Yu-Gi-Oh! DF Book Eight: Team Duel Regional Tournament - Chapter Five

Okay, so yeah, I just knocked out half of the competitors in one chapter, but let's be fair, only about half of the teams were genuinely interesting. And I think I make it pretty amusing where I can. I say "where I can" because the real purpose of this chapter is to build up one of the opposing teams in particular. There isn't really a villain this book, but this team is the closest that we really ever get. I may over-exaggerated their abilities a tad in this first chapter, but I think it still works out alright. We also don't get to see a lot of dueling from Jen's point of view in this book. So, you know, enjoy what you get here.

Also, yes, those are A Midsummer Night's Dream-inspired cards toward the end of the chapter. And yes, this chapter did end up running really long.

Chapter Five

Preliminaries

Yu-Gi-Oh! DF Book Eight: Team Duel Regional Tournament - Chapter Four

Now that the characters and their dilemmas have been set up, it's time to set up the tournament itself. This chapter is mostly a big infodump establishing the antagonists of this book, that being the other competitors. As well as bringing a good number of the protagonists together. This is the first time that John and Sarah have competed against each other in a major tournament like this, where their potential careers and their reputations depended on the outcome.

There is some John and Karen stuff at the start, too, but otherwise, there isn't much to this one.

Chapter Four

Competitors

Yu-Gi-Oh! DF Book Eight: Team Duel Regional Tournament - Chapter Three

This chapter was a pretty interesting one to write. Specifically Jen's part in it. Fun fact: I always intended for Christopher to be the kind of person who, while well-intentioned, is primarily concerned with himself, and his own success. Frankly, the whole Team Duelist thing was just a way for him to boost his career. He cares if his team mates do well, but if he has to choose between his success and theirs, he will choose himself. The contrast between the cute, domestic scene between Jen and Christopher in the last book, and the very similar scene in this one, is meant to make this pretty blatant, and to set up for Jen's decision in a later chapter.

Since that's pretty heavy, though, I decided to combine that plot point with a new character reveal. Well, technically it is the reintroduction of a new character. And a potential romantic interest for one of my characters. But you'll see what I mean.

Chapter Three

Preparations

Yu-Gi-Oh! DF Book Eight: Team Duel Regional Tournament - Chapter Two

Did you think that this book was just going to be about John and his group again? What ever gave you that idea? Every other book that I've ever written? That's just silly. Reasonable, but silly. Okay, just reasonable. But seriously, no this book is going to focus equally on Team Illusion (John and Karen's team), the Duel Force, and Jen over on Team Beatdown. Sadly, after this chapter, one character will no longer be counted among the ranks of the Duel Force. For now, her story will end. But we do learn a few things about her before she goes, and more of her past will be revealed later.

Chapter Two

Gifts

Yu-Gi-Oh! DF Book Eight: Team Duel Regional Tournament - Chapter One

So, remember how, back in Book One, I implied that my characters would be participating in Team Duels all the time? Me neither. But I went back and re-read that book, and I totally did! So, I figured that I should probably make up for lost time. That's why this book focuses on a Team Duel tournament. And some plot. After a whoooole lot of establishing chapters, AKA filler.

Chapter One

Competitive Goals

Yu-Gi-Oh! DF Book Seven: Their Most Dangerous Enemy - Chapter Thirty-Five

And that's it, Yu-Gi-Oh! DF7: Their Most Dangerous Enemy is done. Let's get a couple of things out of the way. For example, do I even need to discuss how morally gray my heroes are? I mean, obviously the degree to which each of my characters is willing to kill an enemy varies from character to character, but even Rocky, who is the most traditionally heroic character in my cast, will kill an enemy if he feels that there is no other choice, or even if he thinks that it's the penalty that that person deserves.

Then there's John, who teeters constantly on the edge of becoming a villain every day, Jen, who will make whatever the logical choice is to save the most lives, and Max, who sees horrible things every day and wants desperately to retaliate in kind, and has to restrain himself. Honestly the only characters among my cast who I can't see ever killing anyone are Kimi and Karen. Kimi, because I honestly can't see her being able to, and Karen, because she's so powerful that she would never have a need. That said, any of my characters would kill in a game where the stakes were death, if it meant saving their own life.

I think it's appropriate that John is the first of my characters to actually attack someone with the Shadow Games, when he went after Exodus in DF5. He recognized that Exodus was too dangerous to be allowed freedom to operate, and too unrepentantly evil to be allowed to live on. And he made a choice to stop Exodus by any means necessary, and he stopped him himself. He didn't make anyone else do it. He didn't put that burden onto anyone else. Because very soon, John is going to find himself in a similar position to Exodus, where his own death would make things safer for everyone else, and his experience with Exodus will inform him on that occasion.

But that's another story.

There are two more Duel Force books after this one. If you're someone who read these on yugiohcardmaker.net, then you know that DF6 was originally intended to be the last book of this series, not including spin-offs. I had plotlines that were unresolved, but I intended them to be explored in the spin-offs, and then resolved in the DF sequel series. But I realized that I was doing a disservice to my sequel characters, and limiting my story possibilities, if I used the sequel to resolve the story of these characters. And I wanted to make a special where the Duel Force fought the Card Professors. So I just fleshed that idea out into a full book, and used it to set up for the true DF story resolution. DF8 will set up further, while, hopefully, still being entertaining on its own, while being more lighthearted than this story, and then DF9 will wrap up the story of the Duel Force properly.

All of that said, the story of the Duel Force will continue in Yu-Gi-Oh! DF8: The Regional Team Duel Championship, where my characters actually duel as a team, like I implied that they would often way back in book one!

Chapter Thirty-Five

The Curse of the Forgotten Duelist

Yu-Gi-Oh! DF Book Seven: Their Most Dangerous Enemy - Chapter Thirty-Four

And that's it, Damien Curran, the most legitimate threat to the entire Duel Force all at once since Blackheart, or the DDF, is dealt with. This is also where the second big antagonist of this book (third, if you count Richie or James, fourth if you count both) makes an appearance. He wasn't really set up in this book specifically, but I have been setting him up since the beginning of the series, so it still works. And this isn't the last time we'll see him, either.

I mentioned that defeating Damien would be a bit of a team effort. I also mentioned that I wasn't fridging anyone. Hopefully it's clear what I meant now.

Chapter Thirty-Four

Darkness and Light

Yu-Gi-Oh! DF Book Seven: Their Most Dangerous Enemy - Chapter Thirty-Three

And the duel between John and Damien is over and done with. And yes, I left it on a cliffhanger. And yes, it's that kind of cliffhanger. Say what you want about me doing this, but I needed an instigating incident to justify what happens next. You'll see what I mean next chapter. But let's just say that this event will inspire development in three characters without fridging anyone. I promise that much.

As for the duel itself, I really like the way that I resolved this one. I used the "miracle card" thing again, but at least this one has some set-up. And, to be fair, I don't use this nearly as often as the actual canon. Used sparingly, I think that it's a perfectly good trope. Whether or not I'll use it again later, I have no idea, but I think it fits here.

The conflict with Damien Curran isn't over. It's going to take one more chapter to resolve that, and it's going to be something of a team effort. Then there's a chapter of wrap-up, and DF7 will be complete. But I'll talk more about that in the commentary for chapter thirty-five.

Chapter Thirty-Three

United Across Generations

Yu-Gi-Oh! DF Book Seven: Their Most Dangerous Enemy - Chapter Thirty-Two

The duel between John and the obsessive Damien Curran is in full swing. While last chapter really only showed one of each Duelist's turns, this one is much more of a back and forth. Damien consistently goes all out, and John consistently pulls out all the stops to counter his every move. Both of these Duelists are incredibly skilled, and it becomes pretty clear pretty quick that it's not going to be easy to call which of them will come out of this victorious.

On a different note, with this chapter over with, there are only three more chapters in this book. Who's excited? Because I'm excited.

Chapter Thirty-Two

Pulling Out All the Stops

Yu-Gi-Oh! DF Book Seven: Their Most Dangerous Enemy - Chapter Thirty-One

Armed with new knowledge about his family's past, and with a new sense of purpose that has come with it, John returns to confront the mystery Duelist and discover who, exactly, he is. Their Duel begins, and it becomes clear that what Depre said about the two of them being equals could not be more true.

This is the chapter where we actually discover the mystery Duelist's motivations. I wanted them to make sense, but in a way that comes off as overly obsessive, and riddled with broken logic. Someone let me know how I did.

Chapter Thirty-One

The Foe's True Intentions