The Infinity Foundation

"Sweet duel, Alex!"

"You totally mopped the floor with Peter!"

"That was your best win yet!"

"Thank you, thank you." Alex said to his adoring public as he walked down the halls of Keystone Duel School. Normally, he would take some time to bask in the glory of his latest victory, but, just a few minutes ago, he had been called into the headmaster's office to discuss his match.

He knocked on the door, which was followed by a hearty "Come in, Alex." Alex entered the office to find the headmaster sitting at his desk. The man Alex had seen before was standing behind him. "Alex," the headmaster said, always quick to get to the point, "this is Dr. Marius. He represents an organization called-"

"The Infinity Foundation." Dr. Marius interrupted. "I'll take it from here, headmaster, if you could give us some privacy."

The headmaster looked peeved, but left his office. "Now then," Dr. Marius went on, "allow me to explain why I am here. The Infinity Foundation is an organization dedicated to the betterment of life for all. As a way to garner publicity, the foundation is organizing a special dueling tournament. First prize is $50,000. Tell me, Alex, are you familiar with Survival Dueling?"

"Of course!" Survival Dueling was all the rage right now all over the world. It involved placing a group of duelists in an environment meant to test their survival skills. Contenders were eliminated when their life points reached zero, and would be air-lifted out of the dueling field, but they could also forfeit at any time if the conditions got too harsh for them. The real kicker was that each contender only had 4000 life points for the whole competition. If you lost life points, they would stay lost until either they were replenished or until they hit zero. Alex usually spent most, if not all, of his free time watching Survival Duel competitions on TV and the Internet.

"Well, the foundation is organizing a Survival Duel tournament for the best up-and-coming duelists in the country, and I think you just might be what I'm looking for." Alex could barely contain his excitement! Finally, a chance to really show off his dueling skills! "If you're interested," Dr. Marius continued, reaching into his coat pocket and pulling out a plane ticket, "be at the airport tomorrow at 9:00 sharp."

Dr. Marius left the office, allowing the headmaster to re-enter. "So, what did he say?" He asked Alex.

"He wants me to compete in some huge tournament." Alex suddenly had a realization. "Doesn't that mean I'll miss school?"

"Oh, don't worry about that. I discussed it with your teachers, and we decided to let you pass on into the next year. After all, the school year is almost over, and you have perfect grades after all."

Alex went home that day feeling as though he was walking on air. A duel tournament that could take him straight to the pro league, and no school when he returns until next year? He didn't think his life could get any better!

"I'm home." He called as he walked in the front door of his house.

"ALEEEEEX!" Alex was suddenly hit by a tiny, blonde freight train of a hug.

"Hey, Sadie. You have fun at school today?"

Alex's little sister, Sadie, was just about the cutest, most energetic being in existence. She was pretty much the most important person in his life. "I had a great day!" Sadie squealed. "We got to color our own Duel Monsters cards, and Mrs. Applebee said mine was her favorite! Then, at recess..."

Alex patiently waited for Sadie to stop talking. Sometimes she could talk for hours straight without stopping. "Hey, mom." Alex said as his mother came into the foyer.

"Hi, Alex. How was school today?"

"Great! I have some awesome news to tell you guys!"

The three of them sat down in the living room so Alex could tell them about what Dr. Marius had told him.

"Alex, that's amazing! I'm so proud of you!" His mother said, beaming. "And I'm sure your father would be proud too."

The mood in the room changed at the mention of Alex's father. Sam Yuson was a professional duelist, one of the best on the Survival Dueling circuit. He had taught Alex everything he knew about dueling. Six years ago, though, he disappeared in the middle of a competition. Rescue workers searched the area for weeks, but found no trace of him. All they could find was a single card: Dimensional Fissure: Sam's favorite card. Alex kept it in a frame up in his bedroom.

"Oh, by the way, Alex, Tyler stopped by earlier today." Alex's mom said, quick to change the subject. "He said he had some big news to tell you."

"Thanks, mom. I'm gonna go call him." Alex rushed up to his room to see that Tyler was already trying to video chat him. The icon on his computer was blinking away.

Tyler and Alex had been friends since kindergarten. They had done practically everything together, until recently when Tyler was transferred to a different school across town. Still, they tried to hang out as much as possible.

"Hey, Ty!" Alex said, answering the chat request. Tyler's face appeared on the screen.

"Dude! You'll never guess what happened to me today!" Tyler responded.

"Wait, let me tell my news first. I just scored a spot in a huge Survival Duel tournament!"

"Whoa, really? That's… Great, dude!" Tyler said, not sounding all that enthused, but Alex was too excited to notice.

"So, what's your news?"

"Uh… Well, I got a totally sweet new card!"

"Awesome! What is it?"

"Uh… Oop. That's my dad calling. Gotta go." Tyler shut off the connection.

It seemed odd that Tyler would leave so quickly, but Alex dismissed it. He had a lot of work to do if his deck was going to be ready for the tournament.