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.

69. Shrinking of the Universe

Redux 22: Shrinking of the Universe

Uno/August's LP: 8000 Marie Celeste's LP: 8000

"You'll let me take the first turn? You're too kind." Marie took on the two invaders by herself, and started with a familiar monster. "I normal summon Ancient Gear Hunting Hound. And if I do, it inflicts 600 points of damage." The mechanical dog(3/1000/1000) sprinted across the room, lobbing a fireball at Uno and August at the same time. "Rgh."

Uno/August's LP: 7400

"Then I activate the second effect of the Hunting Hound to fusion summon an Ancient Gear fusion monster!" Hound fused itself with an Ancient Gear Wyvern in her hand. They created a a dragonic devil(8/1000/1800) of metal, with wings of blades and claws of cannons. It was summoned in defense mode. "This card is Ancient Gear Howitzer, a fusion of two Ancient Gears. It causes 1000 points of damage each turn. Also its unaffected by all other card effects." The Howitzer machine fired several shots at her opponents to drop their lifepoints again. "I gotta say. This shared lifepoints system is making it much easier for me than if you dueled me one at a time." She placed two cards face-down in her spell/trap zone.

Uno/August's LP: 6400

"The easier we can bring you down too, you know!" Uno placed two pendulum monsters on his field, Performapal Gold Fang (scale 3) and Performapal Momoncarpet (scale 7). "Pendulum summon! He summoned two monsters from his hand, Performapal Secondonkey(4/1000/2000) and Performapal Uni(4/800/1500). "Secondonkey places one Performapal monster from my deck to my hand, Performapal Corn! And Performapal Uni, when she is special summoned, lets me summon one extra level 3 or lower Performapal from my hand!" The donkey performer searched the second member of the two-girl Unicorn team. And Performapal Uni special summoned her, Performapal Corn(3/600/1000) the blue-haired girl with a horn on her head. "Uni Corn? Oh I get it." Marie rolled her eyes. "When a Performapal is on the field, with 1000 attackpoints or less, Performapal Corn can switch it and herself to defense mode, and add an Odd-Eyes monster to my hand!" Corn locked hands with Uni, performing a quick spin and dance which ended with them extending their hands towards Uno's deck. "Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!" Uno took the pendulum dragon of course. He summoned it(7/2500/2000) to the field by tributing Uni and Corn.

"All that urgency, and you still have time to explain what your cards do. I guess you really missed that dragon." Marie shrugged. "But then I knew your turn was going to look something like this. So.." She flipped her trap card; Torrential Tribute. "Ah!?" A wave of water surged from one end of the computer room to the other, taking Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon and Secondonkey away. "Your monster is not affected I see." Ancient Gear Howitzer survived the destruction, thanks to its complete effect immunity. "You don't seem that bothered yourself." Celeste was a little annoyed that Uno could keep smiling despite the setbacks. "Well you know me." Uno activated the spell, Illusion Balloon. "Always thinking ahead." Illusion Balloon took the top five cards of his deck and summoned one Performapal out of them. "Oh." Was all Marie had to say when Performapal Splashmammoth(6/1900/2300) came out of the deck. "Splashmammoth attacks Howitzer!" The mammoth shot a stream of water from its trunk to fire its ball at the mechanical devil and turn it to shambles. "When a Performapal attacks and destroys a monster, Gold Fang will add 1000 points of damage to the attack!" Marie took another hit as the golden wolf jumped from its pendulum zone to slash its claws across her arm. "Geh!"

Marie Celeste's LP: 7000

"Why did I leave the solid vision on again?" She thought out loud as she rubbed her arm. "You brought this upon yourself." August grunted as he waited for his turn to start. "Oh I did? Last time I checked, you started this invasion!" She grabbed a card from her deck. "When Ancient Gear Howitzer is destroyed, I can special summon an Ancient Gear from my deck, regardless of its summoning costs! I summon Ancient Gear Golem Ultimate Pound!" The newest model of gear giants(8/3000/3000) landed on the floor with a heavy thud. "What's your answer to that?"

"This.. is my answer." August took three cards from his hand and placed them on his field. "Pendulum! Summon!" He special summoned a Night Dragolich(4/1700/0), the tuner Giant Pairfish(6/2000/1200) and Bi'an Yang Zing of the Earth(3/1600/0). "Oh. Right. Shared pendulum scales." Marie grumbled. "Your machine will cower before Night Dragolich!" The effect of Dragolich, a walking wyrm corpse wrapped in blue flames, switched special summoned non wyrm monsters to defense mode and reduced their original defense to zero. This affected both the Gear Golem(3000/0) and Splashmammoth(1900/0). "Synchro summon!" Doing away with his usual long speech, August special summoned Chaoefeng, Phantom of the Yang Zing(9/2800/2200) by tuning the Pairfish with Bi'An. "Attack!" Night Dragolich rushed towards the Golem. "The powers of monsters with the same attribute as Chaofengs Yang zing materials are sealed!" The Earth Yangzing formed part of the Phantom Yangzing, leading to the negation of the earth-attribute Ancient Gears. "Attack!"

Dragolich charged and... "Time out. I flip Book of Moon." .. finished destroying Ultimate Pound as Chaofeng was switched to a face-down defending position. "What?" The synchro monster's effect seal disappeared along with its appearance. "Ha! When Ultimate pound is destroyed, I can take an Ancient gear from my graveyard.. Hunting Hound. And It grabs a Polymerization card from my deck!" Marie added the two new cards to her hand. "You're trying to fuse Ancient Gear Chaos Giant again!" Uno accused her. "If it works, it works. But.." August placed a trap card down and ended his turn. "That annoying wyrm forces me to to alter plans a bit." Marie activated two spell cards; her face-down Ancient Gear Fortress and Ancient Gear Catapult. "That combo again?" The Catapult destroyed one of Marie's own cards; the Fortress, to special summon an Ancient Gear Gadget(4/500/0) from her deck. The Fortress upon destruction special summoned an Ancient Gear fusion material from the graveyard; the mechanical winged dragon Ancient Gear Wyvern(4/1700/0). Both were powerdrained by Dragolich.

"When Ancient Gear Wyvern is special summoned, I can add an Ancient Gear card to my hand. I think I pick Ancient Gear Reactor Dragon!" Marie grabbed an even larger mechanical dragonoid from the deck and quickly summoned it to her field. "I believe your Dragolich's effect does not work against normal summons, does it?" Ancient Gear Gadget and Wyvern left the field, and the Lich's curse ended. The newly invoked Ancient Gear Reactor Dragon(9/3000/3000) was immune to its effects. "Oh this is very nice. Reactor Dragon can make two attacks each turn, and inflicts piercing damage. Traps and spells wont stop its attack, and monsters cannot activate their effects either. Now.. I know who I'd attack." Marie clenched her fist and ordered a strike on Chaofeng. "Momoncarpet will halve the damage!" Uno declared before the dragons blast turned the Phantom Yangzing into a smouldering crater.

Uno/August's LP: 6000

"Thanks for reminding me." Marie pointed her finger towards Uno's pendulums. "By the way. Each time Reactor Dragon attacks, it destroys a spell or trap card." Momoncarpet spontaneously shattered. "Ah!" And now Reactor Dragon turned on its second target: Splashmammoth. "And thank your friends Dragolich for removing your monsters defenses." Reactor Dragon stabbed through the mammoth with its tail, hitting Uno with all of his attackpoints at the same time. "Gah!" Uno was thrown to the ground and Reactor Dragon shattered Performapal Gold Fang. Uno could not even block the damage with Performapal Uni. "No Celeste. Thank You." But he was laughing somehow. "Hm? Why?" Celeste finished her turn warily. "For giving me something to return." Uno stood up and drew his next card.

Uno/August's LP: 3000

"First, I will use her." Uno normal summoned Performapal Trump Witch the masked painter(1/100/100). "I tribute Performapal Trump Witch to add Polymerization to my hand!" The witch gave him the same spell that Marie kept in her hand. "Fusion?" After that Uno used the spell, Pot of Riches. The pot moved three pendulums (Gold Fang, Momoncarpet, Trump Witch)from the extra to the main deck, to draw two new cards. "Yeah? And what are the odds that.." Before the sentence could even be finished, Uno placed two new pendulum monsters on the field, Performapal Fire Mufflerlion (Scale 5) and Dragonpit Magician (scale 8). "Already?" Marie Celeste could not believe his luck. "And I will pendulum summon the monsters I can bring back!" Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon(2500/0) and Splashmammoth(1900/0). "But your own partner is.." Dragolich drained their defenses away too, and switched them to a defensive position. "Oh I can take care of that...

"I activate Polymerization! Fusion summon! Performapal Odd-Eyes Metal Claw!" Odd-Eyes fused with the Performapal to create a weird beastly monstrosity; a silver wolfman(8/3000/2000) in odd-eyes colored armor with claws and spikes. "Performapal and Odd Eyes?" August was also surprised at this visually drastic turn of events. "Why isn't it.." For some reason Night Dragolich's power did not affect the fused beast. "Odd-Eyes Metal Claw is immune to all card effects if it was fused the classic way: a la polymerization!" Uno entered his battle phase. "And to enhance his act, he gains 300 attackpoints when he attacks!" The armored wolf(3300/2000) brandished his claws and glared at Ancient Gear Reactor Dragon. "Rgh." This could be the end for Marie Celeste. "Huh?" But at that point the tower shook once again. That happened a few times before during their duel. "What.. is that?" But this rumbling sounded louder and felt heavier than those that came before it.

"Crud! The Cubics!" Even Celeste was so distressed that she turned away from the duelists to check the monitor. "Cubics?" August assumed she was referring too a group of cards. Except they did not ring a bell. "That's a the set I gave to one of our duelists to slow you down. I should have guessed it was a bad idea! We didn't even test their damage output!" She pushed several buttons on her dueldisk to turn the big screen on. "Adamant?!" There Uno could see June, Alice and the XYZ-duelist who was drawn into a destructive battle with Kyle several floors down. "You gave a power like that to one of your own? You have no clue what you have unleashed!" August growled. "But.. Adamant is winning. It should be.." They could see the Ultimate Falcon unleash its final attack on Crimson Nova Trinity, and the resulting chaos that followed. "That's just the last available recording. The cameras crashed after." She explained. "Crashed? Then.." The room they were in had to be caved in, or worse! "Marie. Let me use my pendulum. I have to help them! Please!" Uno was desperate to get down there. And he could only go if she turned off her anti-pendulum tech.

"It's done." Marie moved over to the main console and clicked a button. "...Thank you." Uno grabbed his now glowing pendulum and immediately warped down to where the others were.

"What is your game?" August was slightly surprised that this woman gave in so easily. "Game? Bah, think whatever you want, but I am not a savage. Death is too permanent a solution." She placed her hand on her chest. "Besides, now I have less of you to deal with." Uno never finished his turn, August was stuck with her. "I knew it would be more of the latter. You lack a duelists spirit." August chuckled. "Oh please. I am only doing this because.." Behind her visor, her eye darted to the left one more time. She stifled a laugh. "..I needed the time." The upload was finished. And that wasn't the only good news. "Come on in!" The doors to her room opened, sending in several templars. "More of your tin toys?" The red duelist cursed. "You shouldn't have let me go back to my console." Celeste called for them while she turned off the pendulum disruptors. "So you're not going to finish this?" The drones were taking over for her, while she moved to the door. "I am done with this place, with this everything. You can have it." Celeste mockingly waved at him. "You can even have the portal, if you make it out of here alive. Bye!" And she was gone.

...

"Adamant fell over backwards after Kyle stabbed him in the chest. "Adamant.. Adamant!" A panicking Alice rushed to his side, trying to cover his wounds with her hands. There wasn't even that much blood, the attack cauterized the flesh instantly. "What do I do? What do I do?" But Adamant was in pain, convulsing and could not talk to her. "What should I do? Please.. help me..help him." She didn't know the first thing about treating injuries, and this did not look like anything normal. "I can't.. do anything, but take away the pain." That wouldn't save him. "Then do that!" It was better than nothing. "I already did." June touched Adamant's forehead. He stopped writhing immediately. "That man infected him. It's.. a dark power." Her hand could barely handle a brief touch. "But we can fix it. We have to!"

"Alice!" Like a lifesaving angel, Uno appeared in that moment. "! Adamant!" Though he was relieved to see that Alice and June made it out alive, he was shocked by Adamant's state. "Uno.. I.. he.." Alice would have been happy to see him any other time, but she suffered too many emotions at once to even form a sentence. "He needs to be treated. There might still be a chance. Your palace has proper equipment for that." June thankfully managed to explain it all calmly and properly. "Eh.. yes.." Uno would have to ask questions later. Even though a lot weighed on his mind; doubts that June could pick up. "I can sense Iria and Zach, they are still alive. I will find them and I will find August, don't worry about them. Just leave, now." There was no time to argue. "I will. Alice, come on!" Uno and placed his hand on Adamant's arm and reactivated his crystal.

...

"Damn!" Eric gasped for air when Uno, Alice and Adamant reached the infirmary through another teleport. "Commander Adamant?! What did you do to him!?" Private Winters gasped when he noticed his unconscious former commander. "Talk later!" Uno dragged Adamant to the treatment pods and placed him inside. The computer immediately went to work on analyzing the injuries and treating them. "This.. this will work, right?" Alice stood in the background, squeezing her hands together and fidgeting. "It should.." Eric patted himself. "But why.. does he look like that?" Eric did not need a medical degree to tell that these wounds were not normal. "The mission! What went wrong at the fusion guild's place?" Winters shouted, demanding answers from the two. "I.." Alice shrunk behind Uno's back. "Calm down. We didn't do this. The mission is still ongoing, but Adamant was.. " Uno stopped. He lacked the details of the story. "Alice, it might help the machine if we knew what we are dealing with."

Uno could see Alice was having trouble talking about it, but they did all they could do besides waiting for results. "It was.. Kyle.. He still wanted revenge and the guild gave him strange monsters. He attacked Adamant even though he lost.. even though Adamant won!" She yelled. "What? Such foul play!" Winters clenched his fist in anger. "The guild.." Uno shuddered. Adamants condition was all because of the cards the guilds acquired. "It's my fault." He should never have let them get the Pendulum dragon. "No. It's mine. I should have helped him in the duel!" Alice protested. "Now everyone is getting hurt, Stonewell, dad, Adamant." She didn't even want to think of who could be next. "Hey. Stop blaming yourself! That's never good for anything. He'll be okay in no time, you'll see! Everyone else made it out so far! Stonewell got up just an hour ago, he's practically better than ever! Our folks were moved out of intensive care too! My mom's practically awake enough to start yelling at me again. I bet you can hear her down the halls if you listen! I am telling you. It's going to be fine." Eric assured her with his confident grin.

But that was when the treatment pods got their full results, and all the red lights and alarm sounds went off. "What is this? What now?" Alice freaked out. "I don't know. It's saying his heart is giving out and it can't find the cause!" Uno read the text on screen as fast as he could. "But why?" Winters looked inside. "That wound is not getting healed at all!" The scar on his chest looked even worse now, with black veins growing out of it. "It can't regenerate the tissue! Whatever it is, the machines do not affect it! We're.." Uno felt a lump in his throat. He almost couldn't say it. "We're losing him.." Time seemed to come a standstill. "No.." Alice didn't want to believe what she was hearing. Uno didn't want to believe what he was saying. But the truth was irrefutable, Adamants pulse was flatlining and his brain activity disappeared. "It can't.."

"?" Bright light from above descended to the emergency room. "Ana!?" His sister warped in front of the pod and, without saying a word, opened it. "What are.." Winters tried to stop her. "Guh." He was casually pushed back by an unseen force. Energy surrounded her, making it impossible to get near. "how long has he been like this?" She asked Alice. "What? I.. ten minutes?" She gave the most approximate number she could think of in that moment. Anastasia heard her and placed her hand on Adamant's wound. "Ana. What are you going to.. you're not." Uno's memory got another jolt, a glimpse of a scene lacking context. Yet it gave him a better understanding of what she was doing. "Whoa!" Eric took a step back when Anastasia's mere touch made the black scar shrivel. "You.. you're.. " It was as if she was looping back the last ten minutes, Adamants injuries disappeared and his eyes snapped wide open. "Where.. am I?" He had no idea how he got to this place. "You did it!?" Alice let out a cry of unbridled joy.

"Who is this woman?" Winters stammered. "She is my sister..." Uno stated. "Uno? How did I get here?" Adamant climbed out of the pod, slightly disoriented. "they brought you here. what is the last thing you remember?" Anastasia looked the revived man in the eyes. "The last thing?" Adamant looked into his own memories. "I was dueling, and then..." He recalled everything up until the very end, the last second before Kyle stabbed him. "Wait. Did you make him.. timetravel to before he got attacked?" Eric scratched his head. It sounded like she was using Marco's trick, except none of them went back in time or move to where they were ten minutes ago. "I was attacked? But then.." Adamant touched his own chest, looking for something that was not there anymore. "She has. That is her power." Uno remembered that too now. There was a reason for it. "Power? You can.. stop people from dying?" That was the wildest thing Alice ever heard. "it is not a power.. it is a blessing. given to me by my father." Anastasia moved a finger across the palm of her other hand. "remember.. when i said that he saved my life? this is how.. death can never catch me. and i gave some of that blessing to adamant.."

(To be Continued in Redux 021: Soul Survivor)

New Cards used by Uno Nisell
Performapal Corn

New Cards used by August
Night Dragolich

New Cards used by Marie Celeste
Ancient Gear Wyvern
Ancient Gear Golem - Ultimate Pound
Ancient Gear Reactor Dragon

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Ancient Gear Howitzer

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Book of Moon
Ancient Gear Fortress

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Torrential Tribute