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Episode
GuideEpisode 28: The Night Before (The Night Before the Finals! Pegasus' Secrets)
The Duelist Kingdom finalists and their supporters are in Pegasus' dining hall, enjoying a huge feast. (The wine bottle is removed from the pan of the food on the dinner table in the US version.)
Joey and Tristan both want more of everything. As they stuff their faces with tears streaming from their eyes, Téa says if this was a Duel Munchers contest, they'd win.
Croquet stands at the end of the table and congratulates the finalists on behalf of Mr. Maximillion Pegasus, and welcomes them to the final phase of the Duelist Kingdom competition. He trusts that they all have their playoff entry cards. (Japanese Crocketts says that the elimination matches will begin tomorrow, and tells everyone to relax and enjoy the dinner. Then he says he has an important announcement.) They all sit up in surprise, and Croquet explains. In their invitation to Duelist Kingdom, they received two cards, Glory of the King's Hand and Glory of the King's Opposite Hand (Glory of the King's Right Hand and Glory of the King's Left Hand). They must have one of them in order to participate in the finals, or else they'll be disqualified. Yugi says, so that's what they're for!
Glory of the King's Hand entitles the winner of the finals to claim the three million dollar cash prize, while Glory of the King's Opposite Hand allows the winner to challenge Pegasus for the championship. Joey panics—he doesn't have either one of the cards. Neither does Bandit Keith, who thinks that among the millions of cards that he owns, he has to run across the two that he doesn't! He has to get himself one.
Next, Croquet tells them that, in order to make the tournament more interesting, their host has added a special ingredient to the soup. A golden eyeball floats to the top of the four finalists' soup bowls. Téa exclaims that the eye in Yugi's soup is staring at her! Tristan stirs his soup, and says that it's eyeball-free. Joey stands up, complaining that this is worse than having a fly in his soup!
Croquet tells them to open the eye and look inside. They've each been randomly assigned a letter. They open up their eyeballs to find a rolled-up piece of paper with a letter written on it. Yugi holds up his paper, with the letter "A" on it, and asks what this is for. Mai bemusedly holds up her letter "B," while Joey's letter is "D," and Bandit Keith's is "C." A screen is lowered from the ceiling, while Croquet explains that the computer will pair up the letters to determine tomorrow's match-ups.
Téa wonders who's going to have to face who, while Mai thinks that this is good—once she knows who she's going to be dueling, she can use tonight to prepare. (Japanese Mai thinks that she doesn't care who she'll face, she's going to win.) Joey's still freaking out, thinking it doesn't matter who he's up against if he doesn't have one of those Glory cards. (Japanese Jounouchi's thinking, please don't let it be Yugi that he has to duel.) Bandit Keith just chuckles to himself as he watches the proceedings.
The computer displays the match-ups, A vs. B and C vs. D. Joey jumps up, demanding to know who has "C." Bandit Keith says he does. Joey's glad, saying it's going to be payback for trapping them in that cave. Bandit Keith says once he crushes Joey, he'll wish he was still in that cave. (Japanese Jounouchi says, so it's Keith. Then this will be easy. Keith says, they'll see how long Jounouchi lasts.)
Yugi smiles at Mai, and says it looks like it's her and him. She says she's looking forward to this duel, and Yugi says he is, too, and may the best duelist win. (Japanese Mai says she'll be merciless, and Yugi agrees that he'll do his utmost.)
Croquet says the duels are set: Yugi Mutou vs. Mai Valentine, and Bandit Keith vs. Joey Wheeler. He tells them all to enjoy the rest of the feast. For three of them, tomorrow their long journey will end in failure.
Meanwhile, Pegasus sits on a balcony, sipping wine and watching the sunset. So it has begun, he thinks, and laughs to himself. (Japanese Pegasus says, "Beautiful sunset.")
After the meal, Joey rubs his swollen belly, saying he's stuffed like a sumo wrestler. Tristan says that was good, and Téa tells Joey she can't believe he drank the whole eyeball soup.
Yugi gets up to go stand by Joey, telling him they'd better get to bed, so they'll be in top shape for the tournament tomorrow (Japanese Yugi says that they both must win in order to fight Pegasus), but Joey's despondent, and asks what's the point? He doesn't have that card. Yugi holds out his Glory of the King's Hand card, and tells Joey it's his. He says Joey should just think of it as an early birthday present. (Japanese Yugi says that when they came to the island, they divided the Star Chips between them.) Téa exclaims happily, but Joey protests that Yugi needs that card. (Japanese Jounouchi says, "Yugi... you....") Yugi says the rules never said they needed both cards to compete, so they each only need one. (Japanese Yugi says that since they've divided everything, this card is Jounouchi's.) Joey still hesitates, and Yugi asks him, if he gives up now, who's going to save his sister? What kind of big brother would he be if he didn't even try to win the prize money? Holding up the other card, Yugi adds that if they're both in the tournament, it doubles their chances of winning (Japanese Yugi says that when they win, Jounouchi must use this card to claim the prize money for Shizuka. He'll use the Glory of the King's Left Hand to challenge Pegasus and rescue his Grandpa.). With Téa adding her urging, Joey finally accepts the card, telling Yugi what a great pal he is.
Bandit Keith watches, an idea dawning. Mai stands up, saying that all this lovey-dovey stuff is making her skin crawl, so she tells them all good night and says she'll catch Yugi tomorrow. (Japanese Mai says she's going to bed now, and tells Yugi she'll see him tomorrow.)
They all split up to go to their bedrooms, Bakura and Tristan entering rooms on opposite sides of the hallway, while Yugi, Joey, and Téa tell them good night. Yugi's about to enter his room, when Joey stops him to thank him one more time for bailing him out. (Japanese Jounouchi says that tomorrow they'll win the glory.) Yugi nods, and, as Téa teases Joey about his snoring, Bandit Keith watches from behind a corner down the hall.
Later, Yugi looks out his bedroom window at the moon, telling his Grandpa that he's made it this far—a couple more victories and they'll go home together. (In the Japanese, Yugi also tells Kaiba and Mokuba that he'll rescue them.)
Mai sits at the table in her room, holding her Harpie Lady card, thinking that she'll have to fine-tune her deck if she's going to beat Yugi, even if it takes her all night. (Japanese Mai thinks that the time has arrived. She must win over Yugi.)
Joey lies in bed asleep, dreaming of gigantic doughnuts. (Japanese Jounouchi calls out Shizuka's name.)
Téa sits on the end of her bed, looking out the window, thinking that the one night she has a decent bed, she can't sleep. Then there's a knock on her door—it's Tristan and Bakura. Bakura says that Tristan thinks Pegasus cheats in all his duels. Tristan insists that he does. (Japanese Honda asks if they can come in. Bakura says he thinks they shouldn't bother her, but Honda insists it's all right.)
They sit around the table in Téa's room, and she asks if they really think that Pegasus beat Kaiba by cheating. Tristan says he must have—Kaiba is one of the world's top duelists, but Pegasus beat him like he was an amateur. No one can beat Kaiba that easily, not if he's playing fair and square. It seemed that Pegasus knew what cards were in Kaiba's hand the whole time.
Even if Tristan's right, Téa wonders what they can do. Tristan says they can find out how Pegasus cheated. There has to be a clue down at the dueling platform. They'll expose Pegasus for the fraud that he is. Bakura thinks that with all the guards everywhere, they'll need help from Yugi and Joey (Japanese Bakura says if they can't find proof, it will be a disaster), but Tristan says they have to rest for the tournament. It's up to the three of them. Téa's with him. Bakura seems reluctant, but doesn't object.
Yugi is sleeping, shoes by his bed, coat and Millennium Puzzle hanging on a coat rack. Thinking he hears his Grandpa calling his name, he wakes up and sits up in bed, asking Grandpa where he is. How can he find him? He hears Grandpa tell him to follow his voice. (Japanese Grandpa tells Yugi to save him quickly.)
Meanwhile, Tristan and Bakura inspect the dueling platforms, while Téa watches from the balcony. Tristan encourages them to keep searching, saying there has to be a hidden camera or something. Téa suggests that maybe Pegasus isn't a cheater. He might be good at guessing cards, like a psychic, or something. Tristan says he once spoke to a psychic who told him he'd find a nice girlfriend within six months, but he hasn't had a date in over a year! He doesn't believe in psychic powers.
Just then, Téa sees a beam of moonlight landing on Tristan's back as he bends over the dueling platform. Téa runs down to join Bakura and Tristan, who all stare up at the wall over the entryway, where the moonlight is streaming through a flower-shaped design. Bakura wonders how moonlight can enter this room. Téa tells Tristan to go stand on the dueling platform, and pretend to hold a card up, like he's dueling. The beam of moonlight just hits his hand.
Tristan climbs up over the entryway to look through the hole in the wall, and sees a tower across the courtyard. He says one of Pegasus' goons could have been in the tower with a telescope, spying on Kaiba's hand, and relaying the information to Pegasus by radio. Téa thinks Pegasus could hide a receiver under his hair. Tristan says there's bound to be tons of proof hidden in that tower. They should head over there right now. Tristan climbs back down to the others. Bakura freaks out about the guards, but Tristan reassures him he'll be safe with him.
Yugi dashes out of his room into the hallway, calling out for his Grandpa. He hears Grandpa's voice telling him to beware of Pegasus. Yugi must stop him, or Pegasus could destroy the entire world! (Japanese Grandpa's voice says he's in pain, and tells Yugi to help him quickly.) Yugi takes off down the hall, telling his Grandpa he's coming.
Tristan, Téa, and Bakura make their way through the castle, searching for a way into the tower. Téa says the castle is like a maze, and Tristan shushes her, saying that there are goons around the corner. Bakura says there are goons around every corner. As they pass suits of armor and weaponry on the walls of the torchlit hallway, Téa says they're running around in circles—it will be daylight before they get to the tower. Then Tristan finds a rope with grappling hooks on the end, and says it gives him a great idea.
In her room, Mai goes through her deck, her three Harpie Lady cards on the table before her, with Harpie's Feather Duster on top. She puts Cyber Shield on one of the Harpie Ladies, then says that Yugi's already seen this combo, having seen her duel with Joey. She scoops up her cards and begins to shuffle them, thinking that Yugi knows her deck almost as well as she does. If she's going to beat him, she can't rely on her same old bag of tricks.
Bandit Keith lies back on his bed, whistling to himself. Then he sits up, thinking it's time to snatch himself an entry card for the tournament.
Yugi's outside in the courtyard now, running, calling out for his Grandpa. He hears Grandpa's voice again, telling him to beware of Pegasus. (Japanese Grandpa's voice says he's here.) Then he sees a card lying on the ground in front of him with his Grandpa's picture on it. Grandpa's voice warns him that Pegasus wields Shadow powers of incredible strength. (Japanese Grandpa again says, "I'm in great pain—rescue me quickly.") Yugi picks up the card, asking how is that possible?
Pegasus' guards stand before the tower's entrance. Far above them, Tristan, Téa, and Bakura inch along a ledge high up the tower wall. Téa slips and nearly falls, but the boys catch her, covering her mouth so the guards don't hear her scream. She pushes their hands away, telling Tristan she can't believe his plan is to enter the tower from the outside. (Japanese Anzu protests, "Pull me up first before you put your hands on my mouth!") Tristan says, yep. She wanted to avoid the guards, and he doesn't see any goons up there.
Yugi picks up his Grandpa's soul card, and asks him how Pegasus' Shadow magic can still be growing in power. Grandpa explains that every soul Pegasus traps in the Shadow Realm increases his strength. (Japanese Yugi asks Grandpa how he can rescue him, but Grandpa only repeats that he's in pain, and Yugi must rescue him soon.) Yugi says Pegasus has to be stopped. Then the card flies out of Yugi's hand and floats away, landing on one of three tall monoliths across the courtyard. (In the Japanese, these are crosses, not monoliths.)
Yugi runs after it, and sees that Kaiba and Mokuba's cards are on the other two monoliths. This is wrong, he says. This is terrible! He hears Kaiba and Mokuba plead with him to save them.
Tristan throws the rope up to the tower window, telling Téa to go first, so that if she slips and falls, one of them can catch her.
(Cut from the US version is a bit where Anzu protests that she can't go first, and Honda asks why.)
(She calls him an idiot, pulling at her short skirt.)
(Honda still doesn't get it, so Bakura has to whisper in his ear. Anzu insists that the boys have to go first, but Honda says, no way—if she falls, he won't be able to save her. Anzu asks, so what will they do?)
Kaiba's captured soul tells Yugi that he's next, and Mokuba says that Pegasus wants Yugi. Yugi asks why Pegasus is after him. Grandpa tells him that Pegasus unlocked great Shadow magic with his single Millennium Item. How much power will he wield if he has Yugi's Puzzle? (Japanese Grandpa tells Yugi that Pegasus is more powerful than he can imagine.)
(Cut from the US version is this shot of Anzu climbing up the rope.)
Téa, Tristan and Bakura climb up to the tower window.
(Cut from the US version is this bit showing Bakura and Honda wearing blindfolds as they climb, so they can't see up Anzu's skirt. Bakura complains that he's frightened, and points out that even if Anzu does fall, they won't be able to see her to catch her. Honda tells him that's why they have to climb quickly.)
Bakura protests to Tristan that that's not the rope, it's his leg. Tristan tells him to climb faster.
Yugi asks his Grandpa how he can stop Pegasus. Grandpa says that Yugi must learn to control the power of the Millennium Puzzle in order to defeat Pegasus. Yugi wonders how, but Grandpa says he must discover it on his own. Pegasus must be defeated, or he will be able to unleash Armageddon on the entire world! (Japanese Grandpa says that Pegasus uses his power to trap souls in the dark corners of the underworld. Yugi must use all his strength to fight the dark power, or it will take away their lives.)
Silvery flames engulf the monoliths. Yugi calls out to his Grandpa, and hears Grandpa say that Yugi can do it, he believes in him.
The three intrepid explorers reach the tower, and Téa crawls inside through a window. (Cut from the US version is this shot of Honda and Bakura removing their blindfolds, while Anzu climbs inside.)
Still out on the ledge, Bakura tells Tristan his plans are horrible! Tristan says he got them up there safe and sound. (The US version is changed to remove the blindfolds from Honda and Bakura's hands.)
Inside, the three explore the tower room, but don't find a telescope or any other evidence of Pegasus' cheating. Bakura finds a painting of a woman, and wonders who it is. Téa asks if they can find a light switch, then suddenly the lights come on, although no one turned them on. Tristan suggests that the light might be voice-activated. Now they can see the painting clearly, and they realize that this is the same woman whose picture hangs in the dining hall, alongside a portrait of an Egyptian man. She must be important to Pegasus, Bakura says, although Téa says she hasn't seen her at all since they've been in the castle. She wonders if this could be Pegasus' wife.
Then Pegasus himself enters the room, asking if it isn't past their bedtimes. Tristan asks how he found them, and Pegasus says a little birdie told him it saw the three climbing up the walls. (Japanese Pegasus says he saw through their tricks from the start.) Tristan says they're onto him—he's been spying on Kaiba's cards from up there, but Pegasus brushes him off, saying they're the ones who broke into his private sanctuary. No one is allowed in this room, and he's afraid they've seen too much. (Japanese Honda says they know Pegasus cheated, even if he has destroyed the evidence. Pegasus says he didn't need to do that. Then he says he'll send them to the world of imagination.) Pulling his hair back from his Millennium Eye, Pegasus makes the room go all wobbly, and they fall through the floor.
(Cut from the US version is this shot of Yugi standing before the crosses, calling out for his Grandpa. The crosses are consumed in the silver flames, and Yugi calls out to Grandpa, Kaiba, and Mokuba.)
Tristan, Téa, and Bakura come to, lying on the floor of a passageway with Egyptian paintings on the walls. Voices are chanting, "Realm of Shadows in this twilight hour, accept these souls and grant us power." (The Japanese chanting is too muffled to understand the words.) Tristan sits up, asking where they are. Téa asks if they hear chanting. It seems to be coming from the end of the hall, so Tristan says they should go check it out. Bakura wants to know why, and Tristan asks if he always has to criticize his plans. (Japanese Honda tells Bakura it won't do any good to stay where they are.)
They find a large cavern, with robed men lining the walls, chanting. At the far end of the cavern is an altar, with a painting on the wall. Two of the robed figures face off, and one of them says to begin. A large stone tablet rise from the ground in front of him. Tristan notes that there's a Blue-Eyes White Dragon carved on the tablet, and Téa points out the painting on the far wall—it's the same one they saw in the tower. Who can that woman be? The other robed figure raises his own stone tablet, this one with the image of Crawling Dragon on it. Tristan says it looks like they're dueling, and the man controlling the Blue-Eyes White Dragon tells the other, "You lose." The Crawling Dragon tablet crumbles as its controller disappears in a flash of blue light. (The Japanese man disappears in flames, which are changed to sparkly stuff in the US version.)
Téa and the others gasp, and the robed figures converge on them. The winner of the duel pulls off his cowl, revealing himself to be Pegasus!
Meanwhile, Yugi calls out to his Grandpa, who repeats that he must unlock the secrets of the Millennium Puzzle. Only then can he defeat Pegasus. (Japanese Grandpa says he believes in Yugi. He knows Yugi will save them.) Blue flames rise to consume the monoliths, as Kaiba, Mokuba, and Grandpa all call Yugi's name. Yugi yells, Grandpa!
Yugi awakens in his bed, sweating and breathing hard, wondering if it was all a dream. (In the Japanese version, instead of seeing Yugi wake up, we see a church in the foreground, and hear church bells toll, with a column of blue flame in the background.)
Tristan asks Pegasus where that robed guy went. Pegasus says, the Shadow Realm. (Japanese Honda asks, what is this? Pegasus replies, "Yami no Game," which means "Dark Game.") Téa is horrified, but Bakura's eyes narrow. Pegasus says that this is how the Shadow Games were played thousands of years ago. Every soul he sends to the Shadow Realm increases the power of his Millennium Eye. He tells them they can't imagine the strength of his magic, but one power still eludes him—the ability to control over life over death. For that, he must capture more souls—like theirs. (Japanese Anzu asks, Dark Game? What does that mean? Pegasus says that this is a game from far back in history. Other than the chosen ones, no one can see into the Dark World. Anzu thinks, what is it about that eye? Honda also wonders if the eye has anything to do with the Dark Game. Pegasus says they seem to be interested in his Millennium Eye.) Tristan and Téa recoil, but Pegasus pulls the hair back from his Millennium Eye and tells them he can't just let them escape after they've learned all his secrets. And Bakura's capture won't only strengthen his Shadow magic, it will also give him control of Bakura's Millennium Ring. (Japanese Honda and Anzu are astonished that Pegasus can tell what they're thinking, and he says they're right, the Millennium Eye allows him to see inside their hearts with the Mind Scan. Nothing can stop its power, and only the chosen ones can wield this dark power. It will see inside Bakura's heart, too.)
Pegasus' Millennium Eye begins to glow, but then he starts back. Bakura's Millennium Ring also glows, and the spirit of the Ring takes over, telling Pegasus there's been a change of plans. (Japanese Pegasus exclaims that he can't see Bakura's mind. Bakura laughs, and says he's found it.)
The Eye and the Ring's powers clash, and Pegasus senses a dark soul within the Ring. Bakura says that may be, but they won't remember any of this later. He tells the Ring to erase their minds. (There's no dialog here in the Japanese.)
(In the Japanese version, here is where we see Yugi wake up, wondering if it was all a dream.)
Next thing we know, Tristan is waking up back in his bed, with a terrible headache. Téa is also back in her room, thinking that it was a horrible nightmare. But was it a dream? It seemed so real. Dark Bakura sits in his room, laughing to himself. Pegasus can't hide from him. The Millennium Eye will soon be his. (Japanese Yami Bakura says that at last he's found it—the Millennium Eye.)
Meanwhile, Joey is still sound asleep, when Bandit Keith sneaks into his room and steals the Glory of the King's Hand card from Joey's jacket pocket. Joey yells to let go, and Bandit Keith thinks he's been caught, but it turns out Joey's just talking in his sleep. Bandit Keith tells him to keep dreaming—it's game over for him.
Mai is finally satisfied that her strategy is perfect. She sits back, telling Yugi his next duel will be his last.
And Yugi watches the sun come up through the window of his room, he thinks that that wasn't any ordinary dream. He knows his Grandpa was trying to send him a message from the Shadow Realm. What is the secret of the Millennium Puzzle? How does he control it? He still doesn't know, and he's running out of time. (Japanese Yugi thinks that it wasn't a dream, it was a message from his Grandpa. He tells Grandpa, Kaiba, and Mokuba that, no matter what, he'll save them.)
