As they stepped outside, Sabrina rubbed the side of the Beacon reverently. "I love this thing. I really love it." She grinned impishly. "Who'd have thought that I'd ever get to explore a haunted mansion, and act like a…a super-heroine? It's like an amazing video game…but real."

"Yes, well," Leota warned. "Keep that sense of proportion in mind. One small mistake here and you'll be joining us as the 1,000 inhabitant."

Salem flinched. "Let's not talk about that," he interceded hastily. "I may have nine lives, but I don't want to waste one in this dump."

The psychic bristled. "Dump?" she asked crisply. "You call this place a dump? I'll have you know that at the height of its glory days, Gracey Manor was…"

"Continuing on!" Sabrina chirped; interrupting before her two companions could begin bickering. The cat and the ghost glared at each other, but the strained expression on Sabrina's face—as if she was about to hurtle the backpack through the nearest window—enforced their silence. The next door on the left after the Ballroom turned out to be the Winter Garden.

Leota, curtly explained, feelings still slightly raw: "Its purpose was to provide a place for flowers during wintertime. Like a greenhouse, but bigger. You could stroll through it like a botanical garden."

Sabrina pursed her lips, anticipating a room full of decayed foliage. She raised her hand to the door's energy barrier, summoning the Beacon's energy to counteract and overcome it. As the resisting barrier fizzled away, she tugged at the iron door handles, pulling the doors open.

The Winter Garden was composed of large panes of glass encircling an area big enough to be a small park. Metal fence-like walls, entangled with dead vines, stretched nearly to the ceiling, bordering stone paths that twisted throughout the entire garden. Enormous statuary on pedestals were dotted throughout the park…the statuary seeming to be similar. Sabrina cocked her head, trying to decide where she'd seen the statue before.

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil! Of course! The statues here were carved in the shape of a girl. Each carried a jug that must have served as a fountain. Despite each statue being carved in a slightly different pose, they strongly reminded Sabrina of the iconic 'Bird Girl' statue associated with the novel and movie.

She stepped over to the statue nearest her, curiously examining it. On one side of the statue's base was a fire pit, positioned above a small grate. Unable to discern its purpose, Sabrina shrugged and stood up to begin looking for the light switch.

Her eyes lit upon it almost immediately; it was set to the right of the door. "That was easy," the Spirit Detective grinned, walking up the steps to reach the switch. She pulled it, smugly expecting to see lights flicker on from somewhere. To her utter amazement, no lights came on. But something else happened…

Fires immediately sprung to life in the fire pits…only to be nearly put out by the fountain poured upon it. Squealing with frustration and indignation, Sabrina scurried down the steps. Salem yawned, and curled up on the edge of the platform, deciding to watch. Later, he would become very grateful of his decision.

Sabrina scurried to the statue, cursing a blue streak under her breath. Stupid statue…wasting water…pouring it on the fire that lights the room…

Hopping onto the base, she quickly located a wheel-like crank, and began tugging at it. Remembering the adage, "Lefty, loosy, righty, tighty," she began pulling the wheel, in hopes of making the statue move.

In the back of her mind, she had briefly wondered why there had been no enemies prowling the garden, but had shoved the thought away in her intent to turn the switch on. So when, out of the corner of her eye, she saw faint gray smoke swirling at her from thin air, she wasn't totally surprised…

Sabrina frantically blasted at the snarling phantoms, while tugging desperately at the wheel. Once she was fairly certain all had been decimated, she turned her attention to the fire. She thankfully sighed; apparently, her tugging had sufficiently moved the statue's fountain away from the fire. The water now streamed down from the statue's jug, into the drain next to the fire.

Sabrina licked her lips. I'll have to do this to every statue in the garden then. I hope there aren't too many…

Leaping off the platform, Sabrina began making her way down the path to the nearest visible statue. Perhaps she should have wondered what the room's trial was. Perhaps she should have kept her ego slightly under check, due to her successes. But nothing could have prepared Sabrina for what happened next.

Just a little farther…

With a convulsive ripple, the pathway under Sabrina's feet trembled. The Detective stood, shocked, only perhaps a foot away from the end of the pathway. The pathway rippled, and shook from side to side, if it had become detached from the rest of the ground.

Terrified, Sabrina desperately tried to regain her balance, like the first time she went surfboarding.

…Except the only thing to fall into last time was an ocean…

Faster than she would have believed possible, the Spirit Detective felt the ground give way.

Yawning, Salem blinked amber eyes as he awoke from his five-minute powernap. Is she done yet? I'm bored. And this balcony is cold—

Salem's mental ramblings cut off as he found Sabrina. On a pathway leading to a statue in the garden's middle, Sabrina was standing rather uneasily. He blinked. Was she drunk again? Why couldn't she walk straight?

The pathway dropped from beneath Sabrina's feet, plummeting to the bowels of the earth, perhaps. Sabrina hovered in the air for a split-second, mouth open in shock and horror. Then, with cruel gravity rushing in, she dropped and disappeared.

Salem screamed, leaping from the balcony's edge. "SABRINA! LEOTA!"

…for the psychic's crystal ball was safely tucked inside the Spirit Detective's backpack…

Salem darted towards the pit, his heart pounding crazily in his feline frame.

~~` "…Can you wait until I finish my milk?" Sabrina stared in horror at the cat on the stool. "Did the cat just talk?" Sabrina whimpered, beseeching her aunts to tell her she WASN'T dreaming things. "Yes, and get this stupid hat off me," Salem grumbled. ~~`

~~` Sabrina grumbled as she rooted for the missing puzzle piece. Salem sauntered in, a smirk on his kitty face. "Looking for something?" His supercilious manner made Sabrina do a double-take. "Give it here, cat." "What about a reward? Shouldn't I get a reward first?" Sabrina rolled her eyes. "Great. I'm being blackmailed by my own cat." ~~`

~~` Circe glared at the cat before her, before switching tactics. "You're a brave kitty," she purred. "But you don't have to remain that way: Brave, or a kitty." You might keep that in mind." With the innate grace that was only hers, Sabrina darted forward and scooped up Salem, cradling him against her chest, shielding him with her body. Her eyes flashed as she regarded the enchantress with a stony, angry glare. ~~`

~~` Sabrina lay on the couch, the ivory linen nightgown and dark afghan twisted around her figure. "You should try to get some sleep," Salem admonished as he stretched out upon the top of the sofa. "I don't know if I can," Sabrina whimpered. Every time she closed her eyes, the memory of Circe's hand, reaching through the mirror, reasserted itself with astonishing vividness. Salem stroked her hair with a paw. "Sure you can. Just relax, and remember that I've got your back." ~~`

I've got your back…I'll keep watch over you…

I'll make sure nothing happens to you…

SABRINA!

"DON'T DIE!" Salem found himself screaming.

He skidded to the edge of the pit, heart thudding like an out-of-control bongo drum. He could barely see, for some reason…what was that mist before him? Was it mist? Was it tears? …No, it couldn't be tears…he never cried.

He, Salem Saberhägen, one of the most powerful warlocks Europe had ever produced, who had come pretty damn close to conquering the Mortal Realm, did not cry. This was a greenhouse or whatever, right? It must be rather hot in here, thereby causing moisture to condense…or something…

Sabrina…how can I…how can I do this? I can't beat this place by myself. I need you here. We're a team! You're the first person that I ever learned to trust, so don't betray that trust by dying! You can't!

Trembling, he peered down into the abyss. He didn't know if he would find her broken body, or whether he would simply see an endless hole, but either way…

Nothing.

A pit of darkness.

Nothing.

She was gone.

His legs trembled, and his entire body threatened to buckle under him. "No…" he whimpered. The cat closed his eyes. "She's gone…"

"I'm not dead yet!"

He whipped his head up. Hanging by her fingers from the edge of the pit on the other side was…

Sabrina.

She turned her head a little in his direction, giving him that crazy grin she wore when she had just completed something impossible. And now, she's cheated Death…

"You silly cat, did you think I was ready to die yet?" Her teeth flashed. "I can't be killed that easily. Have a little faith in me."

Salem stared unbelievingly. "I…thought you'd…"

Sabrina chuckled. She then paused, and heaved, climbing onto the walkway before her. She sighed and rubbed her bicep muscles. "I never thought that there was a point to pull-ups in gym class, but…"

Leota chuckled. "Nice to see you were worried about me, Salem."

"I…" Salem started, confused.

The psychic shook her head. "I understand. You've known her longer." Sabrina dusted herself off, and began to run.

Salem could only sit in amazement and watch as she kept running, now carefully jumping over bucking walkway sections as they dropped mere seconds after she had safely landed somewhere else.

How is it possible for her to just keep going? She nearly died. Sabrina just barely avoided falling to her death and she's just running along on her merry way like nothing happened.

Sabrina hopped onto the statue base in the middle of the Garden, and turned the crank as she had the first. The cat silently watched as the girl completed her task, and hopped down, choosing another pathway.

If I were Sabrina, I would have stopped by now; I would have simply quit and found some way, any way, to go home. And if, for some reason I couldn't, I might have gone mad by now.

She carefully jogged down the pathways; he could hear the steady, rhythmic clicking of her boot heels against the stone paths.

Slowly, Salem padded back to the balcony steps, in the air of one who has not yet recovered from a shock. He sat, with an air of doubt and guilt, awaiting her return. After what seemed like forever, she came back from the last statue, a satisfied smile gracing her features.

What has kept her going? Why hasn't she succumbed to the evil aura that the house exudes? This place is dark and frightening and dangerous, but Sabrina just charges from one room to another.

She climbed up the staircase; carefully avoiding stepping on the cat, and excitedly flipped the switch. The bonfires on the statues' bases lit up with even more brilliancy than before, while the huge metal walls slid down into their bases, leaving only iron spikes set in a concrete base, behind. The walls had apparently concealed trees, bushes, and other plants.

There are no flowers here; they would be too out of place in a house of death. Or do they refuse to bloom in the shadow of evil? Maybe they could never live. Maybe…they would wither and die without being born, for where there is only death, there is no life…

As the blond witch came down the steps, Salem jumped onto her shoulder, as he had before. As the team carefully walked along the paths (Sabrina casually stopping to admire trees hung with faintly glowing lanterns), Salem dug his claws into the fabric of her dress.

The usual monsters came snapping after them: banshees (or Lost Souls, or whatever Leota liked to call them—they were still banshees to Salem), giant spiders, their cousins, the smaller poisonous spiders, and the ever-present ghosts, stretching, swiping, hoping to drag unsuspecting mortals down to the Netherworld.

But why don't they scare me any more? Salem wondered. Is it because of the strength we've gained, that we subconsciously know we can defeat them with the least effort? Well, I say 'we,' but I suppose I mean Sabrina, he admitted to himself, grudgingly. I'm of little use here. If only I had my body and powers back, then I could be of use. But what can one small cat do?

He was silent as she found a scrap of a Death Certificate. He barely noticed the new aroma of the room: the strange smell of vegetation, a faint whiff of earth and dried flowers.

The only spirit in the room turned out to be a hearty-looking elderly man near the entrance, leaning on a shovel and surveying the room. Sabrina paused as they exited, clearly wondering if she should make friendly overtures to him. With the exception of Elizabeth and the Soul Gem holders, none of the ghosts had acknowledged their existence.

The gardener shifted his stance slightly, staring at the flowerbeds. "Well, the flowers are doing well, and the weather's fine, so that's good," he murmured. "But it's a shame that nobody alive's here to appreciate 'em now…"

What flowers is he talking about? Salem wondered as Sabrina began walking out. There are no flowers here; anyone can see that. He frowned as he watched the gardener shift on his stance again, muttering to himself about when to next prune the roses. Could he possibly see something we can't? Is there that big a difference between the living and the dead?

Can he see the roses that may come? If we succeed in throwing off this shadow which clouds the Mansion, maybe life can begin again here.

I think I see it now. I see the reason that compels Sabrina to fight these monsters, trying to save a mansion full of ghosts. This mansion is the battleground for a struggle between good and evil. And the prospect of winning—of saving these souls, and defeating this insane bastard—keeps her going, despite the darkness and madness.

But will she prevail?

There are two potentials here, as Salem points out: the potential for good, and for evil. If you're a fan of Phantom Manor, which is the sort-of equivalent of the Haunted Mansion (only, it's in Disneyland Paris, set in the Wild West, and has a more concrete storyline than the Haunted Mansion), you'll understand this, as it's a parallel to the conflict between the Bride and the Phantom.

The flashbacks Salem had (in bold) were taken from the book series: from #1, "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch," #15, "Harvest Moon," and #18, "I'll Zap Manhattan." I picked ones that sort of highlighted Sabrina and Salem's rather complex relationship. The authors of these are: David Cody Weiss, Bobbi JG Weiss, and Mel Odom.

And yes, in my opinion, Salem would be worried about Sabrina before he would be worried about Leota. The two of them are practically family, and really do work as a team. Their relationship is beyond that of a witch and her familiar, or a student and her mentor: they're friends, too.

And for those curious to know just what the song I keep mentioning is, the next chapter will reveal it definitely.

Next chapter:

What would a visit to a haunted house be without the requisite Graveyard? Some familiar faces pop up while Sabrina tries to avoid being killed by the Graveyard's current impersonator of Lord of the Rings' Gollum.