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.

67. Justify the Means

Redux 24: Justify the Means

"Kyle..."

"Yeah. That is my name. Did you remember? Or did you leave the memory of me behind, like the names of every other duelist you crushed?" The man introduced by Ichirou was no stranger to Alice or Adamant. "Who.. is this?" June had no prior experience, yet she got a strong aura on him already. "That's.. Kyle. He was one of the independent duelists.. from the tournament. And he dueled Adamant because.. his brother was in an accident." Alice was ashamed to admit it, but she'd forgotten all about him until he showed up here and now. "Why is he here?" Adamant ordered Ichirou to tell him. "You are talking to me now, Adamant!" Kyle let out a sudden loud scream. "I haven't forgotten. This is your fault, because of what you created, because of what your guild did to my brother!.. I know what really happened now. I know why my brother had to suffer." Kyle stomped his foot on the floor. "You werent just experimenting with solid vision! You used him as a guinea pig for that damn portal! Because of that machine that brought me here! You sent him through before the gate was perfected, and he came back mindless!"

"I see. I understand it a little now." June muttered to herself. She sensed Kyle's active thoughts, his painful memories. However there was something troubling inside as well; a darkness of the mind. "But Adamant left the XYZ-guild! That guy is leading it now, isn't he?" Alice pointed at Ichirou, who was just watching this whole conversation with his perpetual grin. "Oh I wasn't even part of the guild back then." He claimed. "I know what he is. And I am not working for him! I'm only here so I can get you, Adamant. You were the leader when it happened. You were the one who gave the order to send him through. You can't walk away from that by quitting the guild!" Briefly he tore his hate-filled eyes away from Adamant to glare at Alice. "And you, I know what you did. I heard how you defeated him. How Cassius of the synchro guild captured him. How he abandoned his men to join you. I couldn't believe it, and I still cannot. If you think he has changed at all, then you're a fool!" He stretched out his hand and unfolded his dueldisk. "But I have changed! You imprisoned me. The guilds set me free. All they wanted was to put me on your path, and give the some of the very same cards you wanted to steal from Dreamworld! I will crush you with these!"

Adamant's LP: 8000 Kyle's LP: 8000

"..." Adamant's disk switched on. He could not reject him. Nor did he desire too. "Adamant, we can help.." Alice took out her own deck. "No. It is me he wants. If it were anyone else, I would accept. But.." Adamant was starting to feel it too, an wave of uneasiness permeated the air. It concentrated around Kyle's cards. "You're still looking down on me. But he is right, Alice Brandt. This power is meant for him. I do not plan to hurt anyone else, so do not get in my way." Kyle took the first turn. He placed one monster face-down. "It would probably be smart to stand back, Alice. At the very least until we know what we are dealing with." June cautioned her as well. "You mean, you dont know?" If a mindreader was worried, then these cards had to be special. "Well, you seem to have everything in order. I shall take my leave." The Ichirou hologram got up from the chair. "Yes, leave." Kyle grunted. Ichirou smirked and blipped out of existence. "It's your turn now, Adamant. Come on! I know you want this duel as much as I do!"

"..Tribute Lanius." Adamant opened with the blue blade launcher, Raidraptor Tribute Lanius(4/1800/400). Upon its summon, a Raidraptor Mimicry Lanius was sent to the graveyard with its effect. "Raidraptor - Readiness." Mimicry Lanius could in turn be banished from the graveyard to add a Raidraptor card to Adamants hand. "And Tribute Lanius attacks." The Raidraptor fired the blades feathers from its wings, each of which shot a laser down into Kyle's facedown monster. "I have seen that move a thousand times in my head already, Adamant! You have not even changed your ways as a duelist!" And the monster flipped face-up, unharmed by the attack. "?!" Adamant felt a pulse run through the room. "What.. was that? What is that?" Alice gasped as a winged seed(1/0/0) with one eye on its body and the other on a stalk flew over the spell zone. "I have.. no idea. This creature.. it's older than me?" There were many monsters June faced in her many pasts. This was not one of them. "This is your gift from the guilds?"

"Yes, Adamant, this is the power of the Cubics! Vijam the Cubic Seed cannot be destroyed by an attack. Whenever it fights it turns itself into a continuous spell and.. it leaves one Cubic counter on its attacker!" Some blue slime was left behind on Tribute Lanius, binding it like a web. "Monsters with Cubic counters cannot attack and have their effects sealed!" Kyle explained with glee. "...Then you are using a weapon you have yet to master." Adamant placed three trap cards down and ended his turn. "I don't care as long as it gives me the edge I need to destroy you!" Kyle drew one card and smirked. "During my turn I can resummon Vijam the Cubic Seed to my field!" The two-eyed seed transformed back into a monster. "The Cubics are just like your Falcons, Adamant. They always evolve! By tributing one Cubic monster, I can special summon the next stage! Geira Gale, the Cubic King!" Vijams body changed, its slimy skin turned to a rotten green and fork-like appendages grew from its(2/0/0) wings and torso. "Geira Guile gains 800 attackpoints if its summoned this way, and it inflicts 800 points of damage when its special summoned!" The Cubic King(2/800/0) fired a quick burst of bio-electric energy from its wings and struck Adamant in the chest. "Gah!"

Adamants LP: 7200

"Adamant?!" Alice cried out as the duelist was pushed back by the attack. "Yes, you felt that.. That's a little spicier than just your solid holograms, isn't it?" Kyle laughed. "These things.. are alive." Adamant wheezed. He was this winded from just 800 points of damage? "They are more than your guild could ever hope to create!" Kyle normal summoned his next monster. "Duza the Meteor Cubic Vessel! When it is summoned, one Cubic card is sent from the deck to the graveyard!" An alien-esque robot(4/1600/1600) stomped into the room on its long squid-like arms. "I send this card, Cubic Karma. Because Cubic Karma has a graveyard effect." A continuous spell was discarded and promptly banished. "Cubic Karma adds another Cubic spell or trap from my deck to my hand. And I choose.. Cubic Karma!" Kyle retrieved the second of the continuous spells.

"If I activate this Cubic Karma on the field, it sends two Cubic Seed monsters to my graveyard, and adds 800 attackpoints to one of my Cubics for each seed!" Cubic Karma targeted Geira Guile, empowering the King(2400/0) with the two remaining Vijam Cubics from Kyle's deck. "And! Duza gains 200 attackpoints for each unique monster in my graveyard, if a monster was sent to my graveyard this turn." The only monster in the ground was Vijam the Cubic Seed, so Duza(1800/0) only got 200 extra points for now. "Attack, Cubic King!" The green beast flew towards Raidraptor Tribute Lanius and stretched out its wings. "Raidraptor Readiness." Adamant flipped his trap, to protect his Raidraptor from attacks. "Rgh!" However he still took damage, as he could not use Raidraptor Readiness' graveyard effect with no others Raidraptors in the graveyard. "I knew you would do that, Adamant." Duza's attack wouldn't amount to anything now, but Geira Guile's attack was the one that mattered.

Adamant's LP: 6600

. "Adamant. Each time the Cubics fight, they grow stronger. When Geira Guile has finished a battle, it will tribute itself to special summon two Cubic Seeds from my graveyard!" The Cubic King of storms melted down into a pool of bio-slime, and regenerated into two blue Vijam seeds(1/0/0). "And Geira Guile adds Vulcan Dragni the Cubic King to my hand!" Kyle took a level 3 monster and proceeded towards his second main phase. "Vulcan Dragni! This one takes two sacrifices to be special summoned!" He tributed the Vijam seed pair, to bring forth the a purple devil-horned entity(3/0/0) with pincer-blade tentacles growing from its torso. "Vulcan Dragni gains 1600 attackpoints when its summoned this way! And he also will inflict 800 points of damage!" The Cubic King of fire surrounded itself(3/1600/0) in a wreath of flames and threw a portion of it in Adamant's face. "Tch!" No matter how many times he was hit, he just could not prepare for the pain. "Yes. Stay with it. I want this to be slow.." Kyle placed two traps down on his field and let his turn end. During the endphase, Duza(1600/0)'s attack dropped back to its normal amount.

Adamant's LP: 5800

"This deck.." It was Adamants turn and he was weary. He knew nothing about these cards, he could not determine the best way to approach them. "...Raidraptor - Replica." For now he unveiled his second trap. "It summons a replica of my current raidraptor, Tribute Lanius, from my deck." A second blue raptor(4/1800/400) appeared from the shadow of the first. Its effect was activated during this main phase and a second Mimicry Lanius was discarded. "Raidraptor Nest." He banished Mimicry Lanius to get his hands on a spell card this turn. By activating it, he could grab new Raidraptors each turn he controlled two or more of them. "I add Raidraptor Sharp Lanius and summon it..." With the effect of razorbeaked red Lanius(4/1700/1000), Adamant managed to switch Vulcan Dragni to defense mode. "Battle!" The counter-free Tribute Lanius moved in on Vulcan Dragni first. "Defense versus offense? Being careful like that wont save you, Adamant!" Kyle chained a trap to the attack. "Wall of Disruption! Your monsters lose 800 attackpoints for each monster you control!" Waves of energy pushed the Raidraptors back, weakening the Tribute birds(0/400) and Sharp Lanius(0/1000) "!" Tribute Lanius slammed itself into the defending Vulcan Dragni. Zero attackpower couldn't do a thing to zero defense.

Adamant's LP: 4200

"Oh no! Now.." Alice figured that this couldn't be good that Vulcan Dragni succesfully 'battled' an opponents monster. "Ha! I can now tribute the Cubic fire King to special summons three Cubic Seeds from my graveyard!" Vulcan Dragni split itself into all three Vijam seeds(1/0/0). "And it gives me the next stage, the Cubic Emperor Indiora Doom Volt!" Vulcans effect moved a 4th level Cubic from the deck to Kyle's hand. "And I will activate Cubic Karma's final power! When Vijam is special summoned during my opponents turn, the spell selfdestructs and takes half of my opponents lifepoints away!" Cubic Karma erupted into a violent river of holy fire. "Feel the sins rain, Adamant! Taste all that negative karma you built up, come back to you!" This was not damage, the flames forced Adamant to give up half his life. "RghhHaaaah!" Finally, the XYZ-duelist was knocked down to the ground.

Adamant's LP: 2900

"No!" Alice screamed and rushed to Adamant's side. "Back off!" Kyle roared while Duza charged the floor with black flames. "Ah.." Alice stopped, but she did not stay away. "Why.. why do you have to do this? What will it do? It's not going to change the past!" No matter what, his brother would still be in a coma after all of this. "You think he does not deserve it? Do you think I don't deserve justice!?" Kyle countered. "I.. I did feel forry for you.. when you were just trying to stop the XYZ-guild. But now you're working with them just to get to Adamant! You can't call that justice! That's just anger!" She yelled. "She is right. You are not doing it for your brother anymore, but for your own revenge." June added. The name of his brother barely reach the surface of his mind right now. "None of you know what you're talking about. You don't know a thing!"

"Kyle." Adamant pulled himself up. "...I XYZ-summon, Blade Burner Falcon." Adamant attached Sharp Lanius with Tribute Lanius to the blade-carrying blazing falcon(4/1000/1000). Since Adamants lifepoints were lower than Kyle's by 3000, the Burning Falcon(4000/1000) gained 3000 attackpoints. "I set one card. End turn." The spell was set, and now it was time to wait. "Oh? You're up again?! Good! I wouldn't want this to end prematurely!" Kyle drew his card. "And we've finally reached XYZ-monsters! Here's my answer to your rank 4! I can tribute three Cubics, to special summon Indiora Doom Volt!" The seeds mutated into a pure white being(4/0/0). It walked on three clawed legs and two tentacle-nail arms, had an eye on its waist and a facial marking on its torso. "Indiora gains 2400 attackpoints when summoned this way, and inflicts 800 points of damage!" The Cubic Emperor released ghostly white plasma from its body, and sent it after the XYZ-duelist. "I activate Raidraptor Readiness!" Fortunately now Adamant could banish his trap and one Raidraptor Tribute Lanius from the graveyard. He couldn't take any damage this turn.

"Heh. Looks like you will outlive the line of the Cubic Kings. But these monsters evolve in more than one way!" Kyle sent Duza the Meteor Vessel to the graveyard. "By using up one Cubic monster, I can special summon Dark Garnex the Cubic Beast from my hand! It will gain 1000 attackpoints when summoned this way!" A hideous mutated beast(2/1000/0) with two eyes besides its eye seed, and six tentacle-filled arms tumbled into the room. "Beasts.." Another energyburst pulsed throughout. And June noticed that the veins on Kyle's forehead were getting more pronounced and jagged. "Now, Cubic Karma, give me the spell, Cubic Wave!" The second karma card banished itself from the graveyard to search a Cubic normal spell. "This card will double the attackpoints of one of my monsters, and halve the attackpoints of yours!" The Cubic's aura enveloped Blade Burner Falcon(2000/1000) and the Cubic beast Garnex(2000/0). Now weakened, it was attacked by The volt Emperor. Smoke and electricity flooded the room once the Falcon died.

"Ahh!" Smoke filled the room. "No.. No it's okay. He can't take any damage.." Alice told herself. Still Adamant lost all his monsters again. Or did he? "Rank-Up-Magic.. Escape Force!" Adamant raised his voice. "Huh?" The cloud of debris parted, as Adamant revealed his new defending monster; Raidraptor Blaze Falcon(5/1000/2000). "That card!?" It was his evolution, Blade Burner turned into this rank 5 XYZ-monster. "Ho? Rank-up-magic." It turned out that Escape Force negated the attack on Blade Burner Falcon and upped it to the next rank, while letting it keep all of its XYZ-materials. "January would be happy to see that this power survived the destruction of his homeworld." This technique, June seemed to have experience with. ".. This came from his timeline?" Alice wondered. "Wherever it came from. All I need to know is, that it has the ability to combat this threat!" Adamant mustered a yell.

Rank-Up-Magic: Escape Force, Quickplay Spell
If an Xyz monster you control is targeted for an attack or by a card effect: Target that monster; negate the attack or effect, and if you do,
Special summon from your Extra deck in attack position, 1 Xyz monster that is 1 Rank higher than that target, by using that target as the Xyz material.
(This special summon is treated as an Xyz summon. Xyz materials attached to that target also become Xyz materials on the summoned monster.)

"Hmph." Even with 2000 attackpoints, Dark Garnex could not overpower Blaze Falcons defense. But the dark cubic beast could still destroy the last Tribute Lanius on the field. "Dark Garnex gains its powers from killing cards! With your raptor dead, it tributes itself to give me Blade Garoodia the Cubic Beast!" The level 2 Cubic regressed to black ooze, and resummoned two of the Vijam Cubic seeds in defense mode. "But I havent forgotten what your monster could do, Adamant! I will never forget the blaze!" Instead of summoning Blade Garoodia, he passed the turn to his opponent. "You knew then, that I would stop both cycles." In his turn, Adamant detached one material from Blaze Falcon. "You have reached the fifth rank again, Kyle. Attack directly, Blaze Falcon!" The Falcon fired every laser cannon in its wings and blasted all special summoned monsters on the field at once. Kyle took 500 points of damage for all three hits.

Kyle's LP: 6500

"Stop the cycle? You can never stop that, Adamant! I only come back stronger each time!" Kyle shouted through the flames and explosions. It took the raidraptor that defeated him before to even scratch him this time. "When Indiora Doom Volt is destroyed, I can special summon three Cubic monsters from my graveyard and add a Cubic monster from my deck to my hand!" The dying emperor brought Duza the Vessel, and two Vijawn Seeds back in defense mode. It also placed a Buster Gundhil Cubic Behemoth card in Kyle's hand. Additionally, Duja's effect reactivated to send a third Cubic Karma spell card to the graveyard. "Then.. witness its second ability. Blaze Falcon attacks directly while it still possesses XYZ-materials!" Adamant entered the battle phase, and his blazing bird made a beeline towards the duelist Kyle. If it could land a hit, it could destroy one of his Cubics as well. "Ha! When you declare a direct attack, I can activate Cubic Rebirth!" But Kyle negated the attack. Or rather his trap did. "Rgh."

"Cubic Rebirth stops one direct attack, and summons as many copies of your card from the deck, hand or graveyard." No copies were summoned, as Blaze Falcon's copies would reside in the extra deck. "Either way, Rebirth places one Cubic Counter on your monster." More strange eye-filled slime lashed out, infecting Blaze Falcon. It could use its powers no more. "And finally, this trap will special summon one Cubic monster from my hand!" Now he brought out Blade Garoodia(3/0/0), in defense mode. "Kyle.. You have grown as a duelist. I can not deny that. But this is not the way you to develop, in anger.." Adamant activated a normal spell. "No matter where you take it, I will rise with you! I activate Rank-Up-Magic: Raid Force!" Blaze Falcon turned into pure energy. "XYZ-summon! Raidraptor Revolution Falcon!" And so Adamant materialized the Falcon(6/2000/3000). "When this monster is summoned, while it has a raidraptor material attached, one monster on the field is destroyed and half of its attackpoints are taken from your lifepoints!" The revolutionary raidraptor ascended, breaking through the ceiling of the lounge to reach its ultimate height. From there it dropped a bomb that landed straight on top of Duza, breaking it to pieces and also shattering the floor.

Kyle's LP: 5600

"This place is falling apart!" Alice yelled as she and June retreated to the back of the room. "Kyle, I thought you intended to keep this duel between us!" The duel was causing more damage than Adamant intended. His monsters were made 'real' by the presence of the Cubics as well. "Hahahaha! So this is the great rank 6 Falcon?!" Kyle was barely listening. "Eh.. what.. what's happening to him now?" And he did not look much the same either, much to Alice's horror. When he walked out of the flames, his skin was turning black in places and his veins were clearer to see on his arms and neck. "It's the Cubics. Their power is taking over." June was not used to this, they were dealing with something as ancient as countless of histories. It all just came across as sickening. "Adamant, if that was the best you could do. Then we're disappointed!" Kyle was itching to drew his next card. "All of your training, tests, duels. They can't prepare you for this, nothing can! Ahahaha!"

(To be Continued in Redux 023: What doesn't Kill You)

New Cards used by Adamant
Rank-Up-Magic: Escape Force (+)

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Raidraptor Replica

(+ Based on the spell used by Shun in YGO Arc-V)

New Cards used by Kyle
Cubic Spawn Vijam
Geira Guile, the Cubic King
Duza the Meteor Cubic Vessel
Vulcan Dragni, the Cubic King
Dark Garnex, the Cubic Beast
Indiora Doom Volt, the Cubic Emperor
Blade Garoodia the Cubic Beast

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Cubic Karma
Cubic Wave

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Wall of Disruption
Cubic Rebirth