Nexus 034: Z-ARC

"Those machines.. they are gone." Bishop was still alone, still unwilling to abandon his home. "How sad is this, you'd give your life for someone you barely remember." He would wish he stayed alone. "Who are you? Are you one of Alice's friends?" This woman in black, with an eyepatch across her face. Why did she look so familiar? And where did she come from? "Oh lord no. I am just here to clean up some loose ends." Her dueldisk switched on. "And you look like one to me, Dorian. Come now, let's stop your clock... before you get in my lord's way." The Inquisitor smirked. She would find her prey, one by one.

...

"They aren't done yet?" Stonewell cursed. The situation was far worse than before. "I thought we would stop them if we stopped this whole world fusion thing!" Before Eric could at least sorta count how many Qliphort machines were roaming about. "No. Phoebe lit the flame." Uno momentarily blinked out of existence, and quickly returned. "Wh-where did you go?" August grunted. "To where the breaking of dimensions started, the casino of this world. World fusion is already being reversed." When he went there he saw a thousand Qliphort or more, putting back what was fused by Phoebe. "The damage is already done, they have decided to erase this timeline. Once the guardians of time descend, they do not leave until their task is finished." He'd caused their arrival too many times to hope otherwise. "Then what was the point of defeating that woman? What was the point of you getting a second chance?" August snarled. "I can explain everything after we move to what is currently the safest place in existence." The crystal readied another teleport-flash, for everyone this time. "Where is that?"

The answer was all around them. "My home." Eleven souls crossed hundreds of miles through the light of the pendulum.. and landed on the soft grass of the palace courtyard. "What? This is the safe place?" Tory could be forgiven for thinking otherwise, since she and Stonewell were chased out only two days ago. "It's just like the last time." And Alice had seen this place be torn apart already. The future was repeating itself. "No. It is different. Tempus banished us to this day, and we could not stop the Qliphort then. But right now, nothing has been erased. The Prophecy sisters sent us back in time.. and now I understand what they expected. It was never about stopping this moment. If I changed the past that was already written, I would just make the same mistakes as before. This was about restoring me to my true self, and to gather the power that can break the guardians." Uno breathed in and out until his heart steadied. "That is also what Tempus wanted. This is why he allowed world fusion to happen, so he could lure the guardians down into our world and tie them our physical constraints."

"Yes, but if Tempus is here in this palace, which is a fair assumption to make, are we not in danger?" Considering what the Inquisitor said, Zach did not imagine Tempus would like to have them at his doorstep. "Let us find out. FATHER! I HAVE ARRIVED!" Uno shouted at the top of his lungs. The words echoed from wall to wall. "... You think he heard you?" Neter eventually said, when no answer came. "Perhaps. Nephilim, can you sense him. Do you think he knows we're here?" He asked his invisible partner. "Of course he knows. He sees everything." Her empty eyes stared up at the great construct around the spire. Their 'father' was up there somewhere. "Yes. This may be what he predicted I would do, thousands of years ago. Or perhaps he believed he would be the one to stop the guardians. Not me.." Uno shook his head. "His visions might have been imperfect, even December could not always see things clearly. But he also never tested just how far he could see." June wished she could give Uno more certainties.

"Regardless.. I will play my part, if he is not showing." Uno started to float upwards. "You still haven't told us how you can do that!" Marie exclaimed. "Spiritual energy. I will explain everything after this." He activated his dueldisk. "After I challenge the heart of the Qliphort." Thanks to the construction of the tower, Uno could see right into the great eye of the Qliphort monolith, resting on top of a moving Tower. It loomed over the world behind the central vortex from which all other guardian portals were formed. From here he could affect all of them at once. "Uliyrwwvm. Blf ziv gsv Gizevovi. Blfi dliow droo vmw. Blfi zxgrlmh ziv uliyrwwvm" The Monolith spoke to Uno, using a language never before uttered in this world. "Yes. It's me again." Uno drew his cards. "And I have something to say as well. Qliphorts, I challenge you to a duel!"

Fortuno's LP: 8000

"I knew you would be here." Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon was the first card he drew. "You want this as much as I do." He looked ahead and saw the path that led to getting all the pieces on the board. "It's showtime! Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!" The dragon (scale 4) activated as a spell, the first step. "I also normal summon the Performapal Bowhopper!" Next a sacrifice was required, the slingshot grasshopper(4/1500/1000) was perfect for the job. "Now, I activate the spell; Pendulum Rising! By sending one monster to the graveyard, a pendulum monster with the same level will be summoned!" Bowhopper sank down into the graveyard, forsaking its zone for the red-clad street-magician: Performapal Pendulum Sorcerer(4/1500/800). "Pendulum Sorcerer, Odd-Eyes, leave the field for now!" The sorcerer used its effect to destroy both cards, giving Uno two Performapals (Trump Witch, Skullcrobat Joker) from the deck in return.

Uno activated two new pendulums, Performapal Skullcrobat Joker (scale 8) and Wisdom-Eye Magician (scale 5). "Because there's a Performapal on his left, I can tribute Wisdom-Eye Magician to set another Magician in its pendulum zone!" Uno replaced the insightful exorcist mage with Xiangke Magician (scale 3) the shieldmage of destruction. "And now, at least. Let there be a pendulum summoning! I special summon the three pendulum monsters from my extra deck!" Performapal Pendulum Sorcerer, Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon(7/2500/2000) and Wisdom-Eye Magician(4/1500/1500). "And Harmonizing Magician from my hand!" Uno's latest addition to the cast of magicians was an older-looking version of his neon mage Tuning Magician. Naturally, Harmonizing Magician(4/0/0) was a tuner as well. "Harmonizing Magician is pendulum summoned from my hand, so she will special summon a magician from my deck in defense position!" With her scifi-tuning fork, the harmonious tunet sliced a hole in space and time. Timebreaker Magician, the young time mage(3/1400/0), was the one that jumped through the rift. "All the pieces are here. It is time to put them together."

"Almost all of them Uno. Your heart is beating again.. are you ready for it?" Where Uno was going, one more card was required. "I am, Nephilim. I made Him, I should be able to control him." Uno activated the Duelist Alliance spell card. As there was a card in his pendulum zone, he could search a 'pendulum' card from his deck. "I add Pendulum Fusion to my hand. With this spell, I can fuse two pendulum monsters from my pendulum zones!" Both Xiangke Magician and Skullcrobat Joker dark-types and were on the field. Which meant that.. "I activate it to Fusion Summon Starving Venom Fusion Dragon!" They could be used as fusion materials for the dragon of hunger(8/2800/2000). "Starving Venom?!" Needless to say, this move left the duelists below shocked. "Then, I synchro summon Clear Wing!" Harmonizing Magician synchronized with Timebreaker; seven levels to create a cosmic conquest dragon(7/2500/2000). "And I XYZ-summon Dark Rebellion!" Pendulum Sorcerer overlayed with Wisdom-Eye Magician and the black war dragon(4/2500/2000) arose.

"He pulled it off: he actually got all four dragons on the field! In one turn!" Zachary gasped. This topped even Phoebe's feats. "I hope he knows what he is doing." Emily prayed. The power those beasts gave off could be felt from miles away. It seemed a miracle that Uno did not break under the pressure. "History repeats itself." This was not the first time Nephilim saw this sight; four dragons against all of the time guardians. "This time things will be different. You and Phoebe were right about one thing, I was missing one element. The Qliphort and the pendulum both carry the power to defy time itself. I cannot just fight the guardians with force alone. They are everywhere. To destroy them.. to stop them, we must be everywhere at once too." Uno took hold of his crystal. "It took me many worlds to perfect the pendulum's power, to combine it with the dueling spirits. if I release all the spatial energy this pendulum has stored over the countless of years, I can extend myself across every part of both worlds that I have visited."

"But I still need a vessel to carry out the sentence." The four dragons could bring down one Qliphort. He wanted to destroy that amount times infinite. "And I will make it with this!" He activated Performapal Trump Witch, the fusing painter (scale 4). "Trump Witch, fuse my four monsters!" Her effect would combine fusion materials without the need for a fusion spell. "Create the supreme one!" For one moment, Uno thought he saw hesitation on the face of his own monster. Whatever small part of the witch's spirit was self-aware, feared what she was about to create. Perhaps the dragons and all other spirits in his deck felt the same way. But there was nothing they could do. Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, Starving Venom Fusion Dragon, Clear Wing Synchro Dragon and Dark Rebellion XYZ Dragon; four very different beings came together in body and mind. The earth trembled and the clouds burned away from the sky. Had time been flowing, there would not have been a single human on either world that would not feel this monstrous event. "I.. no.. We summon The Supreme King Z-ARC!"

Z-ARC; a dragon conceived in four different worlds, born in the fifth. It was a pendulum(12/4000/4000) of pure darkness and lime-green neon, with traits from all four dragons. Prism-like shields floated around its legless waist and thick tail, scythes extended from its arms. Barbed horns lined its first set of curved wings, while its second set extended like blades. And the face carried the Pendulum and Fusion dragons horns, the XYZ-dragons tusks, and the Synchro dragons crest. "It's beautiful, Uno.." Nephilim was speechless. "It is so much more than that... Supreme King Dragon ZARC! Destroy them all!" A terrifying power went with this terrifying appearance. Upon its summon, Z-ARC destroyed every card that opposed it and every Qliphort that threatened it. "Return, Qliphort! This world is protected!" The apex of the spire, the midst of the dimensional vortex, powered by the pendulum crystal; everything was set for the Supreme King to lay waste to the countless of guardian machines in every corner of the world. The devastation was indescribable.

"Blf wl mlg xlnkivsvmw dszg blf szev wlmv. Grnv rh..."

The crystal eye inside the titanic monolith cracked, as the rest of its being was wracked by explosions. Its immense energy dwindled. "All that power.. " August looked around. Not a single machine was moving, not anymore. And eventually they faded out of existence, one by one. "He's created something greater than the guardians." June did not know whether to be in awe or to be afraid. "But uhm... did he really stop it?" What Neter also noticed.. was a lack of sound. "What? We're still stuck in limbo?" Eric cringed. Time did not resume its normal flow, the wind was as dead as it was before and the water in the pond was perfectly frozen. "Uno? Is this good?" Alice immediately asked Uno as he floated back down down to the courtyard. "This is the beginning, Alice. The Qliphort have been destroyed. They may recover, entities such as them can never truly die. And yet, they have left time unguarded." Uno pointed up at the sky, at the whirling clouds. "Is that why the palace is this big now?" The solid vision tower pierced the portal, keeping it open. Though all Dom saw inside was a void with inexplicable colors. "Where does it even go?"

"To the next dimension; the past."

"That voice?" Everyone turned around. "You!" And were greeted with an unwelcome and inevitable sight. "Greetings to you, August, my son. And to all of you, my children and the friends of my children." It was the lord of the manor Tempus and his offspring: Amadeus and Anastasia. "uno. you're.." Anastasia gasped audibly when she saw what became of Uno. "It would seem that we have many stories to tell each other." The old man chuckled with a kind smile on his face. "You bastard!" August was one inch away from punching that smile right of his face, but Uno intervened. "Ana... Marco. Are you alright? Did he harm you?" He asked his brother and sister. "Of course not, Fortuno. Why would I have hurt them?" Tempus laughed again. "I want to hear the answer from them!" Uno yelled and stepped forward. "he has done nothing to us, uno." Ana claimed, and her he could believe. "I have learned my Lesson, Christopher. It was Wrong of me to Banish you.. to steal your Memories. I am Glad to see you have Regained yourself." Marco's apology sounded a little more strained.

"So he let you out of the penalty box? Ha!" August still too enraged by his own imprisonment, enraged enough to shout while everyone else tensely watched. "You could have released yourself at any time." Tempus responded and rubbed his hand over the red pendulum crystal on his wrist: August's crystal. The old man was still keeping their pendulums to himself. "Then what has happened to December? Where is he?" June gone without an answer for long enough. "He already accepted the truth. He is being prepared for our final confluence as we speak. You can see us soon." Tempus said as he pointed to the sky. "Now you're just using fancy words to confuse us! What does that mean?" Neter whined. "You already know that. You have seen the truth in that fragmented reality. So did you, miss Alice. Tell them, what did you see?" He suddenly turned on her. "What? Me? That was... December. But.." Even she was not sure of what she saw back then. "It was a lie!" And August and the others certainly did not accept it. "Uno? What are they talking about?" Zachary and the rest did not even know yet.

"That December and I.. are one and the same." Tempus revealed, to the shock of everyone. "What? How!?" Eric protested. "December who?" Tory stammered. "December. Their fourth companion." Uno sighed. The truth could not be put off any longer. "December is who Tempus, the real Tempus, turned himself into. I was the only one who knew. Ana, Marco..." Uno paused to glance at Nephilim. Oddly, Tempus did not seem to notice her. And he did not want to give her presence away if it could lead to an advantage. "I am sorry I never told you. I never told you that father faked his own death. He did not die even though his body was withering away. No. He used the pure pendulum.. my pendulum.. to reverse his own age. The process of which cost him his memories and made him so young that none of us could recognize him." Uno remembered it all now, every detail of their plan. "That sounds like.." And this aspect reminded Emily of someone else. "Yes, like me. Tempus underwent the same changes. That is why he could not remember his own world or that he was Tempus all this time."

"Wait. Tempus was chasing Tempus with us?" Neter was getting even more lost. "The Tempus you chased never existed; it was us all along. My sister and brother thought that we were just running from pendulum users like us. They never suspected that the same man who gave us our powers gave you yours. And it was all so he could line his pockets for his return. While I had to jump from world to world to master the arts of fusion, synchro and XYZ-summons; December gathered his own allies. And for each new pendulum, Tempus gained a new power." But there was a loss He had not counted on. "Okay then. If December is Tempus, who is this geezer?" Eric was pretty sure he saw December and Tempus at the same time. "Just an afterthought, a ghost made from his memories that he stored inside the pendulum." That also sounded familiar. "But because of the pendulums.." Nephilim was near powerless, while Tempus was all-powerful. "And now we are here, at the final moment you predicted. Future Vision was your very first ability. So what happens now?"

"Now begins the end of these worlds and our journey into the world beyond. All of you are invited, I have no enmity towards you. Together we will break the chains of past and future and shape our own perfect world. The Qliphort cannot stop us, all our preparations saw to that." Tempus waved his hand. "I shall give you an hour to make your choice: join us or stay in this world and fall to pieces with it. Meet us at the top of the tower when you are ready." He vanished from the courtyard, along with Marco and Anastasia. "please, uno. say yes. it is too late for everyone else." They had some final words as well. "You would be a Fool to walk Away from this, Christopher." Then they too were gone, leaving one sibling irresolute and another forlorn. "Marco, Ana.. they didn't even notice me." Nephilim did not know what she could expect from this reunion. But it was not this. "They didn't. But I am sure Tempus knows."

"So that was your family? Seems like a lovely bunch." Emily felt shivers all over. "What do you wish to do, Uno?" June meanwhile picked up on Uno's hesitation. "I do not know what we can do. He is a powerful enemy. Even with Z-ARC and the four dragons, I may not be able to overpower him. But.." Uno looked at everyone around him. "I have no intention of following him." Tempus did not care if this world or the other were to be erased, that much was clear. He couldn't let that happen. "Alright! We're with you Uno!" Eric pumped his fist. "Lead the way I say." Dom nodded. "Yeah and we're gonna save December too, somehow!" Neter jumped encouragingly. "I hate to bring this up." And Marie... guessed she would have to be the voice of disagreement again. "But do you even have a plan?" And when Uno did not answer her immediately, she realized there was nothing concrete. "Oh. Fantastic."

"Uno!" Alice's voice rang clearly. "I have an idea! We can ask the three sisters!" Because if there was anyone who could tell them what to do, it was them. "Three what now?" Stonewell had no idea what she was saying. "The Prophecy sisters. The spirits of the future, present and past. I never told you, did I?" Uno lost track of who did and not yet already know. "Nope. Always the last to find out." Tory grumbled. "I think I heard you talk about them before, actually. Can they help us?" At this point Marie was willing to go with any crazy story. "We have never seen such beings for ourselves. But I believe you when you say they exist." As were June and her friends. "Well, they helped us before! There is a tree somewhere in this garden! If we can find it, we can find them!" It worked for Alice before, more than once. "And when we find them. We can ask them about Tempus, as them everything we need to know."

"It is worth a shot." Uno concluded.

(To be Continued in Nexus 035: Was this Gap Always There?)

New Cards used by Fortuno Nisell
Harmonizing Magician

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Supreme King Z-ARC

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Pendulum Fusion