Hello, dear readers!

I want to apologize for taking so long for this chapter- I've been very busy as of late, and I just haven't had time to sit and type for a long period of time. But here it is, at long last! :) I have a feeling many of you will be shocked by this one...

Once again, thank you to everyone who has been reviewing/following/favoriting/sharing this fic! It's been almost a year since I began writing Smashed Minds, and while we're almost at the end, I'm glad I was able to write something that so many seem to enjoy.

I don't want to go on and on, so I'll begin the chapter now. Enjoy!

*Nintendo owns all*

Chapter Twelve: To The Edge

The sharp crack of the gunshot banished away whatever Main was about to say, and time seemed to slow to a crawl. David didn't flinch at the sound like the others did, but turned slowly to stare at the source of the noise that made his ears ring.

Zelda gave a small, sharp gasp, as she shakily looked down at the blooming red stain spreading through her blue pajamas at her abdomen. She did her best to remain calm however, as she tilted her head back to look at Isaac Soloro, who still kept a firm grip on her arm despite the gun in his other hand. "Why?" she whispered softly, a note of pain entering her voice and causing it to crack.

"Because I am tired," Soloro replied grimly, "of not getting answers."

"Then you are a bigger fool than I realized," Zelda rasped. Her shaking knees gave out at that moment and she crumpled to the floor, as the growing tide of blood began to seep onto the floor.

Rosalina stared at the brunette patient's body as the life was slowly bleeding out of her, and as if he had read her mind, Isaac turned the gun on both her and Sam. "Don't move," he growled with a cold look in his eyes. "You can't save her, no matter how good of a nurse you are. She'll bleed out before you even have time to pull out a bandage."

"Isaac, what are you doing?" Main had a tone of bewilderment buried in the creak of his voice, as if he couldn't understand what was happening in his office.

"Isn't it obvious, Main? I'm finished with being in the dark about everything. Now I'm only doing what needs to be done." The head doctor pointed the gun at the back of his master's chair. "You are frail and pitiful, paranoid and useless, and all you do is worry over the Raven and yet find nothing about who it is." Lowering his voice to a deadly murmur, Isaac continued, "Zelda was once again just a piece of the puzzle- she was as useless as Peach was. Once again you've guessed wrong...and now I'm tired of being wrong."

"Isaac-"

"Don't! Don't defend yourself, Main, or I swear I'll shoot you just like I did with her! What would happen then, hm? Your lovely little plan, banished by a single bullet...would everything cease to exist? Would we have to keep giving everyone drugs day in and day out? You're just as insane as the others here, and I cannot believe it took me years to realize that, that we are all being led by a complete madman."

"Isaac." David didn't know how he managed to speak in the tough moment, but his voice wormed its way into the tense atmosphere. "Put down the gun."

Dr. Soloro chuckled low in his throat, and shook his stiff blond hair. "Ah Mr. Kojima- I knew you were going to be trouble when I first saw you here. You have that troubling gleam in your eye, the kind that signifies you're too curious for your own good. I thought you were the Raven once, on the night I discovered you at the site of Lynn's death, but I wasn't completely wrong. You have to be working for the Raven, because you're just as crazy as the rest of the others here. All of you speak of 'other lives' and 'another world', but that is nothing more than madness."

"How can you deny it when you've seen what you were before-?"

"Lies!" Soloro screamed, making the others jump as he flipped the gun to face David with a shaking hand. "I know they're lies! That's why I have learned to suppress those traitorous memories, because they're nothing more than lies. Everyone here lies to me, hides from me, and I am done with it. I am in control now, I'm the leader here...in fact, I should start by killing all of you, starting with you first, Mr. David Kojima."

Sam made a shocked sound in the back of her throat, and the light of realization flickered dully in Isaac's murderous eyes. "No...Wait, I have an even better idea."

"Don't you dare!"

At that moment, as David made a move to take down Isaac- regardless of the gun in his hands- several things occurred in rapid succession, beginning with Soloro violently shoving David out of the way. The reporter crashed to the ground and felt his head smack the floor as someone screamed. There was the sound of wood grinding against stone, and a subtle click as something snapped into place, then the pounding beat of footsteps and muffled curses resounded before fading into the distance. His head ached from where it had made contact with the floorboards, but David forced himself to raise it with a groan. Blinking back the white spots dancing before his eyes, he blindly asked "What just happened?"

Miles let out an angry curse, having been knocked over the back of the couch in the confusion. "Soloro took off with Sam- when I tried to stop him, he shoved me out of the way before I could even act."

Oh, not Sam, David thought as his shock was overcome by fury. He rose to his feet slowly, eyes fixed on Main's desk as he uttered, "Main, see what you-" A shocked gasp broke his words in two as he noticed that Main's leather chair was turned to face him...and was completely empty. "Where the hell did he go?!"

"He escaped," came a quiet murmur, as Rosalina quietly lifted herself off of the floor. "There's a hidden passage under his desk that he installed, in the event he couldn't leave the office. I was never told where it goes, but he's probably locked it from the other side by now."

"Damn." David stared once more at the chair, then at the nurse. "Did he hurt you?"

"Soloro? No, he shoved me to get to Sam." Bitterness entered her voice as she added, "I didn't think Isaac would do such a terrible thing."

"It...Will only end...when Main is dealt with."

In the chaos, David had forgotten about the first of Soloro's victims, who still managed to somehow cling to life. Rosalina swooped down beside Zelda, ignoring the fact that she was kneeling in a growing pool of the woman's own blood. "Sssh," she comforted the woman, "It's alright."

"I'm sorry," Zelda coughed, drawing up fresh blood and staining her lips and face a dark red, "I knew serving the Raven...would have its consequences." Her head rotated to look straight into David's eyes, as her gasping breaths became more labored. "Not so long ago I told you ...that you would one day make a choice, David Kojima. I knew...I knew that somehow you were one of us, and the Raven knew too. It is why they made me act...made me try to guide you. It is nearly time for you to choose- to choose just what and who you are. Go. Stop Soloro. Find the Court and put an end to Main's madness...and return us home." Faintly, she smiled, and her voice dulled to merely a whisper. "Can you hear that? I hear a song, once carried on the breeze of my homeland...a song a young boy would play, a song that lulled me to sleep when I was just a girl...a song of hope."

With a shuddering breath, the light faded from Zelda's eyes, and she lay still and silent. No one moved for a moment as the solemn beauty of her last words hung between them all, until Rosalina choked out in an emotion-filled voice, "She was right. You have to stop Soloro before he causes any more harm."

"But Main-"

"Main can wait. Your friend is in danger, and right now, she needs you. Do what has to be done, but make sure he pays for his actions."

The nurse wouldn't look up from Zelda's body, but David could see the streaks of tears escalating down her face. "I can't guarantee he'll listen to reason. But I know that Zelda didn't deserve to die like this, and neither does Sam. I can't promise to obey Zelda's wishes...but I'll do what needs to be done."

Motioning to Miles, David began to stride out of the office, but a quiet statement from Rosalina made him freeze halfway out the door. "You know, I remember you, David Kojima. I remembered you on the first day I met you." He turned to give her a questioning glance as she gathered herself upright, her uniform stained red and standing out against her nearly-white hair. "You are the only one capable of stopping Main- you haven't been weakened by his drugs like the rest of us have."

"Why didn't you say something the first day?"

"You wouldn't have believed me if I told you the truth about this place. Now, go, save your friend...and please, come back alive."

David didn't have to be told twice. With a nod, he raced out of the room along with Miles, leaving the bloodstained nurse alone with only her thoughts and the still figure of Zelda.

The front door of the Mansion was wide open, letting in a bitter chill from the still-dark land outside, which was slowly becoming visible as the daylight hinted at its arrival. Rather than head outside, however, David veered off towards the sunroom, making Miles cry out in surprise. "Wait! What are you doing?!"

The reporter paid no attention to his companion as he pushed open the sunroom doors, casting light onto the still silhouette of Gann standing by the windows. The giant turned and stiffened in surprise as David announced, "Gann, we need your help."

Gann's dark eyes narrowed and his meaty fists clenched. "I see Miles is with you. Has he changed sides, or he is still working as Main's pawn?"

"No, he's changed...I've changed too."

Understanding dawned in the giant, as he regarded David in a new perspective. "Ah, I see it now- you carry yourself differently than before. There is more strength in your walk and attitude. You found out who you really are...but what of the third floor?"

"The Raven and Sam were right all along: Main confused our memories with his drugs, and I somehow didn't end up with the rest of you when he performed his experiment that brought you all here."

"I knew it," Gann softly muttered to himself, then asked, "But where is Sam now?"

"That's why we need your help. Sam and I were captured, and she was brought to Main's office by Dr. Soloro. But Soloro snapped, killed Zelda, and took off with Sam...and we need your help to get her back."

The giant looked at both men, and David could see that he was stunned that Zelda had been taken from the world. Then, he turned back to the window in a cold move. "You shouldn't have come here- I can't help you, and I certainly cannot help Sam."

"What? No, we need you to help!"

"You're the one who should help her, not me. I'm no hero, David."

"You're not a villain either," David muttered, as he stepped further into the room and right up to Gann, to stare him straight in his ice-cold eyes. "You might have been back before you came here, and you've haven't always done the acceptable thing, but when I look at you I don't see a villain. I see someone who doesn't question what they have to do, who helps people no matter the consequences, and who knows how to act and take charge in tough situations. That doesn't sounds like a villain to me."

"I can't change who I am-"

"Of course you can- Main did, Miles did, hell, even I did! You still can make amends for your past, Gann."

Gann uttered not a word, but turned and took a long look at David. "Do you know who I was before, Mr. Kojima?"

"...I do now: you were Ganondorf, a force of great evil, reborn time after time to oppose the light of the world."

"...and you think I can change despite all of that?"

"I'm sure of it."

A gigantic green-gray hand grasped David's shoulder. "I was wrong about you, David," Gann rumbled. "I told you that you weren't a hero...but now I see you truly are. I will help you, and Sam. I know this won't make up for the things I have done...but I hope it means something in the end. Now, lead the way. It is time to give Soloro exactly what he deserves."

The cold bite of the outside air dug into David's bones, wrapping their icy fingers into his very soul as the three men dashed outside. Plumes of their breath could barely be seen in the approaching daylight, but the misty before dawn atmosphere gave them enough vision to see the footprints scattered in the mud. Gann kept himself from cursing aloud in anger as he spoke up, "We need to follow these- he can't have gotten too far!"

"Why did he even go out here?" David wondered aloud, being careful not to trip over the occasional rock as he picked his path over the hills, following the murderer's footsteps.

"He's trying to lure us out," Miles realized. "Isaac wants us to play his little game."

Suddenly, David cried out, for near one of the nearby rocky edges stood a figure. The three dashed to meet him, but stopped a few feet away, as Soloro regarded them balefully. He held a gun to the shaking, wide-eyed head of Sam, and a waxy grin eclipsed his usual stoic features. The bandages on his bruised nose made him look even more chaotic than usual, and a nosebleed had apparently started, for a small drop of blood was halfway between his nose and lip. No one moved, giving the doctor a chance to yell above the sound of crashing waves, "So, it has come to this, has it?"

Sam locked eyes with David, and in them he saw not fear, but anger. He sighed inwardly at her courage, but merely said aloud, "It doesn't have to be this way."

"Oh Mr. Kojima," Isaac clucked in mock sympathy, "I'm afraid it does have to end this way. The game is up. Nothing can be trusted- after all, everything I've heard is wrong."

"Main lied to you, Isaac," said Miles. "But all we want is to go home, and to feel like ourselves again. We won't lie to you."

"Oh, I know Main is a liar. He had me and the other members of the staff take his drugs at the very beginning, but I never questioned it. I was always the most loyal member of his staff, and that loyalty earned me nothing!"

Soloro yelled the last word and made Sam jump slightly, which the doctor noticed. "Shhh, he cooed, tracing the muzzle of the gun over the bruises and angry red cuts on her face. "Look at this- you're finally in your place. You always made things so difficult, but now you won't have to anymore."

"Don't you dare hurt her!"

"Oh shut up, Kojima- what's she to you anyway?" Isaac fixed David with a cruel, punishing glare as he continued. "Who do you think you are anyway? Some kind of soldier? Well, why don't we see what you really are, right now." Keeping a grip on the bounty hunter, the doctor placed the gun on the ground and kicked it over to David, while moving closer to the cliff edge. "Shoot me then, if you think you can do it."

The gun felt cold and alien in David's hands, but somewhere in the back of his mind, a feeling of familiarity set in. He had done this before, held a gun to some crazed madman, only he had done so as Solid Snake. Here, he was hesitant to shoot this man, hesitant to operate a small object with such dire consequences. If he missed, he could end up hurting Sam, or have Dr. Soloro hurt her if he didn't act.

The familiar wolfish smile glittered on Isaac's face, as he sensed the indecision. "Having second thoughts already, are we, Soldier-Boy?"

Wordlessly, thumb shaking slightly, David pulled back the safety.

Isaac did not seem to mind the ominous sound- if anything, he relished it. "So I was right," he hissed triumphantly, noting the shaking hands of the former spy. "You are just like the others, believing in something you cannot prove. You're weak."

"David," Gann managed to mutter above the angry sounds of the waves, "give me the gun. I have no problem putting him down."

Although before he would have happily complied, David knew that this test was meant for him alone, and that he had to pass. Sam stared him down in silence, but her eyes begged for him to shoot, even if he ended up hurting her in the process. Yet, he didn't feel right taking the life of another man...but Soloro had murdered Zelda. He was vicious and a murderer, and he would do such callous acts again and again unless someone stopped him, whether by killing him or making him see the error in his ways. "It doesn't have to be like this. We can help you- we want to defeat Main, and it seems like you do too. There's no reason for this."

"Shut up!" The doctor screamed, his eyes wild with fury. "You are no soldier, or spy, or hero- you're just a reporter who can't keep his nose out of places where it doesn't belong! You and everyone else on this damn island are crazy, and I'm the only sane one left." A bubble of laughter billowed out of his chest, as he continued to scream, "You are weak, just like Main! You don't even have the guts to-"

Bang!

Soloro stopped laughing with a choked cry, as he jerked forward. His grasp on Sam fell away, allowing her to scramble away from the edge of the cliff face and behind David. The doctor fell weakly to his knees and looked at the blossoming spot of red just around his right shoulder, then looked back to David and his still smoking gun. "You..." he whispered, fear tinting his words, "You really..."

"Believe me, Isaac," David replied in a deadly rumble, "I have the guts."

They stared at each other for another second, and then Isaac collapsed face down with a groan and sigh. David immediately dropped the gun, feeling an overwhelming emptiness swallowing him up inside. He had killed a man- an unstable, terrible man, but a human being all the same. Even if he had killed people in his previous life, here it was something he was unfamiliar with.

Slowly, as if he was emerging from a long sleep, he sensed the others around him were talking. "Did he hurt you, Sam?"

"No, he just dragged me out here- I think his plan was to toss me over the...hey, is David alright?

"David." The familiar massive fist landed on his shoulder, and David didn't have to turn to see who it was, but did anyway. The giant could be barely seen in the little light, but loomed over him almost menacingly. "You did what had to be done."

"I know, but it feels so wrong..."

"Yet you will still need to take care of Main. Think about that. This will have to be done again...and you cannot hesitate or let your conscious get the better of you if you must act."

The giant was right: this would not be the last time he would have to make a choice. Zelda had said it before, and so had the Raven. More choices lay ahead, and they would not cease until Main was taken care of. He had no choice but to embrace his previous life, and carry on, bearing his burdens and making use of all he had learned while at the Mansion. That was the only way.

He sighed, and under his breath quietly remarked, "You're right. I've taken the plunge...now it's time to see what happens next."

David turned around to walk back to the others, but at that moment Miles and Sam both let out a horrified cry. He heard an enraged snarl from behind him, and before he could react, he whirled about to see Soloro rushing at him, covered in his own blood. He held a syringe in his one hand, filled to the brim with Main's cocktail of choice, and at that second David glimpsed the true fires of insanity in Isaac's eyes.

Time seemed to stop. All sound rushed out as the doctor drew near.

Suddenly, David was pushed to the side by Gann, who rushed past him to meet Dr. Soloro head-on as a bellow of rage unleashed himself from his chest. He enveloped the doctor in a vice-like hug, pushing him backwards away from David and not stopping, even as he was stabbed again and again by the syringe held by his victim. Isaac howled in animalistic fury, and in that fleeting second David glimpsed a new feeling in Gann's eyes- the feeling of freedom, and of sacrifice. Then, the two were thrown together over the edge of the island, suspended for a moment in the balance between life and inevitable death, before they tumbled to the rocks below and were forever claimed by the sea.

Hard to believe it, but there's only one chapter left. Well, besides the epilogue and thank you page..but still! One chapter to go! And everything is still up in the air!

I'm expecting the next chapter to be released around Thanksgiving time, along with the epilogue and thanks page, so if you want to review and get on the page, this is your last chance to do so! I know it's a long time to wait for the end, but be patient- good things come to those who wait, after all. :)

Once again, thanks for reading this latest chapter, and don't forget to review/follow/favorite/share! I'll see you all at the close- until then, read on!