YU-GI-OH GX TAG FORCE LEGACIES

by duelking2023

Red Hat decides to go to Duel Academy to become a professional duelist. In addition to coming to terms with his past, he will also have to protect the world from evil forces. But there will be friends he meets along the way who will help him

21. Chapter 21: Duel Distractions

CHAPTER 21: Duel Distractions

Tuesday

Time 5:45

It was early in the morning at Duel Academy. Over by the Cliffside, Bastion has woke early and started out in the horizon. As Bastion stretches, he began to have thought about the situation he and the others Key kepeers are.

"Ever since that duel with Camula, it's been eerily quiet... too quiet." Bastion thought. "When the next Shadow Rider arrives, it could be my turn to duel." Bastion take out his spirit key from his pocket and looked before putting it back. "And with two of the seven spirit gates already open, it's more important than ever that I be prepared." Bastion then opened his blazer, revealing his six deck cases. "Good thing I'm well equipped."

Bastion took out one of his deck and looked through the cards. "Huh?" He stopped when he came upon one particular card. "Where on earth did this card come from?" Bastion wondered. The intellectual Ra pondered for a moment before shaking his head. "Silly distraction. Well, nothing distracts me."

---

Time 6:00

At the Slifer dorm, Jaden, Syrus and Chumley were snoring away peacefully, despite the fact it's school day. But that was about to change... by Bastion. He activated his duel disk and brought out Barrel Dragon.

Bastion put his hands over his ears. "All right... ready... get set... and FIRE!" Barrel Dragon fired off shots from his cannons, which was more then enough to wake up the three Slifers and make Jaden fall out of his bed.

"Hit the snooze button." Chumley complained.

"More like the snooze trigger." Syrus added.

"That's getting up with a bang." Jaden commented. They then heard laughter from Bastion and saw him turning off his duel disk. "Bastion?"

"Good morning sleepyheads!" Bastion greeted.

"Yeah... well it was good..." Syrus mumbled.

"Yes, now that we're all awake, how about some good old-fashioned daybreak duel exercises?" Bastion suggested, earning groans from the Slifer trio. "While I'm at it I'll call Red Hat to join us too." He said leaving their room.

"Is he really going to wake up Red Hat?" Syrus asked.

"I don't think it's a good idea for him to do that." Chumley agreed.

"We'd better go and see." Jaden said as he headed towards Red Hat's room followed by Syrus and Chumley. As soon as they arrived they saw from the door to the room open, they saw Red Hat and Blair still sleeping with Bastion repeating the process with them.

"Gah!" Blair shouted, immediately covering herself with the covers of the bed.

"Haaa!" Red Hat shouted as he stood up accidentally hitting the bed and falling to the floor. "But what was that?" Red Hat said before seeing Bastion turn off his duel disk. "Bastion? What was that for?" Red Hat groaned as he stood up rubbing his head adjusting his hat.

"Yeah, does that sound like breaking into someone's room?!" Blair said frowning with her disguise on.

"Red Hat, good morning. Well, since you're awake too, can you come with us to do some exercise?" Bastion suggested.

"Do I really have to? I'd rather prefer to stay in the bed." Red Hat stated.

"Come on now, you and Jaden are the only ones I've ever known who sleep this much. A little healthy exercise can only do you good." Bastion said.

"Bastion is right. You spend most of your time sleeping, doing so will do you good." Blair added that Red Hat frowned.

"Oh Blair, since you're here too why don't you come with us too?" Bastion suggested.

At this it was now Blair's turn to be frowning with Red Hat looking at her with a smirk.

---

Time 6:30

"One, two, draw! One, two, draw! One, two, draw!"

The gang were now standing at the cliff were Bastion was earlier, with the latter standing opposite the rest of them. Red Hat and Blair were farther away from them. All of them had their duel disks on and decks at ready, repeating the same motions, following Bastion example.

"Yeah... this was worth getting up for." Jaden muttered.

"Quiet, you'll make me lose count." Syrus whispered as he drew.

It was Chumley that noticed the latest card Syrus drew, and held it still to get a better look at it. It was a monster card with the picture of a girl with red hair tiger-skinned clothes, sitting at a set of drums. "What the... is that Thunder Nyan Nyan?"

"Yeah it is." Syrus replied with a small blush on his face. "I got her a while ago. I kind of have a bit of a card crush on her."

"Card crush... that's so lame, Syrus. At least having one on that card." Chumpley pulled out a copy of Dian Keto the Cure Master and showed it to him. "Check out mine!"

"Yeah... she's... really pretty, Chum." Syrus said.

"Totally reminds me of my girlfriend back home. Her names Sally... no wait, Adrianna."

Syrus faced Jaden and Blair before looking at Red Hat. "Hey guys, do you have any card crushes hidden away in your dueling decks?"

"If I had to choose my favorite card, for me it's simple. It's my Maiden in Love." Blair replied showing her favorite card.

"Wow, she's really cute." Syrus said, with him and Chumley blushing a little. "And you instead, Jaden?"

"You better believe it." Jaden answered. "They bring loads of luck!"

"And what about you, Red Hat? Do you have a card crush?" Syrus asked.

"Please. As if I would ever have a card crush." Red Hat replied in an annoyed tone.

"Oh really." Blair said with a smirk drawing attention to herself. "So what about those cards I saw in your deck last time."

"I told you it wasn't like that!" Red Hat said frowning.

"BEG YOUR PARDON?!" Bastion interrupted them, clearly not happy at the moment. "But I thought we were training here! And training gentlemen, does not comprise of standing around and talking about birds!"

"Did he say, birds?" Syrus asked, confused.

"You know what? I'm thinking that Bastion doesn't have a card crush." Chumley assumed.

"A crush on a card? Of course not!" Bastion scoffed. "That's just plain irrational, illogical, ridiculous...!" But he suddenly remembered his White Magician Pikeru card and a small blush was formed on his face before shaking his head at the thought and glaring at them. "Look, let's just get back to our dueling exercises, all right?"

"Sure, but I do have plans to play solitaire with Thunder Nyan Nyan in about 15 minutes." Syrus said, holding the card.

"WHAT?!" Bastion shouted, startling Syrus and Chumley enough to make them fall over. "You'll be breaking that date, and soon breaking a sweat! Now gentleman... back to our duel training!"

"And into the doghouse for me." Syrus moaned. "She hates it when I cancel on her."

"Somehow, I think she'll understand, Syrus." Jaden said.

"You think?" Syrus looked up at him.

Chumley nodded. "Totally. It's not like she's a real girlfriend, like Sally-er... Adrianna."

"Yeah, Chumley. Sure." Blair said sweating at the scene.

"Can we continue?! The sooner we start again, the sooner we finish!" Red Hat said annoyed scaring Syrus and Chumley once again.

"Stay calm you two. He's just stressed because Bastion woke her up early." Jaden said.

"Same story every time." Blair said sighing as then everyone continued their training.

---

Time 12:00

Later on, the band of Slifer and Ras were sitting in Banners class. The Slifer trio were sitting together, their heads down and snoring away, while Red Hat and Blair sat at a distance from the others.

As for Banner, he frowned as he noted the big number of empty seats. "There certainly are a lot of absence today. Hm... must be a bug going around."

"None that I've heard of." Bastion thought to himself. "There's definitely something strange in the air. Well..." He then glanced the sleeping Slifer trio. "... besides all of that snoring."

The sound of the door hissing open made Banner turn to see a young woman dressed in white and orange walk towards him, holding a duffle bag with a worried look on her face. "May I help you?" Banner asked.

"Well... do you recognize this bag?" The woman asked, showing him the duffle bag she was holding.

Banner looked down at the bag. "Yes, it's one of my students, why?"

Red Hat frowned, as he realized that something was up. As did the other key keepers, including Jaden, who woke up in time to see Banner talk to the woman.

---

Time 16:15

After class, Banner traveled around in the forest, along with Jaden, Red Hat, Syrus, Chumley, Bastion, Chazz and Alexis despite she has no longer her spiritual key.

"I wonder why that pack was left all the way out here?" Jaden wondered.

"Indeed." Bastion agreed. "And Jaden, where its owner is."

"I hope no one is hurt." Banner worried.

"A person cannot disappear into thin air without leaving a trace, unless someone makes sure to do so. Maybe there is another Shadow Rider behind this." Red Hat thought.

The group continued walking through the woods, searching for the missing people. Even calling out for people, without getting any answer. After what felt like hours, they came to a large cleared out space, where they found a big surprise. A large colossal stadium.

"Where did this come from?" Jaden asked, staring at it.

"I didn't know there was a coliseum on the island. Did the Academy build it?" Red Hat wondered.

"I'm going in!" Bastion declared and ran towards the structure.

"Wait up!" Syrus called out before he and the others ran after him.

"Aww, running." Chumley complained.

A moment later, they came into the center of the arena and to their surprise, they found the missing students working in different areas of the arena. They were lifting rocks, putting them in places, and doing other such things. And they seemed to not mind doing these kind of jobs.

"Hey! That guy's from class." Syrus said, glancing at one of them.

"Yeah, so is she." Chumley added.

"Oh my." Banner said.

Chazz observed the many workers... until his eyes bugged out when they landed on one worker in particular. "CROWLER?!"

Upon hearing Chazz exclaim, everyone else followed his gaze and saw Crowler try to move a large stone block with a crowbar. "What are you doing?" Syrus called out.

Crowler looked at them and smiled proudly. "Oh! A man's work!"

"A man's work?" Banner repeated. "My, they must have been running very short of men."

Jaden then paled, as what was standing before them was a big, one-eyed and fierce-looking tiger, growling at them. The others noticed as well, but only just in time to see it roar and run towards them. That of course, caused them all to shriek in fright and run away from it.

"First a colosseum, then a tiger! What's next, a gladiator?!" Banner cried out.

"Actually, I think she prefers the term, 'Amazon'!" Crowler corrected, acting almost like he was head over heels.

"Amazon?!" Banner repeated, who by now, along with his students, was clinging on top of a pillar, avoiding the claws of the angry tiger.

"That's right." A new voice spoke. The group looked at the direction the voice came from, and saw a woman with a well-built body, short green shirt, tight black pants, long red hair in a ponytail, a set of golden bracelets and a spike collar around her neck... and two large scars that went from above her right eye all the way down to her chin. And finally, she was wearing a large, bladed duel disk on her arm. "And thanks to your friends, I've been able to finally finish... my glorious arena."

"Arena for what?" Jaden asked.

The amazon jumped off the spectator seats and somersaulted a few times before landing in the ring of arena. "Dueling." At that, the tiger walked over to the amazon, letting her stroke it's fur, much to the gang's relief.

They got down from the pillar one by one and then focused on the amazon, who walked over to the students, plus Crowler, that lined up before her. "Job well done!" She said helding up a set of envelopes in her hand. "I had no idea that Duel Academy students could make such fine laborers. Now as promised, here's your payment." She said while passing out one on one the envelopes. "Some rare cards. Well deserved, I might add. Until next time!" And then, they walked away, satisfied with their payment.

Even Crowler walked away with the envelope in the hand, with a satisfied smile. Red Hat had watched him leave. "It's really pathetic what he did. And then they wonder why I can't stand him." He thought with a bored expression.

"Hey! What is going on? And who are you?" Jaden demanded.

The amazon turned around and faced them. "What does it look like? I'm setting the stage, Key keeper, for your vanquishing. I'm one of the seven Shadow Riders."

"A Shadow Rider? Aw man." Syrus moaned.

"You mean aw wo-man." Chumley corrected. "Amazon are a warrior race, of all females."

"Wow, you go girl." Alexis said.

"The name is Tania." The amazon introduced herself. "Now that the battleground has been established, you will fight me in this coliseum with your spirit keys at stake! Now then, which of you men will be my opponent?" She asked before took a glance the only girl in the group. "Don't worry, you don't have a spirit key. Even if you had it, I would never harm a sister."

"Hey, don't do me any favors!" Alexis said, feeling offended.

"It's better this way. At least this way you won't have to duel." Red Hat said.

"What do you mean by that?!" Alexis said frowning glaring at him.

"Now calm down Alexis. I think what Red Hat means is that he doesn't want you to duel with her since you no longer have your key." Banner said trying to calm her down.

Tania was amused by this scene. "My, the holder of the power of Chaos truly has a wild soul. And truly an interesting guy to keep an eye on just like he said." She thought. "So, which of you males will it be?" Tania asked. "Who's my man?"

"Right here!" Jaden stepped up.

"Yours truly!" Chazz added.

"I'll take you!" Bastion declared.

"Bring it!" Red Hat said.

Tania looked at the boys, thinking carefully. "Hmm... If this is really the best you have to offer... Then I suppose I'll pick... you!" She pointed at Bastion, who was smiling a bit.

"Well, can't duel them all." Jaden said as they walked back to the gang. None of them noticed the annoyed expression on Alexis, except Red Hat.

"Still mad because you won't duel?" He asked.

"It's none of your business!" Alexis replied.

"If you act like that, you sound like Chazz when he acts like a spoiled brat." Red Hat said.

"Hey! I heard you!" Chazz blurted out.

"Red Hat please don't make them angry." Chumley said.

"Yeah, it's bad enough as it is." Syrus said.

The tiger moved away from Tania, while the other students, plus Banner, went to sit in the stands. "What is your name?" The amazon asked.

"Bastion... Bastion Misawa." The Ra answered.

Tania seemed to smile in interest.

"Alright pal! Go and get her!" Jaden cheered.

"And don''t go easy cuz she's a girl!" Syrus added.

"Not like any that I've seen." Chumley muttered.

"Alright, let's do this." Bastion declared. "The only question is... which deck to choose?" He opened his jacket to reveal his six deck cases.

"Really? I have the same problem myself." Tania said, holding up one deck in each hand. "I have two decks. One is of knowledge. The other is of courage. Why you don't go ahead and decide which of the two I use?"

"Fine then. I'll pick the deck of knowledge."

"Nice choice." Tania inserted the deck in question into her duel disk.

"Thank you, but it's not nearly as nice as the choice that I am making for myself." Bastion said, pulling out one of his own decks and inserted it into his duel disk. "I will use my water deck. With this you will not have an easy time in this duel."

"Then let us begin. And don't worry. This isn't a Shadow Game."

"Beg your pardon?" Bastion asked, clearly confused.

"You heard me Bastion. I don't want your soul. I want you big boy." Tania cooed. The Ra almost fell flat on the ground in surprise at her words. "It's like this, my tribe's all women. So to marry, I have to shop around."

"To marry?!" Bastion exclaimed.

"That's right. After I'll win this duel you'll come back with me to my tribe, and be my groom."

"Suddenly I'm jealous of Bastion..." Syrus muttered.

"Not just you." Chumley added.

"I'm starting to think this woman isn't in her right mind." Chazz said.

"What's wrong with her?" Red Hat said.

"I don't know what game you're playing, but I'll assure you that I'll win the duel!" Bastion declared.

"This is to be seen, hun. Now let's do this." The amazon winked at him before they drew their opening hands.

"DUEL"

Bastion: 8000 LP

Tania: 8000 LP

"Alright, it's my turn. I draw!" Tania draws.

Hand 6

"I'll start by summoning Amazoness Swords Woman in attack mode! (Atk: 1500 – Def: 1600)" A familiar, well-built woman in a blue outfit with long, red hair and a curved blade appeared. "I set one card facedown. That's all for me now." Tania ends her turn.

Hand 4

"It's my turn. I draw!" Bastion draws.

Hand 6

"I summon Abyss Soldier in attack mode! (Atk: 1800 – Def: 1300)" A whale with a humanoid body armed with a trident had appeared on the field. "Battle! Now Abyss Soldier, attack Amazoness Swords Woman! Trident strike!" Abyss Soldier launched his trident hitting and destroying Amazoness Swords Woman.

Bastion: 8000 – 7700 LP

"Why'd Bastion lose life points?" Syrus wondered.

"Because of Swords Woman's ability." Red Hat said. "Her opponent takes all the battle damage from battles involving her." He explained.

"He walked right into that one." Chumley said.

"Yeah, that's not like Bastion." Alexis added.

"Nu-huh. It's just like Bastion. Think about it. Sure, he has fewer life points, but she has fewer monsters. Smart move." Jaden said.

"Jaden you're forgetting that we're only in the second turn of the duel. It's still too early to tell." Red Hat said.

"So hun, any other moves to make?" Tania asked.

Bastion took a deep breath and sighted before continuing his turn. "I'll play one card facedown, and that will suffice." Bastion ends his turn.

Hand 4

"Oh my! That will suffice?" Tania spoke up with dreamy eyes. "Say it again, it sounded so cool!"

"You know." Syrus spoke up. "I'm thinking it's a couple of years since Tania's interacted with a guy."

"Couple of years? Try decades, Sy. This lady is man crazy!" Jaden commented.

"To say this woman is crazy is an understatement, Jaden." Red Hat added.

"I'm quite flattered." Bastion said. "But I'm well aware of what you're trying to do. You're trying to distract me. But I can tell you right now, my dear, it's simply not going to work. I'm too focused!"

"Oh, are you? We'll see! But first let me do something. I activate my facedown card. Call of the the Haunted! With this I summon a monster back from my graveyard! Come back to me, Amazoness Swords Woman! (Atk: 1500 – Def: 1600)"

"Oh no! Not that monster again!" Syrus groaned.

"Relax, Syrus. Bastion has the duel in hand." Jaden said.

"My turn. I draw!" Tania draws.

Hand 5

"I summon my Amazoness Paladin in attack mode! (Atk: 1700 – Def: 300)" A woman wearing a light-brown, sleeveless battle dress with a longsword appeared. "Now my Paladin gain 100 attack points for every Amazoness monster on the field. (Atk: 1700 – 1900 – Def: 300) And now I play the quickplay spell Mystical Space Typhoon to get rid of your facedown card." A typhoon of strong winds hit Bastion's card, destroying it.

"Darn it! She destroyed Sakuretsu Armor!" Bastion tought shocked.

"Amazoness Paladin, attack Abyss Soldier!" The Amazoness struck the Abyss Soldier with her sword, destroying it.

Bastion: 7700 – 7600 LP

"And now Amazoness Swords Woman, attack him directly! Go, Amazon Slash Attack!" The swords wielding woman jumped into the air and came down swinging her blade against him.

Bastion: 7600 – 6100 LP

Bastion gasped, trying to recover from the last attack. "How is that possible? She immediately took the lead on me. I've been too lacking, I'll have to keep my guard up. "

"I guess we know where our kids are going to get their smarts from then." Tania teased him.

"WHAT?! OUR KIDS?!" Bastion exclaimed shocked. "We are enemies! Rivals!"

Tania smiled. "During this duel, we are. But afterwards, we'll be betrothed to each other. Just think about it, you'll be Mr. Tania The Amazon Woman!"

Red Hat seemed irritated by the scene. "What am I looking at!" He thought, losing patience.

"You can't be serious." Bastion said. "You can't joke with something like that right now."

"I'm not joking about this at all!"

Her response made Bastion a little annoyed.

"I know what game you're playing Tania. You're trying to get into my head and make me lose my concentration so I lose this duel. But like I said before I'm too focused. These kinds of tactics don't work on me. I'm above all this." Bastion affirmed.

"That's all for me. I end my turn." Tania ends her turn.

Hand 3

"My turn. I draw!" Bastion draws.

Hand 5

"Perfect. Just what I needed." He thought. "I summon Tribe-Infecting Virus in attack mode! (Atk: 1600 – Def: 1000) By discarding one card one type monster and all the monsters on the field of the type I choose are destroyed. Obviously I choose warriors-type monsters. So Amazoness Paladin and Amazoness Swords Woman will leave the field. Virus Infection!" (discards Bitelon) Tribe-Infecting Virus fired poisonous spores that hit Tania's monsters, covering them, infecting them and destroying them. "Now the Tribe-Infecting Virus attacks Tania directly! Virus Blast!" The monster shot a jet of sludge that hit Tania.

Tania: 8000 – 6400 LP

"Yeah! Keep it up Bastion!" Jaden cheered.

"Now he and Tania have almost the same life points." Syrus added.

"I'll end my turn here." Bastion ends his turn.

Hand 3

"It's my turn now. I draw!" Tania draws.

Hand 4

"I activate Pot of Greed and draw two cards." Tania smiled seeing the cards she draws. "I activate the equip spell Premature Burial! Paying 800 life points I special summon from my graveyard my Amazoness Paladin! (Atk: 1700 – 1800 – Def: 300)"

Tania: 6400 – 5600 LP

"I summon Amazoness Tiger in attack mode! (Atk: 1100 – Def: 1500) "With another Amazoness monster on the field my paladin get another 100 attack points. But not only her get something. Infact, while my Amazoness Tiger is on the field you can only attack this monster, also gain 400 attack points for every Amazoness monster I control on the field. (Atk: 1800 – 1900 – Def: 300) (Atk: 1100 – 1900 – Def: 1500) "And now I'm going to cut the size of your monster. And I'll do it using the spell card Shrink with which I halve the attack points of your monster." Tribe-Infecting Virus seemed to be getting smaller. (Atk: 1600 – 800 – Def: 1000) "Amazoness Paladin, take down Tribe-Infecting Virus!" The paladin leaps into the air before plummeting down, striking Bastion's monster with her sword, destroying it.

Bastion: 6100 – 5000 LP

"Amazoness Tiger attack him directly!" The tiger rushed at Bastione, hitting him with its claw.

Bastion: 5000 – 3100 LP

"Just a little longer and when this is all over, you will be mine." Tania said.

"You're relentless." Bastion said. "Truly, are you that smitten with me?"

"I prefer in love!"

"You hardly know me!"

"I know enough... my little sugar booger."

That nickname just made Bastion a little more annoyed. "Keep your cool, Bastion. She's just trying to distract you. Like how those silly card crushes distract Syrus and Chumley. But you've always been above that." He thought about Thunder Nyan Nyan and the Cure Master and how they affected the two named Slifers. Bu then, the image of White Magician Pikeru appeared in his mind, at which he gripped his head with both hands. "No! Get out! I'm above all this! That's not true! THAT'S NOT TRUE!"

The spectators sweat dropped at his behavior. "Bastion sure is acting weird." Jaden noted. "What's with him?"

"Love works in mysterious ways." Syrus added.

"QUIET! I'm not in love!" Bastion snapped at them. "And I'll prove it, by taking Tania down." He turned back to his opponent.

"I'll end my turn. Show me what you can do, hun." Tania ended her turn winking at Bastion.

Hand 2

"This is bad. She managed to whipe out Bastion monster, and he hasn't even a card on his side." Syrus murmured in fear.

"The last word hasn't been said yet, Syrus. Bastion still has a chance to recover from this situation." Jaden said confidently.

Red Hat who had been observing the duel the entire time however, had noticed something unusual about how Bastion acted most of the time.

"My move. Draw!" Bastion draws.

Hand 4

"I activate the spell Graceful Charity. I draw 3 cards and then discards 2." Bastion draws his cards (discards Penguin Soldier and Star Boy). "I play a second spell Graceful Charity." (discards Nightmare Penguin and Hydrogeddon) "Next, I will use Pot of Greed and draw 2 more cards." Bastion draw two cards. "I play another Pot of Greed to draw 2 new cards." Bastion draw two other cards. "Perfect, all the pieces I needed are in place." Bastion thought with satisfaction. "I summon Oxygeddon in attack mode! (Atk: 1800 – Def: 800) Then I activate Monster Reborn and special summon from the graveyard my Hydrogeddon! (Atk: 1600 – Def: 1000) Next, I'll play the field spell, Umiiruka." The field has been replaced with an aquatic area. "With this card all water monsters will lose 400 defense points, but in exchange they gain 500 attack points. (Atk: 1600 – 2100 – Def: 1000 – 600) Battle, Hydrogeddon attack her Amazoness Tiger! Hydro Gust!" Hydrogeddon shoot a blast of water destroying Amazoness Tiger.

Tania: 5600 – 5400 LP

"And with one less monster your Amazoness Paladin will lose some of her attack points. (Atk: 1900 – 1800 – Def: 300)" Bastion pointed out. "But there is more. In fact, the effect of Hydrogeddon activates. When it destroy a monster in battle sending to the graveyard, I can special summon another Hydrogeddon from my deck! Rise up Hydrogeddon! (Atk: 1600 – 2100 – Def: 1000 – 600)" Another Hydrogeddon appeared on the field. "My second Hydrogeddon attack Amazoness Paladin! Hydro Gust!" The second Hydrogeddon attack the Paladin and destroy her.

Tania: 5400 – 5100 LP

"And now, Oxygeddon attack Tania directly! Vapor Stream!" Oxygeddon shoot out a blast of air against Tania.

Tania: 5100 – 3300 LP

"Now that all the preparation are made, I activate the spell, Bonding - H2O! I tribute the two Hydrogeddon and Oxygeddon on my field to special summon from my hand Water Dragon! (Atk: 2800 – 3300 – Def: 2600 – 2200)" The three monster combined in a geyser and created the serpentine-dragon of water, that roared when it appeared on the field.

"That's it! Bastion not only closer the gap with Tania's life points, but managed to field a very strong monster!" Syrus cheered.

"Way to go, Bastion!" Jaden said.

"I activate the spell, Pot of Avarice. I choose 5 monster from my graveyard to return in my deck, shuffle and draw 2 cards. I choose Star Boy, Nightmare Penguin, Bitelon, Abyss Soldier and Tribe-Infecting Virus." The called cards came out of the duel disk graveyard slot, Bastion put them back into the deck and then shuffle it and draw two cards. "I set two cards facedown. I end my turn." Bastion ends his turn.

Hand 0

"What a move! No wonder I love you!" Tania gasped excitedly. "And sweetie, because I do... I must beat you! I draw!" Tania draws.

Hand 3

"I play the spell Graceful Charity. I draw 3 cards and then discards 2 card from my hand." Tania draws her cards (discards Amazoness Archer and Amazoness Chain Master). "Next, I will use this card. You may remember it? Pot of Avarice. I choose five monster from my graveyard to return in my deck shuffle and draw 2 cards." The cards come out of Tania's duel disk graveyard slot, she put them back in the deck and then shuffle it and draw two cards and slightly smiles. "I set three cards facedown. I end my turn." Tania ends her turn.

Hand 1

"Well at least she's concentrating on her dueling instead of on me." Bastion thought to himself. "Alright, it's my move now..."

"Speaking of moves, sweetie." Tania interrupted him, looking at him longingly and chewed on her thumb a little. "I think... it's probably best that you move in with me. You know, after we get married? Oh, we'll just have the coziest home sweet home.~"

That made Bastion blink, taken back at her words.

The amazon noticed his reaction. "Oh, I'm sorry honey. Am I distracting you again with this talk about how much I love you? And how positively handsome you are? Oh, there I go again!~"

Bastion held a hand over his heart while blushing.

"I guess that I simply can't help myself." Tania continued before spreading her arms out and wide. "I'm head over heels!~"

Now Bastion was completely infatuated with her. "Yes... me too." Bastion said while there was a pink light blush on his cheeks.

"Yuck! Are there barf bags on this flight?" Jaden asked, feeling a bit disgusted by this chemistry.

"Someone please end the duel right now. I can't watch it anymore." Red Hat said.

"Aw man, Bastion's getting all flushed... and all sidetracked." Syrus noted.

"Alright, my turn! I draw!" Bastion draws.

Hand 1

"Fun duel, Tania. But I'm about to finish it right now! I summon Abyss Soldier in attack mode! (Atk: 1800 – 2300 – Def: 1300 – 900)"

"You must be distracted, otherwise you most certainly would have seen that I have a facedown out! Torrential Tribute! All the monsters on the field will be destroyed!" A powerful wave of water destroyed all of Bastion's monsters.

"I activate Water Dragon special abilty. When he's destroyed and sent to the graveyard, I can special summon back from my graveyard two Hydrogeddon and one Oxygeddon. (Atk: 1600 – 2100 – Def: 1000 – 600) (Atk: 1800 – Def: 800)" The three monsters appeared on the field. "Hydrogeddon attack Tania directly! Hydro gust!"

"I really don't think that will happen. You forgot that I have another facedown card! I activate my trap card! Mirror Force! Sorry hun, but thank to this all of your monster in attack position will be destroyed." A barrier had appeared in front of Tania. When Hydrogeddon water jet hit the barrier, the attack was repelled against all of Bastion's monsters, destroying them.

"Aw, guys, Bastion is in a really bad situation right now. He has no monsters left on the field, and he doesn't even have any cards in his hand." Syrus said.

"He walked right into a trap!" Chazz said. "What was he thinking?!"

"That's just it!" Banner cried out. "With all that love talk, I doubt he was!"

"Guys, it's still too early to tell. Besides, Bastion still has his facedown cards." Jaden pointed out.

Some seemed to regain some faith in Bastion in the situation he found himself in. But Red Hat wasn't as convinced as Jaden had said. He had been watching the duel the entire time and had noticed that Bastion was acting strangely at one point. At that moment he let out a sigh. "Bastion, what's wrong with you? During this duel you made mistakes you would never make." He thought.

Bastion was shocked at the situation he found himself in. "It can't be. During the entire duel she managed to counter every move I made. How could I let something like that happen." Bastion thought before looking at Tania. When he looked at her, Bastion was blushing more than before. At that point he shook himself back to himself. "No... wait. I have to stay focused. I still have the two facedown cards from my last turn. One is Bottomless Trap Hole, the other is Mirror Force. With this my defense is solid enough to survive my next turn." Bastion thought regaining some confidence. "I end my turn." Bastion ends his turn.

Hand 0

"My turn. I draw!" Tania draws.

Hand 2

"I activate my facedown card. The trap card, Reckless Greed. At the cost of skipping my next two draw phase I can draw 2 cards. Next I activate the spell card, Magical Stone Excavation. With this I discards 2 cards from my hand and the Pot of Greed in my graveyard return in my hand and I use it immediatly and draw 2 more cards." As Tania drew her cards, a smile formed on her face. "I activate the spell card, Heavy Storm! All the spell and trap cards on the field are destroyed!" A powerful cyclone of air had formed in the middle of the field, hurtling towards the cards on Bastion's side of the field, destroying them.

"No! My defense!" Bastion said shocked.

"I'm afraid it's too early to worry, hun. I activate, Monster Reborn. With this I special summon from my graveyard one monster I discarded before. And I think maybe you remember him, I summon Amazoness Tiger! (Atk: 1100 – 1500 – Def: 1500) But he won't be alone for long. Indeed, I summon Amazoness Archer in attack mode! (Atk: 1400 – Def: 1000)" A woman wearing a black jacket with red markings and a leather skirt appeared on the field, taking a fighting stance as she readied her bow. "And with her on the field, my tiger gain another 400 attack points. (Atk: 1500 – 1900 – Def: 1500) Amazoness Archer attack Bastion directly!" Amazoness Archer loaded an arrow onto her bow and shot it at Bastion.

Bastion: 3100 – 1700 LP

"It's over now. Amazoness Tiger attack Bastion directly!" The tiger lunges at Bastion, hitting him with its claw.

Bastion: 1700 – 0 LP

Despite Bastion getting attacked, he managed to stay conscious to speak. "I'm... all yours." He declared like in trance before dropping on his knees and falling to the ground.

The moment Bastion lost the duel, his spirit key vanished completely as the ground underneath rumble it, indicating that another Spirit Gate opened.

"Bastion!" Worried for his friend, Jaden jumped down from the sidelines followed by Red Hat they all ran towards him.

"Kitty!" Tania called out her tiger. This force everyone except for Bastion to run away and exit from the arena, leaving them outside the coliseum. In the moment they were outside, iron bars crashed down blocking the entrance.

"Oh no, Bastion!" Running up to the bars, Jaden tugged them and tried to call out for Tania and Bastion. "Hey!"

"Ahaha! Sorry, Bastion and I are officially on our honeymoon now. So get lost!" Tania's voice echoed.

Gripping the iron bars tightly Jaden yelled. "This isn't over! You hear me?!"

"Now that Bastion has lost his key, there are three Spirits Gates open. We can't afford to continue like this." Red Hat thought and then turned his gaze towards the coliseum. "Bastion, try to hold on. We're coming to save you."

---

Wednesday

Time 4:00

All of them set outside the coliseum and, they had been there most of time since Bastion's duel with Tania. Throughout the entire night they heard Bastion scream of agony as they set a small camp fire as the sun was about to rise.

Alexis sighed with a troubled look as she poked the fire. "I hate hearing Bastion suffer like that and not being able to help."

Chazz nodded feeling the same thing. "No joke, they've been dueling all night and from those screams, it sounds like Bastion been losing all night too."

Red Hat, who had been lying on the ground with his hat covering his face decided to sit up. "Bastion is really having a hard time right now. How long is that woman going to keep going?"

"How long can this go on?" Banner asked.

Jaden had enough and stood up." We got to do something!"

"Yeah!" Both Syrus and Chumley cried out at the same time.

Hearing some creaking noises from the barred gates of the coliseum, everyone turned and saw the gates springing upwards, allowing access to the coliseum again.

"Hey, what is that?" Syrus asked.

"Over... there." Chumley pointed.

Everyone looked in the same direction he was pointing, and to their surprise, Bastion was coming out from the gates, walking slowly and weakly, all fatigued.

"Bastion...?" Jaden said. Rushing forward towards him, Jaden and Red Hat caught Bastion as he fell on the ground to his knees, followed by the rest of their group, they gathered around Bastion. "Bastion!" Jaden called him.

"What happened?" Syrus asked.

"Wait... She dumped you?" Jaden asked.

"That's right... I'm crushed!" Bastion moaned glancing at Jaden and Red Hat.

"You're not crushed! You're lucky!" Chazz said.

Banner was confused at this. "I don't understand. She was so smitten with you."

"I know!" Bastion said before smiling, obviously thinking about Tania. "We were to be married..." He said leaving all of them shocked. "But she decided I wasn't duelist enough." Bastion began to tell them what had happened.

---

Flashback

Bastion: 1000 – 0 LP

Bastion was lying on his back to the ground after being knocked out back after losing another duel.

Tania looked at him in disappointment. "You call that a duel? You're not worthy, beat it?"

Bastion got a shocked look on his face, Tania turned around. "I need someone, someone who can duel at my level." Shen then walked out the arena as a crushed Bastion sat up and looked after her. "My love."

---

Flashback end

Bastion looked up in the sky with a pained look. "I wasn't good enough for her, and she's left me forever, she say she wants a... champion, a duelist who can... give her a match that she'll always remember."

Jaden looked trouble, but his expression soften. "Bastion..." He felt sorry for what his friend had passed.

"Guys, now that we have Bastion we better get out of here for now." Red Hat suggested as he got on Bastion's left side to hold him while Jaden nodded and got on the right side to help him.

Banner nodded in agreement. "You're right. I'll go talk to Chancellor Sheppard about what happened."

Jaden and Red Hat carried Bastion back to his dorm. The rest of the group also returned to their rooms. When Red Hat returned to his room he was noticed by Blair who was awake.

"Hey, you're here. It seemed strange not to find you in bed when I woke up. Can I know where you went?" Blair asked as she put on her disguise.

"I was with Jaden and the others. We went to look for students on the island who were disappeared. But in the end we found a coliseum in the forest where the students we were looking for were working and surprisingly also Crowler." Red Hat began to tell. "But the worst part is that we met another Shadow Rider there, Tania."

"Another Shadow Rider?! Oh no, and what happened?" Blair asked looking worried.

"Bastion dueled her, but lost." Red Hat replied.

"What?! Bastion have lost?!" Blair shouted out.

"Yes but it's not the strangest thing that's happened." Red Hat said.

"What do you mean?" Blair asked confused.

"Well, you see..." Red Hat told the rest of the story, and what Bastion's state was like after the duel.

"This Tania dueled with Bastion and if she had won he would have had to marry her. But she dumped him soon after?" Blair asked confused with her head sideways.

"Yes, the strangest day I've ever had in my life." Red Hat said with an annoyed expression.

"And what will happen now?" Blair asked, before her and Red Hat's PDA vibrated. They both looked at their device and saw that they had received a message from Chancellor Sheppard saying that classes would be canceled for the rest of the day.

"It was only natural that it would end this way. Well at least I'll have some time to rest now." Red Hat said as he laid down to his bed to rest while Blair watched him.

---

Time 14:00

Inside the Duel Academy building Bastion was starring off through one of the many windows. Bastion still thought of Tania and the moments they had during their first duel, he couldn't forget her. "Tania." He sigh as he grabbed his head with his hands. While Jaden, Red Hat and Alexis kept an eye on him.

"He still wigging out over that girl?" Jaden asked.

"Yeah, I had no idea Bastion had fallen for her that hard." Alexis nudes.

"I don't understand what he saw in that Shadow Rider. But it's clear that Bastion couldn't concentrate during the duel with her because of that whole Tania flirting thing, and ended up not thinking straight." Red Hat said.

"Even if that were the case we have to do something to help Bastion." Jaden said.

Later, Bastion received a message from the other Key Keepers to meet up with them in the Duel Arena. Bastion relentlessly went towards to his destination, finding the others, with them there was too Zane, Crowler, Banner, Chumley and Blair near Red Hat.

"What do the lot of you want?" Bastion asked.

"A duel to cheer you up." Jaden said holding his deck.

"I can't." Bastion said, shaking his head. "It's too soon for me."

"Oh come on! You gotta move on Bastion!" Jaden urged.

"I can't duel, not without... my Tania." Bastion declared.

"I hate saying this, but she's probably dueling without you." Jaden said to him the truth.

"No, she would never. Not my Tania." Bastion denied.

"Oh gag me." Chazz mutters.

"For this time I agree with you on this." Red Hat agreed with him.

"You don't understand! We had passion!" Bastion calls out.

"Uh excuse me?" Jaden asked.

Bastion sighed before explaining to the others. "When I dueled Tania, I felt in a way that I had never felt in my entire life. Not only did she face me head-on, but I was able to feel all her pure feelings, it was the most wonderful thing that I could ever imagine. But when she told me I wasn't worthy, I felt like my heart was breaking into pieces. If I can't feel the emotion I felt during the duel with her again, then it's over. My life dueling it's all finished."

"Bastion, don't you understand that she's a Shadow Rider, we have to stop them at any cost to save the world. We can't do it alone, we need your help too. But you instead are saying you're done?" Zane said trying to reason with Bastion.

Bastion nodded. "Yes, I understand what you are trying to say. But this feeling I have been feeling ever since Tania told me that I am pathetic, is frustrating to me! So I have decided, until I see Tania one more time and prove to her that I am a man worthy of her, then my dueling days will be over... forever."

"I don't understand what's going on in your head to see that woman who you think is so fantastic that it drives you crazy." Chazz said. "Okay, that's enough. I can't stay here any longer. I'm going to the bathroom to hurl." He groaned not wanting to hear this conversation again.

"Personally, I don't understand what Bastion sees so special about her either." Red Hat said flatly.

Blair sweat dropped at that. "You're being harsh as usual. Can't you see that it's a sensitive topic and it's important to Bastion. You could at least act a little concerned for him." Blair said to which Red Hat shrugged with Blair sighing at the behavior.

Jaden, however, felt happy for his friend. "If that's how you feel I'm happy for you Bastion." He said. "But if it's important to you to show her how much you're worth then duel her once again. Just ask her a rematch." Jaden suggested surprising him.

"Rematch?" Bastion asked.

"Yeah! A rematch! Go to her and don't take no for an answer!" Jaden said happily putting his arms behind his head. "You know I would have liked to duel with Tania earlier, seeing her you understand that she is a very strong duelist. I'm envious that you found someone like that to fight. But it's important to you. So go to her and win, pal." Jaden did his signature pose at Bastion.

"I won't understand this feelings thing, but I agree with the part that it's hard to find good rivals. So if you want to try a duel with her again, go ahead." Red Hat said smiling at Bastion.

"Wow, I definitely expected Jaden to cheer for Bastion, but I didn't think you would say something like that." Blair said surprised.

"Jaden...Red Hat." Bastion thought, from what everyone had told him.

---

Time 17:30

At the Coliseum, Tania enraged as she screamed as she was pouding her chest. "This island has nothing but weaklings! I need a worthy partner, someone who isn't intimated... by my power." Tania said then punching the wall in anger and then place a kick in the ceiling and a piece fell down scaring the tiger that has pplaced her paws over it's head trying to protect itself.

Tania turned around with a frustrated look. "And if he can't find me, I'll find him... and DUEL him!" She said walking away followed by the tiger as the ceiling collapsed as they left the room.

---

Time 00:00

The night, at the Slifer Red dorm, Jaden was sitting on his desk working on his deck while Syrus and Chumley where already on their beds looking at him.

"Jaden don't you want to go to bed?" Syrus asked.

Jaden shook his head. "Not yet, I'm working on a strategy to help out Bastion. And then after what Bastion said about Tania there's also the possibility that I could find myself dueling with her. Just thinking about it makes my blood boil." He said.

"Strategy? How about a good night's rest?" Chumley asked.

Jaden ignored him, until they heard someone knocking the door of their room. "Jaden! Open up! It's me!" Bastion calls out.

Jaden opened the door and looked at Bastion in confusion. "What are you doing here, Bastion?" He asks. He then noticed that Red Hat and Blair were also with him with both of them looking tired. "Red Hat, Blair? Are you there too?" He asked confused.

"Well, we were in our room while I was working on my deck when..." Red Hat began to explain only to be interrupted.

"When Bastion stormed into our room and dragged us here!" Blair finished explaining with an annoyed look.

"Bastion, do you want to explain to me what you're doing?" Jaden asked.

"The rematch. I need you and Red Hat to help me out." Bastion replied.

"Wait… what do you mean?" Jaden asked.

"No time to explain! Come with me!" Bastion said as he grabbed Jaden and Red Hat by the arms and dragged them with him as Blair, Syrus and Chumley watched them go.

---

Time 1:00

Bastion ran followed by Jaden and Red Hat towards the coliseum.

"Couldn't this have waited till morning?!" Jaden asked.

"No! Tania! Where are you?!" Bastion yelled.

"Wait up!" Syrus called out, as the rest of the group arrived. With Blair keeping his distance from the rest of the group by staying behind everyone so as not to be seen well, and got close to Red Hat.

"Guys, are you there too?" Jaden asked.

"We thought you needed a hand." Alexis said.

"Thank you guys. Extra help is always appreciated." Jaden smiled.

Before anyone could do something, they heard the familiar roar of the tiger, echoing in the air, Everyone turned in the direction the sound come from. Leaping out of the forest, Tania appeared surprising the group riding her tiger.

"Tania..." Bastion muttered.

"Can't you take a hint? I already dumped you, don't you remember?" Tania reminded to him.

"He wants a rematch!" Jaden declared.

"He's already had his chance and he's wasted it." Tania replied before looking at Jaden. "But you seem quite brave."

"I seem like that? I mean I don't think it, I'm here only for my friend." Jaden said.

"Like I said he already had his chance, I won't give him a rematch. So I'll duel you instead, maybe you can give me a challenge I want." Tania said.

"If you put it that way, it's fine. I never back down when someone challenges me to a duel." Jaden replied.

"Hoh, you look like someone who throws themselves into danger, maybe you're my type." Tania said.

"Hold on!" Red Hat interrupted her. "Jaden won't be alone. I'm with him in this." He said.

Tania looked at Red Hat. "The rumors about you seem somewhat true describing you as a wild but tough person, but I feel a fire within you. Very well, I will face you both." Tania replied pointing to Bastion. "You! Come here!"

"Huh? Me?!" Bastion asked shocked.

"Yes, you. Did you want another chance? Here it is. You will be my partner for this duel against the two of them. Prove to me that I was wrong about you. Prove to me that you are a strong man." Tania said.

Bastion was shocked by what she said before he recovered. "Of course I will Tania! I will show you that I am a man worthy of being with you!" Bastion said walking to Tania's side.

"Bastion! What are you doing?!" Jaden asked shocked.

Bastion stood there with his eyes closed. "I'm sorry that things have to be this way." He said before reopening his eyes indicating that he was serious. "But if to prove to Tania that I am a strong man then I will! Jaden, Red Hat in this duel you two will lose!" He declared pointing to his two friends.

"You can't be serious about this, Bastion. Are you really teaming with a Shadow Rider against us?" Zane asked.

"Yeah! This is no time for jokes! In case you haven't forgotten, we should defeat the Shadow Riders. Remember? The ones that if we don't defeat the world will be destroyed? And you're telling me you still want to ally with her?!" Chazz asked annoyed by Bastion's behavior.

"As I said before I will do everything to prove to Tania that I am a strong man. So my decision does not change even after this." Bastion replied.

"Oh Bastion..." Jaden muttered.

"Guys, I think we've lost Bastion." Syrus said.

"I believe so too." Chumley agreed.

"Oh no." Alexis said.

"Wow, to think that he would betray his friends to prove to the woman he loves that he is worthy of her. Sounds like the plot of a love story." Blair said in a happy tone.

"Blair, this is not the time for this." Red Hat said with a sweatdropped at his comment.

Soon, the duelists entered in the arena. Jaden and Red Hat faced off Tania and Bastion from the other side while everyone else was in the stands. Blair took a part of distance herself from the others.

Tania took out her two decks. "Before we start, which deck do you choose to use for me? courage of knowledge?" Tania asks.

"I pick the deck of courage." Jaden choose with Red Hat nodded.

"Nice choice. Now, let's resume the rules. If you two lost the duel you lose your spirit keys and single status, which means one of you will become my husband forever. The others I don't need you can take them back." Tania explained.

"I hope Jaden and Red Hat know what they're doing." Chazz said.

"I hope so too. Otherwise one of them will have to stay here with her." Syrus said shuddering at the thought.

"I sure do and when we're done Bastion I hope you will open your eyes and understand the meaning of the duel that I want to try to make you understand." Jaden said he was not at all scared by the threat.

"You better not underestimate me. I'm not a weakling." Red Hat said.

"You two seem very confident, are you? Let's see how long you will be." Tania replied. The four duelist activated their duel disks.

"DUEL"

Jaden & Red Hat: 8000 LP

Tania & Bastion: 8000 LP

"I'll going first. I draw!" Jaden draws.

Hand 6

"I summon Elemental HERO Avian in attack mode! (Atk: 1000 - Def: 1000) I set one card facedown and end my turn." Jaden ends his turn.

Hand 4

"That's your move? I'm disappointed. My turn. I draw!" Tania draws.

Hand 6

"Well, I have someone to clip your Avian's wings. I summon Amazoness Paladin in attack mode! (Atk: 1700 – 1800 – Def: 300) And just to remember to you, while Paladin's on the field she gain 100 attack points for every monster with Amazoness in the names on the field I control." Tania look at Jaden. "So, are you enjoying the duel so far? Or are you getting distracted?" She asked.

"Sorry, but nothing can distract me from a duel." Jaden smirked back.

"Well then, let's try a change of scenery. Maybe you'll change your mind? I play the field spell Amazoness Arena! When this card activates, we both gain 600 life points, but it's not just distracting, but captivating! Hahaha!" Then bars shot up from underground creating a doom cage, trapping Jaden, Red Hat, Bastion and Tania inside.

Jaden & Red Hat: 8000 – 8600 LP

Tania & Bastion: 8000 – 8600 LP

"Wow, she must be REALLY desperate to find a husband if she's got to use a cage." Chazz stated.

"Why on earth would you play a card that also increases our life points?" Red Hat asked annoyed by the play.

"Hahaha! See, Amazoness Arena is a sacred arena! In here you don't just fight with your monsters, but with your soul!" Tania explained.

"And just how do I do that?" Jaden asked.

"Oh, you'll find out!" Assured Tania. "But first, Amazoness Paladin attack his Avian!" Amazoness Paladin leapt from her position striking Avian with her sword as she descended.

Jaden & Red Hat: 8600 – 7800 LP

"Now you'll see the power of my Amazoness Arena!" Tania yelled. "After I declare an attack with a monster and the battle is done, your soul can battle mine! If you pay 100 life points you inflict 100 burn damage to mine!"

"I guess I should warn you! I don't ever hit girls!" Jaden said smirking excited.

"And you shouldn't." Tania agreed with him. "But this isn't a fight between us. You see, it's like I said. Our souls will clash!"

"If you say so!"

Jaden & Red Hat: 7800 – 7700 LP

Tania & Bastion: 8600 – 8500 LP

Both duelists focused their energy and their soul came out of their bodies manifesting in a physical form. Both souls charged each other and jumped in the air in the middle of the arena. Jaden's soul tryed to punch her first, but Tania ducked in time and threw an uppercut, knocking Jaden back.

"Jaden!" Syrus shouted.

"Are you okay?!" Blair asked worriedly.

"Come on! This is embarassing for all of us guys!" Chumley said.

"Really a good shot Tania. But I'm not out yet. I activate my trap, Hero Signal! Since you destroyed Avian, I can special summon a level four or below Elemental HERO from my deck. Come on out Elemental HERO Wildheart! (Atk: 1500 – Def: 1600)"

"Then I'll end my turn here." Tania ends her turn.

Hand 4

"It's my turn now. I draw!" Red Hat draws.

Hand 6

"I play the spell, Smashing Ground! With this I destroy your Paladin!" A giant fist fell from the sky destroying Amazoness Paladin. "I'll switch Wildheart in attack mode. Then summon Breaker the Magical Warrior in attack mode! When he's normal summoned he get a spell counter, that increase his attack points of 300. (Atk: 1600 – 1900 – Def: 1000)" The Magical Warrior appeared on the field, the orb on his sword lighting up. "Breaker, attack Tania directly!" Breaker struck Tania with a swing of his sword.

Tania & Bastion: 8500 – 6600 LP

"I won't use Amazoness Arena's effect. So Wildheart attack Tania directly! Wild Slash!" Wildheart struck Tania with his sword.

Tania & Bastion: 6600 – 5100 LP

"Very impressive." Tania complimented.

"What the... she compliments him?" Chazz asked.

Red Hat simply shrugged at the comment. "I set one card facedown. I end my turn." Red Hat ends his turn.

Hand 3

"It's my turn. I draw!" Bastion draws.

Hand 6

"I play the the spell card Graceful Charity. I draw three cards and after I have to discard two of them." Bastion draws his cards and after discards two of them from the hand. "I play Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your facedown card, Red Hat!" A cyclone of strong air hit the Red Hat card which was Bottomless Trap Hole destroying it.

"Dang it. I should've expected that Bastion has something to remover for my facedown." Red Hat thinking.

"Next I play the equip spell Snatch Steal to take the control of your Breaker!" The spell card forced Breaker to cross over to Bastion's side of the field. "I tribute Breaker to summon Roc from the Valley of Haze in attack mode! (Atk: 2400 – Def: 1400)" The magical warrior was replaced by a bird whose face was covered by a kind of mask that looked like a skull. "And I continue by playing another equip spell card Premature Burial. By paying 800 life points I special summon from my graveyard the monster I have discarded before. Slate Warrior in attack mode! (Atk: 1900 – Def: 400)" A demon floating in the air appeared onto the field.

Tania & Bastion: 5100 – 4300 LP

"Battle! Slate Warrior attack Wildheart!" Slate Warrior rushed towards Wildheart hitting him with a powerful fist encased in a vortex destroying him.

Jaden & Red Hat: 7700 – 7300 LP

"I use the effect of Amazoness Arena. Prepare yourself Red Hat! Now our souls will battle!" Bastion shouted.

"If you want to do it like this Bastion, then come forward!" Red Hat replied.

Red Hat and Bastion concentrated, manifesting their souls into physical form. Their souls charged each other. Bastion landed a well-placed right hook to Red Hat's face.

Tania & Bastion: 4300 – 4200 LP

Jaden & Red Hat: 7300 – 7200 LP

"Now Roc from the Valley of Haze attack Red Hat directly! Impetuous Storm!" The bird opened its wings and began to flap them, creating a powerful hurricane of air that collided with Red Hat forcing him to cover himself to defend.

Jaden & Red Hat: 7200 – 4800 LP

"I'll use the field spell effect again! Prepare for another round." Bastion declared.

"Bring it!" Red Hat exclaimed.

Red Hat and Bastion's souls manifested again, both exchanged blows, before Bastion struck a hit him knocking Red Hat back.

Tania & Bastion: 4200 – 4100 LP

Jaden & Red Hat: 4800 – 4700 LP

"I'll set two cards facedown and end my turn." Bastion ends his turn.

Hand 0

"Well Tania? You see my strenght?" He asked.

"I must say, you're not that bad." Tania replied making Bastion blush and get emotional, which didn't go unnoticed by the rest of the group.

"It's official, Bastion has lost his mind." Chazz said.

"Wow, he must really be in love with her if he plays rough like that." Blair muttered.

"Don't start you too Blair." Red Hat said mentally with an annoyed expression hearing her.

"Okay Bastion, time to play hard. I draw!" Jaden draws.

Hand 5

"And I'll start with the spell Graceful Charity. I can draw 3 cards at the cost of discarding 2 of them." Jaden draw his cards. (discards Elemental HERO Necroshade and King of the Swamp) "Next, Pot of Greed and that's means I take 2 extra cards in my hand." Jaden draws and smile. "Sweet! Since there's Elemental HERO Necroshade in my graveyard, I can summon an Elemental HERO without tributing. So that coming, Elemental HERO Bladedge in attack mode! (Atk: 2600 – Def: 1800)" The hero in golden armor with blades appeared on the field. "I play the spell, Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your facedown card on the right." Jaden said as a cyclone of air was about to hit the cards on Bastion's side of the field.

"Don't go too fast Jaden!" Bastion interrupted him. "I activate my trap card. Spiritual Wind Art - Miyabi! I tribute my Slate Warrior, doing this I can return your Bladedge to the bottom of your deck!" A typhoon of air materialized from Bastion's card. Slate Warrior was sucked into it and dissolved, after which the typhoon launched itself towards Bladedge, making him disappear from the field and Jaden was forced to put the cards back in the deck. Meanwhile, Bastion also lost a card, his other facedown card which was Windstorm of Etaqua, to Mystical Space Typhoon.

"Not bad Bastion. But I have other cards I can use. I play Miracle Fusion. I banish King of the Swamp and Wildheart in my graveyard to form Elemental HERO Wildedge! (Atk: 2600 – Def: 2300)" The sword-wielding HERO in golden armor had appeared on the field. "Battle! Wildedge attack Roc from the Valley of Haze!" Wildedge launched himself at the opposing monster, hitting it with his sword, destroying it.

Tania & Bastion: 4100 – 3900 LP

"Get ready, Bastion! Because now you have to face me!" Jaden declared.

"Do your worst, Jaden! I'm always ready!" Bastion shouted.

Both Jaden and Bastion focused their energies manifesting the physical forms of their souls. Their souls charged each other. After exchanging a few punches, Bastion managed to hit Jaden. But Jaden didn't seem at all hurt by the blow and immediately counterattacked, hitting Bastion in the face and knocking him back.

Jaden & Red Hat: 4700 – 4600 LP

Tania & Bastion: 3900 – 3800 LP

"I activate the spell Burial from a Different Dimension. With this King of the Swamp and Wildheart that are banished, return in my graveyard." Jaden explained as he returned the cards in question to the duel disk's graveyard slot. "I set one card facedown and end my turn." Jaden ended his turn.

Hand 1

"My turn. I draw!" Tania draws.

Hand 5

"I play the card Pot of Greed and draw 2 cards. I continue activating the spell Magical Stone Excavation. At the cost of discarding 2 cards from my hand, Pot of Greed in my graveyard return in my hand." Tania explained as she discarded the cards from his hand smiling. "And I'm playing it again. Now I activate the spell card Monster Reborn. With this I special summon from the graveyard the monster I discarded few moment ago. Get ready to meet the ruler of all Amazons! Come forth! Amazoness Queen! (Atk: 2400 – Def: 1800)" On Tania's side of the field, an Amazon warrior woman had appeared. She had dark skin with long blue hair, with an eye patch covering her right eye, with tribal tattoos on her body. In her right hand she held a large sword with a sawed blade with the hilt of the sword having a skull on it. "With her on the field, my monsters will have nothing to fear. As long as the Amazoness Queen is on the field, the monsters with Amazoness in their name I control can't be destroyed by battle."

"Things are getting serious here." Jaden pointed out.

"You don't know how much. Because my queen won't stay on the field alone. I summon Amazoness Tiger in attack mode! (Atk: 1100 – 1900 – Def: 1500) When this monster is on the field, gets 400 attack points for every Amazoness monster I control." Tania explained.

"The monsters Tania summoned are strong, but they can't overcome Wildedge's attack points." Syrus pointed.

"And get ready for the next card. I activate the spell card Amazoness Spellcaster. With this card, until the end of the turn, the attack points of Amazoness Queen and Wildedge gets switched. (Atk: 2400 – 2600 – Def: 1800) (Atk: 2600 – 2400 – Def: 2300)" Tania explained.

"Oh oh, that's not a good thing." Blair said.

"You couldn't keep your big mouth shut!" Chazz shouted annoyed at Syrus.

"Let's battle! Amazoness Queen attack Wildedge!" The Queen lunged forward with her sword with Wildedge trying to block the attack with his sword. But Amazoness Queen managed to overwhelm the opposing monster by breaking her sword in two, destroying the monster.

Jaden & Red Hat: 4600 – 4400 LP

"And now, thanks to my Amazoness Arena, it's time we had a rematch!" Tania said.

"Oh, not again." Alexis said.

"Look out, Jaden!" Syrus shouted.

"Snap your jab!" Chumley added.

Both Jaden and Tania souls lunged to each other clashing blows against each other, they both punched each other, when they returned to their bodies they both had expressions of satisfaction.

Jaden & Red Hat: 4400 – 4300 LP

Tania & Bastion: 3800 – 3700 LP

"I'm not done yet! Amazoness Tiger attack Jaden directly!" The tiger strike with the claw at Jaden.

Jaden & Red Hat: 4300 – 2400 LP

"Get ready for round two." Tania said.

"Bring it on!" Jaden replied.

The souls of the two duelists engaged another battle fist to fist.

Jaden & Red Hat: 2400 – 2300 LP

Tania & Bastion: 3700 – 3600 LP

"I set one card facedown. It's the end of my turn." Tania ends her turn.

Hand 1

"Okay, now I'm starting to have enough of this. It's my turn. I draw!" Red Hat draws.

Hand 4

"I activate the spell Graceful Charity. I draw 3 cards and discards 2. (discards Magical Merchant and Marshmallon) Next I activate the card Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your arena." A powerful tornado had appeared in the middle of the field. And in a few seconds the arena collapsed on itself and was destroyed.

"No! My arena! How dare you!" Tania shouted angrily.

"I don't care about your arena. When I duel, I duel to win." Red Hat exclaimed. "I play Pot of Greed and draw 2 cards. "I banish Magical Merchant and Breaker the Magical Warrior to special summon Chaos Sorcerer! (Atk: 2300 – Def: 2000) I use his effect. At the cost of not attack with him this turn, I can banish one monster on the field. I banish Amazoness Queen!" The chaos sorcerer charged a sphere of violet flames with his hands and blast it at Amazoness Queen who burned in violet flames that banished her.

"No! Even my queen!" Tania complained.

"And your other monster will soon disappear too. I tribute Chaos Sorcerer to summon Zaborg the Thunder Monarch! (Atk: 2400 – Def: 1000) When he's tribute summoned, I can destroy one monster on the field. Like your tiger!" The Thunder Monarch generated electricity in his hands which he launched at Amazoness Tiger causing her to explode. "Battle! Zaborg attack Tania directly! Voltaic Thunder!" Zaborg prepared to charge a second attack to launch.

"And I'll activate my facedown card!" Tania interrupted him. "Amazoness Willpower! Thanks to this card, I can special summon from my graveyard an Amazoness monster in attack mode and must attack if be able. And with this I summon my second Amazoness Queen! (Atk: 2400 – Def: 1800)" Amazoness Queen had appeared on the field again. "And just as a reminder, with her on the field none of my Amazoness monsters can destroyed by battle. So? What will you do?"

Red Hat frowned at this. "I'll stop Zaborg attack. Then I think I'll borrow one of Jaden's tricks. I activate the continuous spell, Mirage of Nightmare. I set one card facedown and end my turn." Red Hat ends his turn.

Hand 0

"It's my turn. I draw!" Bastion draws.

Hand 1

"At your standby phase, the effect of Mirage of Nightmare activates. I draw till I have 4 cards in my hand." Red Hat draws his cards.

"I start playing Pot of Greed and draw 2 cards. I play the spell Monster Reborn. I special summon from my graveyard Whirlwind Prodigy. (Atk: 1500 – Def: 1600)" A young kid surrounded by air currents appeared on the field. "I use Whirlwind Prodigy effect. When used for a Tribute summon he counts as 2 tributes. I tribute Whirlwind Prodigy to summon the ace of this deck! Arise, Simorgh, Bird of Divinity! (Atk: 2700 – Def: 1000)" A large tornado was created in the Bastion part of the field. Within seconds of the tornado dissipating, a large green bird had appeared in its place. It has brilliant jewels up its body, with a smaller jewel above its head. "Battle! Simorgh attack Zaborg!" When Simorgh opened his wings while preparing his attack, Red Hat interrupted him.

"I activate the quick-play spell, Emergency Provisions!" Red Hat activated his facedown card. "I send Mirage of Nightmare and gain 1000 life points!" A green aura had appeared around Red Hat.

Jaden & Red Hat: 2300 – 3300 LP

"You may have gained some life points, but you didn't stop my monster's attack! Go Simorgh! Imperial Storm!" The large green bird opened its large wings, began to flap them creating a tornado which was launched towards Zaborg destroying him.

Jaden & Red Hat: 3300 – 3000 LP

"Amazoness Queen attack Red Hat directly!" Amazoness Queen lunged at Red Hat, slashing at him with her sword.

Jaden & Red Hat: 3000 – 600 LP

"With this I end my turn." Bastion ends his turn.

Hand 0

"Now effect of Simorgh, Bird of Divinity activate! At the end phase, each of us take 1000 points of damage. But this damage is decreased of 500 for each card we have in our spell or trap we control. We have one trap card on our field, and you two have a facedown card. Wich means each of us take 500 points of damage." Simorgh began flapping his wings again, creating powerful gusts of wind that headed towards both duelists.

Jaden & Red Hat: 600 – 100 LP

Tania & Bastion: 3600 – 3100 LP

"Argh! This is bad!" Syrus screamed in fear.

"Yeah, one more attack and Jaden and Red Hat will lose the duel." Alexis said scared.

"If they don't destroy Simorgh, they won't get another turn." Zane said.

"Okay, the odds may be stacked against us, but it's moments like this that get me excited in the duels. And like I say, the duel isn't over until the last card is played!" Jaden shouted excitedly. "It's my turn. I draw!" Jaden draws.

Hand 2

"I summon Elemental HERO Bubbleman in attack mode! (Atk: 800 – Def: 1600) And since Bubbleman is the only card out on my field I can get 2 more cards to draw. Sweet! I play the spell card Polymerization! Now I fuse Bubbleman on my field with Avian and Sparkman in my hand to form Elemental HERO Tempest! (Atk: 2800 – Def: 2800)" The HERO with wings on his back and a blaster on his right arm appeared into the field. "Battle! Elemental HERO Tempest attacks Simorgh, Bird of Divinity! Glyder Strike!" The hero jumped into the air and took flight. Using his cannon, he shot an energy blue beam which struck Simorgh, destroying it.

Tania & Bastion: 3100 – 3000 LP

"Yeah! Way to go Jaden!" Syrus cheered.

"Totally licious!" Chumley said.

"He did it!" Blair shouted.

"Now they don't have to think about the damage of their life points." Zane said.

"I'll end here my turn." Jaden ends his turn.

Hand 0

"Now that's what I'm talking about! It's my turn. I draw!" Tania draws.

Hand 2

"I play the field spell Amazoness Village!" The field of the arena changed once again, but this time it had transformed to look like a tribal village. "Get ready. Because you are now in Amazon territory. As long as this field spell is on the field, all Amazoness monsters get 200 attack points. And once per turn when an Amazoness monsters goes to the graveyard destroyed by battle or card effect, I can special summon from my deck one Amazoness monster which level is equal or less compared to that monster. (Atk: 2400 – 2600 – Def: 1800) I activate Pot of Avarice. I return 5 monsters from the graveyard to my deck, shuffle and draw 2 cards." From the graveyard slot of her duel disk, she recovers Amazoness Paladin, Roc from the Valley of Haze, Slate Warrior, Amazoness Tiger, Whirlwind Prodigy. As she shuffle them back in the deck and draw 2 cards after.

"In order to use Pot of Avarice, she put three of Bastion's cards in her deck which aren't Amazoness. This could cause problems when she has to draw." Red Hat thought.

"I summon Amazoness Sage in attack mode! (Atk: 1400 – 1600 – Def: 700)" In Tania's part of the field, a dark-skinned woman with long blue hair, wearing tribal clothes and holding a stick in her hands had appeared. "I play the spell card Fissure. This card destroy the monster with the lowest attack points on your field. Since there is only Tempest, the target is clear who will be." The ground began to shake until a chasm opened from which a hand came out and grabbed the Elemental HERO of Jaden and dragged him down with it before closing.

"Oh no!" Alexis shouted.

"This is no good." Chumley said.

"Now they have nothing to defend themselves with!" Chazz said causing the rest of the group to worry, with Blair looking the most worried as she watched the two Slifers duel.

"Let's battle! Amazoness Sage attack Jaden directly!" The sage Amazon recited words as she charged her attack with the top of her staff was glowing of light. When he had gathered enough energy he launched the attack which was headed towards Jaden.

"I play my facedown card!" Jaden interrupted her. "The Flute of Summoning Kuriboh! With this card I special summon directly from my deck Winged Kuriboh on the field! (Atk: 300 – Def: 200)" Jaden's duel spirit appeared in solid form on the field, standing in front of him in a defensive position as he received the attack and destroyed it. "And Thanks to my partner effect, when he's destroyed and sent to the graveyard I don't take battle damage for the rest of the turn." Jaden explained. While the spirit form of his monster had appeared next to him. "Thank you, Kuriboh. You saved me." Jaden thanked him. The little spirit piped happily in response.

"I end my turn here." Tania ends her turn.

Hand 0

"Thank goodness." Syrus breathed a sigh of relief.

"Yeah. They've earned a turn with this." Alexis said.

"And Red Hat better make it count, or they lose." Zane said.

"He'll do it." Blair said confidently. Drawing attention to yourself. When she noticed everyone watching her she went from confident to shy in a matter of seconds. "I-I-I m-mean they'll do it! Yeah! Jaden and Red Hat will win!" Blair stuttered looking away as everyone else went back to watching the duel.

"It's my turn. I draw!" Red Hat draws.

Hand 5

"Now I banish Chaos Sorcerer and Marshmallon from my graveyard to special summon Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning! (Atk: 3000 – Def: 2500)" The two named monsters appeared in spirit form and transformed into a black and white sphere that swirled together until they collided creating a great light. When the light faded the chaos warrior had appeared on the field.

"Oh yeah!" Syrus cheered.

"That was just what they needed." Chumley added.

"That's the strongest monster in Red Hat." Blair pointed.

"I play the spell card Harpie's Feather Duster. With this your Amazoness Village is destroyed." A cyclone of aria striked on the village destroying the field spell. "And since your field spell is now gone, your monsters become weaker. (Atk: 2600 – 2400 – Def: 1800) (Atk: 1600 – 1400 – Def: 700) "I may not be able to destroy your monsters this turn, but I'll at least take a good chunk of your life points. Battle! Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning attack Amazoness Sage! Chaos Sword Slash!" The chaos warrior's sword glowed as he rushed towards the opposing monster. Just as he was about to strike Amazoness Sage, the blade was blocked by Amazoness Queen, the impact creating a strong explosion that sent Tania's monsters back while the chaos warrior returned to his side of the field.

Tania & Bastion: 3000 – 1400 LP

"Since your monster was not destroyed, I cannot use Black Luster Soldier's effect. So I set two cards face down and end my turn." Red Hat ends his turn.

Hand 1

As the duel continued, no one noticed the expression Bastion had at the moment.

"I don't understand. They don't know how I feel, yet they still manage to duel with such fire inside them. What should I do?" Bastion thought as he looked at Jaden and Red Hat before looking at Tania and then at his deck before shaking his head. "It's my turn! I draw!"

Hand 1

"I'll switch Amazoness Queen and Amazoness Sage in defense mode. (Atk: 2400 – Def: 1800) (Atk: 1400 – Def: 700) Next I set one card facedown and end my turn." Bastion ends his turn.

Hand 0

"Okay. Now it's my turn. I draw!" Jaden draws.

Hand 1

"Hey Red Hat, do you mind if I use your card?" Jaden asked.

"Go ahead Jaden." Red Hat replied.

"Thanks pal. I activate the trap card, Reckless Greed. At the cost of skipping the draw phase for the next two turn, I can draw 2 more cards. Here we go. It's all or nothing! I draw!" Jaden draws looking at the cards in his hand before smiling. "Sweet! I play the spell card Miracle Fusion. I banish King of the Swamp and Sparkman from my graveyard, to fusion summon Elemental HERO Shining Flare Wingman! (Atk: 2500 – Def: 2100)" The silver-armored Elemental HERO had appeared on the field with a bright aura around him. "And my monster get 300 attack points for each Elemental HERO in my graveyard. And with 7 monsters in the graveyard, Shining Flare Wingman gets a boost of 2100 attack points. (Atk: 2500 – 4600 – Def: 2100)" The spiritual images of the Elemental HEROs in the graveyard entered Shining Flare Wingman causing his glowing aura to become stronger.

"That's a lot of attack points." Chumley muttered.

"You can say it." Syrus replied.

"Now I activate the spell card H - Heated Heart. Shining Flare Wingman get 500 attack points and the ability to inflict piercing damage for this turn. (Atk: 4600 – 5100 – Def: 2100) Battle! Shining Flare Wingman, attack Amazoness Queen! Go with Shining Emerald Orb!" The hero monster charged a large sphere of green light into his hands and threw it at Tania's monster.

"I expected a move like that from you, Jaden! So I prepared myself for this!" Bastion interrupted him. "I activate my facedown card! Go trap, Magic Cylinder! Your monster's attack is returned to you, and you take damage equal to its attack points!" Bastion revealed his facedown card.

"Oh no!" Alexis cried in shock along with the rest of the group.

"You're not the only one who's prepared, Bastion!" Jaden looked in Red Hat's direction and received a nod in response. "I activate the second facedown card leaved from Red Hat. The continuous trap, Royal Decree! While this card is on the field the effect of the trap cards are negated!" Bastion's trap card received an electric shock and went dark.

Bastion could only watch as he was about to lose the duel. But there was no look of defeat on his face, instead he was back to his usual serious expression. "Now I understand. Jaden and Red Hat proven that they can duel without being in love." He thought before smiling. "Now come and get us and win this duel guys."

The attack was successful, triggering a loud explosion.

Tania & Bastion: 1400 – 0 LP

"It is over." Banner spoked.

"You know what? I've never seen people duel like them. A duel with such non-stop action like this it's not a thing that happen always." Syrus said.

"Yeah. I enjoyed watching it too." Chumley agreed.

"Me too." Blair agreed too.

Jaden and Red Hat approached Bastion as he was trying to get to his feet. When he stood up to look at them, they both gave him a hand to stand up which he accepted.

"So, how are you feeling Bastion?" Red Hat asked.

"Very good, thank you." He replied.

"Glad to have you back, man." Jaden said.

"Well, tell us Bastion. How do you feel? Like a man still in the throws of love?Or this duel finally helped you rebound?" Zane asked as he and the rest of the group approached to them.

"Still in love but in love now with dueling. I see where the passion lies once again." Bastion replied.

After that everyone turned their attention to the Amazon woman.

"I guess that'a a game!" Jaden said panted a little for the duel but with a smile. "Let me know if you ever want a rematch!"

Tania shocked her head but with a smile. "No rematch. I joined the Shadow Riders to find a duelist that was worty to be my husband, but... I've discovered I am not worty to be with someone strong as you." Tania closed her eyes in acceptance of her loss.

"Tania...?"

A purple aura surrounded Tania's body as she transformed into a white tiger, shocking everyone present.

"A tiger?" Syrus asked.

"Am I imagined or Tania really turned into a tiger?" Blair asked.

"Tania? Is that you?" Bastion asked.

Glancing at Jaden and Red Hat. "I thank you two for this duel." She said and glancing at Bastion before before turning. "Farewell, Bastion." After that she leaves the arena lefting her shadow charm behind, followed by her pet tiger.

"Well then… I guess that this is it…" Bastion said.

"You sure know how to pick'em, Bastion." Chazz said, patting the Ra on his back.

"Don't worry buddy. There's plenty of fish in the sea." Jaden said.

"Yes, but not too many tigers. Thank goodness." Bastion replied.

"Let's just say it was a woman." Red Hat said.

"Yeah, but an animal changing shape to find a husband sounds like something out of a fairy tale. It's very touching." Blair said.

"Please don't start that again Blair. I've had enough love stories for today." Red Hat replied boredly.

"You know you're weird for a guy." Chazz said to Blair.

"Me weird? But listen who it said. The guy with the biggest ego in his body and the least brain." Blair teased Chazz.

"You little..." Chazz gritted his teeth in anger.

"Okay guys, I think it's time to head back. Blair and I are going back to the dorm." Red Hat said as he grabbed Blair to take her with him.

Zane kept an eye on both of them. "Is there something weird with those two." He thought before turning his full attention to Blair. "And besides, I feel like I've seen that boy before." With that, everyone went back to their dorms.

Hey guys, How's it going? Sorry it took me so long to upload the new chapter, but I've been quite busy these days with the holidays and relatives coming to me for Christmas that I had little time to write. Before I begin, I want to tell you two important things. The first is that my story has reached 10,400 views. I didn't imagine that I would get to this point with this story. Thank you all. For those who read that story and give me advice, I wouldn't have gotten to this point without your help. The second thing, It's that I have to start my new job towards this week. So I may have less time to write and update. I apologize for the inconvenience and hope all of you understand. Well, now let's move on to today's chapter. As some of you may have noticed, Tania used cards in her duels that were not in the GX versions of Tag Force. For this reason I used the advice that LoliSupremeKing gave me, telling me to use cards from the 5D's version of the game, because the deck that Tania had seemed weak in theme to me. As for Bastion, for the tag duel, I had him use his wind attribute deck, since that was the deck he used when fighting alongside Tania in the game. And then I tried to do the story in a slightly different way, also trying to follow the advice that Ezras Hargrave gave me as well as trying to make the duel as good as I could and long enough. And also towards the end, Zane seemed suspicious of Red Hat and Blair, even noticing that the girl in disguise looked familiar to her. Well I thought it was a good time to point that out to him in this chapter. That's all for today's chapter. If you have any suggestions or want to tell me what you think, let me know in the reviews or private messages. I hope you all had a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. See'ya next time.