Good Day Readers and welcome to the sequel to Pain of Betrayal, Pain of Loss! Thanks to all of you for the support and I hope that you all enjoy this latest edition of the Hope sisters.

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, a video tape or something in a language that isn't Japanese. I would appreciate any responses that you have, please enjoy

Chapter 7: - Be Revived!

All we could do was believe in Jounouchi, the inability to dispel the Barrier was infuriating but not giving up faith in our friend was the most we could do in this moment, the moment we stopped believing in him was the moment that Jounouchi would lose. I tightened my grip on Kylie's hand and she returned it in turn, it was the only source of comfort that we could offer to each other in the situation.

"Come on man… if he doesn't figure out a plan this turn, Jounouchi will lose!" Honda stated. However, his gaze quickly jumped down to me and I shook my head, Jounouchi wasn't going to lose on this turn but that meant nothing when it came to the turn that came afterwards or those that came later. All we could do was sit and wait for the end to come, whilst praying that our blonde friend was able to survive the Duel.

"The one who loses will have their soul sealed. I don't want to see that happen to Mai-san or Jounouchi," Anzu admitted. All of us could probably agree with those feelings, we didn't want to lose the knucklehead or the vixen to such a twisted method, but without a method to ensure either one's protection or the destruction of the Barrier then we were, as the saying goes, up a creek without a paddle.

"A tie could work," Kylie admitted. I looked at my sister as did everyone else, each of them confused by the words that she had spoken. "Well, if it works like other Shadow Games, they can't take more than one. I've seen it myself. But that will be difficult to accomplish in the situation," Kylie admitted. Tying a Duel was difficult under normal circumstances, but intentionally tying a Duel with such a Life Point gap present… I don't know if it could be done.

"No matter how many times he gets up, it'll end the same. Just one more attack and Jounouchi's soul will belong to us of Doma!" Valon declared. The brunette then turned his head to look at the blonde behind him with a grin on his face. "Right Rafael?" Valon asked. The blonde made no response, but I saw he was holding a pendant around his neck as he focused on the Duel below them.

"I'm not convinced. Not until that little bitch's face pales as she loses her 'friend'. Then I'm convinced," The pinkette commented. Her eyes were glaring at me when she spoke, did she know of my ability? It wasn't like I hid it like my magic, so she could have but I couldn't figure out why she seemed so angry at me. Valon frowned at her before turning his eyes back to the Duel, I focused my gaze on it as well, waiting for Jounouchi to make his move.

"I Summon Magical Gigacyber to the field in Attack Mode!" Jounouchi declared. He pulled the card free and showed it to Mai, who parroted the last part of the name, before placing it onto his Duel Disk. "He's a Level Six Monster but if the opponent has at least two or more Monsters than I do on the field, I can Special Summon him to the field without sacrificing!" Jounouchi explained. The Monster was projected onto the field and I tightened my grip on Kylie's hand as butterflies churned my stomach.

Magical Gigacyber – Attribute: Dark, Type: Warrior, Level: 6, ATK/2200, DEF/1200

"I use Gigacyber to attack Harpie Lady!" Jounouchi declared. The newly summoned Monster charged over and dealt a heavy blow to one of the bird women, causing her to scream in pain from the force of the attack before shattering into pixels; at least now Mai would take some damage to her Life Points, but he still had a long way to go before he was safe from harm.

Mai – LP: 4000 – LP: 3600

"At least he finally made a counterattack," Honda admitted. Anzu was quick to question whether Jounouchi seriously want to fight Mai, Yami was quick to explain that Jounouchi had realised the best way to end this Duel; Anzu's eyes widened as she recalled what Kylie had mentioned only a few moments ago, if Jounouchi aimed for a tie and succeeded then both of our friends were safe and that meant that me and Kylie could intervene to protect Mai from those Doma creeps.

"This Jounouchi fella's got pretty energetic all of a sudden," Valon admitted. Rafael claimed it was because he was a Chosen Duelist, I looked at Kylie and saw her own eyes were narrowed in suspicion at those words; was there some kind of prophecy connected to this God's revival or had this Dartz of theirs' decided specific Duelists to target. "That doesn't change the fact that Mai will win," Valon stated. I raised an eyebrow at those words as a hum escaped from the red head beside me

"The way he believes in her is almost adorable. Why did he have to be a nuisance?" Kylie commented. I shrugged my shoulders, unable to give her an answer, normally such a scene would be sweet and heart-warming but the presence of that blasted Barrier and the high probability of one of my friends having their soul ripped out doused such feelings before they even got to embers. Jounouchi had decided to set one card face down and he ended his turn, leaving it up to Mai now.

"Looks like you're finally serious, Jounouchi," Mai commented. The blonde agreed with his opponent's words and claimed he'd be as ready as ever, a small laugh escaped from the friend turned foe. "This is what I'm talking about! I've been waiting for this! To finally be able to move past this utter nonsense of friendship and fight you with all my heart! And I'll win!" Mai declared. She flicked her hair as she spoke and I felt a deadly chill curl down my spine at her words.

I didn't want to lose my friends, but Mai was going to make it as painful as pulling teeth for Jounouchi to even try and end it in a tie, let alone succeed; I rubbed my hands over my face as I felt like crying in that moment. If there was some kind of magic that I could use to avoid this predicament, I would have but the Oreichalcos felt ancient, so ancient that I wasn't sure my paltry powers or even Kylie's would be able to shatter it, even with the augmentation we both had from our respective accessories.

"My turn! Draw! With all the power I've mustered, Jounouchi, I'm going to beat you!" Mai declared. She had moved to point at the one opposing her after pulling her card free, clearly showing her resolve to win this Duel despite the risk to someone she cared about; Jounouchi's expression was unseen due to his back being to us, but it was probably some kind of troubled expression and I felt like the butterflies were getting worse in my stomach.

"Yami-kun! Kylie-san! Guys!" A familiar voice called. All of us spun around and I actually felt a smile come onto my face when I saw Otogi standing behind the shutters that were currently imprisoning us, Honda and Anzu quickly rushed over to the sectioned off outside and Honda asked why he was here. "That's what I want to know! Why are you Dueling in a place like this? Isn't that Jounouchi-kun Dueling Mai-san?" Otogi asked. He had been surprised to see us from the shocked undercurrent in his voice, which meant he'd come to Industrial Illusions for another purpose.

"We don't have time to explain! There's something terrible happening!" Anzu exclaimed. Honda was a bit more coherent as he informed Otogi of our situation and requested for the game creator to find a way to open the shutters from the outside; Otogi agreed to try and I saw the raven haired boy take off to the left as he looked out which would be his right then.

"Now all we need is Seto to show up and the gang's all here," Kylie commented. Frankly, I'd probably be more relieved than I was then Otogi appeared, if Seto actually decided to show up in the next few moments; Seto could light a fire under Jounouchi which only Yami could overcome, he might just annoy Jounouchi into successfully tying against Mai.

"I Release two Harpie Lady Copies. I Summon Harpie's Pet Dragon!" Mai announced. The two chosen Monsters turned into spirals of wind before vanishing as Mai slapped the chosen card onto her strange Duel Disk – seriously, how did these people get access to the blueprints?! – and I heard Kylie release a groan of annoyance as the ferocious dragon emerged onto the field.

Harpie's Pet Dragon – Attribute: Wind, Type: Dragon, Level: 7, ATK/2000, DEF/2500

Harpie's Pet Dragon – ATK/2000 – ATK/3400

"That is the worst Monster she could have brought out!" Kylie exclaimed. The Oreichalcos, combined with the numerous Harpies on the field, empowered Harpie's Pet Dragon to immense levels; I might have actually been feeling a little faint upon seeing that strength… the only thing that saved me was that even as Mai declared the end with her attack, I knew that wasn't the case.

"Reverse card, open! Compensation Mediation! This card allows me to shuffle it with two cards from the opponent's Graveyard. If I can pick this card from the three cards, for this turn, all battles will be forced to a close," Jounouchi declared. Anzu was shocked that he was willing to take such a risk when chances of victory were only one third.

"Yes! But this is aimed at the person who was crazy good luck! Any bet Jounouchi takes, I'd probably back," Kylie admitted. I nodded my head to agree with her, Jounouchi had – multiple times to all of our disbelief – displayed just how incredible his luck was and even turned the tables in some of his most difficult Duels; Honda quickly pointed out that failure to succeed would lead to his loss whilst Valon believed he was struggling right to the end.

"No! If he truly is one of the Duelists whose radiance shines brighter than all others, he might pull it off," Rafael insisted. He was an odd one, Jounouchi insisted that Mai select her two cards and by sheer instinct I knew the ones she would choose, the two Formation cards; low and behold I was right, with the cards selected Jounouchi handed his card to Mai and the blonde proceeded to shuffle the trio.

The Monsters faded away so that no one's view would be obstructed to the coming scene, Mai slid all three cards into Monster zone, causing their face down states to be projected and I swear the tension was so thick that a pin could cut it. Plus, the silence was so immense that, that very same pin could be dropped and we'd all be able to hear it for several seconds after the event had occurred.

"I choose… this one!" Jounouchi declared. He pointed at the middle card and I felt my mouth run as dry as the Sahara as we waited for the card to rise up, my heart pounded loudly in my chest as I felt Kylie's grip on my hand tighten despite the clamminess that started to occur, soon the card's artwork was revealed and I sucked in a breath. "YES!" Jounouchi cried. The artwork of Compensation Mediation stared back at us.

Anzu and Honda celebrated whilst the four Musketeers over our heads gaped in shock at the victory of Jounouchi's luck, Kylie wiped the back of her hand over her forehead as if she'd been sweating whilst Yami's tense posture relaxed marginally. Mai picked up the cards and her Monsters returned to the field, Anzu was relieved that Jounouchi had managed to make it through this turn, but there was a price to pay for using that Trap card she didn't know about.

"But Compensation comes with a high price," Yami admitted. The other two looked at the three of us whilst Mai congratulated Jounouchi as she threw the card back to the blonde, Jounouchi took that opportunity to reveal the price he'd paid to use such a card; the two cards Mai had picked were placed at the top of her Deck. "Vermillion Bird Formation and Fenghuang Formation… no matter which she uses they're both powerful cards. One of the two will be added to Mai's hand when she draws," Yami admitted.

"The battle may be over, but my turn isn't over yet! With the effect of the Oreichalcos Barrier, I move two Harpie Ladies to the back row! Also, I set two reverse cards! Turn over!" Mai announced. The two bird women teleported to the safety of that second line which meant Jounouchi couldn't attack them until he got through that beefed up Pet Dragon; Gilford the Lightning could do it but getting and keeping three Monsters out would be tricky at the moment.

"My turn! Draw! I set one reverse card! Also, I Summon a Monster in face down Defence Mode! I switch Gigacyber to Defence Mode!" Jounouchi declared. Valon mocked those moves but given the risk that was coming for him next turn, it was the safest path to take as if Vermillion Sparrow was drawn then Mai would just attack. "SHUT UP! Shut your trap!" Jounouchi snapped. This however just made the brunette biker laugh at our blonde friend.

"You're awfully calm in this desperate situation, Jounouchi," Mai admitted. Jounouchi claimed that it was something he'd learned from Battle City, about never giving up until the last second. "My turn! Draw!" Mai declared. She pulled a card free and I wondered which card it could possibly be, what danger Jounouchi could possibly be about to be placed in.

"Reverse card, open! Drop Off! I won't let you draw!" Jounouchi declared. But Mai was quick to retaliate as she swiftly activated one of her face downs which was Trap Jammer, thus allowing her to keep the card that she had just drawn. "Shit! Which card did Mai draw?" Jounouchi panicked. Mai was cruelly kind enough to reveal that she had got the better of the two for the situation as she set the card she just drew.

"That means it's Vermillion Sparrow Formation, not Fenghuang Formation," Yami stated. Mai wasn't going to let Jounouchi have any room to breathe as she ordered Pet Dragon to eliminate Gigacyber, causing the Monster to be surrounded in pink-red flames and this was quickly followed by an attack from one of Mai's Harpies, spreading through the face down Monster that Jounouchi had out, causing it to be flipped over.

Fibre Pod – Attribute: Earth, Type: Plant, Level: 3, ATK/500, DEF/500

"Hot diggity damn! I activate the Reverse Effect of Fibre Pod! All Monsters on the field, our hands and the cards in both our Graveyards return to the owners' decks and then we shuffle them!" Jounouchi declared. If this worked then Jounouchi would be able to actually get through more easily to Mai's Life Points, especially without that blasted Dragon sitting square in his path.

"Not bad at all, Jounouchi. But that's useless! Reverse card open! Harpie's Feather Blizzard!" Mai declared. Another Trap rose up and from it a storm of feathers roared out, it was probably similar to Harpie's Feather Duster given the name and appearance of the effect it unleashed. "This card effect can only be activated if my Harpie attacks. It makes all my enemy's Special Effects invalid!" Mai declared. The wind eventually died down and all of Mai's Monsters remained on the field whilst Jounouchi was wide open to attacks.

"Jounouchi's Monsters were all destroyed again!" Honda panicked. This was certainly a sticky situation; all we could be thankful for was that the Copy Tokens were incapable of attacking and that was what most of Mai's bird women were made up of after Gigacyber destroyed one of them earlier and Mai sacrificed two to get her Dragon.

"My turn! Draw!" Jounouchi declared. He pulled a card free and looked at it before promptly dropping the card onto his Duel Disk. "I Summon a Monster in face down Defence Mode! Turn over!" Jounouchi declared. I felt a muscle in my jaw jump as I gritted my teeth tightly together, he hadn't been able to do anything, which meant if that Monster was destroyed then Jounouchi would take its' Attack as damage and there was a chance that he'd lose the Duel.

"My turn! Draw!" Mai declared. Once she did, my eyes widened in shock and I attempted to sort out what I was currently feeling without giving anything away to those watching us. "I activate a Magic card from my hand! Fenghuang Formation! Destroy his Reverse Monster! Now I win!" Mai declared. The three bird women she had, jumped into the air and turned into the same blue bird from last time, it fell towards Jounouchi's Monster. "Yes!" Mai cheered. The other two panicked as Kylie and Yami gripped each other's hand whilst Kylie tightened the one she already had around me; I simply kept staring ahead.

The attack fell down and impacted the projected card, causing it to flip over and reveal the Monster that had been hidden beneath it. Shocked gasps escaped from Yami, Kylie and Mai as their eyes widened whilst I smiled slightly upon seeing what had been brought out. My sixth sense had said Jounouchi wouldn't lose and now I could see why as the Monster shattered and Mai called out its' name.

Neko Mane King – Attribute: Earth, Type: Beast, Level: 1, ATK/0, DEF/0

"Right! Neko Mane King's Attack is zero! So, the effect of Fenghuang Formation that deducts the destroyed Monster's Attack Points from the player's Life Points becomes meaningless!" Jounouchi exclaimed. That move had protected him from that loss, the three bird women returned to their normal form and landed behind their pet. "Also, Neko Mane King's Special Effect is activated! If you send it to the Graveyard in this turn due to a Magic, Trap or Monster card effect the opponent's turn is forced to an end!" Jounouchi revealed. By the skin of his damned teeth, that was how he had survived that turn, even Honda said the words as he and Anzu looked close to collapsing.

"This dude just doesn't know when to throw in the towel. He just delayed his defeat for a single turn," Valon commented. Mai, seemingly annoyed, commanded Jounouchi to knock it off and that if he still thought about saving her then he was stupid; but true to form, those words bounced right of Jounouchi as he refused to give up, causing Mai to click her tongue.

Jounouchi seemed to be intensely focused, likely on the fact that he was close to losing, his head tilted to look at his Deck and that was when I felt a power begin to grow. Suddenly, a light appeared from mine, Kylie, Yami and Jounouchi's Deck which yanked our attention to each of them and the three of us outside the boundary pulled the cards free. It was the Wing of Aspasia, I quickly looked at the other two and they nodded their heads, indicating it was their dragons.

"Could it be?!" We all asked. The glow became much stronger, enough to surround all four of us and blank our vision completely.

*Yu-Gi-Oh*

The light faded and we were back in the Duel Monsters Spirit World, inside the Dragons' Palace as I'd taken to nicknaming it, inside the room where the Dragons were imprisoned. Me, Kylie and Yami managed to stay floating in the air but me and my sister had to quickly grab Jounouchi when he almost went flying passed us as the orb of light he'd been brough in vanished.

"W-Where is this?" Jounouchi asked. He looked around, complete confusion present in his expression. "Mai? What happened to the Duel?!" Jounouchi wondered. We explained what the place was to the confused blonde and his honey brown eyes were almost immediately drawn to the last remaining dragon, a sword speared through its' foreleg that was right in front of us. "This sword," Jounouchi spoke.

"It's for you," I stated. Jounouchi looked over at me, confusion evident in his eyes as I nodded my head towards the sword. "Only you can lift that sword. And with the Dragon's power I'm sure you can save Mai," I insisted. Jounouchi audibly gulped as he reached his hands out to the sword before him, he slightly pulled back as his eyes widened in shock.

"I feel it. Something spoke to me through this sword!" Jounouchi exclaimed. He tightened his grip on the sword and started to pull the weapon free, cracks appeared in the ice until it was free and the final dragon was released; like the other three this one was a Western Dragon with reddish-brown scales, a plethora of spikes covered its' back as a horn emerged from its' rounded snout. "Nameless Dragon, I know your name! Your name is Hermos!" Jounouchi exclaimed. The light returned, once more blinding my vision.

*Yu-Gi-Oh*

When the light faded, I was back in the real world alongside the other three, Jounouchi looked back at us and we kept our gazes firmly planted on the boy; although I did hear the four Musketeers above freaking out about the Oreichalcos reacting and the Nameless Dragons interfering. At least that confirmed my suspicions, the Nameless Dragons were meant to fight the Dark God that these wackos were attempting to resurrect.

"What are you doing?! It's your turn!" Mai exclaimed. Jounouchi turned back around and focused his gaze back on his Deck, he got on with his turn and drew the card, seemingly shocked by what he saw and I knew that it had to be the Dragon; the four of us who understood what was going on smiled at each other.

"I'm counting on you… Hermos! Please lend me your power!" Jounouchi pleaded. He held the card up to the light and I could hear a dragon roaring in the air as Mai's eyes widened at hearing Jounouchi's words.