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.

22. Hell and Heaven on Earth

Redux 69: Hell and Heaven on Earth

"Damn you!" The mere sight of the Inquisitor pulled Stonewell into a state of fury and he tossed an EMP grenade at the Templars without hesitation. "What?! How?" The shockwaves released by the detonated grenade showed no effect on the floating machines. "Come now. Did you expect me to leave such a weakness alone? I analyzed the grenade your friend used the day before and adjusted the barriers of my Templars. It was child's play. I am sure you're happy to know that your friend' sacrifice was all for nothing. You see I learn from my mistakes. I do not need to deal with you directly. Certainly not when some of you are eager to interfere with those pastiche dueldisks of yours." The holographic Inquisitor directed her steely gaze towards Alice. "Eh?" The girl flinched, but Silver did not go deeper into that subject.

"Inquisitor." Adamant stepped forward. "How did you find us?" He thought they had covered everything; Stonewells Igknight deck, the duelist at the station. How could she have found them? "Oh I didn't have you on record yet either. Adamant is it? Well, you can thank an anonymous tip for that. Your resistance network is not as pure as you probably thought it was. I have got to admit. You little rats always got away with it. Those toys of yours had my Templars fooled, for a while. And I never considered the possibility of anyone using that old underground network to get into the city. Then again..." She narrowed her eyes. "I have no idea why you considered it. "What did you think was going to happen upon arrival; that the Union would roll out the red carpet for you? Or were still planning on using my image to get passed the first perimeter? I didn't think so. Now I will ask again. Surrender.. or fight."

"Guys. Hold your fire." Uno saw Adamant and Stonewell ready to take up arms with these Templars, Alice and Eric paralyzed with indecision and Iria already discouraged by the hopelessness of the situation. "Let me try and talk to her." That was all he could come up with. "Silver! We came here to meet the girl from the fair! What happened with you and her?" Whatever that girl did back then, it didn't keep the Inquisitor out of commission long enough. "You are in no position to ask me questions, trespasser. Look around you!" Silver seemed oddly agitated that Uno would dare raise that subject. "Why don't you look? I told you we came from another dimension and we have proof!" Uno pointed at the two Erics. "That is my friend, Eric Stonewell. And that is his counterpart from this world, your world!" She might have been able to discredit a copy of herself, but she had to notice something was up now. "Another make-up job? You would go through that much effort to support your inane narrative?" Clearly Uno was under-estimating her distrustful nature. "Then scan their DNA or something! I know you can do that!"

"Oh I will. Once I have converted all of you to data, you and those friends you are carrying with you." The Inquisitor flatly stated. "No!" Alice shrieked. "You don't have to go that far!" Uno shouted. "No. But I have every right too. You are in violation of a dozen transgressions altogether... And I want to." Silver smirked. "You in particular should already have been 'carded'."

"Iria!" The actual Iria was tired of listening to her deranged reflection. "What do you want?" The Inquisitor sighed. "I want you to listen to this!" Since the last time, Iria had given her past some thought. There had to be a memory in there that she could use against herself. A story that nobody else would know about. She found one. "When you were a child.. six years old or so, you went with your class on a schooltrip to the zoo. But you got lost, somehow. You were all alone, surrounded by adults. You were scared. But there was one nice man who helped you, took you to the tourist shop and warned one of the teachers that you were found." Iria could only hope that this event took place in her timeline as well. It happened 14 years ago, maybe the two worlds were still relatively the same back then. If she grew up in the same school, she should have experienced the same mandated schooltrip and experience. "You..could have gotten that information elsewhere." The Inquisitor's slowed response revealed how surprised she was to hear this Iria say all that. "Maybe. But I know what you felt. Because I felt it too. It was the first time you ever felt completely helpless, wasn't it?" The Inquisitor's eyes widened. "... How can you know this?"

"Because I am you."

"... Even if I assume that to be true." The Inquisitor was reeling, but not entirely convinced nor resigned. "You have still sinned against the Union. In fact if your entire story is true, then your very presence is a crime!" Inevitably she fell back on the law, on what she knew was true. "It was you who threatened us first! Your Union planned to invade our world! And your world has now been invaded by ours! There were people attacking us in that very network we came out of! They're the threat!" Adamant yelled. "If anyone else is hiding in those tunnels, we will find them and capture them too. But I have heard of no invasion plans. Probably because they are not physically possible!" If she had heard, she probably would have been more receptive to their words. "That doesn't matter anymore. Both worlds have a bigger problem! That's why we're here! We need to find someone who can fix it all! If you want to take us in, do it! But at least let us talk to someone in charge! The people who started Millennium, or that girl that you apparently already know!" Either one would do. The creators of Millennium had to be involved with timetravel if they were the ones who 'invented' this new unified empire. And that girl had powers like the Zodiac travelers, she might even be a timetraveler for all Uno knew.

"The ones in charge? They don't even let me see them without the proper preparations. What makes you think that you can get an invite? No. I've heard enough." The woman tapped the side of her eyepatch, and all the Templars moved into active duel mode. "You will come with me. Then we shall see what should be done about you and your 'information'." Each templar drew five cards and started their turn, setting their individual lifepoints at 8000. "If you still want to fight, let me show you how that is going to end." Four of the drones placed Majespecters in their pendulum zones. Four more began setting Igknight pendulums and destroying them one after the other to fill their extra deck. The last quartet used a pendulum archetype the gang hadn't seen in a duel yet; mechanical water-attribute dinosaurs called Dinomists. Eventually each Templar pendulum summoned everything they had with their scales; Ten Dinomists, Ten Majespecters and Twelve Igknights. They couldn't possibly beat them all.

Templar's LP: 8000

"THERE YOU ARE!" However the odds evened out just a little. "Wait.. That voice?!" A seventh duelist jumped down from the top of the dam. "It's that Calendar Dragon guy!" Eric recognized his red hair and scarred face the closer he got to the water. It was August, one of the four timetravelers. "He's falling!" Alice cried out, thinking he was going to crash into the ground.

August's LP: 8000

"Behold the power of the enraged heavens! Synchro Summon! My soul, Scarlight Red Dragon Archfiend!" What happened instead was the synchronization of three monsters in mid-flight and the creation of August's scarred demon dragon(8/3000/2500). "Whoa!" The red duelist grabbed the neck of the horned dragon and blasted back upwards right as they neared the water. "UNKNOWN DUELDISK SYSTEM DETECTED. IDENTITY UNKNOWN." The templars scanned their opponent as he hovered in their mists. "Who are you?" The Inquisitor demanded an answer. "The one who is going to put an end to the madness! I activate the power of my Scarlight Dragon!" August skipped the formalities and moved straight to the carnage. "All monsters on the field are destroyed, and each duelist takes 500 points of damage for each loss!" Scarlight prepared over thirty bombs of hellfire. "All of them will be damaged at the same time?" Silver gasped. Even if she were to discount the Majespecters, who could not be destroyed by card effects, her Templars would still lose 22 monsters. "Disappear!" The dragon rained its inferno down on the machines, wasting their pendulums and inflicting 11000 effect damage to all them.

Templar's LP: 0

The flames were so severe that not a single drone could escape in one piece. Some turned to slag and ash in the sky, others blew up and tumbled down into the lake. "How can.." Silver's last line was cut off as the drone casting her hologram exploded and crashed right before Stonewell's feet. "He.. took care of a Templar dozen, in one turn, by himself? How could he do that?" He didn't know this duelist, but apparently the others did. "He's one of the timetravelers I told you about, August. But.. I know about as much as you do when it comes to why and how." Uno guessed they were about to get the why and how as August dismissed his dragon and landed on the floor. "I found you, Uno." He growled. "Do you have any idea of what I have been through these past few days?"

"Not.. exactly.. or loosely. Or at all." They days probably had not been kind on him, going by the anger on the travelers face. "Where are the others?" August was alone, Iria noticed. She felt better about their chances against him, so she did have her dueldisk prepared this time. "I cannot tell you, because of him!" August pointed his fist at Uno. "We were separated after that last battle. You and December built up so much energy with your pendulums, that it broke out and struck us all. While you and your friends got to stick together, we were scattered across either time or space. I was on my own, trapped in this other timeline without January's powers of illusion, without January's warping, without December's future sight. I couldn't go where or when I wanted. All I have is my mark." He clenched his left wrist with his other hand, revealing the burning dragon tattoo. "But as long as I do, I can survive anything. I waited for a sign, and I got one several times. Three times I sensed a pendulum's light in the distance, and it led me to this place.. this city. I wanted to find my comrades. Instead I find you."

"And you are going to help me finish this." August claimed and grabbed Uno's arm. "I'm doing what now?" In a second his pendulum lit up like a fire. "You see it, do you not? You have the power to take other pendulum powers. If January is not here, then you will have take me where I need to be instead!" The pendulum on his wristband was glowing too. "What? I can't control it just like that!" Uno protested, but August wasn't letting go. "Stop it! You're hurting him!" Alice yelled. "You? You are still with him too? Convenient! Do not think I have forgotten that you caused just as many problems as Tempus did! Maybe.." August let go off Uno and walked towards Alice. "Leave her out of this!" Uno quickly stopped him. "I will do what you want! But I don't even know where you want to go!" That was enough to change Uno's mind. "To the source of all this, the top of that tower. Haven't you felt it? Can't you sense it just by looking at it!?" August turned his eyes upwards and Uno did the same. "I.." From down here one could not even see the very top. "I..can.." But somehow Uno could imagine it. As if he'd seen something like it before, up close. "Yes. Yes!" Whatever that emotion was, it made the pendulum go haywire and shoot beams of light everywhere. It was happening. "Wait! I can't leave..."

The surrounding area transformed in the blink of an eye. The light of the pendulum made the dam and the water disappear, and replaced it all with a lavish looking court. The floors and walls were covered with intricate patterns and various paintings. Transparent pillars with golden patterns ran along the walls, while people were seated in between on large chairs. There was no table, only a trinity of thrones at the end of the room sitting in the filtered sunlight that streamed in through a large window on the north wall. This was where the Union gathered to discuss matters. "..Eric and..." This was the scene that Uno intruded on with August. "Perfect.", Alice "Wha.." and Stonewell. "Did I just.. Is this the court!?"

"Ergh, guys. Sorry." In the heat of the moment, Uno focused only on them. He left Adamant, Iria and his Eric behind. But a larger problem reared its heads. "What the devil is this?" The ministers screamed, as they got out of their seats on by one. "Security!" They cried out, and several Templar drones and palace guards stormed into the chamber. "Feh. This is why you should have left them behind. Another mess I have to clean up." August grunted as he walked right into the guards line of sight. "What is he.." The others did as he suggested and hid behind the pillars. But Stonewell didn't think August could do anything. "Hey!" The poor guards didn't even have the time to respond. August summoned Scarlight Red Dragon Archfiend with a simple gesture and blew all the Templars to smithereens. Then with his own fists and lightning fast speed, he knocked out the guards while dodging their bullets. "This guy is unstoppable!" Stonewell was astonished that August could fight so well too. "This feels bad, Uno." Alice really didn't want to be here, with all of this going down. "Me neither. I don't even know what is going on."

"He attacked the Templars through the forcefields? Solid Vision isn't allowed within the tower!" Panic and fear took possession of the ministers. "Who sent him? What does he want? What does it matter? Run!" They bolted, racing past August to get out of the throne room. August did not stop any of them. He did not sense what he desired in any of them. "..." The one he wanted was the only person who remained calm in all of this, the last to stay. "Good day to you Civilian. That was a Marvelous Entrance." The man sat in one three thrones at the end of the room on the left side. "There you are." This guy, with his medium-long black curls, short-shaved beard and elegant nobleman's clothes; this was the one that held August's interest. "Indeed I am. And you are There. Now I know who I am. Who are You, and who am I to You?" The man inquired as he slowly walked down the steps that led to the thrones. "I am one of the few who survived. If you are who I think you are, you know what that means! Are you the one who created this global empire?"

"If we're Off the Record. I can Admit that I, Marco Amadeus Nisell, am of the Millennium founding Family!" The man proudly confessed. When he got this answer, August activated his dueldisk. "Then you know why I have come for you!" He said with a roar as he started drawing cards. "You're challenging him? Does he even know how to.." Stonewell found out that that was a pointless question before he even finished it. Marco flexed his arm and made a disk pop out of his ruffled sleeve. "HNo wonder this Union is so obsessed with dueling." He said with a groan. "Uh.. whose side are we on?" Alice was not sure about Marco, but she definitely did not like August. "I.. can't be sure." On one hand, the Millennium Union was pretty shady. On the other hand, Uno felt vaguely comfortable in this area.

August's LP: 8000 Marco's LP: 8000

"Ah, I have heard of You. You were supposed to be Traveling with more than One, were You not?" Marco raised an eyebrow at the redhaired man. "I only need myself!" August proclaimed. "Well Well, I certainly do Hope that you have got the Power to back up your Words, my dragonic Friend." Marco placed one monster face-down and ended the turn. "I shall show you power!" August drew his card and summoned his first monster, the wind-tuner Debris Dragon(4/1000/2000). "I activate the permanent spell of Dracocension! Each turn, one dragon is sacrificed for a wyrm of the same level! I call the Mystery Shell Dragon!" The spell made Debris Dragon descend into the graveyard, while an deepblue seaslug wyrm(4/2000/0) ascended to the field. "A monster special summoned with this effect will send anything it destroys back to the deck!" The blue mystery dragon swam through the air and delivered an electric shock to Marco's facedown monster. "Oof, what a Pity." Marco sent his card, the dogscratcher demon Graff of the Burning Abyss(3/1000/500) to the deck. "I had wanted to make a Bigger spectactle with my Malebranches."

"What are those?" That demon did not look familiar to Alice and Stonewell, it was not a standard card in either timeline. "Graff is one of the Burning Abyssals, a series of fiends that referenced the story of Dante's Inferno. If August destroyed it and sent it to the graveyard, it would have special summoned another Burning Abyss fiend from Marco's deck" Yet Uno could explain its effect with ease. "Very Good, my nameless Observer! You know it well." The one who explained the card, was Uno. Which drew a questioning look from Stonewell. "How did you.." Uno did not even realize what he'd done. "That proves it. You two are connected somehow." August growled and placed a trap card down. Then he ended his turn. "Proves it? I don't... What is this all about? Do you believe this guy is connected to Tempus and the pendulums?" Uno yelled. "Pendulum?" Marco drew his eyes towards the crystal around Uno's throat. "I see. You and Your Friend are the Same. No wonder you reached this Room so easily. Well, you came All this way. I should give You a duel to Remember."

"It is Time; Rubic and Scarm." The Malebranches of the Burning Abyss could be special summoned by one of their effects, as long as their owner controlled no spells or traps. So Marco special summoned Rubic of the Burning Abyss, the red-faced terror(3/100/2100), from his hand. After that he normal summoned the eyeless devil with nails like claws; Scarm of the Burning Abyss. "A tuner?" Alice saw the text on Rubic. "EXactly!" Marco made a pumping moption with his fist. "Synchro summon! Virgil, Rock Star of the Burning Abyss!" Virgil the redhaired poet(6/2500/1000) in white bards clothes appeared from a circle of flames. Mister August. Let me Welcome you to your future!"

(To be Continued in Redux 068: In the Middle of the Journey of our Life)

New Cards used by August
Mystery Shell Dragon

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Dracocension

Cards used by Marco Amadeus Nisell
Graff, Malebranche of the Burning Abyss
Rubic, Malebranche of the Burning Abyss
Scarm, Malebranche of the Burning Abyss

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Virgil, Rock Star of the Burning Abyss