Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL.
Chapter 14: Vector's Bond
Kotori passed nervously in front of the still smoking headless body of Mr. Gizmo. Every second she waited for Kaito, Kotori wondered if Mitaka or one of her followers had already gotten her hooks into Yuma. At long last she spotted Kaito flying towards her in the distance. As soon at the photon duelist landed, Orbital 7 detached himself from Kaito's back and went over to Mr. Gizmo's remains. Kotori meanwhile ran up to Kaito.
"We have to find Yuma!" Kotori told him. "That robot I was dueling told me that Mitaka's lured Yuma into a trap!"
"Relax, it's been taken care of." Kaito assured her. "Vector got to Yuma before Mitaka could."
"Vector? How?" Kotori asked.
"He decided to keep tabs on Yuma this morning and has been following him all day." Kaito explained. "Right now he's probably dealing with one of Mitaka's servants. In the meantime, it looks like you were able to hold your own against that robot."
"Well, he was kinda tough." Kotori replied.
"I probably could've d-dueled circles around this piece of junk." Orbital 7 quietly remarked.
"Anyway, I think I should go find Yuma." Kotori decided.
"That's probably for the best." Kaito agreed. "We're running out of time anyway."
"You don't know the half of it, Tenjo." A familiar voice interrupted. Kotori and Kaito looked to see Samantha standing a few feet away.
"Mitaka!" Kotori spoke. "What're you doing here?"
"Can't a girl swing by to chat?" Samantha responded. "I have to say, birdie-girl. You and your friends are turning out to be more trouble than I thought you'd be. But then I wasn't expecting the Envoy of Astral World to loan out some of his Numbers."
"Underestimating Astral and all of us was the biggest mistake you could've made!" Kaito told her. "Now if you've come here for a fight, I'm willing to take you on!"
"Oh please, I'm not crazy enough to face someone like you without backup." Samantha chuckled. "I just came to tell the both of you that Yuma's off limits for the night. I've placed a little barrier around his neighborhood that won't wear off until morning. You can confirm it for yourself later."
"So… I can't go to Yuma's house?" Kotori asked.
"Nope. You won't have another shot at him until tomorrow." Samantha answered. "And as I'm sure you know, it'll be the last shot you'll have at him. My curse is working on Yuma a little faster than I thought. At the rate it's progressing, he'll be dead by sunset tomorrow."
"I won't let that happen!" Kotori declared. "I've save Yuma from you and that damn curse of yours!"
"You're welcome to try, birdie-girl." Samantha replied. "In the meantime, the last member of my little coven should be wiping the floor with Don Thousand's psycho puppet boy. I gave her a little bit of a power boost before this little plan of hers got started. Your friend, Vector doesn't stand a chance."
"Even if Vector does fall, you can't beat all of us!" Kaito declared.
"Maybe not, but time is on my side." Samantha replied. "Until tomorrow, birdie-girl." With that, Samantha let out a wicked laugh as she disappeared in a burst of red smoke.
"Now what're we supposed to do?" Kotori asked.
"For now all we can do is go back to the tower and prepare for tomorrow." Kaito answered. "In the meantime, let's just hope Vector can at least beat whoever Mitaka's last servant is."
"Terrormisu, obliterate his monster!" Moe commanded. "Sugarplum Nightmare!"
The wicked desert queen aimed her scepter at Vector's hooded monster and blasted it with bolts of red lighting. In seconds Umbral Horror Wraith shattered to bits. But despite his monster being destroyed, a grin appeared on Vector's face.
"Thanks for that." Vector told Moe. "Since Umbral Horror Wraith was destroyed, I can exchange three cards in my hand for three Umbral Horror monsters from my deck."
"Wait! So… were you even planning to use Crush Card before?" Moe asked.
"Maybe, maybe not." Vector answered. "You'll never know for sure."
Moe gritted her teeth in annoyance. "Whatever. I set one card on the field and end my turn!"
Vector drew his next card. "I summon Umbral Horror Ghost in Attack Mode!"
Materializing on Vector's side of the battlefield was a slender shadowy creature with chalk-white hands and long unkempt light-green hair. Its outfit was nothing more than tattered brown rags and the only feature of its face that could be seen was a pair of glowing yellow eyes.
"Since I have an Umbral Horror monster on the field, I can special summon a second Umbral Horror Ghost along with a third from my hand!" Vector announced. Two more green-haired specters appeared on the battlefield.
"I get it. You used Umbral Horror Wraith's effect to put all three copies of that ghost in your hand." Moe realized.
"That's right! And now I use my three level two monsters to build the overlay network and Xyz Summon an old associate of mine!" Vector announced. "Arise, Number 96: Dark Mist!"
A vortex in the form of a galaxy appeared in the center of the field and pulled in Vector's three monsters as balls of purple energy. Rising out of the vortex a moment later was a sort of black blob orbited by three balls of purple light. In an instant the blob changed shape, gaining arms and legs that ended with large white claws, along with a long tail with a bladed end. On the front of the creature's torso was a horrid face made up of two eyes made of red flame and a large fang mouth. On the top of the torso where a head would normally be was a horned crest that had the number 96 in purple alien writing on the front of the base.
"I gotta say. This Number has become a hell of a lot easier to get along with since Don Thousand died." Vector remarked.
"Just what do you expect to do with a monster that only has 100 ATK?" Moe asked.
"When Dark Mist battles a monster, he cuts the ATK of that monster in half and adds half that ATK to his own." Vector explained. "So I detach an overlay unit from Dark Mist and have him attack Terrormisu!"
"I don't think so!" Moe declared as Dark Mist consumed one of the balls or light orbiting around him. "I activate Terrormisu's effect! By detaching an overlay unit when she's attacked, Terrormisu returns the attacking monster to my opponent's hand! Although in your case, that Number of yours goes back to the Extra Deck!"
Just as Dark Mist was about to attack, one of the fireballs orbiting Terrormisu entered the gemstone in her crown. Terrormisu waved her scepter and bombarded the shadowy creature with sparkling red lights. Dark Mist froze and vanished with a flash of red light.
"That's not all." Moe continued. "Now we both have to shuffle our current hands into our decks and draw a new set of cards, and we have to summon any monster we draw to the field. I summon Madolche Puddingcess and Madolche Anjelly in Attack Mode!"
Two more doll-like monsters appeared on Moe's side of the field. The first was a princess-like monster with long curly blonde hair wearing an ornate white dress standing atop a slice of cake cut in the shape of a puzzle piece. The second monster was an almost fairy-like creature with long brown hair and. She had on a white dress and two small wings on her back. The fairy hovered above a pink puzzle piece with large pieces of candy embedded in it.
"You're turning out to be a real tricky opponent." Vector remarked. "Fine then! I summon Umbral Horror Ghoul, Umbral Horror Unform and Umbral Horror Will o' the Wisp in Defense Mode!"
Three new monsters appeared on Vector's side of the field. The first was a purple almost shadowy demon with red eyes and an armored face. On the demon's hunched back was a long tattered green cape. The second creature was a shadowy black mass resembling a blob. Towards the top of the mass on the front was a circle of blue light that could be considered an eye over a piece of red armor that looked almost like a jaw. The third monster Vector summoned was a single ball of bluish-white flames.
"When Terrormisu uses her effect, any changes made to her ATK before the effect was used are reversed." Moe announced. "Meaning her ATK returns to 2800. More importantly though, since she has Tiaramisu as an overlay unit, Terrormisu inflicts 200 points of damage for each Madolche monster I've just summoned!"
With an evil grin on her face, Terrormisu raised her scepter and fired a single bolt of red lightning into the air. The bolt came back down and struck Vector, causing his life points to drop to 3600. Moe laughed with mad glee as Vector fell to one knee.
"What's the matter, big boy? Things getting to hot for ya?" Moe taunted.
"Not at all." Vector answered as he got back to his feet. "In fact I'm starting to like where this duel's going. I'll set one card on the field and end my turn!"
Moe drew her next card. "I activate the Spell card, Resonance Device! Because Puddincess and Anjelly are of the same Type and Attribute, Resonance Device allows me to match their levels. So I change Anjelly's level to match the level of Puddingcess!" Two beams of green light shot up from the ground and enveloped Puddingcess and Anjelly. "Now using my two level five monsters, I Xyz Summon Madolche Puddingcess Choco a la Mode!"
A vortex appeared in the middle of the field and pulled in Moe's two monsters as balls of purple energy. Moments later Puddingcess rose out of the vortex wearing a new black dress with white trim. The desert princess was standing atop a puzzle piece-shaped slice of cake with pieces of cake sticking out of it. Orbiting around the princess were two balls of pink light.
"Next I summon Madolche Chouxvalier in Attack Mode!" Moe announced.
Appearing on the field was a blonde doll-like warrior wearing the black and gold coat and hat of a French nobleman. Adorning his hat was a large red feather, and in his right hand was a candy cane sword. The warrior rode atop a blue stuffed animal-like horse with a green mane and tail that was standing atop a puzzle piece-shaped chocolate cookie with cream filling.
"I attack Will o' the Wisp with Chouxvalier, and activate my Trap, Madolche Waltz!" Moe announced. "Each time one of my Madolche monsters battles an opponent's monster, my opponent takes 300 points of damage! Chouxvalier, attack Will o' the Wisp! Noble Sugar Sword!"
The horse jumped off its cookie and charge at the ball of flames on Vector's side of the battlefield. As Chouxvalier passed, he cut the fireball in half. The halves shattered to bits as the nobleman galloped back to his cookie. At that moment, beam of orange light shot from Moe's large Trap card and struck Vector in the chest, causing him to wince as his life points dropped to 3300.
"Choco a la Mode, attack Umbral Horror Ghoul!" Moe commanded. "Dark Chocolate Waltz!"
The chocolate princess jumped off her slice of cake and twirled in the air before hitting Vector's monster in the chest with a flying kick. The demon's body shattered to bits as the princess returned to her cake. Another beam of light fired from Moe's Trap card and hit Vector in the chest again, causing his life points to fall to 3000.
"And now, Terrormisu! Destroy Umbral Horror Unform!" Moe commanded. "Sugarplum Nightmare!"
Terrormisu laughed maniacally as she fired bolts of red lightning from her scepter that vaporized Vector's last monster. Moe's Trap card fired another blast that caused Vector to fall to one knee again. His life points took another slight drop to 2700.
"Now I activate a Quick-Play Spell from my hand, Rune Rampage!" Moe announced with a mad grin. "When a Rune Mystic monster destroys a monster in battle, Rune Rampage deals damage equal to half my monster's ATK!"
"But Terrormisu is a Rune Queen monster, not a Rune Mystic monster!" Vector pointed out.
"Oh, did I forget to mention that Terrormisu is also treated as a Rune Mystic monster?" Moe asked. "Ah well. Taste the sweet sensation of pain!"
Terrormisu fired an intense blast of red lightning from her scepter at Vector, causing him to scream in pain. When the attack finally ended, Vector was on all fours as smoke rose from his body. His life points had taken a heavy drop to 1300.
"And I'm just getting warmed up." Moe told Vector. "By the way, thanks to Rune Rampage, I also get to draw another card. On my next turn, this whole room will be filled by the sweet sound of your screams. Bet you're regretting that you butted in on my time with dear Yuma now, huh?"
At that moment, Vector managed to get back to his feet. "…You know, there was a time when I would've have bothered with any of this. But for some strange reason, Yuma considers me a friend even after all the crap I've pulled. So I'm not going to let you our your boss, Mitaka get to him!"
"Suit yourself." Moe shrugged. "I'll end my turn here. Go ahead and make your next move, because it'll be your last."
"You're right about that, but that's because I'm going to end this duel right here!" Vector declared as he drew his next card. The card he pulled from the deck glowed briefly with a crimson light. "I activate Rank-Up-Magic The Seventh One! I take Number 104: Masquerade from my Extra Deck and use him to build the overlay network and Xyz Summon Number C104: Umbral Horror Masquerade!"
Another galaxy-like vortex appeared on the field, and rising out of the middle of it was a ball of light-purple light that gained a gigantic pair of blood-red bat-like wings. In moments the object transformed into a humanoid figure clothed in a red coat with a high black collar. On his back, the fabric of the coat formed a pair of large red wings. The figure had a white and purple mask-like head in the form of a demon with yellow horns. Glowing across his forehead in purple was the number 104. In both his hands, Masquerade held a long black narrow staff with a red ornament at the top. Sitting on the ground next to the demon magician was a red crystal with gold plates covering it.
"Because I've summoned Umbral Horror Masqurade, I can destroy an opponent's Spell or Trap card!" Vector announced. "And the card I choose is Madolche Waltz!"
The demon magician fired a bolt of red lightning from the top of his staff. The blast hit Moe's large Trap card and caused is to shatter to bits.
"And now I activate the second effect of Umbral Horror Wraith from the Graveyard!" Vector announced. "By banishing him from the Graveyard, I can make it possible for an Umbral Horror Xyz Monster to attack twice this turn!"
At that moment a slithering black shadow appeared on the ground of the battlefield and went under Masquerade. The demon magician then began to glow with a feint purple aura.
"Masquerade, attack Madolche Chouxvalier!" Vector commanded. "Nightmare Illusion!"
The shadow beneath Masquerade suddenly rose up and turned into a pitch-black clone of the demon magician. The copy fired bolts of black lightning from his staff at the desert warrior, causing him and his horse to shatter to bits. Moe's life points took a drop to 2700.
"Madolche monsters are shuffled into the deck when they're destroyed." Moe announced. "And since a Madolche monster was just sent back to my deck, I activate Choco a la Mode's effect and detach an overlay unit to summon a Madolche monster from my deck!"
"I don't think so! I activate the Trap, Umbral Horror Grudge!" Vector announced. "By banishing every Umbral Horror monster in my Graveyard, this card negates your monster's effect and destroys her! And for each Umbral Horror monster I've banished, all your other monsters lose 600 ATK!"
Just as one of the balls of pink light orbiting Choco a la Mode entered her crown, several black shadows came up from the ground and wrapped themselves around the desert princess. Choco a la Mode let out a blood-curdling scream as the shadows pulled her under. Once the princess was no more, the shadows rose up and swirled around Terrormisu. After a moment the shadows vanished and the evil desert queen had a look of absolute terror on her face.
"And now, Umbral Horror Masquerade!" Vector called. "Attack Terrormisu and end this!"
"You fool! At this moment I activate Terrormisu's effect to negate your attack and send your monster back where he came from!" Moe announced.
"Afraid not, because I activate Masquerade's other effect!" Vector announced. "When a monster activates its effect, I can detach an overlay unit to negate that monster's and make you discard a random card from your hand to cut your life points in half!"
Just as another one of the fireballs orbiting Terrormisu entered her crown, the red crystal on the ground shattered and Masquerade fired bolts of red lightning from his staff. Both Moe and Terrormisu were hit, and Moe's life points took a heavy drop to 1350. Masquerade fired another blast that struck Terrormisu in the chest. The wicked desert queen was destroyed in a massive explosion that knocked Moe to the ground. When the smoke cleared, Moe's life points had dropped to zero and the Rune Mysitc symbol had vanished from her forehead.
With the duel finally over, Masquerade disappeared and the inside of the factory went back to normal. Vector let out a heavy sigh and sat down on the ground, looking up at the skylight above.
"I sure hope Yuma appreciates all this when this whole thing is over." Vector remarked. "Assuming of course Kotori can come through."
Samantha paced around her hideout in a huff in front of the floating crystal orb she used to keep an eye on things. She looked at it again and saw an exhausted Vector still sitting on the ground in victory. With a look of disgust, Samantha waved her arm and caused the orb to vanish. It was all she could do to keep herself from throwing something at it.
"Dammit!" Samantha cursed. "I didn't think things would get this far. At least I've got time on my side though. Still, I can't afford to take any more chances at this point. One way or another, birdie-girl must die."
Author's Note: Sorry for the slight delay with this chapter. I had to mow the lawn yesterday, one of my least favorite household chores. Anyway, we're inching ever closer to the climax of this story, though the final duel is still a ways off. Stay tuned.
In the meantime, please review and let me know what you think.