Ello, my dear readers! Hard to believe summer is right around the corner (it still feels like February to me), but that means it's time for another update! I'm going to be honest, this chapter took longer than I planned due to lots of testing this month for me, and because of having to write lots of dialogue. Dialogue is not my speciality,but I did my best for this chapter!

Okay, I'll cut my talking short and get to the point, since the last time I tried making the A/N for this the computer magically shut down and erased it all! Please feel free to leave a review, especially since SM has become my MOST REVIEWED FIC EVER! Woot! I love reading each of your reviews and seeing what you think of characters and the plot, so thank you to everyone who has reviewed thus far. Now, enjoy the fic!

*Nintendo owns everything*

Chapter Seven: The Starling Court

"Wake him up."

Something bone-chillingly cold poured over David's head, yanking him back from the world of unconsciousness with a gasp. Everything around him was pitch black, but he knew his eyes were open, and concluded quickly that he was wearing a hood of some sort to obstruct his vision. He could tell that he was sitting on an unsmooth surface (as part of it dug into his leg), and his wrists were bound painfully behind his back with what felt like rope. The air around him was chilly, and he could feel a light wind on the back of his neck, making him shiver at the cold. Disoriented, he struggled to remember how he had ended up in this situation, but all he could remember was a sudden movement and a blow that knocked him cold. So who had attacked him? With a groan, he roughly asked himself aloud, "What the hell is going on?"

"Greetings, David Kojima."

A voice- deep and unfamiliar- echoed through wherever David was, slipping its way through the hood to his ears. The reporter whipped his head around, but couldn't see or pinpoint where the voice had come from. "What's going on?! Where am I?"

"At ease, Mr. Kojima. You are merely safe here from prying eyes and ears. No harm will come to you," came the answer. "Certain precautions had to be taken to make sure you'd cooperate."

"Cooperate? Cooperate with what?" David had a sudden revelation at that moment, which caused him to stop thrashing about. "Are you...the Raven?"

There was a pause. "I serve the Raven, and act in the name of the Raven," the voice answered slowly, "but I do not have the honor of being the Raven. Yet, the identity of the Raven is not the reason why you are here."

"Fine. Why am I here then?"

Suddenly a new voice- lighter and softer than the first- rang out. "We are here to discuss you, Mr. Kojima, and your role on the island.

"Me?" Trying to turn his head to find where the new voice was coming from, David frantically remarked, "I'm just a reporter! I swear, I'm not involved in anything- I'm just a guy trying to get a story!"

"The Raven believes you are much more. Our job is to see if you truly are of the value you've been placed under," the first voice rumbled. "If you truthfully answer the question we have, then we shall tell you an answer you currently seek."

At this, a small chorus of low murmurs spread through the space, as another new voice asked cautiously, "Is that a wise idea? Mr. Kojima's allegiances are still in question- Main still has a grasp over him. We don't want to make the same mistake as we did before."

"He doesn't trust Main," someone else hissed. "Plus, he said today he believed in the Raven- I heard him say it out loud!"

This part was true, but the only place David remembered saying that was in the sunroom. Wait a minute, he thought, these people can't be patients, can they? How did they get out of their rooms? It's impossible! Although cautious, his curiosity was yelling at him to learn more about what was going on...and it was impossible to deny his curiosity, especially when an opportunity like this was before him. "It's a deal," he finally announced, causing the various voices to fall silent. "I'll cooperate."

His answer must have been a surprise to the voices, for it took them what felt like forever to respond. "You are wise to do so. Remove his hood- I am assured we can trust him."

Someone must have been standing behind David, for the hood was suddenly yanked off of his head, exposing the surroundings for the first time. The first thing he noticed was the ceiling of black stone above his head, which was scattered with pointed spires of rock that reached toward the stone ground. The sound of the ocean crashing against the island could be faintly heard, and the smell of wet salty air clung in the underground space. It was barely illuminated by a handful of flickering torches bolted to the wall, whose movements sent light scattering over every nook and cranny in the rocks. "I didn't know there were caves on the island," David heard himself say.

"A few pockets once existed under the Mansion, but some collapsed a few years back. This is the only one which still stands, and it remains a secret."

The reporter turned to gaze at what was in front of him, where a strange sight met his eyes. A group of seven people seated at a long slab of rock on a raised makeshift platform, with two torches at either end giving them enough light to be seen. They were dressed in black robes that made it impossible to distinguish their features, making them look all the same except for their varying height and sizes. Their faces were obscured by black hoods attached to their robes, which dipped down to a point like wings over their brows. Not being able to see their faces made David nervous, and for a moment he wondered why the Raven went to all this trouble to take down a simple doctor. He could feel their eyes on him, burning from underneath their shadowed hoods, so he spoke again after swallowing back his fear. "Who are you?"

The first voice filtered out from the tallest figure in the middle of the table, who raised his (the voice was too low to be female) arms out in a wide sweeping gesture. "We call ourselves the Starling Court, and as stated before, we are the allies of the Raven and the enemies of Main. Our belief is that the Raven is the truth, and we speak on the Raven's behalf in order to keep the identity of the Raven a secret."

"Enough of the explanations," a voice sharply ordered from another figure on the right. "We are the ones who should be seeking out answers, after all."

A few figures nodded in agreement with the statement, making the center figure sigh. "Very well. Let us bring the Court to order."

The figures fell silent as David felt his nervousness return, noting how ominous the Court looked at that moment, with the little light casting most of them into a smoky darkness. It took a moment before one of them asked in a watery voice, "Will you please state your name?"

"David Kojima."

"Where were you born, Mr. Kojima?"

"On the mainland- I've lived there my whole life."

A new question was thrown at David. "Are you an only child?"

"Yes...wait, no. I had a brother- a twin brother- but he died at birth. I never knew him."

"I am sorry to hear that. Tell us about your childhood. What do you remember about growing up?"

David struggled to remember this part of his life. "It's been a while, so I don't remember anything really. My mother died when I was young though, and I never knew my father- he left before I was born."

"So you grew up in an orphanage?"

"I think so. Like I said, my memory's a bit fuzzy."

"What do you remember about your life then?"

"Well, I remember a few months ago when I went to a bar, and heard some guy talking about an island out in the sea, where there was apparently a mental asylum. That's when I began to research the place for my story."

"I see." The center figure asked a question this time. "Have you ever had any military training?"

"No?"

"Have you ever worked with or memorized codes at any point?"

"No- why do you ask?"

"I find that hard to believe, Mr. Kojima. Are you sure you never had any training at any point in your life?"

"Yes, I'm sure of-"

Suddenly, scenes flashed at rapid paces through David's mind: snow, a cold wind creeping under the edge of his skintight suit laden with weaponry, as he peered around the corner of a building with his gun drawn, aiming at a man on the far side of a courtyard...

With a hissed curse, David snapped out of the vision as he jerked his head back in surprise, breathing heavily as he tried to calm his racing heart. What had just happened? He had never done anything like that in his life, but it had felt so real, like a memory.

The Starling Court watched him without a word, until a figure sitting on the left shook its head in amazement. "I believe we might have just seen our answer."

"He's buried them in his mind, or they've been buried for him," mused the center figure. "They must be buried deep too, on account of his memory."

"There is some bleed through though- certain details, but none of them are enough to expose the rest."

"It seems that being here must have triggered their coming to light. This will complicate things."

Having paid little attention to the conversation of the Court, David now took the time to, while still breathing heavily, ask a question. "What was that- what's happening to me?"

If the figures heard him they chose to not answer and remarked instead, "Please try to stay with us, Mr. Kojima. You've done very well so far."

"Very well with what? What the hell is even going on here- you've kidnapped me, you've tied me up, and now you're asking me ridiculous questions!" Whatever patience David had was wearing thin at this point, as he struggled in his bonds. "Tell me what's going on here!"

"Mr. Kojima-"

"TELL ME!"

The screams bounced off the cavern walls, causing the Starling Court to freeze in uncertainty. They avoided looking at David's seething figure and instead focused in the center figure, which shook his hood sadly. "Very well. We will explain why we are doing this." Hearing an outburst of alarm form some of the Court members, the figure quickly added "He deserves to know at least what the Raven believes. Remember the last time we withheld our truth, and the consequences."

This seemed to placate the other members, so the center figure leaned back and relaxed as he began to talk to David. "It probably has never crossed your mind that something is wrong with you. After all, you dismiss the fact that you can't remember most of your life as being a consequence of age. It is a paradox in a way: the one who seeks the answers ignores the questions being asked, or the answers that lie within him go unnoticed.

'The memories you have of your life here are missing- don't you find it strange? Do you not find it unusual that you have never known any codes, but yet you are able to understand and reply to the Raven's messages? Have you experienced dreams as of late that are incredibly realistic, but feel as natural as memories to you? There is a reason for these things, Mr. Kojima. These dreams, these talents- they are real, not just a creation of your mind. These are real memories, because they are from your real life, not this lie that you have bought into. The Raven and most of the Mansion's patients share this belief, that our lives are not what we think they are, and that something happened to remove us from those lives. Some of us remember what you remember- memories, dreams, skills we had- but no one can remember the reason why we have been brought to this state.

'Main knows, however. He covers it up with drugs and pleas of insanity, calling our thoughts that of madmen and our dreams impossible. He prevents us from being together, least we discover the truth, but we find ways through the use of skeleton keys and secret passages. Our memories, no matter how buried they are, speak the truth, and it is in pursuit of the truth that we act."

Silence settled in comfortably during this talk, and continued afterwards once the center figure had finished speaking. David stared, blinked once, and without any sort of emotion announced, "...Bullshit."

"You know it to be true, David Kojima. What other explanation could there be? The answer is the right one, because there is proof- your dreams, your use of the code, your remembrance of things that you shouldn't know. At one point, David, you were one of us, and although our memories have been muddied by drugs, some of us still remember you."

There had been times when patients had seemed to recognize him, David knew that. Yet the rest of the Court's explanation...it was impossible to believe. "So you're saying that I'm not a reporter, and that somewhere else I was some sort of...soldier?"

"Indeed. I cannot recall the nature of your life, but you are familiar to me. You fought for your friends and your country, and put honor above all else."

"So the Raven believes all the patients come from...another world?" David let out a laugh of shock. "That's crazy!"

"Yet your answers confirm for us that the theory is true. We are not mad, Mr. Kojima, and if we are, then everyone else is mad as well. You may not understand us now, but surely you know that the Mansion is not all it appears to be."

"He knows," grumbled a short figure. "He found the key after all on the night we struck out at Main. It's why one of our members is not up here with us- he had to borrow another's key to get into Mr. Kojima's room."

"We removed the key, so now it is where it properly belongs." The center figure cocked his head to the side, like an inquisitive bird. "You must understand the risk we have taken bringing you here and telling you this, Mr. Kojima. The last time we tried to do so, there were...disastrous consequences. Even if you don't believe us, keep our meeting here a secret, even from the blonde nurse you converse with frequently."

A redness crept over the reporter's face as the members of the Court rose from their places, throwing multiple shadows over the walls. "You may question our motives now, but in time we hope you will have your memories returned and see the truth we tell you, and know what to do."

"What to do?" Sensing an end to the meeting, David frantically began asking questions. "Wait, who is the Raven? Why are you going after Main? How come you have to keep it all a secret?"

"Not all can be revealed, David. You have to figure some out on your own- we have given you guidance, and now you must act. Let your curiosity guide you, and you will discover the answers."

"Please, just answer one last question. There's something I need to know."

The Starling Court looked at each other until the center figure nodded. "Very well. What is your question?"

"The nurse, Lyn...who really killed her?"

It was obvious this was an unexpected question, as one of the members laughed at the uncomfortable shuffling of the others. "Oh, that was the work of someone quite devious acting in the name of the Raven," the figure said flippantly. "It was a message to Main, and I think he understood it quite well. If you want to ask the one who did it, feel free to do so- after all, they were the one who brought you here to us."

Someone moved out of the corner of David's eye before he had time to react, giving him a glimpse of dark eyes before another blow to the head knocked him back into the realm of unconsciousness.

This time, David awoke in more pleasant and familiar circumstances. As he slowly felt himself come to, he opened his eyes to see that he was back in his tiny room, lying on top of his cot. The outside was still dark, but it felt closer to dawn than the middle of the night. He couldn't see much else due to his glasses being missing from his face, so with a groan he fumbled around and tried to remember how they had gotten off his face in the first place.

That was when he remembered the events of the night.

For a moment he paused, glasses in hand (having been found on top of the backpack next to his bed), as he wondered if everything had really happened. Had all of it- the Starling Court, the questions, the answers- had that all been a dream? It made sense since he has woken up in his bed...but he couldn't trust his dreams anymore. The line between reality and fantasy had somehow been blurred, and perhaps now it was time for answers to be found.

His head throbbed as he stood up and thrusted on his glasses before stumbling to the door and out into the hallway. A little moonlight still lit his path down the stairs, but also struck a sense of déjà vu within him as he spotted the chandelier. The last time he had ventured down these stair at night was when Lyn had been brutally murdered, a night that felt like so long ago. Tonight however there were no corpses to bring back the memories of that evening, which gave David a sense of relief.

Yet, there was a ray of light spewed across the hall floor, emanating from the direction of the sunroom. Surprisingly, the door was slightly ajar, and David could hear the sound of someone humming from within. "Who the hell...?" David left the question hanging in the air as he slowly crept over to the door and pushed it open, half cautious but also curious at the same time.

A single light was turned on in the room, making up for the lack of sunlight that gave the room its name. It shone brightly on the room's sole occupant, who looked up from the checker board at David's surprised face in the doorway. "Ah, Mr. Kojima," the giant rumbled, "I thought you'd show up. Come in, don't be shy. It's a good thing I set up the checkers, eh? Sit, sit, let's play a game."

David hesitated, then went to join Gann as he quietly remarked, "Sam said you were drugged."

"Oh I was, but once again the dosage was too light." Gann chuckled as David sat down opposite him. "I heard about Sam and Zelda's game however- no surprise Sam got offended, she and Zelda never exactly got along. Sounds like you had an interesting experience."

"It's not the only one I had."

"Really? Do go on."

"I know you took me from my room this evening, and brought me to the Starling Court."

Gann's smile suddenly looked less friendly to the reporter. "What gave it away, the eyes? Nevermind, that's the least important announcement you have, I can tell. No, you have something else to tell me, don't you?"

"I've been thinking, about certain things that have been happening lately," David muttered in a low voice, "and I think I've figured something out, something important I should have seen earlier."

There was a dangerous glint in the giant's dark eyes as he asked, "And what might that important revelation be?"

"Simple." David moved a single black checker as he looked Gann in the eye. "I think you're the Raven."

I can already hear some of you screaming at that ending-heheheh. ;) Is his revelation right? You'll find out next chapter.

Fun fact time: the Starling Court were actually one of the original components of the draft I began for SM back in October, and they predate the Raven's inception by a month. In fact, the idea for the Court was changed very little from my creation of the idea to their current form, making it the most consistent idea of SM thus far. Their purpose changed a bit once the Raven was added in, but otherwise they're pretty much the same.

For those of you keeping tabs on the music that inspires each chapter, this one was written to "In the Courts of the Crimson Kings", by King Crimson (which isn't on iTunes, but is on Youtube if you ever get curious and decide to listen). While typing this up (since I typed 2/3 of the update in one day), the song "Stone" by Alice in Chains gave it a bit of a gritty nature, which I wasn't expecting, yet thought it suited it nicely in the end.

Since summer is nearly here that means updates will (hopefully) be arriving a little sooner since I will have more time to work on each one. To be on the safe side, you might want to follow this fic if you have an account, so that you can always stay on top of the latest updates during the summer. Leaving a review wouldn't hurt either...

Until next time!