Last Time: After hearing about the discovery of the Millennium Eye by an archaeologist from Reedington, Yugi knew he had to go and get it. His other half, Yami, also believes he can find a piece of his past there. Yugi's friends decide to come along and Tristan even goes as far as to offer his cousin's estate. Meanwhile, Kero can't take his eye off the Millennium Eye…and he keeps his eye on it while Sakura takes it with her to see Li and Madison.
Searching For The Past: Part 3
Yugi couldn't get the Millennium Eye off his mind. During the bus trip to Reedington, he thought about everything that was going on and decided to talk to the only person he could about all of it. While Joey, Téa, Tristan, and Bakura were calmly looking out the window, Yugi closed his eyes to talk to his Yami.
/ Yami, how do you think the Millennium Eye ended up in Egypt in the first place? /
// I don't know what to tell you, Yugi. Nobody saw where the Millennium Eye was taken after it was stolen from Pegasus. There are a number of ways it could have ended up in Egypt. The thief may have been careless and lost it. Just be thankful it's been found. //
/ I wonder if they'll let us have it back. I mean…our story isn't exactly believable to the average person. /
// I'm sure the archaeologist will believe our story. But my concerns lie elsewhere. If this man really has made a career of studying ancient Egypt…then I wonder if he knows anything about my past. Maybe he can help me remember who I am. //
/ You think he'd recognize the Millennium Puzzle? /
// At the very least, he'll find it fascinating. I have a lot of questions for this man. How soon can we see him? //
/ I guess the first thing we have to do is find a place to stay. We'll probably check in with Tristan's cousin. I just hope he hasn't burned a bridge with her. /
As if on cue, Yugi started listening in on a conversation between Joey and Tristan, who just happened to be discussing the cousin in question.
"You think Madison's really willing to let you stay with her?" Joey asked again.
"Why wouldn't she?" Tristan replied. "She loves me. And she's got enough rooms to house a small army. She'd be more than happy to help her favorite cousin."
"You let her fall into freezing cold water!" Téa cut in. "She almost got pneumonia at age five because of you!"
"Oh sure, bring THAT up. Eh, I'm sure she's forgotten about that by now."
Yugi just watched that whole exchange in amazement. Yami also had a good view of it since he shared Yugi's body.
// Do all modern-day cousins treat each other that way? //
/ I sure hope not. /
The bus suddenly started to come to a halt. They had arrived at their destination. Yugi looked out the window to see the Reedington bus station.
Sakura was very happy to see her boyfriend Li Showron again over at Madison's guesthouse, but there was seemingly a different atmosphere on this day. Just like Kero, Li was also fascinated by the golden eyeball that Sakura's father had dug up in Egypt. Li and Kero didn't share much in common. In fact, they really didn't like each other at all. But today, they found a common interest. They were both staring at the artifact.
"What did your dad say it was, Sakura?" Madison asked.
"The eyeball gave him a headache," Sakura answered. "So he's letting me hold it for him while he gets started on writing a press release. He has no idea where it came from and he's telling me he might be studying it for months."
"I'm surprised he's trusting you with it," Li pointed out.
Sakura frowned. "What's that supposed to mean? My dad trusts me and he knows I won't lose it. If he can't trust his little girl, who can he trust?"
Li turned his focus on the eye again. "I've never seen anything like this before. Why would ancient Egyptians make…an eyeball?"
Kero was also staring at the eye. "I still can't shake that notion that I've seen this thing somewhere before."
"How could you recognize it?" Li asked. "Clow Reed didn't base his magic on ancient Egyptians. The Clow Cards were based on ancient Eastern magic."
Kero started floating in the air. Sakura then noticed the Star Cards in her pocket begin to float out and start to revolve around Kero. It was a trick he liked to do once in a while.
"I may not know Egyptian magic, but I know what I've seen. And I feel like I've seen this before."
"The only exposure you've had to anything Egyptian is that pyramid you got stuck in a while back," Li pointed out.
Kero stared the eyeball down while the Star Cards floated back into Sakura's pocket. "The pyramid…"
Suddenly, Madison's phone began to ring.
Madison cleared her throat. "Excuse me. Hello? … Somebody at the gate? … Who is it? … What?! … No, don't kick him out. I want to see him."
Madison hung up the phone and grabbed her coat. Sakura felt more than curious.
"Madison? What it is?"
"You'll never guess who just turned up at the front gate!"
Yugi waited patiently outside the gate with his friends while Tristan paced around. After all this delay, Yugi began to think that maybe Tristan really had burned a bridge.
Something else had Yugi's attention, though. He had never seen such a large mansion in his life. The entire estate looked like it could have its own zip code. The gardens reached out as far as the eye could see. The grass was green as a cucumber and beautiful flowers grew all over. Fountains flowed brilliantly in vertical sprays. And the house itself looked as big as the Kaibacorp building.
Yugi was so distracted, but he was brought back to Earth when he saw the estate's resident coming out. It was a young girl with long, dark hair that reached down to the small of her back. She was wearing a blue dress and an enchantingly bright smile. Behind her was an auburn-haired young lady the same age with a black sweatshirt, red skirt, and black stockings.
"Madison! It's been a long time!" Tristan grinned. "I haven't seen you in years!"
Madison sighed. "Hello, Tristan."
Tristan looked over to Madison's friend. "And is this Sakura? Wow! You've grown up."
Sakura sighed. "I almost didn't recognize you, Tristan. How've you been? How's life in Domino City?"
"Life in Domino City? It's going alright. Making a few friends here and there…HEY!"
Joey suddenly shoved Tristan out of the way. "And I'm one of them! Name's Joey. Joey Wheeler! And Tristan's told me a lot about you ladies…HEY!"
Tristan took back his position. "Out of the way, Joey! Sorry about that, girls. It's great seeing you again, Madison."
"What brings you here, Tristan?" Madison asked.
"Well…we just happened to be in the neighborhood…and I was wondering…is my aunt here?"
"Mom isn't here, Tristan. She had to leave on a business trip. I'm watching the estate while she's away."
"Wow…you're a big girl now, aren't you?" Tristan grinned. "So then…that would mean you're in charge. So you wouldn't mind giving your cousin a place to stay, would you?"
Madison giggled as she pulled the gate open. Tristan was looking awfully satisfied with himself. He was about to walk through the gate, until…
"Tristan…why wouldn't I want to let you stay with me? Just because you always tormented me when I was little?! Just because you turned every moment I saw you into a nightmare?!"
Madison slammed the metal gate onto Tristan's face. He fell on his back. Téa and Bakura flinched while Joey just groaned, feeling sympathy pains.
"Should I take that as a no?" Tristan moaned.
Madison's smile faded and her face turned red. "YOU'RE A NO-GOOD PUNK, TRISTAN TAYLOR!! Let's go, Sakura!"
Madison turned around and stormed out. Sakura stood frozen for a moment before following her friend. Yugi helped bring Tristan to his feet.
"Are you ok?" Yugi asked.
"That…didn't go as well as I hoped," Tristan replied dizzily.
"Man, who'd have thunk that she'd still be mad after five years?" Joey mused.
Téa sighed deeply. "Boys…"
"Anymore ideas?" Bakura asked. "Now where do we stay?"
"I don't think we should give up on this yet," Téa suggested. "Madison looks like a nice girl. Maybe she just needs to talk to someone other than Tristan and Joey."
"Hey, I made a good impression," Joey whined. "Give me another five minutes with her."
"No, we need someone who WON'T get the door slammed in his face. We need someone so nice and innocent that she won't even think about kicking him out."
Joey didn't take the hint. "Like I said. Give me five minutes."
Téa groaned. "Not YOU! I'm talking about Yugi. No one can ever say 'no' to him."
That got Yugi's attention. "Uh…me?"
"Sure! If Madison's the kind of person I think she is, all she needs is to hear you pleading on our behalf. Of course, we do need you to get one foot in the door first."
Yugi gulped. "Uh…I don't know about this…"
"One foot in the door," Tristan interrupted. "No problem. Give me a hand, Joey."
"Guys? HEY!"
Yugi didn't have any time to protest when Joey and Tristan both pulled him up. They carried him over to the wall and hoisted the little one over the wall. Yugi fell on the other side with a thud. He picked himself up and shook off the cobwebs.
"I saw them go that way, Yuge!" Joey pointed. "If you hurry, maybe you can catch them!"
Yugi was already inside the estate and it appeared very doubtful that Joey and Tristan would just let him walk out. So he just walked away…hoping he wouldn't get caught.
Sakura watched as Madison slammed the door behind her. She hadn't seen her best friend, usually good-natured and cheerful, this angry in a while.
"How dare he just show his face out of nowhere like that! And he had the gall to ask me for a place to stay?! After everything he pulled on me?!"
Kero flew over on Madison's shoulder, finally taking a break from watching the eyeball. "I'm guessing he's not your favorite cousin?"
"You got that right!" Madison growled. "He was so mean to me! Sakura, remember Halloween when we were five?"
Sakura sweatdropped. "HOE! How can I forget?"
"What happened on Halloween when you were five?" Li asked curiously.
Madison crossed her arms and scoffed. "I'll tell you what happened…"
Flashback: Halloween, Five Years Ago
Five-year-old Madison Taylor had hit the jackpot. Dressed as a ballerina that year, she came back from trick-or-treating with a sack full of candy. So did Sakura, who was dressed as a fairy. Both girls wanted a private place to count their bounty, so they ran to Sakura's backyard, behind the tree.
"How much did you get, Madison?" Sakura asked excitedly.
"I got lollipops and candy necklaces all over," Madison squealed. "But I still think we'll get more next year. Just give me a chance to make your costume, Sakura."
"Madison, you're only five. You really think you can make a good costume for me?"
"I know I'm five, but I'm really good. And I can make you look so cute!"
Suddenly, both girls went silent as a rustling was heard in the bushes. Both girls slowly turned their heads towards the bushes and saw something bright lurking inside.
"W-W-What is that?" Sakura quivered.
Something began to emerge from the snow. Neither girl could tell what it was, because white fog began to surround it. It began wailing and howling. When the fog began clearing, Madison and Sakura saw a large white creature, about eight feet tall, waving its arms around.
Having been afraid of ghosts all of her life, Sakura immediately freaked out. "AAAAAAHHHH!!! GHOST!!!"
Both girls held each other for dear life. As the ghost slowly stalked them, they both looked up at the sky and screamed their lungs out, but both were too terrified to even move. But just as the ghost inched within arms reach, it stopped.
"Gotcha!"
Madison and Sakura both stopped screaming. The creature had removed what turned out to be a white sheet. It was Madison's cousin, Tristan, along with Sakura's brother, Tori. Tristan was perched on top of Tori's shoulders. Tristan was holding a pair of flashlights while Tori held a fire extinguisher.
Tristan chuckled. "You two are so gullible."
Madison was in shock. She turned her head to see Sakura so terrified that she was in tears. Madison wanted to shed some tears of her own. But she could only bring herself to say one thing.
"YOU'RE A NO-GOOD PUNK, TRISTAN TAYLOR!!"
Li could only bring himself to look at Sakura. "Have you ALWAYS been afraid of ghosts?!"
Sakura sighed. "You know the answer to that, Li."
"Hello-o-o-o!" Madison called out. "This isn't an issue of Sakura being scared of ghosts. We're talking about why I'm not letting Tristan anywhere near my home! If he wants a place to stay, he can go to a hotel!"
Again, Kero took his eye off the golden eyeball and flew over to Madison's shoulder. Knowing she had to head home soon, Sakura grabbed the eyeball and put it safely in a black bag.
"Aren't you being a little hard on the guy?" Kero asked. "Where else can he go?"
"Anywhere but here!" Madison huffed.
Suddenly, someone knocked on the door of Madison's guesthouse. For the second time that day, Madison's face turned red. She knew who it had to be. Fully expecting it to be her no-good punk of a cousin, Madison stormed over to answer the door, prepared to call security at a moment's notice.
When she opened the door, she didn't get Tristan. Instead, she got a young boy about her height. He had a blue coat and pants and had a bizarre hairstyle. His hair was red with golden highlights. And he had a pyramid replica hanging over his neck.
"H-Hello," the boy said timidly.
"What are you doing here?" Madison demanded. "Who let you through the gate?"
"Oh…I'm really sorry about that. My friends hoisted me over the wall before I could say anything. One of them is your cousin…"
"I know! And just who are you?!"
"Me? Oh, my name's Yugi. Please, Madison. We're in a bind and we need help. We really need a place to stay while we're in Reedington. I meant to come here by myself, but all my friends insisted on coming to Reedington with me and that's when Tristan told us all about you.
"Look…I know you must not be very happy with Tristan after some of the things he's done over your childhood, but he's asking me to deliver you a message. Ahem…Tristan told me to tell you that you've always been his favorite cousin. And if you were to never forgive him for what he's done, he'll understand. But he's pleading with you not to take out your anger on the rest of us, because we really need a place to stay. Tristan said he's willing to find a place for himself, but he's asking that you please take the rest of us in."
Madison's first instinct upon seeing this stranger was to slam the door in his face. But as he went on, she found it much harder to do that. In fact, her gentle nature was starting to come back.
"What do you think, Sakura?" Madison asked.
"He looks like a nice enough guy," Sakura replied. "I think you should let him stay here. I don't think he means any harm."
Madison thought about it and agreed. "Ok, tell Tristan you can all stay here. In fact, we were about to have dinner in a little while and I'd be happy to meet all of you. But don't expect me to say a word to him while he's here."
Yugi smiled. "Thank you so much, Madison! Why don't you come with me to open the gate? My friends are really looking forward to meeting you."
Madison nodded. "There's no harm in that." She turned around. "You guys coming?"
Li stood up. "I don't see why not."
Sakura began to follow behind Li. Madison thought about what she was doing. She couldn't believe she was letting her cousin, who had shown up completely unannounced, stay with her. And she was also letting his friends stay here. She didn't know what she was thinking.
But she was Madison Taylor. She was hardly ever hostile…even if it WAS her no-good punk of a cousin.
Kero was in a state of shock. The golden eyeball that Sakura's father had discovered had brought back enough of a sense of déjà vu, but his mind wasn't as much on the eyeball anymore. His mind had gone elsewhere. Now his mind was on something else that looked familiar to him.
He was thinking about the replica that was hanging over that kid's neck.
Kero couldn't shake the feeling that he had seen these things before. But he couldn't put his finger exactly on where.
Next Time: Yugi and his friends have lucked out and now have a place to stay. Now that he's found a place to stay, Yugi gets to the reason he came and will soon get to see the man who found the Millennium Eye. Will Yami Yugi come out to ask about his past? Meanwhile, back in Domino City, someone else has gotten hold of the newspaper's report of the Millennium Eye's discovery. Is Seto Kaiba also on his way to Reedington?
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