Last Time: We took a look at the post-Duelist Kingdom flight home and watched as Yami Bakura lost the Millennium Eye. While the evil soulstealer thought it was lost forever, the Millennium Eye was recovered months later by an archaeological team…led by Aiden Avalon. Later on, back at Domino City, Yugi's having a normal day at school…until he sees the Millennium Eye in the newspaper.
Key:
/ … / - Yugi Moto
// … // - Yami Yugi
Searching For The Past: Part 2
Yugi couldn't take his eyes off the picture staring him right in the face. In the local paper was a picture of the Millennium Eye. The Millennium Eye that had been stolen from Pegasus had been recovered, seemingly out of obscurity.
Téa started reading the article. "This mysterious artifact was recovered in the sands of the Egyptian deserts, close to the pyramids. The relic appears untarnished and in very good condition, but archaeologists have yet to discover what the relic is. The head of the expedition, Professor Aiden Avalon, who has studied ancient Egyptology throughout his entire career, will begin studying the artifact immediately upon returning to Reedington."
Tristan, who was now rolling on the floor wrestling Joey, stopped in his tracks. "Huh? Reedington? OOF!"
"Gotcha!" Joey grinned. He had nailed Tristan with a surprise shot in the stomach.
Tristan clutched his stomach and walked over towards the newspaper. "Hey…that name sounds familiar. I think I've heard of an Aiden Avalon before. But I can tell you I definitely know about Reedington!"
"You do?" Bakura asked curiously.
"Yeah! I've got family there. My rich cousin, Madison, lives there."
"You have a cousin?" Yugi asked.
"You have a cousin in Reedington and you never told us?" Téa added.
Joey sat up. "You have a RICH cousin in Reedington and you never told us?!"
"Well…I'm not exactly on the top of her Christmas list," Tristan pointed out. He thought about it and started chuckling. "Man, but I had some good times with her. Brings back memories of my childhood. I remember it all like it was yesterday…"
Flashback: Five Years Ago
The sun was beating down in Reedington and it was a good day for a pool party. Many people thought the same thing, because the Taylors' Olympic-sized swimming pool was just about filled to capacity with kids from all over town.
Five-year-old Madison Taylor hadn't gotten in yet and she didn't look like she was in any hurry to get in. She timidly stepped towards the edge of the pool. She nervously dipped her big toe in and shivered.
"Come on in, Madison!" an eager young girl shouted. "Come play with me!"
Madison took a step back. "It's too cold, Sakura! And I can't swim really good."
This was too good an opportunity for a certain someone to pass up. Nine-year-old Tristan Taylor walked up behind his cousin and picked her up. Madison never expected it and started screaming.
"Put me down! Put me down! PUT ME DOWN!!"
"Ok, I'll put you down," Tristan grinned.
He carried Madison over towards the deep end of the pool and tossed her in. She fell in with a big splash and started flailing about frantically.
"Help! I can't swim!"
Tristan sighed as he passed a life preserver to his drowning cousin. "Man, you're such a baby sometimes."
Madison grabbed hold of the life preserver. She coughed wildly and caught her breath. She looked at her cousin angrily with her long raven-colored hair flopped over her eyes.
"YOU'RE A NO-GOOD PUNK, TRISTAN TAYLOR!!!"
Tristan chuckled. "Those were good times, alright."
Téa sweatdropped. "Boy, weren't YOU just the sweetest cousin?"
"Wasn't I, though?" Tristan grinned. "Man, and that wasn't even the most fun I had with her. I still remember what happened when Christmas came around that year…"
Flashback: Christmas, Five Years Ago
Snow was coming down on a glorious December morning. Christmas carols could be heard coming from all over Reedington. It was the most wonderful time of the year. Five-year-old Madison Taylor was in a joyful state as she stepped through the snowy grounds of Penguin Park. She made sure to tread carefully, as the snow went all the way up to her knees.
"Come on, Madison!" her best friend, Sakura, shouted from the distance. "Catch me!"
Madison tried to catch up to her best friend, who was already on the frozen pond on her ice skates. Sakura was a natural athlete and she was showing it once again as she skillfully skated like she was gliding on air. Madison put her ice skates on and stepped onto the frozen pond. She inched forward slowly and struggled to keep her balance. But it didn't take her long to fall on her rear.
"Madison!"
Madison looked ahead to see her cousin, Tristan, waiting for her on the other side of the pond. He was calmly standing there like he was waiting for something.
"Come on over here, Madison. I'll help you keep your balance."
At such a young age, Madison didn't see what harm could possibly come from moving towards her cousin. She slowly skated forward, trying not to fall, and almost made it to Tristan. But just as she reached him…
…the ice underneath her cracked.
Madison fell into the icy cold water and splashed frantically. "AAH!!! HELP!!!"
Tristan reached over and pulled her out. Madison shivered furiously. She almost lost all her senses. She couldn't feel or sense anything else other than the extreme cold. But she suddenly managed to notice Tristan had fallen over, laughing.
"I can't believe you fell for that!" Tristan laughed. "You should have seen your face."
Although Madison was nearly frozen, her face still managed to turn beet red.
"YOU'RE A NO-GOOD PUNK, TRISTAN TAYLOR!!!"
"THAT'S how you treat your family?!" a wide-eyed Téa asked.
"That's how I treat my loved ones," Tristan said matter-of-factly.
"It would explain the way he treats Joey," Bakura noted.
"Tristan wouldn't try a stunt like that with me," Joey pointed out. "If ever did, he knows I'd get him in the crotch with a snowball."
"That happened once, Joey!" Tristan growled. "I still haven't forgiven you for that!"
While Tristan and the others were talking about the past, Yugi's head was elsewhere. His thoughts were still on the Millennium Eye. He couldn't believe it had been recovered. Suddenly, Yugi began to hear a voice inside his head.
// Yugi? What is that I heard about an expert who studied ancient Egyptology? //
/ Oh. Well, that's the man who apparently found the Millennium Eye. I know what you must be thinking. We should… /
// Aibou? Do you think…this expert on ancient Egyptology…can help me? //
/ Help you? Yami, what do you mean? /
// Do you think he can help me find out about my past? //
It was a question Yugi wasn't expecting to hear. He thought his other half would be more concerned with the sudden reemergence of the Millennium Eye. But it made sense. Since Yugi first became aware of the spirit within his Millennium Puzzle, Yami had been struggling to recover the memories of his past. Yami didn't know who he was and where he came from. The only idea vague clue that he had was that it had something to do with ancient Egypt.
Thus it made sense that Yami would get excited over hearing about an archaeologist of ancient Egyptology. Yugi felt it would be best to reassure his other half.
/ I'm sure he can help. You know something, Yami? That makes the decision I've made that much easier. /
// Yugi, I thought we'd make decisions together. We're one and the same, remember? //
/ Oh…good point. Well, just listen to what I tell the others. /
"Yugi!" Téa snapped. Her voice brought Yugi back to reality. "What's on your mind?"
Yugi finally spoke up. "I have to go to Reedington."
Joey was taken aback. "Huh? Go to Reedington?"
"I have no choice," Yugi explained. "The Millennium Eye has to be recovered. And…I'm doing it for Yami. There are…some things he wants to know. Maybe this Aiden Avalon can help him recover his lost memories."
"Oh, so it's a two-part mission," Joey thought. "Well, don't think I'm letting you go by yourself, bud. I'm coming with you."
"I'm in the mood to get out of this town for a while," Téa piped up. "I'll go too!"
"And just where are you guys planning to stay?" Tristan pointed out. "You guys don't have family over there. I'll come along and we can stay with my cousin."
"You really think Madison would let us stay with her?" Joey asked.
"Even after the way YOU'VE treated her?" Téa added.
"What?" Tristan asked innocently. "Madison LOVES me! She'll be more than happy to let us stay with her. And she'll be so happy to see her favorite cousin again."
Yugi smiled. "That's great, Tristan! Then it's settled. We leave this weekend and catch the first bus to Reedington." Then he noticed the fifth member of their party. "You coming, Bakura?"
Bakura hesitated. "A sudden trip to Reedington…?"
"Come on, Bakura, what's there to think about?" Joey said encouragingly. "It's been months since we've left Domino City. Let's see some new sights!"
"Well, since you put it that way, I believe I will go."
Yugi rejoiced. "Great! Then we're all set! We leave this weekend."
// I like your idea, Yugi. You take after me quite a bit. //
/ Believe me, Yami. I will do EVERYTHING in my power to find the answers you seek in Reedington. /
Yugi couldn't wait to get out to Reedington. He would go for the Millennium Eye…but he would stay to help his Yami.
Bakura stood by as the others got excited about heading to Reedington. That's when the Millennium Ring underneath his shirt began to activate. The soulstealer within him was coming out again. And having heard what Yugi has in mind, he couldn't help but chuckle malevolently to himself.
~// At last! The Millennium Eye has been found! I will accompany these fools to this 'Reedington' and recover what belongs to me! And while I'm there, I may as well collect my THIRD Millennium Item! I shall take Yugi's Millennium Puzzle as my own! //~
The soulstealer couldn't wait. And as long as he managed to fool the rubes into thinking he was really their friend, Bakura, it would all be so easy.
With her father and Tori out of the house, Sakura was now in her father's room, looking at the eyeball that her father found. It was certainly a weird item and was certainly odd for an ancient Egyptian object. Then again, a lot of things about ancient Egypt came off as strange to Sakura.
Ditto for Kero, who hadn't taken his eye off the eyeball. He was staring at it intensely, deeply concentrating.
"What are you thinking about, Kero?"
Kero didn't answer right away. "There's something about that eye that looks…familiar. I feel like I've seen it before. But I can't think of where."
Sakura was about to bring up the time they were stuck in that pyramid. It had to be the only place Kero could have seen it unless he had been snooping around Sakura's history books. But before she said anything, the phone rang.
"Hello? … Oh, hi Li! … Yeah, I can be there in a little while. … You're so sweet! … I can't wait to see you again! I'll be right over!"
Sakura hung up the phone and picked up Kero.
"Hey, I wasn't done eyeballing the eyeball!"
"Stare at that thing later, Kero. We're going over to see Li."
Kero grumbled. "You know, the brat's been having you over a lot since he moved into Madison's guesthouse. Don't you get sick of seeing him?"
"Of course not! He's my boyfriend!"
"Oh, right. Then it's me. I'M sick of seeing him!"
Sakura didn't let Kero's complaints get to her. She stuffed him in her pocket as she wrote a note for her dad and brother. As soon as she was done with that, she was out the door.
She couldn't wait to see him and Madison again.
Next Time: Yugi and his friends reach Madison's estate, but is Madison happy to see her cousin again? And will Yugi reach Aiden Avalon?
Any comments? Then mail me at AmericanCaptor@hotmail.com and don't forget to review below!
