40Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! or any of its characters. I just want to borrow some of them for a little while. I promise to take good care of them, so please don't sue me!
Chapter 13: LET'S CHANGE THE SUBJECT
The next morning, Yugi did his chores, while his mind was occupied with the problem Vicki presented…mainly, where was she now, and were his friends still in danger? Yugi finished sweeping his room by moving the dirt into a dustpan, then tilting it over the waste basket.
Next, he used a rag to wipe the dust from his desk and bookshelves. He lifted the box that had contained the pieces of his Millennium Puzzle, and rubbed it with the cloth. As he set the box back down, Yami spoke to Yugi, "I remember the Millennium Necklace that Ishizu Ishtar possesses. It gives her the power to see into the past and also into the future. If she's still at the Domino Museum maybe she can look into the past and see the shadow game where Vicki disobeyed the High Priest."
"Maybe we can find out how to return her to the Shadow Realm," Yugi replied.
As soon as his chores were completed, he looked up the phone number for the museum and called about the Egyptian exhibit. "Yes, Ms. Ishtar and those artifacts will be here for another two weeks," the receptionist informed Yugi. He barely contained his excitement as he called Joey, Tristan, Tea, and Mai about a visit to the museum. Tea suggested that he invite the Kaiba brothers, too.
Mokuba answered the phone at the Kaiba mansion. "I'm not sure that Seto will be interested in hearing more about ancient duel monsters, Yugi. But I'll tell him when he gets back from his business meeting. That will probably be around 1:30 p.m."
Everyone met on the steps in front of Domino Museum at 3:00 p.m. Tea looked completely recovered, but Joey and Kaiba still wore dark sunglasses. As the gang went inside, a blinding flash of light came from the Millenium Puzzle then Yami appeared. "Joey, have you seen Vicki?" Yami asked.
"No, and I'm not sorry about that at all. The bruise on my eye is purple now, so I can imagine how Kaiba's face looks today…just like 'Saggi the Dark Clown' from his deck," Joey joked.
"Watch it, Wheeler," Kaiba growled. "In case you've forgotten, this whole situation is your fault, mutt."
"Oh, yeah?" Joey responded, "What about your flamin' crush on Vicki, rich boy? That double date woulda never happened without your—"
"Okay, guys, time to call a truce," Mai interrupted Joey. "We're here to find out how to deal with Vicki without anyone else getting hurt, remember? I'm not sure how this visit to the museum will help, but Yugi seems to think it might."
"That's right, Mai. We might be able to get more information about Vicki and her original 'keeper,'" Yami said.
"I wonder where Vicki is right now," Tea commented, "don't you think it's a little weird that she hasn't tried to see Joey? She did see herself as his servant, and she defended him against Kaiba at Kaibaland."
"It's possible that revenge was her main reason for attacking Kaiba then," Yami offered.
"Lots of people wanna pulverize Kaiba, his attitude has that kinda effect on people, right Joey?" Tristan added.
"You know it, Tristan. That's the main reason why Vicki flattened Kaiba," Joey affirmed.
"Guys, Vicki attacked Joey and Tea, too," Mokuba reminded everyone. "She hurt Seto because she's a bully."
"Will everyone stop talking about me as if I wasn't here!" Kaiba exploded. *It's bad enough that my love life is now fuel for their jokes.* To change the subject, Kaiba added, "I contacted Ishizu Ishtar, and she is willing to help us. But I still have a hard time buying into all these ancient Egyptian fairy tales—especially that I had a role in them. I just hope this isn't a major waste of my time."
By now the group had entered the Egyptian exhibit hall. Their chatter faded away as they began to look around at the various artifacts on display. Eventually, everyone gathered in front of a huge tablet on the wall carved with hieroglyphs and creatures that resembled duel monster cards.
"Good afternoon everyone," a voice spoke behind them, "Welcome my Pharaoh and Seto Kaiba." As everyone turned around, the woman continued, "I am Ishizu Ishtar." Yami introduced the group to the woman wearing a flowing white garment and the Millennium Necklace. "There is more to the exhibit downstairs. Will you follow me please?"
[End Chapter 13
Author's note: It's been a long while since I worked on this fanfic. Trying to get back into everyone's character was a challenge. [*^-^*] ]