Notes: Radley's tale of watching Beetlejuice is largely a true story.
My Past Had a Hold On Me
To their relief, sleep came easily and the night passed without incident. The nightmares didn't come every night, and this was certainly a time when they couldn't afford to have so much time taken up dealing with them. Both woke refreshed and ready to take on the day.
Scotch was ready to take on the day as well. He and the rest of the Bunch bounded over to them right after breakfast.
"We should get going," Radley said when he saw them. "Klaus is bringing the truck. If you get a Duel Runner, you can put my Duel Runner in the back of the truck for the ride home."
"Epic!" Scotch grinned.
"I'll be riding in the truck both ways," Radley added. He knew he wasn't well enough yet to ride a motorcycle through the desert to the City.
"I'll ride with you," Kalin said.
Radley smiled, touched. "Really, Kalin? You don't have to."
"I will anyway," Kalin said.
Klaus arrived too, gruff but pleased to see them all. "Are you all ready to go?" he greeted.
"Yeah," Radley smiled as he climbed in. Kalin got in beside him.
Klaus led the procession to the City. Radley relaxed on the drive, chatting with him and Kalin as they rode through the wilderness.
"Have things quieted down in town?" Radley asked.
Klaus sighed. "Bettina and her stuffed shirts haven't said anything more yet, but that'll be coming. Your supporters are so fired up they're making posters and banners for you."
"Really?" Radley smiled.
"It's good to see," Klaus said. "But anti-you content will be coming next. We're not looking forward to that."
"Maybe they'll just shut up," Kalin hoped.
"Not likely," Klaus said. "They always kick up a big fuss when they don't like something."
Radley sighed. "They'll never change. From the first day we rode into town, they hated me."
"Just because of your jewelry?" Kalin snorted.
Radley shrugged. "The jewelry, the leather, the motorcycle. . . . I don't think the long hair bothered them as much as the other things, at least." He gave a dark smirk. "My family hated that too."
"It's all ridiculous," Kalin grunted.
"Oh, I agree," Radley said. "The one other positive thing I can say for them is that I don't think they care that I'm Spanish-American. All prejudice is garbage, but if I'm going to be hated for something, I'd rather it was my personal style and not my heritage."
Kalin frowned, thinking back to the night a racist member of Malcolm's Crew had snarled at them both. ". . . I think I understand."
Radley nodded sadly. "Being hated for that is a much deeper, more hurtful attack."
"People in the Satellite were hated just for being from there," Kalin said darkly. "Nothing else about them mattered, only that."
"Yeah. And that, just like our race, isn't something we can control," Radley said. "Neither should matter in the first place." He stared off into the distance.
". . . Yusei said the WRGP is celebrating the reuniting of the City and the Satellite," Kalin said. "That's extremely historical and meaningful. I want to be part of that. But . . . if I'm just not ready . . . and you're not . . . what if Scotch joined it with others in the Bunch and you and I were in the pit crew instead?"
"Hmm. Well, it's something to think about," Radley said. "Maybe the town won't be ready to be promoted either. And I'm not sure anyone else in the Bunch is as into the idea as Scotch. But if it turns out we just can't, we could ask him and them how they'd feel about it. Maybe Scotch wouldn't really wanna do it if we weren't on the actual team. On the other hand, he might be happy to do it anyway, especially if we were still there in some form. But do you think you can even watch Turbo Duels without melting down?"
"I don't know," Kalin admitted. "That's something else I'll need to try."
Radley nodded in agreement. "You'll find out soon enough," he said apologetically. "Scotch's test involves a Turbo Duel."
". . . It would," Kalin said.
They made good time, reaching the City within the hour. Before long they were pulling up at the designated testing grounds for Turbo Licenses. Scotch, who had ridden Radley's Duel Runner to the City, happily wheeled it over to wait his turn, humming a familiar tune under his breath.
"He's preparing for a big test singing the theme from Beetlejuice," Kalin grunted.
Radley laughed. "Oh, you know that one, huh?"
"I watched it as a Dark Signer," Kalin said.
"I liked the cartoon as a kid," Radley said. "The movie never interested me because it didn't have the one thing that really made the cartoon special and not just a half-hour gross-out fest—the friendship between Beetlejuice and Lydia."
Kalin shrugged. "It never made sense to me to have them be friends in the cartoon when they weren't in the movie."
"Yeah, I wonder what made Tim Burton change that," Radley mused. "Some people try to figure out ways to have both things be the same verse, but I'm pretty sure they're not."
"You don't really seem the type to like a cartoon like that," Kalin said. "But if your interest was the friendship, I guess I can see it."
Radley nodded. "I'll watch almost anything to see a nice friendship. You could really tell they were running out of ideas towards the end, though. They started parodying anything and everything they could think of and it was more stupid than clever. I lost interest around then. Later on I missed the characters so much I tried to go back, and I had the misfortune to watch an episode that traumatized itty-bitty six-year-old me. I never watched it again until I was an adult."
"One of the ones revolving around body parts detaching?" Kalin guessed.
"Oh yeah," Radley sighed. He brought a hand to his throat and shuddered.
". . . How did you get away with watching a show like that at all?" Kalin wondered. "It sounds like something your strait-laced family would have banned."
That brought a laugh. "My grandma sure snorted about it. But since I was so enchanted by the friendship and didn't seem to pick up any of Beetlejuice's questionable habits, my dad especially said it was harmless and I should be allowed to see it."
"Did they know it traumatized you later?" Kalin wondered.
"I never told a soul until now," Radley said.
Kalin smiled slightly at that.
"I'm still pretty sentimental about the characters," Radley said. "They finally came out with a Beetlejuice figure based on the cartoon, something that wasn't even made during the cartoon's run. They were supposed to do Lydia too, but they haven't yet. A lot of reviews are saying the Beetlejuice figure falls apart easy."
"It doesn't sound worth getting unless you're one of those collectors who don't take them out of the package," Kalin said.
"I'm not," Radley said. "I don't know for sure if I'll get it. Scotch has one and it seems sturdy. But I'm not crazy about getting it if they don't make Lydia."
"Understandable," Kalin said.
"The dilemma is that I think it's going out of print and might not be reprinted," Radley said, "so I probably should get it anyway, to be safe. On the other hand, since they're finally making a movie sequel for real this time, that might bring the cartoon back into vogue too and the figure would be reprinted. That happened with The Real Ghostbusters the last two times more movies came out in that franchise."
". . . Did you ever watch the movie?" Kalin wondered. "Beetlejuice, I mean."
"I saw it once because the Bunch wanted to do it for a movie night," Radley said. "It has some classic scenes and it was worth a watch, but I don't think I wanna re-watch it any time soon. It's not really my type of film."
"I really howled about it as a Dark Signer," Kalin sighed. "I don't know if I'd like it in my right mind."
"Scotch would be more than happy to share it with you if you ever want to find out," Radley said.
"He probably likes Tim Burton in general," Kalin remarked.
"One of his favorite creators," Radley agreed. "I can't think of a Tim Burton thing he doesn't like, unless maybe it's Frankenweenie. The dog being killed upsets him a lot, even though it's brought back. He can't stand the scenes of it dead. Then we both got kinda annoyed at having a cat as the bad guy in the full-length movie version."
"That's kind of cliche," Kalin grunted.
"A lot of dogs and cats get along fine in real-life," Radley said. "We're tired of seeing that silly rivalry in media."
"You seem more like a cat yourself," Kalin remarked.
"Oh?" Radley smiled. "I'll take that as a compliment." He ran his hand up Kalin's arm. "I can't decide if you're more cat or dog."
"I probably have elements of both," Kalin said. He relaxed, liking the feel of Radley touching him.
Scotch's turn came up and he snapped to attention, climbing on the Duel Runner for the duel.
Radley came to attention too. "Good luck!" he called to Scotch, who grinned and waved.
"'Break a leg' isn't said here?" Kalin deadpanned.
"Not that I know of," Radley said. He stepped closer to Kalin to support him. "Let me know if you get too uncomfortable watching."
"I don't want to disrupt the test," Kalin said. "I'll stick it out regardless."
Trudge himself was conducting the tests. He greeted Scotch, asking him about Crash Town as they prepared to ride off. Scotch talked enthusiastically, but when they sped off he was all business.
Observing a Turbo Duel was indeed starting to bring back bad memories, especially when Trudge activated the obstacles Scotch had to clear while concentrating on dueling and driving at the same time. Kalin gripped his arms tightly. Scotch was maneuvering just fine. It was hard not to think of Yusei and his skills during their duels.
Radley laid a hand on his shoulder. "Scotch is doing great," he said. "How about you?"
"I'll be fine," Kalin said, but he was pretty sure his voice was taut. Radley wouldn't be fooled.
"Just let me know if it's too much," Radley said.
Kalin glanced to the Bunch. They wanted to whoop and cheer, but they were afraid of breaking Scotch's concentration. They watched silently, cheering him on with their eyes.
"I can keep going," Kalin insisted. "I have to learn to be okay with Turbo Duels."
"But it's not gonna come all at once," Radley said. "It could take a while."
It likely would. There was really very little hope that Kalin would be ready in time for the WRGP. And anyway, he thought to himself, the town still needed to be their top priority. He didn't want to neglect it in favor of something frivolous.
It wouldn't be frivolous, though, if they were using it to promote the town. But the town needed to be ready to be promoted. It wasn't ready either.
How strange, to call something related to dueling "frivolous." Dueling had been his life, and it was still something he was passionate about. But it couldn't really be the top thing in his life now that he had other responsibilities. Those had to come first.
Anyway, Turbo Duels specifically were not something he was passionate about. He was perfectly satisfied just dueling in older ways.
But as much as he tried to convince himself, he knew he really still wanted to be able to enter this tournament. He sighed to himself.
The rest of the duel went off well. Scotch pulled out ahead after every setback and won with flying colors. Trudge gruffly smiled as they came to a stop.
"You made it through all the requirements," he said. "You earned this Turbo License. Come inside the building and we'll get it made up."
Scotch punched the air with a fist. "Yes! Thank you, Sir!"
Radley chuckled, very proud. "I knew you'd do it," he said as Scotch came over to them.
"Thanks to you, Radley! And you too, Kalin! You gave me the idea!" Scotch said.
Kalin nodded. "I'm glad it worked out. Congratulations." He smiled a bit.
All the rest of the Bunch whooped and hollered as they had wanted to do before. Several glomped Scotch with gusto, to his delight. He hugged back.
"I want to go get my own Duel Runner!" Scotch said, to no one's surprise.
"We will," Radley smiled. "Do you know if they even sell purple ones, though?"
"This dealership does!" Scotch held out his phone and showed the website of a very eclectic dealership in the downtown area.
"Cool," Radley said. "We'll go there then."
"I want to see Yusei while we're in town too," Kalin said.
"I figured you would," Radley said with a wink. "I'm planning on it."
Kalin suddenly frowned to himself as they all followed Scotch inside to get his license. This was the first time Radley had really been out for an extended outing since the torture. Was he well enough to do so much? Maybe Kalin should eliminate seeing Yusei for now.
"What is it?" Radley asked.
"I don't want you to overdo it," Kalin said. "We've already had an hour's drive, we watched Scotch, and now we're going to look at Duel Runners. Plus there'll be another hour's drive back. I don't have to see Yusei on this round."
Radley looked pleased and moved that Kalin was thinking about him. "I feel okay," he said.
"You might now, but later on you might be wearing down," Kalin said. "And I know you well enough to know you'll try to hide it so Scotch and I can do what we want."
From Radley's expression, he was acknowledging Kalin was right. "Hmm. Well, we could compromise and see if Yusei could meet us at the dealership?" he suggested.
Kalin nodded. "Let's do that." He took out his phone.
Yusei was happy to take a break from customizing his Duel Runner to go over to the dealership. He was already there and waiting by the time they arrived.
"Hey, Kalin, everyone," he smiled. "Congratulations, Scotch."
A chorus of Hellos went up.
"Yes! Thanks!" Scotch grinned as he flung open the door to get to the Duel Runners inside.
Radley chuckled. "Scotch knows exactly what he wants and he's going to get it," he said.
"It's good to have a plan," Yusei said.
"Yeah. Hello, Yusei," Kalin smiled. "This is all because of you, you know. It was your suggestion about me entering the WRGP that brought all this about."
"I'm glad I could help Scotch," Yusei said. "How about you two? How are you doing?"
Radley opened the door so they could all go inside while they talked and Kalin could look at the Duel Runners too, if he wished. "We're coming along well," he smiled, still respecting Kalin's wish for secrecy where Yusei was concerned.
The Bunch spread out, examining all the various Duel Runner models out of curiosity.
"Do you think you'll make it for the WRGP?" Yusei asked.
"We're not sure," Kalin said. "There's a lot to do with the town yet. Since we wanted to promote the town if we entered, it needs to be ready to receive visitors."
"Right," Yusei nodded.
"We may be ready," Radley interjected. "We're just not sure yet."
Scotch whooped, wheeling out a dark purple Duel Runner from the other side of the room. "This is perfect!" he gushed.
Radley could sense Kalin tensing at the darker shade. "That's pretty cool, alright," he said.
Kalin nodded and stepped back. "It suits you," he said honestly.
Scotch hugged it around the handlebars. "It is so coming home with us!" he declared. He straightened, heading for the front counter and a delighted employee.
"Why do I have the feeling that may be one of the most expensive models on the lot?" Radley mused.
"Can we afford it?" Kalin asked.
"Oh sure," Radley smiled. "Especially on a payment plan. But that might not be necessary. Scotch has saved quite a bit of money by now, and we're loaded regardless. If we're promoting the town, the Duel Runner could even be considered a necessary expense."
Kalin grunted, turning to look at the other models for the first time.
"Do you see anything you like?" Yusei asked.
". . . This one, maybe," Kalin said, tapping a sleek black Duel Runner. He could easily paint the sides as he imagined.
"That's a good choice," Radley said. "A high class model. And I think it was made with our dyne."
That gave Kalin pause. How many Duel Runners out there had been constructed with dyne from their mines? More precisely, how many from Malcolm's part of the mine? Any dyne from there had literally been mined from cruelty and torture. It was a chilling thought.
Radley had sobered too, most likely wondering the same thing.
Kalin looked to Yusei. "I know there's no way to really know where the dyne in any particular Duel Runner comes from, at least not without doing an exhausting amount of research, but . . . is it right to even use dyne that was mined unethically?"
Yusei frowned. "Well, Malcolm's in the Facility. He won't be making any more money off of it. And the miners themselves sacrificed a lot for it."
Radley nodded. "To not use it when it's already here and made into Duel Runners would make their sacrifices in vain, wouldn't it? Or am I just saying that because I can't stand to think of wasting it for business reasons?" He looked troubled by that.
". . . You get all of Malcolm's holdings, don't you?" Yusei realized.
"I bought him out, yes," Radley said. "Everything's mine now. And I plan to compensate all of his workers . . . and where that's not possible, the families of his workers," he quietly added.
"Then it's a complicated question," Yusei said. "Under the circumstances, I'm not sure there is one right answer. You have to follow your own conscience and do what you feel is right."
". . . I think it should be used," Kalin said at last. "They gave so much for it."
"And a share of the profits will go back to them and their loved ones now," Radley emphasized. "To buy products made with Malcolm's dyne will actually help them under my ownership."
"Then you should buy the Duel Runner if you want it and honor the miners when you ride it," Yusei said.
Finally Kalin nodded. "I'll get it." He wheeled it out from the row.
Yusei hung back with Radley as Kalin went up to the front counter with Scotch. "Kalin really does seem to be doing well," he said. "I haven't seen him this happy in . . . actually, I'm not sure I've ever seen him like he is now."
Radley was intrigued. "What was he like in the Enforcers?" he asked.
"He was happy then too, but he was also restless, always wanting to do more to fix the Satellite," Yusei said. "He was always coming up with new plans. We all followed him then, not just because his plans were good, but because we respected and loved him so much. It was an amazing time. Kalin gave us and everyone in the Satellite hope."
"He's doing that again now for our town," Radley said.
"Kalin would say you are too," Yusei said with a smile. "And he's different now. He still brings hope, you're right. But there's a maturity he didn't have before. He's quiet and reserved, not wild and rambunctious. I still see that wild streak in him, but he's more careful about letting it out."
"After everything he went through, that isn't surprising," Radley said. "Trauma and heartache change a person. You can never be the same as you were before you really became aware of the darkness that exists in the world . . . or yourself."
Yusei's eyes flickered with sadness. ". . . You're a lot different than I thought you were when we first met," he said.
"A lot of people think I'm a shallow punk," Radley agreed with a wan smile. "I'm not. I never have been."
"You're good for Kalin," Yusei said. "I'm glad he has you."
"I'm glad we have each other," Radley said. "Kalin is a wonderful guy. I always sensed that about him."
"And you never gave up trying to draw that out," Yusei said. "Kalin told me."
"I'm just glad he finally accepted me," Radley said. "And that I know why he didn't before."
Yusei was silent a moment. ". . . He still struggles, doesn't he?" he quietly asked.
Radley froze. He had been sure Yusei would realize, but being put on the spot was uncomfortable when he had promised Kalin he wouldn't say anything.
"You don't have to tell me," Yusei said. "I'm sure Kalin doesn't want me to know. But with you here for him, I know he's in good hands."
Radley managed a smile. "I do all I can for him," he said honestly. "I just hope I'm enough."
Yusei laid a hand on Radley's shoulder, to his surprise. "You're enough," he insisted.
Radley smiled more, deeply moved. "Thank you," he said. "Coming from you, that means a lot."
"Kalin loves you a lot," Yusei said. "Like I told you before, it's not easy to get that far into his heart. For you to be able to shows how deeply he cares."
"I'm so honored he does," Radley said. "I longed for it so much during those long weeks."
Kalin and Scotch came back over to them with the Duel Runners. "We have them," Kalin announced.
"I want to try mine out right now!" Scotch exclaimed. "Kalin, Yusei, race around the City?!"
Yusei smiled. "Sure. Let's go." He moved to head outside.
Scotch swiftly followed.
Kalin lingered behind, looking to Radley. "What was Yusei talking about with you?" he asked.
"Mostly you and how you're doing," Radley said. "I promise I didn't tell him anything, but he already suspected you were struggling." He hesitated. "He said he felt I was enough to be able to help you." He couldn't keep the awe out of his voice.
Kalin smiled at that. "You are," he said, laying a hand on Radley's shoulder.
Radley reached up and gripped it. "Thank you," he said softly.
". . . Do you feel well enough to join us in the race?" Kalin asked.
Radley perked up at that. "I think so," he said. "It'll just be a few minutes or so, right?"
Kalin nodded. "Probably. If you want to come, I'll make sure we don't overdo it."
"I'd love to," Radley said. "But I don't want you to cut it short."
"I'd rather have you there and have it not last as long than have a longer race without you," Kalin said. "I'm sure Scotch feels the same."
That deeply touched Radley and he smiled more. "I'll come," he said.
Kalin smiled too. "Good."