It was a humid Friday afternoon in late August. It had been a long and hot day and the sun began to set over Aeltown, Illinois. A 14 year-old boy walked through the streets on the neighborhood. He wore a red t-shirt with a pair baggy of khaki shorts and black Converse shoes. It had been a long day for him and he was glad that it was over.

He gave a sigh of exhaustion as he turned and entered the building where his family lived. Using the key, he entered the small apartment and turned on a light.

"How'd it go, Jack?" a familiar voice asked.

Jack Stone turned his head and saw his older sister, Amanda Stone sitting on the couch in front of the TV. It was turned to the local news.

Jack took off his backpack and set it on the kitchen counter. "Not bad," he said as he took a blue Battle City Duel Disk out of his back pack and took the Duel Monsters cards out of the deck slot. "I beat a guy who used a burn deck. I destroyed a girl that used Ritual monsters. Oh, and I narrowly beat a guy who used Gravekeepers."

"Did you lose at all?" Amanda asked as she readjusted herself in her seat to face her brother.

Jack gave a smile. "Nope, I'm in the Finals!" Jack said and sat next to his sister.

Amanda returned the smile. She remembered when she dueled in this same tournament two years ago. Armed with her Lavals, she made it to the Semi-Finals but lost in the first duel.

"I'm really happy for you," she said. "Although, you do realize that means you'll be dueling Drake again."

Jack did know that. Drake Thomas had been Jack's rival for a long time. In most local tournaments, when both of them would be in the same tournament, they would eventually face each other. He wasn't a bully or a particularly rude person but he did love to win. He would win some. Jack would almost win others. There were some occasions when Jack would get lucky and pull out a victory.

Jack nodded. "Yeah," he said and paused for a minute as he flipped his cards through his hands. "I don't know how well that will work for me. I guess all I can do is pray for luck to be on my side." He let out a large sigh.

"Well, if you need all the help you can get, you better get some sleep," Amanda said as she focused her attention back to the TV.

"You're not my mom," Jack said, smiling, as he grabbed his deck, Duel Disk and backpack and vanished behind the door that led to his room.

Jack flipped the light switch and walked into his room. It was relatively small but Jack didn't need much space. He set his backpack on the floor next to his desk and sat in the rolling chair. He opened up his laptop and logged into it.

While the computer was loading, Jack turned his attention to a yellow flyer. The words 'Just Duel It Duel Tournament' were written across the top. Jack's eyes went down to the bottom of the flyer where it said, 'Grand Prize – Full Scholarship to Greendale Duel Academy.'

The 'Just Duel It' Duel Tournament was held every year in August. At first, it was a just a simple way for Greendale Duel Academy to find talented duelists and recruit them for the school. Now, it is something that 8th graders spend the entire school year preparing for. Jack was one of those duelists.

Greendale Duel Academy was located in Greendale, Illinois. It was in the northwest corner of the state and it was ranked as the 12th best Duel Academy in the United States.

Going to an elite Duel Academy had been Jack's dream ever since he started dueling. The problem was that, while Jack made decent grades and was a fairly good duelist, he could never afford the tuition to go to any of the other top Duel Academies across the United States. Winning this tournament was the best shot he had.

Jack set the flyer down and picked up his Duel Monsters deck. Flipping through the cards, he came to a card with purple border around the card. The artwork showed a knight in shining armor. The armor wasn't made of iron or of any metal, though. It was pure ruby. The knight had a staff in his hands and was swinging it, heroically.

Jack smiled at the card. He had many good memories with this card. He got it from a booster pack that his friend had got him for Secret Santa when he was very young. And ever since then, Jack always had it in his deck.

Jack set the card back into his deck and turned to his laptop, it had just finished booting up. Jack gave a large yawn. Amanda was right. He needed sleep. He was going to need every edge he could get if he was going to beat Drake. He closed the laptop and turned out the lights.