Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon or associated characters.

AN: Please read chapter one's authors note if you haven't already. I seemed to have gotten the flak that I was expecting from the start. Unfortunately, it was all covered in the first chapters author's note. Except one thing. Autism is not a disease, but a disorder. Apologies for that and chap. 1's AN has been adjusted. Another item was that Autism and cutting oneself isn't necessarily enough to admit someone to a mental hospital. Sorry, part of the plot. Can't reveal it here. And for anything else, something I read somewhere, so I don't take credit for it: "If you don't enjoy it, don't read it." Once again, this is fiction, so relax your underwear and read to enjoy.

Chapter 3:Strange Places

She was sitting up in bed with the lights on already, waiting patiently. When she had first woken up, she had made a mad dash to the light switch and then back to her bed. Her feet were still freezing from that expedition. She was fidgeting from being on edge for too long. It had only been about ten minutes, but a princess shouldn't be exposed to terror for so long. Except there had been no nightmares lurking around as of yet. Hence her expectance.

This is taking way too long. Where is he? Maybe if I scream…

Serenity took a few minutes to think about screaming, but the tale of The Boy Who Cried Wolf kept her from making a hurried decision.

If I scream this time and nothing is wrong, what will happen next time when I'll really need help?

She made her decision, ready to forfeit any further assistance for the sake of hurrying this meeting.

Do I really want to see him that bad?

Yes! Usagi cried.

NO! Stay away! Serenity bulldozed her alter-ego away.

Filling her lungs for the scream, she let it out in a fit of coughing when a knock came at the door.

"Come in!"

"Gomen, I'm late. I had a meeting to attend before coming here. May I speak to Usagi now?" he said as he was closing the door.

"What? Why?" her face flushed in anger.

He calmly walked towards the bed as she fixed him with a disdainful glare. He offered a smile as he sat on the edge.

"That would be between me and her," he drawled.

Serenity felt a familiar pressure inside her head. Seeking the source of intrusion from her mind, she found herself confronting her alter-ego, Usagi. Immediately, she threw up mental barriers to keep Usagi from fully surfacing. Usagi seemed to brush them away as if the barriers were cobwebs. Remembering the other day, Serenity tried to run over her creation with pure willpower. It was like splashing water at Usagi, not affecting her in the least. Serenity started to fight in earnest, using everything she could to make the once useful personality disappear forever. Unfortunate for Serenity, she was losing, badly.

How did you get so strong, so quickly? Serenity wailed as she fell into the background.

The light burned her eyes, so she shut them closed. Breathing made her lungs burn. But to stop was to die. Her heart thumped violently in her chest, filling her ears with a whooshing roar. She was surprised no one else seemed to hear it. Everything ached. Everything had a sensation. Everything demanded attention. It had been a long time since she had felt anything.

"Serenity?" a cautious, male voice asked.

"No…" her speech sounded foreign, unpracticed.

"Usagi then?" this time, he sounded hopeful. She recognized the man. Her eyes snapped open and she beheld the man who had been trying to reach her for the last two days. She had seen him before, but not with her own eyes. His deep blue eyes penetrated hers effortlessly. She met his gaze evenly, not afraid of what he might find. Usagi had enough of hiding. She had enough of cowering. She was tired of being afraid. Mostly, she didn't want to be alone anymore.

Serenity screamed in the background of her mind. With a quick thought, Serenity's voice died out.

"I am the real me," she whispered to herself.

"I never thought otherwise," he smiled. She jumped a little when he responded. That wasn't said for him, but more for affirming herself.

His smile was infectious, though. She found herself grinning back at him. After so many doctors and people who cared about her that tried to bring her back, this man had come and pulled her out of her self-made prison effortlessly. There was something about him…

He caught her as she fell forward, all her strength had fled in a moment.

"You should rest, Usagi. I don't think you've had much sleep recently. We can talk tomorrow," his eyes held a mysterious twinkle as he laid her back onto her pillow. All she could manage was a barely noticeable nod before mental fatigue dragged her into a dreamless sleep.


Something was off. Umino had escorted her to the dining room and not to Dr. Flemming. He stood over in the corner, watching her. On the table stood a bowl of ramen with pork, green onion, and an egg for toppings. The smell was enticing, but Makoto swore that she had just come from breakfast.

The rumbling sound from her stomach gave another story. Shrugging to herself, Makoto picked up the chopsticks and began to eat. She could feel Umino's stare as she ate.

"Is it really necessary for you to watch me eat? Don't you have something better to do?" She sneered at the nurse.

He looked a little startled, but gave his head a little shake. "It's part of the normal routine. What's with you today?"

She made a rude gesture at him and then went back to eating her ramen.

A little bump on the table started to grow, distracting her from her meal. It started shrinking, then growing again. Then the bump elongated. She gasped as another bump appeared almost right beside the first. Two more joined soon after. She realized what it was as a palm and a thumb joined the four fingers. It continued to rise out of the table, stretching the plastic that gave it birth. Several more hands grew from the table top, all of them stopping around mid-forearm.

The first one reached for the bowl. Makoto smacked the hand with her chopsticks, which startled it for a moment. She whisked the bowl away from the table as the rest of them reached for her food.

"What's wrong now?" Umino asked in an exasperated tone.

"Your face. Mind your own business," she replied, tartly. Scooting a few feet away from the table, she continued eating while keeping an eye on the multiple hands. Umino rolled his eyes at her and slouched against the wall.

Halfway through her meal, Dr. Chiba ran into the room, looking around wildly. Spotting Makoto, his face calmed instantly. He took a few steps towards her while taking a few deep breaths.

"Min…" he started to say.

"Doc!" Umino urgently pushed himself off the wall. He rapidly strode over to Dr. Chiba and whispered into his ear.

Dr. Chiba slammed the heel of his right hand into his forehead. "I should've known!" Umino nodded to him, then walked back to the wall to resume his show of bad posture. Dr. Chiba started to pace in front of Makoto as she finished her ramen, muttering to himself every now and then.

"Have you spoken to Usagi today?" he asked as soon as she swallowed the last bite.

"I don't get to see the other inmates," she sneered, instantly regretting it afterwards. "Gomen nasai. No, I haven't seen her."

"No, I meant talked to her today…" he said softly, so that nurse Umino didn't hear.

He knows! Makoto's mind shouted, who told him? She ran down a list of likely suspects, but only one seemed likely. Quickly standing up, she placed the bowl on the table and grabbed Dr. Chiba's lapels.

"Who told you? How much did they say?" she gave his lab coat a little shake to emphasize her questions. Unfortunately, she was the one pushed back and forth due to the doctor's size and strength.

Umino immediately moved towards the perceived violence. But Dr. Chiba made a stopping gesture in his general direction and proceeded to pull off Makoto's hands from their grip on his coat.

"You told me, the last time we met," he said with an amused smile.

Her mouth worked soundlessly. She had expected him to say, "Usagi told me." Instead, she got confusion. Running their last encounter over and over again in her head, she couldn't remember when she told him. He must have seen the lost look in her face because he enlightened her.

"When you were talking to the wall. You said that Usagi asked you to ask it a question," he had lost his smile and had a serious cast to his face.

She stood there, with a blank expression looking up at him until he started to show worry. Not able to contain her mirth, she exploded with laughter.

"I wasn't talking to the wall, Dr. Dummy," she continued to laugh until he put a finger across her lips. His eyes showed some anger at being mocked.

"I didn't spend the last seven years of my life in college to be called Dr. Dummy," his voice was a bit stiff.

"I thought it was obvious that I was talking to the corner. Didn't you see it?" she was slightly taken aback, not realizing she could push him too far.

"Everyone sees things differently," he answered, cryptically.

"Usagi saw it," she retorted, then gasped. She had done it again! Betrayed her friend twice.

"I'm sure she did. Usagi is a wonderful girl with lots of understanding," he answered nonchalantly, glossing over Makoto's admission.

Makoto started to notice things that had escaped her. Dr. Chiba wasn't being his careful self, he seemed rushed. Unorganized. Her eyes widened.

"Nothing happened to Usagi, right? She's fine and dandy, right?" she was starting to panic. Usagi hadn't spoke to her all day and that had her worried.

"She's just fine. No need to be worried," he replied, offhandly.

"What's wrong, then? You're acting weird," she noted how he spoke the truth, but gave away his worry.

"Just the fact that you're acting weird today. I'm worried about you," he met her eyes, square on. Concern laced his expression.

Makoto took a moment to consider what she may have done out of the ordinary today. Nothing came to mind, she had no idea what he was talking about.

"You're being silly, Dr. Chiba. Nothing is wrong with me. Hey, look at the table. Do you see the hands coming out of it? See, I'm normal today," suddenly, it became the most important thing in her life to convince him that she was okay. Like her identity rested on the sole fact that he believed her.

"It's ok, Makoto-chan, calm down. No, I don't see anything on the table. But that's normal," he consoled her.

What a gentleman, she thought. Perfect guy for Usagi.

"That's nice," she completely dismissed the whole freak-out. "So, did you talk to Minako about Usagi? Did you get to see her? Did you kiss her?"

Dr. Chiba looked shell-shocked. The barrage of questions took out any mental footing he thought he had with the girls.

"Kiss her? What type of doctor do you think I am? And in answer to your questions, yes, yes, and no," he was stunned at first, but then started to act like a gossip.

"Why wouldn't you kiss her? That's what people in love, do," she stated, as if it was the simplest thing in the world to understand.

"Well… right. Anyhow, it's getting late. Would you like me to escort you to your room?" he dodged, then supplemented with a nice gesture.

"Of course! Who wouldn't want a hunk tucking them in?" she got a shit eating grin on her face when he nearly choked.


Ami sat in an unfamiliar chair at an unfamiliar table. On the table stood three neat piles of clay, one blue, one yellow, and one red. Each was about the size of her fist. She sat staring at the colors wondering what type of clay it was. Whether it was Baker's clay, made in the hospital's kitchen, or Play-Doh, she couldn't tell the difference.

What do you think? She prodded Usagi.

Just like when she woke up that morning, there was no response. That didn't mean anything, in and out of itself, but the lack of an answer left her somewhat lonely. Which was quite weird, for she really hadn't been lonely until this point. Not that she would be good company, anyway. But that didn't make missing Usagi any less painful.

It's just like you to come swoop in out of nowhere and fix people, isn't it? she thought sullenly to her friend.

Ami had looked up to Umino three times already in the past twenty minutes. Unheard of, since she had been admitted. And it wasn't hard to do. She had looked away more out of habit, than anything else.

"Are you okay?" Umino broke the silence.

She gave her head a quick nod before fixing her gaze back on the clay again. A little awkward, but she had responded! It brought back memories of how she used to be. Shy, but she could at least interact with people.

The door opening quickly broke into her thoughts. Dr. Chiba hurriedly strode in. Ami looked up, directly into his eyes for about two seconds before habit made her duck her head. Habit and embarrassment. Dr. Chiba was an extremely good looking man, she realized while blushing.

"I didn't realize you were so shy," he said with a smile. She didn't see him smile, but she heard it in his voice.

At least he seems to like me, she thought to herself.

"She really hasn't been doing anything. Just staring at the clay she had asked for yesterday after you left," Umino offered.

"Not feeling like our self today? What are you up to?" he asked as if she would answer.

He seemed to trust Umino at his word. She agreed wholeheartedly. It was Umino who didn't want to leave her alone with Jadeite because Jadeite had grabbed her chest. If she ever spoke again, she would definitely thank Umino.

She lifted a hand to her chest, wanting to answer, but nothing came forth. Habits were hard to break. Nor did she look up again, he was way too handsome.

"You're acting a little odd toda…" he stopped mid-sentence. "I guess that's because you have a different craft item today. Right, Ami?" he stressed her name for some reason. Umino made a noise, but didn't say anything.

She wanted to answer, but nothing, again. Instead, she took her hand away from her chest and poked at the pile of red clay, then retracted her hand back to her chest. She smiled on the inside at her small victory. She didn't have any more willpower for anything else, though.

"I see. Would you like help with the clay? I'm not much of an artist, but I can try," he said, as his large hands enveloped the red clay. She let her mind wander as her hand thoughtlessly doodled on the table. He spoke to her as he worked, like he expected an answer but knew none was forthcoming. Like the other couple of days.

It wasn't very long before he had made… something. A weird, blue snake, flattened yellow something, and the red pile of clay had a sharper point on top. He was right, he sucked as an artist.

"It's supposed to be waves, a beach, and a volcano. Supposed to be. Right. I've embarrassed myself enough, I think I'll take my leave now," he sounded dejected, and she felt bad for laughing on the inside. Umino didn't hold back, he went into gales of laughter, which in turn had Ami smiling on the outside. Dr. Chiba mumbled something about 'ungrateful', but good naturedly. He was such a good man. Ami wondered what Usagi thought of him.


Rei was pissed. She had plans today and Umino had brought her to this delusional doctor.

"What do you mean, you're my doctor? The only doctor I've met since I've been here is Dr. Chiba!" she yelled, pointing at the dark haired man sitting in a white lab coat.

"Calm down. I think Dr. Chiba may have had a negative influence on you. If you don't calm down, I'll have to ask him to leave," the doctor said. He was getting old, graying hair adorned his head, and he was chunky.

Fat, old bastard, she thought. And nothing.

Usagi didn't remark. Rei got a frown upon her face. Well, the look of frustrated anger transformed into a contemplative frown, to those looking at her.

Usagi? she thought. You are there, right?

The soft touch that Rei had associated with Usagi's thoughts entering her mind was absent. Panic started to flow through her veins, feeling more like ice water than anything else.

What if she doesn't like me anymore? What if I said something stupid that makes her not want to be my friend? Am I too lazy, ugly, fat, or crazy? Her mind raced over a million things on why Usagi wasn't talking to her this morning.

"…out and playing your games. Sit down and we will get started," the fat, old bastard hadn't quit talking while she had spaced out. Refocusing on him did wonders for her panic attack, though.

"What the hell do you think gives you the right to tell me what to do? You're not my Grandpa. I'm ….I'm…. I don't remember how old I am, but I'm not a damn child, so don't treat me like one!" her breath came a little ragged but Rei felt much better after letting some of her anxiety out.

The fat, old bastard sat there, surprised, with his mouth opening and closing like a fish. Dr. Chiba lit up like a match.

"Gomen, miss. Who was your grandfather?" he asked.

"Oh, gomen nasai, Dr. Chiba. I've never told you about Grandpa Hino before. He works at… in…," she couldn't actually remember where, and felt ashamed.

"That's okay, Rei. I just forgot his name, briefly," he broke in, but looked satisfied with the answer.

Rei instantly calmed down, having pleased Dr. Chiba made all the stress dissipate. Her feelings for him were intense, but she felt it was one sided. She definitely liked him, unfortunately, she was just a patient to him. Rei felt trapped and alone. Usually, she have her girlfriends to chat with about these type of things. She missed her chance talking about it with Usagi, yesterday, having forgotten about the whole problem.

"… patient, you can go if you'd like," Dr. Chiba had said something to the fat, old bastard.

I really need to stop spacing out, Rei scolded herself.

"I see. I do have things to do, please let me know if my patient shows up?" with a nod from Dr. Chiba, fat, old bastard stood up and left the room. She watched him go, and then looked back at Dr. Chiba. He smiled at her pleasantly and motioned for her to take a seat. She took the one closest to him, grateful to get off her feet.

"Is Usagi okay?" she asked immediately upon sitting.

"Do you think she is okay?" he raised an eyebrow.

"How would I know? That's why I'm asking you!" Rei's short temper was getting the better of her.

"Well, just seeing as you two seemed to be talking yesterday…" he lead on.

"How do you know! Opps! I mean, it doesn't matter anymore. She hasn't said anything to me this morning," surprise turned into frustration on her face.

"I don't think you have to worry, Rei. I believe she is just sleeping," he replied with a wink.

Good, she let out a sigh, releasing her worry.

"Well, what now? It's obvious that the clay I asked for, yesterday, isn't here. So, are you married, Dr. Chiba?" she asked with a shy smile.

He went off in a fit of coughing, his face beet red as he struggled for control. Once he was done, he took a few steadying breaths before answering.

"I'm not sure this is appropriate, Rei. Let's get back to Usagi. What did you two talk about yesterday?" his avoidance of her question, then bringing up Usagi again, let Rei come up with two conclusions. One: he wasn't interested in her that way, and two: he was interested in Usagi that way. Of course it could be her anxiety which led her to those answers.

"It's okay, Dr. Chiba. You wouldn't want a panicky woman like me, anyway. I hope Usagi returns your feelings," tears on the outside seemed to give her words as a lie, while on the inside, she truly wished her friend happiness.

It's both! I can be selfish with my own feelings and still wish good things for my friends.

"I'm… not sure what you mean…," he said, while running a hand through his hair.

"Yes you do," she replied. She got up from her chair and leaned over to lightly kiss the doctor on his cheek.


Minako wasn't exactly hungry, but the sudden change in schedule had her confused. Especially this room, one she had never been in till today.

"Is this new room because I'm making progress and I'm going home soon?" she asked Umino.

He had been wide-eyed ever since she came into the room, looking like he desperately wanted to escape. "I'm not sure, I wasn't told of anything new," he said, answering her question and giving as little information as possible.

She briefly thought about throwing one of the wooden blocks at him to see if his eyes would pop out. She wouldn't do it, of course, but the idea brought a smile to her lips. Ever since Dr. Chiba started to see her, she had been able to have thoughts other than those about hurting herself. She reveled in the good thoughts, like a soothing balm finally placed onto a horrible wound.

A small part of her told her to be nicer to Umino, like she owed him one or something. Maybe it was because of all the time they had shared. He had never been nasty to her, even though she was sure that he got tired of watching her every second.

"Would you like to play a game, Umino-san?" she asked.

"I'm not sure I'm allowed to do that, … ummm…." He hesitated.

"Really, Umino? After all the time you sat watching me, you're going to forget my name? That hurts. I might as well try to swallow one of these blocks and end it right now," she said, taking a block and shaking it at him. She tried the suicide joke, but pulled it off badly. Maybe it was too soon? The block wouldn't even come close to her mouth, she was done with that part of her life. Even though she knew that Dr. Chiba was in love with Usagi and not her, Minako had started to love life again. She had someone that cared about her.

"Minako?" Umino seemed really surprised. He started hopping from one foot to the other, looking even more nervous, if that was possible. She was sure Umino cared about her, somewhat.

Why hadn't that mattered? Is it because he never took an active part in my life?

She didn't have long to ponder, as Dr. Chiba strode into the room. Umino got a very relieved look upon his face.

"Dr. Chiba, Minako seems to be bored. I'm glad you came by, she's asking about going home," Umino said in a rush. Dr. Chiba raised his eyebrows for a split second. Minako raised hers at Umino stressing her name.

"Well, We'll just have to see about that," Dr. Chiba gave a general response. She couldn't make heads or tails out of it.

"I was just saying, because now I'm in a completely new room and with… wooden blocks? I don't know, it just seems like I've moved up finally," she almost giggled at her words.

Moved up to wooden blocks, huh?

"Actually, I think it was a mistake of timing," Dr. Chiba replied, smiling at her obvious disgruntled attitude toward the blocks.

"I'm not sure what that means…" she tilted her head and narrowed her eyes at him.

"Nothing serious, I hope. Umino, can you excuse us? I think Minako and I are going to have a session," Dr. Chiba inclined his head to the nurse.

"Of course, Dr. C. You know where to find me when you're done," Umino's last few words came from the hallway, making his escape as fast as he could.

"That's interesting," Dr. Chiba said. "What did you do to him?" he asked, teasingly.

"That's for me to know and you to find out," she gave him her most winning smile.

"Right, of course. How about Usagi, how is she today?" he got right to the point, as she saw it.

"I haven't spoken to her today. She's not answering, that's why I was chatting with nurse Umino. It's weird, though, Usagi wouldn't flaunt a talent like that and then not use it again. Maybe she's just tired," she said.

"Mmmm, maybe. So what's this about wanting to go home? Do you remember home?" he asked.

She was about to answer his first question before he asked his second. It was such a simple question, but it froze her instantly. She couldn't focus on the memory she knew was right there, like a telescope that wouldn't give a clear picture of a certain star.

"I….I… don't know… I'm sure I have one. Wait! What if I don't have a home? What if that's the reason I didn't want to live anymore? I can't remember," she huffed, trying not to cry. It was all so over whelming for a girl.

"Hey, don't work yourself up, ok? You'll always have a home… Don't worry about it. I just wanted to see if you remembered anything," he said, calmingly.

She thought he meant that she'll always have a home, whether she was living with her parents, or living on her own. But that didn't seem right, not with the slight pause. She didn't know and gave up trying to guess.

Then something horrible happened. While trying to think of her parents again, images of blood splattered against the wall and hopelessly mangled bodies flashed through her mind.

"Shhhhh, it's okay, Minako. You're safe here, you'll be fine. I got you." And he did, she was cradled in his arms as hers were wrapped around her head while screaming at the top of her lungs. She forced herself to stop screaming, but little yelps and whimpers kept escaping.

"What happened? Tell me about it," he asked, softly.

She did. But only the few flashes of memory she had, there was nothing else there. But no amount of tears could wash the blood from her mind.

AN: After a long wait, here is another installment of delicious mystery. Please enjoy, because I enjoyed writing it. Hopefully the next chapter won't be so long in coming.