One Last Step

by DemonSessama

With the Oreichalcos God defeated, Kylie, Katherine and Yugi can turn their attention to restoring Yami's memories of Ancient Egypt but the unexpected return of an old enemy threatens to send things spiralling out of control, endangering them, challenges are overcome as long held questions are answered; but first a Dueling Tournament must be tackled. Part 5 of the Hope Chronicles

13. Chapter 13

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 13: - Golden Castle of Stromburg

"I'll then activate a Magic card from my hand! Iron Cage! This card sends one Monster on the field into the Graveyard!" Leon declared. He slid the card into the Duel Disk and it was projected, quickly followed by an iron cage covered in thorn vines which hovered over the field. "The one to be trapped within the Iron Cage will be… Iron Hans!" Leon declared. The cage proceeded to slam down on top of the Monster who soon flashed away.

"Eh!? His own Monster?" Anzu questioned. She apparently didn't understand why Leon did this despite the boy having explained it only moments ago; Leon reminded us that without Iron Hans on the field, Iron Knight's Attack was able to return to its' true power, which unfortunately made it stronger than Dionysus was.

Iron Knight – ATK/700 – ATK/1700

"I attack Child of Wine, Dionysus using Iron Knight!" Leon declared. The knight readied his lance and proceeded to charge towards the drunken god who snapped himself together just before the lance slammed into his form, driving a scream from his lips and causing him to shatter into pieces and dealing the first strike to my Life Points but I knew that it wasn't over yet as Forest Hunter was still on the field.

Katherine – LP: 4000 – LP: 3700

"Next, I'll use Forest Hunter to attack Katherine-san directly!" Leon announced. The man drew back the arrow and let it fly, causing the object to slash passed me, I flinched slightly as more of my Life Points were taken away, the crowd cheered but Honda was concerned since my Life Points had taken a bit of a hit just now.

Katherine – LP: 3700 – LP: 2500

"I will complete my turn," Leon stated. Leon was a truly skilled Duelist, it was just a shame that he was fighting with such a sad look on his face and that he couldn't fully throw himself into the Duel with all his heart; instead he was burdened terribly by his own brother, tasked with helping the family that had apparently shunned him for many years simply for being younger than Siegfried.

"This child is a True Duelist. Not only does he have superb talent and ability. He truly cares for his cards and the cards respond to those feelings. The love he has for the cards might even give Katherine a run for her money and perhaps even you Yugi. He truly enjoys Dueling from the depths of his heart," Suguroku admitted. But Leon wasn't enjoying Dueling now, not even a tiny amount and it was all Siegfried's fault.

"You're good, Leon. But I expected no less," I admitted. Leon claimed it was a pleasure to be praised by me because I was one of the people he had wanted to Duel against with his Deck; the boy turned his head to gaze at the stack of cards within his Duel Disk, a loving spark dancing within his eyes and he observed the cards.

"Even back when I was little, I never had any friends to play with. Reading books alone by myself, I was very lonely. When I became interested in Duel Monsters, I wrote your Uncle Pegasus a letter. 'I would like for you to make new cards based on old folklore'. And after he did, he sent them all to me. And I'm serious when I say that I want to defeat you Katherine-san! Using these cards that have always been with me! And for my brother, who's always believed in me! I will win this!" Leon declared.

"I understand Leon, more than you might realise. I didn't have many friends either, really only Rebecca and the Kaiba brothers could be countered among them before I met Yugi and his friends. Reading made the pain go away for a while, but when my Uncle gave me this Deck, a Deck of myths and legends, I found my best friends in the entire world," I added. I raised my fingers to press against the top card of my Deck as I allowed my eyes to drift close, feeling their vibrating warmth run into me. "But that's exactly why I can't permit you to win! My turn, draw! I Summon Bearer of Youth, Hebe!" I declared. Swapping the card, I'd just drawn for another which I played onto the field.

Bearer of Youth, Hebe – Attribute: Light, Type: Angel, Level: 3, ATK/1500, DEF/1400

"Your determination is strong, so I'll fight with everything I've got. I don't want to Duel you with any regrets, but it's already happened, the regret being that you can't throw yourself into this with all your heart like before," I stated. Leon's eyes widened. "Bearer of Youth, Hebe attack Forest Hunter! Ambrosia Curse!" I commanded. Hebe raised her cup and tipped it, causing the liquid to wash over and smashed into Forest Hunter causing him to be destroyed by the liquid.

Leon – LP: 3700 – LP: 3400

"I'll then set a face down card and end my turn!" I announced. Leon proceeded to start his turn and pulled a card free from his Deck which he looked at before turning his gaze back to me and revealed that due to Iron Cage's effect, Iron Hans was brought back to the field during his Standby Phase thus giving him another Monster but also lowering Iron Knight's Attack Points once more which was a bonus for me.

Iron Knight – ATK/1700 – ATK/700

"I activate Iron Hans' Special Effect. When I successfully Summon Iron Hans, I can Special Summon another Iron Knight from the Deck!" Leon declared. He brought out another Monster which forced me to face down three Monsters now. "I then activate a Magic card from my hand! Spinning Yarn Needle! Using Spinning Yarn Needle, I destroy one Monster on the field!" Leon declared. The spindle flew forward and pierced into Hebe, causing her to stumble and she began to collapse to her side as she dropped the Ambrosia filled cup.

"HEBE!" I screamed. She collapsed to the ground as Leon revealed that Hebe could be Special Summon to my field from the Graveyard in three turns; as Hebe vanished into nothing, the others were immediately concerned since my field was now wide open except for the face down card that was still present and it was my only line of protection against Leon's coming attack.

"And I Direct Attack Katherine-san using Iron Hans!" Leon declared. The bearded man charged towards me, but I quickly activated my face down card which was Holy Barrier – Mirror Force, causing Iron Hans' axe to strike against the rainbow coloured shield instead of it landing on my body whilst activating Mirror Force's effect.

"When a Monster attacks the Holy Barrier – Mirror Force, all of the opponent's Attack Position Monsters are destroyed!" I declared. Iron Hans was repelled from the barrier and shattered to pixels with both of the Iron Knights on the field quickly following after him thus preventing me from being harmed by any further attack from Leon, the others cheered at this, but Leon wasn't shaken by the action.

"I'm not done yet! I'll also activate the Magic card, Water of Life, from my hand!" Leon declared. A golden vase appeared on the field and it quickly overflowed with water, spilling onto the stone beneath our feet. "Using this effect, I Special Summon one Monster in my Graveyard in face up Attack Position! The one I'll bring back is… Iron Hans! And along with Iron Hans comes another Iron Knight! I Special Summon Iron Knight in Attack Mode!" Leon declared. Hans rose from the pool of water as the third knight appeared on the field.

"Just when she put them in the Graveyard," Honda complained. Rebecca called the flawless balance between all the different parts of Leon's Deck, the scariest part of it; Otogi claimed it made sense as to why Leon had managed to make it this far in the tournament, Leon then proceeded to end his turn which meant I could take over now.

"My turn! Draw!" I declared. I pulled the card free as a green glow came to surround my form thanks to Leon's Magic card. "Since you sent Hebe's to the Graveyard, her Special Effect activates which gives me two hundred Life Points during each of my Standby Phases!" I declared. It would only be a temporary measure and I needed to use this opportunity to retaliate against Leon as much as possible

Katherine – LP: 2500 – LP: 2700

"I activate the Magic card Pot of Green from my hand! Using this effect, I can draw two new cards from my Deck!" I declared. I pulled the two cards free, gland to have drawn a hand replenishing card even if it was only a slight amount "I Summon Guardian of Hearths, Hestia in Attack Mode!" I declared. The hearth keeper appeared on my field

Guardian of Hearths, Hestia – Attribute: Fire, Type: Pyro, Level: 4, ATK/2000, DEF/2500

"Go Hestia! Attack Iron Knight! Blazing Coals!" I declared. Hestia brought her hands together as fire began to rage and flicker around the limbs before shooting forward in a fiery stream which flew towards the designated Monster who attempted to take the blast with his shield, but it eventually burst through the metal and consumed the Monster whole.

Leon – LP: 3400 – LP: 2100

"Turn end!" I declared. The Duel had managed to shift but that could change with ease when it came to Leon's turn, he proceeded to start his turn and pulled a card free, he seemed surprised by the cards appearance and muttered something to himself; it was too quiet for me to hear but it seemed to be focused on the card he had drawn.

"I activate Pot of Greed! Using its' effect, I draw two cards!" Leon declared. He activated the card and pulled free two new cards but one of the cards he had drawn caused shock to appear on his face and I tensed up my body at that expression, ready for what was coming. "Brother! I activate a Magic card from my hand! Golden Castle of Stromburg activates!" Leon declared. He showed the card to me and I felt the breath get sucked out of my lungs.

"What did he just say!" Kylie exclaimed. As Leon activated the Field Magic, rainbow coloured lightning crackled off the Duel Disk as a castle made of the purest gold and shining with a radiant light appeared on the field behind the boy, everyone watching was shocked by the card's appearance but my family, Seto and the two grandfathers seemed to know what the card was… but then again so did I.

"I activate the effect of Golden Castle of Stromburg! I can Special Summon one Level Four or lower Monster from my Deck! I summon Cinderella in Attack Mode!" Leon declared. I was barely paying attention to his words as I stared at the castle behind Leon, attempting to comprehend what I was seeing right now despite how impossible it should have been.

Cinderella – Attribute: Light, Type: Angel, Level: 4, ATK/300, DEF/600

"When Cinderella is Summoned, her Special Effect activates! I can Special Summon Pumpkin Carriage from my hand or Deck!" Leon announced. As he did the old woman witch appeared and transformed Cinderella into her princess dress before proceeding to fly down and brought out Pumpkin Carriage.

Pumpkin Carriage – Attribute: Earth, Type: Plant, Level: 3, ATK/0, DEF/800

"And then an Equipment Magic! I can equip Glass Shoes to Cinderella!" Leon added on. The glass footwear appeared around Cinderella's feet and Rebecca immediately called out a warning to me given how much trouble Cinderella had given her during Rebecca's Duel against Leon; of course there was something more concerning to me at the present than the fairy tale princess and her glass shoes. "If Pumpkin Carriage is on the field, Cinderella can attack the player directly! Go Cinderella! Direct attack Katherine-san!" Leon commanded. Cinderella spun around and kicked her shoes at me, I quickly raised my arms causing the objects to smash against them.

Katherine – LP: 2700 – LP: 2400

"And when Cinderella attacks, Glass Shoes will be equipped onto the opponent's monster!" Leon announced. A glow came from Hestia's feet and the goddess pulled up her dress, revealing the glass shoes now strapped to her feet and she attempted to pull them off, to no avail unfortunately. "A Monster equipped with the Glass Slippers will have their Attack Power slashed by one thousand," Leon explained. Hestia was not happy about the footwear if the angry sizzling I heard was anything to go by

Guardian of Hearths, Hestia – ATK/2000 – ATK/1000

"This isn't good," Otogi commented. Jounouchi immediately snapped at the game maker, believing that there was no way I was going to be defeated so easily but Rebecca made the very pointed question of asking what the Golden Castle of Stromburg was, the others proceeded to look at the younger blonde girl whilst mum and Kylie seemed very worried and Yumiko was looking so lost at the moment from her head flicking from side to side.

"Golden Castle of Stromburg… do you mind telling me how you managed to play an illegal card, Leon?" I questioned. The moment I spoke the emphasised word, Leon's expression shifted, his eyes widened and his mouth unhinged whilst a pale shade slapped itself firmly across his skin. "You didn't know, your expression said it all. Who gave it to you then? Was it your brother?" I questioned. Leon seemed to start trembling across his entire body as his gaze lifted up to look at the pink haired man standing with Seto and my dad.

"I never thought I would see that card here of all places!" Arthur stated. Suguroku agreed with his old friend's words, everyone else had fallen silent at my question but now they seemed to have recovered themselves and turned to face the two old men, catching my sister's strained expression and mum's concerned one.

"Grandpa, what do you mean and why did Katherine-chan call that card illegal?" Yugi asked. Rebecca also asked for information, but Otogi seemed to catch on that something was wrong and seemed to know what Golden Castle of Stromburg was given his reaction to what the two men had just said, Kylie allowed a sigh to escape her as she leaned heavily on the railing in front of her.

"Among the many cards that my younger brother created there are a small number of rare cards meant as prototypes," Dad spoke up. Everyone turned to look at the man who was glaring at Siegfried with an intense expression across his face. "These prototypes are prized articles. The Golden Castle is in fact one of these cards," Dad revealed. Jounouchi then proceeded to ask why the card was being played here.

"I heard that it was offered up as a prize for a contest about seven years ago," Suguroku admitted. Arthur then took over and explained that because the card was a prototype, the card could never be used in regular Duels. "It's one of the many legendary cards that collectors would do anything to get their hands on," Suguroku admitted.

"The von Schroeders no doubt managed to get their hands on the Golden Castle and Siegfried used his hacking skills to force the card system to register it as a legal card, allowing Leon to activate it," Kylie added on. Jounouchi immediately claimed that, by all rights, it was technically cheating; Seto accused this action of being Siegfried's main goal when he had hacked into the main computer.

"Whatever do you mean? I simply obtained a rare card and handed it to Leonhart. But don't you think it is an appealing gesture? A retired card once created by Pegasus is now about to place you in a bind. Truly an ironic meeting of fate, wouldn't you say?" Siegfried responded. Seto claimed that Siegfried calling it fate was nonsense and believed there was no chance of anything Siegfried doing being able to help him win this Duel. "I realise you intend to continue the Duel, but you can still throw in the towel," Siegfried stated.

"I never go back on what I say. It will continue," Seto decided. As the brunette CEO turned his gaze away, I notice that Siegfried had a rather satisfied expression on his face which set my teeth on edge; I turned back to look at Leon who seemed truly stunned by all the information that had just been thrown about, particularly about the legality of the card that he had just used.

"It can't be… it's a card my brother gave me," Leon spoke. Siegfried called out to reassure his brother that since the card had materialised onto the field meant that it was a legal card and encouraged Leon to show the capabilities of the card. "But…," Leon spoke. He seemed truly unsure about what was happening during this duel.

"Siegfried, you scumbag!" I hissed. The depths to which this guy stooped was unbelievable, I couldn't believe that he was doing this and using his own brother to do it; the others began to yell insults up at Siegfried with mum no doubt protecting Yumiko's ears like she had the last time someone had spoken like that.

"Leonhart! We must win by any means necessary!" Siegfried insisted. Leon was currently looking down at his Duel Disk, a morose expression clear on his face. "Whatever we end up doing, all that matters is that we win in the end! It's for the Schroeder family! Our mother is sure to be ecstatic!" Siegfried encouraged. He was really pushing Leon to use that card, which only made me even more concerned about it staying on the field.

"But…," Leon spoke once more. It almost seemed like he wasn't able to speak out against Siegfried, perhaps because of how he had been treated when he was younger, he didn't have the courage to stand up against his brother like I did whenever I disagreed with something Kylie thought or did; me and Kylie were like equals but Siegfried and Leon seemed more live a superior and subordinate.

"Sieg!" Yami yelled. I looked up, seeing that the Pharaoh had taken Yugi's place, perhaps the anger had caused it to happen. "You've hurt not only Dueling itself but the very souls of us Duelists! You have no right to even call yourself a Duelist!" Yami declared. He had become enraged by the actions that Siegfried had taken, that much was clear in his voice.

"Duelist's soul, you say? And just what will that get you?!" Siegfried demanded. My eyes widened in shock at his words and my mouth opening slightly, did he not understand what Dueling meant despite being so good at it. "Dueling is meant as nothing more than a game!" Siegfried declared. That sealed it, he had no idea just how important Duel Monsters was, what made it special to the people who enjoyed it.

"Sieg! Don't you understand!? All the Duelists who have fought in this tournament and everyone out there rooting for us. All of these people have gathered around us! People from all over the world who love Dueling! And even Leon, who's fighting for you with every ounce of his heart! You've hurt the feelings of every single one of these people!" Yami declared. He was right about the wounds that Siegfried had dealt with his inability to understand and cruel actions.

"Playing hero now, are we? How inexperienced you are," Siegfried mocked. I could see Kylie, mum, dad, the Hopkins, Suguroku, the Kaibas and all of Yugi's friends holding in reactions desperately seeing as they knew as well as I did that Yami had plenty of experience given his three thousand year long existence, ancient Egyptian lifestyle and learning from Yugi, plus all the crazy junk we'd all been through together.

"Brother, do you really not believe in me? That's why you did this?!" Leon exclaimed. Siegfried simply claimed that it was to cover all the bases and ensure that Leon won, claiming Leon had done enough to prove himself to Siegfried and insisted he continue the Duel. "I said I'd do anything if it meant helping you out, brother… but I don't want to use this thing! Magic card, activate! Cyclone!" Leon declared. He had pulled a card free and used it, the swirling winds appeared.

The swirling winds spiralled around the Golden Castle of Stromburg as Leon announced that he was destroying it causing the people who were watching to celebrate the event. But when the winds died down, the Golden Castle was still standing there, causing my eyes to widen as a lead weight settled itself into my stomach and Siegfried immediately started to laugh which caused my hand to clench into a fist.

"It is truly unfortunate Leonhart! But you have no other choice than to obey me. Golden Castle of Stromburg cannot be destroyed by Magic or Trap cards!" Siegfried revealed. That shouldn't have been possible, that effect was never put into the card's text, the rest of my family alongside Suguroku and Arthur seemed baffled by this turn of events.

"That must mean he altered the card text data!" Mum exclaimed. Seto seemed completely struck by what was happening now, Siegfried whipped around and declared that his true method of revenge was about to begin; it was at that moment that Mokuba realised something was wrong and quickly drew his brother's attention to this fact.

"Did you think bypassing the limiter's suppression on this card was the only thing I did? Golden Castle of Stromburg is but the switch. The very moment the card was activated on the field, my virus program started," Siegfried revealed. Seto gave the order to activate Anti-Virus software instantly after the words had left Siegfried's mouth. "You are too late. All of Kaiba Corporation's programs operate at an intense, swift speed. By the time this Duel concludes… Kaiba, you will lose all of the Duel Monster's data you have collected!" Siegfried explained.

"You bastard!" Seto damned. Yami snapped out the man's name once more, this situation just kept getting worse and worse the more that Siegfried kept talking; we had to do something to stop the virus from causing anymore destruction to Kaiba Corporation, but I couldn't think of any way to do that since it was technical stuff and that was squarely in Kylie, Rebecca and Seto's department.

"I'm sorry… it looks like I can't… listen to what you say brother," Leon stated. I looked down at the boy, seeing a saddened look plastered across his face as he looked at his Duel Disk. "I love Duel Monsters, if I were to lose it, I'd… with my own two hands…," Leon stated. However, Siegfried swiftly informed the boy that it wouldn't be of any use as the virus wouldn't stop if he surrendered. "No way!" Leon exclaimed.

"However, there may be a way to stop its' quickness. And that is… to destroy Golden Castle of Stromberg in your Duel!" Siegfried declared. Well that made it almost impossible as the others kindly pointed out, without Magic and Trap cards to destroy it we'd need to rely on Monster Effects but who knows what kind of effects Siegfried had coded into the Golden Castle, it could do anything and I wouldn't know!

"Leon, let's continue the Duel," I insisted. Leon seemed surprised by those words and blamed himself for the trouble. "You're wrong Leon, you're a True Duelist who loves Dueling from the bottom of his heart. Even now, that hasn't changed. And that is exactly why you can't give up. Fighting with all you've got, that is what a Duelist is and you need to show that to your brother!" I stated. We had to keep going if we wanted to find a weakness to the Golden Castle and stop the virus.

"I promise you Leon, I'll tear apart this trap he's woven! Just believe in me!" I insisted.