World 091: Break Their Downfall
The duelists took it as an ominous sign that the tower of the beyond had begun to tremble in every part of its foundations. "Scarlet! What is happening?" Luckily they could always call to Scarlet Rose for information if they needed it. And they needed it right now. "From what I can tell the champions have deployed the program, the lower levels are destabilizing but not to a significant degree. Since the top floor was created first, I would assume it will disappear last." She explained with all the urgency of a telemarketer. "But is this good or bad?" Cherry Anise shouted back in a hurry. "It is unpredictable. I do not know how long this will take. Hopefully it will resolve in time before the military join strike proceeds. But it is possible that Static can undo the damage as well. That is why we need an extra push. Just removing one of the seven items should be enough to ensure complete degradation." She clarified. "Then that would have to be.." They knew of only one person that could move around right now... Veyron. "Did you hear all of that, Abigail?"
Abigail's LP: 5000 Veyron's LP: 4600
"I did... and I know what this means." The one dueling Veyron was Abigail, and currently she still controlled one monster that could attack directly: the Infernoble Emperor Charles(9/3000/200). "It means I have to end this duel before it is too late!" The emperor declared that direct attack at her command. "You can try, Abigail! But the tower of Babel also allows me to activate the Orcusts in my graveyard during this turn!" The field spell that kept Veyron far removed from the duelists below also enabled the banishment of the Orcust Cymbal Skeleton to revive one Orcust from his graveyard. "But Immortal Phoenix Gearfried can negate one monster's effect each turn!" His opponent countered the effect by de-equiping Infernoble Arms Durendal from the Phoenix Paladin(9/3000/2200). "Then I will banish Harp Horror in the graveyard, to special summon a new Orcust from my deck!" He countered the counter and slammed a new Orcust Cymbal Skeleton(3/1200/1500) [Zone 3] down on his field in defense mode. "Then Charles will have to settle for killing it!" Abigail redirected the emperor(9/3000/200)'s sword towards the mechanical skeleton and smashed it and its drums to pieces.
"Tch. His cards are simply too good." Cierze muttered. Legacy duelists were on a different level it seemed. "Nothing is insurmountable." Abigail insisted as she moved on to the second main phase and placed one trap card face down. "I banish Astolfo from my graveyard to summon them back to the field in two of my turns! Then, during my endphase Emperor Charles can equip one card from the graveyard to himself! And if he does, he can also equip a Fire Warrior from my deck!" Abigail took the Infernoble Arms Durendal from her graveyard and another Infernoble Knight Oliver from her deck, placing both on top of the Emperor. This effect also added 500 attackpoints to the royal knight(3500/200). Additionally, the equipped Infernoble Knight Maugis made Gearfried immune to destruction in battle. "That is nice and all, but we are running out of time." The Harpie Lady duelist pointed out. "Then go. And tell everyone else you see to leave the sector as well. You do not have to stay here. I do.. I cannot leave things unfinished."
"Okay. We will retreat to a safe distance" The Fisherman agreed. Their business here was largely done with anyway. "But if the area becomes too unstable, I would urge you to do the same. No duel is worth this... Though regardless of what happens, Abigail. We will be rooting for you." He was the first to teleport away, Vigionaire, Cherry, Mephistar and Cierze were right behind him. "You can win this, Abigail. I know that. But when you do, remember what happens afterwards... be careful that what happened to me and Veyron, does not happen to you." Crescent left with her own words of caution, as she realized who would become the new wielder of the Legacy Wand if her prediction came true. "Do not worry for my sake, Aurora. Unlike the me that you've had to deal with in the past.. I have no taste for power anymore." Abigail gave the weather girl her assurances, and that satisfied them both. Crescent vanished, unopposed by Abigail's opponents.
-TURN 05-
"Heh, I do not know how she could say such things, when she herself experienced the power of legacy." Veyron shook his head. "But her concerns are unwarranted either way! The Wand will remain with me!" Veyron snatched a card from his graveyard, Orcust Cymbal Skeleton, and banished it. "As long as the sun sets, the Evening Star will return!" The Orcust Dingirsu(R8/2600/2100) [Zone 3] made another attempt at sending one of his enemies to the grave as soon as he left it. "And I will negate it as long as Gearfried has his blades!" Abigail unequipped Infernoble Knight Maugis from Gearfried, letting the warrior toss the fiery knight's blade into Dingirsu's chest and forcing him down into the depths instead. Because Maugis had left the field again, Abigail could return another set of Noble cards from her graveyard (Infernoble Arms Joyeuse, Infernoble Knight Renaud, Noble Arms Clarent) to the deck to draw a new card. "Then I can banish Orcust Crescendo to add an Orcust from the deck to my hand! I add Orcust Knightmare!" Veyron barely took the time to process this interaction as he already moved on to the next.
"Knightmare?" Even if his newest card surprised Zettai as well as Abigail. "I told you, the power of all items flow through me as well! Static left me in charge of the tower for a reason! When Knightmare Orcust is sent to my graveyard, I can send one other dark machine monster from the deck to the grave to give another monster a hundred attackpoints for each of that machine's levels!" First however, Veyron activated the Magnet Reverse spell as well, to special summon one machine from the graveyard that could only be special summoned. Dingirsu could only be summoned once a turn, so he resurrected Orcustrion(3000/LINK 4) {Downleft/Up/Down/Upright} [Zone 3] with the reverser instead. "I activate Orcustrated Return! I discard one Orcust to draw two cards!" Now he set his nightmarish plan into motion. The face-down spell card took the Orcust Knightmare, a corrupted demonic form of Galatea, and traded her in for two new cards. "Knightmare Orcust sends the World Legacy World Wand!" And now, at long last, Veyron revealed the card-incarnation of his legacy item. It possessed eight level stars, which translated into a moderate powerboost for Orcustrion(3800 atk).
"And I can banish World Legacy World Wand from my graveyard, to special summon one Orcust from the graveyard! Come, Longirsu!" The Orchestrator(2500/LINK 3) {Upleft/Up/Downright} [Zone 3] got a second chance at life as well, appearing in front of the other extra zone. "And now, the finishing touch! I activate Limiter Removal!". Both Longirsu(5000 atk) and Orcustrion(7600 atk) gained a significant powerboost once their limits were lifted. "That is more than six thousand points in damage, yes. Which means this attack will end the duel, Abigail!" Orcustrion would be granted the first strike with the Immortal Gearfried as its target. Wave after wave of sound came crashing down. This Emperor Charles could not abide. "Unless.. I activate Armory Call! I equip one spell card from my deck to a monster on the field! I choose Double Edged Sword!" Abigail gave the Immortal paladin(5000/2200) a shining sword with an ornate golden hilt that added 2000 ATK to the equipped monster. Though Abigail hoped to more than defend her lifepoints. "Emperor Charles! Destroy Orcustrion!" A new equipment meant another activation of her synchro emperor's effect.
"I activate Unauthorized Reactivation to equip Orcustrion with a Union monster!" Veyron's quickplay spell put a stop to that however, as it equipped an Unauthorized Bootup Device to Orcustrion. "I can destroy the Bootup Device instead of the monster that is intended to be destroyed!" The Orcust Organ tossed the Bootup machine up into the air and into the path of Charles' lightning bolt. His effect went off prematurely, blasting the union device to pieces instead. At the same time Orcustrated Einsatz discarded Orcust Harp Horror to the graveyard again. "Too bad, you still cannot catch me!" The orchestral bombardment continued against the warrior of the phoenix and ended his immortality. "Kgeh..." However the Double Edged Sword did force both players to share the battle damage instead of just Abigail.
Abigail's LP: 2400 Veyron's LP: 2000
"Your sword allowed you to survive this turn, but now the leads is back where it belongs!" Longirsu drove the tower spear into the Infernoble Emperor to break his armor and impale his body. Both warriors died in a blaze of glory which burned off more lifepoints from their unfortunate master. "Doesn't this feel good, Abigail? A fight between just the two of us? We do not have to care about anything or anyone else anymore!" Veyron laughed manically, even as the tower around them started to shake and tremble more and more.
Abigail's LP: 900
-TURN 06-
"...All of this...Is this really what you want? You, Veyron?" The tower of Babel, the light of Einsatz, the power of Dingirsu and Orcustrion; it all painted a very disturbing picture to her. "None of this is you, not even a dark twisted version of you." She turned her eyes towards Veyron and started walking floating up towards him. "What are you doing?" Veyron noticed that she signaled a shift into the battle phase with her field still as empty as the void. "! She still has that card? Veyron!" Only Zettai recognized the signs of what was about to come: of a trap card that could be activated from the hand when the player controlled no cards of their own. "I am here to balance the scales, Veyron. I activate Evenly Matched." Abigail waited until she stood but a few feet away from the speed duelist, before she sprung her trap on him. "N-NO!" Evenly Matched forced Veyron to banish his own cards face-down until he controlled as many cards as she did. "You've gone far enough. It was time to slow things down."
"Slow down? I cannot slow down now! Gah! Nothing will stop while I am here!" Veyron took down everything except Orcustrion. The tower of Babel disappeared while at the same time more parts of the tower Beyond were beginning to crumble away. "I should have seen this coming; your favorite card.." Veyron felt like parts of his own memory were starting to crumble at the same rate. The two duelists were forced to float back down to the main battle stage and look each other in the eyes. "You should have... Juan should have. Because he was my partner. The legacy items are making you forget who you used to be. Because that is easier.." She spoke with a sigh. "What would you know about that?" Veyron spat back at her. "I know what it's like to want the easy way out. To let just a higher purpose make the choices for me.. whether that be Static or this Creator, whether it be lady luck or God Himself. But acting like they can decide what is right and wrong only hurt me and the people around me."
"And that's precisely why we cannot stop. Because people are being forced to make choices against their will all the time! By fighting Static, all you are doing is making it easier for powers like Exeter and Continuum to take over! You're letting corruption spread! At least Static is giving everyone the same chances: the same clean slate! That is true equality!" Zettai shouted. "You're still in denial, after everything we have gone through? No, this has to end.. for you too, Zettai. But first, I will save a real friend." Abigail tended to her own cards again and activated the Heritage of the Chalice to add the Infernoble Knight Roland(1/500/500) [Zone 1] to her hand and normal summon him. "I summon Infernoble Knight Captain Oliver!" She could use her fire warrior as a stepping stone of sorts. The synchro captain revived himself(5/2000/500) in defense mode and took Roland as his(2500/500) own special equipment for a slight powerboost. She also gave her Captain the warriors Maugis and Oliver from the graveyard as equipments: making her defending synchro monster nearly untouchable. "I set two cards.. and end my turn."
-TURN 07-
"Gods. Fortune.. Fate. Do you think I care about any of that? I decided my own future when I earned the power of this Item!" Veyron yelled loudly, still amplifying the power of his voice with the World Wand. "The tower must not fall.." His smile took on a deranged tone as he removed Orcustrion from his field to XYZ-summon another Orcust Dingirsu(R8/2600/2100) [Extra Zone 2] from his extra deck. "I will not fall! Not when I am this close to god!" The Evening Star Orcust targeted the Infernoble Captain with its grave-sending powers, which neither targeted nor destroyed. With Oliver gone, Veyron would be able to finish Abigail off with a single attack. "It is! But on my terms!" She immediately responded by activating her quickplay spell: Glory of the Noble Knights. "What now?!" The spell could equip one Noble Arms equip spell from the deck to a Noble Knight on the field, leading the two duelists to a familiar scenario. "I give the Infernoble Arms Durendal to the Captain Knight Oliver!" Zettai gave her warrior the burning sword right before it died, causing said equipment to be destroyed...
"I special summon the Blue Flame Swordsman from my graveyard in defense mode!" The blade of Durendal revived one of her lesser noble fire warriors: the half-armored Flame Swordsman(4/1800/1600) [Zone 2] with his blade of blue flames. "Ngh.." As soon as he saw that card, Veyron knew how the rest of this turn would play out. It would not be in his favor. "Damn you.. I equip Dingirsu with Air Cracking Storm!" But he still went on the offensive, giving his own machine knight an equipment spell that looked like a turbine cannon. "When a monster with this card destroys the first target in battle, it can attack again!" The Evening Star used its own lance to skewer the defending Blue Flame Swordsman, and prepared a second shot with the Air Cracking cannon. Yet of course, he knew that second shot would not be going towards her. "When Blue Flame dies, it will revive one fire warrior from my graveyard!" Because Abigail special summoned the Infernoble Knight Maugis [Zone 2] in defense mode instead to absorb the damage from the second attack. "Damn me." Veyron merely shook his head and resigned himself to this failed turn while the rumbling inside the arena reached a peak.
-TURN 08-
"I know you wanted to stop me before we came to this moment. But now it is over, Veyron." This would be the second standby phase to pass after she activated the effect of Infernoble Astolfo. This would be when that effect resolved. "Astolfo summons herself and one Fire Warrior from my graveyard!" The dimensional knight [Zone 2] returned with the ruler at their side: Infernoble Knight Emperor Charles(9/3000/200) [Zone 3]. "I equip Charles with Oliver, Ogier and Maugis!" She let the emperor have every knight he could possibly want, triggering his effect one final time to destroy the Orcust Dingirsu. "Ahah.. This is too much." Veyron shook his head and detached one XYZ-material from Dingirsu to keep it alive. "Then I sacrifice Astolfo!" Time after time again, the Captain Oliver would come back from the dead to turn a fellow living FIRE Warrior into an equipment for himself(2500/500). "And attack!" The Emperor Charles charged forwards, letting the burning fury of his equipped knights fuel an inferno big enough to swallow the evening star and send it into the depths of the grave.
Veyron's LP: 1600
"Ahaha... I cannot believe it had to end this way." And Veyron could still only laugh, to the surprise of his partner. "Veyron?"
"Don't you see it Zettai? The moment I decided to turn my back on lady luck... she proved her existence by sending me into a spiral of misfortune." No matter how hard he hit her, Abigail kept getting back up and kept striking back with the warriors from before. Meanwhile his deck grew thinner and more miserable. At a certain point Veyron would no longer be able to match her pace. And now they were at that point... "I got too greedy. And even with all of this.. I am not good enough to escape being human." He knew how this battle would play out, he did not want to hold on to the World Wand anymore. "You were good enough. Juan was good enough. Everything went wrong for him.. for Veyron, when he let others decide how to he had to be. I do not know how much of him you can hear, but I think you know that he cannot be part of you anymore." Abigail declared the final attack with the same monster that declared the first attack. Captain Roland swung his sword through the air and delivered a direct wave of flames at Veyron's feet.
Veyron's LP: 0
The consequences were felt throughout the tower beyond in a matter of seconds. "!?" Large cracks appeared across the arena floor and stoned shifted upwards or fell into the levels below. The Legacy Items, which had been the only part of the environment to remain steadily pinned down during all the rumbling, now scattered all over the place.. some even falling through the cracks. "Argh! No!" Zettai tried to grab one of them but got repelled by their energy. Meanwhile Veyron let go of the World Wand, which dropped right down in front of Abigail. But she refused to pick it up or even look at it. "Veyron! Zettai! You have to leave! Now!" No matter what these beings were, she did not see them as deserving of destruction. And while her ounterpart seemed receptive to the idea of running away, the speed duelist remained motionless. "So another tower of Babel comes crumbling down after all huh?" He simply sat down and waited for the pieces to fall. "No!" Abigail could only quickjump away or risk being buried in the collapsing debris herself. What happened to either of them or to the seven items afterwards, she could not tell..
...
"Hey! What did we miss?" Back at Exeter HQ, Blanche showed up with the still quite exhausted champions in tow. "You've arrived just in time." Midsummer Nightmare greeted her with a chuckle. "Yes. This is it!" Scarlet Rose meanwhile pointed at the holographic recreation of the Tower Beyond. It fell to pieces one level at a time. "Whoa.. is that in real time? Did the others make it out okay?" Blanche had not counted on the destruction happening that quickly. "All but Abigail, Zettai and Veyron are accounted for. They retreated to a safe distance. But what you are seeing is really happening. The destabilizing code worked like a... charm?" Scarlet Rose did take that into consideration, yet she sounded a bit puzzled herself. "So something supposed to happen right? Something big like the island leaving the ocean?" The blue-eyed duelist managed to pick up a couple of worrying signs herself. As far as she could tell, the two realities were not letting go of each other at all.. she remained Madam Blanche. "No. No this is not possible?"
And so did the pyramid. A large golden obelisk emerged from underneath the broken down tower, as if it had been inside of it all along. "Curious. What is this? The new beyond?" Midsummer inquired. "That is...our laboratory. Fever expanded it?" Rose did not understand how this could have happened, when this started and what purpose it served. "She must have built a failsafe. But it does not feel like.. The scanners... this is not using the same power as Static's arena. Where did she get this new power from?"
...
The reach of the other entity continued to expand. Deep beneath the ground they gave chambers to the corrupt and the wealthy: politicians from the capitol or lawmakers from courthouses. They readily walked in to offer themselves to it, to Continuum and its promise of immortality. The pods gave them new artificial bodies that would last forever.. at the cost of some precious memories. "Are their services really required in our new world, mister Shintaro? Are we not already influential enough?" Even Hikaru came to question the selection process. It seemed like anyone could join them if they simply payed enough. "That is not what we seek, Hikaru. The only value Continuum needs is information." Mr. and Mrs. Shintaro were willing to accept anyone in turn, because these were the people who gave birth to Continuum in the first place. "But why oversee this process yourselves? Why risk everything by going about it this way?" Hikaru did not like it. Continuum could only be in one place at a time, but its organization counted thousands of loyal followers. He saw no need for the Shintaros to involve themselves personally. "As the power of the other entities grow, so to does our freedom shrink. We need to take risks.. We counted on it."
"My lords? What do you mean? What is wrong?" Hikaru flinched. "Nothing significant. Hikaru, our allies are done for now. Lead them to the safe zone and await further instructions there." Mr. Shintaro commanded. "Is the site compromised? Are our enemies attacking? Why not retreat with us?" The loyal disciple did not question his lords often, but he felt compelled to do so now more than ever. "These sites are on in a hundred, we are one of million; neither matter as much as the plan. This is our mission, you have your own." Mrs. Shintaro coldly dismissed his care regardless. "But you do matter! You matter to me! Please, let me stand with you! I will fight to my dying breath if that is what you ask of me!" The duelist bowed before them both, meaning every uttered word. "You are letting your emotions get in the way, Hikaru. Do not make the same mistake as those before you. Go now, before the enemy can follow your trace." Still they rebuffed him. They did not even look at him anymore. "...Master Shintaro. If that is what you need from me." He finally gave up and joined the crowd of figures emerging from the conversion pods to teleport them to a new destination.
When the area got cleared out, that's when they appeared: the duelists known as Tycho Rivers, Bionis Khan, Olympia, a reluctant and silent Vitruvic, Zanbatou.. and their own daughter Nakana Shintaro.
"They're here! You showed us the right way after all!" Tycho shouted. After several failed interception attempts, the duelists had finally caught up with the worldtravelers. "Rgh. The one who captured me is not here." Olympia spoke with barely restrained rage, rage she did not even know she had until she saw these faces again. "Forget that guy, he was just another grunt. They are the real prize. And we lucked out, because we got both of them and their secret hideout!" Bionis Khan snickered greedily. "Though they do not look surprised to see us." He wanted to be happier than how he currently felt, but one look at their icy expressions evaporated all joy. "I don't care. One way or another, I am going to get my answers, answers to everything we've seen already." Tycho cracked his knuckles. The three duelists each harbored their own reason to be here, their own frustration or even hatred.
"Mother. Father." But no feeling or emotion matched that of the Shintaro family's own daughter. "Please say something." And no feeling could reach them regardless of its intensity. "Nakana. What are your intentions here?" They responded to her arrival with all the energy of an indifferent teacher trying to lecture their student, rather than the rebellious duelists interrupting their great meeting. "I just... I wanted to talk. To get answers." Nakana thought she'd come here with her own anger, but that sensation evaporated the minute she saw them again. "How long have you been like this? I have to know, I have to understand why you are all doing this. Is it.. because of this?" The area they were in made it look like , the Shintaros had been rather busy. "We already told you. This started when Continuum first met us, Nakano. Now that the world of dreams and reality are becoming one, the time has come for us to establish our new order. First every top function is brought into the fold, their memories and knowledge integrated into Continuum. And then.."
"She did not ask how. She asked why!" If Nakana could not bring the fury, Tycho would do so instead. "Why did STHEREA get made in the first place? Did you already suspect that you could use it to control the minds of everyone in the world? Or did Continuum give you that idea?"
"Your anger is unnecessary and misplaced. The one whose existence was erased is the cause of this all. We are merely returning order to his chaos." Mr. Shintaro stated unapologetically. "The Creator? This is not about him or her or whatever right now! This is about stopping your plans! I don't know why we thought talking to you would help!" He activated his dueldisk. "You want to fight us? Us? Is this your intention as well, Nakana?" But despite Tycho's posturing they only had eyes for their daughter. "You want to defy us... and Continuum? It cannot be done" Their eyes.. and the thousand eyes of the third entity. "It is time for you to join us. And you saved us the trouble of having to come and get you."
(To Be Continued in World 092: Owner of a Frozen Heart)
Cards used by Abigail Sterling
Double-Edged Sword
Glory of the Noble Knights
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Armory Call
New Cards used by Veyron GT
Orcust Knightmare
World Legacy - World Wand
Unauthorized Bootup Device
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Unauthorized Reactivation
Aircracking Storm