Chapter Eleven

Confinement

"Hey, I think she's waking up," said a voice.

"Huh? Who's…there?" asked the princess. Her eyes fluttered. Her vision was blurred and she tried to move her hand to her face, but it seemed to be restrained by something. She felt her heart race as she breathed heavily. She struggled to move her arms from her sides, but they were glued to the surface she lay on. She also tried her feet, but they were in the same state. Her vision became clear again.

"Where am I?" she asked, taking a look around. She could barely see anything other then an almost fluorescent white all around her. She could feel the cold, hard surface she lay on and identified it as metal. She was completely helpless.

"She seems to be delirious," said a voice. Peach shook. There was no one around. She was alone or that was what she thought.

"The tranquilizer still as no effect," said another voice.

"What? What's going on?" she asked loudly. She began to panic and struggle. Suddenly, something had stricken her, like a force just hit her with intense power. She was helpless as she seemed to go limp and the pain still surging through her. She did not, however, scream or cry in pain. Her face was towards her left side and her eyes were wide opened. Her mouth was opened, but nothing came out.

"Aah!!" she cried. A man nearby turned away.

"Do you have to be so rough with her?" he asked. Peach could only see a blur of an elegant blue color. A woman replied to his question.

"Unfortunately...yes. You saw how she was back in her room, didn't you? She was in a fit of rage...we need to be sure the sedative works," said the woman. Suddenly, the sound of doors slamming against a wall rang out.

"Marth! Zelda!" cried a voice. It sounded young and boyish. The princess gave up on trying to see with her eyes and decided to listen with her ears. She was still twitching and shuddering slightly from the pain she felt earlier. Marth was the first to respond.

"Ness? What is it? You look exhausted," said the prince. Ness stopped for a moment to catch his breath.

"Samus' Power Suit is...no longer functional. But we can't get her out of that thing! If we don't do something, she'll suffocate in there!" cried the boy. Zelda let out a gasp and placed a hand on Marth's shoulder.

"We have to find Mario and Luigi. They might have some experience in mechanics. Let's go."

"But...what about her?" asked Marth. Zelda shook her head.

"She's being sedated. I doubt she'll be able to wake up for a couple more hours."

"Right..." replied Marth. He looked down towards Peach, who was actually still awake. She didn't move however, as her entire body felt numb. The two left with Ness, leaving the immobile princess in one of the rooms of the Hospital Wing. She wanted to cry, but she couldn't...what on earth is going on? She couldn't remember anything other than that Samus, Zelda, Jigglypuff, Roy, and Marth had come to visit her in her room...but nothing more. She struggled to get some feeling back into her body, but nothing would work. She had no choice but to...sit through this horrid state. Meanwhile, Marth and Zelda were searching together around the mansion for the Mario Brothers. Ness had to stay back along with Yoshi in another room that held a traumatized Samus.

"Where do you think those two could be?" asked Zelda. They both were standing just outside the Hospital Wing. Marth thought to himself for a moment.

"I'm not sure exactly...I don't see Luigi very often and Mario doesn't seem very outgoing nowadays. I'll try his room. Could you look outside?" said Marth. Zelda nodded.

"Yes. If I find one of them, I'll send them down here immediately," replied the princess. She sped off towards the Gardens while Marth walked down the hallway. At the same time, Peach was silent in her room. The sound of machines whirring and a monitor beeping could be heard. She was like this for a couple minutes until she heard the door open. Her head was fixed so that it was staring straight at the ceiling. She heard two people talking quietly as they entered. One of them sighed.

"I wish...they weren't so rough with her," said Jigglypuff. Young Link had accompanied Jigglypuff down to Peach's room in the Hospital Wing with a tray of treats. Muffins, chocolates, and more were some of them. However, Jigglypuff became disappointed when she realized that the princess was strapped down and sedated once again. Young Link patted her on the head lightly.

"Hey, don't be so down. I'm sure she'll love to have your cooking again after this," he said, trying to cheer her up. Jigglypuff sighed.

"Yes...I hope so. I didn't know they had to go to such a great length to keep her restrained...like a wild animal." The Balloon Pokemon set the tray on a table nearby and walked over to the princess' bedside. Young Link did as well.

"Heya, Peach. I hope you're okay. You really gave us a good scare back there...really good," said Jigglypuff. She turned to Young Link to talk to him, but spotted him reaching for one of the treats. She puffed up her body and let out a hostile noise which frightened him, causing him to fall on his behind.

"Hey!...I just wanted one..." he said sadly. Jigglypuff deflated to her normal demeanor.

"No! I'm going to save those for when Peach gets better. Don't touch 'em," threatened the pink Pokemon. She sighed. Suddenly, the door opened and Captain Falcon made his way in, holding a head over his stomach.

"Aww...I gotta stay here and watch the princess on an empty stomach..." he said, groaning slightly. He noticed Jigglypuff and Young Link were in the room and waved at them, trying to be enthusiastic and nice at the same time.

"Oh, hey..."

"Why are you here, Captain?" asked Young Link. He fixed the green hat on his head and stood up, dusting himself off.

"Master Hand came up to me in person and asked me to come here and watch her in case anything bad happens...but..."

"But?" asked Jigglypuff. Captain Falcon made a face.

"I didn't eat anything since breakfast...and I'm hungry...now..." he replied slowly. Jigglypuff was thoughtful for a moment before she spoke.

"Hey...I have to go the kitchen right now anyway. I have to stash these snacks from greedy children...like him," she said, pointing Young Link, who frowned. Captain Falcon took a whiff and smelled delicious sweets filling the room. His stomach began to growl.

"Aah...! I can't wait any longer! I'm having a pit stop down by the kitchen..." he declared. Jigglypuff laughed at him.

"Alright...I guess it wouldn't hurt to whip something up for the both of you. Young Link's gonna have to stay here and watch Peach, though. Just for a while. I'll send the Captain right back," said Jigglypuff who went to pick up the tray of delicious sweets. Captain Falcon opened the door for her and they both left, leaving the door to close silently behind them on the way out. Young Link sighed, feeling left out on the fun.

"Man...she sure is scary..." he said to himself. He sat on a chair towards the wall opposite to where the princess lay. He seemed bored and examined her.

"But seriously...this is even scarier. They have her arms and legs strapped to the table...she can't move...what did you do, Peach?" he asked. He noticed movement on the other side and it startled him.

"...P-Peach?" he said aloud. He saw that one of her fingers at twitched. Maybe she was getting the feeling back in her body again. But in fact, the princess was still awake...

"Oh...man, you startled me. Can you hear me?" he asked. Peach was struggling to restore movement back into her hand to try to communicate with him somehow. Young Link was careful at first...but then decided that she was awake and wanted to talk to her.

"While Jiggly and the Captain are out making some lunch...I guess I could talk to you. You missed out on some things while you were asleep...I guess that's because Marth has to keep you subdued until we can be sure you're your normal self again..." He scratched the back of his head and Peach was sure to listen attentively as that was the only thing she could do at the moment. He leaned back a bit on his chair and sighed.

"Why is all this weird stuff happening to the mansion? Everything's going wrong. First the Winter Tournament was canceled for who knows why...then Mewtwo gets himself into the Infirmary with bad injuries from some unknown intruder! No one is allowed to go anywhere alone now...even though Fox and Falco are on the search, they can't seem to find any trace of him." He paused before speaking again.

"And...here you are, lying in bed because, according to Marth...you attacked him and the others in your room. Samus seems pretty battered...and...Roy is dead..." Peach's eyes went wide when she heard that. Roy...died? But how...?

"And recently, I haven't seen Master Hand around very often...that's why the Captain was surprised to see him ask him to come here. It's all way too weird..." Young Link seemed pretty troubled. Peach managed to be able to move her entire left hand and a bit of her head, too. She began to try to tilt it to one side so she could see Young Link while he spoke. She managed to abruptly, which scared him.

"Aah!!...Don't do that!" he cried. He sighed and looked at her.

"Sorry...it's just really tense nowadays. I guess there's not much I can do here but wait until Jigglypuff and the Captain come back with something to eat..." he said sadly. The princess was about to relax just a little bit when she spotted something strikingly familiar on the wall behind Young Link. She could see something on the wall. The wall was completely white like a blank canvas, but something was there. She could barely see it. Three curved slits were carved into the wall. There seemed to be no light source in the room, but the shadows were there. It looked like a face.

"W-what?" she said in her mind. Her eyes became wide as she had the startling realization that this...this happened before. Terror spread through her mind as she saw the three slits turn red. Her entire body began to shake and she desperately tried to say something, only making small sounds. The sedative did not put her to sleep, but it did leave most of her bodily functions inoperable. Young Link noticed this and became alert.

"What is it? Is something....wrong?" he asked. She saw the face continue to look at her from behind him, but she couldn't say anything. Young Link tried to remain calm and assert the situation.

"Does something hurt? Is that what you're trying to say?" he asked. She tried to shake her head wildly in order to answer his question, but she couldn't tell what she was doing. Something came out of the wall behind Young Link; two, grotesque-looking arms that came out of the wall, looking just like the material the wall was made of. They each had three fingers and were headed very slowly and sluggishly towards Young Link from behind. Peach was screaming in her mind for Young Link to get out of the room. He couldn't understand what she was doing and it frustrated her to no end. They were almost to him.

"I need to find someone...this could be serious. I'll be right back!" he said, getting up. But it was too late. The hands wrapped themselves around his neck and squeezed tightly.

"Ack!!" he cried. They looked as though they could've been liquid from the way they melded into each other. Young Link was lifted a few inches off the ground as he struggled to claw his way out of the thing's grasp.

"!!" Peach was screaming again in her head, but now in terror as they seemed to choke the very life out of Young Link with every second going by. He was kicking violently and trying to scream, but there was no air coming in or out of his body. Peach was hysterical. She watched the thing squeeze the life out of him and she couldn't do anything about it. She saw that his eyes began to close and...his feet began to go limp. She had to watch in horror as he...was dying. The three red slits on the wall vanished and only the arms remained. They slowly began to recede back into the wall with Young Link in its grasp. She couldn't believe what was happening and began to scream to herself that it's a nightmare. It had to be! This couldn't be happening to someone like Young Link...so young...

"!" A moment later, the arms pulled Young Link into the wall instantly as if he just vanished...but something horrifying was left behind; a large stain of a red liquid was left on the wall...some of it trickled down onto the floor. Peach couldn't take it anymore. She had suddenly regained her mobility and she pulled herself out of the restraints, screaming. They broke off as if they were nothing. She fell onto the ground, having been asleep for so long. She still wore her traditional princess gown, which somewhat caused the fall. She immediately sped towards the door, causing it to slam against the wall behind it violently and ran off into the halls of the mansion.

End of Chapter Eleven