A/N: I am known for not backing down from a challenge, so when this wild idea of tying 31 different AUs into a single story was cooked up in a conversation with my awesome collaborator in crime, auroraXborealis, I knew I had to accept! This is quite possibly the most collaborative piece I will ever write, and the last few weeks brainstorming and cooking up ideas for our fics together has been an absolute blast. Please go check out her AU-gust story too (search that username on AO3), it's absolutely fantastic!

This prologue sets the stage for the 31 one-shot AUs that were posed by the AU-gust 2020 challenge!

This should be a fun month!

A package? For me?

When Yugi stopped to grab the mail in the lobby of his apartment building, he was surprised by an unexpected package. At first, he thought it had been delivered to the wrong address, as that sort of thing seemed to happen all the time in their building. However this time, the box was indeed made out in his name. Yugi scratched at the back of his head in confusion, but picked up the parcel anyways and made his way to his apartment.

As he opened the door, he was buffeted by a blast of air conditioning. It was downright blissful. Even though it was April, it was absurdly hot in Domino City and Yugi was certainly not prepared for it. When he had packed up that morning for classes, he had expected the usual springtime rain. Was he ever wrong!

Yugi hung his backpack on the hook in the doorway and took off his runners, placing them neatly beside the slightly larger black leather boots in the shoe tray. He walked down the short hallway towards the kitchen and became aware of the sounds of blasters and boots running on simulated gravel coming from the TV room. A familiar shock of crimson tipped hair poked up beyond the back of the couch, bobbing and weaving ever so slightly with the movements of the futuristic wartime character on the TV. Yugi shook his head with a smile. Of course he'd be here gaming. Did he even make it to class today?

After his first few years in the dormitories of Domino University, the parties and noise started growing old. In his third year of his studies, Yugi decided to move into an apartment just off campus so he could finally start to pay attention to his studies. That summer, he stumbled upon an ad placed by another student who had been looking to rent out a room in his two bedroom apartment just five minutes off campus. It sounded perfect to Yugi. The promise of a private room in a quiet apartment was too good to pass up. In addition to saving money, he would finally have a nice quiet place to study without distractions for once! Now nearly eight months into their shared lease, he still had not expected to trade one distraction for another.

For such a respectful and somewhat reserved roommate, Atem Sennen sure was distracting. He was an puzzle that Yugi just could not solve. Despite being on the Dean's list in the Department of History, Atem spent the majority of his time in their apartment gaming. He gamed way too much to be able to keep those grades up. Not that Yugi minded his roommate's borderline addiction. Being a game design major himself, Yugi often justified his many hours spent at a console as 'research'. Three days after Yugi had moved in, Atem caught him watching from the kitchen as he played a video game. Yugi still remembered how those crimson eyes sparkled in challenge as Atem offered him the second controller.

At first, all of their interactions were about games or the logistics of rooming together, but as time went on, Yugi found himself seeking Atem's company more and more outside of their gaming sessions. They started eating their dinners together, chatting about their classes and other things that had happened in their days. Yugi found himself going out of the way to meeting up with Atem after classes. A few months after moving in together, they hosted a joint party with each other's friends at their place, which was a night that they both still referenced fondly on occasion. Overall, Yugi was elated about his living situation. How lucky was he to have gotten such a good friend out of this!

Sometime in the late fall, Yugi noticed a shift in Atem. At first it was subtle. He seemed a bit more absentminded whenever they would hang out, his head in the clouds all too often. It made Yugi wonder if the stress of final exams had been getting to him. Whenever he asked Atem, he was reassured that everything was alright. Oddly enough, for often being inattentive during conversations, Atem had become surprisingly attentive in other ways. Yugi still could not get over how Atem would surprise him with mugs of coffee during late night study sessions just when he needed them the most. He was the best roommate Yugi could have asked for, and these little acts of kindness never failed to brightened his day.

That Christmas, Yugi had decided that he wanted to do something nice in return. Just before they both left to see family for the holiday season, Yugi had sprung his surprise on Atem. He knew he had hit the mark when he saw Atem's face as he held that over sized Kuriboh plush. After a moment, Atem pulled himself together and had excused himself. Yugi watched him head to his room with a satisfied smile. He was just about to get of the couch when he heard a door close. Atem had returned with a small box, neatly wrapped in paper adorned with little pine trees and stars. The gift was proffered, trembling ever so slightly in the giver's hand. Inside was a custom controller that had quickly become Yugi's favourite.

Maybe this is another gift? But it's not my birthday yet…

"You didn't order something in my name, did you?" Yugi called out from the kitchen as he inspected the mysterious parcel.

"Hmm? No, I did not. Did something arrive for you?" A baritone voice called from the couch, the clack of buttons and the click of the thumb sticks never ceasing.

"Yeah." Yugi called back, his mind elsewhere. There was no return address on the label, but a familiar company logo was situated in the top right hand corner. "It's from Kaiba Corp. of all places."

Buttons stopped clicking and the background music died down as the game was paused for something decidedly more interesting. "That is very strange."

Yugi could not help but agree. Why would Kaiba Corp. send him something? Maybe it was Mokuba? Despite being only sixteen, the younger of the Kaiba brothers was enrolled at Domino University and was in one of Yugi's advanced coding classes. They talked sometimes, but did not really hang out outside of class. It could have also been Seto, the eldest of the famous Kaiba brothers. He had hosted a coding competition that Yugi participated in earlier in the semester. Yugi had won that competition… maybe this was a part of the prize package?

Yugi fished out the box cutter from their cluttered junk drawer and took the box over to the couch. Yugi felt Atem shift beside him as he sat down, moving in closer to inspect the package. As they settled, for the first time since Yugi had picked up the package, his attention finally deviated from it. He stared a silent question at the knee that had just inadvertently rested against his. It happened again. This sort of thing seemed to be happening more often than usual. Or maybe he was just noticing it more now. As if responding to the unvoiced question, the knee was pulled back with a jerk.

"Oh, my apologies." The man beside him murmured. Yugi looked up, catching crimson eyes blink. "I… I was just trying to read the label."

An easy smile formed on Yugi's face. "No, it's fine Atem! The font's really small. I had to squint to read it myself."

"You should really listen to me about getting your eyes checked." Atem laughed, his tension melting as he finally started to smile. Yugi felt himself smiling a little wider.

"Only when you finally get that ankle looked at."

Atem waved off the reversal with a huff. "It's nothing, I'm better now."

"No, you're not. But I don't have time to argue. I wonder what's inside."

His roommate hummed an affirmative and Yugi carefully cut the tape. Nestled amongst the packing peanuts and bubble wrap was a small curved device slightly larger than a deck of cards. It's glossy black surface shone as Yugi pulled it out of its protective nest. There were no buttons that Yugi could see and no matter where on the device he touched, nothing seemed to happen.

Atem made a motion to see the device. Yugi watched him take it in his hand, rotating it gently to look at it from all angles. Yugi could see his roommate's inquisitive ruby irises reflect off the glossy surface. After a couple of minutes, the device was offered back to him.

"I have never seen anything like it."

"Neither have I. I guess I will see if I can pin Mokuba down in class tomorrow and ask him if he knows what it is and why it's been sent to me."

"Sounds like a good plan. Was there anything else in the box?"

Yugi fished around in the packing materials, but there was nothing else in there. No note, no instructions. Nothing but packing peanuts.

"Ah, well, I guess not." Yugi concluded as he got off the couch. He would definitely need to ask the younger Kaiba about this tomorrow.

Yugi made it halfway to his room, still transfixed on the device in hand before he was stopped.

"Yugi?"

"Hmm? What is it, Atem?" Yugi turned around to face his roommate again.

"You already submitted with your final project for your coding class, right?"

Yugi smiled. How Atem could remember these little details always impressed him. "Yeah, you're right. I submitted that today."

"Well, I thought I may take tonight off and start studying for finals tomorrow and I was wondering if you'd like to maybe order a pizza and, uh, hang out this evening?" Atem offered with a small smile.

Yugi suppressed a chuckle. What sort of question was that? Of course he would like that! "Sounds awesome, Atem. You pick the pizza, I'm just going to put this thing away and join you in a few. Oh, and you don't always have to order my favourite! Get something else if you want."

Atem waved him off, fishing his cellphone out of his pocket. Yugi shook his head in mock indignation. He was definitely going to order his favourite again…

Yugi approached his cluttered desk, cleared out a patch and placed the box down. He took one last glance. Then he caved.

"There's got to be something more to it…" He muttered, reaching out to take the device in his hands again. During his exploration, Yugi tried bending the device, and much to his surprise, he found it rather pliable. It bent and warped in his hand like a soft aluminum. He bent it further until it formed a tight 'C' shape, almost resembling a cuff.

"Are you supposed to be some sort of wearable technology? Like a futuristic smart watch or something?" Yugi mused aloud. If it was, it was unlike any sort of wearable he had ever seen. He placed it against his wrist, removing his other hand with a small snort. Almost the instant it touched his skin, his room was illuminated. Circuits of blue and white appeared within the black material, pulsing as if they themselves had a heart beat. Yugi yelped in surprise and went to pull the device off his wrist. As soon as his fingertips touched it's surface, the device collapsed further in on itself, fully encasing Yugi's wrist.

"What is going on…" Panic seeped into his bones as his pulse started hammering in his ear. He tried to force his fingertips under the seam, but the device had sealed itself flush against his skin. He tugged and tugged but the device remained intact and in place.

The pulses of light seemed to grow in intensity as Yugi stared on bewildered. His vision started to swim and the world seemed to shift off its axis. He needed help, and quick. But before he could yell for Atem, the lights flashed once more then died. The room was silent, still. Yugi stared at the device through dizzy eyes in apprehension.

Maybe it was all over…

Pale blue light suddenly flooded his vision. Then nothing.

Snap.