Transcripts:
The Heart of the Cards

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Episode Originally Aired: September 29, 2001

TEASER/PROLOGUE

(A deep voice speaks, as a stone eye opens.)
Long ago, when the pyramids were still young, Egyptian kings played a game of great and terrible power. But these 'shadow games' erupted into a war that threatened to destroy the entire world, until a brave and powerful pharaoh locked the magic away...
(The stone eye reveals a small golden chest sitting on a pedestal in a beam of light; behind it on the wall, as well as on the pedestal, faded pictograms are visible. The eye expands out of the corners of our vision as we approach the box. Fade to black.)
...Imprisoning it within the mystical Millennium Items...
(Against the black, golden artifacts appear. In the foreground, the pyramid-shaped Millennium Puzzle; pan upward to the Millennium Scale, Eye, Key, and Ring.)
...Now, five thousand years later, a boy named Yugi unlocks the secret of the Millennium Puzzle. He is infused with ancient magical energies, for destiny has chosen *him* to defend the world from the return of the shadow games, just as the brave pharaoh did...
(The completed Puzzle hovers between Yugi's hands, glowing with mysterious light. Yugi's face, uplit by the radiant Puzzle, is one of surprise and amazement. A strong wind is whipping his hair and jacket in every direction. The glow expands, turning Yugi the color of gold, and the Puzzle glows brighter and brighter... A stronger, more powerful presence emerges, the Millennium symbol, a golden eye, shining on his forehead. He opens his eyes; they're purple, like Yugi's, but fiercer and more intense. His shadow splits into two forms: one meek and unassuming, the other commanding and strong.)
...Five thousand years ago.

(Opening) <1:00>

ACT 1 <1:45>

(At a school somewhere, morning or early afternoon. A clocktower on the front of the building reads either 7:03 am or 12:35 pm, depending on which clock hand is which.)
Yugi: Hey, Joey! Earth to Joey!
(Inside, Yugi and Joey are seated across from each other at a pair of desks pushed together front-to-front, each holding a hand of cards and with a game board spread out in front of him.)
Yugi: Hey, are you in there? It's your turn!
(Joey holds his other hand over his cards, silently debating which one to play.)
Joey: Hmmm...
(Tristan affectionately grabs Joey in a half-hearted neck-lock and looks over his shoulder at the cards.)
Tristan: Aww, isn't he cute when he's thinking!
Joey: He-hey, Tristan. Yugi here's teachin' me how to play Duel Monsters.
<2:00>
Tristan: 'Drooling Monsters'?
Joey: *Duel* Monsters, ya nimrod!
(Joey pushes Tristan away, and Tristan stands back from the duel with Téa.)
Tristan: Sheesh!
Téa; They've been at it for hours. Joey's starting to get the hang of the game, but Yugi's like an expert!
Joey: Okay, Yugi, it's time to duel!
(Joey slaps a card down on the table, and we get a close look at it.)
[Kagemusha of the Blue Flame 800/400/L2/earth]{&}
Téa: See, each card has an attack number and a defense number. First player to eliminate their opponent's 'life points' wins the duel.
Joey: Pretty good move, *huh*, Yugi?
(Yugi grins and plays his card)
Yugi: Yup, pret-ty good move, but not, good e-nough!
[Blackland Fire Dragon 1500/800/L4/dark]
(Joey twitches and drops his cards)
Joey; What?! Thanks a lot-- a card that powerful totally wipes me out!
(We pan back from the duel and see that, along with Téa and Tristan, two other girls and two other boys have gathered around to watch the duel, including a boy with shoulder-length white hair. Across the room, Seto Kaiba has his nose in a book.)
Tristan: Whoa, you *stink* at this game, Joey!
(Kaiba looks up from his book. Back at the duel, Joey's leaning back in his chair looking disgruntled.)
Yugi: Ahh, you did *fine*, Joey. I just have *better cards*. See, my grandpa owns a game shop, and I get all my best cards from him.
(Joey slams his hands down on the desk and stands up, leaning over it)
Joey: You're own game shop? What're we waitin' for? Let's go!
Yugi (laugh): Okay. Maybe I can even get my grandpa to show us this super-rare card he's got!
Kaiba (think): 'Rare card'? Could they have found the card that I've been searching for?!

(Later, at a Yugi and his friends walk into the small, friendly game shop that is also Yugi's house. We hear a bell jingle as the door opens)
Yugi (calls): Grandpa? I'm home!
<3:00>
(Yugi's grandpa is standing at the counter in the back of the shop)
Grandpa (laugh): And I see you've brought company!
(Joey, Tristan, and Téa are standing behind Yugi. He stands no higher than any of their elbows, including hair as margin for error.)
Yugi: Gramps, could you show my friends your awesome, super-rare card?
Grandpa (comically surprised): Rare card! My *special* card? Hmmm...
Yugi: Please, please!
Joey: *Pretty* please?
Grandpa: Hmm... ha ha! How can I refuse? You kids are in for a treat; I don't take this card out too often.
(As he speaks, grandpa pulls a small wooden box from behind the counter. It contains a single Duel Monsters card, with a picture of a mighty silver-blue dragon)
Grandpa: Ready? Here it is-- the Blue-Eyes White Dragon, so rare, so powerful, I never let it leave my hands!
Joey: A-a-awesome!
Téa: Cool.
(Tristan plucks the card from grandpa's hand and flaps it around)
Tristan: Hmm, doesn't look all that special to *me*.
(Grandpa's jaw drops; Téa, Joey, and Yugi look at Tristan in embarrassed disbelief. Grandpa snatches it back)
Grandpa: Ahh! This card- is priceless!! There's only four of them in all the world!
Joey: Speakin' a' priceless, I'm ready to trade!
Grandpa: Not for *this* card!!
Joey: Huh? Nah, I didn't mean *that* card. I meant show me some *other* cool cards to get me started.
(The bell on the door jingles again, and we know instantly that this newcomer is trouble.)
Grandpa: Hello, can I help you?
(Yugi and his friends look at the door; It's Kaiba, carrying a metal briefcase.)
Kaiba: If you *can't*, it certainly wouldn't surprise me.
Yugi: Seto Kaiba?
Joey: Kaiba?!
<4:00>
Tristan: Doesn't he have a big fancy company to run? What's he doing down *here*?
Kaiba: Not that it's any of your business, but I came to see the card.
Joey: Hey, are you into Duel Monsters too? This is perfect; maybe we could all duel together sometime.
Kaiba: *Me*, duel *you*? I would have more of a challenge playing Solitaire.
Joey: What?
Kaiba: *I* am the number-one-ranked duelist in the country and the favorite to win the Duel Monsters championship. Heh, you wouldn't last *two minutes* in a duel against me.
Joey: Ooh, I'm shakin'! Maybe you'd like to settle this with *fists* instead a' *cards*!
(Yugi runs and gets between them)
Yugi: Whoa, take it easy, Joey!
Joey: But Yugi, Kaiba's askin' for it...
Kaiba: Now, does this shop have any worthwhile cards or not?
(Kaiba suddenly glimpses grandpa's Blue-Eyes White Dragon, back in its little box. He shoves Yugi and the others to the side, ignoring their protests)
Kaiba: Can it be, the Blue-Eyes White Dragon, in a dump like this?! (think) It is!! The card I've been searching for!!
(Kaiba is breaking into sweat as he stares at the precious card, his hand poised over it. Grandpa breaks the tension by clapping the lid of the box shut)
Grandpa: Well, enough window-shopping. Is there anything else I can help you with?
(Kaiba recovers quickly, and is not happy. He lifts his briefcase and slams it on the counter, thoroughly shocking Grandpa. <5:00> Kaiba opens it and flips it around, and Grandpa oohs and ahhs at the sight of what's in the briefcase.)
Kaiba: Listen to me, old man. Gimme your Blue-Eyes White Dragon card and I'll trade you all of these!
(The briefcase is full of cards. The cards I recognize are: Giltia the Knight, Labyrinth Tank, Block Attack, Mooyan Curry, Red Medicine, Polymerization, Remove Trap, Launcher Spider, Flame Cerebrus, and there are many others that I don't. TYG001_id1.)
Yugi, Joey, Tristan, and Téa: Whoa!!
Grandpa: Ah, nice. But no thanks.
Yugi, Joey, Tristan, and Téa: Huh?!
Kaiba: Ugh, fine. If you won't trade, maybe you'll *sell* it. Name your price; I can pay *anything* you ask.
Grandpa: I'm sure you could. But this card is worth more to me than you could ever offer, not because of its power, or because it's so rare, but because of what it means to me. This card was given to me by a dear friend; and so I treasure this card as I do that friend. So parting with it is completely out of the question!
Kaiba (think): NO!!!
(Yugi is oblivious to Kaiba's rage and desperation)
Yugi: You'd feel the same even if it were a common card, right, Grandpa?
Grandpa: Exactly. You see, this precious card has bonded with my heart.
(Kaiba snaps the case shut)
Kaiba: Fine! (turns to leave) I've heard enough of your nonsense! (storms out) Senile old fool!

(Outside, Kaiba's fancy car starts up and drives away. <6:00> In the back, Kaiba seethes)
Kaiba (think): Heart in the cards-- ridiculous!! These cards're all about power-- and one way or another, his Blue-Eyes White Dragon card... will be mine!
(Ahead of the car, we see the KaibaCorp Headquarters skyscraper loom in the distance.)

ACT 2 <6:12>

(At KaibaCorp Headquarters)
Kaiba: Gentlemen, there's a little something I'd like you to pick up for me at the game shop.
- *Gladly*, Master Kaiba!

(Late morning, at the game shop, suspicious figures in black suits approach.)
(Inside, Grandpa is tending the shop when he hears the bell jingle.)
Grandpa: Good mornin'.
(Grandpa turns, already wary as soon as he sees this trio; at the forefront is a short, bald man with orange-lensed pince-nez glasses and a grotesquely wide face. The other two are nondescript in black suits, crew cuts, and sunglasses-- very Men In Black or Secret Service. These are clearly goons sent from KaibaCorp. The middle one speaks.)
- My master Seto Kaiba challenges you to a duel. You will come with us now.
Grandpa: And if I were... *to decline*?
- I'm afraid I must... *insist*.
Grandpa (think): Young Kaiba doesn't understand-- but I'll teach *him* a lesson about the Heart of the Cards!

(After school, Yugi's friends follow him home again)
Joey: Man, I hope he has some cool cards today!
Yugi: Me, too!
Tristan and Téa: Yeah!
(The bell jingles as they enter the shop)
Joey: Okay, gramps, I'm back to get more cards! Hey! Hey, gramps!
(The shop is empty)
Yugi: Grandpa, I'm home!
Téa: Maybe he... went out.
Joey: *Maybe*, but why would he leave the door unlocked?
(The phone rings; <7:00> Yugi answers it.)
Yugi: Hello. Game shop.
Kaiba (via phone): Ah, Yugi. Perfect.
Yugi: Kaiba?!
Kaiba: Your grandfather's here visiting, but he's not feeling well. Why don't you come by my office and pick him up?
Yugi: Kaiba?! What've you done, Kaiba?!

(In the last rays of a sunset that turns the clouds misty violet against a blood-orange sky, Yugi and his friends enter KaibaCorp Headquarters at a run and crowd into the elevator. When they arrive at their floor, the first thing they see is grandpa, on his face on the ground. Téa gasps, and Yugi runs to him)
Yugi: Grandpa!! Grandpa, a-are you okay?
(Grandpa props himself on an elbow.
Grandpa: Yugi, I failed. I wanted to teach that boy Kaiba a lesson about the Heart of the Cards, but I lost. Ugh...
Yugi: Grandpa...!
(Kaiba is standing in a doorway across from the elevator, half-silhouetted in bright white light.)
Kaiba: How's the old man feeling, hm?
Joey: Kaiba! You sleaze! What've you done to him!!
Kaiba: We had a duel, that's all, with each of us putting up our most valuable card as the prize. But I guess playing against a champion like myself was just too much <8:00> *stimulation* for the old fool.
Téa: Kaiba! You should be ashamed of yourself!
(Kaiba shows them the Blue-Eyes White Dragon...)
Kaiba: It was fair. And look at the sweet prize I won.
(...And rips it cleanly in half!! Everyone gasps in horror, but Yugi is the most devastated of all.)
Yugi: Grandpa's most treasured card!
Kaiba: Yes, the Blue-Eyes White Dragon *is* a rare and powerful card. And *this* one will never be used against me.
Grandpa: Ah! My Blue-Eyes White Dragon! M-my treasure!
Yugi: Grandpa, hold on. (to Kaiba) How could you do such a thing!
(Grandpa raises a shaking hand, giving Yugi a deck of dueling cards.)
Grandpa: Yugi, here! Take this!
Yugi: Huh? Grandpa...!
Grandpa: I built this deck; I put my soul in these cards! And I taught you everything I know, Yugi. Take them! Take my cards and teach him respect! Teach Kaiba respect for the Heart of the Cards, Yugi!
Yugi: But grandpa, you need help, I've got to get you to a doctor--
Kaiba: Sounds like an excuse. Your friends can care for your grandfather, while you and I duel. Unless you're afraid...?
(Yugi stares Kaiba down, completely terrified, on the verge of tears)
Joey: Take 'im, Yugi!
(Yugi turns, surprised)
<9:00>
Joey: We can take care a' your grandpa while you take care of *creepy Kaiba*! Teach that rich, spoiled brat what a real duel's all about!
Téa: For your grandpa, Yugi!
Yugi: I don't know...
Joey: *Trust* me; you're, like, the best player I've ever seen, *and* you've got the Millennium Puzzle! You can do this, Yugi! I *know* ya can!
Téa: We *all* do.
(Yugi nods, and accepts grandpa's deck)
Yugi: Okay, grandpa. I'll do it.
Grandpa: I know you will, my boy.
(Téa pulls out a black marker)
Téa: Everyone, put your hands together, and I'll mark us with a special sign.
(She's drawn a smiley-face across the backs of their four hands, with part of it on each one. The three boys, utterly nonplussed, look at the black marker all over their hands)
All three boys: Huh?
Joey: What gives, Téa?
Téa: It's a symbol of our friendship, so when Yugi's dueling, no matter how tough it gets, he'll know that he's not alone-- we're all right there with him!
(Yugi nods. The ambulance arrives and Tristan carries grandpa to it on his back, Joey and Téa following. When they stop, Téa turns to Joey)
Téa: Joey, Tristan and I will take Yugi's grandpa to the hospital. Why don't you get back in there and cheer Yugi on!
Joey: Okay! Take good care of 'im, Téa!

Kaiba: I designed this virtual stadium myself. Impressive, mm? I think you'll agree, <10:00> it adds a bit more life to the game.
(It adds *something*; Yugi and Kaiba face each other atop platforms with consoles to play the cards on, across a stadium that's perhaps the size of two basketball courts side-by-side. Above in the center, the light fixture also holds a scoreboard--already set to 2000 lifepoints each-- much like a professional sports arena, and other light comes from lights around the domed wall that, from a distance, give the impression of a spider web. The floor between the two podia is green with white lines painted or tiled into it, two sets of fourteen rectangles in two rows, just like a tabletop mat for cards. Contrasting the modern high-tech arena, the stadium seats are stone, with giant stalagmites around the edges. The visual effect is something like a high-tech cave, or lair; Kaiba has lured his prey onto his home turf.)
Kaiba: We each begin with two thousand lifepoints; first player to hit zero loses! Are you ready to play, runt?
Yugi: Playtime is *over*, Kaiba!
(The Millennium Puzzle, hanging on a cord around Yugi's neck, begins to glow, and shakes and sways on its own. Whether aloud or in his head, we'll never know, Yugi cries out--)
Yugi: Yu-Gi-Oh...!!
(And as the word is spoken, the voice speaking it grows deeper. From a grey void appears swirling lines, strange symbols, rushing wind, and a column of blue-white light, in which there appears a figure. He's like Yugi, but isn't. This presence radiates power, confidence, and strength. Yugi looks at Kaiba across the duel stadium, but is no longer the timid, shy kid who challenged him. Kaiba notices immediately)
Kaiba: Ah...! What the?!
Yugi (Yami): Now, Kaiba, prepare yourself, because it's time to duel!

ACT 3 <10:43>

Kaiba: Virtual systems ready-- so let's begin! I attack with the mighty Hitotsu-Me Giant! Brace yourself, Yugi-- you've *never* dueled like this before!
[Hitotsu-Me Giant 1200/1000/L4/earth]
(A fixture in the ceiling starts to glow, and a green column of light appears in one of the spaces in front of Kaiba, starting grainy and solidifying into a green giant just like the one on the card, standing a few yards taller than the duelists' podia.)
Yugi (Yami): Huh? He's brought the monster on the card to life!
Kaiba: It's my virtual simulator. <11:00> It creates lifelike holograms of every duel monster!
Yugi (Yami): So *this* is how you beat my grandfather! Well now it's *my* turn! I call on the Winged Dragon, Guardian of the Fortress!
[Winged Dragon, Guardian of the Fortress #1 1400/1200/L4/wind]
(Yugi's sky-blue dragon appears on his side of the field, just as tall as the Hitotsu-Me Giant. Joey runs into the stadium and stops short when he sees the two huge monsters about to do battle.)
Joey: Wha--? Monsters? Real monsters?!
Yugi: Fireball attack!
(Kaiba's giant roars as Yugi's dragon attacks and hits it with a fireball straight in the chest. Kaiba braces himself, shielding his face and gripping the rail of the podium as the explosion rocks it. Kaiba's lifepoints now stand at 1800. A little boy, maybe eleven or twelve, with long black hair, an orange shirt, and a blue bandanna hurries to the sidelines on Kaiba's side of the field.)
Mokuba: Big brother! Are you all right?
Joey: All right!! Go Yugi!
(Kaiba draws a card, looks at it, and smiles)
Kaiba: Ha. Well-played, Yugi-- for a beginner. But how will you deal with *this*?
[Saggi the Dark Clown 600/1500/L3/dark]
(Saggi is a jester-type clown, with puffy bloomers and sleeves, stripey tights, a pointy hat, and wacky purple boots and gloves. His face is reminiscent of a Picasso painting.)
Yugi (Yami): Saggi the Dark Clown? But that card has hardly *any* attack strength.
Kaiba: True, your Winged Dragon's attack is fourteen-hundred, while my Dark Clown's is only six-hundred, but if I combine it with *this* card...
<12:00>
Yugi (Yami): Ah! A magic card!
Kaiba: Exactly. The "Negative Energy Generator". It multiplies my monster's attack by *three.*
(The clown gets bigger and uglier; its points are now 1800.)
Kaiba: Dark Clown, attack with Dark Light!
(Winged Dragon is destroyed. Yugi's lifepoints drop to 1600.)
Kaiba: As you can see, combining cards can be very effective.
Yugi (think): He's good. He knows every aspect of this game.
(Yugi goes to draw a card, his right hand still crisscrossed with black marker.)
Yugi (think): But my grandpa put all his gaming knowledge, his whole heart, into assembling this deck. I have to believe it holds some secret strategy.
(He draws, and looks at his card. It's a right leg. Just a leg.)
[Right Leg of the Forbidden One 200///dark]
Yugi (think): Huh? This card is useless. I can't beat the Dark Clown with this. I'll have to use a different monster, in defense mode. The monster will be sacrificed, but my overall lifepoints will be safe.
(Yugi places the card on the console, and a zone of his field begins to glow.)
Kaiba: Dark Light attack!!
(Yugi's defensive monster, Sangan, is destroyed. Joey pounds his fists on the stone rail)
Joey: Hang in there, Yugi!
(Saggi blows away monster after monster. <13:00> Next to fall is a red dragon TYG001_id2, then Yugi's Feral Imp. A few turns later, Yugi is still struggling.)
Kaiba: You're not faring any better than the old man did, Yugi. Your deck is just as *weak and feeble* as your grandfather!
Yugi (Yami): *My grandpa* is a great man, and a better duelist than you'll ever be! He entrusted me with his cards, and I can feel his *heart* in this deck. I doubt you have that kind of faith in *your* cards, Kaiba!
(Kaiba seems uncertain for a split second.)
Kaiba: Wha?
Yugi (Yami): But I *believe* in my grandpa's deck!
(He draws, and looks. And smiles.)
Yugi (think): And my faith rewards me, with Gaia, the Fierce Knight! With a destructive power of twenty-three-hundred!
[Gaia the Fierce Knight 2300//L7/]
(Gaia appears on the field, a knight on a purple horse with two large red lances, one in each hand.)
Kaiba: Ugh!
(Gaia charges, and takes out Saggi the Dark Clown. Kaiba's lifepoints fall to 1300.)
Joey: Way to go, Yugi!
Yugi (Yami): All right, Kaiba, your move.
<14:00>
Kaiba: Ha. This'll be over sooner than you think. I call on the Blue-Eyes White Dragon!
(Blue-Eyes appears, the mighty dragon from the card, even more amazing in person. It roars its supremacy over the dueling field.)
[Blue-Eyes White Dragon 3000/2500/L7/light]
Yugi (think): Huh? No way!
Joey: Impossible!! We all watched Kaiba tear that card in half!
Kaiba: Surprised? Did you think your grandfather was the only one to possess a Blue-Eyes White Dragon?
(Blue-Eyes roars, and blue-white fire pours from its mouth, obliterating Gaia the Fierce Knight. Yugi's down to 900 lifepoints)
Kaiba: Ha, your Fierce Knight is destroyed! Faith or *no* faith, you *will* fall before my superior monsters, Yugi. *Power* is what this game is all *about*, you fool. Faith is for losers-- like your pathetic grandfather!
(As Kaiba speaks, Blue-Eyes blows away monster after monster...)
[Horn Imp 1300/1000/L4/dark]
[Beaver Warrior 1200/1500/L4/earth]
Kaiba: In your entire deck, there's not a single card that can stand up to a Blue-Eyes White Dragon! So what hope do you have against *two*?
(Kaiba summons another Blue-Eyes, just as devastating and majestic as the first.)
Kaiba: Why don't you just admit defeat, Yugi. <15:00>
(Yugi watches the Blue-Eyeses, grimly silent...)

(Meanwhile, at the hospital, Téa and Tristan jog along with grandpa's gurney. Grandpa, wearing a breathing mask, murmurs...)
Grandpa: Don't... give up... Yugi...!

(Back at the duel)
Yugi (Yami): I *won't* give up. Grandpa's counting on me.
(He looks at the card he drew, and gasps.)
Yugi (Yami): Ah! A magic card! (announces) "Swords of Revealing Light"! It stops all monsters on the field for three turns!
(The Swords materialize high above Kaiba's side of the field, and stab down among the Blue-Eyeses like prison bars; they can't move.)
Kaiba: How desperate! What possible good will a three-turn delay *do* you?
Yugi (think): He's right! What do I do?
(Yugi looks at his hand; it contains Rude Kaiser, a right leg, a left leg, and a right arm)
Yugi (think): I can't figure out what to do with these cards! They're just a bunch of *pieces*. How can I use them to battle an expert like Kaiba?
(Suddenly, Yugi thinks he hears grandpa's voice)
Grandpa (VO): For someone claiming to have faith, you're giving up too easily, Yugi.
(Yugi looks over his shoulder; a vision of grandpa is standing behind him)
Grandpa vision: Listen. Sometimes the cards are like a puzzle. You have to put all the different *pieces* in their proper place.

(Yugi turns around all the way, and is now completely in the vision. He speaks with the voice of the shyer, timid Yugi)
Yugi: Ah, like the Millennium Puzzle?
Grandpa vision: Exactly. Each piece helps to build a greater entity.
(Grandpa fades and disappears; Yugi reaches out a hand after him)
Yugi: Grandpa!
(Grandpa's voice echoes back to him)
<16:00>
Grandpa vision: Like the pieces of a puzzle, Yugi! Remember!

Yugi (think): *Puzzle*?! When are the cards like a puzzle? Wait-- grandpa once said--

(Flashback. Looks like a late night in the game shop. Grandpa stands behind the counter in the back, and Yugi leans on it, listening. The only light in the room is from a lamp somewhere behind the counter.)
FB Grandpa: Duel Monsters contains only one unstoppable monster-- Exodia. But he can only be summoned by drawing all five special cards. A feat that to this very day, no one has ever accomplished.
(End Flashback)

Kaiba: Quit your stalling, Yugi, or you will *forfeit* the match!
Yugi (Yami): I *never* forfeit!
(Yugi draws, and looks; it's another arm! BTW, Yugi already had a Right Arm, so this would make two. Small continuity glitch.)
Yugi (think): Huh?! Another piece of the puzzle!
Kaiba: Draw any card you like, it won't change a thing! My dragons may be frozen for another two turns, but my new monster is under no such spell! The Judge Man, with an attack power of twenty-two hundred!
[Judge Man 2200///]
(It destroys Yugi's defense monster, Rude Kaiser. Yugi winces, and draws again; his card is the Dark Magician.)
Yugi (think): I can attack with the Dark Magician. But he won't stand a chance once Kaiba's dragons are free of my spell!
[Dark Magician 2500/2100/L7/dark]
Yugi (Yami): Dark Magician, attack!
<17:00>
(Judge Man goes down. Kaiba's at 1000 lifepoints now.)
Yugi (Yami): Your Judge Man falls!
Kaiba: Oh... A sacrifice that doesn't even faze me. And though neither dragon can move for one more turn, my next card is... the *third* Blue-Eyes White Dragon!
(Yugi looks panicked as the third dragon appears on the field with a cry.)
Kaiba: Now, my dragon, attack!
(It does, and destroys the Dark Magician. Yugi's lifepoints now stand at 400)
Kaiba: So tell me, Yugi. How's your faith *now*? On my next turn, all three Blue-Eyes White Dragons are free to attack. This game's over no matter *what* card you draw!

ACT 4 <17:44>

Kaiba: You can't *possibly* stand against my three Blue-Eyes White Dragons. It's over, Yugi; you were *never* a match for me!
Joey: Don' listen, Yugi!
Yugi (think): Kaiba had three Blue-Eyes all along! He only wanted grandpa's card so it couldn't be used against him. My only chance now is to <18:00> assemble all the pieces of Exodia. But the odds are against me. ("Exodia" start: <18:05> episode / <0:05> MusicToDuelBy) I don't think I can do this...!
(His deck seems to shy away from the hand poised to draw a card.)
Yugi (Yami): The deck! It senses my doubt!
(For a moment we see the confident Yugi and the shy one split apart, and both are trying hard to stay calm as they contemplate what this next draw means.)
Yugi (Yami): Don't lose focus, Yugi, don't lose faith! *Concentrate!* Huh?
(Suddenly he notices the friendship symbol's marker lines all over the back of his right hand.)
Yugi (think): Our friendship symbol!
(He seems to see his friends standing before him, holding their hands over the deck as well in the three other pieces of the friendship symbol. They look at him)
Téa vision: Yugi, we're all right here with you.
Tristan vision: Yugi, you've got to believe in yourself.
Joey vision: You can do it; just kick Kaiba's butt!
Yugi (Yami): They're right-- I've got to believe in the cards like my friends believe in me!
Kaiba: Draw your last pathetic card so I can end this, Yugi!
Yugi (Yami): My grandpa's deck *has* no pathetic cards, Kaiba. But it *does* contain...
(He picks it up off the top of his deck, no longer in any doubt that it was there)
Yugi (Yami): The unstoppable Exodia!
Kaiba: Aagh! Impossible!
Yugi (Yami): I've assembled all five special cards, all five pieces of the puzzle.
[Exodia the Forbidden One 1000/1000/L3/dark]
[Right Arm of the Forbidden One 200/300/L1/dark]
[Right Leg of the Forbidden One 200/300/L1/dark]
[Left Arm of the Forbidden One 200/300/L1/dark]
[Left Leg of the Forbidden One 200/300/L1/dark]
(He places the five cards across the console. A large, vertical, many-pointed star appears on the field, and through one of the points emerges an arm, then another through the opposite point, then Exodia's head appears in the middle of the star as the great behemoth pulls itself from its prison and faces the three Blue-Eyes White Dragons, which are now looking decisively smaller. <19:00> Kaiba is freaking out.)
Kaiba: Exodia! I-it's not possible! No one's *ever* been able to call *him*!
Yugi (Yami): Exodia... Obliterate!!
(Exodia concentrates energy between its massive palms, and then uses it to blow away all three Blue-Eyeses in a blaze of golden light. Kaiba screams as the blaze obscures him from view. His lifepoints drop all the way to zero.)
Joey: Ya did it! Yugi, you won!
Mokuba: This *can't* be! My brother *never* loses!
Yugi (Yami): You play only for power, Kaiba, and *that* is why you lost. But if you put your heart in the game, there is *nothing* you can't do.
Kaiba: But- but *how*! How could I have lost to *him*!
(As Yugi speaks a small, glowing golden eye appears on his forehead.)
Yugi (Yami): Kaiba... if you truly want to know-- *open your mind*!!
(With this last, Yugi exerts some kind of power; something seems to shatter and crack off of Kaiba, and suddenly he looks more human, if no less shaken. He falls to his knees. "Exodia" end <19:53> episode/ <1:51> MusicToDuelBy)
Yugi (Yami): There, Kaiba. Maybe now you will begin to *see*.

(At the hospital, grandpa suddenly opens his eyes)
Grandpa: Ah?
Téa: Grandpa's awake!
<20:00>
Grandpa: Yugi won.

- Mister Pegasus, sir. Seto Kaiba, our undefeated champion; he's been defeated in a duel, sir...
(This sinister new character is sitting in the dark, the only light coming from a doorway in which the minion who just told him this news is standing. Pegasus has long white hair, the strands of which, on the left side, have fallen away from concealing an eye that is made of gold. Clearly affluent, Pegasus holds a wineglass in his hand, and his collar is frilly and ruffly.)
- ...By someone named 'Yugi'.
Pegasus: Hmmm...
(This means trouble; the golden eye sparks ominously, as he smiles.)

END <20:16>

* Special thanks to YouTube for making this video easily accessible.
* Special thanks to Yugioh Wikia as a resource for identifying TCG cards. Cards identified with this resource denoted: {&} Also, for the air date.
* Music To Duel By is an official Yu-Gi-Oh! soundtrack, from DreamWorks/Cherry Lane/4Kids Music Publishing. The track I compared a piece of the episode's background music to is directly from that CD.

Last Updated: October 19, 2010

I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!, at all, and these transcripts are unofficial and without any permission whatsoever. Please link back to me or credit me somehow if you use my work. For more information about my transcript format, please click here.