"Darkness Absolute"

By: Von Stupor

Chapter 9

"I came to visit and here I find your bodies being ransacked so heartlessly by a stranger, I presume?" Von Stupor observed.

"Close, he was a friend, but is actually a vampire. He was targeting Joey's sister until we caught him in the middle of his plan. I only hope there is a way to defeat him and release the curse laid upon all he had struck," Yami replied.

"I see. Well, I shall protect you, fear not! The odds have now evened with the introduction of my mask into the fray!"

Dolimus noticed the unfavorable odds, considering Von Stupor's ability.

"I hope you all know I do not intend to fight any of you. You are making me do this!" he yelled, and shot toward Von Stupor with lightning speed.

Von Stupor quickly extended his hand and blasted Dolimus backward, sending him sprawling to the ground.

Quickly recovering, he ran toward Von Stupor once more.

Von Stupor fired another blast, but Dolimus gracefully sidestepped it and punched Von Stupor dead in his mask. The sheer force reciprocated Von Stupor, causing his mask to fall off. He landed on his neck and rolled backward into a face-down position, his cope draped over his head.

Dolimus reached down to grab Baron Von Stupor's neck when suddenly he heard someone shout out, "Mercury Bubbles Blast!"

He looked to his side to see a mass of bubbles fly in his direction.

The bubbles blinded his sight as he swatted wildly at the projectiles. Von Stupor felt his mask nearby underneath his cope and put it back on.

Standing up, he saw Dolimus through the fading bubbles and planted a heavy blast of energy in his chest.

The vampire flew in the air and backward, slamming into a nearby lone tree hard. He dropped to the ground and laid there for a moment.

"Sailor Mercury!" cried Yami with surprise.

"Sorry I'm a bit late, but it appears I arrived in the nick of time!" she apologized, running to Von Stupor's side in sailor scout attire.

"We thought you weren't going to make it, Amy!" Tristan mentioned.

"The event got cancelled due to inclement weather forecasts, so I came back, but we can talk about that later!"

Dolimus wobbled to his feet and leapt up into the tree. Everybody watched it cautiously.

"Von, I hate ta admit it, but ya really saved my butt back there… He was handin my ass ta me…" Joey panted.

"'Tis understandable, Joey. He has an advantage," replied the baron.

"I have an idea," mentioned Amy, watching the tree. "Here we go! Mercury Ice Bubbles Freeze!"

She shot a burst stream of bubbles at the tree, freezing it. Shortly before they collided, Dolimus leapt from inside and landed in front of them. He immediately gave a hard right to Sailor Mercury's stomach, crippling her.

Von Stupor attempted a chop to his right but his arm was caught by Dolimus and he was promptly swung over the creature's head and slammed onto the ground. He landed with a thud and laid there, groaning.

During the attack, Joey spun and landed a hard left hook to Dolimus's face, followed by a right to his ribcage, below his arm. Dolimus stumbled backward and gave Joey a piercing glare.

"I'll neva stay down. Not fer you," he said, raising his guard.

"Joey," he responded. "I admire and respect your loyalty and courage. However, I am growing tired of this!"

Sailor Mercury was back on her feet by then and unleashed another flurry of bubbles in Dolimus's direction.

Dolimus, leaping into the air, came down on her with a hard chop to her neck, knocking her out instantly.

Joey tried to come in from behind, but the ever-ready Dolimus turned around and grabbed him. He lifted the battered friend over his head and slammed him to the ground as hard as he could. Joey cried out and clutched his back.

Dolimus turned and looked to the others, panting very hard.

"I will do this to any other one of you who is foolish enough to try and take me on. You are all my friends, but I am not afraid!" he threatened.

Von Stupor still laid on the ground, clutching his shoulder while Joey fought to stand back up. Sailor Mercury was unconscious. Yami looked at the field in horror while Serenity was completely frozen with battling emotions.

Just then, two police cars showed up. Two officers got out while the remaining two stayed in the second car. Dolimus approached them in that they wouldn't see the aftermath of the battle.

The two officers approached Dolimus.

"Is your name Dolimus Serban?" one of them asked.

"It is, sir."

"Alright, sir, well we have a search warrant for your arrest," said the cop, the other one pulling out handcuffs.

"I don't understand!"

"Sir, you're under arrest for the theft of thirty-two pints of blood from the local hospital."

Dolimus solemnly looked downward and did not resist being cuffed.

"Wait!" Serenity cried out, running to him. "You stole the blood from the hospital?"

"I have not drained one person since our date. It wouldn't feel right if I did…" he replied.

"You… you stopped attacking people for me?" she asked, tears beginning to stream down her face once more. "You're not evil at all… I thought you just wanted to bite me, but… you really do care about me?"

"Of course I do… Serenity, I've been in love with you since our first date, and because of such I would never bite you… I've never felt about anyone like I do about you, Serenity, and I only hoped I could live in peace with you and your friends as mine… but I see that being a vampire is causing my exile once more. I was a fool to think our relationships with humans would ever change."

"Dolimus… I love you…"

"…What?"

"I understand now… what your kind goes through… and I understand how you found another way to live… without committing any evil on other humans…"

"Serenity, thank you—"

"But… you still committed evil acts… I'm sorry, Dolimus."

Dolimus stared, unsure of what to say.

Serenity approached him and stared into his glistening eyes.

"I was sure that you were genuine, I could tell from your eyes, and I apologize so much… for losing faith in you due to your secret," she said to him, and moved herself upward, kissing him lightly. "If you hadn't attacked anyone at all, I could have understood, but now… I can't be with someone who I know has preyed upon others… I want to, so I could be with you, but I just… can't…"

"Does that mean…" he started.

"Yes," she said. "I'm sorry Dolimus, but… it's over…"

He stared forward in disbelief, observing his surroundings. Yami stood, arms crossed, watching him. Von Stupor watched him with intent. Joey stared at the scene, a sorrowful look on his face.

"Are you done now?" asked one of the cops hesitantly.

Dolimus looked away from Serenity, a look of despair on his face. It then twisted as his heart broke and he proceeded to spread his arms apart forcefully, breaking the handcuffs with ease. He then jumped away, into the shadows, tears leaving a faint trail of sparkles behind him.

The cops began shouting into their CB radios and leapt into their cars, promptly driving away.

"Great, what now?" asked Joey.

"Unfortunately, we'll have to track Dolimus down and complete the job," replied Yami, indifferent.

"What? I don't think I'm following ya, Yuge."

"I wouldn't expect you to. You see, when a vampire is killed, every vampire created as a result of it has their curse lifted. However, if a vampire dies of natural causes, the curse will remain intact forever. This is their primary form of reproduction."

"So in other words, if we wanna save Téa's humanity, we have ta kill Dolimus?"

"I'm afraid it's the only way. Von Stupor, you will be a valuable ally for this, with the power of your mask."

Serenity ran to them, panic in her eyes.

"No!" she cried. "Don't kill him!"

"Serenity, we have no other choice. If we don't, Téa along with his other victims will most likely remain a vampire for the rest of their days. We have to break the curse," Yami replied sullenly.

"There has to be another way, there has to be!"

"I know vampires better than anyone else now… I've experienced them during my time in the past. Killing the cause of the curse is the only way to break it."

Serenity looked into his eyes, tears welling up in hers again. She promptly turned and ran into Yugi's house, crying.

"Joey, you should go try and help Serenity," Yami instructed him. "You can't take on a vampire; you're in no condition and have no defense for yourself. Have Tristan aid Amy, Baron Von Stupor and I will go take down Dolimus."

"Yuge, I'll let you go without me, but only cause I think you're right. Von, you betta not let me down, you take care of Yugi."

"I'd rather stick my face in cake than let you down, Joey, and sticking my face in cake? Phew, do you know how hard that is to get the frosting out of my mask? 'Tis very difficult, which means that I really would rather not let you down, lest I wish to stick my face in a cake."

"Yes, well, come on. I know exactly how to find out where Dolimus lives," Yami mentioned after an awkward pause.