"The truth is everyone is going to hurt you. You just got to find the ones worth suffering for."
~Bob Marley
"It really isn't that bad, Destiny," Mokuba reassured her from his perch upon her bed while Ammit attacked his former stuffed rabbit 'Mooby.'
"You're just saying that," Destiny almost snapped, tugging at the collar of her new blue Domino High boy's uniform. "I already look masculine enough as it is."
"No, you don't" Mokuba insisted, hopping off the bed and dodging a jittery Ammit to come over to Destiny and hug her around the middle. "You look like a trillion bucks!"
"The phrase is million bucks," Destiny grumbled bitterly.
"But you look better than a million," Mokuba insisted.
Destiny had to smile. Just then, Kaiba poked his head into the room.
"How long does it take to pick out-What was it you said?-The most effeminate pair of earrings you can find?"
"I've got them; I've got them," Destiny replied, snatching her backpack from the red armchair in the corner and slipping under Kaiba's arm.
"Destiny?" Destiny froze in the middle of the hall.
"Are we going to have any more problems today?"
Destiny hung her head. "Hopefully not."
"That's a new one," Kaiba observed, causing Destiny to glance up as the limo pulled up at the front gates.
"What is?"
"That girl, she hasn't been here before," Kaiba pointed out the window towards Domino High's main gates where the group of giggling girls was hanging out just like yesterday. However, there was a new member to their party.
"Love!" Destiny was surprised to see the crimson-haired German girl wheel her way up to Destiny as she climbed out of the limo after Kaiba.
"Gutentag Fraulein Destiny, Herr Kaiba," Love exclaimed; her eyes sparkling. She seemed to be in a much better mood then yesterday.
"Gutentag, Love," Destiny returned her new friend's smile, all apprehension about wearing the boy's school uniform slowly melting away.
"Lovella Gift, right?" Kaiba asked thickly.
"Ja, that is me," Love replied.
"I call her Love," Destiny added.
"Right, pleasure to meet you." Kaiba gave Love a curt nod before striding into the building ahead of Destiny.
"He seems very cold," Love observed.
"He's not so bad once you get to know him," Destiny assured her.
"Vell, the bell for homeroom should be ringing any moment. Care to valk to class vith me?" Love asked.
"Sure," Destiny replied as she fell into step beside Love's chair. "Thanks by the way," Destiny added, pausing at the top of the front steps and watching Love loop around so as to wheel up the ramp provided for her.
"For vhat?" Love asked, perplexed.
"Just coming to say hi," Destiny replied with a shrug. "It was comforting."
"I see." Love gave an understanding nod. "After yesterday, I thought a gesture vould do you good."
"What are you…" Destiny's voice trailed off as Love reached into her pocket and took out a small clay figure. "What's this?" Destiny asked as Love passed it to her.
"A gesture" Love replied. Destiny turned the doll through her fingers; it was about the size of a Barbie doll but made of clay. Destiny's eyes grew wide and a small gasp escaped her lips. The doll look exactly like her.
"Love, where did you get this?" Destiny exclaimed.
"I made it," Love replied as if that was no big deal. "I learned the ceramic arts from the tribes in Africa. I have always had a talent for such things. And your style interested me. I vanted to see if I could duplicate it vith clay."
"Well, you did a very good job," Destiny commended.
"Danke," Love replied.
As they headed down the halls, the warning bell urging all students to their homerooms sounded off through the halls. Love had to say her goodbyes as she headed off to the freshmen area of the school. Leaving Destiny to fend for herself in the crowd of students that was slowly growing to resemble a stormy ocean. She almost drowned but finally managed to wriggle to her locker and slid it open to get her first period text books.
"Destiny! Hey," a voice piped up from directly behind her.
"Gah!" Destiny smacked her head on her locker shelf.
"Are you okay?" Yugi asked as Destiny wheeled around, groaning and gripping the back of her head where she could already feel a welt forming.
Just what I need, I've already got head issues as it were.
"You okay?" Yugi repeated.
"I already told you I was fine." Destiny slammed her locker shut and shouldered her backpack.
"I mean about yesterday." Yugi dropped his gaze, twisting the rope of the Millennium Puzzle. "Sorry. We should have warned you about Reagan."
"Yeah, you should have," Destiny replied, starting to leave.
"Wait!" Destiny froze. "Are you mad at me?" Yugi blurted. Destiny was momentarily taken off guard.
Was she? She didn't really know. She was certain of her dislike of the Pharaoh, the other existence that dwelled within the Millennium Puzzle and occasionally Yugi's body, but was she mad at Yugi?
She didn't particularly like him. She found herself to be rather unnerved by that constant grin on his still boyish face
Finally: "No, Yugi, I'm not"
"Then why do you act so angry around me and my friends?"
"Do I not have a right to be angry?"
"Are we going to talk about it, Destiny?" Yugi almost blurted.
"Talk about what?"
"About what happened in my Soul Room during my Duel with Mai in Duelist Kingdom? You remember, don't you?"
Destiny tensed; her grip tightening on the books she held to her chest.
Of course she remembered. How could she not? It was the first time she dared to look Yugi in the eye and see him as her equal, to see herself in him.
That they weren't so different.
"There's nothing to talk about," Destiny snapped.
"But, Destiny-" Yugi began, but Destiny had already stalked off down the hall towards their homeroom.
On Destiny's first day of school her test results for her 'Foreign Language Placement" hadn't come back yet. Now it had and…
"A perfect score…" The guidance counselor whispered; her voice failing her as she let the paper slid from her fingers. Destiny couldn't help but smile smugly.
"I'm sorry, did I forget to mention I was already fluent in Spanish?" she asked in a sing song voice.
"Well, what about your French placement?" the counselor glanced at said paper, "also a perfect score."
"Yep, I'm fluent in French and Spanish." Destiny crossed her arms, her grin widening, "Also Japanese, Arabic, German, and a little Russian."
"I see." The counselor paused to push her glasses further up her long nose and Destiny felt a pang in her gut as the gesture reminded her of her long time tutor Alfred.
"Very well then, you are to continue with a second study hall for this period unless you wish to take an elective."
"I'll need some time to get used to the school before that," Destiny replied, standing up. "So, I'll be going now."
Destiny sat on the floor outside the library feeling like a homeless person. Seriously, who locks the library in the middle of the school day? She was really in the mood for a good book. Destiny glanced around at her surroundings. The art students had hung their abstract pieces of melted crayons in a glass display case on the wall across from her. Perhaps Destiny should consider art as an elective. She was a good drawer, after all. The faint sound of running water made Destiny glance to her left. A short ways down the hall, a senior girl was fiddling with the lever on the water fountain. She was short and blockish like Destiny with lightly tanned skin and round, Hispanic features consisting of big brown eyes and a small button nose. Her hair was silky black and extremely long, trailing past her waist despite it being pulled in two pigtails. The tips of which was dyed neon green as though she'd accidentally trailed them through lime juice. They matched the green glasses she had perched on her nose. The girl's small hands wrestled at the seemingly stuck lever. Finally managing to wrench it free, she bent over for a drink, but the bubbler suddenly gurgled up a great blast of icy water that smacked her right in the face. She leapt away from the wall, coughing and sputtering.
Destiny laughed in spite of herself.
The girl glanced her way, but she wasn't angry. On the contrary, she smiled in return.
"They always do that, and no one bothers to fix them" she explained with a shrug. "Well, sacrifice to the 'water fountain gods'," she added, prying a wad of blue gum from her mouth and dropping it into the fountain's drain.
She glanced back over to Destiny, who was watching her intently.
"So, why have you been evicted from Senora Carver's domain?" she inquired, moving over to Destiny's end of the hall. "Have you been a 'naughty girl'?" she asked sarcastically.
"No, I'm already fluent in Spanish and French so there's no place for me," Destiny replied simply.
The girl raised an eyebrow. "¿En serio? ¿Tú también?" she tried. (Really? You too?)
"Si, viví en España durante unos meses. Usted lo recoge después de un tiempo," Destiny replied (I lived in Spain for a few months. You pick it up after a while.)
"I bet." The girl sat down next to Destiny and pulled her knees to her chest, adjusting her skirt while doing so. Destiny couldn't help but envy her. She couldn't believe just yesterday she'd hated that stupid girl's uniform. Now, in the baggy blue pants and jacket with gold clasps, she'd give anything for it.
"I'm a native to Chile," the girl explained. "I'm fluent in Spanish and English, obviously; and then my mom also taught me Portuguese since we spent a lot of time in Brazil before we moved here."
"Well, I don't speak Portuguese, but shouldn't you be in French class then?" Destiny asked.
"Yeah, I should, but I don't feel like it," the girl replied with a shrug.
"Oh, um. So, how long have you been here?" Destiny asked.
"About four years," the girl replied. "I'm Forest, by the way," she added, holding out her gloved hand.
"You're name is Forest?" Destiny gawked.
"Yeah." Forest smiled sheepishly. "My mom's a botanist, save the rainforest and all that. And, if you want to make your mark, why not have a daughter who's walking and talking propaganda? At least people can actually pronounce my first name."
"Why? What's your last name?" Destiny asked.
Destiny's eyes widened, memories of a small room, a bright light, and a scratched wooden table between them.
Are you going to talk to me, Ms. Pegasus?
If you know who killed your brother, you have to tell me. I can bring him to justice for you and give him the punishment he deserves.
Peninzula, a familiar name, I take it? Pegasus's voice chimed in.
Destiny squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head, trying to clear it.
"Are you okay?" Forest asked.
"Peninzula, your last name is Peninzula?" Destiny whispered, eyes still closed.
"What of it?" Forest asked.
"Are you, by any chance, related to a Caesar Peninzula?" Destiny asked.
"Yeah, he's my dad actually. How do you know him?"
Destiny paused.
"He was the FBI detective in charge of my brother's murder case" Destiny replied somberly.
It was here that something clicked in Forest's mind.
"Oh my….How did I not see it before? You're Destiny Pegasus, little sister to Duel Monsters creator Maximilian Pegasus, and the top ranked female Duelist and third place in the world."
Destiny could feel her cheeks growing slightly hot. Sure she was used to being fawned over amongst the crowds of Dueling fans but here, that world seemed so far away.
"Yeah, that's me," she whispered.
"My God, I can't believe I'm meeting the Shadow King! I mean, I knew you lived her in Boston but of all the places to go to high school." Forest abruptly ceased her raving when she saw Destiny's face. "I'm sorry, you probably don't want to hear that right now, do you? I'm so sorry about your brother, Destiny."
Destiny smiled weakly, sensing Forest's genuine sentiments. "Thanks, it's nice of you to say that, Forest."
"It really was a tragedy," Forest continued. "A great loss to the gaming world."
Destiny suddenly gave her a queer look, something beginning to nag at her.
"Have we…Have we met before?"
Forest smirked. "Took you long enough to put two and two together. No, we never met, at least not officially, but we have seen one another in the past. I believe it was about five years ago now.
"That's right, I remember!" Destiny exclaimed "It was two years after my brother had started Duel Monsters, and it had just exploded in the U.S. so we thought it would be a good idea to carry it over into other countries. We held a promo tournament in Rio and, I remember, a small girl from Chile about my age had just blown away the competition."
Forest nodded. "Yep, that was me."
"You were very impressive, I have to say," Destiny commended.
"Thanks," Forest gushed. "That means a lot, coming from you."
"You still Dueling with that Cyborg Deck?" Destiny asked slyly.
"Of course," Forest exclaimed, "and I bet that infamous Olympian Deck of yours is strapped to your hip."
Destiny nodded as she took it out. "The Shadow King never leaves home without it, but is that a challenge I sense?"
"You bet," Forest confirmed with a grin.
"Alright, I'm game," Destiny exclaimed.
Forest took out her own Deck. "Although, I doubt I'll be much of a challenge to the Shadow King" she added.
"Who cares?" Destiny exclaimed, "We can just fool around while Senora Carver prattles on."
Forest laughed. "Touché."
Destiny's day was turning out to be surprisingly awesome. At lunch, ignoring Yugi's frantically waving arm, she was stirred over to the 'Nerd Herd' table by Anansi Silver and Lola Pop. She was pleasantly surprised to see Lovella Gift and Forest Peninzula sitting side by side and Duke Devlin at the end of the table beside Newton Voltron.
"You're 'no place' too?" Destiny exclaimed in surprise.
"Of course," Forest winked. "We wouldn't have it any other way."
As she spoke, a big oaf of a senior lumbered past and clipped Forest in the back of the head with his lunch tray.
"Watch it, Fish Sticks," he snarled as his tray nearly tipped.
"Up yours," Forest shot back.
Destiny stared. "Fish Sticks?" she asked.
Forest nodded with a sigh. "Yeah, it's a nickname. I've had since my first day here."
"Why do they call you that?"
Forest hesitated. "Go on. Show her, Forest." Duke encouraged her. "It's really cool," he added to Destiny.
Slowly, Forest peeled off one of her white gloves to reveal…
"Holy shit!" Destiny exclaimed.
Forest had webbed hands. "I've got them on my feet too. I know; it's weird." Forest dropped her eyes.
"You kidding me? That's freaking awesome!" Destiny asserted. "I beat you can swim wicked fast."
Forest shrugged. "I suppose."
"Told ya it was cool," Duke added, nudging Destiny in the shoulder.
Destiny turned his way and smiled, but it quickly faded when she met eyes with Duke. He was wincing through gritted teeth in apparent pain; his hand clutched slightly at his chest.
"Duke, are you alright?" Destiny cried, jumping to her feet.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," Duke quickly asserted. "Just a little heart burn. You know this crappy Mexican food the cafeteria serves." He smiled weakly.
Destiny slowly slid back into her seat, entirely unconvinced but said nothing more.
Sixth period AP History: Destiny slipped to her seat in the back of the room, trying to avoid Reagan. She was so focused on not looking at her that she didn't notice her stick out her foot. Cursing her own stupidity, Destiny staggered to her seat after stumbling quite a bit, blinded by the snickering.
She collapsed into her chair and shot Reagan the most burning of death glares. She merely smiled in smug response before turning her attention back to the teacher.
Destiny did the same, but the lesson wasn't really interesting her.
Her eyes began to wander, examining the many brightly colored maps and posters hanging on walls. The maps were swollen with dozens of colored pins symbolizing various cultures, languages, and economies. The posters depicted various infamous historical events.
Destiny was mentally ticking off all the places she'd been or seen when something flashed in the corner of her eye.
Destiny jerked her head towards the partially open door, and her jaw went slack. Something, some kind of substance, was gently wafting into the room, pouring from the cracks around the door and drifting across the floor like steam or a mass of smoke. Destiny glanced around the room, the students were all staring straight ahead and the teacher continued her lesson. Was she the only one that noticed this? Destiny returned her attention to the strange stuff. It looked like fire, it snapped and danced in tight precision like fire and, as it drew closer, sliding along the aisle, Destiny could feel it generated a kind of heat. But it was green. The fire was a brilliant emerald green. Destiny instinctively scooted backward in her seat; her hands curling into protective fists. The fire crept steadily closer, running all throughout the room as it spilled from the door like water. But the fire wasn't heading for her. It took Destiny two slow seconds to figure out what was going on and by then it was too late. The fire paused for a mere fraction of an instant; its tendrils curling around the legs of Reagans' chair, then it leapt up, elongated and pounced, utterly consuming the slender, dark-haired girl in a giant mass of emerald flames. Destiny watched in slight horror as Reagan began to scream and beat frantically at the air as though trying to ward off attacking gnats. She gripped the sides of her head and shrieked louder and louder, wriggling back and forth, writhing in pain. Everyone gasped in unison as Reagan tumbled out of her chair and kicked and flailed around on the floor like a dying fish. She flinched and jerked violently around, screaming and gurgling as though she was being stabbed by invisible knives. The whole class and the teacher leapt up and rushed to her in the middle of the room, forming a circle around her as they tried to help her.
The teacher ushered one of the students to go get the principal and another to call 911.
Destiny remained where she sat, frozen in her seat.
Everyone watched Reagan in utter bewilderment; Destiny was the only one who saw what had really happened. That fire, that green fire.
Whatever it was, it worked an awful lot like Shadows.
Reagan Tsubaki was rushed to the emergency room, while in the ambulance her seemingly seizure had stopped, but she was kept in the hospital overnight so as to be monitored.
Principal McClain announced this to the school over the loud speaker, and she said that they should all keep Reagan in their prayers for a speedy recovery.
"Whatever," Destiny grumbled to herself. "Karma's a bitch, and Reagan needs to learn to deal with that. Hell, if that fire hadn't gotten to her first…"
Her voice trailed off as she opened the school's front doors and stepped out onto the front steps and the blinding sunlight. Once her eyes got used to the glare, she didn't like what she saw.
At all.
Out on the front lawn, a few members of the football team were harassing Lovella Gift.
"Come on, why don't you confess?" one of them yelled, yanking hard on Love's red hair as she tried to wheel away.
"We know it was you who did that to Reagan, you little witch."
"Yeah, seems like the Nazis missed one; you deserve to burn like the hellspawn you are, you little…" the leader of the group then called Love an incredibly horrible, awfully offensive name, kicking the side of Love chair, and it toppled over, spilling Love and all her books out onto the grass.
Anger flared up in Destiny's chest faster and more potent than that green fire.
An inhuman snarl crawled from her clenched teeth as she flung her bag aside, sprinted down the steps and launched herself onto the back of the leader of the group of jocks.
He cried out in shock as Destiny latched herself around his neck and started punching him in any spot she could reach. Hollering and shouting crude words at her, he ran around the yard with Destiny riding him like a wild bull, tugging on fistfuls of his spikey blonde hair.
She finally managed to provide enough weight and pressure to collapse him to the ground like a folding chair, and he managed to fling her off him as soon as he hit the ground and sent her sprawling into the black mud. Destiny sat up, coughing and spitting shards of grass from her mouth. Angry red blurring her vision as she fixated her gaze.
"You…You little…" the big kid growled as he attempted to sit up.
Destiny stiffened. Poised like an anxious cat, she prepared herself to propel her body at him again. Launching herself forward with ready limbs, she made another snag at him but suddenly a pair of strong arms wrapped around her waist and tugged her violently backward. The breath escaped Destiny's lungs as the grip tightened on her chest, and she was reminded of bungee jumping as she was yanked backward mid-lunge.
She kicked and flailed violently about as Joey Wheeler hoisted her to her feet and steered her through a hole in the bewildered crowd that Destiny hadn't even noticed had gathered.
"Come on, Destiny. Seriously, you're going to get yourself expelled on your second day of school."
"He started it." Destiny strained against his firm grip, glancing frantically over her shoulder. Her agitation slightly diminished when she saw Yugi and Teá gently helping a sobbing Love back into her wheelchair.
"Let go of me!" Destiny snapped as she wriggled from Joey's grasp and sprinted back into the fray.
"Destiny," Yugi started to say something, but Destiny pushed past him and grabbed the handles of Love's wheelchair.
"Come on," she whispered to her as she steered her away from the jocks, out of the crowd, and around to the back of the school.
"You little bitch, I'll get you for that!" the meathead Destiny had tried to strangle called after them.
"Chad Vince will kill you," Love whispered forlornly.
"So that's his name?" Destiny asked rather breathlessly as she hesitantly glanced back around the corner at the others and the fuming football players.
"He is Reagan's boyfriend."
"Of course he is," Destiny grumbled. "I suddenly find myself stuck in a lame nineties sitcom."
Love sniffled loudly, and Destiny glanced her way, instantly forgetting her own troubles.
"You okay?"
"I should be fine," Love replied.
Destiny dropped to one knee and scrubbed a wad of dirt off Love's cheek with a handkerchief.
"Why were they shoving you around like that?" she asked, straightening up.
"I am easy to pick on," Love replied, "or, so they think" he gaze became oddly distant.
"Yeah, but the things they said." Destiny paused as her insides boiled again at the mere thought. "They said you were the one that hurt Reagan."
"Do you believe them?" Love asked.
"No, of course not!" Destiny exclaimed, "but where would they even get such an idea?"
"They must have heard rumors," Love replied with a sigh. "I am here on scholarship. The other schools I attended before here were public and even more horrible. I vas picked on a lot so I changed schools often."
"Because it got too bad?" Destiny asked.
"Because the bullies vere…taken care of," Love replied.
Destiny arched an eyebrow. "What do you mean? 'Taken care of?'"
"They went down the same way Reagan did," Love replied. "After they got back to school, they never bothered me again but their friends and relatives, they talked. They pointed and whispered, they said horrible things to me. Eventually it got so bad, I had to transfer" Love whispered, her hands on her lap tightening into fists.
"My god…" Destiny's eyes widened "and you have no idea what caused these things to happen?"
Love shook her head. "I never do, but, just like Reagan, they always fall."
"Love…" Destiny tried to reach out her hands.
"I have to go," Love stated abruptly, swerving around and heading off towards the school's back gate.
"There's something she's not telling me," Destiny deduced, placing her hands on her hips, "all those happenings. I saw for myself, that fire. It can't be coincidence."
Damn
"Oh no you don't" Ryou growled, closing his left hand firmly over his eyes.
The right hand's fist tightened its hold on the Millennium Eye. Ryou dared a smirk as he slapped the other hand away and sent the Eye flying across the room to roll under his dresser.
"You are not making this any easier, Host," the Ring Spirit spoke using Ryou's mouth.
"G-Good." Ryou struggled to regain control of his voice.
"It seems that Maximilian Pegasus had more wit than I gave him credit for." the Ring Spirit slipped back into Ryou's voice without any difficulty.
"W-What do you mean?" Ryou stammered back.
"If you must know, there is a series of rules that revolve around those gods-forsaken Millennium Items," the Spirit snapped in agitation. "If they did not exist, they would make my un-life so much easier."
"What are they?" Ryou inquired.
The Spirit huffed and cross their arms as though by reflex.
"The Millennium Items are apparently pure," he snarled, "which means I cannot commit a crime in order to obtain them, meaning no murder or theft. I cannot take them by force. Either I win them from victory in a Shadow Game or the previous Wielder hands it over willingly."
"Right, you beat Pegasus in a Shadow Game so you got the Eye," Ryou whispered.
"Yes, but unfortunately it appears that insufferable clod had already relinquished custody of his Millennium Eye, through his will, to someone else." Ryou's eyes widened. "And I think you and I both know who that is."
The curious events of Destiny's second day of school remained on her mind and overlapped into the next day. She could make very little sense of it either way, but one thing was certain: something was wrong with Lovella Gift. Something had to have some kind of hold on her, and she was too scared to talk about it. Destiny hoped it wasn't anything supernatural like Ryou Bakura's own personal demon, but the green fire certainly pointed in that direction. Destiny scrunched up her face in frustration as she mulled the whole thing over while not paying attention in English class.
If only I still had Pegasus's Millennium Eye, Destiny thought to herself, it might have been able to tell me about that green fire.
Perhaps, terribly inconvenient, Destiny could almost picture Pegasus rubbing his chin thoughtfully while absentmindedly brushing his silky hair to conceal said mystic Eye.
She almost choked at the thought. Someone tapped her on the shoulder.
"Unless you want to spend the remainder of the day in first period English, I suggest you get a move on," Ryou said to her with a smirk.
Destiny sighed as she gathered up her things.
"You alright?" Ryou sounded more nervous than he should have.
"What? Oh, yeah, I'm fine," Destiny reassured him. "I'm just worried about my friend Lovella Gift."
Ryou arched an eyebrow. "That German exchange student in the freshmen class?" he asked.
"Yeah." Destiny sighed as she stepped out into the hall with Ryou close behind.
"I'm concerned about what happened to Reagan and with Chad Vince yesterday" she explained "Love told me that they're connected and apparently everyone that's picked on her at her other schools has had the same thing that happened to Reagan happen to them."
Ryou looked astonished. "That's no coincidence," he agreed. "It sounds like me, only reversed" he added bitterly.
Destiny gave him a somber look, remembering how all of Ryou's friends at his other schools had become comatose or even died due to the malignant Spirit of the Millennium Ring.
"I just wish my brother was here," Destiny whispered, hugging her notebook to her chest. "He would know what to do about this."
She squeezed her eyes shut. "I miss him so, so much, Ryou"
Destiny's eyes snapped open when she felt Ryou put his arms around her shoulders.
"I know you do; I know it hurts," he whispered in her ear, "but you don't have to be alone in this.
Yugi, Joey, Tristan, Duke, Teá…me, we've all got your back."
"I-I know, Ryou," Destiny replied, slightly flustered as she broke the hug. "Thanks," she added before taking off down the hall.
"You're welcome," Ryou whispered. "Now, please…stay safe."
Destiny spent the remainder of her morning trying to strike up a conversation with Solaris Aurelia. She did it on the surface reason of just wanting to nag but deeper than that she was interested in the dark-haired girl who Destiny had deduced to be the 'least mean' of the Porcelain Dolls. But Solaris was adamant in not talking to Destiny so she eventually gave up and resolved to continue to ponder the curious incidents revolving around Lovella Gift. At lunch, she subtly tried to prod Love to tell her more, but she wouldn't relent. Destiny was starting to get testy; it seemed like no one wanted to talk to her today. Until Duke, who seemed to have a habit of swooping in to salvage her sanity, struck up a conversation with her.
The rest of the day was uneventful, mostly consisting of forced smiles and ducking behind a trashcan every time Chad Vince, and his cronies stalked down the hall.
Kaiba stopped Destiny during passing period to eighth hour and told her that he'd been called out for work and had to leave early.
"Clarence won't be able to pick you up," he explained, "but it's a short walk from here to Kaiba Corp. I'm sure you can manage."
Destiny rolled her eyes. "Of course, you don't need to baby me," she replied.
When the final bell rang, Destiny took her time getting her books and packing up for the day, preferring to leave school at her own pace. She decided to go say her goodbyes to Forest and Love for the day but couldn't seem to find the latter. She wasn't in the freshmen locker bay, or the library, or the cafeteria. Destiny's search eventually lead her out onto the blustery football field which she immediately regretted when she spied the football team practicing despite the chilly late February air.
"Damn," Destiny hissed, sliding down into the collar of her faux-tiger fur coat and quickening her pace, trying to loop back around towards the parking lot, using the bleachers as cover.
Then, out of the corner of her eye, she spotted that familiar gleam.
"Oh no." The words had barely escaped Destiny's lips as she whipped around before the green fire had curled around Chad Vince. He hit the ground like a stone and immediately began to pitch and heave, worming and writhing in a tangled mess of limbs on the cropped grass. His team gathered around him, forming a circle like a herd of elk shielding their most vulnerable. Without really thinking, Destiny broke into a run towards the center of the field. She was half way there as one of the other teammates sprinted past her bound for the school.
"Get outta here, Dusty," he hissed at her, yanking off his helmet.
Destiny veered sharply to the left, heading for the bleachers. She plunged into the mass of green fire that swarmed out from under them. Strangely, the substance did not burn her skin but actually felt rather pleasant. She waded through the stuff as it curled up her ankles; her pace never slackening as she ducked under the bleachers and into the musty darkness their shadow created. The fire's glow was more vibrant in the darkness; it gave off a pleasant, almost friendly, aura that flooded the entire expanse. Destiny hesitated, staring in fascination at the fire; it curled its tendrils outward as though to say hello.
Destiny took a step forward.
Squeak.
Destiny's head snapped up, eyes scanning in the direction the noise had come from.
A rustle and a flash of movement.
"Who's there?" Destiny demanded.
A small gasp was her only response.
Destiny clenched her fists. Please don't see me, go avay.
Destiny knew that voice, apparent even if it was only a thought.
She strode into the shadow of the bleacher pillars and caught a glimpse of a thin silver wheel.
"Love," she breathed.
"Destiny," Love scooted her wheelchair slightly backward as though by reflex and it squeaked again.
Destiny sighed. "Did you really have to lie to me?"
Love gasped again; the small clay doll sliding from her hand and squashing into the mud.
Destiny bent down and picked it up. "And that puts all the pieces together," she announced, turning the tiny Chad look-alike through her fingers. "You learned voodoo from the natives in Africa when you visited there with your mom on her trips. You snagged locks of hair from the kids at school who picked on you and then you would punish them." She tossed the doll back to Love who caught it with trembling fingers. "A blushing, skittish doll like you, no one would ever suspect. But, somehow, they knew, and they never bothered you again."
Love hung her head. "I did Reagan for you," she whispered. "She had been bad to me before, but she was simply awful to you. I…I couldn't allow it." She glanced up at Destiny; her brown doe-eyes glistening with tears.
"I'm touched." Destiny slid her hands into her pockets and dropped her own gaze, "but you didn't have to do anyone."
"I know it is vrong, but they deserve it!" Love shrieked, her hands curling into fists.
"They caused you pain, you returned the favor." Destiny took another step closer to her shaking friend, further closing the space between them, "an eye for an eye as your scriptures say."
Love nodded feebly. Destiny dropped to one knee and placed her hand on top of Love's.
"Is this really what you want?" she asked.
"I see no other vay" Love replied thickly. "The pain they poor into my body just festers and boils; this is the only vay I can make it run dry."
"There's gotta be an alternative," Destiny exclaimed, putting her hands on Love's shoulders.
"You do not understand, Destiny," Love sobbed. "It is not just my voice and my chair. I have special talents. My mother calls them a gift; I question that."
Destiny jumped back in shock as Love blinked away her tears, and her eyes began to glow a brilliant green. The fire, the green fire was curling up from her finger tips and the needle-like knife she'd been using to stab the voodoo doll.
"You…" Destiny's voice trailed off.
"Vhat did I tell you?" Love cried, "it runs in my family, a legend amongst my people. Ve call it 'Feuer-Benutzer' or Fire Users."
"You mean, there are others." Destiny felt slightly faint.
"Destiny, are you alright?" Love asked warily as Destiny swayed slightly where she stood.
"Um, yeah, I'm fine," Destiny muttered. "It's just, I never thought…."
"Vhat?"
"There were others," Destiny replied, blinking as she spoke to illuminate her eyes.
"Oh mein Gott!" Love cried, "your eyes are purple."
"Yeah." Destiny closed her eyes, diminishing the light.
"So what can you do exactly?" she asked
"This." Love clenched her fists, and the entirety of the surrounding rocks suddenly rose off the ground and hovered around in an eerie fashion
"Damn." Destiny whistled.
"I can control all forms of earth and rock," Love explained, uncurling her hands and allowing the rocks to fall back to the ground. "That is vhy the voodoo came so easily to me and vorking vith clay in general."
"Wow, that's amazing," Destiny breathed. "I can just read minds."
"But vhat about vhat you did yesterday when Reagan humiliated you?" Love protested, "you made glass shatter and objects fly."
Destiny looked thoughtful. "Huh. You know, that's the first time I've done that. But, tell me something Love; how good are you at this ceramic figurine thing?"
"I vould say I am rather talented," Love replied with a modest shrug.
"Good." Destiny clapped her hands together. "Let's turn that pain for them into something else."
"Vhat do you mean?" Love asked.
Destiny smirked. "If you want to stick it back to these people, no pun intended; you should do it in the same way they did it to you. Not physical pain but pure, unadulterated humiliation."
"I hope they get her soon. I can't feel my legs…Oh, sorry." Destiny smiled weakly at her friend's death glare.
"Are you sure this vill vork?" Love demanded.
"Oh trust me." Destiny's smile turned sly. "It will."
As if on cue, a sudden scream echoed all throughout the crowded hall, pouring out from the boy's locker room.
"Nailed it." Destiny pumped her fist from her crouch behind the trashcans that her and Love were using as camouflage.
A moment later, Chad Vince and his cohorts all sprinted out of the room at top speed, all dripping wet and completely naked and being hotly pursued by a giant, faceless monster made entirely of clay.
"Damn that sucker's awesome!" Destiny exclaimed as the soaking jocks sprinted past, and the clay creature lumbered behind them.
"I can't believe you managed to make one that big," she added, slapping Love a high five.
"It vas easy," Love replied with a modest shrug. "All I had to do vas use a formula from Egypt, they are called shabti."
"Shabti, huh?" Destiny arched an eyebrow as she got to her feet. "Come here, big guy," she called to the shabti. It turned around and slowly sauntered over to them. Destiny knocked it hard in the side of the head, and it instantly crumbled.
As she and Love scooped the remnants into the trash, they heard the sounds of Vice Principal Lunar yelling at the football players.
"And there it is: suspension's in the bag." Destiny smirked. "See Love? Revenge is a dish best served cold and, you know what they say, if you can't take it, don't dish it out."
Love nodded. "Ja, this is better. Danke, Destiny."
"Any time," Destiny clapped her on the shoulder.
"Hey, what are you two doing hiding behind the trashcan?" Destiny and Love whirled around to see Lola standing over them with her hands on her hips.
"Oh, hey Lola." Destiny smiled. "nothing much just getting a little revenge."
"Revenge?" Lola glanced off down the hall where Chad Vince and his crew had just run down. "Oh, you mean….?
"Ja," Love grinned.
"Can you give me a hand?" Destiny asked Lola.
Lola nodded, and they both helped Love back into her wheelchair.
"Thanks," Destiny said to her.
"No problem." Lola smiled to Love before she turned to leave.
Destiny glanced at Love too.
"Lola, wait!"
"What?"
"I need to talk to you about volleyball…"
A/N: A lot happened this chapter. We have the introduction of another character, Forest Peninzula and a little development for Love. Hope you enjoyed