Season 2-81 – Let the Finals Begin!
“Battle Ship Takes Off!” (バトルシップ発進!)
Aired Japan: November 13, 2001
Aired USA: August 30, 2003
A helicopter arrives at the Kaiba Corp Stadium, the location of the Battle City finals. Kaiba and Mokuba wait at the center of the arena. Kaiba knows that his competition will be arriving soon, along with the two remaining Egyptian God cards. Marik and Odion stand in the sidelines of the stadium. Marik says that Kaiba looks like a fool just standing there. Soon he will become a pawn in his own game! Odion agrees. Then Marik tells Odion that the time has come to put the final part of his plan into motion, and he will need Odion’s help in order to do that. The time has finally come. Everything Marik needs to have the infinite power of the Pharaoh will be in one place. All he has to do is win. For five thousand years, everyone has waited for the Pharaoh to return. As the scriptures state, the Pharaoh will rise again and defeat the evil once again using the power of the Egyptian Gods. However, Marik wants to fill that prophecy by seizing the Millennium Puzzle and draining the Pharaoh of his power. But Marik needs to three Egyptian God cards too in order to complete his task. Then he will become Pharaoh, and the former Pharaoh will be trapped in the Shadow Realm forever!
Marik first needs to hide his identity first. He needs Odion to act as him. As for himself, Marik has already gained the trust of Yugi’s friends as a friend named Namu. Then, when the time is right, he will crush them all with The Winged Dragon of Ra! Marik laughs. Kaiba hears something in the stadium and orders his crew to turn on the lights. The lights illuminate the entire stadium, but no one is to be seen. Kaiba states that no one should be in the stadium without first reporting to him. One of Kaiba’s crew members tells him that they will find all trespassers.
Kaiba sees someone heading through the stadium entrance. It’s Yugi and the gang! Mokuba says that three of the eight finalists have made it. The gang are quite skeptical of the Battle City finals location. Duke says that the place is still under construction. Crew Member #1 tells Yugi, Joey and Mai to present their locater cards. Yugi, Joey and Mai hold up their cards to the crew, and Crew Member #2 hands each of them an ID card. Security is tight, so the three finalists must make sure that they have their IDs on them at all times. Joey asks where everyone else is at. Crew Member #2 states that they are the only ones here so far, and of course Kaiba as well. The other four finalists should be arriving shortly. Kaiba tells himself that it doesn’t even matter because they will all lose anyway.
A gust of wind suddenly appears at the stadium entrance. Another duelist must be arriving. Yugi wonders if it could be Marik. Marik walks in through the entrance and up to the gang. Joey recognizes him as Namu, the one who helped their friend, Bakura. Marik says that he was glad to help and will also help someone in need. For some reason, Joey doesn’t trust him. Marik says that ever since Joey gave him dueling advice, he has been winning duels all the time. Téa introduces “Namu” to Yugi. She says that Namu was the one who saved Bakura’s life. Yugi thanks Namu for saving Bakura’s life. Anyone who is a friend of Joey and Téa is a buddy of his. Marik is honored to meet Yugi, and the two shake hands. Marik says that it’s nice to be welcomed by a friendly crowd. He hopes everyone else is friendly. Joey tells himself that Namu may not be bad after all. After all, what does he know?
Another duelist begins to walk through the doors. It is Bakura. Everyone is shocked to see Bakura standing. Joey says that he should get back to the hospital. Yugi and Téa agree, since Grandpa said that Bakura was in bad shape. Bakura says that he’s fine. Tristan tells Bakura that he really should be at the hospital. Yugi then notices a duel disk on Bakura. Bakura says that he’s been dueling. How else could he have won six locator cards? Everyone is shocked to see the six locator cards in Bakura’s hand. Marik is pleased to see that Bakura is holding up his end of the duel. Yugi wonders how Bakura won six locater cards. He could barely walk! Joey begins to freak out. Bakura interrupts him and points to the seventh duelist who begins to walk in through the doors. A purple cloak surrounds this duelist’s body. Joey says that he looks familiar, and Kaiba assumes that he holds the third Egyptian God card. Kaiba tells Odion to state his name. Odion says, “I am Marik.” Joey makes a threat at Odion, but Odion says that Joey is no match for him. Kaiba tells Odion that he should be disqualified right now, but he has something that Kaiba wants.
Crew Member #1 announces that although their locater cards led them here, the stadium is not the place for the Battle City finals. Crew Member #2 adds in that the actual arena should be arriving any second. Suddenly, a huge blimp appears over everyone’s head. Mai exclaims that it’s huge. The crew tells the duelists to stand back, since the blimp will be landing shortly. The blimp soon lands, and a door opens. All the duelists head on board the blimp. However, when Tristan, Téa, Serenity and Duke begin to walk on board, the crew stops them. The crew tells them that they cannot let them on board the blimp without locater cards. They kindly ask the crew to let them on board, but they tell them that it’s against the rules. Mokuba asks Kaiba if they can board the blimp. Kaiba says, “Whatever.” Taking that as a yes, they all board the ship. Then Kaiba tells his crew to begin take-off immediately. They remind Kaiba that the remaining duelist hasn’t appeared yet. Kaiba doesn’t care since the two other Egyptian God cards are already on board.
The two crew members wonder what they should do, but they agree to follow Kaiba’s orders. Suddenly, the eighth duelist walks in from the stadium entrance. It is a woman who is wearing a veil over her face. It really is Ishizu, who is here to save her brother, Marik. She presents her six locator cards to the crew. They give her an ID card, and then they all board the ship. Ishizu states that the fate of the world has finally begun.
The blimp finally takes off and reaches the proper altitude. Yugi and the gang observe the city from a window. Serenity thanks Joey for taking her here, and Joey says that it’s just another pro of being related to him. Kaiba tells Joey that he’s only here by a fluke. It’s a long way down from here and monkeys can’t fly. Joey holds his fists up in the air and exclaims, “Who’s he calling a monkey!?” Kaiba then walks up to Yugi and tells Yugi that he still hasn’t played his Egyptian God card in any of his duels. Kaiba hopes that Yugi has that God card in his deck because he plans on winning it. Then, when Kaiba wins the tournament, he’ll have all three Egyptian God cards, making his deck completely unbeatable. Yami’s spirit appears as Kaiba shouts out these words to Yugi. Kaiba says that it’s his tournament and his rules, so he can’t lose. Then he walks away.
An announcement is made stating that all duelists should head into their designated rooms. Joey uses his ID card to swipe in and the door opens. Joey and Serenity walk into the room. Serenity is amazed at the view of the city that they have. She thanks Joey for all of his support. She can’t think of a single place that should would rather be right now than in the room with Joey. She says that it’s kind of like a dream, up here in the sky and looking down at all the buildings. Joey thanks her, and Serenity asks, “For what?” Joey explains that he would never have gotten here in the first place if it weren’t for her. He says that they make a good team, and Serenity agrees. Joey tells himself that he plans on winning the entire tournament with Serenity’s support. He won’t let anyone discourage him anymore. Suddenly, Tristan, Téa and Duke walk into Joey’s room and interrupt Joey’s moment. They say that they need a place to crash while the crew tries to find some rooms for them. Tristan and Duke take a peek in Joey’s refrigerator. They are amazed at the kind of food they see. Téa holds up the Room Service menu. Joey wants everyone out, but Serenity tells Joey to be a good sport. Joey says that he can’t focus with all of the noise. Tristan decides to ask Serenity to check out the romantic view with him, but Duke beats him to it first. Duke leads Serenity to a window and points to his gaming shop. Tristan cries over it.
Tristan gives Joey a can of pop and apologizes for interrupting his moment. Joey tells him to bother Yugi, but Tristan wants to give Yugi time to focus on the finals. Joey gets frustrated and reminds Tristan that he’s dueling too. Then he thanks Tristan for taking care of Serenity during the tournament. Tristan says that he was just helping out a buddy.
Kaiba, who is in his own room, says that the time is almost here. Meanwhile, the two crew members walk up to Kaiba’s door. Mokuba asks them what they are doing. The crew says that they just want to inform Kaiba about the late arrival of the final duelist. Mokuba says that he wouldn’t be surprised if his brother fired them for interrupting his preparation time. The crew members understand and walk away. Kaiba tells himself that with Obelisk the Tormentor, he will destroy Yugi and Marik. He laughs at the thought of him becoming the most powerful duelist in the world. Meanwhile, Mai tells herself that she might have missed out on Duelist Kingdom, but here she will be victorious. Odion says that it is his sworn duty to win for master Marik. He promises not to fail him. Marik gets off his bed and looks out the window. He tells himself that his victory is inevitable because he’s controlled the minds of so many people. Yugi believes Marik to be a friend, and Marik has tricked Bakura to duel for him. It won’t be long until he gains all three Egyptian God cards and the Millennium Puzzle. With Odion and Bakura dueling for him, and Yugi and the gang believing him to be a friend, he can’t lose!
Yugi tells himself that he has to take Kaiba’s advice and put Slifer the Sky Dragon in his deck if he plans to win the tournament. However, he has to be very careful with it because it’s a powerful card. Yami says Yugi made the right decision. Their Egyptian God card will hopefully stop Marik from succeeding. The Battle City tournament will be an epic clash between these Gods, but Yugi must triumph. Marik isn’t the only person that Yugi is worried about. He also has a bad feeling about Bakura. How did Bakura recover so fast and gain entry into the Battle City finals? Unless the person on board the blimp isn’t Bakura. Yugi remembers the time when the evil spirit of the Millennium Ring took control of Bakura’s body at Duelist Kingdom. However, Tristan tossed the Millennium Ring deep into the forest! Yami says that you cannot predict the path of a Millennium item. It must have found its way back to Bakura. Yugi knows that it will be even harder to win this tournament now. But they have to win; the fate of the world depends on it. Yami agrees, but many dangers lie ahead. So they have to be prepared for anything.
Ishizu, who is in her room, says that it’s up to fate now to save the world. One of Kaiba’s crew members reports that the finals are about to begin. The presence of all eight finalists are required in the main hall. Serenity wishes Joey the best of luck. As Joey leaves his room, he meets up with Kaiba who passes him. Kaiba says, “Winners first, monkey boy.” This makes Joey mad. However, Marik greets Joey. He tells Joey that may the best man win. Joey says that he plans on winning, and Marik admires Joey’s determination. The two of them head to the main hall together. Yugi places his deck into his duel disk. He says that the fate of the world depends on him and the heart of the cards. Yami switches over into Yugi’s body. It’s time for the finals to begin.
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