Go With the Flow I

TEASER

(On a narrow, crooked, fragile stone walkway surrounded by a dark void, lit only by floating luminescent bubbles, Yuma balances uneasily, arms extended for balance, placing one foot carefully in front of the other. Fragments of rock crack away under his feet and fall into the endless glowing abyss below; above, the sky roils dark purple. He sways unsteadily as he walks, nervous to fall, and finally halts to stare at the glow before him. It comes from a pair of stone reptilian eyes, part of a massive stone face carved to belong to a fearsome monster, with rows and rows of pointed teeth, its face crossed by metal chains. At the center of its upper lip is a circular keyhole. The monstrous gate seems to glare down at Yuma; a deep, raspy voice comes from it, echoing in brighter tones.) Deep voice: Whoever can open this door, will gain a great new power... Echo voice: ...Power, open this door... (Yuma reluctantly takes a step back.) Deep voice: But know, that with such a reward, comes great risk. Echo voice: ...Great risk... (The glowing yellow eyes glint bright red, and the gold pendant Yuma wears around his neck shines in response.) Deep voice: Have you the courage to unlock this power? Echo voice: ... Have you the courage... Yuma: Um, great risk? Lemme think about it. Don't think so-o-o-ohh!! (As he says the last, the walkway beneath his back foot crumbles, and he falls into the glowing blue abyss below, yelling!) Yuma: Aaaaaaahhhhh...!!

(And Yuma hits the floor on his head, having fallen out of his hammock; morning light is filtering gold through the window. It was just a dream. Yuma's room is a cluttered treasure trove of mystery and antiquity; an old yellow globe and gold lamp sit over to one side of the hammock, and a giant wooden chest inlaid with gleaming brass sits off to the other side. Yuma's duel cards are scattered on a low table under the hammock, beside a picture frame. He untangles one foot from the hammock and sits up on the wooden floor, rubbing his head.) Yuma: Ugh... weird dream... ugh, oh well. 'Least I'm up *now*. (The clock on the wall tolls; it's an analog clock in roman numerals, and it reads 8:00. Yuma springs to his feet.) Yuma: And *late*!!! (Yuma hastily gathers up his scattered deck; visible are Blustering Winds, Secret Barrel, Zubaba Knight, Monster Reborn, Gagaga Magician, Ganbara Knight, Wonder Wand, Just Desserts, and Tornado.) Yuma: Aww, not *again*!! What am I forgetting, what am I forgetting! (Yuma swings down from his loft through a circular hole in the floor, dangling wildly from a knotted rope handhold instead of taking the neat decorative modern ladder. His main bedroom, bed neatly made and desk tidy, clearly not lived in, is as curvy and futuristic polymers as the loft is antique and polished wood. Yuma's jeans, socks, and bookbag are laid out on the bed, his shirt hung up near the desk. He catches himself on the floor with one hand when he lands and scrambles across the pastel-swirled rug.) Yuma: Oh yeah-- to get dressed!

(Downstairs, Kari, an older teen, sits surrounded by three holographic computer screens, a tinted lens over one eye, gripping a gadget shaped like a pen in her teeth. She speaks as though on the phone. Under her thick, two-toned red hair, which she keeps in a ponytail, she wears a headset along with her tinted eyepiece.) Kari: Sure... sounds like a *scoop*...! I'll get *right on it*, boss! (The phone beeps off and she flips the stylus gadget out of her teeth and catches it in her hand triumphantly.) Kari: I love a good lead in the morning! <1:00> (She taps one screen with the stylus and it scrolls text, another and the image changes. The living room is tidy and spacious, wallpaper lined with wood and wooden floor covered by an area rug in the center, with several houseplants catching the light shining through the stained-glass-panel windows in front. Yuma dashes downstairs, running in place, hopping around the room as he stops dashing past to talk to her.) Yuma: What gives, Kari?! Why didn't you wake me up? Kari: Because I'm a *news reporter*, *not* your babysitter. You're in *middle school* now, lil' bro-- *act* like it? (She sips unconcernedly from a mug with a bunny on it. While she isn't looking, Yuma stretches his cheeks and makes a face at her.)

(Yuma's grandma is sweeping the front walk with a straw-and-bamboo broom. Yuma stands at the door, hopping on one foot to put on his shoes. She is a tiny old lady in a pink robe and red vest, with socks on under her pink flip-flops.) Yuma: 'Bye, grandma! Grandma: But, Yuma-- what about a goodbye kiss? (Yuma finishes with his shoe and runs past her.) Yuma: No time! (Grandma's eye glints; wrong answer! She spins her broom as expertly as any staff fighter, and uses the end to snag Yuma by the shirt collar and lift him off the ground.) Grandma: Hah! Yuma: Ah! Aw, grandma, what're you doing! Grandma (sweetly): Either you give grandma a kiss goodbye, or you get-- (steely) a grand slobberin'! (Zoom out; Yuma's house is a tidy sort of cottage with a red roof and stained-glass-panel windows, sitting in the middle of a grand city with highways that crisscross the sky above, and buildings in the distance that rise higher than the roads.) Yuma (VO): My name's Yuma Tsukumo, and this is my life. (From the red-roofed house, the sound of a kiss can be heard...)

OPENING: TAKE A CHANCE <1:31>

If life is a game, they say, I can't win, I'll never amount to nothin' And go down before my life begins! I won't be afraid to challenge myself, It won't ever break, my fire,

My dreams won't die if I high-five the sky! Spread my wings, take off, it's time to fly!

Take a chance to make it all the way, Take a chance, forgetting yesterday, Take a chance, believe

Nothing Will bring me down No retreat when I leave all my fears behind! My future's still alive, and so Take that chance to chase my doubts away, Make advancement through my darkest days!

Take a chance to make it all the way, Take a chance, forgetting yesterday, Take a breath, my heart will lead the way, Take a chance, I'll take that chance Today!

ACT 1 <2:31>

(On a quiet lane somewhere in the city, a monorail passes overhead and egg-shaped litterbots trundle here and there, picking up litter.) Litterbot: Trash identified. (Yuma is running, gripping his breakfast in his teeth. The litterbot picks up the aluminum can in its clawed 'hand' and places it in its mechanized 'mouth'.) Litterbot: Trash contained. Yuma: Comin' through!! (Before the litterbot can react, Yuma has vaulted over it and kept running. The litterbot spins and swivels around, momentarily confused.) Litterbot: Error... error... Yuma: Thanks for the lift! Bronk: Yuma! (Yuma's friend jumps overhead on a skateboard and hits the ground riding ahead.) Yuma: Hey, Bronk! Bronk: D'you wanna race to class? (Bronk is taller and wider than Yuma, with a plump, round face and nose. The edges of Bronk's sleeves and his tie are red, just like Yuma's, and he wears them with a pair of bronze-studded suspenders; he keeps his long, thick spikes of black hair restrained under a red cap, except for a single, olive-green lock of it that sticks up straight out of the center of the hat. He gives Yuma a challenging glare; this is a rivalry!) Yuma: Lemme chew on that. (To Bronk's surprise, Yuma pops the last of his breakfast into his mouth, never breaking stride. Then, once he's swallowed, he picks up the pace and pulls ahead of Bronk.) Yuma: Yeah, okay! (The two take off, Yuma running and Bronk on his board.) Yuma and Bronk: Yeah!! (They race down a set of wide steps; Bronk takes the ramp formed by a handrail, leaving Yuma to take the steps.) Yuma: I'm gainin' on ya! Woohoo! (Bronk's lead gets wider and wider as they go down the stairs. Then Bronk has a moment of concern, then has a great idea; there's another litterbot at the bottom of the stairs. As he leaps off the stair rail and keeps riding, he gives the litterbot a great big kick, sending it spinning into Yuma's path.) Bronk: Gain on *this*!! <3:00> Litterbot: Malfunction...! (Yuma crashes headlong into the hapless litterbot, and his cards scatter everywhere. Visible are Wonder Wand, Ganbara Knight, Double or Nothing!, and Gagaga Magician, Zubaba Knight, and Monster Reborn. He lands on his face in a pile of trash and scrambled cards. Bronk rides away laughing.) Bronk: Heheheheheh! See yuh! Yuma: Aw... *Bronk*! (Yuma has bigger problems, though; several litterbots are zeroing in on his scattered cards!) Litterbot: Trash identified... trash identified... Litterbot: Trash identified, trash identified... Yuma: Hey, that's not trash! Cut it out! (He grabs cards out of trash-grabbing claws and from the ground.) Litterbot: Not trash? (Yuma swipes another handful of cards from another litterbot.) Yuma: No, it's *not*! It's my *deck*! Litterbot: Your deck? Yuma: Yeah, for *dueling*! Litterbot: Dueling trash... dueling trash, dueling trash... Yuma: Rrrrgh... listen, you tin twits, they're *not trash*!!

(Overhead, a monorail passes by. Inside, by one of the windows, stands Yuma's friend Tori and a friend of hers with short red hair. Her friend is the first to notice, surprising Tori out of a worried reverie.) - Check it *out*, Tori. Tori: Huh? (Tori's coral-pink eyes match the ribbon in her two-toned green hair. The two girls' school uniform is a tidy pink and white top with pink skirt.) - Yuma should really get some new cards. Tori: How come? - Looks like those litterbots think they're *garbage*! Tori: Ha...! Yeah... (From her tone, Tori's not very surprised to see Yuma in such a situation.)

(Up ahead is their school, another sample of the curvy, fun architecture of this city. At its center, taking up most of the campus, is a circular blue wall, slanted outward like the sides of a bowl. It might even be thick enough to have interior corridors. Inside, several platforms, grassy verges, and walkways, as well as paths on the ground, vary the landscape, and the walls' shadows provide both sun and shade; an ideal place to hang out or stage school events. Several other buildings of varying shapes cluster around the outside; the sheen of their roofs suggest possible solar panels. Many have walkways leading from their second stories or rooftops into the center bowl.) Voice on PA: Second-period gym will now begin. All students, please report to the field house.

Bronk: Twenty! (That's the number on the side of the bottom-most plastic vault box, and the other nineteen are also about a foot tall apiece, reaching toward the ceiling of the gym. The assembled students are all in P.E. uniforms. Bronk slaps the side, proposing the challenge.) Bronk: Jump over *this* many vault boxes and you'll set the new school record! (Yuma's game. Tori watches him with concern.) Yuma: That record's goin' down-- 'cause I'm about to high-five the sky!!! (Yuma runs at the boxes, vaults off a springboard, yelling-- and he crashes straight into the tower. The vault boxes fly everywhere.) Tori: Ugh... you okay, Yuma? Yuma: Yeah... <4:00> (Yuma pretty much hit the ground on his face, and his head is covered with swelling bumps; his eyes are spirals. Bronk leads the rest of the gym in a hearty laugh.) Yuma: Ground's not *that* hard... Bronk: Nice try, bud!

(Yuma dives into the swimming pool, holding his breath. Tori and Bronk watch from the other end of the pool; Bronk even wears those suspenders with his swim trunks. All the girls are in pink and white swimsuits, all the guys in dark blue swim trunks.) Tori: Go, Yuma! Bronk: Ha! There's no *way* he'll do it! (Underwater...) Yuma (think): Hold my breath for a lap? (aloud) No probl-- aaggh! (He opened his mouth underwater to talk, and belatedly realizes the mistake.) Tori: Yuma...! (Bronk and the rest of the class have another good laugh as Yuma floats to the surface, spitting out pool water.)

(The next class is a lecture. Students sit two-by-two at interestingly-shaped desks hunched over tiny holographic laptops, while the teacher at the front of the class waves her pointer toward the holographic panels behind her and her desk.) Teacher: So as this example clearly shows, a sentence has a noun and a predicate. (Somewhere near the back of the class, Tori and Yuma share a desk. The teacher drones on in the background.) Tori: So... why do you *do* it, Yuma? Teacher: Pronoun comes first... then verb... (Yuma sits up from leaning his head on his desk. His hair is a mess, and he still has a band-aid on his forehead; he's been through the mill.) Yuma: Those dares? Why not? It's good fun! (Tori sighs.) Teacher: Ooh, I forgot... Tori: It's fun to turn green coughing up pool water? Yuma: *No*, but that's the price you pay. If you're gonna be great ya gotta take chances-- so I take lots! (Yuma is gazing hopefully off into space; he doesn't see Tori watching him with a misty smile.) Yuma: Because I wanna be the greatest, Tori. Teacher: Never *mind*, just read at your desks. (Yuma grips the gold pendant hanging around his neck; it glints at his touch.) Yuma: And with this golden key, one day I *will* be.

(Flashback. In Yuma's loft under the window and hammock, a framed picture leans against the big inlaid chest.) Tori (VO): That's the key your parents gave you, right? That they found on one of their expeditions? (The picture frame is stained glass bordered with gold, and the picture is a snapshot of a man and a woman in adventurers' khakis, with jungle and a distant mountain at their backs. The blonde woman holds up Yuma's golden key.) Yuma (VO): Yep, and you know what it unlocks? (End Flashback.)

Yuma: *Potential.* Isn't that cool? (She curiously leans over.) Tori: Really? Think it could work on *me*? <5:00> Yuma: Nope! (Yuma closes his fist around the key and Tori falls over onto the table.) Tori: Ugh... *why*? Yuma: 'Cause this key's *part of me*. With it I'm good to go! Hmhm! (He stands from the table in a burst of exuberance and shouts out--) Yuma: With it I feel the flow!!! (The teacher is standing right next to their desk. She clears her throat pointedly.) Yuma: Euh, sorry... Tori: Ohh...

Yuma: And I feel the flow most... (Yuma runs down the hallway.)

(A hand draws a card from a wrist slot...) Yuma (VO): During duel period! (A duelist summons Crusader of Endymion in face-up defense mode to go with Grenosaurus. Yuma and Tori run into the dueling area; students of all ages and uniforms are in dueling stances or standing around chatting or watching.) - My draw! Yuma: All right-- let's get to it! (Yuma throws an object into the air, and it unfolds; it's a tinted green eyepiece and headset.) Yuma: Duel gazer, set! (Yuma puts it on; laughing with excitement; it glints dramatically in the light. With his duel gazer on, Yuma sees the whole area differently; it lights up with scrolling green numbers and labels, flickering until it fully activates and returns to an image of the surrounding area; it looks like Yuma's just wearing a tinted lens with green text labels, until a big, red dragon-fish monster with wings appears out of thin air and demolishes the top of a nearby tower, soaring into the arena by crashing straight through an aerial highway. With its fish face and big, nasty teeth, it swoops down on Yuma and Tori, who cower, before turning away. They're lucky they jumped out of the way, because another monster crashes through the wall where they'd been standing, with a bolt of lightning as its lance. Yuma keeps his head down a moment more, before straightening up. They've just entered a new and fantastical world, and it's one he likes.) Yuma: Haha. (Ahead of them, the formerly quiet area stretches out as a battlefield, with duels, spectators, and fantastical monsters in full view.) Yuma: What're we waiting for, Tori? Let's get to it. Let's get dueling!

ACT 2 <5:54>

(A girl's monster gets destroyed in a shiny light show of purple, and a boy summons little dark purple bat-winged creature, TZX001_id1. Yuma and Tori walk past more duels with assorted monsters, TZX001_id2.) <6:00> Yuma: Now, who to duel today? Tori: You mean, 'who to *lose to* today'. (Yuma stops short.) Yuma: What's *that* supposed to mean? I mean, yeah, sure, I've lost twenty straight-- so what?! Tori (points): Yuma-- look! (At the top of a nearby staircase, a duel is in progress. A video screen pops up showing the face of the duelist with his back to the stairs.) Yuma: It's Bronk! (As Yuma and Tori reach the top of the stairs, Bronk recoils from the duel, breathing heavily; this duel does not look good for him.) Tori: Oh no! And look who he's dueling. Yuma: Huh? (Bronk’s opponent wears a duel gazer in a shade of deep fierce red, under bright fuchsia hair with a dash of light blue. The edges of his shirtsleeves are green and his tie is blue, instead of Yuma and Bronk's red shades.) Yuma: It's *Shark*...! Shark: I've got you *now* Bronk. See, since I've got two monsters on the field and they both have the same level, I can use them to summon an Xyz monster! ('Xyz' is pronounced 'ek-SEEZ'. Shark's two monsters, both level three, are a gigantic shark, and a metal skull with sinister, plated tentacles.) Shark: So watch as I overlay my Skull Kraken and Big Jaws to do *just that*! (The two monsters turn into angular bolts of light, one light blue the other dark blue, and arc into the sky. The center of the field explodes with a burst of red light that spreads in concentric waves. The two bolts race into it.) Shark: Watch as I unleash a terror of both land *and* sea! Watch-- as I summon-- Aero Shark! (From the center of the field where the light was, a new monster bursts from the ground.) [Submersible Carrier Aero Shark 1900/1000/R3/water] Bronk: Aaahhh! (Aero Shark is a pair of sharks yoked together with a flying contraption. Holographic debris rains down and shatters near Yuma and Tori.) Tori: Now *that's* a man-eater. Yuma: Wow! You know why an Xyz summon is so cool, Tori? <7:00> 'Cause the monsters used stick around as overlay units and help activate their new buddy's special powers! It's all about *teamwork*! (Aero Shark's two overlay monsters are represented as little sparkles that rotate around it. Yuma gazes up at it hopefully.) Yuma: I betcha those litterbots wouldn't call my cards trash... if I had an *Xyz* monster...! Shark: Now, Aero Shark, dig in on that *chump*! (Aero Shark swoops down on Bronk and slams him to the ground, knocking his duel gazer off. Bronk's lifepoints fall from 800 to 0; Shark's still sit at a perfect 4000. Shark has won. The virtual world created for the duel dissipates in a rain of green numbers, and the crater through the ground created by Aero Shark's arrival evaporates as though it never was. The day is looking closer to sunset than when they put their gazers on.) Yuma (mutters): Oh man, Bronk! (Shark ambles over to where Bronk is still trying to get up off the ground; his smile is unsavory.) Bronk: Ugghh-uughhh... hgghh... Shark: Thanks for the duel; and for *this*! (Shark picks up a deck of duel cards.) Yuma: Bronk's deck...! (shouts) Not so fast!! (Shark is unamused at the interruption. Tori hurries to Bronk's side, and Yuma makes a stand between Bronk and Shark.) Shark: Who're *you*? Yuma: My name is Yuma. And I'm Bronk's good friend. (Shark's buddies have also come to back him up; both wear green-tipped shirts like Shark's. One has a cloud of curly hair in charcoal-black and gold, and the other has a spiky style in shades of brown and orange. The former speaks first.) - Buzz off! Or don'tcha know who you're messin' with? Yuma: Sure; I know him. Everyone knows the *school bully*. (Shark's dark blue eyes are calculating.) Shark: Hmhmhm. I'm no bully. You see, Bronk and I-- we had an *arrangement*. (Bronk has finally managed to get to his feet.) Shark: It went like this; whoever won, got the other's duel deck. Yuma (to Bronk): Is that *true*? <8:00> (Bronk has turned his face away from the conversation, ashamed.) Bronk: It is... But I *had* to do it! He *challenged* me! He called me a *big chicken*! (Yuma groans and faces Shark again.) Yuma: Fine, then-- if you're gonna challenge my friend, then I'm gonna challenge *you*! (Curly hair, then spiky hair.) - *What*? You're outta your mind, you're not even *close* to being in the same league as Shark! - Nah, you're not even in the same *sport*! Yuma: So is that a *no*? I guess that means *you're* just a big chicken! (He's got Shark's attention.) Shark: *Chicken*? (Shark takes a step forward, and Yuma nearly steps back.) Shark: You know what happened to the last person that called me chicken? Yuma: Something... uh... *bad*? Shark (yells in his face): I don't know, because it's never, *ever* happened before!! Yuma: Oh... well, then, let *this be the first*! (Shark is condescendingly impressed by this upstart, but nowhere near afraid.) Shark: Big *talk*. (He holds out Bronk's deck toward Yuma.) Shark: All right, Yuma, say that we *did* duel. You want Bronk's deck back, but what's in it for *me*? (Yuma nervously looks down.) Yuma: Mph... good question... hadn't thought of that... (The glint of Yuma's golden key catches Shark's eye.) Shark: Mmm! (Shark grabs the key from around Yuma's neck, snapping the cord. Shark's cronies rush in and restrain Yuma's arms.) Yuma: Hey! That's *mine*! Shark: *My*. This *certainly* seems important to you, now *doesn't* it? Yuma: *Give it*!! Shark: Settle down. <9:00> Since it means *that* much to you, I'll give it *back*. (Yuma's surprised by that answer, but Shark doesn't sound anything approaching contrite.) Shark: And duel ya for it-- whoo-oops. (He just 'accidentally' dropped the key on the ground.) Shark: I *dropped* it; hope nothin' *bad* happens to it down there. Say, like *this*!!! (Shark stomps; Bronk and Tori gasp. The key shatters under Shark's shoe, broken in half. Yuma is distraught. When the cronies let him go he falls to his knees over the broken key, picking up the piece still attached to the cord. His distress turns to fury at Shark.) Yuma: Why did you do that?! Shark: Th' same reason I'm doin' *this*. Guess you're right after all-- (Shark reveals the snapped-off end of the key that was still under his shoe, and kicks it off the platform they're standing on and into the bushes below.) Shark: I *am* a bully! (Yuma turns from watching the key disappear, back to Shark, even angrier. Shark still holds Bronk's deck.) Shark: And since we can't duel for *that* anymore, you don't get *this*. (Yuma lunges for Shark, but Bronk grabs him around the waist with both arms.) Yuma: That's it, you're *toast*! Bronk: Stop it! Shark: You don't give up, do ya. (As Shark speaks, Yuma tries to fight Bronk's restraining hold.) Shark: All right, if you still wanna duel me, guess we could figure *some* sort of arrangement out. If you *beat me*, I'll give back this deck. But if *I* win, Yuma-- I get *your* deck! (Yuma's rage fades to worry; that's a big wager. Shark turns and strides away with his cronies, calling over his shoulder. Bronk lets go of Yuma, and the three of them watch Shark leave silently.) Shark: This Sunday. At the station courtyard. If you want Bronk's cards back, *be there*!

(Another dream finds Yuma back at the stone, chained, dragon-faced threshold, with the keyhole in its lip. Yuma is daunted by the gate, which towers to at least five times his height, and is silhouetted by the bright light shining from behind it. The door repeats its challenge.) Deep voice: Whoever can open this door, <10:00> will gain a great new power. But know, that with such a reward, comes great risk. (Yuma stares at it, hiding fear.) Deep voice: Have you the courage to unlock this power?

(Yuma sits up in his hammock in the middle of the night, gasping; the window is blue with moonlight. He still hears the voice's echo.) Echo voice (VO): ...Have you the courage... (Yuma looks at the broken key pendant that hangs around his neck. Outside, high above, the full moon casts a halo around itself in the still night air.) Yuma: I don't even know if I have the *key* to unlock it anymore...!

(Morning at school, in vaulting. A girl vaults over a tower of six vault boxes, as other girls gather to take their turns; the boys wait off to the side. Yuma sits alone and disconsolate on the floor, when Tori runs up to him.) Tori: Hey, Yuma-- you gonna try and leap those *twenty blocks* again? (He holds the snapped-off key in one palm, then closes it and holds it to his chest; without it, his confidence has been ruined.) Yuma: Not today. (Tori is unnerved and saddened.) Tori: Oh...

(Swimming. A boy calls out to Yuma from in the water, while he sits on shore dipping a foot.) - Yuma! Wanna try that underwater lap again? Yuma: Not really... (And Yuma gets splashed in the face with water; Tori has shown up again.) Tori: Hey-- what's *wrong* with you today? Yuma: I dunno, Tori. I... I guess that I'm just not feeling the flow. (Pool water drips from the broken key around his neck.) Yuma: Ever since Shark broke my key... (Behind them, Bronk has approached, overhearing the conversation.) Yuma: ...Things just haven't been the same. Tori: Yeah... (Bronk turns and walks away.)

(Sunset softens on the faces of the city's myriad geometric buildings, and sparkles on the placid river beside which Yuma and Tori are walking on a park path.) Bronk: Yuma! <11:00> Tori: Huh? (Bronk shreds to a halt on his board, his manner urgent.) Yuma: What's up? Bronk: Yuma-- this duel with Shark. Are you *doin'* it? Yuma: Well... uh... Bronk: *Don't go*. Yuma: Huh? Bronk: You can't win, Yuma. Yuma: Whadda you mean by that?! Bronk: I *mean*, Shark made it all the way to the Duel Nationals last year! ...Look. Thanks for tryin' and all... But I'm over this. Really. (The fluorescent street lights along the path light up one by one.) Yuma: But it's not just about you now. Bronk: Huh? Yuma: It's about doing what's *right*. Shark's gotta learn, he can't push people around like this. And I'm gonna be the one to *teach 'im*. *So what* if he made it to the Nationals-- one day *I'm* gonna make it there, too!! (Tori smiles, then nearly laughs; Yuma's back!) Bronk: Uh... *whatever*. Here. (He fishes something out of his pocket and tosses it to Yuma; it's the other half of the broken key! Yuma catches it.) Yuma: Huh? Whoa-- how did you *find* this? Bronk: *Duh*-- (He rides away, calling back.) Bronk: I went *lookin'* for it! Later! (Yuma grasps the other half of the key, a new resolve showing in his eyes.)

(Yuma sits at the low table under his hammock, in his pajamas, working on his deck.) <12:00> Yuma (sigh): Maybe those litterbots were right, and my cards *are* trash. (He looks at the two halves of the broken key, sitting on the table before the photograph of his parents.) Yuma: No-- this was my *dad's* deck. And I know he gave it to me for a reason!

(Another morning; grandma is sweeping the front walk again with her broom.) Yuma: 'Bye, grandma! (Yuma runs past.) Grandma: Wait... (Yuma backs up, running in place, looking anxious.) Yuma: Oh, right, your kiss... Grandma: No... (She tosses him a small paper-wrapped bundle.) Yuma: What's this? Grandma: Duel fuel. Now go take down that bully!

(In the middle of the city, a blimp floats by overhead with holographic screens on either side of it. All in all, it's a quiet day in the city. The station is a building with large, teal windows shaped a bit like bubbles. Walkways and what might be escalators protected by red tubes empty into its vast front plaza, which is yellow stone tidily decorated with four panels of grass that form a dotted circle. A monorail enters the station. Out front, among the passersby, two groups are meeting.) Shark: I can't *believe* it. You actually *showed*. (Out of school uniform, Shark's street clothes are as purple as his hair; he wears a sharp purple blazer over a darker maroon shirt. His cronies, still quite recognizable by their hair, are also in street clothes.) Shark: Hope you said your goodbyes, 'cause all your cards are about to be *mine*. (Yuma isn't intimidated; his street clothes include a bright red vest with big buckle straps open over a blue and green shirt and a couple different armbands. Bronk and Tori stand to either side of him, wearing expressions of resolve, Bronk in a colorful orange T-shirt and his ubiquitous suspenders, and Tori in a white and yellow shirt with pink skirt.) Yuma: Sorry, but the only think *you're* gonna be getting, is a good old-fashioned butt-kicking! Shark: And why's that? Yuma: 'Cause I'm feelin'... the flow! (With that, Yuma throws into the air a rectangular gadget with a red frame that looks like a screen or tablet; it unfolds and refolds itself into a differently-shaped screen, then reattaches to the deck holder and folded-up card slots already attached to Yuma's wrist.) Yuma: Duel disk, go!! (The card slots fold out, and the deck holder has shifted to the outside of Yuma's wrist to accommodate the screen where older models of duel disks would have their lifepoint counters. Yuma's duel gazer is sparkling with energy as he starts it up. It flashes bright green.) Yuma: Duel gazer, let's roll. <13:00> (The cityscape around them is streaming green numbers in gazer vision, sprouting labels, and defining the contours of the surrounding environment. As the holographic system washes across the landscape, everything lights up in slightly different shades. A random bystander in the middle of the duel field vanishes out of the way. Shark is activating his gazer as well, as are the spectators.) Computer: Augmented reality vision link established. (Both duelists have drawn five cards.) Yuma and Shark: Let's duel!! (Big screens appear above the duelists in gazer-vision, showing each's face, and his lifepoint counter at 4000.)

Tori: Yeah, Yuma! Win this!

Yuma (draw): Get set to get decked! Yah! (Yuma sees Shark standing across the field, and holographic screens along its sides show the face of each spectator. Yuma's cards spread out in front of him in holographic format-- Ganbara Knight, Bye Bye Damage, Wonder Wand, Gagaga Magician, Goblin Out of the Frying Pan, and Zubaba Knight.) Yuma: I summon Zubaba Knight! (Sparkles drift off the card as Yuma waves it through the air and slaps it down.) Yuma: You're goin' down, Shark! (Yuma's monster appears, triumphantly growling its own name. It's a warrior with flashy serrated knives and gold armor.) [Zubaba Knight 1600/900/L3/earth] Zubaba Knight: Zubaba *Knight*!

ACT 3 <13:36>

Yuma: I summon Zubaba Knight! (Sparkles drift off the card as Yuma waves it through the air and slaps it down. Yuma's monster appears, triumphantly growling its own name. It's a warrior with flashy serrated knives and gold armor.) [Zubaba Knight 1600/900/L3/earth] Zubaba Knight: Zubaba *Knight*! Yuma: 'Course since I went first, I'm not allowed to attack *this* turn. So go ahead-- your move! Shark: Hmhm! Got *that* right! And *with* it, I intend to *crown* that Knight! It's my draw! Hah! <14:00> (Shark adds the card he drew to his hand, and we glimpse his cards. Skull Kraken, Big Jaws, Aqua Jet, Zeus' Breath, Jaws Man, and Salvage.) Shark: I summon forth Big Jaws! [Big Jaws 1800/300/L3/water] Yuma: Man! Eighteen hundred attack points! Shark: That's right. And since Zubaba Knight is just sixteen hundred, you're in *deep water*! After all, when two monsters fight, the one with the least attack points is destroyed, and its owner takes the difference as damage! (Screens of their faces appear as they talk across the field.) Yuma (via screen): Aw, great, so that means I'm losing two hundred lifepoints! Shark (via screen): Next time, play your weak monster in *defense* mode. (not on screen) Although-- it really wouldn't've mattered this time. 'Cause a' *this*! The spell card, "Aqua Jet"! Now until the end of this turn, my Big Jaws gains one thousand attack points! (Impressive turbines attach to either of Big Jaws' flanks. Its attack points increase to 2800.)

(Shark's cronies speak up. Can't tell which is which here.) - There it is! - Yep, Shark's super spell combo!

Shark: Now, Big Jaws, it's-- feeding time! Attack! (Big Jaws' new propellers fling it high into the air, and it dives down on Yuma's field with jaws wide open-- then dives straight into the ground underneath. Yuma and his friends stumble as the ground shakes; <15:00> a big, sharp fin is slicing through the paved sidewalk straight for them! Big Jaws erupts from the pavement; Zubaba Knight runs forward to challenge it.) Zubaba Knight: Zubaba power...! (To no avail. Big Jaws clamps those jaws around Zubaba Knight's arm, snapping off armor on contact; Zubaba Knight shatters. Yuma's lifepoints decrease to 2800.) Yuma: Hah! My lifepoints! Shark: Next I'll place a facedown card, and end my turn. (Play shifts back to Yuma; the board display shows Turn 2, Shark lifepoints 4000 / Yuma lifepoints 2800, Shark hand 3 / Yuma hand 5, and Shark has Big Jaws, Aqua Jet, and a facedown card on the field, to Yuma's empty field.) Yuma: Nuts...! We just started, and I'm already down in a big way! I gotta even the score. I summon out, Gagaga Magician! (Gagaga Magician is a sorcerer masked, robed, and armored in shades of orange, brown, and black. He wears and wields thick iron chains, and glares across the field over his black facemask.) [Gagaga Magician 1500//L4/] Shark: You're summoning him in attack mode, with just fifteen hundred attack points?! (laughing) You just don't listen, do ya! Yuma: Oh, I sure *do*! (Shark stops laughing.) Yuma: Hyah! That's why I'm equipping Gagaga with *this*-- "Wonder Wand"! (Wonder Wand is a magician's staff capped with a green sphere and bearing a carved, dignified face. In Gagaga Magician's hand, it raises Gagaga's attack points to 2000.) Yuma: Now my Magician gains five *hundred* attack points! You said play weak monsters in defense mode-- well, he's no *weak monster*!

Tori: Hey, all right! Now Gagaga's stronger than Big Jaws!

Yuma: Now go, mighty magician! <16:00> Reel in that *fish*! Shark: How 'bout *you* try an' *get* real. I play my *facedown*! (The facedown trap card Shark set on the field earlier now flips.) Yuma: Your facedown...? Shark: That's right-- "Zeus' Breath"! (Shark's trap manifests in the form of a mighty, god-like figure with glowing red eyes; with a wave of his staff, a fierce, wet wind begins to blow, growing to a storm.) Shark: And I have a feeling it's gonna *sting* for you because with this trap, I can put a stop to your monster's attack! (Gagaga gets a faceful of water, and Yuma's next, getting chased down and swamped by a wave.) Yuma: Wha--! Wha-a-a-a-a-! Shark: *And* there's more! If I have a water monster on my field, you also take eight hundred points of damage! And there *is* a water monster on my field. So-- prepare to be soaked, with a serious splash of *damage*! Yuma: Aa-aa-aaahhh...! (A lightning bolt crashes among the waves, and zaps Yuma, spinning him out of the whirlpool to bounce across the hard ground; his lifepoints now read 2000. The massive waves created by the card effect shatter in a spray of gold mist, as though never there. Yuma's still recovering from getting spat out of a holographic typhoon.) Yuma: Ohh, boy... (Then he gets an idea.) Yuma: Wait-- *I* got it. (jumps to his feet) Yeah! If *you* can play trap cards, so can I! So that's what I'll do!

Bronk: *Yuma!* You can play two types of facedowns, spells *and* traps-- <17:00> never say which it *is*! Tori: Ohh! Get it together!!

(Yuma grins sheepishly over his shoulder. Shark appears on his big screen right in front of him, startling him back to the duel.) Shark: Trap card, huh? Big *deal*-- it's my draw! And first I summon Skull Kraken! (As before, Shark pronounces 'Kraken' as 'KRAH-ken'. The metallic, bony, plated skull with tentacles crashes through the ground and rises to the field, much too close with those tentacles for comfort.) [Skull Kraken 600//L3/] Yuma: Six hundred attack points. All right-- no prob! Gagaga Magician is still the strongest monster on the field. (True; Gagaga has 2000 atk right now, compared to Big Jaws' 1800 and Skull Kraken's 600.) Shark: Not for *long*, he's not. I activate Skull Kraken's special ability! With it, I can destroy one faceup spell or trap card on your field! (Skull Kraken inverts itself, and the other mouth in the top of its head pours out ominous black crackling fog.) Shark: Such as that *Wonder Wand*, for example! (The Wonder Wand sparks, then evaporates in Gagaga's grip, leaving him without its power boost. The Magician's attack points decrease back to 1500, which is looking small compared to Big Jaws' 1800.) Yuma: Oh no! Shark: Oh, *yes*. Now Gagaga Magician is back at the *bottom of the food chain*!

Bronk: Not good! Tori: Why?

(Flashback. Shark's two monsters, both level three, are a gigantic shark, and a metal skull with sinister, plated tentacles. The two monsters turn into angular bolts of light, one light blue the other dark blue, and arc into the sky. The center of the field explodes with a burst of red light that spreads in concentric waves.) Bronk (VO): Shark's got *two* monsters out *now*-- the same ones he had right before he beat *me*! (From the center of the field where the light was, Aero Shark bursts from the ground. End Flashback.)

Bronk: He must be plannin' an Xyz summon! And if he gets it off-- there's no *way* Yuma will win this. <18:00> (Tori watches the duel, worried.) Tori: Yuma...

Shark: You fool! Did you really think you could *beat* me, the best a' the best, and win Bronk's deck back?! Yuma (think): Yeah; I kinda *did*. Guess I was wrong. I *thought* I was feelin' the flow, but maybe *not*. (Yuma grips the broken key around his neck.) Shark: Face it, Yuma-- I stomped your little key to pieces, and now, I'm gonna stomp *you*!!

ACT 4 <18:20>

Shark: That's right, Yuma-- this duel is over!! And when I win your *duel deck*, I'm gonna trash it just like I trashed your key! (Yuma is gripping his broken key tightly.) Shark: *Then* maybe you'll learn your lesson-- don't pick fights ya can't win! (*That* rallies Yuma's courage.) Yuma: That's where you're wrong, Shark! I'll *never* learn that lesson!

(Flashback. Yuma collides with a litterbot and goes flying.) Yuma (VO): No matter how many times I fall... (Yuma tries to vault twenty boxes and ends up slamming into the gym floor facefirst while everyone else laughs.) Yuma (VO): No matter how many times I get laughed at... (Yuma belatedly realizes that he just opened his mouth underwater.) Yuma (VO): I'll keep trying to high-five the sky... (End Flashback.)

Yuma: 'Cause when you're feelin' the flow, there's *no* goin' back! And *speaking* of feeling the flow, I so-- *am*!! (With that, he snaps the key and its cord off his neck-- and it starts to shine bright gold. He wasn't expecting that!) Yuma: Huh?!

(On Yuma's shelf at home, the other half of the snapped key lights up as well...) <19:00>

(Yuma winces from the light. When it fades slightly, Yuma sees the other half of the broken key in his hand materialize onto it, as though never broken. He stares at the whole key in his hand, stunned, then realizes that he again stands at the monstrous threshold from his dreams, being glared at by the draconic door.) Yuma: Whoa...! It's my dream. Deep voice: This is no dream. Have you the courage to unlock this power? (Yuma's eyes shine with awe and apprehension.) Echo voice: ...New power... Deep voice: It is time to decide, Yuma. Echo voice: Have you the courage...? Deep voice: What will it be? (Yuma grips the key, a new resolve showing in his eyes.) Echo voice: He *has* the courage... (With a yell, Yuma runs at the locked door across the craggy walkway, key in hand.) Yuma: Yaaaaaaahhh! (He uses the momentum to jump up to the keyhole; it's big enough to fit his whole fist.) Yuma: All right!! Let's *flow*!! (When he plunges the key and his fist behind it into the keyhole, it begins to stream blueish light. Yuma is thrown backward onto the ground. The chains around the door snap apart, and it begins to open, the way beyond full of blueish light, and beyond it rainbowy light centering into pure white. Within one of Yuma's wide brown eyes swoops a glowing, blue-green figure...)

(Yuma winces, and opens his eyes to find himself sitting in a sphere of cards, rotating around him; beyond it is a black void.) Yuma (think): What was *that*...? Huh? And what's all *this*! (The sphere of cards glows then shatters, whipping cards off in all directions. The whole world shines brightly...)

(And Yuma finds himself sitting on the yellow pavement again, as though nothing happened.) Yuma: Whoa-- that was weird! Ah...! *Hey*... <20:00> (He looks at the golden key, still sitting in his hand and now good as new.) Yuma: My key... It's totally fixed. Shark: Ugh...! (Across the field, Shark is hunched over, glowing with ominous red-purple light.) Shark: Yes, and *you*-- are *in* a fix! Ah- aaaaaaahhhhh!!! (Despite his words, it looks like Shark's the one in some trouble. With that last, he straightened up, yelling to the sky. He stares straight upward, eyes wide and beginning to glow bright fuchsia. He hears a dark, whispery voice.) Voice: Yes, Shark... let the Number take hold...! Shark: Yaaaaahhhhh!! (Streams of reddish light are pouring off of Shark like visible fumes. His two monsters start glowing for an Xyz summon.) Shark: I overlay level three-- Big Jaws and Kraken! (Around the duel, the air is turning spooky shades of green. Bronk and Tori look around uneasily. A dazzling multicolored spiral of sparkles appears on the field, like a spiral galaxy, uncontrolled bursts of energy sparking out of it around the duelists.) Shark: Now I can build the Overlay Network! (The sparkles explode.) Shark: Now-- Number Seventeen, Leviathan Dragon!! (The number 17 glows in yellow against darkness.) Shark: Be born!! (It's big, it's scary, it's glowing purple. It's not very dragon-shaped at first, with one massive head containing one glowing red eye, plus either very thick hairs or very large claws hanging off the sides. Then we find it was curled up around itself. Its shingled scales ripple, and it unfolds one clawed, blue-filmed wing, then its draconic head with glowing red eyes and a number 17 along its side. Yes, it is a dragon, and a big scary one with six wings total.) [Number 17: Leviathan Dragon 2000/0/R3/water] Yuma: What is that?!

Bronk: I've never seen this monster before in my life! Tori: Yeah. <21:00> Same here.

(With its glistening purple scales, sharp claws, and the light show of its two overlay units, Leviathan Dragon is very impressive.) Bronk (VO): And what's with the whole 'Number' thing? Shark: Now by removing one a' my overlay units like my Skull Kraken, I can power up Leviathan Dragon by five hundred attack points! Yuma: What? (Shark discards Skull Kraken; Leviathan Dragon catches and eats one of its overlay lights.) Shark: Leviathan Dragon, attack with *Shock Stream Blast*!!! (Leviathan Dragon's new attack point total is 2500, and it puts them into a radiant blast of blue and purple fire, crackling against Gagaga Magician and destroying it, before sending Yuma flying head over heels backward, to crash hard into the ground. He has only 1000 lifepoints left.)

Tori: Yuma!

Shark: This duel's *just about done*! One more attack and you're through! (Yuma is lying in a crater a couple inches deep that he just smashed in the pavement.) Yuma: Ugh... that's... *some* dragon. So much for a comeback. (Then, a bright yellow eye in a glowing blue-green face.) Astral: Rise! (Yuma rolls over, turning toward the sound of the command.) Yuma: Huh? Ohh! (Standing over him is the glowing blue-greenish figure that appeared when he opened the door; he's tall, thin, and humanoid, slightly alien in appearance, with markings across his chest and pendants hanging from his pointed ears. He regards the situation dispassionately, arms folded, through yellow eyes. He doesn't look Yuma's way, but repeats the instruction.) Astral: Rise up. (Yuma sits there on the ground in awe at the strange creature before him.) Yuma: Ohh...! Who- who're *you*? (To Be Continued...)

END <21:56>