OP1: "Raining" by Art Of Dying
Chapter 3: "Strength"
It was about 8 PM when the moon finally emerged from behind a veil of clouds, shining down on Mike as he made for the edge of County Dame. Cars and trucks flew by him on the streets as he walked the vast cityscape, passing the familiar buildings differing in size and shape housing various businesses and companies. The city's residents either lived in apartments scattered amidst the industrial complexes, or houses in the suburbs away from the metropolitan noise.
He soon spotted his destination 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 neon-red letters. It was the only place he knew he could stay without attracting attention, considering the place typically played host to bums and other societal castaways. He entered the motel's small reception room, filled with nothing but a few chairs and a single sliding glass window across from the door, behind which Mike saw an old man with stringy gray hair sitting bored in his office, until his eyes locked with Mike's.
"Hello, welcome to the County Dame Motel," he said, running 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 as he reached into his duster's pockets, pulling out two 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, so a large sum of money like that put in front of him had to be like placing a bone before a dog.
"What say you give me a room for two nights, for now," Mike said, "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. Thanks."
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 rusted key from the envelope and inserted it into the lock, turning it to open the door.
Inside, the small room was painted a faded beige color. A box-shaped twelve-inch television sat atop a bureau 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 nightstand with a lamp. A 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 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 had 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 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:
Mike: hey its mike. is this still your number?
He waited for a few moments before the text system indicated that Violet had read the message, and was typing back before he received:
Violet: yeah its me. hey :)
Mike smiled. He may not have seen her smile today, but a smiley emoticon would 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 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 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 your fault.
She definitely did know him too well. She had witnessed the "accident" that had killed his parents, and had sat with him later in an attempt to console 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 talk about how she really 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.
Violet: goodnight :)
And with that, he 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 bother to pull the provided comforter and sheet over him: as soon as his eyes had closed, he was asleep.
- Two Years Ago -
As Mike followed the man named Aeron through the western-style town of Frontier Haven, he had a chance to take in more of his new surroundings. Aligning the center road of the town was a variety of shops, from saloons to tailors to taverns to stables. Intermingled among the different shops were plainer buildings with no business signs out front, but were instead decorated with flowers, chimes, and other front-yard ornaments. No doubt the homes of the townspeople.
Amid the 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 suit. 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, colorful ponchos and sombreros, and intricately patterned African headdresses.
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.
His attention focused back to the man he was following. Normally, he could get a read on someone's vibe from the moment he met them, but he couldn't sense anything from this man. He seemed void of any kind of emotion, which only added to the intensity of his presence. He was still fighting the urge to run away from the man, but it was like he'd been caught in his orbit: helpless before a force of nature that would either bend him to its will, or break him trying.
"Tell me something," Aeron said, bringing Mike out of his thoughts with a jolt. "Have you ever had to fight for your life before?"
Mike shook his head. "Not unless you count stopping jerks from beating my friend and I up back in school," he reasoned, though he doubted that answer was anywhere close to what Aeron was referring to.
It was at this moment that Mike realized the two of them had arrived at what looked like the town's border, as they walked under an arching sign with "FRONTIER HAVEN" printed on it in bold letters.
"I'm guessing you didn't bring me to the edge of town to release me back into the wild?" Mike figured.
"No," Aeron said without so much as a glance. "I brought you out here to test you. To see if you're capable of being one of Samael's soldiers."
Mike froze, his heart rate accelerating. "Wait, what do you mean by soldier?"
"Not far from here is another town called Saddlebury," Aeron explained, not losing his stride, "which is under the control of a man named Keir and his gang called the Romans. Once every week, one duelist from Saddlebury and someone from here square off in a duel to the death."
Mike felt his heart jump into his throat as Aeron continued: "Samael and Keir rotate each week in choosing duelists from each town to duel. And since I'm the best Frontier Haven has, Samael always chooses me to fight."
Aeron finally stopped about ten feet away from Mike before turning to face him. "Of course, Samael or Keir could easily choose to duel for themselves, but Keir has already demonstrated his power before..."
Aeron's voice trailed off, his eyes suddenly haunted as though horrific images were flashing across them that Mike couldn't see, before turning back to him.
"Let's just say, there's a reason Samael won't pit me against him. And in the last twenty-five years that Keir has led the Romans, no one has dared to challenge him again.
"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 find someone who can either outmatch Keir, and finally put an end to this bloodshed, or at least someone who's willing to kill his Roman followers."
"That's insane," Mike said with hesitance. "Who would ever agree to something so deranged?"
"Keir forced this system onto us 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."
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. His blood turned to ice with the thought. He couldn't 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. "And just how do you expect me to kill these people 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 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.
"I'll put it this way," Aeron stated coldly. "This duel disk isn't shaped like a gun for design."
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 that 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 attached to his wrist 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 at the device, sweat starting to bead across his forehead. 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 people, all for a town full of people he didn't know and had no business with otherwise...?
"What if I refuse?" Mike finally mustered enough courage to resist, 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."
As he had feared. So it was either go through with this, or die.
He gave in and followed Aeron's example, picking the duel disk up and attaching it to his arm before taking out his deck and shuffling it. "Guess I don't have a choice," he figured before sliding his deck into the duel disk's deck zone, activating it.
For the first time, Aeron cracked a small smile at Mike's submission. "Then let's see what you've got," he said as he drew five cards.
Mike dealt his own five cards before he and Aeron declared, "LET'S DUEL!"
- Present Day -
The sun rose high above County Dame the following morning. Though the students of Dexterity High stepped off their buses in front of their school, Josiah Sullivan remained absent, apparently still recovering from the humiliation he'd suffered at Mike's hands.
Violet stepped off 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 felt about him had fallen through. In the end, she'd convinced herself that it had to be done face-to-face, and not over a text thread. She 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 was a jerk letting 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 barely registered when 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. "Yo, Earth to Violet?"
Violet looked over to him before shaking her head. "Sorry... it's just been a lot to take in, y'know? Getting used to the fact that he's back, and all."
Danny nodded his understanding as he put his feet up on his desk. "Yeah, I gotta admit: I'm still not quite over it myself," he said. "But hey, you just gotta be happy about it, right? I mean, yeah, he seems a little different, but at least he's alive!"
"But how different is he, though?" she said with a glance to him. "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 being somewhat slow, it managed to click in his mind:
"Oh, I get it," he said, leaning back in his chair. "You're worried about whether he might still 'like' you—"
"Don't say it so loud!" she snapped, startling him to the point that he almost fell backwards in his chair.
"Sorry..." he said 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 wanted to believe Danny, but part of her 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? Hell, 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!"
The last bell rang, and Violet and Danny exited their class, hugging the second-floor hallway wall to allow other students to pass while they waited for Marina to come down from the third floor. Violet was still acting reserved, clutching her books and folders 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. "I am NOT!" he insisted. "I only ever became friends with her 'cause you were her friend when she joined us in middle school!"
"Oh, please," Violet said, 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. "I'm not into girls who are younger than me!"
"Okay, okay..." Violet said, 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 to face Marina at the sound of her voice. "Boxing!" he blurted out. "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. "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 into the city.
"Well, so much for 'probably waiting for us'," said Danny as he watched the last bus drive off, earning a glower from Marina.
"Excuse me, but you didn't exactly set a time and place for your duel," Marina shot back.
Danny rolled his eyes. "At the least, I would've thought he'd remember that school gets out right 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 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, adopted a competitive smirk before walking a few paces backwards along the marble walkway, while Mike took his position across from him.
"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 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. "Time to show you my strength!"
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, the hardened expression that he'd put on 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 though, I'll set two cards face-down, and end my turn!" he concluded, his backrow cards materializing before him.
"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 said 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!" 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 clenched 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 narrowed his eyes as he calculated his next move. "Not a bad play, Danny," he said, "but unfortunately, you forgot to account for my Pleiades's effect! 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, 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 hurtling 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 shockwave, before lowering it again when the smoke 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!
"Go, Constellar Alrescha!" he cried as he pointed to Danny's other 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!" he said 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!" he 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 aiming to do 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 said as he drew 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 at this moment that Violet and Marina also realized the strategy that Danny was going for. "Wait, is he seriously about to bring out his 'big win' card?" Marina wondered. "He's been trying to do that for years with no luck!"
"Guess we underestimated him this time," said Violet as she glanced between the two dueling friends. "He's got all four of the monsters he needs..."
Mike watched as Danny exclaimed, "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 the school'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, 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, on the other hand, tore her eyes off the gigantic mech to spare a look at Mike, who was eyeing the creature carefully—as though he were 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 realized, her eyes flashing to his duel disk's unusual shape for a moment. As if every move he makes is the difference between life and death for him...
Danny, meanwhile, was getting to the part he'd been 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 with Fist of Force!" [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 to 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 before 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 found himself surprised to see that Mike was smiling—even laughing—despite the onslaught he'd taken.
"Hey, what're you gigglin' about 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 thanks to this duel, 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 from her mind as her heart swelled, finally feeling as though her eyes were laid on the Mike that she'd lost.
Mike 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 he evicted the massive mech from the field before it cost 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 back!"
As Mike added his Pollux to his hand, Danny could practically 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 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 the direst scenarios he'd faced.
As he looked to the galactic warrior 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. "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 heap with Galactic Gladius!"
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 and flinched as his monster came tumbling down upon him in pieces. [Danny - LP: 2400→400]
Eventually, the wreckage of what was Machina Force finally faded away, revealing Danny lying flat on the ground with a shell-shocked expression. "Man... it's times like these when I'm especially thankful these monsters aren't real," he muttered as he managed to 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, to which Marina shot back a quick glare as if saying: you didn't hear ANYTHING.
Back in the duel, Mike gave a short grunt before saying, "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 stands before 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...?"
"No... shut up!" Marina winced, to which Violet responded by playfully sticking her tongue out at her.
Mike eyed Danny's Machina Fortress carefully. He'd expected Danny to come back strong, 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 said as he drew. "And I'm about to bring this duel to an end! Pretty soon, you're gonna spill the beans about everything 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 the last two years were brought up, he fell silent, returning him to the cold personality that he'd put on 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: "Now bring this to an end, my Fortress!" he said as he indicated Mike's warrior to his tank. "Open fire on his Starliege Paladynamo! Ballistic Blaze!"
The tank swung its turret to point towards Mike's warrior. Violet and Marina held their breaths, waiting to see if Danny really was about to secure his first ever victory against 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 dealt his card, the expressions of the girls on the sidelines mirrored Danny's surprise. The latter, on the other hand, was now examining his field and the last card in his hand, 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 oughta 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. This time, I'm finally gonna get the drop on you!
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 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 said: "Now, Constellar Praesepe! Use your effect to gain another 1000 ATK, and take out his Machina Fortress! Starstruck Smash!"
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 countered as his set card flipped. "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 faded, Danny opened his eyes again, panting heavily as he felt the adrenaline rushing through his veins.
"Heh... I did it... I actually did it!" he exclaimed between excited breaths. "I managed to keep you from destroying my Fortress... 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 said 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 resurrect 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 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 thrust its arm into the beast of a tank, finally landing its blow as the metal exterior of the opposing monster grinded 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 over her mouth in 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 still taking in the ending of the duel just as much as Marina was.
As the duel disks deactivated and Praesepe 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 had to go and get even stronger."
"Well, I wouldn't put it past you that you could've beaten me," Mike said as he looked down at Danny. "You came pretty close."
Danny chuckled as Violet and Marina approached them, Mike extending a hand to help him back onto his feet. "I guess you don't have to tell us about your last couple of years after all. Sorry if I seemed a bit pushy about it."
Mike scoffed. "You weren't getting that story even if you'd won."
"Oh, OKAY!" Danny said in an exaggerated rage. "I SEE HOW IT IS!"
That earned laughter from everyone else as Danny stood with arms crossed steaming, but he quickly simmered down again.
"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 Machina Force out!" he retorted, to which 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, 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 smirked back. "You'll lose that, too."
"Not with that long-ass coat weighing you down," Danny shot back. "And... GO!"
With that, the two best friends took off in a mad dash down the sidewalk, surprisingly neck and 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.
ED1: "Behind Blue Eyes" by Limp Bizkit
Author's Notes
And the Best-Friends-Bout is at its end! I honestly really enjoyed writing this duel. Today saw a little bit more into Violet's psyche concerning her feelings for Mike, and Danny got to show off what he's got. He may be a laughable nut, but he's not altogether dumb. And in the flashback story, Aeron dumped even more exposition on Mike before launching them into a duel. Unfortunately, don't expect to see much of the duels in the flashbacks unless I feel they're important, otherwise these chapters would get WAY too long.
As always, please feel encouraged to drop a review with your thoughts! Y'all seem to be enjoying what you've read so far. Next chapter will be another slice-o-life bit to push a little more plot along, but worry not: it'll tip off with a return to the action before you know it.
Thanks again for reading, and stay awesome.
*UPDATE* Big thanks to reader/reviewer, Sunflesh, for pointing out a vital duel error in the original incarnation of this chapter. The duel has since been fixed and republished.
REMASTERED ON: 9/24/2020
