[STORY] F4-Programmer (Season 1: Duelist Kingdom) : #008

Episode 8: Everything's Relative (Stolen Blue Eyes White Dragon)

From a high tower window in Pegasus's castle, a rope of tied-together sheets is thrown. A small boy, wearing a stocking cap and with a bandanna tied around his face, begins to climb down the rope. He reaches the end of the rope still a distance above the treetops. But before he can decide what to do, one of the knots in his sheet rope comes untied, and he falls through the trees, landing on the ground with a thump. He crawls out into a clearing, rubbing his back.

Croquet (Crocketts) enters the boy's room with a tray of food, to find that the prisoner is gone! (Japanese Crocketts addresses the prisoner as "Honored guest.")

Alone in his huge dining hall, Pegasus laughs uproariously. He's reading a comic book and sipping from a wine glass, when Croquet enters, begging Pegasus' pardon. (The title of Pegasus' "Funny Rabbit" comic book is blocked out in the US version.)

Pegasus is displeased at being interrupted while he's enjoying his favorite Gorgonzola cheese, the world's finest fruit juice, and his favorite comic book. (Japanese Pegasus says it's wine, not fruit juice.) Nervously, Croquet explains that their prisoner has escaped, but he already has their men searching the island for him.

Pegasus pulls a face, saying he guesses the boy didn't appreciate his hospitality. But he isn't worried; he's sure the boy will try to find Yugi. He uses a remote control to lower a computer screen on the far wall to check on the status of the duels. Six hours have passed since the tournament began, the computer voice informs him. Twelve participants have been eliminated and are being removed from the island by boat. When Pegasus asks about Yugi, he's told that Yugi has already gained five Star Chips. He's pleased with the news—he wants Yugi to win ten Star Chips and gain entry to his castle. They'll just keep their spycams focused on Yugi, and soon their little runaway will confront him. The boy's escape has played right into his plans! (Japanese Pegasus tells Crocketts that this time, when they recapture their prisoner, make sure he doesn't get away. Lock him in an underground cell if necessary.)

Meanwhile, the gang is walking along in the woods, congratulating Yugi on already winning five Star Chips. Joey wishes he had more Star Chips, but Yugi tells him not to worry about it, he's doing fine, and will be able to help his sister out soon. Joey sure hopes so. His sister is counting on him, and he won't let her down. (Japanese Jounouchi says that Kajiki Ryouta is a hard guy to hate. Anzu says she guesses all the duelists came here with their own hopes and dreams, and Yugi agrees, they've all brought their goals with them, just as he and Jounouchi brought theirs. Jounouchi thinks of Shizuka, and says Yugi's right.)

They hear someone calling for help, and see a boy being muscled by Kemo (Saruwatari), one of Pegasus's goons, and run to his aid. Tristan grabs Kemo and throws him, but Kemo quickly bounces back and knocks Tristan down. The boy tries to escape in the confusion, but Kemo quickly recaptures him. When Joey and Yugi ask what's going on, Kemo tells them that the boy has lost all his Star Chips, so, according to the rules, he's being kicked off the island. The boy protests that he didn't lose his Star Chips, they were stolen from him along with his deck, but Kemo's not interested. Rules are rules, and without Star Chips, the boy's out of the tournament.

The gang follow, and see Kemo tossing the kid onto a rowboat with the other duelists who are being ejected from the island, including a rather upset Weevil Underwood. Yugi asks the boy what the guy who stole his Star Chips looked like, and the boy explains that it was a little guy wearing a bandanna covering his face, who challenged him to a duel in the meadow. But as soon as he put his Star Chips and deck down, the guy snatched them and ran off with them. Yugi promises they'll get the boy's Star Chips back. Kemo says the ship leaves in exactly 30 minutes, no matter what. Téa promises they'll be back before then, and Tristan says they won't let the kid be bullied out of the game. Joey also promises they'll catch that thief and bring him to justice. The kid asks who they are, and Joey says they're the guys who'll bring his Star Chips back. Don't worry, he says, the brilliant mind of Joey Wheeler is on the case, and he always gets his man. The others groan. (Japanese Jounouchi tells the kid he'll take half his Star Chips as a reward, to everyone's exasperation. But later he tells the gang he was just kidding.)

Back in the meadow, Tristan asks Joey what his brilliant mind is telling him, but all Joey's brilliant mind is doing is giving him a headache. Yugi thinks they should stake out the scene of the crime, and goes to settle down by the dueling arena where the theft took place. The thief might come back, and they can plan what to do in the meantime.

Suddenly, the boy with the bandanna leaps out of the bushes, telling Yugi he's been looking for him. Realizing that this is the thief, Tristan says he can handle him, and Téa says she hopes so—he's twice the kid's size! Tristan and Joey demand that the boy hand over the stolen Star Chips, but Yugi tells them to hold on. He thinks the boy wants to duel him, and the boy says he does, so they prepare to duel.

Joey doesn't get it—why is Yugi going to the trouble of dueling this guy, when they could just take the stolen Star Chips from him? Tristan says sometimes he doesn't think even Yugi knows why he does what he does. Joey wonders if it has something to do with the Millennium Puzzle. (Japanese Honda says, if that guy tries to take Yugi's deck, he'll really get what's coming. Jounouchi agrees, saying he won't get away.)

Yami takes over (once again, the whole Yami-coming-out sequence is added back in the US version—see Ep 7), and asks the boy how many Star Chips he wants to wager. The boy says five, to wipe Yugi out, and Yugi agrees, but only because he thinks he knows why the boy is doing this. (And, once again, a glowing eye is added to Yami's forehead in the US version.)

Throwing out five Star Chips, the boy says he doesn't care what Yugi thinks, because he thinks Yugi is going to lose.

Téa wonders what Yugi sees about the kid that they don't. Joey says he sees that the kid is going to get his butt kicked. Tristan worries about getting the chips back to the boat in time, but Téa says Yugi will win the chips and they'll get back to the dock with time to spare. (Japanese Anzu says the kid isn't even wearing a Duel Glove. Jounouchi says that means he really is the thief, and Honda asks why Yugi is accepting a duel with the thief when they're nearly out of time. Anzu wonders, what if Yugi knows who the kid really is?)

The duel begins. The boy thinks, Yugi is going to pay for what he did to the boy's big brother. In flashback, the boy—Mokuba Kaiba—knocks on his brother's office door, asking Kaiba why he isn't getting ready to go to Duelist Kingdom. Tossing the cards across his desk, Kaiba says he isn't going. He's in no condition to duel anybody. Mokuba asks what Kaiba is talking about—he always says cards are power, and he's got all the strongest cards. Kaiba says that since he lost his duel with Yugi, he doesn't know what he thinks any more. It's like he lost a piece of himself that day. Mokuba protests that Kaiba is the best—he's the champ. (Japanese Kaiba says he can't win against Yugi. Mokuba protests that he's wrong—remember what he always says: cards are power. Kaiba says, but his cards of power lost to Yugi's cards of heart. He can't beat Yugi until he understands the heart of the cards.)

Kaiba stands up, pulling a card out of his coat, which he tosses to Mokuba, telling him that he's going away for a while, and to keep the card, which he knows was always Mokuba's favorite. (Japanese Kaiba asks Mokuba to keep this card for him. It holds the information and codes to open the safe containing the data most crucial to Kaiba Corporation.) Mokuba wants to know why Kaiba is leaving, and he says it's because he doesn't know who he is any more. He leaves, with Mokuba still begging him not to go. (Japanese Kaiba tells Mokuba he's going on a journey for a while, and tells Mokuba to watch things while he's gone. Mokuba calls to him to wait, as he goes out the door.)

Back in the present, Mokuba thinks that Yugi broke up his family, and now he's going to break Yugi. He plays the Man-Eating Plant (real card name is Man Eater, 800 ATK), and Yugi counters with Winged Dragon Guardian of the Fortress (1400 ATK). Mokuba thinks his Man-Eating plant will win, but Winged Dragon destroys it, bringing Mokuba down to 1400 life points. Yugi tells Mokuba he can't win with cards that don't belong to him—how could his heart live in cards that belong to someone else? But Mokuba says, parroting his big brother, that he doesn't believe in that "heart of the cards" stuff—cards are all about power.

Then Yugi realizes who his opponent is, and confronts him. (Japanese Yugi says, is that so? You're Kaiba's little brother, Mokuba, aren't you?) Mokuba pulls down the bandanna and pulls off his cap, saying that's right, Seto Kaiba is his brother, and the best duelist that ever was. But now, thanks to Yugi, his brother has gone away (Japanese Mokuba says Kaiba went away because Yugi humiliated him), and Pegasus is trying to take over Kaiba Corp.

Mokuba says he doesn't know what Yugi did to Kaiba when he dueled him, but ever since that defeat, Kaiba hasn't been the same. Kaiba ran away because of Yugi, and with Kaiba gone, Pegasus moved right in. Some Kaiba Corp executives invited him to a secret board meeting. (Japanese Mokuba says that after Yugi defeated his brother, Pegasus spread the news of Kaiba's defeat all over the world. Since then, Kaiba Corporation lost the confidence of its investors, and business has grown steadily worse, which is just what Pegasus was waiting for.)

In flashback, Pegasus meets with the Big 5, while Mokuba eavesdrops from the doorway. The Big 5 want to take over Kaiba Corp and merge with Pegasus's Industrial Illusions, but first, Seto Kaiba must be taken out of the picture—permanently. But, according to the Kaiba Corp bylaws, only a Kaiba family member can legally control the corporation. They want Pegasus to kidnap Mokuba to use as a figurehead while they control Mokuba. If Pegasus will do this, they'll lay all of Kaiba Corp's technology at his feet. Pegasus agrees: the elder Kaiba will meet with an accident, and the younger will be captured. (Japanese Pegasus tells the Big 5 that they must transfer all their holdings in Kaiba Corporation to him. It's the only hope they have of rebuilding Kaiba Corp. One of the Big 5 says they understand, but only on one condition. A boy named Yugi was responsible for destroying the company's reputation, so to restore the company's trust, Pegasus must defeat Yugi. If Pegasus can achieve that, they'll dismiss Seto Kaiba from his position as CEO, and place Kaiba Corporation entirely in his hands. Pegasus says defeating Yugi will be easy.)

Pegasus must perform one other task for the Big 5—he must regain Kaiba Corp's honor by defeating Yugi Mutou in a duel. Since Pegasus has already made plans to duel Yugi, he's quite willing to do this. (One more thing, the Big 5 add. Kaiba's younger brother, Mokuba, has hidden the key to the storage room that holds the company's most crucial documents. Pegasus says, no problem. Leave that to him as well.)

Mokuba's heard enough, and starts to run away, but runs right into Kemo, who grabs Mokuba and brings him to Pegasus. As Mokuba struggles in Kemo's arms and demands to be let go, Pegasus tells the Big 5 that this is how efficiently he'll handle their business. (Japanese Mokuba yells that he'll never tell them where the key is. Pegasus "invites" Mokuba to be a guest at his kingdom. Once he sees how luxurious his accommodations are, Pegasus is sure he'll hand over the key.)

Back in the present, Mokuba tells Yugi it's all his fault Seto deserted him. Yugi tells Mokuba his brother hasn't deserted him, he's searching for himself. (Japanese Yugi says he understands, but it's still no excuse to steal other people's cards from them.) Mokuba says to tell it to his monster, and plays Krokodilus (1100 ATK), but it's also destroyed by Yugi's Winged Dragon, and Mokuba's down to 1100 life points. Yugi tries to convince Mokuba that they should be working together—he wants to stop Pegasus just as much as Mokuba does. He tells Mokuba that Pegasus has taken his grandfather prisoner. (Japanese Yugi tells Mokuba to give it up—he can't win with stolen cards.) Mokuba says has to protect his brother's company, and Yugi is the one Pegasus has to beat to take it over. Téa realizes that Mokuba thinks if he can defeat Yugi, then Pegasus won't be able to duel him, and the plan to take over Kaiba Corp will fail. (Japanese Anzu says that if Mokuba steals Yugi's Star Chips and gets him disqualified, he won't be able to be defeated, and Pegasus' plan will fail.)

Yugi agrees, that must be it. But where did Mokuba go? Suddenly, Mokuba sneaks up and grabs two of Yugi's Star Chips and starts to run off with them, saying if he can't beat Yugi, he'll have him disqualified. The gang take off after him, and Yugi calls out to Mokuba that he'll never save Kaiba Corp that way. Mokuba stops while Yugi explains to him that Kaiba is just confused. After Yugi defeated him, he opened Kaiba's mind and removed all the dark influences that were making him evil. Now Kaiba's struggling to find himself. He realizes his way wasn't the right way, and he's searching his heart for answers. (Japanese Yugi tells Mokuba that Kaiba is battling to win his pride back by himself without any help. Once he's learned the true heart of the cards, Yugi promises he'll be back. Yugi asks Mokuba, who is he to throw away the efforts of his big brother, and the trust of Kaiba Corporation?) Mokuba understands, but he doesn't know what to do. Yugi asks Mokuba to trust him, telling him that they can defeat Pegasus together. He promises to help Mokuba and Kaiba, but tells Mokuba he must return the Star Chips and cards to the boy he stole them from.

Mokuba agrees, and with only three minutes to spare before the boat leaves, they head back to the dock.

(In the Japanese version, the scene continues with the gang arriving on the dock. The following scene comes later in the episode.)

In a house on a steep cliff by the sea, Kaiba sits at his desk, still desperately trying to figure out how Yugi—a kid out of nowhere—was able to beat a champion like him. He's run computer simulations, probability scenarios, and quantum analyses, and still doesn't have the answer. He'd clearly been dominating the match, his Blue-Eyes White Dragon ripping through Yugi's forces, and he was on the verge of winning, when Yugi somehow drew the one card that assured his victory! He's always believed that Duel Monsters is a game of sheer power, but Yugi claims that the cards have a heart. Could Yugi be right? Is there really a "heart of the cards"? He knows the only way to find out is to face Yugi again, and these new Duel Disks he's been developing will allow him to challenge Yugi wherever he finds him, if he can just get to him. (Japanese Kaiba wonders how Yugi found the strength to duel like that. He knows Yugi didn't have any more power than he did. The only other option is that they were both fighting for different purposes. His grandfather left those cards to him, and he was battling to protect the heart of the cards. All the functions of a supercomputer are built into this new system. It's possible to duel anywhere, any time. If he can just complete this, then he'll be able to face Yugi on equal ground, if nothing else. The shadow of the the man's gun on Kaiba's door, as the goons stand outside Kaiba's room, is removed in the US version.)

Suddenly, someone's pounding on the door, and Pegasus's goons burst in, as Kaiba's closing his Duel Disks in his briefcase. The goons point menacingly at Kaiba (the guns they're holding in the Japanese version having been digitized out), telling him that Mr. Pegasus would like to have a few words with him.

But Kaiba tells them they'll never take him alive. (Japanese Kaiba says, they won't take no for an answer, will they? This shot of the goon telling Kaiba he's very perceptive is switched in the US version with a repeat of the previous shot of the goons pointing at Kaiba.)

Kaiba kicks a chair at the goons, and dives for the window. (Cut from the US version are these shots of one of the goons firing his gun at Kaiba, and the bullet ricocheting off Kaiba's briefcase.)

(Also cut are these shots of Kaiba flying out window, and diving down, a slight smile on his face.)

The goons jump up and rush to the window. (Again, the guns are removed from the shot of the goons jumping up from the floor.)

They see the waves crashing on the rocks below—no one could have survived a fall like that. (This shot of waves crashing on the rocks is added to the US version.)

So they take Kaiba's deck, with its deadly Blue-Eyes White Dragon, and leave.

(Here, the Japanese episode continues with the gang meeting back at the duel ring. The following scene comes earlier in the Japanese, right after the gang head back to the dock.)

Yugi, Mokuba, and the others arrive at the dock, but the boat has already left. They protest that the time wasn't up yet, but Kemo says tough luck. Mokuba holds out the stolen Star Chips, saying he has to return them to the boy, but Kemo knocks them out of his hand into the water. The gang is horrified—some of those Star Chips were Yugi's! Mokuba turns to apologize, then Kemo grabs him, intending to take him back to Pegasus. (Japanese Saruwatari says anyone who'd allow his Star Chips to be stolen isn't a duelist. Winning a duel is the only way you can gain Star Chips on this island.) Yugi challenges Kemo to a duel for Mokuba's freedom. Kemo doesn't know why Yugi would waste his Star Chips on this brat, but he tells them to meet him at Arena 146 in four hours. (Japanese Saruwatari tells Yugi that he doesn't duel himself, but he can find an opponent for him. He tells Yugi to meet him back at that same duel ring in one hour's time.)

But when they arrive at Arena 146, Kemo says he's not going to be dueling, and points to the dueling platform where Yugi's opponent stands. (Japanese Yugi tells Saruwatari to let Mokuba go, and Saruwatari says he'll consider it if Yugi wins.) It's an old friend of theirs, Kemo says, who met with an unfortunate end earlier today. The gang stare in astonishment, and Yugi exclaims, Kaiba! But Kaiba looks strange, with dark lines under his eyes, and an evil look on his face. Yes, Kaiba says, it's he. And this time Yugi doesn't stand a "ghost" of a chance.... (The Japanese "ghost" says that he'll have his revenge, revenge, revenge....)

To Be Continued