Chapter 14: Truth
Dueling is Magic! A Rip in Time Chapter 14: Truth
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Yusei Synchro Summons Nitro Warrior and takes the duel to an explosive new level, intending to finish it as quickly as possible. But Paradox is not so easy to defeat and survives Yusei’s strategy, only to turn it around and hammer against Yusei’s defenses. In the midst of the fighting, Yusei starts asking for answers...
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Author’s Note: A good friend of mine died a few days ago, an old teacher. I feel bad for not spending more time with him after he moved into my neighborhood. Mr. Jim, I’m dedicating the rest of this story to you.
/*********************\
“When Nitro Synchron is used to Synchro Summon a ‘Nitro’ monster, I get to draw one card,” said Yusei. “Now I equip Nitro Warrior with ‘Junk Barrage’ and ‘Fighting Spirit’! Fighting Spirit increases Nitro Warrior’s Attack Points by three hundred for each monster you have on the field.”
Nitro Warrior
ATK/3700
“NItro Warrior, attack Malefic Cyber End Dragon!” said Yusei. “Dynamite Knuckle!”
Jets of fire burst out of the large bracelets that Nitro Warrior had on its wrists as it thrust both fists forward, punching through the mechanical dragon and exploding out of its back.
“Junk Barrage’s effect activates!” said Yusei. “When the equipped monster destroys a monster by battle and sends it to the Graveyard, you take half of its Attack Points as damage!”
“Don’t get hasty, Yusei,” replied Paradox. “Whenever I would take damage from a card effect, Malefic Black-Winged Dragon redirects it to my opponent!”
“Say what?!” Yusei gasped. As Malefic Cyber End Dragon exploded, the force of the blast knocked Yusei backward and he crashed into the grown-up Spike. He shook his head to clear it. “Nitro Warrior’s effect activates! When it destroys a monster by battle, it can switch a defense monster to Attack Mode and attack it! Nitro Warrior, destroy Malefic Black-Winged Dragon!”
Malefic Black-Winged Dragon
ATK/2800
Nitro Warrior
ATK/3400
Nitro Warrior punched the corrupted dragon twice in the head and destroyed it. This time, the blast struck Paradox as Junk Barrage’s effect activated.
Life Point Count
Paradox: 2000
Yusei: 2000
“Whoa,” said Twilight. “If Yusei’s first attack hadn’t been thrown back at him, he would have won!”
“Yeah,” said Dash. “Hang on, Yusei! You can do it!”
“I’m trying, Dash,” said Yusei.
“Not hard enough,” said Paradox. “I activate ‘Malefic Tune’. When a ‘Malefic’ monster is destroyed, I can draw two cards.”
“I Set a card face-down and end my turn.”
“My turn. However, in lieu of drawing a card, I will use the effect of Malefic World and add a random ‘Malefic’ monster to my hand.” Paradox’s Duel Disk shuffled his deck. When it finished, a single card was sticking out. Paradox took it,. “Not bad,” he said. “But I will not use it now. Instead, I summon ‘Malefic Rainbow Dragon’!”
The serpentine body of the massive dragon pushed through a portal just to the left of Discord. It roared and circled above Paradox.
Malefic Rainbow Dragon
ATK/4000
LV 10
“Aw come on!” shouted Rainbow Dash. “That’s MY card!”
“I activate ‘Malefic Panic!’ This will summon as many ‘Malefic’ monsters as possible from my Graveyard, ignoring their Summoning Conditions. Revive, Malefic Cyber End and Malefic Black-Winged Dragons!”
“Oh no. Yusei, this is the same move he used to beat me!” said Dash. “Be careful!” Yusei nodded.
“I activate Malefic Rainbow Dragon’s effect! By sending all other ‘Malefic’ monsters I control to the Graveyard, its Attack Points increase by one thousand for each!” Malefic Rainbow Dragon roared as the gems on its sides began to glow. Malefic Red Dragon, Black-Winged Dragon and Cyber End Dragon were all absorbed into the gems. Two point counters appeared next to Malefic Rainbow Dragon and Nitro Warrior.
Malefic Rainbow Dragon
ATK/7000
Nitro Warrior
ATK/3100
“Malefic Rainbow Dragon, attack Nitro Warrior!” ordered Paradox. “Over the Rainbow!”
“I play the Trap ‘Wave Force’!” Yusei said. “When a Synchro Monster I control is attacked, this destroys all of your Attack Mode monsters!” Nitro Warrior roared and threw its fists forward, launching a massive wave of energy at Paradox’s monster. The dragon fired a rainbow beam that collided with the wave, but was pushed back. The wave struck the dragon and it was destroyed.
“Impressive, Yusei,” said Paradox. “But you won’t get out of this that easily. I send ‘Red-Eyes Black Dragon’ from my deck to the Graveyard. Rise, ‘Malefic Red-Eyes Black Dragon’!”
A black dragon emerged from a portal below Paradox. Its wings and most of its face were covered in the black and white patterns of the Malefic mask and armor. Its right eye, shining bright red, was visible. It hissed loudly as it unfurled its wings and claws.
Malefic Red-Eyes B. Dragon
ATK/2400
LV 7
“Now I activate ‘Malefic Devastation’,” Paradox continued. “Its effect changes depending on if ‘Malefic Blue-Eyes’ or ‘Malefic Red-Eyes’ is on the field. Since it’s Malefic Red-Eyes, you take four hundred points of damage for each Spell and Trap you control. Then, since Malefic Red-Eyes is the only monster I control, those cards are destroyed and I draw one card.” Malefic Red-Eyes spat out two crimson fireballs at Fighting Spirit and Junk Barrage, destroying them. The blast pushed against Yusei, knocking him into the larger Spike again. “I Set three cards and end my turn.”
Life Point Count
Paradox: 2000
Yusei: 1200
“You okay, Yusei?” asked the larger Spike.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” said Yusei. He drew a card to start his turn. “Paradox! How did you survive our last duel? Why are you destroying Equestria? And why do you need me?”
“So many questions,” Paradox replied. “Very well, I will tell you how I survived: I am not the Paradox that you fought against.”
“Say what?!” said Yusei. “What do you mean you’re not the Paradox I fought? Did Z-One revive you?”
“No. After you appeared and saved Jaden Yuki, I moved back to the point in time where I was to kill Pegasus. I succeeded.”
“But we stopped you!”
“You stopped a past version of myself. The Yugi that you took back in time... he had seen what had happened, did he not?”
“Then that means...”
“Yes. If someone is taken to a different point in time and the timeline changes, they will continue to exist. I remembered that you had used the Crimson Dragon to follow me back in time. I traveled back to the point where you three confronted me and observed the duel. When I witnessed my own defeat, I began searching for other means of fulfilling my mission.”
“How did you find out about Equestria, and why are you destroying it?”
“I came across this place entirely by accident. The walls between dimensions had begun to break down as I continued jumping through time in the Satellite area, which was formerly Old Domino. I had no intention of entering here, but I discovered that this dimension is brimming with energy. So I made up my mind to use it.”
“But what for?”
“To destroy the future of our world, Yusei.”
“Destroy the future? Do you plan to kill Pegasus again?”
“Not just that. I will literally eliminate the timeline from the point that Pegasus began exploring Egypt, and then guide the future myself. Time is just another dimension, Yusei, one in which space exists. I will destroy the part of that dimension where Pegasus created Duel Monsters using the boundless energy of Equestria and its timeline! Behold! Energy from all eras is pouring into the Singularity, the point of beginning for the universe!
“Do you understand, Yusei? I am turning time itself into the energy needed for the ultimate weapon, and then I will destroy the link in the chain that connects Domino City to the doomed future that I was sent to prevent! This will erase that future entirely, and I will stop Pegasus without interference from you or the other historic duelists!”
“Paradox, you don't have to do this! I've already saved the future! Z-One attacked Neo Domino City directly and I stopped him. Then I developed a program that would prevent Momentum from going berserk again!”
“Why should I believe you? Even if you did stop Z-One, that would not have changed the future.”
“Paradox!”
“Enough! Take your turn!” Paradox shouted.
Yusei grit his teeth. “Battle! Nitro Warrior, attack Malefic Red-Eyes with Dynamite Knuckle!” The green warrior slammed its rocket-propelled fists into the black dragon, destroying it and knocking Paradox back.
Life Point Count
Paradox: 1600
Yusei: 1200
“I activate the effect of 'Level Eater' in my Graveyard. Be reducing the Level of a Level Five or above monster I control by one, I can Special Summon it. I Special Summon Level Eater In Defense Mode and Set two cards face-down. Your move, Paradox.” A round, red beetle appeared. It had a large, yellow star on its back.
Paradox drew. “Excellent. I activate ‘Malefic Selector’. By removing Malefic Red-Eyes and Malefic Cyber End from my Graveyard, I can add two ‘Malefic’ monsters from my deck to my hand. Appear before me, ‘Malefic Stardust Dragon’!”
A snow-white dragon emerged from a portal above the Singularity. Stardust’s face was completely covered, its wings were black and white, and armor covered its torso and knees.
"Now I summon the Tuner monster ‘Malefic Parallel Gear’.” A small stack of gears appeared through the same portal that Malefic Stardust had come from.
Malefic Parallel Gear
ATK/0
LV 2
“I activate 'Malefic Greed', allowing me to draw two cards if I control 'Malefic World' and at least two 'Malefic' monsters. Now, Level Two Malefic Parallel Gear, tune with my Level Eight Malefic Stardust Dragon!” said Paradox. The gears that made up the new monster whirred to life and the thing disappeared. Two stars appeared and drew black rings around the corrupted Stardust Dragon. “Born from the threshold of the dimension of Darkness, the time has come to lower the curtain of destruction on the stage that surpasses time and space!”
Malefic Stardust vanished, leaving eight stars behind. They formed a line and a black pillar engulfed them and the rings.
“I Synchro Summon ‘Malefic Paradox Dragon’!” shouted Paradox. A massive black and white wyvern emerged from the pillar. The creature rivaled the grown-up Spike in size, but was far more menacing in appearance.
Malefic Paradox Dragon
ATK/4000
LV 10
“When Malefic Paradox Dragon is Synchro Summoned, I can Special Summon a Synchro Monster from my Graveyard, ignoring its Summoning conditions. Appear before me, ‘Stardust Dragon’!”
Another portal appeared and began spewing energy into the Singularity. Stardust Dragon also emerged from this portal.
Stardust Dragon
ATK/2500
LV 8
“Oh no!” cried Fluttershy. “Yusei, did he steal your card again?”
“No, Fluttershy,” said Yusei. “I never got Stardust back from this Paradox. I fought an earlier version of him.”
“I don't understand,” said Fluttershy.
“Neither do I,” Applejack chimed in. “If you got your card back from him, how does he still have it?”
“Like I said, I got it back from an earlier version of him,” said Yusei. “And like Paradox said, he’s from a different timeline altogether. After this one killed Pegasus, he went back in time to make sure nothing changed. But it did, so he ended up trapped in the current timeline.”
“Ya lost me there, Yusei,” said Applejack.
“Paradox said that time is a dimension all its own, like Equestria or my home dimension,” Yusei explained. “He’s from a different ‘time dimension’, one that he got cut off from when Yugi, Jaden and I put history back on course.”
“That makes sense,” said Twilight. Many others nodded in agreement. Rainbow Dash scratched her head with a hoof.
“I still don't get it,” said the rainbow-maned pegasus. “But whatever. Kick his butt, Yusei!”
“He will be hard pressed to do so,” said Paradox. “Malefic Paradox Dragon decreases the Attack Points of my opponent’s monsters by the Attack Points of all other Synchro Monsters that I control. Feel its curse, Nitro Warrior!”
A black aura appeared around Yusei’s monster and it fell to one knee with a groan.
Nitro Warrior
ATK/300
“Now I activate the Trap Card ‘Malefic Overload’,” said Paradox. “By returning at least three ‘Malefic’ monsters in my Graveyard to my deck, I can draw two cards. If I return four or more, I can draw three cards instead. I return Malefic Parallel Gear, Rainbow Dragon, Black-Winged Dragon, and Red Dragon Archfiend to my deck so I can draw three cards!"
As soon as Yusei saw the two cards in Paradox’s hand, he smiled. “Just what I was waiting for,” he said. “I play the Trap ‘Insightful Cards of Reversal’! When you add cards to your hand outside of your Draw Phase, I can draw cards equal to the number of cards in your hand! And I count five!”
“Yusei just drew six cards!” said Twilight. “Now he'll have some more options on his next turn!”
“Hmph. It doesn't matter,” Paradox snorted. “I summon 'Malefic Blue-Eyes White Dragon'!"
Another dragon appeared behind Paradox. Blue-Eyes, like Red-Eyes, wore armor on its wings and a mask with its right eye revealed.
Malefic Blue-Eyes White Dragon
ATK/3000
LV 8
“That's not your card!” roared both Spikes.
“How DARE you do that to it!” shouted Rarity.
“My deck is composed of the strongest monsters from throughout all eras of time, subjugated to my whims. But I am far from done. I activate Malefic Devastation!”
“You had another one?!” Yusei gasped.
“That’s right. And you may remember that it’s effect changes depending on whether I have Malefic Blue-Eyes or Malefic Red-Eyes on the field. Since it’s Malefic Blue-Eyes this time, all of your monsters are destroyed!”
“Continuous Trap, ‘Monster Chain’! It gets one Chain Counter for each monster I control, loses a Chain Counter at the end of each of your turns, and is destroyed when it doesn't have any more Chain Counters, but stops us both from attacking as long as it’s here.” Criss-crossing white rings appeared around all five monsters on the field.
“Clever, but not clever enough! Trap Card, ‘Malefic Claw Stream’, activate! If I control a ‘Malefic’ Synchro Monster, it destroys one monster you control! I destroy Turbo Synchron!”
Malefic Paradox Dragon and Malefic Blue-Eyes White Dragon spat out beams of energy that sliced through Yusei’s two monsters.
“Since Malefic Claw Stream destroyed a monster first,” said Paradox, “Monster Chain will only last for a single turn. I Set two cards and end my turn.”
"Before you do, I activate the Graveyard effect of 'Revenge Return'!" said Yusei. "By removing it from play, I can Special Summon a monster that was destroyed by an effect this turn. I'll use it to revive Level Eater!"
Level Eater reappeared as Yusei’s 'Monster Chain' card vanished and the white rings disappeared as well. He drew a card. “I summon ‘Necro Linker’,” he said. A skeletal figure in tattered robes appeared from within a portal. “By Releasing Necro Linker, it can Special Summon a ‘Synchron’ Tuner from my Graveyard, but I can't Synchro Summon with it this turn. I revive 'Turbo Synchron' and Set the rest of my hand face-down. Your turn, Paradox.” A small, green monster resembling the front end of a motorbike appeared before Yusei. As it did, five cards materialized behind it.
Paradox smirked.
“Is that the best you can do?” he asked. “It is no match for the pure might of the ‘Malefic’ cards in my deck. You may think your actions are correct, Yusei Fudo, but they are far from correct. They only led to the destruction of humanity! I intend to fix that.”
“Paradox, I told you that you don’t have to do this anymore!” Yusei pleaded. “Z-One is gone! He sacrificed himself to stop the Ark Cradle! The future is changed and the world isn't in danger of Momentum anymore!”
“Is that right?” Paradox snapped. “Tell me, Yusei, what do you know about the disaster that wiped out mankind?”
“I know that the Momentum network gained sentience and-”
“What was the name of the network?”
Yusei blinked. “What? I... I don’t know.”
“Then I’ll tell you. Its name... was Fortune!”
Yusei gasped.
“Yusei, what’s wrong?” asked Fluttershy.
“It... it can't be...” Yusei shook his head and looked down. “Fortune... that was the name of the program I designed to keep Momentum from going berserk!”
TO BE CONTINUED
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Next time on Dueling is Magic! A Rip in Time
After revealing a devastating truth, Paradox closes in for the kill! Yusei desperately fights back and tries to prove to Paradox that he has evolved by summoning Shooting Star Dragon!
“It can’t be... it can’t be!”
But the idea that it was his program that caused the end of the world in the future weighs heavily on Yusei. Can he overcome his newfound doubt to stop Paradox’s ambitions? Or has Paradox already won?
Chapter 15
Evolution
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At first I was all fu
k this time sh
t, get on with the duel! But when Paradox revealed his big twist... well.. R.D. can you lend me a hoof?
Exactly.
I'm gonna be completely honest with you guys... I didn't see that one coming either. No joke, I came up with that at the last minute.
With every turn this duel gets more and more twisted!
Also that was quite the curve ball Paradox threw Yusei, I'm amazed at the fact even after all he can still acell synhcro after that, after all when Pladico (Primo in the English Dub(Curse you 4 Kids)) did the same thing to Yuesi in their duel it broke Yuesi's confedence and allowed for Machine Lord (Mek Lord in the English Dub) Wisel to absorb Stardust Dragon.
God bless your quick updates, Wolfgang. It helps give me such inspiration.
1511045 One more thing, I just realized this, but if Paradox knew that Fortune was what caused the Meklord invasion, wouldn't that mean that Z-ONE knew this as well? I mean, if Z-ONE knew that Fortune was what caused the Meklord invasion, wouldn't he have let the Ark Cradle fall at the end of episode 151? I knew Yusei planned to sacrifice himself to stop it, but wouldn't Z-ONE have stopped him if it meant preventing the doomed future? If Z-ONE knew that Yusei would make an update to Momentum that would ultimately doom Earth, why did he allow himself to die and make the Ark Cradle disappear, thus allowing the Yusei to create the program that would wipe out nearly all of mankind?
I'm not sure if you plan to address this issue in the next chapter, but I don't think this point shouldn't go unnoticed.
1513442 The historical records that Z-One studied mentioned Yusei's Delta Accel Synchro Monster, "Cosmic Blazar Dragon". Yusei changed the future, at least somewhat, when he summoned Shooting Quasar Dragon, a card that did NOT exist in the records.
1513503 But how did Paradox know about Fortune? Did he travel to the future to see this? Is he become omnipotent?
Something that's been eating me up for a while in this story is how Rainbow had made any sort of connection to Rainbow Dragon at all prior to these events. In her duel with Paradox, she knew what Rainbow Dragon was and seemed to be emotionally attached to it even before she ended up using it. And now, when Paradox used Malefic Rainbow Dragon against Yusei, Rainbow's reaction was "that's MY card!" It just seems like there's a hole in the story; how did she know the card even existed and have an emotional attachment to it even before she ever dueled? She didn't duel at any point in your original fic, so her duel with Paradox was her first duel ever, so how did she have a "signature card" already?
1516816 I never got around to writing the Yusei/Dash Turbo Duel from the last story.
1519060
The one problem I see there is the fact that I see no way you could have Crystal Beasts in a turbo duel. Since you can't use non-speed spells in turbo duels, it would kill the whole Crystal combo. Sapphire Pegasus, for example, wouldn't be able to add a Crystal Beast to the Spell/Trap zone because they'd be placed as a Continuous Spell card, which you can't have in a turbo duel.
1521072 That's not entirely true. In the anime, both Speed Fields stated that a player would take 2000 damage if they activated a Spell Card that did not have "Speed Spell" in its name. Crystal Beasts in a Turbo Duel would be much more Trap-reliant, but could still function since placing them in the S/T Zones isn't the same as "activating" a Spell Card.
The video game versions of the cards DID prevent the activation of non-Speed Spell cards outright, but again, the Crystal Beasts get around this for the same reason as above.
Wait, WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!?!?!?!
But... but... but... HUH?!
Am I missing something here or did Paradox just call Yusei the herald of the apocolipes?! HOW DOES THAT BEGIN TO MAKE SENCE?!
(In case you can't tell, that twist really threw me for a loop.)
1522752 You and me both, man.
1527693 But you came up with it... didn't you? And if Fortune was supposed to STOP Zero reverse, then what the heck happened?!
1528358 I did, but that doesn't mean it didn't make me go, "Wait, what?"
I've explained it all a bit more in the next chapter, which is nearly done.
1528403 Wow... never thought a writer would make his on story surprise him, who knew?
Good thing to, the suspence is KILLING ME!