"I promise to save my brother, Marik. There is still good in him." Ishizu said, still in her room, remembering Marik as a child, giving her a wreath of flowers as a gift.
Suddenly, Shadi was sitting across from her.
"Evil once again walks the Earth." He said.
"Yes. But I never thought my own brother would be the medium." Ishizu agreed, seemly unsurprised by Shadi's sudden appearance. "The world must be saved, but at what cost? I don't want to lose my brother."
But when Ishizu turned to look at Shadi again, he was gone.
Cat was still in Bakura's room, under Marik's control, and holding onto the Millennium Ring.
"I think I'll keep the Ring for now. Along with the occasional control of Cat's mind." Marik said.
Shadi suddenly appeared next to Cat.
He knew that his Millennium Key was shielding him from her sight.
The mystic disturbance that brought me here is the strongest in this room! The destinies of certain Millennium Items are being manipulated! And until harmony is restored, the world will be in grave peril! Shadi thought to himself.
Everyone gathered in the main concourse, where Roland welcomed them all.
"The bingo machine will now randomly select the next two duelists!" Mokuba announced.
Everyone watched the numbered balls bounce around in the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Bingo machine.
The first duelist was chosen. Number 2, Jounouchi Katsuya!
And his opponent was…number 7! Marik/Odion!
Yami looked at Odion, knowing that he probably was planning to use his Millennium Rod to win. So Joey had better be prepared for anything.
Joey made some threatening noises and Odion, who only stared back at him, grimly.
Joey and Odion faced each other on the dueling platform, where they shuffled each other's decks.
"Go Joey!" Honda cheered.
"Joey looks really fired up." Yami pointed out.
"When Joey gets really fired up, he tends to shoot his mouth off." Honda said. "He'd better watch that with Marik."
"Honda's right. Joey's got to stay focused." Mai agreed.
Joey continued shuffling, growling fiercely at Odion.
"I hope Joey will be alright." Shizuka said.
"This is the first time Shizuka gets to see Joey duel, right?" Anzu said.
"With you here to cheer Joey on, he won't lose." Yami said to Shizuka.
"Yeah." Cat agreed, smiling at Shizuka. "Cheer your best for your brother."
"Joey…I think you've shuffled enough." Roland said to Joey.
Finally, the duelists took back their decks and went to their positions.
"I'll make you wish you never tried to mind-control me!" Joey snapped at Odion. "I'll win in nine turns!"
"Where did Joey come up with nine?" Kay asked.
"With Joey, you don't ask." Honda said.
"Joey's pretty wonderful to have figured out the whole duel in advance!" Shizuka said with amazement.
Everyone just stared at her and sweatdropped.
Suddenly, Odion held up something that looked like the Millennium Rod and Joey cringed.
"I knew Marik would use the Rod." Yami mummered.
"Hey! Point that thing somewhere else!" Joey snapped at Odion.
Odion silently put the Rod away.
Marik smirked. He knew that the Rod that Odion had was merely a replica of his own.
"But I'm concerned about Kaiba. Little Yugi isn't the only one standing between him and the power of the Pharaoh. The ancient tablets also depict a sorcerer who bears a striking resemblance to Kaiba, and who holds the Millennium Rod. But before the finals are over, Kaiba's God card, Obelisk the Tormentor, will belong to me! I'll show Kaiba what true power is all about!" Marik thought to himself before glancing over at Kay and Cat. "And those two women…if they learn about their pasts, then they'll be standing in the way as well. Especially since that "Kay" girl has a special and unbreakable bond with Kaiba. If Kaiba is who I really think he is, then her past self shares the same bond with him that the two do now. But even if Cat learns about her ancestor, she's too scared of me to do anything."
"If Marik is the leader of the Rare Hunters, he must have a ton of rare cards in his deck." Mokuba said.
"There's only one card in Marik's deck I care about. His God card." Kaiba said. "The Winged Dragon of Ra. I hope that hack, Jounouchi Katsuya, will last long enough in the duel so I can see how Ra words, so I can win it for myself."
The duel began.
Joey held Odion up, who was bearly conscious.
Joey had won the duel and Odion had lost. They also had just found out the Odion wasn't the real Marik. Plus the Millennium Rod and Winged Dragon of Ra card he had were also fake.
Odion collapsed because the Winged Dragon of Ra punished him. Only people connected to the ancient scriptures were allowed to use a God card.
Yami came onto the platform with the two.
"I'm sorry Joey…It was an honor to duel you." Odion said.
"Yeah. You too." Joey agreed. "Who are you really?"
"I am a servant of the real Marik." Odion said and pointed at Marik, who was clutching his head, the real Millennium Rod in his hand. He was struggling with his evil side.
"Tell us your true identity!" Yami cried out to Marik.
Marik then turned on them.
"You're all fools!" He said. "I am the real Marik!"
"So this is who has the real Winged Dragon of Ra." Kaiba said.
"At last, I can finish the job my pathetic servants couldn't!" Marik continued. "Soon I'll have the Pharaoh's Puzzle and power!"
Suddenly Marik's face contorts as his dark side began to emerge.
"I was afraid of this." Odion said. "Beware the great evil hidden within Marik! He's no longer able to contain it."
After Odion said these words, he passed out.
Everyone continued to watch Marik as he continued to struggle with his dark side. The Millennium Eye glows on Marik's forehead as Yami Marik then took control.
"Now I'm free! And I'll do things my way!" He said. "I am the true Marik! And I'll finish the job my weaker self couldn't! Soon I'll have the Pharaoh's Puzzle and Yugi and his friends will be trapped in the Shadow Realm forever! Odion's failure proved that only a chosen few can control the Egyptian God cards! Kaiba is one."
"That's nonsense! I control Obelisk because I'm a master duelist!" Kaiba said.
"You can't escape your three thousand year old memories." Yami Marik said. "The battle for the Pharaoh's power begins now!"
Everyone was gathered around Odion's bedside.
"How is he?" Joey asked a doctor.
"His tests are fine. But he mental stress he's been through has left him unconscious." The doctor explained.
"He's lucky to be all right." Anzu said.
"Yeah." Joey agreed.
"First Bakura, now him. So many people have been hurt in this tournament." Cat said.
"We were both standing right there when the Egyptian God monster went kerblooey. But I'm perfectly fine." Joey said.
"We won't find out who this guy is, until he wakes up." Duke said.
"Whoever he was, he was determined to protect Marik as long as he could." Yami said.
"And for what?!" Joey cried. "Now he's lying in a hospital bed, and Marik couldn't care less!"
"I feel sorry for him. It's times when you're down, you need friends around the most." Mai said.
"I get it!" Joey cried and looked to everyone excitedly. "I was able to get up after getting hit by that lightening bolt because you were all with me!"
"What? Like that dream you had involving vanilla pudding and a monkey?" Honda snickered.
Joey started to fume and jumped on Honda.
"It's time for Kaiba to pick the next two duelists." Kay reminded them.
Everyone stopped what they were doing and left the room.
When they reached the door, Mai stopped Joey.
"Hey Joey? In that dream where you said everyone helped you up…was I in there?" She asked.
Joey suddenly got all flustered.
Mai WAS in there too, but he was too embarrassed to say.
"N-no. You weren't there. Most of my dreams are about manly stuff!" He said before walking off.
"He's a typical guy." Anzu mummered.
Joey continued walking down the hallway.
"Whew…that was a close one." He mummered. "The last thing I want, is for Mai to think I'm thinking about her."
Anzu followed him and grabbed Joey by the ear.
"Hey! Why are you so mean?!" Anzu snapped. "Mai wanted to feel like your friend, but you were too immature to let her! GROW UP!" She yelled in his ear before marching away, leaving Joey dazed from the yelling in his ear.
Mai was still in Odion's room.
"He's not the only forgotten one." She mummered, looking at Odion. "I'm used to it anyways. I'm a loner. Who needs friends? There's only one person you can count on in the heat of a battle, and that's yourself!"
(A/N: I know I'm being lazy and all, but I REALLY don't want to write out what's happening in the duels. Sorry, I'm not going to write out any duels.)
"She's not waking up." Shizuka said to Joey worriedly.
Mai had just lost a duel with Marik. She was now under Marik's spell, and if they didn't save her, she was going to die.
"Mai…" Joey said.
"She can't hear you." Anzu said. "Marik trapped her mind."
"This tournament has gotten way out of hand!" Joey exclaimed.
"It's because there's a mind-warping psycho on board." Duke said.
Everyone frowned on Duke.
"What? I'm just being honest!" Duke pointed out.
It was time for the fourth duel to begin.
"I'll stay here with Mai." Shizuka said.
Everyone nodded and headed up to the dueling arena, where Kaiba was already waiting.
Everyone had dueled except Kaiba and Cat. It was their turn to duel.
Once everyone had made it out, they waited for the duel to begin.
While they were waiting, Mokuba contacted Kaiba, telling him on his lapel radio that the Winged Dragon of Ra card, had been successfully scanned into the mainframe, and the network was translation the Egyptian text on the card.
They had found on in Mai's duel against Marik, that you could only use the Winged Dragon of Ra if you could translate the text on the card.
"If Cat doesn't get there soon, she'll be disqualified. What do you think she's doing?" Joey asked.
"M-Maybe she had to use the restroom or something?"
Everyone turned around in the direction of the voice to find Cat doing her best to try and not gain any attention to herself.
"CAT!" They all said at the same time.
Cat froze.
"What are you doing here? You should be up there, ready to face Kaiba!" Anzu said.
"But…but!" Cat protested as Kay and Joey grabbed each of her arms and drug her to the arena.
"I know he can be a jerk sometimes, but at least it's not Marik, right?" Kay said.
Cat looked up sheepishly.
"Well I guess I can't argue with that…" She mummered.
Cat finally made her way onto the platform and stood in her area.
Kaiba frowned at her.
"You have a lot of nerve showing up late." He growled. "Were you scared?"
Cat had an insecure face on.
"That's on a need to know basis, don'tcha think?" She said.
"Whatever." Kaiba said and pulled out his duel disk. "Can we get this over with? Defeating you will bring me one step closer to the God cards."
"Fine." Cat mummered pulling out her duel disk.
Kaiba entered the computer room on the airship.
Kay and Mokuba were both working on the text.
"Have you been able to translate the text on the Winged Dragon of Ra?" He asked Mokuba.
"I'm pretty close." Mokuba said. "But for some reason, the network is still having trouble with the last few words."
Kaiba looked at the image of the text. He gasped.
"I…I can read it!" He exclaimed.
"You what?" Kay asked.
Kaiba then remembered something Marik said. Something about that the words on the card were written in an ancient text used by high-ranking officials in Egypt.
He then remembered Ishizu telling Kaiba how he was the sorcerer opposing the Pharaoh on the carved stone tablet.
And finally, while he was dueling Cat, he had a sudden vision of an ancient version of himself, kneeling in front of a carving of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon, holding a girl in his arms.
Two other girls were near him, including another man.
One of the girls was mourning with him.
"I am the CEO of Kaiba Corp.! Not an ancient magician!" Kaiba insisted to himself. But it was soon that Kaiba fell to his knees, unable to deal with the vision that he saw.
"Kaiba!" Kay cried and kneeled next to him. "What's wrong?"
"Seto!" Mokuba also cried.
"Round one of the Battle City finals are over! The four remaining finalists are Yugi, Joey, Kaiba and Marik! The competition will resume tomorrow when we land at our next dueling site!" Roland announced.
Everyone was in the hallway, listening to the announcement.
Cat sighed as she leaned against a wall, depressed.
"It's okay Cat. You did great." Yami said trying to encourage Cat.
"I guess we're not dueling on the blimp anymore." Joey said. "That's good. I was getting airsick."
"But the important thing is, is that we both made it to the next round." Yami said. "We should get some rest."
"Things are getting pretty intense. Bakura and Odion are knocked out while Mai's under Marik's spell." Anzu said.
"It's all because of Marik." Yami said.
"Don't worry! We'll stop that creep." Joey said with confidence.
Everyone was just about to check up on Mai, until Ishizu appeared!
"Can I visit Mai with you?" She asked.
"Ishizu!" Yugi exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"
"I came as Kaiba's guest." Ishizu explained.
"Sure. You can came with us." Yugi said.
Everyone walked into Mai's room, where Shizuka was still watching over Mai.
"Mai hasn't said a word." Shizuka reported.
"Sorry Mai…for letting you down." Joey said. "I promise I'll get your revenge for you."
"Anger and revenge will only make things worse." Cat pointed out. "That's how Mai got this way. Marik is so full of anger and hate that he enjoys making other people suffer.
"When I took off my bandages, this isn't what I wanted to see." Shizuka said before she began to cry.
Anzu tried to comfort her.
"I'm sorry, Shizuka." Joey mummered.
"There is hope ahead." Ishizu said. "Where there is evil, there is also good. Marik was good once. Marik began life as an innocent child, but that innocence disappeared, leaving him with a dark hole where his heart once was. I remember when this evil was born. It happened on the night that Marik was give the Tomb Keepers' initiation and inherited the task of protecting the Pharaoh's tomb."
Everyone listened silently.
"Now this evil has completely taken over my brother's body." Ishizu continued.
"What if there's no way to save your brother? It might be too late." Yugi said. "You told me it was my destiny to save the world. I thought that meant defeating Marik and putting an end to his plan. Not saving him."
"Yeah, Yug's got a point there." Joey said.
"It's kinda hard to believe Marik was ever nice." Honda said.
Duke nodded.
"You must trust me. I know there is hope. It wasn't that long ago that Marik began to lose his way." Ishizu said. "For three thousand years, the Ishtars have guarded the Pharaoh's tomb, waiting for the Pharaoh's return. As the first born son, Marik was required to bear the Pharaoh's secret on his back. And he was forbidden to ever leave the tomb."
She began to tell them the story.
"Now that Marik had seen the outside world, forgetting it was impossible. Marik and me disobeyed our father and went to the outside world. But once we returned, we were caught. Odion was punished and that's when Marik's evil side started to come out." Ishizu continued.
"Are we supposed to feel sorry for that spoiled brat because he grew into an evil nutcase?" Joey asked Ishizu. "He's trapped Mai and now she's living out her worst nightmares! I'm going to make him pay!"
"It's possible to destroy the evil within my brother without destroying the good." Ishizu said to Yugi. "I have realized now that destinies can be changed. As the Pharaoh's vessel, you have the power to do it."
"Everyone is to return to their rooms in two minutes." Roland announced.
"I'll crash in Joey's room." Honda said.
"Hey! Wait a minute! Who said you could?" Joey protested.
"Joey, your room is like a palace. You'll never know I was there." Honda said.
"I'll know by the smell." Joey said. "Good Night Shizuka. Yugi, we'd better get some rest. Odds are, one of us will have to duel Marik, so we'd better be ready."
"How do you know that you and Yugi won't be dueling each other in the finals?" Cat asked.
Joey freaked out.
"Watch it! You might jinx us!" He cried.
Cat laughed.
Ishizu took off her Millennium Necklace and handed it to Yugi.
"I no longer have any use for it. It no longer shows me the future." She said. "I've completed my mission and now it's your turn."
Joey Honda, Duke, Anzu and Yugi headed for their rooms.
Yugi held the Millennium Necklace and Puzzle in his hands.
"Now that I have two Millennium Items, I'll need them bother to put an end to Marik's plan." He said to himself.
Ishizu also left the room, but Cat ran after her.
"Excuse me! Ishizu, right?" Cat asked.
Ishizu turned and looked at Cat.
"If Yugi defeats the dark force inside Marik, will the world be safe from danger?" Cat asked.
"I'm not sure. But Yugi now possesses the power to discover those answers." Ishizu answered before leaving.
Cat watched her leave and once she was gone, her eyes went blank as Marik took control.
"I won't be discarded that easily." He said. "That fiend might have taken over my body but a portion of my spirit remains within Cat."
Mind controlled Cat entered Bakura's room with the Millennium Ring. She placed it next to Bakura's head on his pillow.
Once she did that, Bakura's eyes opened.