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.

85. Mechanical Selection

Annex 085: Mechanical Selection

Adamants LP: 8000 Roma's LP: 1400

The XYZ-Leader had revealed his true motivations and goals in front of his opponent, his army and his prisoners. "Have you gone mad? You cannot take over an entire country with cards and disks." They, primarily Iria, seemed to be the only one who had a problem with that. "We are a force, we must be reckoned with." The XYZ-duelists clung to every word Roma said. Naturally, as only the most dedicated or fanatic were still part of the guild. "Roma, we fight for our country, we do not fight to take it." Adamant openly disapproved as well, and he was astonished that so many of his former men were willing to obey Roma. They had been trained too well, the need to follow any order was beaten into their heads. "As I said, you do not think big enough. What do you do when you defeat your enemies? You take what they possess. We have done it before, this castle is just a new beginning. With the secrets of Dreamworld and the technology of the Synchro Guild, we can overpower any real army."

"But first, you need to fall in line. Ex-leader." Roma made an attack with his rank 12 monster, Super Quantal Mech King Magnus(12/3600/3200). Its righthand Aeroboros-claw created a fierce whirlwind to capture Raidraptor Revolution Falcon(6/3000/3000). "Oh, now he can use Raptors Ultimate Mace to negate get a new Rank-Up-Magic and negate the damage!" One soldier commented on the effect of the spell card equipped to the Falcon, which normally triggered when the equipped monster was targeted for an attack. "Check again. When Magnus has 6 XYZ-materials, he wont let the opponent search for cards in his deck!" The other knew that effect could not trigger in this case, so Adamant wouldn't get any Rank-Up-spells. "..Raidraptor Readiness." Roma's only only recourse was to use his trap card. Raidraptor Readiness made his Raidraptors batlle-indestructible for this turn. Revolution Falcon survived, and Adamant took some battle damage.

Adamant's LP: 7400

"Do you hear that, Adamant? They do not care who wins, they care about the duel. I am going to make sure they can keep dueling." Naturally Roma did not leave it at that. "You have nothing you can give us anymore. Magnus, dismiss his Revolution Falcon!" Roma detached one material from the ultimate Super Mech. One each turn it could return a card to the deck. The XYZ-Raidraptor flew back to Adamants extra deck. "Will they still care if they understand what is at stake, Roma? There are challenges for fun and challenges for the fate of life. What you are doing is neither! It's dueling for the sake of dueling!" Uno fumed. In his wildest dreams he had never thought he would find a duelist like Roma. "You're preaching to the choir. Aren't you the same Uno who dueled just to get fame? Not that it matters, Adamant here is the prime example of a duelist who wants nothing else.." Roma turned his eye towards Alice. "He could have let you go, but he had to fight you. That cost us everything, but at least he kept his honor." Roma spat and placed a trap card down. His turn was over.

"I will make no excuses for what I have done. The cards are weapons with a story of their own. They cannot be gained through force. Dueling is the true way. Just like it is the only way for me to regain my throne." Adamant used his turn to normal summon a Raidraptor Skull Eagle(3/1000/500). "I special summon Raidraptor Pain Lanius!" A tiny metal bird(1/100/100) with three red eyes fluttered down to perch on the zone next to the Eagle. Pain Lanius could be special summoned by targeting another Raidraptor on the field. Its level would mirror the level of that winged beast, however its user would take damage equal to the targets lowest stats, the defense points in this case. Pain Lanius(3/100/100)' target was Skull Eagle. "Rgh. Raidraptor - Fiend Eagle!" Adamant overlayed Eagle and Lanius to XYZ-summon the bloodred devils eagle(3/1300/0)

Adamants LP: 6900

"The bigger they are, the harder they fall?" In the background Ichirou shook his head. Fiend Eagle could inflict 3600 points of damage to Roma by targeting his monster with 3600 attackpoints. Alas, it would not be so easy. "Nice try, Adamant. Magnus, remove it!" The Super Mech King detached another material to send Fiend Eagle away from the field and chase it all the way into the extra deck. "If you could have sent my monsters back into my deck all along, you should have done it before I even XYZ-summoned." That way Magnus would have a defenseless Skull Eagle to crush. Now Adamant had only defensive monsters as he ended his turn. "Ha! I don't need tips from you anymore. This demonstration of power was to teach you that you shouldn't bother with the small fry! Whether you try rank 3 or rank 6, they don't stack up to the ultimate rank!"

"And now it is time for you to retire!" Roma took his turn and started the battle phase. "I attack your last monster with Magnus!" The combined Quantal mech flew across the field on its Aeroboros wings and extended its other hand to level the field with one punch. "Heh." And as the two monsters did battle, Magnus and the face-down Raidraptor Fuzzy Lanius(4/500/1500); Roma sprung his trap on Adamant. "!?" The trap card transformed into a sword made from prismatic green/red and blue light. "Graaaaah!" Magnus(4800/3200) used that sword to cleave Fuzzy Lanius and Adamant at the same time. "Super Quantal Mech Sword - Magnaslayer! This trap equips itself to my XYZ-monster and allows it to inflict defense-piercing damage! It also increases its attackpoints by 100 for each of its rank stars! You believed I was making the wrong play, when in fact it was you! You should have activated your trap just to be safe!" Adamant had Raidraptor Readiness in his graveyard, which he could have banished to negate all damage this turn. But the Magnaslayer trap had caught him off guard. By the time the damage step happened it was too late to activate Raidraptor Readiness.

Adamants LP: 3600

"Stop it! Why.. why are you hurting him?" Alice could not stand it anymore. Even if she closed her eyes, she could hear Adamants agonized cries. "Why do you care? He's not your friend. Nor is he mine, he never has been." Roma chuckled. "But you don't have to duel like this! Nobody has..." There was no point to solid-vision, all it added to a duel was pain. The idea of wanting to inflict that upon others was incomprehensible to her. "He was the one who desired this ability, he wanted duels to be the way they were meant to be! What use is power if it doesn't affect anything? Our enemies need to realize what we can do, their mind and bodies must never forget! Now! the Magnaslayer trap can be tributed to give my monster two more attacks this turn!" Magnus(3600/3200) split Magnaslayer into three energy blades. The red blade faded, but the blue and green blade streaked towards Adamant. "Raidraptor Readiness!" Now Adamant had to banish his trap to stop the remaining damage. The Quantal Kings strikes were deflected. "Better late than never, Adamant!" Roma placed a trap card down and ended his turn.

"Roma, though you are strong, you are also misguided. We duel to prove our strength, not to cause suffering. Anyone can hurt people." Adamant clenched his hand. "Pain helps us understand what is dangerous and what isn't. That does not mean we should hand it out when it is not necessary!" Adamant activated a spell card, Allure of Darkness, to draw two cards. Last turn the destroyed Fuzzy Lanius had searched Adamants deck for a replacement Fuzzy Lanius. That dark-attribute winged beast was now banished by Allure of Darkness. "Raidraptor Last Strix!" One of the drawn cards was normal summoned; a tiny red-metal owl(1/100/100) with green wings and golden talons. "I tribute it to special summon 1 Raidraptor XYZ-monster, with its effects negated!" The Strix bird darted towards the extra deck and pulled a card out with its beak. Last Strix died, but Raidraptor Revolution Falcon(6/2000/3000) was brought back before his master. "And I activate Rank-Up-Magic: Astral Force! My XYZ-monster evolves by two ranks, into a XYZ-monster of the same type and element!"

Revolution Falcon vanished within a bright blue fire, its body was "He's ranking up Revolution Falcon!?" The crowd gasped and muttered. "Just how high can he go?" Few had ever seen him go to rank 8. The Falcon transformed into something that barely resembled a winged beast anymore. It was a white and red solar machine(8/3000/2000). "Raidraptor Satellite Cannon! When it is XYZ-summoned, it destroys all spell and trap cards on the field!" The Falcons wingcannons unloaded their laser clips on Roma's set trap; Call of the Haunted. "Enjoy it while it lasts, Adamant!" Roma quickly fired back by detaching one material from Magnus. "I allowed you your moment of glory, but that has passed!" The Satellite Cannon Falcon was forced to retreat the extra deck. "Now I will.." Roma expected to get a perfect direct attack on his next turn now, since Adamant had already used up his normal summon. But he still had a spell left. "Rank-Up-Magic: Soul Shave Force." He payed half his lifepoints to activate it. "Soul Shave!?"

Adamants LP: 1800

"I can evolve one XYZ-monster in my graveyard, by two ranks!" Adamant targeted Revolution Falcon. "Satellite Cannon Falcon, return!" The symbol of the raidraptors flared up once again, as the rank 6 Falcon was attached to the space falcon(8/3000/2000) for the second time. "He tricked him this time!" Uno exclaimed. Had Roma simply waited, he would have had nothing to fear from Adamants monsters. Instead, he wasted a XYZ-material. "Your Quantal King has three materials, it can be affected by my cards!" Adamant detached one material from the Satellite Cannon Falcon. "Your rank 12 monster loses 800 attackpoints for each Raidraptor in my graveyard!" The spirits of Revolution Falcon, Skull Eagle, Pain Lanius, Fuzzy Lanius, Tribute Lanius and Mimicry Lanius circled around the Quantal King like vultures. They blasted it, until it(0/3200) had no power left. "Everyone stand back." Adamant shouted. "Attack, Satellite Cannon!" The Falcon took off into the sky, as high as it could, and built up power by drawing in the light of the stars and the dawning sun on the horizon. "Destroy Magnus!" Once all the solar forces were prepared, they were thrown down in one massive beam. The blast decimated Roma's field, leaving a crater in the castle courtyard.

"You..destroyed my King? My strongest card, because of a rank 8.." Smoke and fire was everywhere, the only reason Roma survived that attack was because Last Strix prevented battle damage during the turn it was tributed. "So what!?" He shouted his fear away. "In a battle, the monsters do not matter! As long as you can hurt your enemy more, you will win! I activate the final effect of the Quantal Mech King!" The destroyed Mech separated into its three Quantal-components; Grampulse(3/1800/2800), Aeroboros(4/2200/2400) and Magnaliger(5/2600/2100). "When Magnus is destroyed, he can special summon three unique Quantal XYZ-monsters from the graveyard! Hahaha! Did you think you succeeded, Adamant? You failure of a leader!" Roma's laughter continued until his opponent ended his turn. "..." Which Adamant did after he placed a trap card down.

"Hmph, you hit your limit, the world belongs to those who have infinite potential." Roma drew his card. It was a Super Quantum Green Layer. "I will destroy the peak of your power!" Magnaliger uses its effect to turn Green Layer into an XYZ-material. Said material was detached to activate the Red Quantals destruction effect. The target was the sky-bound Satellite Falcon. The Magnaligers flames reached it caused a magnificent explosion beyond the clouds. "Take this! The direct attack from all my Quantals! Finally, we know which one of us is superior!" Roma pumped his fist, and his XYZ-monsters crossed the crater to catch their opponent. "If you did not know before now, than you never were superior to begin with... Roma. I knew all along." Adamant slowly moved his hand to his trap card. "That I was stronger than you." He flipped the trap, XYZ-Reborn. "No.. not that card!?" The XYZ-revival trap resummoned an XYZ-monster to the field; Satellite Cannon Falcon. Even worse, XYZ-Reborn turned itself into an XYZ-material for the Falcon. "How can something so simple, so anticlimactic.."

"Use what is effective, discard what is not. Do not make more enemies than those that are required. And most of all, do not over-glorify battle. There is nothing glorious about what you are doing, Roma." Adamant gave his opponent no time to declare his endphase, and Roma made no attempt to switch his other monsters to defense position. The turn was over and they both knew it. "I almost became like that myself, the duelist from that time would destroy you with his ultimate power." Adamant had a choice to activate Astral Force's second effect; skipping the draw phase to draw the spell itself from the graveyard. He went with his regular draw instead. "Twice now I have been defeated at the height of my arrogance. You already suffered one loss, maybe you will see what I mean after your second." Adamant activated Satellite Cannons attackdraining effect. The six Raidraptors in the graveyard reduced all of Magnaliger(0/2000)'s attackpoints. "Regardless. The XYZ-Guild is no longer yours! Satellite Cannon Falcon, attack!" The falcon released a point blank shot at the Fire Super mech, to decide the match for leadership once and for all. "Adamant!"

Roma's LP: 0

"Incredible. He beat Roma!" For a moment, the XYZ-guild did not know how to react. "So he is... in charge again?.. He is our leader! Adamant! Adamant!" Some broke out the cheers and salutes. "Sir. What are your orders? What do we do now?" Others wanted to hear him speak. No attention was sent Roma's way. "You change your mind so easily?" Now that he stood there, Adamant was wondering why he desired to get back his people in the first place. However he had to use them while he could. "..My first order. Is to release these people!" He waved his hand at Iria, Uno and Alice. "Release us!?" While the XYZ-duelists did so without question, Iria had nothing but incredulous looks for the 'leader' of the guild. "You really are a man of your word, Adamant." Uno smiled at him as he was finally allowed to stand. "It appears so." Iria begrudgingly admitted. "With this our debt is settled. Yet, this is not the end for us. Uno, Iria, Alice; I could use you for the fight against the other world. The choice is yours. However, first we must undo the damage Roma has done.."

"Stop the presses!" The first act of leader Adamant was rudely interrupted by a group of synchro duelists who swarmed out of the castle to storm the courtyard. "Eric? Eric!" Alice perked right up when she heard the voice of this groups leader. "Stop the presses? That is what you are going with for a battle-cry?" Duelists like Jet and Akai were also with him. "I couldn't come up anything else! Who cares? Adamant!" Eric took a firm stance. "Take a good look! I got several dozen duelists all ganged up to fight against you and your army! You'll let my friends go right now, or there will be hell to pay!" Eric meant every word of it. Everyone here was not going to hide away like Cassius. "Your friends are free to go." Adamants answer was rather lackluster in the face of all that. "They are? Well, that was easy." Akai chortled. "Uh? What is going on? Are you playing tricks?" Eric stammered. "I don't think so." Uno casually walked away from the army in black. They did nothing to stop him. "What? So I did all of this for nothing?" Eric sighed. "Ahem! As I was about to say!" Adamant cleared his throat first and made his second announcement. "I also order that the generators be dismantled!"

"Oh no, that wont do." Said the snake-tongued XYZ-duelist as he joined the excited crowd. "Ichirou.. Are you refusing my order?" Adamant glared at the second-in command. "Aha-ha.. Not quite. See, Roma appointed me as his successor, should any ill fate befall him. He left every code with me to ensure that nothing would undo our work." He took a small remote from his pocket and tossed it at Adamant. "You can try and guess, but I changed the password. Only I know the words to stop the generators. And there is no other way to shut them off, we made a few modifications to the original program. The barriers they create also insulate them from outside interference. It would take an atomic bomb to get through the forcefield." He grinned while Adamant futilely tried to deactive the generators with the remote. "What do you gain from defying the guild?" Adamant had only ever known Ichirou as a sycophant. He never expected him to make a powerplay. "Oh pretty much everything." Ichirou flashed a card in his hand; Dark Rebellion XYZ-Dragon. "The secrets, the guild, the cards."

"Ichirou. This is not what we agreed upon!" It was now that Roma spoke again. "You were supposed to carry out my plans! Not create your own!" Even his second-in-command had betrayed him. The irony was lost on Roma. "I am filled with regrets, Roma. But you have shown us your weakness. You cannot be an effective leader anymore. I will offer myself to take your role." The XYZ-duelist stated as he placed his hand on his chest. "I was the one who made you what you are!" The defeated leader yelled once more. "I was the only one who saw the power at our disposal. All of you are cowards, afraid to really change the world!" Yet he was not heard, his army did not listen. They did not want to look at him anymore.

"Graaagh!" That changed when a strange and focused blast of light hit the courtyard. "!" It took a while before anyone even noticed what had happened. "Aah.." Alice witnessed it first hand. Her trembling hands grabbed her face. "AAAAHH!" She out a bloodcurdling scream. "What? What is it? Alice?" Eric could not see anything from his position. Others did, and it had been a ghastly experience. "Roma.. he is.." The former leader was no more. All that was left of him was a card on the ground. "What is this?" Adamant picked the card up. It felt heavier than a normal playing card. That was the least unusual thing about it. "No.." When Adamant flipped the card around he saw him. Roma's image was captured on the card, his face frozen in horror. "He turned..into a card?" Uno had to say it to believe it. "Who did this?"

"Good morning!" The culprit revealed herself and her entourage. "I thought you wouldn't mind. The man did talk a lot." Dame Phoebe spoke with a melodic tone as she pranced through the gates, with Martel by her side. "And well, when a duelists life reaches zero. You just have to make sure he stays at zero."

(To be Continued in Annex 086: Clear my Conscience)

New Cards used by Adamant
Raidraptor - Pain Lanius
Raidraptor - Last Strix

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Raidraptor - Satellite Cannon Falcon

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Rank-Up-Magic: Astral Force

New Cards used by Roma
Super Quantal Mech Sword - Magnaslayer

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Call of the Haunted