"Slifer Red?!?" Alex yelled, disbelief clear in his voice as he looked at the paperwork, hoping that he was reading it wrong. "Yes. You will receive your uniform the day before class starts. Please, do board the helicopter in a prompt fashion; we will take care of the rest. Let me be the first to welcome you to Duel Acadamy," a staff member said, having never given his name to Alex.

Alex was too stunned to do much talking as he walked with the other ten accepted applicants to there transportation. When the door slammed shut, he looked out the window as the helicopter lifted, raising into the clear blue sky. "You okay Alex?" a voice asked, making Alex shake his head, looking over his shoulder. "Not really. I just found out I was put in Slifer Red!" Alex said to the creature beside his ear.

A small fox was sitting on his shoulder, looking at Alex worriedly. "Aww, don't worry about it Alex! You know us and we know you; that really won't put YOU down! Besides, with your skill, you will quickly be put in Ra or even Obelisk quickly!" the fox said, the small ember on its tail flickering with renewed life when Alex smiled. "Your right. Thanks, Foxfire," Alex said, feeling better with the small pep-talk his partner gave him. "Though, you probably should have listened to me when I said you needed to study..." Foxfire said, making Alex groan. "Way to end the moment, Fox," Alex said, getting a giggle from the monster. "It IS the truth though," the small creature replied, nuzzling Alex in a familiar fashion.

"Who are you talking to?" a student said, leaning forward to look at Alex weird, reminding him that there were other people in there with him. "Oh, no- no one! Just talking to myself!" Alex replied nervously, not noticing a look someone else gave him; annoyance or disbelief it was hard to tell. "Well, try not to make us think you are crazy, okay? Name's Justin Bolt by the way. Yours?" the teen asked from across him. "Alexander Papyrus. Call me Alex though," the brunette replied, shaking his hand. "What dorm did you get into? I got Ra; I'm glad I studied. I pulled an all-nighter for the exam!" Justin said, making Alex shoot a glance to Foxfire, who looked smug, hugging his tail like a teddy bear. "Yeah. Wish I did that; I got into Slifer Red due to a low test grade," Alex told him, not wanting to say he got a 9 on the exam.

"Ah, I can understand that. By the way, I watched your duel; that was awesome! That Baseball player monster; I think that card is sweet!" another student said, her voice radiant with excitement as she turned to them, a smile on her face. "Thanks; I didn't know that I had an audience. Name is Alexander Papyrus; call me Alex, okay?" Alex said, holding out his hand in a shake. "Brittney Blackwood; nice to meet 'cha! Slifer Red; looks like I will be seeing you around. Hope we can duel soon," Brittney replied, shaking hands with him.

Alex had to fight off a double take, though he did flinch a little when he saw a small monster pop on her shoulder. A small fur ball with wings glared at him, a threatening "Kurriiiii...." coming from it when Alex held her hand too long, making him snatch his had away from her. "Oh, you will have to forgive her; she is very territorial when it comes to me and guys. I swear she is like an older brother," Brittney said, hushing the creature with a pat on its head with her finger, stunning Alex. "Wait, you can-," Alex whispered, getting silenced by a finger on his lips. "Yes; nice Foxfire by the way. He looks cute!" Brittney replied back in a whisper and a beaming smile, getting Foxfire to blush, the fire on its tail to flare up embarrassingly.

"If you look out the window to your left you will see your new home away from home; Duel Academy!" the pilot suddenly said, drawing the attention  Alex's way, gaining a few chuckles from the students at the scene. Alex blushed, Brittney quickly turning away, a blush on her face; both of them did not catch the growl that came from behind them. "Please buckle your seatbelts; we will be landing shortly," the pilot told them, making the few students that were standing sit back down, several clicks following the action.

Alex was glad for the fresh air when the doors opened, being among the first to get off of the helicopter, a smile on his face when he saw the grounds from the, well, ground. A few students were standing there, clapping and congratulating the students as the group walked over to them. "Slifers, follow me!" a voice called, separating the group into three groups; Alex was surprised to see that there were only two Obelisk's right off the bat. 'They must have done well in the duel and exam for that to happen.... or just downright lucky,' Alex thought to himself, turning to where the voice came from.

Boy, was he shocked at what he saw. A brunette stood before him, a clipboard in one hand. A pair of glasses was on his face, framing his brown eyes with a rim of gold and silver. "Jaden Yuki, Headmaster of Slifer Red. Nice to meet all of you," the adult said with his signature smile. The world went black due to Alex fainting.

-An unknown time later-

Alex groaned as he woke up, wincing a little as he sat up. The first thing he saw was a crackling fire, making the room nice and warm. "About time you woke up; I was worried I was going to have to use the smelling salts," Jaden said, appearing from behind him with a tray, a tea kettle, and cups on it. "Y-y-y-y," Alex began, looking on the edge of a panic attack. "Ah, here, take this. You will need it to recover your energy," Jaden said, holding out a cup of what smelled like fruity tea to him. Alex took the cup, thanking him before taking a sip, enjoying the taste.

"You caused quite the commotion back there, fainting like that," Jaden said, chuckling a little as he took his own cup. "S-sorry about that," Alex replied, still shocked about who he was talking too. "Hey, you can relax bud! Just because I am your Headmaster doesn't mean I will expel you for horrible manners!" Jaden laughed, making Alex smile as he nodded, taking another sip of his drink.

"Now, tell me something about yourself; your file was most... interesting," Jaden said, a searing anger filling Alex when he saw the pity in his headmaster's eyes. "I don't need your pity! My parents are dead; no big deal. I survived on my own, my deck helping me get money and things I needed," Alex shot out, glaring with hostility at the Hero user. Jaden held his hands up in surrender, Alex focusing on his drink for a moment. "Sorry professor; I should not have shouted like that," Alex apologized when the silence went on too long. "It's fine; I understand," Jaden replied, a kind tone in his voice, helping Alex in relaxing again.

After a moment, it looked like Jaden was going to speak, but Alex beat him to it, feeling like he could trust the teacher to confide in. "Life was... hard, being alone. I survived only by dueling; it was all I knew," Alex began. "My parents died when I was eight; car wreck. I barely survived myself; doctors said it was a miracle. After using all my inheritance to pay for the hospital fees, I was forced to live on the streets for a while; I found an abandoned factory to live in after a month or two of looking for shelter. I found an old mattress and slept on that; I found a blanket after a few days of cleaning," Alex then said, staring into his cup of tea.

"All I had on me was the deck I have now; I played with them in my spare time, dueling with it for cash to buy food. I had learned how to read on my own; random books I found helped me in learning. Basic math comes easy to me, like addition and subtraction, but other than that... not really. I found my duel disk in the trash, the screen having been broken at the time. I took it back to the factory and began to work on fixing it; one of the books was a manual on fixing electronics," Alex followed up, looking at his gear with a fond smile.

"It took me a few weeks, but I managed to repair it, save for the chip in the corner. I was so excited when I played my first duel with it, I almost broke it again," Alex laughed, remembering that moment like it was yesterday. "One day, I guess my duel caught someone's attention, because he gave me a card, a business card, telling me I should join a championship. I thanked him and did end up competing; scored 2nd place. I was so proud of myself that I forgot my parents were dead; when I remembered, I started crying during the interviews afterward," Alex said, pausing to take a breath.

"After that, life was good; with money I won, I managed to get myself a small apartment and lived there for a while, relying on dueling to get me my money to keep living. I scraped by, but it was nice; I finally had a proper roof over my head, one that didn't leak at least," Alex said, getting a chuckle out of Jaden. "When I heard of Duel Academy, I jumped at the chance to join. The rest is history," Alex said, finishing his tale, feeling a weight being taken off of his shoulders.

Jaden sat in silence for a moment, looking at Alex with an interest he kept hidden behind kindness. "You sure do have one heck of a background there. How about you go get some dinner? It will be in a few minutes," Jaden said, standing up with Alex, who nodded at the suggestion. "Alex, are you okay?" Foxfire said, appearing on Alex's shoulder, getting a nod from the duelist. Jaden turned around and did a visible double take before smiling. "Ah; I see you have a spirit partner. Yes, the rumors are true; I can see spirits," Jaden said, answering a question that was forming on Alex's tongue.

"Ah! Asriel will show you the way to the Mess Hall," Jaden said right when a student was passing by, making him stop to look at him. "Thank you, Professor," Alex said, bowing slightly. "No, thank you for what you shared," Jaden told him with a nod before going back into his office. Alex turned back to the student before being led to the Mess Hall silently, not a word coming from the teen.

The Mess Hall was loud with students chattering about what has happened to them thus far, talking with each other like they were old friends. Alex followed Asriel as he got his food from the line, only getting a sandwich and a drink for himself. Turning around, Alex looked for an empty table but was saved from eating alone. "Alex!" Brittney called, making Alex jump as he searched the sea of faces, soon finding the girl. Moving to her, Brittney told him to sit down with her and Asriel.

"Don't mind him: Asriel is just really shy around people he doesn't know. We knew each other since we were little; isn't that right, Asriel?" Brittney asked, turning to the other male. "Yeah; she kinda grew on me," Asriel replied, his voice soft and kind. Alex saw the look in Asriel's eyes and instantly knew what Asriel meant, smiling a little. "So, may I ask what deck you run Alex? I didn't get to see you duel; arrived a little late," Asriel said, seeming to relax around Alex. "I run a Fire deck, really. What do you use?" Alex then asked out of interest. "I am using Spellcasters; I just love the power they have with just a few cards played," Asriel said, holding his deck box in a relaxed grip. "Yeah, you are telling me. He once brought out all three of his Dark Magicians on his first turn," Brittney said, directing the last statement to Alex.

As he ate his dinner, Alex looked around at the other students, keeping the conversation going with Brittney all the while. "I don't know about you guys, but I am going to go to bed early; you can't duel without proper rest," Brittney said, letting out a huge yawn. "I think I will go to sleep too; the bed is calling my name," Alex said, feeling worn after fainting like that. "Alright; night guys," Asriel told them, still not done with his own dinner.

As Alex and Brittney left for there rooms, Alex stopped outside his own room, Brittney taking out a key for the room next to his. "Night Brittney. Sleep well," Alex said, yawning widely as he vanished into his own room, the door swinging shut behind him.

Home sweet home

Anyone get where the names are from?

Till next time,

Peace out mi Duelists!