Hello once again, my dear readers!

Well, summer's fully under way now, and that means I have a bunch of time to relax (hahaha...not really, I have summer work and things I must focus on, unfortunately)! However, it does mean I have more time to focus on chapter writing- in fact, this was by far the quickest chapter update I've ever done! I'm putting this one out early for a few reasons, mainly because it's a big chapter, and also because I'll be taking a vacation break around the time the chapters usually update. So surprise surprise, you all get a lovely update now instead of later. :)

This chapter has been my favorite to write, and I've been waiting since December to write it- it actually was one of the first solid ideas I had concerning this story, along with the Starling Court, Dr. Soloro, and David's arrival on the island. It's a little graphic, but easily skippable if you don't like violence. You'll also learn an interesting story behind one of the patients in the Asylum...

Alright, I'll cut the chitter chatter now. Enjoy this new chapter, and don't forget to REVIEW/FAVORITE/FOLLOW/SHARE! I'm almost at 50 reviews, so the more the merrier!

*Nintendo owns everything*

Chapter Nine: A Time for Action

If David believed the plan to get the key for the library was going to be easy, he was quickly shown otherwise. Dr. Isaac Soloro, his target, seemed to never rest, as David observed over the course of a few days in order to plan out his method. The young man was always on the move, snapping at people and dealing out the patients' dosages with a grimace- it was surprising the man found time to eat or sleep. He also seemed highly suspicious of anyone who wasn't himself, even glaring at the reporter from time to time, as if he could see the thought swirling around his head. Getting him to cough up the key was going to be the trickiest part of Gann's plan.

It wasn't just Soloro who David watched, however: Miles was now given more attention after the revelation of his past had come to light. The reporter had known something seemed weird about the albino chef, but now the man's quiet demeanor and cold eyes held new meaning. He couldn't be trusted as long as he was loyal to Main, and now he posed a silent threat to what could happen if David's plan went wrong. Even the Raven seemed to see the chef as an uncertain variable, for the night after Gann's talk a tapped message had echoed through David's room. Be wary of Miles, it had warned, for although he has been tamed by Main, he can still bite. No other guidance or words of wisdom had followed over the course of the next few days, which wasn't a surprise. After all, there was only a single goal: get the key and go to the third floor.

How David was going to do so was another matter entirely.

On the fifth day after his meeting with the Starling Court, David made his way into the sunroom as he always did. Ignoring the typical glare Isaac threw his way, he took the familiar route to his spot on the worn-down couch, which he noticed had become to be left unoccupied, as if in preparation for his coming. Sitting down, he opened his notebook and smirked slightly as he examined the various small notes and diagrams that he had jotted down during his time at the Mansion. While he had originally planned to use the notebook for his story, it now served the purpose of containing all the things he had learned from his time here. Could it be used for his story? Well, yes, but if he wrote a story on the truth of the Mansion, who would believe him? Better yet, why should he write a story if the Raven was telling the truth about his past? As long as the Mansion held mysteries, he was going to have to put the story on hold.

The sound of squishing fabric didn't cause David to divert his attention; he already knew whom it was sitting across from him on the ottoman. "Hello, Gann."

"Hello, David. Make any progress yet?"

"No, nothing yet."

The giant man sighed in disappointment. "There isn't much time to act, you know. You're supposed to leave the island when the boat returns in ten days."

David hadn't realized time had slipped by so fast, but he was relieved there was still some time left. However, a question weighed on his mind concerning his eventual departure. "Do you really think Main will let me leave? After all, if he thinks I'm a threat to the Mansion, I doubt I'll be able to walk out of here with simply a wave goodbye."

Gann had an answer immediately. "I think he'll kill you first, which is why we need to act soon."

The two were silent for a moment, perhaps trying not to imagine the possible consequences if they ran out of time. Then, before they could let more dark futures fill their heads, Sam plopped down beside David with her usual maniacal smile. "Hello Steve and Gann! You two are looking down in the dumps today."

"We were merely thinking, Samantha," Gann muttered as he looked at the empty checkerboard in front of him. He hadn't played the game since David had bested him on the night of their conversation, and it was as if the gaming spirit had been sucked out of him by his loss.

"Thinking? Doesn't it hurt your head to think that hard?" Seeing the dark look the giant gave her, Sam quickly backtracked to avoid his anger. "Sorry, only joking. Tell me though, why all the secrecy? You two plotting something?"

Gann and David shared a glance with each other, and then David quietly began, "The Raven wants me to access the third floor of the Mansion."

Sam's nose wrinkled at this. "I think the Raven's actually insane on this one- or lazy, since they can't just go up there by themselves. How are you even supposed to get there- let me guess, by teleporting?"

"The only way to get up there is through the library, and the only way to get into there is with the key to the doors...which Dr. Soloro keeps on himself at all times."

The two men and the blonde stole a quick look at Dr. Soloro, who was administering a cocktail of drugs to one of the patients. A low whistle came from Sam. "Jeez, that's going to be rough then."

"That's an understatement." David pushed his glasses back on his nose and focused on the head doctor with a studying glare. Isaac had been nothing but rude and disrespectful to him since his arrival, and he constantly seemed to want to make David feel guilty about something, even when there was absolutely nothing for him to feel guilty about. It was infuriating to say the least, and sometimes all David wanted to do was deck him. Yet, he couldn't- there was too much at stake to lose his temper over, especially at this moment. "Soloro doesn't seem to take any breaks," he said as he pulled his thoughts back to the current task. "It's as if he's some sort of robot."

"An evil robot with a medicinal degree," Gann grimly added as Sam snickered. The sound of her quiet laughter seemed to jar something in his thoughts however, for he turned to Sam with a gleam in his eye.

The self-proclaimed bounty hunter saw the look. "Oh hell no. I am not charming Dr. Sleaze over there into coughing up the key!"

"I wouldn't dare suggest such a thing!"

"Then tell me why you have that 'crazed Dark Lord with a plan' look in your eyes."

Thankfully, David realized what Gann was actually thinking about. "Sam," he interrupted, "I think what Gann is trying to say is that you constantly get into trouble with Soloro. If there's any one person who would know how to get the key from him, it would most likely be you."

Sam tilted her head to this side in contemplation, allowing for her bangs to cascade from one side of her face to the other. "Well, he usually hangs around here to keep an eye on things or drag up the patients. Sometimes he goes to the medical room for a break, but that place is crawling with doctors and nurses, so getting the key there would be impossible. I think the only real way to get it would have to involve some sort of distraction to take his mind off the key."

"True, but how can we distract him when he's always occupied?" David felt the enormity of their predicament wash over him like a tidal wave as he buried his hands in his hands. "It's impossible. There's just no way something like this can be done."

Someone patted him gently on the shoulder. "Hey, don't throw in the towel yet, David." He looked up at Sam in surprise- she had never called him David before- as she continued, "It's not impossible. Think about it- so many things have happened already, and you've barely batted an eye at any of them. Dammit, you're a reporter! You should be able to take the impossible and make us believe it's possible, even if it isn't! You still have a chance to stop Main, and we can help. Just please don't give up yet...not when everyone is counting on you."

David realized at that moment that all the patients had their eyes fixed on him, even in their various levels of drugged consciousness. He looked silently around the room at all the staring faces, and his mind struggled as various feeling of familiarity overcame him. Somehow, these patients all seemed so familiar, as if he had known them for a longer time than he actually had. Could it be due to the past life supposedly locked away in his mind, as the Raven believed? His eyes met the cool and steady gaze of Zelda, who was shuffling a deck of cards and gave him a small nod of encouragement. Sam was right: all the patients were counting on him to do something about Main and the Mansion, and the Raven believed he was capable of doing it. His curiosity had led him here for a reason, and there was no way he could turn his back on it now.

"Okay, I won't give up. Yet, how will we get Soloro's key?"

The same mad look that David had seen in Sam's eyes on the first day resurfaced with a vengeance. "I think I can help with that." Without another word, she got up and walked away before falling over into a large chair. Giggling, she called out in a slurred voice, "Hey Soloro!"

The reporter had never seen the doctor flip round so fast, or the sunroom become so silent. Sam had a cheeky grin plastered across her face, obviously happy with how things were going so far. "Oh doctoooor, guess what I didn't take today!"

Soloro marched over with the precision of a drill sergeant and came to hover angrily over the young woman. "Miss Aran, I'm going to assume you haven't taken your medicine again?" He smiled darkly at his own question. "Is it time for you to pay another visit to Dr. Main?"

"But Isaac," Sam whined, "I brought you a present!"

This was an unexpected response, making Isaac frown. "A present? What do you mean?"

What occurred next was a moment that would remain cemented in everyone's minds long after the day had ended.

Sam struck with the lightning speed and efficiency of a viper, crossing the gap between herself and Soloro to connect her fist to the doctor's nose. There was obvious power packed into her punch, for her impact sent a mini shockwave through Isaac's face that actually caused his stiff spiked hair to shudder. The point of contact, Soloro's nose, let out a massive cracking sound as the bone snapped messily into heaven-knows how many pieces. Barely a second passed as Soloro raised a hand to his face in surprise, felt the warm tide of blood dripping down to his upper lip, and reeled back with a high-pitched cry of pure pain. He stumbled backwards and fell to the carpet, clutching his busted nose and muffling his screams as he turned away from Sam. She meanwhile looked down triumphantly, then knelt beside him and exclaimed "Surprise!" as she patted his pocket in mock sympathy.

David realized his mouth was hanging open from watching, but a quick look to Gann made him snap it closed. The giant didn't look pleased by what had occurred so far, and his eyes held an emotional energy that could be described as sorrow.

Suddenly, Soloro's moans of pain collected into an angry roar, and he shambled to his feet with blood coating his face. His own hand surged forward and struck Sam across the face, knocking her to the floor with a thud. She hissed in pain, and those watching saw that there was a bloody handprint smeared across her cheek, where Isaac had marked her. "You bitch!" Isaac snarled as he stood over her now, the tables having turned to his favor. "I think someone needs to teach you your place here once and for all!"

The doctor delivered a savage kick to the blonde, making David nearly jump to his feet as she cried out. Gann quickly placed his hand on David's arm, encasing it in an iron grip and preventing him from acting as Soloro kicked Sam again and again. David forced himself to block out the blood and yelling, while wondering why no one was stopping this violence. He couldn't act, for that would only draw the attention to him and possibly make Isaac angrier. Had this been Sam's plan all along, or had something gone horribly wrong down the line?

"Enough, Isaac."

The young doctor froze as he prepared for another kick, his breath coming in heavy gasps as he looked up slowly at Rosalina in the doorway. She strode forward and glanced briefly at his injuries, then quietly murmured, "That's enough. Come, let's get you cleaned up."

"This patient needs to be dealt with-"

"I'll take her to the restraint room."

Miles drifted into the sunroom like a ghost, as if vainly chasing his voice from moments before. His red eyes lingered no David for a second, sending a feeling of cold fear through the reporter's veins, before he turned to look at Sam. "She will be a model patient once she spends some time in the restraint room. I'll see to her punishment personally."

Sam whimpered softly, and Rosalina looked concerned but nonetheless replied, "So be it. Take her there- I'll attend to Dr. Soloro."

Miles gave a single nod, and scooped Sam us with ease as if she weighed nothing. Humming a nameless tune to himself, he appeared almost gleeful as he ventured back out and ignored the watching eyes.

Rosalina handed a handkerchief to Isaac, who pressed it against his nose with more moans of pain as the nurse helped him walk to the doorway. She paused for a moment to look back and catch David's eye to announce, "The Master wishes to see you in his office, Mr. Kojima. I was on my way to fetch you when...this all occurred. I believe you can find your way there without my help." She didn't wait for his reply, and left the room, with a few nurses and doctors entering after her to monitor the patients.

David was surprised by her order, but then he remembered Main had cameras here in the room, giving him a view of the goings on each and every day. Suddenly the conversation he had shared with Gann a few nights before was thrown into doubt. Had Main seen it, and decided to question him about it? The camera behind him seemed to fill up the entire room with its watchful eye, and David walked to the door while feeling its glare-and the glare of the Master- bearing down on him.

Gann watched him go, and then sadly shook his head. He rose with a sigh of disappointment, and gazed down at the carpet. For all of David's observant skills and habits, he had failed to notice the small brass key lying on the bloodstained carpet, the one thing Sam had gone to all the trouble to get...

Plop!

David had barely spent a minute in Main's office when the sound of something hitting the Master's desk echoed through the silence. A familiar cough soon followed as David paused in the middle of the room. "Greetings, Mr. Kojima," Main announced, with his frail voice somehow filling the room as if he was yelling. "I'm sorry you had to bear witness to that display of violence from one of our patients. Like I said before, they cannot be trusted to be calm- after all, they are in this asylum for a reason."

There was no mention of Soloro's beating to Sam, but David knew this wouldn't be mentioned, and it was best not to bring it up. Main, as David had come to realize, was the type of person who told you half-truths and the facts he wanted people to know. The other details were tossed casually to the side, out of the way of prying eyes and those seeking the complete truth. It kept him in control, but now the reporter knew Main's control was beginning to slip as the days passed.

Taking a seat in front of the Master's desk and his chair (still turned toward the window), David kept his distrust of Main under wraps as he noticed a manila folder lying on the desk. "What's this?"

"Take a look. It's something you might find highly interesting."

Something about Main's tone made David cautious, but he picked up the folder and opened it in puzzlement. Inside were pages of handwritten notes, piled carefully underneath a single black and white folder of a beaming man and woman. The woman, who had light hair cut into a short fashion, cradled a small bundle in her arms, while the dark-haired man was dressed in a military uniform and seemed a little older than his female companion. The two wore wedding bands that signified they were husband and wife, and their happiness was apparent from the smiles on their faces. While David did not initially recognize anyone in the picture, the longer he stared at it, the more he felt like he knew the woman being shown. Then he realized...he had seen those eyes before, only they had been filled with madness and insanity. "Is this...?"

"This is Samantha Mya Aran, in a photograph taken three years ago outside her home." Main broke into a rough cough and then continued to explain. "The man beside her is Adam Malkovitch, her husband. If you noticed, she is holding a baby- her newborn child, Mettie. The picture was taken a few months before Miss Aran was brought into our care, and it remains the last photo of the three together. Now, let me tell you about Miss Aran.

'Samantha Aran's parents died when she was very young, in a burglary gone wrong. Because she had no other relatives, she was sent to a military boarding school in the mainland mountains, where she received training on discipline and fighting skills. It was obvious to her instructors that she was a highly gifted student, and so when she was old enough to leave the boarding school, she was fast tracked to the military academy to complete her training. While there, she met a commanding officer- Adam Malkovitch. He made many reports on how Samantha's attitude and independent spirit got her into trouble, but it seems as though the two grew close over the course of their time in the Academy. After a few years, Miss Aran retired from military life, married Mr. Malkovitch, moved into a little house in the suburbs, and started a family. Adam continued his military work, she took up a job as a part-time bounty hunter until her child was born, and their life seemed perfect."

'Of course, perfection is nothing more than a vain fantasy concocted by those who truly don't know what's going on. On September 23rd, Samantha Aran, for reasons unknown, lost her sanity. According to police reports, she attacked her child with a knife after her husband had left for work, and killed it. Realizing too late what she had done, she called her husband and left a single message: 'The baby...the baby.' Adam left work and rushed home, and upon entering the house and finding their child brutally murdered, confronted his wife. They both had guns on them, and when he reached for his, she shot him seven times in the chest at point blank range. He died before authorities, alerted by panicked neighbors, could act. Samantha Aran was charged with the murder of her family, but when it was found that she was unfit to stand trial, she was sent here instead, and here she has remained."

No other words came from the reporter, who stared at the photo in shock as Main hissed, "You cannot trust them, Mr. Kojima. They are not innocent, simple-minded fools- they are criminals of the worst sort. This is the purpose of this place- to keep regular people like you protected from dangerous criminals such as these. Keep that in mind as you write. You came to learn the truth, and here is the truth: Anyone can end up here. It could be a gang member, it could be a housewife, and it could even be a curious reporter. Treasure your sanity, Mr. Kojima, and believe me when I tell you that you do not want to get involved with these types of people."

The veiled threat wasn't lost on David, who managed to growl out, "Is there anything else I should know?"

"No," said Main simply. "Just thought you should know some of the facts. Be on your way- you don't have much longer here...and David? Be sure to watch yourself."

Whether he was talking about the patients or himself was ambiguous, and David left the office in a state of confused dread. Main obviously knew what he was up to, and seemed determined to sway his thought. All the evidence during his time at the Mansion had pointed to Main being right in everything he said- how else would there be pictures of Sam, even though she claimed she never lived a life like that? She had never talked about her past, and perhaps this was the reason why: at the end of the day, it was better to think of herself as Samus the bounty hunter than as Samantha the murderer. Yet, some part of him wanted to believe she was right, for it was the only way it could explain his strange dreams and missing memories.

Suddenly, David saw something lying at the foot of the hallway staircase, glinting dully in the light of the afternoon sun. He knelt down to pick it up, and found it was a small brass key, with a piece of paper tied to it that read:

She did this for you. Don't let her down.

His hand shook slightly as he recognized the writing to be that of Gann's, and he closed his fingers tightly around the gift as Sam's earlier words came to mind. Sane or not, these patients were counting on him, and he couldn't give up now, not after he had come so far and learned so much. The reporter had chosen his side, and now he had to follow through with what that choice meant. Sam had put herself in harm's way to help him, and crazy or not, it was something he couldn't ignore.

Rising, he looked over at the locked doors to the library, which seemed to loom ominously in the shadows.

It was finally time for action, and to uncover the mystery of the Mansion of the Mentally Smashed.

It was time to pay a visit to the third floor.

With this chapter, we're going to move into more shocking cliffhangers and revelations, so hold onto your hats, because this fic is about to get interesting! Make sure you favorite/follow this so you can get a lovely email notification, and it won't hurt to leave a review while doing so. :)

Mucho thanks to all the loyal readers and reviewers out there who have stuck by Smashed Minds since the beginning- I know it's definitely not a popular fic (the fact that 1,000 people have viewed chapter 1, and only around 300 each viewed the other chapters tells me something :P), but it's great to know so many of you think it's good! I appreciate your loyalty, and I look forward to seeing and hearing more of your opinions with each coming chapter.

Until next time, enjoy your summer and read on!