It was the first day of classes at Duel Academy. Alex put on his uniform and went down to the kitchen to eat breakfast. His parents were already there, and the table was set to eat.
Alexis: Good morning Alex.
Alex: Good morning mom.
Jaden: You ready for your first day of school kiddo?
Alex: Yep. I can't wait to meet my classmates.
Spending time with Leo and Luna helped him mostly conquer his shy side. After breakfast was over, Alex and Alexis got in the car and headed for school. Alex had brought some of his extra decks in his backpack, not wanting to reveal too much about his best ones. They arrived and Alex headed towards his classroom. His teacher was Maria Bartlet, who he heard was very kind. He arrived at the classroom a few minutes early and took a desk a few rows from the teacher's desk, wanting to be inconspicuous.
Luna: Hey Alex!
He looked to the door to see Leo and Luna coming in.
Alex: Hi guys. Looks like we have the same teacher.
Luna: That's so cool.
She and Leo walked up and sat next to Alex.
Luna: So why sit here?
Alex: To be honest, I'm trying to not stand out.
Leo: Because of your dad's rep?
Alex: Ding ding ding, we have a winner.
The other students walked in and started talking to Alex, Leo, and Luna. There were two other male students and one other female student. Their names were Dexter, Bob, and Patty. They all got along well. Miss Bartlet came in soon and asked everyone to take their seats.
Ms. Bartlet: Good morning everyone, I'm Ms. Bartlet, and welcome to Duel Academy. Today we'll be doing something special, in order to get to know each other, you'll pair off and face each other in 1 on 1 duels. Dexter will duel Leo, Bob will duel Patty, and Alex will duel Luna.
Everyone faced off against their respective opponents.
Alex: This is the first time we've dueled each other.
Luna: Yeah, I guess you're right.
Alex: Hmmm, I think I'll use my Warrior Deck instead of my heroes.
He reached into his backpack and pulled out a deck box with a sword symbol on it. He put the deck in the slot and activated the shuffle feature.
Both: Let's duel!
Alex: 4000 LP
Luna: 4000 LP
Alex: I'll start, and I play Warrior Lady of the Wasteland in defense mode.
Level 4/Earth/Warrior
ATK 1100/DEF 1200
Alex: I place two cards face-down and end my turn.
Luna: My turn, I draw, and I play Sunlight Unicorn in attack mode.
Level 4/Light/Beast
ATK 1800/DEF 1000
Luna: And now I equip Sunlight Unicorn with Horn of the Unicorn to give it 700 more attack and defense points.
Sunlight Unicorn: ATK 1800-2500/DEF 1000-1700
Luna: Attack Warrior Lady of the Wasteland!
The unicorn then charged Alex's monster, destroying her.
Alex: Thanks for that. When Warrior Lady is destroyed in battle, I can summon an earth attribute warrior type monster from my deck in attack mode, as long as it has 1500 or less attack points, so I summon Hero Kid.
Level 2/Earth/Warrior
ATK 300/DEF 600
Alex: And now I can use his effect. When Hero Kid is special summoned, I can bring out two more Hero Kids from my deck to join him.
Dexter: No way, he got out three monsters at once!
Bob: But they still have less attack than Luna's monster.
Luna: I place a card face-down and end my turn.
Alex: I draw. I summon the tuner monster Torapart in attack mode.
Level 2/Dark/Warrior
ATK & DEF 600
Alex: And now my 3 level 2 Hero Kids tune with level 2 Torapart.
Dexter: That would make a level 8 synchro monster!
Alex: I synchro summon Colossal Fighter!
Level 8/Dark/Warrior
ATK 2800/DEF 1000
Alex: His original attack points are 2800, but he gains 100 more attack points for every warrior type monster in either of our graveyards, so since I have 5 warrior monsters in my graveyard, he gains 500 attack points.
Colossal Fighter: 2800-3300
Dexter: It has over 3000 attack points?!
Alex: And now, Colossal Fighter, attack Sunlight Unicorn!
Luna: I activate my trap card!
Alex: I'm afraid not Luna. You see, since I used Torapart to summon Colossal Fighter, you can't use spells or traps when he attacks.
Luna: No way!
Colossal Fighter brought his fist down on Sunlight Unicorn, destroying it.
Luna: 3200 LP
Luna: Due to the effect of Horn of the Unicorn, when it's destroyed, it goes to the top of my deck.
Alex: Fine by me. And now that the battle is over, I play my trap card Assault Mode Activate. With this, I can tribute Colossal Fighter to summon Colossal Fighter/Assault Mode!
Level 10/Dark/Warrior
ATK 3300/ DEF 1500
Alex: And since Assault Mode Activate was a trap card, it's still my battle phase, so attack Luna directly!
Luna: I play the trap Negate Attack! This will negate your attack and end your battle phase.
Alex: I don't think so. I play my trap Assault Counter, so since I have an Assault Mode monster on my field, your trap is negated and destroyed.
Luna's trap shattered and Colossal Fighter slammed his fist into the ground at her feet.
Luna: 0 LP
Winner: Alex
Ms. Bartlet: That was an excellent duel.
Alex: Thank you ma'am. I enjoyed the duel Luna, let's do it again sometime.
Luna: I'd love to. Hey, would you want to come over to mine and Leo's place for a sleepover tonight?
Alex: That sounds like fun. I just need to ask my mom first.
Luna: Okay, let us know when you have an answer, here's our address.
Later on, Alex asked his mom if he could go and she agreed. He gathered what he'd need to go and they went to Leo and Luna's apartment. As it turned out, they lived in the same building as Leo and Luna, just a few floors down from them. They took the elevator up to their floor and Alex knocked on their door. Leo opened the door to greet him.
Leo: Wow, you got here soon.
Alex: It turns out we live just a few floors down from you.
He said goodbye to his mom before she walked back down the hallway to the elevator.
Leo: Well, come on in.
Alex: So where are your parents?
Leo: They're always away for work, so Luna and I stay here by ourselves.
Alex: Wow, your parents must really trust you.
Luna: Actually, they really trust me to make sure Leo doesn't do anything stupid.
Leo: Hey, what's that supposed to mean?
Alex couldn't help but laugh at the both of them. The night went on and they talked about school and dueling. Suddenly, Luna looked worried about something.
Alex: Is something wrong Luna?
Luna: I don't know.
She then got up and ran off.
Alex: Luna wait up!
They all ran into an alleyway and found a man passed out next to a duel runner. They decided to bring him into Leo and Luna's apartment, along with his duel runner.
Hey everyone. So I guess I should have probably made it clear what point in time in the series the story starts at. I admit that's a mistake on my part. To make it clear, the series starts shortly before the Fortune Cup. In any case, looks like things have taken a turn for our trio.