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Episode
GuideEpisode 44: Legendary Heroes - Part II (Duel Monsters Quest 2: The Legendary Hero Yugi)
Kemo and his thugs are trying to break into the lab to unplug Yugi, Joey, and Mokuba's VR pods, while Tristan and Téa hold them off. But they won't be able to keep the goons out forever! Yugi had better hurry up and save Kaiba.
Joey faces off against the Coliseum's Champion, in a duel to win the Niwatori card. After a few preliminary insults, Joey opens by summoning his Flame Swordsman. The Champion responds with Harpie Lady. Joey thinks his Flame Swordsman can take her, so he attacks, but his opponent plays a trap card, Mirror Wall, deflecting the Flame Swordsman's attack. (Poor Harpie Lady! She never gets to strut her stuff on US TV.
I've seen this strategy before, Joey thinks. And Yugi also wonders, Can it be? The Champion makes a bit more fun of Joey's pig mask, telling him she'll bring home the bacon, and Joey thinks there's only one duelist who can be this annoying! She powers up her Harpie Lady with Rose Whip and sends it to attack the weakened Flame Swordsman, but Joey tells her to wait, and pulls off his mask. "Joey?" she says, and stops her attack, taking off her own mask—it's Mai Valentine!
Yugi and Mokuba jump onto the arena floor and run to join Joey and Mai. She explains that she's testing the game for some suits at Kaiba Corp, but they tell her she might be in danger—those suits have kidnapped Kaiba and trapped him in the game. They need the Niwatori card to cross the desert to rescue him. (In the Japanese, she doesn't really explain what she's doing there. They tell her about Kaiba, and Yugi says, "We're friends, we shouldn't be fighting.")
Meanwhile, the virtual crowd is turning ugly. They want the games to continue! Mai says she's not so keen on crossing the desert, but she's over this place! (Hm, in the Japanese, Jounouchi says they have to save Kaiba, and there's no other way—they have to have the card to cross the desert. Interesting that he's willing to fight Mai to rescue Kaiba. Mai says, You only need the card, right? Then she says she wants to get out of there, too.) She sends her Harpie Lady to snatch the Niwatori card away from the Coliseum's owner with her Rose Whip, and the four of them run for the desert! Joey uses his Trap Hole card to block the road and stop the angry mob chasing them, and they escape.
At the edge of the desert, Mai activates the Niwatori card, and four huge chickens appear. The gang each mount one, and off they go across the sand. (Here is where Japanese Mai explains that she was invited to try out the game, but found herself trapped in it.) Soon, they're stopped by a huge sandstorm monster. Joey summons the Red Eyes Black Dragon to destroy it, and suddenly the sand clears away, and they can see a temple at the base of the mountains across the desert, which they head for.
As soon as they reach the temple, Mokuba's off running up the temple steps. The others follow quickly, lest they lose both Kaiba brothers! Inside, they find themselves in a dank, bat-filled tunnel. Opening a huge wooden door, they discover a labyrinth dungeon, like the one where Joey and Yugi dueled the Paradox brothers. Once inside, the door shuts behind them, and they're trapped in the maze! But Yugi says it's all part of the game—it's no use going back, anyway. They have to try to make it through the maze.
They hear a scream! And Joey rushes off to find whoever's in trouble. Mai pouts a bit, then says Joey must realize she's way out of his league. (In the Japanese, she says, Doesn't he see a woman with a great body right in front of him?) Next, they're confronted by a Labyrinth Tank. Yugi, Mai, and Mokuba take off running, soon catching up with Joey, who's at a crossroad trying to decide which direction to go. They take off down one of the pathways, but soon another Labyrinth Tank approaches from the other direction—and then another. They're boxed in. Yugi uses Magical Hats to hide them from the tanks, and they end up under a hat in another part of the maze.
But they're not out of danger yet. They hear the tanks moving, and know they're coming after them. Which way should they go?
Another fairy appears, like the one that led them to the town when they first arrived. They follow, and soon they come upon a girl who looks exactly like Mokuba! (In the Japanese, Jounouchi thinks it is Mokuba at first, and asks why he's wearing a dress. Mokuba steps out from behind him, saying, Idiot, I'm over here.) She says the fairy Iru is her guide, and will lead them out of the maze. They reach the maze's exit, but it's guarded by a Gate Guardian. Its attack is 3750, more powerful than any of their cards. They'll have to work together to defeat it! Joey and Yugi fuse their Red Eyes Black Dragon and Summoned Skull to form the Black Skull Dragon, then power it up with Dragon Nails, so that its attack is 3900. It destroys the Gate Guardian.
A rescue party rushes to them through the tunnels. The girl, Lady Edina (Meyari), tells her people that Yugi and the others saved her. They're the bravest warriors she's ever seen! She invites them to be guests at the palace. (The US Edina has the most high-pitched and affected voice! It's extremely off-putting. The Japanese version uses "polite speech," but she has a much more natural-sounding voice.)
Meanwhile, Kaiba's hanging chained from a huge stone slab, atop a pinnacle of rock, above a lake of molten lava. He regains consciousness to be greeted by his jailor, the Witty Phantom. He orders the Phantom to release him, but the Phantom tells him this world is no longer his to command. He's to become an offering to the Mythic Dragon (Five God Dragon). Kaiba tries to end the simulation, but nothing happens—his safety protocols have been overwritten. Witty Phantom tells him another offering is on the way, and then disappears, leaving a protesting Kaiba still hanging helplessly from the stone.
Yugi and the others are riding to the palace in carriages drawn by large birds. Yugi tells Mokuba he should be flattered that his brother based such a cool character on him, but Joey teases him by calling him "My Lady," and Mokuba isn't thrilled. (In the Japanese, Yugi says that the Big 5, who created the game in this version, must have modeled the Princess on Mokuba, and Jounouchi says, "How low of them," which causes Mokuba to growl at him to shut up.)
They reach the palace, where they discover that Edina is the princess of this land. (In the Japanese, she's the queen.) At dinner (which Joey eagerly scarfs down), Edina explains that each year, her kingdom and another are forced to give offerings so that the Mythic Dragon can be resurrected. (In the Japanese, she says they must offer sacrifices to the Five God Dragon, or it will destroy their lands.) The other kingdom has already put up their offering—a stranger from a distant land. Mokuba is certain the offering must be his brother. The stranger is being kept in a dark castle in the sky—the Castle of Dark Illusions. Edina shows them a painting of a huge bird, telling them that long ago, a legendary hero was said to have escaped from the castle on a flying machine, which he hid a thousand years ago. No one has ever found it, but it's the only way to reach the dark castle. The castle is protected by a magic barrier so that no duel monsters can penetrate it.
Edina tells them that she's volunteered to be her land's offering. But she tells them of a prophecy that epic heroes will come from beyond the mountains and destroy the Mythic Dragon. She thinks Yugi and friends are the heroes of legend. Everyone's a bit shocked, except for Joey, who thinks being a legendary hero is pretty cool. Anyway, they have to go through the Mythic Dragon to rescue Kaiba, so they have no choice but to take on the role of the heroes.
But legendary heroes have to dress the part! They're given costumes to wear—Mai, Yugi, and Mokuba have capes and body armor, but Joey reluctantly comes out of the dressing room wearing an animal skin and carrying a battle mace. (A lovely close-up of Jounouchi's crotch is cut out of the US version.)
Outside on the battlements, they see a castle forming in the sky. Thousands of Duel Monsters are coming to get the offering. Trying to protect the Princess, Mai summons her Dark Witch (Balki) to begin fighting off the monsters, but there are too many of them. Yugi tells her to bring back her Dark Witch, and then tries to play a magic card, Dark Hole (Black Hole), to destroy all the monsters, but his card is destroyed by one of the Armed Ninja's throwing knives before he can activate it. Then the Armed Ninja throws a net over the Princess and begins to carry her away.
Joey summons Axe Raider with Kunai with Chain to cut the Princess loose from the Armed Ninja. But it's no use—another monster swoops in and grabs her before the gang can get her back.
Then the person they thought was Mokuba falls to her knees, crying out that they've taken Mokuba! It's the Princess, who's switched clothes with Mokuba. He wanted to go, she explains, so that he could go to his brother. She begs the others to save him. But how do they reach the Dark Castle?
Then Yugi notices the outline of the legendary flying machine on the floor of some ruins below, uncovered by the recent storm. (Japanese Jounouchi says it looks like the plains at Nasca. Probably too esoteric a reference for US kids.) It must be buried down there. (Cut from the US version is a whole section where the citizens of Meyari's land hear a proclamation urging them to help defeat the Five God Dragon by searching everywhere for clues on how to revive the airship. They turn the town upside-down looking for information, and Yugi stands on the battlement looking down on the outline of the airship, telling Kaiba and Mokuba that he will rescue them. The people appear before their princess to tell her they've been unable to find anything, and Jounouchi wonders if this is the end, but Yugi tells him not to give up hope. Finally, Yugi asks the princess how many years ago the legend began, and realizes the answer.)
They go to the ruins, Joey protesting that even if they can dig it up, it will never be able to fly after being buried for a thousand years! That's why they need to restore it to the way it was a thousand years ago, Yugi says. Joey plays his Time Wizard, hoping to turn back time to a thousand years ago. The ruins rebuild themselves into an ancient city, and the ground shakes and crumbles as the flying machine begins to rise!
Back in the lab, Tristan and Téa are still trying to hold off Kemo and his goons. But they can't hold out much longer!
To Be Continued
