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.

68. If You can't Trust Yourself

Annex 068: If You Can't Trust Yourself

"Sir. I realize this may not be the most opportune time, but we're receiving a transmission from the Fusion Guild and they are asking for a response." As if the master of Dreamworld did not have enough on his plate today, one of his many secretaries came with that dire message. "We are, are we? Well patch them through, Eleanor. Iria; I will handle this. Keep monitoring Zach and Uno's progress." After a full day of silence, Dom could not afford to miss this opportunity. "Yes sir." So Iria took over the main screens while he accepted the call. It came from none other than the guild's leading duelists. "Ah, Dame Phoebe. Why am I not surprised?" Dom was not going to stick to decorum, knowing what this guild had done. "Right down to the brass tacks, Dom? That is not like you. I don't think I like it." It was the kinder half of the girl that was speaking to them now. "But if you insist. Mister Dom, I would really love it if we could combine forces." She said softly. "An alliance?" That was not what Dom assumed she came here for. "Yeah. We have a common enemy, and we should stop them before they strike again. The XYZ-guild is like a wounded pet, it will lash out in awful ways if we do not put it down. With your resources and ours, I am sure we can do it."

It was an interesting proposition on the surface, but Dom did not get much time to consider it. "Resources? You mean the card you had Eric steal?" Emily came into the control room, drawing Iria's displeasure. "You are not allowed in here!" However Emily did not let that stop her, she walked right up to the screen with the girls face on it. "Where is Eric? What did you do to him?" She was not going to leave until she got her answers. "Emily, was it? Eric is with us. He came back to aid the guild during that ugly mess of yesterday. The kid is fine and happy." Phoebe said with her ever-crooked smile. "You're lying! Eric would never choose you over his friends, or steal for you!" Emily yelled at her. "I do not know what you are talking about, Emily. People change, they grow up. That is all.." The girl sighed and turned to Dom. "I will give you, oh, 24 hours to see the advantages of my proposal. Then we can all be one big happy family. Ta-ta." The screen blacked out. "Urgh.. Who does she think she is?" Emily grumbled. "Someone who has very good bargaining chips." Dom concluded, as he rubbed his dome. "They have one-third of our complete records and your friend. They are asking nicely now. They wont ask nicely again.."

...

[You are being followed. You are not Dom. You cannot be Trusted.]

"Followed? He must be talking about December." Uno glared around nervously. They seemed to be alone, but that did not mean they were alone. "UNO! Wait! We were sent by Dom! We have to talk!" Zach pleaded. It was true what UNO said, but they still had to make use of this meeting. "You did not come here just to tell us off, did you?" Uno did not think UNO was going to leave anyway. The first duelist was safe this way, and he had come for a reason. [There is one way] The holographic figure had more to say after all. [To show that you are with Dom] Suddenly Uno's dueldisk switched into active mode. "What is this now?" And it connected with Zach's dueldisk; the disciple had been challenged. "That wasn't me. It's him." UNO had taken control of Uno's device. "You want do duel me? Is that how I prove myself?" Zach understood the idea but not the execution. [It is what he would do. If you are his Disciple, you can defeat me]

UNO's LP: 8000 Zach's LP: 8000

UNO drew five cards, using the digital card program inside Uno's dueldisk. "So I just sit here then?" Uno felt like a third wheel, holding the machine that created all the holograms with one arm. If anything he wanted to be the one to challenge UNO. [Only one has to take this test] UNO placed a card down in the monster zone and a card in the spell/trap zone. "So you want to know about me. Did Dom never tell you about me?" Zach inquired as he started his turn now. [No] UNO answered simply. "I see." It was sadly fitting, Dom never told Zach anything about having duels with UNO either. The master liked secrets. "Since I control no monsters, I can special summon Solo the Melodious Songstress from my hand!" A dancing diva(4/1600/1000) in a red dress, with a winged crown of blonde curls, danced her way into the store. "And I activate the continuous spell, Fortissimo! Each turn I can add 800 attackpoints to one Melodious monster, until my next turn!" The spell targeted Solo(2400/1000). "Sing my songstress!" She began her powerful attack, crushing UNO's facedown monster with her song.

And that monster was Solo the Melodious Songstress(4/1600/1000). "Huh?" Zach's monster had destroyed her namesake. "He's using Melodious too? The same one even?" Uno figured out quickly what was going on here. "A mirror duel!" UNO was using the exact same deck as Zach, down to the way the cards were shuffled. "Really?" Zach gasped and inspected his own hand. "Solo and Fortissimo, Elegy, Score and Rhythm Change. He has the same five cards in his hand then?" That seemed to be the case, but only for now. [Yes, this is a mirror duel] UNO used the second effect of Solo the Songstress. Her destruction special summoned a Melodious from the deck. Mozarta the Melodious Maestra(8/2600/2000) was brought out. [I did not create the Melodious, I did not create every deck. But I test every card, and this is how] With a monster summoned from the deck, the deck would be shuffled. UNO would not draw the same cards that Zach drew from here on in. "So it is." Zach got the test now. "I shall set one monster face-down and one trap card." At least, the card he had drawn this turn would be a secret to UNO.

[I do not need to explain myself, I am sure] UNO took his turn and started activating effects at a rapid rate. Mozarta used her power to special summon Elegy the Melodious Diva(2000/1200) from the hand. Elegy's song powered up all Melodious, giving herself(2300/1200), Mozarta(2600/2000) and any future singers 300 attackpoints. Then UNO normal summoned Aria the Melodious Diva(4/1900/1200). "Oh bother. Out of all cards he drew that one?" Zach hadn't gotten that one himself, and this was a problem because UNO had his face-down trap. He revealed it; Melodious Rhythm Change. It returned Aria to the hand to special summon a Melodious from the hand; Aria the Melodious Diva in defense position. "Oh. He's good at this too." Uno whistled. Zach's opponent had set up the Elegy/Aria combo before Zach could. Now Melodious monsters that UNO controlled could not be destroyed or targeted by effects. [Of course]

Melodious Rhythm Change, Normal Trap
Target 1 "Melodious" monster you control; return it to the hand, and if you do, special summon 1 "Melodious" monster from your hand.

[Surprise me] UNO activated his last card, Fortissimo, to power up Elegy(3100/1200). "Her?" Then Elegy attacked and destroyed Solo the Melodious Diva. "Ah. You are expecting me to summon Mozarta too?" His Solo could naturally use the same effect. Except if he summoned Mozarta as well, UNO's Mozarta would just overpower her. Zach had no Elegy in his musical entourage. "Then I will get my muses my own way! I summon Aria!" The dying Solo special summoned Zach's Aria Diva(4/1600/1200) in defense mode. "I also activate my own Melodious Rhythm Change! I return my face-down Melodious to my hand, to special summon another in a defensive position!" Zach's set card was Serenade the Melodious Diva(4/400/1900). He swapped her with the Melodious Diva in his hand; Elegy(5/2300/1200). [Logical Choices] Now Zach had set up his lock, Elegy powered up Aria(1900/1600) and the two made each other indestructible. [But not surprising] It might have been a mere hologram talking, but Zach could hear the disappointment in UNO's voice. [End turn]

Zach's LP: 7300

"Well, now what do I do?" They were at a stalemate, locked and locked. "You could use Score, couldn't you?" Uno pointed out one card in Zach's hand. Score had an effect that did not target, so it could get around Aria's protections. "But he can do the same if I make that attempt. And I would rather do this duel without help. But I appreciate it Uno." Zach would rather save the card for when UNO attacked. "But I must act, time is precious." Zach switched Aria to defense mode and reset Serenade in face-down defense position. Then he used the effect of Fortissimo on Elegy(3100/2000). "I attack Mozarta!" This was the only way to inflict some damage this turn, by having Elegy clash songs with the Maestra. Of course, Mozarta did not die thanks to Aria. "UNO. You do not trust us, but it just struck me that we have no reason to trust you either. How can you prove to us that you are the real UNO?" Zach placed a trap card down and passed the turn to Uno.

UNO's LP: 7800

[You doubt me, the author, the first duelist?] The hologram placed his hand on Uno's dueldisk. "Uh, what's he doing?" The machine was making that weird noise again. [Maybe this will convince you]. A light came from the extra deck, one that Uno found very familiar. "Is he.." Before Uno could look inside, the hand dragged a card from the extra deck slot; a physical card. "He printed a new card?" That was it, that was how Rune-Eyes and Beast-Eyes were born! And it was a fusion card too. [Watch] UNO used Mozarta's effect to special summon Soprano the Melodious Songstress(4/1700/1400) from his hand. Soprano's initial effect placed the digital Solo Melodious back in the duelists hand, since she had been special summoned. But her second effect allowed her to fuse herself with a Melodious monster on the field. [The Materials are One Maestra and one Melodious] Soprano the Songstress fused her body with Mozarta's; creating a blue-haired fairy(7/1900/2000) in a yellow floral dress. [Bloom Prima the Melodious Choir] It was a whole new fusion monster.

"You are him." Only UNO would have the power to instantly create new monsters that the network accepted. [Of course. Bloom Prima can attack twice each battle phase, and gains 300 atatckpoints for each material fused into it] Along with the powerboost from Elegy, Bloom Prima(2800/2000) gained 900 attackpoints. And she(3600/2000) was also granted 800 attackpoints with the effect of Fortissimo. [But only that disk can create a card in such a way. It has a special device inside, and only few of them exist. How did you get it, Uno?] The hologram turned to Uno for once. "I don't know. I lost my memories. Dom should have told you that! I thought you gave them to me! Havent you been sending me special cards all this time?" Uno yelled back. [I have not, if someone else has used the remote printing function, I was not aware of it. Is that why you called, to get answers?] UNO re-normal summoned Solo the Songstress(4/1900/1000) and entered the battle phase. [You waste my time] Bloom Prima unleashed a double vortex of petals from the flowers on her shoulder. Both attacks were headed towards Elegy.

"It is more than that, sir UNO!" Zach had to activate Score the Melodious Diva now, or he was done for. He discarded the card from his hand to reduce Bloom Prima(0/3000)'s attackpoints to zero. [It is?] UNO retaliated immediately by discarding his Score Diva card to reduce the attackpoints of Elegy(0/1000). The Melodious Choir and Melodious Diva could not kill each other, but their attackpower would stay at zero for the rest of the turn. That allowed UNO's Elegy, Aria and Solo to score painful hits as they attacked Zach's weakened Elegy. "Ngh. Yes! We need you. We need your help! You wanted to keep the tournament going but now the XYZ guild has run amok, and they want everything we created. And there other duelists out there, who already have the power of pendulum. We need to find a way to fight back!" Zach made his impassioned plea. At the same time he activated his trap, Damage Gate. He used the damage he took Elegy's last attack to revive his Solo the Songstress(4/1900/1000) as she had less attackpoints then the absorbed damage.

Zach's LP: 1200

[Pendulum. The finest creation. Fusion, Synchro, XYZ; they were all just stepping stones towards that power. To remake it] For once he first duelist seemed to be thinking things over. "Remake it?" Zach did not understand what he meant with that. [The Tournament had to keep going, to see who had the right to gain power. A duel is all the cards accept] UNO said as he ended his turn. "The cards? You..you think they are alive too?" Uno was shocked to see this mind who thought alike. [Not all cards are based on stories. Not all stories are fairytales. They are legacies. And not all Legacies were told. Whoever holds them, can become like them. That is the power I guard, and the power the guild wants] The hologram pointed a finger at Zach. [If you feel you deserve even a sliver of it, you must let me see your worth. That is why we duel]

"To prove myself to the cards? Father would call me crazy if he could see me now." Zach moaned and shook his head. He never saw his cards as just tools. He hoped they knew that too.. "Who will the final singer be? I draw!" He had no cards in his hand anymore, and UNO still had Bloom Prima(3600/2000). He could use Fortissimo, whose second effect fused Melodious monsters freely. But neither Schuberta nor Bloom Diva could get over the Elegy/Aria lock. "I.." But there was one thing that could. "I sacrifice you Serenade!" He used his face-down Diva, who counted as two tributes for other Melodious monsters. "Come out, Shopina the Melodious Maestra!" A red-eyed pale fairy(7/2600/1700), in an elegant purple dress appeared on the floor. "Shopina can add one light-monster from my graveyard to my hand! I choose Score!" The Maestra played a tune on her piano of light, luring the discarded Diva back from the graveyard.

"Aha!" Uno knew 'the score' now. "Aria, go to attack position! Shopina, use Fortissimo!" Before the battle phase, Zach prepared his band and the continuous spell energized their leading lady(3400/1700). "Score, complete the set!" During the actual battle, when Shopina declared her attack, Score used her effect. She sang her song again to depower Bloom Prima(0/2000), just as Shopina's soundblasts reached UNO's fusion diva. The Melodious Choir was also attacked by her counterparts; Solo, Aria and Elegy each added their voice to the damaging chorus. Their four attacks were enough to take down any opponent, even The First Duelist. "Finito!"

UNO's LP: 0

[Interesting. You do not duel like Dom. But I can see that you are his student] The hologram accepted his defeat with grace, it even made a bow. [Take this] It tossed the Bloom Prima card towards Zach. "Thank you." Zach accepted it. He wanted to say more, but he did not want to sound ungrateful. "That's nice. But that is not really all we came here for." Uno guessed he would speak for them both. [No. I know. I cannot give you what I gave Dom, he has been compromised. But I can see your sense of dueling is just, so I can give you that which allowed me to create Bloom Prima; the printer within this dueldisk. With it, you can make whatever you wish, even pendulum cards. But once I give it to you, the direct line will be closed. I also will no longer respond to Doms messages.] UNO's eyeless face stared into Uno's eyes. [The next time we meet, will be in person, when I decide it, while you still have time]. The figure disappeared. "Ack." Uno did not even get a word out. "Hey.." And the first duelist was not kidding either, the dueldisk on Uno's arm suddenly fell apart into a dozen pieces. It revealed a device at the center that was big enough to hold a card. "Is that..it?" It was the card maker, UNO's gift to them. "Dom is going to want to hear about this."

...

Back at Dreamworld, as Dom got back in contact with Zach to discuss all the developments, Cassius saw a chance of his own. "Silver. Can I have a word with you?" He approached the other disciple outside the control room. "If this is about your earlier suggestion, Doms answer is unchanged." This was not the first time. Cassius had tried to convince Dom to move to one of his guilds bases, but the Master shot that plan down. "No. Listen. I've had a thought in my head; how could the XYZ-guild plant a virus in your network without you knowing about it? I have a theory and I know you have it too..." He waited to see if she realized what he was getting at. She did so right away. "A mole." That had been her hunch from the start, yet Dom insisted no-one in his company would go against him. "Right. If there's a mole, this building has been compromised. Either way, how secure can we be when the system was hacked one time already? That's why we should get out, and soon. Dame Phoebe was right about one thing, the XYZ-guild could try anything right now. I am going regardless, I have friends I promised to protect. The choice is yours.. maybe you can make Dom understand."

"Sir!" At this time, Eleanors voice once again came in. "The master is indisposed at the moment, I will take your message. What is it?" Iria had set it so that all incoming calls would be sent to her dueldisk. "It is Adamant, madam. He demands to see Dom." The secretary told them in a panicked hurry. "He does, does he? Well he can talk to me first. Patch him through.." The disciple replied. "Uh, madam... You misunderstand. He is here, standing right here." That was why her words came out trembling like they did. "Here!?" Both Cassius' and Iria's heads snapped to the screens in the control room. "Uh, Zach. Can you hold the line for a second." Dom spotted him too. Adamant stood inside the building, surrounded by ten of his own men and several dozen of Dreamworlds security guards. This could not have been more ill-timed, their defensive measures were still down after Decembers attack, and the national forces were still spread across the country. "He got inside.. What does he want?" Something had to be up if Adamant showed up in person, and Cassius could not imagine this was a sign of submission. "He is saying he wants a duel, for the right of the three cards." Eleanor said, still anxious. "Or else there will be consequences.."

(To be Continued in Annex 069: Survival of the Fastest)

New Cards used by Zach
Solo the Melodious Songstress
Shopina the Melodious Maestra

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Fortissimo

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Melodious Rhythm Change (+)

(+ Based on the Trap used by Yuzu in YuGiOh Arc-V)

Cards used by UNO
Solo the Melodious Songstress
Aria the Melodious Diva
Elegy the Melodious Diva
Soprano the Melodious Songstress
Score the Melodious Diva

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Bloom Prima the Melodious Choir

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Fortissimo

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Melodious Rhythm Change (+)