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 10: - Seto's Intrusion
All of us, both spectators and former competitors, had gathered in the main Duel Arena since Seto had summoned us to this place in order to watch the only remaining Semi-Final match. Katherine was stood in front of the rest of us, shuffling her Deck meticulously and her eyes set on the area and no doubt her mind was running at several miles per minute with strategies and tactics; eventually Katherine settled her Deck and slid it into her pouch.
My sister walked towards the Duel Arena and stepped up beside the blue podium as Sieg did the same across from her at the red podium, the ceiling proceeded to be drawn back and exposed the whole stadium to sunlight. However along with sunlight came the sound of chopper blades which drew everyone's attention up and I felt my eyebrows furrow together in confusion, as the helicopter drew closer I was finally able to see Seto – dressed in his normal clothing and holding a suitcase – hanging from a ladder connected to the vehicle.
Everyone was stunned by my friendly acquaintance's unexpected appearance, I also knew that it had nothing to do with managing this tournament, otherwise he'd have told me or Mokuba and would have been dressed in the white suit he'd been wearing lately. The helicopter lowered until Seto was in close enough distance and then the brunette CEO proceeded to let go of the land and drop down to land between the two Duelists, Katherine was confused from her eyebrows finished and her mouth opened slightly as she stared at Seto.
"That's the end! As organiser of this competition, I am now cancelling this match!" Seto declared. My eyes shot wide and Katherine's jaw looked like it was practically on the floor as loud sounds began to echo around the stadium with those sat around me being deeply confused as well. "And Katherine Hope will be the winner by default, as the second Finalist of the first KHI Grand Prix!" Seto declared. He'd been facing Sieg before but now spun around to stretch his arm out to Katherine who was stunned by this from her wide-eyed expression.
"Se… Seto what's going on?" Katherine asked. She seemed completely stunned by this sudden occurrence and even Mokuba had no clue what was going on, but I think I did, although I wasn't about to say anything until Seto had revealed the reasoning behind the disqualification, Sieg asked for Seto to explain what was going on. "Yeah! Seto, what are you doing?!" Katherine exclaimed.
"There's no need for me to explain. You should know more than anyone else here Sieg Lloyd. No… Siegfried von Schroeder," Seto responded. Yugi knew that surname and quickly clarified with his grandpa that they were the number one entertainment industry in all of Europe and Suguroku was curious to know if Seto truly meant that company when Seto had accused Siegfried of being a part of the company.
"Yeah, he means them. Seems my suspicion about Sieg was right," I agreed. Everyone surrounding me let out sounds of confusion and I turned to look at them. "During Jounouchi's Duel I remembered meeting a young boy with enough tech skills to pull of the hacking problem we've had and he was with a man whose surname was von Schroeder and had pink hair, so I told Seto to investigate any link between Sieg and them," I explained.
"So, Schroeder Company is a rival to Kaiba Corporation and Hope Industries," Anzu pointed out. I nodded my head to show that she was right, for once, although Hope's relationship with Schroeder was slightly more of a friendly rivalry but we still didn't talk much because we were technically enemies for customers.
"To think that the leader of the Schroeder Corporation would use a fake name and join in a tournament hosted by my Kaiba Corporation and strange incidents kept happening one after another. I've seen through everything, but I wanted a complete investigation of the reason behind it. But Siegfried, your unknown background and you using a fake name are the undeniable truth," Seto declared. As he did, I sensed Suguroku crouching down due to his pseudonym usage. "Just this is alone to disqualify you from this tournament!" Seto finalised.
"Don't worry Suguroku, I technically entered you under your real name, I just told everyone to address you by that codename you came up with," I reassured. However, Siegfried chose that moment to start laughing, as if the whole situation was funny in his eyes and perhaps as a reflex my entire muscular system proceeded to tighten up.
"I certainly did not expect the leader of Kaiba Corporation to be so petty. You are awfully wimpish," Siegfried stated. I heard two of us suck in breaths at that, knowing it was me and my mum who had done such with Katherine's expression showing that she was doing the same thing as Seto let a 'what?' slip from his lips. "That the winner of the KHI Grand Prix would be me, the leader of Schroeder Corporation seems to have given you quite the scare," Siegfried stated. An insulted expression crossed Katherine's face at the insinuation that had been made. "Mister Kaiba, our conversation here is being broadcast live all over the world, right? I am most certain Dueling fans all over the world would agree that Kaiba Seto is afraid of me, Siegfried, and wants to kick me out of this competition," Siegfried commented. Seto however allowed a mocking grin to appear on his face and he crossed his arms.
"I think you're mistaken. Who said anything about kicking you out? I'm going to prove to everyone that you aren't strong enough to reach my abilities," Seto stated. That caused cheers to echo from the rest of the stadium and Siegfried seemed intrigued by the suggestion of Seto being his opponent. "That was your motive from the start… wasn't it, Siegfried?" Seto questioned. He then had Isono hold the briefcase and opened it, removing his Duel Disk and Deck before attaching the mechanical contraption to his arm and slipping the Deck into it. "What's wrong? Perhaps you're the one who's afraid?" Seto wondered.
"Hardly the case. This is my honour, Mister Kaiba," Siegfried answered. The two then approached each other and swapped Decks, shuffled them and then they swapped back. "The winner can decide if he wants to go first or later," Siegfried stated. He pulled out a coin and flicked it into the air before ctaching it, Seto choose tails and it turned out to be heads. "I win. It would appear that fate is still on my side," Siegfried stated.
"Talking about fate just because you guessed a coin toss correctly. Enough of the chit-chant. Which will it be?" Seto snapped. Siegfried decided that he would go second and with that both of them turned around to head for the podiums that had been chosen. "You can get down Katherine," Seto insisted. My sister had stubbornly remained by the podium during the entire debacle with folded arms and an angry expression on her face.
"I could have taken him you know," Katherine stated. Without waiting for a response, my sister turned and head down before coming over to the rest of us, still obviously frustrated by the events as she sat down in the chair beside me. "You'd better give me a good Duel Leon," Katherine insisted to the boy sat behind her. Leon agreed to that as we all looked at the Duel that was about to get started as Seto connected his Duel Disk to the podium.
Seto – LP: 4000
Siegfried – LP: 4000
"My turn! Draw!" Seto declared. He pulled the card free and quickly looked at it. "I Summon X-Head Cannon in Attack Position! I set two reverse cards! Turn end!" Seto declared. The Monster and cards were set on to the field, I wondered about how well Seto was going to do against Siegfried's Valkyries and Goddesses but I knew that Seto was more prepared that Jounouchi had any chance of being.
X-Head Cannon – Attribute: Light, Type: Machine/Union, Level: 4, ATK/1800, DEF/1500
"It is my turn! Draw!" Siegfried stated. He pulled the card free and looked at it before turning his attention to Seto. "Kaiba. The prologue to destiny does not always start quietly. It will sometimes carry with it a storm upon opening the curtain on whim," Siegfried commented. Seto claimed to be disgusted by the words to the point of throwing up and ordered Siegfried to get on with the Duel. "But of course. My beautiful maiden warriors have begun laughing at you as they wait to assault you. From my hand, I activate a Magic card, Walkuren Ritt. I can Special Summon all the Valkyries in my hand," Siegfried revealed.
"What?!" Seto exclaimed. As Siegfried set the card, Ride of the Valkyries started to play once more as three armoured women astride horses appeared from stardust in the sky over our heads, although I only recognised two of them, Valkyrie Dritte was the one that I didn't know and I felt a weight press itself into my stomach as I wondered what this Valkyrie was capable of.
Valkyrie Dritte – Attribute: Light, Type: Angel, Level: 4, ATK/1000, DEF/1600
Valkyrie Erste – Attribute: Light, Type: Angel, Level: 6, ATK/1600, DEF/1800
Valkyrie Zweite – Attribute: Light, Type: Angel, Level: 5, ATK/1600, DEF/1600
"I activate the special Effect of Valkyrie Zweite!" Siegfried declared. In response, X-Head Cannon proceeded to shatter into pixels. "When Summoned, one monster on the opponent's field is destroyed and in addition, using the Special Effect of Valkyrie Erste, by removing a Monster in my opponent's Graveyard from the game, she can take on the Attack Points of that Monster for the duration of the battle. There is more, I activate Valkyrie Dritte's Special Effect! She gains one hundred Attack Points for every one of my opponent's Monsters destroyed," Siegfried explained.
Valkyrie Erste – ATK/1600 – ATK/1800
Valkyrie Dritte – ATK/1000 – ATK/1100
"Not good. With three Valkyries out and no Wall Monsters, Seto's in a heaping ton of trouble," Katherine stated. I nodded my head in agreement with her words as I focused on the face down cards. "Well, he would be if I knew this was the last turn, but it isn't," Katherine added on. A small smile had curved onto her face and I allowed a small laugh to escape from me as the tension that had pressed around our group faded away; Siegfried declared his attack, starting with Zweite.
"Reverse card, open! Attack Nullification!" Seto declared. The barrier immediately appeared once the card flew upwards and prevented Zweite from reaching him. "It negates the opponent's attack and ends the Battle Phase," Seto explained. Yugi celebrated this, since not only was Seto safe from attack but the Valkyries would all be kicked back to Siegfried's Deck. "Humph… what a short prologue. What are you doing?!" Seto snapped. Something was wrong since Siegfried hadn't removed the Valkyries from the field yet. "Ask those young girls to retreat already!" Seto ordered. Siegfried however laughed and looked down to his right and I followed his gaze only to find a Magic card with a mischievous looking girl holding a sceptre. "That is!" Seto exclaimed in shock.
"Kaiba, the prologue ended long ago and we have already moved on to the first chapter. Valkyrie Zweite! Attack the player directly!" Siegfried declared. Naturally everyone was confused as to why the pink haired man was commanding the attack despite the fact that the Valkyries should have been removed from the field due to the end of Walkuren Ritt.
"That Magic card is Mischief of the Time Goddess. It allows the player to skip ahead to their next turn, by passing any effects that might occur on that turn and their opponent's turn in its' entirety. So to speak, Siegfried jumped us forward in time," I explained. Mischief of the Time Goddess was an incredibly rare card, to the point I'd never seen it in the Duel but I knew of it by sheer fortune of being Pegasus' niece.
Valkyrie Erste – ATK/1800 – ATK/1600
Valkyrie Zweite galloped towards Seto who seemed startled and perhaps even frightened by the approaching attack as Zweite raised her sword and swung it downwards. Fortunately, Seto acted fast and quickly activated his other remaining face down which was the Trap card, Mechanical Magic Mirror, which allowed him to activate one Magic card in the enemy's Graveyard which was Mischief of the Time Goddess thus allowing Seto to skip towards his turn and ending Siegfried's turn, the crowd cheered as I huffed out a breath of relief.
"So, this time Sieg's turn is skipped and it's back to Kaiba's turn," Jounouchi stated. Mum stated her agreement to the blonde's words but since Mischief of the Time Goddess skipped straight to the Battle Phase, Seto couldn't attack like Siegfried could, so it instead moved directly to Seto's Main Phase Two; Seto took advantage of this by Summoning out a Monster, Z-Metal Caterpillar in Defence Mode.
Z-Metal Caterpillar – Attribute: Light, Type: Machine/Union, Level: 4, ATK/1500, DEF/1300
"Next, I Special Summon Clone Dragon from my hand in Defence Mode," Seto stated. Appearing on the field was a reptile that glowed in rainbow colours and was curled up like a foetus. "This card can only be Special Summon when a Monster is Summoned successfully. And it will take on the stats of that Monster," Seto explained. As he did, Clone Dragon raised its' head to stare at Z-Metal Caterpillar, beams shooting from it towards the yellow machine before Clone Dragon morphed to match its' appearance. "Turn end," Seto stated.
Clone Dragon – Attribute: Light, Type: Dragon, Level: 4, ATK/?, DEF/?
Clone Dragon – ATK/? – ATK/1500, DEF/? – DEF/1300
"Amazing. It's just beginning and it's already such an intense fight," Leon stated. It was certainly a twisting Duel, but I was able to follow it perhaps more easily than most since I had witnessed when Seto went all out against someone already, Katherine also seemed able to follow the Duel with simple ease for that same reason.
"You need to watch Seto and Yugi Duel, now that's intense," I commented. Honda commented that in this Duel, Seto seemed to be on the losing end whilst Yugi stated that with three Valkyrie's on Siegfried's field, Seto was in danger. "This is Seto though, I've only known him to lose to three people and none of them are Siegfried. I'm sure Seto will win," I stated. Everyone spoke their agreement and nodded their heads.
"You can continue struggling, Kaiba. Because I have skipped my first turn's End Phase, the Valkyries are not returned to my Deck and remain on the field. Looks like the Death God is still hanging around you," Siegfried stated. Seto however dismissed those words and angrily ordered Siegfried to get on with his turn. "My turn, draw. From my hand, I activate Valkyrie's Embrace! And I change Valkyrie Dritte to be in Defence Mode," Siegfried announced. The moment Dritte's horses curled its' legs down, Z-Metal Caterpillar proceeded to dissolve and vanished from the field. "By switching a Valkyrie into Defence Position, it allows me to remove the opponent's Monster from the game. And with one additional Monster removed from play, Valkyrie Dritte gains another one hundred attack points," Siegfried revealed.
Valkyrie Dritte – ATK/1100 – ATK/1200
"Bury that fake! Valkyrie Erste, destroy Clone Dragon!" Siegfried commanded. The teal haired warrior woman charged forward and swung through the Monster destroying it instantly. "Next, Valkyrie Zweite, attack the player directly!" Siegfried ordered. The pink haired maiden rode forward and swung her sword through Seto; all I could be happy for was that Siegfried wouldn't be able to attack after this one.
Seto – LP: 4000 – LP: 2400
"My turn, draw!" Seto declared. He seemed completely unconcerned about having nearly lost half his Life Points with one attack, Siegfried even commented on this fact as Seto pulled his card free. "I don't have time to bother with your useless attacks. From my hand, I Summon Jet Black Dragon in Defence Mode!" Seto declared. He had to play defensively until he could get rid of those blasted Valkyries. "I set one card and end my turn," Seto stated.
Jet Black Dragon – Attribute: Dark, Type: Dragon/Union, Level: 3, ATK/900, DEF/600
"It is my turn. Draw," Siegfried stated. He drew the card but didn't give it another look. "I switch Valkyrie Dritte from Defence back to Attack Position," Siegfried stated. The red haired woman's horse rose back up as she lowered her shield. "Next, I use Valkyrie Zweite to attack Jet Black Dragon!" Siegfried commanded. The pink haired woman rode forward and swung her sword, destroying Seto's only Wall Monster.
"Kaiba's Monster was destroyed again! Will he be okay?!" Honda asked. Everyone was concerned about how Seto would do against this man, although Yugi still held faith in Seto having a plan to get out of this situation and if I knew Seto as well as I hope I did then, that face down was going to be some amazing help before it got too dangerous for his Life Points.
"Reverse card, open! Flat Level Four! This card is activated when a Monster gets destroyed. Both players can Special Summon a Level Four Monster from their Deck. I Special Summon Y-Dragon Head in Defence Position," Seto declared. At least with another Monster on the field, Seto was able to protect his Life Points from being completely wiped out; Siegfried selected another Valkyrie Dritte to bring out causing a small groan to come from me at the sight of another Valkyrie.
Y-Dragon Head – Attribute: Light, Type: Machine/Union, Level: 4, ATK/1500, DEF/1600
"You should feel thankful that I restrained from offing you so soon, Kaiba. Turn end," Siegfried commented. Seto didn't bother to give the man another word as he instead got on with his turn, pulling a card free and he immediately used the drawn card which was Pot of Greed; this card let Seto draw free another two cards and I hoped they'd be able to help Seto get passed those blasted women.
"Then from my hand, I activate Dimension Fusion. By using two thousand Life Points I can Special Summon back all the Monsters that were removed from play onto the field," Seto revealed. Thanks to that card Seto was able to bring back the X and Z of his Union Monsters and Siegfried was shocked by the event that had just occurred.
Seto – LP: 2400 – LP: 400
Valkyrie Dritte – ATK/1200 – ATK/1000 (X2)
"He'll fuse XYZ together for a combo!" Yugi celebrated. Although Anzu was concerned about the price that Seto had to pay in order to bring the lost Monsters back with Honda adding on that he thought it was 'too much' but Seto rarely did things by half; Seto then proceeded to activate another Magic card, Soul Absorption which allowed Seto to regain five hundred Life Points for every card removed from the game.
"Next, I'll remove X-Head Cannon, Y-Dragon Head and Z-Metal Caterpillar from the game by fusing them into one Monster!" Seto declared. That would give him back a chunk of Life Points whilst also bringing out a Monster that was strong enough to blast through those blasted women. "I Union Summon XYZ-Dragon Cannon!" Seto declared. The three Monsters vanished from the field in blue light and returned in their combined form.
Seto – LP: 400 – LP: 1900
XYZ-Dragon Cannon – Attribute: Light, Type: Machine/Fusion, Level: 8, ATK/2800, DEF/2600
"That's a good move. By using the Summoning Requirements for XYZ-Dragon Cannon, he was able to replenish the Life Points he used as a cost for Dimension Fusion," Otogi compliment. Suguroku stated it was the kind of strategy to be expect from a champion, even a former one; Siegfried seemed angered by the sudden change of position that Seto had been able to take.
"True it is Seto's kind of move but both of Siegfried's Valkyrie Dritte gain a three hundred Attack Points because of the XYZ Monsters," Katherine stated. I was just glad that it wasn't too bit of a points boost but I could understand Katherine's stance as it meant any attacks sent at those Monsters would now deal less damage than normal.
Valkyrie Dritte – ATK/1000 – ATK/1300 (X2)
"Here I come, you phony Duelist! XYZ-Dragon Cannon, attack Valkyrie Dritte! Hyper Destruction!" Seto commanded. The beam attack was shot forward and quickly collided with one of the red-haired women and caused her to scream briefly before she shattered into pieces; at least the Life Point gap had been slimmed down now.
Sieg – LP: 4000 – LP: 2500
"Amazing. He brought them back to level playing field with just one attack!" Anzu cheered. It wasn't exactly level, Siegfried still had more Monsters and more Life Points plus we knew the kind of cards that were waiting in his Deck, especially those accursed Goddesses who had caused so much trouble for Jounouchi last time and I'm fairly certain were responsible for him losing alongside Nibelung's Ring and Valkyrie Brunhilde.
"As expected of Kaiba!" Jounouchi commented. However, the moment those words came from the blonde's mouth, I saw Siegfried's expression change from wide eyed and then into an impossibly stony mask; I knew the attacks were aimed at Seto so this was clearly something to do with Siegfried's feelings towards Seto but I couldn't comprehend what was causing such negativity to be felt by the pink haired man, towards my friend.
"It's my turn… I draw," Siegfried stated. His tone was different to what it had been before. "From my hand, I activate Nibelung's Treasure," Siegfried revealed. Honda quickly recognised the card and pointed it out to Jounouchi but I'm fairly certain the blonde remembered. "Nibelung's Treasure allows me to equip Nibelung's Ring onto one of your Monsters on the field," Siegfried explained. The card appeared and a ring with runes on its' surface looped around Y-Dragon Head. "I then draw another five cards. Due to the effect of Nibelung's Ring, the player cannot control the Monster that is equipped with the ring," Siegfried explained.
"And that's not all. In the next turn, Kaiba will be forced to draw two cards and if there's a Monster card, he'll be forced to discard that card to the Graveyard," Jounouchi added on. Siegfried then proceeded to Release Valkyrie Dritte in order to Advance Summon out something that he called Fortune's Chariot, the red haired woman vanished and a gold chariot with golden detailing appeared drawn by two horses from the sky.
Fortune's Chariot – Attribute: Wind, Type: Angel/Union, Level: 6, ATK/1000, DEF/2000
"What is that!?" Seto exclaimed. The horses galloped around the outside the Duel Arena before coming to a stop on Siegfried's side of the field and Valkyrie Zweite proceeded to leap from her horse in order to stand on the chariot as the horses reared backwards; Siegfried explained that Fortune Chariot could be equipped to a Valkyrie, slashing the Attack in half but allowing her to Direct Attack in exchange.
Valkyrie Zweite – ATK/1600 – ATK/800
"How can that be?" Mokuba asked. Siegfried commanded Valkyrie Zweite to attack, the chariot was pulled forward. "Brother!" Mokuba screamed. Zweite swung her weapon through Seto causing the brunette's Life Points to take another drop and his expression became incredibly strained as the chariot was pulled back to Siegfried's side of the field.
Seto – LP: 1900 – LP: 1100
"That is not all. From my hand I activate the Instant Magic Cyclone!" Siegfried declared. The spiralling vortex appeared on the field and I already knew what card Siegfried intended to destroy. "Destroy Soul Absorption!" Siegfried commanded. The only way for Seto to replenish his Life Points was wiped out and Seto pushed into a corner once more. "I set one card and end my turn. As Soul Absorption is destroyed, you cannot regain Life Points anymore. Also, as long as Fortune Chariot remains on the field, I can continue to execute Direct Attacks on the player. Kaiba, the curse of the Valkyries has only yet begun," Siegfried stated.
Valkyrie Zweite – ATK/800 – ATK/1600
"Seto's caught between a rock and a hard place. Plus, those Goddesses are still waiting for him," I stated. This was the worst kind of situation I'd ever seen Seto in, and that was saying something!