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Episode
GuideEpisode 96: Showdown in the Shadows, Part 1 (Malik vs Bakura)
(The Japanese title of this episode is the kanji "Yami vs Yami"—Dark vs Dark. Above the kanji are furigana—small characters showing how the kanji should be read—spelling out Malik vs Bakura.)
Yugi is asleep on the airship, his Millennium Puzzle on the pillow beside him. In Joey's room, Tristan's sharing Joey's bed, while Duke sleeps next to them on some end tables that have been shoved together. Joey mumbles challenges to Kaiba in his sleep, and accidentally punches Tristan, who turns over and continues to sleep. (Japanese Jounouchi only says "Mai" in his sleep.)
Now Joey is dreaming about Mai, telling her he's glad to see her back on her feet. She tells him he's got more to worry about than her, and suddenly she's trapped again on the stone tablet from her duel with Marik. As she disappears into the distance, Joey calls out to her to come back. He swears to get her back from the Shadow Realm.
Meanwhile, Mai is still in a coma, with Serenity nodding off at her bedside. Odion is unconscious in his room, while Ishizu sleeps in hers. Téa lies half on and half off Bakura's now-empty bed, and Kaiba continues to sit at the computer, studying the text on the Winged Dragon of Ra card, wondering why he can read it. He's seen what Ra's abilities are. Now he just needs to win it from Marik.
Outside, on the dueling ring, Dark Marik and Dark Bakura face off. Marik tells Bakura the loser will pay the ultimate price, but Bakura just laughs. Marik says he won't be laughing when he's banished to the Shadow Realm! But Bakura says Marik will be the one going to the Shadow Realm. Marik remembers Dark Bakura being attacked by Yugi's Slifer, so that he was unconscious when Marik used the Winged Dragon of Ra against Mai. Bakura has no idea how Marik's God card works, so he won't know what to expect—or will he? Dark Marik almost forgot—Bakura has the dueling experience of Marik's weaker self to call upon.
Dark Bakura agrees. Marik knows Dark Marik's strategy and his deck inside and out. But Dark Marik thinks those two are in for quite a surprise. He's changed most of the cards in his dueling deck. Dark Bakura says he knows Dark Marik has Ra in his deck, but Dark Marik says that doesn't mean he'll be able to stop it.
Marik wants to have a few words with his counterpart face to face. He tells his dark side that he will win his body back. Destiny is on his side. Dark Marik says he's taken over Marik's fate. Now he'll claim power of the Pharaoh for himself. (Japanese Malik says Yami Malik is the evil will that grew inside him. Yami Malik agrees. He is the darkness born of Malik's anger, hatred, and sadness. But he was sealed by Rishid, Malik says. Yami Malik says his other self should relax and thank him.)
While he was occupying Téa's mind, Marik says, he heard Ishizu tell the story of the day his darker half was born. The seeds were planted when he received the Tomb-Keepers' initiation, and Dark Marik began their path towards darkness when he sent Marik's father to the Shadow Realm. Soon, he'll make Dark Marik pay for what he did. (Japanese Malik says he learned that his dark self killed his father. The flashbacks have been changed some, but it's all stuff we've seen before.)
Dark Marik says he was born out of Marik's hatred and jealousy and anger, which makes Marik just as guilty. (Japanese Yami Malik protests that even though they have different minds, Malik can't just pick all the favorable things as his and give the bad ones to him. They're both guilty.) Marik agrees, but vows from now on to make up for everything he's done. Dark Bakura thinks it's all very touching. Marik thinks that Odion shielded him from the truth, and for years, he believed it was that stranger, Shadi, who destroyed his father. But now he knows better. Dark Marik says it's too late to do anything about it now, but Marik insists that once Dark Marik is defeated, he'll have his revenge. Dark Marik says that without him, Marik won't exist.
Dark Bakura thinks Marik has kept some secrets from him. If he wants Bakura's help now, it will cost him. (Japanese Bakura realizes that the stranger Malik referred to is Shadi.) Marik says if they win the duel, he'll give Bakura the Millennium Rod, but Dark Bakura says that's their old deal. What's this about the power of the Pharaoh? Is there a magic stronger than that of the seven Millennium Items? What secrets is Marik keeping from him? Marik promises to tell Dark Bakura everything if they win. Dark Bakura doesn't trust him, but he knows Marik needs him, and he agrees.
Dark Bakura says it's time to duel. (Japanese Yami Bakura calls himself "Ore-sama," giving himself a very high-status honorific.) Laughing, Dark Marik begins a Shadow Game, saying that in this duel, the Shadow Realm will slowly devour the loser as his life points diminish. They activate their Duel Disks and start the duel.
Dark Bakura draws first, saying that already his cards are showing no mercy. He plays one card face down, then summons Goblin Zombie in attack mode (1100 ATK).
Dark Marik also plays a card face down, then summons Drillago (1600 ATK). He attacks Goblin Zombie, but Dark Bakura activates his trap card, Fearful Earthbound. A mound of sharp nasty teeth rises around Dark Marik, as Marik explains that this trap card takes 500 life points from Dark Marik each time he attacks. But Goblin Zombie is still destroyed, and Dark Marik plays Remove Trap to destroy Fearful Earthbound. Dark Bakura loses 500 life points in battle damage, and part of his arm fades away. Dark Bakura stares at it in horror, and Dark Marik explains that since Bakura lost 500 life points, he also loses part of his body, until the Shadow Realm claims all of him. Soon the darkness will feed on his soul for all eternity! Nasty-looking serpent-like beasts swarm through the shadows surrounding them.
But Dark Bakura's not impressed. He knows quite well how the Shadow Realm works. Besides, Dark Marik's the one who's going to the Shadow Realm. Dark Marik says there's no way Bakura can win as long as he controls the Winged Dragon of Ra. (Japanese Yami Malik says it's a Death Game.)
Meanwhile, as Yugi sleeps, the Millennium Puzzle begins to glow. Yugi finds himself inside his soul room, surrounded by toys and games. He thinks this stuff looks familiar, but can't remember where he's seen it before. (Japanese Yugi realizes that he is inside his heart.) He opens the door, and sees another door across from him. Now he remembers—this is the inside of his mind, and that's the door to Yami's side. He's been in there before. (Japanese Yugi thinks that a bad feeling is coming from the room of his other self.) He opens the door, to find a huge puzzle-like interior, with dead ends and false starts everywhere.
Yami comes up, asking Yugi what's wrong. (Japanese Yami startles Yugi, asking him if he's lost to come into his room. Yugi laughs and says Yami scared him, and Yami apologizes.) Yugi says it seems like things are getting out of hand lately, and it seems the danger's growing. Yami agrees. The danger grows as they near their destiny. Yugi thinks he knows why this place is so complex. All the confusing paths represent the mysteries of Yami's past, and the questions they have about the future. He knows they'll figure all of it out soon! (Japanese Yugi says the room is confusing because Yami doesn't have his memory. One day, he says, he'll get back Yami's memory.)
Back at the duel, Dark Bakura draws. Dark Marik says none of Bakura's moves will surprise him—he saw Bakura's last duel and knows everything he has in his deck. Dark Bakura's drawn the "I" of his "FINAL" combo, and he already has the "F." He thinks Dark Marik will be expecting him to use his Destiny Board, but he's in for a surprise. (The Destiny Board is added over Bakura's face in the US version. The subtitles on the Japanese version call the Ouija Board "Weka Tray." the subbers really have a hard time with "Ouija.")
Dark Bakura knows that with only one monster on the field, even if Dark Marik has Ra in his hand, he can't summon it yet. He needs three monsters to sacrifice. So Bakura has a little time. Marik tells Dark Bakura that Ra is no threat, but Dark Bakura tells him to keep quiet. He has a plan. But Marik says he knows the secret of Ra.
Dark Marik tells him to stop stalling. Dark Bakura turns back to the duel, thanking Marik, but warning him that if his scheme works, he might lose his body. Marik says he'll risk it.
Dark Bakura plays two cards face down and summons Gernia in defense (1200 DEF).
Dark Marik draws. (The far left card in Dark Marik's hand is changed in the US version from a magic card to a monster card, which appears to be Morphing Jar.)
He hasn't drawn Ra yet, so he plays the magic card, Card of Sanctity. They must each draw until they hold six cards. Dark Marik draws two more cards, but doesn't like what he's drawn. Dark Bakura draws his cards, then says he'll do Dark Marik a favor, and activates his trap card, Multiple Destruction, which forces both players to discard their hands and draw five new cards. But it costs 100 life points for each card Dark Bakura discards. He loses 600 life points, and part of his other arm disappears. Dark Marik doesn't understand why Dark Bakura's destroying himself.
Dark Marik still hasn't drawn the Winged Dragon of Ra. So he plays a card face down.
Yugi and Yami sit on one of the many stairways inside Yami's soul room. Yami reminds Yugi of what happened the last time he was there. Shadi had used his Millennium Key to see inside Yami's mind. Even he couldn't find any answers there. Yami says he's climbed these staircases and entered these doors just as Shadi did, but to no avail. Yugi says that Shadi hasn't given up yet—that's why he appeared to them here on the blimp. He reminds Yami of what Marik said—that the secret to the Pharaoh's power is imprinted on his back. Perhaps he holds the answers they're looking for. Together, they have to defeat Marik and unlock that power before he does. Yugi and Yami shake hands, agreeing to always work together.
Dark Bakura draws, then sacrifices Gernia to summon the Puppet Master (0 ATK). Its special ability allows him to bring three monsters back from the graveyard, at a cost of 1000 life points. Bakura's down to 1900 life points, and his torso starts to fade away. But three more monsters appear on his side of the field. Dark Marik says he can't attack with them this turn, but Dark Bakura wasn't planning to attack. Instead, he plays Dark Designator, which forces Dark Marik to move a card from his deck and to his hand. And the card Dark Bakura chooses is the Winged Dragon of Ra. Soon, he says, it will be his.
Dark Marik laughs. He's onto Dark Bakura's plan, and he's sure it will fail. But then Dark Bakura activates his other face-down card, the magic card, Exchange, which allows them each to take a card from the other's hand. Dark Bakura, of course, wants Ra. Dark Malik gives it to him, then Dark Bakura holds out his cards to Dark Marik. (And now the Morphing Jar appears in Dark Bakura's hand in the US version, in place of the mystery magic card on the bottom of his hand.)
Dark Marik takes Monster Reborn from Dark Bakura's hand. (Japanese Yami Bakura thinks Yami Malik took a good card.)
Dark Bakura taunts Dark Marik, telling him he'll see his Winged Dragon of Ra again soon. Dark Marik isn't worried. He says Bakura can't control the power of Ra, and it will be useless to him. (Japanese Yami Mailk says Yami Bakura's no "ore-sama.") But Marik knows the ancient text on the card—he'll be able to control it. Dark Marik taunts Dark Bakura for being unable to duel without the help of his "little friend."
One turn to go, Marik says, and the Winged Dragon of Ra will cast his dark half into the Shadows!
To Be Continued
