A/N: Well, here is everybody! The first chapter of the sequel to the Mirror Image. This story shall continue directly from where the first one left off and shall chronicle Destiny's journey through the Battle City arc, which happens to be my favorite arc of the series. This is gonna be fun…

Chapter 1: "No one ever told me that grief felt so like fear."
~C.S. Lewis, A Grief Observed

Words, there were no words.
Croquet's voice hung in the air like a suddenly still wind, drifting around and around Destiny Pegasus's head, tangling within the deepest folds of her mind. They sunk slowly in, deeper and deeper, cutting with jagged edges, tearing with sharp sides. Right down to the core of her realization.
Destiny could not say anything; she had followed the words down into the darkness and can now only stand there and stare in horror, look down upon them.
Someone was screaming, screams that were high and loud. Angrily they beat against the cruelness, the emptiness of the words, but there was nothing that could be said; nothing that could be done to change it.
Destiny didn't even realize that it was she who was screaming.
A substance began to pour from the wound of the words; it was cold, numb, and harsh like dry ice. It seeped from the slash upon her deepest self and began to pool straight down into the base of her core. Slowly bubbling up, it ran a clean, undisturbed course through every pore of Destiny's body.
She felt it; she felt herself being consumed. The black substance was filling her up, creeping steadily closer to the top, slowly sinking down to the bottom.
Filled to the brim, it slipped over the edge.
Wet, cold, empty
Screaming
The substance was heavy, like wet cement, and Destiny began to quake under its weight. Swaying like a lone, dying flower in an early winter breeze. She fell, but arms caught her.
A voice cried out to her, but it was lost amongst the waters; the substance was a wall that pressed against the walls and against Destiny.
Her brother was dead.
She was surrounded by those words.
She was swallowed, consumed.
She drowned.

I can't run anymore,

I fall before you,

Here I am,

I have nothing left, though I've tried to forget,

You're all that I am

The grief churned around in the depths of Destiny's soul, black and cold and hungry. It chewed upon her with a ravenous hunger. Destiny was steered throughout the brown halls. There was nothing to see; Destiny couldn't see anything. The wall was growing thicker, thicker.
The room was white; Destiny can see nothing but white.
A voice was talking to her. Sorry, it says, I am so sorry, Ms. Pegasus.
Destiny, a second chimes in, Destiny can you hear me?
There is a man in the bed. His face is covered; there is red on his hands, there is red on his chest.
There is red everywhere.
Destiny moved her feet against the ground, although it quaked under her.
A hand that she barely sees, that she doesn't control lifts the thin, frail cloth.
There is silver around a white face.
White, it is a yellow white.
The color of sickness, the color of death
A black hole that widens upon the cloth's removal
No gleam of gold to rest within and light it up with life like a small sun.
There is no life. Only the black hole.
Destiny is swallowed by that black hole.
The water hardened, became opaque and brittle.
Her knees snapped, and she fell hard to the ground.
Water poured from her eyes, seeping into her mouth.
Hands curled around the lifeless shell.
Bitter cold, freezing cold, deathly cold.
Destiny's head lowered to the chest to rest against the white skin.
White, no more white.
White is not pure.
White is death.

Take me home,

I'm through fighting it,

Broken,

Lifeless,

I give up,

You're my only strength

There is a cave that Destiny crawled into. Curled up like a small creature to sleep. Too frail for the winter's bite, so it must hide from the shadows, from the white, and from the cold.
The door opened, a faraway noise.
The sound licked against Destiny's Wall.
The black hole is a mouth that has swallowed her; it glanced up and bared its fangs at the billowing coat that dropped down next to the cave.
Descended in a flash of blue, like a falling cloudless sky.
The coat's owner said nothing to the fangs, to the mouth that houses them. He leaned forward, lifted the blankets and glared right down the mouth, squinted through the darkness.
The Wall is there.
They read the will today
Silence
The mouth snarled, like an animal.
Like a Beast.
He left you everything
Silence
The Beast's eyes are bright and blazing like twin fires, its snout hung with black fur, its claws dug deep into withered flesh, its teeth are long and gleaming as though glistening with tears in a waning moonlight.
Industrial Illusions, Duel Monsters, this island, this Castle, everything
Silence
The Beast of Grief laughed.
You're worth billions now.
Silence.
Just thought you ought to know that now, even though it probably doesn't matter to you anymore.
The Beast is growing impatient; it began to pace before the Wall.
He also left you that Eye of his, but that was stolen so…never mind
The Beast laughed as the Wall shuddered.
And that's not the reason I'm here anyways, I'm here about the situation regarding your custody.
The Wall creaked and the Beast glanced at it in confusion.
You see, you're sixteen, therefore you're a minor. Your grandparents are your only living relatives at this point.
The Wall shuddered again.
The Beast smiled.
However, your brother did not specify in his will that you must be returned to them and, I know that doing so would only cause you more pain
The Wall grew still.
Even the Beast is intrigued.
There's going to be a hearing in which I shall be taking part in. I'm eighteen so I'm legally obligated, not to mention stable. I'll plead for your custody.
Moisture began to run down the face of the Wall.
The Beast tremors; these are not his kind of tears.
Would you like that?
A question this time, not a statement.
Silence
The Beast laughed, confidence restored.
The Wall will not break; the Wall will not waver.
It shall remain.
Forever
Won't you say something? I need an answer.
Nothing
The bed bucked as the coat rises from the cave
The Wall shuddered. The Beast screeched as a hand slowly lifted from the cave and grabbed the tip of the sleeve of that sky coat.
An answer
There is a slight smile from the coat's owner
But it is a pained smile.

Without you,

I can't go on,

Anymore,

Ever again.

There is a single drop of red swimming amongst a sea of black. Like the last shred of sunset lingering in the fully realized night. A single red dress that stands out, like a bad memory, amongst the black suits and frocks. She wore black every day. So there shall be red today. Red is the color of fire, of burning, of consumption. It shows meaning, a terrible meaning. The Beast of Grief sang along to the words the man at the podium spoke. It was happy today, the sky was grey, the grass was yellow, the trees were withered, the air sharp and hung with tears.
It was the perfect weather for grief.
There were many in the cemetery today.
The black is its own kind of beautiful in the Beast's eyes.
The coffin, why does it have to be white?
As it was lowered into the ground, the black dirt was splattered atop its face, like snuffing out a candle and allowing it to be swallowed by the darkness.
Staining purity.
Death killing life.
There was a second wall today.
A wall of black lace that drapes before the first, before empty, swollen eyes.
It was a shield against the artificial lights that leap up from the perimeter of the black sea.
A shield from the artificial life.

My only hope,

(All the times I've tried)

My only peace,

(To walk away from you)

My only joy,

My only strength,

(I fall into your abounding grace)

My only power,

My only life,

(And love is where I am)

My only love.

The stars were bright; they burned.
They screamed, they shouted, they yelled.
They are cruel, they are lifeless, they mean nothing.
Kaiba was the shield upon a shield.
A barricade against an army, a fire of burning curiosity.
She stepped from the limo; the sky coat is over her shoulders, the lid on the hole of her dark, hidden world.
Stand aside, get back! Destiny Pegasus shall not be answering any questions at this time!
Faces bled into words; words bled into faces.
It was cold and unfeeling.
So Destiny felt nothing.

I can't run anymore,

I give myself to you,

I'm sorry,

I'm sorry,

In all my bitterness,

I ignored,

All that's real and true,

All I need is you,

There was too much noise.
Breaking through the cave, breaking through the wall.
The Beast was screaming, snarling, biting, eating, consuming.
Destiny curled down at the bottom of the dark waters.
The substance that filled her to the brim, it was threatening to burst.
Words drift weakly to beat against the Wall.
But the Beast swallowed them in its massive jaws, slurping them up without a second thought.
The bang of a book.
The Beast laughed
Destiny covered her face.
The cave was too dark, the Wall too thick, the Beast was too fierce, the burning too hot, the freezing too cold.
The black tangled hair brushed against her face at the edge of the cave, at the edge of the Wall, the Beast snapped at it as it leaves the room.
Mokuba cast a glance back over his shoulder.
His eyes are large, they are sad.
He wanted to help, so he reads to her.
But she is lifeless.
And she wasn't the one who had died.
Was she?

When night falls on me,

I'll not close my eyes,

I'm too alive,

And you're too strong,

I can't lie anymore,

I fall down before you,

I'm sorry,

I'm sorry.

Eyeless, eyeless and white.
Blood seeped from the mouth like vomit, like unspoken words.
Hands that were harsh and cold steadily reached closer.
Hair, familiar and silver spilling around a demon's face.
It was not her brother; it was death possessing his body.
Screams was all that ripped through the Wall.
The Beast howled in glee, feasting on the agony of the dreams, of the screams.
It snarled as hands closed around the thrashing form, the tangled sheets are ripped away.
Destiny, wake up! You're having another nightmare.
Eyes snapped open, wild and flaming.
Hands encircled shaking shoulders.
Poised in shock, the cold waters seeped over the brim yet again.
Kaiba held her close, but there is no warmth.
There was a cold Wall that divided them; a Beast that tore them apart.
There was an emptiness that can never be filled.
Nothing can be done.
Kaiba can do nothing.

My only hope,

(All the times I've tried)

My only peace,

(To walk away from you)

My only joy,

My only strength,

(I fall into your abounding grace)

My only power,

My only life,

(And love is where I am)

My only love.

She won't talk to you.
The chair is hard under Destiny.
Her testimony is necessary; she must know something.
Even if she does, she won't tell you; she hasn't said a word in days.
Look, Mr. Kaiba, we are dealing with a second degree murder case here. If there is anything Destiny knows, it could help us find her brother's killer. Did you tell here that?
Yes, but I doubt she heard a word I said.
Well, you have to try harder. Tell her if she wants to see the man responsible for her brother's death brought to justice then she's going to have to talk to me.
I don't think that'll do any good, Detective Peninzula. But, if you insist, I'll press a little harder. Just don't get your hopes up.
This case has been enough of a hell ride as it is. The media is murder for lack of a better term.
The chair legs seemed to tremble under some kind of unseen pressure; Destiny shifted awkwardly.
She didn't want to listen; so she pretended she can't hear them.
But their words leaked through the Wall, despite the Beast's protests.
Call me if there's any news
Of course
The man in black walked past Destiny and her chair.
His coat billowed about him like his own kind of protective barrier.
His dark brown eyes shifted in her direction.
He stopped.
Hey, kid, his voice was grim.
Destiny looked at nothing but his feet.
Not at his eyes.
I don't know if you can hear me right now, or if you even know who I am. But I want you to know that you shouldn't have to feel afraid to come forward about your brother's murder. If you know anything at all, it's crucial that you tell us.
That is quite enough, Detective!
My apologies, Mr. Kaiba, I'll get out of your hair. Good day, Ms. Pegasus.
A tip of the hat, the squeal of a shoe against smooth tile, and he's gone.
Destiny's fingers constricted the sides of her chair.
There is nothing to tell.
There is nothing to say.

Constantly ignoring,

The pain consuming me,

But this time it's cut too deep,

I'll never stray again.

Relentless, the noise is relentless.
It beat with such a force against the Wall.
The Beast snarled and clawed at it but the noise simply leapt away with another blaring chime.
Destiny's fingers curled; her nails digging into the plush fabric of her comforter.
Her phone screeched from across the room.
The Beast roared, warning the noise to shut up.
Destiny chucked a book at the phone.
It hit the wall a good six inches from its intended target with an echoing smack and a clatter as it fell to the floor.
The phone doesn't let up in the slightest.
The Beast screeched, commanding Destiny to shut it up.
Destiny's slammed her legs to the floor and stalked across the room to the phone.
She intended to smash it.
But the caller ID briefly flashed against the Wall.
Destiny paused.
UNKNOWN
Who would dare to call her?
Curiosity managed to burn through the Wall.
With a pointed smack, her finger slid across the answer bar.
She held the phone up to her ear.
Destiny, you there?
Silence
It answered, but all I'm hearing is static on the other end.
Destiny's eyes blazed with anger, widening to an almost feline ferocity.
The phone began to crack under the strain of pressure her clenched hand applied to it.
Crash.
The phone is hurtled across the room, it hit the ground and the batteries fly out in different directions like a small flurry of sparks.
Destiny dropped to the floor and buried her face in her hands.
Yugi, how dare he call her?
What could he possibly want from her now?
The Pharaoh
Destiny's insides burn
The Wall began to rattle
The Beast chuckled.
Destiny wanted to scream, but the Wall was still too thick.
The Pharaoh had Mind Crushed her brother's soul!
Had left him lying in helpless wait for the thief-turned-murderer to prowl right over and rip the Millennium Eye from his head.
If the Pharaoh hadn't…
If he hadn't Crushed Pegasus's mind then perhaps he might not have been so helpless
Perhaps he'd have been able to hold his own, not allow the thief to still his precious Eye.
No, he certainly wouldn't have allowed himself to be killed.
Had his mind not been Crushed…
Not been Crushed by the Pharaoh.
Destiny's head snapped up.
Her claw-like fingers dig into the folds of her brother's jacket she'd been wearing like pajamas.
But what did it matter?
Nothing mattered now. The Pharaoh didn't matter and neither did her brother, not anymore. He was dead; he wasn't supposed to matter anymore. But what was there to care about now? Nothing, there was nothing to care about anymore.

My only hope,

(All the times I've tried)

My only peace,

(To walk away from you)

My only joy,

My only strength,

(I fall into your abounding grace)

My only power,

My only life,

(And love is where I am)

My only love,

My only hope,

(All the times I've tried)

My only peace,

(To walk away from you)

My only joy,

My only strength,

(I fall into your abounding grace)

My only power,

The blue backpack slid to the floor.
The strap was starting to fray and tear at the edges so it left Ryou's shoulder chaffed and slightly aching.
Ryou rubbed the shoulder as he collapsed onto his equally blue couch and kicked off his shoes.
His legs were tight and burned with exhaustion as he propped them up against the coffee table.
He leaned against the sofa's back and rubbed his hand against his face, brushing his long white bangs off his forehead.
He was beyond tired.
The things that had happened.
Even for Ryou, who had seen his fair share of terrible things in the past was left quaking on the inside from the sheer horror of the situation they were in.
Duelist Kingdom, one thing after another.
Pegasus and his Millennium Eye
The Pharaoh and his Millennium Puzzle
The Spirit and his Millennium Ring.
Ryou paused, opening one of his dark brown eyes.
Their Millennium Ring.
Ryou winced. He didn't want to think about that.
Not now, too much had happened for him to think about the demonic entity that had made his life a living hell since he was twelve years old.
So he tried to forget the large golden pendent knocking against his pelvis and reclosed his eyes.
A face swam before his close lids.
Olive skin, slender form, silver hair, red-brown eyes.
Eyes that had once been a mask of cold indifference had slowly become so clear and transparent, like a set of twin mirrors.
Mirrors that shattered under the words of her own servant.
Destiny Pegasus, the look on her face when she discovered her brother had died.
It tore Ryou to pieces to see her scream and cry, clawing at the sides of her head as she collapsed and went limp in Seto Kaiba's arms.
That pain, it was something that could be seen and felt even if you were an outsider.
And Ryou felt it all too well.
He sighed as he opened his eyes again and stared blankly at his plain, white ceiling.
The worst part was that Ryou couldn't do anything about it.
He wanted to, desperately wanted to find some way to comfort her.
She put on the act of being so tough and superior but in that moment Ryou saw all that come tumbling down to reveal the scared little girl that lay underneath.
Too young, she was too young to go through something like that.
But what could he do?
Should her call her, try to meet with her so he could talk with her?
Could he even reach her?
He didn't even know how to reach her or where she was.
She'd dropped off the radar since Duelist Kingdom.
Which was understandable.
Ryou shook his head.
He was being stupid. What good could he do? There was nothing that could be said or done to make it better.
Nothing, nothing at all.
With a sigh, Ryou leaned forward; his hand pawing for the remote. He swung his legs off the coffee table and his left foot collided with his backpack, knocking it over.
He stopped; as the backpack had tumbled over he'd heard it: a heavy 'thunk'.
Brow furrowed, Ryou reached down and felt through the depths of his ratty backpack.
A soft, round bulge met his palm.
There was something in the inside pocket.
Confused, Ryou stuck his hand into the pocket; his hand closed around something smooth, round…and warm.
Ryou's mouth parted slightly.
What on earth…?
Ryou tore his hand out of his backpack.
The object clasped in his fist, a perfect sphere.
Ryou glanced down at it; a bit of gold was bleeding through his closed fingers.
His heart plummeted into his stomach.
No, it couldn't be.
Ryou's hand started to shake; it unfurled.
There it was.
Gleaming and perfect, resting in his palm.
The Millennium Eye.
Ryou's hands shook harder, going weak and the Eye fell from his hand and crashed into the carpet.
He staggered to his feet, knees buckling as his blood ran ice cold.
No, no, no! This couldn't be happening!
Ryou stared down at his hands, pale white and trembling frantically.
There was blood; he could see it now. Marring his vision, blood, blood, crimson all over his hands.
So much blood, more than ever before.
No, it wasn't true. It couldn't be true.
These hands, his hands, they couldn't have.
He couldn't have.
But he had.
With Ryou's hands.
Ryou clamped those hands to the sides of his head.
He screamed.
Long and loud, he screamed.
Screamed, screamed, screamed.
Destiny's face, it was burned on the inside of his eyes.
Her face, it was because of him.
Because of him that Destiny had lost the one person in her life that loved her more than anything else.
His fault, his weakness and his own personal monster.
He'd killed Maximilian Pegasus.
Ryou's insides shattered, the shards scraping against his flesh.
Too much.
Burning, freezing, screaming, crying.
His legs broke for the bathroom.
The twisting, the writhing, the tearing up inside.
He was being eaten, consumed from the inside out.
This was too much, he couldn't…
He couldn't take another. He couldn't take another death. His friends…his friends he'd caused pain at his weakness. Their families left in the dark. Their pain was Ryou's pain as he watched his friends breath their last on his den's floor. But this…Destiny's pain was unbearable and he could feel the stain of the sin, seared against his flesh.
No, not again. Never again.
His hand tore at the handle.
Make the water cold, very cold.
It spilled into the tub, sloshing and churning.
Ryou dropped to his knees, vision blurred, head in his hands.
Through his fingers, he watched the water slowly fill.
Not fast enough…Barely enough…It was enough.
His hands gripped the cool, unfeeling sides of the bath.
Deep breath, head down, 'splash' and water all around him.
Ryou closed his eyes, darkness and blood pounding in his ears.
Exhaled.
Too much, it was too much

Not this again.
Eyes opened, head up, broke the water.
Body thrown back, hair flew over shoulders, shower of water sprayed against the back wall.
Cold and bitter, like grieving tears.
Scarlet eyes watched them slid down the smooth, tiled surface.
There was a tear in the depths of the second soul.
He searched through the darkest recesses until he finds it.
He closed his eyes.

"What do you think you are doing?" the Spirit's voice was blunt and unfeeling.
Ryou was curled in a ball in the bottom of his Soul Room.
The Spirit was standing over him; Ryou's back was to him.
He didn't turn around; he doesn't answer.
The Spirit was persistent, he waits for an answer.
"You…You used my body to…" Ryou's voice was thick and filled with a bad taste like lead "I…I killed him."
The Sprit snorted.
"So you drown yourself in the bath?"
Ryou wasn't listening to him.
He's gone back to staring at his hands.
"Geez, well get over it quickly," the Spirit scoffed as he turned to leave. "I am not going to ask for the water service to get cut off for you or anything."
"I…I killed him," Ryou whispered, "with these hands."
The Spirit stopped in the doorway.
Ryou turned his way. "I'M A MURDER!" he shrieked.
An explosion ripped a hole between them.
The Spirit was flung off his feet and sent sliding into the hall.
Ryou toppled backward as well with a look of alarm.
The Spirit dove back through the door before Ryou can close it.
He thrust his hand out and a blast of black serpents spring from his finger tips and coil around the hole, sewing it shut like living bits of string.
The hole closed and the Spirit stalked over to Ryou, who has placed his hands over his ears.
"Enough!" his voice is not unlike the hiss of the snakes.
He grabbed Ryou around the neck and hosted him to his feet in a fierce choke hold.
"Even if we are in your mind," the Spirit's grip tightened. "No, because we are in your mind, I can kill your spirit."
He flung Ryou from his grasp and sent him skidding across the floor, turning an awkward somersault that knocked the wind clean from his lungs.
Ryou staggered into a sitting position, gasping and choking.
Their eyes met. Same shape and size, but the color is so very different.
"Do not do something as stupid as committing suicide," the Spirit said simply.
"You," Ryou rubbed his face, the pain and anger still strong in his eyes. "It's your fault! You use my body! You took away my friends at my other school! Yugi and the others are terrified of me. The only reason they hang around me is to make sure you don't come back! Not to mention Destiny, you killed her and tore her to shreds when you used me to kill her brother!" Ryou's voice dropped "and my parents, Amane my sister, they're all gone."
His head snapped back up to meet the Spirit.
"I'm all alone!" Tears brim in the corners of his eyes, "even if I disappeared nothing would change!"
His words dropped sharply at the end as the Spirit's fist slammed into his throat and shoved him to the floor.
Ryou gasped his throat tight and wet as it fights for air.
He wiggled and kicked, but the Spirit climbed on top of him with practiced accuracy, trapping him so that he can barely move an inch.
Ryou's head began to swim; his vision already blurry from tears, the Spirit's face is barely coherent.
But his words were clear.
"Alone you say? What is wrong with being alone?" Ryou closed his eyes. "Look at me!" Ryou obliged.
The grip was loosened ever so slightly and the Spirit's twisted version of his own face morphed back into clarity.
"You want to die because you killed all those people?" he laughed bitterly, "how beautiful."
Ryou gawked at him, body poised, preparing for whatever the Spirit plans to do to him this time.
The Spirit's hands dropped from Ryou's throat and tighten around the collar of his shirt.
"Come to think of it, you were going to throw your body away for the same stupid reason back when we played that Monster World RPG!" His voice rose, and his eyes suddenly spark with anger.
He grabbed Ryou by the scruff of the neck and tugged him up close to his face.
"STOP BEHAVING LIKE SUCH A SPOILED LITTLE BRAT!" he screamed. "Have you ever shriveled up so hungry you could not walk anymore? Has anyone ever tried to kill you before? Have you ever stared down into the shadowed abyss of certain death and prayed that you would live to see another sunrise? Try saying the same thing one more time!" the Spirit's elongated fangs were snarling with an animalistic look to them; his eyes were molten with an anger that Ryou had never seen before.
It wasn't bitter or spiteful anger. It wasn't the anger that the Spirit showed him when he showed disobedience.
No, this was completely different.
It was almost as though the Spirit was saying that he should be grateful, in his own warped sort of way. Because it could be a whole lot worse.
But what did he mean by those examples? Did those things happen to him?
Ryou's tears begin to subside, drying against his face.
He looked at the Spirit with almost curiosity and even a little sympathy.
The Spirit scoffed and shoved Ryou away from him. "If you die, that causes problems for me," he muttered.
He got to his feet and turned to leave. He paused in the doorway.
He glanced over his shoulder with a gleaming smirk.
"And besides, you are not alone now. Are you?"

My only life,

(And love is where I am)

My only love.

A/N: Well, that's the first chapter. A little different from chapters I've written in the past as, excluding the last part, it's told mostly from a poetic, symbolic perspective. It was fun to write. About the song lyrics: it's October by Evanescence which is one of my favorite bands and I think the song sums up both Destiny and Ryou's feelings directly after Pegasus's death, which is why I featured it here. Kinda random, but it fits. Also, the last scene with Ryou and Yami Bakura is actually from the beginning of another dounjinshi called 'Please Be Dead, But…' which is tendershipping and I really don't support that, especially in the context of this story (for obvious reasons) but I found the scene well-written and fitting. Not to mention, it sets up the aspects of the Millennum Ring Spirit's past that shall be revealed in this story. Anyways, I had fun with this and I think I rambled on long enough, so tell me what you think of the first part of Book 2!