-CHAPTER 2-

CINDERELLA AND LUKA

It surprised Len how much more confident he felt as time passed. Somehow, the quiet, curious kid he'd been, fascinated by the asylum, was becoming more curious and open-speaking. It was almost as if the asylum was having the opposite effect on him that it was supposed to. He was more scared at first than he was now. Perhaps he was just getting used to it.

Walking past the sixty-five cells in the hallway, Len made his way to the end of it, noting that now he could hear his invisible companion's breathing in his ear. It was good to note that; a way that Len could always know if the man was there or not. Strange though. How a bodiless soul breathed and spoke. Though, considering how strange everything else was, Len didn't put much thought into it.

"Ah, I can't follow you into the next few rooms," The voice said suddenly, as Len's hand grasped the door handle, "And the only advice I can give you is to read as much as you can. Oh! And if you ever get really stuck, sometimes it's best to just take a good, long, hard look at yourself, okay?"

"Okay." Len said, repeating the information in a loop in his head.

"One more thing," The man said, "The next time we meet, I may be slightly different. More like how I was before you walked off the first time."

Thinking back over it, the man had been a lot more helpful than he had when they first met - a lot less cryptic as well. He nodded, before twisting the door handle, hearing the breathing fade away from his ear as he entered, the door slamming shut after him. The room was the cell from the other room after all the chains and blood had disappeared. Story books piled up on their sides in stacks against the wall.

Len turned and saw a glass wall that he could see through, mirrors lining the wall on the other side, a door at the end of the room full of books. Read as much as you can. Len repeated in his head, grabbing one of the colossal story books and setting it down. The cover was blank, with no information as to what the story was about, only a picture of a young blonde girl wearing a princess dress, holding hands with a young blonde boy, who was a wearing a princess's servant outfit. It caught his interest, because the boy looked exactly like him.

He turned the page, only to find it completely blank - wordless and pictureless.

"Are you reading?" The feminine voice called, causing Len's head to snap up. It seemed the blonde girl was back again, but he couldn't see her.

"There's no story to read," Len said, closing the book and grabbing another, that portrayed a girl with long, aqua twin-tails, her face covered by a mask as she walked up behind a blue-haired prince. He opened it and, again, it was empty.

"Of course there is, silly!" The girl said, "I can see the writing from here!"

Len paused for a few moments - he couldn't see the girl before, so it wouldn't be that strange if she could see something he couldn't. Len grabbed the book with the teal-haired girl on the cover, struggling to hold it as he pushed it up against the glass, "Can you read it now?"

"Yes!" She said, "It's so close I'd have to be blind not to, silly." She giggled, her face appearing in the broken mirror wall, her cerulean eyes blinking at him.

"I meant, can you read it to me?" He asked, still unable to see the text in the mirror, as the girl sat down on the floor in front of him. She looked slightly older than she had before in the reflection.

"Sure," She giggled, "It's called 'Cendrillon, story of a cursed Cinderella'. Once upon a time, in a kingdom far, far away, there was a young girl named Cinderella. Cinderella's step-sisters were preparing to go to the ball, held by the wonderful Prince Charming. Cinderella was issued to make the dresses for her sisters, but was forbidden to attend the ball herself."

As the girl stopped, she gave him a motion to turn the page, so Len pulled it back from the mirror, turning the page and pushing it up against the glass again.

"Cinderella was envious of her step-sisters, as they were never over-looked by their cold, harsh mother." The girl continued, "And so, Cinderella decided to take away what was most important to them - their muse and embodiment of affection; the Prince.

"The night of the ball was soon approaching, and Cinderella was beginning to plan her deceitful act. After having sewn the dresses for her step-sister, Cinderella made own for herself, making it very beautiful, with sparkling blue gems. As her mother and step-sisters left for the ball, Cinderella donned the outfit she'd made for herself with the help of a fairy that came during the night, skipping down the steps three at a time as she hopped in a carriage headed for the ball.

"Upon arrival, Cinderella found one of her step-sisters dancing with the Prince, and patiently waited until the dance was over. Then, as her step-sister stepped away, Cinderella began to dance with the Prince, their eyes locked. He was much more handsome up close that she'd thought.

"As their dance ended, the Prince did something very unexpected, whispering in a hushed voice that he'd meet her under the stairs after the night was over. Cinderella waited until the Prince walked off, before following him under the stairs. No words were shared as they kissed under the stairs, out of sight from the many others.

"Cinderella's plan had not originally been to fall for the Prince - nor have him fall for her. Yet, it had happened. The knife slipped out from under the cuff of her dress, clattering to the floor noisily. The Prince stared at it for a few moments, before a knife slipped through his fingers, pressing up against the soft flesh of Cinderella's neck."

The girl stopped reading it, her eyes widening. Len pulled the book back, closing it and tossing it aside. That wasn't a nice story.

"That..." The girl paused for a few moments, as Len went to find another book, "Miku!" The girl exclaimed, causing Len to turn and look at her in surprise.

"I have to warn Miku!" The girl said, standing up and racing towards the door, vanishing from the mirror before Len could get a single word from his lips. There was no way he could read anything else - all the books were empty and textless and only the girl could read them. Looking down at the book with the two blondes holding hands, Len realised the girl had disappeared from the cover, leaving the boy holding out his hand to no-one.

Good, long, hard look at yourself.

Is that boy me? Was that girl her? Why are we in a storybook? Len wondered, staring down at the cover for a few minutes. After a while, the boy lowered his hand, turning around to face Len, tilting his head, his cerulean eyes staring through the cover. The boy on the cover turned again, pointing towards the castle in the distance. Len squinted slightly, before noticing that a teal-haired girl, similar to that on the Cendrillon cover was walking, her hair flowing behind her, chatting with a white-haired girl. They began walking closer to the cover down the hillside.

The boy in the cover turned back to Len, pushing a finger to his lips as if to tell him to be silent. Len held his breath, obeying the boy on the cover, hearing the faint murmur of voices in the distance.

"I'm jealous of your hair, Michaela." A low voice said.

"I'm jealous of yours! It's so pretty." A voice that sounded the exact same, only high-pitched enthused, "And unique. You're different from everyone, Clarith, that's what makes you so special."

The voices faded away and the boy on the cover tapped against it, causing Len to look down at him in surprise, the invisible barrier making a wood-like knocking sound.

"Do you want to see her? The girl who helped you?" The boy in the cover asked, his voice the same as Len's, "See her so you'll be able to see each other without the mirror?"

Len gave a small nod.

"Open the book." The boy on the cover insisted, before sliding away from the invisible barrier, moving back to his place as the teal-haired girl and her white-haired companion disappeared, holding out his hand before freezing in the position he was in, the girl slowly fading back in. Len pushed the book open, to find a picture of the girl in the mirror sitting on the first page, a big goofy grin on her face, her tongue poking out. Rin Kagamine was scrawled along the photo in messy signature-styled hand-writing, a heart dotting the 'i's. On the very next page was a picture of Len himself, but he looked a lot older than he currently was, grinning at the camera as well. Len Kagamine.

He closed the book, gasping and jumping back as he stared at the cover. The blonde boy's head was missing, blood soaking through his clothes, the tender flesh of his neck showing. The girl was kneeling before him, sobbing at the scene, her cries echoing in the otherwise quiet room. Len got up, looking away from the book, that now had blood-stained paper. Slowly and steadily, the rest of the books began bleeding out, the characters on the covers killing themselves or others, sobs filling the room to the point of complete craziness. The girl on the cover of Cendrillon pushed the knife through her flesh, the lady on the cover of Conchita began eating herself, the blonde boy who was decapitated was stabbing the teal-haired girl who'd been chatting on the cover of another book.

The mayhem continued, with the characters killing, dying and sobbing left right and center. Len turned, letting his thoughts stray far away from the books, pushing open the door into the next room, slamming it shut afterwards.

"Miku, please! You have to believe me! He'll kill you!" Came the desperate cry of the mirror girl - Rin, her name was Rin. Len needed to start referring to her by that.

"You're lying!" The voice of the teal-haired girl snapped, "You're just jealous! You want him for yourself!"

"I'm telling the truth, Miku!" Rin begged, "He'll kill you if you go after him!"

"I won't let you lie to me!"

There was a smack and the sound of someone falling over, high-heels clicking against the white floor as one of the girls stormed off. Len turned to corner to see Rin sitting on the ground, leaning on her palms, blood trickling down her face. And for the first time, he realised the mirrors hadn't been cracked - Rin was cracked. Long cracks went from her eye, down to her lip that was bleeding, scratches covering her porcelain-like skin.

Rin looked up from where she was sitting, her glass cerulean eyes meeting Len's, "Len..." She said quietly, before her eyes darted away. Rin was wearing a dress made of white silk, falling down to her feet, that had only four toes on one. There was no flesh were her skin was cracked, or where her toes were missing. It was simply as if she was a doll.

"Are you... okay?" Len asked, as Rin wiped the blood from her lip. It didn't bleed anymore. Her lips bounced off of each other as she spoke and Len noticed that, like a doll, she had no tongue or teeth, yet managed to talk.

"I'm fine," She replied, as Len noticed the doll-like features of her, "But I don't think Miku will be..."

"Miku... Was she the girl you were just talking to?" Len asked, and Rin responded with a small nod.

"She's been trapped here for as long as me." Rin explained, "But whereas my punishment was to become a doll if ever released from my mirror, her's was to be forever trapped in a fairytale."

"You mean, besides being trapped her, you all have different punishments-?" Len asked and Rin nodded.

"The man by the entrance - his punishment was to forget his identity." Rin explained, "He doesn't realise it most of the time, but another version of him will tell you eventually."

Rin paused for a few moments, "Well, that's what someone told me. I lost my sanity in that room." Rin nodded towards the door Len had just come through.

Len frowned, "Wait, why were you helping Miku? If she's trapped her, she can't physically die."

"Well, yes, technically she does come back to life all the time," Rin said, "But she's always dying and then resetting - and from what the oracle told me, she's crucial in escaping. And since I saw you were the next player, I decided I wanted to try as hard as I can this time - absolutely no slipping up. If you help me up I can come with you."

Len held out his hand, and Rin's cold, porcelain hand slipped into his, as she balanced herself on the balls of her feet, standing up, her porcelain joints grinding.

"Thanks," She smiled, before turning, "C'mon - let's go into the next room."

"Wait," Len said, grabbing the doll's cold elbow. She looked at him with life-like glass eyes as he asked, "Are we related?"

Rin looked as if she would've grinned, had her doll-like lips allowed her to, "You remembered?"

"I saw a picture of us, and we have the same last name..." Len admitted and the doll's gentle face fell.

"Oh," She said, "Well, I suppose that's close enough. We're actually twins. Rin and Len Kagamine - the greatest duo of all time!"

Len couldn't help but smile for the first time since his arrival at the asylum, as he thought that over, realising she was the girl from his early memories, but must've wandered in the asylum by accident, causing him and his mother to forget. Then why is it I could always kind of remember her-? Len wondered, but dismissed it.

"Now, let's go!" Rin said, "I won't be of much help, as I only knew what happened in the next room because the oracle told me that was his punishment, but I can help you figure it out."

Len nodded, as he turned the door handle, his arm supporting his fragile, doll-like sister. Again, he felt the strange tingling sensation he had when he'd grown before, coursing through his body.

"Oh!" Rin exclaimed, her arms growing slightly, the cracks in her face patching themselves up, her toe growing back, "Happy birthday us!"

If it had already been a year in the short amount of time it'd taken Len to get through one room, that meant time was progressing awfully fast. Perhaps time was happy, and was aging fast to let Len reach the age of a teenager with some muscle and knowledge sooner?

"Double digits now," Rin enthused, "Ten years old - let's make the most of this year and not die, okay?"

She offered a slight laugh, as the two entered the room.

The moment they entered, they both froze stiff. Hanging from the ceiling was a long, thick rope, tied into a noose at the bottom, looping around a neck of a young girl, the rope digging into her fleshy throat. Rin began shivering as Len looked up at the girl's limp body. Her pink hair fell around her shoulders, speckled with blood as her body hung there, the rope groaning against the strain of her weight, her sapphire eyes staring straight through Len's soul.

"I hate her..." Rin said quietly, backing up slightly as the girl's eyes shifted over to the doll of a girl.

"I hate you too." The hanging girl said, her voice thick and laced with hatred and pain. Len peered his head around the hanging girl, seeing the door behind her was shut tightly, and probably locked.

"Can we please get through?" Len asked.

"No." The girl said firmly, a drop of blood falling off her bottom lip, landing on Len's nose. He wiped it away.

"Please? I'm trying to get to the top so I can free us all."

"I know," The girl said simply, "Everyone always is - trying to free us, I mean. Why? Do you care what happens to us if we go back into the real world?"

"Why would you want to stay here?" Len asked, frowning slightly.

"It's fun," The girl said, a smile spreading on her lips that split slightly at the movement, "I have more friends here than I ever have."

"She's insane," Rin said quietly, "Everyone stays away from her."

Sapphire eyes locked onto Rin, as she spat blood on the blonde doll, who flinched, stepping further back.

"If I go back home, daddy will hurt me," The girl said, the grin still on her lips, "I'm going to stay here until daddy dies. And then I'll eat his body."

Rin looked as if she were about to throw up, "That's disgusting - you freak!"

The girl hissed at Rin, before her eyes landed back on Len, "What was your daddy like?"

Len stared at the pink-haired girl for a few seconds, "I don't remember. He left when we were young."

"We?" The girl asked, before her eyes landed back on Rin, "Oh. You're related. How sweet. I feel sorry for you - being related to a girl like her. You know, she's very fragile, you could easily break her into a million pieces."

"I don't want to." Len said simply.

"If you did though," The girl grinned, "And you fed her to me, I'd let you through."

Len froze - Rin, or the game? If he failed, it would all be reset, right? Rin would go back to the mirror, he'd be punished in some way, and the girl would dangle there with an empty stomach. But what if he didn't fail? If he succeeded, would Rin remain dead?

"Len..." Rin said quietly, "Please..."

"But you could free us all." The girl reminded Len, "Besides, I'm very, very hungry. It's been ages since I had a meal as delicious as her."

Len shook his head, "No."

The girl's face fell, "Then how will you get through? I'm not letting you unless you feed me. If you try to be noble and sacrifice yourself, all you're doing is trapping yourself and everyone else here."

"What if your father is already dead?" Len asked, "It's been at least five years in the human world since Rin arrived here."

"Rin has barely been here two years in demon time," The girl said matter-of-factly, "I remember hearing her screams of insanity from the story-book room."

"And I've been here two years," Len explained, "Which means any amount of time could've passed in the human realm since your arrival - I'd bet your daddy is already dead."

"What if he isn't?" The girl asked, "What if, when I go back, he hurts me, and I don't have any friends again?"

"Well, that won't happen." Len promised, "Because I'll be your friend."

The girl looked at him in surprise for a few moments, before laughing insanely, "You? My friend? Why would someone like you help someone like me? You're lying! Lying so I'll let you through! Lying so you can rescue yourself and your precious sister!"

Len thought for a few moments, "Is there anything I could do to prove it to you?"

"You could feed me your sister," The girl grinned, as Rin shimmied behind her brother nervously.

"How about," Len said, "I let you down from there, and we find you some food. If we don't try and find you food, you can eat her."

"L-Len-" Rin's voice shook, "A-are you serious?"

"We'll find her some food," Len said calmly, "And then she'll leave us alone."

"Deal." The girl said, as Len stretched on his toes to the noose, unknotting it. The pink-haired girl fell from it onto the ground with a loud thud, as Rin backed up into the corner, obviously fearing the girl would simply attack her. The girl stood up, rubbing her neck sorely and grinning lopsidedly, the blood from her bottom lip rolling down her chin.

"My name's Luka." She said, "Luka Megurine."

"Nice to meet you, Luka," Len smiled, "I'm Len - this is Rin. I hope we become good friends."

- END -

A/N: If you want someone to turn up in the story, just request them, as I'll be trying to put sixty-six different characters in!