"The Unfinished Business of the Masked Duelist"
By: Von Stupor
Von Stupor carried Téa to a room in the blimp while Yugi and the others helped Bakura recover from his exorcism. His body had been a vessel for so long that it had become slightly dependent on the spirit's presence.
He set Téa in her bed and sat in a chair next to it. Yawning, he reached into his mask and wiped the sweat from his forehead. It had been a very stressful duel. His head was pounding from his time spent in the Shadow Realm, coupled with the stress of maintaining Bakura's and Téa's safety. After a few minutes, he fell into a light sleep.
He dreamt of meeting Pegasus in person when he was awakened by the sound of Téa's voice.
"Where… what…" she said softly, holding her head. She turned to see Von Stupor and lunged over, embracing him. "Von Stupor, you survived! You survived…"
Von Stupor froze in shock, grasping the sides of the chair firmly.
"What happened to Bakura? Is he alright?" she asked.
"Uh… er…" Von Stupor struggled.
Realizing what she was doing, she let go of Von Stupor and leaned back into her bed quickly. She appeared very flustered.
"He… is alright," Von Stupor said finally.
"That's good. I have… something I need to tell you."
"My apologies, Téa, but now that I know you are well, I must depart," he said, sounding forlorn.
"But… why?"
"I have… unfinished business I must tend to immediately."
"Are we at Battle City already?"
"No, not yet."
"Then… what would you need to tend to on the blimp?"
"I… It's… a personal issue. I'd rather keep it to myself…"
Von Stupor then walked out of the room. Téa heard him apologize to her once more before he left her sight.
He marched down the hall and passed Yugi, Joey, and Tristan as they were en route to Téa's room.
"Hey Von, you're walking awfully fast. What's the matter?" Joey observed.
"I have something I must do," he replied without slowing down.
"What's that?"
"Something I should have done long ago… Something I may not have the strength to do again."
With this said, Von Stupor continued down the hall.
He's gonna propose to Serenity, Joey thought to himself with a chuckle. Nah, he wouldn't do that… would he?
"What's with the stern look Joey?" Tristan asked him.
"I'll be back, guys, I… er, I gotta go use the bathroom," he answered and hurried down the hall in hot pursuit of Von Stupor.
"But Joey, the bathroom's this way!" Yugi called.
"Yeah, but Kaiba's this way!" Joey called back without slowing.
He stayed a safe distance from Von Stupor and followed him back up to the top of the blimp. Von Stupor stepped outside and shut the door behind him. When Joey opened the door back up, he stood face-to-face with Von Stupor.
"Please leave, Joey," he asked.
"Sorry pal, I can't do that. I wanna know what's going on here."
"I appreciate your concern, but I must do this alone. I cannot risk another's safety." Von Stupor sounded very stern and out of his usual character.
"You mean you're not going to— I mean, no way! If it's for the common good, I want to help! I'm your friend, man, and you're not risking my safety at all. I'm risking my own safety for you, because that's what friends do for each other!"
Sighing, Von Stupor said, "Very well. You may offer support, but do not get involved."
"Sure thing."
Von Stupor then turned to the night sky and called out, "Majora!"
His mask then glowed as he spoke in Majora's voice.
"What do you want?" His voice returned to normal. "We must converse. State your business. Majora, I thought us to be friends, comrades, bosom buddies. Then it was revealed to me that you only wanted me for my body. Yes, go on. I thought a playful prank was in order. In other words, after my retribution was made, I forgave you, despite the magnitude of your wrong. What is your point? I'll get to it. Later, I found out that all this time, you protected me and provided justice when during the entire time, I could have done it myself. I was simply submitting to a win-win situation, Majora. What is your point?! Out of our deal, I got nothing and you got everything. This isn't all, however. While justice is being dealt, it is being dealt for all the wrong reasons. Where I deliver justice for the good of man, you deliver justice because it is your excuse to torture people. I was a fool to accept this deal and now I wish to call it off."
"Yeah! Way to go, Von!" Joey cheered. "You show that old fart who's boss!"
"You wish to call off our deal, do you? Yes, I… I have had enough. Ha ha ha… you do know that your mask will not come off unless I authorize its removal, yes? I do not wish to be rid of the mask, Majora. I wish to be rid of you. Wh…?! Insolence!"
"Oh, that was harsh…" said Joey, wincing.
"How dare you! Majora, how would you like to have my body, free for you to use without my interference? What? You… you wish to give your body to me? Yes, but under one condition. Oh? What condition is that? I want you to defeat me in a duel. Win it and the body is yours. There is another edge on this sword, I am sure. Yes, there is. If I were to defeat you, you will leave your mask to me with no further interference. The only way to win this… is in a shadow game, yes. If you win, my mind will be sent to the Shadow Realm, leaving my lifeless corpse here for you to possess for as long as you wish. If I win, however, your spirit will be sent to the Shadow Realm, leaving a lifeless mask with endless power at my disposal. Do you accept my challenge? I would be a fool not to. I laugh at the thought of someone such as yourself defeatingme, a spirit over 2000 years old at its own game. I have done this once, I shall do it again. Hmph! Fine, then. I accept your challenge, Baron Von Stupor. There are stipulations… Stipulations? Yes. I want this to be a fair duel. I don't want any strain on either of our minds and I don't want any kind of pain involved. Just you, me, and our cards, Majora. No distractions. Ha, ha, ha… Very well, then. It makes no difference at all, I shall still defeat you."
A black fog poured out of the mask's eyes, swallowing the area. Joey looked around himself.
"The Shadow Realm again…" he observed nervously. "Hey wait! Von, how are you supposed to duel Majora? …Von?"
He looked at Von Stupor and saw him standing with his arms spread, his chest stuck out. After groaning loudly, another Von Stupor burst from his chest. This one was not wearing a mask, but the shadows concealed his face.
"What the hell is that thing?!" Joey screamed loudly.
"Since I have no physical form, I must use the image of my vessel," the maskless Von Stupor said to Joey.
Joey inferred that the maskless duelist was Majora.
"Lemme see your face," he said to the spirit.
"Leave me alone, you pathetic little fool. I have a body to gain."
"Say that again, you—"
Just then, Joey was shot by a magical blast from Majora.
"Since the mask contains my power, I retain half of the strength that mask had, and I shall not hesitate to use it on your friend if you do not silence him."
"I told you," said Von Stupor to joey. "You may offer support, but do not get involved."
"Yeah, okay," he agreed, holding his head.
"I have created my deck," said Majora as a duel disk magically appeared on his arm. "…and I can assure you that it is a deck like none you have ever faced before…"
"I would not expect any less from an ancient spirit," Von Stupor mentioned.
"Let's duel!!!" they announced in unison.
I have another announcement to make. This next chapter may very well be the greatest chapter in the entire story, therefore I have found a midi clip that is absolutely perfect to listen to while reading the duel. I came across it by accident while typing the story up, and if you wish to increase your Von Stupor experience ten fold, I would suggest that you ask for the midi by sending me an e-mail at eternalpackrat@hotmail.com with the subject "duel theme". Anyone who asks for it, I will gladly give it to them, but on April 12, 2004, it will be safe to assume that I have forgotten why people send me weird e-mails with the subject "duel theme". Therefore, if you want the clip after this date, just be sure to let me know in the e-mail. I am human, after all, ha ha.