"A Gift for the Masked Duelist"
By: Von Stupor
Von Stupor awoke in Joey's arms. He was currently being carried.
"What is occurring, green jacketed one?" Von Stupor asked.
Joey looked down, surprised. Von Stupor waved at him and was put down.
"You all right, man?" he asked. "You zonked out just a second ago!"
"Oh, yes… That happens every now and again," replied Von Stupor.
"You mean when Majora is out…"
"Um, indeed. How did you know of Majora?"
"You might as well say he formally introduced himself during your sub-tournament match with Weevil Underwood. After the duel, Majora and Weevil froze for a moment, and the next thing I knew, Weevil was running away, crying!"
"Ah, Majora did something to him in the shadow realm. It's a bit complicated, but if one is in the shadow realm in the way Majora had Weevil, it is as if time freezes until one exits. It's… actually hard to explain."
"Uh, right. Hey, I got something to say about Majora. I remember him from Zelda, and he's a villain. Are you sure you wanna trust him? You never know, he may have his own intentions or something."
"It… is alright. I have Majora under control."
"Does it have anything to do with the bargain he told me about?"
"Eh, yes. It is actually not something I am proud of, but it is really the only way. You see—"
Just then, Nina came to Von Stupor.
"There you are!" she said. "After you collapsed, the crowd rushed over to you and I couldn't get through. Are you okay?"
"Yes, I am fine," Von Stupor answered. "By the way, I would like you to meet my friend Joey Wheeler. Joey, this is a duelist I met quite recently."
"Yeah, this is Mai Valentine, I know her!" he said.
"Not quite! More like an adoring fan. My name's Nina!" she said proudly. "By the way, Von Stupor, you never told me you knew Joey Wheeler! It's an honor to meet you in person!"
Joey nodded slowly, looking a tad worried. He turned to Von Stupor.
"Well, a friend of yours is a friend of mine. Anyways, I'm qualified for the finals, so I'm gonna meet Yugi and them at the card shop. You coming?" he asked.
"I must attain one more locater card," Von Stupor replied.
"Okay, we all agreed to meet each other at the card shop once we're qualified for the finals. I have everyone wait up for you."
"I thank you profusely."
"Excuse me," Nina said to Joey, sounding hesitant. "I was going to go to the finals with Von stupor to meet Mai, so… would you mind if I came along with you?"
"No, not at all! Mai might even be there already!"
Nina waved good-bye and followed Joey away.
Von Stupor combed Battle City over and over and found no other duelists. He tried many techniques to find them such as staying in one spot, going to popular hangouts, and even hanging out in dark alleys. Apparently, every duelist had been run out.
How am I to qualify for the finals if there is no one left to duel? He thought to himself.
Around sunset, he saw an ad for a local art museum. It mentioned a new ancient Egyptian art exhibit. Von Stupor figured that he would take his mind off of dueling for a short while and view it.
He took a bus and reached the art museum in a few minutes. It was very large, with two floors. In the corner of the first floor laid the ancient Egyptian exhibit. Von Stupor found it rather eerie that no one was inside the museum.
He looked at the exhibit and was surprised to find a large stone tablet depicting an image of two people, one of which looked just like Yugi. Behind the person stood the Dark Magician.
Coincidence or something more? he thought to himself.
He pondered this for a moment when his thought was interrupted by a woman's voice.
"The museum is closed," it said.
Von Stupor jumped and wheeled around to see a young woman. For some reason, her piercing stare seemed to burn straight through his mask.
"I apologize," said Von Stupor. "I shall leave now."
"That will not be necessary. I have been waiting for you. I have overheard many duelists talking about you, Von Stupor. You must have great skill."
"I am not one to judge my own skill. Do I know you?"
"No. I am Ishizu Ishtar. Like I said, I have heard many duelists talk about you. Your mask and coat are your trademark accessories."
"Cope."
"Cope?"
"It is a cape too, which makes it my cope."
She narrowed her eyebrows and turned to the tablet.
"It is no coincidence that the man in this image looks like Yugi. It is because Yugi has ancestors that trace back to ancient Egypt. Seto Kaiba bears the same heritage. You do too, Von Stupor."
"What? I hail from America, how can that be?"
"Yugi hails from Japan, which equally makes no sense, but I assure you, it is true. Allow me to tell you a story. Long ago, during the days of the shadow games, there was an evil sorcerer who battled against the pharaoh of Egypt. Those are the two men in this image. There was also one who stood against the sorcerer, alongside the pharaoh. Though he was the village fool, he was very strategic in his antics. He decided to utilize these strategic qualities and engaged in a duel against the sorcerer. The pharaoh tried to stop the fool, but once a shadow game has begun, it must be ended. Despite the fool's best efforts, the sorcerer overwhelmed him and defeated him with his trademark monster, the Blue-Eyes White Dragon. However, before the sorcerer could finish his incantation to banish the fool to the shadow realm, the fool threw a rock and hit the sorcerer, stunning him momentarily. The fool seized his opportunity and ran. He was never seen again. No one knows for sure what happened to him. Some say he hid in Egypt, some say he ran to America. Nonetheless, you are that fool's descendant. Do you understand?"
"Actually, you lost me after the word 'story'. What did you say again?"
Ishizu narrowed her eyebrows further, and explained again.
"Ah, I see," Von Stupor stated. "How do you know for sure that I am the fool's descendant?"
Ishizu chuckled, but quickly recovered.
"Er, my Millennium Necklace allows me to look into the past," she answered.
"Why don't you know what happened to the fool then?"
"It only shows me what I am supposed to see, and nothing more."
"So it wouldn't show you where I left my Wavebird wireless GameCube controller?"
"No."
"So your necklace… can it get in a bad mood and not show you anything?"
"My necklace doesn't have a mood."
"Then it's not alive?"
"No."
"Then how can it show you something if it's not alive?"
"Enough of this. You have heard of the ancient Egyptian god cards, correct?"
"Yes, three legendary beings of immense and supposedly unmatched power."
"I am willing to entrust you with one of them if that is what it takes to stop my brother and his legion of rare hunters."
"Marik's last name is Ishtar?"
"Yes."
"Your brother makes stinky cloaks."
This caught Ishizu off guard.
"…What???" she asked, confused.
"Never mind. I thank you for your offer, but I do not need a god card to defeat Marik."
"You do not need to use it. If you can prove your worth, I will give it to you to guard, so that it may not fall into evil hands."
"I must prove my worth for something of no use to me? There is no sense in that."
"Not quite. You see, I am the last remaining duelist in Battle City. I entered it to ensure that afterwards, the god cards would be returned to me, so that I may hide them, this time never to be uncovered again. Unfortunately, I was overpowered by the duelists of today, and am left with one locater card. Wager all of your locater cards to me, and if you win, you shall receive Obelisk the Tormentor to keep safe, as well as become qualified for the finals. If you lose, you will be eliminated, but I will progress to the finals to ensure the god cards' safe return."
"You would trust me to return your god cards?"
"Yes, because though your sanity may be in question, I know your heart is in the right place."
"It seems I have no choice then. I must defeat you to progress to the finals."
"Not exactly. My Millennium Necklace will not tell me who the god card will choose to guard it; therefore I must determine this myself. I have narrowed—"
"Your eyebrows?"
"No. I have narrowed the chosen down to two duelists: you and your opponent." She turned towards the shadows and said, "You may step forward now."
Out from the shadows stepped Seto Kaiba.
"I can't believe you're pitting me against a duelist who looks like a circus clown," he said. "It makes me question how straight your bearings are. First you give me a boring history lecture, then you try to tell me that destiny comes before skill, and now you want me to duel this dog for the right to own a god card? It pains me to think that someone of his level would actually have a shot at beating me."
"I have certainly heard of you, Seto Kaiba, and I assure you, I will not go down easily," Von Stupor cut in.
"Don't make me laugh… Not only will I destroy you and get the god card, I will prevent you from ever reaching the finals. My tournament doesn't have room for a third-rate duelist like you."
"Your many insults will get you nowhere, for it is our duel that will determine who is the better!"
Kaiba turned to Ishizu and asked, "Besides, if I am truly destined to have this card, why aren't you simply giving it to me instead of making me duel this pathetic excuse for a duelist?"
"The god card will choose who is truly destined to own it," she replied. "I never said that you were the destined one to own this card, I simply said you might. Baron von Stupor also has ties to Egypt; therefore I must administer a test to see who the rightful owner is. The god card shall choose the stronger duelist as its owner."
"Then hear this, Baron Von Stupor. The god card will choose me!"
Von Stupor, Kaiba, and Ishizu all stepped outside the museum and prepared to duel.
"Prepare to fall before my Blue-Eyes White Dragons, dog!" Kaiba taunted.
"Prepare for dinner! You will be eating it in a few hours!" Von Stupor retorted.
Each duelist drew their hand and began the duel.
"I'll go first," said Kaiba. "I'll set one monster and end my turn."
"I'll draw and set four M/T cards," Von Stupor announced. "That ends my turn."
"I'll summon the Goblin Attack Force, the strongest four star monster in the game! Next, I'll flip summon the Vorse Raider and attack you directly with both!"
The Vorse Raider slashed through Von Stupor's midsection and shortly after, a group of goblins rushed him. The assault left von Stupor with 3700 Life Points remaining.
"I don't even know why I'm wasting my time with you. You've already lost more than half of your Life Points, so you might as well say this duel is mine," Kaiba taunted once more.
"Hmph! As long as I have Life Points, I have not lost!"
Just then, someone opened their window and yelled out, "Hey! Some people like silence in the evening! You mind providing some?"
"You can just mind your business, you little punk. I'm trying to win this duel without having to put up with distractions like you," Kaiba called back.
Gasping, the boy said, "Seto Kaiba?! Wow!"
He tucked his head in the window, and before long, there were all kinds of people coming outside to watch the duel between Seto Kaiba and the newly renowned Baron Von Stupor.
"If I'm not mistaken," Von Stupor said, continuing the duel. "once you attack me with Goblin Attack Force, it goes into defense position and cannot move for the entirety of your next turn!"
"So what if you know a little bit about the cards? That doesn't make you any better of a duelist. Now make your move, I don't want to waste any more time than I have to."
"Your mouth will be your downfall. I'll set one M/T card and play 'Fissure', destroying the monster with the lowest attack on your side of the field, the Vorse Raider!"
"That won't do a thing except delay me further. I'll replace my lost Vorse raider by summoning a second! Next, I'll attack your Life points directly! Go; use Arts of the Raider attack!"
The new Vorse Raider leapt over to Von Stupor and butted him in the head with the handle of his sword. Von Stupor's Life Points dropped down to 1800.
"It's hard to believe Ishizu confused you for skilled duelist. That card is as good as mine, just admit it," Kaiba said coldly. "I set one M/T and end my turn."
Von Stupor chuckled.
"That's where you're wrong," he said. "Once my life points are below half, my chances of comeback are high. It seems that the lower my Life Points become, the harder my opponent must try to defeat me. I shall summon Senju of the Thousand Hands to attack your Goblin Attack Force while I fetch a ritual monster card from my deck!"
Senju dashed to the Goblin Attack Force. Seeing Senju coming, the goblins became aggressive. They charged Senju, with each one of them being slapped down by one of Senju's many hands. It wasn't long before they were destroyed.
"You may have destroyed my Goblin Attack Force, but that doesn't make your monster any less pathetic. First, I'll play 'Harpie's Feather Duster'."
No! Von Stupor thought. I have to activate 'Magic Jammer' to save my traps, but I'll have to discard Relinquished…
"I'll activate 'Magic Jammer' and… discard 'Relinquished'…" Von Stupor said, irritated.
"So you've sacrificed your own trademark monster to save your Magic and Trap cards. It's a shame you can't reborn it since it wasn't summoned properly. Now, Vorse Raider! Attack his Senju of the Thousand Hands!"
Vorse raider ran towards Senju but was blown back by an unseen force.
"I activate 'Negate Attack'!"
"You're only delaying the inevitable. Since my attack was negated and my Battle Phase ended, I have nothing else to do this turn."
"Like I said, my chances of comeback are high, and those chances are not letting me down! I shall sacrifice Senju to summon my Summoned Skull!"
"Hmph! It's still no match for one of my Blue-Eyes White Dragons."
"It will be once I equip it with 'Axe of Despair', which raises its attack to 3500!"
Kaiba's eyes widened.
"Go, my Summoned Skull!" Von Stupor ordered. "Attack the Vorse raider with Lightning Despair!"
The Summoned Skull charged the axe with electricity and dismembered the Vorse Raider's head and left arm with a backhand chop.
Kaiba's eye twitched with nervousness, but he played it off.
"I'll set this monster and end my turn. By the way, I don't care how strong your monster is, it will fall one way or another," he said.
"Summoned Skull, attack the set monster!"
"You just destroyed my Magician of Faith! Her effect allows me to return one Magic Card from my Graveyard to my hand when flipped!" Kaiba boasted. "Now I'll finally destroy your pathetic traps by playing my returned 'Harpie's Feather Duster'!"
"I shall counter with a second 'Magic Jammer', this time discarding 'De-Spell'!"
Kaiba clenched his fist and gritted his teeth. He set a monster and ended his turn.
"Like a great mind once said, 'Overconfidence is the greatest enemy!' I shall play 'Pot of Greed' and draw two cards. Next, I shall play 'Monster Reborn' to bring back one of your destroyed Vorse Raiders! Go, my monsters and attack his two remaining set monsters!"
Kaiba's third Vorse raider and Gemini Elf were both destroyed.
He drew a card and let out a devilish grin.
"The card I just drew will ensure my victory! I'll give you credit, Von Stupor; you were right about turning the duel around. However, you should have known that in the long run, I would emerge victorious."
"How would you prove this, he who decorates himself in belt straps?"
"I'll prove it by summoning Cyber-Stein! Normally, I wouldn't do such a reckless act, but you've gained too strong of an advantage, therefore I'll activate Cyber-Stein's effect! By sacrificing 5000 Life points, I may summon one monster from my Fusion Deck!"
Kaiba's Life Points dropped to 1400 and a Blue-Eyes Ultimate dragon stepped out of a portal.
"Now I'll first use Cyber-Stein to attack your face-down card!" he announced. "Cyber-Stein, Cyber-Stomp!"
The card was revealed to be a Man-Eater Bug.
"Ha!!!" shouted Von Stupor. "Your Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon is now gone as fast as it came!"
"This can't be!!!" Kaiba spouted in disbelief.
The Man-Eater Bug hopped into the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon's throat and crawled down its throat. After a minute, the dragon began howling uncontrollably. Soon, the Man-Eater Bug burst from its belly and its insides fell out. The Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon collapsed, destroyed.
Kaiba stood, awestruck.
"I shall set one M/T and use Summoned Skull to attack Cyber-Stein! Behold, for you are defeated!" Von Stupor declared.
"Hardly! I activate 'Negate Attack'!" Kaiba snapped back.
"Excellent move, Kaiba. Your turn begins now."
"I'll start by playing a 'Pot of Greed', which allows me to draw two cards. Next, I'll play 'Raigeki', which destroys all monsters on your side of the field! I'll also play 'Monster Reborn' and bring back my Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon! Go; attack his Life points directly with Neutron Blast!"
Von Stupor chuckled as the beam disappeared in front of him. Kaiba looked to see an odd object in front of Von Stupor.
"What is that thing?" Kaiba asked, confused.
"Ha, ha… Ha ha ha ha ha!!! That is none other than the 'Magical Cylinder'!!!"
"No!!!" Kaiba shouted, looking beside him.
There floated a glowing cylindrical tube. All of a sudden, the neutron Blast fired out of it, hitting Kaiba. His Life Points fell to 0.
The crowd fell into an awkward silence. Von Stupor and Kaiba stared at each other, Kaiba gaping, Von Stupor with his arms crossed.
Kaiba snorted and stuck his nose up.
"Fine, then. Take the god card. It will only be that much more humiliating when you're defeated in the finals. Either way, the god card will be in my hands at the end of the tournament. Enjoy it while you can."
With that said, Kaiba calmly walked away.
Von Stupor followed Ishizu back into the museum. As they did, the crowd murmured to one another.
"Did Kaiba really lose?"
"Who was that man?"
"That couldn't have been Kaiba!"
"I knew Von Stupor would win!"
"I just lost 3,729 yen…"
Inside the art museum, Ishizu spoke to Baron Von Stupor.
"Here is 'Obelisk the Tormentor'," she said, giving him the god card and locater piece. "Do not let it fall into the wrong hands. I trust that once this danger is vanquished you will return it to me?"
"Very well, then. I shall return Obelisk when the time is right."
"Thank you. Good luck in defeating my brother."