"Chapter 21: Faith"
By: Agent Baron
Baron Von Stupor demonstrates his revived faith in his cards as well as himself while Baron Von Engar continues to pound down on him with brute force, going so far as to even strengthen the seal of orichalcos with his new card, 'Orichalcos Deuteros'. Baron Von Stupor's resolve may waver, but his faith is everlasting as he now fights for more than just his deck; he fights to save his very soul.
"What are you gonna do, Stupor? Still think you have what it takes to take me on?" Engar taunted, laughing.
"If I back down now… you will learn nothing from this duel," Von Stupor responded. "I will use the Infernal Flame Emperor to attack your Great Angus!"
"You walked right into my trap! I activate my quick-play magic card, 'Order to Charge'! This card allows me to select one normal monster on my side of the field and offer it as a tribute to destroy one of yours! The Infernal Flame Emperor is no more!"
As the Infernal Flame Emperor launched a fireball at the Great Angus, the Great Angus suddenly sprang forward and charged straight into the flames and thrashed about. It dissipated the Flame Emperor, sending embers everywhere at the cost of its own destruction. One of the embers landed on top of Von Stupor's head, sending his Life Points to 6500.
"Now I'll set one monster and one M/T… that ends my turn. As per 'Orichalcos Deuteros', I now gain 500 more Life Points!" Engar boasted.
Engar's Life Points have now raised to 5800… Von Stupor thought, frustrated. He's not only fighting with brute force, but he has stolen Dartz's overpowered cards and is using them against me to their full effect! How do I combat that? "I set one M/T and end my turn…"
"Now I'll summon a friend I'm sure you've met before… my Solar Flare Dragon! Solar Flare Dragon attacks another Sheep Token, leaving you with only one left!"
Engar's dragon appeared once more and quickly gobbled up one of Von Stupor's remaining sheep prior to vomiting a fireball at Von Stupor.
Urg… I can't allow that fiend to stay on the field or it will continue to burn away my Life Points every time Engar ends a turn! Von Stupor thought to himself, clutching his chest where the fireball struck him. And the entire time, he's gaining life points from the seal; as of now he's at 6800… there must a hole somewhere… there must be a way I can win! "Feel the burn of your own monster, as I activate Snatch Steal on Solar Flare Dragon!"
A thief leapt out of Von Stupor's card wearing a black spandex mask with red lines outlining the eyes. It bore a blue baseball cap and toted with it a large water rifle. It landed behind the Solar Flare Dragon and proceeded to blast it repeatedly. The dragon did not like this, and moved to get away by floating to Von Stupor's field.
"Now I'll use your dragon to attack your set monster!" Von Stupor commanded as the thief squirted the dragon and pointed at Engar's set monster.
The dragon obeyed its master and fired a breath at the monster. An eyeball burst from it and exploded from the shock and embers rained down on Von Stupor due to Engar's 'Backfire' card.
"That blasted card…" Von Stupor cursed, shielding himself.
As Von Stupor ended his turn, the dragon roared at Engar, blowing fire in his direction and burning 500 of his Life Points as per its effect.
"Because of your 'Snatch Steal', I gain 1000 points back during my Standby Phase," Engar commented. "And I hope you enjoyed using my monster, because that won't last long."
"Oh, no…"
"I'm going to power up the seal even further with my field magic card, 'Orichalcos Tritos'! Now in addition to all other effects so far, I can now negate the effects of all opponent's cards that target monsters I control!"
The seal glowed bright blue and began to spin around as yet another layer of symbols circled the two duelists ominously. As the symbols aligned into place, the seal stopped with a fierce crack, and the orichalcos symbol on Engar's mask began to shine brighter than ever. The eyes glowed a deep crimson as he began laughing.
"How much more powerful can that thing get?!" Von Stupor asked himself, his head throbbing from the pressure being placed on him. "Now most of my cards are useless against him, since I cannot even go after his monsters…"
"That's right Stupor! You can't attack me because you have no monsters. You can't use magic cards or trap cards because they won't affect my monsters! Your deck is now completely useless!"
"My deck is not useless yet… I know I can still win…"
"Shut up! Solar Flare Dragon, attack his Sheep Token!"
In a mighty breath of fire, the dragon cooked the sheep until a black husk remained. Afterwards, it turned to Baron Von Stupor and blasted a fireball at him, dropping his Life Points to 5500. Baron Von Stupor drew his next card and with a sigh, ended his turn.
Baron Von Engar chuckled, crossing his arms and shaking his head. "I should have known better than to think you'd actually be a challenge, even after this long journey. I'll play the magic card 'Premature Burial'! At the cost of 800 Life Points, I may revive on of my monsters from the graveyard with this card equipped to it. If either card is destroyed, both cards go down with it! I'll choose my old friend, Solar Flare Dragon!"
Engar's second Solar Flare Dragon wormed its way out of the floor and challenged Baron Von Stupor once more.
"Next," Engar continued. "I'll summon my Ultimate Baseball Kid! The bonus he receives from the seal of orichalcos and my monsters brings his attack to a grand total of 3000! My dragons, attack his two remaining sheep!"
Engar's duo made short work of Baron Von Stupor's Sheep Tokens, leaving him with an open field.
"Ultimate Baseball Kid… attack this chump directly!" Engar ordered.
"I activate another 'Scapegoat'!" Von Stupor said quickly.
Engar stamped his foot impatiently. "How many of those damned cards do you have?!"
"Give me a break!" Stupor responded. "Don't get mad, at least you have attacking power!"
"Bah! You're right. You can't hide behind those sheep forever, anyway. Ultimate Baseball Kid, destroy one of those sheep!"
Engar's baseball kid rushed over and hit one of the sheep as hard as it could with its bat. The sheep bounced off Von Stupor's mask and flew out of sight.
"And now… my dragons' effect!" Engar boasted as the dragons prepared to fry Von Stupor.
"Not yet!" shouted Von Stupor. "I'll use my trap card 'Solemn Judgment'! This allows me to halve my Life Points in order to negate any card's effect and destroy the card! I am not targeting your monster as I am targeting and negating the effect of a card! Your Solar Flare Dragon without 'Premature Burial' equipped is destroyed!"
A bearded man in a white robe appeared before Von Stupor and pointed at the Solar Flare Dragon. The dragon appeared surprised and submissively sank into the floor, disappearing.
"What are you planning…?" Engar asked Von Stupor as his lone dragon and 'Backfire' card shot away 1000 more of Von Stupor's Life Points.
"I'll now draw and play 'Heavy Storm'!" Von Stupor announced, ignoring Engar. "This will destroy all M/T cards on the field, namely your 'Premature Burial'! As you said, your dragon is now destroyed!"
A strong wind circled the area, circling the duelists and destroying Engar's 'Premature Burial' and 'Backfire' cards. His Solar Flare Dragon cried in pain and turned back into ashes.
Now I can no longer be damaged by his damned 'Backfire' card, Von Stupor thought to himself. But I still have a huge problem regarding the seal of orichalcos… "Lastly, I play another 'Wave-Motion Cannon'!"
"You just keep on fighting, huh?!" Engar asked him. "Just don't know when to give up, huh?! Want me to pound you into the dirt?! I'll do that! I summon the Great Angus and attack you with both monsters!"
Another red beast stepped forth and threatened Von Stupor. While the Great Angus stomped down one sheep, the baseball kid smacked a fireball into another.
"It's time for you to make a choice, Engar," Von Stupor said to him lowly. "I'll set one M/T, shift a Sheep Token to attack mode and play the magic card 'Creature Swap'. We both select one monster and trade… this works because I'm targeting you, the duelist, and not your monsters! Of course I'll nominate my last sheep, while in attack position."
"Hah… no avoiding this blow, is there? I'll give you my Great Angus… you'll have less attack than my baseball kid anyway. His bonus comes from any FIRE-type monsters on the field, not just my side!"
"That's not part of my plan. I'll use the Great Angus to attack the Sheep Token!"
Von Stupor's newly acquired Great Angus charged across the field and stomped flat Engar's Sheep Token, sending his Life Points to 8700.
"You know, this is an amusing trick, Stupor, but it's getting old," Engar said to him. "Why don't you try something new?"
"Heh… Very well. I'll now play the continuous magic card 'Messenger of Peace'!"
Engar suddenly coughed harshly and stared at Von Stupor. "You're using that card?!" he cried, flabbergasted.
"Yes! Now at the cost of 100 Life Points during each of my Standby Phases, neither player can declare an attack with any monsters that have 1500 or more attack points! This card targets the players, not the monsters! Because I have the Great Angus permanently, your Ultimate Baseball Kid's attack will be at a permanent minimum of 2000!"
After thinking for a moment, Engar stood up straight and chuckled. "That's fine. Even if I can't attack you, I'm still gaining Life Points every turn. You can lock us all you want, but I'll always have more Life Points than you. Unless… you're trying to deck me?"
"Heh, heh…" Von Stupor chuckled, crossing his arms.
"You're not gonna deck me, Stupor. Wait... No, you're trying to lock me so you can finish me off with the wave-motion cannon. Well, I'll just summon the Little Chimera. This monster will increase the attack of all FIRE-type monsters on the field by 500, and it will also net me 500 more Life Points per turn thanks to 'Orichalcos Deuteros'! Now I'm gaining 1000 Life Points per turn while your cannon grows by 1000 per turn! That cannon's strength will never catch up with my Life Points!"
"Are you sure about that?" Von Stupor asked as green mist began to circle around him. As the wisps of mist came into clearer view, they began to resemble gaseous hands grasping about the air.
"What have you just done?"
"I've activated the trap card that will take you down," Von Stupor chuckled, feeling a deep sensation in his heart as his hopes suddenly lifted. "I actually got the one card that will turn this duel around…"
"What is this?"
"This is my trap card 'Bad Reaction to Simochi'. It takes any Life Point gain you receive, negates it, and reverses it so that it instead works as direct damage to your Life Points! Engar, your power has now become your poison!"
Engar's head cocked to the side. He stared at Von Stupor, as if unable to respond. Dropping his hands to his sides, he began to start chuckling. His chuckling shortly after turned into laughing.
"Stupor… you're a trip, you know that?"
"You are defeated, Engar!"
"No, Stupor… no, I'm not. Think about it. I have two monsters on the field. If I lose 1000 Life Points every turn, do you honestly think you'll survive the next nine turns against my Ultimate Baseball Kid's second effect?"
"S-second effect?"
"Yeah! You see, you have 2000 Life Points right now. And I can send one FIRE-type monster from my field to the graveyard to inflict 500 points of damage to your Life Points!"
"What?!"
"Yeah! And the best part is, once I do that, with the baseball kid being my only monster on the field, that means you instead have to wait eighteen turns until you get rid of me! Sure, that cannon of yours is surely packing a punch by now, but you're never gonna get it strong enough by the time I sacrifice four monsters. Just give up now, Stupor. You've lost."
Von Stupor's hands dropped to his sides.
Unbelievable… he thought to himself. I am so close to defeating him, and yet… he was still able to overpower me. Even still, he overpowered me... I even found a hole, but I didn't find it fast enough…
Von Stupor thought for a few moments, then stood tall. He took a few heavy breaths and faced Baron Von Engar.
"Engar…" he said to him. "I made it quite clear when we began this duel that I would fight my hardest to the end. Like I said, I have placed my full faith into myself and my deck."
"…You're a pretty sad individual, Stupor. Even in the face of zero odds, you continue to fight, solely by principle. I'll admit, it's… kind of inspiring. Fine, then. At least you're going down honorably, nobly."
"Let's finish this, Engar."
"Heh… I'll send my Little Chimera to the Graveyard to inflict 500 points of damage to your Life Points!"
The Little Chimera turned into a flaming ball of fiery energy and the baseball kid hit it at Stupor. Flying at him like a bullet, it struck him in the stomach, causing him to double over. His Life Points dribbled to 1500.
"Give up yet?" Engar asked him. Von Stupor merely stood and drew a card prior to ending his turn. "Fine, then. I'll summon Gaia Soul, the Combustible Collective. Next, I'll send it to the graveyard to inflict more damage!"
The baseball kid hit another hard shot that struck Von Stupor in his mask with such force that he fell to the ground in a heap. Von Stupor stood back up, drew another card and ended his turn.
"I summon the Blazing Inpachi! Ultimate Baseball Kid, hit him again!"
Another shot struck Von Stupor in his leg, hitting it out from under him and knocking him to the ground. Standing up, his eyes flashed as he noticed his next card. He set one M/T and ended his turn.
"So… you're left with 500 Life Points… and you still think you can win?" Engar asked him. "I can only wonder what that M/T card is. You can't affect my monsters anymore, you've locked the field, I'm damaging you directly… what more could you possibly do?"
Von Stupor merely stared at him.
"What? I'm just telling the truth! And I'll tell you right now, I just drew another monster."
Von Stupor watched him and refused to say a word.
"Oh, you're going to be a sore loser now, huh? Got nothing to say? No more philosophical, inspirational words of wisdom? Mighty and Wise Great Sage Von Stupor? Eh… all good and well. I suppose when I beat you I won't have much to say anyway. I'll summon the UFO Turtle, and—"
"Wait," Von Stupor cut him off. "I'll activate my final trap card… 'Aegis of Gaia'."
"'Aegis of Gaia'…?"
"I gain 3000 Life Points. When this card is destroyed, I lose 3000 Life Points."
Lightning crackled around Von Stupor and the great earth spirit Gyakutenno Megami appeared before him and shined a magical light on him, increasing his Life Points to 3500. Engar quaked, knowing what this meant.
"If your mighty, unstoppable, stolen power can destroy this card, I lose. If you can't..." Von Stupor said to him.
"I… I-impossible…" Engar uttered in a low tone.
"In two turns, I will launch my Wave-Motion Cannon, and it will take you down to 1500 Life Points," Von Stupor informed him. "Even if you strike me down with a monster every single turn, I will still win with 2500 Life Points remaining. There is no possible way you can win."
"I… I lost…?" Engar mumbled as the seal began to close around him. "Even with… all that power, I lost to a magic and trap deck…?"
"Engar, all you had were mere cards. I won because I was a stronger duelist. My strength is measured in my heart, not in my cards."
As the seal of orichalcos's light grew brighter around Engar, Von Stupor suddenly noticed Engar snap from his daze and rip the orichalcos stone from around his neck. He proceeded to shove it under his mask and pull fiercely at it. Another white light was seen ebbing from under the mask as Engar ripped at it with all of his might. Suddenly, a loud explosion was heard as Engar himself tumbled out of the pillar of light the seal of orichalcos produced and his mask floated in place. As the light from the seal of orichalcos cleared, the mask fell to the ground, and the soul contained within shot to one of the small squares which lined the walls, ceiling, and floor of the chamber.
As Baron Von Engar stood and looked about dizzily, running his fingers through his revealed silvery hair. He turned to face Baron Von Stupor as his vision returned. Baron Von Stupor's heart sank as he stared at Engar's maskless face. In a flash, everything that Engar had talked about fell into place and made perfect sense. His identity, his history, and his grudge all fell into to place like the pieces to a jigsaw puzzle as the mystery behind him finally lifted, once and for all.
"I remember you…" he said to Engar, barely able to speak. "Engar… you're Dolimus…?"
Dolimus stared back at Von Stupor, panicked. Suddenly, the square that the soul had found a place in from the duel made a fierce cracking sound as it exploded and the entire building began to shake, surging with energy. Von Stupor looked about to examine his surroundings and saw part of the ceiling cracking, ready to fall any minute. When he looked back toward Dolimus, no one was there.
"He escaped…" Von Stupor muttered to himself, beginning to find it difficult to hold his balance. "I have no choice but to do the same."
He ran out of the building in time to see a KaibaCorp helicopter flying low to the ground not far from the helicopter he had arrived in. The helicopter door flew open and Joey held a hand out to Von Stupor.
"Von!!! Hop in!" Joey shouted.
"What of the others from the other helicopter?" Von Stupor called back.
"We got them already, Marron too! Come on!"
Von Stupor grabbed Joey's hand and was hoisted into the helicopter. Reunited with his friends, the helicopter flew away as he watched the entire island sink over his shoulder.
ZOMG WTF GTFO!!! Didn't see that coming, didja?! Some of you are probably wondering who the hell Dolimus is. Okay, well one of you that I know of is probably wondering who the hell Dolimus is. The only other reader better know or I'm going to bonk her on the head with a trout. :P If you don't know who Dolimus is, then well... that's what you get for not reading all of my stories. ;) Sorry! But... there's gonna be a little explaining next chapter so you can understand Engar's grudge a litle bit better. But I'm not going to spoil anything from Dolimus's origin, either. You're just gonna have to find it and read it for yourself. :P