//------------------------------// // Chapter 38: Hushed Interview // Story: Dueling is Magic! Many Futures // by Wolfgang //------------------------------// Dueling is Magic! Many Futures Chapter 38 Hushed Interview /*********************\ Twilight awoke with a start, jolted upright, then regretted doing so as her head throbbed. She groaned, rubbed her head, then slowly lay back down until her headache had dulled somewhat. She slowly raised her head and looked around. She was lying on her stomach in a bed in a dimly lit room. A blanket lay over her hindquarters, having slid down her back from when she woke up. An IV drip was attached to her left foreleg, while a strange wristband was wrapped around her right. There were tiny lights blinking on the band, but Twilight’s head was still too clouded from pain to wonder about it. The rest of the room seemed ordinary enough. There were large windows with drawn curtains on one wall, a door leading to a small bathroom, and another door past the first. Twilight slowly pushed herself into a sitting position. She looked at the far door again and decided it led outside of her room- but couldn’t get much farther than that. She decided to inspect the band on her leg again. There was a green light blinking steadily next to a black bar with a pair of numbers written across it. These numbers would change on occasion, always at regular intervals. Twilight tried to count the time between changes, but kept losing track because of her headache. She decided to see what happened if she took the band off. She moved her teeth beneath it, then pulled the thing off her leg. The green light turned to a solid red and the numbers changed to the words “NO PULSE”. Twilight dropped the band on the bed in front of her and waited. She didn’t wait long. After only a few moments, the far door clicked and opened. A tall human strode in and closed the door behind him. “I was wondering when you would wake up,” he said, his voice deep and resonating. Twilight flinched. “Oh, sorry,” the man said at a lower volume. “Your head must be throbbing. I’m sorry to say, but that’s a side effect of the drip we have you hooked up to. It’ll keep you hydrated, but I expect the headache will stop you from using your magic.” “Where am I?” Twilight said. “Who are you?” The human stepped closer. He wore a cobalt riding suit like some of the D-Wheelers she’d seen around the human world. Over the jacket he wore a grey cuirass. A red visor obscured his eyes. “You are in Kaiba Corporation Central Headquarters,” the man said. “The stronghold of the Black King.” Twilight’s eyes widened. Her horn lit up for a moment, then the magic flashed out and she groaned, falling flat on the bed again. “Take it easy, Twilight,” said the human. “No one’s going to hurt you.” “How... do you know my name?” Twilight groaned. “Who are you?” “I know who you are because the Black King told me about you and your friends. My name is Antinomy... but my friends call me Bruno.” “How did I get here?” Twilight asked after a moment’s rest. “I brought you here. After the sleeper cell that was planted during the siege broke up the resistance, I rode in and grabbed you, then I brought you here.” “Why?” “To keep you safe.” “Safe? Safe from what?” Antinomy grabbed a nearby chair and pulled it over to the bed and sat down. “How much do you know about what’s happening in Neo Domino City?” “Just that a war’s been going on between the Black King and a resistance group led by Yusei’s friends. They don’t know what the Black King wants either. They just know that he’s caused most of the city to disappear.” “And why did you and your friends come here?” “Because- why should I even trust you?” “Because I know who the Black King is. Tell me as much as you know about the situation and why you and the other ponies came to this world, and I will give you all the answers you could want. If it makes you feel any better, I won’t ask about where your friends are or what the resistance was trying to accomplish before they were destroyed.” “Why not?” “Because we actually do need that information, but I need your trust more.” “I still don’t trust you, Antinomy.” Antinomy stared at her for a moment. Then he reached for her. Twilight pointed her horn at him and he stopped for only a moment. He reached for her left foreleg took hold of the tube that was taped to it. “This will sting for a moment,” he said. “But hold still.” He gave the tube a quick tug and it came away from Twilight’s leg. Then he pulled a small roll of gauze out of a pocket and wrapped some of it around Twilight’s leg. “Your headache won’t go away for a while,” he said, “but you’ll be able to use your magic again soon.” Twilight looked down at her leg, then back at Antinomy. “Why?” she asked. “I told you, I need your trust more than we need that information. Please tell me, why are you and your friends here?” Twilight considered him for a moment, then answered, “Whatever’s going on here is also affecting Princess Luna in our world. She fell into darkness once and it’s starting to take over again. If we fix whatever’s going on here, maybe that will stop the darkness from possessing her.” “I believe you’re right,” said Antinomy. He leaned forward, folding his hands into his lap. “I have a theory that all darkness has a singular source, but what that source is I do not know.” Antinomy shook his head. “How did you and your friends get here? And how did you meet the resistance movement?’ “Another friend of ours, Discord, the spirit of chaos, opened a wormhole from our world to this one and we came through that. When we got here, we landed right in the middle of a fight between Yusei’s friends and your Dark Troopers. I dueled the leader of the Troopers and beat him, and they all left after that. That’s when we met the resistance. We don’t know much more about the situation than they do.Every physics expert in the world will tell you that darkness is merely an absence of light, but I don’t think so. I think darkness is just as tangible as light. If something here is affecting your world, then it’s the corrupting influence of darkness. And I have an idea of what that ‘something’ is.” “What?” Twilight asked. “A dark creature. My master told me that it tried to take over our world once before, and he called it humanity’s savior.” Twilight’s eyes widened. “No... it can’t be...” “You know what it is?” “I think I can guess. Something that sounds like what you described tried to conquer Equestria a few years ago, and then tried again with Paradox’s help. It called itself Nightshroud.” Antinomy sat straight up. “It’s the same thing, isn’t it?” Twilight asked. “Yes, Twilight,” Antinomy answered gravely. Then he said, “Wait a moment. Paradox? Why would he work with Nightshroud?” “He was trying to destroy Equestria so he could use its energy to destroy the future of this world. Nightshroud also gave him a couple of new cards. I guess he wanted the extra power to make sure he couldn’t lose.” “But he lost?”” “To Yusei.” “That’s no surprise. Even today he’s a legend.” “Do you know where he is?” “What can you tell me about Nightshroud?” Antinomy asked. “What does it want?” Twilight raised an eyebrow. “It wants to take all humans into its world- the World of Darkness. Then it tortures its victims by making them watch their hopes and dreams fail until they give up on themselves. Who they are.” “Then what?” “Without their individuality, everyone merges into a single being. They share all the joy and sadness they will ever feel, and they live forever as one.” “I can see how this might be a good thing for some,” Antinomy said, “but you said ‘victims,’ didn’t you? Doesn’t that mean it forces this unification on people?” “It does,” Twilight replied. “Why? Why would it do this?” Antinomy asked. “I don’t know,” said Twilight. “Unless...” “Unless what?” “Unless it wants revenge. Listen, my friend Spike, the baby dragon that came with us, he found a book that told him some things about Nightshroud. Spike said that Nightshroud used to be a being of light, but was corrupted when he tried to become more powerful.” “What happened, exactly?” “I think it tried to control the Numeron Code.” “What’s that?” “Spike said it was the first Duel Monsters card, and that all of reality’s laws are written in it. If you control that card, you control fate itself. It must have tried to acquire the Numeron Code, or maybe it did and tried to use it. Either way, Nightshroud fell and became a being of darkness, maybe even the source of darkness.” “But you said Nightshroud wants revenge. Revenge on whom?” “I don’t know,” said Twilight. “I’m not even sure it’s revenge Nightshroud’s after, but it seems like a good explanation. Maybe it wants revenge on the Numeron Code. Or on whoever created it.” “Either way, it has to be stopped,” Antinomy said as he stood up. “Neo Domino City is a necropolis because of Nightshroud. Everyone is gone, probably into its world. Nightshroud and the Black King are going to plunge the whole world into darkness if we don’t put an end to their schemes!” Twilight put a hoof out. “I’ve told you everything I know about what’s going on,” she said. “Time to hold up your end of the deal. Who is the Black King?” Antinomy sighed and sat back down. “You won’t like what I have to tell you, Twilight. Let me ask you something first: What else do you know about our world and its history?” “Not much,” Twilight said. “Just things that Yusei and his friends told me.” “Yusei was a legend in Neo Domino city. A hero. He was the first D-Wheeler to defeat Jack Atlas when he was the King of D-Wheelers. He led the Signers in a battle against the Dark Signers and the Earthbound Immortals to save the world from five thousand years of destruction and darkness. He created two new kinds of Synchro Summoning and used them to save the city from Z-one. But it turns out that the future still hasn’t been saved.” “Hold on. I’m still a bit unclear on some things,” Twilight said. “First off, what are Earthbound Immortals? Yusei told me about them once, but he didn’t really go into a lot of detail.” “Most of the information available on the Earthbound Immortals comes from the testimony of Team 5D’s- during the World Riding Grand Prix tournament, that’s what Yusei and his friends called themselves,” Antinomy explained. “According to them, and they got their information from another source, the Earthbound Immortals are evil gods that once plagued the earth. The Crimson Dragon and its dragon servants appeared to fight against them, sealing them into the earth for five thousand years at a time. And just as the Crimson Dragon would recruit humans and mark them as Signers, the Earthbound Immortals would mark and resurrect the dead as Dark Signers. In modern times, the war of these gods was waged through Duel Monsters. I imagine these evil gods are Duel Monsters Spirits.” “Okay,” said Twilight. “What about Z-one? Who’s he?” “Z-one and I originally came from the same era two hundred years from now. I was a professional D-Wheeler, and a master Synchro user. However, Synchro Summoning ended up becoming forbidden, outlawed by every government in the world.” “Why?” “Because it was causing Momentum to go out of control. Do you know what Momentum is?” “Kind of. It’s a source of energy, right? A machine invented by Yusei’s father?” “That’s mostly right. Yusei’s father created a machine that he called Momentum, but it’s also a sort of living energy. It is moved by human intent and can fuel the object of the intention. In our case, Synchros are the symbols of evolution, so Momentum caused us to evolve faster and faster. Humanity became subconsciously obsessed with it all. That’s when it happened.” “When what happened?” “The Meklord Genocide. Every Momentum reactor on the planet was linked together in a massive, global network. The sheer amount of power and code caused that network to become self-aware. It saw us humans as greedy, undeserving of life. It decided to punish us for abusing the power of Momentum. “Massive robots were unleashed onto the world. Meklord Emperors. They attacked and killed so many people, Twilight...” Antinomy became silent for a long time. “I’m so sorry,” Twilight said. Antinomy shook his head. “There was a man... a scientist. I never knew his real name. He had studied Neo Domino City’s historical records for years before he discovered Yusei, the Savior of Neo Domino City. Not only did he protect the city from the Dark Signers, but he also invented Accel Synchro and Delta Accel Synchro.” “I’ve seen his Accel Synchro Monster, ‘Shooting Star Dragon’ “ Twilight said. “But what’s Delta Accel Synchro?” “Accel Synchro Summoning uses a Synchro Tuner and a regular Synchro Monster to create an even more powerful Synchro Monster,” Antinomy explained. “A Delta Accel takes that one step further, using a Synchro Tuner and two other Synchro Monsters. “Z-one created a device that changed him into Yusei, body and mind. He rode through the city, fighting against the Meklords and saving as many people as he could. He lead a cultural revolution using Accel Synchro. People began to care about one another, and it was them that the Meklords ignored. “Pride grew in Z-one’s heart, however. Momentum saw this and decided to wipe us out once and for all. It had successfully removed all safeguards on its programming, and destroyed itself and every Meklord in the world. The earth itself split open and swallowed people. Z-one was injured and the device that changed him was damaged. He gave up on Synchro Summoning altogether. “That’s when he found me. Well, the human I’m based on. Really, I’m just a machine with his likeness and a copy of his mind. But now is no time for existential philosophy.” “What happened when he found you?” Twilight asked. “Most of the Meklords had self-destructed, but there were still a few left killing stragglers like myself. I was about to be turned to a pile of ash by one. Z-one destroyed it and saved my life. Then he asked me to join him in finding a way to stop this once and for all. I followed him because I owed him my life, but he wanted to wipe out Synchro Summoning entirely. I tried telling him that we just needed to find the right way to use Synchro Summons, but he told me he had tried and wouldn’t listen anymore. We encountered fewer and fewer Meklords as the days passed. Eventually we found another man. You know him today as the android Paradox. He was another scientist like, Z-one, and said that he had been researching wormholes and their various applications before the whole world went to hell. He said we might could use this technology for time travel, but its use would be very limited. In fact, since it operated on Momentum technology, it wouldn’t be able to go any further back than the construction of the first man-made reactor.” “I don’t get it,” said Twilight. “Why couldn’t it go back further than when the first Momentum was made?” “Like I said earlier, Momentum isn’t just an energy source, it’s the energy itself. All energy moves in different waves, but sometimes the same kind of energy can move at different wavelengths.” “Like magic! All the spells that a unicorn has to learn aren’t just magic words and focusing on ideas or actions. It’s also about controlling how your magic oscillates.” Antinomy nodded and continued his explanation. “Though Momentum energy moves at different wavelengths, it’s still the same energy. Momentum channelled through man-made reactors moves in a very specific pattern. Paradox’s wormholes could only be built with that pattern, and it didn’t exist until the first Momentum was turned on.” “Oh, I get it now,” said Twilight. “But, wait, Paradox did a lot of time-travelling when he attacked my world, and I know he tried to kill the creator of Duel Monsters. That must have been before Momentum was built, right? How did he manage that?” “After the deaths of myself, Aporia and Paradox, Z-one created androids that would house the digital copies of our minds. With digital brains instead of organic, we could think through our calculations a lot faster and create the technology we needed sooner. Within a few years, Paradox had created a fully functional time-gate generator. “But we’re getting sidetracked with details. Listen, all of Z-one’s plans failed. When Paradox tried to kill Pegasus, he was stopped by three legendary duelists, including Yusei. Aporia tried to have Rudger Goodwin destroy the first Momentum by making it spin in reverse, but the reactor survived and the explosion opened a gateway that let the Earthbound Immortals escape into Neo Domino City. All he did was ensure that the history Z-one studied when he transformed himself into Yusei Fudo would still happen. “Z-one’s final plan was a far-reaching and elaborate scheme. Through Aporia, he established a secret society named Yliaster, which existed for several millennia. When Yusei and his friends defeated the Earthbound Immortals, a massive project to reunite the Satellite sector with the mainland was put under way. But Yliaster was pulling the strings, so there was an ulterior motive. “You must have noticed all the bridges and highways that run at all levels of the city. Most of those are Duel Highways and reserved exclusively for Turbo Duels. This was an intentional part of Yliaster’s plan. “While the highways were being built, they infiltrated a major corporation called Momentum Express. It was doing research on the applications of Momentum, but specifically was using it to develop its own wormhole generator, which they called Infinity. This was another part of the plan. With the resources of a huge company like Momentum Express at their disposal, Yliaster could vastly improve Paradox’s time-gate technology. And they did. Then they used it to erase Momentum Express from existence, effectively destroying the evidence. “The final step was to integrate Infinity into the very infrastructure of the city. That’s what all those Duel Highways are for. D-Wheels are powered by a miniature Momentum reactor, which generates excess energy during duels. The Infinity Circuit was designed to absorb this excess energy. Once it had enough, it would activate and open up a giant wormhole. Z-one and his final weapon, the Ark Cradle, descended on the city. Yusei had his final showdown against Z-one there. My predecessor, the Antinomy that Z-one built, taught Yusei the technique of Top Clear Mind, which is needed to perform a Delta Accel Synchro. But when Yusei dueled Z-one, he went even further than that. He called it Limitover Accel Synchro, and he used five Synchro Monsters to do it. Needless to say, he won. “Z-one, in the aftermath, sacrificed himself to stop his own weapon, satisfied that Team 5D’s had evolved enough to change the future. But...” “But nothing’s changed, has it?” Twilight finished. “Paradox told us everything when he and Yusei dueled in my dimension. Yusei’s Fortune program is what caused it all to go berserk in the first place.” “That’s right. When they got back, Yusei wanted to see it for himself, so Paradox took him into the future. He was a changed man when they returned to Neo Domino City in this era, and not for the better.” “What do you mean?” “He saw ruin and heard silence in humanity’s future. The planet was a graveyard, a testament to what happens when a society becomes too greedy. It broke him, Twilight. Even after I came online, I could tell that he was still picking up the pieces.” “Poor Yusei...” Twilight said. “Wait, you saw him?” “Yes. Before they made it back to our time, Yusei and Paradox found the Ark Cradle, and Z-one. He was just barely alive and trying to get to the future to see all the good Yusei had done, but he died when they told him the truth. After that, they retrieved as much information as they could from the databanks on the Ark Cradle and came back here. The schematics and mental imprints of myself and Aporia were in that information, but he didn’t build us until after he had given up on keeping Momentum balanced. “Believe me, Twilight, when I say that Yusei worked harder than anyone has ever worked to find a way to save mankind. I’ve seen all of his research, but he’s certain it all leads to the same result. ” “Yusei built you... and Aporia?” “That’s right.” I was rebuilt by the Black King. “Antinomy,” said Twilight, “where is Yusei?” Antinomy did not answer. He stood up from his chair and walked slowly to the windows. He has seen our future. It is a hopeless one. “Who is the Black King?” Twilight asked. She stood up on the bed. “I’ve told you everything there is to know, Twilight Sparkle,” said Antinomy. “Liar!” Twilight’s horn lit up and Antinomy was thrown against a wall, pinned flat by the unicorn’s magic. “Yusei didn’t build you! Aporia said that he was built by the Black King!” “I didn’t lie to you,” Antinomy groaned. “Where’s Yusei?” Twilight growled. “Who is the Black King? Tell me!” “I told you the truth... and so did Aporia.” “Either Yusei built you or the Black King did. You can’t both be telling the truth!” “Yes we can,” Antinomy said. “I’m going to ask you one last time. Where is Yusei? Who is the Black King?” “Each question has the same answer, Twilight.” Twilight’s eyes widened. She released her magic and Antinomy fell to the ground in a heap. “Yusei is the Black King,” Twilight whispered. “No.... Yusei, why?” Antinomy stood and removed his visor. He looked down at Twilight with sad, blue eyes and put his hand on her head. “I’m so sorry, Twilight,” he said. The weight of everything that had happened came over Twilight, and she wept. /*********************\ Next time on Dueling is Magic! Many Futures Twilight’s friends begin to converge on Kaiba Corp. Tower at the heart of Neo Domino City. The Black King knows they are coming and marshals his own forces, readying them for battle. The desperation felt by both sides begins to peak! But are they ready for what they will find? Chapter 39 At the Heart of the City /*********************\ Featured Card T.G. Halberd Cannon MAXXX-∞ EARTH Level 12 Machine/Delta Accel Synchro/Effect 1 Tuner Synchro Monster + 2 or more non-Tuner Synchro Monsters When a monster(s) would be Summoned: You can negate that Summon, and if you do, destroy it.. This effect can be used up to the number of Synchro Material Monsters used to Synchro Summon this card. When this card leaves the field: You can Special Summon 1 "T.G." monster from your Extra Deck. When your opponent activates a monster effect that would remove a monster(s) from the field: You can negate that effect, and if you do, that monster loses 800 ATK. ATK/4000 DEF/4000