Author's Note: Well, I'm finally done with my online classes for the semester. For anyone who might be curious, I think I passed my final exams. Though I didn't exactly come away from either with a hundred percent. Anyway, I should hopefully be able to get this story done before the start of my summer class.
Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL.
Chapter 13: The Rune Queen
Yuma arrived at the front gate of the Wonder Cloud Toy Factory. He kept wondering why Kotori wanted to meet with him at such a place, but at that moment decided to ask her when they met up. Yuma took a deep breath and prepared to step through the gate. Before he could though, Yuma felt someone tap him on the shoulder. He turned around and saw Vector standing behind him.
"Hi there, Yuma." Vector greeted with a huge grin and a wave.
"Uh, hi." Yuma replied. "Who are you? And how do you know my name?"
"I'm Vector, Kotori's cousin." The redhead replied as he shook Yuma's hand. "Kotori's told me a lot about you."
"She has?" Yuma asked.
"Oh of course. She won't stop talking about you." Vector answered.
"Really?" Yuma responded, his face turning a bit red. "Wow! Uh, so are you here to meet with her too then?"
"Why would I be meeting her here?" Vector asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Kotori sent me this note asking her to meet here." Yuma explained, handing Vector the note. "Not sure why though. Maybe she's friends with someone who owns the place or something."
"…I hate to tell you this, Yuma. But this isn't Kotori's handwriting." Vector told him. "Looks like someone's trying to pull a fast one on you."
"What! But who would do that?" Yuma asked. "And why?"
"Dunno." Vector shrugged. "But I do know that Kotori is at the school library trying to study for some assignment. I should know, since I just popped in on her there just a little while ago."
"But then who…" Yuma began to ask, but before he could finish he felt a burning pain in his chest almost like something was tearing him apart from the inside.
Yuma winced and put his hand on his chest. Vector instantly noticed Mitaka's curse mark glowing through his shirt.
"Maybe you should go home." Vector suggested. "You're not looking too good right now."
"Yeah, that's probably a good idea." Yuma agreed. "I'll see ya around, I guess."
With that, Yuma began to walk back towards his house. Vector kept a sharp eye on Yuma until he was out of sight.
"Looks like we're running out of time." Vector noted before turning back to the toy factory. "Right now though, I think I better take care of the person who sent Yuma that little invite to Yuma before she can get her hooks into him." And with that, he headed into the factory.
"Action 13: I set one card on the field and end my turn." Mr. Gizmo announced in his mechanical monotone. "Your move."
Kotori drew her next card. "First I activate the Spell card, Dian Keto the Cure Master and raise my life points by a thousand!" Sparkling gold lights showered down onto Kotori and increased her life points to 1100. "Next I activate the Spell card, Gagaga Academy Emergency Network! Since I don't have any monster on the field, Emergency Network lets me summon a Gagaga monster from my deck. So I summon Gagaga Magician!"
The glowing red emblem of the Gagaga monsters appeared on the ground in front of Kotori. A pillar of red light shot up from the emblem, fading to reveal the silver-haired magician.
"I summon Gagaga Girl in Attack Mode!" Kotori announced. The blonde magical girl appeared on the battlefield next to Gagaga Magician. "Next I activate Gagaga Magician's effect and raise his level from four to six. Then I activate Gagaga Girl's effect and change her level to match Gagaga Magician's. Now I overlay my level six monsters and Xyz Summon Magi Magi Magician Gal!"
A vortex appeared in the middle of the battlefield and pulled in Kotori's monsters as balls of purple energy. Moments later the Magician Gal rose out of the middle of the vortex.
"And now for Gagaga Girl's other effect!" Kotori announced. "Since she was used for an Xyz Summon, I can reduce the attack of Death Zenmaioh to zero!"
"Counterattack: I activate the Trap card, Rune Veil." Mr. Gizmo announced. "Because you have attempted to use a card effect on a Rune Mystic monster, Rune Veil prevents all my monsters from being affected by your card effects until the End Phase of this turn."
The ghostly image of Gagaga Girl appeared around one of the balls of light orbiting Magician Gal and fired a beam of light from her smart phone at Death Zenmaioh. Before the beam could hit though, both the giant robot and Wind-Up Knight began to glow with an orange aura that repelled the beam.
"Observation: My calculations were correct." Mr. Gizmo remarked. "Based on data from your previous duel, I predicted that your most likely tactic would be to use the combo of Gagaga Girl and Magi Magi Magician Gal to defeat Death Zenmaioh. Your strategy has been neutralized."
'And Rune Veil prevents me from using Magician Gal's effect to take control of his monsters, too.' Kotori mentally realized.
"Continue your turn." Mr. Gizmo ordered.
"…Magician Gal! Attack Wind-Up Knight!" Kotori commanded. "Dark Blazing Magic!"
Magician Gal took aim with her wand and fired a cracking ball of pink energy at the mechanical toy knight. Wind-Up Knight exploded in a blast of smoke and flames. Mr. Gizmo's life points took a small plunge to 3400.
"Observation: Your last move has changed nothing." Mr. Gizmo declared. "I still have the advantage with Death Zenmaioh on the field."
"I know that!" Kotori told him. "But… it's the best I can do right now. I end my turn."
Moe spent several minutes checking her reflection in the mirror of one of the restrooms at the factory. Besides her glasses, the only thing that the blunette had on was a black silk robe that showed off her legs. Moe wanted to make sure she looked perfect for her little date with Yuma. The truth was she had always had a bit of a crush on Yuma ever since her won the World Duel Carnival, but had never had the guts to approach him. Then one day Kotori had swooped in and ruined any of her chances, but all that had changed thanks to Mitaka. Now Moe could make Yuma her own with no one to stand in her way.
Finally satisfied with her appearance, Moe left the restroom and headed to the lab where she had set up an intimate little meal for her and Yuma before the moment of her conquest. She had also put up little signs in the halls to make sure Yuma could find his way there. By the time Moe got down to the lab though, she was shocked to find Vector sitting at the table she had set up. The redhead had already eaten half the food she had set out.
After a moment, Vector noticed Moe standing in the doorway and waved. "Hey there. Hope you don't mind that I helped myself to something to eat. I skipped lunch today because I was following Yuma."
"Who… who are you?" Moe demanded to know.
"The name's Vector." The redhead answered as he got up. "And I'm afraid Yuma won't be joining us."
"What do you mean?" Moe asked.
"I was able to get to Yuma before you could and sent him away." Vector explained. "I had to lie to him a bit of course, but that's nothing new. It can't really be helped anyway, thanks to Mitaka messing with his mind."
"You had no right to butt in!" Moe told him.
"I'd have to disagree with you on that, lady. But that'd be kind of a pointless argument." Vector responded. "All you need to know is that I'm here to keep you from getting Yuma."
"…You're right. An argument would be pointless." Moe agreed after a moment as she walked over to a table and picked up a duel disk. "It seems there's only one way to settle this."
"You read my mind." Vector agreed. "Shall we get started?"
"Not here." Moe told him. "There's another place in the factory where we can cut loose."
"Lead on then." Vector replied.
"Commencing turn." Mr. Gizmo announced as he drew his first card. "Action 1: I summon Wind-Up Solider in Attack Mode." A second robotic solider like the one the mechanical duelist summoned before appeared on the battlefield. "Action 2: I activate Wind-Up Solider's effect, increasing his ATK to 2200 and raising his level from four to five until the end of the turn. Action 3: I activate the effect of Wind-Up Factory and add a third Wind-Up Solider from my deck to my hand. Action 4: Initiate Battle Phase. Death Zenmaioh, attack Magi Magi Magician Gal. Wind-Up Armageddon."
The giant robot fired another barrage of black missiles from the mouth of the large face on his chest. The missiles struck the Magician Gal and destroyed her in a massive explosion that knocked Kotori onto her back. Her life points took a steep drop to 400. As the smoke cleared, Kotori managed to get back to her feet.
"Wind-Up Solider, attack the opponent directly." Mr. Gizmo commanded. "Wind-Up March."
"Not so fast!" Kotori cut in. "Since you're attacking me directly, I summon Gagaga Guardna from my hand in Defense Mode!"
Suddenly appearing on Kotori's side of the battlefield was a warrior clad in a long black coat over grey chest armor, along with black gloves and long black jeans. An orange bandanna covered the lower half of his face, and atop his head was a black and grey helmet with goggles on it. In his left hand, the warrior carried a large black and orange shield with pointed yellow stripes on the lower half. As soon as the warrior appeared, Wind-Up Solider stopped his march.
"Recalculating… recalculating…" Mr. Gizmo spoke. "Turn complete. Your move."
'If I can't end this duel now, I'm done for.' Kotori thought as she closed her eyes.
Taking a deep breath, Kotori drew the next card from her deck. When she opened her eyes, she saw that the card was Rank-Up-Magic Limited Barian's Force.
'This is the card Vector gave me!' Kotori recalled. 'But I can't use it now. Or wait… maybe I can.'
"Proceed with your turn." Mr. Gizmo ordered.
"I activate the Spell card, Xyz Revenge!" Kotori announced. "Since you have an Xyz Monster on the field, I can summon Magi Magi Magician Gall from the Graveyard and attach one of Death Zenmaioh's overlay units to her!"
Another vortex appeared in the middle of the field and the Magician Gal rose out of it. Soon after, one of the balls or flame orbiting Death Zenmaioh was pulled into Magician Gal's orbit and became a ball of purple light.
"I activate one of Magi Magi Magician Gal's effects!" Kotori announced. "By detaching an overlay unit and banishing one card from my hand, I can summon a monster from my opponent's Graveyard. And the monster I choose is Wind-Up Knight!"
The ball of light orbiting Magician Gal entered the brooch on her chest. The magical girl closed her eyes as the small ankh-like tattoo on her chest just above the brooch glowed with a white light. Magician Gal placed her hand on her chest and a larger version of the ankh symbol began to glow on the ground next to Gagaga Guardna. A beam of light shot up from the symbol, fading to reveal the mechanical toy knight.
"I use the level four Gagaga Guardna and Wind-Up Knight to Xyz Summon Number 39: Utopia!" Kotori announced.
A large vortex in the form of a galaxy appeared in the middle of the battlefield and pulled in the two monsters as balls of golden energy. A moment later a large white sword with two balls of golden light orbiting it rose out and changed into Utopia.
"Observation: The presence of Number 39: Utopia changes nothing." Mr. Gizmo declared.
"That's where you're wrong!" Kotori told him. "With Utopia, anything can become possible! And I'm going to prove that right now! I activate Rank-Up-Magic Limited Barian's Force! Using Utopia, I rebuild the overlay network and Xyz Summon Number C39: Utopia Ray V!"
Utopia folded back into his sword form and disappeared back into a new vortex. A second later a new black sword styled with the Barian Emblem rose out of it and began to change shape. In moments Utopia stood on the battlefield in a new form. Most of his armor had turned black and had taken on a more sinister look. His shoulder plates had become rimmed at the bottom with large red pieces that curved upward and came to a point. His knees had become covered in red armor as well, and his upper legs glowed with sections of glowing crimson energy. The sides of Utopia's head had gained long silver horns, and the blades of his two swords had become curved. On the ground around Utopia Ray V were three red crystals covered in gold plates.
"Error! Error!" Mr. Gizmo repeated. "There is no data on such a card being in your possession!"
"That's because I just got it." Kotori replied. "I activate Utopia Ray V's effect! By detaching an overlay unit, I can destroy an opponent's monster and inflict damage equal to that monster's ATK! And the monster I choose is Death Zenmaioh!"
One of the crystals on the ground shattered and Utopia Ray V brought the handles of his sword together to create a single bladed weapon. The armored warrior threw the weapon at Death Zenmaioh. The blade cut all the way through through the giant robot's midsection, causing a massive explosion on Mr. Gizmo's side of the field. The mechanical duelist's life points dropped to 300. The bladed weapon spun back towards Utopia Ray V, who easily caught it in his hand.
"Error! Error!" Mr. Gizmo repeated as sparks began to shoot from the base of his neck.
"Utopia Ray V, attack Wind-Up Solider!" Kotori commanded. "Hope Sword Victory Chaos Slash!"
Utopia Ray V split his weapon apart and charged at Wind-Up Solider. The warrior cut into the toy robot's body with his swords, causing it to explode. Mr. Gizmo's remaining life points dropped to zero. With the duel at an end, both of Kotori's monsters vanished.
"ERROR! ERROR! ERROR!" Mr. Gizmo repeated in a high-pitched voice before his head literally exploded.
Mr. Gizmo's body fell forward and hit the ground with a large metal thud. Kotori breathed a sigh of relief.
'Now that that's over, I need to figure out where Yuma went.' Kotori decided. 'I better call Kaito and tell him what's happened. I just hope Yuma's okay.'
Moe led Vector into a large room that was the factory's automated assembly line. All around were conveyer belts with pieces of unfinished toys. All of the machines were off, waiting for the time workers would normally come in to supervise their operation and make sure no defects escaped the assembly line.
"I think this place will be more than suitable for us." Moe declared.
"Works for me." Vector agreed. "Let's get started."
With that, Vector activated his D-Gazer while Moe activated the D-Gazer built into her glasses. Once they both activated their duel disks, the color of assembly line room changed.
"Since you picked the spot where we're dueling, I'll kick things off." Vector declared as he drew his first card. "First I set one card on the field. Then I summon Umbral Horror Wraith in Defense Mode!"
Appearing on Vector's side of the battlefield was a figure clad in a tattered hooded cloak. It had boney chalk-white hands, and the only part of its face that could be seen was a single circle with white light that seemed to act as its eye.
"That ends my turn."
Moe drew her first card. "Before I do anything, I activate Mystical Space Typhoon and destroy that card you set on the field!"
A whirlwind appeared around Vector's large card and shattered it to bits before vanishing. Before the card was destroyed, Moe was able to see its identity.
"You were going to try and use Crush Card on me?" Moe asked with a raised eyebrow. "That's a rather outdated move, though it might've caused me a few problems if it had succeeded."
"Hey, the classics never go out of style." Vector told her with a shrug.
"Perhaps, but you'll need much better moves than that against someone like me." Moe declared.
"I think you're probably right." Vector agreed. "If anything, I can tell that you seem to be the cautious type."
"You hardly know anything about me." Moe told him. "For my next move I summon Madolche Magileine in Attack Mode!"
Appearing on Moe's side of the field was a doll-like monster resembling a witch with long plum-colored hair dressed in a purple and white dress with a large conical purple hat. In place of a broom she had a large fork with a mound of white frosting at the end that was decorated with flowers. The witch hovered over a slice of cake that was cut like a puzzle piece and made to look like a cemetery.
"Since I just summoned Magiliene, I can add another Madolche monster to my hand." Moe announced. "Now I play the Spell card, Double Summon, and use the extra normal summon I've just gained to summon Madolche Marmalmaide!"
Appearing next to the purple witch was another doll-like monster in the form of a maid with red hair holding what looked to be a black book on manners. She was sitting atop a large jar of marmalade that was on a large white cookie with cream filling that was cut like a puzzle piece.
"I use my two level four monsters to Xyz Summon the queen of the Madolche monsters!" Moe announced. "Come forth, Madolche Queen Tiaramisu!"
A yellow vortex appeared in the middle of the battlefield and pulled in Moe's monsters as balls of orange energy. Rising out of the vortex was yet another doll-like monster in the form of a silver-haired queen. She was clothed in yellow, chocolate-brown and black, and she sat on an ornate throne decorated with pieces of candy. The throne was sitting atop a decorative slice of cake cut in the shape of a puzzle piece. Small woodland creatures that were colored like candy tended to the queen, and orbiting around her were two balls of orange light.
"Let me guess, now you're going to use that one Rank-Up-Magic card that your friends have been using on their monsters." Vector assumed.
"Not quite." Moe revealed with a sinister smirk. "Sammy gave me a special Rank-Up card to use, one that's a bit more powerful that the ones you and your friends know about. I activate Rank-Up-Magic Royal Rune Force! This card lets me use an Xyz Monster to summon either a Rune Mystic monster or a Rune Queen! So I use Tiaramisu to Xyz Summon an absolute queen of dark magic! Arise, Madolche Rune Queen Terrormisu!"
A glowing red version of the Rune Mystic symbol appeared beneath the floating puzzle piece cake that Tiaramisu's throne sat on and shot a pillar of red light into the air. The light soon faded to reveal the Modolche queen in a new form. Her skin had turned pale and her eyes had become blood red. Silver armor with black trim covered her chest and her dress had changed from orange to red. Atop her head between a pair of small black horns that had sprouted was a silver crown with the Rune Mystic symbol glowing on the front, and in her right hand she held a long silver scepter with a red crystal adorning the top. Her throne had turned black and the back of it had become covered in thorny vines. The small woodland creatures that had been attending to the queen had become feral with glowing red eyes, and orbiting around her were three red balls of fire.
Suddenly Moe cried out, causing Vector to look past her monster. Moe's blue hair had grown past her shoulders and the Rune Mystic symbol was glowing on the front of her forehead. After a moment the blunette looked back at Vector with an insane grin.
"Well, this is turning out a little differently than I expected." Vector remarked.
"You made a mistake getting in my way." Moe told the redhead. "By the time I'm done, the walls of this place will be decorated in your blood!"
Author's Note: So while one duel has ended, another duel has only just begun. I actually had a really hard time with Vector and Moe's duel, mainly because for a while I had no clue what kind of deck Moe should use. The Madolche monsters were my first thought, but it created a name problem for the Rune Mystic monster Moe was supposed to use. So I came up with the whole Rune Queen concept as a perhaps less than perfect solution.
Please review and let me know what you think.