I'm back! And there's another Shadow Rider on the loose! This time, our heroes are in for an AMAZON of a problem, if you know what I mean! Oh by the way, in the last duel against Camula, I did errata Illusion Gate slightly, giving it an effect that reduces the Attack Points of the monster that's summoned by its effect to 0 when Illusion Gate is destroyed. That's how Zane and Sam survived, in addition to Sam's Trap Card. Now that that's out of the way...ROLL IT!

It's been 3 weeks since the ordeal with Camula. It was all quiet on the island front...maybe a little too quiet. Out on the island, near the Ra Dorm, we see Bastion, Keoni, Otto and Twister looking out into the horizon.

"When the next Shadow Rider comes, it could be our turn to duel, Bastion..." Keoni said to his genius friend.

"Indeed," Bastion began. "So it's imperative that we be prepared..."

Keoni and Bastion unbuttoned their blazers, revealing a total of 12 deck boxes between them. "Good thing we're well-equipped, Bastion!"

Bastion took out his Earth deck and thumbed through it until he reached White Magician Pikeru. "Where did you get that card, bro?" Otto asked.

"I have no idea, Otto..." Bastion began as a blush crept onto his face. Bastion shrugged it off as a silly distraction.

"Good thing nothing distracts me, Twist!"

"Aloha to that, Otto-man!"

It's now 7 AM in the Slifer Dorm. Jaden, Syrus and Chumley are sleeping peacefully, when...

"Alright...ready, get set...NOW FIRE!"

...Barrel Dragon and Blowback Dragon opened fire! The culprits - none other than Bastion and Keoni! The blast was so powerful, it knocked Jaden out of his bunk!

"Well, that's getting up with a bang!" Jaden retorted.

After that rousing wake-up call, Bastion and Keoni suggest the group go outdoors for what they call 'Daybreak Dueling Exercises' with Otto, Twister, Sam and Clio. During the duel exercises, Chumley, Syrus and Jaden are caught discussing 'card crushes'.

"Card crushes? How silly can those guys possibly be?" Clio asked.

"No sillier than Twister, that's for sure," Otto said.

"HEY! Thank god we're above all that! Right, Otto-man?" Twister asked.

"Agreed. Clio and Reggie would have our heads if they found out we had card crushes."

"And don't you forget it, boys!" Clio and Reggie said in unison.

That day, in Banner's class...

...there were plenty of empty seats to be found. A lot of students were absent from class without any explanation at all. Banner attributed it to a bug going around, but the Key Keepers knew better. After a female Ra student entered the lecture hall with another student's bag, Reggie decided to go and investigate this mystery. Their investigation led them to a forest where...a large Roman Coliseum replica awaited them and inside the stadium were all the absent students (and Crowler)!

"Crowler?! Just what in the world are you doing?" Twister beamed.

"A man's work," Crowler answered.

"They must've been running short on men..." Clio retorted as a tiger came charging at them.

"First a coliseum, then a tiger; what's next, a gladiator?" Sam cowered.

"Actually, I think she prefers the term 'Amazon'," Crowler corrected.

"AMAZON?!"

Just then, a 7 foot tall red-haired muscular woman appeared. "That's right!" she said. "And thanks to your friends, I've been able to finish my glorious arena!"

"Arena for what?" Jaden asked.

"DUELING!" The Amazoness answered as the tiger came to her. She then handed rare cards to each of the students and Crowler. The Amazoness introduced herself as Tania, the 3rd of the 7 Shadow Riders.

"Aw, man!" Syrus freaked.

"You mean WOMAN! Amazons are a warrior race of all females," Chumley explained.

"Now then, which of you big strong men will it be? After all, I would never hurt a sister!"

"HEY! Don't do us any favors!" Alexis chided.

"We don't need any charity!" Reggie added.

"Especially from a Shadow Rider!" Clio finished.

"So which of you males will it be? Who's my man?"

"Right here!" Jaden said.

"Yours truly!" Chazz introduced.

"I'll take you!" Bastion declared.

"Aloha!" Keoni added.

"Let's ride, punk!" Otto beamed.

"You're in the eye of the storm now, Tania!" Twister shouted.

Tania looked over her potential opponents before coming to her decision...or decisions, as it were. "If this is really the best you have to offer, then I pick...YOU TWO!" she said, pointing at Bastion and Keoni.

"Can't duel 'em all, I guess..." Otto said as he and the others walked away.

"What are your names?"

"Bastion. Bastion Misawa."

"The name's Makani, Keoni Makani, Wahini!"

After everyone voiced their support from the sidelines, it was time for deck selection.

"Alright, let's do this!" Bastion began.

"One problem..." Keoni continued.

"...which deck shall we choose?" Bastion and Keoni said in unison.

"Really? I have the same problem. I have 2 decks," Tania said, holding out her hands. "One is of knowledge, the other is of courage. Why don't you two pick which deck I'll use?"

After a brief conference, Keoni and Bastion selected the deck of knowledge.

"Now for our decks!" Keoni began. "I choose my Hawaiian Volcano deck!"

"And I select my Earth deck!"

"Then let's begin. And don't worry, this isn't a Shadow Duel."

"I beg your pardon!" Bastion shouted.

"You heard me - I don't want your souls, I want you boys..." Tania stated.

"What are you on about, Kahuna?" Keoni freaked.

"It's like this - my tribe's all women, so to marry...I have to shop around!"

"TO MARRY?!" Bastion and Keoni snapped.

"That's right, boys! Now let's do this!"

"DUEL!"

Tania: 8000

Keoni: 8000

Bastion: 8000

"Ladies first..." Tania quipped as she drew her first card, subsequently summoning it. "I summon the AMAZONESS SWORDS WOMAN to the field in Attack Mode!"

ATK: 1500

DEF: 1600

"I'll lay a card face-down and end my turn. Your move, surfer boy!"

"That's weak, brah!" Keoni taunted, drawing his first card. "My opening move's just a little better - the VOLCANIC SLICER in Attack Mode!"

ATK: 1800

DEF: 1200

"This guy's got a wicked awesome power! By skipping my Battle Phase this turn, I'm allowed to deal 500 points of damage to you! Now let her have it, Slicer!"

Keoni's Slicer launched itself into the air, bypassing Swords Woman and slashing Tania's chest.

Tania: 7500

"I'll throw down 3 face-downs and send it over to my genius friend, Bastion!"

Bastion nodded and proceeded to draw his opening card. "Keoni, I'm glad you speak so highly of me. I summon the MAGNET WARRIOR SIGMA PLUS in Attack Mode!"

ATK: 1800

DEF: 1500

That was Keoni's cue!

"And I play my Trap Cards! First comes BACKFIRE! Whenever a Fire monster is destroyed, this card deals 500 points of damage to you, Tania! Second comes BLAZE ACCELERATOR RELOAD! This allows me to send one monster with 500 or fewer Attack Points from my hand or deck to the Graveyard! The card I choose...is VOLCANIC SCATTERSHOT! When it's sent to the Grave by way of a Blaze Accelerator card, I'm allowed to send 2 more to the Grave! Since Volcanic Scattershots are in the Grave, I can play their special abilities!"

"WHAT?!"

"First, each one deals 500 points of damage to you!"

Fire burst from Keoni's Duel Disk, burning Tania.

Tania: 6000

"Next, since all 3 Volcanic Scattershots are in the Grave, I can destroy one card on the field! That means your face-down card has no choice but to go ALOHA!"

Tania's down card shattered, leaving the coast clear for Bastion's assault.

"Thank you, Keoni. Now, Magnet Warrior, ATTACK HER AMAZON WITH LOADSTONE BATON BASH!"

Magnet Warrior jumped into the air and smacked Swords Woman with its baton, destroying it. However, it was Bastion that took the hit.

Bastion: 7700

"How come you lost points, Bastion?" Keoni asked.

"Swords Woman has a special effect - the opponent takes all damage that was done to her!" Tania explained.

"I'll play a card face-down...and that will suffice."

Tania proceeded to flirt with Bastion while Keoni thought 'This woman's boy crazy! Man, I sure wish Otto and Twister were dueling this chick! They wouldn't fall for her tactics because they already have girlfriends!'

Tania was determined to break Bastion and Keoni's focus. "I summon the AMAZONESS BLOWPIPER!"

ATK: 800

DEF: 1500

"Now for her ability! She's allowed to lower the Attack Points of one monster on the field by 500 and I choose...VOLCANIC SLICER!"

Volcanic Slicer ATK: 1300

"Next I play MONSTER REBORN! This brings back my Swords Woman!"

Just the play Bastion was waiting for! He had a Trap!

"I play my face-down! MAGNET FORCE MINUS! This card will equip onto your Blowpiper and give it a negative magnetism! That monster then becomes what's known as a Minus monster. And from there, it gets interesting. You see, 2 Minus monsters...I'm afraid they're not allowed to engage in battle. But a Minus and a Plus, when they're on the field, they must fight."

Since Blowpiper is a Minus monster and Bastion's Magnet Warrior is a Plus monster...GAME ON!

"How about I stop you from winning this battle? I play my AMAZONESS SPELLCASTER! Now one Amazoness and one monster on the field exchange their Attack Points! I choose your Magnet Warrior! Now, attack! AMAZONESS BLOWPIPER!"

Blowpiper launched an arrow at Bastion's Magnet Warrior, but before it reached his monster...

"Slicer, INTERCEPT!"

Keoni's monster took the hit!

Keoni: 7500

"Did you see that?" Reggie said, shocked.

"Keoni just sacrificed his own monster to protect Bastion!" Clio added.

"GO, KEONI!" Jaden cheered.

Keoni looked back at his friends, flashed a thumbs up and continued with the duel. "Now that Slicer is destroyed, Backfire activates, hitting you for 500 points of damage!"

Tania: 5500

"You may have hit me for 500, but this next strike is gonna hurt...BIG TIME! Swords Woman, ATTACK KEONI DIRECTLY!"

Swords Woman rushed in and slashed Keoni, knocking him back.

Keoni: 6000

"Next, I play my CARD OF DEMISE! This lets me draw 5 new cards, so long as I discard my hand in 5 turns, assuming this duel lasts that long. But I assure you it won't...not after I play this! MISCHIEF OF THE TIME GODDESS! Now your turns are skipped and I can attack again! Blowpiper and Swords Woman, STRIKE BASTION NOW!"

Just like last turn, Blowpiper launched an arrow at Bastion's Magnet Warrior, but this time, it hit. Then, Swords Woman slashed Bastion.

Bastion: 5400

It was back to Keoni now. "My move! I play CARD OF SANCTITY! This forces us to draw until we're all holding 6 cards in our hand! Next, I play the Spell Card SPIDER WEB! This lets me take a card in your Graveyard! I think I'll take your MONSTER REBORN! And I won't waste any time in using it! Come on back, VOLCANIC SLICER! You remember his ability, don't you? By skipping my battle this turn, I can deal 500 points of damage to you!"

"NOT AGAIN!"

Tania: 5000

"But I'm not through yet! I sacrifice my Slicer to summon this! GO, VOLCANIC HAMMERER! And I'll place him in Attack Mode!"

ATK: 2400

DEF: 1500

"Now for Hammerer's effect! I forego my Battle Phase this turn to deal 200 points of damage to you for each Volcanic monster in my Graveyard! Since there's 4, that's another 800 points of damage!"

Volcanic Hammerer launched fire from its palms at Tania, burning her.

Tania: 4200

"Next, I'll activate my Accelerator's effect and send Volcanic Shell to the Grave! Since Shell is in my Grave, its effect activates! By giving up 500 points, I can summon another one!"

Keoni: 5500

Volcanic Shell:

ATK: 0

DEF: 500

"That ends my turn."

"And starts mine! I activate MAGNET CONDUCTOR PLUS! This brings a Plus monster from my Graveyard to my hand! So come on back MAGNET WARRIOR SIGMA PLUS! But he won't be there for long because he and the MAGNET WARRIOR OMEGA MINUS in my hand are going...right back to the Graveyard so I can summon...CONDUCTION WARRIOR LINEAR MAGNUM PLUS MINUS!"

ATK: 2700

DEF: 1300

"His special ability kicks in now! He takes half the attack points of one Magnet monster on the field and adds it to his own for a grand total of 3100! Now, Warrior Magnum Plus Minus, attack Blowpiper with POLARIZING PULVERIZING BLAST!"

Warrior Magnum launched a pair of laser blasts from its cannons, destroying Amazoness Blowpiper.

Tania: 1900

"I play a card face-down and that'll do for now."

Tania proceeded to flirt with Bastion and Keoni before drawing her next card. "Amazoness Swords Woman, strike down Conduction Warrior Linear Magnum Plus Minus now! AMAZON SLASH ATTACK!"

Swords Woman charged in and attempted to slash Linear Magnum Plus Minus, but Bastion's Magnet Warrior was too strong and blasted Swords Woman to bits! However, it was Bastion that took the hit!

Bastion: 4200

"Now that Swords Woman is in the Grave, I can play this - the Quick-Play Spell AMAZONESS REBIRTH! This brings back an Amazoness monster that was destroyed this turn! Come on back, Swords Woman! This also lets me strike one more time! Attack Keoni's Volcanic Shell!"

This time, the attack was successful as Volcanic Shell shattered.

Keoni: 4000

"Shell's ability activates! So I give up 500 points to summon another one!"

ATK: 0

DEF: 500

Keoni: 3500

"Now Backfire goes off, hitting you for 500 points of damage!"

Tania: 1400

"Guess I'll just get you next turn! And my AMAZONESS PALADIN will make sure of it! My Paladin gets an extra 100 points for every Amazoness on my field!"

ATK: 1700 - 1900

DEF: 300

"After playing these 2 cards face-down, I'll end my turn. Your move, surfer boy!"

Keoni arched his eyebrows as he drew his card. "With pleasure, Tania! I DRAW! First, I switch my Shell into Defense Mode! Then comes Hammerer's ability! Since there's 5 Volcanic monsters in the Grave, I can deal 1000 points of damage to you!"

Tania: 400

"I'll end my turn with 1 face-down card."

"My go now! I DRAW!"

Once Bastion drew, Keoni enacted his plan to end it now!

"Hold on, Bastion! I activate my face-down card! RING OF DESTRUCTION! And I'll use it on your Conduction Warrior! This will destroy your monster and deal 2700 points of damage to Tania and myself, ending the game!"

Not on Tania's watch!

"A smart play...if I didn't have this! SPELL OF HATE! This reflects the 2700 points of damage I would've taken from Ring of Destruction right back at Bastion!"

Tania just thwarted Keoni's plan! Conduction Warrior exploded, dealing 2700 points of damage to Bastion and Keoni and in the process, leaving Bastion without a monster!

Bastion: 1500

Keoni: 800

...or so Bastion thought.

"Not to worry, Bastion. I have another Trap! CALL OF THE HAUNTED! This will bring back your Conduction Warrior!"

"Thank you, Keoni. Now I play my face-down cards! First is POWER OFF! This takes one Plus Minus monster and splits it back into the 2 monsters that originated it!"

Magnet Warrior Sigma Plus:

ATK: 1800

DEF: 1500

Magnet Warrior Omega Minus:

ATK: 1900

DEF: 800

"Next comes the Trap Card 100,000 GAUSS! This takes a monster on your field and forces it into Attack Mode! Then it cuts its strength by 800 points!"

"Nice! Now you got the monsters and the matchup you need, Bastion!" Keoni cheered.

"It would be nice...until I use this! DRAMATIC RESCUE! This returns an Amazoness to my hand and in exchange, I can summon a new monster! Meet AMAZONESS TIGER! This monster gains an additional 400 points for every Amazoness in play and while he's out, he's the only monster you can attack!"

ATK: 1100 - 1900

DEF: 1500

"Big mistake! I summon MAGNET WARRIOR SIGMA MINUS!"

ATK: 1500

DEF: 1800

For Bastion, the plan was simple...first, use Omega Minus to take out Amazoness Tiger, then use Sigma Minus to take down Swords Woman, and to finish everything off, go for game with Sigma Plus. Now to put his plan into action.

"Fun duel...but I'm afraid it's about to be...OVER! Magnet Warrior Omega Minus, attack and tame that Amazoness Tiger NOW!"

Omega Minus launched itself at Amazoness Tiger, intending to destroy it. However...

"You must be distracted. Otherwise, you would've seen that...I HAVE A FACE-DOWN OUT! GO, AMAZONESS ARCHERS! Now all monsters on your field are forced into Attack Points and lose 600 Attack Points! Also, they have to battle my Tiger right now!"

Magnet Warrior Sigma Minus ATK: 900

Magnet Warrior Omega Minus ATK: 1300

Magnet Warrior Sigma Plus ATK: 1200

Volcanic Hammerer ATK: 1800

"BASTION, YOU KLUTZ! YOU WERE TOO DISTRACTED TO LOOK OVER TANIA'S BACKROW!" Keoni chided his partner. 'I have to think of something fast or we're gonna be trapped here!' he thought. Then, an idea came to him. 'That's it! My Trap Card!'

Amazoness Tiger easily took out all 5 monsters that Bastion and Keoni had out, wiping out the rest of their Life Points, but...

Bastion: 0

Keoni: 0

"Did you forget about my Backfire card? Since a Fire monster was destroyed, you take 500 points of damage! So even though you'll take our Spirit Gate Keys and Bastion...you're not getting me! THIS DUEL IS A DRAW!"

"NO!"

Tania: 0

Keoni rushed over to his friends "We gotta get out of here...now! That tiger's about to pounce!"

"Right!" Otto, Twister and Jaden said as the rest of the group were chased out by Amazoness Tiger. The gates of the coliseum were then closed behind them.

"BASTION!" Jaden called out.

Tania laughed. "Sorry, kid. Bastion and I are officially on our honeymoon now...SO GET LOST!"

"THIS ISN'T OVER! YA HEAR ME?"

TO BE CONTINUED...

Oh boy...2 more Spirit Gates have been unlocked and Bastion has fallen into the hands of Tania the Amazon! Can our heroes bail him out or will Tania continue her quest for the Sacred Beast cards...and a husband? FIND OUT NEXT TIME!