Ener-D Thieves
Chapter 2: Snow Festival
Yusei and the others spent several minutes tidying up the mess the battle left behind during their battle against the gang. Antinomy opened the door and was glad to find the crowd dispersing and led them out. Yusei was also relived to see the crowd breaking up. He hoped there wouldn't be any trouble for Kalin if any of them realized what he had done.
Nico looked at Antinomy with concern. "Is it safe to go out now?"
"Yes," Antinomy said.
Jack's cell phone suddenly rang and noticed it came from Carly. He sighed and put it on speaker mode.
"Hey Carly," said Jack bluntly. "What do you want?"
"Are you guys all okay?!" Carly exclaimed.
"Yeah, for the most part," replied Kalin.
"We stopped them before they could run off with Yusei's notes," said Jack.
"Oh, good. People are talking about a big dragon!" shouted Carly.
"Oh? They should be used to holograms by now," Radley said smoothly.
Kalin started sweating when Carly mentioned the big dragon.
"Yeah, everyone gets scared whenever a duelist summons a dragon. Dragons are the most popular type of monster," shrugged Crow.
"They thought it was real!" cried Carly.
Kalin sighed at her stubbornness, but he didn't want to lie. "That's because it was."
"What?!" Carly squealed.
Radley hoped no one was hearing the conversation on Carly's end. Kalin also looked around to make sure the crowd was completely gone. Once it was confirmed, he spoke up.
"I'm a Psychic Duelist."
"Yeah, I know, but why did you summon a real dragon now?! Carly said.
"Because I was angry that the robbers tried to steal important documents and injured Yusei," frowned Kalin.
"Is he ok?!" Carly exclaimed.
"Yes, he's fine," nodded Kalin.
"Radley got hurt too!" Scotch said.
"I'm also fine," Radley said reassuringly.
Carly sighed. "Well…I'm supposed to cover the story. What should I say?"
"Robbers got stopped by the combined might of Team 5Ds and the Enforcers!" boasted Jack.
"I mean, what do I say about the dragon? I want to be truthful, but I don't want to make things hard for Kalin," Carly said.
"Infernity Doom Dragon is scary-looking because he looks like a demon?" suggested West.
"So I just…don't address whether it was real or not?" Carly mused. "It's not my usual approach, but…"
"Yes, something like that," nodded Kalin."
"Okay. For you, Kalin, I will try to do it that way," Carly said.
"Thank you. Carly. I appreciate it," smiled Kalin.
"Sure," said Carly. "Are you still going to do fun stuff today?"
"Yes," Radley said.
"Yeah, let's go see the snow sculptures," nodded Kalin.
"Awesome! I'll meet you guys there," smiled Carly.
"Now, this is what we've been waiting for!" shouted West excitingly.
"Can you stand, Yusei?" asked Kalin.
"Yeah," smiled Yusei.
Antinomy stayed right by him as they went out to the vehicles. "You should ride in the Van, Yusei. Maybe you should help too, Radley."
"We'll lead the way," added Crow.
He, Jack, and Kalin got on their motorcycles and they began driving to the festival. Radley enjoyed the drive, although he'd rather be riding his motorcycle. They arrived at the city square without incident. Carly greeted them with a wave. Akiza, Leo, and Luna were also standing with her.
When Akiza noticed the bruises on Yusei's face, she panicked. "Oh my gosh, are you alright, Yusei? When we heard the news about the attempted robbery, we were so worried!"
"Yeah, I'm fine," Yusei smiled.
Radley got out and went over to Kalin.
"How are you feeling, Radley?" asked Kalin.
"I'm fine too," Radley smiled.
"We heard the bad guys got scared of a dragon!" exclaimed Leo.
"Yes, Kalin's monster," nodded Antinomy.
Kalin patted Radley's shoulder and then said. "Yes, I summoned Infernity Doom Dragon on them."
"Cool! No wonder they were scared!" Leo said.
"You didn't use your powers on them, did you?" asked Luna in a worried tone.
"This isn't really the place to discuss that," Radley said softly. "Too many people might hear…"
"Yes, you're right," nodded Luna.
"So, let's go inside," Yusei smiled.
"Yeah!" Leo grinned, hurrying to the door. He hauled it open, and the others followed.
Nico and West gasped at the size of the area.
"Wow! This place is huge!" exclaimed West.
"It's beautiful!" Nico mused as she eyed the sculptures at the entrance.
"These sculptures take a team of 5 about 10 hours to make," explained Akiza.
"Wow!" exclaimed West.
"That's amazing," smiled Luna.
"The details are incredible," added Nico.
"They are," Radley said, intrigued.
"Check out that dragon!" called West; pointing to a Chinese dragon.
"Epic!" Scotch took pictures. "I guess it goes without saying people can't pose on the sculptures?"
"Scotch!" Radley laughed.
"I don't think you're allowed to climb or touch the sculptures," said Akiza.
"Yeah, that makes sense," nodded Scotch.
"How do they make all those fancy designs?" asked West.
"They probably sketch them on a paper or a computer first and then figure out what needs to be done to copy the designs in snow," Radley said.
"Maybe they have a guide somewhere here that shows the steps," wondered Kalin.
"That would be cool," nodded Radley.
"Let's see if they have it!" said Leo.
As he and Luna looked for some instructions, Scotch's eyes fell onto another sculpture. He ran up to it and started taking pictures of it.
"This one is of Sisu!" Scotch said.
"Um, who?" shrugged Jack.
"The dragon from the Disney movie!" Scotch pointed.
"I don't really pay attention to Disney anymore," Jack shook his head.
"I'll bet the kids do," Radley chuckled.
"I loved the movie Moana," said Nico.
"That one was fun too!" smiled Scotch.
"My favorite character was Maui," said Nico.
"It was interesting seeing his development," Radley mused. "It was nice seeing a movie about platonic relationships."
"Disney's doing a lot of that lately!" Scotch stated. "It's awesome! I was never really interested in most of the mushy ones."
"Times change," said Akiza. "Like in the old movies, the female usually wishes for a rich prince to sweep her off her feet."
"Yeah, that was boring!" Scotch made hand gestures of annoyance. "Well, happily ever after is a neat idea anyway."
"I consider Yusei my prince" said Akiza. She blushed at him.
Yusei smiled. "You're my princess."
"…Okay, when it's real, that's really sweet!" mused Scotch.
"True romantic love," Radley mused as well. "I like to think we have a true platonic love."
They resumed looking at the snow sculptures.
"Hmm, this one of Jack's Duel Runner is cool," said Yusei. "But I like that Blue-Eyes over there the most.
"That Blue-Eyes is so cool!" Leo gushed.
"Yeah, it's legendary throughout all of New Domino," smiled Crow.
"Does Kaiba like it?" Radley wondered.
"Probably. It was his ace monster," said Crow.
"And it's so well-done," said Radley.
"Look! And over there is Dark Magician!" exclaimed West.
"Cool!" Scotch exclaimed. "He looks like he's fighting Blue-Eyes!"
They marveled at the two snow sculptures that appeared to clash with one another. If one could look closely, it seemed as if Yugi and Kaiba were there as well, barking out their commands and fighting for the title of King of Games.
"So, the sculptors recreated one of the most iconic duels of all time," stated Kalin.
Scotch and Carly took pictures from every angle. "So awesome!" exclaimed Scotch.
The group walked to a different part of the exhibit and were even more stunned at what they saw next. The sculptors were the largest yet, towering above them at almost 30 feet tall.
"Here's the Egyptian God Monsters!" exclaimed Radley.
"Wow! They're huge!" cried Leo.
"Those must have taken even longer to make," Yusei said.
"Yes, they really went out with the details," said Akiza.
"I wonder if the actual monsters get mad about this," Radley chuckled. He wasn't sure he believed those tales.
"I hope not," gulped West.
"I'm sure it's fine," Yusei said.
"People are still talking about them to this day," added Akiza.
Radley wondered how their power stacked up with the Sacred Beasts. He was still Hamon's guardian after all.
"Which is the best one?" asked West.
"Ra is the most powerful one," answered Yusei.
"Why's that?" asked West.
"Maybe because Ra was the most powerful god in their mythology?" Yusei mused. "I think." He didn't know a lot about myths.
"Ra was the Egyptian god of the sun, so, yes, that's correct," said Akiza.
"Cool," smiled Radley.
"What did he do?" asked West.
"And who used Ra?" added Nico.
"The card? Yugi did," replied Yusei. "Although Yami Marik used it first."
Radley remembered that creep all too well. That sadistic, cackling laugh of his chilled him to the bone. The image of Yami Marik was also burned into Kalin's mind and he gritted his teeth.
"I heard of Yugi! People call him the King of Games!" said West.
Yusei smiled. "Yeah. He's a real nice guy, though."
"How do you know Yugi?" asked Nico.
"We met several times when world needed saving," Yusei said. "Every now and then we see him in peaceful times."
"He's very friendly and laid-back for someone so famous," added Kalin.
"Like Yusei!" grinned West.
"Yeah, that's true," smiled Kalin.
"Could we meet him too?" asked West.
"Hmm, maybe we could invite him for Christmas," pondered Kalin.
"Yeah!" West exclaimed.
Leo was thrilled too. "That would be so cool!"
"It would be awesome to interview him!" Carly smiled with sparks in her glasses.
"He'd probably be willing," Yusei said.
"Let's contact him this weekend," said Kalin.
"That would be great," nodded Yusei.
"What does Yugi do now?" asked Nico.
"He designs games now," Yusei replied.
"Wow, that sounds interesting," said Nico.
"Yeah, his games are good. Even Kaiba's impressed," stated Yusei.
"And they say Kaiba is hard to please," added Crow.
"He is," shrugged Yusei.
"Yugi must have been one-of-a-kind to appease him," said Nico.
"He's definitely that," smiled Yusei.
"He also has very loyal friends," said Kalin.
"And he may want to bring them too," smiled Radley. That would be fine with him.
"As they say, the more the merrier!" smiled Luna.
"Yeah!" exclaimed Scotch. "I'd like to meet them all!"
"Me too!" said West.
"I'm sure they'll all be happy to meet you," Yusei smiled.
"This will be the best Christmas ever!" grinned West.
"Yes, I think it will," Radley smiled.
"We need to write our Christmas wishes this weekend," chuckled Crow.
"Yeah!" West said in delight.
They walked to the final part of the building, where the Christmas-themed sculptures were. There was an entire town recreated in snow and ice, but the one that struck the team the most was the one of Santa Claus.
"And here's Santa and his reindeer!" Leo exclaimed.
"Wow, this must be the cutest one!" smiled Luna.
"And they even added Rudolph!" grinned Leo.
"They even put a light on his nose!" pointed out Nico.
"That's so cute!" Luna said.
Scotch took more pictures. The group explored the area further and were confronted by the most magnificent sculpture yet-a giant castle.
"Wow! Check out that snow castle!" exclaimed Carly as she snapped pictures herself.
Scotch ran over. "Hey! We can go inside!" He went through the doorway.
Everyone followed after him.
"You could film scenes from Frozen in here!" Scotch said.
Radley came to the doorway, amused. But it was really impressive.
"Maybe that's what the artist was going for," said Luna.
"The only thing that would make it even cooler is if you could go up the steps!" Scotch said, eyeing them.
"We should check for a sign first," warned Crow.
True to Crow's words, there was in fact a sign requesting people not to go up the steps.
"Aww," Scotch sighed in disappointment. "Oh well, it's cool anyway!"
"Guess they don't want people to, you know, break the ice," remarked Jack.
"Yeah, I guess too many might cause that," Scotch said.
"It's still amazing regardless," mused Nico.
"It sure is!" Scotch exclaimed.
"And look over there! A ship!" West exclaimed.
The group all walked over to the snow ship. It resembled a Spanish galleon, complete with ice cannons and waves.
"And we can go on it too!" Scotch ran on deck and went up to the steering wheel.
"Just be very careful," said Kalin as he slowly walked up the ramp.
The others followed and looked out over the entire exhibit. It felt as if they really were sailing across the ocean.
"This is really neat," smiled Luna.
"It sure is! I feel like I'm sailing away!" grinned Leo.
"Avast me hearties!" Scotch cackled.
Radley couldn't help but shake his head in amusement. Kalin chuckled at Scotch's antics as well. Jack on the other hand, wasn't quite as amused.
"Is he always like that?" remarked Jack to Scotch.
"If he's in a good mood," said Radley.
"He likes to look at architecture for inspiration," stated Kalin.
"Scotch gets inspiration from everywhere," Radley said.
"How about you, Radley?" asked Crow.
"I also get motivated sometimes," replied Radley.
The team spent one more hour looking at the snow sculptures, taking pictures and musing over them. Alas, it was time to leave and the exhibit's owners announced to everyone that the doors would be closing for the day. Everyone stepped back out and exchanged farewells.
"Well, I suppose we should head back home," said Radley. "See you soon," he waved to Yusei and the other City folk.
"See ya, Kalin and Radley's Bunch," grinned Crow. "It was awesome knowing you."
"We're always happy to see you," Radley returned the smile.
"See you tomorrow!" waved Leo.
Goodbyes were exchanged and they all headed home. Radley and Kalin both took their turns bathing and preparing to sleep.
"So, Radley, overall, what did you think of today, Radley?" asked Kalin.
"Aside from the attempted robbery, it was great," replied Radley.
"I nearly forgot about that," frowned Kalin. "I wonder who those thieves were working for? And why they wanted Yusei's work?"
Radley shrugged. "I'm afraid we might find out. We probably haven't heard the last of them."
"I'm always ready for troublemakers," said Kalin darkly.
"I know," sighed Radley. "And they'll regret it."
"I don't I don't have to resort to actually inflicting real damage on them," said Kalin.
"Me too," said Radley. "I even hated killing Lawton when he forced me into it."
"I'm sorry you were forced too. No one has to kill," muttered Kalin.
"Yeah," Radley said softly. "I'm glad he survived…"
"As deplorable as Lawton was, I agree with you that killing him would have been wrong," nodded Kalin.
He looked at the clock and turned to face Radley. "Let's ask the police tomorrow if they have any info about the thieves we fought."
"We should," Radley agreed.
"Well, good night, Radley," said Kalin as he laid down on his pillow.
"Goodnight, Kalin," smiled Radley.
Sooner or later, the two men drifted off to sleep.
A/N: Plot elements like them meeting Yami Marik and Radley's fight with Lawton are from LuckyLadybug's fic 'And in the Darkness Bind Them'.