YU-GI-OH THE GAMES WE PLAY STUDIO LOGOS A school bell rings. Melancholy music. FADE IN: EXT. DOMINO CITY HIGH-DAY Lunch break. Students mill around the quad or stride down the steps to enjoy a few minutes of freedom. Some have congregated behind the gym. They’re excited for something. Bloodthirsty, even. TRISTAN(V.O) Hey man! You in? -JOEY WHEELER and TRISTAN WHATEVER THE FUCK stand at the back of the mob, observing whatever’s going on between the two students sitting in the rough circle. Tristan’s an affable dudebro, Joey looks like he can handle himself and has had to far too much in his young life. Also melancholy,pensive. JOEY Nah. Not feelin’ it. Real world stuff, y’know? INT. HOSPITAL ROOM-DAY MONTAGE: -SERENITY WHEELER, Joey’s younger sister. Her eyes are heavily bandaged. Joey sits on the edge of her hospital bed, dealing cards into her lap. Both laughing. Glad to have each other. -On the cards: strewn across the sheets and hard to make out but beautiful paintings of...creatures. TRISTAN(V.O) (gently) How’s your sister? -Joey guides Serenity’s hand to pick one of the cards. She flips it around for him to see. Something Disney adorable JOEY Holy crap, lookit Obelisk the Tormentor up in here! SERENITY (not buying but content) Liar. Gimme another one. 2. -Joey talking to someone on his cell, retrieved from his jacket slung on the back of a chair across the room. He turns mid-conversation to see something that makes his eyes bug with horror: -Serenity feeling around for the cards, trying to keep the game going. But she feels for one a little too far away and yanks the I.V out of her hand. Joey’s there instantly, cradling her but too late: pain, panic and tears. BACK TO: EXT. DOMINO CITY HIGH-DAY MONTAGE: -On Joey’s face. Emotionless. Either too good at holding itin or too empty and used up to show anything. JOEY We’re cool. CUE ADVENTUROUS MUSIC -The #teens in the circle slap down the same brand of cards. But with a flicker, soft toy sized holograms of the monsters on them appear, shifting between resolutions but squaring off like savage dogs! TRISTAN(V.O) Eh. Armature hour anyway. -The monsters wrestle each other! -BIFF! BAM! POW! Tiny yet ferocious. -One teen slaps down another card and his opponent's monster is snapped in a tiny bear trap, dissolving into holo-shards! -A hush falls over the crowd, students parting like the sea. Someone coming. A teacher? -Joey and Tristan take note. CUT MUSIC -It’s...YUGI MOTO. Shorter and more childlike than everyone else. Gothy and a little too open. A little too hopeful. Has some kind of pyramid like device on a lanyard around his neck. 3. YUGI HI! (beat) Yo! (beat) Can I deal...? Everyone is TERRIFIED of this dork. Music resumes. Joey notices something. Yugi’s shadow on the gym wall. Is it taller than it should be? He bumps Tristan’s shoulder with his. JOEY Who’s Edward Scissorhands over here? CUT TO: EXT. DOMINO CITY STREETS-EVENING Yugi walking down the street, seemingly not a care in the world. TRISTAN(V.O) That’s Yugi. Joey fidgets with his car door. Looks up as Yugi passes on the other side of the parking lot. They exchange a wave. EXT. DOMINO CITY HIGH-DAY Tristan leans in as close as possible. Not afraid like the others but some friendly advice. TRISTAN Don’t. Ask. EXT. DOMINO CITY STREETS-EVENING Yugi’s shadow on a wall TURNS AND LOOKS RIGHT AT JOEY. Joey just staring 4. EXT. DOMINO CITY HIGH-DAY The next day. The cafeteria. Joey cranes over some heads to see Yugi sitting with TÉA OTHER GIRL IN THE MOVIE, someone he’s close with yet also somehow still alone, and the Millennium Puzzle laid on the surface in front of a seat. Like it’s...supposed to be someone sitting with them. JOEY(V.O) (urgent whisper) So he’s, what, psychic? Is that how he always wins? Yugi laughs like the puzzle said something only he could hear. TÉA(V.O) (whisper) That’s dumb. You’re dumb. INT. MOTO FAMILY HOME Joey and Téa in the kitchen, Joey trying to have a hushed conversation with her. Téa couldn’t be less interested. JOEY (urgent whisper) Is he a vampire? Is Yugi a vampire? TÉA I’m leaving now. She pushes past him. Joey follows still trying to make his case. JOEY No, it’s just, he’s amazing but he beats Setto freakin’ Kiba? But he’s in highschool? And he’s a genius but he, he plays duel monsters? And he, I dunno, he sees things and he’s always there, y’know, and he has no friends... Téa whips around seconds from either slapping him or giving him such a verbal smackdown there’s no difference but they’re both startled by: YUGI (O.S) (simply) No. 5. He’s there in the living room doorway, holding the puzzle the way you would a pet frog. Clearly heard enough. Not mad,just sayin’. YUGI (CONT’D) I have one friend. TÉA Hey. Yugi smiles. YUGI And Téa lets me carry her books. TÉA Damn skippy. Joey mulls this over for a beat, then looks at Yugi’s shadow on the wall. Decides what the hell. Nods to it. JOEY Yo. CUE OMINOUS MYSTICAL MUSIC INSERT: In a lightning strewn void the Millennium Puzzle pieces start fitting themselves together. Emphasis on the Eye of Horus style piece. YUGI(V.O) I found it in grandpa’s attic. It’s...old. JOEY(V.O) And...when you put it together...? INSERT: A pair of familiar, noble, intense eyes snap open. The eye of Horus shimmers into existence on the brow above them. TÉA He happens INT. HOSPITAL ROOM-DAY The three sit together, a trio for all time, but Serenity is a welcome part of the group too. Pizza boxes and duel monster cards everywhere. SERENITY So you...both...help people? 6. JOEY Big time superhero, right Yug? Yugi sits up urgently, clutching the Puzzle. YUGI No! No, it, it’s not like that, okay, not ever again, I-I didn’t- SERENITY Yugi? JOEY Dude. Téa holds his hand. Steadying, purely platonic. Yugi calms some. YUGI I don’t...use him. The one time I did- FLASHCUT TO: SETTO KIBA’S FACE Screaming. Inhuman terror. Losing everything that makes him human. The eye of Horus burning itself into his forehead. YUGI(V.O) (CONT’D) (ashamed) -I knew. Never, ever again. INT. HOSPITAL-NIGHT CUE MOUNTING EVIL MUSIC MONTAGE: -MARIK and some hooded cultists drift down the halls like ghosts. -Setto Kiba in a hospital bed. Young, classically handsome billionaire but with now overgrown hair. Eyes shut. Might as well be a corpse. Merrick and the cultists rise around him like spirits from the underworld. MARIK Setto Kiba. (beat) Thought he’d be taller. Oh well. Marik presses the sinister and spiky Millennium Rod to 7. Kida’s forehead. The hospital machines go crazy and fizzle out. -Kiba’s eyes snap wide OPEN. -Still in hospital gear Kiba stalks down the halls, completely oblivious to the entourage of doctors and lawyers trying to return him to bed. His face is a man driven purely by vengeance, and it will be BIG. INT. MOTO FAMILY HOME Yugi and Téa staring at the TV. No way. Just no way. Joey looks between them and the tube, anxious but not appreciating the scale of this. INTERVIEWER(V.O) So what’s next after the return they’re already calling the modern medical miracle of the 21st century? INT. NEWS STUDIO Kiba, dressed in a black long coat, clean shaven and sharp new haircut. The world’s best dressed dead man. KIBA Well Oprah. You know what they say. He taps something on his wrist watch. BURSTS OF STATIC. CUT TO: EXT. OCEAN-DAY MONTAGE: -A futuristic dome rising out of the ocean. -The dome peeling back like an unfurling flower, beautiful streams of trickling sea water cascading off. -Strange monoliths. -Is this...is this a theme park or a city? Or both? KIBA(V.O) Battle City. Over Eighty million in over-the-edge tech. 8. -Later. Duelists from all walks of life, like the comic con, like WWF, like kung fu flicks, like super heroes, like the world’s weirdest sports movies, all on the deck of a liner, trying to be among the first to see it. The first to be there. KIBA(V.O) (CONT’D) The city of the future- -Pulled waaaay back. The boat is one of maybe hundreds. All heading straight for this anime ass Willy Wonker island. Just as many helicopters coming into shot, bringing evenmore. KIBA(V.O) (CONT’D) -for the games of the future. CUE REPETITIVE EMPHASIZING ROCK CORDS. EXT. BATTLE CITY -Crowds of duelists pouring in. Battle city open for business, displays lighting up, coming on line. Some look around in awe, others stride with purpose. KIBA(V.O) One week for the world’s biggest tournament. INTERCUT-Duelists all over the world: shuffling decks, snapping on duel disks, pulling on team clothes. KIBA(V.O) (CONT’D) Whoever’s there after the 24 hour deadline, that’s your enemy. Everyone. -Parks, sewer tunnels, rooftops: all turned into arenas. Duelist throwing down cards like madmen. KIBA(V.O) (CONT’D) All of you, climbing over each others beaten and bloodied souls. -Two holographic duel monsters, way bigger and in such high resolution they’re almost real, SLAMMING together, trying to rip each other to shreds! KIBA(V.O) (CONT’D) All for the ultimate prize: CUT TO: 9. INT. HOSPITAL-DAY Joey stares through the door’s glass partition, a deck in his hand. Heartsick but coming to a decision. He’s looking at Serenity, alone in her room. Brave but silent tears gently seeping out from under her bandages. KIBA(V.O) Whatever. You. Want. BACK TO: INT. NEWS STUDIO Close on Kiba as he stares levelly into the camera. We know who he’s really talking to. KIBA Join me, won’t you? Because if I don’t get what I want- INT. MOTO FAMILY HOME On Yugi. Intimidated, of course he’s intimidated, but game face on. Ready. He knows who Kiba’s talking to. KIBA (tv) -I’m going to come looking for it. CUT ROCK CORDS! CUT TO: EXT. SHIP-NIGHT Yugi, Joey, Téa and even Tristian out on the deck, alone. Making a pact. Solum but hopeful music. Joey holds out a hand. JOEY Whatever happens-play for each other, yeah? TRISTAN ("dude") You almost said play with, didn’t ya? 10. JOEY (ditto) I totally did! TÉA Children, focus. The friends put their hands on Joey’s but Yugi seems hesitant. YUGI For Serenity. For each other. All of us...right? He blinks...and his eyes are suddenly very ancient. Very noble. Very intense. When he speaks a different person answers. THE PHARAOH All of us. EXT. BATTLE CITY-EVENING Montage: -The dams and locks of Battle City sealing shut with loud clangs and electronic buzzes, sealing the throngs off from the outside world. -The gang wandering the streets as an all out party goes on around them. Yugi is the only one displaying a child like sense of awe. CUE RISING DANGER MUSIC -Marik and a cultist watch the crowds from a rooftop. MARIK I love a parade. Don’t you? The cultist doesn’t respond. MARIK (CONT’D) Fine. Be that way. He raises the Millennium Rod...and the sky is instantly full of thunderclouds, instant night. A thunderbolt of shadows shoots out of the Rod and into the clouds! EXT. BATTLE CITY-NIGHT? MONTAGE: 11. -Kiba in his penthouse command center, frowning as the strange lightning shoots from building to building of his city. -The party dissolves into absolute bedlam, duelists panicking, running, shadow lightning and sparks everywhere! -One duelist turns and smacks into something. They only avoid being trampled to death because the crowd behind them has frozen at the same terrible realization: The king sized Duel monsters are REAL. A chimera themed one ROARS right into the camera! Bedlam resumes! -The monsters tare the high tech wonderland of Battle City apart! -Later. The friends, joined by Duke Devlin, huddle in a loading bay, safe but only for now. Dirty face, clothes already slightly torn up. TRISTAN No stars. I mean. Like. Zero stars! On all apps! Forever! JOEY Okay, okay, what’s our play here? Yugi steps forward, the Millennium Puzzle around his neck. The Hot Damn’s Wicked Games starts up. THE PHARAOH We stop playing. INT. PENTHOUSE MAXAMILLION PEGASUS (Jeffery Irons or go home) lounges in an arm chair with a glass of wine, watching the chaos unfolding outside. PEGASUS That’s the thing, isn’t it? INSERT: Kiba Corp security guards fruitlessly try to take on the duel monsters with stun batons and AK-47s. -A hole in reality begins to open in the night sky above the ravaged Battle City. PEGASUS(V.O) (CONT’D) When you don’t know what’s coming next- 12. -Téa, a fire hose wrapped tight around her waist, holds it for dear life as she JUMPS OFF THE ROOF OF A BURNING BUILDING. PEGASUS(V.O) (CONT’D) When you’ve spent your whole life with so little- -Yugi in a bathroom, face tear streaked and alone. Until we see the Pharaoh in the mirror with him. PEGASUS(V.O) (CONT’D) -and suddenly have so very much to loose. -Camera whips around the group, back to back in a circle, pulling out any and all cards, hurling monsters, traps, anything to keep back the surrounding horde! PEGASUS(V.O) (CONT’D) That’s when you realize that life is a game. -Marik on his knees as a great, red dragon god unfolds in the air before him. PEGASUS(V.O) (CONT’D) And who knows what the rules are supposed to be. -Joey, battered and bloodied but ready, deck at the ready about to face off with Kiba as the roof around them burns... FLASHCUT TO: Back in the penthouse. Pegasus stands now, glass still in hand, watching legions of winged duel monsters streak past through the broken penthouse window. He toasts the apocalypse. PEGASUS (CONT’D) Cheers. And knocks it all the way back. EXT. BATTLE CITY-NIGHT THESE WICKED GA-A-AMES Yugi, small and alone but here and determined, strides forward, duel disk on, jacket and hair blowing in the wind as he steps into a plume of smoke- 13. THAT WE PLA-A-AY -and The Pharaoh strides out, taller, sleeker, the immovable object and the unstoppable force. THESE WICKED GAMES THAT WE PLAY FADE OUT: A giant duel card whips through the air towards us, slowed down so we can register the Title: YU-GI-OH IT’S TIME TO DUEL SUMMER 20NEVER #ITSTIME CUT TO: INT. LOADING BAY Tristan fumbles to get a duel disk strapped around his wrist and also grab up the cards he’s scattered all over the floor. Téa and Duke are desperately trying to keep the makeshift barricade over the doors together but with each BANG it’s more and more obvious it won’t hold. DUKE Pick something! TRISTAN But...not a nerd! How? Stats?! TÉA They’re all monsters and traps! Pick anything! TRISTAN But stats! TÉA LITERALLY ANYTHING! The last blow outside scatters the barricade and sends Téa and Duke flying. Tristan lets out a primal scream and slaps down a random card! 14. Téa, Duke, and the Blue Eyes White dragon head that’s forced it’s way inside all stop for a beat, dumbstruck at his choice. Reverse: It’s a small. Cute. Fuzzy. Kuriboh. It lets out a confused chittering burble. SMASH TO BLACK