Oops! No chapter theme for this chapter. It's next chapter instead. Sorry. :P
"Chapter 23- Circle"
By: Agent Baron
The following morning, everyone woke up to a fresh new day. After eating breakfast, the gang realized that they had no means for returning back to Japan since Pegasus had paid for their flight to America in the first place. Fortunately, Mokuba Kaiba, Kaiba's younger brother, approached them via helicopter and offered a ride to Japan as long as Rebecca, Joey, and Yugi accepted formal invitations to Kaiba's latest tournament, the KaibaCorp Grand Championship.
"It's a special Duel Monsters tournament being held by the company in order to boost KaibaCorp's public image since it's been hurt badly from the whole issue with Paradius," Mokuba informed the group. "Only the best of the best are allowed to participate in this tournament, and Seto sent me with these invitations for you guys!"
"I do not get an invitation?" Von Stupor asked, curious. "I should deserve one, too, I hope. I tied with Yugi in the Battle City tournament!"
"Idunno…" Mokuba said, shrugging his shoulders. "Maybe he forgot or something. I can ask him if you want."
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"Hey, Seto… what about that guy Baron Von Stupor? Shouldn't we invite him, too? He tied with Yugi at the Battle City finals!"
"Are you kidding me, Mokuba? There is no way I would allow that slimeball tarnish the prestige of my tournament with his stupid potatoes. There are many duelists out there that are finer than him."
"But… didn't you lose to him in the Battle City tournament, too? He beat you for Obelisk."
"My deck was designed to take down Yugi and only Yugi! It's no surprise I lost to him, it's not like I was expecting anyone else! I don't accept that as a true loss, as my intent was to battle Yugi the entire time! That clown isn't appearing in my tournament and that's final."
"If you say so…"
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"'Tis fine… I am sure he did forget, but I have important business to tend to that I might not be able to attend anyway. I shall have Industrial Illusions cover my transportation."
"Okay…" Mokuba agreed, shrugging his shoulders. "If you say so."
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Joey, Yugi, and Rebecca accepted Mokuba's invitation to Kaiba's tournament and remained with the Hawkinses while Baron Von Stupor arranged for transportation with Industrial Illusions.
"It'll be a shame not having you here to give us any moral support," Joey mentioned to Von Stupor. "Was really hoping you could hang out for a while longer."
"It would be wonderful to stay," Von Stupor responded, shaking Joey's hand. "but you know… duty calls."
"Right… being a big old business exec, your time is money. I understand. Well hey, catch us online or something."
"I will certainly try."
"We'll definitely see each other again. I'm sure of it," Yugi chimed in, shaking Von Stupor's hand.
At that time, a car pulled up and a suited man stepped out of it. He approached Von Stupor and gestured toward the car.
"Your ride has arrived, sir," he said.
"Time for me to depart," Von Stupor said. "Best of luck, all of you."
He noticed Téa staring at him, a worried expression on her face. Sighing, he stepped into the car and departed for the airport.
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Baron Von Stupor's return flight to Japan took about twenty hours. After his arrival, he registered at a nearby hotel to catch up on needed sleep. He traversed to Domino, stopping by many places throughout the day. He passed shops, browsed, and enjoyed some time taking in the atmosphere at the beach.
Later towards the evening, he dropped by Téa's house. He rapped on the door several times and waited patiently until a woman answered the door. She looked rather plain, middle-aged with a modest-colored blouse on. She stared at Von Stupor curiously.
"Greetings! I am Baron Von Stupor," he said cheerfully. "Is this the residence of Téa Gardner?"
"Um… are you from some religious group?" she responded, ready to close the door.
"Pastafarians, but that is no concern of yours. Actually, I am a personal friend of hers. When she arrives back from her stay in America, I would like you to give this to her. This is a dear possession of mine, but I may not need it for a while."
Baron Von Stupor took off his cope and bowed to one knee, presenting the cope in his two hands like a sword. The woman took it with an uncomfortable glance and shut the door.
Now that that is done… Baron Von Stupor thought to himself. 'Tis time.
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Baron Von Stupor trekked across Domino City and approached the ruins of a fallen mansion. It stretched across a field that has been conquered effortlessly by foliage. One could discern where the walls lay by the protrusions from the ground that formed the framework for the bottom floor.
He waded through the wreckage and discovered a set of stairs. The entrance to the house's lower level appeared to have been cleared out for descent. Moving down the stairs, he entered what appeared to be the house's cellar. At the bottom of the stairs, he was in a hallway with stone walls. At the bottom of the stairs was a perpendicular turning point; an open door on the right and a closed door on the left.
Venturing through the door to the right, he found Dolimus immediately next to the wall, asleep on a bed made of old cushions. He sat down on the floor nearby and waited. For about twenty minutes he sat, deep in thought before he noticed movement coming from Dolimus. He sat up in his bed and rubbed his eyes. Looking around, he finally noticed Baron Von Stupor and jerked himself over towards the wall.
"Y-you… How did you find me…?" he asked, shocked.
"Where else would you be?" Von Stupor asked in reply, not looking at him.
"What do you want?"
"I came by to visit you."
Dolimus crawled forth and sat on his bed, appearing suspicious of Von Stupor. "Why?"
"Our business is not finished yet."
"...Are you still after that damn deck? Is that why you came here?"
Dolimus appeared insulted and began to anger.
"No, not at all… the deck isn't as much a priority to me right now." Von Stupor replied, glancing in his direction.
"I don't understand. What, are you coming over here to lecture me again?"
"Of course not… I've come here to help you."
Dolimus stood up and walked towards his door.
"Just shut up and get out of my life. I don't need your pity."
"Does your hate and anger still consume you?" Von Stupor asked him, also standing up.
"No, it doesn't… not anymore. I've given up on everything."
"You still feel it?"
"Yes, I do… I still hate you. Don't get me started, Baron Von Stupor. I almost lost my soul… I don't want my emotions to get the best of me and destroy me any further. My life has been ruined, my spirit's been broken… I think you've done enough damage to me."
"Do you not understand, Dolimus? You are destroying yourself, and it all started when you first let your anger and hatred consume you. When you became Baron Von Engar, you became someone else… you had lost sight of yourself."
"Stupor… you killed my father."
"This isn't about your father anymore, is it? At first it was, but now it's just become personal. If you were truly avenging your father, you wouldn't have been driven by anger and hatred, but rather than by your own desire for retribution! You would want me to repent for what I did, not suffer for it! You embraced your anger and hatred, and then you embraced the darkness of the orichalcos. Then the darkness of the orichalcos fed both. Dolimus, deep down inside, you knew what had to be done during the battle. You could have fed off of the blood of animals, or hospital blood well before Serenity, but you started after, and you even admitted you were in the wrong. Rather than face this outcome born of your own decisions, you blamed it all on someone else, and you chose me. There you lost your identity and became Baron Von Engar."
Dolimus remained silent and stared at Von Stupor for a moment. Tears began to well in his eyes and he turned away. Von Stupor watched him as he walked back to the corner of the room and reached into a small box. Pulling out something small, he walked back to Baron Von Stupor and handed the object to him, wrapped in a small white cloth.
Baron Von Stupor unwrapped the object and saw his original deck intact, in perfect condition. Baron Von Stupor looked at the deck with astonishment and inserted it into his duel disk.
"Even if I find who I am again…" Dolimus said, looking at Von Stupor with teary eyes. "Things still wouldn't be any better for me. I'll still want to avenge my father, since my father will also never come back."
"Even still you wish to settle the score?"
"Yes. And accepting that it won't happen will leave me in the miserable wreck that I am in right now anyway, so I don't understand how you could possibly help me..."
"Why don't we settle this, then? Honorably… with finality?"
"…What?"
"One of two things should happen... either you will finally get the retribution you desire for your father's death… or I will put you out of your long misery, and you won't have to suffer anymore."
"…You want to finish things? Risk yourself, still?"
"I said I had come here to help you."
"But you didn't even bring a deck with you. I just gave you yours back."
Baron Von Stupor glanced at his deck and drew the top card from it, examining its picture and ridges. "Call it a hunch, but I had a feeling you still had my deck."
"You're sure about this?"
"Take your deck… we'll have one final duel. A Shadow Game, where the loser's soul is banished to the Shadow Realm. Baron Von Stupor versus Dolimus, not Baron Von Engar."
"I told you I didn't want to lose myself to my anger and hate again," Dolimus commented, grabbing his deck and dusting it off. "…But you're here challenging me further and risking your own life? I don't understand."
"You won't lose yourself again. Trust me."
Both duelists traveled upward to the ground floor of the mansion ruins and stood on either end, ready to duel.
Again, anyone who wants that chapter theme, follow my instructions from the prior chapter. Let's do this!