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

I really agonized for, like, a whole three seconds over whether I should post a second chapter from this book, or another chapter of Reaper, but this book is longer and getting a later start, so it won out. This chapter is a little short-ish compared to some of my others (though not by much, really), but soooo much happens. Seriously, just read it. Shit gets real very quickly.

I haven't worked out a schedule governing the posting of these chapters alongside Reaper yet, though you should expect at least one more of these at least before another Reaper goes up. I want the climax of this book to go up at the same time as the climax of Reaper, so that the climax of the latter feels like a flashback within this book. In fact all of Reaper could be though of as Max thinking back to the important recent events of Reaper, where he actually worked with other people again for the first time in months, as he deals with once again teaming up with his old friends and allies from DF. That's why I feel that I can post them alongside each other at all. 

Chapter One

An Eventful Day

Digimon Adventure ND Book One: Manipulamon Reigns - Chapter Nine

It looks like this is becoming a Sunday thing. That's pretty cool, I guess.

Oh, and the kids have a skirmish with Manipulamon in this chapter.
You know, no biggie. 

Chapter Nine

Battle Manipulamon!

The Celestial Digivolution

Yu-Gi-Oh! DF Book Seven: Their Most Dangerous Enemy - Prologue

That's right, this book has a freakin' prologue biatches! Dang, I feel like a legit writer... Anyway, this is technically the first chapter of the next Yu-Gi-Oh! DF book that I mentioned last week in part four of John v. Yugi. I decided to go ahead and post it alongside Reaper after all! This book is my first real and legit attempt at creating backstory for my characters, intrigue, and foreshadowing, as I really hope this prologue conveys. I know I don't take this story as serious as I could. On some level I can't take it too seriously. It's a Yu-Gi-Oh! story, after all. This book is the first one where I really, I think, try to construct a serious narrative involving these characters. I explore their motivations, and their histories, and while I won't say whether the trend of everyone surviving these books will continue or not, this story is definitely not without risk and sacrifice and real consequences. Things change after this book, and set up for the next one, and for the eventual sequel series.

I hope someone out there enjoys this book. I certainly enjoyed writing it, as it involved building a really involved fanon around the Card Professors' Guild from Yu-Gi-Oh! R which reconciles the events of R with the events of the anime, and the events of my books. I honestly haven't had this much fun writing fanon since writing Yu-Gi-Oh! DA. This particular fanon also heavily involves Karen, and Maxamillion Pegasus (!!!) so I'm particularly excited. Whether or not it all quite works out, I'm not really sure, but I think it works out well enough, and as I said, I enjoyed writing it.

Oh, and Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays and all of that...

Prologue

Digimon Adventure ND Book One: Manipulamon Reigns - Chapter Eight

Well, turns out John was right, and something was up with Jeremy. Whoops!

Chapter Eight

Manipulamon’s Greatest Pawn

Update

I had planned to do another two (yeah, I said two) full-length reviews/Something Awesome posts today and tomorrow on The AwesomeBlog to make up for the fact that I've been really lax there this week, but something awful happened today and I just can't do it. Maybe I'll feel up to it tomorrow, but I don't know. I have a few creative writing posts still scheduled to post, so this Sunday's update here will go up regardless, but, unless something changes, these sites are both on hiatus until at least Monday.

Yu-Gi-Oh! Epic Battles #2: John Sieger vs. Yugi Muto, Part Four

And finally we come to the epic conclusion of this four part short story. As I've mentioned before, in my comments of chapters of this very story, and on comments for Kaiba Corp. Invitational Tournament, I regretted John beating Yugi. It just wasn't a fair fight. As I've also mentioned, this is my atonement for that. This duel is a fair fight, and John has really come a long way toward closing the gap that exists (and even back then existed) between himself and the original Yu-Gi-Oh! protagonist. Still, this duel ends as I think we all realized it only could.

More Epic Battles duels will still come periodically, but more frequently from now on, Reaper will be interspersed with chapters from the new penultimate Yu-Gi-Oh! DF book, titles Their Most Dangerous Enemy, which will reunite much of the old main cast and feature some character development for practically every member of the team. It will also utilize elements from the Yu-Gi-Oh! R manga, and feature duels with Yugi, Kaiba, and Pegasus. So, you know, look forward to that!

And now, without further blabbering, here is the chapter proper. I hope you enjoy it!  

Duel Two

John vs. Yugi Muto Part Four

Digimon Adventure ND Book One: Manipulamon Reigns - Chapter Seven

And so concludes the first battle with one of Manipulamon's generals. I think that I did a good job conveying the difference between a regular battle and a battle with a Digimon of this caliber. If things hadn't gone exactly right in the chapter below, Scorpiomon would have won, and the adventure would have been over.

Scorpiomon, despite being a high level compared to the group's current Digimon, and being quite deadly, was one of the weaker general, which is why he was made to oversee such low level Digimon. Manipulamon doesn't really believe in his abilities. Also, while Scorpiomon gave the kids plenty of trouble, it is his other generals, including the hidden ones (yes, there are two generals that the Digidestined don't even know about yet) who will really be a problem.

Chapter Seven

Versus Scorpiomon!

Yu-Gi-Oh! Reaper - Chapter Four

Our first truly plot-related chapter is finally here, and, as I only intend this book to have somewhere around twenty chapters (this is subject to change, of course), we are tentatively 1/5 of the way through! Not that I don't enjoy writing this, because I do, more so than I should (notice that as my stories progress from book one to the present there is more and more blood and violence. I'm maybe a little messed up), but I just talked on The AwesomeBlog how when I have too many ideas at once, I get distracted, and I have a ton of ideas for later stuff in this series. Stuff that cannot skip this story, though it can be posted alongside it while causing only one major spoiler (I'm actually considering this), and maybe even heightening the emotional impact of this book's later chapters.

Wow, I got kind of stream of consciousness-y there, didn't I? Gist of it: I may be starting another proper series of uploads alongside this one fairly soon. 

 

Chapter Four

The Archer

Digimon Adventure ND Book One: Manipulamon Reigns - Chapter Six

On there way to the Gekomon Village, John and the others run across Scorpiomon, one of the generals in charge of Manipulamon's labor force of Digimon too numerous to devote extra data to tagging them. They probably could have avoided the fight, but John just can't help acting all heroic. And, well, they had to fight Scorpiomon eventually, right?

Also in this chapter, we see some minor contention build between John and his old friend Jeremy. Both seem to have different ideas about how the group should be led, but The Digicomp's message referred to John's leadership skills as a defining characteristic, so the rest continue to look to his first of all. How will this butting of heads eventually affect this recently-renewed relationship?  

Chapter Six

Encounter With the Enemy;

The Mines of Scorpiomon!

Yu-Gi-Oh! Epic Battles #2: John Sieger vs. Yugi Muto, Part Three

So I had planned to really dig in in my free time yesterday and get Reaper chapter four ready (hence why I had nothing else prepared either) but I felt pretty crappy and never did. I may get it done today, but if I do, I still wanted a for sure update to make up for missing yesterday, so here is John v Yugi part three, the penultimate chapter in this story. If I do finish Reaper chapter four today (which is unlikely) I don't know if I'll post it today or wait. I guess we'll have to wait and see!

I'm a little worried that I made Yugi a little too arrogant in this story. He's very confident, where in the anime and manga he seems to be pretty humble. However, I often remember that Yugi can be a little shit to his friends, and the entire purpose of Atemu (the character who most people still  think of when they think of Yugi, for those who don't know) moving on at the end of the series was to give Yugi a chance to grow in his own, and as similar as he and Atemu are at a base level, I think added confidence would suite him by this point, some five or six or something years later. Either way, I hope you enjoy this update.

Duel Two

John vs. Yugi Muto Part Three

Digimon Adventure ND Book One: Manipulamon Reigns - Chapter Five

 We finally meet the other human character that I mentioned in the chapter intro a few chapters back, and we get some good adventure themes, but otherwise this chapter is pretty unimportant. It's next chapter, the introduction of one of the Generals, which actually advances the story.

Chapter Five

Arrive At Digital Bridge;
Enter the Fifth Digidestined!

Yu-Gi-Oh! DF Short #1 - Tucker vs. Robert the Athletics Duelist

Rather than continue the John v. Yugi duel, I want to start something new here, today. Oh, no Reaper yet this week, obviously.

Anyway.

I often have ideas for short stories and one-off duels, the likes of which would be filler in the anime, for example, which might have no consequences, or be super important, but that don't warrant their own books or specials. To test whether or not I want to continue this, I wrote this one, where Tucker happens to run into the sports Duelist that he fought in the Book One chapter A Night In Egypt, and they have a rematch where his opponent uses some really cool newer cards. I enjoyed it, so expect more shorts like this in the future.

Rematch of...the Last Ten and a Half Minutes or So;
The Street Fighter and the Athlete

Digimon Adventure ND Book One: Manipulamon Reigns - Chapter Four

Not much to say about this chapter. We learn that the Digimushrooms, the same things that will serve as provisions, will also be the health potions for this adventure, there is a new Digivolution, and we meet a new ally, but otherwise that's really it. No biggie.

Chapter Four

Versus Birdramon;
Spread Your Wings, BrauntoPhoenixmon!

Yu-Gi-Oh! Epic Battles #2: John Sieger vs. Yugi Muto, Part Two

Here we have part two of the John vs. Yugi duel, proving that, yes, I do intend to still upload these things as well, alternating them with Reaper, and any other Yu-Gi-Oh! short stories that I happen to dream up. I really like this duel, but it is a four-parter, and this chapter honestly feels a little floaty. Still, I think it's pretty good.

Duel Two

John vs. Yugi Muto Part, Two

Digimon Adventure ND Book One: Manipulamon Reigns - Chapter Three

Another chapter of Digimon. Hurray! In this one we see the characters beginning to apply the knowledge and technology found at the Tower in chapter two, and learning more about the conflict between Manipulamon and the Digimon already living in this world.

Chapter Three

The Team’s Choice

Digimon Adventure ND Book One: Manipulamon Reigns - Chapter Two

Chapter Three of Reaper is finally here, and it's a gruesome one, so I figured that all zero of you guys who read this could use something a little more uplifting to help you recover. Here is chapter two of this story, which is some action, followed by an infodump. Why are the characters given so much information at once? Well, I always thought that it was really unfair of the characters who pulled the main characters of the original show into the Digital World to basically send them right into the action with no clue what to do, and I didn't want my story to be the same way. Getting all of this out of the way not only establishes the plot of this book, but gives my characters a chance to decide for themselves if they can handle what they are being asked to do. It doesn't completely solve the problem of kids saving the world being kind of a silly plot device, but I think it helps.

Oh, and future updates to this story will come more often. I'm not sure if they'll have an official day, like Yu-Gi-Oh!, but more often nonetheless. I kinda forgot about it, or else this one would have come a lot sooner...

Chapter Two

Ambushed! The Hidden Knowledge of Desert Tower

Yu-Gi-Oh! Reaper - Chapter Three

I finally got it! With some action, psychological junk, and easily the harshest visuals that I've ever written, this chapter I think conveys the tone and the desperation of this story perfectly. Let me know what you think, just be careful if you are squeamish.

The name of this chapter has a few meanings, btw. We get to see how Reaper lives, first of all, and we also get to see a bit about how Thompson lives, and we get to see first hand the ultimate condition that everyone must face in life: death.

Oh, and this update is important, because it is the first Yu-Gi-Oh! update to go up on a Wednesday, which will be the official day for Yu-Gi-Oh!-themed updates from now on.

On an unrelated note, I said in my last Yu-Gi-Oh! update that this chapter was giving me trouble and I meant it. Even the format is weird. It's 1.5 spaced, rather than 1, which is what I prefer, and I can't fix it. Maybe this chapter just didn't want to go up or something.

Chapter Three

Conditions of Living

Yu-Gi-Oh! Epic Battles #2: John Sieger vs Yugi Muto, Part One

Okay, yeah, this isn't Reaper, which means another week without Reaper (unless I get the third chapter ready sooner than I expected). I apologize, this chapter is just being difficult.

Instead, here is the next Epic Battles duel, a rematch between John and Yugi, something that I wanted to do since the second that I first posted the old Book Five duel between John and Yugi where John wins against Yugi with magic. Still, I was limited by my "no Yugi without a super-good reason" rule, so I used Epic Battles as an excuse. I'm clever that way. This time John is much more skilled, but he doesn't have Hiro with him, and he doesn't plan to use Destiny Draw, as (I'm pretty sure) he does in that duel. In other words, this duel is as fair and even as can be.

Duel Two

John vs. Yugi Muto, Part One

Yu-Gi-Oh! Epic Battles #1: Paul "Pyro" Tucker vs. Katsuya Jonouchi, Part Two

As it has been for a while now, chapter three of Yu-Gi-Oh! Reaper is giving me trouble. The first three chapters are supposed to establish the "opposition" to Reaper throughout the story in the form of the cops, who will be important characters in their own right, to establish Reaper's powers, and finally, to establish Reaper's quality of living. Reaper is like Batman: he pushes himself harder than he should, and his lifestyle isn't healthy. This will be the first half of chapter three, with the beginnings of the plot making up the second half, and I'm just having trouble capturing exactly how I want to portray this.

So, in the mean time, as I said last time I posted one of these, here is the second half of the first Epic Battles duel instead. I know it was a long wait, and I don't particularly care.

Duel One

Tucker vs. Katsuya Jonouchi, Part Two

Digimon Adventure ND Book One: Manipulamon Reigns - Chapter One

Here's another old story. Another really old story. A long time ago, when I was super young, Digimon was a thing. I loved Digimon, and I obsessed over it. My sister loved it, and my cousins loved it too, and we used to play it together. I loved it so much that I wrote my own story. It was so different from this one that I can't even remember all that it was about, but it was what got me started writing, and inserting characters based on my family members was how I got the ideas for my subsequent Yu-Gi-Oh! characters, as the characters in my Digimon story were developing in the same direction as those characters eventually did before I pretty much gave up on this in favor of my Yu-Gi-Oh! story, which I found more fun and exciting to create. This makes the John, Jen, Kris, Amanda and Sarah in this story effectively alternate versions of those later characters. Sarah is still the temper, John the leader, Jen the brain, and Kris the airhead. Amanda is the only one who is different, as the kid character who has to grow up too fast.

John, in this story, is not a martial artist, but he and Sarah are both athletes. Jen isn't goth, and she's possibly even faster at problem solving than her counterpart. Sarah isn't as angry or loudmouthed, and more determined. Originally this story had no Tucker, Rocky, Karen, or any of them, but it did have a different original character who eventually became based on a friend of mine of the same name. Because I'm feeling nostalgic, I've decided to resurrect this story and improve upon it. I have ideas for chapters and plot threads that I never could have pulled off even a few years back when I tried this once before. I also have an idea of making this an actual alternate reality to my Yu-Gi-Oh! story, with more of the characters from that story here, in this one. This will offer me the unique opportunity to explore some of those characters in completely different environments, with different backgrounds, allegiances, and motivations. I think it'll be a lot of fun for me, and I hope it'll be fun for you as well.

This will be easier than writing a story from scratch like I'm doing with Reaper, as I'm going back and refurbishing old chapters, at least for a while, so it shouldn't compete with Reaper for my time too much. Also, it'll be more content here, which I figure is always a good thing. Not to mention that this is a lot more family friendly, so to speak, than Reaper is going to be, and more easily enjoyed by everyone, and really that's why I do this: to tell stories, and bring enjoyment to people (including myself, of course). So please, give this story of kids on an adventure a chance, and have some fun! 

Chapter One

Roar, Dragonterramon!

Yu-Gi-Oh! Reaper - Chapter Two

In chapter one, we got the backstory of this book, the setup, and we were introduced to the concept of Reaper, his reputation, the viewpoints regarding him, and met two of the main characters. In this chapter we actually get to meet Reaper, to know him as a person. We're introduced to his methods, his intention, his limits, and his...quirks. Next chapter we will get to the story proper.

 

Chapter Two

Gone Hunting

Yu-Gi-Oh! Reaper - Chapter One

Okay, fair warning, this is a very different Yu-Gi-Oh! story. Card games do not save the day in this one, only resolve and dedication. This story will be depressing, and, hopefully, everything will come together by the end. I say hopefully because it is a mystery story that I've only partially plotted. I spent so much time trying to get this one just right, to no avail, that I've since decided to go forward with what I have and hope that the rest will unfold as a mystery often does. Where the other Yu-Gi-Oh! stories on this blog have been written and re-written and edited and re-edited, this one will likely not be perfect the first time through. It will probably be re-edited more than once. If a chapter is every re-edited, I will post that it has and link to the updated post.

If you have liked my Yu-Gi-Oh! stories up until now, I hope that you will like this one, too, even though it is not at all a conventional Yu-Gi-Oh! story, or maybe even because of it. If you don't think that you will, that's fine, but I urge you to try. Either way, here is the first chapter.



Chapter One

A Clandestine Meeting

Yu-Gi-Oh! Epic Battles #1: Paul "Pyro" Tucker vs. Katsuya Jonouchi, Part One

So here is something else that I used to post on yugiohcardmaker.net. Despite the issues that I have with my login there (I really should go back and see if I can get on yet or not, but oh well), I do recommend the site for anyone interested in Yu-Gi-Oh! Making the cards is fun, and there is some good stuff in the Creative Writing section. Anyway, this was a community-driven project where people on the site would vote on whatever match-up they want out of three or four choices, and could even submit there own fanfiction characters for consideration. This would allow readers to experience matches that we would never otherwise see, in the form of a series of short stories which I would try to make as plausible as possible. It started out as nothing but disjointed stories, but I actually had an idea for something like a storyline. Too bad the fact that I've left the site effectively ended this series as well.

Anyway, there are quite a few match-ups already posted on yugiohcardmaker.net. Because Reaper is going even slower than I thought, I will be posting these here as well to fill any lulls. I don't know what I'll do once these run out. I guess I'll actually have to...*gulp*...try.

This first match is my main character's best friend Tucker against the best friend of the premier Yu-Gi-Oh! main character Yugi Muto, Katsuya Jonouchi (known as Joey Wheeler in the U.S.). Enjoy!

Duel One

Tucker vs. Katsuya Jonouchi, Part One

Yu-Gi-Oh! DE/DA Crossover Special!: A Threat To Us All - Chapter Twelve

And finally the end is upon us. We see the battle come to an end, there is a twist ending, which I did allude to earlier. We also get to see not just some of John's dark power, but some of the personality of the thing that has formed from that power, though not really because here John was trying to hold that personality back, so what we have here is more like a mix of John's mind and Dark John's mind, kind of like when John and Hiro would merge minds.

And yes, Dark John will get a follow up later on where the plot thread of its existence, which has been ongoing since the first book, will finally be resolved.

Now that this is over, I will be moving on to my final "character study" spinoff, about Max, called Yu-Gi-Oh! Reaper. This is going to be a hard one to write, as its not my usual style. Updates will not come every day. It'll be more like once a week, really. Then after that, the Duel Force will reunite for one more adventure! Aside from specials and stuff. And maybe one more book down the line, I'm not sure.



Chapter Twelve

The Heart of Darkness

Yu-Gi-Oh! DE/DA Crossover Special!: A Threat To Us All - Chapter Eleven

And now Prof shows up, too! I love writing for Prof. He's eccentric and smart and makes no sense, and I love it. He's also strong, and this is the first time that I think it comes across just how strong he is. He could give any Yu-Gi-Oh! character, canon or not, a run for their money. There is also a secret backstory to Prof that I've never revealed, and that I don't think that I ever will, so I'm just going to say it here, now. In the original Yu-Gi-Oh! series, there is an American prize hunter called "Bandit" Keith Howard who competes in the Duelist Kingdom Tournament, is beaten by Joey, and then killed by Pegasus in self defense, only to resurrected by the Card Professors Guild later in Yu-Gi-Oh! R. I think, and I could be wrong, but I think that the author of R named this group of prize hunters after Keith, as he is once called "The Card Professor" in Yu-Gi-Oh! Duelist Volume 4.

Prof's full name is Roger Howard. He is a younger cousin of Keith's who knew him growing up, and took the name "The Dueling Professor" when he joined the Elite to mock his ambiguously evil relative's "silly stage name", and to play up his intelligence. I even tried to make Prof look a little like Keith, with him being tall and scruffy and whatnot, but no one ever picked up on that.



Chapter Eleven

And Then There Was One

Yu-Gi-Oh! DE/DA Crossover Special!: A Threat To Us All - Chapter Ten

Hurray! Dark Marco! I like Dark Marco. I think I did a good job showing the contrast between Marco and his dark side as well here. Marco sees no point in talking to the shadow beings, but Dark Marco loves to hear himself talk, and uses the presence of these enemies as an excuse. We also get to see Karen's Soul magic fully manifest here for the first time. I try to limit her power when I can. The idea is that she draws power from inspiration. She creates things, sometimes from other things.

Because Duel Monsters inspires her, her powers manifest as creatures and characters from Duel Monsters more easily than, say, characters from Star Wars, or military weapons, or anything like that. And when she is inspired to the point of an epiphany, she can grant wishes, like when she came to the realization that she would do anything, even brave the pain of her past, to save John and her other friends from Blackheart, and she was able to destroy the Dark Duel Force's Shadow Items and heal her Soul. In the right situation, Karen is the most powerful character that I've ever written.



Chapter Ten

The Last Defender

Yu-Gi-Oh! DE/DA Crossover Special!: A Threat To Us All - Chapter Nine

The battle continues to rage, and characters continue to be knocked out of the battle. We also get to see some of the upward limits of the main creature here. In true Shonen fashion, John, the main hero, uses what would, anywhere else, be finishing moves, and the enemy recovers easily. I tried to make the duel seem genuinely tense. I'm not sure if I succeeded or not.



Chapter Nine

Declining Hopes

Yu-Gi-Oh! DE/DA Crossover Special!: A Threat To Us All - Chapter Eight

Not much to say here, either. We see more of John's new "Supremacy Sun" in action (he actually played it two chapters back, but I forgot to mention it). Since this story takes place in the universe of the original Yu-Gi-Oh! and its spinoff anime series, and the spinoff mangas take place in an entirely different continuity, I decided to give "Sun" and the other "Legendary Planets", from the Yu-Gi-Oh! GX manga, a role in my story. Before the adventures of the Duel Force end completely, we will see each of them as least once, either in a duel, or in passing. We've already seen Shannon use "The Splendid Venus", and Hiro use "The Big Saturn", and now John has "The Supremacy Sun". Only seven more to go!



Chapter Eight

Continuing Struggles

Yu-Gi-Oh! DE/DA Crossover Special!: A Threat To Us All - Chapter Seven

Not much to say here. John acts kinda like an arrogant ass, but that's pretty normal. We also get to see some of the upward limits of the shadow beings, and they're pretty impressive.



Chapter Seven

Things Actually Get Worse

Yu-Gi-Oh! DE/DA Crossover Special!: A Threat To Us All - Chapter Six

Turns out that the monster of this story is a bit smarter than the characters thought. Who knew? Well, I mean, I knew. I write this after all. Either way, we get the start of the battle here, finally, only halfway through the special. I wanted it to feel almost epic in scale, but with card games, like something out of Lord of the Rings, with heroes fighting against overwhelming odds with almost no support, in pursuit of a nearly impossible victory. But with card games.



Chapter Six

Everything Goes Wrong

Yu-Gi-Oh! DE/DA Crossover Special!: A Threat To Us All - Chapter Five

I kinda feel like I miss an opportunity in this chapter of the special to have Rachel and Ria meet and clash. You know they would. And then they'd make up. Maybe hug a little. And then their eyes would meet, and their aggression would reveal itself to be something else, and they...wait, wait, that's a different idea that I had.

Sorry.

But in all seriousness, I could have had them duke it out a bit, but what could I have done? I could make them fight, like martial arts fight, but I already did that with Rachel and Rocky. I could make them duel, but I already did that with Rachel and Rocky, and Rachel and Kimi, so I don't really see the point. This chapter is long enough anyway, with all kinds of exposition, some of which is pretty redundant if you read the source stories. I simply can't bring myself to pad it out any further.



Chapter Five

Coming Together

Yu-Gi-Oh! DE/DA Crossover Special!: A Threat To Us All - Chapter Four

And only one third of the way through the entire special, the two casts come together...kinda. They really come together in the next chapter. Hmm, maybe I took this story a little too slow.



Chapter Four

The Minds of Darkness

Yu-Gi-Oh! DE/DA Crossover Special!: A Threat To Us All - Chapter Three

Okay, so I've done this whole "two characters are jealous of each other and kinda competing over another character during a duel" thing before between Karen and Ria, but I just feel that it was appropriate here. Even though I'm pretty sure that Rocky is too boy-scout-ish to see it himself, there is all manners of sexual tension between him and Rachel, and Kimi is having none of that. Also I really wanted these two to fight, and its my story, so yeah.

Chapter Three

Cat Fight

Yu-Gi-Oh! DE/DA Crossover Special!: A Threat To Us All - Chapter Two

We interrupt this Yu-Gi-Oh! story to bring you cute domestic stuff! I guess the first chapter was a little bit like that, too, but here, with Rocky and Kimi, it just seems more obvious to me. Maybe it's because they're in their apartment, or maybe its just that I love writing these characters as a couple and find it adorable, but either way, it is what it is. And there is the creepy stuff in the second half of the chapter to make up for it.

Chapter Two

Scary Stories

Yu-Gi-Oh! DE/DA Crossover Special!: A Threat To Us All - Chapter One

And here it is, the crossover special that I mentioned in an earlier post, between my DA and DE casts. Yeah they are my own characters, so it possibly isn't really a crossover, but just another story, but I like to think of it as a crossover. It sounds more exciting. Also it clearly isn't a Duel Force story, it is a story of these two spinoffs. After all the only characters who appear are from those spinoffs, so I think "crossover" fits. Comment below and let me know what you think of it!

Chapter One

The Appearance

Yu-Gi-Oh! DA: The Phantom Seal - Chapter Thirty

And Yu-Gi-Oh! DA is over, and I think it turned out pretty well. It has a lot of time jumps in it, some Out of Character Is Serious Business moments, and it's story would collapse if the writers of the GX anime would bother to offer any backstory for the school, at all, but I like it. I also love writing Pegasus into my stories, and now I have an excuse to do just that as much as I want. I also like that Pegasus is one of my favorite Yu-Gi-Oh! characters, and yet I really can't see John liking him at all. I just think that's funny, which is why he mentions in his narration that he doesn't like Pegasus every time they meet.

This story means a change for these characters. John, from this point forward, is officially a Pro Duelist. He has a career now. It won't always impact future stories and specials, but it is something that should be kept in mind for the next full book, especially the ending. Also Karen is now a card designer. By the time of the upcoming DF sequel, she will be high up in Industrial Illusions. This will be important once the sequel begins, but it won't really mean much until then.

What's important, however, is that these characters are no longer members of, or associated with, the Duel Force, and yet they have not done a good job of hiding their nature as magic users, so people will still lump them with the other magic users in the Duel Force. This will get in the way of their desired futures, and they will have to do something about it. Also there is a very good chance that they might have to fight the Duel Force at some point.



Chapter Thirty

Looking Forward

Yu-Gi-Oh! DA: The Phantom Seal - Chapter Twenty-Nine

Pegasus giving unfair tests to other characters? No way, he's never done that before. This is totally out of character!

Sarcasm mode disengage.



Chapter Twenty-Nine

A Clash of Wills!
Battle of the Ultimate Cards

Yu-Gi-Oh! DA: The Phantom Seal - Chapter Twenty-Eight

W-wow, Thomas is really good!



Chapter Twenty-Eight

The Spirit’s Fire

Yu-Gi-Oh! DA: The Phantom Seal - Chapter Twenty-Seven

One part allusion to John's dark nature plus one part time jump, mixed with a dash of a duel that has been alluded to since the first chapter, and you have a recipe for win!



Chapter Twenty-Seven

Aftermath

Yu-Gi-Oh! DA: The Phantom Seal - Chapter Twenty-Six

So this isn't the first time that I've used this excuse to bring everyone back to life, but seriously it's a staple of Yu-Gi-Oh! since Duelist Kingdom that beating the guy who defeated all of the other characters in a Shadow Game saves those characters, even if it hasn't always been automatic as this is.



Chapter Twenty-Six

The Enemy’s True Form;
The Chaos Phantom!

Yu-Gi-Oh! DA: The Phantom Seal - Chapter Twenty-Five

John vs the Sacred Beasts? Huzzah!



Chapter Twenty-Five

John vs. The Demon of Flames

Yu-Gi-Oh! DA: The Phantom Seal - Chapter Twenty-Four

It's possible that I decided to extend the duel between the Beasts and Shepperd and Ria a bit, and abused cinematic time to get away with it, but you probably won't notice unless I tell you.



Chapter Twenty-Four

The Beasts Attack!
Retaliation

Yu-Gi-Oh! DA: The Phantom Seal - Chapter Twenty-Three

John defeats his opponent! Will he arrive in time to save his friends? No, no he won't.



Chapter Twenty-Three

The Beasts Attack!
Sacrifices

Yu-Gi-Oh! DA: The Phantom Seal - Chapter Twenty-Two

What is there to say about this chapter. Shepperd, Thomas and Ria do okay. Oh, and Dark Simourgh is featured. I like Dark Simourgh.



Chapter Twenty-Two

The Beasts Attack!
Arrival of a Demon

Yu-Gi-Oh! DA: The Phantom Seal - Chapter Twenty-One

There is a lot to say about these following chapters. We get a lot of exposition, a couple of duels, and what is effectively my own fanon regarding how the Sacred Beast cards ended up in the vault beneath Duel Academy in the time of GX. Because so much goes on, I'm just going to comment on most of it after this arch is over. Here, though, I want to mention that yes, I'm Worf-ing my minor characters, and no, I don't think that it's an overused trope.



Chapter Twenty-One

The Beasts Attack!
Into Their Trap

Yu-Gi-Oh! DA: The Phantom Seal - Chapter Twenty

Another time jump? Hurray! What was I thinking...



Chapter Twenty

No Rest for the Weary

Yu-Gi-Oh! DA: The Phantom Seal - Chapter Nineteen

This chapter is important because, for the second time since she destroyed the DDF's Shadow Items to heal her Soul, we get to see Karen's power to grant wishes. Well, we saw it in Special #2 when she wished that she could help John and then joined him on the mental plane, but I wasn't very clear at the time what was happening, so I don't generally count it.



Chapter Nineteen

The Unexpected Deck;
The Ultimate Warrior!

Yu-Gi-Oh! DA: The Phantom Seal - Chapter Eighteen

We saw a tribute to Jun Manjoume in the form of the girl who used Ojamas, and a tribute to Sho Marufuji in the form of the Vehicroid kid who battled John at the exams, and now we get a tribute to Judai in the form of the Shadow's second, more powerful deck. Looks like that covers everyone...



Chapter Eighteen

An Unexpected Deck;
The Ultimate Demon!

Yu-Gi-Oh! DA: The Phantom Seal - Chapter Seventeen

It was obviously the purpose of the Shadow to set up for the confrontation between John and Karen so that I could force a big progression of their relationship. Here we finally get to see the other reason for it's existence. That's right, so that John can get a Big Damn Hero moment!



Chapter Seventeen

The Darkness Returns

Yu-Gi-Oh! DA: The Phantom Seal - Chapter Sixteen

And now we have a chapter that includes a time jump! Wow, me, you are good at this whole writing thing.



Chapter Sixteen

What Happened Next

Yu-Gi-Oh! DA: The Phantom Seal - Chapter Fifteen

Hurray, domestic stuff! And yelling! And characters acting out of character out of anger!



Chapter Fifteen

Confrontations

Yu-Gi-Oh! DA: The Phantom Seal - Chapter Fourteen

Oh, so that's the real source of conflict here...hmm.

Whenever I go back and re read this chapter to check for needed corrections and the like, I feel like I'm being mean to my characters. I let John achieve a big, dramatic victory with a card that Karen made for him at his side, and give Karen an active role in the fight through that card, cementing their relationship, and then I throw a wrench in my own efforts. But I feel I needed to. I wanted these characters to at the very least acknowledge the flaws in their relationship: that John is lackadaisical, and that Karen is too afraid of hurting people to speak about how much this bothers her. This event forces them to address these things, and they end up stronger for it in the end.



Chapter Fourteen

Omegacyber

Yu-Gi-Oh! DA: The Phantom Seal - Chapter Thirteen

We get to meet the villain properly now. It's powerful, and has hostages, but still we don't really ever get the impression that John will lose against it, so what is going to be the real source of conflict here?



Chapter Thirteen

The Shadow

Yu-Gi-Oh! DA: The Phantom Seal - Chapter Twelve

And finally we have something resembling a villain in this book. The Card Takers were jerks, but not really bad guys. This thing is obviously malicious in intention. Also we get some foreshadowing that John is going to be saved by a card that Karen made for him. With her being into card design, I think it's really about time.



Chapter Twelve

The Poltergeist

Yu-Gi-Oh! DA: The Phantom Seal - Chapter Eleven

Hey look, a chapter where none of my main characters play a major part. Fantastic!



Chapter Eleven

Advancing Darkness

Yu-Gi-Oh! DA: The Phantom Seal - Chapter Ten

Remember this duel for the special that follows this book. I might copy myself there and basically reuse this premise with a different pair of characters, though neither of them is quite as angry as either of these guys.

Oh, yeah, and it's worth noting that Karen's new ace monster, "Allure Queen LV10", was created by me for the character. She's a beautiful woman with a control deck, and "Allure Queen" is a beautiful woman with mind control powers. The fit seems obvious, but the actual most powerful card in the line, "Allure Queen LV7", just isn't very great, so I upgraded her while still keeping her balanced.



Chapter Ten

Karen vs. Ria

Yu-Gi-Oh! DA: The Phantom Seal - Chapter Nine

Ria. Oh jeez, Ria. I planned on Ria being a one-time character, here just to represent crazy fan girls, and to address the fact that I keep saying that John is pretty famous, and yet we've never met anyone who sees themselves as his fan, but I liked her so much that I actually replaced another half-developed fourth cast member with her for the rest of this story. She's crazy, and opinionated, and strong, and Latina, and eventually gets kinda deep, and I just love her.



Chapter Nine

Ria, the Eccentric Girl

Yu-Gi-Oh! DA: The Phantom Seal - Chapter Eight

Later on in the story, we see one of the Card Takers return when I need a minion for one of the villains. It isn't this one. It's the first one, with the Lightsworns, but he doesn't use them anymore. His deck is completely different. Clever continuity or an attempt at the illusion of such? You decide!



Chapter Eight

Endymion, and the Truth of the Card Takers

Yu-Gi-Oh! DA: The Phantom Seal - Chapter Seven

So fun fact, these decks that the Card Takers (these Card Takers, I just remembered that I called the jerks at the beginning of DF4 the Card Takers, too) use are actually based on decks that my best friends used to use. The characters who use them aren't, but the decks are. It doesn't matter in terms of the story, but I think it's cool.



Chapter Seven

The Spell Counter Army

Yu-Gi-Oh! DA: The Phantom Seal - Chapter Six

See, I told you there would be a rematch! Maybe it's predictable, but I think the duel in this chapter and the one that follows are still exciting despite this.



Chapter Six

The Rematch

Yu-Gi-Oh! DA: The Phantom Seal - Chapter Five

Who is that masked man? Oh, it's just that guy.



Chapter Five

Re-evaluation

Yu-Gi-Oh! DA: The Phantom Seal - Chapter Four

And for probably the first time in my story, excluding character growth plots, specials, and any duels that I'm not thinking of, John has lost. Granted he loses in order to learn a lesson, so this is itself a character growth plot, and he's obviously gonna win in a later rematch and make up for this loss, but still...you know...it probably means something.



Chapter Four

Challenge of the Card Takers

Yu-Gi-Oh! DA: The Phantom Seal - Chapter Three

Because this story takes place at the setting for Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, I included tributes to some of the best characters from that series in the form of decks that resemble theirs. This chapter features the tribute to Chazz Princeton/Jun Manjoume who became known for using the Ojama series. Later we will get tributes to Sho Marufuji/Syrus Truesdale, and, of course, the GX main protagonist Jaden/Judai Yuki.



Chapter Three

The First Days

Yu-Gi-Oh! DA: The Phantom Seal - Chapter Two

This story is the one that is most intertwined with events from the actual Yu-Gi-Oh! canon out of any that I've ever written, and I'll be honest, back when I wrote it, I was really nervous about it. It tells my version of the origin of the school and some of the elements present in the second Yu-Gi-Oh! series, Yu-Gi-Oh! GX. My readers, however, seemed to enjoy it, and found no issue with the story or timeline of events, so I guess it worked out. I bring this up because this chapter shows the eventual headmaster of the school as only a teacher, and the future superintendent as the headmaster, and I didn't want anyone with knowledge of the GX story to wonder if I had my facts wrong.



Chapter Two

Orientation

Yu-Gi-Oh! DA: The Phantom Seal - Chapter One

After the pretty heavy Yu-Gi-Oh! DE, one of my more carefully plotted stories, and one that I really hope speaks for itself, the next full book returns to John's story. I'll be commenting on this one more. It is more disjointed, with a few different archs, and a lot of the conflict is more domestic than the stuff in DE. It's a very different kind of story than Rocky's in DE. Rocky's story, ever since I conceived the character, was always one of overcoming outward hardship and sorrow, where John's story was always more about the temptation of power and the struggle to remain the person that you want to be despite your deepest nature. Just as Rocky's story reflected the intent for this character, John's here in DA reflects the intent that I have for him. Karen will also be featured in this book, but she will take a back seat to John most of the time. Her difficulties in this book will mostly consist of her wanting to get on with her life and surround herself with people who she can rely on, and the revelation that John might not be one of them.

See, it isn't just a power fantasy about a school for card games.



Chapter One

The Entry Exam

Yu-Gi-Oh! DE: The Paths You Choose - Chapter Twenty

Geez, poor Rachel. I've never felt compelled to apologize to one of my characters before. Things turn out okay, though. Not great, but okay.

But yeah, that's DE. It was, at the time, the most carefully plotted series I'd written (I'm working on plotting out Reaper now, and it's even more so), and I loved it. As I said earlier, I hope it speaks for itself mostly, so I'm just going to leave it here. I hope you liked it.

 
Chapter Twenty

Peace

Yu-Gi-Oh! DE: The Paths You Choose - Chapter Nineteen

Oh yeah, right, these things. Advanced monsters. I planned one for each Soul Bearer to have one, but only Rocky's and John's ever appeared before I abandoned them, realizing that these things would be really mean and unfair in a non-magical duel, really limiting where they could be used. Maybe I'll post the others at some point. They were pretty cool.

 
Chapter Nineteen

Bonds, Part Three

Yu-Gi-Oh! DE: The Paths You Choose - Chapter Eighteen



Chapter Eighteen

Bonds, Part Two

Yu-Gi-Oh! DE: The Paths You Choose - Chapter Seventeen

Oh, hey, an action scene that isn't a card game! This book actually has, like two whole ones of those, and this one is pretty good if I do say so myself. The next couple are a duel. It was a fun one to write, but I probably won't comment on them much, if at all.

What I want to comment on is whether or not I invalidate Rachel as a character by having Rocky fight this battle for her. I agonized over this when writing this book, but really, after going through what she just went through, she deserves a little bit of time, and she more than makes up for it in just, like, two chapters or something. You'll see. 

 
Chapter Seventeen

Bonds, Part One