The Illusive Sheikah
Disclaimer: I do not own Super Smash Brothers. That goes to Nintendo. The only characters I own are those from the Golden Land, angels from Skyworld including the royal bodyguards, Angel Assembly and archangels along with all the other angels and of course the witch hunters.
Summary: Sheik was one of the most mysterious Smashers of the bunch. On one hand, Sheik was serious. On the other hand, Sheik was rather quirky. The Sheikah has a very good reason to act different according to everyone's expectations though.
Pairing: Sheik/Gretel with implied Rob/Shulk, Link/Zelda, Ganondorf/Palutena
Rated: T (for teen)
Genre: General, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Humor, Romance, Drama, Family and Angst
Warning: Swearing, character death, violence, identity crisis and unintentional OOC
I'm such trash. I have homework to do and here I am making my life a living hell with a quick ficlet of Sheik going into detail on his role in my Smash universe (with the gender being the obvious thing from the beginning). As the title suggests, I'm using the title the Boxing Ring gives the Smashers with a few exceptions. Enjoy!
Mystery
Sheik was the mysterious man that had appeared after Link had woken up from his seven year slumber to assist Link on his journey during the Time era. Sheik was known for his cryptic dialogue and beautiful music. It would surprise everyone in the mansion that this handsome man would be Zelda in disguise. This was true during the Melee days that people didn't suspect a thing during the Brawl era that Zelda and Sheik weren't the same person...only in the fourth tournament would it matter when the two were seen standing next to each other.
Harp
Sheik wasn't allowed to use his harp in Smash even though he had established that his harp could be a powerful tool for combat. Master Hand was aware of this and made sure Sheik relied on ninja tools instead of music. It wouldn't be fair for Sheik to change the element he used on the spot or distract his opponents with the most pleasant melody around.
Rival
Sheik only had one equal in Smash. That was the Queen of the Cosmos Rosalina. Whenever they fought in a tournament, it was always a last stock, last hit situation. Sheik had a 55% chance of winning while Rosalina had 45%. Sheik still considered their MU fairly even seeing as how Rosalina went all out on Sheik regardless if he was a mortal or not. Sheik was just glad that a Goddess deemed him a challenge when there were other more powerful opponents.
Question
"Are you a boy or a girl?"
Sheik got asked that a lot that he should have been used to it. Even if Sheik were to explain that the Sheik identity is male but is biologically female do to being an alter ego of Zelda, it would just go over everyone's head as they force a gender label on him.
"I am whatever you want me to be."
"Great! Then you're a squid!"
Sheik thought Toon Link was adorable, but he needed to be strangled for a comment like that.
Myself
Sheik was the character in Smash that had so many good matchups against the other characters. Sheik won the neutral game with ease, had a great off stage game and overall out prioritized everyone in Smash. It was no wonder that Sonic would make a joke that the only person that Sheik had problems fighting was himself.
"If Sheik knows how to fight Sheik, then no one can beat Sheik but Sheik!"
Sheik would make Sonic regret those words.
OP
Sheik had so many guarantee combos that one had to wonder why others bothered resisting him when they fought him in tournaments. When Gretel asked the Sheikah what the secret of his win streak, Sheik sarcastically retorted with this.
"I throw needles. I grab you, throw you forward and then fair, fair, fair. Oh, did you not get away from me? Grab again and fair, fair, nair. Oh, did you try to get back on the stage? I grab you with another fair string. Please stop being predictable. Down throw into vanish. My favorite zero to death combo."
Rain
The Song of Storms was Sheik's favorite song. In general many of the Smashers loved that song, but they were wary when Sheik played it on his harp especially during cloudy days. Sometimes, Sheik would forget that he was strong enough to influence the weather that raindrops would fall down from the sky while Sheik continued to play ignoring the dampness of his clothes.
At the very least, Gretel would show up and loan a sponge umbrella to the Sheikah.
Watcher
Sheik never felt a need to watch over Link seeing as it was a different Link from the Twilight era and the fact Link was fine on his own. Sheik has changed his target from Link to the male tactician Rob, who while aloof on the surface, would reveal to be a shy individual on the inside who did need someone to guide him through life. Sheik knew Rob had some trauma he could not help with, but at the very least he could soothe his troubled soul.
Expressing
Sheik was a man of few words. When he did speak, it was always in cryptic poetry. Sheik was better at expressing himself through music than anything else and would often be playing a melody on his harp when he had nothing better to do on days he didn't have to fight.
Sheik enjoyed annoying Hansel with his music especially when things didn't go well for him.
"Would you fucking stop playing like you're having a seizure?!"
Sheik simply played The Song of Healing to the point that his hands were a blur.
Dethroned
Sheik was always one step behind a lot of people back in the day. In the past, Fox, Falco and Marth were on the top. Sheik slacked off during Brawl due to his trauma. Now into the fourth season, Sheik is on top being able to dethrone Fox after so long and finally putting Diddy in his place for being so cheap that the audience demanded that Diddy got "nerfed" so that the matches would be enjoyable to watch.
The fact Sheik gets complaints but still manages to be stylish shows who the top dog in Smash 4 is.
Attraction
Sheik's music brought all the girls to the candy shop. Sheik refused to touch anything in the kitchen and just sat on the roof or inside the store playing different tunes all day. Gretel was fine with this seeing as how she didn't want to use her money to buy a radio and listen to background music from that contraption. There was one thing that Gretel found annoying though…
"Can you not be the center of attention? Your fangirls block the line to the store when you're standing in front of it."
"My apologies." Sheik would say even though he wasn't sorry.
Bandaged
Sheik nearly lost to Mario in the recent tournament. If Sheik lost after that huge comeback, then the Sheikah would never have lived it down. Sheik pulled through and won that major tournament, but only after having to work on someone who was not playing into his mind game.
"Really, you were reckless and barbaric out there today." Gretel mocked as she patched up an injury Sheik tried to hide from everyone. "Why do you even enjoy these games?"
"A challenge is good every once in awhile."
"Whatever you say." Gretel said with a sigh as she smacked Sheik's stomach afterward.
Bucket
Sheik was pushing things when he asked for Mr. Game and Watch as his partner for a doubles match. It was an odd combination that would soon be under fire when it turned out that Sheik was relying on the two dimensional figure to fill the bucket with his vanish and then just pouring the bucket onto someone immediately afterward.
Sheik thought it was worth getting kicked out of the Vegas tournament for the cheap tactics if it meant seeing Zelda incredibly flustered and salty.
Love
Sheik didn't think he was capable of falling in love seeing how he was created from Zelda in order to hide from Ganondorf. Now, he was without a purpose therefore wanted to fade away into the darkness. Upon meeting the witch hunter Gretel though, Sheik crawled back into the light and wanted to stay by her side. The Sheikah wondered if Gretel thought the same way seeing as how she allowed him to be a freeloader in her candy shop.
Grief
Whenever Gretel was killed in a timeline because of her job as a witch hunter, Sheik would mourn for her. Sheik wanted to help Rob who would drown his sorrows with alcohol at night when he thought no one was looking, but Sheik forced himself to not feel anything after losing someone he cherished dearly in the past. As a result, he would play the Song of Healing in the darkest of the night to soothe his soul. He prayed that this melody would reach Gretel wherever she died.
Similar
Sheik felt a connection with Gretel the minute he laid eyes on her. Gretel had gone through hardships like he had that forced her to be the person she is today. Unfortunately, this has caused her to gain a split personality as a coping mechanism. Hansel was similar to Sheik in that they were male personalities in a female body...of course Sheik couldn't get over how hedonist Hansel was especially with him. Hansel can whine all day about Sheik being a man, but the female body spoke 1000 words to him.
Contrast
Despite being roommates (and technically the same person), Zelda and Sheik were too different that it made one wonder why neither of them switched roommates. The two actually got along rather well especially during the Brawl era where they enjoyed messing with people on whether or not they were the same person or not. However, because Ganondorf brought the reality of the situation to light, Zelda decided to be serious from now on. Sheik remained quirky despite that, but it never bothered the Queen of Hyrule until recently where she noticed that Sheik's performance has been slipping. Whether it's due to the confectioner he met at the candy shop or due to personal issues, Zelda felt the need to confront her alter ego before he left to do his own thing. Because Sheik was avoiding the question, the two would end up fighting...or at least Zelda would be the one shouting at the Sheikah for his attitude problem.
"You are too eccentric and unpredictable!"
"And you never let your poker face fade even though nothing is out to get you in this realm. Your highness, I advise you to relax. You will turn out like me."
Zelda was rather taken back at these words. Never would she have imagined Sheik attempt to be so casual and rude toward her. Normally, Sheik would treat her with respect even if the two were the same people. At this moment, she felt offended by how her alter ego was acting toward her and snapped.
"Why would I even want to stay like that? The "Sheik" identity was created to protect myself, but you choose to remain a Sheikah instead of going back to being a member of royalty! Why would choose the life of a servant? And why do you think it is okay to disrespect me?!"
"I enjoy being myself."
There was a lie found in that statement that Zelda ended up pointing out.
"How could you enjoy being a Sheikah? You are also Zelda! That body is an illusion to your true self. Are you only staying Sheik because it gives you power in Smash or are you hiding from something else?"
The ninja did not feel the need to speak anymore afterwards. If Zelda kept prying, Sheik knew that something would slip about what he truly felt and he didn't want to cause a rift between him and Zelda despite this argument.
"...I am keeping Gretel waiting. Excuse me."
Zelda called out to her alter ego, but Sheik had already vanished.
"...I cannot believe I do not understand myself…" Zelda thought darkly as she sat on her bed and sighed. "I know this version of me is still grieving for her Link...but that Link is gone now and he passed down his skills down to the Hero of Twilight. Why do you refuse to accept the Link you know is gone?..."
Observation
Sheik was tasked with watching Ganondorf every move. He had brought Hyrule to ruin for seven years and it was Sheik's job to monitor him. In the mansion, there was no need for Sheik to watch over the King of Evil when the Goddess of Light had him on a leash. Sheik had to admire Palutena for being bold enough to befriend and romance the man that had gave everyone hell back home. The Sheikah's final observation about Ganondorf was that he was capable of not being the villain they knew him as.
Advice
Sheik had always been a wise individual that people went to for advice. Romance was not one of them seeing as how Sheik would play a song, give vague advice and then disappear. With Rob, he wanted to make things clear.
"Be true to yourself." Sheik began. "You let others create your personality when Shulk only desires the person in front of him."
Rob turned into a red tomato as a response. He didn't expect Sheik to be so straightforward.
Backstory
The two Zeldas in the mansion were from different timelines like how Link was from the Twilight era and Toon Link was from the Wind era. Zelda was also from the Twilight era, but this Sheik was from the Time era. In other words, Sheik was the original Zelda in Melee who arrived with Link during that time as a fighter. The Princess of Hyrule would transform into Sheik during battle to keep up with the best fighters. She and Link were inseparable during the Melee era that people didn't notice a thing when Brawl came around and she changed.
Because this Link was from the Twilight era, it was a foregone conclusion that the two Links that participated in the first two tournaments had died and Young Link had past his skills down to this version's Link leaving a heartbroken Zelda who could no longer go back to that time period if it meant never seeing Link again. To continue the legacy of the original Link, Sheik became the permanent personality for Smash. Master Hand was aware of this hence why he chose another Zelda to take the Time Zelda's place.
No one figured it out during the Brawl era because Zelda and Sheik made it a joke to never be together inside and outside of Smash. They played the game very well until Ganondorf exposed them as being two different people just to spite them. Sheik was ashamed of himself for hiding this from the Smashers especially Marth who did not take the death of the Time's Link's death well. The Twilight Link had a completely different personality, so it should have been apparent that maybe something was off, but now that the truth was out in the open, Master Hand decided that he would split the two up permanently to let everyone know they are two different people.
Sheik was told that he could turn back into Zelda at anytime, but he had no need to. Sheik enjoyed being his own person after the Zelda personality inside of him died. It was cruel to think of things this way, but Sheik honestly wanted to move on from the grieving stage and be himself. Unfortunately, people would interpret his appearance as a coping mechanism for the Time's Zelda.
Sheik had a small smile appear on his lips after he told this story to Gretel. She didn't reject him for living a lie as the other Smashers put it. She had accepted him for who he was.
"You accept Hansel so I can accept you, Sheik. We're friends after all."
Friends...I missed the honesty of that word. Sheik thought to himself as he began to play the Song of Healing to soothe the souls in the empty candy shop.
Troll
When shit hits the fan whether it's because of Palutena's pranks or Pit bringing enemies from his past to the realm, Sheik mysteriously vanished when a hero was needed. Sheik was one of the best Smashers, so why did he always disappear?
Sheik took the OP comment to heart and like a ninja, vanished into thin air. He wanted to take Greninja with him to his favorite hiding places (which was either Smash Forest's hot spring or hiding out in the Smash Library) but it was amusing to see Greninja get abused.
Mortal
No matter how good Sheik was at Smash, he was still a mortal in the end in the grand scale of things. If you didn't have some divine blood in you or if you weren't a monster of some sort, the Great Evil would take you out quickly. No amount of skill would allow Sheik to harm that treacherous monster, but Sheik at the very least could provide escape routes for Dark Pit and the other survivors.
Hansel
Sheik let his guard down in this timeline where Gretel died but Hansel lived on. There had been reports of people in Smashopolis going missing and being killed in the process. The two crimes were linked and Pit had desperately tried to prevent any casualties once the Smashers and his angels started vanishing. It should have been a red flag that most of the kidnappings occurred around Gretel's candy shop. Sheik didn't think too much about it because he was too distracted with his own rising dilemma in his heart. He left the shop early leaving only Rob and Agitha as the only people to watch her after closing.
So when the news got out how Gretel was impaled by a giant claw and Rob and Agitha had become part of the missing, Sheik's first thought was how relaxed he had been. He had rushed over to Smash Hospital hoping to check up on Gretel. Unfortunately, there was nothing the doctors could do despite having an ace surgeon. The only reason the body was still alive was because Hansel's determination prevented him from dying alongside Gretel. Sheik didn't think he would hate green hair until he saw it on Hansel.
"...Sorry to disappoint you, but my host did indeed die." Hansel said with a bitter laugh. "I can't believe it...if she just let that stupid idiot take the fall for her she wouldn't have had…"
Sheik thought he would never have to live through the five stages of grief again, but he would have to especially now that his heart was burning with vengeance for the demon that had murdered Gretel.
Song of Healing
Tension was in the air like things were going to take a turn for the worse. Sheik should have prepared to protect Zelda with all of his might, but instead found himself visiting Gretel late at night. She didn't initially respond when the doorbell was rung, so Sheik decided to go to her balcony instead. Now the ninja had some decently, so when he heard the shower running, he turned around, rested his back against the sliding door, took out his harp and started playing the Song of Healing.
The plan was to transition into an entirely new song to catch Gretel's attention. Unfortunately, Sheik stopped when attempting a new melody. He scowled underneath his turban realizing that he was actually having issues with coming up with a new tune to play.
"You know, you never told me why you're obsessed with that one melody."
Gretel's voice snapped him back to reality. Looking up, he saw the pink haired witch hunter wrapped her body in a pink towel. Her hair was still wet so water droplets would drip onto the back of her neck and slide down her back causing her to shiver more than when she opened the sliding door to her balcony. The confectioner was completely unfazed at Sheik's sudden appearance on her balcony.
"A friend of mine taught me the song before he passed away." Sheik said simply.
"Aww...the Link from your time I assume."
"..."
"It's okay. You don't have to say anymore about your past. I haven't told you mine and still have no intention of saying anything."
Sheik nodded his head in acknowledgement as he allowed Gretel to take a seat next to him. He could feel her damp hair getting his outfit wet. He ignored it in favor of playing his harp again. It didn't stop his music block though causing him to groan.
"What's wrong Sheik? Normally you come up with wonderful music on the spot."
"...A storm is coming."
"You noticed too?"
They weren't talking about the clouds overhead. Something terrible was going to happen soon and Sheik felt he wouldn't have the power to stop it. In fact, pulling the strings on his harp wasn't getting him ready for an upcoming battle.
"...Us witch hunters are to head out soon." Gretel continued. "I'm going to head to bed early and spend the early morning getting my weaponry tomorrow."
"I see…"
"Tomorrow is the last day the shop will be open before I head out. I intend to come back alive, but something tells me that is an impossible request."
Sheik didn't need to ask why Gretel would not return. The confectioner was a powerful witch hunter, but her opponent might have been stronger. Sheik couldn't just follow the pink haired fighter without enraging Master Hand and dishonoring the Sheikah tribe. The temptation was there though.
"Sheik...can you promise me something?"
"Yes?"
"Should I fall in battle...can you play the Song of Healing so my soul can rest in peace? Given how my life's been...I kind of expect to be cast down to hell."
Sheik's silence worried Gretel greatly. Hansel might have come out at that point if Sheik remained quiet. Instead, the ninja started playing The Song of Healing again combined with the melody that he was trying to transition to. Gretel gasped feeling her heartstrings being pulled. This song felt like Sheik was telling her farewell without saying it. No...there was another message hidden behind the melancholic song. Gretel's mind was occupied with other thoughts to catch the message that Sheik was trying to convey. Perhaps it would have been better if Sheik just said the words out loud. The witch hunter would soon fall asleep from the melody and would need to be carried to bed.
Is there anything I can do for you? Sheik had asked himself as he tucked the witch hunter in bed. She might not have any clothes, but it would be better to not remove the towel. It would also have been better if Sheik just woke her up and told her to get dressed before she caught a cold...but the relaxed expression Gretel had on her face as she snored slightly...was too much for Sheik to ignore.
Support
Sheik may have been Zelda in the past, but now that he had accepted his role as Sheik the Sheikah, there was no way he would be able to remember the previous timelines. He could have all the déjà vu in the world, but if he couldn't prevent the same mistakes from happening again then he was better off supporting those who needed help the most when the new timeline started. Sheik had seen maturity from those in his world, so his focus would be on the male tactician who needed all the help he could get emotionally.
Me: Done with 5110 words.
Li: That's one out of how many Smashers.
Me: It would be a huge task if I did all the Smashers and what they did in my universe, but I think I will let the reviewers write down who they want me to do next after Sheik. Notes!
1. Everything about the harp does stem from Hyrule Warriors. I made my Sheik obsessed with three songs. The Song of Healing, The Song of Storms and The Song of Time. The first one is supposed to be foreshadowing of Gretel's death as all witch hunters die first when they fight the Great Evil. In general, they have bad luck. Song of storms is literally Sheik's jam and the third one is Sheik being melancholy. I should make a note that there will be one story where Sheik playing The Song of Storms will make everything rain is crucial. I didn't throw that Rain portion there for any reason.
2. Until Sheik gets nerfed, Sheik is the best character in Smash 4 with only a few even matches. Rosalina has one of the better MUs against Sheik because Rosalina throws out hitboxes and Luma while Sheik has to be careful with the combos. I exaggerated one of the combos Sheik has.
3. When Sheik is playing the harp during Attraction, think of that scene from The Road to El Dorado gambling scene. You know…the meme…
4. Sheik almost losing to Mario is a shout out to the recent Smash tournament The Big House 5. There will be a link on the AO3 version note section to that particular match but it was Sheik (Zero) versus Mario (Anti) and it the most hype set in the entire tournament because Zero almost got dethroned. Being unpredictable in Smash is a huge advantage along with being high level instead of going in with a game plan sometimes. Give it a watch. And the fact of that match I should say is that if Anti didn't use the useless Wii Fit Trainer against Sheik (or if Anti chose Battlefield) he probably would have won.
5. In the same scene, I should bring up that Gretel is a technical pacifist in the sense that she thinks fighting is pointless and considers it even barbaric. Her introduction in her combat book has her outright reject a battle because she would rather make desserts then draw her weapon. When Hansel comes out, the bets are off and she's forced to fight hence why Gretel loathes her split personality. The irony is how Gretel is implied to be one of the stronger fighters in Grimoire due to her backstory but is held back by her unwillingness to fight.
6. The Bucket scenario is the same story as the Vegas portion of The Path of God (the one where Shulk is consumed by the glory of the audience and he gets victory sex from the Robin twins). Sheik isn't cheating per say, but it's my opinion of thinking that the Sheik + MGAW team is broken. Since friendly fire is on, Sheik can give MGAW two blocks of energy just from using vanish, so it only takes two vanishes to fill the bucket. Sheik's vanish is incredibly fast, so in a couple of seconds, MGAW already has the bucket. The bucket is a one hit kill especially since down throw to bucket is a thing. This is legit not fair and people tend to complain about the Villager + Ness and Villager + Lucario team due to Villager's pocket ability. So in this scenario, I would rather have Sheik be disqualified for knowing about how cheap and boring the battle will be instead of outright cheating since Sheik never teamed up with MGAW in the past. (Also, the match is a triple battle, but R.O.B. is the third member but doesn't contribute much).
7. The Grief portion is supposed to take place in Having a Bun in the Oven thus explaining why Rob is drinking and thinking of suicide. Rob being friends with Gretel noticeably makes him more cheerful even if I don't bring her up in stories I write previously. If Rob is outright depressed then I have established that Gretel went on a mission as a witch hunter and died.
8. The Backstory is supposed to be a justification of why Zelda and Sheik get their own character slots seeing as it is harder to explain this than ZSS and Samus (which ZSS can easily just make the Vaira Suit move on its own should they both have to be in battle). While Sheik's design is based on the concept art of Sheik being in TP, the Sheik in this story is from OoT. The adult Link is the one in the adult timeline to an extent while Young Link was sent back and is the one that goes through MM. Young Link is the one who taught Sheik The Song of Healing, but both Links know who Sheik is. Sheik doesn't bother trying to differentiate between the two when he says "Link" therefore Gretel assumes it is adult Link instead of Young Link.
Take note of Marth's reaction to finding out that the Link of Melee and the Link of Brawl isn't the same. When I finally get to the one-shot concerning Marth then you'll finally find out how close Marth and Link are. The Melee Link and the Brawl/4 Link do not have the same personalities and it is apparent when Marth flirts with him. Marth noticeably doesn't tease Link that much like you would expect but it has to do with the different personalities.
9. A future story concerning Gretel being killed off in story will have a lot of character focus on Sheik and the Robin twins. Notice how Pit is on the mission only because angels have gone missing? I am leaving it ambiguous on who killed Gretel and who kidnapped Rob and Agitha (the Insect Princess from TP).
That's it. Reviews are appreciated as well as people suggesting which Smasher I should do next. Ja ne!