Nexus 044: Where Dreams Begin and Reality Ends

His eyes opened to a flat grey texture. "Wha..?" He was lying down with his face against the pavement. "Where did..." Uno remembered now. Tempus took him into the cloudy vortex and after that all was a blur. "This is.. " And this was what lied inside? A whole new world? When he got up he saw a city, a living and breathing city. People walked here, cars moved from pint A to point B. Life, souls; a sun in the sky.. all of it buried inside the world of the Qliphort? "If I didn't know any better, Uno. I'd say the old man just kicked you back to the real world." He said to himself. Calling this confusing would be an understatement. And yet he could help but think this was somehow familiar. There was that feeling. Something one would try so hard to picture again but could never fully recreate... and yet when you saw it, you knew you were looking at it. Like an old house you moved out of years and years ago. "No.." Or in this case, hundreds and hundreds of years ago. "This can't be.." The past, his past... this was the city he grew up in, before he ever met Tempus. "This can't be real."

"What can't be real?"

That voice. "You." That voice was familiar. "You're.." It was his own. "Oh? You've heard of me? You don't know how pleased that makes me!" He was standing there, Uno. No not Uno.. "Christopher." Uno was looking at his younger incarnation. Christropher looked about as old as he did when he first met Alice and the others. "I prefer Chris, Chris Brickett. It's easier on the tongue." There was no doubt about it. This kid even wore the same type of shades he used to like. "And who are you?" Chris did not seem to recognize him. How could he, how could anyone know what they would look like.. thousands of years in the future? "I am.. Fortuno. But you can call me Uno." There were so many things Uno wanted to find out, to see again. He was one step away from asking Chris about his parents, about their family. He did not want to push it, he did not want to make it stranger than it already was. But how did this happen? Was this the past? Was this another fragment of time like the one with December in the meadows? Was this just a dream, or an illusion?

"Uno? Nice name. Never heard of you though. Could have sworn I knew all the duelists around here. So.. you're here for a match?" The boy offered a harmless question, yet Uno felt on edge almost immediately. "Duel?" Of course, he was wearing a dueldisk around his arm. Tempus did not take that away from him. Though Uno worried about what else his father had claimed, besides the Supreme One. "I suppose I am. I heard you were the king in this town." Before Christopher became Fortuno, he/they were already a skilled duelist with an almost impossible winning streak in several regions. Thinking about that, perhaps that was the reason why Tempus chose him. As if there was a quantifiable element of fortune to adopt. The fortunate son indeed. "But if now is not a good time.." Still, this could be a trap. What if this was not really happening, what if this was a mental fight that would cost him his memories again? Was Tempus trying to replace him with a more agreeable version of himself? Anything could happen with that man.

On the other hand, if this was really happening... would this change his own history?

"Any time is good for me. I was just hoping to get a quick match in to keep the daily record up." Chris himself was very insistent, another old character trait Uno recognized. "I suppose, I have the time for it." Perhaps this was the way out of here? A victory over his past.. "Cool." Chris grabbed a device, a clunky dueldisk with an angular unfold-able blade. "Where did you get your dueldisk from anyway?" Though advanced for this world, that disk looked outdated compared to the Millennium-class model that Uno wore. "Home-brewed, you could say." Uno might as well have said he came from the future. Thankfully they were very unassuming at this age, unburdened by the mysteries of the world. "I have the first turn." Hopefully there were some answers to those mysteries at the end of this duel.

Fortuno's LP: 8000 Christopher's LP: 8000

"I set a card in my pendulum zone." At the very least it seemed like Uno still possessed his Performapal and Odd-eyes cards. However, neither of these sets existed in this timeline. "Whoa! What is that?" And while Performapals by themselves would be a big twist. The existence of a dragon (scale 4) that could act as a spell for a previously undiscovered zone would not go over easy either. "This is Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, a pendulum monster." Uno explained. "They are monsters and spells at the same time. With effects on both sides. In this case I can tribute Odd-Eyes to add one other pendulum monster to my hand, if it has 1500 attackpoints or less." Uno chose to add a Performapal Radish Horse card to his hand. "That was my turn.." Uno said, and tried to recall what deck he even used all those centuries ago. "Well now. You must be from the future or something to have a card like that." Chris did not question it further. If his dueldisk was okay with it, how could he complain? "You can say that." Uno shook his head. It was not getting any less weirder to hear himself talk.. to himself.

"My turn I believe." And besides, he was getting excited. Uno could tell. "I activate Toon Table of Contents!" And there was one answer at least. "I add a Toon card to my hand, Toon Kingdom! And I activate it by banishing the top three cards from my deck!" A book appeared above Chris. As its pages flipped open, a magical kingdom folded out like a three-dimensional pop-up display. "Toons.." Now Uno remembered. Of course, his taste for the eccentric developed at a young age. "Anyway. You control monsters, and I dont. That means I can summon Toon Cyber Dragon from my hand!" A cartoony version of the mechanical serpent Cyber Dragon(5/2100/1600) dropped down from the Toon book, winking and nudging its eyes at Performapal Swordfish. "Heh. But Toons cannot attack during the turn they are summoned." Uno pointed out. There was a reason he eventually discarded this deck. Though he was not sure if he did that for himself or for his 'father'. "Oh I know." Chris placed two trap cards down and ended his turn.

"..I draw." While things were going at an even pace so far, Uno could already see roadblocks ahead. Due to Toon Kingdom, Toons could not be targeted by card effects. This would prevent him from using Performapal Radish Horse's effect. Chris might have seen that coming. Then again, it made sense for any Toon duelist to start out with Toon Kingdom. "I summon.. Performapal Swordfish." The shades-wearing swordfish(3/600/600) flopped down and struck immediately. "Another new card?" A volley of swords and punctured the steel skin of Toon Cyber Dragon(1500/1600) and weakened it. "When the Swordfish is summoned, or when a monster is summoned while I control the Swordfish, all monsters you control lose 600 attack and defensepoints!" The Swordfish released his first volley of swords and punctured the steel skin of Toon Cyber Dragon(1500/1000). "And as you control more monsters than I do, I can special summon Radish Horse from my hand in defense position!" The field got exactly what the name promised, a horse(4/500/2000) with a head, body and legs made of radishes. Performapal Swordfish peppered the Toon machine(900/400) with another dose of swords. "Oh. That's gonna be a problem." Chris winced.

"Chris. I should tell you that there is more to pendulum monsters than just being spells." The best way to explain was, as always, the visual way. So Uno activate Performapal Gongato (scale 2) in one pendulum zone and Odd-Eyes Arc Pendulum Dragon (scale 8) in the other. "Oh? What's that? Also, what is your deck anyway? A Performapal or an Odd-Eyes deck?" Chris was beginning to notice the clashing themes. "You know, I never made a distinction. Both, I suppose." The Performapals were what the duelist in him preferred. But Odd-Eyes was the spirit he needed, what the creator in him preferred. Odd-Eyes Arc Pendulum Dragon was very recent proof of that. A darker Odd-Eyes dragon with a pendulum crystal and an crescent arc growing from its back; that was the card his mind created to cope with his loss to Tempus. He did not think he would have to use it on himself. "When two pendulum monsters are set, a pendulum summon can be performed. The scales of those pendulum monsters tell a duelist what levels they can bring out. Between a scale of 2 and 8.."

"I can pendulum summon Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!" The pendulum swung from left to right, and returned the Pendulum Dragon(7/2500/2000) to the light. "Geez. So it can summon monsters from the graveyard too?" Chris let out a gasp. "No. When a Pendulum monster leaves the field, it is added to the extra deck face-up. And face-up pendulum monsters can also be pendulum summoned from the extra deck!" The summoning of Odd-Eyes set off Performapal Swordfish's effect a second time, and Toon Cyber Dragon(300/0) was skewered by more swords. "Now I activate my spell card, Smile World! All monsters on the field gain 100 attackpoints for each monster on the field!" His spell delivered smiles and joy to the Pendulum Dragon(2900/2000), Swordfish(1000/600), Radish Horse(900/2000) and Toon dragon(700/0). "Here come my attacks, Chris! Odd-Eyes attacks Toon Cyber Dragon. And when Odd-Eyes attacks a monster, the damage it inflicts is doubled!" One dragon's flames blasted towards another and turned the field into a firesea. "Oof!"

Chris' LP: 3600

"Painful. Yes. But..." In spite of it clearly being underpowered, Toon Cyber Dragon did not die. "Toon Kingdom can banish the top card of my deck to negate my Toon's destruction!" The Toon hid inside the toon book to avoid the heat. "And I think now is a good time to reveal my other Toon traps! Seeing as how I control Toon Kingdom, which is treated as Toon World, I can activate Toon Mask. Two of them!" A pair of cartoonish disembodied beads were materialized by the dueldisk, with smoke blowing out of their ears. "Toon Mask summons one Toon monster from my deck, if it has the same level as a monster on your field!" He directed his finger towards Radish Horse and Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon. "I special summon Toon Dark Magician and Toon Masked Magician!" The Kingdom revealed its new citizens, the always-fashionable Dark Magician(7/2500/2100) and lesser-known Masked Magician(4/900/1400) in their new zany shape. "I should have seen that coming." Uno said out loud, while thinking the same thing. It really had been a long time since he last dueled this way. "I end my turn."

"Don't feel too bad. Toons are unpredictable you know. That's why I like them!" Chris switched both Magicians to attack position. At this point the powerboost from Smile World ended. (Odd-Eyes: 2500 atk, Toon Cyber Dragon: 900 atk, Swordfish: 600 atk, RadishHorse: 500 atk) "I am sure you know this already. But when Toon World is active, all Toons can attack directly. Provided you dont start summoning your own toons. Heheh." Chris moved into the battle phase. "So Masked Magician will attack you!" The masked wizard hit the ground with his rod and let out a burst of confetti. "I can negate the damage with Performapal Gongato. But.. there's still two others." Gongato's effect was a once-per-turn negation and no more. Right now it was better to save it for Toon Dark Magician's attack. Even if damage from Toon Masked Magician meant that Chris could draw a new card. "?!" Unfortunately Uno realized too late what he would have done if he were in his shoes. "Dark Magician, Cyber Dragon... attack his monsters!"

Uno's LP: 7100

It was a fakeout. Chris deliberately attacked with his weaker monsters to give Uno the impression that he could save Gongato's effect for later! "Our monsters were equally strong. But mine is a toon, so.." The Toon Kingdom banished the next card from Chris' deck and gave refuge to the Toon mage as it snuck in a magic blast at the back of the Pendulum dragon. "You got me.." Odd-Eyes was destroyed. As was Performapal Swordfish, it got wasted by Toon Cyber Dragon's bad energy breath. "But Odd-Eyes Arc Pendulum's effect activates when an Odd-Eyes monster is destroyed! I can special summon one Odd-Eyes monster from my deck!" Uno special summoned the other dragon: Odd-Eyes Phantom(7/2500/2000). "Oh, there's more than one?" Chris was surprised, but not concerned. "Time for the third act then!"

"I activate Toon Dark Magician's special ability! It only costs one card in my hand, but in return I get one Toon from my deck!" Chris discarded a Toon Defense trap card and the Book of toons opened up. Toon Dark Magician flipped the pages until he reached one showing an infamous black dragon. "I special summon Red-Eyes Toon Dragon!" The red-eyed black dragon transformed into a toon-sized dragon(7/2400/2000) and leaped off the page. "Now, when I control Toon Red-Eyes, I can special summon one Toon from my hand!" The last Toon showed up to round out the cast; a colorful dragon machine(7/2600/2200) with pea-shooting cannons for its arms and nose. "Ta-da! Toon Barrel Dragon!" With a swift hand, Chris took three coins from his pocket and tossed them in the air. "Let's play a game of toon roulette! If I get at least two heads, I can destroy one of your cards!" The three barrels targeted Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon, and the chambers began to spin. "Well well!" The coins landed face-up, face-down and... face-up again. "Looks like it's a bingo!" The dragon unloaded its shots and left an oversized hole in the dragon's torso. "That was enough fun for now." Chris said as he placed another trap card down. "Your move, Uno."

"Very well." This was getting out of hand. Before this turn, Uno could not imagine losing to his past self. But now he was forced to reconsider. "I pendulum summon both Odd-Eyes dragons!" The Gong cat and Arc dragon renewed the swing of the crystal and placed the Pendulum and Phantom dragon duo on the field in attack position. And Chris gave them a warm welcome.. "Oh nonono. Not this time, my friend! I activate my trap!" By opening a cartoon briefcase filled with teeth. "Toon Briefcase! When you summon monsters in front of my Toons, they'll be shuffled into your deck instead!" The tiny case grew to a sudden enormous size and slammed its jaws shut around Uno's odd-eyed dragons. After a moment of chewing and munching, the two cards were spat back out and returned to Uno's deck. "You should've come up with something new, Uno! Because the same trick wont work on me twice!" With his plans so thoroughly thwarted, all Uno could do was place a trap card down and end his turn. "Or is it over already? I'd be fine with that. I have a new movie to go to.. soon."

Movie?

"What..did you say?" Uno found himself asking, after a moment of reflection. "Oh you know what I mean.. it's about Crowley. The.." And within seconds. ".. the Magician's Return." Uno was there, in mind and spirit. "See! You have heard of it!" Of course he had, he remembered looking forward to that movie for the last few years of his innocent life. As a kid, his two favorite things in the world were cartoons and the circus. And his favorite part of the circus were the magic acts, with famous magicians like sir Crowley A.. "Aleister.." Uno flinched. "Nephilim.. she knew?" But something did not add up. "That show is today?" He never got to see Crowley's debut on the big screen. One day before it came out, his world was destroyed and he was taken by Tempus. "Pretty sure of it!" So how could this version of him be planning to see it today? The only way that was possible... was if this was the day after he left with Tempus. This was not a memory, this was a continuation of the past. The Qliphorts never erased it to begin with!

...

"You did what to Uno? You sent him to the past?" To understand December's story was one thing, to accept it took a lot more than mere words. "Not the past as you understand it, not even the past that extended into this present. What you see above is an opening to the realm where time is forged, measured and terminated. The past, present and future all run together like a network of rivers. Or a branching tree, if you will. And part of that network is every timeline the Qliphort ever had to abort. But they did not destroy those worlds, they bubbled them away safely. And in one of those bubbles, Uno now resides. Once someone like us enters that place, they are drawn towards their own personal history and confronted by that what they left behind." No matter where they were on the world, they could see this door into the other world up in the clouds, and saw a vague outline of a gigantic tree. And down below, where the phantoms of the forgotten earths. "Someone like.. Is my.. Is my family up there?" It was a world Alice never dreamed of seeing again. "Your world will be among them. As will mine. You have seen it for yourself already."

"Oh! Back when I was.. trapped and Uno came to get me out. We saw you, an older you.. on a farm." December nodded. "Yes. That was a fragment my past self ran into when he first roamed the dimensions outside time. That presence there formed an echo that repeated itself infinitely. Tempus knew from the very beginning that there was a way to find his own home again. Everything was planned for this moment." December said with a sigh. The frozen faces of June and the others reminded him of what it cost him. "But how is that even possible?" Marie still did not understand the mechanics of it all. "It is the same as your technology to turn people into cards. Martel, Uno, they both took the power from the Qliphort. What you erase does not disappear, it is merely stored away."

"And now, we will return to the point of origin." December snapped his fingers. "Ah!" Everyone was teleported to the palace throne-room, including the five duelists stuck in time. "Hey! What is this about?" Stonewell cursed. They were stuck behind one side of a barrier, while December was on the other side. "We cannot allow you to interfere. Out of respect for my son's wishes, I will not harm you further. So here you will stay." December started to walk away from them. "Is that you talking, or Tempus?" Emily demanded an answer. "We are the same. And that is the last time I will say it." He spoke with a distorted tone, as if two voices came out of his mouth. "The past is set, and so is the future. We will be as one, and we will get the world we always wanted.. We will gain the wish from the sisters and return home."

(To be Continued in Nexus 045: Lost in Syndication)

New Cards used by Fortuno Nisell
Performapal Radish Horse
Odd-Eyes Arc Pendulum Dragon

New Cards used by Chris Brickett
Toon Cyber Dragon
Toon Dark Magician
Toon Masked Sorcerer
Red-Eyes Toon Dragon
Toon Barrel Dragon

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Toon Table of Contents
Toon Kingdom

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Toon Mask
Toon Briefcase