"Darkness Absolute"

By: Von Stupor

Chapter 8

Dolimus reappeared in Domino and found his bag right where he set it down. Judging by the semi-dark sky, he noticed that no time had passed. Dennis had been right. He gathered his bag and contniued his day of school.

Joey refused to talk to Dolimus for the entirety of the day, or even acknowledge his existence.

Soon, it came time to leave school. Yugi caught up with Joey, who was walking home, rather than to Yugi's with the group due to Dolimus's presence.

"Joey! What's the matter?" Yugi asked, concerned.

"Don't worry about it," he stated.

"Joey, come on. It can't be that bad."

"Dolimus made me look like a fool, an' on top o' dat, he's got his stupid pretty boy eyes on Serenity!"

"Joey, I have to talk to you about him. He's not what you think he is."

Yugi, you said he will not listen, thought Yami to his other half.

I know, but for some reason, I think I can sway him this time, Yugi replied.

"What? There something fishy about him?" Joey asked sternly, grabbing Yugi by the shoulders.

"Joey… he's the vampire that's been prowling Domino! I bet he's the start of the whole thing!"

Joey stared at him for a moment, and stepped away, sighing.

"Yuge, now's not da time fer ghost stories, I'm shaken over him as it is."

"Joey, I'm not joking. I'm telling you, he's not what you would think he is. Think about it! He never eats any food, he's completely pale, he claims to be photosensitive (think about how he never exposes his skin to any natural light), and he has horrendous physical strength for someone his age and size…"

Joey stared at him for a moment.

"You're really startin ta creep me out, man. Quit it," he ordered.

"Joey, I think he got to Téa, too. She can't keep any food down; she also said that she gets sick if she's outside too long, she's growing photosensitive as well! She attacked me, Joey… I saw her fangs; you have to listen to me!" Yugi cried in a panic, shaking Joey by his arms.

"Okay, Yugi… ya got me considerin it now. Even dough I can't believe Téa attacked you, I'll give you da benefit o' the doubt. Suppose he is a vampire and is after Serenity. How do we stop him?"

"I don't know… but if we can prove he's a vampire to Serenity, I think we'll have a fighting chance."

Yugi and Joey discussed a strategy all the way back to Yugi's house.

"Say, how about anotha good old game of Truth or Dare, eh guys? Should be fun!" suggested Joey.

"Eh, sure why not?" Tristan said.

"If Tristan's in, than I'm definitely in." agreed Bakura.

"I'll play!" yipped Yugi. "Are you in, Dolimus?"

"Sure, I'm always up for a game, Yugi," he consented.

"I'll play too," Serenity added.

"Alright, I wanna go first!" Joey cut in. "And for my target, I choose… Dolimus!"

"Oh? Why Joey, you're talking to me again, how grand," joked the man. "I suppose I'll go with truth this time around."

"Okay, here goes! Have you ever sucked blood before?"

Dolimus about fell over, and looked at Joey with slight surprise upon recovery.

"You know, like have you drank it," Joey reiterated. "Ya look like ya have!"

"Well. I actually have tasted blood before, but then, what child hasn't? I'm sure we've all had a bloody nose before, and became curious."

The others nodded in agreement, and Joey and Yugi looked at each other.

Dolimus then said, "Now for my target, I'll choose Yugi."

"Okay. I'll choose dare."

"I want you to plant a nice, sensual kiss on Joey's neck."

"Wh-what!"

Everyone laughed while Dolimus leaned back smugly. "It's either your friend there or his sister. Either will be fine."

Serenity raised her eyebrows in surprise. Joey promptly grabbed Yugi by his head and shoved it into his neck, rubbing it around and nearly smothering him.

"I sensed a lot of emotion in that one… eh, Joey?" Dolimus joked.

Ignoring him, Yugi spoke, a fake smile on his face, "Actually, I would like to choose Dolimus for my target, too. I have something good planned for you!"

"Is it just me, or have we just become background characters for their little games?" Tristan mumbled to Bakura.

"Don't ask me, this is the first time I've been invited over in three months next Thursday, I believe," he whispered in reply.

"I think I would prefer a dare this time…" Dolimus stated flatly.

"I dare you to go outside and scream out the number of people you've been on dates with!" Yugi dared him. "It is night time now, so you don't have to worry about the sun."

"Gee, - Yugi," Joey poorly acted. "That – dare – sucks. Could – you – not – think – of – something – better?"

"Well, - Joey," Yugi said, also acting poorly. "I – thought – it – would – be – funny, - and – I – was – really – just – curious – about – how – many – people – he's – dated."

Dolimus narrowed his eyebrows, and left the room to fulfill his dare.

He knows something is up now, Yami stated. I can tell. Just play the game like normal, and he should come to you.

Gotcha, Yugi replied.

They heard Dolimus cry out, "I lost count around thirty-five!"

Serenity widened her eyes with utter surprise.

He came back in with a serious look on his face and began to grab his things.

"I'm very sorry guys, but I have to be home early today. I will see you all tomorrow," he said.

As he stepped out of the room, he turned and said, "Actually, I wouldn't mind speaking to Yugi or Joey in private for a moment. Nothing serious, though."

He walked out of the room and Yugi leaned towards Tristan, Bakura, and Serenity.

"Okay guys, you follow close behind and listen to our conversation. I know what it will be about, and you guys will know the truth about Dolimus," he ordered.

Everyone save Joey nodded their head, intently.

"I'm gonna go with Yuge," Joey stated.

The duo followed behind Dolimus while the rest of the gang trailed them. As the two stepped out of the door, they saw Dolimus standing further away in the street, his back to them.

"So I assume you're trying to expose me to the world, starting with the rest of your little circle of friends, I assume?" he asked, completely serious.

Yugi spoke up and said, "We know you're a vampire, Dolimus."

"Yes, I already deducted that with your poor show in your room. Now I want you to tell me how."

"Yami helped me figure it out. He's the spirit of an ancient pharaoh that exists inside my Millennium Puzzle, and the first one to have suspicions about you. Without him, I'd have never known your little secret."

"I see… yes, I would expect a pharaoh to know about my race… Which one is he? I know his name isn't really Yami." Dolimus asked, turning around to face the two.

"This ain't da time fer friendly talk, Dolimus! Ta think I trusted you…"

"What is your problem with that which you do not understand?" Dolimus asked, raising his voice suddenly. "Why is it that when people hear 'vampire, vampire' they automatically think 'Satan, evil'! Listen, sure we suck the blood of humans, but we are simply predators among them! Can you really blame us for just trying to survive?"

Yugi then shifted into Yami.

"Draining the life fluid of another and mutating them into one of your own against their will is wrong, and you will pay for your deeds!" Yami shouted back to Dolimus.

"What am I supposed to do, then? Just curl up and die! If I can't drink blood, what else can I do! Do you really think that I want to live the life of the vampire's curse! Yugi, I was going to tell you all this secret of mine eventually… I never thought you of all people would handle it this way."

Just then, Serenity stepped out from the building. He saw her and gasped.

"Serenity… you would understand… please tell them…" he pleaded.

"No…" she whimpered. "I can't… but… I can't say you're wrong either…" She slowly began to cry softly into her hands.

"Serenity—" Dolimus started, moving towards her.

"Get away from my sister! I'm not gonna let you do your vampire magic on her!" shouted Joey, rushing at Dolimus.

Dolimus quickly dodged his swing and flipped him over onto his back. He then reached down and grabbed him by his neck, hoisting him back up. Holding him in the air a slight bit, he thundered two underhanded swings into Joey's gut and threw him back down.

"Joey, Joey… I genuinely regarded you all as friends… it appears that none of you can simply accept me for who I am. Serenity, even you—"

Serenity cut him off, saying, "No, don't talk to me… please just go."

He stopped and stared at her. Joey stubbornly rose and threw another punch at Dolimus. Seeing it coming, Dolimus caught his fist and bent it backwards while holding it as tightly as possible. Joey reared back and grunted in pain. Suddenly, Dolimus's torso was met by Joey's knee, plowing straight into it. The blow stunned Dolimus, and Joey took his free hand and threw a punch at his face.

"You guys, please stop it!" shrieked Serenity.

Dolimus lowered his head to absorb the impact and met Joey's hand with a crack. Joey clenched his hand and cried out from the pain he had received in both of them.

Dolimus then raised his free hand up to throw a hard punch at Joey's face when a blast of dark energy slammed Dolimus away. He flew about ten feet and rolled across the asphalt.

"I come back to visit for but a few moments and already I must save you all?" a familiar voice said from the shadows.

Dolimus looked up to see a man step out from the darkness and into the street light, revealing himself. He was a tad slim. He appeared tall, while sporting an orange T-shirt with a blue stripe circling his torso that hung over his pants. He wore bright white shoes, obviously new, and had a large slate colored winter coat attached around his neck, like a cape. Perhaps his oddest feature was a strange mask he wore that covered his entire face. It was a lustrous purple mask, shaped like a shield. It had intricate red lines that formed a gigantic eye in the center of the mask.

Gasping, Yami cried aloud, "Baron Von Stupor!"