OP1: "Raining" by Art Of Dying
Chapter 12: "Grudge"
The transition into the first weeks of June was a peaceful one, much to the merriment of the students at Dexterity High School.
As the end of the school year drew near, the excitement for summer was becoming palpable through the enthralled spirits of the school population. By the day, more and more students and teachers were walking into school wearing shorts and t-shirts rather than pants and long-sleeved shirts. Dr. Crawford had even started wearing Hawaiian shirts now and then to help in welcoming the summer season.
But what was better than all that was the fact that the students of Dexterity High were able to go about their days without the fear of being harassed by Josiah now that he was back. Since his return, he was always smiling and respectful with everyone, and even helped others whenever he saw the opportunity. He'd even gone as far as standing up to a few of his former lackeys when they tried to pick a fight with Danny, Marina, and Violet during lunch one day.
Speaking of them, the trio of friends most definitely had a better few weeks than anybody else did following the Prom. While it was great that they were finally able to call Josiah their friend, that hardly compared to the fact that they'd finally learned that the person they cared for most in the world reciprocated their feelings, turning their once-teenage-fantasies into a reality.
Sadly, the friends didn't get to spend as much time with their significant others during the main school day as they'd have liked to: Marina was still only a Junior while Danny and Violet were Seniors, and Mike didn't even attend school with them. But they were always able to make up for the time when they went to meet up at the old construction site trailer during the afternoon. However, Violet's time with Mike during these after-school hangouts was also limited since he still had his nightly Pro Circuit classes to attend to in the following few hours.
But she didn't mind. On the contrary, she and Mike were able to take advantage of this with how late Mike's classes ended. By the time he arrived back at the apartment every night, Bulbous was already fast asleep, leaving Mike and Violet all the time they could've asked for to stay up late and be alone together, which was the epitome of joy for the latter.
Although, while Violet thoroughly enjoyed the time she got to spend with him in these late hours of the night, there was one small thing that continued to get under her skin: the fact that, whenever she tried to talk with Mike about his time in Frontier Haven, or his still-missing friend from there, he'd always steer the conversation away from the subject. She had been hoping that, now that they were finally a couple, he would be more willing to open up to her about the events that had transformed him over the time he'd been gone.
Even so, she couldn't find it in herself to take personal offense against him for wanting to keep that part of his life to himself. So after her third attempt to delve into his time away was shot down, she came to the conclusion that it was better to leave the subject alone. After all, no matter how much he might've changed over the last couple of years, it didn't seem like anything was negatively affecting him at present. Even the case of his missing friend seemed to have been put on the backburner in his mind, so Violet saw no point in bringing it up if it was only going to bring Mike pain.
Unfortunately, little did Violet realize that she wouldn't be able to keep him from feeling the pain of his past for long.
"Okay, who'd win in a duel? Samantha Delaney, or Slade Maxwell?"
"Sam, duh. She can't be beaten."
Mike and Danny's ongoing debate continued from across the construction site trailer that warm Friday afternoon. Mike sat on the couch with Violet, who leaned against him with her head comfortably rested on his shoulder, smiling to herself as she took in how amusing the boys' interaction was.
Across the trailer, Danny sat in one of the old chairs holding Marina in his lap. Though the latter had her arms wrapped affectionately around the neck of her boyfriend, the look she was shooting at Violet was one of exasperation, as though she were asking, how did they get into this stupid debate again?
Now, Danny shook his head. "Hm, I don't know, man," he said. "Slade's had a pretty good reputation going for him in the Pro Circuit lately. I think he'd have a shot."
"I'd agree, except Sam's gone undefeated for the longest time," Mike replied.
"So has Slade!"
"Yeah, for the last year. Sam's streak has been going for six."
Danny opened his mouth to argue, but no sound came out as he realized he didn't have an argument against that fact. Marina, meanwhile, chuckled for the first time since the conversation had begun. "Wow. And Mike was gone for two whole years," she finally interjected, "yet he knew that when you didn't, Danny?"
"C'mon, gimme a break!" Danny looked to Marina with outrage. "You really can't back me up just ONCE now that you're my girlfriend?!"
"Girlfriend or not," said Marina with a sly smile, "I'll never pass up a chance to embarrass you."
Danny could only bow his head sadly as Violet let out a short giggle. "Don't take it personally, Danny," she said as she lifted her head. "Mike's made it a point to know his Pros since he might be facing them for a living soon."
"Hey, about that." Marina redirected her attention to Mike. "How much longer do you have to take those Pro Dueling classes anyway?"
"Actually, my final practical test is on Monday," Mike answered. "So I'll be done just before you guys graduate on Friday."
"Oh, awesome!" Danny said. "So it really will be like you're graduating with us after all!"
"Which I'm extremely thankful for," Violet added in as she wrapped her arms around Mike. "Wouldn't want to walk across that stage without you there."
Mike smiled down at his girlfriend at that remark, to which she reciprocated with a smile of her own.
Danny shook his head. "Oh, you two are just adorable."
"Shut up." Mike shot his best friend a look.
Before Danny could come back to that, the four friends were surprised when a knocking sound suddenly came from the other side of the trailer door, followed by a familiar voice calling out to them. "Hey, you guys in there?"
"Yeah, door's open," Mike answered.
The door now swung open to reveal Josiah, who had switched out his Dexterity High football blazer for an unbuttoned, blue collared shirt with rolled-up sleeves to wear over his white muscle shirt.
"What's happening, everyone?" he asked as he stepped up into the trailer.
"Well, for starters," Mike replied, "you know you don't have to knock to ask if you can come in, right? You're one of us now, after all."
"Sorry..." Josiah rubbed the back of his head as the door closed behind him. "Guess I'm still getting used to that."
"Hey, don't worry 'bout it," Danny told him. "I'm still gettin' used to it too. Part of me still wants to kick your ass."
"Danny!" Marina snapped as she shot him a glare.
"No, no, that's fair," Josiah quickly said before Marina's eyes started shooting actual daggers at her boyfriend. "I probably deserve that, anyway. But..."
Josiah took a seat in a chair near Mike and Violet's couch. "I've actually got a little surprise for you all that might be able to help make up for it."
Danny sat up a little more in his seat. "What kinda surprise are we talkin' about, here?"
"Well," Josiah said as he reached into his shirt's breast pocket, "I had some extra cash after working so many hours while I was out of school. So I used that cash..."
He produced from his pocket five yellow, paper rectangles as he finished, "to get us all tickets to see a set of Pro Circuit matches, including a duel featuring Liam Carson, LIVE at the stadium tonight!"
"GET THE HELL OUTTA HERE!" Danny practically leaped out of his seat, forcing Marina to think quick as she jumped off his lap to let him run up to Josiah, gawking at the tickets with wide eyes and a floored jaw. "YOU MEAN THE LIAM CARSON? THE CYBER STYLE MASTER HIMSELF?!"
"Yep!" Josiah confirmed as Mike, Violet, and Marina gathered around to see the tickets as well. "Just went and picked up the last few they had over at the stadium!"
"How did we never even hear about this before?" Marina asked. "Don't these things have to be planned out way in advance?"
"Well this one was, but the Pro Circuit also does instant-attraction things like add certain popular duelists to the rosters every now and then," Josiah explained as everybody each took their own ticket. "Apparently this was announced today to celebrate Liam's return from his Asia tour.
"And, since I still feel bad for all the crap I've put you all through over the years," he continued with a sheepish grin, "I figured this was the least I could do to help start making things right with you guys."
"Oh, dude, all is forgiven," Danny said as he sank to his knees, gazing upon the ticket in his hands as his eyes twinkled with happiness.
Violet, meanwhile, smiled as she looked from her ticket to Mike. "Well, this should be fun. Right, Mike?"
But she was surprised by what met her gaze when she turned to him: Mike's face had turned into an expression that was graver than she'd ever seen on him before, as though a dark memory had suddenly resurfaced in his mind.
"Mike?" she repeated his name cautiously. "Hey, are you okay?"
Everyone else's attention was brought to Mike's alarmingly serious expression as well, at which time he finally shook his head as he averted his eyes from his friends. "Y-yeah," he stammered. "Yeah, I'm— I'm fine. I just... remembered something important I have to take care of."
Violet immediately saw through his lie, but remained silent as her boyfriend then gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before saying, "I'll see you guys later tonight."
He then moved to pass by Danny, Marina, and Josiah before making his way down the concrete stairs, hastily made his way towards the city.
"What's gotten into him all of a sudden?" Marina said with raised eyebrows.
"Something I said?" Josiah asked with a frown.
"Nah man, he'll be fine," Danny assured him as he stood up again. "He's just had a lot on his mind since he's gotten back, so he needs some alone time every now and then."
"Yeah." Though she said it, her tone suggested that she didn't entirely believe what she was agreeing with.
Seeing the discomfort that the topic appeared to be causing Violet, Josiah tried changing the subject: "So hey, uh..."
Violet's eyes glanced over to him as he said, "I've been wondering about this for a while: I always knew you and Mike went way back as kids, and that you've always had feelings for each other for about that long too. But I've never really known the reason why."
"Ooh, that's a great story!" Marina said fervently. "Go on and tell him, Violet!"
"Yeah, that is a good story," Danny said between chuckles as he glanced at Josiah. "Since every time she's told it, Mike's face always turns red as a beet."
Everyone sat themselves down again as all eyes turned to Violet, who shifted uncomfortably as she clasped her hands together, feeling a slight rush of red coming to her face from having been put on the spot. "Well, okay," she said nervously. "Well, obviously, you know how Mike spent the other half of his childhood in that orphanage after his parents died."
Josiah's face was attentive as Violet continued: "Back then, my dad used to take me over there after I got out of school. The nun who ran the orphanage usually let the kids out to play in their playground around that same time, and she used to let me play with Mike since he didn't really get along with the other kids."
A small smile began to form on her face as her childhood memories started coming back to her. "I remember how I'd always pretend to be a princess, and Mike always pretended to be a knight," she recalled. "And every time I would be taken by some kind of villain or dragon, Mike would always come to my rescue."
The image of a younger Mike with a stick-sword in his hand flashed in her mind. "And even though that was all just fun and make-believe... being the little girl that I was, I had this crush on him for how he was always willing to save me from whatever imaginary danger he had to fight against.
"But, as we got older," Violet's smile continued to broaden as she felt the warmth return to her insides. "I watched him grow up to be the same brave, kind guy he always pretended to be when we were kids. He's always been there for me, just like how I've always been there for him. And I couldn't help but eventually fall in love with him for it."
Marina brought a hand to rest over her heart as she let out a short "Aweee!" while Danny looked like he was suppressing a snickering fit. Josiah, meanwhile, only nodded as he took in Violet's words. "Huh... that's actually a pretty cute story. No wonder you two have always been so close."
"And no wonder why Mike's face turns into a beet whenever that story's told, amiright?" Danny said as he nudged Josiah in his side with his elbow.
"Oh shush, Danny," Marina shot at him. "At least Mike actually matured past the age of nine."
"Hey, I am mature!" Danny countered as his temple throbbed at his girlfriend's jab.
Josiah just rubbed the back of his head as the pair squabbled, before turning back to Violet. "Well, sorry for putting you on the spot like that," he said with an apologetic look.
"No, it's okay," she told him. "Actually, I'm kind of glad you did."
Danny and Marina's attentions once again returned to their friend as she explained, "It's just, Mike's been so much more introverted and distant ever since he's gotten back. He still is, even with me, so my mind's had a little trouble remembering that he's still the same guy I fell in love with all those years ago.
"But getting to tell that story again really helped to remind me of that," she said with an appreciative smile. "So thanks, Josiah."
"Heh, don't mention it," he replied with a smile of his own.
Mike's hands were shoved deep in his pockets as he stalked along the empty city sidewalks.
His head was hung in a way that hid his eyes behind the curtain of his blond bangs, concealing his brooding expression that reflected the rapidly surging thoughts that were shooting through his mind:
Liam Carson... the Romans... this can't be a coincidence.
No... he left just before I'd taken HIM down.
But the timing... it's just too perfect.
He HAS to know something about what's going on... about Casey.
He came to a stop as he slammed his fist against the wall of the building next to him, growling. He couldn't tell whether or not his thoughts were being pervaded by the flustered emotions that had suddenly flared up within him in the trailer. He hated it when his feelings got in the way of his ability to think clearly, potentially blinding him to a truth he could barely make out a glimpse of.
But what he hated even more than that were the memories that were instigating the emotions he was feeling right now: the intense anger and loathing towards the Cyber Style's heir that he thought had been laid to rest almost two years ago...
- Two Years Ago -
An explosion erupted on the outskirts of Frontier Haven as Casey's monster was destroyed at the hands of Mike's Infernity Destroyer, reducing the last of her life points to 0.
"Not a bad win, Mike," she said as her revolver-disk collapsed back to its firearm shape on her wrist, while the Destroyer before Mike vanished as his own disk deactivated.
"You think so?" he said with a smirk as he began walking towards her.
"Definitely," she answered as she placed a hand on her hip. "You've come a long way since you started using that deck."
"Well, thanks," Mike accepted the compliment as he stopped in front of her. "But I think you deserve some of the credit for that. I doubt I'd be as good as I am now if it weren't for you."
Casey cocked her head at him curiously. "What, you didn't learn anything from your training with Aeron before?" she asked.
"Well, maybe a little," Mike admitted. "But I mean, him just kicking my ass over and over again never really made him the best sparring partner."
"What was that?"
The two's heads both swiveled to see Aeron, who was approaching them from beneath the sign that spelled out Frontier Haven's name. His expression was the usual, emotionless slate that it always was as his crimson eyes met Mike's with an inquisitive stare.
"Uh, I didn't—!" Mike's face paled as he internally struggled to come up with words to correct what Aeron might've heard. "I, um, I mean—!"
"Save it," Aeron cut him off. "I heard you the first time."
Mike's lips pursed as he exhaled through his nose defeatedly, while Casey couldn't help but giggle at his slip-up.
Aeron's expression softened as he glanced to the distance. "I will admit though, your dueling has become much more adept since your match with Keir," he commended. "You even exceeded my expectations for how well I thought you'd be able to wield that deck."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Mike said as he crossed his arms. "Though I gotta say, I don't get why you're still pushing training so hard. I mean, the Romans haven't come anywhere near us since I took Keir out."
"Don't take three months of quiet as a sign that you can start taking it easy," Aeron snapped. "There are still plenty in the Romans' ranks who're too devious for their own good. For all we know, they could have already found some other asshole to lead them who's planning on continuing where Keir left off. We can't let our guard down."
Mike couldn't help but roll his eyes. "Man, how do you even live being this paranoid?"
"Paranoid or not, he's not wrong."
The trio's heads all turned to look where the new voice had come from: walking towards them was a young, slender man who looked to be about nineteen years of age, with brown, neck-length hair and navy-colored eyes behind his rectangular spectacles. His attire consisted of a brown leather jacket over a white shirt, and his legs were clad in faded-black jeans, while his feet were adorned with brown boots. Like most everyone else, the same signature holster adorned his waist, which no doubt held his own revolver-disk. At full height, he stood at around 6'.
Mike, Aeron, and Casey eyed him curiously as he continued to approach, saying, "I mean, I just managed to walk in on your conversation without you even noticing. So perhaps your instincts need a bit more sharpening after all."
Mike's eye twitched irksomely at this comment. "And just who're you supposed to be?"
"Liam Carson," Aeron answered for him as his eyes narrowed, earning glances of surprise from Mike and Casey. "One of the Romans."
"Ex-Roman, actually," Liam corrected him with innocently-raised hands. "As it happens, I recently defected from them so that I could join up with you guys instead.
"So if you wouldn't mind, Aeron Mortimer," he said as his eyes flicked to the latter's side, "I'd appreciate it if you would stop hovering your hand so threateningly over your duel disk like that."
Mike and Casey's gazes turned to Aeron, who was silent for a moment before letting out a grunt as his right shoulder seemed to lower, indicating that he had, indeed, been holding his hand over his multi-functional weapon beneath his red cape.
Liam lowered his hands to his sides again while Aeron continued to stare at him cautiously. "So you defected from the Romans to join us. Why?"
"For the same reason a number of other Romans did, I reckon," Liam replied matter-of-factly. "We saw a chance to get the hell out of Saddlebury, and we took it."
The three continued to stare at Liam for a moment, indicating to him that they needed further explanation: "See, Keir was not, by any means, a fan of insubordination. Anybody who stepped out of line, or wanted to call it quits, he would kill without hesitation."
"No wonder Samael spent all these years adhering to Keir's rules," Casey guessed.
"Bingo," Liam confirmed. "He knew Keir would make good on his threat to flatten Frontier Haven, and everyone in it, if he didn't follow along with his grand scheme. But, now that he's gone, anyone who ever wanted out of his regime has been able to leave without a hitch; myself included."
"Makes sense," Mike said as his arms unfolded. "But with that kind of freedom, why did you decide to come here, of all places?"
"Well, actually..." Liam's gaze turned exclusively to Mike. "The reason for that is because I wanted to meet you."
Mike's eyes widened with surprise. "Why me?"
"Because you're the one who defeated Keir," Liam answered, as though his answer should have been obvious. "To think, a war nearly twenty-six years in the making between him and Samael, all suddenly brought to an end by a newcomer clearly out of his depth."
"Tch," Mike's gaze turned into a slight glare as one of his fists balled. "So what, you think I'm just some pushover who managed to get lucky?"
"Well, that's what I came here to find out," Liam said as he set a hand on his revolver-duel disk. "That is, if you wouldn't mind honoring me with a duel. Right now."
There was a tense silence as the two's gazes seemed to lock onto each other in that moment, as though the spirits of two warring kings had suddenly come to possess the both of them, sparking an instinct within themselves that they hadn't known existed.
Eventually, Mike broke the silence: "All right, fine," he said. "I'll show you just what I'm made of!"
A small smile spread across Liam's lips. "Tough talk. Hope you can back it up."
They turned and began pacing away from each other, creating a space of about ten feet between them. But as Mike paced steadily towards his position, he found that his mind couldn't help but linger on Liam's surname. Something in the back of his mind told him that he should've known the name "Carson" from somewhere, but for the life of him, he couldn't recall why.
Meanwhile, Casey moved to stand closer to Aeron on the sidelines, where they both watched as Mike walked to his position to their left, while Liam approached his position to their right.
"Hey, Aeron," she spoke up as a frown spread across her lips. "I don't think I've ever seen this Liam guy duel before, have you?"
"No," Aeron replied, earning a glance from Casey as his gaze remained fixed on the ex-Roman. "I only know his name because he delivered a message from Keir to Samael once a couple years back."
"I see," Casey uttered as her gaze returned to Mike and Liam, who were finally set in their spots for their duel.
"Now, try not to hold anything back, Mike!" Liam called out as he took his revolver-disk from his holster, before arming his wrist with it. "I want to see everything you've got!"
"Not in my nature anyway!" was Mike's reply as he did the same with his own, followed by the both of them activating simultaneously as the monster, spell, and trap zones folded out from the bases of the devices.
They both drew their first five cards before crying out, "LET'S DUEL!"
- Present Day -
The night air was mildly chilly as Violet, Danny, Marina, and Josiah stood at the back of one of the many long lines of people outside the rounded structure that was County Dame Stadium.
As the four friends awaited their admittance into the venue, Danny couldn't keep himself from bouncing on his heels in an antsy manner as he watched the time on his phone turn to 6 PM. "Man, where the hell is Mike?" he asked with annoyance. "They're gonna open those doors up any minute!"
"I'm sure he'll be here soon," Josiah tried to convince him. "Just be patient."
"Yeah, see, patience really ain't one of my strengths," Danny admitted as he ceased his consistent bouncing.
Meanwhile, Marina glanced over to Violet, who looked as though her mind was on another planet as she stared vacantly into space. "Hey, you okay?" she asked with a tap on her shoulder.
Violet snapped back to reality as she gave a short nod to her best friend. "Yeah," she said softly. "Just hope that Mike's all right."
Marina nodded in reply before her eyes suddenly flickered upwards. and a small smile came to her face as she pointed to where she was looking. "Hey, there he is!"
All heads turned to where her finger was indicating: there was Mike, calmly striding towards them with his hands in his pockets, looking a bit more relaxed compared to when they'd last seen him.
"There you are!" Danny exclaimed as Mike finally caught up to them. "I was starting to worry that you weren't gonna show up!"
"Everything good with you, man?" Josiah asked him.
"Yeah, no worries," Mike said as he forced a smile. "Sorry I kept you guys waiting."
Danny shook his head. "Well, just don't make a habit out of it, all right?" he said as he playfully punched Mike's shoulder.
Josiah, meanwhile, turned to check the status of the line behind him. "Hey guys, the line's started moving."
"Well, what're we waiting for, then?" Danny exclaimed enthusiastically. "Let's get a move on!"
With that, he, Marina, and Josiah began making their way to join up with the rest of the line that was steadily entering the County Dame Stadium. Mike also started to follow suit, but came to a stop when he felt Violet's hand grasp his shoulder as she said, "wait, Mike?"
He raised a confused eyebrow as he turned to meet her eyes. "What is it?"
"Just... are you sure you're okay?" she asked him. "Like, actually okay?"
Mike's expression fell. "You're worried about why I walked out on you guys earlier."
Violet nodded. "I just want to make sure you know that you can talk to me if you need to... I don't want you to feel like you'd be burdening me if you did."
Mike shook his head as he placed a hand to Violet's shoulder. "Never," he assured her. "You've always been there for me, even when we were kids. It's one of the reasons I've always loved you."
A small smile came to Violet's lips at these words, before Mike continued: "Look, I know I haven't been very open when it comes to talking about what happened to me while I was gone. And the reason for that is, well... because there's still some stuff I haven't told you that I'm just not ready to open up about yet.
"But as soon as I am ready," he said, looking deep into her eyes as he did so, "you'll be the first one to know, all right?"
Violet stared back into his eyes with just as intense of a look. "You promise?"
"Promise," Mike returned before planting a short kiss on her lips, completely erasing what worry was left on her face as her smile broadened when he pulled away.
"C'mon, let's get inside," he said with a smile of his own. "Before the others beat us to our seats."
"Right," Violet agreed, before they began walking towards the Stadium as their friends had.
They managed to catch up with the others as they reached the main event space of the stadium: surrounding the steel-floored arena in the center of the grandiose setting were an uncountable amount of red, cushioned seats. On the arena's main floor, several television cameras and other such equipment were stationed close to the farthest opposite sides, where there were openings that the competitors entered through. Aligned along the massive ceiling were a great number of floodlights, and protruding from the center ceiling was a set of four monitors all facing different directions. Along the higher walls were a few other scattered light rigs and monitors, save for one space concealed behind tinted glass that had to be where the commentators, executives, and other tech people must have been stationed.
The five friends easily found the seats that were labeled on their tickets, which were along one of the furthest walls from the arena itself. Josiah took the furthermost seat into the section, followed by Marina, Danny, Violet, and lastly Mike, who sat in the seat at the edge of the row.
"Wow, even so far back, these seats are freaking awesome!" Danny said as he gawked at the arena below them with awe.
"Well, I'm glad you like them," Josiah said with a sense of relief. "Given they were the last ones that I barely managed to snag."
"You kidding? We can see everything in the arena from here!" Danny maintained his optimism, barely able to contain his excitement.
"Danny, would you quit bouncing in the seat?" Marina said as she pushed a hand down on one of her boyfriend's legs to steady him. "You're gonna break it like that!"
Josiah could feel a sweat drop falling down the back of his head as he watched Marina try to calm her boyfriend down. Mike and Violet couldn't help but laugh at their friends' expenses before, suddenly, all the lights in the arena blacked out, and an epic fanfare began to blast in their ears.
"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!" a man's voice echoed through the entirety of the arena as the scattered monitors flickered to life. "TONIGHT, WE HERE AT COUNTY DAME STADIUM ARE PROUD TO PRESENT TONIGHT'S SPECIAL DUEL MONSTERS PRO CIRCUIT EVENT!"
The stadium burst into thunderous cheers while the announcer continued: "TONIGHT'S MAIN MATCH BETWEEN OUR HOMECOMING CHAMPION AND HIS CHALLENGER WILL BE STARTING SHORTLY! SO FOR THE FOLKS WHO'RE WATCHING AT HOME, BE SURE TO STAY TUNED!"
"Wow, kicking it off with the main event already?" Marina wondered with raised eyebrows.
"Hell yeah!" Danny replied excitedly. "Gotta get the crowd all riled up right from the start! Plus, everyone's itching to see Liam in person!"
Just then, two spotlights suddenly shone down before the two entryways down in the arena as the MC's voice returned to the speakers: "AND NOW, I PRESENT TO YOU OUR MAINLINE COMPETITORS OF THE EVENING!
"FIRST UP, OUR CHAMPION'S CHALLENGER HAILS ALL THE WAY FROM NEW ZEALAND!" he commentated as a thick smoke cloud erupted in front of one of the arena entryways. "HE'S BEEN SAID TO PACK A FEARSOME AMOUNT OF FIREPOWER, AND MANY OPPONENTS HAVE MET QUICK ENDS TO HIS MASTERFUL MARKSMANSHIP! PLEASE JOIN ME IN WELCOMING THE GUNNER FROM DOWN UNDER, GAVIN BRADSHAW!"
Emerging from the smoke cloud was a muscled man with black, spiky hair, and a chinstrap beard of matching color beneath his confident grin. His choice of clothing was a leather, military-style jacket over a black shirt, and a ball chain necklace with a few dog tags on it. Black camouflage pants adorned his legs, which matched the dark leather combat boots that fitted his feet. His left wrist was armed with a black and faded-green duel disk. The man stood at about 6'3".
"Whoa, he's scary-looking," Marina commented over the applause of the crowd as Gavin glanced around intently at the surrounding crowd.
"Yeah, and just as powerful," Josiah added. "I heard that he topped his country's national tournament last year."
"He did," Mike confirmed, his gaze fixated on the entrance opposite of the kiwi duelist. "But that won't save him from what he's about to face."
The others all glanced to Mike with surprised expressions, before their attentions were stolen away again as another smoke cloud erupted on the opposite end of the arena.
"AND NOW, LADIES AND GENTLEMAN!" the MC's voice echoed once more. "HE'S JUST RETURNED HOME AFTER HAVING ADDED TO HIS UNDEFEATED RECORD AGAINST OPPONENTS ALL ACROSS CHINA, JAPAN, THAILAND, AND INDIA!"
Crazed cheers and chants were bursting from the crowd as the MC exclaimed, "COUNTY DAME, GIVE IT UP FOR YOUR CHAMPION AND MINE: THE ONE AND ONLY MASTER OF THE CYBER STYLE, LIAM CARSON!"
From within the smoke stepped out a slender, young man with short brown hair, with bangs swept to his right. The blue eyes behind his glasses emanated an unnerving sense of calm as he stared his opponent down from across the arena. His choice of attire was a brown blazer with pushed up sleeves over a white V-neck shirt, as well as dark jeans and brown shoes. His left wrist also harbored a duel disk, one of a silver and gold design.
The entire stadium lost its mind as the crowd let out fierce cheers at the sight of their reigning champion, which Danny contributed to as he vigorously screamed "LIAM! I LOVE YOU!" at the top of his lungs, earning a questioning glance from Marina.
Violet, meanwhile, took a moment to glance at her own boyfriend: while his expression wasn't nearly as dark as it had been in the trailer, it had definitely shifted again into a hard glare, aimed directly at Liam Carson way down below them.
Her eyes then widened as she then remembered what seemed to have set Mike off earlier: his expression had turned grim after Liam had been brought up when Josiah had brought them all their tickets; and now he was glowering down at the Cyber Style master as he stood before his eyes.
A worrisome frown now spread across Violet's face. What kind of grudge could Mike possibly have against this guy...?
As Liam took his position on his side of the arena, Gavin took a moment to look him up and down. "So you're the famous Liam Carson I've heard so much about..." he said dismissively through a mild accent. "You don't look nearly as intimidating as I thought you would."
"Funny, I was going to say the same thing about you," Liam replied coolly. "With all that leather, you look like you're trying to compensate for something."
Gavin's eyes narrowed as the MC intervened: "AND THE TRASH-TALK HAS ALREADY BEGUN! SO I'D SAY IT'S TIME FOR OUR COMPETITORS TO GET ON WITH WHAT WE'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR!"
With that, Liam and Gavin both lifted their left arms, triggering the activation of their duel disks as they each drew their first five cards before simultaneously crying out, "LET'S DUEL!"
- DUEL -
[Liam - LP: 4000] VS [Gavin - LP: 4000]
As the entirety of the crowd burst into massive cheers again, Gavin placed a hand to his deck as he said, "Since I'm the guest here, I think I'll take the first move."
"Be my guest," Liam invited. "You'll need the head-start anyway."
"Tch..." Gavin clicked his tongue as he drew his first card. "I'll kick things off by summoning my Spell Reactor · RE!" [LV: 3/ATK: 1200]
"And I'll finish by setting three cards face-down," Gavin concluded. "And that'll do for this turn."
"My turn, then," Liam said as he drew. "I'll first activate my Polymerization spell card so that I can merge the two Cyber Dragons in my hand!"
Two silver, mechanical dragons appeared on Liam's field, only to immediately be absorbed into a purple, swirling portal from which emerged a larger, two-headed version of its materials as Liam said, "Fusion Summon! My machine given life, Cyber Twin Dragon!" [LV: 8/ATK: 2800]
"AMAZING!" the MC's voice echoed out once again. "IN JUST HIS FIRST MOVE, OUR CHAMPION HAS ALREADY CALLED UPON ONE OF HIS BIGGEST POWERHOUSE MONSTERS!"
But Gavin's expression remained collected as a small smirk spread across his lips. "Not a bad opening move, but I'm afraid you opened yourself up to my Spell Reactor's effect! While it may not be able to negate your Polymerization, it has the ability to destroy your spell card while it's on the field, and hit you with 800 points of damage!"
From the Spell Reactor's underbelly launched a volley of small missiles that shot at Liam's spell card, which exploded upon contact as Liam's life points fell. [LP: 4000→3200]
"Heh... so you were able to draw first blood," Liam mused. "But I'm afraid that's hardly a scratch compared to what I'm about to do to you."
Gavin's expression remained calm in the face of this threat as Liam then pointed towards the Reactor monster opposing him. "Cyber Twin Dragon!" he declared, "take out his Spell Reactor · RE with Dual Laser Stream!"
The two-headed dragon's jaws opened to unleash a set of two streams of energy, both of which headed straight for the small Reactor monster. But just before the attack could connect, a premature explosion erupted before Gavin's machine, diffusing the energy blasts that Cyber Twin Dragon had given off.
"What the...?" Liam pondered with a raised eyebrow.
"Sorry, but you walked right into my Fake Explosion trap card!" Gavin explained as one of his set cards flipped. "While I still take the damage from your dragon's attack—" [LP: 4000→2400] "—my trap not only keeps my Spell Reactor from being destroyed, but it also special summons Summon Reactor · SK from my deck!" [LV: 5/ATK: 2000]
"I see," Liam noted as he eyed the new machine that had appeared on Gavin's field. "But I'm afraid your Spell Reactor still isn't safe: my Cyber Twin Dragon can attack twice during each battle phase!"
Gavin could only grit his teeth as Liam exclaimed, "Now finish what you started, Cyber Twin Dragon!"
The dragon's jaws once again shot twin bursts of energy at Gavin's smaller monster, but Gavin was ready for this move as well: "I reveal my other set card, Draining Shield! Not only is your attack negated, but I also gain life points equal to your Cyber Twin Dragon's ATK!"
Cyber Twin's blasts met an invisible barrier that had formed around Gavin, who chuckled as the attack diffused to his benefit. [Gavin - LP: 2400→5200]
Liam's expression grew an interested smirk. "You're persistent, I'll give you that," he commended his opponent. "I'll now set three cards of my own face-down, and end my turn there."
As Liam's set cards materialized, Danny let out a low whistle. "Geez, neither of these guys are holding anything back!"
"No kidding," Marina agreed. "Liam managing to hit nearly half of his life points, only for Gavin to gain back more than he lost... I didn't expect them to be so evenly matched."
"Don't be so sure," Josiah warned. "When it comes down to it, Gavin's still just a prep school punk facing a member of one of the Dueling Legacy families."
"It's my move, now!" Gavin said as he drew next. "And I'll begin by calling forth my Trap Reactor · Y FI!" [LV: 4/ATK: 800]
"And this is where the fun begins!" Gavin said as his monsters rose into the air. "With these three monsters on my field, I'll activate my Summon Reactor's effect to release them all to summon something even more powerful!"
The three monsters now turned into orbs of light, merging together to create a gigantic portal. Then, from within its light, a colossal bomber jet of a monster emerged onto Gavin's field; its engines so loud that they almost drowned out Gavin's voice as he exclaimed, "Ascend with arms ready to fire! Flying Fortress SKY FIRE!" [LV: 8/ATK: 3000]
"WHAT A SIGHT!" the MC hollered. "AFTER SURVIVING A BRUTAL ONSLAUGHT FROM CYBER TWIN DRAGON LAST TURN, GAVIN HAS MANAGED TO TURN ALL THE TABLES IN HIS FAVOR BY SUMMONING ONE OF THE MOST MASSIVE MONSTERS I'VE EVER SEEN!"
But even so, Liam remained unfazed as he looked up at the towering metal monster looming over him. "So this is your ace card?" he figured. "I have to admit, it's actually quite the impressive-looking piece of artillery."
"If you're impressed with how it looks, just wait 'til you get a load of its effect!" Gavin shot back. "By sending one card from my hand to the graveyard, my SKY FIRE can destroy any card on my opponent's field!
"Now get to work on eliminating that Cyber Twin Dragon!" he commanded as he placed a card in his graveyard, prompting his Fortress to aim its massive turret guns towards Liam's multi-headed monster.
"Don't think so!" Liam said as he flipped one of his set cards. "I reveal my quick-play spell: De-Fusion! By returning my Twin Dragon to my extra deck, I can split it back into the two fusion material monsters I used to create it!"
Cyber Twin Dragon morphed itself into an orb of light, before splitting itself into two just as Gavin's SKY FIRE launched a barrage of bullets; all of which missed their target and landed just between the two orbs, which morphed back into a pair of Cyber Dragons. [LV: 5/ATK: 2100] [LV: 5/ATK: 2100]
"So you managed to avoid my SKY FIRE's effect," Gavin said with disdain. "But I guarantee that you won't be so lucky against his attack! Go, SKY FIRE! Attack with Aerial Crush!"
The Fortress reached an arm out towards one of the Cyber Dragons on Liam's field, its metal claws expanding as it prepared to take hold of its prey.
"Not so fast!" Liam countered again. "I reveal my Cybernetic Hidden Technology continuous trap! By offering up one of my Cyber Dragons when you declare an attack, this card destroys your attacking monster!"
"That's where you're wrong!" Gavin retorted as his last set card flipped. "I chain my counter trap: Dark Bribe! This card negates your trap's activation and destroys it!"
The trap on Liam's field crackled with electricity for a moment before fading into nothingness, leaving Liam helpless as he watched SKY FIRE's claws grasp one of his Cyber Dragons, which writhed momentarily before being crushed into pieces. [Liam - LP: 3200→2300]
"But don't look so disappointed!" Gavin continued, gaining Liam's attention back. "My Dark Bribe's second effect allows you to draw one extra card!"
"Subtle naming convention there," Liam muttered as he made his draw.
"SUCH A STUNNING DISPLAY OF SKILL FROM GAVIN AGAINST OUR REIGNING CHAMPION!" the MC cried out enthusiastically. "AND WITH LIAM'S LIFE POINTS AT LESS THAN HALF THE VALUE OF GAVIN'S, I'M AT THE EDGE OF MY SEAT WANTING TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS NEXT!"
"So am I!" Danny cheered as he started bouncing in his seat again. "COME ON, LIAM!"
"Dude, seriously, quit abusing the chair," Josiah said to him with a concerned glance.
As he and Marina once again tried to settle Danny's agitation, Violet found herself unable to quell her own inner turmoil as she looked to Mike once again: his glaring gaze hadn't shifted in the slightest from its lock on Liam, and his fists were now balled so tightly that they were even shaking slightly.
"Mike...?" she tried to get his attention, but he didn't seem to even register her voice as his gaze remained solidly fixed on the Cyber Style master.
"All right, my turn's done!" Gavin concluded with a grin. "Let's see you try and come back from that!"
"Careful what you wish for," Liam said as he drew his next card, which he smiled at upon seeing what it was.
"I should thank you, Gavin. That extra draw you gave me earlier was just what I needed to defeat you."
Gavin's eyebrows rose at this remark while Liam went on: "I'll start by summoning my Cyber Dragon Drei!" [LV: 4/ATK: 1800]
"And in case you didn't know, my Drei has the ability to treat itself as a regular 'Cyber Dragon' while it's on the field!" he continued. "And, with its other effect, as soon as it's normal summoned, it automatically turns all 'Cyber Dragons' on my side of the field into level 5 monsters!"
Gavin's smirk only widened as he retaliated: "Actually, my SKY FIRE's other effect would beg to differ! With it, I can automatically destroy any one monster that you summon during your turn, and then deal you 800 points of damage!
"And last I checked," he said as Flying Fortress's turret guns turned once more, adjusting their aim to the Cyber Dragon Drei on Liam's field, "that's more than you can afford to spare!"
"Good thing I have this, then!" Liam said as he flipped his last set card. "I reveal my Safe Zone trap! This card creates a defensive barrier that'll keep my Drei from being targeted or destroyed!"
Flying Fortress let loose every bullet it was packing on Liam's Drei, only to have every last one deflect off of the dragon's surface.
Gavin growled infuriatingly as Liam went on: "Now then, as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, my Cyber Dragon Drei's level now rises up to 5!" [LV: 4→5]
"Next, I'll take my Cyber Dragon and Cyber Dragon Drei," Liam said, pointing two fingers at each of his metal monsters, "and build the overlay network!"
The two mechanical dragons were absorbed into a spatial portal, from which then emerged a black and silver beast of a machine with large wings. "Xyz summon!" said Liam. "The instrument of your destruction, Cyber Dragon Nova!" [RK: 5/OUs: 2/ATK: 2100]
"AND IT'S FINALLY HERE, FOLKS!" the MC said as the crowd started to stir with a few scattered cheers and cries. "OUR CHAMPION'S ACE MONSTER HAS MADE ITS DEBUT ON THE FIELD! THIS LOOKS LIKE THE START OF A SERIOUS COMEBACK!"
"Now, I'll activate my Nova's first effect!" Liam went on. "By detaching one of its overlay units—" [OUs: 2→1] "—I can resurrect a Cyber Dragon that's sleeping in my graveyard!" [LV: 5/ATK: 2100]
"Then, with its second effect, by banishing the Cyber Dragon I just revived," he explained as the dragon faded away as quickly as it had reappeared, "my Nova gains another 2100 ATK points!" [ATK: 2100→4200]
"But that's still not enough!" Gavin reminded him. "If you attacked my SKY FIRE now, you'd only manage to take out half of my life points!"
"True," Liam said as he held up his last card. "Which is why I'll thank you again for putting this card in my hand with your Dark Bribe's effect: Limiter Removal!"
"L-Limiter Removal?!" Gavin repeated as the crowd's cheers became more intense. "B-but then, that means...!"
"That my Nova's ATK strength is doubled again," Liam confirmed with a smirk. "Making its ATK power more than enough to crush your SKY FIRE and all your extra life points with one final attack!" [ATK: 4200→8400]
"Now let's finish this!" Liam cried out as he pointed to Gavin's ace monster. "Cyber Dragon Nova, annihilate his Flying Fortress SKY FIRE, and end this duel with Astral Laser Stream!"
The Xyz machine shot a flash of blinding energy from its jaw through the center of the behemoth on Gavin's field, which then began falling from the sky above its master's field, the sound of its malfunctioning interior like a groan of intense pain. Gavin could only cry out helplessly as he watched his most powerful creature collapse on top of him, creating an explosion which engulfed half of the arena in smoke as the match was finally decided. [Gavin - LP: 5200→0]
- DUEL OVER -
[Winner: Liam]
"AND IT'S OVER!" the MC proclaimed as the images of the monsters and cards disappeared from the arena floor, and the cheers in the arena reached their highest level of intensity yet. "OUR REIGNING CHAMPION HAS PREVAILED ONCE AGAIN! EVERYBODY GIVE IT UP FOR LIAM CARSON!"
"HELL YES!" Danny repeatedly shouted amidst the cheers as he and the others all stood to clap and cheer along with the rest of the crowd.
"That was awesome!" Josiah exclaimed.
"Now, how long do you think it'll take for you to start dueling that well, Danny?" Marina teased her boyfriend, which only earned her a stink-eye from him.
Violet turned to glance at Mike once more, but she was surprised when she saw there was nothing occupying the seat beside her anymore.
She started to panic internally as her head swiveled frantically to try and locate where he'd gone. Eventually, she spotted him as he made his way towards one of the nearby exits of the venue.
"Guys!" she called for her friends' attention over the loudness of the crowd as she pointed to where Mike was.
Everybody's eyes quickly turned to see where Violet was indicating just as he slipped through the exit, vanishing from their view.
The friends all exchanged troubled expressions before they proceeded to chase after him. However, little did any of them realize that, from down below on the arena floor, the periphery of the Cyber Style master's gaze was also fixed on the same exit that he'd seen their friend disappear through...
Mike stumbled down the marble steps that lead to the Stadium's parking lot, breathing heavily as he leaned against one of the lampposts that illuminated the concrete space.
Despite his best efforts to keep himself together, the time that he'd spent watching Liam's duel had eroded his ability to suppress his tumultuous emotions. So much so, that it had reached the point that he couldn't even bear being in the same area as him any longer. It was too much to bear, watching the man that he believed was connected to the new group of Romans that was holding her hostage...
"Mike! Wait up!"
Mike turned his head to watch as his friends rushed up to him. "Dude, what's going on with you?" Josiah was the first to ask.
"Just... needed to get some air for a bit," Mike insisted as he avoided his friend's eyes. "Little too crowded in there for me."
"Man, it's pretty obvious that's not what's up with you at this point," Danny retorted.
Mike turned slightly so that he could see his friends' concerned faces, while Violet stepped up to put a gentle hand to his arm. "Mike, seriously. You don't need to hide your problems from us. Can't you see that we want to help you?"
Mike only stared back into Violet's eyes for a moment, before shaking his head as he turned away again. "I'm sorry," he said. "But this isn't something you guys can help me with."
Pain filled Violet's eyes as she looked to Mike, as it did to the eyes of Danny, Marina, and Josiah before a voice suddenly echoed out from above them: "Well, this certainly isn't how I imagined our next meeting."
Everyone's heads jerked to look up to the top of the steps: there stood Liam Carson, observing the five friends with pocketed hands and a casual grin on his face.
Danny, Marina, Violet, and Josiah's eyes went wide with shock, but as Mike turned to look up to the Cyber Style master above them, his eyes narrowed to slits as he lividly uttered, "Liam..."
The Cyber Style duelist then began to descend the stairs, pacing steadily towards them as he said, "It's been quite some time... hasn't it, Mike?"
ED1: "Behind Blue Eyes" by Limp Bizkit
Authors Notes
Yo, everybody! Sorry it took a bit to get this next installment out. I just wrapped up my last quarter to earn my Associate's Degree, so... pat on the back for me, I guess? I dunno, I'm just glad I finally got it out. LOTS of new exposition AND the introduction of our Cyber Style master mentioned in Chapter 4, who I know Assassinkai742's been looking forward to meeting... seriously, guys, Shit's about to get REAL.
As always, gotta credit and thank Master Of Anime224 for beta'ing. My work wouldn't be nearly as nice as it is without his critical eye and input. Also, gotta send big thanks to both him and Assassinkai for submitting to me two excellent Pro Duelist OCs in my A/N-Only Special Filler Event: Samantha Delaney and Slade Maxwell! They were both so awesome that I decided to mention them BOTH in this chapter, and I plan on giving each of them a little "screen time" in this series at some point.
Now, you probably also noticed that I RADICALLY changed up my duel format in this chapter... yeah, I came to the decision that writing duels out from 4000 LP would help make my chapters a bit more manageably short, as well as bringing the stat boxes into the main paragraphs. I think it really tightens everything up, and I hope y'all like it.
One last thing, before we wrap up... deriving inspiration from my previous QnA panel, and after receiving the blessing to do so from OPFan37 (not his idea, but I got it from him, so~), I've decided that, at the end of each chapter, I'm gonna have a little something called...
THE CHAPTERLY QUESTION!
(Yes, I know that's not a real word. Bear with me.)
So starting today, I'm gonna have a question for YOU to answer in your reviews or via PM. I'm trying to build my interaction with my audience a little bit more (hopefully with those who don't review as often), as well as improve the quality of the writing and the story for everybody, and maybe have a little more fun with y'all in the long run.
That said, I'll not waste any more time and ask it: Up to this point, what has been your FAVORITE moment in Mark of Death so far, and why?
Aight, I think I'ma sign off and go figure out what I'm gonna do with my life next. Thanks for reading everybody, and as always, stay awesome.
REVISED ON: 7/15/2020
