All right. First, the same disclaimer that applied to chapter one applies here as well. PLEASE DO NOT SUE ME!

Now that we have that out of our system...

Thanks to all of you who have read my stories and a Special thanks to kawaii Jen, Richforce, jawmax, and CrazyInsaneAnimeFanGirl for the reviews...

And; of course, to Angel Raye... THANKS!

Chapter2

Mina raced over to the palace hospital, where Celine had been taken unconscious but still alive. Amy was waiting for Mina when she arrived at the emergency room.

"How is she?" Mina asked worriedly. Inspite of all that had happened, and no matter what Celine had done, Mina was genuinely frightened at the thought of losing her granddaughter this way and could only wonder what demons inside her had driven her to this end.

Mina was also deeply worried for Gloria's sake. She had awakened Gloria immediately after Amy's call and instructed her to stay with Tiffany. She knew that the revelation of Celine's crimes had been devastating to her daughter and yet knew that Gloria still hoped to be able to make peace with her eldest daughter someday.

Only now it might be too late. Mina feared. She had promised to inform her daughter as soon as she learned anything about Celine's condition. They both agreed not to awaken Tiffany unless it became absolutely necessary. They would tell her together in the morning.

"She hasn't regained consciousness, but she's alive at least." Amy said wearily.

"Thank God!" Mina breathed.

Amy nodded. "And Thank God that Setsuna called me when she did. If it hadn't been for that..." Amy told her. "I think she will be all right." She said. "Physically at least." She added. "Mentally..." Amy paused. "I've put her under a 24 hour suicide watch under heavy restraints."

Amy looked at her friend squarely. "Mina, I want you to come with me over to the palace prison. The doctors on call here can take care of Celine's body... Putting her mind back together is going to be a tougher job... "

"I have a pretty good guess as to what the trigger was." Amy said. "But I need to try and find some clues as to why she responded like this. I am going to check her personal effects to see what I can find and I think you should be there too."

"All right." Mina agreed. "But what should I tell Gloria?"

"For now, just tell her that Celine's condition is stable and that she is being carefully monitored. Anything else will have to wait until she regains consciousness."

Mina nodded in agreement. "All right." She said. "Just let me give Gloria a quick call and I'll be ready to go."

Amy and Mina were escorted to Celine's cell by two guards who were instructed to remain outside. There had been no time to examine the cell earlier, but Amy had immediately given strict orders to seal it off until further notice.

The first thing Mina noted was the knotted bedsheet Celine had used to hang herself with, still dangling from the light fixture on the ceiling. The improvised noose lay where it had been discarded when Celine was cut down. The chair she stood on still lay on its side where Celine had kicked it out from under herself.

Mina shuddered at the sight. Whatever anger she had towards Celine, Mina still could not quite shake the long ago memory of when Chelsea had showed her a strawberry blonde haired little girl who would be her granddaughter one day.It was a memory of a time when they were all still innocent. The nightmare undreamt. And how much responsibility do I bear in all this? Mina wondered.

"This must be her journal." Amy said, picking up the notebook and thumbing through several empty pages, tracking back to the last entry.

"As I suspected, the last entry is dated the day before Tiffany's visit. So we can be almost certain that was the trigger."

"But Gloria and I both visited her in the past few days." Mina objected. "She didn't seem to behave any differently than usual. If anything, she seemed even more cold and distant than ever."

"She had already planned this out by then Mina." Amy said. "I'd guess that whatever was driving her, she was afraid to face you and Gloria so she resorted to indifference to keep herself from losing control."

Mina shook her head sadly. She turned and picked up a second notebook off Celine's desk. "Amy... Look at this." She said as she began reading:

'I; Celine Aino, hereby leave this as an acknowledgement and attesting of my crimes.
I cannot undo the harm that I have done, nor can I remove the pain that I have caused.
I cannot mend the betrayals I have committed. Those wrongs I have committed can never be made right. I can do none of these things.

Neither can I escape or hide from this thing that I have become. I can no longer refuse to face that which I am.
I know that I cannot be forgiven for what I have done. Yet I must ask for you to forgive me... and to forgive me for what I must do.
I have to destroy the monster that lives in my heart. This monster that I have become.
I am sorry mom... I don't know what else to do... I'm so scared and I can't live this way...

Mina handed the notebook to Amy, unable to read any further. Amy kept the book closed. She would need to study its contents later, but right now...

"Come on Mina. We'll go back to the hospital and check on Celine's condition, then I want you to go home and try to get some rest...

Several hours later in the recovery room, Celine began to regain consciousness. Her eyes had not yet opened and the first thing she was aware of was pain. Her entire body ached and her neck was sore and her throat ached. Well... What did you expect? To wake up dancing on the head of a pin? She quipped in her mind. Next her hearing stirred. She could her the hum and beeping of machines. This made little sense to Celine. She next tried to sit up, but realized that her arms and legs were being held in place. As her eyes began to focus, she could see the straps holding her arms. Her eyes finally adjusting to the low light in the room, it finally dawned on Celine where she was... She was still alive... And if she was still alive...

Then so was the other one...

"No!"Celine screamed.