Author's Note: This is probably the earliest in the day I've ever updated a story. The reason for it is because I have to mow the lawn this afternoon, which causes me to lose time to write. So I decided to at least try and get a head start on this chapter late last night. What ended up happening though is that this chapter came together so fast that I wound up finishing the whole thing. Of course I was up until about 1:30 AM, but whatever. Enjoy the show.
Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL.
Chapter 19: Magic Number
"It's still your move, birdie-girl." Mitaka reminded Kotori. "Might as well make the most of it since it'll be your last."
"I… I activate the Spell, Gagagadraw!" Kotori announced. "I banish Gagaga Girl, Gagaga Magician and Gagaga Sister from the Graveyard to draw two more cards!"
"That's it?" Mitaka chuckled. "Well, at least those Gagaga monsters of yours weren't a total waste."
"I set two cards on the field and end my turn!" Kotori announced.
Mitaka drew her next card. "I activate the Spell card, Xyz Mage Restoration! Since I have a Spellcaster Xyz Monster with no overlay units, I can take up to three monsters from my Graveyard and attach them to that monster as new overlay units. So I'll just attach the three Shadow Cat Familiars in my Graveyard to Agatha!
Three red fireballs suddenly burst up from the ground behind Agatha. The fireballs were immediately drawn into the witch's orbit.
"Agatha, incinerate that obnoxious blonde!" Mitaka ordered. "Vengeful Witchfire!"
"I activate my Trap, Wobaku!" Kotori announced. "This card prevents Magician Gal's destruction and reduces the damage I would take to zero!"
Just as Agatha let loose another storm of red flames three people in blue robes suddenly appeared in front of Magician Gal. The flames struck an invisible barrier created by the three monk-like figures. As soon as the flames died down, the robed figures vanished.
"You've got this annoying habit of staying alive. You know that?" Mitaka remarked. "Ah well. You may have managed to hang in there for this long, but there's no way you can come back from this. I'll just end my turn here. If you were smart, you'd surrender now."
'She may be right.' Kotori thought. 'I don't think there's any card left in my deck that can change this around.'
"Do not give up… Kotori!" Astral's voice spoke in her head. "You've already… gathered everything you need to win this duel."
'But… what else can I do?' Kotori asked.
"All you have to do… is believe that you can save Yuma." Astral told her. "If your belief is strong enough… the card you need shall appear."
Kotori closed her eyes and took a deep breath, slowly reaching for her next card. The only thought on her mind at that moment was saving Yuma. As she drew her next card, it glowed with a brilliant light. Kotori opened her right eye to look at the glowing card and saw that it was Rank-Up-Magic Rune Force. In seconds though, the card changed into a completely new Spell card. The illustration showed a round golden crest with alien writing in the language of Astral World engraved on the rim. In the center was a strange wadjat eye over a carving of the Emperor's Key.
'What… what is this?' Kotori wondered.
"That card… is the true form of Rune Force and the key to saving Yuma." Astral explained. "You know what you must do next."
Kotori nodded and turned her attention back to the duel. "I activate my Trap, Xyz Reborn! With this card, I summon Utopia from the Graveyard!"
In a flash of golden light, Utopia reappeared on the battlefield. The large Trap card that Kotori used became a ball of gold light that was pulled into Utopia's orbit.
"So you brought back Utopia, but it's gonna cost ya." Mitaka told her. "Because of Agatha's effect, you now take 100 points of damage for all the Spell cards that have been banished! And since there are eight banished cards, your life points are cut in half!"
A bolt of red lightning came down and struck Kotori. Kotori fell to one knee and her life points dropped to 800. As soon as she caught her breath, Kotori got back up.
"I activate the Spell, Rank-Up-Magic Magician's Force!" Kotori announced.
"Magician's Force?" a surprised Mitaka repeated.
"This card was made from the Rune Force card that you gave to Anna!" Kotori explained. "She gave that card to me so I could save Yuma from you!"
"Well however you got it, you're only killing yourself with that card." Mitaka told her. "Unless you're going to use that thing to rank up Magician Gal into a more powerful Spellcaster, you'll take another 800 points of damage from Agatha's effect."
"Magician's Force takes an Xyz Monster and uses it to summon a Spellcaster of the same attribute but one Rank higher!" Kotori explained. "In other words, it can change an Xyz Monster into a Spellcaster!"
"What!" Mitaka exclaimed. "Wait… so that means…"
"I use Utopia to rebuild the overlay network and Xyz Summon a new magician to the field!" Kotori announced. "Help me out, Number C39: Utopia Mage!"
A glowing gold version of the crest from the Magician's Force card appeared under Utopia's feet and shot a pillar of golden light into the air. In moments the light faded to reveal Utopia in a brand new form. His helmet had changed to look like a white conical hat with spiraling gold trim that curved forward, and around his neck was a high collar made of golden armor. His white wings had been replaced by a long flowing cape made of a shimmering gold fabric, and hanging from the front of his waist was a golden breechcloth with black writing on the front in the language of Astral World. The golden armor around the green gem in the center of Utopia's chest had changed to look like a wadjat eye. In his right hand Utopia carried a long golden staff with a green gem fitted in the top.
"You may have changed that Number of yours into a magician, but he only has 2800 ATK!" Mitaka pointed out. "There's no way he can take down Agatha!"
"I activate Utopia Mage's effect!" Kotori announced. "Because he has Utopia as an overlay unit, Utopia Mage can add the ATK of another Spellcaster I have on the field to his own until the end of the turn! Which means until the end of the turn, he gains Magician Gal's ATK!"
"Except I activate Agatha's effect!" Mitaka announced. "By detaching one of her overlay units I can negate Utopia Mage's effect and destroy him!"
As one of the two balls of golden light orbiting Utopia Mage entered the gem on his chest, one of the fireballs orbiting Agatha entered the red eye of her mask. Agatha threw a fireball at Utopia Mage, but the attack hit a spherical barrier that suddenly appeared around the white magician.
"What!" Mitaka exclaimed. "How is this possible?"
"Any monster summoned using Magician's Force can't be destroyed by card effects until the end of the turn." Kotori explained.
Magician Gal closed her eyes and a stream of pink energy flowed from her into Utopia Mage. When the energy stopped, Utopia Mage began glowing with a brilliant golden aura.
"There's one more thing you should know, Mitaka!" Kotori continued. "As long as Utopia Mage is on the field, any Spell cards we use get banished instead of going to the Graveyard."
"So?" the redheaded Barian asked. "That's the same kind of effect Agatha has."
"When Utopia Mage attacks a monster, that monster loses 300 ATK for each banished Spell card during the battle!" Kotori explained. "And since there are now nine Spell cards banished, Agatha will lose 2700 ATK!"
"But with Utopia Mage's ATK at 5200, that means…" Mitaka realized.
"That means you lose!" Kotori declared. "Utopia Mage, attack Witch Queen Agatha! Hope Ray Magic Blast!"
A massive ball of crackling golden energy formed at the end of Utopia Mage's staff. Utopia Mage fired the blast at Agatha as it continued to grow in size. The witch was vaporized in an instant and the attack kept going and struck Mitaka. The redheaded Barian shrieked as her life points plunged from 4000 to zero in a split second. Mitaka was knocked onto her back and the duel finally came to an end. As soon as Kotori's two monsters vanished and the stormy sky above returned to its original color, Kotori ran over to Yuma's side.
Before Mitaka could get up, Kotori got out the sphere cube that Kaito had given her and pressed the top with her thumb. Mitaka looked up just in time to see an expanding ball of blue light envelope Kotori and Yuma. As she got up and watch the sphere field life off the ground, Mitaka let out an angry scream, realizing that Yuma had become out of her reach.
"Dammit!" Mitaka cursed. "I'm not going to let it end this way!"
Just as Mitaka raised her hands forward to fire a burst of crackling red electricity at the sphere, Kaito suddenly flew down from above and got between her and the orb. Orbital 7 detached himself from Kaito's back and got out of the line of fire.
"This has gone far enough!" Kaito told Mitaka.
"Are you asking to die, human?" Mitaka asked. "Because I can gladly arrange that for you!"
With that, Mitaka fired the electrical blast she had intended for the sphere at Kaito. Kaito pressed a button on his belt buckle and a transparent blue barrier appeared around him to block the attack.
"I've already taken a few precautions against you and your fellow Death Queens." Kaito told her. "The only way to get rid of me is through a duel. But if I'm right, anything else you try will be too late."
Yuma slowly opened his eyes and saw that Kotori was by his side on her knees. He also noticed the worried expression on the green-haired girl's face. All around them was a bright blue light that as far as Yuma could tell seemed to go on forever.
"Kotori? Is that really you?" Yuma weakly asked.
"Yeah, it's me." Kotori confirmed as she took his hand with both of hers.
"Where are we?" Yuma asked as he managed to sit up a bit.
"That doesn't matter right now." Kotori told him. "Are you feeling okay?"
Before Yuma could answer her, he felt a burning pain in his chest and his curse mark glowed through his shirt. The sight of it caused the color to drain from Kotori's face. Kotori quickly managed to pull his shirt off before he had a chance to protest. The green-haired girl covered her mouth to stifle cry. The mark was spreading out like an infected rash over the front of Yuma's torso.
"Yeah, I don't really know what this is." Yuma told her. "Whenever I've tried to tell anyone about it, something stops me. I can't really explain it."
"Yuma… do you trust me?" Kotori asked.
"…Of course I do?" Yuma asked. "Why?
Kotori merely answered by moving in to kiss Yuma on the lips. The kiss soon deepened and Kotori opened her mouth to push her tongue into Yuma's. When the broke for air after a few moments, Kotori pulled off her shirt to reveal her pink bra. Yuma's jaw dropped and Kotori looked away slightly as her face turned red out of embarrassment. She undid her bra and tossed it away, revealing her bare breasts to Yuma.
"Uh… Kotori?" Yuma managed to speak. "What're you…?"
Kotori silenced him by placing a finger on his lips. "Don't talk. Just… just go with it, okay?"
With that, Kotori unzipped Yuma's pants and reached in to take out his already hardened manhood. Kotori held it for a moment as it throbbed in her hand. She mentally had to admit that it was a little larger than she expected. After a moment, Kotori let go and mounted Yuma. She pushed the crotch of her panties aside and got onto Yuma's rod, wincing at it penetrated her. Kotori hadn't expected the pain to be so great, but she had to endure it.
Kotori gently began to rock her hips, trying to get used to the feeling of Yuma being inside her. But when she saw Yuma's curse mark begin to glow again, she panicked and moved faster. Yuma meanwhile became fixated on the bouncing of Kotori's breasts as she continued to pick up speed.
"Oh man! Kotori… I think I'm gonna…" Yuma spoke.
Suddenly Kotori felt a warmth shoot into her as Yuma hit his climax. The curse mark vanished from Yuma's chest in a matter of seconds. At the same time his eyes glowed briefly red as he shook his head.
"Are… are you okay Yuma?" Kotori asked.
"I… I remember everything that happened." Yuma responded. "That girl who showed up in the park… she was a Death Queen, wasn't she?"
"That's right." Kotori answered. "She put a curse on you. One that I just broke."
"Wait… you mean in order to break this curse, you and I had to…?" Yuma began to ask.
Kotori nodded. Then she suddenly broke into tears and covered her face with her hands.
"What's wrong?" a concerned Yuma asked.
"I never wanted it to be this way." Kotori sobbed. "I wanted our first time making love to be special. Nothing like this."
Yuma smiled and gently took hold of her cheek, wiping away a tear with his thumb. "It still can be, Kotori. We can keep going, if you like."
After a moment, Kotori nodded. Yuma sat up a little further and met Kotori in another deep kiss.
A ray of sunlight suddenly burst through the stormy clouds above the park. In moments the clouds dispersed completely and the skies of Heartland were clear.
"No! My curse and this spell over the city have both been broken!" Mitaka lamented. "All the work I've done, ruined! My only comfort right now is that birdie-girl probably didn't enjoy humping Yuma. They've only been in that ball of light for a few seconds and the curse has already been lifted."
"Time theoretically moves a little bit faster inside that sphere field I created." Kaito told her. "So for us, a few seconds is all it was going to take for your little curse to be undone."
"Actually M-Master Kaito." Orbital 7 began. "Comparing the theoretically increased flow of time to ours, Yuma and Kotori's copulation has probably only taken…"
"Quiet Orbital!" Kaito snapped.
"Y-yes sir." Orbital 7 responded.
At that moment, Droite arrived on a purple motorcycle and pulled up next to the sphere field. She dismounted and walked over to Kaito's side.
"Sorry I didn't get here sooner." Droite told Kaito.
"Don't worry about it. Everything's pretty much under control." Kaito replied. "Now that Mitaka's curse is broken, there's nothing more she can do."
"I can still take you out in a duel!" Mitaka pointed out.
"You're welcome to try!" Kaito dared. "But I doubt you'd do very well. Kotori's proven herself to be a pretty strong duelist, but I'm better than her. If you couldn't win against Kotori, what makes you think you'd do any better than me?"
Mitaka seemed to be at a loss as to how to respond to that question. Suddenly a portal in the form of a red galaxy opened up behind Mitaka and grabbed everyone's attention. Walking out was another female Barian with blue skin like that of the Egyptian god, Osiris. Her black hair was like that of a wig worn by an Egyptian princess, and on her forehead was a kind of golden tiara with a golden sun disk between a small pair of golden wings. Her face seemed to lack any sort of nose and mouth, and her eyes seemed to be covered in black mascara. The Barian woman's right eye was gold while her left eye was red. She had on a white mini-dress with a golden sash around the waist and a golden Barian Emblem on the chest, along with a pair of golden sandals and gold bracelets around her ankles and wrists, and on her back was a pair of red-feathered angelic wings.
"Oh crap!" Mitaka spoke.
The other Barian woman walked past Mitaka and stood before Kaito and Droite. "I am Alnia, leader of the Barian Death Queens."
"So you're the one who's been behind everything that's been happening!" Kaito deduced.
"More or less." Alnia replied. "My mistake so far though has been letting my idiot underlings come up with the plans for these attacks. This little farce of Mitaka's has ended up being worse than Anitak's convoluted scheme."
"Alnia, I…" Mitaka began.
"Quiet, you ignorant slut!" Alnia ordered. "Hold your tongue until we get back to the hideout!"
"So why have you come?" Kaito asked. "Are you going to try and get to Yuma yourself?"
"Maybe." Alnia replied. "Though I'm mostly here to see how strong my completion really is."
"Well the only way you're going to get to Yuma is through me!" Kaito declared.
"Me too!" Droite responded. "He and Kotori have been through enough over the last few days!"
"Okay, I'll take you both on at once." Alnia agreed. "But you have no idea what you're getting yourselves into."
Author's Note: For those who were expecting Kotori to use Rune Force as is, sorry if this chapter was a let down. But it was always my plan for Kotori to use a Spellcaster version of Utopia to combat Mitaka and her Number. Anyway, this story may have reached its climax already, but it's not done quite just yet. In the next chapter, Alnia shows off what she's capable of.
Please review and let me know what you think.