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.

23. In the Middle of the Journey of Our Life

Redux 68: In the Middle of the Journey of our Life

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

The master of the Union started his offense, and revealed his taste for the white cards. "Virgil shall Play you a Tune." Marco Amadeus Nisell discarded a card from his hand to activate the effect of his synchro monster; Virgil(6/2500/1000). "He may return any one Card to its Master." Virgil strummed his flaming guitar to hypnotize August's Mystery Shell Dragon(4/2000/0). The seaslug wyrm followed the music which led him off the field and straight into August's deck. "And as my demonic Poet discarded the Burning Abyss Malebranche Cir, I may special Summon one Other from the depths of Hell. But do not be Alarmed. It will only Appear in Defense mode." Like most Malebranches, Cir could activate its effect when it was sent to the graveyard. The wild hog demon revived Malebranche Rubic, the red-faced devil and tuner monster(3/100/2100). "Just one Attack "This turn, only Virgil can Grant you his Attention!" Marco moved to the battle phase and Virgil shot a blast of fire from his guitar towards August. "Ragh!" He took the very realistic fire head-on.

August's LP: 5500

"What? How is this guy using real monsters too?" Stonewell was surprised, he'd overheard the ministers crying about solid vision inhibitors in this place. "This is more than solid vision." Uno recalled that this was how August always fought, and Marco was simply playing along. "But that looked like it hurt." Alice didn't understand why August would make the monsters real, if he was the one taking damage. "As my resting partner Scarm has Died this turn, it may add one Burning Abyss Monster to my Hand during my turn's End." Marco placed a trap card down and before his turn really ended, he used Scarm's effect to grab Calcab the Burning Abyss Malebranche from his deck.

"That will also be the last time you hurt me, founder!" August declared as he began his counter-attack. "For my Tuner, I activate One for One!" He played a spell which special summoned a level 1 monster from his deck at the cost of a card in his hand. Pulao the Wind of the Yangzing was discarded and Chiwen the Light of the Yangzing(1/0/0) was summoned. "For my Non-tuner, I banish Debris Dragon and Pulao from my graveyard!" The souls of a dragon and wyrm were required to special summon XYZ-Raypierce. The skeletal wyrm(4/1700/200) wrapped in flames appeared from August's deck. "Deliver the Decree of the Gods, and Receive the Cries of the Mortals. Synchro Summon! Origin of the Yang Zing - Wangtianhou!" The Raypiercer and Chiwen tuner came together and created a level 5 synchro monster; Wangtianhou the sparkling-gold guardian wyrm(5/0/2800). "When XYZ-Raypierce leaves the field, 500 points of damage are inflicted to my opponent!" The sword that the Raypiercer usually carried in its talons stayed behind during the synchronization process, and it launched itself right at into Marco.

Marco's LP: 7500

"Oof." The lord winced as the blade grazed him. "Your Power certainly Exceeds those of our Templars. Yet you seem to Value some Cards more than others." The pain did not bother him for long. Marco dusted off his coat and laughed it off. "Don't lecture me on the cards, Marco Amadeus! The lesser creatures are just the instruments for my greater powers. They form the beginning!" August added another card from his deck to his hand, Bi'an the Earth of the Yangzing. "When Wangtianhou is summoned, he must give me one Yang Zing card!" Next, as August hadn't normal summoned yet, he summoned the rocky Yangzing Bi'an(3/1600/0) to his field. "And.. Wangtianhou, is a tuner as well!" August revealed right as he tuned Wangtianhou the Origin with the Earth of Bi'an. "He's bringing it out!" Alice and Uno knew of one level 8 synchro monster that August liked. "Synchro Summon! My Soul! Scarlight Red Dragon Archfiend!" The great demon(8/3000/2500) was reborn. "No matter what you put up in front of me, the Red Dragon will burn it all! Scarlight, destroy his monsters!" The dragon fired two infernal meteors towards Virgil and Rubic. Both turned to ash, and each burned away 500 more lifepoints.

Marco's LP: 6500

Meanwhile, Wangtianhou activated its final power. "When The Origin of the Yang Zing leaves the field, he has to summon a Yang Zing from my deck!" August special summoned Taotie the Darkness of the Yang Zing(5/2200/0) "This is the ending! Scarlight, Taotie; attack the enemy directly!" The red dragon coated his fist in hellfire and punched Amadeus right in the chest. "Guh." After that he took a swipe from the Darkness wyrm's claws. "Feel it! Feel the anger seeded by all lost worlds!" August placed another trap card down and passed the turn to his opponent. "Geez. He's almost dead already." Stonewell gasped. "That's what he does. He lets the opponent build up his field, then he takes it down in one go." Uno did not think Marco could come back from this, but part of him wished that this duel would go on for a little longer.

Marco's LP: 1300

"The Red Dragon..." Marco calmly stood up. "I Never thought I would get to See it. You have my Gratitude." Before he used his drawphase he drew a card of his own. Virgil the Rockstar allowed an extra draw when it was destroyed. "You know about the dragon card? How?" Marco's lack of surprise astounded Uno. This man could recognize something noone else could. "Isn't it clear? He is a timetraveler, he works for Tempus or he is Tempus! That is how he was able to start this empire!" August spat out the accusation. "Him?" Stonewell still couldn't believe it. Marco looked too young to be ruling anything. Wasn't he just a figurehead? "Timetravel? You jest. I merely Inherited what belonged to the greatest Traveler in all existence. He who found the Legends that people Forgot and the Inventions of Lost civilization, his legacy Was what we Used to create Millennium. And I can say It is not Easy to Govern a planet. I must also Thank you for Adding some Action to a Dull day, Mister August..."

Marco activated a spell card, Foolish Burial, to send Graff the Malebranche of the Burning Abyss, from his deck to his graveyard. "As Graff is sent to the graveyard, I may Summon one Burning Abyss Monster from my deck!" The dying Graff special summoned a second Cir Malebranche(3/1600/1200) instantly. "And he will Be joined with Draghig, Malebranche of the Burning Abyss!" Marco normal summoned the black dragon from hell(3/1100/900). "Perhaps a Poem will Suit you more?" Draghig and Cir were stacked on top of each other, to begin the overlayal. "XYZ-Summon! Dante, Traveler of the Burning Abyss!" After Virgil there was now the blue-haired poet who described his own journey into hell; Dante the Traveler(3/1000/2500). "He has XYZ-monsters too? What's next, fusion monsters?" Stonewell half expected that from someone at the top of the dueling world. "It's just like Silver. But also.." This reminded Alice of another duelist that she had faced herself; December.

"Choose from One to Three. Send that Many to their Death. Each Loss is my Gain." The number three was chosen, meaning Dante would discard the top three cards from Marco's deck and gain 500 attackpoints for each. He detached the Cir XYZ-material to activate this effect. "Forgive me. I am still Practicing my Haikus." One of the cards Dante discarded was a Burning Abyss Malebranche, Farfa the sleek demon with long white hair. Its effect would banish one card from the field for one turn. "I will be clearer on This. Your Darkness, I want it Gone." The choice was surprisingly not the Red Dragon, but Taotie. The cause could be attributed to Cir's effect, which was activated when Dante detached it. "And Virgil's Melody will Play once more!" Cir special summoned the Synchro of the Burning Abyss; Virgil. The Rockstar immediately discarded the last monster, Calcab the Malebranche of the Burning Abyss. "Scarlight!" August cried out as Virgils effect made the demon dragon fly back to the extra deck. "And when Calcab is sent to the Grave. Well, you will See." The effect of Calcab returned one set spell or trap to their controllers hand. August's second set card was pushed back into his hand. "The Field is Mine to do with! Virgil, Dante, Direct Attack!"

"I swore to you, Marco Amadeus, that you would not cause more pain! I do not lie!" In spite of everything, one trap remained. "King's Consonance! When I am targeted for a direct attack, I may banish a tuner and nontuner monsters from my graveyard, if their levels do not exceed eight!" August activated his trap to remove Bi'an and Wangtianhou. "Then I shall summon a synchro monster whose level matches that of the banished materials! Return from the Heavens, Scarlight Red Dragon!" Thanks to Kings Consonance the dragon escaped the extra deck and crashed into the throne room in attack position. "Your monsters can only use their effects once each turn!" Neither Virgil nor Dante could defeat this dragon from hell. "Excellent! You could have Died, yet this Time the Choice favored you." Marco flipped his own trap, The Traveler and the Burning Abyss. "So I special summon as many Burning Abyss monsters as were sent to the Graveyard this Turn, in attack position!" With this trap he gave life back to the demons Cir(3/1600/1200), Farfa(3/1000/1900) and Graff(3/1000/1500).

"I could see your killing intent, Marco Amadeus." Had August not acted, those monsters would definitely have finished him off. "Good! Then Maybe this will not Surprise you Either!" Marco revealed the last card in his hand; a fusion spell. "Terminus of the Burning Abyss! I fuse three Burning Abyss demons, to create my Fusion monster!" Dante, Graff and Farfa were selected for the infernal fusion. Terminus sent them to the grave and created a new Dante, one dressed like a holy priest(9/2800/2500). "Dante, Pilgrim of the Burning Abyss! He sends one Burning Abyss card to my grave to draw one new card! Furthermore, when Dante the Traveler dies, I may return one Burning Abyss creature to my Hand. Everything I need is within my Reach!" The XYZ-Dante placed Scarm in Marco's hands. Just so the Fusion-Dante could discard it and draw a new card for his master. "Aha!" Marco placed the drawn card face-down in the spell/trap zone. "The Turn will be yours yours again, Dragon Rider August!" During the endphase, Marco used Scarm's effect to add an Alich Malebranche monster from his deck to his hand. "So Do your Worst!"

"No matter how close you are to Death, you continue to mock me. But I will have my Vengeance!" August drew his card. At this time, Taotie the Darkness of the Yanzging escaped Farfa's banishment and returned to the field. "Scarlight!" August attempted to activate his dragons effect once again. Blowing up the other five monsters on the field would deal more than enough damage to silence Marco. "Dante!" Unfortunately, the fusion Pilgrim could use his power during August's turn as well. "I discard Alich the Malebranche of the Burning Abyss, to Draw again!" This time the draw was of less importance. The effect of the discarded Alich Malebranche mattered, as that negated the effect of another monster on the field. "You dare?" The mighty red dragon lost its powers of destruction to a mere harlequin demon. "Do I dare to Take what is Needed to Win? Why Yes! That is Hardly a Sin, mister August! I respect your Power, I respect your Monster. But I cannot have either Threaten what We worked for."

"What you worked for? All of that is a sin! Everything you built rests on corpses upon corpses. Just because they are not there anymore, does not mean they are forgotten!" With every word August's anger grew, and the mark on his body glowed right through his vest. "The Red Dragon and I have gone through greater duelists than you! I shall make you suffer my full power!" He activated a spell from his hand. "Burning Element! I destroy one monster on the field and special summon a monster from my deck with a different element!" Taotie the Darkness was targeted and it perished as soon as a second Chiwen the Light(1/0/0) appeared on the field. "As a Yangzing monster of mine has died, Chiwen will special summon itself from my graveyard!" The first Chiwen returned to the field. "Two Tuners? Double Tuning?" Marco seemingly coined the phrase which was about to become reality. However this was no new technique. The two Chiwens tuned with Scarlight Red Dragon. "Cross the Creator above with the Destruction Below! Grab the Dragons soul and Scream! Synchro Summon! Tyrant Red Dragon Archfiend!"

Burning Element, Normal Spell
Target 1 monster you control; special summon 1 monster with the same type, but different Attribute from your deck or graveyard,
with its effects negated, then destroy the target. You can only activate 1 'Burning Element' each turn.

"It can get even bigger!?" Stonewell cried out. The Red dragon(10/3500/3000) was wounded no more. Its scars and cast were thrown away, its broken horn restored, and it gained even more horns and wings. "Tyrant Red Dragon may destroy all cards on the field besides itself!" August claimed as he was planning to do just that. "Glorious! Wondrous! To see your Dragon restored to its Prime form! Truly you Honor the Memory of your World. However.." Marco was all cheers and furor, even as he activated his trap card. "With regret I have to Inform you that their days of Infamy can never Return!" The boisterous duelist revealed the Fiendish Chain. "WHAT!?" August's burning tyrant was chained down, its effects were negated and its attacks sealed. "You cannot do this!" He cursed and protested. How could it all go wrong so suddenly? "I Believe our current Situation says something else, my enraged Comrade!" The lord laughed heartily as his opponent was left with nothing to use. "I am the heir of the signers! The master of the legendary dragons! I never lose!" August placed a trap card down and ended his turn.

"He never lost a duel.." Alice said softly while she recalled Adamant's story about the destined duelist. And for a moment she wondered if that destiny belonged to the Zodiac travelers. That moment didn't last long. "Virgil!" Marco simply discarded another card from his hand and had his Rockstar monster return Tyrant Red Dragon Archfiend to August's extra deck. It was as if it had never been summoned in the first place. "There have been a great Deal of Legendary Dragons throughout Time, mister August. Like everything Else, they are not what They were. And you, unlike your Card, cannot Return to the Past." The discarded card was a second Graff Malebranche. Its effect returned August's trap to his hand. That was his last hope. "I cannot Lose.." August's voice had lost all its intensity. He was lying to himself and he knew it. "You gave a Good fight. Nobody will say Otherwise. Take Pride in that." Marco clapped his hands and made his three monsters attack. Dante, Virgil and the Cir Malebranche destroyed what remained of August's lifepoints.

August's LP: 0

"Gakh!" The flames and holy magic of the Pilgrim and Rockstar sent August flying all the way to the back of the throne room. His cards and dueldisk were scattered across the floor. "Kgh. Rgh.. Goddammit. This isn't.." He spent a good minute coughing and hacking his insults out. Meanwhile Marco calmly strolled over to his side and picked up his cards. "You will not be needing these." He claimed the Red Dragon card for himself. "! You bastard! Go to hell!" The marked man lifted himself up and threw a punch towards Amadeus. "Good Grief." August was easily deflected. "I didn't want to Do this. But if you will not come Quietly, your Power has to Removed." He grabbed Augusts arm. "!" And just like that he plucked the pendulum crystal from his wristbands, both of them. No matter how brightly they shone and struggled, the gems lost all their luster in his hands. "Impossible!" Even the mark on Augusts' body faded away. His strength was leaving him. "It's not over. Others will come for me. They will finish you in my stead." He spat out his last words of defiance. "I am sure They will." Marco clapped his hands again. Templars floated into the room. "!?" To the shock of everyone else they turned August into a card right before their eyes. The red duelist was silenced.

"Let's see. I suppose it is Your Turn now?" He turned a smiling face to the other three in the throne room. "What are you going to do to him?" Alice asked as she stayed behind the pillar and looked. "Why I'd guess the Inquisition will analyze him first. And then He will be on his Merry way to one of Our lovely Prisons." Marco jovially handed the 'card' to a group of enforcers that marched into the room to take care of the guards August beat up before. "And.. you're going to let us duel, instead of just arresting us? I mean, don't get me wrong. I have a lot of things I would like to do to you. But you're not exactly matching the picture I had in my head." Stonewell never thought he would ever get to meet the head of Millennium to begin with. "A Duel is a Duel, to refuse it would Dishonor me and the Union. Allthough I must say, I have not yet Figured out how you Two fit into the Overall scheme." He pointed at Stonewell and Alice briefly. "But You, you have a Pendulum too." Marco's interests were definitely homing in on Uno. "Look. We got off on the wrong foot, okay. This was not our idea; that guy you just dueled is not exactly a friend of ours." He began to say. "Are you Saying he Dragged you into this?" Marco inquired. "Uh.." Uno's voice trailed off. "A little, maybe."

"Lord Nisell! Our Templars caught more of them running down the control bridge. Inquisitor Silver claims they are insurgents. What should we do with them?" One guard received more bad news on his transmitter. "Oh no." Alice figured that the 'them' would be referring to Eric, Iria and Adamant. "Oh No? More of your Friends? It souunds to me like You made it into the City on your own. My shady Friend, it does not look Good for you." Marco sighed.

"he is not one of them, amadeus." There was someone else with them now. Only this person did not come through the door. As far as anyone could tell, she had been inside all along. "It's you." That person was the girl with the purple mantle, the one who told Uno to come here. "Anastasia? What do you Mean?" Marco turned to greet her, acting a little more flustered than usual. "You know her?" Uno stepped out from behind the pillar, dropping his dueldisk. "Yes. She is my Sister; Winnifred Anastasia Nisell." He introduced her. "Anastasia? Amadeus.." By now hearing these names made Uno feel something he hadn't felt before. Not since his memory loss. "Who are you? What are you?" He knew these two, somehow. "we are the same, Uno." She spoke his name, which drew a gasp from Marco. "Uno?!" He acted like he was seeing a ghost. "You know UNO?" Alice wondered if they were talking about Doms contact. But in fact. "we know him, christopher fortuno nisell. he is our brother, our older brother."

(To be Continued in Redux 067: A Modern Renaisscance)

New Cards used by August
Wangtianhou, Origin of the Yang Zing
Tyrant Red Dragon Archfiend

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One for One
Burning Element

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King Consonance

New Cards used by Marco Amadeus Nisell
Cir, Malebranche of the Burning Abyss
Draghig, Malebranche of the Burning Abyss
Farfa, Malebranche of the Burning Abyss
Calcab, Malebrance of the Burning Abyss
Alich, Malebranche of the Burning Abyss

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Dante, Traveler of the Burning Abyss
Dante, Pilgrim of the Burning Abyss

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Foolish Burial
Terminus of the Burning Abyss

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The Traveler and the Burning Abyss
Fiendish Chain