Notes: Thanks to MoonlightTyger for brainstorming what this Melody should be like!

Chapter Two

Duke was working late that night, stocking the shelves for the last stretch of sales before Christmas. Lumis, Umbra, and David were helping, and although Serenity had started out just observing, she was soon actively assisting as well.

"It's hard to believe Christmas is almost here," she commented as they worked.

"I just hope we have enough inventory for the season," David frowned. "I don't know if there'd be time to get more shipments here before the big day."

"We should be alright," Duke said, sounding somewhat distracted.

Serenity glanced down at her phone as it dinged. "Uh oh," she said. "Yugi and the others are off to help a girl from their school who's having ghost problems."

"Oh yeah?" Duke pushed a box onto a high shelf. "We can't ever catch a break, can we. Well, I can't get away right now, but if you want to help . . ."

"I'll stay and help you," Serenity said. "The Big Five are going to help Yugi."

Duke smiled a bit. "If you're sure."

"Yeah." They worked for a while in silence before Serenity spoke again. "Duke? How have things been with you and Tristan lately?"

Duke heaved a sigh. "Not much different than they ever are. We're like a broken record. Or maybe a guitar string is a better analogy—always tense until it finally snaps and breaks."

"Tristan really cares about you, though," Serenity frowned.

"Neither of us wants anything to happen to the other," Duke said. "But that doesn't mean we're close. Some people never can get along well for whatever reason. We both try, Serenity, but it never holds out for long."

"I know," Serenity said sadly. "I keep hoping things will be what they're not. I guess by now even I've realized the truth. But the whole reason you have so much trouble is because of me. If Tristan could just get over me, I'm sure a lot would change."

"Maybe," Duke said. "Honestly, he might never really forgive me for what happened. But even if he does, we might discover that the love triangle mess wasn't the only problem. We are pretty much opposites in general, and unlike the overused trope, opposites don't always attract."

"I guess that's true," Serenity sighed.

"I never have got around to talking with Tristan," David remarked. "Maybe I won't try. It doesn't seem like there's much point now."

"There's always a point in trying to understand someone better," Serenity protested. "I know you don't really feel like part of the group, David, but I wish you did."

"You know, belonging is a two-way street," David mused. "I may not feel like part of the group, but they haven't really tried much to make me feel like I am, either. They rarely ever talk to me. I'm mainly there because I'm tagging along with Duke, it's true, but if they really acted like I was welcome, I'm sure I'd feel more like it was someplace I'd like to be."

"I've noticed that," Duke said. "I haven't wanted to get into it and stir up more trouble, but it bothers me."

Serenity frowned. "I wonder if they just think David will know he's welcome."

"I feel tolerated and brushed aside, not welcome," David said. "If it wasn't for Mai Valentine and the Big Five, I'd say it's because I'm older. But that's obviously not a barrier." He looked to Lumis and Umbra. "Even you two have seemed to integrate more into the group than I have."

"Well, we didn't at first," Lumis said. "We weren't well-liked either. Of course, that's understandable after our criminal pasts."

"But after Lumis made a choice to save Yugi as well as me, that softened their hearts towards us both," Umbra said.

"As well it should," Lumis said.

David nodded. "All of the former antagonists have had to struggle a bit to find their footing," he agreed. "It's understandable they wouldn't be liked or trusted immediately. But I never did anything to the group, unless you count when I lost my temper during the Neo-Orichalcos madness."

"I think you should talk to all of them about how you feel," Serenity said in concern.

"I haven't wanted to do that," David objected. "It might make things awkward for Duke again, and he's finally feeling more welcomed himself."

"Except for the problems with Tristan," Duke grunted. "What we learned about our future selves in that other dimension didn't help, that's for sure."

Serenity gave a bittersweet smile. It had been wonderful to learn that, at least in the other dimension, she and Duke were married in the future. But Tristan, of course, hadn't been so thrilled, and he had definitely been even more aloof with Duke since then.

"I know you mentioned that Tristan was jealous of Mr. Tanaka in the past, feeling like you had a secret life aside from them," Lumis said to Duke. "Is there any possibility that the others feel similarly?"

"I hope not," Duke frowned. "I don't really think they would. Yugi and Téa especially. I don't think they ever really realized how they were excluding me until David chewed them out. That's probably the same now."

"And you really don't plan on saying anything about it to them?" Umbra looked to David.

"I probably won't, unless for some reason I get pushed to my breaking point again," David said. "And I don't think that will happen when it's about me."

"Maybe I'll get pushed to mine," Duke remarked. "I don't like you being treated like I was, no matter what the reason is."

"Duke . . ." David gave him a serious look. "I don't want you to give up something you wanted for me."

"Only if they'd let that affect how they treat me, maybe I don't want it," Duke countered. "Actually, I think they'd listen. I don't know what Tristan would think, though."

"We never know what Tristan would think," David quipped. "Seriously, though, Duke, it's at least partially my own fault for not showing any interest. So please, don't say anything."

Duke sighed. It was so much like conversations they'd had in the past, only in reverse. "Alright," he consented. He would try to stick to that just as David had tried before, when it was Duke feeling left-out.

"It's Christmas," Serenity sighed. "I wish we could all be one big happy family."

"Yeah." Duke leaned against the shelf. "In some ways, I just don't think that's going to happen."

"It probably won't," Serenity agreed, "but I can still wish for it."

Duke had to smile a bit. "Do you really want to go help them with this new problem?"

"Well, I do," Serenity said, "but I'd like for all of us to go, so if you can't get away, I'd rather stay here for now."

Duke eyed the shelves and the rest of the boxes. "I really do need to finish this. . . ."

"We could do the rest if you want to go, Mr. Devlin," Umbra offered.

Discomfort flickered through Duke's eyes. "Thanks, but I think I'll stay. It will get done faster if we all do it."

Serenity sighed and looked to David. Duke was still hurting from what Bandit Keith had done to Lumis and Umbra in the Spring when they had been left alone at the store. And since it wasn't even the first time those two had been attacked on the premises, Duke especially felt justified in worrying about them and not wanting to leave them alone.

David sighed too. He wasn't sure whether to bring it up in front of Lumis and Umbra, although they were aware of it. Duke's worries were legitimate, although he couldn't live his life chained by them. But this probably wasn't the time he wanted to bring it up. "Or you and Serenity could just go," he said. "I wouldn't have to. I am the manager, after all."

"I guess," Duke said. "I wonder if anyone would ask about you if you didn't come. . . ."

"They know I need to work a lot," David said. Smirking, he added, "And that sometimes I'll take extra shifts for more moola."

"Ha ha. Well, if you want to stay, maybe we will go," Duke said.

"Go ahead," David said. "You can tell me all about the ghosties tomorrow." He opened another box and took out a Star Wars board game.

"Okay," Duke relented. He drew an arm around Serenity's shoulders as they said their Goodbyes and headed off.

Serenity smiled up at him. "So, what's this girl like?" she wondered. "Téa said her name is Melody."

Duke froze. "Oh. Melody. Uh . . ." He started twirling a piece of hair around his finger. "She's . . . usually quiet but friendly. . . . Kind of weird. . . . Nice, but she sometimes fangirls guys. Not like Vivian does," he quickly added. "It's more innocent and sweet."

"Does she like you?" Serenity asked.

"She did, but she backed off when you came into the picture," Duke said. "I never really saw her much. She wasn't one of the rabid fangirls like, um . . . some of the others. . . ." He went a bit red. He didn't talk much about the time before he and Serenity met. Although he had never done anything immoral with any of the girls—contrary to popular rumors—he still felt awkward to talk about when he had flirted relentlessly out of sheer loneliness.

Serenity just smiled. "Well, that's good to know." Then the rest of Duke's words processed and she blinked in surprise. "How do you mean she's weird?!"

"She talks about herself in the third person," Duke said. "Strange stuff like that."

"Oh, is that all?" Serenity got her coat at the front counter and slipped into it. "She sounds fun."

"She is," Duke said. "You'll probably like her."

"Well, I'm always happy to make a new friend," Serenity said. "I hope we can help her."

"I hope so too," Duke said. He took up his coat as well and they headed out to his car. The roof was up out of necessity and a light snow had collected on it and every other part of the car. More was tumbling from the sky.

"It's snowing!" Serenity exclaimed in delight. "Now it really feels like Christmas."

Duke smiled. Serenity took pleasure in the simplest things. That was part of what made her special. Sometimes he felt so old despite being young. Serenity made him feel his age again.

xxxx

By the time they arrived at the beautiful older Domino City house in one of the oldest neighborhoods, the others were arriving as well. Yugi blinked in surprise to see the turquoise car pull up. "Hey, Duke, Serenity," he greeted. "I thought you were working late tonight?"

"We decided to come out anyway," Duke said flippantly, brushing his hair away from his face. "Serenity wanted to help and to meet Melody."

"Well, then let's go up," Téa chirped.

"I'm surprised Bakura isn't here," Duke commented. "Or Yami Bakura anyway." Bakura would likely feel awkward to be around Melody due to her huge crush on him, but he wouldn't let that stand in the way of helping, and of course, Yami Bakura was very familiar with ghosts.

"Bakura's dad is in town and they're with him tonight," Yugi explained. "We didn't want to interrupt that."

Duke's eyes flickered in surprise. "Oh yeah. Yeah, you wouldn't." It was rare that Mr. Bakura was around at all.

Everyone also exchanged greetings with the Big Five as they headed up the walkway, and when Evangeline and Angelique emerged from the limousine as well, surprised and delighted exclamations were had all around.

"Evangeline! Angelique! What are you two doing here?!" Serenity exclaimed.

"Why, for Christmas, of course!" Evangeline beamed. "We just got in before all of this new ghost stuff broke. We thought we'd come along since we definitely have experience with that sort of thing!"

"Yeah, I thought you'd have so much of it you wouldn't want more," Joey said.

"Oh, it's different when it's our friends," Evangeline said.

The front door opened before they reached the porch. Melody stood there in grateful amazement, taking in the sight of everyone coming up the snowy walk. "Hi, everyone," she greeted with a wave. "Melody is so glad you're all here! . . . Oh, Melody doesn't recognize some of you." She looked from the Big Five to Evangeline and Angelique, and then blushed a bit as she saw Serenity. "Melody has seen you, though, in pictures on Duke's phone."

Serenity blushed a bit too, but looked pleased. "Really."

Lector bowed slightly. "Good evening, Miss Melody. I am Démas Lector, and this is my sister Evangeline and her best friend Angelique." He then proceeded to introduce his best friends, while Melody stared at him in increasing awe.

"Hi," she said, and definitely sounded dreamy. Technically she was greeting them all, but it was clear she was really talking to one person in particular.

"Do you get the feeling Lector's done it again?" Crump said in a loud whisper, even as he eyed the pretty girl himself. The long lavender hair and dark blue eyes were very striking.

Johnson looked amused. "The perfect manners and Southern charm really does get them every time," he said.

"She does like Bakura a lot," Duke remarked. "He's got the perfect manners down too."

Lector looked back at them, dismayed. Even if Melody wasn't like Vivian, he didn't feel like going through another experience with an adoring girl. It was just uncomfortable when he didn't share the feelings.

Deciding they needed a change from the awkward subject, Yugi spoke up. "So, Melody, where are these ghosts that have been bothering you and your family?"

"Come in and Melody will show you!" she replied. She skipped into an inviting entryway and everyone followed her. Through the open doorway of the living room, a bushy Christmas tree was adorned with twinkling lights and sparkling ornaments. Without warning, some of the branches quivered.

Joey shrieked. "It's a ghost!"

Melody giggled. "No, it's just Mr. Muffin!"

Joey had practically leaped up a pole lamp in one motion. He stared at her as he dangled from it. "Mr. who?!"

Melody went into the room and parted the branches. "Now, you know that's naughty," she lightly scolded something inside. "You come out of there right now!"

A low murrrr came in reply and a fluffy brown and white cat peeked out at her.

Téa laughed. "You can relax now, Joey," she said. "It's a Ragdoll cat!"

"A cat?" Joey stumbled back down from the pole lamp in relief. "Oh. Of course. I knew it all the time!" He held a hand to his heart.

Melody lifted Mr. Muffin out of the tree and held him up in her arms. "You shouldn't get too close to that lamp, though," she cautioned Joey.

"Huh? Why not?" Joey frowned. As if on cue, the lamp gave an eerie creak.

"It's haunted," Melody replied matter-of-factly.

Now Joey looked practically faint. "H-Haunted?!" He fled around Tristan's side.

Tristan exhaled in exasperation. "Oh, real macho."

"Who's tryin' to be macho?!" Joey quavered.

"Not you, obviously," Téa said.

". . . Is a haunted pole lamp the worst of your problems?" Atem asked Melody with a quirked eyebrow.

"No!" Melody said with an emphatic shake of her head. "Although it was really creepy that time Melody saw it jumping up and down through the living room. . . ."

All eyes were immediately on her.

"Just when was that?!" Duke couldn't refrain from exclaiming.

"When Melody was five," Melody said. "This lamp came with us from our old house."

". . . You're sure you didn't just imagine it?" Crump stared at her.

"Melody isn't sure," Melody said. She looked down at Mr. Muffin and ran a finger over the ruff of white fur around his neck. "It could have not really happened, but then there's all the times Melody felt eyes staring at her from the lamp when no one was there, and how it creaks for no reason at all. . . ."

"That could have been because Joey jumped on it," Nesbitt spoke up.

"But sometimes it happens when no one's touched it," Melody informed him.

Joey gripped Tristan's arm. "Let's get outta here!" he moaned.

Tristan rolled his eyes. "So what else has been happening?" he asked.

"We can't even go in some of this house without things going wrong," Melody said. "It always feel wrong on the second floor and in the attic. And last night, Mr. Muffin and Melody were downstairs in the basement. Mr. Muffin didn't want to sleep and he wandered to the part of the basement we're not supposed to go in. Melody went after him and something chased us out."

Mr. Muffin murred in agreement.

"That sounds just a little far-fetched," Tristan objected.

"You can really say that after everything we've been through?!" Joey said in disbelief.

"We have to draw the line somewhere," Tristan retorted.

"It sounds like almost everything except the first floor has problems," Evangeline exclaimed.

Melody nodded. "Dad says that's probably why we got it cheap."

". . . Tell us, do your parents know you asked for help?" Gansley grunted. It could certainly be awkward if they didn't.

"They're working late tonight," Melody said. "But Melody knows they'd be grateful for any help!"

"Well, how about we try the basement first?" Yugi suggested.

"It sounded pretty scary," Serenity agreed. "Did what chased you out say anything, Melody?"

Melody led them to the stairs going into the basement. "It just gave a really evil laugh," she said. "They usually don't say anything."

Everyone was tense as they headed down the steps. When Melody turned the light on at the bottom and revealed completely normal rooms, it was almost a shock.

"How much of the basement is a problem?" Angelique asked.

"Almost all of it," Melody admitted.

Mr. Muffin looked over her shoulder and yowled. Everyone followed his gaze but saw nothing.

"It's down that hallway where we're really not supposed to go, though," Melody said. Of course, she was pointing in the direction Mr. Muffin had been looking.

"Okay then." Yugi took a deep breath. "Let's go, everyone."

Trying to brace themselves for whatever might come at them, the group started down the hallway. The rooms were dark and eerie, and a definite feeling that they were not welcome emanated from each. The deeper they went, the stronger the feeling grew.

"Yeah, this is a bad place, alright," Crump gulped.

Duke froze when it felt like an icy mist was curling around him. "What the . . . ?!"

Serenity jumped a mile and turned to look at him in alarm. "Duke!?"

An unwelcome voice echoed through Duke's mind. "Why have you come here?!"

"Me?!" Duke snapped back. "What do you have against me specifically?!"

"The one who telescopes time and space for your own personal reasons!"

The color drained from Duke's face. "How do you know about that?! Who are you?!"

By now everyone was staring at Duke. No one could hear the voice, although they could definitely see the mist wrapped around the boy. It was actually starting to levitate Duke off the floor.

"Hey, let him go already!" Nesbitt snapped.

Standing at the head of the hall, Melody shrieked and Mr. Muffin wailed. "You're horrible! Put him down!" Melody screamed.

Serenity was actively trying to pull the mist away, to no avail. She turned to face Atem and the Big Five, her eyes wide. "Help him!" she cried, her voice nearly strangled. "It's starting to choke him!"

The Infinity Puzzle began to glow. "Enough!" Atem boomed.

The light magic blast severed the spirit's connection with Duke. The boy crashed back to the floor and sprawled there, stunned.

"Duke!" Serenity rushed to kneel at his side. "What happened?! Are you okay?!"

Duke drew a shaking breath and coughed. As he pushed himself upright, he looked haunted, drained. He slowly shook his head. "Whoever that is . . . knows what I did," he rasped. "Just like Caroline Mason knew back in New Orleans. They know I reversed the flow of time." Serenity had done it too, but Duke purposely didn't mention her. If the phantom was unaware of that fact, Duke didn't want him to become aware of it.

"Wait, what?!" Melody stared at him. "You did what?!"

Serenity gasped. "How could they know?!" she exclaimed.

"I don't know," Duke said. "They wouldn't tell me anything more. They just . . . told me to remember the first timeline and . . . tightened their grip. . . ." He shuddered, his eyes haunted.

"Oh Duke. . . . It's my fault you were even here," Serenity said in horror.

"I didn't have to decide to come," Duke countered. "It's not your fault, Serenity." He got to his feet. "But apparently whoever it is hates me and hates what I did." He clenched a fist. "I don't know what they want me to remember from the first timeline. I can never forget that Hellish place." Bitterness filled his voice.

"Maybe we'd better go upstairs and talk about it," Téa said in concern. "If we can figure out what they're mad about, maybe we can solve the whole mystery and figure out how to get them to go."

"I don't want to talk about it or remember it even more than I already do," Duke retorted. He turned away, heading back up the hall. "I have to get out of here. You should come too, Serenity. It's not safe."

Serenity looked torn. "If I stay, I could help everyone remember what happened and maybe figure out why the ghost is upset," she said slowly, "but . . . I don't like to leave you in this state, Duke. . . ."

Duke sighed. "If you'd rather stay here and do what you can to help, that's your choice."

Tristan snarled. "Oh, so you're just going to leave Serenity here when some nut like that is on the loose?!" He ran over, grabbing Duke's arm.

Duke pulled away. "Serenity is free to stay or come with me, whatever she wants," he countered. "Of course I'd rather she come with me, but I won't make her."

"If Serenity stays here, that thing will probably flip out on her too!" Tristan snapped. "You're always leaving her behind! You left her behind in the old timeline when you bugged out on Domino City and went to gamble your life away in Los Angeles! Now you're leaving her here! What's it going to take for her to wise up and realize you're not the right guy for her?! Probably not the right guy for anyone?!"

Dead silence swept across the group. Melody took an uncomfortable step back. "Um . . . Melody thinks she's intruding on this," she said weakly.

Duke was just staring at Tristan. Finally he turned away, still chalk-white.

"Tristan!" Serenity was also staring, her eyes sad and disappointed. "You know Duke left because he was at the brink of a nervous breakdown! He had to get away!" She hurried after Duke. "I won't leave him. I'm sorry, everyone. You'll have to talk about this without us."

Nesbitt just stepped back, surveying the scene and not knowing what to say or do about it. Tristan's outburst reminded him so very much of some of the horrible things he had said to Lector in the past. And the look in Duke's eyes . . . he had seen that in Lector's. He didn't know what was right or wrong in this situation.

Lector laid a hand on his shoulder. "I believe," he said at last, "that we should all go upstairs and explain to Miss Melody some of what happened. She deserves to know. And I also believe we shouldn't expect Mr. Devlin to come back here. This has opened up old and painful wounds for him."

". . . You're right," Nesbitt said. He drew a deep breath. "Let's do that."