michael's dark deck is mostly stacked with destruction cards."

"And that includes his virus cards." Andrew added. "I remember when he almost defeated me with his Crush Card and Deck Devastation Virus combo."

"That's true." Bastion agreed as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Since Jonathan needs to summon all three Reactor cards to summon Flying Fortress SKY FIRE, then we might need a strategy that could keep them away from the game. Like the combo Andrew just mentioned, for example."

"Guess that's settled then." Jaden remarked.

"Fine. Whatever." Chazz muttered.

"Are you sure about this?" Shiori asked.

"Yeah, definitely." Michael said determinedly.

"Okay, if you're really sure, then we won't stop you." Jenny said. "I still think my deck has a better chance to take him on. I know I just recovered, but if you lose, then I'll step in."

"Fair enough." The dark duelist agreed.


Later on, right after class, Michael was sitting at a table in the card shop, and had his cards laid out before him. He was looking over them carefully, figuring out what he should use. Bastion was sitting across him.

"These cards are very promising, but do you think you can win with them?" The Ra asked.

"I'm pretty sure I can." Michel replied, but had an unsure look on his face. "Although, I'm quite worried about that Flying Fortress SKY FIRE. Jonathan mentioned that it can destroy any card that's either summoned or placed facedown. Which makes me wonder what I should do in case the off chance that he summons it before I could use a Virus card."

"That's true. That monster could instantly destroy any monster you might need to sacrifice, or any trap card you want to use." Bastion mused. "If only there was a way for you to use it instantly..." It was then his eyes widened. "Wait a moment!" He then unzipped his jacket, revealing his deck cases.

"What are you doing?" The Obelisk boy wondered.

"I'm gonna let you borrow one of my cards." The Ra replied and pulled out one of his decks. "Something that can give you... an edge."


It was now late at night, and everything was ready. After Michael finished preparing his deck, he and Bastion met up with the key keepers, plus Syrus, Chumley, Clover, Xander and Matt. And then, they headed to the docks, where they assumed that Jonathan would show up again. Once they arrived, they noted that no one else was there.

"So um, do you guys think he walked away?" Chumley asked.

"I doubt that." Bastion replied. "He will come. After all, he can't unlock the remaining gates without the remaining keys."

"Remind me again why Michael gets to duel him." Chazz said annoyingly.

"Now's not the time for your nonsense!" Clover replied even more annoyed.

Michael stepped forward. "Jonathan! I know you're here! Now show yourself!"

"Now that was rude. Haven't your parents taught you to respect your elders?" A familiar voice spoke up. Around the corner of one of the small buildings, the WW2 veteran stepped forward.

"There he is!" Jaden pointed out.

"I was wondering when you kids would show up. Now then, which one of you is my next opponent?"

Andrew chose that moment to speak up. "We don't have to do this, Jonathan. We know that you want your fallen friends back. But the Sacred Beast cards are not worth it. Those cards are too dangerous!"

The former pilot scowled. "It would seem I wasn't clear the last time we talked. So I'll say it again. I'm doing this for my friends. I won't stop until I can reunite with them again. There's no other way to fill the void inside me!"

"But..." Andrew tried to argue but stopped when Shiori placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Forget it, Andrew. There's no way to reason with him. There's only one option..."

"And that's taking him down with force!" Michael filled in as he took his deck and inserted it into his duel disk.

"Do you really think you're up to the challenge, boy?" Jonathan raised an eyebrow. "Don't you remember what happened to your friend?"

Bastion merely narrowed his eyes.

"Trust me, I haven't forgotten. And for my pal's sake, I'm gonna defeat you!"

The old man closed his eyes. "If you're so sure, then let us begin." He then activated his duel disk. And Michael followed suit.

"DUEL!"

Michael: 4000

Jonathan: 4000

"The first move is mine!" Michael declared and drew his sixth card. "And I'll start with D.D. Trainer in defense mode!" A small goblin wearing an eyepatch appeared, riding on a mutated, four-legged beast. The beast itself had a red body, vicious claws and rows of sharp teeth. (ATK: 0 DEF: 2000 LV: 1) "I place two cards facedown and end my turn." Two cards appeared at his feet.

"You're gonna need more than defense to stop me." Jonathan stated and drew his next card.

Michael smirked. "Then I'll use my trap card to take you on with full force!" One of his facedown cards flipped up. "I activate Full Force Virus!"

"Huh?" Jonathan's eyes widened.

"In order to activate this card, I must sacrifice a dark monster with 2000 or more defense points. There goes my D.D. Trainer." The monster in question vanished. "And then, until the end of your third turn after I activate this trap, all monsters on your field and in your hand, and those you draw from your deck are destroyed, if their defense points are 1500 or less."

"Wicked!" Jaden grinned.

"Looks like Michael's not wasting any time in this duel." Andrew commented.

"Now then, let's take a look at your cards." At Michael's words, the cards in Jonathan's hand glowed. And then, everyone saw big images of those cards appear in the air, revealing the cards he was holding. Some of the Academy students gasped when they saw three particular cards.

"Whoa! He's already got all three Reactor cards in his hand!" Chumley said.

"Then that's good, right?" Syrus asked. "Thanks to Michael's trap card, all three of them are destroyed, right?"

"Not quite." Bastion replied. "Michael just said that his trap card destroys any monster that has 1500 or less defense points. Trap Reactor • Y FI has 1800 defense points, so that card won't be destroyed. But the other two Reactors are a different story." The images of Summon Reactor • SK and Spell Reactor • RE shattered into pixels.

Jonathan narrowed his eyes as he slid those cards into his graveyard slot.

"Looks like you won't be using your Reactors for a while." Michael said smugly.

"Perhaps not. But when I do, you're going to fall. But in the meantime, I'm gonna summon BM-4 Blast Spider in attack mode." A big robotic spider rose up on his field. Its back was loaded with two six-slot rocket launchers. (ATK: 1400 DEF: 2200 LV: 4)

"Thank you. You just triggered the trap card, Hidden Soldiers!" Michael's remaining facedown card flipped up. "Since you summoned a monster, I can use this trap and summon a level 4 or below dark monster from my hand. And I think Mystic Tomato is just the one I need." The giant tomato with the ugly face appeared. (ATK: 1400 DEF: 1100 LV: 4)

"That monster won't help. Not after I activate this card!" Jonathan placed a card into his field tray. "The field spell, Heavy Metal Raiders!" The ground was shaking as the entire area changed. The ground was hidden by metal plates. The small buildings at the docks were covered in metal. The entire place was now metallic.

"That's heavy metal, alright." Michael commented.

"The scenery is the least of your concerns. Now Blast Spider, attack!"

"Huh?" The gang widened their eyes.

"What? Are you going for mutual destruction?" The dark duelist questioned.

"Not quite. I'm just using my field advantage." The WW2 veteran said. "You see, due to the effect of my field spell, any dark attribute machine type monster I have can survive in battle once per turn." The mechanical spider fired a bunch of missiles that exploded when they collided with the giant tomato.

"So that's what you were going for." Michael muttered. "Oh well, at least I can use my Mystic Tomato's special ability..."

"Yes, but before that, I get to use my Spider's special ability, as well as another effect of my field spell." Jonathan interrupted. "First of all, since a dark machine type monster I control destroyed a monster, I can summon another monster from my hand. And thus, I'm summoning Trap Reactor • Y FI in defense mode." The green, fighter plane like monster appeared. (ATK: 800 DEF: 1800 LV: 4)

Michael narrowed his eyes.

"And now, as for my BM-4 Blast Spider, it also has an effect that activates when one of my dark machine type monsters destroys one of your monsters. And this effect lets me deal damage equal to half the original attack points of your monster." At those words, the mechanical spider launched another bunch of missiles, blasting the purple-haired Obelisk boy.

Michael: 4000-3300

"Ngh..." Michael grunted. "Not bad. But now I'll use Mystic Tomato's effect in order to summon a new monster. Legendary Fiend, come out and play!" The blue-skinned monster with the two additional heads with long necks appeared. (ATK: 1500 DEF: 1800 LV: 6)

"I end my turn." Jonathan concluded.

"In that case..." Michael drew. "I'll start my turn by playing Legendary Fiend's special ability. During each of my standby phases, it gains 700 attack points." The blu-skinned fiend growled as an ominous, purple aura surrounded it. (ATK: 1500-2200)

"Nice!" Shiori cheered. "That makes it strong enough to take on any of Jonathan's monsters!"

"That's easier said than done." Clover replied. "With Heavy Metal Raiders in play, it's gonna take more than one attack to destroy each of his monsters."

Michael looked over his hand. 'That's true, and right now, I don't have another monster strong enough to take down his monsters. On the other hand...' He took a card from his hand. "I summon Barrier Statue of the Abyss in defense mode!" A very dark purple statue of a winged demon on a pedestal appeared next to the Legendary Fiend. (ATK: 1000 DEF: 1000 LV: 4)

"A Barrier Statue?" Jenny muttered in surprise.

"If I remember correctly, Jenny's Barrier Statue keeps both players from special summoning monsters whose attribute aren't light." Andrew mentioned.

"If that's the case, then that means..." Alexis trailed off.

"That's right." Michael spoke up with a smirk. "Thanks to my statue, only dark monsters can be special summoned."

"But that's what most of Jonathan's monsters are." Xander pointed out.

"True, but there's one monster in his deck that has a different attribute." Bastion said.

"Which one?" Jaden asked.

Andrew's eyes widened in realization. "Flying Fortress SKY FIRE!"

"That's correct." Bastion nodded. "The three Reactor monster may be dark attribute monsters, but the Flying Fortress on the other hand is a wind attribute monster."

"Oh yeah." Chazz smirked. "So even if that old geezer would manage to gather all three Reactors on the field, he can't summon that giant scrap metal of his."

"But right now, let's focus on the monsters on your field!" Michael declared. "I might not be able to destroy them for now, but I can at least cause some damage. Now, Legendary Fiend, attack his BM-4 Blast Spider!" The multi-headed fiend roared and leapt towards the mechanical spider before the two long-necked heads struck it with their sharp teeth.

Jonathan: 4000-3200

"Sweet!" Jaden exclaimed.

"Nice one, Michael!" Andrew cheered.

"Not bad." Jonathan complimented. "But that wasn't so good, either."

"What do you mean?" Michael asked.

"What I mean is that you just triggered another effect of my field spell..." With those words, everyone's attention was now focused on the mechanical spider. Its body unleashed electricity. (ATK: 1400-2200)

"What the...?!" Chazz muttered in shock.

"What just happened!?" Clover questioned.

"Like I said, this is another effect of my field spell." Jonathan replied. "Whenever I take battle damage, my monster gains attack points equal to the damage I took."

"No way!" Matt exclaimed.

"Aw man." Syrus groaned.

"So not only can your monsters survive in battle once per turn, but they also gain attack points from the damage you'd take from their battles." Michael summarized.

"Which means attacking me will be suicidal for you." Jonathan said with a cruel smirk.

Michael gritted his teeth. "I end my turn with a facedown." A card appeared at his feet.

"Well then..." Jonathan drew.

"The effect of my virus is still active." Michael reminded him. "Now let's see what you got."

Jonathan revealed his new card. "This is the spell card, Iron Draw. And since I have two effect machine type monsters on my field, I think I'll use it to draw two more cards from my deck." He drew his extra cards and revealed them. One of them was a spell card. The other card was...

"Flying Fortress SKY FIRE." Michael noted.

"It had to be that one." Xander muttered.

"That monster has 2500 defense points, so it won't be affected by the virus." Jenny pointed.

"Hey, as long as Michael's statue is out, that thing can't be summoned." Jaden said positively.

"Let's hope that won't happen." Andrew replied.

"Now then." Jonathan inserted the spell card he revealed into his duel disk. "I activate the spell card, Dark Room of Nightmare. With this in play, every effect damage you take will cause another 300 points of damage."

"Not lishus." Chumley said.

"Doesn't he have enough burn cards?" Matt added.

"And now it's time for me to launch another attack! BM-4 Blast Spider, obliterate his Legendary Fiend!" Once again, the mechanical spider fired a bunch of missiles. Some of them destroyed the blue-skinned fiend. "Thanks to my field spell, only your monster was destroyed. And due to my spider's special ability, half of your monster's original attack points are dealt to you as damage!" Michael was blasted by the few remaining missiles.

Michael: 3300-2450

"And don't forget, my Dark Room of Nightmare deals another 300 points of damage!" The Obelisk boy hissed as a red aura surrounded him.

Michael: 2450-2150

"I end my turn." Jonathan concluded.

"My turn!" Michael drew. "And I play Pot of Greed. Two more cards for me!" He drew his extra cards. "I play a facedown monster in defense mode and end my turn." A card appeared next to the statue.

"Is that all? Oh well." Jonathan drew his next card and revealed it. "Another spell card. But I'll save that for later. Right now, I'll have my Blast Spider attack your statue!" The spider-like machine fired more missiles.

"I activate the trap card, Shift!" Michael's facedown card flipped up. "Now I can give your attack a new target! So you have to attack my facedown monster!"

"Very well, but not before I do this. My Trap Reactor destroys your trap card and deals 800 points of damage, plus 300 from my Dark Room of Nightmare." At that, the Reactor shot Michael with its small cannons.

Michael: 2150-1050

"Now let's see what monster you're willing to sacrifice for your statue." The missiles exploded on Michael's field. Jonathan waited until the smoke cleared. When it did, he was surprised to see. something taking the facedown monster's place. A small reaper looking creature with a scythe wearing a purple cloak. (ATK: 300 DEF: 200 LV: 3)

"Sorry, but you attacked Spirit Reaper, and this little fella can't be destroyed in battle."

"You can't protect your life points forever, my boy."

"I don't need to. Just long enough to take you down."

"I doubt your defense will remain that long. I end my turn."

"In that case..." Michael drew. "I sacrifice my Spirit Reaper in order to summon Dark General Freed!" The small reaper disappeared and was replaced by a warrior. He was wearing an armor that was mostly dark, while some parts of it were golden and it also had a green cape. His skin was dark and his long hair was slightly darker. And his red eyes made his evil grin more unsettling. (ATK: 2300 DEF: 1700 LV: 5) "I place a card facedown, and that's all for now!" A card appeared at his feet.

"Then it's my turn." Jonathan drew his next card and revealed it. It was another spell card. "I activate Pot of Greed. Now I can draw two cards." He drew his extra cards and revealed them.

"Looks like one of your cards is Heavy Mech Support Platform." Michael noted.

"With only 500 defense points, that card is destroyed." Xander stated.

The WW2 veteran slid the card into his graveyard slot. He then eyed on Michael's facedown card. 'I wonder if that card is something to protect his statue. Another trap card? No, he knows that the next time he activates a trap card, the damage will be enough to finish him off. So it must be a spell card. Good thing I have other methods to take it down.'

He held up the card that wasn't destroyed by the virus. "I activate the spell card, Dark Core. First I have to discard one card from my hand." He discarded one of his cards. "And then, I can remove a face-up monster from play. I'm afraid you have to say goodbye to your Barrier Statue." A dark portal opened up above the statue.

But Michael smirked. "Hate to break it to you, but my statue isn't going anywhere." At that, the dark warrior swung his sword right in the portal. And then, it closed itself. "When Freed is on my field, he negates the effect of any spell card that targets my dark monsters."

"Brilliant." Bastion complimented. "That makes his statue extra safe."

"So then, what are you gonna do now?" Michael asked mockingly.

Jonathan narrowed his eyes. "Well, I can activate the effect of the spell card I discarded. It was Card of Compensation, and its effect lets me draw two extra cards." He drew. when he glanced at his new cards, he frowned and revealed them.

"A Cannon Soldier and another Heavy Mech Support Platform." Clover noted.

"Those cards go straight to the graveyard." Michael said with a smirk.

Jonathan slid his cards into the graveyard slot and glanced at the Barrier Statue. 'I could attack his statue, but who knows what his facedown card could do? Well then...' He pointed at the dark warrior. "Blast Spider, attack his Dark General!" The mechanical spider launched more missiles. They exploded around the general. "It may cost me a few life points..."

Jonathan: 3200-3100

"...but thanks to my field spell, my spider grows stronger." (ATK: 2200-2300) "Now I'll end my turn."

"Then I'll start by activating Freed's special ability." Michael declared. "Instead of drawing a card during my draw phase, I can take a level 4 dark monster from my deck and add it to my hand."

"For real?" Chazz asked.

"That's awesome!" Shiori said.

"And I bet he's gonna take something that can turn this around!" Xander added.

"You got that right." Michael replied as a card came out of his deck, allowing him to take it. "Because the monster I'm gonna play is Breaker the Magical Warrior!" The red clad spellcaster with sword and shield appeared. (ATK: 1600 DEF: 1000 LV: 4) "And thanks to his special ability, his entrance gives him a spell counter and 300 extra attack points." The stone on the shield lit up. (ATK: 1600-1900) "But he's gonna give them up for his second ability! In exchange for his spell counter, one spell or trap card is destroyed! And guess what. I'm gonna destroy your field spell!" (ATK: 1900-1600) The light was absorbed into Breaker's sword before he swung it, sending an energy arc flying towards Jonathan.

In a panic he tried to shield it with his duel disk. When it was hit by Breaker's attack, the field spell tray was forced open, causing the scenery around the field change back to normal. "No! You can't!" And then, the mechanical spider started to look weaker. (ATK: 2300-1400)

"Wow! Did you guys see that?" Syrus asked.

"That spider just lost its attack points!" Chumley replied.

"It must have been the field spell!" Jenny realized. "Once it was gone, all extra attack points were erased!"

"Which means Michael can take those monsters out!" Clover added.

"And for starters, I have my Freed attack the Trap Reactor!" The dark warrior dashed forward and slashed the fighter plane, making it explode. "And with that thing out of the way, I can activate the trap card, Gift of the Mystical Elf!" Michael's facedown card flipped up. "Since we still have a total of 4 monsters on the field, I can boost my life points by 300 for each one!"

Michael: 1050-2250

Jonathan was shocked. "So that card wasn't meant to stop an attack launched at your Barrier Statue!?"

Michael smirked. "Nope. That was just a bluff, and you fell for it. Anyway, I attack your Blast Spider with Breaker!" The red clad spellcaster stabbed the mechanical spider with his sword, causing it to explode.

Jonathan: 3100-2900

"I play a facedown, and end my turn." A card appeared at Michael's feet.

Jonathan gave him a glare. "That's it! No more childish games!" He drew. "I activate Card of Demise! Now I can draw until I have 5 cards in my hand!" He filled his hand. "And now I summon I summon Trap Reactor • Y FI in defense mode!" Everyone was shocked to see another copy of the fighter plane appear. (ATK: 800 DEF: 1800 LV: 4)

"Another one?" Jaden asked.

"You gotta be joking!" Matt complained.

"And now I activate the spell card, Hammer Shot! This card destroys a monster with the highest attack strength! And since this card doesn't really target, your Freed is finished!" A giant hammered appeared and smashed the dark warrior. "I end my turn with a facedown." A card appeared at Jonathan's feet.

"So much for Freed." Michael muttered and drew a card. He looked at it and smiled. "But this will do! I sacrifice Breaker in order to summon Darknight Parsath!" A fairy similar to Airknight rose up after Breaker vanished. Its lower half was black, and its upper half was a light bluish color. It was decked out in dark purple armor and it had black feathers. (ATK: 1900 DEF: 1400 LV: 5) "And this monster packs a punch. For every dark monster in my graveyard, he gains 100 attack points. And since I have 5 monsters in there, that makes 500 points." (ATK: 1900-2400) "Now Darknight, destroy his Trap Reactor!" The dark centaur galloped towards the fighter plane.

"I activate my trap!" Jonathan's facedown card flipped up. "Fake Explosion!" When Darknight struck Trap Reactor with his sword... it wasn't destroyed.

"What!?" Michael exclaimed.

"Thanks to my trap card, monsters can't be destroyed in battle this turn. And thanks to its other effect, I can summon a monster from my hand or graveyard..." Jonathan's graveyard slot glowed. "Specifically... Summon Reactor • SK!" With that, the humanoid fighter plane with propellers rose up next to Trap reactor. (ATK: 2000 DEF: 1400 LV: 5)

Andrew grimaced. "Now there are two of them!"

"One more, and it won't be funny." Matt replied.

"Only if he gets rid of the Barrier Statue." Shiori replied.

"I end my turn." Michael concluded.

"In that case..." Jonathan drew. "I activate the spell card, Pot of Avarice. This lets me take 5 monsters from my graveyard and shuffle them back into my deck." After taking 5 cards from the graveyard, he put them into his deck and shuffled. "And then, I draw two cards." He drew his extra cards and looked at them. He smirked. "Perfect."

"Uh oh..." Michael let out silently.

"First I activate the spell card, Offerings to the Doomed! This lets me simply destroy a monster on the field. But I have to skip my next draw phase. But that's fine, because I'm gonna get rid of that Barrier Statue!"

Michael watched as the demonic statue was surrounded by a red aura before it shattered into pixels. "Not cool."

"And even though your Parshath gains some more points, it's about to get worse for you..." (ATK: 2400-2500) ...because now I summon Spell Reactor • RE!" Everyone gasped as Jonathan summoned the red, snake-headed machine with missiles. (ATK: 1200 DEF: 900 LV: 3)

"There's the third one." Clover said grimly.

"Here it comes..." Jaden said.

"I send my three Reactors to the graveyard in order to summon Flying Fortress SKY FIRE!" The three machines flew up into the sky and unleashed a blinding light when they joined together. And when the light died down, everyone saw the very same aircraft that took down Bastion last time. (ATK: 3000 DEF: 2500 LV: 8)

"Oh no." Alexis muttered.

"There it is." Andrew said.

"My word. Michael is in a serious predicament now." Bastion stated.

"That's putting it lightly." Jonathan replied. "Your friend is going to experience more than you did." He then slid the last card in his hand into his graveyard slot. "I activate SKY FIRE's special ability! Once per turn, I can send a card from my hand to the graveyard, and then destroy one of your cards. And I choose your facedown card!" The huge aircraft flew right above Michael's field and then dropped one of its bombs. It landed right on top of his card and destroyed it with a big explosion.

"Dammit!" He muttered.

"And with that done, I'll destroy your Darknight Parsath!" With that said, SKY FIRE dropped two more bombs. Once they exploded, the dark fairy centaur was destroyed and the explosion caused Michael to skid back.

Michael: 2250-1750

"I end my turn." Jonathan concluded. "And I'm afraid this is the end for you. With no cards on your field or in you hand, you have nothing between you and my Flying Fortress."

"Maybe not." Michael replied as he recovered from the last attack. "But I wouldn't celebrate just yet. I still have one turn left. That's all I need."

Jonathan scoffed. "Not that it'll be enough for you."

"We'll see about that! My move!" Michael drew. "I play the spell card, Beginning of the End! Since I have at least 7 dark monsters in my graveyard, I can remove 5 of them from play in order to draw 3 cards!" 5 of his cards ejected from his duel disk before he put them away and drew 3 cards. He looked over them and nodded. "This is just what I need! I summon Makyura the Destructor!" A figure in sharp, purple armor rose up on the field. It was wearing three-clawed gauntlets and had blades on its one-eyed helmet. (ATK: 1600 DEF: 1200 LV: 4)

Jonathan smirked. "So you're saying that's what you need, huh? Then that's a shame, because I activate SKY FIRE's special ability! Once per turn, I can destroy a card you place facedown or summon to the field, and you take 800 points of damage! And of course, you take another 300 points of damage from my Dark Room of Nightmare!" Once again, the huge aircraft dropped some of its bombs. The whole field was engulfed in multiple explosions. Once it was over, Michael groaned as he was down on his knees.

Michael: 1750-0650

"Michael!" Andrew called out.

"Are you all right?" Jenny asked.

"Well well. All that effort, and your monster is out of game." Jonathan shook his head. "How unfortunate for you."

Bastion chose that moment to clear his throat and get his attention. "Actually... destroying that monster was your biggest mistake."

Michael managed to stand up and gave his opponent a smirk. "That's right! By destroying Makyura, you gave me the edge I need. You see, after he's sent to my graveyard, I can activate a trap card during this turn, directly from my hand."

"Say what!?" Jonathan exclaimed.

"So now I play this!" Michael held up one of his cards. "Return From the Different Dimension! By paying half my life points, I can summon all my monsters that were removed from the game!"

Michael: 0650-0325

A dimensional portal opened up in the sky. And the monsters that emerged from it were Mystic Tomato, Spirit Reaper, Legendary Fiend, Barrier Statue of the Abyss, and Darknight Parsath." (ATK: 1400 DEF: 1100 LV: 4) (ATK: 300 DEF: 200 LV: 3) (ATK: 1500 DEF: 1800 LV: 6) (ATK: 1000 DEF: 1000 LV: 4) (ATK: 1900 DEF: 1400 LV: 5)

"Nice one, Michael!" Andrew cheered.

"You got him now!" Jaden added.

"And for my next move, I activate the spell card, Pre-Preparations of Rites! This lets me add a ritual spell card and monster to my hand!" Two cards came out of his deck and he took them. "And now I activate the ritual spell card, Ritual of Destruction!" An orb of pure darkness appeared above Michael's monsters. "And next, I'll sacrifice Spirit Reaper and Mystic Tomato in order to summon Garlandolf, King of Destruction!" The two named monsters were absorbed into the orb. And then, after a moment, a roar was heard from within it. When it descended on the ground, it faded, leaving a new monster in its place. It was a purple armored warlord with red eyes. It was wearing a white, fiendish mask and a golden medallion on its chest that was tied up with chains. (ATK: 2500 DEF: 1400 LV: 7)

"Yes!" Shiori cheered.

"That's more like it!" Clover added.

Jonathan stared at the new monster for a moment before scoffing. "An impressive move, but my Flying Fortress is stronger."

"That's true, but my Garlandolf has a special ability!" Michael replied. "After I ritual summon him, he destroys all other monsters on the field with defense points equal to or less than his attack points!"

The WW2 veteran gasped.

"And if I'm not mistaken, SKY FIRE's defense points are equal to Garlandolf's attack points." Matt mentioned.

"Which means, even that monster will be destroyed!" Andrew added.

Waves of darkness came out from Garlandolf, enveloping all other monsters on the field, including Flying Fortress SKY FIRE. They were all consumed entirely by the blackness. And then, there was nothing left, except for Garlandolf.

"It can't be!" Jonathan said in disbelief. "My mighty Flying Fortress is gone!"

"Yeah, and so are my other monsters." Michael replied. "But there is some good news... for me that is. My Garlandolf gains 100 attack points for every monster that was destroyed by his effect. And four monsters were destroyed, so..." The armored fiend roared triumphantly as its power rose up. (ATK: 2500-2900)

"2900!?" The former pilot exclaimed.

"You got it! Now to use them! Garlandolf, attack him directly! Destructive Burst!" The armored warlord formed a sphere of dark energy from his hands hurled it at Jonathan.

The WW2 Veteran stared at the approaching sphere as he closed his eyes, with one single tear being formed from the left one. "I... failed..." And then, the sphere collided and exploded. Everyone waited for the smoke to clear, wondering if the attack was a success. When it did, they saw the old man laying on the ground.

Jonathan: 2900-0000

Michael sighed in relief as his friends approached him.

"You did it, Michael! Sweet duel!" Jaden complimented.

"That was nice comeback you made!" Andrew added.

"Yeah, especially with that Garlandolf card! Nicely play!" Shiori said.

"An impressive move, indeed." Bastion agreed.

"Well, I couldn't have done it without your card." Michael replied and gave him Makyura the Destructor.

"Wait! Your card?" Clover repeated, turning to the intelligent Ra.

"Yes, while arranging his deck, I gave him this card so he could have something to even the odds."

"Good thing you did that." Matt said.

And then, everyone heard soft sobbing coming from Jonathan. He was laying there, crying. Everyone, except for Chazz, looked at him sadly.

"Poor Jonathan." Jenny said.

"Why feel bad for him?" Chazz questioned, only for Xander to elbow him.

"He wasn't truly evil." Alexis said. "He was only desperate to get his friends back."

"Too bad the price was too high." Michael replied as he approached the old man. "Hey..."

"I lost my friends during the war..." He muttered, tears still running down his cheeks. "All I wanted was reunite with them."

"Yeah, we know. But using the Sacred Beast cards doesn't solve anything. They have the power to destroy the world. So even if you managed to bring your friends back from the dead, you wouldn't live long enough to enjoy the reunion."

"Maybe, but still..." Jonathan clutched his chest. "I just can't get rid of this pain. This sorrow. My precious friends... they were fighting by my side... but now they're all gone..."

"I wouldn't say that." Andrew said, approaching him.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know how painful it is for you to lose someone the way you did. However, even though they're physically gone, their spirits live on. All the time you spent with them, good or bad, those memories live on within you. Everything your friends gave you is in here..." He pointed at Jonathan's head. "And here." He then pointed where his heart was. "As long as you have it there, your friends will always watch over you." Andrew ended with a smile.

Jonathan stared at the young man, while letting his words sink in. After what felt like minutes, he closed his eyes again. "You know... you might be right. My friends always supported me, even through the toughest situations." He slowly got up on his feet. "And I'm sure they wouldn't approve the way I acted tonight." He took off his millennium eyed pilot cap and dropped it on the ground. He then stared out to the ocean. "From now on, I will treasure all the good things they did to and with me. That's what they would have done."

The gang smiled at him, now relieved that he realized his mistakes, and was ready to move forward.


Phew! That's it. I'm beat! I was glad to finish this. I'm not sure I have enough time to write another chapter this year. So for now, I wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.