Good Day Readers and welcome to the sequel to The Lost Kingdom! Thanks to all of you for the support and I hope that you all enjoy this latest edition of the Hope sisters. This upload will focus on the Grand Prix/Grand Championship arc whilst next week we'll move onto Dawn of the Duel arc
Obviously I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh only Kylie and Katherine Hope along with the unique cards within their decks and whatever other OCs decide to crop up. Also italics symbolise a mind conversation. I would appreciate any responses that you have, please enjoy
Chapter 2: - An Already Moving Conspiracy
Yami prepared his hand and I felt a prickle of fear run down my spine, even though I believed in Yami and his ability to get us out of the situation that still didn't change the fact that the Deck in play was absolutely terrible. Yami reassured Rick who seemed terrified as Otogi stated his opinion that Yami might not be able to win with that Deck
"Yeah… and the computer he's playing against is set to the highest level," Honda admitted. A young girl immediately started to bawl causing a ripple effect to wash over the children as they all began to cry, forcing mum to focus on reassuring the girl and the other children with Anzu moving over to help her out; although I noticed a young maroon haired boy also reassuring the children.
"My turn! Draw!" Yami declared. Jounouchi and Rebecca agreed that we needed to believe in our friend and his miraculous ability to overcome almost any situation. "I Summon Petit Dragon in Defence Mode! Turn End!" Yami declared. I thinned my lips at the action, a measly defence power with no back up cards to protect it, that wasn't good.
Petit Dragon – Attribute: Wind, Type: Dragon, Level: 2, ATK/600, DEF/700
"My turn. Draw," Duel Computer announced. Solid Vision cards replicated its' hand as a fifth one appeared. "Activate Magic card from hand. Cost Down. Discard one card from hand. Levels of all Monsters in hand and on field are reduced by two," Duel Computer stated. It's high pitched mechanical voice made no change of tone or pitch, it was kind of disturbing to listen to.
Berserk Gorilla – Level: 4 – Level: 2
"Thus, Angel Knight Perseus can be Summoned. Summon Angel Perseus in Attack Position," Duel Computer announced. The new Monster appeared on the field and I felt a little tense as my eyes raked over the playing situation; my fingers laced together as I glanced over at Kylie who was also looking unnerved about the situation.
Angel Knight Perseus – Attribute: Light, Type: Angel, Level: 5, ATK/1900, DEF/1400
Angel Knight Perseus – Level: 5 – Level: 3
"Also, activate Permanent Trap, Robbin' Goblin. When a Monster inflicts damage to the opponent while this card is in play, you must discard one card from your hand," Duel Computer informed. My eyes widened as did Kylie's own emerald gaze, that meant that two cards were going to be lost given Perseus' Special Effect. "Angel Knight Perseus, attack Petit Dragon," Duel Computer ordered. The feathered centaur charged forward and swung its' sword out to slice the cute dragon in half. "Angel Knight Perseus' Special Effect. When it attacks a Defence Position Monster, the opponent receives damage equal to the difference in points. Also, I am permitted to draw one card," Duel Computer explained.
Rick/Yami – LP: 4000 – LP: 2800
"And Trap card, Robbin' Goblin's effect activate. Please discard card farthest to the right," Duel Computer stated. Yami did as the machine insisted and the card was deposited into the Graveyard. "Continuing battle. Berserk Gorilla, Direct Attack the player," Duel Computer insisted. The massive ape charged forward and swung its' fist at Yami, causing pulses of air to flow from the fist.
Rick/Yami – LP: 2800 – LP: 800
Everyone began to panic around me, except for Jounouchi and Kylie, as the Duel Computer announced the effect of Robbin' Goblin activating once again and Yami was forced to discard the second card that was farthest from the right. Once Yami placed that card into the Graveyard, the Duel Computer announced that this was the end of its' turn and I focused my gaze on Yami, hoping he'd make his way through this.
Angel Knight Perseus – Level: 3 – Level: 5
Berserk Gorilla – Level: 2 – Level: 4
"B-Because I had such an unbalanced Dragon Deck," Rick feared. Kylie quickly translated the sentence for Yami, the ancient Pharaoh immediately reassured the boy by telling Rick to believe in the Deck's power; I took a deep breath as I looked at the spirit, I knew that I had to believe in the Deck that Rick had put his heart into and the miracles that Yami had already created, plus the card that Yugi had given to Rick.
"My turn! Draw!" Yami declared. He pulled a card free and held it back, allowing me to see it and a gasp escaped from my throat before Yami pulled it back in order to look at it; the card had been a Magic card, which might just give Yami the edge he needed now in order to survive the Duel, until he managed to get to Yugi's card. "I Summon Sapphire Dragon in Attack Mode!" Yami declared. With the Magic card he'd drawn, I knew that Yami might be able to succeed.
Sapphire Dragon – Attribute: Wind, Type: Dragon, Level: 4, ATK/1900, DEF/1600
"Also, an Equipment Magic from my hand! I activate Dragon Treasure! It increases the Attack and Defence of an Equipped Dragon-type by three hundred points!" Yami declared. That increase in power meant that Rick's Dragon was now strong enough to get through both of the Duel Computer's Monsters which caused a sigh of relief to rush out of my lungs as Kylie seemed to relax slightly as well.
Sapphire Dragon – ATK/1900 – ATK/2200, DEF/1600 – DEF/1900
"Go! Sapphire Dragon! Attack Angel Knight Perseus!" Yami commanded. The blue scaled Dragon opened its' mouth and unleashed a stream of fire at the feathered centaur, the blast of fire quickly swallowed up the Monster and it was forced to explode into pixels as a result of the attack, it might have only been slight but at least some damage had finally been done to the machine.
KC Robt – LP: 4000 – LP: 3700
"Alright! You did it Yugi!" Jounouchi cheered. Honda was relieved to know that Rick's Deck had a Magic card, the other children also began to cheer upon seeing the sight as Yami ended his turn; the machine took over and used the effect of Killer Snake in its' Graveyard to get another of the same card into its' hand, before summoning out Newt.
Newt – Attribute: Wind, Type: Demon, Level: 4, ATK/1900, DEF/400
"What? It's attacking the two thousand and two hundred Attack Sapphire Dragon with the one thousand and nine hundred Attack Newt?!" Jounouchi questioned. Honda made the foolish assumption that the computer had broken, but Rebecca knew better and began to explain until Newt surged forward and attacked Sapphire Dragon, causing it to be destroyed as a result.
KC Robt – LP: 3700 – LP: 3400
"Activate Newt's Special Effect. The Monster that destroys this Monster in battle has its' Attack and Defence Points lowered by five hundred points," Duel Computer explained. I allowed a small, annoyed sound to escape from me at this fact, it had intentionally attacked and lowered its' Life Points in order to unleash this effect on Sapphire Dragon which weakened it enough for it to be destroyed.
Sapphire Dragon – ATK/2200 – ATK/1700, DEF/1900 – DEF/1400
"Furthermore, Berserk Gorilla will attack Sapphire Dragon," Duel Computer stated. The muscular ape proceeded to let out a roar as it pounded against its' chest before opening its' mouth and unleashing a stream of fire towards the blue scaled Dragon, Sapphire Dragon was forcibly engulfed in the flames and promptly destroyed because of their attacks.
Rick/Yami – LP: 800 – LP: 500
"Activate Effect of Permanent Trap, Robbin' Goblin. Discard the card farthest to the left," Duel Computer insisted. That left Yami with a single card in his hand and I was beginning to grow worried about our situation as Otogi and Honda began to panic as well with Otogi making a comment that angered Honda and the children started to become scared once more so mum tried to calm them down whilst Anzu lectured Otogi and Honda for scaring the children.
This caused the two of them to quickly break it off and they promptly apologised for their action, I looked over at Kylie who was tense all over as she continued to stare at the Dueling Field. The Duel Computer ended its' turn but Yami was in a really tight pickle and I felt a leaden weight start to settle within my stomach, as Yami reached his hand out to rest atop Rick's Deck.
"My turn! Draw!" Yami declared. He lifted the card up and quickly looked at it before moving it down to the Monster zone. "I Summon The Dragon Dwelling in the Cave in Defence Mode!" Yami announced. At least this Monster would be able to protect itself from Berserk Gorilla's Attack Points but given the cards that had shown up so far, I wouldn't put it passed the Duel Computer to be able to find a way to pierce through the defence.
The Dragon Dwelling in the Cave – Attribute: Wind, Type: Dragon, Level: 4, ATK/1300, DEF/2000
"My turn. Draw. I Release Berserk Gorilla to Advance Summon Android – Psycho Shocker in Attack Position," Duel Computer stated. The leaden weight decided to triple in size and I actually felt a little sickly upon seeing a stronger Monster brought out onto the field, the only good things were that this Monster didn't have the ability to deal piercing damage and that Psycho Shocker's effect destroyed Robbin' Goblin.
Android – Psycho Shocker – Attribute: Dark, Type: Machine, Level: 6, ATK/2400, DEF/1500
"That thing, it can even Summon Psycho Shocker!" Jounouchi exclaimed. I allowed a sigh to pass my lips as Kylie let out a groan of annoyance, Mokuba quickly rushed over to the blonde and reminded him of what kind of data was stored within the Duel Computer. Meanwhile the machine proceeded to have Psycho Shocker attack Yami's Monster, causing it to be destroyed in a shower of pixels.
"My turn! Draw!" Yami declared. He drew a card and held it out in front of him, Rick saw it and began to say something as Yami turned to look at him with a reassuring smile on his face. "Your Deck's warm feelings have answered you!" Yami declared. The card was likely the one that Yugi had given to Rick before this mess started and I deeply prayed that it would be enough to get us out of this crazy situation. "I Summon Baby Dragon in Defence Mode!" Yami declared. He set the young dragon down onto the field allowing it to be projected.
Baby Dragon – Attribute: Wind, Type: Dragon, Level: 3, ATK/1200, DEF/700
"Also, from my hand, the Permanent Magic Heart of the Underdog!" Yami declared. Upon hearing the name of the card, I couldn't restrain the laugh that escape me, although I quickly clamped a hand over my mouth in order to stifle the sound as best I could whilst Kylie was pushing her lips together tightly in order to hold it in.
"U-underdog!" Jounouchi spoke. The rest of our group – except for mum and Yumiko – also began to laugh at the name since the English word Underdog when translated into Japanese was the same word that Seto kept calling Jounouchi; Honda, Otogi and Rebecca added on comments which only made Jounouchi even more confused as Yami proceeded to end his turn.
"My turn. Draw. Summon Killer Snake in Attack Position," Duel Computer stated. The small reptile appeared on the field and I felt my body tense up slightly. "Android – Psycho Shocker will attack Baby Dragon," Duel Computer informed. Psycho Shocker charged up an orb attack and quickly threw it at the small dragon which swiftly broke apart as a result of the attack.
Killer Snake – Attribute: Water, Type: Reptile, Level: 1, ATK/300, DEF/250
"Killer Snake. Direct attack the opponent player," Duel Computer ordered. The small reptile quickly flew over to Yami and proceeded to sink its' fangs into Yami's left wrist, I swallowed thickly as Kylie went a little pale at the sight of the Pharaoh being attacked; Yami was practically out of Life Points but I called upon memories of when he'd had less than the current amount and still managed to pull off a miracle win. "Turn end," Duel Computer stated.
Rick/Yami – LP: 500 – LP: 200
"My turn! Draw!" Yami declared. As he pulled a card free, Heart of the Underdog proceeded to glow suddenly. "This moment, the effect of the Permanent Magic, Heart of the Underdog, will activate! If the card I draw is a Normal Monster, I can show that card to the opponent and I'm permitted to draw another card! The card I've drawn is this! Curse of Dragon!" Yami declared.
Heart of the Underdog was the perfect card to take advantage of Rick's current Deck which had an unseemly amount of Normal Monsters. Yami drew another card which was Devil Dragon, triggering the effect once more, Fortress Protecting Winged Dragon, Diamond Dragon, Crawling Dragon and Darkness Dragon soon followed afterwards. Yami reached his fingers out to his Deck and pulled a card free to look at it.
"I Summon Spirit Dragon in Attack Mode!" Yami declared. Spirit Dragon was an Effect Monster which prevented Heart of the Underdog from activating but it was also the perfect card to unleash against the Duel Computer in the current situation; the serpentine dragon was projected onto the field and I waited for Yami to make the next play.
Spirit Dragon – Attribute: Wind, Type: Dragon, Level: 4, ATK/1000, DEF/1000
"Spirit Dragon, attack Android – Psycho Shocker!" Yami commanded. The Monster reared back and proceeded to open its' mouth as a ball of white energy began to charge up within. "At this moment, I activate Spirit Dragon's Special Effect! When it battles, for every Dragon-type Monster I discard to the Graveyard from my hand, its' Attack and Defence goes up by one thousand points! I have six Dragon-type Monster cards in my hand, thus its' Attack goes up by six thousand points!" Yami revealed. He folded up his entire hands and set the cards into the Graveyard.
Spirit Dragon – ATK/1000 – ATK/7000, DEF/1000 – DEF/7000
"Continue the battle! Go! Spirit Dragon! Spirit Burst!" Yami commanded. Spirit Dragon unleashed the white light in a stream of energy which pierced through Psycho Shocker and slammed right into the machine, when the light faded away, we saw the cards of the machine's hand fade away, causing everyone to start cheering at the sight as a smile split across my face.
KC Robot – LP: 3400 – LP: 0
The lights fully came back on as the shutters quickly rolled themselves up, the cheering continued as Rick and Yami disembarked the podium and Yami returned Rick's Deck to him and Kylie translated for them. Once the conversation was over, the other children rushed over and began to compliment the boy's Deck by calling it strong.
"Indeed, it is. But it can grow much stronger," Kylie spoke. Everyone looked at my sister as she smiled at Rick. "The love you have for your Deck is one of the most important qualities for any Duelist, but you must balance your Deck with Magic, Trap and other Monster types as well. Find the cards that work with your beloved Dragons and become even stronger," Kylie insisted. Rick nodded his head in understanding, with everything finished we proceeded to leave the Stadium.
"Fresh air is really great!" Jounouchi exclaimed. I took a deep breath myself as Anzu agreed with the boy, I was relieved to be out of the building; Rick vowed to take care of Heart of the Underdog and then took off towards his parents. "Yami. What's with that card? Why'd you have it with you?" Jounouchi asked. His eyes were twitching and I glanced over at the spirit who seemed a little unsure.
"Because… well…," Yami began to speak. He suddenly glanced back and I saw Yugi's spirit hovering there. "You handle this!" Yami insisted. In the fastest switch I'd seen since meeting the two, Yami had shifted into Yugi with the young boy blinking in shock at the unexpected event before turning around to stare at the Pharaoh who'd just dropped him into hot water as I clasped a hand over my mouth to stifle any laughter.
"That's not fair, Other Me!" Yugi exclaimed. A deep blush appeared on Yugi's face as his turbulent emotions pulsed into me; meanwhile Jounouchi walked over to Yugi and proceeded to seize the boy by the neck as he crouched down so that their head were level with each other, Kylie was coughing as she fought down her own laughter whilst Yugi lost his blush and went slightly pale at the embrace of his best friend.
"It couldn't be that you view me as an ordinary 'deadbeat' guy too?" Jounouchi asked. Yugi attempted to come up with an explanation before admitting it did remind him a little of the blonde currently holding onto him; meanwhile Yumiko looked incredibly confused as she stared at the scene before her as Honda made a comment – directly calling him a deadbeat – which angered Jounouchi. "YOU'RE THE LAST ONE I WANT TO HEAR THAT FROM!" Jounouchi yelled.
"Watch it! My cousin is here!" Kylie snapped. Yumiko had dived behind mum at Jounouchi bellow and Kylie had then seized him in a headlock, startling the blonde boy, but the whirling of a helicopter distracted everyone as we all glanced over and saw Seto leaping out. "Seto. I assume you know what just happened?" Kylie called. Mokuba rushed forward as Seto prioritised looking over Mokuba for any injuries over answering my sister as we rushed up to the CEO.
"KAIBA! NOW YOU COME!" Jounouchi snapped. His loud voice had startled Yumiko once more, so I cracked him in the shin with my foot, causing him to let out a cry before focusing on Seto once more. "That damn Duel Computer you built put us through a lot of crap!" Jounouchi continued. Mum's eyes widened and she quickly clamped her hands over Yumiko's ears, causing the small girl to look confused as she stared up at the woman who gave her a strained smile.
"Sorry for the trouble, Deadbeat," Seto stated. Mum had removed her hands when Seto started speaking allowing Yumiko to hear the rest of his words and I noticed a strange sparkle appear within Yumiko's eyes as a smile appeared on her face; meanwhile Honda and Anzu proceeded to start laughing, angering Jounouchi and he glared at them. "That wasn't my fault. Someone hacked our system from another area," Seto stated. Those words caused Kylie to frown.
"Seto, this is a serious problem, as the organisers of the tournament, we need to find this person, if whoever they are try to stop the tournament then we could be in some serious trouble. We need to run a thorough test of Kaiba Land, just to be safe," Kylie insisted. Seto nodded his head in agreement and proceeded to give the order to Isono before turning back to look at our group.
"You're all free to do as you please. Mokuba, I'll leave the rest to you. Kylie, we need to finish the checklist," Seto stated. He then turned and started to walk away from us, my sister bid us farewell and quickly followed after him; meanwhile Jounouchi got angry at Seto and yelled after him about how we were the ones making the tournament a success.
"We have time before the gala to announce the tournament's start. Why don't we try and have some fun to wipe out this bad start," I suggested. Everyone agreed with the suggestion and we took off into the theme park.
*Yu-Gi-Oh*
Eventually night fell and the gala was set to begin, we arrived at the hotel and were taken to the room where a large amount of people dressed in black tie outfits filled the room. Mokuba explained that they were media from around the world and Honda immediately threw himself in front of one of the cameras followed by Jounouchi and Otogi causing me to let a sigh escape from my mouth.
'If they embarrass me in the long run, I'll hang them from the top of the Empire State building upside down.' I thought. Suddenly a stifled laugh escaped from beside me and I saw Yugi covering his mouth, I blushed slightly as I realised that my thought had been unwillingly sent towards the boy… it was more embarrassing than what those idiots were doing, even though he did find it funny.
The rest of us moved over to one of the buffet tables that were laid out across the room and Rebecca immediately started to take some food onto her plate however someone ended up running into her and Rebecca ended up stumbling. I moved over to her and managed to stop the blonde from falling over completely as the woman snapped at Rebecca to 'be more careful', I looked up with an angry expression on my face as Rebecca did the same.
"You should! You walked right into me!" Rebecca snapped. She took the words from my mouth and I recognised the woman, it happened to be Vivian Wong, an annoying bitch of a Duelist who'd seemed to have a one-sided rivalry with my sister; my sister had in response routinely beaten Vivian so much that it was pretty darn pathetic that the Chinese woman kept challenging my sister, Anzu came over and asked what was wrong with the blonde girl at my side. "This woman is!" Rebecca snapped
"AHHH!" The woman suddenly screamed. She then charged passed us and when I saw where she'd gone, I felt the cold fire of envy flare to life greater than it ever could around Rebecca. "Are you Muto Yugi?" Vivian asked. She had crouched down in front of the boy who confirmed his identity to her and Vivian seized his hands in her own. "I knew it! I'm so happy! I wanted to mweet wu!" Vivian cried. Her voice taking on a sickly syrupy tone that made me want to be sick. "I'm Vivian Wong! A pleasure!" Vivian stated. Yugi's face was turning bright red. "I'm so happy to finally meet the legendary Duelist that I dreamed about meeting! Although we're rivals in this tournament, in private, we…," Vivian admitted. She then proceeded to drag Yugi against her full figure – specifically her bosom. "…have to get along very well!" Vivian insisted.
"Trust me!" I snarled. I moved over at a fast pace, took the woman's arms and ripped her away from Yugi's form before placing myself firmly between the two of them as a sneer appeared on my lips. "It's a displease for any of us to meet you. And Yugi won't be meeting you in private, ever," I snapped. Vivian stood back to her full height, looking down her nose at me as I felt Yugi's concern and confusion pulse into me via the Soul Bond.
"Huh? Who the hell ar-," Vivian began to snap. However, she ended up freezing and her eyes widened slightly before a smug look came onto her face. "You're Kylie Hope's helpless little sister. I heard she's not participating, she's too scared to face me and you're hardly worth the challenge," Vivian commented. The smug and arrogant look on her face and her words made anger mix with my jealousy for a deadly combination.
"Kylie isn't scared of you! She's creamed you more times that I can count! Kylie is busy with things way more important than you!" I snapped. Vivian let out a scoff at my words and I felt my hands twist into fists at her dismissive posture and actions. "Besides, I'm more than enough of a challenge to you," I added on.
"Oi! Vivian!" Kylie snarled. Vivian turned around to face my sister who was death glaring the bitch in front of us. "My sister can crush you, just as easily as I have, now scram! Before I regret extending you an invitation!" Kylie snapped. Vivian glared at her for a few minutes, before taking off with a squeal after spotting Seto. "Crush her, Katherine. Make it hurt," Kylie insisted. We rarely hated someone so much, but that bitch had pushed all the wrong buttons for both of us.
"Oh, you can bet I will," I promised. Fortunately we were distracted from that harlot by a voice calling out to us, I turned around and saw one of the children from the Duel Stadium standing there; he was probably the same age as Mokuba and Rebecca with long maroon hair, tied in a ponytail and hazel eyes and dark maroon hair, he wore a light blue sleeved school shirt with a cream vest bearing a school insignia, navy-blue shorts, white knee socks and black dress shoes.
"Ah, Katherine, Yugi, Rebecca. You've already met but this is Leon Wilson, a young prodigy at Duel Monsters and fellow participant in the tournament," Kylie introduced. Leon seemed to be shy at the introduction but agreed with the words and admitted he was happy to have the chance to Duel against Yugi. "We're one Duelist short, if he doesn't show up soon then Seto might disqualify him," Kylie muttered.
However, such a thing was unnecessary as Isono came over to reveal that everyone had finally arrived so we were all shuffled to the stage and the lights dimmed. Isono made the announcement before individually calling everyone out as Yugi switched to Yami, a small introduction was given to each member revealing Leon hadn't lost a tournament yet, which stunned the two boys I stood with.
"The Chess Mistress! A tactical genius who skilfully lays decoys and traps! Katherine Hope!" Isono introduced. I moved out onto the stage and proceeded to give small curtsey to the watching audience. "The beautiful flower of Asia! Vivian Wong!" Isono announced. I looked over as the harlot did martial art moves and glared at her as she shot one back at me. I almost broke the glare when I heard Isono include deadbeat into Jounouchi's introduction but managed to swallow the laugh just in time "The man whose birthplace and identity is shrouded in mystery! The Legendary Duelist, Mask the Rock!" Isono added on.
I looked over at this person, simply because I didn't recognise the name and my eyes widen in surprise when I saw who it was, a black mask with the number six covered the person's face as a yellow domino mask – that didn't really hide anything – covered his eyes. I gaped at the man before twisting my head to look at Yugi and Yami who seemed equally surprised to see the man present.
"Known as the 'Untouchable Emperor of Europe'! Sieg Lloyd!" Isono announced. In response to those words, multiple girls screamed like fangirls and a rose flew across my vision, I looked over and saw the man. He was about as tall as Seto was with waist length pink hair that was styled in a Hime cut fashion and aqua coloured eyes, he wore palatinate purple suit with a black lapel which held a purple rose, black patent-leather shoes. Around his neck, he wore a cerise coloured frilled jabot adorned with a purple brooch and a golden watch was on his left wrist.
"And finally, the winner of our previous Battle City Tournament, Muto Yugi! As the Defending Champion, the Duel King will partake in a duel with the winner of this tournament, betting his title of duel King in the line!" Isono announced. My eyes widened in surprise at that little twist with Jounouchi vocalising his shared surprise. "The first round of the tournament will be decided at random by the main computer!" Isono revealed. That meant there'd be no chance of us being able to prepare for our opponents.
"The outcome's the same no matter what! I'll win!" Jounouchi declared. I looked at the boy and shook my head at his words, he'd clearly forgotten that I had defeated him the last time we face off, my eyes drifted over to Vivian before moving to Sieg as my lips were set into a determined expression before I gazed out to the crowd, spotting Kylie and Seto stood next to each other.
'Vivian, Jounouchi, Rebecca, Leon and Sieg… they're the only ones who matter. The ones standing in my way of a match against Yugi.' I thought.