You guys can't deny you wanted to this. Your fandom is so predictable. Then again, so is mine. Who's gonna win?! Stupor vs. Yami in the epic match of the century! Kyoryu Seeentaaaaai... Zyuraaangeeeeeer!

"Chapter 17- Titans"

By: Agent Baron

Baron Von Stupor's body, driven by an unknown entity has claimed two victims and nearly a third. Halted by Yami's interference, Baron Von Stupor's attention turns to the mighty duelist. Yami, believing himself unable to contend with the evil force of the mask especially when coupled with its integrated Millennium Eye, has no choice but to try to play its dangerous game and defeat it in a duel.

"I'll start first, by setting three M/T cards and summoning the Skilled Dark Magician!" Yami declared as a robed sorcerer appeared, holding a short staff.

"Ahaha… I'll play 'Heavy Storm', and destroy all M/T cards on the field..." chuckled Von Stupor as Yami's cards went up in a magnificent cyclone of wind.

"I'll counter that card with 'Scapegoat'! This allows me to summon four Sheep Tokens that cannot be used as tributes!" Yami countered.

"Hah… Next… 'Dark Hole' to destroy all monsters..."

Yami's sheep along with his magician were quickly vaporized as the were crushed within a ball of pure gravity.

"Next... 'Shadow of Orichalcos'…"

"Oh, no! He copied 'Seal of Orichalcos' as well?!"

Yami's heart sank as both duelists became entwined in the weaving lines of purple light, sealed away from the outside world.

"You can't escape… Yami…" Von Stupor said to him.

"You still know my name?"

"Memories… I know them now."

"You're probing Von Stupor's mind for information… that would mean you couldn't possibly be any part of him."

"Maybe… I set one M/T and summon A Man with Wdjat. He attacks…"

The robed man appeared before Von Stupor and the glowing yellow eye on his forehead shone brightly as he lobbed a blue flame at Yami. Yami's Life Points sank to 5900.

"That's one of Baron Von Stupor's monsters… straight from his original deck. You designed your deck straight from Von Stupor's memory of his cards. Just by the way you duel, I understand more and more about you. I'll set one monster and end my turn," said Yami.

"You are very skilled... No chances..."

Yami suddenly felt his mind quiver. A chill ran down his mind and a violated feeling swept over him.

"I see... your entire hand..." Von Stupor grumbled. "You have Magician of Faith face-down... and--"

At the last moment, the surprised creature used his mask to block a magical blast which had originated from Yami's Millennium Puzzle. Von Stupor in anger launched a ferocious dark blast back at Yami, who narrowly dodged to the side. Yami looked nervously at the deep crater adjacent to him, knowing that he could not inflict so much concussive physical damage with his puzzle.

"For as long as you attempt to read my mind with your Mask of Truth, you risk being attacked by my puzzle!" Yami warned him. "I will not allow you to cheat during this duel! Even though my puzzle can only attack minds while your mask can affect physical objects as well, you let your guard down every time you look into my mind!"

"You... good person...? You attacked me...!" Von Stupor rasped.

"You are an evil being intent only on destruction and the hurting of others! Unlike anyone I have faced, there isn't a trace of good in you. I know in my heart that you aren't Baron Von Stupor. You're nothing more than a seed of pure evil, and I have no remorse for severing your binds to this realm!"

"Aw... you would attack your friend...?"

"You're not my friend! How dare you try to pass yourself off as him! You exist only to destroy, and you cheat to ensure your success! I haven't a shred of respect for you and by the gods I will take you down! I will force you to play fair in any way I know how, and I promise you this will be your last duel!"

"Ha ha ha... Fine... I will not read your mind... I don't need to..."

At least now he won't try to read my mind... Yami thought to himself, taking a deep breath and keeping a steady poker face. Now if I can only stop him from drawing what he wants... that will be the key to my victory!

"I summon Double Coston…" Von Stupor growled, continuing his turn. "and I activate my trap, 'Ultimate Offering'… paying 500 Life Points to sacrifice my Double Coston and tribute summon the Cosmo Queen," said Von Stupor, chuckling afterward. "Double Coston counts as two tributes for a DARK-type monster…"

"Marron is right. His cards are conveniently well-timed… there must be a way to stop him from cheating… Marron and Mai had the right idea by limiting what cards he could use, but they only hurt themselves as well," Yami thought out loud to himself.

"A Man with Wdjat attacks your monster…" said Von Stupor, his monster crushing Yami's set Magician of Faith under a large blue fireball.

"You benefit from its flip effect, one magic card returned from the graveyard to your hand... Now Cosmo Queen attacks you directly…"

The Cosmo Queen, holding out a palm, slammed Yami to the ground hard under tremendous gravitational pressure.

"Ack…" Yami coughed, getting up. "Now I only have 2500 Life Points left… But if I can only hold out long enough…"

Yami drew his next card and his eyes lit up.

"This card will prove to be quite useful!" he announced. "I will now remove one DARK-type and one LIGHT-type monster from play to summon the mighty 'Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning'!"

A swirling vortex appeared before Yami and a ferocious black armor-clad knight stepped from it. Its armor appeared very prestigious, and it sported a large sword. It emanated a fierce blue aura.

Von Stupor was not shaken in the slightest.

"During my turn, I have one of two effects I can activate," Yami continued. "For this turn, I wish to use its ability to remove your Cosmo Queen from play, so that you can never bring it back!"

The soldier pointed its sword at Von Stupor's Cosmo Queen and shot its aura at it. The Cosmo Queen was struck and while engulfed in the aura, rose into the air. Suddenly, she imploded, folding in on herself until nothing remained.

Von Stupor angrily clenched his fist, and a dark aura emanated from it.

"When I use this effect, my monster cannot attack this turn. Now I'll set one M/T and end my turn," Yami finished, relinquishing control to Von Stupor.

"I play 'Swords of Revealing Light'," Von Stupor said, ending his turn. "You cannot attack for three turns…"

Massive beaming swords of light flew down and surrounded Yami's entire field.

This looks to be slightly in my favor, as Von Stupor's hand is completely empty, Yami thought to himself. He used a lot of cards in the beginning, so if I can stay aggressive, he'll have a hard time keeping up with me. The idea for now is to keep him with only one card in his hand. If he manages to get two or more, things will get ugly, fast! "I'll play 'Lightning Vortex'! This allows me to discard one card from my hand to destroy all face-up monster cards you control! Next, I set one M/T and end my turn!"

Charges of lightning rained from the sky and shocked Von Stupor's man with Wdjat, exploding him.

"I now play Raigeki," Von Stupor growled, watching Yami's Black Luster Soldier meet the same fate as his own monster. "End of turn…"

"For my turn I'll play 'Pot of Greed' to draw two cards, and then 'Graceful Charity' to draw three cards at the price of discarding two!" No! No monsters! "Now I'll set one M/T and end my turn!"

"I summon Dark Blade… he'll attack your Life Points…"

"I'll activate my quick-play magic card, 'Scapegoat'! That summons four more Sheep Tokens to protect my Life Points."

As four sheep appeared on Yami's side of the field, Von Stupor's black knight viciously slew one of them by chopping it in half with its sword.

"Now, I'll set one M/T and end my turn," said Yami. Tch! I need to get some stronger cards, quickly. I can't let him recover!

"I summon La Jinn, the Mystical Genie of the Lamp, and I'll use La Jinn with the Dark Blade to attack two more Sheep Tokens…" said Von Stupor, regaining his cocky chuckle.

Von Stupor's genie and knight slew two more Sheep Tokens, leaving Yami with one lone sheep standing between him and utter annihilation. The swords that were protecting Von Stupor faded, opening him up once more.

I need that card… Yami thought to himself, drawing. Heart of the cards, guide me… He looked at his card and flinched. This isn't what I need! At least it will definitely protect me further... "I will set one monster and end my turn!"

"I will destroy your M/T cards… with 'Harpie's Feather Duster'…" Von Stupor uttered as a large feather fan appeared before him and began to raise a gust.

"You have activated my trap card, 'Magic Jammer'! This card will negate your magic card and destroy it, as long as I discard one card from my hand!" Yami countered as Von Stupor clenched his fist. The eye on his mask glowed brighter.

"Fine, then…" Von Stupor grumbled. "My Dark Blade will attack your final Sheep Token… La Jinn will attack your set monster."

Von Stupor's knight chopped the final sheep in half as La Jinn attempted a fierce punch on Yami's set monster, Marshmallon. Struck by the blow, the white fluff ball fell backward, but poofed back into its original shape and smiled happily at La Jinn with its upside-down face.

"Marshmallon cannot be destroyed by battle, and when you attack it while it is face-down, you lose 1000 Life Points!" Yami explained.

"You… are very irritating…" Von Stupor hissed, ending his turn.

He is recklessly throwing card after card at me, Yami thought to himself. I'm glad that whatever this is isn't fully competent of the cards and strategies involved in this game, or he truly would be unstoppable. He has already used a lot of powerful cards, so he shouldn't be able to take down my Marshmallon just yet. All I can do for now is hope I draw that one card… "I set one monster and end my turn."

"I'll set one M/T card… end turn…"

As much as he enjoys this, it seems he doesn't like having his time wasted, Yami thought. His desire for destruction overwhelms his enjoyment of it. As much damage as he causes, he is never satisfied and only thirsts for more. He is truly one of many prime examples of true evil. But where exactly did something as fiendish as this come from, and why would it be controlling Von Stupor's body? "I draw and end my turn."

"I sacrifice Dark Blade and tribute summon Great Maju Garzett…" Von Stupor said, staring at Yami's set monster. "I attack the face-down monster with Maju Garzett…"

"A foolhardy move, born of your own uncontrollable aggression," Yami responded, activating a set trap card. "You've activated my Mirror Force."

"Rrgh!!!" Von Stupor grunted.

As Maju Garzett swung its mighty arms down on the card, he was suddenly blown back by an unseen force, sending shards of light through every one of Von Stupor's monsters, defeating every one of them and clearing his field.

"And now, this is it!" Yami cried aloud as he drew his next card. "I have finally drawn the card that will turn the tide of this duel!"

"What…?" Von Stupor asked, confused.

"Up until now, you have been throwing your cards away left and right, leaving your hand entirely bare! Your aggression will play a vital role in your downfall as I play my magic card, 'Convulsion of Nature'!"

Von Stupor and Yami's duel disks glowed for a moment, and Von Stupor looked at it, dumbfounded. Yami crossed his arms and smirked at Von Stupor.

"Not sure what's going on?" he asked. "Just look at your deck."

"Huh…? …Raaaargh!!!" Von Stupor roared as he saw his top card exposed.

"This card forces us both to flip our decks upside-down as long as it's on the field! From now on, Von Stupor, we'll see what cards are in each others' hands, so there can be no further cheating between us! You'll have to think one step ahead now; it's time to play fair!"

Von Stupor's mask shot a magnificent glow of light around it as he roared, flaring his aura and shaking the entire building around them.

"Yoooooou!!!" shouted Von Stupor incomprehensibly. "You will lose your soul!!!"

"Defeat me, then! Or is having a powerful deck not enough for a simple-minded entity such as you?"

"How are you so strong…? Even against me?!" Von Stupor asked Yami, completely perturbed at his failure to end the duel.

"I am strong because I have the heart of the cards guiding me," Yami informed him. "All you have is your ability to cheat your way to victory. Once that's taken away, you're powerless."

"I will show you… true power… I draw, and summon Senju of the Thousand Hands," said Von Stupor. Senju appeared before him, a rock spirit with many hands spreading in all directions. "His effect activates… I'll move one ritual monster to my hand. End turn."

A 'Mystical Space Typhoon' is his next card? Now that I can see Von Stupor's moves before he makes them, predicting his strategies should be easy. He's going to try and destroy my 'Convulsion of Nature' next turn, Yami thought to himself with a smirk. "If you claim to truly have this power… then let's see it. I'll draw and end this turn."

"Kah…" Von Stupor scoffed with a chuckle. "I'll destroy that card… with 'Mystical Space Typhoon'."

"Not quite! I activate my trap, 'Cursed Seal of the Forbidden Spell'! When I discard a card, this card negates and destroys your card, but in addition to this, you may not use any other cards by that name for the remainder of the duel!"

"I will still destroy it next turn!"

"I don't think so. Think back in the duel… you already used the most powerful and most commonly known cards for destroying magic and trap cards… 'Heavy Storm' and then 'Harpie's Feather Duster'. You can only have one of each of those cards in your deck, and now you can't even use 'Mystical Space Typhoon'. Try digging in Von Stupor's memory some more. He's no collector, and hardly a veteran duelist, merely gifted. He doesn't have many cards at his disposal and most if not all of them are old, so if you can think of another card to destroy this with, I'll be impressed. Looks to me like you're stuck."

Von Stupor pressed his finger to his temple and massaged it, the eye on his mask glowing fiercely. His aura came back again, flowing freely around his body. He was obviously furious.

"Impossible…" he uttered. "Impossible… You must die…"

"There's no running from this duel, Von Stupor. Whatever it is that's controlling you, rest assured that I will use the shadow of orichalcos to extract whatever it is controlling you from your body, so that it may never tarnish your noble image again!"

The score is 2500 to 7000 in favor of Stupor, so this duel is still hardly any kind of fair. Will Yami defeat Stupor? Will Stupor claim Yami's soul and continue his rampage? Will they reach an impasse and be forced to part? See what happens next time!

And for all of you who have no pride in yourselves, I have another theme for the next chapter, if you merely send me an email with the subject "lutefisk"! See you then!