Prologue 1: One Golden Afternoon

It was a Tuesday.

Or a Monday. It's hard to tell. I don't remember a lot, I was only... eight. Eight years; half of my life. Only brief moments stand out. There was a town, a park, a river, a house. There were names I lost, of streets and people. There was a school where I went for a few years. But I don't have any feelings left there, of how my first day was. Everything is out of order, I don't know what came first or second or third. Only a few days I cannot forget..

"Yu-gi-oh?"

There was one day, where some kids from school started talking about a game. They said its name was Yu-Gi-Oh, it was apparently a foreign way to say 'King of Games'. I didn;t really understand. But I was curious. I.. never got to play much. I didn't like sports, swimming or stuff like that. I didn't like the games that other kids were making up either, games in the open doors, games of pretend. I don't know why.. I was told it wasn't fun. You could get hurt or hurt someone else, you could ruin your clothes and get yourself dirty, you aren't proving anything. Enough thoughts to make you scared of them.. I liked the games that made you think more, that couldn't hurt anyone. This was one of them. There was something smart about the way you played it. Older kids introduced it, I guess I wanted to be like them.

"No you can't do that! You have to use two of your guys to bring out the big one!"

Not everyone got it though. They didn't want to listen to the rules. Summoning monsters without tributes, normal summoning more than once a turn, drawing more than one card each turn; they just wanted to do it their way. The older kids were the same. They did know about the rules, but they didn't care. They cheated where they could, lied to others who weren't experienced enough to realize they were being tricked. Those 'duelists' were only after rare cards. I didn't wanna play against them either, I didn't wanna lose any of my cards. How did I get my cards? Did I have friends? I was picked on a few times, but I don't think anyone hated me.. or liked me. They just didn't talk a lot, to me. It could have been someone who wanted to have someone else to duel against, to talk at me. I can't say how it happened. I do remember the first card I ever held in my hands; Aquaactress Guppy. I liked it.. her. She was pretty and cute. Maybe that's also why I had fun playing it. There were so many cards, so many pretty and colorful pictures. It was more color than I...

"Alison!"

That name, that's my name. The voice that yelled it, was mother. That's what I called her too; mother. And father was father. They had names, I just never learned to use them. And now I can't remember them either. They are just mom and dad, two faces and two voices. They were the ones who told me who I was, what I could be and what I could do and couldn't do. No, they also reminded me of what I had to do I figured that was what every mother and father did for their kid. But they were shouting a lot, at me, at people, at each other. I don't know why. All the time I did something wrong. Playing with other kids and staying out too late was bad, watching cartoons was bad, having pets was bad, reading a lot of books was bad. That was home; grey and quiet. They had a reason, they must have. Maybe they wanted me to become someone great. Maybe they were scared of the outside world and they wanted me to be too. Maybe. I don't know. I thought I could take that, but I couldn't.

Wait. I shouldn't be here. This day is just like any other. When it changed, it was earlier. I remember looking for a place of my own. I had no sister or brother, but I was never alone. Mom or dad was always there at home, they never let me go any place by myself. They drove me to school each day, and picked me up each day. Until a day where neither could do it for me. I didn't have a bike yet, so I had to walk. The path to school was not that long or dangerous and many kids used it. My town was not too small, but you couldnd't get lost so easily either. Mom and dad allowed it for one time, they had to. And when I came back safely, they let me do it more often. I could go by myself, I could finally be by myself and do what I wanted! Yet I still didn't feel that way. Even though I know it wasn't true, I thought my parents were watching me all the time. If I took too long to get home, mother would shout my name from the end of the streets. I didn't even get a chance to finish a game of dueling that one time. I wanted to have a place where I could hide, from them or from other people that made me worried. There were so many strangers out there. It was a small town, and still I didn't know anyone. Yes, it was another day, when I finally found a place..

On the road to school there was a shortcut you could take through a park. I took it, because it was something new to see. In the middle of that park was a big tree, with roots all over the ground and leaves that were green even in the winter. If you went inside, behind the leaves and branches, there was nobody who could see you. Light came from above, the blue sky and golden sun seeped through the foliage. In there it was quiet and warm, no matter how cold it was on the outside. It was if it was a completely different part of the world. More than that, it was magical. As long as I stayed there, the clouds didn't change, the sun didn't drop and mom and dad never yelled at me for being late. What felt like hours were just minutes, time was slowed down. I don't know why. That shouldn't have been possible. But what did I know? I was just a kid and I didn't get much about the world. This magic could simply have been a part of nature. But I didn't want to tell others, I didn't want to share. They wouldn't believe me anyway..

Wait.. how did I find it? I am missing something... There was a shadow, I bumped into it. I said sorry, then I ran away into the park. Who was that? Another man, a bully from school, a strange? Someone who wanted to help me? Or hurt me? Was I afraid? Sad? I don't know. I buried the memory, I must have had a reason. If it's not a happy thought, just discard it... Keep what you like. Keep everything after, I went to that tree every day on my way back home. I took books from the school library and read a chapter each time; hiding the book under a blanket so mom and dad wouldn't find out. I was free in there..

Was it a Tuesday or a Monday? I still can't remember. I wasn't happy, not as happy as I could be. But at least It felt safe inside that spot and that was as good as it got in the end. And it had to end. No matter how I place all the puzzle pieces, one is always put down last.

"What really happened. I don't know. I don't know why. I don't want to know why.. I don't, I don't, I, don't..."

It happened early, the horizon was still red. I was alone again, just walking to school. It was quiet, very quiet. The park usually was, but not like this. I was supposed to hear the wind through the leaves, the running of the creek. I couldn't hear anything. But It didn't feel wrong, not until I got out of the park. Then.. nothing was right anymore. "Ah." Everything had stopped. People were standing in mid-step, cars were frozen on the road, birds were flying without moving. "Mister. Do you know what is going on?" Nobody would answer. I tried to talk to the crossing guard in front of the school, but I couldn't even get him to move. He was a statue, he would not budge to the left or the right. Those eyes just kept staring ahead, not feeling or seeing me. They were all like that, even at school. Every kid and teacher, everyone on TV or the radio, they were trapped doing what they had been doing when it began. When 'it' ended. "Please. Anyone. Help.." It... was time. Time had stopped. I knew.. because there was a clock on the wall. Its handle did not move. It was early in the morning, and it wasn't getting any later. This wasn't what I wanted. I was finally alone.

Then I wasn't..

I don't know why. I don't know where they came from. But suddenly they were in town, seemingly everywhere. They were these strange ships, they looked like large insects or seashells. Though they had different shapes they all had the same blue diamond and yellow ball on their bodies. They flew over every building, throwing light over them like a lantern. And then they did.. it. They made it disappear. They made all of it disappear. The people, the cars and the birds. Everything that was caught in the light, just went away. And there was nowhere to hide. Even the kids, my classmates, inside the building were taken. It wasn't even like they left something behind. My teacher stood in front of the schoolboard when her turn came. She vanished, the floor she stood on vanished, the air in between her vanished. Only a hole remained, and it hurt to look at it. Nothing, I saw nothing.

"Mommy, Dad!"

They didn't see me, I don't know why. Maybe this was a dream, maybe I was dreaming? I hoped so, I really hoped so. I ran, I ran as fast as I could. I wanted to get back home. I thought, for some reason, that I would be safe there. That they wouldn't get me or my mom and dad. More of the town was falling apart, entire buildings turned into dust and traveled up into the air. They took the south, the east, the west.. and the north. "No!" I was almost there, my house was right there. But they took that too. "No! No! No!" A single ship moved over the street and destroyed everything I had seen for as long as I lived. I didn't know if my mom and dad were inside when it happened. If they knew it was going to happen, if they had the chance to run. Why was it just me? Why didn't they see me too? Did they see me? "Aaahhh!" I couldn't help it, I had to scream. They heard me, they must have. They were getting closer, one of them was coming my way...

I didn't want to go.

I always had that idea that nothing would ever happen to me. I knew people could get hurt, I knew people could get sick and never get better. They could die. Somehow I didn't think it could happen to me too, why would it? What did I do to anyone? Why were they doing this? Who was doing this? What were they doing? Was everyone dead? "Taken by Aliens." Killed? "Traveling to another dimension." Destroyed? "Become invisible?" That's not what happened! "What is going to happen to me?" I don't know. I didn't know. I didn't want to find out. So I ran again, to the only safe place I had left. I was back in the park, what was left of it. They were getting rid of the earth now, the ground beneath my feet was replaced with nothing. It was difficult to walk, I could fall into a bottomless pit if I missed a step. But I made it, I made it. The tree, the roots; they wouldn't find me here if I hid inside.

I was here. The last one, I did not see anything or anyone else. It was empty outside. The whole world was going mad. They got louder, the ground was shaking, the sun was exploding. Up was down and black was white. They were coming. I shut it out; I closed my eyes and covered my ears. It was all a dream, a nightmare. I would wake up any time now, and it would all go back to normal. Closer, closer. Faster, faster. Louder, louder. They couldn't get me, they can't get me, they wont get me. I thought this, over and over, until I couldn't think anymore. Darkness was everywhere, and I disappeared...

I woke up, not in my bed... still in the forest. They put everything back! It never happened! That's what I saw at first. But then I saw.. what didn't return. The tree, it was not the same tree. It was smaller, had differently colored leaves. It looked older. The rest changed too, a little, but enough. There was still a town outside the park, only the people that lived there once had been replaced. There were all new faces, and my face was new to them. They didn't have my name, they couldn't find my mom or dad. I couldn't find my mom and dad. My house was gone, I had nobody left. I didn't know why and neither did anyone else. Alison was gone, just like that. I had been dreaming those eight years, living as someone else. The only thing I could keep was that book from the library. But I forgot. It's still lying there, in the woods. I only had me, Alice. I fell down the rabbithole, and I can never get back..

"Never."

...

"Ali..son." Uno took a step back. "I had no..." Here and now in this town, Alice had told them everything she remembered.. from her past life. She had only given scraps, but to Uno it was like a complete story; like he was then and there. "I..I wanted to tell you sooner. Uno.. I did. But I was scared." Even now, on the verge of tears she blamed herself. "Alis..Alice. You didn;t do anything wrong." Were the only words of comfort Uno could muster. He still had to absorb what this meant for him. "But I did! I ran away! I pretended it never happened! But it was a lie! Mom and dad are gone.. they're never coming back!" She broke down and began to cry. "Hey hey hey. You don't know that! Whatever happened, there must be a way to fix it.. right?" Eric, in spite of his inability to comprehend the entire tale, wanted nothing more than to comfort her. But it would take more than words and hugs. "Right?!" He looked at Uno, since he was fresh out of ideas.

"..." Uno said nothing. It didn't sound hopeful. "The power to deconstruct life and matter, it existed back then too.. Who are these beings?" Adamants worst suspicions had been confirmed, but he was left with more questions than answers. What Alice had described resembled Martels ability to transform people into cards. "Iria. Do you still have your pendulum deck?" Uno, who heard Adamants comments, turned to the others. "The Qliphort deck? Yes. Why do you ask this now?" Though Iria had gone back to wielding her Monarchs, she still kept them close in case their power was required. She gave the cards to Uno. ".. Because I saw them too. Alice. Please help us understand.." Uno's words got her to calm down, briefly. "Huh?" Her eyes darted around to avoid the sight of the cards Uno was holding. "You don't have to look at them. But the machines that Iria used in her duels, did they look like .. Them?"

"How" Alice trembled. "... I.. They're just cards.. But... It was them." After much struggling, she got a response out. "What?!" And it shocked Iria. "The Qliphort.. were the ones who destroyed your.. How is that possible?!" It was too much. Every time she adjusted to one new fragment of this bizarre reality, another showed up. "It's true!" But Alice was not lying, even the disciple could see that. "Those four Travelers. They said the Qliphort existed before UNO made them..." Iria recalled the words of August. She could never have imagined that they were speaking the truth, or that these cards were such devastating entities. "Hey. Is this why.. " Eric turned back to Alice. "When you saw Iria's duel in the tournament." He remembered now that she had freaked out before her own duel. But that was also right after Iria's first duel with her Qliphort cards. "Ye.. yes. I did recognize them, but I didn't want to think it was true.. I thought it was just a coincidence. It was so long ago. It was easier to pretend I was wrong." She was happier that way. Not anymore. "But.. how did you know, Uno?"

"Good question." Adamant looked to Uno for some clarification on the matter. "I.. I don't really know. I just saw it. While Alice was us about her past, images flashed through my head every time I blinked or closed my eyes. I could see what was happening.. I could see those things, those machines." It went even deeper than that. The story Alice gave did not have the details and thoughts that now ran through Uno's head. He got those by himself. Her experience felt like his own, like he had been there with her. "You saw her past, and read her thoughts?" This sounded familiar to Iria. "You.. have the same power as the Travelers?" Uno was not the first to have psychic abilities, nor the first to have eyes that could see events that had already transpired. "Ah." Of course, it was the pendulum. Uno'd been using it without knowing about it. "But that doesn't happen unless..."

"Unless we're near you." Neter suddenly popped into the house. "Wha!" He didn't give them a chance to do as little as flinch, before he took them all away by warping them to the outside. "No!" The only one to even get the chance to offer resistance was Uno, who grabbed his pendulum. It lit up along with Neters crystal. "Guh.." The five duelists were still in the same position, but now they were on the main town road. "Aww he got in the way again. I wanted to take them further than this." And they were surrounded by Neter, June, August... and December. "Then this shall be the last time he stands in our way."

(To be Continued in Annex 088: Away from Now)