"Chapter 22- Memories"
By: Agent Baron
While the group had escaped Dartz's island after his ultimate defeat at the hands of Yugi, Von Stupor noticed that the King of Games was nowhere to be seen on the helicopter. After inquiring this matter, he learned that Yugi had been left behind, being the only one who did not venture through the portal which connected the top of the structure with the main entrance chamber. As the helicopter left the island, Joey and Téa noticed monsters flying away into the clouds. Three magical knights, clad in solid colors of red, green, and blue respectively, accompanied a Dark Magician Girl during her ascent into the skies above. Looking at where they flew from, they spotted Yugi, who had survived the island sinking and washed ashore nearby land. Picking up Yugi, the helicopter made its way toward its destination: the Hawkinses' mobile home, where Von Stupor, Amy, Yugi, Duke, Téa, Joey, and both Hawkinses departed. Marron, his motor functions still disabled, left with the KaibaCorp helicopter, accompanying Lighty and Mai. It was late at night by the time the gang finally settled in the Hawkinses' RV.
OIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIO
"Hey Von, what's the matter?" Joey asked him. "You've been pretty quiet lately. Now that everything's all said and done, I'd have expected you to say something about potatoes by now!"
"My business is not finished yet," Von Stupor commented, sitting on a picnic bench outside the mobile home, resting his head on his arms.
"What do you mean? You've got your soul back, Dartz is defeated, Pegasus is restored, you got your old job back…"
"'Tis not that… I still don't have my deck back… and…"
"And…? And what?"
"I finally found Engar. I found out who he really is."
"So you do know Engar?" Yugi asked, coming up behind him. "Who is he?"
"You know him too, both of you. Baron Von Engar is but a pseudonym; his true name is Dolimus."
A flash flew through Yugi and Joey's head at Von Stupor's mere mention of that name.
"Dolimus?!" Yugi cried.
"You mean that creep is still alive?!" exclaimed Joey, mouth agape.
"So he survived the collapse after all…" Yugi contemplated, turning away. "But what does he want with you?"
"He fights for revenge… because of our duel with his father, Serban…" Von Stupor answered sadly.
OIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIO
"Yugi, I don't want to fight you. You're a very pleasant kid to be around, and I really enjoyed your company. However, I will not hesitate to defend myself if I have to! You will not be the first human I've killed in defending my well-being, I must warn you. I won't try to convince you anymore, because I know you've already made up your mind. I just want you to think long and hard about what you're going to do, because once we start, I'm not going to hold back."
Yami stood there in silence, and stared at Dolimus, his eyes a bit damp. Baron Von Stupor and Serban stood to the side and observed the dead room.
His actions were performed as a means of survival… Is it truly an evil act for him to live? His intentions were only survival… Yami debated in his head. I don't know what to do…
After a moment, he looked upward at Dolimus, determination in his eyes.
"Dolimus, you could have easily stolen readily donated blood from the hospital rather than preying on women," he spoke. "Because you had done said action out of love for Serenity, you can no longer justify what you have done to all of your victims! I am sorry Dolimus, but I must end this!"
"I… you're right. I respect your decision, Yugi. Fine then, let's finish things."
"Dolimus, you have trespassed in the souls of both Téa and myself, and for that, you must now play a game… a Shadow Game, with me as your opponent!"
"What do you mean?"
"Dolimus, you're obviously not a coward, and I know you fight with honor. Why not face me at the top of my game?"
Dolimus raised an eyebrow, stating, "You're obviously referencing mine and my father's physical advantage over you both. Keep going."
"We're both intelligent, we're both cunning. Let's settle this through a Shadow Game, and the name is Duel Monsters!"
"Tell me though, in a situation as dire as this, why are you asking me to play a game?"
"Because this is a Shadow Game, and the loser of this game… will die."
"Wait a moment!" Serban interjected. "How do we know we can trust your friend not to interfere with this Shadow Game, and what makes you think that I will simply sit idly while my son risks his life in a game of ancient power?"
"You will know because you and I shall play a game as well, Serban! We shall be playing tag team alongside Yugi and Dolimus!" announced Von Stupor pulling his dueling deck from his cope.
"Very well, then. I was about to address my acute distaste in watching my son risk his life to defend himself in a foolish show of honor."
OIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIO
"Oh, no…" Yugi groaned. "He's actually coming after Baron Von Stupor…"
"When I dueled him, he used 'Seal of Orichalcos', and lost… but instead of his soul being taken, he actually seemed to struggle with his own mask," Von Stupor recalled. "He pulled it off, and seemingly a soul was absorbed from it and sent to the temple in place of his own."
"Was there a soul in that mask, too?"
"I am unsure, but it's the only explanation... But when the soul entered a cell inside the chamber, it was not in long before breaking out, and then that is when the island began to sink."
"Maybe the soul couldn't be contained because Dartz was no longer supporting the temple with his magic or something," Joey commented.
"Or maybe the soul was like Majora was to your mask, and just too unstable to be constrained."
"Dolimus has changed drastically since I had met him," Von Stupor recalled, remembering the brief time he spent in Dolimus's presence. He seemed very calm and collected, highly intelligent. Now he is broken and weak, and hides behind the illusion of his rage."
"None of us were in the right with that battle, but it was something that couldn't be avoided…" Yugi lamented. "We couldn't let him keep doing what he was doing."
"Although now that Von Stupor had inadvertently taken away the last of what had any meaning to him, he blames his newer, crappier life on Von Stupor," Joey said, stroking his chin.
"I don't blame him, honestly… And I really feel sorry for him. Do you think he's going to come for you again, Von Stupor?"
"I do not know… he seemed quite shaken when I defeated him. The odds were very much stacked against me." Von Stupor responded. "But in the end, my faith in myself and the liver of the cards pulled through."
"The liver…? Well anyway, let's just hope everything is okay now."
"I don't think they will be," said Von Stupor. "Not yet."
Just then, Téa stepped out the door of the trailer.
"It's getting late," she said. "Are you guys sleeping outside or what?"
"I forgot how late it is," Yugi said, standing up and looking up at the cloudless, starlit sky. "Let's sleep tonight, and we can talk about this more in the morning."
Téa watched the others step into the trailer while Von Stupor sat on the picnic table. She sat down on the table across from him, but he didn't appear to notice her right away.
"What are you thinking about?" she asked him.
"Dolimus," he responded.
"…Dolimus? Why him?"
"I saw Engar's face… that's who he is."
"Dolimus… is alive?"
"Apparently so," Von Stupor answered, laying his arms down on the table and looking at her. "He thirsts for revenge, because of the duel Yami and I had with him."
"Oh… but you said you beat him, right? Didn't you get your deck back?"
"The island sank immediately after I defeated him, and he disappeared somewhere. I never saw where he went."
The two sat in silence for a few moments, Von Stupor deep in thought and Téa unsure of what to say. Suddenly, she spoke.
"Did you know your mask is white now?" she asked, trying to smile.
"Yes, Yugi gave me his postulations about the entity controlling me being the evil sin of this mask developing a consciousness. I suppose defeating that darkness could be considered a form of purifying the mask."
"That mask sure has a lot of mystery surrounding it still. I thought it was just an evil mask, but after the Millennium Eye fused with it…"
"Yes, my mask and the Millennium Eye must be related somehow for this to have happened. But what on earth could it have been?"
"I'm not sure."
"Hey… one question I have… I heard that that entity used a card called 'Shadow of Orichalcos'… and it had the same effect as 'Seal of Orichalcos'?"
"Yes, it did."
"Yugi said that instead of shooting into the sky like normal, a purple spherical object just sat there… was that the entity's soul just sitting there?"
"Possibly because it had nowhere to go."
"And what about the Shadow Game?"
"Well, if you combine their 'effects', so to speak, I suppose it would make sense that the bound soul would be cast into the Shadow Realm."
"If that's the case, then Mai…"
"Yes, and Lighty… they have most likely not woken up yet, and they won't unless the soul is brought back to this realm."
"Is that possible?"
"If souls can be sent to the Shadow Realm, I am sure that those souls could be returned, too… except for the problem of them being stuck in that seal."
Von Stupor sighed and another silence ensued between the two.
"It's really good to have you adventuring with us again, you know," she suddenly said to him, attempting to balance the somber atmosphere. "I mean, even if it's because the world's in danger, we really enjoy your company. You liven things up a lot."
Von Stupor simply chuckled lightly, but said nothing. He appeared to be deep in thought.
"I'm glad you're safe after all of this, too…" she continued. "Even though you had your soul taken. I consider us fortunate that there was a way to return everyone's souls to their bodies."
"Except for Mai and Lighty," Von Stupor corrected her, staring into the sky.
"Please… you probably feel responsible, but don't be so hard on yourself. You didn't do any of that... Your soul was taken, and you were controlled by something else. It's not your fault."
"It is, in a sense. If I hadn't put on this mask in the first place…"
"…You'd have never met us, and you never would have rid the world of the evil in that mask."
"Even if I am not responsible for the evils the entity in my mask committed, I still fed bad people to Majora when he was around. I do not feel prepared to forgive myself for that yet. I feel no different from the people whom I indirectly hurt."
"Von Stupor, please don't think like that! You are a good person!"
"For every person I help, I wind up hurting another somehow. Think about it…"
"No… I won't… If it weren't for you, I never would have fallen—" she caught herself and looked away. She appeared embarrassed.
Von Stupor held out his hand and after hesitating, shakily took her hand in his.
"Don't say that," he said to her.
"W-what are you—" she stuttered, shocked at his gesture. "What about your… fear?"
Von Stupor was visibly distressed from this action. Taking deep breaths, he said to her, "Sometimes… one doesn't always have a second chance to do things… So sometimes, it's best to simply… take the chance while the window of opportunity is open."
She watched him, frozen, unsure of what to do or say.
"Don't say what you were saying earlier…" Von Stupor continued earlier. "Even if I weren't here… you would have. I know that you also like one or both Yugis."
Téa's eyes widened with surprise.
"It's… really quite obvious," Von Stupor said, withdrawing his hand. "If you are having conflicting feelings between myself and Yugi… perhaps you should pursue Yugi instead. I'm quite sure I'll only break your heart in the long run."
"How do you know you'll break my heart?" she asked, fighting tears.
"Ha ha... Breaking your heart is probably inevitable in any case."
"I don't understand… You keep speaking in riddles…"
"I know… I'm sorry. You'll know in time, I promise."
"Why can't you just tell me? Don't you trust me?"
"You must trust me, as well."
Téa watched him as he stood up and moved toward the trailer.
"We should sleep," he said while opening the door. "You are tired as well, I am sure."
Téa quietly followed Von Stupor into the trailer and everyone slept.
Well, the massive climactic clash between Stupor and the enigmatic Baron Von Engar has come to an end, but Stupor insists that there is some unfinished business left. What's he thinking is left?
There is a chapter theme for the next chapter... just send an email with the subject "your music sucks" and I'll send it to you just before I post the chapter.