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.

41. The Needs of the Many

Redux 50: The Needs of the Many

"I will go."

There was nothing else to say to that, to the proposal Alice and Eric delivered from Cassius once they found the Nisells and their parents. "What? No! You can't go alone!" Obviously Alice and his other friends were strongly against the idea. "it is certainly a trap, Uno." Anastasia even pointed out the obvious. "Yeah, at least let us go with you! We could catch them by surprise!" Eric suggested with intensity. "Not on your life, mister! You're not putting yourself in danger again!" But Mrs Stonewell had finished her nap by this time and carried a firm leash on her son. "Everyone, I know its risky. But I still have to do this. And I can't bring any of you along. You said it yourself. The Circle wants me to travel by pendulum, they will notice right away if I don't appear alone." He was given a picture of an uncharted island, that was enough to teleport there. But he could only bring people along if they stayed close to him. "Besides. This may be the only chance to get Emily back. Don't you want that?" He didn't just ask Alice, but her father as well. "Of course I do. But I can't ask you to put yourself in harms way for us." James said.

"Listen to them, Christopher. And think about what you are Doing; you are walking into an Ambush. The Union cannot Lose you again." Even Marco Amadeus was here in the halls to try to dissuade his brother from his conclusion. "I have considered everything, Marco. If something goes wrong, I will teleport back. I am not going to get suckerpunched again." Uno swore. "but there still is time." Anastasia said. Midnight was five hours away. "Yes. Let us at least Prepare for this. We can track down the Island with our Satellites, we can send Templars as Back-up." With Minister Calder gone, the Circle lost their access to the Templars anymore.. he hoped. "Yes. Let them help, Uno. Please.." Alice begged. "Oh.. okay. It's not time yet. But I will do this if I have to, Marco. Emily is my friend too, I will not abandon her just because I am a Lord of something." He got up. "...Where are you Going?" His brother asked. "Relax. I just have a few places to see, I'll be back in four hours. You do what you have to.." He then smiled at Eric, Anastasia and Alice. "I know what I am doing. So don't worry.."

Uno wandered the long and quiet corridors of the palace, restless and more impatient than he wanted to be. At first he just walked by himself to pass the time. "Oh." After a while he came across Tory and Stonewell. "I see you guys got back. Are you sticking around?" These planes were faster than he imagined. "Apparently. I am surprised as you are." Tory expected Stonewell to want to be as far away as possible from this place, now that he got what he came for. "This whole business is too messed up to turn my back on it now. Besides, I gotta make sure that other version of me and his mother gets back home safely." Stonewell grumbled. "Glad to hear it either way." Uno laughed. "By the way. I heard about this whole 'Circle' mess. Are you actually going to give yourself up to them?" Stonewell wanted to know. "We don't know yet if that's what they want." Uno shrugged. "But if it is.. I might have to." Nothing was certain. "... Are you sure this guy was like the other lords?" Tory poked Eric in the side. "Huh?" Uno blinked. "Nothing." Eric prodded Tory back. "Anyway. Good luck out there, Uno."

"Thanks Eric."

Uno's next stop was the infirmary, where Iria and Zach were chatting it up. "Uno!" Zach looked better now than he did before, he was not bedridden anymore. "Evening, Zach. I am sorry I couldn't come sooner." Uno remembered rejecting the earlier invitation. "From what I have been told you're a lord of sorts now. So I can understand.." Perhaps it was the recent coma talking, but Zachary felt remarkably sedate right now. "Perhaps. Is that the only reason you came here?" Iria was more skeptical as usual. "I wish I could say yes. But.. I also came to get my Odd-Eyes card back." Uno admitted. "Then you are going." Iria already knew about 'the meeting'. Nevertheless she took the card out of her suit and gave it to him. "I don't think I can say no." Uno looked at the dragon card. This was the final piece. "You always can." Zach claimed. "I guess... I could tear this card up right now.. but. Anyway, I'm happy I could see you two. Where did Dom go?" He saw two disciples, but no Master. "Wandering somewhere. Can't get him to stay put. It's okay, he cant leave the city." Iria said with a sigh. "I see. Well. Maybe once this is over, we can help him get his memories back too." There was so much to talk about and so little time. "I'll see you guys again."

"You didn't tell him about the Monument." Zach told Iria, once Uno left the room. "He has enough on his head right now." Iria replied with a grimace. "And I don't know if I believe that he could create such a place."

...

It was the eleventh hour. Uno returned to his family and friends. The bad news was apparently that the Island could not be located in such a short time. "I see.. But I've already made up my mind." He was going to make the journey even now. "C'mon, don't look so sad. I am only gonna have a talk. I will be back in a jiffy!" He saw the expressions on Alice and Anastasia's faces. It was almost enough to make him want to stay. "I want you to know, Brother.. That If anything goes Wrong, our Templars will have your Back." Marco was the first to accept his decision. He patted his brother on the back. "you better.. come back." Anastasia whimpered. "Of course I will. I always do!" There was not much time left for talk. "Good luck out there, Uno." Eric said, mimicking his counterpart's farewells without even realizing. "Thanks, Eric. Everyone." Uno took the pendulum. "See you on the flipside." He winked, and blinked out of existence. "Uno!" Alice yelled. Too late, he could not hear her anyway. "..Be safe."

He was far away. On the other side of the world it appeared. The sun sat high in the sky here. "Not exactly midnight anymore." Uno inspected his surroundings. He was in a field of long grass, surrounded by palm trees and a mountain in the distance. The island was quiet, only birds and insects flew by. The only humans here were him and.. "Greetings, Lord Nisell." The Minister of Culture and Education. "Cardel." At least now there was one councilman he wouldn't forget. "I thought I was going to talk with Cassius." Uno backed up a bit. "The Circle figured, why send a duelist to do a politicians job." Cardel smirked wryly. "Fair enough... How did you get here anyway? Is this place yours?" He asked just to be sure. "Oh no. This is neutral ground. And we of the Circle have our ways of getting to places."

"And getting to people.. Okay then, what's your story." Uno was ready to hear it. "We learned a great deal, Lord Fortuno. We learned that the pendulum and those who use it are the source of all this temporal calamity. Right now we are willing to let you talk to Emily. All we ask in return is that you give it to us, so that we can find a way to nullify its powers. Then nothing like this can happen again." The Minister finished his proposal. "That's it? You want to take this power away? This might be the only thing that can save the world! It's the only reason my friends even got here!" Uno did not like it one bit. "What is done cannot be undone. Any further attempts to meddle with time and space might further damage the dimensions. We have four years left now. There is still time to synchronize the world. That is the only way." Cardel kept talking, and Uno kept hearing something else. "Your story still sounds the same to me and I still don't believe it.. Cardel. In fact, it sounds more like you are afraid because the pendulums can counter synchronization!" Back when he dueled their thief, he separated her mind from her counterparts. He could do the same to all of them. "If the conversation has reached this stage, then.." Cardel suddenly pulled out a dueldisk and activated it. "We will let the duel decide who gets what."

Cardel's LP: 8000 Uno's LP: 8000

"So we're rolling back the shades eh?" Uno drew his cards. "In the end this how it is always decided." The Minister drew five cards. "Ha.. I don't think you expected me to listen anyway.. My turn is first! I set two scales!" Uno placed Wisdom-Eye Magician (scale 4) and Dragon Pit Magician (scale 8) on his right and left pendulum zones. "I can exchange Wisdom-Eye Magician for a Magician pendulum in my deck!" Wisdom-Eye tributed himself, to place the Oafdragon Magician (scale 2) in his zone. "When I control two Magician pendulums, Oafdragon can add a Magician or Odd-Eyes card from my extra deck or graveyard to my hand! I take Wisdom-Eye Magician!" The sage of insight left the extra deck, so Uno could use it again at a later turn. "Pendulum summon! Go, Performapal Trumpanda and King Bear!" The tuba-playing Panda(3/800/800) was summoned in defense mode. King Bear the crowned and caped circus bear(6/2200/1000) was summoned in attack mode. "Now then, let's see what kind of cards the minister of culture uses!" Uno placed one trap card down and ended the turn.

"I believe you will be surprised. I summon Flower Cardian Pine." He summoned a floating panel(1/100/100) with the dimensions of a playing card. The panel had a stylistic image of pine trees drawn on it. "Flower Cardians are monsters based on Hanafuda playing cards, lord Nisell." He explained. "Huh. Interesting. Your invention I suppose?" Uno did not recall facing these cards before. "Indeed. Do not forget that I oversaw the cultural development of this game." He suddenly connected another panel to the first. "When I control a level 7 or lower Flower Cardian, I may special summon Flower Cardian Zebra Grass from my hand. But only Flower Cardians may be special summoned this turn now." This cardian(8/100/100) held an image of the monster Naturia Cosmobeet. "Zebragrass lets me shuffle Cardians in my hand with cards in my deck." Cardel returned a Flower Cardian Willow to his deck, to draw one card. "Cardians are divided into three types. Those with 100 points can be freely special summoned. But those with 2000 points usually are special summoned by sending a Cardian with the same level to the grave."

Zebragrass was sacrificed for its upgraded form, a panel(7/2000/2000) with the image of The Wicked Avatar rising like a black sun. "Cardian Zebragrass with Moon. When it is special summoned, I draw one card." Cardel drew another Flower Cardian; Paulownia. "I can summon the card if it is a Cardian!" He special summoned Cardian Paulownia(12/100/100), a panel with art of a TentaclePlant. "Paulownia with Phoenix!" That Cardian was tributed for its higher form, the Cardian(12/2000/2000) of the phoenix Fenghuang. "And I can draw again." Paulownia with Phoenix drew a card with its summon effect. "Hrm." But this time, Cardel drew an upgraded Cardian; Willow with Calligrapher. "The upgraded Cardians cannot be special summoned by other effects. But.." He activated a spell. "Card Regeneration can add one Flower Cardian from the graveyard to my hand, to force a special summon of another Cardian." He returned Cardian Zebragrass to his hand and special summoned the Cardian Willow with Calligrapher(11/2000/2000). "?!" It was a tuner Cardian that carried the image of an unknown synchro monster and a Poison Draw Frog. "I expected synchros."

"You would. Yet for now, these materials will do. I enter the battle phase. Willow with Calligrapher attacks!" The Willow Cardian hovered towards Performapal Trumpanda. "Okay, but Trumpanda can negate one attack against a pendulum monster each turn!" The Panda blew his horn to scare off the Flower Cardian. "A typical response. Then I attack with Flower Cardian Zebragrass with Moon." The black sun Cardian made the second strike and destroyed the Performapal. "When Zebragrass with Moon battles, it draws once." Cardel claimed a new card and sent out Flower Cardian Paulownia with Phoenix to make a third attack. "I discard Flower Cardian Cherry Blossom with Curtain." Cherry blossoms dropped down from a curtain flying overhead. "My attacking Flower Cardian will gain 1000 attackpoints during the damage step." The flowers absorbed by the Phoenix Cardian(3000/2000). "Ah." Performapal King Bear was burned to destruction by flames that emanated from the panel. "When Paulownia with Phoenix inflicts damage, I can draw one card." Cardel drew again. "Excellent." Satisfied he moved on to his second main phase.

Uno's LP: 7200

"I activate Flower Cardian with Calligraphers effect. It can treat all Flower Cardians as level 2 monsters if it used as a synchro material." The tuner Cardian(2/2000/2000) lowered its own level and transformed into two synchronic rings. "So it's a synchro summon with four monsters?" Zebragrass with Moon(2/2000/2000), Paulownia with Phoenix(2/2000/2000) and Pine(2/100/100) joined with the Calligrapher. "Yes, a level 2 tuner and three level 2 monsters will form the Ameshikou combo and create Flower Cardian Lightshower!" Cardels monsters abandoned their 'panel' form and transformed into a human; the umbrella-holding rainman(8/3000/3000) in purple flower-pattern robes. "Lightshower makes all Flower Cardians immune to targeting and destructive effects." Cardel placed three trap cards down and moved to his endphase. This was when Uno flipped his continuous trap. "Not so fast! Echo Oscillation can destroy one card in my pendulum zone each turn, to draw one card.." He destroyed Oafdragon Magician and drew once. "You like drawing too, don't you? Well I am afraid when you draw a card during your draw phase." Cardel waited until Uno drew his next card to continue his explanation. "Lightshower will inflict 1500 points of damage." The Cardian's umbrella unleashed a series of lightning bolts upon Uno. "Say wh.. gaaahh!" Uno was punished just for doing what was natural.

Uno's LP: 5700

"Oof. You're pretty good at this, minister. During each drawphase huh?" Uno shook it off. "In that case.." Uno placed Wisdom-Eye Magician down as a spell again. "This turn I sacrifice it for Dragonpulse Magician!" Wisdom-Eye switched itself with the female partner of Dragonpit Magician, the braided-hair Dragonpulser (scale 1). "I activate the effect of Dragonpit Magician to destroy one of your traps!" Both dragon mages could eliminate one card on the field each turn by discarding a pendulum card from the duelist hand. Dragonpit discarded Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon and destroyed Cardel's face-down Fraud Freeze. "Now you say your synchro was immune to destruction effects." Dragonpulse Magician had to sit this turn out. "The answer is simple then! Just kill it in a fight! I pendulum summon four of my pals this time!" With the guidance of the two pendulum magicians, Performapal Drumerilla(5/1600/900) left Uno's hand. Trumpanda, King Bear(2200/1000), Wisdom-Eye Magician(4/1500/1000) and Oafdragon Magician(6/2100/1400) were summoned from the extra deck. "When Oafdragon Magician is summoned, one Odd-Eyes or Magician card in the graveyard can come back!" Uno used that effect to return Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon to his hand.

"And there it is." Cardel was pleased to see the dragon. "Yeah. Why did you want me to bring it? I thought the Circle was not interested in Doms vault? Or do you just want it so you can boss the fusion guild around?" Uno was shooting in the dark, but Cardels silence as much as confirmed his suspicion. "Well, either way. You're not getting it either! King Bear gains 100 attackpoints for each Performapal during my battle phase! And Performapal Drumerilla can give him 600 more attackpoints when he attacks!" The King of Bears(7/3100/1000) roared along with the drumbeat of the gorilla. "He attacks your synchro monster!" He used his newfound power to impale Flower Cardian Lightshower with his claws. "Hrm." The umbrella broke first, then the rainman himself died, breaking up into thunderbolts. "The rest will play with you!" Drumerilla smacked the minister with his drumsticks. Wisdom-Eye Magician and Oafdragon Magician shot holy and wind spells with their flails and staffs. Trumpanda musically backed the attackers up from defense mode.

Cardel's LP: 2800

"Guh.. Cassius was right. You are a dangerous duelist." Cardel grunted. He lost more than half his life in one turn. "Well, I am the Lord after all." Uno chuckled. "I'll use Echo Oscillation again." The trap destroyed Dragonpulse Magician to secure the next draw. "I set a card face-down in my spell/trap zone and I set Odd-Eyes in the empty pendulum zone. That was my turn." Well it almost was. During the endphase, Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon tributed itself to add a pendulum monster with 1500 attackpoints or less to Uno's hand. His choice was Nobledragon Magician. "I would not consider that a compliment, Lord Fortuno. Because of this, we will have to go through more 'desperate' measures."

"Who..Oh!" Uno was in for a rude surprise. He and Cardel were not alone on the island. A whole mass of people surrounded the two, looming in the jungle. A hooded man stepped forward and entered the duel. "You're.. Martels Knight, the Shiranui duelist. Then.. this was his battle royal all this time?" Martel was the only one who could enter new players without them getting penalties. "Yes." The puppetmaster himself also stepped forward from the bushes. "We want you, Uno, Lord Nisell." He did not join the duel himself, he just watched and waited. "What? That's not.. you're working with them now?" Uno could not believe his eyes, the synchro guild joined the fusion guild too now? "This is a temporary arrangement born out of necessity. We both incurred losses, so we decided to pool our resources. They will take Odd-Eyes, we will take the pendulum." Uno shook his head. "Enough." He grasped his crystal and tried to teleport away. "What?" Yet the crystal did not respond at all. "No, stay. We know how pendulums work, we know how to keep you here." Martel said with his leery grin. "You wont run from this, Lord Fortuno. Do not blame us. You and your pendulum are to blame, for being a danger to all those around you."

...

"Alice. I know you're worried, but maybe you should get some sleep." James' daughter had been staring outside the window of her room for the last fifteen minutes. "I can't.." She did not know what Uno was going through, none of them did. "I.. I don't want wait any longer. If I can't help Uno or Emily. Then maybe I can help someone else.." She was far too awake to do nothing. "You mean with that magic crystal? Tell me what you want, darling. I will go with you." He offered, but she shook her head. "Thanks. But I am gonna ask my friends first. It'd be weird if you went.. to where I want to go."

(To be Continued in Redux 049: Fair Share)

New Cards used by Uno Nisell
Performapal King Bear

Cards used by Minister Cardel
Flower Cardian Pine
Flower Cardian Zebra Grass
Flower Cardian Zebragrass with Moon
Flower Cardian Paulownia
Flower Cardian Paulownia with Phoenix
Flower Cardian Willow with Calligrapher
Flower Cardian Cherry Blossom with Curtain
Flower Cardian Lightrain

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Card Regeneration