Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds

Don't You Forget About Me

By Lucky_Ladybug

Notes: The characters are not mine and the story is! For a while I've been throwing around the idea of an amnesia story, but I didn't feel like putting poor Kalin and Radley through that post-series. I still wanted to do one, though, and then I thought of this way to work the story pre-Crash Town arc. It's difficult writing for this era because I have to make sure it will still match up with canon. I had fun with this, though. I also loosely, symbolically use the prompt #28 - Barrier from the abandoned 5Ds_100 writing community on Livejournal.

Kalin really wasn't sure how it happened. Duels in Crash Town were dangerous because of its mysterious supernatural force, but he had never had one go so out of control before. All he had done was play Dust Tornado and it had conjured an actual tornado, sweeping everyone around him and his opponent off their feet. They were still dazedly picking themselves up when Kalin delivered the final blow and won the duel.

Unlike usual, there was no soft voice congratulating him on a win and delivering a last mocking comment to Malcolm. Instead, he heard Scotch exclaiming in horror. "Radley?!"

Kalin spun around. Radley had landed on the wooden sidewalk and was just laying sprawled among some old barrels. Scotch had knelt down by him and was frantically shaking him on the shoulder.

Malcolm burst out laughing, even as he gripped his injured shoulder. "So he finally bit the dust, did he? And his own Duelist did it to him!"

"He's not dead!" Scotch spat. "He'll be fine tomorrow. You'll see!"

"He'd better be," Malcolm said. "If you don't want to lose the town, that is. Radley's the only thing holding it together. Come on, men." He turned to go, still laughing.

Scotch was struggling to lift Radley by himself. Billy and Biff swiftly came over to help. Kalin just stood there, blankly staring. He had hurt someone else. He didn't even like Radley, but he hadn't been trying to harm him.

Radley stirred, groaning as he looked at his friends. "What happened?" he mumbled. "Who are you guys?"

Scotch almost dropped him in horrified shock. "Radley?!"

"You don't know us?" Billy exclaimed.

"No," Radley said. "I don't. I have no idea who I am at all."

Kalin turned away, his stomach twisting. What had he done? Radley wasn't dead, but to lose his memories . . . he had really lost all of himself. If he didn't recover, this might even be worse than death. Kalin had seen partial amnesia before; Carly Carmine remembered nothing of being a Dark Signer, and that was just as well when she hadn't joined willingly. Kalin didn't want to be in her position because he would be living a lie, forgetting all the sins he had to atone for. But now to see Radley looking so blankly at the people who loved him so much, and to know that he had done that to him . . . ! He trembled.

"Hey!" Virgil snapped after him. "You caused this. You'd better stick around and help us fix it!"

"There's nothing I can do for him," Kalin replied, his voice taut. "You said it yourself—I caused this. I can't fix things; I only break them." He started to walk off.

Virgil snarled and ran after him. "No! You are not leaving things like this!" He grabbed Kalin by the shoulder and spun him around. "For some reason, Radley likes you. All of us did too, at first. But you just hurt him day in and day out and we're sick of it. This is going too far! You. Are. Fixing. This." He clenched a fist at his side.

"I can't bring back his memory," Kalin objected. "Especially not if this happened because he hit his head."

"Well, you're going to come with us and you are going to try," Virgil said. "Radley says you're one of us. So act like it!"

Several of the others were coming at Kalin from other angles, all glowering at him.

". . . Hey," Radley rasped. "What's going on? What do you guys mean, he did this to me?"

". . . Well, not on purpose," Scotch relented. "He just activated a Duel Monsters card and the effect turned real! Everybody got blown around and you . . . you got hurt. . . ." He blinked back forming tears.

"Now, how can you blame him for that?" Radley said. "It's not like he knew that was going to happen."

Kalin was staring again. "How can you not blame me?" he said in disbelief. "I did this to you! You don't remember anything of your life or your friends, all because of me!"

"Why were you dueling?" Radley countered.

"Why . . . ?" Kalin blinked. "I work for you. . . ."

"Then you were dueling on my orders, right? Anything that goes wrong is on my shoulders, not yours." Radley sighed. "Ugh, let's continue this conversation inside. I can't stand up any longer."

"We're by Mrs. Rickshaw's boarding house," Billy said. "She'll let us come in for a while. Maybe we can get you home in her car."

"Sounds good to me," Radley said.

Kalin trailed after them as they went up the street to the boarding house, still reeling. Radley really didn't blame him. It was mind-boggling. Maybe Radley would feel different if his memory ever came back, but . . . he did believe in logic and business sense, so maybe he wouldn't.

Mrs. Rickshaw opened the door and stared at the group as they approached the porch. "What happened?!" she exclaimed.

"Radley's really hurt," Scotch said. "He hit his head and now he doesn't remember anything! Can we come in for a while so he can rest?"

She stared in horror. "Of course!" She held the door open for them. "Come in, boys! I'll send for the doctor."

Grateful, Scotch and Billy held onto Radley and firmly guided him inside. Everyone else followed.

Radley was relieved to lay down on the flowered couch. He sighed and took off his gloves, covering his eyes with a hand.

Kalin sat down awkwardly in a chair, clasping his hands in front of him. He had no idea what to say. He had never started conversations with Radley before; Radley was talkative and had always found plenty to say. Right now, Radley didn't look like he felt like saying anything.

Kalin looked away again. The constant jabber had been annoying in Kalin's state. But . . . seeing Radley quiet because he was so hurt wasn't anything satisfying at all. Kalin wished he did feel like talking.

He looked up with a start at a meow. Scotch was coming over with a fluffy Calico kitten. "Here's Quilla," he said. "She likes you."

Radley took his hand away from his eyes. "Hey, kitty," he said, and reached to pet her.

Quilla meowed and purred.

"I guess you don't remember her," Scotch said.

"No," Radley said.

"You like cats?" Kalin said in a bit of surprise, and then instantly realized how ridiculous that sounded. Radley didn't remember what he did or didn't like.

"Sure he does," Scotch said. "They like him, too."

Radley did seem to be smiling a bit as he petted Quilla. He had a soft, almost gentle look in his eyes.

Kalin shifted and got up, crossing to the window. "I really don't see what I can do here."

Radley looked over at him. "What's your name?"

"Kalin," Kalin replied without turning back.

"And you work for me," Radley said slowly. "What are we doing here? I mean, why are you dueling for me?"

"You want more workers for your mine," Kalin said. "I duel people from the opposing side and whoever wins gets the workers."

Scotch frowned a bit. "That's simplifying it a lot."

"That's the truth," Kalin shrugged.

"That's a weird way to get workers," Radley mumbled.

"Malcolm made it be like this," Scotch said. He sat down with Quilla on his lap.

Marty was leaning over the top of the couch. "And what are we going to do if Radley doesn't remember anything by tomorrow night?! Malcolm's really going to have a heyday if he finds out what happened!"

"Let's worry about it tomorrow night," Billy said. "Radley needs to rest. If he's feeling better, maybe we can figure out how to fake it. If he's not well enough, we'll just take over for tomorrow and tell Malcolm he's still hurt."

Radley looked to him. "Fake it? You mean, I pretend I remember?"

"Yeah," Billy said. "We'll see how you're feeling tomorrow. If you're up to it, we'll tell you how things go and stuff so you can act like you remember."

"You're pretty much the same person, so it should be easy enough," Scotch said.

Kalin frowned as he pondered that. Radley was pretty much the same person? He seemed different to Kalin when he wasn't trying to be friendly and cheery. Of course, right now he was too badly hurt to feel like behaving that way. But the Bunch still recognized him. It was only natural that they would, when they had known him for so long, but . . . if they saw in him what Kalin did not, even now . . . well, Kalin found himself wishing he could see it too.

It wasn't long before the doctor arrived and was thoughtfully examining Radley. Kalin retreated to a far corner of the room while the Bunch stayed as close as possible, worried for him.

"Well, doc?" Radley asked. "Do you think I'll ever be my old self again?"

The doctor sighed. "Amnesia is always a tricky thing," he said. "You do have a bump on your head, and the amnesia could have been triggered by that, or by the shock of the . . . ahem . . . tornado being made real. If it happened from the emotional shock, it's more likely to return than if it was from the blow."

Radley grimaced. "Great."

"And there's no way of knowing what caused it and no way of speeding up him being okay?" Scotch frowned.

"It's always possible that being in a familiar environment could help," the doctor said.

"Seeing all of us didn't help," Scotch said. "Maybe if we went to his home. . . ."

"Try anything," the doctor encouraged.

Kalin stayed silent as they drove to Radley's house moments later, with Radley riding in Mrs. Rickshaw's car with a few others and the rest escorting on their motorcycles. He still didn't know what he could do to help, but when he still felt responsible he wanted to see if anything could restore Radley's mind.

Radley just wanted to rest. Once they were safely in the house, he limped to his room with Billy and Scotch's help. Kalin let them deal with helping Radley undress, if he needed help. He wandered around the living room, lost in thought and deeply frowning. Radley hadn't blamed him for what happened. If he remembered, would he feel the same? Kalin honestly wasn't sure, and it bothered him that he wasn't. Radley might snap and blow up at him for it. But then he might soon calm down and feel differently and even apologize.

It was a moot point, anyway. What did it matter how he felt?

Billy came out, giving Kalin an unreadable look. "He wants to sleep, but he's asking for you," he said.

Kalin blinked. "Why?"

"Go see for yourself." Billy sat down in a chair.

Radley definitely looked sleepy when Kalin went in, but he perked up enough to speak. "Hey . . . Kalin . . . I know you feel bad about this, but really, don't blame yourself. Unless you knew the card was dangerous and could hurt me and you didn't care, it's not your fault. Really."

"I didn't know," Kalin said. "There's never any explanation of when a card becomes real and when it doesn't."

Radley smiled and closed his eyes. "Then you're off the hook."

Scotch looked up at Kalin when Radley fell asleep. "He'll probably sleep for a while. Maybe he'll wake up remembering," he added hopefully.

"Maybe," Kalin grunted, not feeling hopeful.

He went back out, wordlessly gliding past the rest of the Bunch. Billy frowned after him. "Where are you going?"

"Out," Kalin replied.

He walked through the quiet town and outside the limits to the rocks. For the rest of the night, he sat there and played haunting songs on his harmonica as he composed them.

xxxx

Kalin hoped against hope that Radley would indeed wake up his usual, jovial self. When he got back to town and to Radley's house in the morning, he found the man awake and sitting up, and in the middle of a weird lesson being given by Scotch and Biff.

"Okay," Scotch was saying. "So we ride in from the North. Uh . . . do you still remember how to ride a motorcycle?"

"I . . . think so?" Radley said slowly.

Scotch chewed on his lip in concern.

"Maybe we shouldn't chance it," Biff said. "Even if he remembers, he might be too hurt to balance. Malcolm knows Radley got hurt yesterday. Maybe he'd better just ride in with one of us."

"I'll take him," Billy spoke up.

". . . Okay, so then we all park and sneer across the way at each other," Scotch said. "You usually say something funny."

". . . Right," Radley said. "Funny, how?"

"Insulting Malcolm and his men and their 'itty-bitty smarts,'" Scotch said cheekily. "You probably make stuff up on the fly."

"Then I'll deal with that when the time comes," Radley said.

Kalin turned away, shaking his head. This was just surreal. And would Malcolm really be fooled? He wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, but Radley clearly wasn't all there. Unless he could pull out a brilliant acting job tonight, it would be obvious something was wrong with him.

"Hey, where were you?" Radley suddenly asked. "The guys tell me you've been gone."

Kalin froze, realizing he was being addressed. "I haven't been far," he said.

"Kalin always goes away," Biff said. He looked like he wanted to say more, but didn't because of not wanting to upset Radley.

"Oh," Radley said.

"Nevermind about me," Kalin said. "Do you honestly think you're going to be able to pull this off tonight?"

"Well . . . we don't have much choice but to try," Scotch said. "What Malcolm said yesterday was right—everything hinges on Radley. Everything falls apart without him. Malcolm has to believe Radley is still in control."

Kalin sighed. "Good luck with that."

"Oh, you're part of this too," Scotch said. "You can't let on that anything's wrong."

"He won't have trouble with that," Billy said. "His deadpan is unreal."

Kalin just grunted.

xxxx

The day was spent letting Radley rest while off and on trying and failing to help him remember. By sunset, they rode out hoping for the best and worrying about the worst.

Malcolm definitely snarked when Billy rode out in front with Radley hugging his waist. "So, it looks like yesterday's little misadventure shook your brains loose, Radley," he commented. "Now you can't even ride on your own?"

Radley very deliberately swung one leg over the motorcycle and got off. "Oh, you should know all about that, Malcolm," he said mildly. "How many years have your brains been rattling around in your thick skull?"

The Bunch laughed. Malcolm snarled.

Kalin gave a slight smirk. It looked like things would be fine.

He looked down at his deck. Hopefully there wouldn't be any more incidents tonight. He was slightly concerned about that, but he had to push his fears aside. He had to keep dueling until he lost, as he wanted.

Although . . .

He frowned a bit. Today he hadn't actually thought about that as much. Today he had thought more about Radley and what he had done to him, albeit inadvertently. One more sin he had to pay for. Radley might be greedy, but he seemed to have a kind side, and he didn't deserve to have his memories taken from him. Kalin certainly hadn't wanted to cause such a thing.

It was a relief when the duel proceeded without difficulty and without any dangerous effects being made real and affecting everyone in the area. Kalin won, as always, and the loser was carted off to the mines.

Malcolm growled in frustration. "If only Kalin really had killed you last night, Radley," he said. "This town would be ours!"

"You'd still have to go through Kalin even without me here," Radley pointed out. "I know it's hard for you to accept defeat, Malcolm, but you're just going to have to get used to it." He laughed.

Malcolm shot daggers at him with his eyes. "Someday, Radley," he vowed. "Someday." He turned away. "Let's roll!"

Scotch beamed at Radley when Malcolm was gone. "You were amazing!" he exclaimed. "He didn't pick up on the truth at all!"

Radley smiled. "I'm glad. Wow, that guy really is a creep. So, what happens now? Do we celebrate our victory?"

"Oh yeah," Virgil said. "We go to the diner and hang out all evening."

"Then let's do it." Radley climbed back on Billy's motorcycle. Without thinking, he turned the key and sped off down the street.

The Bunch gawked after him.

". . . Well, it looks like that's not going to be a problem if his memories don't come back by tomorrow night," Biff finally said. "He sure remembers how to ride."

"He's going to be okay," Scotch said. "This proves it! He has to be!"

Kalin certainly hoped so.

They all got on their motorcycles—Billy doubling up with Virgil—and sped off after their leader.

Radley had already reached the diner and parked by the time they arrived. ". . . Hey, I'm sorry about that," he said in chagrin when Billy arrived with Virgil. "I . . . guess I forgot this one wasn't mine."

Billy just smiled at him. "I'm just glad you're remembering other things," he said. "You also drove right here without anyone telling you where to go."

Radley looked up at the building. ". . . I did, huh?" He smiled too. "Maybe I really am getting better."

Scotch hugged him.

Although Kalin's expression didn't change, he definitely felt a growing sense of relief.

"Hey! Radley!"

Everyone spun around. One of Malcolm's men was standing there, stepping out of the shadows as he leered at Radley.

Radley regarded him in confusion. ". . . What do you want?"

"Say my name," the Crewmember said.

"What the heck?!" Virgil snapped. "You're not even supposed to be here. Get out!"

"Radley always addresses me by name when we meet up," the Crewmember answered. "He didn't at the duel tonight. He just gave me a completely blank look, like he's doing now. So, Radley, why not then, and why not now?"

Radley vainly searched his mind for an answer, but there was none.

"I knew it," the older man sneered. "You really did get hurt last night. You can't say my name, because you don't know it. You don't remember me."

". . . That's not true," Radley said. "I just can't imagine why you sought me out."

The burly Crewmember took a step forward. "Say my name!"

Marty scrambled out in front of Radley. "Look, just leave him alone, okay?!"

His enemy reached out a beefy fist and pulled Marty towards him, lifting him completely off the ground. "So I guess that means I'll pick on you instead, tough guy?" He threw Marty to the ground.

"Marty!" Billy ran forward, followed by several others of the Bunch. "You go after one of us, you go after all of us." He clenched his fists.

"Including you." The Crewmember socked Billy on the jaw and sent him to the ground.

"Danny. Stop. Now."

Everyone froze, startled.

Radley stepped forward, his hands clenched at his sides, his eyes narrowed. "I remember you. I said your name. You can't try telling Malcolm I have amnesia. It won't work. Now get out of here and stop hurting my men."

Danny growled, but he backed up and turned to go. "Fine."

Marty was kneeling up now, examining a dazed Billy. "Radley . . . how'd you remember his name to get him to stop?" Marty asked.

Radley dropped down beside them as Billy stirred and rubbed his jaw. "Seeing him hurting you guys finally made something click in my mind," he said. "I really do remember." He smiled, but looked to Billy and Marty in concern. "Are you guys alright?"

"Alright?!" Billy stared at his friend in awe. "We're great! Radley . . ." He lunged, hugging Radley close. "I thought maybe you never would remember. . . ."

Marty hugged him too. "I knew you'd have to remember!" he exclaimed. "Life couldn't be that rotten!"

Scotch and others were now trying to hug him as well. Kalin, of course, had no intention of it. But he watched as Radley laughed and tried to embrace all of the Bunch. He was a bit overwhelmed, but definitely happy. The light was shining in his eyes again, unlike when he hadn't remembered.

Finally sensing he was being watched, he looked up. "Kalin . . ."

". . . You're really alright now?" Kalin asked. You really remember everything? You're not just saying that?

"Yeah," Radley said. He hugged Jimmy and Barney and got to his feet. "And I still mean what I said before. It wasn't your fault, Kalin."

Kalin just stared at him. Not his fault. . . . He doubted that he could believe or accept that, but it still amazed him that Radley seemed to sincerely mean it.

Radley held out a hand. "Come in and celebrate with us. Maybe stay longer than one or two rounds of soda this time?"

Kalin considered that and finally, slowly nodded. He still needed to see that he punished himself, but he could do this . . . just once.

Radley smiled. "Good." He drew an arm around Kalin's shoulders as they headed inside.

Kalin stiffened a bit, but allowed it. He still couldn't fathom why Radley was always so friendly with him. It made even less sense when Radley knew Kalin didn't like him. Maybe Radley hoped Kalin would change his mind. Or maybe it was just because Kalin worked for him. It was an awkward situation, business-wise, to have the top employee dislike his boss.

Maybe he wouldn't think too hard about it tonight.