The Rise and Fall of History: A Past Unseen

by Medigo

The world of dueling has reached a standstill. Many stories have been told through these cards, and the final story pits every side against each other. It is a game no more. Duelists are divided, and an unknown enemy watches from afar. In the midst of all this chaos is one man who brings a new power that can forever end the conflict; a stranger to this world and to himself.

14. Another Unknown Soldier

Annex 014: Another Unknown Soldier

Adamant made Uno an offer, one that could be taken many ways. "Duel him? Uno, don't think about it! It's a trap, it has to be! If you lose, they will use that stupid Ante rule again!" It could be refused, like Emily would have done in his place. "No way! We gotta fight back against these jerks! If anyone can do it, Uno can! He did it those synchro guys!" It could be accepted, like Eric wanted to do. Though he was not the one the XYZ-guild was interested in. "But this is different. Uno, what do you want to do?" This was not like the time where Uno was dueling to give Alice her card back. If he was going to duel, he would do it for himself. He had to want it. "Heh." Uno took all their words in. He had to choose one. "I want to do this." He went with acceptance. "Beating one of them should kick me up a few spots on the charts. I'll never reach the tournament if I run away from every duel. Besides, I should perform my show for all the guilds at least once." He put his shades on. "Adamant. You got yourself a opponent."

"Good." Adamant smiled again. He gave a silent nod to one of the men in the crowd. "Yes sir?" The duelist approached and hailed his boss. "Engage this duelist. Use every available tool." Adamant stepped aside, letting the two face each other on the golf course. "Try to keep me interested, Uno. I want to see what makes you known." He sat down again, waiting with crossed arms. "Alrighty. I will use all my tools too!" Uno took his own dueldisk, not the one Cassius had given him. There was no point to hiding that from them. And he did not care if it was bugged. "Yeah! They're in for it now!" Eric and the others withdrew to give Uno some room. "Well. It might be nice to see you kick them to the curb." Emily sighed deeply. Hopefully it would all work out. "Don't count on it." One of the XYZ-members overheard her and could not help but laugh. "Your friend there is dueling against a Rank B duelist. That means he is only one class below Adamant himself. I think you'll see he has no chance, very soon."

Stans LP: 8000 Uno's LP: 8000

"So you're Uno. I am Stan. That will do as an introduction. Let's begin." Stan remained quite formal as he drew his cards. The dueldisks granted him the first turn. "I control no monsters. I can special summon Photon Thrasher from my hand." A knight(4/2100/0) stepped on the grass. His body was made from cosmic matter and his eye was a glowing star. For a second Uno wondered if his opponent used a Photon deck. "Heroic Challenger Thousand Blades." That wonder ceased when Stan normal summoned a warrior from a different archetype; the nomad warrior(4/1300/1100) with a thousand swords sticking out from its back. "Two need to be Overlayed." Stan used the now familiar XYZ-summoning process. "To summon King of the Feral Imps." What did Stan make with two warriors? A large gremlin(4/2300/2000) with lizard-like skin and spikes on its back. "I..didn't expect that." Eric now learned that it did not matter how the materials looked. You could summon whatever rank 4 monster you wanted if you attached the proper level 4 monsters. "XYZ-monsters activate effects by using up their XYZ-materials." The two level 4 cards were still part of the card pile underneath the Feral Imp. "King of the Feral Imps adds a reptile from the deck to my hand by doing so." Stan detached Heroic Challenger from the material-pile, sending it to the graveyard to activate the Imp's effect. A Kagetokage lizard card was claimed with it. "Set two cards. End turn."

"First turn XYZ-summon? Setting the stakes quite high." Uno could tell what kind of skill was expected. He looked at his hand. "No Magicians, Uno. Well, doesn't mean you can't show off in the first turn." Uno had plenty of Pendulum monsters he could set as spells. "I set the scales, Performapal Cheermole and Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!" Odd-Eyes was set in the right pendulum zone, Cheermole in the left. "So these are the Pendulums?" Uno had Adamant's attention. The leader wanted to see what these cards could do with his own eyes. "I am afraid this is just a sneak preview. The scales are not right." Odd-Eyes had a scale of 4 and Cheermole a scale of 5. There was no level between that, so no monster could be pendulum summoned. He did have a scale 6 monster, but he had no level 5 monsters to call out.

"Instead, it is Performapal Silver Claw's time to shine!" Uno normal summoned that scale 6, a silver-furred wolf(4/1800/700) with a bowtie and chains around his neck. "The Pendulum monsters have other talents! Performapal Cheermole adds 300 attackpoints to all my Pendulum monsters!" The mole's spell effect worked on Silver Claw(2100/700). "And when Silver Claw attacks, he adds 300 attackpoints to all Performapals." Uno began his battle phase. The wolf(2400/700) honed his claws. They were long enough now to cleave any monster in pieces, and that was what he did with the King of Feral Imps.

Stans LP: 7900

"That was all?" Stan took a hit so minor, it could as well have been nothing. "My Xyz-monster was better of destroyed anyway." The graveyard released a faint glow. "When I take damage, Heroic Challenger Thousand Blades can special summon itself back in attack-position." The hero of blades appeared in the space of the former Gremlin King. "Oh. You left the Feral Imp in attackmode on purpose? Well two can play the preparation game!" Uno moved to his second main phase and placed a trap card down on the field. "Now I end my turn, so that I can reveal the power of Odd-Eyes!" During the endphase, Uno sent the dragon on his right to the graveyard. "Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon searches my deck for a Pendulum monster with 1500 attackpoints or less and places that in my hand!" He used the effect to give himself Stargazer Magician.

"So your best cards have yet to show themselves? Hmph. I do not have to wait. All my cards can share the same purpose; they are fodder for the extra deck." Stan normal summoned a spellcaster monster now, Breaker the Magical Warrior(4/1600/1000). "Oh no!" Even Alice would recognize that card. Breaker used to be a staple in many decks back in the days before the guilds. "As I normal summoned a level 4 monster, Kagetokage may summon itself from my hand." Stan placed the shadow lizard(4/1100/1500) on the field, in the shadow of the Magical Warrior. "My next move will be to activate the effect of Breaker." The normal summoned spell warrior created a spellcounter for itself. That spellcounter could be removed to destroy any of Uno's traps or spells. "It is your set card that I destroy." Breaker plunged his sword into what turned out to be a trap.

"Oops! Bad choice there, Stanny-boy." Uno shook his head. "I can use this card before you waste it. I activate Echo Oscillation!" A continuous trap flipped up, pushing the Magical Warrior away. "It destroys one Pendulum monster to draw a card." A loud sound echoed across the plains, and Performapal Cheermole suffered for it. "Sorry Cheermole." She was destroyed, and Uno gained a new card from his deck. ".. Apologizing to your own cards? How nonsensical, it's sacrifice was for its masters benefit. They all are." Stan pressed on. He overlayed Kagetokage with Heroic Challenger Thousand Blades and XYZ-summoned a second King of the Feral Imps(4/2300/2000). "Another one?" Emily said. This style of dueling irked her, and it did not look like Uno could keep up either. "This time, I add the reptile-monster; Jigabyte." Stan detached one card from his Xyz-monster to add yet another level 4 monster to his hand. "Jigabyte can be special summoned while a spellcaster is under my control." Jigabyte, the electric manlizard(4/1500/200), owed its invitation to Breaker the swordsman spellcaster. "What XYZ-monster it be this time?" Uno asked. There obviously was only one thing Stan would do with his 2 level 4 monsters.

"Not the same." Stan attached Jigabyte and Breaker, and he threw them into a green vortex. "I summon Castel the Skyblaster Musketeer." An avian gunner(4/2000/1500) flew out of the portal and claimed the skies. Castel was dressed like a Musketeer, so the name did not do it injustice. "Castel can either give up one of its materials to switch the position of a monster on the field. Or two of its materials.." His XYZ-monster loaded his musket rifle with both XYZ-materials. ".. to return any monster to his owners deck!" Skyblaster fired a shot at Silver Claw. "Eesh." Uno had to return Silver Claw to his deck. Pendulum cards could only go to the extra deck if they were sent to the graveyard, like Performapal Cheermole and Odd-Eyes. If they were forced off the field in another way, they would just follow their original direction. "Now, two direct attacks." Castel fired quicker but smaller shots from his rifle, and the King of Feral Imps threw his claws around. Both attacks hit Uno dead on. "So far, I do not find these Pendulum monsters to be very impressive, sir." Stan said to his boss as he ended his turn. "I concur." Adamant snorted.

Uno's LP: 3700

"..." As this was happening, Emily turned her back to the duel. "Sis? What're you going to do?" Alice was not used to seeing her sister avoid situations. "I m gonna call dad while I still can." With what she said it was clear, at least, that she considered the possibility of Uno's defeat.

Uno saw Emily leave from the corner of his eye. "..Losing the audience, Uno." Any duelist around, whether they were Synchro or XYZ-guild, had a look of growing disinterest. "I could use your help, deck." Echo Oscillation had not given him a good scale yet, and Stargazer Magicians own scale would be pushed up to 5 if there was no other Magician or Odd-Eyes Pendulum card to accompany it. "Draw!" Uno's fate depended on the next card. "...Now now. Stan, you should have told me the warm-up session was over." The fates heard him, he had drawn Timegazer Magician. "When I control no cards, I can set this Magician with a scale of 8!" He placed Timegazer to his left. "And here is his partner with a scale of 1!" Stargazer appeared in the right. Two pillars of light shot way up high, well beyond the clouds. "This is what you wanted to see? Well here it is! With these scales I can Pendulum summon monsters from my hand or from my extra deck if they are pendulum monsters!" Uno special 'revived' Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon(7/2500/2000) and Performapal Cheermole(2/600/1000) and summoned a circus lion(3/800/800) with flaming mane and tail from his hand

"Now this is something." Adamant actually stood up so he could get a better view. "Anything between the scales can be special summoned, and the Pendulum cards will return each turn after they are destroyed. If they fell into the right hands..."

"I like my hands plenty, Adamant. A magician never gives away its tricks!" Uno activated a spell card, one he could only activate if his monsters did not outnumber Stans. "Magical Star Illusion! This turn, all monsters on the field gain 100 attackpoints for each level that is on their hosts field!" Uno's field had 9 stars combined, so Cheermole(1500/1000) and Pendulum Dragon(3400/2000) gained 900 attackpoints. "And the XYZ-monsters get nothing because ranks arent actually levels!" Castel and the Imp King were unaffected by Magical Star Illusion. "Performapal Cheermole, use your power now and add 1000 attackpoints to a monster whose attack is already above normal." The mole did its dance to energize Odd-Eyes(4400/2000)'s spirit. "Time to talk about my next guest, Performapal Fire Mufflerlion. Let's say Odd-Eyes destroys an opponents monster, then Fire Mufflerlion can give Odd-Eyes 300 more attackpoints and a second attack!" The flaming lion made a ring of fire through which the pendulum dragon jumped. With this combo, Uno could defeat both XYZ-monsters and Stan in one turn. "Let's go for a Hole in One!"

"So that is how it is." Stan kept a cool head as the Dragon came after towards Castel. "You focus all boosts on your main damage-doubling main fighter, so you can end duels in one turn. How reckless." With a single tap he activated his set trap card; Fiendish Chain. "I only need to pin Odd-Eyes down, and your whole strategy falls apart." Chains were launched from every direction to entangle the dragon. "What the.." Uno could not finish the attack, Fiendish Chain negated Pendulum Dragons effects and immobilized it. "Okay, bit of a setback. But the show is not over til I say so!" Uno placed another trap card down and ended his turn. He knew neither of the Xyz-monsters could kill Odd-Eyes. And if Stan tried to destroy a Performapal, he would just bring it back in the next turn. The only thing that could turn this duel around was if Stan found a way to XYZ-summon for the fourth time.

"I normal summon Masked Chameleon. Masked Chameleon special summons a monster with 0 defense points from my graveyard." Stan had found a way; a chameleon(4/1600/1100) with a jewel-eyed mask. The lizard summoned Photon Thrasher back to the golf fields. "I assume Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon is a one of a kind. Unfortunate, because Castel is not." Stan overlayed the Masked Chameleon with the Photon swordsman. He used them to XYZ-summon a second Skyblaster Musketeer(4/2000/1500). "But your dragon at least will serve as the perfect ante." Stan detached both materials from Castel. The Musketeer shot through Odd-Eyes and removed it from the field. "Ah..." For once Uno was out of witty comebacks. He said nothing as the dragon returned to his deck. "This is as far as you can take your Pendulums. They will be of more use to us!" Stan went ahead with the battle phase, and the two Skyblaster Musketeers aimed their rifles at Uno's Performapals. Fire Mufflerlion and Cheermole(600/1000) were gunned down.

Uno's LP: 1100

"Not yet! I have a lifeline left!" Uno quickly activated his trap, Performapal Revival. "Since you so rudely removed one Performapal, I will bring it back to the stage! I summon.." Stan was quicker. He activated his counter; the trap card Wiretap. "There will be no more tricks. Wiretap negates your trap and sends it back to your deck!" Performapal Revival did not get a target, it scurried back into the dueldisk. "!" Uno's defense had been shut down just as easily as his offense. "Is this..how it is supposed to go?" He never had to deal with something like this before, not as far back as his memories allowed him to see. He was going to lose. What would even happen if he lost? Would he start to forget himself? "This is how it is when you duel one of us, yes." Stan declared the end. King of the Feral Imps shaved the last few lifepoints away with its claws.

Uno's LP: 0

"He didn't win? No way. It can't be over already." Eric did not believe what he was seeing. But Uno could not come back from this, no cards could undo zero lifepoints. "Uno.." Alice never saw losing as one of the worst thing in the world. But for Uno, dueling was his identity. "Hmph. Disappointing." For Adamant it was the opposite. Yet this victory of the guild gave him no joy, only more tedium. "I thought you could have been the one. But there you stand." He gave Stan a slap on the shoulder to complement him on his win, staring at Uno the whole time. "Perhaps the power of Pendulum was not meant for you, perhaps you just could not adapt fast enough. Regardless, there was a cost.. and you must pay." He stretched out his hand. "Hand it to me." Uno did not even flinch, or register Adamants presence. He had been like a statue ever since his last lifepoint ebbed away. His mind was still there, but his heart was beating slowly. "Or I will just take it myself." Adamant reached over to take Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon. For one instant, the pendulum jewel tucked underneath Uno's coat started lit up.

"Wait!" Alice shouted unexpectedly. "Can you maybe... not take that card?" As she yelled, the jewel's light faded. "..?" Adamant blinked, unsure of what had just happened. "You think we're going to say no to a card like that?" Stan shouted back at her, but Adamant silenced him with a gesture. He allowed her to continue. "Those cards are all he has! He can't remember his past, his friends, his family.. If you take his cards away too, the.. then.. I don't know what will happen. Do you really need that card so badly?" Uno did not hear her plea and Adamant did seem to have a reaction to it either. Except, there was an hesitant expression on his face that his followers did not find very familiar. He was not the type to humor beggars.

"Adamant, sir!" One XYZ-guild duelist broke the tension by loudly calling for his boss. "They are talking about Dreamworld Technologies on the news channel. They're about to announce something big!" He got everyone around, regardless of what guild they were aligned with, to rush inside the house and stare at the TV that was mounted on the wall. Even Emily could not escape the announcement as she was speaking with her father with the desk-phone. "I'm sorry dad.. Need a minute. I have to see this..." The eyes of all duelists were pointed to the screen as the broadcast reached its critical point. It was a commercial that promoted a new line of cards, voiced over by Zach Creffield. The narration spoke about potential new archetypes that could be submitted before the tournament, and others that would be revealed during the tournament. Then it got to the interesting part.

"Next friday, the day before the 2016 Guild Cup opening ceremony, your host and master of Dreamworld Technologies will give a live performance of his newest creation! Introducing a brand new card-concept that will revolutionize the dueling world! These are the Pendulum Cards!" Several cards; half spell and half-monster quickly floated past the screen. Their effects and stars were blurred. Still, the idea itself came across. "We of dreamworld will demonstrate their unique and groundbreaking abilities! What do you need to play these cards? Come to the tournament to find out! Or look for them. There may already be certain candidates entering the tournament who have mastered the art of Pendulum. They may even be near you right now. Soon every guild can access this power, but only one can win the prize and access their full potential! The prize of the blank slate card!"

(To be Continued in Annex 015: Damage Control)

New Cards used by Uno
Performapal Silver Claw
Performapal Fire Mufflerlion

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Magical Star Illusion

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Echo Oscillation

Cards used by Stan
Photon Thrasher
Heroic Challenger Thousand Blades
Breaker the Magical Warrior
Kagetokage
Jigabyte
Masked Chameleon

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King of the Feral Imps
Castel the Skyblaster Musketeer

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Fiendish Chain
Wire Tap