After the devastating revelation that it was Yusei’s program that destroyed the world in the future, Paradox continues to unleash his onslaught of Malefic monsters! But Yusei keeps his cool and manages to Accel Synchro! But will it be enough to prove to Paradox that he’s saved his world?

No, seriously. I did NOT plan that. That was just a flash of inspiration that I had. I have no idea what I’m gonna do with it, but it’s already there and I’m not taking it out. Retconning cards and duels is one thing, but the story? Not cool.

/*********************\

“The Fortune Mainframe was a program I developed which unified the lifelines of Neo Domino City and other cities using Momentum,” Yusei explained. “Basically, Neo Domino City would prevent Momentum from going berserk anywhere else in the world, and the Fortune Mainframe would also prevent the Central Momentum from going out of control as well.”

“It took two hundred years and many upgrades to the software, but the network itself gained sentience,” said Paradox. “Fueled by the living energy that it generated, Momentum learned of the greedy ways in which humanity was using it and decided that they should no longer be allowed to live. It punished us for our greed.”

“But that’s impossible!” said Yusei. “The core parameters of Fortune would prevent Momentum from going into Zero Reverse!”

“It went into reverse, but remained in full control of itself,” said Paradox. “Z-One and I learned the truth after he saved me. After it gained sentience, it created the armies of Meklord Emperors to keep humanity busy. While we waged war against nigh-indestructible machines that fed on our greed and fear, Momentum worked to overwrite the anti-overload parameters of your program. It succeeded just after Z-One started his ‘Clear Mind’ revolution. Though it saw him, it decided that his handful of selfless followers were not enough, and also saw pride in his heart. It even told him so after he gave up.”

“It is, Yusei,” said Paradox. “In the future that I come from, you designed this program when you retired from Pro-Dueling.”

“It won’t matter,” said Paradox. “Your program destroyed us, Yusei, and it will do so again. So I will destroy you and your future. My turn!”

Paradox drew and smiled. “I send ‘Cyberdark Dragon’ from my Extra Deck to the Graveyard and Special Summon ‘Malefic Cyberdark Dragon’!” Paradox’s new monster came through a portal. Its body seemed composed of three different monsters. The tail was thin, black and snake-like. The body was green, but its wings were covered in Malefic armor. The head was a copper color with four massive tusks around the mouth. Within its open, mechanical mouth was the head of a dragon, covered in the Malefic mask.

“Malefic Cyberdark Dragon gains one hundred Attack Points for each monster in my Graveyard, and when I Special Summon it, I can equip it with a ‘Malefic’ monster in my Graveyard and Malefic Cyberdark gains that monster’s Attack Points,” Paradox said. “Feed on the strength of Malefic Stardust Dragon!”

Many thin wires shot out of the underside of the mechanical monstrosity and disappeared into a portal, then withdrew, pulling out a limp Malefic Stardust Dragon. The claws on the central section gripped the dragon, holding it in place. The creature roared loudly as a red aura appeared around it and its Attack Points shot up.

Yusei smiled. “I activate ‘Urgent Tuning’! During the Battle Phase, I can activate this card to perform a Synchro Summon. Turbo Synchron, tune with Level Eater!” Yusei’s two monsters vanished and were replaced by one green ring and one star.

“Gathering wishes will call out a new horizon of speed,” Yusei chanted. “Become the path its light shines upon!”

A formula race car emerged from the column of green light that had enveloped the star and ring. Legs, arms and a head all emerged from the car, making it the central body of a robot.

“I Synchro Summon the Power of Hope, the Synchro Tuner, ‘Formula Synchron’!”

“Synchro Tuner?” repeated Twilight. “You mean it’s a Synchro Monster AND a Tuner Monster?”

“That’s right, Twilight,” said Yusei. “This is a power that I gained to fight the Meklord Emperors.” Turning his attention back to Paradox, Yusei announced, “Bring it on, Paradox. I've got a new trick to show you!.”

“Antinomy’s little trick failed us in the end,” Paradox sneered, “just as it will fail you. Malefic Blue-Eyes White Dragon, destroy Formula Synchron!”

“Not so fast, Paradox!” said Yusei. “I play the Trap ‘Synchro Material’! This lets me use a monster you control for a Synchro Summon. I choose Stardust Dragon!”

“Because I don’t need to wait,” said Yusei. “I tune my Level Two Synchro Tuner, Formula Synchron, with the Level Eight Synchro Monster, Stardust Dragon!”

“This is the power I gained to fight the future!” said Yusei. “Gathering dreams crystallize to open a new door of evolution. Become the path its light shines upon!”

Formula Synchron and Stardust Dragon flew straight upward, the former racing ahead. A funnel cone formed around them, rays of light flashed off the front of Formula Synchron’s body, and at last the two monsters vanished. Yusei held up a blank card.

A single beast appeared from a new portal that flashed into existence before vanishing after the monster’s exit. It soared through space like a jet, a stream of light trailing behind it. It swooped down, spinning as it did so, then came to a stop above Yusei. Its head was smaller and completely armored, but most of its body was much larger. Its wings were straight and tinged with green. Its roar sounded like Stardust Dragon’s, but deeper, wiser, and far more powerful.

“Shooting Star Dragon can be Synchro Summoned on my opponent’s turn,” said Yusei. “This is the power I gained to fight the Meklords, and this is the power I’ll use to stop you, Paradox!”

“Malefic Blue-Eyes, cease your attack,” Paradox ordered. “Let’s change tactics, shall we? Because you sent Stardust Dragon back to my Graveyard, Malefic Cyberdark’s Attack Points are one thousand higher than Shooting Star’s. Malefic Cyberdark Dragon, attack Shooting Star Dragon! Full Darkness Burst!”

A black ball of crackling energy appeared between the four horns of the mechanical creature. As it formed, another of Yusei’s face-down cards flipped up.

“Go, ‘Wild Tornado’!” said Yusei. “This destroys one face-up card in the Spell and Trap Card Zones! I destroy Malefic Stardust Dragon!”

“Without Malefic Stardust’s power, it’s no match for Shooting Star Dragon!” said little Spike.

“Since Malefic Stardust is a monster, Malefic Cyberdark Dragon only loses twenty-four hundred Attack Points when it enters the Graveyard,” said Rarity, “but that still puts it at only nineteen hundred points!”

“Then that means Paradox will take fourteen hundred points of damage!” said Twilight. “He’ll only have a hundred points left!”

“That’s showin’ ‘em!” shouted Applejack. The others began to cheer right alongside her.

“You actually believe it will be that easy?” Paradox said smugly. “From my hand, I activate the Quick-Play Spell ‘Malefic Sacrifice’. By sending Malefic Cyberdark Dragon to the Graveyard, I gain the Attack Points it had on the field in Life Points!”

Malefic Cyberdark Dragon vanished in a stream of light that wrapped around Paradox in a small cocoon that quickly faded away. Paradox chuckled.

“Oh no. And Yusei worked so hard to get him to where he was!” said older Pinkie.

“Life Points indicate how close you are to victory or defeat in this game,” said Twilight.

“If your Life Points drop to zero, then you lose,” the younger Spike chimed in.

“Then your friend Yusei is in quite the pinch, isn’t he?” Puddinghead said. “If the fate of Equestria rests in his hands, then I hope he can turn this around once more.”

“Malefic Paradox Dragon, attack Shooting Star Dragon!” said Paradox. “Paradox Stream!”

“I activate Shooting Star Dragon’s effect!” said Yusei. “During your turn, I can remove it from play, and during this turn, I can negate one attack.”

Shooting Star Dragon shot forward and vanished into a portal like the one it emerged from. Paradox Dragon’s attack disappeared into the other side of the portal.

“During the End Phase, Shooting Star Dragon returns to the field after it was removed by this effect,” said Yusei. “It’s my turn now, and I play the Trap ‘Miracle Locus’! Shooting Star Dragon gains one thousand Attack Points and can attack twice this turn, but won’t inflict any Battle Damage to you. Shooting Star Dragon, attack Malefic Blue-Eyes!”

Shooting Star Dragon roared and blasted forward, after-images of itself trailing behind it and quickly fading away. Shooting Star pierced through Malefic Blue-Eyes and the corrupt dragon exploded.

“Not done yet!” said Yusei. “It’s Paradox Dragon’s turn to go down! Go, Stardust Mirage!”

Shooting Star Dragon blasted down from above Malefic Paradox Dragon, striking it in the back and piercing through its yellow underbelly. The massive wyvern exploded shortly afterward.

“No,” said Paradox. “THIS is what ‘Go-Time’ looks like! You might have thought that move was the right one to make, Yusei, but it was a huge mistake on your part! I activate ‘Malefic Paradigm Shift’! When Malefic Paradox Dragon is destroyed, I can pay half my Life Points and sacrifice myself to Special Summon ‘Malefic Truth Dragon’!”

Paradox screamed as if in pain as three different-shaded images of his Trap encircled him and a dark orb engulfed them all. A new portal appeared beneath him, a massive circle of swirling light. Something began to emerge. The sharp-edged, triangular head of an enormous dragon rose up from the portal. The rest of its body quickly followed.

Most of the creature’s body was golden yellow. Its belly was armored with blood-red plates and its eyes were the same color. Its teeth were constantly bared and fit together perfectly. Paradox’s legs sank into the top of the beast’s head and he groaned with the effort of the merging.

“I will eliminate you by my own hand, Yusei Fudo!” said Paradox. “And this time, there will be no mistakes! When you dueled that past version of myself, you should not have won! Had that Paradox focused his attacks on Stardust Dragon, you surely would have fallen!”

“Then I’ll prove to you here and now that I’m still the better duelist,” said Yusei.

“I play my own Trap: ‘Crush Star’,” said Yusei. “When a Synchro Monster on the field is destroyed, I can Special Summon two monsters with one thousand or less Attack Points; one from my hand and one from my Graveyard. From my Graveyard, I revive Tuningware. And from my hand, I summon ‘Quickdraw Synchron’!”

Two small robots appeared on Yusei’s field. The new one wore a cape and cowboy hat, with a single eye revealed beneath its shadow.

“Quickdraw Synchron can substitute itself for any ‘Synchron’ Tuner monster, and Tuningware can be treated as a Level Two monster if I use it as a Synchro Material,” said Yusei. “Level Five Quickdraw Synchron, tune with the Level Two Tuningware!”

A ring of monster cards appeared a few feet away from Quickdraw Synchron. The ring began to spin, picking up speed until the cards became a blur. The little robot grabbed a gun from one of the holsters on his belt and fired. The ring stopped. Junk Synchron had a hole through it.

“Gathering anger becomes an entranced warrior born from a brutal god. Become the path its light shines upon!”

A massive axe cut through the pillar of light that had appeared from Quickdraw Synchron and Tuningware.

The warrior that emerged was just as massive as the axe it held. It was covered in bright red armor lined with gold. Spikes littered its armor from head to toe, and a long, jagged horn rested atop its head.

“First, Tuningware lets me draw one card. Next, I activate Junk Berserker’s effect,” said Yusei. “By removing a ‘Junk’ monster from my Graveyard, one of your monsters loses that monster’s Attack Points. I remove Junk Synchron to weaken Malefic Truth Dragon!”

Junk Berserker swung its massive axe, launching a wide beam at Malefic Truth Dragon, with a ghostly image of Junk Synchron riding it. It struck the creature’s red underbelly. It roared as the energy weakened it.

“My turn!” said Paradox. “I send ‘Armed Dragon Level Ten’ from my deck to the Graveyard to Special Summon ‘Malefic Armed Dragon’!”

A massive, orange-skinned dragon entered the field through one of the surrounding portals. Black and white armor covered its belly and wings, though short, sharp blades pierced through it. The Malefic mask covered its face, but metallic tusks and horns jutted out from underneath it.

“I activate Malefic Armed Dragon’s effect,” Paradox said. “Once per turn, it can destroy one card on the field. I choose Shooting Star Dragon! Go, Malefic Mambele!” Malefic Armed Dragon grabbed the giant blades that formed its wings, pulled them forward and threw them. They spun through space toward Shooting Star Dragon.

“Shooting Star Dragon’s effect activates!” said Yusei. “I remove it from play until the end of the turn, then I can negate one attack this turn!” Shooting Star Dragon shot forward at the spinning blades and vanished. The blades passed where it had been and turned back toward their owner. They landed on its back with a loud CLANG!

“That’s fine,” said Paradox. “Malefic Armed Dragon, attack! Armed Big Punisher!”

“With Shooting Star’s effect, I negate your attack!” A glowing, white barrier appeared around Yusei. Malefic Armed Dragon slammed its clawed hand down, but struck the barrier instead of Yusei.

“My turn now!” Paradox said. “I attack through Malefic Truth Dragon!” The massive yellow dragon opened its mouth and a yellow beam fired out between its pointed teeth.

“I activate ‘Defense Draw’!” said Yusei. “This reduces the damage from this battle to zero and lets me draw one card!”

Another barrier appeared around Yusei, blocking the yellow beam. Yusei drew a card and added it to his hand.

“I Set two cards and end my turn,” said Paradox. Shooting Star Dragon reappeared on the field.

“My turn!” said Yusei. “I summon ‘Synchron Explorer’! And when it’s Normal Summoned, I can Special Summon a ‘Synchron’ Tuner from my Graveyard!”

A round, red robot appeared. The hole in its spherical body began to glow and Nitro Synchron emerged from within.

“Level Two Nitro Synchron, tune with the Level Two Synchron Explorer!” Yusei ordered. As the two monsters vanished and their stars enveloped by light, Yusei said, “I Synchro Summon ‘Armory Arm’!”

“I activate Armory Arm’s effect,” Yusei said. “I can equip it to a monster on my field, giving that monster a thousand extra Attack Points!” Shooting Star Dragon thrust its right arm into the back of Armory Arm. It flexed the fingers and roared as its power increased.

“Now I’ll use Shooting Star Dragon’s effect!” Yusei continued. “I can check the top five cards of my deck, and during this turn, Shooting Star Dragon gets one attack for every Tuner Monster in those cards!” Yusei took five cards from the top of his deck and held them up. “There’s three Tuners, Paradox, which means Shooting Star Dragon can attack three times this turn!”

Shooting Star Dragon split into three different colored versions of itself- one red, one blue, and one yellow- and sped off toward Paradox’s monsters. The red one used Armory Arm to slash through Malefic Armed Dragon, blasting through its back.

“Armory Arm’s effect activates!” shouted Yusei. “When the equipped monster sends a monster to the Graveyard by battle, you take damage equal to that monster’s Attack Points!”

Malefic Armed Dragon exploded. The fire from the blast struck against Paradox and Malefic Truth Dragon.

“You’ll have to do better than that,” said Paradox. “Counter Trap, ‘Malefic Regen Flash’! When I take damage from battle or an effect while I control Malefic World and a ‘Malefic’ monster, I regain the Life Points that I lost and draw one card!” Paradox laughed as he drew and his Life Points increased.

“You’re still going down, Paradox!” said Yusei. “Shooting Star Dragon still has two attacks left! Shooting Star Dragon, attack Malefic Truth Dragon!”

Paradox still has one face-down left, Yusei thought. I have to make sure it won’t stop my attack before I go for game.

The blue Shooting Star Dragon curled the fingers of Armory Arm into a fist. Its wings began to light up and fired like jets, propelling it forward. The fist struck Malefic Truth Dragon square in the chest.

“Twilight, didn’t Paradox gain three thousand Life Points just now?” asked the young Spike.

"Not quite. Even if Paradox never gained back the three thousand points, he'd still have one thousand points left after the second attack."

“I might not win this turn,” Yusei said over his shoulder, "but I'm still gonna put the hurt on Paradox!". He was smiling.

“You’ll have to get past me first!” said Paradox. “Malefic Truth Dragon’s effect: When it would be destroyed, I can remove a ‘Malefic’ monster in my Graveyard from play to negate its destruction!” Malefic Blue-Eyes White Dragon appeared in front of Truth Dragon, roared, and then vanished.

“Good luck destroying me, Yusei!” Paradox laughed. “There are still four more ‘Malefic’ monsters in my Graveyard, and you have only one attack. There’s no way you can defeat me this turn!”

“You sure about that?” said Yusei with a smile. “Quick-Play Spell: ‘Double Cyclone’! This card destroys one Spell or Trap on each side of the field. I’ll destroy Armory Arm and Malefic World!”

“‘Malefic’ monsters need Malefic World on the field in order to survive,” said Discord.

“And that’s the kind of effect you can’t save yourself from, Paradox!” Yusei finished.

“Perhaps not with Malefic Truth Dragon,” Paradox replied, “but with this, it’s an entirely different matter! Quick-Play Spell, ‘Malefic Divide’, activate! This Special Summons one ‘Malefic’ monster from my Graveyard. Resurrect, Malefic Stardust Dragon!”

A bright X-shape tore through the space above Paradox and Malefic Truth Dragon. Malefic Stardust Dragon grabbed the edges with its clawed hands and tore its way through.

“While Malefic Stardust is in play, Field Spell Cards cannot be destroyed,” said Paradox. “And without Armory Arm, Shooting Star Dragon is no longer strong enough to battle me!”

“Tch. Shooting Star, attack Malefic Stardust Dragon with Stardust Mirage!” Yusei called. The final Shooting Star Dragon- yellow- blasted off to Malefic Stardust and shot straight through it. Yusei then Set a card and ended his turn.

“Even after all of that, do you really think you could defeat me?” laughed Paradox. “Due to the effect of Malefic Regen Flash, I must skip my Draw Phase this turn. But it doesn't matter. All the pieces of victory are already in place. This is the end, Yusei Fudo! I summon the Tuner Monster ‘Malefic Causality Gear’!”

A mass of gears emerged through a portal. Each gear seemed to bend and twist as they connected to each other in a circle. A metal rod moved through the center of each gear, bending here and there as it turned to connect the gears further. A single rod stood in the center of the ring of gears. Spinning on the tips of the center rod was a metal circle. Another circle was connected to the first and sat horizontally.

“I activate 'Malefic Greed', allowing me to draw two cards. Then I activate Malefic Causality Gear’s effect,” said Paradox. “With it, I can reduce its Level and my own Level by two!”

“Wait, ‘my own’?” Twilight repeated. “He really DID merge with his monster, didn’t he?”

“I don’t know, Fluttershy,” Yusei said somberly. “I just don’t know.”

“Level Two Malefic Causality Gear, tune with myself, the now-Level Ten Malefic Truth Dragon!” said Paradox.

The vertical circle began spinning, and the one that was horizontal began to move along the first, constantly changing angles as it did. The twisted gears inside the creature began to turn and move along their contorted, circular pattern. A bright yet dark light appeared in the machine’s center as it floated up to Malefic Truth Dragon’s red chest. It sank into the creature’s body as it roared. Paradox screamed in agony as his body and that of Malefic Truth Dragon became nothing more than an orange outline.

“Turbulent energy thrown about by the whims of chaos takes its first and last form. Behold the true power of Darkness, and the final state of mankind!” As Paradox spoke, the orange light that outlined him and Malefic Truth Dragon turned black. Crimson light flared from the outlines, swirling into the darkening light of the Causality Gear at the center of the beast.

A black hole began to form, and the shape of the dragon began to change. It became longer, sharper, yet never solid, almost like smoke. The outline began to fill in as black scales that danced like wisps of smoke began to appear, forming layers over one another. Gigantic, blood-red spikes shot up from the dragon’s back and along the top of its tail. Three curved blades formed at the end of the tail, black with red edges. Red light swirled around the black hole on the creature's chest, defining it. Yellow eyes opened up in the darkness as three red spirals grew from the back of the head, curving back around toward Yusei and the others. Black smoke filled the spirals and turned them into horns. The smoke began to peel back around the mouth, revealing sharp white teeth, and forming the shape of an evil grin.

“Born from the corruption of the Living Singularity, I Synchro Summon,” yelled Paradox, “the end and salvation of man, ‘Malefic Singularity Dragon’!”

Paradox’s outline refilled. The violet in his hair had turned jet-black, and the white of his clothes was the same. Paradox laughed loud and long. “This is my final form, Yusei!” he said. “I will use this power to obliterate our timeline and reshape the future!”

“Wait! You said, ‘the Living Singularity’,” said Yusei. “What do you mean by that?”

“You know what it means, Yusei,” said Paradox. “I can hear it, the whispering in my ear. It tells me that you know. And it tells me your weaknesses! You cannot defeat me this time, Yusei! You are alone! I watched you for a long time before making my move. You and the others no longer bear the marks of the Crimson Dragon, so you have no connection to your friends like you did before, nor any way to harness the power of the Elements of Harmony!”

“It is, Yusei Fudo,” a deep voice said, echoing in Yusei’s mind. The others in the group covered their ears. Fluttershy screamed in terror. A shadow appeared above Paradox. “I am immortal.”

TO BE CONTINUED

/*********************\

Next time on Dueling is Magic! A Rip in Time

Paradox has revealed a new, terrifying monster born from the Living Singularity! An old enemy has returned and is fueling Paradox’s ambitions to destroy the future and Equestria. Yusei struggles to survive the onslaught as more and more of Malefic Singularity Dragon’s powers are revealed!

“There’s always a way out of the darkness, Paradox! Look! This is the card I used to defeat Z-One!”

In a stunning turn of events, Yusei begins to mount a counterattack. But will it be enough to destroy this new dragon? And can Yusei keep his promise to Fluttershy?

Chapter 16
Singularity

Dueling is Magic! A Rip in Time

by Wolfgang

Chapter 15: Evolution