A Legacy of Souls: Terminate the Dream

by Medigo

The virtual world of dueling has survived many threats, but the worst has yet to come. New entities born from the minds of millions seek power to shape the destiny of living. Heroes will be turned against each other as it becomes impossible to trust anyone. And in the middle of it all, one duelist struggles to return to his friends to save them from the one who has stolen his life.

74. World 066: Guilt Sold Separately

World 066: Guilt Sold Separately

It was late in the afternoon when she received a call again. "Charlie?" Gwen Adami immediately leaped to the phone to answer it, recognizing the number. "Is that him?" Her husband joined her in the living room, sharing her eagerness to hear from him. "Uh hi mom." And their son answered hesitantly once he realized he was talking to both of them. "Charles? Is that you? It sounds like you! Are you alright? Gwen told me you sounded like you were very stressed." Arthur Adami immediately hurled a ton of questions at him, as he often did. "Arthur.. please slow down... I have a lot to tell you. I am fine, but.." Charles did not have a lot of time. Nobody did. "Honey, can't you use a video call? I just want to see your face again." But she deserved more than just his voice, they deserved more. "I know. That's why I am coming over. I just wanted to give you a heads up." It was a good thing then that he figured out one advantage of this new crazy world. "Coming over? So soon? I thought you were.."

There was a knock on the door. "Ah!" Gwen immediately rushed to open it and saw her child on the other side. "Charl..es? How did you? When did you get here?" She was too amazed to even approach him. And he was almost stunned into silence himself, it had been too long since he'd seen them. "Well, mom, that's going to be a long answer."

...

"Mistress Echo!" Happy reunions could also take place elsewhere. Though this one would not be between humans. "Fisherman, Olympia! You're here! You're okay!" The girl in blue found all three of her digital friends at once in the lounge of Exeter HQ, Cierze as well. "We only barely managed to make it out, lady Echo. It was awful." For Olympia this meeting brought the most joy. "Awful?" Yet Echo detected a lingering discomfort in the Fire Princess' voice and choice of words. Whatever had happened to her held her back from truly enjoying this present moment. "Well, you are back with me now. Olympia. And that is what matters. And it is good to see you again too, Fisher." At the very least her water elemental had done well on his own. "The feeling is mutual, lady Echo. It did not feel right to me to leave you alone."

"But she wasn't alone! She had me!" Cierze let out a cry of protest. "And Mephistar too, right Mephistar?" The Harpy Lady looked towards Echo's fourth companion: the one who had been with her all this time. "Of course." The unchained duelist mumbled. He did not feel as duty-bound to the Lady as they did, but he wanted to protect her too nonetheless. However, he still did feel a certain yearning which he could only now begin to appreciate. "So this is where everyone has held up, is it?" Because the lounge that he stood in was not just a virtual recreation anymore. STHEREA's Exeter HQ had merged with its real-life counterpart: which meant... the human world waited just outside of those doors.

"We all gathered here because these locations are the safest coordinates in this current world. These firm branches have always been separate from the main network. Almost none of the current players can warp here without permission." Another familiar voice chimed in. "Scarlet.. Of course you're here too." Mephistar saw both Scarlet Rose and the champion Dyzanthium walk down the stairs, the former filled with explanations as usual. "Yes we have heard the news. I imagine the rest of the world hear about it too soon. Static is bad enough, there are plenty of people who'd abuse that power even without his influence." He shook his head. He still felt like taking that risk if it meant seeing any location that was not just STHEREA again.

"Before we decide anything, we need to bring everyone back. Where did you leave Blanche and Cherry, miss Echo?" Dyzanthium inquired. "Oh! Yeah. We found Scura first, and Blanche and Cherry wanted to stay with her to explain to her parents what had happened. I didn't want them to hate each other, so I left them alone for now. I am sure they will be safe!" Echo assured the champion. "I hope they are. But Mephistar is right. The world is already a dangerous place. And it is about to get ten times worse."

...

Madam Blanche could not help but feel a twinge of fear with her choice of staying: because she stood face to face with her least favorite type of adversary: parents. "So how do you two know my daughter?" Scura's father, or rather Jenna's father, insisted on getting the full story from his daughter's new friends. "Well I don't know how much she told you so far, about the virtual arena and the crazy computer programs and the even crazier online cults or big bad companies. But it's all true. We were both invited by the same guy who has made the world go a bit loopy." As far as she could see, the world outside had not changed much yet. But the tension did not come from any virtual terrors that might have been lurking outside. "Loopy?" The tension came from him, a man who looked even more stern than her own family. "Ehr.. insane, chaotic, mad. Stuff like that.." Blanche stammered. She was definitely more used to talking to people her age. "Look, we got off on the wrong foot. Let's start over.. my name is Dharma Bonnet. AKA: Madam Blanche. And yours is?"

"...You mean to tell me you never told them your last name? Your first name? Jenna?" The father turned to the other girl in the room, the small lanky darkhaired duelist who owned this apartment. "I was wondering when you'd stop talking like I wasn't in the room. Terrence. No, I always used my in-game name around them. You know how it works, I told like you a million times." Jenna sighed and rolled her the very least she seemed to be back to normal moody and irreverent self. "Heh. Yes, you called yourself Chiaroscura, didn't you?" Hearing his daughter talk also livened Terrence up again. Nevertheless he reverted to his stonefaced expression once he turned his attention towards Cherry Anise. "And what is your story then?"

But no one in the room had less respect for the situation than Cherry Anise did. "The same. Actually no, not that much the same. I mean, that cult little miss Bonnet over there mentioned? I was part of that." She kept nothing secret but still glared at Blanche for bringing it up in the first place. "The cult? The same cult that tried to brainwash my daughter?" Jenna's mother spoke up this time. She'd been content to let her husband do the questioning while she stared out the window, but she could not keep her peace any longer. "The one and the same yeah. That was not my idea though. Plus a lot of other stuff happened. Hell, she gave me more trouble than I gave her. But I bet she doesn't remember that part."

"Oh.. I do though." Jenna revealed with a heavy sigh. "You do? You mean.. you remember what you did as ...her?" Blanche gasped. "Chiaroscura. Yeah. I remember it like I remember a bad toothache. First it was a nightmare where I felt like I had no restraint at all, then it was a nightmare where nothing happened at all. I wish I coul forget it.." Jenna did not even want to hear that name again. "..But it's not gonna be that easy, is it? The 'other me' is still out there." Just thinking about it made her head hurt all over again. "Well I do not claim to understand what has gone on before this. And if you two were partially responsible for bringing her out of it, than I thank you." Terrence stated sincerely. "But it clearly is not an option for you to return to that world, Jenna. It is far too dangerous. We allowed it once. We cannot risk it again. You will be safe..."

"?!" His words got buried by an avalanche of sound and tremors. "What was that? Another earthquake?" The mother panicked and rushed to her daughter's side to hug her tightly. "Gah! It was not a quake in the first place, mom!" Jenna groaned and struggled to break free. She was not a teenager anymore, why did she still have to deal with all of this coddling?

"Yes you might wanna redefine safety here, pal." Cherry claimed once the trembling stopped and she could walk over to the window. "Because when we say the worlds are fused, we really mean it. And.. Oh for the love of.." With this new kind of reality in place, one could expect their worst nightmare knocking on their door. "Ulysses? Really?" Or in this case the nightmare, a 10-story high railway cannon, took up the whole road. "Ulysses? Are you... Oh. Oh yeah nobody else knows how to make an entrance like that." Blanche could not disagree with Cherry's assertion once she saw the same spectacle unfold outside. "Wait? You're not joking? Ulysses is here? How did he find me?" Hearing the name of the man who actually wanted to recruit her into the Millennium cult sent Jenna into a fresh new state of alarm. "Don't know. I'll ask him. You can hang back.." Cherry Anise knew how to deal with the likes of him. She opened the window and flew out into the sky.

"Uh... can I do that too?" Jenna wondered out loud as she and Blanche watched Anise leave them with wide eyes. "I don't know. Ask your parents first..."

...

"Ulysses! I knew it was you!" Cherry shouted as she landed on top of the giant tank cannon dreadnought. "Anise! Its been too long!" He clearly felt happier about this reunion than she did. "Not long enough! Where were you? And what are you doing? This street is not big enough for your toys!" She answered with her usual impatient banter. "Chill, Anise. Its just a hologram. It all is now. I am not bothering the people here." He nonchalantly pointed at the road behind him, which showed no signs of damage. It did terrify everyone around that an imaginary tank could just waltz right through them. "Okay. Still does not explain why you're here? What is this? A millennium comeback tour or something?" Cherry wanted to stay cautiously optimistic here, she never thought she would see him again after all. "It's just us now, Anise. I was captured just like you were, but I got out. You want to know how?" Ulysses snickered as he waited for her guess. "Not really." He was going to give his story whether she wanted to hear it or not. "Oh come on. I only need one sentence. The right kind of duelists found me.. and gave me their powers."

"What?" Cherry recoiled. "Are you talking about... Static?" There were only a few options here and none of them sounded good. "The one and only, Cherry. He told me to go out into the world and help others like me be free again. People like you! Now do you get why I am here?" He asked with a smile on his face. "I get it alright. You drank the crazy juice just like everyone else did." Cherry could not trust him, as much as she would have liked too. He was simply not the man she knew. "So that's a no then?" Ulysses merely chuckled. "The biggest No you can think of. I don't care how you got out. But if you're like this you're gonna go back the same way!" She activated her dueldisk and sent in the challenge. It felt bizarre to have to duel in a setting like this, yet it came naturally to her. She still felt like 'Cherry Anise'.

Ulysses' LP: 8000 Cherry's LP: 8000

-TURN 01-

Ulysses could claim the same. "Heh, I was probably gonna end up duelin' one way or another. I accept, Anise! Now at least I get to test out my new machines against you first! Try this one on for size: Machina Redeployment!" Ulysses quickly established the setting for this duel with a machine gathering spell. He could discard one Machina card (Machina Citadel) to add two more Machina cards (Machina Defense Perimeter, Machina Metalcruncher) from the deck to his hand. "Of course, that was just a spell. The monsters will be more to your fancy! Since there are no cards on my field yet, I can normal summon Machina Metalcruncher from my hand for free!" His machines had definitely taken up a more humanoid element, as the robotic Metalcruncher(9/1800/0) [Zone 1] proved with its orange-armored jet legs and claw arms. "Metalcruncher will fetch me one of three earthy machine lads from the deck, and you get to pick the lucky winner! Randomly!" Ulysses selected his three cards: Machina Air Raider, Machina Uncruspare and Machina Resavenger.

"Always with the machines. I never got why you liked them. They all look the same to me." Cherry apathetically made her random choice, and wound up giving Ulysses the Machina Air Raider. The remaining cards were sent back to the deck.

"Heh, you're starting to sound like Melyria did. Even though I chose a more approachable theme just for you... Well that wont stop us. I discard a card, which lets me special summon Machina Irradiator from my hand!" Not all Machina were built for bidepal transport, like the diamond-shaped Irradiator tank(8/1700/2400) [Zone 5]. "And the Irradiator will target one of my machines to special summon another with the same level from my graveyard! But the target is destroyed! I think I'll go with Machina Air Raider!" The green tank fired its radio-active cannon towards the Metalcruncher and blasted it to pieces. At the exact same time two new defending machines were rebuilt from the graveyard: Machina Air Raider the giant robotic helidrone(9/1500/2600) [Zone 2] and Machina Citadel the multi-tooled and triple tank-dreaded robot fortress(10/3000/2500) [Zone 3]. "Ah that's right. When my Earth Machines are destroyed, Machina Citadel can special summon itself from the scrapheap. "Then I set one card and activate my Machina Defense Perimeter to, well, defend my machines! That was my turn, Anise!"

-TURN 02-

"I can see that." Cherry noted the continuous spell and its effects. "And its just like you to change your deck and say you're doing it to impress another girl. But that trick wont work on me, Ulysses. We both know why you're doing this." She knew all his usual tactics, so he simply came at her with brand new weapons. As if it was not bad enough that he stole the first turn from her. "Well, I would hate to be called unfair!" And he made quick work of taking over this second turn too, as he activated the quick effect of his Machina Citadel before she could even figure out what it did for herself. "Air Raider will also target and destroy one Machine to special summon another, from the deck!" The helidrone dropped a bomb down on top of Machina Citadel. And though the battle fortress got blasted to pieces, a second Machina Metalcruncher(9/2800/0) [Zone 1] could take over as Ulysses' third machine of destruction. "And once per turn, when my machines die, Machina Defense Perimeter will add one from the graveyard back to my hand!" He explained further as he redrew the first Metalcruncher from his graveyard.

"I can read you know. Also this is my turn goddammit." Cherry grumbled as she was forced to play another round of pick the EARTH machine. Metalcruncher showed her a trio of Machinae (Resavenger, Uncruspare, Possesstorage), and she randomly chose the first of that trio. "I do apologize for that, and for this." Ulysses hardly listened as he flipped his trap card as well. "I activate Machine Overdrive! That will special summon one Machina from my deck by destroying one on my field. It all just works somehow." He chuckled and caused Machina Air Raider to heat up due to a sudden trap-induced meltdown. The expended energy led to the special summon of a defending smaller sniper robot: Machina Uncruspare(4/1800/800) [Zone 2]. Afterwards the overdrive finally made the Irradiator explode into a nuclear cloud, and this destruction allowed Ulysses to revive Machina Citadel[Zone 3] once more in defense mode. "One more thing...Uncruspare ditches my Machina Megaform card." The Black metal spare Machina could send one Machina card to the graveyard when summoned, and Ulysses picked a big one. "Okay, I am done for real now."

"Ragh. I definitely liked your previous deck more." Cherry cursed out loud. Now she could at least begin her show, and she did so by summoning the blonde Trickstar fairy Candina(4/1800/400) [Zone 3]. "Oh like you do not like to take your time." Ulysses said to deflect her impending tirade. "Yeah well I hope you enjoyed all those cards you added back to your hand." She asked sarcastically as she used Trickstar Candina's effect to add a Trickstar card (Trickstar Corobane) to her hand. "Because now they're gonezo! I activate Card Destruction! No further explanation needed!" Cherry had no trouble at all, parting with her own Trickstar cards as spell destroyed her and his hand. "Oh you're overreacting again." Ulysses sighed and discarded his three cards (Metalcruncher, Resavenger, Mandrake) to draw three new ones. Cherry discarded four cards in total (Trickstar Corobane, Mandrake, Lilybell and Trickstar Reincarnation) and drew the same amount. "...Hrm." She looked over the new cards in her hand, cards that put a misschievous grin on her face. "Hee. Trickstar Candina attacks Machina Citadel!"

"An attack? Is this a bluff, Cherry?" His highlevel Machina were obviously stronger than her Trickstars, and yet she targeted them instead of the easier-to-kill Machina Uncruspare? Something was up, he knew that much. "Maybe. Maybe I am jusr crazy, like you say I am." Cherry did not plan to change her mind either way. "No. You would never attack without good cause." He had seen Cherry discard her Trickstar Corobane card, which could have doubled Candina's attackpower. But now he wondered if that was not all just a scheme to lull him into a false sense of security. After all, she could have drawn an even better ATKboosting handtrap like her more favored angel Honest. "Then I activate the effect of Machina Citadel! Each turn he targets one Machina on my field, it and your monsters stronger than it will be survive!" He could not risk it. So he let the Citadel machine loose on both sides: with its left twinlaser arm it vaporized Trickstar Candina and with its right chainsaw arm it cut down Machina Uncruspare. "So now what happens?"

"Now? Now I get to gloat that you fell for it." Cherry snickered and activated a card from the graveyard. "Trickstar Reincarnation revives my Trickstar Lilybell!" The banished trap brought Trickstars back from the graveyard regardless even during the battle phase. And yet she chose the weakest of her dead stars: Lilybell the tiny twintailed fairy(2/800/2000) [Zone 3]. "Fell for it?" Ulysses flinched. Technically it did not matter which card she attacked with, if he did have Honest in her hand. But that no longer seemed to be the case.

"Yup! I just had to get you to waste that Citadel effect before I started the real show! Since I special summoned a monster with less than 1500 attackpoints, I can pull off an Inferno Reckless Summon!" Instead her hand revealed a quickplay spell, which special summoned two more copies of Trickstar Lilybell(2/800/2000) [Zones 2 & 4] from her deck. "You werent after my monsters at all then?" Ulysses could do the same to any of his monsters, and he special summoned two more Machina Citadels(10/3000/2500) [Zone 2 & 4] in defense mode. "Nope! I am all about you, pal! Trickstar Lilybell, get him!" Each of her bell-ringing fairies could attack directly, and the trio together created a powerful explosion of noise. "Ouch." The machina duelist covered his ears, but still felt a little ringing when while his lifepoints dropped in three short bursts. "Heheh. That aint even half of it! When Lilybell inflicts damage, I get to save one Trickstar monster from the graveyard!" Cherry took back one Trickstar in between each attack: adding Corobane, Candina and Mandrake back to her hand.

Ulysses' LP: 5600

"Now strap yourself in, Ulysses. Because if you think I'd go easy on you, you forgot who you were dealing with!" She started to laugh as she activated another continuous spell: Dark Room of Nightmare. "Well that aint good." From now on Ulysses would take 300 points of effect damage on top each other effect that inflicted damage. And he knew how she intended to get that damage. "Time for the main course! Link summon, Trickstar Holly Angel!" The two Lilybells on the left came together as two Trickstar link materials for the blonde pixie-winged angel(2000/LINK 2) {Downleft/Downright} in her blue dress. "That wont be pretty either." Ulysses muttered. Holly Angel defended all Trickstars linked to her, and inflicted 200 points of damage each time a monster got summoned to a zone marked by her link arrows. "Not for you no. Because I prepared a new stage for you, Trickstar Live Stage! When it is activates, I get to add one Trickstar from the graveyard to my hand!" Massive speakers popped up behind the Trickstar duelist, along with a large pink heart prop and dozens of spotlights. She used the field spell to add one of the dematerialized Trickstar Lilybells to her hand. "And since I added this Lilybell to my hand, I can special summon her!"

"Fraid not, sweetheart." Ulysses framed his face with a cheeky grin, and he revealed a brand new spell card. "Here's Good Reaction to Simochi! I can target one card on the field that would inflict damage to me. And instead it will heal me!" He used the card on the Dark Room of Nightmare. "What?" Even though the return of Lilybell [Zone 1] successfully made the now linked Trickstar Holly Angel hit Ulysses, the spell reversed the damage and healed him for 200 points instead. And the Dark Room of Nightmare could not improve upon inverted damage. "I made it just for you, Cherry. This proves my devotion."

Ulysses' LP: 5800

Good Reaction to Simochi, Quickplay Spell Card
Target 1 card. Until the end of this turn, whenever that card would inflict damage to a player, they gain that amount of Life Points instead.

"Blah.. I am gonna be sick." Unfortunately Cherry could not turn her cards effect off, Holly Angel would keep inflicting her damage even if she did not want her to. And she still needed those zones. "Well you wont change my playlist!" She took her remaining Lilybell Trickstars as another link material pair and created the bloody-red dressed Trickstar Crimson Heart(2000/LINK 2) {down/left} [Zone 3]. This also triggered Holly Angel's damaging/healing power.

Ulysses' LP: 6000

"Whatever! My lifepoints are still higher than yours, so Crimson Heart can discard one of my cards to draw two new ones!" She stated and discarded her Trickstar Mandrake. Crimson Hearts effect also let Ulysses draw one card, but she also triggered the effect of the one that got sent to the grave. "Mandrake is special summoned when she'd discarded!" Cherry made sure to avoid Holly Angel's marked zones this time, and put the greenhaired Mandrake singer(2/0/1000) [Zone 5] all the way to the right of the stage. "And since I control a Trickstar Link monster, I can special summon one Trickstar token with my Live Stage!" A tiny winged heart(1/0/0) [Zone 4] bounced up into the field, joining Mandrake for a short duet. Or rather, they were joined together to materialize the newest star in the show. "Link summon! Trickstar Divaridis! Her materials are two level 3 or lower trickstars!" Divaridis(1800/LINK 2) {Downleft/Down} appeared in a white dress with a flowing mintgreen skirt and blue leggings. Her white hair got separated into curled horns by a shimmering blue crown. Of course her appearance set off another chain of Holly Angel inverted healing.

Ulysses' LP: 6200 Cherry's LP: 8200

"You really know how to take the fun out of this." Cherry sighed. "But at least I will leave on an uplifting note, for me! Trickstar Live Stage can also make a token if my opponent has a spell on their field!" Thanks to Machina Defense Perimeter, Cherry's field spell could smile on her once more with another Trickstar heart(1/0/0) [Zone 4]. "By the way each time a Trickstar is linked with Crimson Heart, I gain 200 lifepoints. But anyway, here is the real showstopper. I can use two fairies to link summon Trickstar Foxglove Witch!" Crimson Heart had performed well, but now she and the second token disappeared from the stage to call in the green-haired Trickstar Witch(2200/LINK 3) {Left/Up/Right} [Zone 3] with her two-pointed hat. "Now you take 200 points of damage for each card you control!" Cherry counted six cards on her opponents field, which meant her pink witch would inflict more damage than Holly Angel could heal. 1500 points of damage were offset by 200 points of healing.

Ulysses' LP: 5100 Cherry's LP: 8400

"So you came just for little old me. Are you sure you're not just another nightmare figment? I've dealt with those too lately. Probably not tho." This Ulysses at least did not use a deck that did not fit his character. "But why? Do you really think we can start Millennium up again? I think the world is dealing with enough stuff as it is! What about Melyria? Ezra? Prospero? Are they even in on this? What are you going to do about that Static guy and his crazy band? Can this even work, Ulysses? I...I don't know if I want it to." She placed two cards from her hand face down and ended her turn. "Millennium? No, of course not. This new feeling is far greater than what they could offer us. Milennium still made me remember the miserable lowlife I used to be. Now I cannot even recall my real name anymore. Wouldn't you like that too, Cherry Anise? You've never told me your real name either... because you hate it as much as I do mine. You can lie to me, but you cannot lie to yourself. You want this.."

Ulysses drew his next card. "And you will have it, one way or another."

(To Be Continued in World 067: This World is Too Cold)

New Cards used by Cherry Anise
Trickstar Divaridis

-
Inferno Reckless Summon

-
Trickstar Live Stage

New Cards used by Ulysses
Machina Metalcruncher
Machina Irradiator
Machina Air Raider
Machina Citadel
Machina Uncruspare

-
Machina Redeployment
Machina Defense Perimeter

-
Machina Overdrive