"Chapter 24: Identity"
By: Agent Baron
Baron Von Stupor has finally uncovered the full truth behind Baron Von Engar and revealed him to be Dolimus, a former half-blood vampire who had harbored a grudge ever since an ill-fated duel between himself and Baron Von Stupor that ultimately resulted in his father's death. Even though he was seemingly soundly defeated, Baron Von Stupor insists that they still have unfinished business to attend to, and challenges him to one final duel.
"I want you to go first," Von Stupor said to Dolimus as the two finished shuffling their decks and drew their hands. A purple fog emitted from underneath Baron Von Stupor's mask and swallowed the entire arena in its abyss of black haze. Soon enough, the only visible objects were the duelists themselves and the cards they would soon lay.
"Very well…" he said solemnly. "I'll play Pot of Greed to draw two more cards… I'll set two M/T and one monster. I end my turn."
"I'll set one monster and one M/T… that ends my turn."
Dolimus drew and passed his turn to Baron Von Stupor, who merely set a second monster prior to ending his turn.
"I'll flip summon the Pyramid Turtle and use it to attack your set monster!" Dolimus declared.
A large turtle emerged from the ground bearing the headdress of a pharaoh. On its back it had a mighty pyramid for a shell. Charging forward, it trampled Baron Von Stupor's set Zombyra the Dark.
He's using zombies again… Perfect… Von Stupor thought to himself as he drew his next card. "I'll set one M/T and end my turn."
"I'll summon the Soul-Absorbing Bone Tower!" Dolimus announced after drawing a card. "This card cannot be attacked as long as I have another zombie-type monster on the field. In addition to this, whenever any zombie-type monster is special summoned, you have to discard the top two cards in your deck!"
In front of Dolimus rose a large tower of bone stacked upon bone. Souls swarmed about it as it loomed menacingly over Von Stupor.
"Now I'll attack your face-down monster with the Pyramid Turtle!" announced Dolimus as the Pyramid Turtle flew into a rampage. Before it reached Baron Von Stupor, however, a squirmy pink creature wriggled into the turtle's mouth and it made agonizing sounds.
"You've attacked my Kiseitai while it was in face-down defense position," Von Stupor informed him. "Now it becomes equipped to your monster and during each of your Standby Phases, I gain half of the monster's attack points in the form of Life Points!"
"Damn… I end my turn…"
"I'll draw and end my turn."
"I draw… I shift my Soul-Absorbing Bone Tower to defense mode and sacrifice my Pyramid Turtle to tribute summon Ryu Kokki! Next I'll play the magic card 'Book of Life' to bring one zombie-type monster in my graveyard back to life as well as remove one monster in your graveyard from play! I'll choose your Zombyra the Dark and I'll revive the Pyramid Turtle!"
Dolimus's Pyramid Turtle thrashed about and the noodly pink creature's tail, shaped like a hand, reached out of the turtle's mouth and presented a shower of light that increased Von Stupor's Life Points by 700. Soon after this, the turtle disappeared and was replaced by a hunchbacked humanoid creature comprised almost entirely of skulls while next to it, the turtle appeared once more.
"Now, I'll place my bone tower in defense mode and attack your life points directly! Ryu Kokki, attack!" Dolimus commanded. "And don't forget my bone tower's special effect that was activated when I revived my Pyramid Turtle!"
The bone tower's souls bean to swarm closer to it, forming a protective barrier while the Ryu Kokki, laughing, hopped over to Von Stupor and delivered a fierce punch in his gut. The Pyramid Turtle rose out of a hole in the ground and swung its head, knocking Von Stupor off of his feet and to the side and sending his Life Points to 4900.
"I'm not finished yet…" he groaned, rising to his feet. "I'll play 'Black Illusion Ritual'… this allows me to sacrifice a monster from my hand, namely my Labyrinth Wall, to ritual summon Relinquished!"
Baron Von Stupor's Relinquished burst from its ritual pot and he felt a sense of glee from using his favorite monster again.
"I will absorb your Ryu Kokki, and then attack your Pyramid Turtle!" Von Stupor announced.
His Relinquished forcefully inhaled Ryu Kokki into its torso cavity and closed its shoulder flaps over itself, Ryu Kokki's face protruding from one of the flaps. It then rose into the air and produced a large Absorption Blast Attack that devastated the Pyramid Turtle and reduced Dolimus's Life Points to 7000.
"Now my turtle's special effect activates! Because it was sent to the graveyard as a result of battle, I may choose a zombie card from my deck that has a defense of 2000 or less and immediate special summon it in face-up attack position! The card I choose is the Spirit Reaper! This monster also carries a special effect; it can't be destroyed by battle, and whenever it inflicts direct damage to your Life Points, you have to randomly discard one card from your hand!"
In front of Dolimus appeared a grim reaper wearing a purple cloak. It hovered in the air with no visible legs, holding its scythe and leering at Von Stupor.
"I was ready for your Relinquished from the beginning, Von Stupor. I'll now activate my 'Dust Tornado' trap card. This allows me to destroy one M/T card on the field and set my own! I'll choose to destroy my equipped Ryu Kokki, leaving your Relinquished vulnerable to attack!"
A massive tornado rushed from Dolimus's card and sucked in Relinquished, ripping the equipped Ryu Kokki from inside it and destroying it.
"Now," Dolimus continued. "I'll order my Pyramid Turtle to attack your Relinquished, inflicting the full force of its attack on your Life Points as battle damage!"
"Not before I activate 'Mirror Force'! This negates your attack and destroys all face-up attack position monsters on your side of the field instead!"
The turtle stamped its foot down towards the weakened Relinquished, but its blow was stopped short by a force field that blew it back, forcing it to land on the Spirit Reaper. Both were destroyed.
"Now I'll set one M/T and absorb your Soul-Absorbing Bone Tower," Von Stupor announced. "I'll set one monster and end my turn."
Von Stupor's Relinquished inhaled hard and every bone of the bone tower was sucked straight into its torso cavity. Closing its flaps, a corner of the tower protruded from it prior to it lowering itself in defense.
Dolimus drew and ended his turn, and control shifted once more to Von Stupor.
"You're wide open… what's happening?" Von Stupor asked him.
Dolimus simply sighed and looked off to the side.
"Stop that. Have faith in yourself for once. You are not a worthless duelist, I know this."
"What would you care?"
"If I do not, then who will?"
"Tch… Just take your turn…"
"Very well… I'll set one M/T. Next, I'll sacrifice my Relinquished and set monster to tribute summon the Cosmo Queen! I order her to attack your Life Points directly!"
The Cosmo Queen emerged through a portal from the stars and slammed Dolimus to the ground hard with a gravitational crush. His Life Points sank down to 4100.
Dolimus hesitantly drew his next card. Seeing it, his eyes flashed a sign of determination.
"I'll set one M/T, then play the magic card 'Call of the Mummy'!" he announced firmly. "This is a continuous magic card that allows me to special summon any one zombie monster from my hand as long as I have no zombie cards on the field! I'll use this to special summon my Double Coston, and then I'll sacrifice it to special summon Despair from the Dark!"
As the two will-o-wisps appeared and faded from Dolimus's field, in their place appeared a mighty dark being shaped like a devil with curled horns. Its shadow stretched toward Von Stupor and its open hole of a mouth revealed two rows of dangerous spiked teeth as it smiled.
"I'll… draw one card and end my turn," Von Stupor declared, gawking at the being.
"Now I'll summon Master Kyonshee, and activate my trap card on the Cosmo Queen, 'Compulsory Evacuation Device'! This returns an opponent's face-up monster back to their hand!"
"I shall also activate a trap card, 'Skull Lair'! By removing any number of monsters in my graveyard from play, I can destroy any opponent's monster of the same level! I'll remove eight monsters to destroy your Despair from the Dark!"
A large building rose before Von Stupor, providing a gate for monsters to travel through should they wish to attack him. Before any of the monsters could react, I mighty surge of lighting routed its way through Despair from the Dark's body and destroyed it.
As a zombie bearing Chinese fighter's clothing and a talisman on its forehead appeared before Dolimus, Von Stupor's Cosmo Queen was thrust in the air by the ground beneath her, attached to a strong spring and released. The Cosmo Queen, holding her robe down to prevent further embarrassment, flew into Von Stupor's hand.
"Your monsters yearn to serve you. Do not let them down," Von Stupor said to him. "Let your pride as a duelist show through your monsters!"
"Master Kyonshee, attack Von Stupor's Life Points directly!"
The fighter leapt to Von Stupor and delivered a flurry of blows to Von Stupor's entire torso region, doubling him over and slamming his Life Points to 3150.
"Remember that your monsters are not just fighting for you…" Von Stupor said in between breaths of air upon standing up. "Remember that you are fighting with them as well… fighting for them, and for yourself. I'll set one trap card, and end my turn."
"Why do you keep saying these things?! Why don't you just shut up?!"
"They'll all make sense by the end of this duel, trust me. I'll prove everything to you, the only way I know how."
"Bah… I'll play 'Reload', so that I may shuffle my hand into my deck and draw the same number of cards. Next I'll summon another Pyramid Turtle, and I'll order my two monsters to attack you at once!"
Their attack was held back by three priestesses defending Von Stupor.
"I've activated 'Waboku'… my battle damage is zero for this turn." Von Stupor said, drawing. "Next, because you have two more monsters than I do on the field, I'll special summon The Fiend Megacyber… then, I'll sacrifice him to tribute summon the Great Maju Garzett! Because of Maju Garzett's effect, his attack and defense are equal to that of the monster used to summon him, bringing his attack total to 4400! Maju Garzett, attack the Pyramid Turtle!"
The mighty beast Maju Garzett appeared in Megacyber's place and landed a punch straight into the shell of the pyramid turtle. The blow was met with such force that the turtle splattered and Dolimus's Life Points dropped sharply to 1100.
"As per my turtle's effect, I may immediately special summon the Regenerating Mummy in attack position!" Dolimus called, though his voice sounded a bit shaky. When he drew, he again regained his determination. "I'll play 'Creature Swap'! Since Maju Garzett is the only monster on your side of the field, you have no choice but to choose him! Meanwhile, I will give you my Master Kyonshee!"
"Oh, boy…" said Von Stupor, his hand shaking.
"I'll order the Great Maju Garzett to attack your Master Kyonshee!"
Obediently, the monster grabbed Kyonshee and threw him as hard as he could. The monster could be seen flailing for a long while until it finally fell to the ground with a thud many yards away. Von Stupor's Life Points dwindled to 500.
"You've not bested me just yet," said Von Stupor, drawing his next card. "I'll summon Senju of the Thousand Hands, which activates his special effect! I'll bring one ritual monster from my deck to my hand. Next, I'll play 'Black Illusion Ritual', and sacrifice my Senju to ritual summon Relinquished!"
As Relinquished appeared on the field, a massive torrent of water soared through the arena, washing Von Stupor's monster away, along with Dolimus's Great Maju Garzett and Regenerating Mummy.
"I activated my trap card, 'Torrential Tribute'!" Dolimus announced. "This destroys all monsters on the field when one is summoned."
"Damn…" Von Stupor cursed, clenching his fist.
"Next I'll special summon the Vampire Lady as per my 'Call of the Mummy' card and attack your Life Points directly!"
A beautiful green-skinned woman in a long, form-fitting violet dress appeared on the field. She had pointed ears and wore long, slender violet gloves on her hands and up her arms. Suddenly, her face turned sinister as she lunged at Baron Von Stupor at a shocking speed, but was deflected by a last-minute defense barrier executed by Baron Von Stupor.
"I activated my 'Negate Attack'," Baron Von Stupor announced, breathing heavily by the sudden shock. "Now I'll summon the Dark Blade!"
Von Stupor's black knight stepped forward and challenged the Vampire Lady.
"Dark Blade, attack the Vampire Lady, now!" Von Stupor ordered, and the knight obediently chopped her head off with its twin swords in a cross slash. Dolimus's Life Points dwindled to 850.
"Hey… we're approaching the end of our duel, aren't we?" Dolimus suddenly asked.
"Yes, it would seem so…" Von Stupor replied, standing straight, facing him. "It should not be too long before a victor is made."
"I… I don't feel like… I've learned anything at all from this."
"You will. Just believe in your deck… and in yourself. Don't let your courage waver."
Dolimus looked uncomfortably toward the ground for a few moments and then drew a card. "I'll now special summon the Vampire Lord via 'Call of the Mummy' and I'll use it to attack the Dark Blade…"
A pale-skinned man rose from the ground, enveloped in a dark blue robe. His green hair was easily visible, and covered almost an entire half of his face. Throwing back his robe, he lunged at the black knight with devastating speed and seemed to scratch straight through its armor and fell it in one swipe. Von Stupor's Life Points fell to a dangerously low 300.
"I'll draw… and activate my 'Skull Lair' trap on Vampire Lord," Von Stupor said as his trap electrocuted the vampire until it exploded. "That ends my turn…"
"I too, will draw and end my turn."
"You're not believing in your deck enough, even still. I set one monster and end my turn."
"What do you mean? I believe in it… I'll set one M/T and end my turn."
"I said you're not believing in it enough. I draw and end my turn."
"What are you talking about? How do you know that?"
"You would be fighting much harder if you were. You must place your full and undying faith in your monsters and believe that no matter what, the heart of the cards will guide you in the right direction. That is the path of the duelist!"
"Heart of the…? In the right… direction?" Suddenly, Dolimus received an epiphany and his eyes grew wide.
"Do you understand now? Do you understand what I have been telling you?"
"I… I think so… I'll summon the Regenerating Mummy, and I order it to attack your set monster!"
Dolimus's mummy rose from the ground, bandages hanging from its rotting body and it rushed Von Stupor's set monster. A Man-Eater Bug burst from it and slashed the mummy to pieces. Thrusting its claws in the air triumphantly, the mummy then bit its leg and crippled it while the other parts tore it to pieces as well. Both were destroyed.
"Man-Eater Bug destroys a monster as soon as it's flipped face-up!" Von Stupor explained. "Next I'll set one M/T and end my turn."
"I'll draw… and because of 'Call of the Mummy', I'll special summon another Ryu Kokki!"
"Before you even try to attack, I'll activate the trap card, 'Gravity Bind'!"
As Ryu Kokki materialized, it stood firmly, yet appeared to have difficulty.
"And now I'll play 'Monster Reborn', to bring my Relinquished back to life!" Von Stupor declared. "Next, I'll absorb your Ryu Kokki!"
As Von Stupor's monster absorbed the monster, it was suddenly thrust into the air by another of Dolimus 'Compulsory Evacuation Device' cards.
"This is it for you, Von Stupor! For 'Call of the Mummy', I'll special summon my Vampire Lord!" Dolimus declared. "Next, I'll remove it from the game in order to summon the mighty creature Vampire Genesis to the field!"
The Vampire Lord suddenly looked stressed and clutched its forehead. Crumpling to the ground, it slowly transformed into a mighty beast of gigantic proportions. The violet behemoth held back its hulking arms and roared, its many fine-tipped teeth glistening in the moonlight.
"Go, Vampire Genesis! Attack..." He stared at Von Stupor expectingly. Von Stupor simply folded his hand together and discarded it, looking at Dolimus with his hands at his sides.
Dolimus's monster soared over to Von Stupor's side of the field and delivered a hard blow straight to Von Stupor's chest, knocking him back several feet before he landed on his back. His Life Points then sank to zero.
"Von Stupor!" Dolimus cried, running over to him.
"What's going on?!" he cried through tears, propping Von Stupor up in his arms. "What happened to you?! I thought you said that as long as you believe in your monsters and the heart of the cards, you can defeat any enemy?!"
Von Stupor merely laid there and gazed upward.
"You can…" he said softly. "But there are two things you are missing… For one thing, just because you can, it does not mean you always will. Also… this time, you weren't my enemy."
Dolimus stared at him, unsure of what to say.
"Dolimus… do you feel any happier now? Do you feel better that you have avenged your father's death?" Von Stupor asked.
Dolimus thought to himself for a moment, then looked down to Von Stupor and saw his eyes watching him through the holes in the mask. Tears began to stream from his eyes.
"…No… I don't… I… I don't feel better at all! I feel worse than ever!"
"Then congratulations… I've finally helped you find out who you are… You have found yourself again. And now, your anger and hate should never control you again."
Dolimus could only stare toward the ground, unable to look at Von Stupor in the eyes as the fog continued to dissipate around them. Just then, Von Stupor's mask began to glow brightly.
"Von Stupor… your mask…!" Dolimus said aloud.
"Take my mask… and give it to Yugi," Von Stupor instructed him. "He will know what to do with it. I trust you with it… be careful it does not fall into the wrong hands."
Just then, Von Stupor convulsed briefly in Dolimus's arms before going completely limp as the fog cleared entirely. Von Stupor's mask dissipated with the fog and the Millennium Eye fell to the ground with a light thud.