Yu-Gi-Oh! DF Book Four: Terror of Blackheart - Chapter Seven

So yeah, seriously, I've been pretty joky in my comments on these chapters so far, but I want to get serious for a minute, because this is probably the darkest book that I've written so far. It still isn't too dark. You get a sense early on that the good guys are all gonna be okay. However, I tried to do the reveal of the evil being Blackheart justice by making him disturbingly evil, and calmly so, like saying the things that he says is nothing to him, just part of who he is. What really made me want to take the comment on this chapter seriously, though, is the presence of Christopher Johnson in it. Unlike most rivals to the main character in Yu-Gi-Oh!, Christopher only shows up a few times in my books. In fact, this is only his second appearance, his third if you count the first Special. And Blackheart basically intends to eat him.



Chapter Seven

Unexpected Cooperation

Yu-Gi-Oh! DF Book Four: Terror of Blackheart - Chapter Six

Jen can't stand Lawrence, and Lawrence can't stand Jen, and yet they, surprisingly, make a good team. Clearly they will make out at some point. Also Blackheart is basically Cell from Dragonball Z.



Chapter Six

Surprising Power;
Jen and Lawrence vs. Three

Yu-Gi-Oh! DF Book Four: Terror of Blackheart - Chapter Five

There isn't much to this one. Aside from some character stuff for Kimi, it's pretty much the same as the last one.



Chapter Five

The Second Minion;
Rocky and Kimi vs. Two

Yu-Gi-Oh! DF Book Four: Terror of Blackheart - Chapter Four

And now Blackheart can basically resurrect the dead. Yep. I mean, there are serious limits, but it happens. True, his new minions aren't nearly as strong as he is, but the boost that they do receive is pretty scarey. Could you imagine is he fed a hundred people to the Shadows and then did this to them? Or a thousand people?



Chapter Four

Blackheart’s Minions;
Tucker and Amanda vs. One

Yu-Gi-Oh! DF Book Four: Terror of Blackheart - Chapter Three

 Yeah, the title of these past couple of chapters was completely literal. Blackheart can seriously do that thing that he just did to Karen's Soul. I hope this comes off as being as scarey as it was supposed to be. These kids have been fighting for three books to keep baddies from getting the Soul powers, and then this randomly happens.



Chapter Three

The Soul Breaker;
Karen vs. Sky Dragon of Osiris!

Yu-Gi-Oh! DF Book Four: Terror of Blackheart - Chapter Two

So Karen vs Blackheart. Blackheart, the main baddie of the entire series as far as we know at this point. We know Karen is strong, but we also know that her strength is slipping since she was freed from Marik's mental manipulation. Still, she has a genuine desire to fight and win here, so maybe she has a chance. Their duel is pretty spectacular so far.

Oh, and Karen totally does an impossible thing in this chapter. Because she's a BAMF and she can do impossible things. 



Chapter Two

The Soul Breaker;
Blackheart Emerges!

Yu-Gi-Oh! DF Book Four: Terror of Blackheart - Chapter One

 After the parade of constant back and forth action of The Dark Duel Force, we move on to this book, which gets pretty bleak pretty fast. I designed this chapter to invoke mood whiplash. We go from a super lighthearted chapter with a cheesy hero speech and everything, to...whatever that is at the end there.



Chapter One

John, the Hero!

Yu-Gi-Oh! DF Book Three: The Dark Duel Force - Chapter Twenty-Four

And with this chapter book three comes to an end, in a really over the top and spectacular way, as does what I like to call the Duelists of the Order arch, as after this chapter, the Order, while being present in the books from time to time, are never the main villains again. Just as I finished establishing the themes and tropes of the series, it moves into a new arch with new themes and tropes. So yeah, get ready for that.



Chapter Twenty-Four

Soul of Chaos;
A Power to Surpass a God

Yu-Gi-Oh! DF Book Three: The Dark Duel Force - Chapter Twenty-Three

Hey, it's Slifer the Sky Dragon! Except that he uses his original Japanese name, Osiris, here, since my book doesn't have an Executive Producer with the last name Slifer. Seriously, that's why he's named that in the dub, Google it.

 
Chapter Twenty-Three

Fight for Their Spirits;
The Power of God!

Yu-Gi-Oh! DF Book Three: The Dark Duel Force - Chapter Twenty-Two

Okay, so I want to make something clear: I chose this particular Yu-Gi-Oh! Duelist character as the true identity of Yami because he's awesome, and because I thought the method of his defeat left the possibility of his return open. But yeah, I acknowledge that this is a guy who almost beat the Pharaoh, so I have John beat him only because he pulls out all of the stops right from the start, and only because he quite literally just unlocked the Yu-Gi-Oh! DF equivalent of Super Saiyan Level 2 earlier the same day.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Duel Force on the Attack;
John vs. Yami!

Yu-Gi-Oh! DF Book Three: The Dark Duel Force - Chapter Twenty-One

At this point in the story, John has definitely surpassed the power of his friends and allies. He takes his time, learns the weaknesses of his opponent's deck, and manages to win without even tapping his new powers. Sorry, spoilers, but really did you ever doubt that John would beat this guy?

Chapter Twenty-One

One Weakness;
Overcome Fiend Roulette

Yu-Gi-Oh! DF Book Three: The Dark Duel Force - Chapter Twenty

 In this chapter John confronts Fiend and learns a bit about why the Order waited until he was on his internal spirit quest to try again to get a hold of his Soul of Darkness. When John used his magic on Yami, he must have sensed something of John's potential power and decided that he didn't have any baddies under him who would be guaranteed a victory over him. But Fiend attacks the conscious John anyway, and John immediately begins deconstructing Fiend's greatest strategies and coming up with ways around them. Because he's a BAMF.

Chapter Twenty

John Awakens

Yu-Gi-Oh! DF Book Three: The Dark Duel Force - Chapter Nineteen

So John, his spiritual journey completed, his new powers unlocked, immediately seems more aware of the magic surrounding him, and of his own abilities. And he takes it all in stride. Because he's a BAMF. Also exposition, though it doubles as buildup to the final battle, so it isn't super heinous.

 

Chapter Nineteen

Checkmate;
The Fiend Closes In

Yu-Gi-Oh! DF Book Three: The Dark Duel Force - Chapter Eighteen

So here we actually have someone address Karen's recent uncertainty, if only in his own inner dialogue. I figure that Max would have heard stories about Karen and her ruthless, cold, chessmaster persona during her time in the Order, and he would be disappointed by the way she is acting now. He's frustrated, because he suspects, rightly so, that if he were fighting alongside Duelists of the Order Karen, they would have won.

 

 
Chapter Eighteen

Karen Falls to Fear

Yu-Gi-Oh! DF Book Three: The Dark Duel Force - Chapter Seventeen

Okay, so I do an interesting thing in this chapter. As a sort of happy medium between the anime/manga version of a duel where two people fight on the same team, where they have different fields, but can tribute each others' monsters, and otherwise use them for stuff, and the "official" version (used for tag duels in the video games) where they share a field and full control of each others' cards, I give the heroes the ability to pass monsters between each other once per turn, for tributes or for defense. Only the owner can attack with one of their monsters, though. This was necessary to show off just how much Max is supporting Karen, in preparation for Max's narration and inner dialogue next chapter.

 

 
Chapter Seventeen

Last Stand;
Karen and Max vs. The Immortal Archfiends

Yu-Gi-Oh! DF Book Three: The Dark Duel Force - Chapter Sixteen

Fiend Ruler is literally The Chessmaster. It's one of my favorite archetypes, which is why we have Karen as The Chessmaster for the heroes, and now Fiend Ruler for the villains. Of course Fiend is something special. Not many Chessmasters literally use chess characters to fight. Oh, and also, poor Tucker. He gets an A for effort.

 

 
Chapter Sixteen

Their Leader Attacks!
Too Weak to Fight Back

Yu-Gi-Oh! DF Book Three: The Dark Duel Force - Chapter Fifteen

 Dayum, Tucker is badASS! He just punched a guy, as a move in a card game! Granted he gets himself so worked up that he almost knocks himself out, but still, holy cow!

 
Chapter Fifteen

The Attacking Guardian;
Guardian Ruler vs. Pyro Tucker

Yu-Gi-Oh! DF Book Three: The Dark Duel Force - Chapter Fourteen

This isn't as dramatic as in the anime when Raphael unleashes his dark power against Yugi, but I think it still comes off as pretty impressive.

 

 
Chapter Fourteen

The Warrior Falls;
The Guardian’s Overwhelming Power

Yu-Gi-Oh! DF Book Three: The Dark Duel Force - Chapter Thirteen

Tucker and Sarah make a pretty good team. Go figure.

 

 
Chapter Thirteen

Fire and Water

Yu-Gi-Oh! DF Book Three: The Dark Duel Force - Chapter Twelve

Wow, Lawrence got pwned. To be fair, he is an arrogant jackass, so he had it coming. Like the conclusion of Kimi's duel with Ghost, this chapter is short, but I feel like it's a little more exciting, and paced a little better. I guess I could have drawn it out, as I do like making things miserable for Lawrence, but I didn't want it to get boring.

 

 
Chapter Twelve

The Greatest Dragon Falls;
Power of Mirage Knight

Yu-Gi-Oh! DF Book Three: The Dark Duel Force - Chapter Eleven

Yes, Guardian Ruler is Raphael from the Orichalcos arch of the anime. I like the character, okay?

 

 
Chapter Eleven

The Ultimate Combination of Attack and Defense

Yu-Gi-Oh! DF Book Three: The Dark Duel Force - Chapter Ten

Wow, this chapter is short. I wish I could think of something to pad it out with to fix that. I think I originally planned for Kimi's duel with Ghost to go on longer, but it got redundant so I cut some of it out. On the bright side, its a landmark chapter in that is the first time that chapter ten of one of my books hasn't been all exposition. So, you know, yay!



Chapter Ten

Double K.O. of Zoma the Spirit

Yu-Gi-Oh! DF Book Three: The Dark Duel Force - Chapter Nine

Again, not much to say here. Kimi is badass, but otherwise this is a popcorn flick of a chapter with action and people overcoming other people through determination and inventiveness, and stuff. It's pretty straightforward.

I guess there is the thing about Rocky animating stone, which is noteworthy. I wanted to imply that he could create golems if he wanted to, but I pretty much dropped it as soon as it was mentioned. Maybe I'll bring it back later. 

 

Chapter Nine

Rocky Falls;
Shine Bright, Shinato!

Yu-Gi-Oh! DF Book Three: The Dark Duel Force - Chapter Eight

Going back to this book again, there are things that I'm really glad that I did with it. In my stories there is a clear tier. Jen, Max, Rocky, Tucker, and Karen are on a tier just below John and just above everyone else (except Amanda, but she doesn't count, since the rule is that she always wins, but isn't always around). While they could each defeat any other member of the team, there are simply some characters who are stronger than others at a base level. In the case of this book, the only one with the full Duel Force (again, except for Amanda) in it where everyone fights the villains, I wanted to give the "weaker" characters something to do, but there had to be a reason for them to have to step up and fight a fight that the stronger characters couldn't win.

So I take Jen out early by giving her opponent cards which counter the Token monsters that she relies on so much. In this next duel I give Rocky a handicap by having him more focused on protecting Kimi than winning, something that Karen didn't see coming, or else she would have likely paired them with other Duelists rather than with each other. Later on I handicap Tucker in an important match, and put Max and Karen up against an opponent who is even more of a chess master than Karen herself is, and handicap her as well, to boot, but you'll have to wait and see how when their duels come up.



Chapter Eight

The Next Wave;
Rocky and Kimi vs. Ghost Ruler

Yu-Gi-Oh! DF Book Three: The Dark Duel Force - Chapter Seven

There isn't much to say about this one. It's a duel. It uses trading cards.

 
Chapter Seven

The Second Round Begins;
The Messenger of Death

Yu-Gi-Oh! DF Book Three: The Dark Duel Force - Chapter Six

Hurray! Kris got her Soul, and used Destiny Draw to win! Sadly, however, this is akin to when Piccolo in Dragonball Z achieves a power even greater than Super Saiyan, only to be completely outshone by the villain Cell shortly afterward.

 
Chapter Six

Soul of Mettle;
Beast Ruler is Defeated!

Yu-Gi-Oh! DF Book Three: The Dark Duel Force - Chapter Five

In this chapter we have our first casualty of the conflict with the Dark Duel Force. Thankfully for our heroes, the Shadow Game that the DDF is playing isn't immediately lethal.

Also, this is the chapter where it finally hits John that Keeper is leading him in circles. From this point forward, he takes the duel more seriously.



Chapter Five

Jen is Defeated?!
John vs. the Perilous Desert Deck

Yu-Gi-Oh! DF Book Three: The Dark Duel Force - Chapter Four

This one is mainly just action. We don't really learn anything, apart from the fact that Kris has really improved, and that this elite group from the Order named themselves after the Duel Force, likely to mock them by proving themselves the "better" Duel Force. Will they succeed? Read on and find out!

 

 
Chapter Four

New Face of the Order;
Dark Duel Force

Yu-Gi-Oh! DF Book Three: The Dark Duel Force - Chapter Three

So John fights the Millennium Keeper, and gets schooled. I mean, he holds his own, but the Keeper is basically toying with him the entire time, a lot like Odion in Book One. Meanwhile Karen, and to a lesser extent Jen, takes charge of the DF in defense of John, but Karen is still unsure of herself, as we saw in the last book. I'm not gonna lie, this contributes to the bad things that are about to happen to the heroes in the coming chapters.

 

 
Chapter Three

Karen Takes Charge;
John vs. Millennium Keeper

Yu-Gi-Oh! DF Book Three: The Dark Duel Force - Chapter Two

Oh, Millennium Keeper, ILY. Keep on BAMF-ing, my friend. Dude was seriously so much fun to write, I can't help but smile when I revisit the character. Also, is this the first time that John made something out of darkness? I think it is! This is an important moment, guys.

Oh, and tension! Yay! 

 

 
Chapter Two

Ancient Being;
Millennium Keeper

Yu-Gi-Oh! DF Book Three: The Dark Duel Force - Chapter One

And moving on from the special, which has almost nothing to do with my characters, and book two, which is pretty slow and exposition-heavy, we come to my third book which is almost nothing but character moments and action. Enjoy!



Chapter One

Mid-Match Collapse

Yu-Gi-Oh! DF Special #1: Of Life and Fate - Chapter Five

And the special concludes! I know I said that these specials are cannon, and then posted one which has no real relevance to my overall story. I promise that future specials will tie in more to everything else.

  



Chapter Five

The Battle Concludes

Yu-Gi-Oh! DF Special #1: Of Life and Fate - Chapter Four

Chapter Four

The Battle Begins

Yu-Gi-Oh! DF Special #1: Of Life and Fate - Chapter Three

Chapter Three

The Spirits Strike!

Yu-Gi-Oh! DF Special #1: Of Life and Fate - Chapter Two

Chapter two, also known as the only time John and his rival Christopher ever team up with each other! Also also known as the chapter where Pegasus spouts really convenient exposition that really amounts to nothing. Also also also known as padding!

Chapter Two

The Warning

Yu-Gi-Oh! DF Special #1: Of Life and Fate - Chapter One

As Yu-Gi-Oh! is itself an anime property, I decided a long time ago to follow in the tradition of anime properties and create specials that tell stories that don't really fit anywhere in the main storyline of the series. The main difference in the case of DF is that in most anime, such specials are non-canon, where in the case of my story, my specials are canon and will even be referenced from time to time by the characters. This special is based on characters and concepts submitted by an old friend of mine on yugiohcardmaker.net. I don't know his real name, but he went by Ned on the website. It takes place in the few weeks between John and Max's climatic duel in book two, and Max's return at the very end. So, without further ado, here's...

There won't be any Original Cards in This Chapter entries for this special. There are just too many original cards for this to be feasible.



Chapter One

The Remarkable Ancient Cards

Yu-Gi-Oh! DF Book Two: Reign of the Reaper - Chapter Eighteen

And this is it for book two. Now every main character has been introduced, and while one of them still needs to take her place along with the others, this marks the end of a brief era of introducing new members of the Duel Force. I kinda wish I'd drawn this period out a bit longer, as I miss it going forward. I do eventually revisit it, though.

Oh, and seriously, Max's life sucks. I revisit that later, too.

 



Chapter Eighteen

Max’s Story

Yu-Gi-Oh! DF Book Two: Reign of the Reaper - Chapter Seventeen

Not for the last time John wins by summoning a bunch of monsters at once and throwing them at the other guy. Simple, yet effective. Here we get our final examples of this book's fear motif. John accepts that he was afraid and decides to be proud of his efforts rather than afraid of his failings. He's rewarded by drawing his ace card just in time.

Second, we get the reveal that Max is afraid. Max, the character who inspired fear in the others, is himself acting out of fear and desperation. 

 
Chapter Seventeen

Epic Final Battle;
Dimensional Victory

Yu-Gi-Oh! DF Book Two: Reign of the Reaper - Chapter Sixteen

Here we get to see the new underlying theme of John's deck. Otherwise not much happens here. John and Max are both taking things slow and feeling out each others' abilities. John is using a deck which Max has never seen, and John never got a feel for Max's upward limits, so neither of them wants to overextend themselves.

 
Chapter Sixteen

Epic Final Battle;
Different Dimension Deck

Yu-Gi-Oh! DF Book Two: Reign of the Reaper - Chapter Fifteen

I want to apologize for the overuse of "Different Dimension" cards at this point in the series. They were really big at the time of the initial draft. Max eventually drops his, but this theme remains a part of John's deck for the rest of the overall story.

 
Chapter Fifteen

Epic Final Battle;
John vs. Max

Yu-Gi-Oh! DF Book Two: Reign of the Reaper - Chapter Fourteen

A few chapter's back we learned that the protagonist's mother is also a Duelist. Here we actually get to see her duel, but that's not all we learn about her. From her reactions to things like magic and Shadow Games, and from a few things that she notes in the internal dialogue of the chapter, we actually learn a lot. Basically, she has a whole history related to Duel Monsters which has yet to be revealed. Will I reveal it eventually? I dunno, maybe.

Oh, and just to get it out there, remember back at the end of Chapter One, when John was about to fight Max, and Max mentioned that he had only been fighting at half strength? Well, he was pushed beyond that in his duel in this chapter, making John's mom stronger than most, if not all, of the Duel Force right now.



Chapter Fourteen

Invitation to the Final Battle

Yu-Gi-Oh! DF Book Two: Reign of the Reaper - Chapter Thirteen

I've actually decided to stop here for tonight. The next chapter sees the return of Max and the start of the final conflict of this book.

At this point in the story, John and the others don't really know how to use Destiny Draw. As their skills increase, they eventually figure it out, and they basically get the ability to draw whatever card that they want from their deck once per duel. This power is once per duel per Soul, so even merged with Hiro, John doesn't get two Destiny Draws or anything. However, merging with Hiro gives him better foresight to pick the right card, and gave him more reliable access to the power early in the series.



Chapter Thirteen

Hiro’s Assist;
Destiny Draw!

Yu-Gi-Oh! DF Book Two: Reign of the Reaper - Chapter Twelve

I guess I'm just posting this entire book tonight...

But yeah, anyway, this chapter shows off a bit more of Karen's new uncertainty. She plays well, but is far less aggressive and manipulative than previously. We also get the merger between John and Hiro's minds. This is akin to later in the original Yu-Gi-Oh! anime/manga after the Pharaoh and Yugi learn to openly comunicate, and Yugi is able to supplement the Pharaoh by offering him help during duels.



Chapter Twelve

The Invulnerable Guardian Sphinx Deck

Yu-Gi-Oh! DF Book Two: Reign of the Reaper - Chapter Eleven

I love this chapter. I wrote this chapter not only to very quickly push any lingering doubt as to the loyalties of Karen and her crew from John's mind, but to show that the evil Master of the Order isn't the kind of villain to just sit back and let his enemies get away. I love John and Karen's conversation, a discussion between leaders. I just love it. I also keep going back and rewriting it a lot, trying to get the details and nuances just right. I vow today that this version, posted here, is the final version, barring the future correction of spelling and grammar mistakes that I may have missed.

Continuing with our theme of underlying fear in this book, you can see in Karen's exposition that she is afraid. She's afraid of Yami, and of Max, and of herself. We get more of this as the series progresses, but basically Karen is afraid that the part of her that Yami brought out to influence her mind will come out again if she is too aggressive. She almost immediately starts to hold herself back from this point forward.



Chapter Eleven

Attacked by the Master;
Former Foes Unite!

Yu-Gi-Oh! DF Book Two: Reign of the Reaper - Chapter Ten

Just like in book one, chapter ten is all exposition, a pattern which I just now noticed. It's exposition about Karen, though, so I think we can all agree that it is vital and necessary.



Chapter Ten

The Story of the Order

Yu-Gi-Oh! DF Book Two: Reign of the Reaper - Chapter Nine

While I make it very clear here that the previous book's villains, Karen, Monty, and Lawrence, are holding back against the new Duel Force members Amanda, Kimi, and Rocky, I don't necessarily mean to imply that if they weren't, Amanda, Kimi, and Rocky wouldn't be able to win. They do very very well here because of the fact that their opponents are weakened, but if all were equal, the new Duel Force members would still have a chance of winning over the course of three much longer and more complex duels, much like the original four in the climax of book one. 



Chapter Nine

The New Duel Force
vs.
The Duelists of the Order

Yu-Gi-Oh! DF Book Two: Reign of the Reaper - Chapter Eight

Not much to say here. Rocky and Kimi are angsty little badasses. The end.

 
Chapter Eight

A Duel of Survival, Part Two

Yu-Gi-Oh! DF Book Two: Reign of the Reaper - Chapter Seven

 So this duel is mainly to show off Rocky and Kimi. In the original version of the series, they usually didn't do anything apart from the other main characters, and I always hated myself for not giving them more stuff to do. This is to make up for that, and to actually address the affects of Shadow Games, which I just kind of stop talking about after a while.

This and the following chapter also give us a look at the decks of a couple more members of the Duelists of the Order. I show Karen and her crew, the villains next book, a pair of brothers in an upcoming special, and several high-ranking members in the upcoming Yu-Gi-Oh! DE over the course of this series, but these guys are just regular, average members. Seeing them duel allows the reader to gauge the average skill level of the average member a little better, and reveals that the average Order member is, in fact, pretty clever and skilled.

Chapter Seven

A Duel of Survival, Part One

Yu-Gi-Oh! DF Book Two: Reign of the Reaper - Chapter Six

For the first time I feel like I genuinely need to make a note about a chapter of this book, which is my shortest and slowest, despite the fact that it introduces some of my overall story's most important characters and elements. This is another chapter which was added in years later, like the tournament chapters in book one. This chapter and the two following it are here to explore the characters of Rocky Stone and Kimi Hakashi, who originally didn't get much development until after this first series was completely over. Like the tournament chapters in the previous book, these are based on an idea that I planned to include first run, but discarded because I wanted to streamline the story, later to change my mind.



Chapter Six

A Group Outing

Yu-Gi-Oh! DF Book Two: Reign of the Reaper - Chapter Five

So yeah, John gets beaten. It's right there in the title. Usually the main protagonist of a Yu-Gi-Oh! series doesn't lose ever ever, which is why this is a big deal. Of course Kimi is no pushover, but still.

As for Kimi, I mean for her to have a really distinct personality, and it bums me out that I couldn't work better examples of it into this introductory chapter. It is one of the primary reasons for including the next chapter, in fact.

This chapter mainly serves to force John to admit to his underlying fears and begin to face them. He doesn't really stand up to them, though, until he has a rematch with Max later (is this a spoiler if it is obvious that it will happen?). 

 
Chapter Five

The Duelist of Light;
John is Defeated!?

Yu-Gi-Oh! DF Book Two: Reign of the Reaper - Chapter Four

Hey look, it's Rocky! I like Rocky. Depending on my mood, he's my favorite amongst all of the characters that I've written. We'll get to know him a lot better as the series progresses, so I won't say too much here, but let's just say that Rocky is the kind of guy that you'd want as your friend. He's super reliable and the only genuinely heroic to their core for the sake of being heroic character in this entire series.

Like with A Night in Egypt in the last book, the duel in this chapter is filler, and doesn't get a Card of the Day. I eventually do more with the character of Nate, but as of right now, his character is literally a joke. 

Chapter Four

The Order Returns;
Enter the Duelist of Earth

Yu-Gi-Oh! DF Book Two: Reign of the Reaper - Chapter Three

We get to see a little more of John's current weakness here. The fact that he holds his own in this duel at all is a gauge of his intended skill level. Still, no lie, if Sarah hadn't been here, John would have lost. Quickly.

We also get a little scene here at the end that is supposed to be emotionally painful, and relates back to the theme of underlying fear. John and Sarah are both afraid of Max's return, because they know he can do better, and yet they are too stubborn and proud to admit it and talk it out. 

 
Chapter Three

A Slim Victory

Yu-Gi-Oh! DF Book Two: Reign of the Reaper - Chapter Two

I want to talk about it right away, because it's not really meant to be a secret or a big reveal, but this entire book has a theme of underlying fear. Nothing overt, but it's there, constantly in the background. Here we see an example of John's fear. He is afraid of his own failure, and he overcompensates. It's why he sucks so bad this duel. But we'll address this more later.

Chapter Two

Pursue the Enemy;
A Battle with High Stakes

Yu-Gi-Oh! DF Book Two: Reign of the Reaper - Chapter One

Hey look, it's Max! I like Max. Depending on my mood, he's my favorite amongst all of the characters that I've written. We'll get to know him a lot better as the series progresses, so I won't say too much here, but let's just say that Max is beautifully damaged, and a badass. I mean seriously badass. He did just take down two members of the Duel Force with no effort, and one of them is Jen!

Chapter One

Mysterious Arrival

The Last Dragonborn - The Journal of Johan Abbot #17

---Heartfire, 11th, 4E 201---

  I helped the couple in Markarth to find each other. It was as simple as getting the two to open up. I feel that these missions from Mara are teaching me a lesson. First I helped a girl to realize her true feelings, and then I helped a man learn to open up and express his feelings.

  Also in Markarth today, in the Hall of the Dead, while helping the priest, I met a woman named Eola who freely admitted to being a cannibal in the Cult of Namira, one of the more dspicable Deadric Lords. She could sense somehow that I had tasted human blood and flesh, though she did not realize that it was during combat in my beast form, and so she assumed me to be a cannibal as well and elicited my help. I have decided to play along long enough to discover and expose the entire cult for what it is. Hopefully, by tomorrow night, there will be no Cult of Namira in Skyrim.

  I have, in fact, already carried out one task for Eola and cleared the barrow housing Namira's shrine of Draugr. The shrine itself was terrifying. It is not a shrine, but an altar resembling a table, and it is placed in a room set up as a feast hall. Just the thought makes me shudder. I will sleep easier once this cult is abolished. I may not actually, in fact, get any sleep tonight thanks to what I saw, and if I do sleep, I'm sure that that sleep will be filled with nightmares.