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Episode
GuideEpisode 121: Burying the Past, Part 2 (Escape!)
Noah has just told the gang that the virtual world they're in is about to be destroyed, and they must escape. He tells them that the only exit is in the Domino Arcade. Téa wonders if they can trust him, and Joey says trust Noah? Forget about it! But Robot Monkey Tristan points out that they have no choice, and they all agree to try it. (Japanese Jounouchi says, "That bastard Noah," and Honda says he doesn't want to die. Yugi says he trusts Noah.) Joey warns Noah not to pull any dirty tricks, and they run off.
Meanwhile, Kaiba and Gozaburo are still in the Kaiba Corp building dueling, when they also hear Noah's announcement. Noah tells Gozaburo that his plan to digitize the entire planet has been squashed. (Japanese Kaiba asks if Mokuba's all right, and Noah says yes, don't worry.) Gozaburo is shocked, asking Noah how he could do this after all he's done for him! Noah says it's payback. Gozaburo asks Noah to reconsider, saying he'll make sure he and Noah rule the universe together, once the world has been digitized. Noah sadly says it's too late. (Japanese Gozaburo asks if Noah's changed the course of the missile, and Noah says that he has. Noah is overlaid over the shot of Mokuba's body in the US version.)
(Gozaburo asks if Noah is betraying him, too. Will he destroy his own father? Noah says, "I'm sorry, Father.")
Kaiba tells Gozaburo it looks like he's failed again. There's only one thing left to do. (Japanese Kaiba tells Noah he's made a smart choice. They're not so different now. Noah tells Kaiba to hurry and escape.) Gozaburo agrees—it's time to escape from this place. And since he doesn't have a body of his own, he'll take Seto's. He transforms into a huge beast of flame and starts to attack Kaiba. But Kaiba stops him, telling him he's nothing but a corrupt computer file infecting the system. If he wants to prove his power, get back in his corner and duel! The winner will escape in Kaiba's body. (Japanese Kaiba tells Gozaburo that as a duelist, he can't quit in the middle of a duel. A brief scene is cut from the US version, in which Kaiba confirms with Noah that there are still a few minutes left. Noah says there are eight minutes and forty seconds.)
(Kaiba says that's enough, and tells Gozaburo to keep fighting. If Gozaburo wins, Kaiba will give him his body.) Gozaburo accepts his challenge, and they return to the duel.
Gozaburo attacks Kaiba's Vorse Raider with Exodia Necross, but Kaiba activates his trap card, Negate Attack, stopping Exodia Necross's attack. Trap cards can't destroy Exodia Necross, Kaiba thinks, but they can still stop its attack. Gozaburo says all Kaiba's doing is delaying his eventual defeat. His Exodia Necross is unstoppable. Kaiba says he's wrong, and he's already figured out a way to defeat it.
The gang are only two blocks away from the Domino Arcade, when Gozaburo's monsters appear again, chasing them. Yugi and Joey stop to fight them off, telling the others to go on ahead. Serenity doesn't want to go without Joey, but Téa urges her to come along. Joey reassures her that this won't take long (Japanese Jounouchi tells her not to worry, that "I'll be back!" in his best Arnold Schwartzenegger voice). Robot Monkey Tristan says they'll smash them, but Serenity picks him up, while Téa says he'd better come with them.
Kaiba uses the magic card, Shrink, to reduce Exodia Necross's attack strength by half. Then he sacrifices Vorse Raider to summon Luster Dragon. (The real card has been renamed Luster Dragon #2, because the folks at Upper Deck accidentally named another card Luster Dragon as well. The Japanese cards are Emerald Dragon and Sapphire Dragon. Rumor has it those names weren't used in the US because of possible conflicts with Pokémon.) Kaiba attacks Exodia Necross with Luster Dragon, giving Gozaburo's life points a big hit, taking him down to 900 life points. Kaiba says he's discovered Exodia Necross's weakness—it can't be destroyed, but it can still suffer battle damage. Exodia Necross may be invincible, but Gozaburo isn't! But Exodia Necross powers right back up, gaining another thousand attack points, bringing it up to 3800. Gozaburo uses it to destroy Kaiba's Luster Dragon, reducing Kaiba's life points to 2600. Now Exodia Necross's attack rises to 4800!
Téa and Serenity, with Robot Monkey Tristan, reach the arcade. (As before, the arcade is called "Big Wed" in the Japanese.) Noah directs them to the stage at the back of the arcade (it's the dance battle game where Téa competed with Johnny Steps), where they're transported back to their bodies inside VR pods. Téa says it looks like they have been here all along (Japanese Anzu says they're back inside the undersea fortress), and Serenity says they all made it back without any problems. But Tristan's still making monkey noises. Serenity points out that he's not a Robot Monkey any more, but Téa says he doesn't look all that different.
Noah, in Mokuba's body, sits at the controls in the VR room, saying that the others are ready. It looks like everyone's made it to the arcade.
Right outside the arcade, Yugi's just summoned Dark Magician to destroy another of Gozaburo's monsters. Joey's standing by with Flame Swordsman, saying now let's get out of this place! Noah tells them to proceed to the stage immediately. Duke and Joey head for the exit, while Yugi stays behind to attack one more monster. Joey yells at Yugi to hurry up, but just as Yugi reaches the stage, Noah asks him to stop.
Joey returns to himself, trying to get out of the pod without waiting for it to open up. Ouch! Joey and Serenity have a tearful reunion (well, Joey's tearful, anyway). The gang all gather around Noah, asking him where Mokuba is. Noah tells them he's still in the virtual world with Yugi and Seto—that's why he asked Yugi to stay back. Joey's furious that Noah asked Yugi to stay back for Kaiba! (Japanese Noah says that Seto's still dueling with Gozaburo, and Jounouchi's angry that Kaiba's dueling when the missile's about to launch!)
Noah asks Yugi to go to Kaiba Corp to bring Kaiba back, saying he'll create a virtual shortcut so Yugi can reach him quickly. Yugi agrees. (Japanese Noah tells Yugi he'll create a new exit for them at Kaiba Corp. Cut from the US version is a bit where Jounouchi says he'll go with Yugi, but Yugi says he'll go alone, and asks Jounouchi to go with everyone to get ready to escape. Jounouchi agrees, but tells Yugi he has to come back. "We haven't had our duel yet.")
Yugi rushes out through the virtual door Noah has created. (Japanese Yugi calls out, "Let's go, Black Magician" as he leaves.)
Téa asks Noah why he wants to save Kaiba so badly, when he hates him. Noah says he was wrong, and apologizes for treating them the way that he did. (Japanese Noah says Mokuba's body keeps urging him to save his brother.) Joey says he's sorry, too, for everything he said about Noah. The computer announces four minutes to the satellite attack. Noah tells them all to hurry back to the blimp, and they start to run off. Joey stops to tell Noah he's the only one who can get those three out of there now. It's all up to him. Noah says he knows.
Kaiba plays Pot of Greed to draw two more cards, then sets a monster in defense, and sets one card face down. Gozaburo asks how Seto can be so confident, when it's obvious that he has the advantage. Seto will never be able to summon a monster more powerful than Exodia Necross. Kaiba tells him he's got a lot to learn about Duel Monsters, and the first rule is never depend on one strong monster to win a duel. (Says the guy who thinks his Blue-Eyes White Dragon is the key to victory.)
The virtual door opens in front of Kaiba Corporation, and Yugi runs out, hoping he's not too late.
Exodia Necross smashes Kaiba's defense monster, Ancient Lamp (Magic Lamp), and its attack rises to 5800. Meanwhile, there are only two minutes left until the missile launch. (One minute in the Japanese.) Yugi's in the elevator on his way to the dueling arena, and Noah urges him to hurry. Kaiba draws his Blue-Eyes White Dragon, then, telling Gozaburo to watch and learn, he plays Monster Reborn to revive Ancient Lamp, which allows him to special summon La Jinn the Mystical Genie of the Lamp (1800ATK).
There's a reason he hasn't been able to destroy Exodia Necross, Kaiba says. He's been attacking its body, when he should have been attacking its soul.Then Kaiba activates his trap card, Soul Demolition (Soul Crush), which allows him to destroy all the monsters in his opponent's graveyard at a cost of 500 life points each. (The Japanese card allows him remove monsters in the graveyard from play. Which makes more sense than destroying a monster that's already been destroyed.) Kaiba has only three monsters in his graveyard, but Gozaburo has five. First, Kaiba destroys the left leg of Exodia, which protects Exodia Necross from magic cards, then the right leg, followed by Exodia's left arm and right arm. Exodia Necross loses its ability to increase its attack. Finally, Kaiba destroys the head of Exodia the Forbidden One, and Exodia Necross is no longer protected from Kaiba's monsters. Kaiba's life points are down to 100, but Exodia Necross's attack goes back to 1800. Then Kaiba sacrifices La Jinn and Ancient Lamp to summon the Blue-Eyes White Dragon.
"Checkmate."
The Blue-Eyes attacks and destroys the weakened Exodia Necross, and Gozaburo loses. One minute remains before the satellite attack. Yugi and Kaiba are still unconscious in their VR pods, and Noah thinks they'd better escape soon. (In the Japanese, the computer begins the countdown from ten seconds.) Gozaburo's stunned—how could he lose? Kaiba says that's what happens when you challenge someone who's superior in every way. (Japanese Gozaburo says that it should have been a perfect strategy, planned from all that data. Kaiba says he should keep in mind that "my strength can't be measured with data.")
But Gozaburo's not ready to give up. He transforms again into the red flame beast and attacks, just as Yugi arrives in the elevator, calling out to Kaiba to jump. Kaiba leaps down from the duel platform and into the elevator. With the Gozaburo monster in hot pursuit, Kaiba and Yugi flee the arena onto the rooftop of the Kaiba Corp tower. The countdown reaches zero, and the satellite begins its launch sequence. Noah tells Kaiba and Yugi to head to the Domino Arcade immediately. (Japanese Noah tells them that the missile has been fired.)
Kaiba and Yugi reach the edge of the roof, high above the street. Gozaburo thinks he's got them trapped, but Noah tells them to jump. With no other option, they do. Just as they're about to reach the ground, an exit opens up, and they return to the real world.
Noah lies down in Mokuba's pod, thanking him. Kaiba and Yugi wake up, but Kaiba sees Mokuba in his pod, still unconscious. Mokuba's in the virtual world with Noah, who thanks Mokuba for helping him. He's glad he got to know his brother. Mokuba asks if this means Noah's not coming back, but Noah says he will, he has to return to cyberspace first. Noah turns to go, saying he'll be back. Mokuba asks Noah to come with him now, but Noah says there's something he still has to do. Mokuba helped him and treated him like a brother, and now it's his turn to return the favor. Mokuba calls out to Noah not to go. (Japanese Noah apologizes to Mokuba, saying he'll give back Mokuba's body. He says he's going to go back to stay with his father. He's glad to have had a body, even for a short time. Mokuba pleads with Noah not to go, but Noah says he's got his human heart back, thanks to Mokuba. He's a human being, not a machine.) Noah fades into the distance, and Mokuba hears Kaiba's voice, calling to him to wake up. Finally, Mokuba returns to the real world, telling Seto that Noah's still inside!
As the missile speeds towards the undersea fortress, Gozaburo says he'll escape without a body, by uploading his mind to another network. Noah joins his father on the roof of the Kaiba Corp building, telling him there's not a chance—he's sealed off all the exits so there's no way he'll escape. Yugi, Kaiba, and Mokuba run through the halls for the airship, as the computer warns them to evacuate immediately. Mokuba wonders why Noah had to go back to that place. (The sign saying "Alert" is changed to a series of lines in the US version.)
The rest of the gang wait for them at the airship, but they know they have to go before the computer blows! (Cut from the US version is a scene of Yami Malik waiting in his room, laughing, saying hurry, hurry, everyone will die.)
Gozaburo picks up Noah in his hand, like a big flame King Kong, asking Noah what makes him think he can stop him! But Noah dissolves and reappears behind Gozaburo, saying he can control this place as well. Gazaburo asks if Noah would choose the others over him, and Noah says at least they believed in him. He apologizes, saying he can't let Gozaburo hurt them, and that's why he's keeping him trapped in there. Gozaburo's bound by yellow digital bands. He demands that Noah release him, but Noah appears on his father's neck, saying he'll make sure Gozaburo never hurts anyone again. (Japanese Gozaburo orders Noah to open an exit, but Noah refuses. Cut from the US version is this bit where Noah says understands now. Seto has Mokuba; Yugi has many friends. Noah thought he was alone, but he was wrong. Gozaburo angrily says he didn't ask Noah this!)
(But Noah continues—he has his father. Let it be at an end, he says, and lies upon his father's monstrous shoulder. "We are already dead, Father," he says, while Gozaburo continues to demand to be let go. Noah's naked body is covered up in the US version.)
The airship is taking off, while Yugi, Kaiba, and Mokuba are still running for it. The gang call for them to hurry, and Duke, Tristan, and Joey run down the steps of the entryway to reach for them. Mokuba thinks he won't make it, but Kaiba picks him up by the shirt and flings him onto the entryway on top of Duke, then jumps on after. Joey reaches for Yugi, and pulls him up. The airship clears the platform, just as the missile hits.
The virtual world begins to flicker out. (Cut from the US version is this shot of buildings in the virtual Domino blowing up.)
Gozaburo's body breaks up. (Noah, clinging to Gozaburo's neck as he is also destroyed, is digitized out of the US version.)
The explosion rattles the airship, and the gang is tossed about. Only Kaiba remains standing. (In the Japanese, Mokuba hears Noah say goodbye to him, and says Noah's name.)
Mai is still unconscious in bed, and Ishizu waits calmly in her room, while Dark Marik smiles at the destruction. Kaiba runs onto the bridge and takes over control of the ship, blasting clear just in time. But then Gozaburo's beast form rises from the flames, saying Seto will never escape him. His flame jaws close over the airship, but Kaiba says there's no way he'll let the old man win! (Japanese Kaiba says, "Gozaburo! I won't be swallowed by you!") He smashes an emergency control that makes the body of the blimp fall away, transforming it into a jet plane. The afterburners kick in, and the jet flies free.
(Cut from the US version is this shot of the smoldering ruins of the fortress.)
As the gang looks out of the ship, Joey says Noah might have been a spoiled brat when they met him, but he turned out all right. Téa wonders if Noah's mind was destroyed when the computer was destroyed, but Yugi says that knowing Noah, he saved his mind on a backup file. Mokuba agrees that Noah will be back, and calls out, "See you around, Noah." (Japanese Jounouchi says if you think about it, Noah's a poor kid, too. Anzu says all he wanted was to be loved by his father, and Yugi agrees that Noah was a sacrifice, too. Mokuba throws white lilies overboard in Noah's memory.)
But Kaiba just says that little detour was a complete waste of time (Japanese Kaiba says Noah and Gozaburo were stupid), and it's time to get back to business—the Battle City finals on Kaiba Corp Island (Alcatraz). The ship flies on.
(In the Japanese, the lilies float on the surface of the ocean, and Noah's voice is heard, saying, "I am a human, not a machine.".)
