Here's the next chapter of Don't Forget guys! Enjoy.
xxxx
"As ve speak, thousand of Kaiba Corp's computer files are being deleted thanks to my undefeatable virus," Zigfried laughed.
"We'll see," Yami's voice held a tone of determination.
"If what Zigfried said is true, they need to get rid of that card pronto or Kaiba's going to lose everything!" Tea replied.
"But how are dey gonna do dat? Zigfried reprogrammed da card and made it indestructible."
"How about I solve this problem at the source and just throw that pompous freak off the side of this castle?" Alissa snapped, turning her head to glare at Zigfried. She saw Seto frown then turn to leave.
"Seto?" Mokuba called when he also noticed his brother leaving.
"Running from our problems are ve?" Zigfried mocked.
"I never run from anything. When I'm faced with a problem, I eliminate the source."
"Seto, wait up!" Mokuba ran after his brother. Alissa was about to follow but she stopped. She knew nothing about computers. She'd be more of a hindrance than a help if she were to follow. She had to trust that the Kaiba brothers would be able to solve this on their own. She was sure that they've gotten out of problems like this before.
"Leon, I know you didn't mean to trigger that virus. But if we work together we can stop it. I want you to duel with all of your heart Leon." Leon nodded.
"Thanks Yugi. If anyone can figure out how to fix this, it's you."
"Then let's duel!" Yami drew a card with a dramatic flourish. Zigfried smirked.
"The Golden Castle of Stromberg's special ability is automatically activated." The Dark Magician Girl on Yami's side of the field was forced to attack Leon's monsters. The attack rebounded, destroying the Dark Magician girl and dropping Yami's life points to 1700.
"No way! Your Dark Magician Girl is destroyed!" The slippers that were previously on Cinderella's feet reappeared, boosting her attack points to 1300.
"Cinderella's got her slippers back!"
"As long as my castle remains on za field, both players' monsters will be forced to do battle each turn. And as a fun little twist, vhenever one of your monsters is forced to attack, half of za monster's attack points are zen deducted from your life points. And zen the monster itself is destroyed," Zigfried explained with a smirk.
"Can he really make a card do dat?"
"I think he just did Joey," Tristan answered.
"What's the use?" Leon asked dejectedly.
"Leon we mustn't give up. Every card has a weakness. As long as we keep dueling to the very end, we'll find a way to take that castle down! I'll place this facedown and end my turn."
"My move!"
"Pardon me," Zigfried laughed, gaining everyone's attention yet again. "There's one more thing you should know. The Golden Castle comes with a price! In order to keep it on ze field, half ze cards in one's deck must be sent to ze Graveyard at ze start of each turn! Oh, and zis cost must be paid by Yugi!"
"Oh no!" Tea gasped.
"Congratulations Zigfried, you've just taken cheatin' to a whole new level!"
"That's it! I'm putting my fist through this guy's face!"
"Alissa don't," Tea warned, grabbing onto her sleeve.
"No, this guy deserves it! If he thinks he can go around ruining people's livelihood just because his company is a giant joke then he's wrong. Oh, and let's not forget about the numerous lives he put in danger with his stupid little hacking tricks!"
"Alissa, dis guy ain't worth it. Be da bigger person." Alissa shook her arm out of Tea's grip and crossed them in front of her chest with a frown.
"Fine."
"This is the strongest card I've ever seen."
"What?" Tea gasped upon hearing Mr. Hawkins statement.
"Me too," Grandpa Muto agreed. "Zigfried hacked into Kaiba's databases so he could give the cardholder an unfair advantage."
"How could you do this to me Zigfried?"
"I don't know vhy you're complaining Leon. Yugi is ze one vith ze disadvantage here so you should be thanking me. He just lost half his deck!"
"You disgust me!" Alissa yelled. "He's your brother! He looks up to you! He trusted you!"
"We can't let him get away with dis," Joey muttered.
"He won't," Alissa said in a low tone. "Seto will figure something out and that asshole will pay for hurting people. Especially his little brother."
"If I vere you I'd summon a monster Leon. Zis is a duel after all!"
"He's right Leon. Go."
"Well, I guess I'll summon Forest Wolf in Attack Mode."
"Now ze special effect of Golden Castle forces Leon to attack. Oh and look at zis, Yugi's defenseless!"
"Oh no!" Cinderella flung her shoes at the King of Games, dropping his life points to 400.
"Forest Wolf, finish him off!" Zigfried cackled.
"Yugi no!" Leon gasped.
"I reveal my facedown card, Dark Magic Retribution! Whenever my opponent's monster attacks, Dark Magic Retribution allows me to bring one spell caster back from my card Graveyard. I choose my Dark Magician Girl!" Leon's Forest Wolf was destroyed and his life points decreased to 1900. Due to the final effect of Dark Magic Retribution, Dark Magician Girl returned to the Graveyard.
"I can't even control my own monsters."
"We'll be fine."
"I hope he's right. That stupid castle made him lose half his deck! He only has fourteen cards left."
"He's safe Alissa."
"Yeah, but for how long?"
"Now," Yami continued, drawing a card. "Since three turns have passed since you played Spinning Wheel Spindle, my Queen's Knight returns. For my next turn, I'll place two cards facedown on the field. Next, I'll activate Card of Sanctity, which allows us both to draw until we each have six cards in our hand." The two duelists drew their cards then Yami continued.
"Now I summon my King's Knight in Attack Mode. Since Queen's Knight and King's Knight are both on the field, I'm able to summon Jack's Knight."
"If you're done vasting everyone's time, may I remind you zat your three knights are useless against my Golden Castle."
"I wouldn't count on it Zigfried. Now I activate my Royal Straight card! This card allows me to summon an extremely powerful monster from either my deck, my hand, or the Graveyard. So behold Royal Straight Slasher!" The three knights on Yami's side of the field disappeared to reveal a new one with 2400 attack points.
"And next I'll activate my Royal Straight Slasher's special ability. When I send one monster from each of the first five levels to the Graveyard, Slasher destroys every monster on my opponent's side of the field." For the first time since the duel began, Zigfried looked surprised.
"Way ta go Yug! Magic and Trap cards don't work on da Golden Castle, but monster abilities do."
"Level one, Kuriboh. Level two, my Old Vindictive Magician. Level three, Giant Soldier of Stone. Level four, my Big Shield Gardna. Level five, my Curse of Dragon. Now Slasher, destroy all his cards! Including his Golden Castle of Stromberg!" The creature attacked, destroying all of Leon's monsters and concealing his side in a burst of light and smoke. The crowd cheered,
"Yes! Way ta go Yugi!"
"See ya!" When the smoke cleared, to everyone's horror, the Golden Castle was still standing. Zigfried let out a triumphant laugh.
"Oh no! It's still there! Zigfried was right! We'll never be able to destroy it!"
"How is that thing still standing?" Tea asked. "Shouldn't it have been destroyed?"
"It should be a sandcastle," Joey agreed.
"Surprise, surprise." Zigfried chuckled.
"He must've protected his card from monster attacks too when he hacked into the database!"
"Oh no! But that means there's no way to destroy it!"
"Then I guess the duel's over," Tristan said with a frown. "Right Yug?"
"Not if I activate Time Travel. It allows me to temporarily remove one of my monsters from the field until my opponent's turn begins. That ends my turn."
"How noble of you. Your monster vould have been forced to attack and Leon vould have lost. But it vas all in vain. Now Leon, begin your turn so you can claim ze Championship crown!"
"Let's do this!"
"You know vhat happens now!" Zigfried declared triumphantly, cutting his younger brother off. "Deposit half your deck to ze Graveyard to keep my castle in play!" Yami smirked.
"I hate to disappoint you, but I can't do that." Zigfried frowned.
"But you must!"
"You're wrong. There's only one card left in my deck. That makes it impossible for me to deposit half of it into the Graveyard. So I suppose your Golden Castle of Stromberg has to go."
"Vhat?" Zigfried gasped. "Zat can't be!" Everyone watched as the castle broke into tiny golden pixels before disappearing completely.
"You did it!" Leon cheered.
"Get a load of Zigfreak!" Tristan laughed at Zigfried's shocked face.
"Ya schemed, ya cheated, and ya still lost!" Joey said triumphantly. Suddenly, Zigfried began to laugh.
"I think he's gone crazy," Alissa whispered.
"I admit, I'm surprised Yugi vas able to dismantle my Golden Castle. But in ze end, victory vill be mine!" Joey laughed.
"Yeah right. It's over Pal."
"On ze contrary my fashionably challenged friend, my conquest has only just begun. You may have stopped my virus, but not soon enough. By now, most of Kaiba Corp's gaming data has been permanently lost! Not to mention, Yugi has one more card left in his deck and zis duel is not over yet. Vhen he's unable to draw a card in ze next turn, my brother vins!"
"I'm quitting."
"Don't even think about it Leon. Now that your brother's castle is gone, the real duel can begin. You owe it to yourself to fulfill your dream and see this duel through to the very end. Right?"
"Right."
"Then let's duel!"
"Yeah!"
"I believe it was your move Leon. But first, since the effect of my Time Travel card is over, my Slasher returns to the field." Slasher reappeared on Yami's side of the field before Leon continued with his turn.
"Now I activate Monster Reborn. I'll use it to bring Cinderella back from the Graveyard. With her back in action, I can automatically summon my Pumpkin Carriage back to the field. Then I'll sacrifice Cinderella and my Pumpkin Carriage to summon Hexe Trude. Alright Trude, attack his Slasher!" Leon's monster attacked, destroying Slasher and decreasing Yami's life points to 200.
"Every time my Hexe Trude blows away one of your monsters, her strength increases by four hundred points. Alright Yugi, let's see what you've got."
"Here we go! First I place on card facedown. Then I activate Emergency Provisions. As long as I send on of my Magic of Trap cards to the Graveyard, Emergency Provisions will restore one thousand of my life points." Yami's life points slowly climbed to 1200 before he continued.
"Next I activate Monster Reborn."
"But why?"
"I'll use it to summon a monster you might know." Leon grinned when the King of Games' signature monster appeared on the field.
"The Dark Magician!" Leon's smile faded. "But wait Yugi, he only has 2500 attack points and my Hexe Trude has 3000."
"Yes, but now I reveal this, my Necromancy card. Its special effect brings back four random monsters from your Graveyard, then they're summoned to your side of the field in Defense Mode." Leon's Little Red Riding Hood, Forest Hunter, Iron Hans, and Iron Knight all reappeared on his side of the field.
"Your Hexe Trude loses six hundred attack point for every one of these monsters that is destroyed. Now, I reveal my next facedown card. Diffusion Wave-Motion! By sacrificing one thousand of my life points, Diffusion Wave-Motion allows me to use my Dark Magician to attack every one of your monsters." The Dark Magician raised his staff as it glowed.
"No you can't!" Zigfried exclaimed.
"Yes, I can. Now I will. Dark Magician attack!" The Dark Magician's attack destroyed every one of Leon's monsters and brought the freckled duelist's life points to zero.
"He did it! He won!"
"I'm ruined!" Zigfried wailed dramatically. Yami approached Leon with a smile.
"Well done Leon."
"Thank you. I…well," Leon stopped as tears coursed down his cheeks.
"You fought with honor under the toughest of circumstances and you never gave up. You should be proud of yourself."
"I don't know how to thank you," Leon sniffed before throwing himself at Yami's chest sobbing. Yami held him in a comforting hug.
"Oh vould you stop your vhimpering!" Zigfried scolded, walking onto the field. "It vasn't a total loss. It'll take years of programming for Kaiba Corp to replace what my devastatingly beautiful computer virus has destroyed! And in the mean time I'll-."
"You'll what? Take all my business away?" Alissa grinned and turned around to see that Seto and Mokuba had returned.
"You might've had a chance if your plan actually worked Zigfried."
"Vhat?" Zigfried screeched.
"The moment I laid eyes on you I knew you were a snake so I was more than prepared for your little scheme. My entire computer network has already been restored. So the only loser is you!"
"No I don't believe you! My strategy was flawless!" Alissa couldn't help but smile at Zigfried's plight. That's right. Suck a thick one you pink haired wannabe.
"Zigfried wait," Leon said, approaching his brother.
"Not now Leon."
"Look, even if your plan did work nothing would've changed. Can't you see that our families obsession with the Kaibas has ruined us?" Zigfried collapsed to his hands and knees with a dramatic sigh.
"Vhat's ruined us is zat I'm veak. I'll never beat Kaiba."
"That's the first sensible thing he's said all week." Kaiba said tonelessly. Leon kneeled in front of his older brother.
"Zigfried listen. It's not our family's losses that hurt us. It's our attitude. Strength isn't crushing someone. Dueling Yugi taught me that true strength is sticking with it when everyone else is expecting you to quit. Sure we may lose some of our business to Kaiba Corp but losing is a reason to try harder, not to give up. So let's go home and make Schroder Corp. the best company we can."
"Thank you Leon." Zigfried reached out and pulled his brother tight to his chest.
"Roland, let's wrap this up."
"The KC Grand Championship has come to a close. The winner and still World Champ is Yugi Muto!" The crowd broke into a thunderous applause.
xxx
"I'm so glad that's over!" Alissa sighed, falling back onto the couch in Seto's home office. The Kaiba brothers and Alissa had finally returned to the mansion after the stressful events of the tournament.
"As am I," Seto said dully, sitting in his office chair. He brought a hand up to massage his neck with a grimace.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." She rose from the couch and went to stand behind his office chair.
"Move your hand," she ordered, gently knocking his hand to the side.
"What are you doing?" he asked as she began to lightly massage his neck and shoulders.
"You should really consider investing in a neck pillow. It's like massaging out a boulder." She reached the section between his shoulder blades and he winced.
"Oh. Sorry. I can stop if it's too tense."
"No. It feels good." He shut his eyes and let himself relax into his chair.
"So what are we doing tomorrow?"
"I'm going into the office. You could come along too I suppose as long as you're not much of a distraction."
"But tomorrow is Saturday. Plus, school is opening again Monday, shouldn't you get rest?"
"I'll be fine."
"No. You know what, I'm putting my foot down. I've let you run yourself ragged for the past few weeks organizing this tournament and opening Kaiba Land. You need a break. You deserve a break."
"I have things to do."
"And I'm sure your employees can handle those things on their own. Kaiba Corp. won't fall to ruin with two days of absence." She stopped massaging his shoulders and came to stand in front of him.
"Please? You promised you'd take it easy after this tournament was over." He sighed slowly.
"I'll still need to check my email in case any emergencies arise but I suppose two days wouldn't hurt." She smiled at him.
"Thank you. It'll be great. We can have another game night. Last I recall; we needed a tie breaker." He couldn't hold back the small smile that came to his lips. Each day she was gradually gaining back more and more of her memories. He wasn't sure what was still forgotten, but she had remembered the majority of the important things.
"Is that a challenge?"
"You bet it is."
"I accept your challenge. When would you like me to destroy you?" She grinned at him with one eyebrow raised.
"Don't get too cocky Rich Boy. I won just as many games as you did. How about tomorrow afternoon?"
"It's a deal."
xxx
"Wake up Sleeping Beauty, I brought you breakfast in bed!" The brunet groaned and slowly pulled himself into a sitting position. He ran his fingers through his disheveled hair with a yawn.
"What time is it?"
"A little past ten. Now eat up," she answered, placing the food tray in his lap. He looked at his eyebrows rose in amusement.
"Are those Blue Eyes shaped pancakes?" She grinned broadly before sitting on the open space on his large bed.
"Yep! And they were a bitch to make, let me tell you. It was almost impossible to mold the dough. Then I couldn't get the blueberries in the right place for the eyes. And as if that wasn't enough, the batter was sticking to everything and of course it was getting all over my fingers so by the time I'd gotten it all off my face and fingers, I'd eaten half the batter and-." He cut her off by leaning forward and pressing his lips to hers for the first time since her accident. He pulled away abruptly.
"Sorry. I shouldn't have done that."
"It's okay." She closed the distance between them and tenderly pressed her lips to his. The hand that wasn't balancing the tray in his lap, slowly moved up to cup her cheek. The couple pulled away when the need for air became too great.
"Thank you for the breakfast."
"No problem. Meet me in the game room whenever you're ready okay?" She got up and headed towards the doorway. She stopped and turned to him.
"Hey Seto?"
"Hm?"
"Thanks for waiting for me."
xxxx
Oh the sap! Can you taste it? Do you have cavities yet? Guess who isn't dead? This girl! So, I'm done with my first year of college in two weeks…how weird is that? Hopefully this chapter wasn't too boring. I'm not too impressed with it, but I wanted to get something up. I have something big planned the next couple chapters, so expect a lot of action. Anyway, before I go on for too long, let me know what you guys think. I'm considering making this fanfiction a trilogy depending on how well this one does; so let me know if you guys would be down for that. Until next time, peace out girl scouts.