Yu-Gi-Oh! DF

'Yu-Gi-Oh! DF' (stands for Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Force) is a Fan Fiction created by Legendhiro of yugiohcardmaker.net. It is a Yu-Gi-Oh! story involving American Duelists rather than Duelists from Japan, and it exists in the same continuity as the Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters and Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters GX Anime series, drawing several elements from each. Unlike many Fan Fiction, Yu-Gi-Oh! DF features a cast of mostly original main characters, only featuring appearances by Yugi Motou, Seto Kaiba, and Katsuya Jounochi in a single story arch.

The Duel Force

 * John
 * Karen
 * Sarah
 * Paul Tucker
 * Jen
 * Robert "Rocky" Stone
 * Amanda Byers
 * "Max"
 * Kimiko "Kimi" Hakashi
 * Kristin
 * Monty Williams
 * Peter Lawrence
 * "Hiro"
 * Jenna Rein

Main Antagonists

 * Yami Marik


 * Blackheart

Other Characters

 * Mr. Wilson
 * Maxamillion J. Pegasus
 * Odion Ishtar
 * Christopher Johnson
 * Duelist in Card Shop
 * Duelist in Park
 * James
 * Jason
 * Mike
 * Duel Robot
 * Robert
 * Nate
 * John's Mother (never named)
 * Randy
 * Richard
 * Millennium Keeper

Duelists of the Order

 * Exodus
 * The Dark Duel Force
 * Beast Ruler
 * Ghost Ruler
 * War Ruler
 * Guardian Ruler
 * Archfiend Ruler

Second Grand Championship

 * Yugi Motou
 * Seto Kaiba
 * Katsuya Jonouchi
 * "Evo"
 * Dr. William Crabtree
 * "Masked Duelist"

Special #1 Characters

 * Ned
 * Ancient Dragon of Life
 * Divine Spirit Dracon

Special #2 Characters

 * "Dark" John
 * Dark Divine Dragon
 * The Labyrinth Twins

Story
The main plot of Yu-Gi-Oh! DF involves a team of Duelists, the Duel Force, using their dueling skills to protect the Duelist's Souls, a series of powerful magical charms, from a group known as the Duelists of the Order and their mysterious leader. But through it all, the members of the Duel Force must deal with their destiny as Soul Bearers and wielders of the legacy of a mysterious entity known only as the Legendary Forgotten Duelist, an ancient traveling hermit and temporary adviser to the Pharaoh Atem. The Forgotten Duelist gave his life to seal away his dark side, cursing himself to be forgotten by memory and history in the process. Even while the Duel Force is repelling attacks from the Order, they know that an even more dangerous evil is lying in wait. Eventually the Duel Force must fulfill its purpose and revive the Forgotten Duelist so that he can defeat this evil; the revived dark side of Duelist himself, known as Blackheart.

Gather the Duel Force
The first story arch of Yu-Gi-Oh! DF covers the origin of the Duel Force as a Duel Monsters Team Duel team from the northeastern United States. In this arch, the Duel Force consists of four members: team leader John, a dark Duelist, his sister Sarah, a water Duelist, his cousin Jen, an insect Duelist, and his oldest friend Tucker, a fire Duelist. The four are invited to duel a team of professional Duelists in an exhibition match at the newly opened Game Center, sponsored by Maxamillion J. Pegasus of Industrial Illusions. Defying all odds, John and his team defeat their opponents, Team Beatdown, led by the legendary Regional Champion Christopher Johnson, and the catch the eye of Pegasus himself. He recognizes the four from an ancient legend of the Forgotten Duelist and the Twelve Duelists Souls.

Pegasus invites the four to his island, Duelist Kingdom, and tests their powers against a highly intelligent Duel Robot that uses four decks based on the decks used by the finalists of the legendary Duelist Kingdom Tournament. When the Duel Force is victorious, Pegasus becomes sure that they are the four from the legend and tells them about their destiny. He sends the Duel Force on a quest to Egypt to release the Souls so that they can find their owners, which will be twelve Duelists of great skill. John and his team are four of these Duelists, but the others are unknown. The only clue that John has of finding them is a statement by Pegasus that he will be the one to unite the Soul Bearers. That he will encounter them all throughout the course of his and his team's journeys.

The Duel Force is opposed by three powerful Duelists sent by the Duelists of the Order to intercept and capture the Twelve Souls: Monty, a Spellcaster Duelist with a great mind for strategy, Lawrence, a forceful Dragon Duelist, and their leader Karen, a Duelist who uses a Toon World deck, a deck they she should not have, since Pegasus is supposed to be the only user of Toon monsters. Initially the Duel Force is defeated, overcome by their opponents' better decks and strange power. However, John, Sarah, Jen and Tucker manage to bond with their Souls of Darkness, Water, Nature and Fire. Using the powers of the Souls, the Duel Force members are able to defeat Karen and her team in the end.

Upon releasing the Duelist's Souls, John encounters a spirit who goes by the name Hiro. He bonds with John, sharing his body and the power of John's Soul of Darkness. In exchange, Hiro offers to share his greater knowledge of the Souls and their various powers.

Reign of Spirit Reaper
After releasing the Duelist's Souls, the Duel Force returns home. But their journey isn't over, and they know it. They've experienced the Shadow Magic of the Order: the power to make the attacks of Duel Monsters fell completely real during a duel. Seeing this power has proved to them just how dangerous the situation is. John and his team immediately begin searching for the bearers of the other eight Souls. They discover that John's aunt's young daughter Amanda has a Duelist's Soul; the Soul of Wind.

They also find and recruit John's Mom's apprentice, Kimi Hakashi, the bearer of the Soul or Light, and an old tournament rival of Tucker's, the noble Rocky Stone, bearer of the Soul of Earth.

Meanwhile, the Duel Force is stalked by a lone Order agent known only as Max. Max uses a ruthless deck that makes use of the almost invincible Spirit Reaper. Max seeks the Soul or Darkness so that he can use its power to attract the other Souls and deliver them to his master, Yami. The Order also finds itself once again under attack from Karen and her allies. Upon defeating the three for a second time, it is revealed that they were being used by Yami, who was using some form of magic to induce their violent, villainous behavior. After saving the three ex-Order members from Yami himself, John invites Karen, Lawrence and Monty to join forces with the Duel Force. It is revealed at this time that the three are the bearers of the next three Souls; the Soul of Imagination, the Soul of Power, and the Soul of Knowledge.

But Max isn't interested in anyone but John. He duels John and proves that he is superior. John discovers that his recent loss to Max was because he was hiding his feelings of fear. Fear of the Order. He had maxed out his Duel Monsters deck with nothing but powerful cards in an attempt to defeat that fear, throwing his game off balance. He restores that balance, but before he can face Max again, Max duels, defeats and captures John's mother, forcing John to duel on Max's terms. A lengthy battle ensues, and John defeats Max soundly using the power of Dimension Fusion. Yami decides that Max is unworthy and he sends a Shadow Apparition of himself to collect Max's spirit to use as a source of raw energy. John defends Max, but it isn't until Max stands up for himself that Yami is driven off. Max receives the Soul of Life.

Max tells his story. He describes how his only friend, Randy, was killed by Yami in a Shadow Game. Max became terrified of Yami, and followed Yami out of fear. But seeing John and the others standing up to Yami gave Max new hope. He pledges to stop letting fear rule him, and to instead learn to rule fear. He believes that John will be the one to defeat Yami, and he joins the Duel Force to ensure that John survives long enough to do so. Max believes that he owes John his life.

Special #1: The Ancient Cards
Thousands of years ago, two dragons battles to determine who would influence the future of the world. The good dragon, the Ancient Dragon of Life, defeated the villainous Divine Spirit Dracon. Dracon is sealed away, but he casts a spell, forcing the Ancient Dragon to have to continue fighting him every so often again and again for ten thousand years, until they once again fight for the fate of Earth, once and for all.

In the present, John meets a mysterious boy named Ned who possesses the Ancient Cards that contain the Ancient Dragon's soul. He realizes Ned's power and that Ned is destined for something great. Soon after, John receives word from Maxamillion J. Pegasus that astrological signs point to a looming disaster. John seeks a way to help, but he end up in a confrontation with his rival Christopher Johnson instead.

But the battle with Christopher becomes something more when the Divine Spirit Dracon and his Spirit minions, attracted to the power of John's Soul, attack and defeat John and Christopher both. He then goes on to face Ned, where he is defeated by the summoned form of Ancient Dragon of Life.

The Dark Duel Force
Both of Yami's plans to capture the Twelve Souls and harness their powers have failed. He plans to unleash his most powerful five followers, the Dark Duel Force, to defeat the Soul Bearers, but he knows that their strongest member could very easily be defeated by the strongest member of the Duel Force, John. Yami waits for an opportunity to unleash the Dark Duel Force while John is unable to fight. He finds it when John suddenly becomes comatose, his spirit trapped within his body.

The Dark Duel Force attacks, defeating the Duel Force members one after another, sending their spirits and their Duelist's Soul powers back to Yami, who collects them in a Shadow Magic Orb. Not even the help of Jen's sister Kristin and her newly aquired Soul of Mettle is enough to turn the tides. Meanwhile, John finds himself forces to confront a mysterious figure, the Millennium Keeper, in the depths of his own mind. John can't regain control of his body without first defeating the Millennium Keeper's seemingly perfect deck. He does, achieving balance and unlocking the evolved form of the Soul of Darkness; the Soul of Chaos. He recovers in time to find his team defeated and only one member of the Dark Duel Force left standing. This remaining member, the terrible Archfiend Ruler, duels against John, against Yami's orders. Archfiend ruler is defeated, and John moves on to face Yami himself.

Yami's identity is finally revealed. He is actually the dark side of famous Battle City Duelist Marik Ishtar. When Yami Marik was defeated by the Pharaoh Atem in Battle City, a piece of him remained behind in this realm. Slowly he began to pull himself back from the Shadow Realm, but only the power of an ancient spell could give him a body and the power needed to gain control of the world. A spell that was intended to restore the body of the Pharaoh three thousand years ago, using the power of the Millennium Items. A spell that, with the Items gone forever, could only be conducted using the powers of the Twelve Souls. Yami Marik reveals that, in an attempt to regain some of his power, he stole the three Egyptian God cards from there place at Industrial Illusions. He summons the Sky Dragon of Osiris against John, taunting John by challenging him to defeat the God. In exchange, as one of the terms of their Shadow Game, John will receive any of the Gods that he can defeat in battle. John succeeds in defeating both Osiris and Yami Marik, and he gains possession of the God card.

Terror of Blackheart
John's body is possessed by the spirit of the Forgotten Duelist's dark side, Blackheart. Now Blackheart possesses that powers of the Soul of Darkness and the God card Sky Dragon of Osiris. Blackheart upgrades John's deck with terrible Dark Attribute burn cards and begins defeating members of the Duel Force and taking the power from their Souls. He means to increase his own power until he can control all three of the Gods. The team follows Blackheart to Egypt, accompanied by Hiro, somehow possessing a body and Soul of his own. Hiro reveals to the group that he is actually the last living remnant of the Forgotten Duelist's persona. Using the remaining power of the Duelist's Souls, Hiro transforms himself into the Forgotten Duelist and battles Blackheart, defeating him only one turn before Blackheart is able to summon the Gods and ensure his victory. Without Blackheart possessing him, John returns to normal. The Forgotten Duelist becomes Hiro once again, and Hiro once again bonds with John and his Soul of Darkness.

Kaiba Corp Tournament
Some members of the Duel Force are asked to participate in the second Kaiba Corp sponsored Grand Championship. Throughout the course of the tournament, Jen duels Seto Kaiba, and is narrowly defeated, John and his rival Christopher Johnson finally have their rematch, which John wins, and John duels the King of Games, Yugi Motou. During John's duel with Yugi, it is revealed that the Legendary Dragons have returned to our world so that they could be passed to a new wielder. That new wielder is John. The Dragons need Yugi to lose a duel so that they can pass to John and help him to defeat a new dark force that is looming on the horizon. The duel comes down to the Legendary Dragons vs. the three God cards. The dragons surrender to the Gods, and Yugi losses the duel. John, however, feels disappointed that his duel with Yugi was influenced. He accepts the win, but says that Yugi is still the King of Games and that he hopes to duel Yugi again some day and settle the score.

At one point during the tournament, John is confronted by one of the participants, the Dark Duel Force member War Ruler. War Ruler reveals himself to be Marcus, an undercover member of a group called the Duelists Elite along with Guardian Ruler, whose real name is Raphael. The Duelists Elite oppose the Duelists of the Order. Marcus tells John that another competitor, a man called Exodus, is an evil man who is using the power of the God card Exodius to harvest the magical Duel Energy of every Duelist he defeats. Marcus pleads with John to fight Exodus. John agrees. He defeats the evil Exodus, destroying him in a Penalty Game.

It is during this tournament that Max once again encounters his old, fallen friend Randy. He learns that Randy is really gone from this world, but that he is okay, and that Max needs to let him go.

Special #2: The Looming Threat
John falls comatose during a date with Karen. He finds himself once again in the depths of his own mind, but instead of meeting the Millennium Keeper, John finds himself face to face with his own evil side. John defeats his dark side, but he soon realizes that the true danger is yet to come. Sensing the same, Karen sends her own spirit into John's mind to assist him.

Meanwhile, Monty and Lawrence confront the current leaders of the Order, the Labyrinth Twins, in an attempt to discover the source of John's plight. They defeat these new leaders in a duel, forcing them to talk. They learn that the Order is not responsible for John's situation.

John and Karen's still-trapped spirits and attacked by a dragon made of pure darkness. They manage to escape and return to their own bodies, but the dragon follows them into the real world. He introduces himself as the Dark Divine Dragon. The other Duel Force members try to contain the Dragon, but they are unsuccessful, even with the help of John's mom, who has gained possession of a Shadow Item confiscated from the Labyrinth Twins by Monty. Just before the Dark Divine Dragon can destroy the Duel Force, John arrives, combining the powers of the three Gods, the Legendary Dragons, and his Soul Monster, Great Maju Garzett, killing the Dragon. The Legendary Dragons disappear.

John gives up the Egyptian God cards soon after this battle.

The Great Duel Force Tournament
John decides that the Duel Force should disband, since its purpose has been fulfilled. Some of the others are not happy. They feel that the Duel Force deserves a better end. So John uses some of his extensive winnings from the Grand Championship to reserve the stadium of the new Kaibaland Columbus for a tournament. The participants include the entire Duel Force, John's apprentice Jenna Rein, John's mother, and Christopher Johnson, along with a mysterious sixteenth participant, who is later revealed as Hiro, appearing in a magically created body.

Throughout the course of the tournament, several scores are settled and several loose ends are resolved. Tucker finally duels John in a serious match, proving himself John's equal. Rocky discovers his full power, and Lawrence and Kristin make vast improvements to their decks. Kimi defeats her master and achieves her full power as well. Finally John must duel Hiro. The duel will act as a sendoff to Hiro, whose time in this world is almost up. John narrowly defeats Hiro, leaving him believing that anything is possible. At the end of the tournament, Rocky is approached by a mysterious man called the Card Professor who invites him to join the Duelists Elite.

The Duel Force disbands, and a new Duel Force, consisting of Sarah, Kristin, Amanda and Jenna is born. John and Karen are invited by Seto Kaiba and Maxamillion J. Pegasus to attend the newly completed Duel Academy, Kimi is accepted into a prep school back in Japan, Jen joins Christopher's Team Beatdown, and Rocky sets out to join the Duelists Elite. John asks Tucker what he plans to do next, and is surprised that Tucker is no longer planning to go to college. After pressing the subject, John gets Tucker to reveal his reason for staying out of college. It becomes known that Tucker's father stole the money from Tucker's college fund to go gambling, leaving him without the means. John gives Tucker the remaining winnings from the Grand Championship, allowing Tucker to go on and fulfill his dreams for the future.

The Twelve Duelist's Souls
The Duelist's Souls are twelve crystals formed from the power fragments of the ancient Duelist's Soul. They are each powerful magical artifacts in their own right, but all twelve pale in comparison to the power of the original. Each Soul gives the bearer the power to control their draw once per duel, but they each have unique powers of their own. Each Soul represents a quality that a good duelist must understand and possess.

The Soul of Darkness
Quality: Balance

This Soul, wielded by John, has the power to turn darkness into a tangible thing and control it, forging it into various weapons. It also allows its bearer to see/travel to any place where there is darkness. This includes the hearts and minds of others. It is implied that the Soul of Darkness also allows John to read and even control the minds of others. The power of the Soul of Darkness grows when the wielder's mind and spirit are in balance.

The Soul of Darkness can evolve into the Soul of Chaos, which has the power to control forces greater than itself.

The Soul of Imagination
Quality: Inspiration

This Soul, wielded by Karen, has the power to grant the wielder's wishes. It is far less limited than the others, but its powers are much harder to access, only coming through in moments of inspiration.

The Soul of Knowledge
Quality: Patience

Monty's Soul gives him the ability to calm unfavorable situations. It also gives the bearer the power to tell when others are lying. The effectiveness of the Soul depends on how calm and patient the bearer remains.

The Soul of Power
Quality: Strength/Dexterity

Lawrence's Soul is the exact opposite of Monty's It gives him the power to excite calm situations, and to conceal his true intentions. This Soul get's stronger in the face of strong opposition.

The Soul of Earth
Quality: Selflessness

This Soul gives its wielder the power to manipulate earth and stone, as long as he wants nothing more than to protect those around him. Rocky posses this Soul.

The Soul of Wind
Quality: Reasoning

Amanda's Soul gives her the power to influence the wind and the weather. Its power is based on the wielder's ability to reason.

The Soul of Water
Quality: Fluidity of Thought

Sarah's Soul gives her the power to summon, shape and manipulate water. The more open-minded the bearer remains, the greater the range of control.

The Soul of Fire
Quality: Determination

Tucker's Soul gives the wielder the power to summon and manipulate fire. The more determined the wielder becomes, the stronger the flames, and the greater the control.

The Soul of Light
Quality: Pure Heart

The Soul of Light, Kimi's Soul, gives the wielder the power to transport the wielder from place to place, and to restore the energy of those who have been injured. The powers of the Soul of Light can only accessed by a truly good person.

The Soul of Nature
Quality: Adaptation

Jen's Soul gives her the ability to manipulate the energies around her, as well as the ability to control plants. Its power is based on the wielder's ability to adapt.

The Soul of Mettle
Quality: Strategic Thinking

Kristin's Soul is the opposite of her sister's. It gives her power over electricity and technology. Its power is based on the wielder's skill at forming complex plans of action.

The Soul of Life
Quality: Confidence

The Soul of Life is called such because it gives the wielder power over their fears, including their fear of death, essentially giving them power over the forces of life and death themselves. The wielder of the Soul of Life can bring the fears of others to life. The Soul's powers get stronger the more confident the wielder becomes.

The Soul of Life also has the potential to extend the life span of its wielder.

The Soul Monsters
Each Soul Bearer has a monster in their deck that is tied to their Soul. Each monster has powers similar to those of the corresponding Soul.

Great Maju Garzett

John's Soul Monster is one that has near-limitless power, just like the Soul of Darkness.

Allure Queen

Karen's Soul Monster, Allure queen is a versatile monster that is tricky to use. The only way to unlock her vast power is to create unique combos that require great inspiration, but once she reaches full power, its worth it.

Silent Magician

Monty's Soul Monster grows more powerful the longer its wielder remains patient.

Felgrand Dragon

Lawrence's Soul Monster is one that continues to grow stronger, even is the face of defeat.

Exxod, Master of the Guard

Exxod is a monster that acts as a guardian to all others. It is the perfect Soul Monster for Rocky.

Simorgh, Bird of Divinity

Amanda's Soul Monster is one that is best in a deck capable of maintaining field control, a feat that requires great planning and effort.

Ocean Dragon Lord - Neo-Daedalus 

Sarah's Soul Monster uses the power of the ever-changing ocean to attack.

Legendary Flame Lord

Tucker's Soul Monster becomes more powerful the more intense the wielder's strategy becomes.

Agent of Judgment - Venus

Kimi's Soul Monster can literally wash away evil.

Ultimate Insect

This monster's ability to evolve each turn is just like Jen's ability to adapt quickly in battle.

Emes the Infinity

Kristin's Soul Monster grows stronger each time a successful attack is carried out.

Berserk Dragon

Max's Soul Monster, Berserk Dragon, is one of the most fearsome cards in the game. Its ability to attack every monster on the opponent's field every turn has left many Duelists afraid to face it in battle.

Trivia

 * The names of many of the characters in the Duel Force are taken from the names of the author's family and friends, even though none of the characters are anything like their real life counterparts.
 * The main character, John, who is named after the author, is never given a last name throughout the course of the series. This is to illustrate that, unlike in other Yu-Gi-Oh! incarnations, names in this series are quite unimportant, and that the character interactions and personalities are what matter.
 * Many cards with effects that differ between the Anime/Manga and OCG/TCG are played using their Anime/Manga effects. Some examples include Card of Sanctity, Magical Hats, and Larva Moth.

Links

 * http://yugiohcardmaker.net
 * Legendhiro's profile