*NOTE: This chapter is under the process of being remastered like prior entries. Continue to read (and cringe) at your own risk.*
Chapter 10: "Redemption - Part 1"
Opening Theme: "Raining" by Art Of Dying
Ending Theme: "Behind Blue Eyes" by Limp Bizkit
The last bell of Dexterity High School's day rang, signaling the sudden explosion of classroom doors swinging open as students flooded into the facility's hallways. The echo of clamoring footsteps and loud chattering was overwhelming as the few hundred teens in the building made their way towards either the stairwell, their lockers, or the school's front doors so that they could head home.
Amongst them, Violet was one of few who made a beeline straight for their locker, where she began putting away her textbooks as the boring facts from her last class faded from her mind. Her thoughts couldn't stop going back to the night of the incident with Dr. Crawford and Aeron almost a week earlier; particularly what might've been said in Mike's last exchange with his former mentor before they had returned to her apartment.
She, Danny, and Marina had gotten used to Mike keeping some distance from them ever since his return to County Dame. After all, they couldn't blame him for needing a little time to adjust back to his normal life—especially now that they knew he'd spent the last two years in a place that had been like a constant war zone. But ever since that night, it had started to feel like he was trying to shut them out entirely: he'd stopped joining them in the abandoned trailer after school during the week, and it had become such a rare occurrence to see him around the apartment that it was beginning to feel like he was more an occasional visitor than an actual resident of the place. And no matter how many times any of them ever tried to call him on his cell, he never answered.
The only reason Violet could think of as to why Mike had become so much more distant was what he and Aeron might've discussed during their last conversation the weekend before. When she'd asked him if everything was okay afterwards, she'd could tell there was a hint of deceit in his voice when he'd said that everything was "going to be fine." She'd known him long enough to know when he was trying to hide something; and the look on his face, the way he'd voiced his response, and the way he was now distancing himself so far from everyone were surefire signs that something was weighing heavily on his mind.
But what was really driving Violet mad was the thought of Mike and Aeron's last conversation most likely being about the missing friend of theirs that they had been trying to locate—the girl that she'd overheard Mike talking about over the phone the night before that whole episode. Despite having learned about Mike's true feelings towards her from Aeron, she couldn't help but think about the possibility of Mike potentially harboring feelings for this other girl too, and that she was why Mike had started pushing himself away from Violet and the others...
Violet shook her head as she forced those thoughts out of her mind. Ever since Mike had gotten back, she'd been thinking way too deeply into how Mikw might've felt towards her, and anymore thinking about it would wind up driving her insane. Not only that, but there was always the possibility that this girl that Mike and Aeron were looking for really was just a friend. Nothing to be jealous of in that.
So with that thought in mind, Violet exhaled deeply as she closed the door to her locker, still clutching the few folders she needed for homework as she silently promised to herself that she wouldn't let the thought of this other girl bother her anymore. After all, these thoughts only came from her making hypothetical assumptions, and there was no good that could come from assuming anything.
"Hey, Violet!"
Violet nearly jumped out of her own skin as she shrieked, earning a few confused glances from other passing students as she turned to see where the sudden voice had come from: there was Danny and Marina, standing where she hadn't been able to see them before when her locker door was open. Danny, whose upper attire had changed to a red T-shirt with black, plastic bracelets on his wrists, had clearly been highly amused by Violet's startled reaction from the smirk on his face, while Marina looked more annoyed by her crush's apparent joviality from the situation.
"Danny! What the hell?!" Violet nearly shouted at him as she tightly clutched her folders, "Don't scare me like that! It's not funny!"
"Not for nothing, but it actually was a little funny," Danny replied, rubbing the back of his head as he grinned innocently.
Behind him, Marina scoffed as she crossed her arms. "Your stupid type of humor is never funny..." she said under her breath.
Danny turned to shoot her an annoyed look. "It's called slapstick humor, Marina..." he muttered back in a low tone, "Slap. Stick. Ever heard of The Three Stooges?"
Marina rolled her eyes uncaringly, while Violet's face deadpanned as she listened to them bicker. Over the last week, these kinds of verbal skirmishes between the two had become so increasingly frequent, that nearly everyone in the school was beginning to realize that their hostility was clearly a front to mask their true feelings for each other.
Now Violet heaved an exasperated sigh. "Anyways..." she cut in before their debacle went any further, "What's up?"
Marina's attention returned to Violet as she explained, "We just wanted to know whether or not you invited Mike to go to the Prom tomorrow night."
"Oh..." Violet said with sudden realization as her eyes widened, "Right..."
Amidst all of the insanity in her mind, she'd completely forgotten that the Junior-Senior Prom was now only two days away. She, Danny, and Marina had all bought their tickets in advance the month before, and she and Marina had already shopped for their dresses in preparation. And of course, the school was letting everybody out early the day of the dance so that they could get themselves all dressed up and ready to look fashionable for the big night.
Now Danny and Marina were seeing the answer to their question in Violet's face as realization spread across it, which made Danny sigh as he shoved his hands into his pockets. "Lemme guess: you haven't even seen him lately, have you?" he guessed.
Violet only shook her head in response. During the few instances she did see Mike at the apartment, he was usually stepping in just to quickly grab something from his room before running back out again.
It was Marina's turn to sigh sadly, before saying, "I remember back when you guys were Sophomores, and I was still a Freshman..."
Violet's and Danny's eyes were on Marina now as she recalled, "It was before Mike had disappeared... we made a promise that we'd all go to the Prom together during you guys' Senior year; since I couldn't go as a Sophomore, and you'd all be gone when I was a Senior..."
The memory of that promise now returned to the minds of Violet and Danny, as the latter dropped his backpack on the floor before leaning against one of the lockers with one arm. "Yeah, I remember that promise too..." he said thoughtfully, "But we wouldn't really be keeping that promise if Mike wasn't with us..."
Marina nodded in agreement as her and Danny's eyes returned to Violet, who felt their piercing gazes as she realized what they were asking of her: she was the only one with a good chance of getting Mike to go to that dance the following night—to fulfill that promise they'd made two years ago.
"Guys, look..." she started, though she didn't exactly know where she was going with her words, "Just... with how he's been for the last few days... I'm not really sure he'd even want to go, given how he's been..."
"Well, maybe that's all the more reason we should ask him to come."
All eyes turned to Danny now as he explained: "Think about it: if he's all mopey 'cause something's bothering him, then maybe a little dance party with his friends is just what he needs to help him get whatever's on his mind, off of it!"
Marina couldn't help but raise surprised eyebrows at this. It was seldom that she heard Danny trying to be the voice of reason in their group, much less being one with an idea that was actually decent. And for it, she couldn't help but give him a small smile of admiration.
Violet, meanwhile, felt her spirits lifting up a little as Danny looked back to her. "They're still selling Prom tickets in the front office 'til school closes," he told her, "How 'bout you grab one for Mike, and just see if he'll take it?"
Violet nodded in understanding as a smile finally came to her face. "Alright, I'll try," she promised him, "Thanks, Danny."
"Don't mention it," Danny said as he pushed himself back into a standing position from the locker, "I just hope you find him in time."
"But until then..." Danny took a moment to stretch his arms as he spoke, "I gotta get started on my walk home. I forgot my skateboard like an idiot today, and of course they decided to load us with homework tonight, so I'm gonna need a bit of a head-start."
And with that, he picked up his bag again before giving a small wave to the girls as he said, "Later."
"See you," Violet and Marina said back in unison as their eyes followed him into the stairwell, before Marina turned to look at Violet with what could only be described as a dreamy look.
"Is it just me, or has Danny suddenly gotten a little more... mature over the last few days...?" she asked as her hand absentmindedly started playing with her hair.
Violet let out a small laugh. "Well, maybe not his sense of humor..." she muttered with slight disdain from her earlier scare, "But I admit, there's definitely been some kind of change in him. He's actually been doing a lot better in class, somehow."
"You think maybe it has something to do with that duel he had with Aeron?" Marina questioned as she looked to the door that her crush had just walked through.
"Maybe..." Violet said as she too looked to where their friend had walked out from.
It wasn't long before Violet exited the school to get onto her bus, where she immediately started getting chewed out by the bus driver for making him wait so long. But his indignant complaints were hardly capable of bothering her, as she'd gotten used to hearing far worse scoldings from her father whenever he'd been in a drunken stupor over the last year.
That aside, she'd at least managed to pick up one last Prom ticket from the school office. Unfortunately, that was the easier part of trying to convince Mike to come with her and the others to the Prom the following night; the real challenge would be actually seeing him, if she was lucky enough. The odds of running into him around the apartment before the day ended seemed pretty slim as they were, and the idea of trying to go find him seemed even more absurd, given County Dame's size.
These thoughts circulated in Violet's mind for the entirety of her bus ride home, and only by the time she had been dropped off in front of her apartment did she come to the conclusion that she would just have to hope that whatever deity of luck existed in the world would smile on her for long enough to let Mike drop by the apartment at some point soon. But until then, she had to be patient.
As she rode the elevator up to her apartment floor, she took the few moments she had to herself to rehearse how she ought to approach Mike with her offer. The only way she could think to bring it up was to remind him about the promise they had made for Marina all those years ago; but to her, that seemed more like she was trying to guilt him into going rather than convincing him to join them for a fun night out, and she didn't want her invitation to sound like that.
She paused these thoughts as she stepped through the elevator onto her floor, made her way to the apartment door, and opened it as she called, "Dad? You home?"
"In the kitchen!" she heard Bulbous's high-spirited voice ring out in response.
Violet couldn't help but crack a smirk. It had been so long since she'd ever heard, much less seen, her father be genuinely happy; and to finally hear it in his voice again was an uplifting experience for her every time she did.
She made her way to the kitchen, rounding the corner to see her father sitting at the small table against the wall, eating salad out of a bowl while looking over a small pile of paper in his hands. She couldn't help but arch a surprised eyebrow as she glanced from the salad to her father.
"I don't think I've seen you even touch a green food in the last year or so," she said, crossing her arms as if she was unable to believe what she was looking at.
"Yeah, well..." Bulbous said sheepishly as he scratched at his sides, "I said I was gonna make right everything I've been doing wrong... my diet's on that list too."
Violet gave a small chuckle before her attention shifted to the papers in Bulbous's hands. "What're those for?" she questioned as she pointed at them.
Bulbous put the papers down before turning to his daughter. "Just some documents I gotta read over from the bank," he explained, before a grin suddenly spread across his lips as he finished ecstatically, "So that they'll give me the loan to help me open up the deli again!"
Violet's jaw dropped as a wide smile spread across her face at her father's words. "Wait, are you serious...?!" she managed to breathe out, barely able to contain her excitement at the thought.
Bulbous stretched out his arms in a celebratory manner as he proudly boomed out, "We're gettin' the deli back, baby!"
Violet couldn't stop herself from squealing delightedly as she threw herself into her father's arms, wrapping her own around him as she cried out, "Oh my god! I can't believe it!"
Bulbous returned the embrace as he laughed heartily at his daughter's enthusiasm. "I told you everything was gonna go back to normal, didn't I?" he reminded her brightly, "Pretty soon, we'll have all the money we'll ever need again, and it'll be just like the good ol' days!"
Violet pulled away to lock eyes with her father as she beamed at him. The deli hadn't just been Bulbous's pride and joy that he'd made a living off of; it had been their home for as long as she could remember. The whole upstairs of the original building had actually been an living space that Bulbous built on his own so that he could save money by living where he worked, and it was where he'd raised Violet for the first sixteen years of her life. So when they'd been forced to move out of there after the vermin infestation, it had left Violet more heartbroken than she had thought was possible after learning that Mike had disappeared. But now, the idea that she was finally going to be able to go back to where she had considered her "true" home to be was one thought that couldn't have made her any happier.
"What's all the excitement about?"
Both Violet and Bulbous's heads turned sharply to look where the voice had come from: there was Mike, standing in the entryway between the kitchen and the living room, looking at the two of them with a slightly confused expression.
Violet forced herself to suppress a scream as she felt her mind and body go numb at the sight of him. There really WAS a deity of luck somewhere out there, and it was smiling down on her today.
Bulbous, meanwhile, stood from his chair as he exclaimed, "There you are, Mike! I was just tellin' Violet about how we're finally re-opening the deli!"
Mike's eyes widened at this. "Wow, that's..." he stumbled over his words, sounding as though he didn't know what to say or how to react to this information, "That's... awesome. Really. I'm glad to hear it."
While Bulbous seemed to take Mike's reaction like he seemed so overjoyed by this news that he couldn't even speak, Violet wasn't as easily fooled: she could almost see the thoughts racing through his mind that must have been distracting him from fully embracing what he'd heard; otherwise, she knew that Mike would've jumped for joy as much as she had.
Now, Bulbous continued: "I was thinkin' of taking us all out for dinner to celebrate! Whattaya say, Mike?"
Mike's expression reverted to its usual seriousness as he replied, "Much as I'd love to, I was actually just stopping by to grab something from my room quick. Sorry."
Disappointment spread across Bulbous's face as Mike turned towards the hallway, which immediately raised an alarm in Violet's head that jolted her back to her senses. She immediately scurried after him as she hurriedly cried out, "Wait!"
Mike came to a halt halfway through his trek towards his room, before turning to watch as Violet skidded to a stop in front of him. But the moment she looked up to meet his eyes, she couldn't find her voice to speak. She had been riding on the hope that she would at least have a little more time before seeing Mike later that day, so that she could plan out how she wanted to approach him about Prom. But now he was here, standing before her a lot sooner than she'd expected, and she was without a plan.
Now Mike was raising a confused eyebrow as he looked down at Violet, waiting to hear what she had to say. "Yes...?" he asked her, which snapped her back to reality with a blink.
"Well..." she started, trying to force the words out of herself, "You see, it's just that... the Prom is tomorrow night..."
Bulbous, who had sat back down at the kitchen table to continue eating his salad and look over his papers, now froze mid-chomp as his ears perked up from what he'd overheard.
Mike, meanwhile, continued to stare inquisitively at Violet as she finally said, "And I was wondering if... maybe you'd like to... go with me...?"
As soon as the words escaped her lips, Violet immediately felt herself beginning to blush as she realized how her invitation had come out. Similarly, Mike now averted his eyes as his cheeks also turned tomato-red; the uncomfortable expression on his face making it clear that this was the last thing he'd been prepared to face today.
"I, uh..." he stammered, struggling to find the right words to respond with, "Er... I mean… well—"
"Of COURSE he'd like to go with you!"
The sudden booming voice from behind made Mike jump slightly, before turning his head to see Bulbous standing right behind him, placing his giant hands on Mike's shoulders as he said, "After all, Mike's not the kind of guy who'd turn down an invite like that, let alone make you go all by yourself! He's too much of a gentleman to let that happen!"
Bulbous now shot an intense glare down at Mike as he said, almost threateningly, "Right, Mike?"
Mike seemed to suddenly shrink before Bulbous as a half-dumbfounded, half-terrified expression spread across his face. It was clear that his mind was failing to come up with a response to anything that was happening at this point
Violet, meanwhile, couldn't stop a grateful smile from spreading across her lips at her father's interference in that moment. Of all the aspects of his daughter's life, the one part he'd always refused to directly involve himself in was her romantic life, as he'd always believed in that being nobody else's business but her own. Even so, he'd always known how Violet had always cared for Mike; and aside from the brief stint he'd had some few weeks before, he'd never once objected to him being his daughter's love interest. And now, here he was, finally deciding to step in to help his daughter finally bring her lifelong dream of being with him to fruition.
Eventually, Mike was able to break his gaze away from Bulbous's fierce eyes as he looked to meet Violet's hopeful ones again. He let out a small sigh as he realized there was no arguing his way out of this, before finally saying, "Y'know what? Sure. Could be fun, I suppose."
Violet was ready to burst into tears of joy the moment she heard those words, but she held herself back once more. Bulbous, on the other hand, removed his hands from Mike's shoulders, patting him on the back instead now as he then said, "That's more like it! Now, that just leave one thing we gotta take care of."
A curious expression overtook both Violet's and Mike's faces as they looked up at Bulbous. "And that is...?" Mike inquired, his tone implying that he was partially scared of what the answer might be.
"Well, Violet already bought her dress for Prom last month," Bulbous explained as he circled around to stand next to his daughter, "So she's all set for tomorrow night.
"But you, on the other hand..." Bulbous said, a humored smile now spreading across his face as the thought of what he was about to say next reached his mind, "We need to get you into a suit!"
If Mike's eyes could've widened more than they had at Bulbous's words, they very well might've fallen out of his skull as his skin paled and he appallingly said, "Oh, no..."
- The Next Day -
"OHHH YEAH!" Danny burst through the Kohl's changing room door with enthusiasm, "I feel really good about this one! Whattaya think, Mike?"
The blonde looked away from the suits he was currently looming over to inspect his loud friend: he was dressed up in a bright-orange tuxedo jacket, with a frilled shirt and bowtie of matching color worn beneath it. His legs had donned orange pants, held up by a belt of same color around his waist. His choice of footwear was orange, slip-on dress shoes, which made him look even more excessively ridiculous than the rest of his attire already did. The orange top hat resting on his head brought the rest of the outfit together, while also driving said point of ridiculousness home.
Mike just shook his head at Danny with distaste. "Yeah, no..." he told him as he looked his absurd apparel up and down, "Not unless you want to go looking like Jim Carrey in Dumb and Dumber."
He casually went back to examining the suits in front of him, while Danny's face changed from ecstatic to disgruntled at Mike's words before looking down at his frilly garments, realizing his best friend was right.
"Damn it..." he muttered defeatedly as he threw his top hat frisbee-style back into the changing room, "Seriously, why can't I find any good suits...?"
"That's what you get for going tux shopping at the last minute," Mike stated, without looking up this time.
Danny rolled his eyes as he slid off the orange tux jacket, before questioning, "Well, what are you planning on going in, then?"
Mike picked up a plain, black suit jacket and a white, short-sleeved, button-up shirt to look at side-by-side as he answered, "Eh, you know me... I like to keep things simple."
Danny nodded in acknowledgment before he started trying to find the buttons beneath all of the frills on his shirt, which he eventually gave up on after a minute of struggling before deciding to change the subject:
"So..." he started awkwardly, "You planning on finally asking Violet out tonight?"
Mike, who had started trying on the white button-up shirt he'd picked up before, now stopped abruptly before letting out a heavy sigh. "I don't know," he admitted before looking over to Danny, "Are you planning on finally asking out Marina?"
Danny opened his mouth to respond, but quickly shut it when he realized what had come out of his friend's mouth. "Wait, how did you—?"
"I live with Violet now, remember?" Mike reminded him with a somewhat sly smile, "She filled me in about you two last week."
"Of course she did..." Danny mumbled as he put his forehead against the wall, embarrassed.
Mike shook his head at Danny's comical reaction. "Well, if it makes you feel any better, she failed to tell me why you two seem to be so infatuated with each other all of a sudden," he told him as he continued buttoning up the shirt, "Because last either of us checked, you two only put up with each other for the sake of your friendship with me, and her friendship with Violet."
Danny lifted his head from the wall as he turned to Mike with a serious expression—a face that Mike wasn't used to seeing on him. He hoped that he hadn't somehow offended Danny, but the latter could see it in his best friend's eyes that he wasn't trying to tease him about the subject: he genuinely wanted an answer to his question.
Danny heaved a sigh as he looked away, a thoughtful expression coming to his face before he finally started: "It was a little over a year after you'd disappeared... we'd all stopped going to the trailer together after school, what with Violet having to deal with her dad losing his deli and all..."
Mike's expression was attentive as Danny explained, "After that, Marina and I kinda started hanging out together on our own... we were seeing Violet less and less outside of school since her dad was turning into such a hard-ass. So it really felt like the two of us only had each other as friends for a while. And throughout all that... well, I dunno..."
A small smile began to form on Danny's face. "I guess..." he figured, "With all that time we spent getting to really know each other, I couldn't help but start feeling... 'things' for her..."
"So what's kept you from just asking her out already?" Mike asked as he finished buttoning up the white shirt.
Danny turned his head up to look at Mike again, before scoffing at himself. "The same reasons you've been hesitant to ask out Violet, I suppose," he retorted as he stood up straight again, "Fear of rejection; her not feeling the same way; that sorta thing."
Mike's brow furrowed at this comparison, which Danny immediately caught onto before saying, "Hey, don't try and tell me that's not what your problem is. We've been having this same conversation since seventh grade."
It was Mike's turn to look away now, and Danny could see it in his old friend's eyes: the same fear that had glossed over his ocean-blue orbs during all of their previous discussions about the subject before. Yet, at the same time, he could tell that there was something... different about this look than what he was used to seeing, but he couldn't put his finger on what it was...
"It's not that I'm afraid of rejection."
Danny now raised a confused eyebrow as he watched Mike turn to look at himself in the mirror next to the changing room door. "Shortly after I got back, I kind of figured out that she really has felt the same way about me for a long time," he explained, his mind flashing back to his first conversation with Dr. Crawford and the night Violet had kissed him on the cheek, "If I were to try and ask her out now, she'd probably say 'yes' without hesitation."
He now turned to lock eyes with Danny again. "The reason I'm scared to..." he said shakily as his fists clenched, "Is because I know she's in love with the innocent boy that I used to be; not the scarred man who came back from Frontier Haven."
Danny rubbed the back of his head as he digested Mike's words, letting out a low whistle while doing so. He kept forgetting that his best friend was now a damaged victim of war, and there was still so much about him that he didn't fully know or understand. And because of that, he was unsure of what were the right things to say that wouldn't send Mike over some kind of edge, which was the last thing he wanted to do to his best friend.
"Damn..." he started, trying to choose his words carefully as he spoke, "That's some heavy stuff... I'm not really sure what to say to that.
"But what I will say is this..." He now walked up to Mike to meet him face-to-face as he said, "If Violet really does care about you as much as she's claimed to all this time, then it shouldn't matter what you've been through throughout the last two years, or what kind of person you think it turned you into."
Mike's eyes widened slightly at these words as Danny continued: "To her, you're still the boy that she remembers growing up with—the same boy she fell in love with all those years ago."
Mike's lips curled into an appreciative smile as he let those words sink into him. "You really think so...?" Mike asked, a small glimmer of hope in his voice.
"Without a doubt in my mind," Danny answered as he returned the smile with an encouraging one of his own.
Mike's grin widened a little more, before nodding to let Danny know he'd taken in his words. "Thanks, man," he said to him gratefully.
Danny only patted his best friend on the shoulder as he replied, "Anytime."
Now Mike turned to pick up the black suit jacket he'd been holding earlier, and proceeded to try it on before turning to Danny for his input. "So... how do I look?" he asked.
Danny looked his best friend up and down, a mildly jealous expression appearing on his face as he did so. "Better than I do, at least..." he assured him before shooting an annoyed glance down at his shirt of unending frills.
It was around 5:10 PM by the time Mike and Danny walked out of the Kohl's store with their new suits, already dressed up in them given the Prom was less than an hour away.
In the end, Mike's choice of attire was the black suit jacket and white shirt he'd tried on earlier, as well as black suit pants and dress shoes to match. He'd left the top button of his white shirt undone, not wanting to deal with feeling like it was choking him the whole night. Around his neck hung a black skinny tie, which he'd also left hanging loosely around his neck to prevent discomfort.
Danny, meanwhile, had abandoned his orange top hat, as well as traded out the over-frilled shirt for a plain, collared shirt that was a slightly lighter shade of orange than the rest of the suit. Unlike Mike, however, he kept his shirt buttoned all the way up; and instead of a necktie, an orange bow tie that matched the suit jacket's color was now fastened around his neck.
As soon as the two friends exited the large clothing store, they bid their adieus to each other before departing for their separate homes. Though Mike found his walk to be somewhat uncomfortable, as the shoes he'd just bought weren't particularly made for lengthy strolls down concrete sidewalks. Then again, he'd forced himself to bear trudging through nearly the entire city back to Bulbous's apartment while soaked from head to toe only a few days prior, so he really couldn't bring himself to complain.
Thankfully, the walk didn't last long for him anyway, as it was about fifteen minutes later that he found himself stepping through the elevator doors onto Bulbous's floor. But when he made to open the apartment door, he was in for a small surprise: the door was locked.
Mike raised a curious eyebrow; Bulbous normally never locked the apartment door unless everyone else was out somewhere. And with the Prom so close to starting, he doubted that Bulbous and Violet would've left for some last-minute adventure.
He now tried knocking on the door as he called, "Hello?"
"Just a second!" came Bulbous's voice from the other side of the door, which sounded almost frantic; as though he were hurriedly trying to finish something.
Mike exhaled as he shook his head, a small smile coming to his face as he realized what this was about: Bulbous was probably helping Violet get dressed and ready for the night, and he didn't want Mike to see her until she was absolutely perfect.
It was only about a minute or so later before Mike heard the doorknob click from the other side, followed by Bulbous's voice saying, "Alright, come on in!"
Mike once again tried opening the door, finding no difficulty this time as he stepped inside, where he found Bulbous sitting on the living room couch. But as soon as Mike came into his view, Bulbous immediately stood to meet him at full height as he said with amazement, "Wow, look at you! I'm diggin' the rugged-gentleman look you got goin' on!"
Mike grinned sheepishly as he replied, "Heh, thanks..."
It was in this moment that Mike noticed: he and Bulbous were the only ones in the living room, which brought a puzzled expression to his face as he asked, "So, uh... where's Violet?"
Before Bulbous could answer, the sound of a door creaking open and footsteps were heard as Violet emerged from her bedroom.
The moment she came into his view, Mike felt his heart beginning to pound uncontrollably as he beheld every detail of her in his stunned silence: she was clad in a silk, orchid-colored dress that hugged her around the waist, held up with only a single strap that went over her right shoulder. Gems arranged in flowery patterns aligned the topmost part of the dress leading up to the strap. The lower half of the dress was slit in two places near the bottom so that her legs weren't entirely confined beneath the dress, and her feet had adorned high heels of the same orchid color. Her hair had been straightened out around the top, but went on to be curly near the bottom, where it was able to sit perfectly on her shoulders. Her right wrist was decorated with silver bracelets, while her left wrist bore a lilac corsage that matched her dress.
As Violet stopped to stand before Mike, he managed to pull himself somewhat together as he stammered out, "W-whoa..."
Violet's cheeks flushed as she let out a light giggle of appreciation. "You like it?" she asked him.
"Like..." he absentmindedly repeated, before shaking his head slightly to snap himself out of the mesmerization her beauty had put him in, "I mean; yeah... you look amazing."
A delighted smile lit up on Violet's face as she now took a moment to take in Mike's new threads. "You don't look half-bad yourself..." she complimented as she looked him up and down, "Mister 'Rugged-Looking Gentleman'."
Mike rubbed the back of his head as his own face turned beet-colored at Violet's words. Bulbous, meanwhile, now clasped his hands together as he said, "Okay, I think it's time kids hit the road! I wonder if the limo I called up is here yet..."
Once again, Mike and Violet's heads both turned to look at Bulbous in surprise. "I'm sorry, did you just say limo...?" Mike questioned, his eyebrows raised so high they could've floated off of his head, "As in, you actually rented out a limo...?"
"And how were you able to afford something like that?" Violet added in, her eyes wide with disbelief as well.
"Well, truth is I can't," Bulbous admitted, "I had to put it on my credit card, which I'll pay off once the deli's back in business.
"And besides..." he said as he now put a comforting hand on his flustered daughter's shoulder, "It doesn't matter what the cost was; I'll still do anything to make my Angel's night as amazing as I can."
"Awe, Dad..." Violet said as she embraced her father appreciatively, "You're the best!"
Bulbous chuckled as he returned his daughter's hug with one of his own bear-sized ones, which lasted a few moments before he pulled away as he said, "Alright, now get a move on already! The limo's probably waiting for ya outside!"
"Right..." Violet acknowledged before turning to Mike, drawing a quick breath before asking him, "You ready?"
"Yeah... actually, wait," Mike said suddenly with realization, "Almost forgot—one sec."
He then darted down the hallway towards his room as Violet watched on, before glancing to her father with confusion.
"Maybe he's nervous?" Bulbous suggested as he looked to the door Mike had just disappeared through.
Violet shot her father a look. "Really, Dad?" she asked, "Mike, nervous?"
Bulbous shrugged innocently just as Mike reemerged from his room. "Sorry about that," he apologized as he moved to stand next to Violet again, "Nearly forgot my ticket.
"Now then..." he said, a smile forming on his face as he lifted an arm to offer Violet escort, "Shall we?"
Violet's confused expression turned into one of delight as she giggled at Mike's gesture, happily wrapping her arm around his extended one before they made their way towards the apartment door.
Bulbous watched with a hearty smile as the two teens stepped through the door, closing it behind them as a single tear of happiness dropped from his eyes.
'Good luck to ya, Angel...' he silently wished to his daughter.
Sure enough, a slick, black limousine was parked and waiting for Mike and Violet as soon as they stepped outside. The limo's chauffeur stood by the car's door, greeting the two as they approached before opening the door to allow them inside.
They were instantly astonished by the opulent interior within: blue and red lights scattered across the ceiling illuminated the entirety of the space, and every last inch of the long seats was clad in black leather. A flat-screen TV hung on the wall behind where the chauffeur was driving, next to which sat a tub filled with ice and bottles of sparkling cider.
"Whoa..." Violet breathed out with awe as she took in the extravagant space around her, "So this is what's like inside of a limo, huh...?"
"Inside of this one, anyway..." Mike figured as he gazed out the window, watching as they flew through the cityscape.
The two didn't have long to enjoy the luxuries that their ride for the night had to offer, however, as it was only minutes later when they arrived at their destination: the faded, gold-colored building was County Dame's most prestigious hotel, standing at twenty stories high. A glass, half-dome sheltered the hotel's large front doors, before which a great number of other cars and limousines were either pulling up or driving away. Atop the tall structure was a large sign that spelled out the hotel's name in neon-red lights: La Comté Dame Beaulieu.
"Damn..." Mike uttered with bewilderment as he and Violet stepped out from their limo, "Dexterity High doesn't mess around..."
"No kidding..." Violet agreed with the same entranced tone as she looked up at the grandiose building, "I can see why Prom's always been the most hyped event of the year by Juniors and Seniors..."
Just then, their attentions were stolen away once again by the sudden sound of a HONK HONK! coming from behind them, but they were in for a surprise when they turned to see where it'd come from: there was Danny, pulling up to the hotel's sidewalk in a bright-blue Lexus sports car, with Marina in the passenger's seat next to him. The ear-to-ear grin on her face had to have been as wide as Danny's was upon seeing the faces of their friends when they'd come into view.
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me..." Violet said with astoundment as Danny exited the sleek ride, chuckling to himself giddily as he did so.
"Nope! No joke this time!" was Danny's response as he circled around to open the door for Marina, "My Pop let me borrow his sweetest set of wheels for the night!"
"You mean MY dad let you borrow HIS car," Marina corrected him as she now stepped out from the car, "After you spent five minutes BEGGING him to let you take it out."
Marina's choice of attire was a sparkly red dress, which was held up by straps that intersected each other as they went over her shoulders. A thick, black belt wrapped around her waist, while the lower half was cut short so you could see the long, black stockings that clung to her legs. Her feet had adorned tall, black heels, which pushed her just one inch taller to make her height equivalent to Violet's. Her chocolate-colored hair was put up in a small bun, and her face was actually without the usual black-rimmed glasses she always wore.
Now, Danny's eye was beginning to twitch irksomely at how Marina had just denounced his tale, before turning to her with the most shot-down expression he face could make as he growled through gritted teeth, "I thought you said you were gonna cover for mystory...!"
"I did," Marina confirmed as her lips curled into a playful smirk, "But this was more fun."
Danny could only bow his head shamefully as Mike and Violet watched on, the former performing a facepalm at the comedic exchange between the two before finally suggesting, "Maybe we ought to head inside now..."
"I like that idea..." Danny concurred as he regained his composure, joining everybody else as they made their way towards the hotel doors.
As soon as the four friends stepped inside, they found themselves immediately breathtaken by the sight before their eyes: the golden banquet room they were led to by the concierges looked like it was capable of fitting at least three mid-sized houses inside of it. Centered against one wall was a large stage, where a DJ booth was stationed and fitted with turntables, speakers, and all the other workings needed to power it. The gold-marble center of the room acted as the dance floor, where a sumptuous number of students in fancy garments were already whirling and twirling away. Surrounding that area were a great many circular tables clad in silky-white tablecloths, each of which were surrounded by chairs that occupied other students who weren't already up and dancing. There were a few scattered rectangular tables among the circular ones, upon which were bowls of punch and various assorted sweets. The wall opposite of the DJ booth's stage was aligned with numerous glass doors, which led to the hotel's spacious outside courtyard.
The friends made their way to one of the few unoccupied tables near the courtyard doors, which gave them a great view of the glorious outdoor space beyond. They spread themselves out around the table, each of them taking a side so that they were all sitting across from each other, yet still sitting next to their respective dates and best friends.
"Ooohhh man, this place is freakin' awesome!" Danny hollered over the loud music, practically bouncing in his seat like a giddy child as he looked around to take in the sights, "Hey, does anyone know when they're gonna serve dinner?"
"Really? You're already hungry?" Marina asked as she shot him an incredulous look.
"I'm always hungry!" Danny shot back, "You haven't caught onto that by now?"
Marina just shook her head, the same, 'I can't believe I've been crushing on this idiot,' expression forming on her face as she did so.
Mike, meanwhile, had tuned out of the conversation at Marina's retort to look towards Violet, who was averting everyone else's eyes by keeping her gaze fixed on the table before them. He could see her shifting uncomfortably in her chair, and he couldn't help but feel bad: throughout the entirety of the time the four of them had been friends, Violet had always been the quiet, shy one of the group who didn't know how to be as outgoing and positive as the others did. And what was more, now he knew that she must've been tormented by the fact that she was always hanging out with the one guy she'd ever harbored deep feelings for; and she'd never known whether or not he felt the same way because she was too afraid of being rejected if she let her feelings be known.
Wanting to break the tension that he could feel building inside of her, Mike gave her a slight tap on the shoulder, which caused her to jump slightly before realizing who it was that'd touched her. "Hey, how 'bout I go get us some punch?" Mike offered.
"Oh..." Violet sounded somewhat distant, as though she'd been pulled out of a deep thought; but she managed to put on a small smile before replying, "Yeah, that'd be great. Thanks."
Mike nodded as he stood up from the table, pushing his seat back in before walking away as he overheard Danny and Marina begin to argue about why her date hadn't offered to get punch yet too.
As he made his way to one of the nearby rectangular tables, he had the chance to take in a few more details about the environment than when he'd initially entered the room: for one thing, the electronic dance music that was blasting from the DJ booth was nothing he recognized. The most he could make out of its lyrics was something about an anaconda, and he was pretty sure that, whatever this music was, he didn't like it.
For another, he'd also taken notice of one table in the far corner of the room that was completely occupied by Dexterity High teachers, who must have been the ones who'd agreed to chaperone the dance. He spotted Dr. Crawford amongst them, who was decked out in a more formal version of his usual, blue sport coat attire. But what stood out to Mike was the small bandage that occupied one of the principal's cheeks, which Mike realized was where his Pleiades had tagged him almost a week earlier during their duel over Aeron's freedom.
His staring eventually resulted in him and Dr. Crawford's eyes locking for a brief moment, which caught Mike off-guard. But to his relief, Dr. Crawford's eyes weren't hard or even remotely resentful towards him; in fact, he saw what looked like a newfound respect in the Principal's hazel-colored eyes behind the plastic-rimmed spectacles. This was further demonstrated when he gave Mike a courteous nod, which Mike returned with an equal amount of regard before Crawford turned his attention back to his coworkers.
Mike now continued his way towards one of the rectangular tables. As he took his time pouring ladlefuls of fruit punch into a couple of the provided paper cups, he took a moment to consider how the rest of the night might've decided to unfold: thanks to Danny's earlier encouragement, he at least wasn't afraid to confess his feelings to Violet anymore; but now he was left to figure out what the best approach to doing so was.
Perhaps he could pull her aside somewhere so they could talk in private; or maybe it would just come out of him in the heat of a moment as they danced to a slow song; or maybe she would be the one to approach him with her own feelings first. He almost hoped the latter would be the case, as it would save him the trouble of having to pick a moment himself.
But to him, that just seemed too unfair to Violet. Not only had she waited just as long as he had to learn about their true feelings towards each other, but she'd also had to live with him disappearing from her life without explanation for two years. And for all that, he felt that the least he could do to make it up to her was to go to her with his feelings first.
He'd gotten so wrapped up in these thoughts that he almost didn't notice the odd phenomenon occurring behind him: a sudden hush was washing over the population of students in the large, echoing room, traveling from its front all the way to the back where Mike was standing. Even the student DJ atop the stage had lowered his music's volume to almost nothing.
Mike turned to search for the cause of the sudden silence, but what awaited his eyes came as the ultimate shock: the students out on the dance floor were all stepping backwards, clearing a path as an individual wearing an ice blue-colored tuxedo walked onto the dance floor—the one individual that struck both fear and loathing inside the hearts of each and every student in the room:
"What? Why's everyone so quiet all of a sudden?" Josiah Sullivan's question echoed around the hall as he spread his arms out openly, "I thought Dexterity High's Prom was supposed to be the biggest bash of the school year!"
From their table, Danny was now resisting the urge to stand up and shout at the sandy blonde-haired bully as he felt his insides beginning to boil. "Oh, that son of a..." he muttered acidly under his breath as his fists shakily clenched, "He actually had the nerve to show his face here after all this time...?!"
"After being absent from so long, too..." Marina added in as she tried to control her own shakiness, "Why's he only showing up now...?"
Violet, too, was quivering in her seat, though not out of anger or fear for herself like most of the others. There was only one reason she could think of for Josiah to only now show his face, and at the Prom no less...
Meanwhile, Dr. Crawford was now stepping up from his seat at the teachers' table to walk out onto the dance floor, standing to face Josiah as the surrounding students stepped even further backwards now.
"It is... good to see you again after all this time, Mr. Sullivan," Dexterity High's principal greeted Josiah hesitantly, "But I'm afraid I have to ask you to leave, given how long you've been absent from school."
"Oh, come on now, Doc..." Josiah retorted casually as he pulled a small slip of golden paper from his suit jacket pocket, "I bought my Prom ticket a month in advance just like everybody else. At least let me have my money's worth.
"Besides..." Josiah went on as he tucked the ticket away again, "I'm not here to put a damper on everyone's party like you're probably expecting."
A wave of confused and surprised whispers began to circulate amongst the gathered students on the dance floor, all wondering what Josiah meant. Dr. Crawford stood his ground, though he remained silent in anticipation of Josiah's explanation.
"There's only one reason I'm here..." Josiah now spoke as he turned on his heel to look around, "I'm looking for Mike Harper!"
Violet felt her stomach twist as her fears were realized. Marina's concern-filled eyes were now locked on Danny, whose fists were still balled and shaking from the pent-up rage he was struggling to restrain.
Josiah, meanwhile, continued turning to look around the room, searching for the rival he'd named. "Well?" he asked aloud, "Is Mike here with you all tonight?"
"Right here, Josiah."
Everyone in the room's heads turned to the source of the voice: Mike was now stepping his way onto the dance floor, his eyes like daggers as he locked eyes with the bully that he and Danny had fended off for years—both with their fists and on the duel field.
"Aha, there you are!" Josiah spoke casually, his expression turning to one of seriousness as he pocketed his hands, "You're looking good, Mike. Adjusted back to city life alright?"
"Cut the crap, Josiah," Mike shot back as he stopped to stand next to Dr. Crawford, "I doubt you came here just to make small talk with me. So what is it you want?"
Josiah paused to take a quick breath in, as though he was readying himself to say something impossibly difficult.
"What I want..." he finally stated, "Is to say that I'm sorry."
A surge of bewildered and unbelieving whispers broke out amongst the gathered students and staff of Dexterity high in the room. At their table, the expressions of Danny, Marina, and Violet couldn't have been more flabbergasted to hear any form of apology escape Josiah Sullivan's lips. Not once had he ever been known to feel even remotely remorseful for any of the abuse he'd dealt out to them, much less to any of the other students he'd victimized over the last seven years.
"It's true," Josiah persisted to Mike in response to everyone else's uncertain mutterings, "And I'm not just here to say sorry to you, or you friends. I'm here to apologize to everybody in this room, and everyone else I've wronged over the last few years."
"So what, you think waltzing in here just to say you're 'sorry' will make up for everything you've put us all through?!" Danny finally blurted out angrily as he shot up from his seat.
A pained look came to Josiah's face as he locked eyes with the orange-tuxed teen. "Of course not..." he responded somberly, "There's nothing I could ever say that would instantly make up for the awful things I've done."
Josiah turned away from the now-surprised Danny to look back to Mike, who was still eyeing him cautiously. "You may not believe me when I say this, but I've changed..." he explained solemnly, "All I'm asking for is the chance to prove it to all of you; right here, right now."
"And just how do you intend to do that?" Mike inquired as his eyes narrowed skeptically.
In response, Josiah rapidly raised up his left arm, allowing the sleeve to fall back and reveal his blue and white-colored duel disk beneath it. "The only way I know I can prove it to you..." Josiah spoke as he lowered his arm, "Through a duel!"
Mike stared long and hard at Josiah as he took in this answer. The rest of the gathered Juniors and Seniors, including Danny, Marina, and Violet, were all anxiously awaiting Mike's response to this proposal.
Finally, Mike broke the tense silence as he said, "A duel, huh...?"
And then, just as rapidly as Josiah had, Mike's left arm now shot into the air as well, his own sleeve falling to reveal his own black and silver duel disk hidden beneath his sleeve, which brought a number of gasps from the other surrounding students.
"I suppose I'll take you on, then," Mike finally answered, "To see if you really have changed."
Back at their table, Danny's eyes were nearly popping out of his head as he realized, "Wait, he's been keeping his duel disk hidden there this whole time?! Freaking how?!"
Violet's eyes widened as she silently realized the answer to Danny's question: 'When he ran into his room earlier...' she figured as the memory from earlier that night replayed in her head, 'He wasn't just getting his ticket...'
She felt her heart sink as the fact sank into her: 'I guess there really is no convincing him to actually take a paranoia-free night off...'
As for Josiah, his lips now curled into a small smirk at Mike's acceptance of his challenge. "Glad to see your resolve is as strong as ever," he said, "How about we take this outside, then?"
Everybody else followed suit as Mike and Josiah stepped out into the hotel's courtyard. The two duelists positioned themselves on opposite sides of the long fountain in the center, where they stood shuffling their decks as the rest of the students and faculty formed a crowd that circled around them. There were still whispers spreading among the body of people, all of them wondering what they were about to witness through this duel.
Danny, Marina, and Violet managed to stay at the front of the crowd, taking spots directly behind Mike as they watched the two ready themselves for this duel.
"Does anybody else feel like this might be a huge waste of time?" Marina asked contemptuously, which gained the attention of her two friends standing on either side of her.
"What do you mean?" Violet asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I mean, does anybody really believe that Josiah can actually prove he's changed through this duel?" Marina clarified, "What about this duel could actually convince us all that Josiah's telling the truth? For all we know, this could just be a front to hide that he just wants a rematch against Mike so that he can beat him in front of most of the student body."
"That could be the case," Danny acknowledged, "But what if it's not...?"
Violet's and Marina's eyes turned to Danny with surprise, while the latter's gaze remained fixated on his best friend. "Before my duel with Aeron, he'd said that a true duelist can see into the heart and soul of another through their dueling," he explained to the two girls, "And I'm willing to bet that Mike learned how to do that from Aeron over the last two years.
"So if Josiah is telling the truth..." Danny now spoke with certainty in his voice, "Then Mike's the only one here who can find out for sure."
Both of the girls' expressions turned to surprise at these words, though Marina's definitely showed the most surprise before she and Violet turned to see that the two rivals were about to begin:
"You ready for this, Mike?" Josiah called out as he replaced his deck in his duel disk, which activated upon the insertion.
"I'm never not ready, Josiah..." was Mike's answer as he too replaced his deck, causing his duel disk to activate too, "So come at me with everything you've got!"
And without any further hesitation, the two dealt their first five cards from their duel disks before finally crying out, "LET'S DUEL!"
[Mike - LP: 8000]
[Josiah - LP: 8000]
As soon as the word was said, the surrounding crowd of students and staff alike instantly fell silent as Josiah offered, "Since I challenged you, I'll give you the first move."
"How courteous," Mike replied as he drew his first card.
"I'll start by summoning Constellar Pollux in ATK mode!" Mike decided.
[Constellar Pollux - LV: 4/ATK: 1700]
"And in case you weren't aware, Pollux has a special ability that allows me to normal summon one more Constellar monster this turn!" Mike explained as he pulled another card from his hand, "So by releasing him, I can advance summon Constellar Zubeneschamali!"
[Constellar Zubeneschamali - LV: 5/ATK: 2100]
"And now for his effect!" Mike went on, "When Zubeneschamali is summoned to the field, I can take any Constellar monster from my deck, and add it to my hand! So I'll add my Constellar Kaus!"
The card popped out from his deck zone as he explained the effect, and he proceeded to add the card to his hand before concluding: "Then I'll set one card face down, and end my turn."
"My turn, then!" Josiah said as he drew.
He glanced quickly to the card that he'd drawn, before locking eyes with Mike once more as he started: "I summon my Strategist of the Ice Barrier!"
[Strategist of the Ice Barrier - LV: 4/ATK: 1600]
More confused and surprised whispers now fluttered through the crowd of students and staff at the sight of this new being.
"Strategist of the Ice Barrier..." Marina repeated aloud, "So Josiah's using some kind of new deck?"
"Yeah, Ice Barriers," Danny confirmed, "Though I gotta say, I can't remember the last time I ever heard of someone using that kind of deck..."
"Next, I'll use my Strategist's special ability!" Josiah continued, "By discarding one other Ice Barrier monster from my hand, I get to draw another card!"
Mike watched as Josiah carried out this effect, before he went on: "Then, I'll activate my Medallion of the Ice Barrier spell card! With this, I add one more Ice Barrier monster from my deck to my hand; and I choose my Prior!"
Once again, Josiah added another card to his hand before he said, "Now, since I control at least one other Ice Barrier monster on my field, I can now special summon Prior directly to the field!"
[Prior of the Ice Barrier - LV: 2/DEF: 400]
"And to end my turn, I'll set two cards face down," Josiah finished, "Your move, Mike."
Mike was silent for a moment as he inspected Josiah's side of the field. "So then..." Mike said, "You're the one using a new deck this time around... so is this what you meant by saying you'd changed, Josiah?"
"Not quite," Josiah corrected him, "But it's part of it. You'll see for yourself soon enough."
"I'll hold you to that," Mike said as he drew his next card.
He smirked for a moment as soon as he saw what he'd drawn. "I'll play a little spell card that you ought to know pretty well: Constellar Star Chart!"
"Aw, yeah!" Danny cried out as smiles broke out on his, Violet's, and Marina's faces, "We all know what that means!"
Josiah watched intently as Mike continued: "Next I'll summon Constellar Kaus!"
[Constellar Kaus - LV: 4/ATK: 1800]
"And thanks to his effect, I can either increase or decrease the LV of any Constellar monster I want by one! So I'll bring Zubeneschamali down from 5 to 4!"
[Constellar Zubeneschamali - LV: 4]
"Now that they're the same LV, I think I'll overlay them!" Mike cried out as his two monster offered themselves up to a spatial portal, "And in doing so, I Xyz summon Constellar Praesepe!"
[Constellar Praesepe - RK: 4/ATK: 2400]
"And by Xyz summoning him, my Constellar Star Chart lets me draw one more card from my deck!" Mike said as he carried out the effect.
"Now, Constellar Praesepe! Attack Strategist of the Ice Barrier!" Mike declared as he pointed to Josiah's monster.
"I'm afraid he can't, Mike."
Everyone's heads turned to Josiah, who was smiling as his comment erected looks of confusion from everyone else. "Didn't you notice?" he inquired as he pointed at Mike's golden warrior, "Your monster's been switched into DEF mode!"
Mike's eyebrows rose with shock as he looked to his monster, who was now kneeling into a defensive position as he grunted unwillingly.
[Constellar Praesepe - DEF: 800]
"What...?" Mike uttered with confusion, "But how...?!"
"It's pretty simple, actually," Josiah explained as he pointed to his now-flipped card, "Before you Xyz summoned your Praesepe, I activated the continuous trap card: Eisbahn! As long as I control a WATER attribute monster on my side of the field, any other non-WATER monsters that are summoned are automatically switched to DEF mode!"
Astonished mutterings once again spread through the body of students and staff at this explanation. Danny, Marina, and Violet, on the other hand, all had taken-aback expressions as they took in Josiah's words.
"That's not a move like Josiah's ever played before," Violet said with surprise.
"I'll say..." Danny agreed, "Guess Josiah's really upped his game since we last saw him."
Mike's expression, meanwhile, now returned to its usual calmness as he processed what had just happened. "Impressive, Josiah," Mike complimented him, "Nothing like the usual headstrong and sloppy maneuvers I'm used to seeing from you.
"Well, like I said," Josiah reminded him, "I've become a different person since we last dueled."
A small smile now came to Mike's face, as though he were starting to believe that Josiah's words about having changed were true.
"I'll finish with one more card face down," Mike concluded, "Turn end."
"Then I draw!" Josiah said as he drew his next card, "And I'll begin by using Strategist's effect once more: by discarding my Spellbreaker of the Ice Barrier, I get to draw another card!"
Josiah carried out this effect before continuing: "Now I'll activate the effect of my Prior! By releasing himself, he can revive one Ice Barrier monster from my graveyard to my field!
"And the monster I'm resurrecting..." Josiah explained as his Prior faded away, "Is the monster I discarded when I first used Strategist's effect: come forth, General Gantala of the Ice Barrier!"
[General Gantala of the Ice Barrier - LV: 7/ATK: 2700]
The muscled military man burst out from beneath the water of the fountain before Josiah, earning a great number of gasps from the surrounding crowd as the powerful creature took to the latter's field.
"Okay, Josiah's officially breaking all of the rules of how he used to play!" Danny said as he watched on, barely able to believe what he was seeing.
"That's an understatement," Marina agreed, "Just where did he learn to duel like this?"
"And more than that..." Violet said with concern, "Can Mike still beat him with how strong he is now...?"
Josiah now went on: "Next, I'll summon one more monster to the field: Defender of the Ice Barrier!"
[Defender of the Ice Barrier - LV: 3/ATK: 200]
"Cute little wolf," Mike commented, "But his ATK strength doesn't pack much of a punch."
"He doesn't need to," Josiah shot back, "That's what my Gantala's for!
"But before he attacks, I'll have my Strategist of the Ice Barrier go first!" Josiah declared, "Attack Mike's Praesepe!"
Strategist leaped up from his spot on Josiah's side of the field, unfolding his blue hand-fan as he prepared to strike at Mike's monster.
But as soon as he swept down to attack, Mike countered: "I reveal my trap card: Mirror Force! All of your ATK mode monsters are now destroyed!"
Strategist was propelled back by an invisible force before he could make contact with Praesepe, before he, as well as Gantala and Defender, shattered at the effect of Mike's trap.
Hollers and cheers now erupted from the surrounding crowd at Mike's move, but he ignored the noise and kept his eyes on Josiah's expression: despite having watched all of his monsters get destroyed in one shot, he didn't seem fazed in the slightest.
'Something's not right...' Mike silently realized, 'Could it be that he...?'
"I predicted as much from you, Mike."
Mike's eyes widened as he heard Josiah finish his thought for him, which brought a wave of silence over the crowd as he explained, "You've used that Mirror Force card against me plenty of times; and I even used it against you during our last duel! You really thought I wasn't ready for such a move?"
Mike's gritted his teeth as Josiah now flipped his set card: "I activate the trap card, Torrential Rebirth! This card activates when one or more of my monsters are destroyed; then, as long as there was at least one WATER-attribute monster amongst them, I can then special summon every single one of them back to my field all at once!"
Mike watched with shock as the three of Josiah's monsters burst out from beneath the water of the fountain before them, each of them with expressions that made it clear they were ready to take their vengeance against Mike for how he'd destroyed them all.
[Strategist of the Ice Barrier - LV: 4/ATK: 1600]
[General Gantala of the Ice Barrier - LV: 7/ATK: 2700]
[Defender of the Ice Barrier - LV: 3/DEF: 1600]
"And to add insult to injury, Torrential Reborn has one other effect!" Josiah added in, "For every monster that comes back, you take 500 points of damage!"
"Wait, but then that's 1500 points!" Danny realized with panic as he and everyone else all watched as the monsters on Josiah's field now plunged themselves into the water fountain below their feet, sending a wave of water over to Mike's side that submerged him momentarily as he took the trap card's damage.
[Mike - LP: 6500]
"Unbelievable..." Marina muttered with awe as Mike reemerged from the holographic waves that had engulfed him, "Josiah's gotten even stronger than we thought..."
"No kidding," Danny agreed, "His deck's become so resourceful that he barely touched any of the cards in his hand this turn."
"Mike..." was all Violet could utter tremblingly as she watched on, her hand coming up to rest where she could feel her heart beating at a million miles an hour in her chest.
Mike, meanwhile, now brought himself back to full height as he regained his composure. "Not bad, Josiah..." he commended his opponent, "You've definitely become a much stronger duelist; I'll give you that much.
"But now, the kid gloves are coming off..." Mike told him as a small smirk came to his face, "You said you wanted to show us that you'd changed as a person through this duel, right? Then it's high time that you proved it!"
Author's Notes
So since I've got no recommendations to make for stories this time 'round, I've got something a little different in mind: between this chapter and the next one (given these are Parts 1 & 2), I'm gonna open up this story's first...
MOD QnA PANEL!
So in your reviews, should you choose to post one, I ask that you post any number of questions you have for me about the story, or anything about me in general. Concerning the story, it can be just about anything you can think of relating to it: something about the characters, the story, the lore, the history of the story's creation, etc. For other, more generalized questions, I just ask that you keep them just that: general. I'm not giving out any real-world information about myself.
Also, before I forget: I need to give the biggest shoutout ever to Komori Rias/silvernet for being my substitute beta reader for this chapter, and having spent these last months with me throughout the process. Your helpfulness and patience in dealing with my bullsh*t has been inspiring, and I honestly don't think I'd have gotten through writing this thing without you. If you guys haven't, I suggest you go and give her stories a gander too—she has great material that's seriously under-appreciated on here. I'd give my usual shout-outs to them right now... if I actually had time to read them through to their current points... (I know, I'm sorry. I'm gonna get to reading them soon, I promise.)
*UPDATE* The QnA PANEL! is now closed and no longer accepting questions, as of 11/2/2016.
REVISED: 9/25/2019
