Author's Note

Story's rated M for mature subject matter. The last one was meant to be more emotional. This one is on the analytical end. Chapter 2 will delve deeper into the actual details.

Corridors

During the days when Diamond's friendship with Sunset was developing, the child's mind expanded far beyond the expected range. As her body grew stronger, her brain began to crave something deeper: knowledge. What kind of shape was the world really in? How well or ill-equipped was humanity prepared for the challenges ahead? The further she delved into the answers, the more she became convinced a push in the right direction was necessary. She studied the fields of psychology and psychiatry tirelessly, compiling the information into neatly organized documents. By late November, she was ready to make her case. She posed numerous questions and arguments using a basic text editor. After having Sunset check for grammatical errors and logical inconsistencies, she printed the transcript. Her intention was simple, yet immensely complex. She desired to push the conceptions surrounding mental health to their limits.

The waiting room clock ticked back and forth in an unceasing pattern. The sweet scent of Angel Snow air freshener filled the air. Diamond and the others waited patiently for their appointment, eager and anxious to map this new territory. Thirty minutes after arriving, the door to the therapist's office opened. It was a gentle, slow motion, as though it were carefully calculated to avoid frightening someone. A young woman with long brown hair, glasses, and a white lab coat stood against the frame. She held the barrier open for an even younger male: a teenage boy. From Diamond's point of view, he couldn't have been any older than fifteen. He strolled past the group without saying a word. His lack of a reaction further increased the uncertainty of the situation. The doctor veered her gaze in Diamond's direction.

"Ms. Tiara?"

Diamond rose to her feet, making her presence known.

"Please, come in."

The woman spoke in a soft, polite tone that put the room at ease. Diamond entered the office. Sunset, Filthy, and Spoiled followed close behind. The woman closed the door and took the seat behind her desk.

"Would you like a seat?" she offered.

Diamond nodded. She took the left chair on the other side. Sunset took the chair on the right.

"My name is Anvil: Anvil Ironheart. It's nice to meet you."

Diamond shook her hand.

"Diamond. This is my sister, my mom, and my dad."

"Is this your first time seeing a counsellor?"

"Yeah. You checked my medical background, right? I guess it's not surprising you knew that."

"You looked into the process quite thoroughly. I'm impressed."

"Having some idea what I'm getting into makes me feel better."

"I understand."

"How long have you been a therapist?"

"Going on three years now."

"It must be tough."

"I'll admit, some patients are harder to treat than others. It's a process like many things."

"I won't take up too much of your time. We came here today because there are some things I would like to discuss with you."

"Oh?"

"Think of me less as a patient and more as an assistant. I'm here to help you gather data based on I and Sunset's psychological profiles."

Anvil raised a brow.

"This is quite unusual, I must say. What is it you're hoping to achieve?"

"Each form of psychotherapy and medication has its own strengths and weaknesses. We needed someone licensed in both psychology and psychiatry. Possessing both credentials means your opinion will be taken more seriously in the medical world. We're hoping the information we provide will shift the focus on how treatment is handled."

"I see. You want my input so I can attempt to push the fields in more effective directions."

"Exactly."

"I can't make any promises, but I'll certainly listen to your concerns. Why don't you start by telling me a bit about yourself?"

"There's not much to tell. I was born into a wealthy family and given everything I ever wanted, but I still ended up here because of an existential crisis."

"At such a young age?"

"Based on the way things turned out, there's not really a set age limit for this kind of thing."

"I suppose not, but I've never seen a case like yours before."

"That's okay. That's the reason we're here."

"What about you, Ms. Sunset?"

"I'm a recovering self-harmer." Sunset admitted.

"I see."

Sunset rolled up her shirt sleeve to show Anvil the scars.

"I used a razorblade to cut across areas that were easy to hide. It was less awkward to control than a knife."

"I'm sorry you went through that."

"It's fine. It went on for about two years until I met Diamond."

"Ah. I had a feeling you were siblings from another marriage."

"Actually, no. Filthy and Spoiled legally adopted me a few days after Halloween."

"A family friend-turned-member? That's quite unique."

"I kept Diamond preoccupied so she wouldn't go down the same road I did. I'll admit, I had my doubts it would actually work. I've never been more relieved to be wrong."

"How did you two meet?"

"She was going through a rough patch when she sought help from a friend of mine. They directed her to me."

"I'm only asking this out of concern: why did neither of you seek help sooner?"

"There was no guarantee we would be able to relate to whoever we talked to. Worse still, the medications prescribed for depression are known to cause serious side effects. We were hesitant to entrust our lives to mixed circumstances."

Anvil removed her glasses. Her expression was one of defeat.

"It's true there have been questionable results. Everyone's situation is different. The same treatment won't always work for the same condition. It's something I've struggled to come to terms with since I started working in this profession."

"Out of curiosity, what kind of records do you keep?"

"We tend to take notes of the patients' symptoms and mental states. If they're on prescriptions, we also include any changes that might result from those. It lets us know whether we should try something else."

"Sounds about right."

"In all honesty, I don't blame you for being wary. There was a murder spree in 1999 that was partially tied to Luvox, an anti-depressant used to treat Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. One of the killers was cited as having therapeutic quantities in his bloodstream."

"Was the Luvox itself responsible?"

"On its own, it doesn't seem likely, but it definitely added fuel to the fire. He reported increased homicidal and suicidal ideation as a result of the drug. They tried another medication, but it was just a different brand with the same effects."

"From the sound of it, you were pretty torn up about the whole thing."

"I don't know if it was negligence or an honest mistake, but I told myself it wouldn't be repeated under my care. To this day, I've kept that promise."

"The fact you opened up to us means we can trust you. We'll help in any way we can."

"I still don't know if this is such a good idea. If something goes wrong, I could lose both my licenses."

"That's why we're taking precautions."

Diamond held up several sheets of paper that were stapled together.

"This is a list of questions and other bullet points," the child spoke, "Using what we already know, we can tailor specific treatments depending on the symptoms and severity of each case. Once we find out what works, we can isolate the effects and amplify or reduce them."

"Micromanaging every detail...," Anvil uttered, "There may be something to this. Surgeons use the same method for precision purposes. Thanks to technological advances in recent years, we've learned a lot more about the human brain. If I refresh myself on each condition, symptom, and treatment, there's a good chance I'll find something I missed."

"What should we do until then?" Sunset asked.

"I'll schedule an appointment for next week. In the meantime, do more research of your own. The more hands we have on deck, the more ground we can cover. Comparing our data might increase our odds of success."

"Right."

Filthy compensated Anvil for the session. He and the others left the office to contemplate their next move.

"We should head home." Sunset advised.

"Yeah," Diamond agreed, "We have plenty of medical books. If we read through those and look for credible sources online, we might find something."

"Our main focuses are brain anatomy and physiology, anti-depressant medication, psychotherapy, and experimental treatments."

"Which should we start with?"

"Anatomy and physiology. Those are where we'll get the most in-depth explanations about the brain itself. The others are more about altering its chemistry and functionality."

"We should hurry. We only have so much time."