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

14. Chapter 14

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 14: - Brilliant Radiance

"You say, you are going to destroy Golden Castle of Stromberg?" Siegfried questioned. I looked up at the pink haired man with an angry glare pressed firmly into my eyes as I coldly stated the positive answer; the others were concerned about what would happen if I couldn't stop the virus in time alongside what we knew about the card that was causing so much trouble.

"Huh? Brother?" Mokuba called. I looked up and saw that Seto had turned around and was walking off with Siegfried making the stupid mistake of accusing Seto of running away; if there was one absolute fact about Seto then it was that he never ran away from anything, he might choose to close his eyes to somethings like magic, but he never turned his back and fled from anything, let alone an opponent.

"This Duel is Katherine's battle, I have my own battle to fight," Seto insisted. I knew what he meant, a pincher attack, he would work from within the computer whilst I would tackle the problem head on to expose a weakness; Mokuba and the grunt who had brought the information about Leon quickly took off after Seto, no doubt to support him in whatever manner that they could.

"Kathie, keep fighting!" Kylie called. I looked up at my sister as she seized Rebecca by the arm. "Come on Rebecca! Let's go help!" Kylie insisted. Rebecca nodded and the two of them took off as well, I took in a deep breath and turned to look at Leon knowing that I had to keep my promise to the young boy and figure out the weakness behind Golden Castle of Stromberg, all cards had them it was just a matter of time.

"Now, let's continue the Duel Leon. I want you to come at me with everything you've got. And I'll return with all my strength," I insisted. Only by continuing the Duel could I find any weakness to exploit within Golden Castle of Stromberg; of course such a thing required Leon being willing to continue the Duel with me as best he could.

"Katherine-san, I almost lost something I couldn't get back. But if I've still got a chance to save it, I'll just believe in you!" Leon declared. I smiled glad to know that Leon was still going to give it everything that he had in this Duel, I proceeded to start my turn and drew a card free, thus activating Hebe's Special Effect and increasing my Life Points once more, something told me I was going to need every point I could get.

Katherine – LP: 2400 – LP: 2600

"At this moment, one of the effects of Golden Castle of Stromberg activates!" Siegfried declared. I didn't like the sound of that, the way he said it implied at least three effects otherwise he would have just said 'the other effect' but my attention was immediately drawn forward once more as I saw Hestia's arms being yanked up like she was on some kind of string and fire soon shot from her hands.

The fire flew towards Pumpkin Carriage, but instead of the fruit being turned to soup, a barrier appeared in front of all of Leon's Monsters and the attack was rebounded, engulfing Hestia and causing her to scream as her own attack destroyed her. I was completely stunned by what had just happened and this was enhanced when my own Life Points suddenly took a drop of five hundred points.

Katherine – LP: 2600 – LP: 2100

Everyone was shocked by this event with Leon being wide eyed at what had just occurred whilst I pressed my lips together tightly, because Hestia was destroyed the Glass Shoes she'd been forced to wear were returned to Cinderella. With the return of the fancy footwear came an increase of Attack Points by one thousand points, which only made my current situation even worse.

Cinderella – ATK/300 – ATK/1300

"As long as Golden Castle of Stromberg exists, both parties are forced to battle one another. And when the opponent's Monster attacks, half of the Monster's Attack Points is dealt to the player as damage and the Monster is destroyed," Siegfried explained. Jounouchi claimed such an effect wasn't possible and Honda claimed the thing was overpowered.

"Yes. That's why there is supposed to be risks involved with using it," Suguroku admitted. Arthur added on that this came with a high maintenance cost but something told me that Siegfried had taken care of that in one way or another; I closed my eyes and started to think about what I could possibly do to get passed the dangerous effects present to me.

'Magic and Traps don't work. Summoning a Monster will cause it to be forced to attack and depending on the Attack Points, I might lose a chunk of Life Points. But with no Monsters I'll be under perpetual Direct Attacks. I can't win like this… but I can't give up either.' I thought. Whilst attempting to sort through my thoughts I heard Leon call out my name in a despondent tone and my eyes flew open.

"Leon! Don't give up!" Yami called. Both of us turned to look up at the ancient Pharaoh. "Katherine won't either! Both of you must fight until the very last moment! And break this horrible trap!" Yami encouraged. I nodded my head as Leon stared at the man with wide eyes, knowing that I needed time to create my counterattack, I selected a card and set it within the Magic and Trap zone then ended my turn.

"My turn! Draw!" Leon declared. He pulled the card free, but in that moment Siegfried claimed that everything we did was meaningless and that the card was an invincible castle; I definitely didn't like where this was going as that accursed castle started to glow which meant some kind of effect was beginning to activate.

"In order to keep Golden Castle of Stromberg in play, you must discard half of your Deck into the Graveyard every turn. And the opposing player is to pay that maintenance cost!" Siegfried declared. My eyes widened and Leon's mouth dropped open whilst everyone began to complain about this horrible twist that had happened.

'Damnit! I either lose all my Life Points or I risk Deck Out! I'm starting to think that Ra was a cake walk compared to this!' I thought. Suguroku explained the outrageous cost had been placed to make it difficult to use in a Duel but Arthur stated it had been changed to force me to be the one to pay the cost; Siegfried insisted that I pay the cost.

With a grimace on my face, I pulled my Deck free and separated the cards in half and slid the cards into the Graveyard before returning the remaining cards into my Deck. Everyone began to panic about this new rule as Siegfried insisted that Leon bring out another Monster onto his field via the Golden Castle's effect.

"Why not continue this farce before everything disappears? Na!" Siegfried insisted. We had no choice but to continue, it was the only way for us to even try and stop this castle; I insisted that we continue to Leon who seemed to be rather scared, perhaps realising how much danger my Deck was currently in thanks to Siegfried's machination.

"I Summon Forest Wolf in Attack Mode!" Leon declared. He still looked down as he played the clothes wearing wolf, but Siegfried immediately commanded the Battle Phase to begin and Honda immediately freaked out due to my practically empty field; Cinderella spun around and sent her shoes flying at me, causing them to break apart against my arms.

Katherine – LP: 2100 – LP: 800

"And now, the grand finale!" Siegfried claimed. Forest Wolf dropped down and quickly charged at me, leaping forward just as Leon called out my name but there was one way for me to avoid the deadly attack that was coming for me and I quickly activated it, causing a storm of pink petals to erupt between me and a hand clad in a thick leather glove burst forth to seize a hold of the wolf by the throat, cuaisng it to struggle and writhe.

"Thanks to your little hacking, Carer of Springs, Persephone was sent to the Graveyard allowing me to activate her first effect, Special Summoning a Monster also in the Graveyard for one turn and I chose to Summon Lord of Blacksmiths, Hephaestus!" I declared. The petals died down, revealing a dark skinned man with a bushy black beard dressed in a thick leather apron with tough hide pants and white cotton shirt, another thick leather glove covered his other hand and tools covered his apron and the belt hidden beneath it.

Lord of Blacksmiths, Hephaestus – Attribute: Fire, Type: Pyro, Level: 6, ATK/2000, DEF/2300

Forest Wolf writhed in in Hephaestus' grip as the man pulled out a large hammer and then swung it down hard on the wolf's head, causing it to be shattered apart. Leon proceeded to end his turn and this caused Hephaestus to be broken apart as Carer of Persephone's effect ran out and the blacksmith returned to the Graveyard.

Leon – LP: 2100 – LP: 1900

"My turn, draw!" I declared. I pulled the card free and looked at it before turning my gaze back to Leon. "It's been three turns since you activate Spinning Yarn Needle! That means Bearer of Youth, Hebe returns to the field," I reminded. The cupbearer appeared on the field and I immediately moved to select another card. "I set one card face down and Summon Bird of Victory, Nike in Defence Mode!" I declared. The Monster appeared on the field beside Hebe.

Bird of Victory, Nike – Attribute: Wind, Type: Avian Beast, Level: 2, ATK/1000, DEF/700

"Then I activate the Magic card, Treasure Cards from the Heavens from my hand! Using this card's effect both players draw from their Decks until they have six cards in their hands!" I revealed. Reaching for my Deck I proceeded to pull the six cards free from my hand and I knew what to do with the cards I had. "I then activate one of my face downs, Dual Summon! This card lets me Normal Summon twice in one turn!" I revealed. I then selected the card that I wanted. "I Release Nike to Advance Summon Carer of Harvests, Demeter!" I declared. The nature goddess appeared on the field

Carer of Harvests, Demeter – Attribute: Earth, Type: Plant, Level: 6, ATK/2000, DEF/2500

"No matter how many Monsters you Summon or how powerful, they are all wasted before Golden Castle of Stromberg," Siegfried stated. However, that wasn't going to happen since I knew what I needed to do in order to be victorious against that accursed castle that was causing so much trouble for everyone.

"And you're certain of that?" I asked. Siegfried as being far too confident at this moment but I could find a way past it. "Now I activate Carer of Harvests, Demeter's Special Effect! This allows me to send five cards in my Deck to the Graveyard in order in order to destroy every card on my opponent's side of the field!" I declared. Siegfried appeared shocked by this action, clearly not having expected the move I'd just made.

"I didn't think of that! Since it's a Monster Effect, she can destroy that irritating card!" Jounouchi celebrated. I pulled the five cards free and slid the cards into the Graveyard and vines immediately grew from Demeter's feet and flew out to wrap tightly around the Monsters and crushed the Monsters into nothing before all combining together and twisting around Golden Castle of Stromburg and crushing down, sending up a cloud of dust. "Alright!" Jounouchi cheered.

But when the smoke cleared, gasps of shock were ripped from the audience as a grimace appeared on my lips since that blasted mudball was still standing behind Leon. The boy was shocked by its' continued existence with everyone else expressing their own stunned feelings about the castle still standing strong after Demeter's effect.

"A pity it is," Siegfried stated. The spectators up above whipped around to look at Siegfried and started accusing him of being the one to cause its' continued existence, Jounouchi rightly claimed that this was going too far as it made the card basically invincible and Honda believed that they were out of options, but I couldn't focus on that at the moment as I selected another card from my hand.

"I activate the Worm Slip Magic card from my hand! I can remove a Monster on my field from the game until my opponent's next Standby Phase," I stated. Demeter was sucked into the card and I reached out to the next card. "I switch Bearer of Youth, Hebe to Defence mode and end my turn!" I announced. Siegfried assumed I was attempting to prevent my Monsters from being destroyed during the next battle and losing any more Life Points but believed it was a waste of time.

"Na, Leonhart! It is now time for you to drop the curtain!" Siegfried insisted. I looked at Leon who seemed concerned as he stared at me, but he took comfort from my sure gaze and proceeded to start his turn. "Na, Katherine Hope! As per the maintenance cost of Golden Castle of Stromberg, you are to send half of your Deck into the Graveyard," Siegfried insisted.

"Well, that's a shame. Because I can't do that," I commented. Siegfried was confused by those words as I allowed a slight smile to curl onto my face. "Take a good look!" I called. I raised my Duel Disk up to show my Deck to Siegfried. "I only have one card left in my Deck! In this situation, I can't meet the requirements for the maintenance cost. As a result, Golden Castle of Stromberg will be destroyed!" I declared. Siegfried was shocked but the castle proceeded to fall apart as Leon looked back with relief as the castle was destroyed.

"Katherine-san!" Leon cheered. Everyone began to celebrate that I had managed to get rid of that accursed castle, they even believed that Siegfried's plan was stopped in its' tracks, but then Siegfried began to laugh and I allowed a frown to pull at my lips, wondering what the pink haired man found so funny now that I had kept my promise to Leon.

"Honestly speaking, I am quite surprised. That you could manage to destroy Golden Castle of Stromberg! However, my victory has not changed! My virus program has already deeply invaded Kaiba Corporation's main computer! There is no doubt in my mind that it has already reached the Duel System. It simply means that you took too long to destroy Golden Castle of Stromberg! Plus, you only have a single card remaining in your Deck! The next draw you take will be your last. As soon as you draw your next card, you admit your loss at the same time!" Siegfried declared.

"Not true! It would be my defeat, only if I was unable to achieve victory on that turn since the Deck Out system would only activate on my next turn when I was unable to draw!" I snapped. Leon however looked confused as to what was going to happen and I looked at him as he closed his eyes. "Leon, no matter how impossible the situation may seem, I will fight on until I have no more cards in my Deck! Now that I've got rid of that unsightly trap, we can continue this Duel properly! Come!" I insisted.

"Katherine-san… yes!" Leon declared. He was ready to fight, that much I could seen and since it was now Leon's Standby Phase, Worm Slip activated and Demeter returned to my field. "I activate a Magic card from my hand! Resurrection of the Dead! I Special Summon Cinderella from my Graveyard! And when Cinderella is successfully Summoned, the Pumpkin Carriage can be Special Summoned! I then Release Cinderella and her Pumpkin Carriage! Advance Summon Hexe Trude in Attack Position!" Leon declared. The two Monsters were replaced by a mature woman.

Hexe Trude – Attribute: Dark, Type: Magician, Level: 8, ATK/2600, DEF/2100

"I'm going now, Katherine-san! Hexe Trude attacks! Destine Crush!" Leon declared. The woman lifted a hand and red light that was like fire and it shot forward, engulfing Demeter and causing her to be shattered to pieces and dealing a hefty blow to my Life Points, that Monster was the last obstacle I had to overcome in order to defeat Leon.

Katherine – LP: 800 – LP: 200

"When Hexe Trude destroys one of the opponent's Monsters, her Attack Power goes up four hundred points," Leon explained. That made it so that the Monster was nearly equal in strength to my Primordial Gods but two of them were sitting in the Graveyard alongside Primordial Origin, but there was a way for me to win now that Leon was done with his turn.

Hexe Trude – ATK/2600 – ATK/3000

"You've done well Leon, but you didn't finish me off that turn, that means its' over for you. My turn! Draw!" I declared. I pulled the card free and flicked it over. "I activate the Magic card, Resurrection of the Dead!" I declared. Sliding the card into the Duel Disk. "Come back, Gem-Knight Lady Pink Dia!" I declared. The Monster I'd won from Masumi in my first Battle City Duel appeared on the field, twirling her sceptre around before pointing it squarely at Hexe Trude who seemed concerned by what was standing against her.

Gem-Knight Lady Pink Dia – Attribute: Earth, Type: Rock, Level: 10, ATK/3800, DEF/3200

"I then switch Hebe into Attack Mode!" I declared. Leon looked to be starstruck by the situation that he was facing right now. "Gem-Knight Lady Pink Dia, attack Hexe Trude with Diamond Blast!" I commanded. The gemstone woman raised her sceptre causing a light to gather at its' tip before she brought it down, sending out a barrage of gemstones that ploughed into Hexe Trude who soon shattered into pieces with a small scream coming from her.

Leon – LP: 1900 – LP: 1100

"Now Hebe, Direct Attack Leon! Ambrosia Curse!" I commanded. The cupbearer raised the cup and proceeded to tip it over, causing the golden liquid to spill out and rush towards Leon who raised his hands to brace himself against the oncoming wave that slammed into him and leeched away the last of his Life Points.

Leon – LP: 1100 – LP: 0

"Leon, you did an excellent job of not giving up until the very end of this Duel. You are a True Duelist," I reassured. I walked up to the boy before speaking and he immediately started to cry at my words, so I moved and embraced the boy in a hug as sobs escaped his throat, he returned the hug as I reached a hand up to soothingly stroke his maroon hair.

"It matters not who the winner of the duel was!" Siegfried declared. I stilled my movements and looked up at the man with an angry expression on my face as he came storming towards us, almost feverish with his emotions. "In order to fully restore Kaiba Corporation's computers infected by my virus program, a great deal of time is needed! And during that time-!" Sieg began to rant. But he was swiftly cut off.

"You really think I don't have the skills for this?!" Seto demanded. I looked up and saw that Seto had returned with Mokuba, Kylie and Rebecca in tow. "You overestimated your own ability and made a serious miscalculation. From the moment you first made your move, I was analysing all possible scenarios and making necessary preparations. Restoration of the main computer has already finished. It no longer poses a threat!" Seto revealed.

"T-there's no way that's true I… I…!" Siegfried spoke. However, he seemed to be struggling for words, but Leon pulled himself from my grip and wiped away his tears before walking towards Siegfried, the younger boy insisted that Siegfried just give up, causing the man to turn and look at Leon. "Leonhart?" Siegfried questioned.

"I'm sure you know deep down, brother. That doing things like this won't get us anywhere," Leon insisted. Perhaps understanding Leon's words more than anyone else's, Siegfried dropped to his knees and wondered if he was unable to beat Seto from the start; Seto made an arrogant comment about no one being able to beat him. "Say brother, I've come to understand something after the events today… you can give up and let it all end. But as long as you never give up and keep trying, you'll be able to get somewhere eventually. I may not be able to do exactly what you'd like me to do. But I really would like to be of help to you, brother. Please share your suffering with me from now on, brother," Leon reassured.

"Leonhart," Siegfried spoke. He then moved forward and hugged his brother tightly, perhaps Siegfried did love Leon; Isono made the announcement that I had won the Grand Prix and it was now time for me to face off against Yami.