Chapter XLV: Cloud Number Nine
Hello again, fans of the Jedi League! Before we begin this latest chapter, I'd like to announce that I have posted a fic on Adult Fan Fiction. So if you are of age, you can go and see Seto and Lisa's wedding night. My account name is the same at AFF as it is here, so enjoy! And now, thanks again to those of you who read and reviewed the previous chapter. I'm very glad you, dear readers, remain with this story, even with all the time that has passed. And so I begin another chapter, a bit earlier than usual.
Disclaimer: Peach Wookiee doesn't own the Yu-Gi-Oh franchise or any related characters. She sort of owns Lisa. She doesn't own any Bryan Adams songs, but she does own some CDs of his music. She was inspired by the song and thought it fit what will happen in this chapter. This chapter is the name of a song of Mr. Adams'. Also, Peach is deliberately parodying the musical Chicago's song, "The Cell Block Tango." This is a parody of the song, Peach repeats and she doesn't profit from anything, except from the joy she gets and hopefully gives.
Warning: Make-out scene.
Author's note: By this chapter, about a year has passed since Lisa made her suicide attempt.
The changing of the seasons didn't stop just because for a time it seemed as if life had ended for one young woman in Domino City. As Lisa Kaiba slowly recovered from her injuries and the loss of who would've been her and Seto's firstborn child, winter changed to spring. The gang looked forward to summer vacation, taking their school exams, and Seto Kaiba finally figured out how to construct an actual light saber. Lisa returned to work at Domino Children's hospital, able to help the children she had worked with before. Spring changed to summer, and in July, Mokuba Kaiba celebrated his tenth birthday. The gang celebrated with a huge party at the mansion and a trip to Kaiba Land.
Summer turned to fall, and the gang returned to school. Everyone who went to Domino High looked forward to their junior year and Lisa, after several months of part-time duty, was finally cleared to go back to work full-time. Among the group, there was also a big change. Serenity Wheeler, with her mother's blessing had started dating. Two young men vied for her affections and one seemed to have won out. The young redhead with the dreamy hazel eyes began to date Duke Devlin exclusively.
In February of 2005, the teens of Domino High School were abuzz over the upcoming romantic holiday, Valentine's Day. This year, it fell during the Domino Unified School District's Mid-Winter Break, and Duke promised a great many things.
"Serenity," he said as they sat in the school library studying on Thursday, February tenth, "I thought maybe if your mom's okay with it, we could go out for dinner and a movie on Monday night. Phantom of the Opera is playing and we can go anywhere you want for dinner." His eyes caressed her figure, clad in the Domino High girls' uniform. It wasn't that Duke didn't care about Serenity; he liked her a lot. But he hadn't told her he was dating other girls off and on. He was used to having his own way regarding women and his upbringing hadn't instilled in him how to treat them properly. So perhaps he could not entirely be blamed for what happened later.
Serenity smiled, scanning Duke and noticing that his surface intentions toward her were to give her a great evening. "Yeah, I haven't seen Phantom yet, Duke. Mai wanted to take me last week, but I was busy. And dinner sounds wonderful. Let me think about where I want to go… And it won't be anywhere expensive. I really don't want anything too pricey. But I'm glad we're going out on Monday."
Y
Over the weekend, Serenity picked through her closet, looking for just the right dress. She found it, a bright red short-sleeved casual dress, and planned for the romantic evening. Meanwhile, Duke planned out the evening, but not as Serenity envisioned. I can meet Tracy for an hour and still be on time to meet Serenity, he thought. Tracy was a pretty senior at Domino's Jefferson High School, with a curvy hourglass figure, honey-blonde hair and big brown eyes. She was a very popular young woman and, like Duke, a bit of a flirt. Also like the young gambler, Tracy had some… experience. Somewhere along the way, she had gotten the idea that the way boys would pay attention to her was if she was easy. And so it was that she'd found the company of Duke Devlin quite pleasant.
On Valentine's Day, Serenity joyfully went to the game shop and the gang could sense her bliss at the evening to come. Tristan felt her joy particularly strongly. She's happy, he thought, trying to shut out his own heartache. I wish it was with me, but she chose him. That might change someday, but right now I've got to let it be. He had found himself falling for her since she came to Domino, but when she had chosen Duke to date exclusively, Tristan had respected her feelings, even if his heart told him that the raven-haired young man might break hers. He looked out the window of the Muto living room, blocking his hurt from Serenity.
"Hey, Tristan," the redheaded girl said, breaking into his thoughts. She'd tapped him on his shoulder, but so inattentive was he that he hadn't realized it. "I brought you a cookie." She held out a chocolate chip cookie that she'd made. It was heart-shaped and covered with red frosting. "Happy Valentine's Day," she smiled sweetly. His mental shields were up so she couldn't sense his deeper emotions, but what she sensed on the surface told her first that he loved the gift; second, that he was sad about something. Her brows knitted together as she frowned slightly in concern. "Hey, is everything okay?"
He blinked, coming out of his reverie. "Oh, yeah. Yeah, I'm okay, Serenity. Just thinking about some stuff," he admitted. "Don't worry about it," he added with a slight smile. "It'll pass."
She tried scanning him again, but sensed only the surface. "Well, if you want to talk, I'll listen. Enjoy your cookie." He took a bite and loved it.
"So are you excited about tonight, Serenity?" Lisa asked, sitting on the couch. Seto was working and tonight, they would have a quiet dinner with Mokuba when Seto got home from work. So today, she and Mokuba were hanging out with the gang.
"Yeah, I can't wait to see Phantom with Duke! And we're going to dinner at that new restaurant, the Iolani!"
"Oh, that Hawaiian place. I'll say you're in for a treat! Seto and I went there last week…" The girls all chatted excitedly about the evening to come. Yugi was making Teá a five-course dinner while Joey and Mai were ordering in at his house (Elizabeth would be chaperoning but out of the way). At about four PM, Serenity and Joey headed home and the young woman got ready for her date.
Y
At 5:30 PM, Serenity Jayne Wheeler headed out her front door, clad in her pretty red dress, a sleek black jacket and red flats. She'd said goodbye to her mother, brother and surrogate sister, so happy that tonight was happening. I know he'll like this dress, she thought, and he's taking me to a movie! I'll get there a little bit early, but then we can have some time to talk. Duke Devlin's Game World was within walking distance of the house, and she loved to walk there even when someone could drive her there. Thanks to an eye operation by Dr. Misawa at Domino Children's Hospital in the summer of 2004, she had regained some vision so she could walk to Duke's unescorted. Though a major eye surgery loomed on the horizon, she at least had until sometime in 2006 before her glaucoma became irreversible. But today, she didn't think about that. All she thought about was the wonderful night ahead.
She arrived at Game World at 5:45 PM and headed to a back room where Duke had said he would be. The staff knew her and let her go to the back room, forgetting that Mr. Devlin already had a female visitor that was supposed to be gone already. So they didn't warn him that Serenity was coming. She made her way into the back room, and the greeting she had for the young man she liked a lot died on her lips at the sight in front of her. He was on the couch, his arms around a girl with a thick blonde ponytail tied back with a pink bow. They were kissing passionately and their hands were rather busy.
Serenity's face went white, her mind screaming out in shock and pain. It was such a betrayal that she added verbally, "Duke, why?!" Without waiting for an explanation from him or even for her cry to register, she turned and ran from the room and out of the shop, tears streaming down her face. And at this moment, the overcast sky darkened even further and cold rain poured down upon the broken-hearted teen girl. She ran, but not toward home. I can't face them… Not now! Her heart was broken and she just ran.
Meanwhile, Duke Devlin had indeed heard the horrified scream and as his body reveled in pleasure from Tracy's expert make-out skills, he saw Serenity's face and felt her devastation. As soon as he was fully aware of himself, Duke pulled away from Tracy and went to clean off her lipstick smears, helping Tracy as well. "Who was that?" she asked curiously as they stood in the bathroom. Though she hadn't seen the girl's face, she had heard the scream. "Is it someone else you're seeing?"
"Yeah," he admitted, flushing in shame. He liked Serenity and realized he should have been up-front with her. "I didn't think to tell her we weren't exclusive. We were going out tonight."
Tracy sized him up as she redid her make-up. After she was done, she sighed. "Well, you should've, Duke. I mean, I don't care; I know the game. But if this girl doesn't, you'd better talk to her. I don't think you guys will go out tonight, but go talk to her. Hey, you have those Jedi powers, right?" Most of the city knew about the Jedi-powered teens and some of their abilities.
"Yeah. Oh, boy." Duke lowered his mental shields and then was hit by a barrage of Serenity's pain and grief, followed by anger… at him. The anger came from everyone else in the gang. "I am in so much trouble," he groaned.
Y
Serenity Wheeler ran through the streets, tears still streaming down her sweet face. Water ran down her form in rivulets, her dress clinging to her. Where do I go? she thought. And then she noticed where she was. Tristan's; I'll go there! She had put her mental shields up not long after she had seen Duke's betrayal. She knew the gang would be able to tell that something bad had happened, but oddly she didn't want them swooping down on him or running in to "save" her. But she did need comfort and Tristan seemed the likely choice. And so she ran to the gate around his family's townhouse. She punched in the security code and walked in.
Tristan, at this very moment, had been sitting in worry. What did he do to her? If he hurt her… His light saber sat on his desk, and at this particular moment, the hazel-eyed young man thought very much of using it to hurt Duke back if the raven-haired gambler had hurt the redheaded girl. I could make him a girl… And then he thought better of it. No, that's of the dark side, and Duke doesn't deserve that… yet. What I need to do is think about how I can help Serenity.
At that very moment, the doorbell rang. Tristan took a deep breath and sensed precisely who it was. Her mental shields were up, but he could still tell it was Serenity. He calmly strode to the front door and opened it. There she was, soaking wet, her pretty dress soaked and clinging to her in a way that left nothing to the imagination as far as her figure was concerned. She was trembling from emotional pain and physical cold. She looked up at him, that pain radiating from herself and in her brown eyes. "H-hey, Tristan," she managed to say before the tears spilled over onto her cheeks. Wordlessly, she threw her arms around him and sobbed.
He found himself hugging her back, murmuring, "It's gonna be okay; shhh. C'mon in and let's get you dried off." He led her into the house and to the couch in the living room. He grabbed a thick blanket, wrapping it around her. "I'll find you some towels and a dry outfit; is that okay?"
"Y-yeah. Th-thanks, T-Tristan." Her teeth were starting to chatter and she started sneezing. Great, now I caught a cold, she thought, frustrated. My boyfriend cheated on me on Valentine's Day, and now I've got a cold! How can my night get any worse?!
Tristan, meanwhile, sensed Serenity's mental and physical state as he headed into the guest room. Man, she's got a cold and that idiot broke her heart. On Valentine's Day, of all days, he had to cheat on her! I'm not going to kill him, but if he comes around here, he's going to get a piece of my mind! The guest room had once been his sister Arianna's bedroom and she had left some of her old clothes in the closet. Tristan found some clothes that might fit the young woman now in the living room and went to the linen closet where he found some towels. "Serenity?" he called as he headed into the living room with the stuff.
"Y-yeah?" she responded, the blanket wrapped around her tightly as she sat on the Taylor's comfortable old couch. She reached out to touch Tristan's mind, finding his warm presence and emotions. He wasn't feeling lustful toward her, she realized; he wanted to genuinely make her feel better.
"I got some towels and dry clothes for you. If you want, you can change in the guest room. And I think my mom has a hair dryer in the guest bathroom."
"Well," she said, feeling pretty grungy, "could I take a shower and clean up?"
Tristan, not really surprised, nodded. "Sure. Go ahead. There's shampoo in there and conditioner and some really nice soap Mom got. Take your time."
"Th-Thanks, Tristan," she smiled and sneezed again. "I'll be back!" She headed down the hall to the guest bathroom and bedroom, closing the door. Tristan sighed after she left and headed to the phone, choosing to tell his best friend over the phone rather than through mental IMing.
Y
Back at the Wheeler residence, Joey had been getting the delicious dinner for two that he'd prepared for Mai onto the table. "I hope we hear somethin' soon," he murmured in worry. Even though part of him would like nothing better to tear Duke limb from limb, he knew, like Tristan that such thoughts and actions wouldn't help his little sister.
Mai, however, was letting her anger be known. "I'd like to know what in the heck that jerk was thinking! How could he do that to her?! And on Valentine's Day?! I'd like to Jedi Strike him into next month!" she growled, picturing herself using the defensive ability to send him through a couple of buildings. She was reacting frighteningly, but understandably.
Even so, Joey knew he'd better calm her down. "Mai, I'm mad at him too, but that ain't gonna help her get through this. Let's hear from her and see what she wants. It feels like she's in a safe place right now, so let's eat something. I'll bring the phone out here so if she calls, we're here." Joey's mom was upstairs, watching a movie. And so they waited.
And then at about 7:30, the phone rang. "Good evenin', Wheeler residence," Joey greeted.
"Joey, it's Tristan," Tristan's voice said through the receiver. "Serenity's here. She's asleep in the guestroom."
Joey's eyes widened. "Tristan?! When did she come to you? Why isn't she callin'?!" Wildly, the blonde young man wondered if he'd need to harm his best friend, but then scanned his emotions from afar. He didn't do anything, he thought. And… He reached out to his sister's mind and sensed her resting. "Tristan, is she okay?" he asked, calming down.
"Yeah. He didn't hurt her physically, but emotionally is another story. She didn't tell me much, but Duke did something. I didn't want to pry, and she was really sniffling and soaking wet, so I got her an old outfit of Arianna's and she went and took a shower. When I went to check on her about fifteen minutes ago, she'd crawled into the guest bed and fallen asleep. Joey, if you guys want to come over and pick her up…"
"Call us in about an hour. If she isn't up by then, we'll come over and get her. Tristan…" Joey took a deep breath, trying to get his thoughts together. "I'm glad she's with you tonight," he finally stated. "And… when she's ready, if she wants to go out with you, I'm okay with that." It was a hard thing for Joseph Aaron Wheeler to say to his best friend, but the truth was he knew that his best friend would never do to Serenity what Duke had done to her. It wasn't in Tristan's nature.
And Tristan sensed that trust from Joey. "Thanks, man. But only when she's ready," he promised.
Y
Serenity Wheeler awoke at eight PM, a little bit disoriented. This isn't my room, she thought, and then it came flooding back. Valentine's Day… Duke and that girl… running out into the rain… And then she remembered coming to Tristan's and cleaning up. Oooh, Joey must be worried. He'd have… Oh, I hope he didn't go and kill Duke. She knew her brother just might get violent with her now-ex-boyfriend, but she really hoped he wouldn't.
There was a knock at the bedroom door. "Serenity? Are you awake yet?" It was Tristan on the other side of the door with a mug of hot chocolate.
She sat up and sent, Yeah, I'm up. Come on in, Tristan.
He was surprised at her use of the mind-link, but utilized it as well. Okay. He entered the room with the hot chocolate, handing it to her and sitting down on the edge of the bed. How are you feeling?
A bit better, she sent. I definitely have a cold, but I'll be okay. Thanks for letting me stay for a bit, Tristan. I'm… I'm sorry if I ruined anything for you tonight. Tristan had been dating other girls off and on, so she naturally assumed that he'd had a date or something he just might have cancelled. I mean…
No, Serenity, it's okay. I was just spending a quiet evening at home, really. I'm glad you stopped by, but I wish your night hadn't been ruined. He truly meant it. He had been sad when Serenity chose Duke, but he hadn't hoped they would break up on such a bad note as he feared. So what happened?
Well, I caught him with another girl, she explained sadly. I guess he didn't want to date me exclusively. Tristan, why did he do it? And why didn't he tell me?
The answer Tristan gave came straight from his heart. He doesn't know how special you really are. Serenity, you're amazing and if he can't appreciate that, he's the fool. Trite it might seem, but he meant every word.
"Oh, Tristan," she said verbally, setting down her mug of hot chocolate. He did the same with his chocolate and accepted the warm, sweet hug she gave him. "Thank you. So how long was I asleep?"
"You've been out for about an hour or so. Oh, and Joey called. He and Mai wanted to come over and get you."
"I'll call them, but can I stay here for a little bit longer?" she asked shyly. "I just… don't want to go home yet."
"Okay." And then the doorbell rang. Both of them sensed who it was. "I'll get it," he said tensely. "Do you want to..?"
"Tell him to go away or I might just use my light saber on him!" This was unusual for Serenity to be that angry, but given the circumstances, it was understandable. She wouldn't actually do it, but she could get angry enough to threaten such things.
And so Tristan headed to the door. He could sense Duke fully, standing out on the porch, hoping to be forgiven. Duke did genuinely want to explain himself and make up with her as it turned out. "Hey, Duke," Tristan greeted, frowning. "She's here and she doesn't want to see you. She's really steamed and I don't blame her."
"I'd like to hear it from her," Duke said, expression darkening. He sensed Tristan's emotions clearly as both boys had their mental shields lowered to each other. He sensed hostility from the bigger boy and a clear desire to protect the young woman in the house. But Duke thought that perhaps Tristan was out of line.
But Tristan grabbed the raven-haired boy by his black t-shirt, flashing hazel eyes meeting the bright green ones as he lifted Duke off the ground. "She doesn't want to see you and even said she's thinking of using her saber on you. Do you really want to cross her, especially with what you did to her? What right did you have to cheat on her like that?!"
And then Duke said what perhaps he shouldn't have. "I wasn't cheating on her, Tristan. I guess we didn't talk about seeing more than one person. I'm sorry I got her upset, but I should've told her I was seeing other people."
Tristan's eyes flashed as he held Duke in the tight grip. "You didn't bother to tell her, knowing her past history?! You moron! You know what her father was like! And yet you didn't even tell her! I don't think you're going to see her tonight; in fact, I wouldn't recommend you see any of the girls tonight. I think they're all pretty steamed at you. They know what you pulled. And you're lucky Joey is keeping his feelings in check or you just might've found yourself in a duel, and I'm not referring to Duel Monsters or Dungeon Dice Monsters!"
Duke's eyes widened as he opened himself to the gang's emotions fully and knew that come morning, he would be in very serious trouble. "All right, but tell her I am sorry I hurt her. If she wants to talk, she can call my cell phone or talk to me online. Will you tell her that?" he asked.
Tristan nodded. "Okay… I'll tell her… Good night, Duke…"
"Good night, Tristan." With that, Duke headed off into the night, reflecting that perhaps his style of dating needed some serious re-evaluation.
Tristan headed back inside and back down the hall to the guestroom. Serenity was in tears and he figured out why quickly. "It's over… on Valentine's Day, it's over," she whimpered against him, crying.
He held her close and mentally sent to Joey and Mai, C'mon over. Duke was just here and it's over between them. Serenity needs you right now. I'll tell you what I know, okay? And bring your mom, Joey. I think this is one of those times that you just need a mom around.
Back at the Wheeler residence, Joey sent back, Serenity, Mai, Ma and I are comin'…
Y
The next morning, there was a meeting of certain members of the team. "Okay, so we know he cheated on you, Serenity. The question is, what do we do about it?" Lisa wondered, pulling a white-blonde lock behind her right ear as she and the other women in the team sat around the low table in the Kaiba mansion's media room. She thought what Duke had done was horrid, and last night had contemplated trying a remote Jedi Atomic Wedgie on him. But of course her better self had risen up and reminded her that such behavior was not becoming of a Jedi Master. "Serenity? What do you want?"
The redheaded girl thought carefully about what she wanted to happen. Her anger had abated from last night, so she was no longer thinking of using her light saber on him. She had cried in her family's loving arms, and Mai hadn't gone home to her brother and grandfather's until her boyfriend's little sister was sleeping. Serenity had been greatly comforted. However, even with that, the youngest Wheeler was thinking of what just might give her now ex-boyfriend a taste of humility. "I've got an idea. Remember that dog suit Duke made Joey wear?" She had found out and it had stuck in the back of her mind. "He has to wear it in the center of town."
"Okay, that doesn't seem like quite enough, though," Mai said, also with a plan on her mind. "He should wear a sandwich board that says what he did and what kind of guy he is!"
And then Teá surprised them all with her suggestion. "Girls, have you seen that movie with Renee Zellweger and Catherine Zeta-Jones?"
Lisa realized. "You mean Chicago?" When Teá nodded, the white-blonde asked, "Which song are you thinking about?"
"The Cell Block Tango," the dancer answered, a slightly wolfish grin on her face. "The ultimate revenge song."
"Well, revenge isn't the Jedi way, but we are going to let Duke know what he did was wrong. We'll do the Cell Block Tango song, but I don't think any of us, with the exception of Teá could pull off the moves," the doctor said sagely. "But we will do the song. Okay, so he wears the dog suit, the sandwich board and we get to do our song and dance routine, dance modified, of course. Ladies, we won't use our powers unless absolutely necessary…"
Y
In another room in the mansion, Duke sat on a chair at the end of a table, glancing at his male friends. Joey stared him down. "Whatever they plan, Duke, you're lucky nobody went after you last night. Mai wanted to rip you apart. Part of me wanted to. But I realized that wouldn't help my sister. You're still gonna apologize to her and mean it!" he growled. He could sense that Duke wasn't really sorry yet. He hadn't truly understood the enormity of what he'd done; the rest of the boys could sense that.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell her; maybe I should've. It's not like we're that serious or anything," the raven-haired gambler said, trying to defend himself. He had done some soul-searching last night, but just hadn't found the part of himself that saw what he did was wrong.
"Duke," Yugi said flatly, "it was wrong. You cheated on her. She's not seeing anyone else and she liked you a lot." The pointy-haired boy had an expression of true sadness on his face. "And the sad thing is you don't realize how bad it is."
"But we aren't even engaged or anything," Duke said, still not getting it.
"That's not it. If you're dating a girl and don't tell her that you want to see other girls too, she's going to assume that you are serious about her and her only. That's cheating, Duke. And you did it. It's not right," Yugi explained. "A situation is only fair if both sides know the rules, remember?" The small King of Games couldn't help but remember a game not quite two years previously where Duke hadn't explained the rules and lost even so. "And in a relationship, both sides have to agree to what they want and expect out of it. And you didn't give Serenity a chance to decide."
The mention of the contest nearly two years previously woke Duke up to what he'd done, and the other young men sensed it. "I didn't think about that," he admitted, shamefacedly. "I'm not used to thinking about it. The truth is, I've liked not being tied down to one person; I admit that. But I didn't mean to hurt Serenity; I just didn't think about what she was feeling. I have to apologize…"
"And unless they're going to physically harm you, I suggest you go along with their punishment," Seto said, having remained silent while the other boys had talked things out. "Knowing Lisa, she won't be ready to use her saber on you. And she will talk the others down from that. They won't be too vindictive, but they may engage in some humiliation."
Duke nodded, accepting his fate.
Y
One hour later, Duke stood in the Kaiba mansion's library in front of a large oak desk. Behind that desk sat Lisa Angela Kaiba, looking oddly regal in her favorite rose pink velour round-necked top and pants. "Duke Rupert Devlin, Jedi Knight, are you prepared to accept the punishment against you?"
"I am, Mistress Lisa," he said formally. "And I would again like to apologize to you, Serenity, for what I did. It wasn't right for me to mislead you in what our relationship was. And it definitely wasn't fair. I hope you can forgive me."
Serenity stood up. "I do forgive you, Duke, but we're breaking up. I can't trust you anymore, and it's going to take a lot before I trust you again."
"I understand, and guys, I accept my punishment. I await your final sentence, Jedi Mistress."
"Duke Devlin, for cheating on Serenity, today you will make up for it in three ways." Lisa snapped her fingers and Teá came forward with a costume in her arms. Duke's eyes widened when he recognized the head of it.
"The… dog suit?" he asked, recognizing the same suit he'd put Joey in.
"Put it on," the young dancer said in the same tone one of Duke's cheerleaders had used on Joey nearly two years before. She was also smirking. And Duke put it on.
"Now what?"
"Now, we'll go to the center of town, Duke, and you're going to wear a sandwich board detailing your crime. And then we're also going to do a little song and dance number… The Cell Block Tango. I assume you know what that's from, Duke?" Lisa asked seriously.
"From Chicago… It's that song that the five women who did kill their husbands or lovers and that one gal who didn't sang. You guys are doing that one?" he responded, eyes widening in shock.
"Yup. We'll modify a little since there are four of us, but you're going to be in the center of our little dance." Duke swallowed, understanding he was about experience some humiliation.
Y
The center of Domino City is a small greenbelt with a large two-tiered fountain dedicated to the members of the city who served and to those who made the ultimate sacrifice in the European Theater during World War Two. There is also a clock to tell the denizens of the city the time in the city center. On this day, as the fountain flowed in the still somewhat chilly air and the clock read 11:45 AM, a group of teenage boys strode to the fountain, setting up sound equipment and a portable dance floor. One spiky-haired boy in the group was pointed out by passers-by as the Duel Monsters champion and the blonde boy next to him was the runner-up, Joey Wheeler. They were moving speakers and setting up chairs as the former champion, Seto Kaiba set up the sound equipment.
At precisely noon, four young women, clad in brightly colored dresses with full skirts arrived at the town center. The young women were also wearing elbow-length satin gloves for effect. Following them was a young man wearing a dog suit and a sandwich board that bore the legend, "My name is Duke Rupert Devlin and I cheated on my girlfriend." His head was bowed in shame, the enormity of what he'd done finally crashing down on him. I'll take this and learn from it… I should've been straightforward with her and I shouldn't have cheated on her. And now, I'm going to pay the price. He went and sat down on a chair in the center of the dance floor, and then Seto pressed a button on his control panel. Above the teens and around them were buildings with Jumbo-trons on them, and those switched from the selected programming to the town center.
All around the city, thousands of people watched as a camera showed the group of young women standing surrounding the young man in the dog suit. Yugi Muto stood at the ready, a microphone in his right hand. Silently, Seto Kaiba hit another button on his control panel, cuing music. After a few drumbeats and tapping block sounds, Lisa lifted her head and said, "Work."
And then came Serenity. "Dice."
And then Mai added, "Crush."
Finally, Teá intoned, "Dragon."
Yugi grinned. That was his cue. "And now, the four Jedi Mistresses of Domino City in their rendition of The Cell Block Tango," he said smoothly as the girls repeated their lines. They repeated the lines again, faster and faster.
And then they sang the first chorus together, "We aren't bad girls, but we want vengeance. We want these guys to know our pain. We tried to tell 'em, but they won't listen. So now they're dealing with the strain!" They repeated this, doing a few solo dancing moves. Lisa moved forward, standing while other girls continued with their own dance moves, repeating the chorus.
The young Mrs. Kaiba smiled and said, "You know how people have these little habits that get you down. Like… Seto!" Seto looked up from his control board, grinning at what came next. "Seto, he likes to work hard. No, not work hard… He's a workaholic," she said, expression changing from happy to frustrated. "All he does is work, work, work, and when I get home, I expect him to take some time to at least say hi. So one night I come home from the hospital and I haven't had a great day, so I'd like a little sympathy. But Seto is on the couch, drinking some coffee and working… No, being a workaholic. So I say to him, 'You keep working anymore tonight…' And he did. So I went over and took the computer and played a game on it… With a sledgehammer."
The girls sang the chorus again and then it was Serenity's turn. "I met Duke Devlin almost two years ago in Domino City. He told me he was single and we hit it off right away. We had a lot in common so I started dating him exclusively. He'd come to my house from work; I'd help him with homework; I'd clean his dice earrings. And then I found out. Single, he said to me? Single? Yeah right! Not only was he dating someone else; oh no. He was dating six other girls!" she said, real anger coming into her stage voice. "One of those players, you know? He rolled his dice every day, deciding who to go out with. But when I found out, he came to my house and I cleaned his dice earrings as usual." A drumbeat. "You know, some dice just can't take paint thinner."
And then the girls sang the second chorus, "We aren't bad girls, but we want vengeance. He took advantage of our time! He really used it, and then abused it. It just seems like he did a crime!"
And then Mai came forward as the other girls danced and sang the second chorus quietly. "I never thought I'd give a card to any guy, especially one like Joey Wheeler. He came into my life, asking me to crush him in a duel. He came to a dueling championship and I gave him my Glory of the King's Hand card so he could duel for the prize. He lost that duel, but then he dueled me, thinking some rather naughty thoughts in the process. 'Crush me,' he says. And crush him, I did…"
The girls sang the two choruses together and then it was Teá's turn as the girls sang the second chorus softly again. "I love Yugi Muto more than I can possibly say… He is a really sensitive and sweet guy. He goes out all the time, trying to find the best dueling cards. Along the way, he's found Dark Magician Girl, Dunames Dark Witch, Red Archery Girl, and the Blue Eyes White Dragon… I don't have any complaints about him, compared to the guy who dates Serenity!" The three girls who'd complained about trivial things regarding their boyfriends or husband looked dramatically at each other and then at Duke, faces turning angry.
And with a sudden hit of trumpets and bells, the girls sang, dancing around Duke in a circle, "You dirty bum! You dirty bum! We aren't bad girls, but we want vengeance. You took advantage of her time! You really used it, and then abused it. It just seems like you did a crime! We aren't bad girls, but we want vengeance. We want you just to know our pain. We tried to tell you, but you won't listen. So now you're dealing with the strain!" The girls repeated their single lines, spun to a stop and pointed at him as the song ended with a clang of cell block doors. All over the city, people began clapping and cheering at the performance.
Y
After the performance, Duke stood for one hour in the dog suit in the center of town with the sign around his neck. People spoke with him, some of whom were disgusted with what he had done. There were others, though, that thought what he'd done was fine and that his friends had overreacted. But Duke, truly understanding now, looked those who thought the punishment was not right straight in the eyes. "I might've agreed with you yesterday morning, and even yesterday night. But what I did was wrong. I should've been honest with Serenity at the first, that we weren't exclusive. And if she hadn't been okay with that, I should've broken up with her. It's going to take time for us to be friends again and I'll do what I can to heal the relationship. And that means if this is what I have to do, this is what I have to do."
Of the young men and women who thought Duke had been wronged, about half of them listened and reevaluated their actions with people they cared about. The other half, however, dismissed Duke as a man who had just been publicly "whipped." They went home and continued on their way and in their views that their behavior was acceptable until reality would inevitably come crashing down on them.
For Duke, he realized he had grown from this experience as he pulled the dog suit off back at Game World. What have I learned? he mused as he hung it up. He had to report to the gang after work this evening; he knew he must think very carefully and show understanding of his crime as well as comprehension of what had occurred today.
Y
At seven PM at the Kaiba mansion, Duke again stood before the gang. "Duke, are you prepared to tell us what you learned through today's experience?" Lisa asked as she scanned his full emotions. He's definitely learned from this, but I want to hear it from his own mouth in his own words. Each Jedi teen and the lone preteen were thinking the same thing.
And so Duke nodded. "I am. And first, I learned that I humiliated not just one, but two people through unrelated incidents. Joey, not quite two years ago, I humiliated you by making you wear the dog suit. It might've seemed funny to me at the time, but it was cruel. And again, Joey, I apologize to you and this time, I can understand what you went through. Serenity, I humiliated you yesterday by not being honest with you and playing with your heart. I was wrong and today I understood how it felt to you and how all of you were so angry. You had a right to be, and thank you all for doing the song and dance and not going after me with light sabers."
His friends and ex-girlfriend all nodded, accepting the apology. Serenity came forward. "Duke, I accept your apology. Just remember next time that respect in a relationship means you're honest with the person you're with."
"I'll remember. Friends?"
"Friends," she smiled back.
Y
About a week later at a small café, Serenity sat waiting for someone to bring her a mug of hot chocolate. She smiled as she sensed his eager presence, waiting for the treat and her happy expression as he returned with it. Within a few seconds, he returned to her with two mugs of hot chocolate, topped with whipped cream and cocoa powder. His light saber was slung on his belt, as she wore hers today on her belt. He strode over to their table and set the mugs down. "Serenity, is this okay?" he asked, meeting her eyes.
"Yeah. Thank you, Tristan," she smiled again as he sat down.
And in another part of the city, Joey Wheeler's smile broadened into a grin as he felt his sister's joy. "She's feelin' better," he said to Mai, who also had a smile on her face. They were sitting in the Mutos' living room, enjoying some tea and watching a movie for class.
"Yeah, maybe they'll work out."
"Mai, she's fifteen!"
"I know." The older teen couple shared a laugh at this and enjoyed the warmth of Serenity and Tristan's emotions.
Not too much action this chapter, everyone, but I truly hope you enjoyed it and the spoof of a song from Chicago. Next time, the Jedi teens will gain some new members in "The New Recruits!" So stay tuned, and as always, please read and review! I respond to every review I get if it's possible! Thank you!
