"Chapter 14: Manifestation"

By: Von Stupor

"Come on, Marron. Let's head back to the headquarters." said Lighty to Marron.

"I cannot return to the headquarters empty-handed," Marron responded.

"Oh, right. What are you going to do?"

"Satellite images indicate that two from the group are traveling along the railroad tracks in this direction. Rex Raptor is being carried by one of them. I will wait for them here, and duel them as they arrive."

"Rex? He must have lost his duel. Ah, well. One more soul for Dartz, I guess. So you'll wait for them here?"

"Yes. I cannot return to the headquarters without a spent orichalcos card to present to Master Dartz."

"Huh. Well, in that case, keep this."

Lighty inserted Baron Von Stupor's deck into one of Marron's storage slots on his side.

"Use this as encouragement for them to duel you, because they won't duel you for no reason at all."

OIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIO

Marron obediently followed his orders, waiting ever patiently on the railroad tracks by Von Stupor's body for Joey and Tristan to arrive. In the meantime, he ran diagnostic checks as well as simulations in his internal memory, computing different odds with the cards he knew. He calculated possible strategies he could use and felt prepared to take on Joey, though the odds of him winning by his logic were at approximately sixty-five percent.

Suddenly, Marron detected a low rumble on the ground and rose to his feet. He looked around and saw Von Stupor begin rising to his feet.

"This does not compute. You have lost your soul. How are you standing?" he asked Von Stupor.

Von Stupor merely moaned. As he turned to face Marron, Marron noticed something different about Von Stupor.

"Your mask has turned from purple to black. How is this possible? I do not understand." Marron buzzed, unable to comprehend what was happening.

Von Stupor merely stared at him, and the eye on his mask began to glow.

"Duel…" he spoke in a low, horribly distorted voice.

"I do not comprehend your statement. To clarify, you are asking to duel me?" Marron asked.

"Duel… me…"

"Error. You cannot duel, because you have no deck. I must return your deck to you if you wish to duel. However, you have already lost your soul; therefore there is no sense in dueling you."

"Ha, ha, ha… What… am I…?"

"You are like me, a program that cannot lose a soul."

"Duel… now!!! No deck…?"

"You cannot duel without a deck."

Von Stupor looked at his duel disk and saw no deck inside it. He lowered his head and clenched his fists so hard they began shaking. Within moments, a dark aura glowed around his duel disk, and from it, he extracted a deck of cards. Shuffling them, he chuckled.

"Duel…" he growled.

"How do you have a deck? I do not understand." Marron repeated.

"Enough," said Von Stupor, sounding irritated. "Duel… or die... choice..."

After thinking it over, Marron readied the duel disk integrated into his back.

"One M/T… set. 'Mystic Plasma Zone'… to field magic. One monster set. End…" Von Stupor said.

The sky darkened and electricity surged about it. The clouds above swirled and loosed an evil howl.

"'Mystic Plasma Zone' is a field magic card that increases the attack of all DARK-type monsters on the field by 500 and lowers their defense by 400. Understood. I will set two M/T cards and summon the Enraged Battle Ox. I will use the Enraged Battle Ox to attack your set monster and end my turn."

Marron's battle ox appeared and attacked Von Stupor's set monster. Zombyra the Dark appeared, a large, muscular man bearing a skeletal costume with a red cape. The battle ox chopped Zombyra down from his collar clear down to his waist, felling him in an instant.

"Draw…" Von Stupor began. "Summoning Zombyra the Dark…"

"So soon? The odds are very slim for such a lucky draw," Marron observed. "Zombyra is powerful, with 2100 attack. However, it loses 200 attack points every time it destroys a monster. Thanks to the 'Mystic Plasma Zone', Zombyra's attack points gain a 500 point boost."

"Zombyra… attack the battle ox…" Von Stupor chuckled.

Zombyra burst forth from his card and punched the battle ox hard in the face, caving its skull in. The battle ox fell, defeated and Marron's Life Points fell to 7100.

"My turn," Marron stated. "I will summon the Mad Dog of Darkness."

"Trap!" Von Stupor interjected. "'Trap Hole'…"

"Because my monster has more than 1500 attack points, it is destroyed."

As the Mad Dog of Darkness appeared, a hole crumbled from underneath it as it fell into the depths.

"Summoning Zombyra…" Von Stupor said, chuckling.

"Unbelievable," spoke Marron. "The odds are slim that you would draw all three of your Zombyra cards along with your field magic card in these turns alone."

Ignoring him, Von Stupor continued. "Activate 'Ultimate Offering'… 500 Life Points… set monster… 500 Life Points… summon Dark Blade…"

"'Ultimate Offering' is a continuous trap that allows the user to pay 500 Life Points for an extra normal summon or set. Now would be wise to activate my set quick-play magic card, 'Scapegoat', to summon four defense-position Sheep Tokens."

As a black armor-clad knight stepped out from a portal onto Von Stupor's field, four cute sheep appeared on Marron's.

"All three monsters attack… one sheep left…" Von Stupor spoke, completely devoid of emotion.

"Now only one Sheep Token remains," Marron acknowledged. "However, the odds turn in my favor with this card, 'Seal of Orichalcos'. This field magic card not only replaces your 'Mystic Plasma Zone', but it also gives my monsters a 500 point boost in their attack points."

The skies cleared of the plasma zone, and in its place stood the mighty seal of orichalcos.

"I will destroy…" Von Stupor grumbled.

"Do not forget, this card cannot be destroyed at all."

"Hunh…?"

"This card is made from very powerful magic, and cannot be destroyed. It is because of this magic that the loser of the duel loses their soul."

"Ahhh… I will remember, heh, heh…"

"Now I will play the magic card 'Nobleman of Extermination'."

"'Negate Attack', destroyed and removed from play," Von Stupor muttered, shrugging his shoulders.

"Now I will summon the Gyaku-Gire Panda. This monster gains a 500 point attack boost not only from the Seal of Orichalcos, but also for every monster you have in play. This brings its attack up to a grand total of 3300. However, I will also play the magic card 'Wild Nature's Release'. This increases the attack of a beast-type monster by its own defense for this turn, which further increases the attack to 4900. I will use my Gyaku-Gire Panda to attack your set monster."

A vicious, angry panda appeared before Von Stupor, holding a massive bamboo stick. Holding the bamboo stick in the air, it swung the bamboo down with tremendous force, squashing Von Stupor's set Nimble Momonga.

"This monster has another effect, which states that if it attacks a defense-position monster, it inflicts the difference to your Life Points as battle damage," Marron elaborated.

"Gah! I… 4800 damage…?" Von Stupor uttered.

"By my calculation, you now have 1600 Life Points left. However, your Nimble Momonga gives you 1000 Life Points for being destroyed as a result of battle, as well as allowing you to special summon up to two in face-down defense position from your deck."

"Correct… 2600 Life Points left… Sacrifice both Zombyras… tribute summon Cosmo Queen… Cosmo Queen attack panda…"

Von Stupor's two Zombyras disappeared, and in their place stood a tall, robed figure. She had two purple wiry hands that emerged from her sleeves, and on her head was a massive crown that concealed her face in shadows. In her palm, a swirling vortex of galactic chaos ensued, and it fired this ball towards the panda. It was met by the protection of three priestesses, who together deflected it into the air and away.

"I have activated Waboku, to protect my panda," Marron informed him.

"Futile," Von Stupor commented.

"For my turn I will activate 'Snatch Steal', which will allow me to take control of your Cosmo Queen."

"Ha ha ha… First, a trap… 'Deck Devastation Virus'."

"The odds have worked against me this entire duel. You're using that trap to sacrifice your Cosmo Queen before I have a chance to control it, eliminating my 'Snatch Steal' and getting the full use of your Cosmo Queen at the same time."

The Cosmo Queen gripped her throat tightly and dropped to the ground, spewing a purple haze that engulfed Marron and the entirety of his field.

"All monsters on the field… in hand… less than 1500 attack… destroyed! For three turns…" Von Stupor chuckled. "Now, draw… 'Monster Reborn' to revive Cosmo Queen… Cosmo Queen attacks panda… Dark Blade attacks Sheep Token…"

"Your cards flow very well. Everything I do, you have a counter for it. The only way to explain such dueling is unimaginable luck. Strategy cannot defeat such luck," commented Marron as his remaining monsters were destroyed, sending his Life Points to 6000. "The monster I have just drawn has been destroyed, therefore I pass this turn."

"Sacrifice Cosmo Queen for Great Maju Garzett…"

"Great Maju Garzett is a very powerful monster. Its attack and defense are twice the amount of the monster sacrificed to summon it. It is very overpowered as it only requires one tribute. The odds that you would be able to safely summon it using a Cosmo Queen are extremely rare. Great Maju Garzett's attack power is now 5800."

The monster stood before Marron; a monstrous, bipedal creature with tough bony armor all about its body. It stood, muscles hulking from its tribute, ready to destroy.

"All monsters attack you… destroyed… you lose your soul…"

As the Great Maju Garzett and Dark Blade both struck Marron, his Life Points were completely depleted.

"The timing of your cards was too convenient," said Marron as the seal failed to extract a soul from him and fizzled out. "What are your cards in your hand?"

"Fehhh… you'll never know."

"By the satellite images I am viewing, your cards are all blank, yet they served some purpose on the field. I cannot discern how, but I am aware that you cheated during our duel."

"Ha ha ha… prove it… I play by the rules."

"You are somehow able to switch the cards into anything you want, as long as they are not seen first."

"Your soul… lose it!"

"I do not have a soul to lose. Using 'Seal of Orichalcos' is of no consequence to me if I lose."

Von Stupor growled, and ran towards Marron, who jumped away.

"You must die!" Von Stupor growled once, and ran towards Marron.

Marron quickly jumped into the air and activated jets on his feet to fly away. Down below, Von Stupor could be seen following Marron away from the railroad tracks.

"Activating distress signal. Calling Lighty von Light-Light."

Soon, Lighty picked up.

"What's going on, Marron?"

"Requesting assistance."

"Why? What's the problem?"

"Baron Von Stupor is following me."

"W-what?!" Lighty sputtered. "M-Marron, quit lying!"

"It is indeed Baron Von Stupor. However, the mask is black."

"It must be an impostor, then!"

"It is not. I dueled him, but he used another deck. I have confirmed that he is cheating, but I don't know how."

"Another deck…? Alright Marron, I'm already headed your way. I'll close in on your distress signal and see what this is all about for myself. If Baron Von Stupor really is with you, I'll take him down all over again."

"Understood. I am currently traveling by air to the headquarters. He is following me. If I land, he will attempt a physical assault."

"Well, why don't you fight back?"

"I'm simply a dueling/surveillance robot; I am not meant for fighting. I have many sensitive parts that could possibly come loose and cause severe malfunction in other areas."

"Just try to stay in the air for as long as you can. How much fuel do you have left?"

"About ten minutes' worth."

"Hang in there."

"Understood."

Sensitive parts? Does that mean Zombie and Lighty were bluffing every time they threatened to attack with Marron? Ha, ha. Also, what the heck is going on with Stupor? Fehhh... you'll never know. :P Hah, hope you enjoyed it. Things only complicate further in the next chapter. Stay tuned!