The Rise and Fall of History II: Opposing the Present

by Medigo

The world of dueling has reached its climax. Many stories have been told through these cards, and the final story brought everyone together. People are united and yet, an unknown world suffers in their shadow. The fallen one returns in the midst of their peace, pursued and still a stranger to those around. There is not much time to save both his home and his friends.

7. Someone Else's Paradise

Redux 084: Someone Else's Paradise

The hour grew late. The more time passed, the more templar drones dotted the skies. For that reason the duelists decided to go to quieter parts of the city. As Adamant drove, the story of his allies and their Eric-a-like was told in great detail. 'Inferno' and Purgatory learned about the other timeline, the guilds and the travelers from the future. A few fantastical parts; like the prophecy sisters involvement and Alice's past, were left out. "You expect us to believe all this?"The second Eric was still skeptical. "Hello!? What about me!" The first Eric did not understand his denial, with him right there. "You could be anything, a cosmetically altered replacement, a robotic duplicate. Millennium can do all kinds of stuff you know!" Purgatory, who still refused to take of her mask, stood firmly on her partners side. "Well he's not wearing a mask, if thats what you're thinking!" Alice proved that by pulling on Erics ear. "Ow! Thanks Alice." Eric rubbed the sore spot. "Aside from that. How would we know to copy your image? Are you particularly infamous in these areas? Are you part of some larger-scale operation?" Iria assumed that these two couldn't have been working alone. Not if they managed to take down a Templar drone. "So you want to find out about us?" Inferno's words indicated as much.

Adamant stopped the car. "We need help, and we cannot ask this Union." They were the enemy the XYZ-guild feared. And if the Iria of this universe was truly as monstrous as she was purported to be, their chances of befriending her would be slim. "Like it or not. A war is coming. Those guilds now have the power and the means to invade. We need to warn your people. You should understand more than anyone." Uno was hoping they would see the truth. But the other Eric did not want to budge. "There is no way we can take you to the others. Not unless we're absolutely certain."

"Then ask Eric things only he would know!" Alice suggested. "Yeah. I can tell you my.. ehr.. our dads name.. Lucius!" Eric yelled. "That knowledge is free to the public. Anyone could say that. Where is Lucius now?" The other Eric inquired. "Ehr.. on some kind of businesstrip. He said he'd be back by september." This Eric rarely saw his dad lately. "That's wrong! His parents divorced ages ago!" Purgatory objected loudly. "They did? Wait.. that's just because things happen differently here! Right? What chance do I have if you want me to know all that?" He in turn objected to this entire interrogation. "Hrmph! I know what to do. The best way to figure a guy out, is a duel!" She grabbed her dueldisk and her cards. "I challenge your Eric. Then I will see how much like my Eric he really is!" The first Eric rose from his seat and took his new dueldisk. "Okay, fine!"

And so, minutes later, the two were facing each other outside in the the empty city harbor. "This is a waste of time." Iria griped as the rest watched. "If this is the quickest way to do it. Let them." Adamant gave it a shrug. "You can do it Eric!Wait this is gonna get confusing if we have to call you Eric too. Can we call you Inferno?" Alice asked the 'Inferno'. "I'd rather you not. Call me Stonewell if you must." He grumbled. "Fine. Then I'll be Eric Jones!" Jones was his mothers last name, so he could just use that. "That's not necessary." Stonewell grumbled.

Erics LP: 8000 Purgatory's LP: 8000

"Whatever. And you I guess will still be Purgatory. Well, you're about to go one level deeper!" Eric had the first turn and he summoned a wild dog(3/0/1800) that had two extra heads stitched on its body. "I summon PeroPero Cerperus. Then I activate a spell by sacrificing that monster; Monster Gate!" The threeheaded beast fell into a magic portal. "I pick up cards from my deck until I find a monster that I can summon, and summon it!" Uno excavated five cards from his deck; Five Infernoids, one trap and the Fiendish Rhino Warrior. All but the latter were sent to the grave. "Aha!" The demon rhino(3/1400/900) emerged from the other end of the Gate. "Infernoids?" Stonewell couldn't hide his surprise when he saw his counterparts deck-theme. "Yup. Infernal, isn't it? By banishing two Infernoids, I can special summon Infernoid Asmodeus!" Eric removed two of the five Infernoids buried in the grave. A third, Infernoid Piaty the golden hell-prince(5/2200/0), broke free and summoned itself in attack position. "How is that?"

"Infernoid Asmodeus? Hm, you know to imitate that annoying habit at least." Her partner liked to give his Igknights better names too. "But how do you handle a fight?" Purgatory's turn came. And she placed two cards on either side of the disk. "She has pendulums too?" Uno was curious if these came from a Drone too. They did not look like the type for it. "I set Abyss Actor - Sassy Rookie and Abyss Actor - Funky Comedian!" A circus clown (scale 2) with eyes on its arms and knees, a rotund four-armed demon (scale 8); these were Purgatory's monsters. "Thanks to them I can pendulum summon Abyss Actor - Wild Hope and Abyss Actor - Big Star!" Two more from this troupe appeared from her hand; a colorful mechanical cowboy(4/1600/1200) and a thin black one-eyed actor(7/2800/1500). "Those are..her cards?" Iria was not sure what she'd expected. Not this.

"Try to keep up, Eric." Purgatory normal summoned another Abyss Actor - Funky Comedian(1/300/200). "I activate all my Abyss actors! When I summon him, Funky Comedian gains 300 attackpoints for each Abyss Actor monster I have! Wild Hope can also add 100 attackpoints to himself for each unique Abyss Actor!" The heavyset demon(1200/200) and the wild demon(1900/1200) were thrice applauded and thrice empowered. "Where did that noise come from?" Eric didn't see anyone cheer. The sound was built into the dueldisk system. "And once each turn, Big Star places one Abyss Script spell card from my deck face-down!" Purgatory drew her Script, Fantasy Magic, and hid it face-down. Spells searched this way would be destroyed at the end of the turn. "Finally, Funky Comedian may share his own attackpoints with another monster on the field, giving up his own attack at the same time." The comedian jumped on Wild Hope's back, further powering him(3100/1200) up. "Oh did I say 'finally'? I forgot the final final step! As a pendulum monster, Funky Comedian can also redistribute stats! By tributing an Abyss Actor.." Big Star bowed gracefully and disappeared behind a wide curtain. "His attackpoints are left for another!" The residual power traveled towards Wild Hope(5600/1200).

"What the.." It was a lot at once. "Hrm. You're definitely naive-er." Purgatory observed before she flipped her face-down spell. "I activate my Abyss Script now." Wild Hope read the magic script and changed outfits. He looked like a fantasy wizard now. "Wild Hope, make Piaty disappear!" In the battle phase, the fantasy cowboy shot his bullets right at the flying demon. "As if that.. hey!" His Fiendish Rhino Warrior protected all demons from death in battle, and it did so this time by deflecting the bullets with its spear. Yet Infernoid Piaty faded away anyway. "You didn't notice that Fantasy Magic was more than a costume upgrade? Any monster Wild Hope fails to kill, will be returned to the players hand." She had no plans of letting him keep his combo. "Well, your monster is dead too!" Eric grabbed PeroPero Cerperus from his graveyard. "When I take damage, I can banish the Cerberus to destroy one monster on the field!" The hound lunged forward and tore Wild Hope's head off. "Hey thanks! When Wild Hope is destroyed, I can put a new Abyss Actor in my hand." Purgatory gleefully pulled a second Abyss Actor Big Star from her deck. "Aargh!"

Eric's LP: 4600

"Eric. Try to stay calm! This duel is just beginning!" Uno knew how mad Eric could get. He never played well like that. "Ffff.. I know.. I know." It worked a little towards cooling him down at least. "Well it's your turn again." Purgatory placed a spell card down and ended her turn. "..." Eric drew his card and glanced to his left. He was watching, but he wasn't talking. "I.. summon Infernoid Astaroth!" One more dead Infernoid was banished, so that Infernoid Patrulea(4/1800/0) could live. "He can destroy one set spell or trap, yours!" The dragonic duke released a burst of hellfire from its jaws, and incinerated the spell. "Oops. You shouldn't have done that." That card turned out to be a second Fantasy Magic Abyss Script. "If a face-down Fantasy Magic gets blown up, it will push one monster on the field back to the deck!" The spell's magic lashed out violently and Fiendish Rhino Warrior was the unlucky victim. The card was placed on top of Eric's deck. "Is this it? Eric would not be that easy to fool!" The masked girl sneered. Stonewell finally had something to say too. "You may have my face, but you do not have my skills."

"Yeah? Say that again in a turn or two!" Eric placed two trap cards face-down. Then he banished the last two Infernoids from his graveyard to resummon Infernoid Piaty(2200/0). "When Asmodeus takes my opponents lifepoints away, he also takes one of their cards in their hand away!" He explained just before his demon attacked and destroyed the Funky Comedian(1/300/200). The chubby actor had lost his attackboosts by now, so Purgatory lost a big chunk of life along with its destruction. "So, that was it for your second Big Star!" Piaty forced the opponent to discard the last card in her hand. Unfortunately that was the end of the damage, as Patrulea could not attack the turn it uses its effect. "My turn's over!"

Purgatory's LP: 6100

"Neat, but it's not exactly going to change anything." Purgatory took two cards from her extra deck. "Here we are again! Pendulum summon!" Big Star and Wild Hope(4/1600/1200) dropped down on the field. Wild Hope wasted no time in re-using its effect on himself(1800/1200). "Big Star, give me Abyss Script Rise of the Dark Ruler!" The Star actor summoned a new book from the deck. "Rise of the Dark Ruler destroys a face-up card for each attack-position Abyss Actor in attack-position. It's a no-brainer which two cards are going to be targeted, eh?" She flipped the Abyss book open. A muscular demon jumped out of the pages and slaughtered both Infernoid Patrulea and Piaty with its claws. "I'd say this duel is as good as done. Big Star, Wild Hope; attack him directly!" Big Star raised his hands above his head and gathered magical energy. With a mighty swing, he threw the blast towards Eric. "...Heh. Gotcha." The blast was fast. Eric's trap was faster. "Blazing Mirror Force!" A wall of flames rose between the two duelists. "Blazing!? You.." The fire reached as high as it could, before it crashed down on the Abyss Actors and destroyed them. "..idiot!" Then the fire spread towards Eric and Purgatory.

Eric's LP: 500 Purgatory's LP: 2000

"Eric? Was that part of your plan?" Uno shouted. "Of course!" He emerged from the flames with a big smile on his face. "It was worth it, to get to her. " ..." The trap Blazing Mirror Force destroyed all attack-position monsters and inflicted damage equal to those monsters combined original attackpoints. Eric took the damage first, Purgatory second. "Well.. at least you saved 200 lifepoints." Alice looked at it from the bright side. Purgatory didn't have any monsters left either. "Of all the boneheaded things to do. A breeze can knock you down now!" She growled as she activated her Pot of Riches spell card. The three Abyss Actors in her extra deck were returned to the main deck, allowing her to draw twice. "And what about you?" Eric retorted. "What about me?" Purgatory placed the two drawn cards in the spell/trap zone and ended her turn. "Well you can imagine I'm a bit distracted with my mirror self breathing down my neck. So I forgot to think about you. Why are you with him?" She seemed to know a lot about this universe's Stonewell. "I am just a friend."

"Really. Well, while this is awkward for us both, I am not letting it get to me anymore!" Eric started his turn with a trap; Fiend Comedian. "Heads!" Fiend Comedian tossed a virtual coin which Eric had to call. And he hoped he called it wrong. "Knew I could count on my bad hand!" The coin landed on tails. "I'll discard three cards from my deck!" Fiend Comedian discarded one card for each card in Purgatory's graveyard. Two of those cards were Infernoids. "Better and better! I banish three Infernoids!" Patrulea, Piaty and a third demon were consumed by the fourth Infernoid in the depths. "No time for regrets anymore. Say hi to Infernoid Lilith!" Infernoid Devyaty, the lesser(9/2900/2900) of the two great hell serpents took corporeal form. Upon its ascent, all spells and traps would be destroyed. "Eric.. Stonewell.. I see some resemblance now." In the face of that, Purgatory lowered her hand. "You mean you believe me now?" It sounded like she did. "Starting to, Eric... But that does not mean I am giving up!"

She flipped her set spell, Mystical Space Typhoon. "No way I am losing to any Eric Stonewell!" The spell destroyed one of her pendulum spells; Sassy Rookie. Then Infernoid Devyaty destroyed her other spells. "Oh.. Not again.." That destruction included a face-down Abyss Script. "Yes again! You destroyed the script of Opening Ceremony! If that set card is destroyed, while I have Abyss Actors in my extra deck, I can refill my hand completely!" She drew as many as five cards from her deck. "What? That's ridiculous!" Eric thought such cards would be forbidden. "That's the new world, Eric." She pulled her mask down so Eric could see her grin. "Well. Better hope you got something amazing then! Go Lilith, direct attack!" It and Infernoid Devyaty coiled around Purgatory. Purple flames traveled upwards inside its body. "I'd say my hopes paid off, Eric! I summon Battlefader!" From her hand she activated the effect of the clock-sounding Battlefader. It(1/0/0) summoned itself and ended the battle phase. "Lucky shot." Devyaty's fire was extinguished. "I set a monster and a trap and end my turn."

"Maybe. Let me teach you one thing, Eric Jones. In this world you can't end a duel until we know the winner! So you should cherish whatever luck comes your way!" She activated two of her new cards; another Funky Comedian for the 8th scale and a muscular demon for his 1st scale. "Abyss Actor Evil Heel! Let them see my.. Pendulum summon!" Purgatory special summoned the Sassy Rookie actor(4/1700/1000) from her extra deck, and Superstar(7/2500/1500) from her hand. "And why don't we.." Superstar activated his Script searching ability, setting a second Rise of Dark Ruler spell card down on the field. "Clear the stage!" She activated the Dark rulers script, targeting both of Erics monsters for elimination.

"Nice try, Purgatory!" Eric retaliated instantly. "But Skill Prisoner makes Lilith untargetable by card effects this turn!" He flipped a trap and immunized his infernal serpent. Rise of the Dark Ruler could not resolve if it couldn't destroy one of its two targets. "Clever! That'll also stop Evil Heel's effect. But you forgot about Funky Comedian!" The pendulum actor did another dance and clapped its hand. Sassy Rookie was tributed, and Superstar(4200/1800) took over the monsters attackpoints. "As if. I knew that was coming. But I wanted you to fight for it." This time Eric was out of fancy getaways. "Really? Heh." The powered up Superstar spun his hand around until he created a whirlwind of light and magic. The attack pulled in Infernoid Devyaty and swallowed her whole. With that the duel ended, and the disks could be turned off.

Eric's LP: 0

"Aww. I thought Eric had her." Alice sighed. "He almost did. You can blame him for that. Stonewell was the one who told me to add some more protection cards to my deck." Purgatory shared a look with Stonewell. "You can always count on him. But..I think I can count on you guys too." She pulled back the rest of her mask to reveal her face; her hazel eyes and her spiked hair with painted streaks. "Nice to see you." Uno took that as a sign of good faith. "Stonewell, what do you say? I mean if you can't trust yourself, who can you trust?" She turned to her partner whose scowl finally began to soften. "Very well. I suppose we can show you our hideout."

"Finally." Iria groaned. Now they were getting somewhere.

'Somewhere' turned out to be another letdown for expectations. Their 'hideout' turned out to be a medium-sized freighter at the harbor. "This is it?" The place was abandoned, decommissioned as Stonewell explained it. As it turned out, with all the new technology Millennium offered. There was no room in the world for outdated cargo transporters like these, so every city near a harbor had a few spares lying around. It was only a temporary base, he added. "Hey guys!" After Tory called, more members of this club came out of the shadows. "Hi there!" Alice waved at them. "Hey." One waved back un-enthusiastically. They all wore masks of various types, and seemed to prefer anonymity. "They're all.." But Iria could tell, none of them sounded a day older than Uno. "Like us." Adamant was more used to this kind of gathering. "You've started a rebellion." They had done what the XYZ-guild wanted to do. "Hey. Are you sure about recruiting these guys? I mean that girl looks a lot like Silver." One member brilliantly pointed out. "Oh there is a reason for that." Tory could barely contain herself. "We've got a surprise for you guys!" She stepped aside and revealed the other Eric Stonewell. "Whaaaat?"

The 'resistance' members took the revelation and explanation remarkably well. "I knew it. The signs all pointed to it, interdimensional timetravel!" One guy yelled. This was at last proof for his crazy theories. "Really? So you're a second Iria Silver?" Another was afraid to even be near the disciple. "No offense man, but I think you've been reading too much of that scifi stuff." And there were of course a few skeptics. "Trust me. I am not there yet either. But since the place isn't crawling with Templars already, they may be on the level." Stonewell cast a quick glance at the last sunlight. "Speaking of which. It's time to go inside." Everyone moved to the bridge of the ship, where its cargo now lied. "Wow. Where did you get all this stuff from?" Computers, machines and wires were sprawled across the floor. "Let's just say we have a secret benefactor. He gives us, and others like us, missions from time to time. That's where all of this comes from." Stonewell tapped one of the computers. "So you're one of many cells? What are all of you supposed to achieve?" Uno asked. "The end of this Union. Our mission is to expose their lies to the world." Stonewell explained it succinctly.

(To be Continued in Redux 083: One Thousand Questions)

New Cards used by Eric Stonewell
PeroPero Cerperus

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Monster Gate

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Blazing Mirror Force
Skill Prisoner

Cards used by Purgatorio
Abyss Actor - Sassy Rookie
Abyss Actor - Funky Comedian
Abyss Actor - Big Star
Abyss Actor - Wild Hope
Battlefader
Abyss Actor - Evil Heel

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Abyss Script - Fantasy Magic
Abyss Script - Rise of the Dark Ruler
Pot of Riches
Mystical Space Typhoon
Abyss Script - Opening Ceremony