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.

81. NetWork

Annex 081: NetWork

Doms LP: 8000 Vespers LP: 8000

Doms enemy was not your normal duelist, nor was she using cards from a standard selection. "Handtraps and quick synchros? That's an unsual combination." Iria and the others could at least analyze what they saw right now. PsyFrame tuners couldn't be normal summoned and had to be summoned by effects, but they could summon their nontuner material from the hand, deck and graveyard. That was what Vesper had done just now to create PsyFrame Lord Omega(8/2800/2200) and destroy Doms pendulum monster at the same time. "I guess, since she is from another time, she has different cards. Right?" It made sense to Alice, Vesper was not from this world. "Maybe.. But it's just like with the time travelers. How can these cards interact with.. wait.." Uno was confused, but one of his memories helped him out a little. "When I was on the other side, my dueldisk could connect to their network. Both timelines share this. Does this mean the 'divergence' happened after the game was created?" It was possible. Nobody knew the exact date of the split. Then again, if the Zodiac travelers were to be believed. The game could be older than time itself.

"The Lord Omega may banish itself and one random card in a players hand until my next standby phase." Vesper continued Doms turn by activating Omega's effect. The Psychic lord opened a dimensional portal with swipe of its hand. "Hey." The portal sucked one of Doms cards up before it banished Omega himself. The dimensions closed up afterwards. "Ah, the synchro monsters can banish themselves so that you can activate more Psyframe Gears from your hand. Interesting." Dom rubbed his hands together. "Now it's my turn to show off! When Performage Plushfire is destroyed while he is on my field, I can special summon a Performage from my deck! And yes that might be Plushfire's monster effect and not his spell effect, but he became a monster card again when he died, so.." The leftover flames from Plushfire targeted the deck and flushed out Performage Trick Clown(4/1600/1200). "Next up!" Dom normal summoned another monster, Performage Damage Juggler(4/1500/1000). "I will meet your synchro summon with an XYZ-Summon!" Dom overlayed Damage Juggler with Trick Clown and XYZ-summoned his star XYZ-monster; Performage Trapeze Magician(4/2500/2000) in attack position.

"You summoned a monster." But activations were not the only thing Vesper could respond to. "PSY-Framegear Alpha can summon itself and Psy-Frame Driver." Another masked gear(1/500/0) came from her hand, this one looked more like a torture device. Meanwhile the first PSY-Frame Driver(6/2500/0) was special summoned from the graveyard. "Alpha adds a PSY-Frame card from my deck to my hand with its effect." Vesper placed a PSY-Frame Gamma card into Vespers hand, before she moved on to activating her field spell. "Summon Synchro, PSY-Framelord Zeta." PSY-Frame Circuit tuned the level 1 Alpha with the revived Driver. PsyFrame Driver was a material for a level 7 synchro monster as well. "Oh." Dom observed the torture mask clamping down on the fighters head and decking him(7/2500/1800) out in a less decorated spiked battlesuit, similar to Omega's. "The Lord Zeta may banish itself, to remove one attack-position monster on the opposite side until my next turn." Zeta created his own gateway. "Oh drat." This time Dom had to relinquish a card from his field, Trapeze Magician and Zeta were locked away in the banished zone.

"But no matter how a XYZ-monster leaves the field, its materials will go to the graveyard!" Dom shouted as Damage Juggler and Trick Clown were detached before Trapeze Magician disappeared. The Clown had its effect activated when it was sent to the graveyard. "You are activating a monsters effect." Unfortunately.. "Oh come on." There was a PSY-framegear for that too. "Psy-Framegear Gamma negates that monsters effect and destroys it. Then it summons itself and the PSY-Frame Driver." Gamma, another spiked and steel framed mask(2/1200/0), appeared on the field as it stabbed through the Trick Clown card. Doms effect was blocked, while Vesper could summon the Driver a third time. "Summon Synchro Thought Ruler." Immediately PSY-Frame Circuit tuned Gamma with the Driver. She did not make a Lord this time though, just the winged skeletal psychic; Thought Ruler Archfiend(8/2700/2300). "Well this is going great so far.. Guess all that's left is to.. use this spell, Chicken Game!" He activated his field spell, which took over half of the room. "As long as this spell is on the field, whoever has the least life takes no damage! Also by paying 1000 lifepoints, I can activate one of several effects! Like drawing a card!"

Doms LP: 7000

Dom took the card from his deck and placed it face-down. "Okay. That was a turn of fighting, now let's talk. To start with, you can tell me how you learned this whole desynchronization trick." He passed the turn to Vesper. Uno and the others waited for her to speak. "When you can damage me, than you deserve an answer." Vesper said dismissively as the Psyframe Lords Omega and Zeta returned to the field, along with Trapeze Magician. "Your cards are mine to play with, until then." Since Chicken Game was a field spell, she could activate it too. She payed 1000 lifepoints to draw once

Vespers LP: 7000

Vesper then reactivated the effect of PSYFramelord Zeta, and targeted Trapeze Magician again. "Damage you say? Why that's my specialty!" Dom had hoped she would lower her life as well. With equal lifepoints, both players could take damage. "I activate Ring of Destruction!" He flipped his trap. "I destroy PSY-Framelord Zeta! Then me and you will take damage equal to its original attackpoints!" A ring of explosive grenades was tossed towards the Framelord. "Unsurprising, creator." Vesper had an answer for that too. She calmly activated the effect of Thought Ruler Archfiend, paying another 1000 lifepoints to negate the effect of his trap card that targeted one psychic monster on the field. "Your mask does not make you less predictable." Now Zeta could finish its banishing effect. He and the XYZ-Performage were once again removed from the field for one whole turn.

Vespers LP: 6000

"You think?" Dom suddenly placed a card from his hand on the field. "When one of my traps has its effect negated, guess who I can summon to the field! In defense mode, here is Acrobat Magician!" A bright and colorful pendulum magician(5/800/2300) with a huge purple afro bounded towards the nearest empty monsterzone. "Wow. His monsters are like yours." Alice was starting to see the resemblance to both Uno's Performapals and Magicians. "I think he enjoys them even more than me." Dom was no stranger to his own deck, he was dancing along with his Acrobat. "Did that surprise you .." He began to say, right as Thought Ruler Archfiend massacred the Acrobat Magician with a single attack from its claws. "Do not waste time, creator. There is little of it." The Lord Omega then clapped its hands together to release a psychic current that struck Dom. "Gyaaa... Yahhh.. Yikes!"

Doms LP: 4200

"Sir Dom! Are you injured?" Iria yelled. "No. I don't think so. But it was very electrifying.. Psychic energy, she's making me think the pain." He slapped his own hand to come to his senses. "But I'm not worried about getting my hands dirty.." Once the pain was gone he picked up a card from the field. "By the way, destroying Acrobat Magician in battle does not kill him. That;s why your Thought Ruler didn't heal your lifepoints. Destruction places him in the pendulum zone as a spell!" The pendulum magician had a scale of 2, so he jumped into the right pendulum zone. "Now all I need is another pendulum. Hmm. Is your turn done yet?" He asked the opponent. Vesper placed a trap card down. "It is now." Dom could take his second turn. "Alright." He drew. "Oh. Looks like I am gonna have to ask Chicken Game for another favor." Dom moved his hand. So did Vesper.

"Creator, you are not in control" She activated a continuous trap; PSY-Frame Overload. "Each turn, PSY-Frame Overload will banish 1 PSY-Frame monster to banish one card on the field face-down." PSY-Framelord Omega was the chosen sacrifice. Its energy overloaded, tearing open time and space. "Ack." The gateway claimed Chicken Game, banishing it permanently. "You're one pain in the neck, Vesper. But that's okay! Because.." Dom activated a card from his hand. "I already had pendulum monsters anyway! I set the scale, Dragonpit Magician!" The scale 8 dragon mage took up the other pendulum zone.

"! You tricked her?" Uno was not suprirsed that he, he was surprised that it had actually worked on Vesper. She had wasted her trap on Doms spell now. "Apparently!" Dom laughed. He was almost ready to use his pendulums. "I'll banish Damage Juggler from my graveyard to add Performage Cup Tricker from my deck!" First he needed to add more summonable cards to his hand. "Now, I pendulum summon Performage Plushfire from the extra deck! And from my hand I summon Performage Cup Tricker and Breaker ther Dark Magical Warrior!" The fire cone returned. Joining him was a sprite(5/1200/1400) hiding in a large green cup and the upgraded magical swordsman Breaker(6/1600/1000). Because Breaker had been pendulum summoned, he(2800/1000) gained 3 spellcounters and 400 attackpoints for each of those counters. "Lets spruce him up a bit more! I activate Wonder Wand!" Dom gave Dark Breaker an equip spell that added 500 attackpoints to a Magician like him(6/3300/1000) "Now, a deal is a deal.. So.." Dom entered the battle phase. "Here is my proposal!" The Dark Magic Knight enchanted his sword and dashed towards the Thought Ruler Archfiend. The demon died to a single cut. "..." Vesper held her tongue for a brief moment. "You made a vow, Vesper. Honor it." Iria reminded her that, though the damage was minimal, it still counted. "Very well.."

Vespers LP: 5300

Performage Cup Tricker, 5/1200/1400 Light/Spellcaster/Pendulum
1[You can target 1 Xyz Monster you control; attach this card to it as an Xyz Material.]1
You can detach 1 Xyz Material from 1 Xyz monster on the field; Special Summon this card from your hand.
If this card is sent to the Graveyard to activate a 'Performage' monster's effect you can target 1 Xyz-Monster you control;
Detach 1 Xyz Material attached to the target and attach it to another Xyz Monster you control as an Xyz Material.

"The tool was already there. The woman I was here and the woman I was there, we both studied the mind and its capabilities. My research department was part of the team that discovered the second timeline. There were many who tried to develop a tool to communicate with the other side, using the technology our world developed. My research focused on the mind.. and made me the first to cross over and synchronize with myself. They had no idea yet what state our two worlds were in. That we realized the destructive nature of our coexistence, happened only when we compared notes. We tried to convince our superiors of the danger. Those fools would not listen to our plan to avoid extinction. I had to start on my own, to leave, to create an organization on both sides to prepare for the end. That is what you see here; The Circle." Vesper raised her hands to the ceiling. "Then who are the others? What are they doing?" The way she spoke, Uno started to worry about the state of his home dimension. "Those are new questions. I only needed to answer one. Your turn, continue it."

"My pleasure. Plushfire, direct attack!" The fire performage spat a few plush balls of flame towards the wide-open Vesper. She was already picking her response. "Oh boy. Here we go again." Uno groaned as another PSY-Frame tuner was summoned, this one looked like an armor(1/700/0) for the waist and legs. "PSY-Framegear Beta is summoned when the enemy attacks while I have no monsters to defend me. The Driver will be special summoned, the attacking monster will be destroyed and the battle phase will be ended." Beta stabbed Plushfire with its body, tearing the stuffing out of it. In exchange for this death there was the resurrection of PSY-Frame Driver. "Summon synchro, PSY-Framelord Zeta." The PSY-Frame field spell used Beta and the level 6 Driver as materials for a second Zetalord(7/2500/1800), summoning it in attack position.

"You know it feels like you're letting me do all the work for you, Vesper. But hey, that works both ways." Since Performage Plushfire had been destroyed again, Dom could activate its summoning effect. The fiery Performage special summoned a second Performage Cup Tricker(5/1200/1400) from his deck. "Also, when a monster is destroyed by a card effect, Acrobat Magician can be special summoned from the pendulum zone!" The Acrobat jumped up high and made a perfect landing in Plushfire's old spot. "I know what you're thinking, but first let's get rid of PSY-Frame Overload." Dom took one spellcounter away from Dark Breaker(2400/1000) to trigger its spell/trap destruction effect. The swordsman sliced the continuous trap into fragments. "I sacrifice Dark Breaker!" Wonder Wands second effect tributed its wielder to draw two cards. The Magic warrior and his equipment left the field. "Only three level 5 monsters left. Which allows me to introduce.. In attack mode, Performage Shadowmaker!" Dom overlayed the two CupTrickers with Acrobat Magician and XYZ-summoned a rank 5 monster. "Shadowmaker?" Alice and the others couldn't see it at first, they had to look down to spot it. "Aha!" It was an actual shadow, a masked black figure(5/2600/1000) that wore a fancy suit and star-covered hat. "What can it do? You will have to keep playing to find out! I set two cards in the spell/trap zone and end my turn!"

Performage Shadow Maker, 5/2600/1000 Dark/Spellcaster/XYZ
3 Level 5 monsters
Once per turn, during either player's turn, if this card is targeted by a card effect:
You can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card; Special summon 1 "Performage Shadow Maker" from your extra deck.
If this card is removed from the field during your opponents turn: You can special summon 1 "Performage" monster from your deck.

"You handle those cards well, those cards you did not create. However it is nothing new to us, the power of pendulum." Vesper claimed as she drew her card. "You created pendulum cards as well?" This was at odds with what Uno had heard from the Zodiac travelers. They had pendulum cards too, and they did not even come from Vespers world. "You must realize by now, our world has its own creators. Our duelists thrived on it. We had pendulums first. That is why. Something I don't already knowthere is not something you can show me.. Creator." In her standby phase Psylord Zeta and Trapeze Magician were released from the banished zone. "Sounds like a boring life if it has no twists and turns." Dom shrugged. "Better to live like that, than to live in ignorance. By banishing PSY-Frame Overload from the grave, one PSY-Frame card can be added to my hand. Now it is your turn, creator." Vespers last act involved removing her trap to take a Epsilon Framegear out of her deck. "Epsilon.. which letter was that again?" Dom turned to Iria for advise. "The fifth, sir. This one appears to be using traps." She had kept track of every played card so far. This was a new PSY-Framegear. "Knew I could count on you, Iria. See Vesper, nobody can do everything by themselves."

"What you are saying, you do not know." Vesper started the battle phase and made the PSY-lord Zetas attack Shadowmaker. Though Zeta was the weaker monster, it had PSY-Frame Circuits second effect to back it up. By discarding a PSY-Frame monster from Vespers hand, any battling PSYFrame would gain the attackpoints of the discarded monster for the rest of the turn. But Dom was aware of that. "Maybe, but don't understimate the predictable. Even that can dazzle you!" And Dom used his trap card; Quaking Mirror Force. "!?" The Mirror Force countered the attack. A storm of dust and sand arose and all of Vespers monsters were forced into face-down defense position. "I bet you have one of these traps on your side too!" Vesper could not switch her monsters back in attack-position manually either, Quaking Mirror Force kept its victims face-down. "It is annoying, your love for cards of all sizes.. Second main phase." The woman placed a trap card face-down. "Then it is your turn, creator."

"Okay. Where will this go.." Dom drew his next card. "Aha!" He summoned it, the Engraver of the Mark(4/1800/1200), in attack position. "I activate the Engravers effect.. and target my own monster!" The curse laying magician placed the Mark of destruction on Performage Shadowmaker. In two turns it would die. However.. "When Shadowmaker is targeted by an effect, he can use up one XYZ-material to summon a copy of himself!" The shadow laughed as it squirmed on the ground. Its black body split up as another Performage Shadowmaker(5/2600/1000) was special summoned from the extra deck. "Now for my next trick! A classic!" The XYZ-material Dom had detached to activate his XYZ-monsters effect was Performage Cup Tricker. "With Cup Tricker sent to the graveyard, it can target Shadowmaker and switch one of his XYZ-materials to another XYZ-monster!" The overlayed Acrobat Magician jumped from the rank 5 Performage to the rank 4 Trapeze Mage. "This of course means.." With another effect targeting the Shadow, it could use its last XYZ-material to summon the third Performage Shadowmaker(5/2600/1000). "And to wrap it all up with a neat and tidy bow!" Dom removed the new XYZ-material from Trapeze Magician. It targeted the first Shadowmaker, which now allowed it to attack twice in this battle phase. "Alright Vesper, this should give us the full spread!" He finally began the battle phase, attacking first with the first Shadowmaker.

"Do not presume too much, creator... PSY-Framegear Multi-Threader." Vesper activated an effect from her hand. The card she discarded made a PSY-Framegear indestructible, whether they were face-up or face-down. The Zetalord survived the first attack. "The Synchro Guild is one perfect union. I understand the use of allies all too well." The meaning of her words became apparent quickly. "Halt! Drop your disk and step away from miss Vesper!" When Gareth and few other duelists emerged from the door. "They found us! How? Did Zach tell them?"

"Creffield wouldn't tell them anything." Despite everything, Iria did not take her fellow disciple for a weakwilled man. "He did not have to. I did." Vesper revealed. "What? How? You didn't pass on any messages. You couldn't." Uno was pretty damn sure he hadn't seen her do anything but play the game. "Maybe she didn't have to.. Maybe she..did it in the other timeline?" Alice speculated. "Blast! They must have a nerve center just like this one over there!" Uno gasped. "It took you long enough to figure that out." Gareth chuckled. "Yes. That is how I communicate with them. On the other side I do not keep myself hidden from anyone. Dom, while you were dueling me, my other half told their counterparts everything. And they will defeat your friends, and remove that pendulum user's power out of the equation." Vesper stated with absolute certainty. "You know, Vesper.. I think that you spent so much time convincing yourself, you just don't want to give up on what you started. I know what that feels like..."

Dom did not get the time to finish the speech he had prepared, because a loud rumbling filled the chamber. "Wh-what is that!? An earthquake? Bombs?" Alice yelled. It had to be something powerful if it could be felt all the way down here. "Tch.. Cassius! What is happening?" Gareth called the control room. "It.. It is the XYZ-Guild. They have activated the devices.. all over the country!"

(To be Continued in Annex 082: Closer than This)

New Cards used by Dom
Acrobat Magician
Performage Cup Tricker (+)

-
Performage Shadowmaker (+)

-
Chicken Game
Wonder Wand

-
Quaking Mirror Force

(+ Based on the monster used by Dennis in YGO Arc-V)

New Cards used by Vesper
PSY-Framegear Alpha
PSY-Framegear Gamma
PSY-Framegear Beta
PSY-Framegear Multi-Threader
-

PSY-Framelord Zeta
Thought Ruler Archfiend

-
PSY-Frame Overload