Ghost House

The door creaked open and swung shut by itself. The inside of the mansion was quite massive. It was entirely wooden and there appeared to be two floors, both of which had a few dangerous holes and gaps in them. Sheik carried Peach through the house in search of a bedroom or a couch or even a chair. However, the house seemed almost completely empty. There was no furniture at all, except for broken, unusable tables and drawers. Many of the different rooms had broken walls that made it seem as if each floor had one giant rotting room. Giving up on any furniture, Sheik gathered a few scattered sheets and turned them into a makeshift bed on the first floor, near a solid part of the room. He gently laid Peach onto the bedding and pulled a cover over her.

"Thank you," she whispered sleepily. "Aren't you going to," she yawned, "sleep to?"

"I'll keep watch," he said sitting next to her. "Pleasant dreams." She was asleep already. He looked around the somewhat creepy house and took note of the many cobwebs and rotted wood. There were occasional noises from the house shifting. All in all, it was a rather unsettling place to spend the night. As time passed on, Sheik found it harder and harder to stay awake. Though he had never slept in Zelda's body while in this form, he had never had trouble staying awake for days at a time in his previous life. He could sense something wrong with the area, but his eyes became too heavy to keep open. He soon slumped over and dozed off.

Sheik awakened with a start, lifting up his head. He felt the soil beneath him and noticed that he was outside the house, in the front yard. He quickly got to his feet and looked around.

"Peach? Are you there? Peach?" She was nowhere to be found. He looked into the sky and saw massive, black clouds obscured the moon. The wind whistled and blew scattered leaves about ominously. Sheik could easily sense something in the house now. He took out his dagger and cautiously approached the door. As he walked, he looked to the large statue to the side. He stopped when he noticed something different. Most notably, she was no longer holding a star. Her outstretched arms now seemed to be desperately reaching for something. Adding to the effect were the two trickles of water running down her cheeks. It was then that he recalled the missing star appearing identical to the star statue at Peach's castle. Was this an illusion, an elaborate trick, or merely a realistic dream?

When Sheik entered the dark house, he was surprised to see it fully furnished, though still looking abandoned. There were dusty chairs and couches, and a large bookshelf in the far corner. Oddly enough, there was a rocking chair creaking back and forth by itself. Sheik walked further, noticing how all the holes had disappeared. When he passed the rocking chair, it instantly stopped moving. Sheik paused in case anything happened next. When nothing happened, he continued to the end of the room and found a door that had not been there before. He saw a mysterious orange glow coming from the other side. As he approached it, the bookshelf suddenly fell over. He hopped back just before it crashed onto him. He saw something disappear into the wall that had been behind the bookshelf.

After entering the next room, he saw that the source of the light was a lit fireplace. This room was relatively empty, but there were quite a few scattered papers on the floor. He picked up one of the papers and saw writing on it that was the same kind as all the other writing he had encountered in this world. In other words, he could not read any of it. The fireplace suddenly flared and he could see the same writing all over walls in red. Then, the fire immediately extinguished itself, leaving him in complete darkness.

As a member of the Shadow Folk, Sheik could easily sense several entities entering the room. He gathered several needles and let them fly in all directions, while setting off one of his last few Deku Nuts. In the resulting flash, he could see the blinded shadow creatures being struck and sliced through each of them with his blade. They burst into smoke and Sheik made his way out of the room. He saw the rocking chair moving once again, but it stopped soon after he glanced at it. He could hear faint chanting coming from upstairs. He entered the next room and found a bed and vanity mirror. He walked straight for the other door, but stopped when he noticed Zelda's image in the mirror.

She moved in time with his movements. Even the faces he made beneath his veil were reflected on Zelda's face. After losing interest in the peculiar mirror, he soon heard the chanting of children's voices chanting again upstairs. He passed through the next door and began to climb the stairs into the darkness above. After a few moments of climbing, it became apparent that the stairs were literally leading to nowhere. Spotting the hole above at the peak of the staircase, he flung his chain onto the edge. With the illusion now destroyed, it was easy to shimmy his way up.

Arriving on the second floor, he could hear the chanting relatively clearly from behind a single door. He stepped through the door and saw a massive circle of Boos rotating around Peach, who was unconscious on the floor.

The Boos continued to chant, "Va Boo ve li, ba voo le hi, la la la la." They suddenly disappeared, but the chanting continued, echoing from all over the house. Sheik ran to Peach and sat her up.

"Peach, wake up," he said, rubbing her forehead. "Are you alright?" She was unusually cold to the touch and her skin was pale. Her eyes slowly opened, but seemed somewhat unfocused and icy.

"Sheik?" she said slowly. "You came back."

"Of course I came back. I would never leave you in a place like this." He helped her to her feet. "Come on. This place is no longer safe."

"You must really care about me," she said, still with that glazed look in her eye.

"Of course I care about you," he said, taking her hand to lead her out. She didn't budge. "Peach, what…"

"Do you love me?" she asked suddenly, staring at him oddly.

He blushed instantly and was unable to immediately reply.

"I love you, Sheik," she said, stepping closer to him, much to his discomfort. "Do you love me?" Her blank stare was penetrating as she peered into his scarlet eyes.

"Peach, please," he said, attempting to take a step back. She merely stepped forward, unblinking, and made herself even closer to him than before. She would not let go of his hand. "This really is not the time nor the place for this discussion."

"Please tell me Sheik," she said in her feathery voice, stepping toward him as he continued to back away. "Just tell me what I want to know. There's no need to hide things from me. I won't hide anything from you." Soon, she had him backed against a wall. Her unblinking eyes seemed to be looking into his soul.

"Why the sudden interest?" Sheik asked nervously.

"I never repaid you for saving me so many times," she spoke in that distant voice as the chanting in the background continued. A few ghostly sounds moaned in the background, not sounding human, but too gentle to be monstrous.

"You've saved my life, too."

"I want to properly repay you," she said, moving forward so that they weren't even an inch apart.

"There's really no need to…"

"I insist," she said, placing an icy finger on the cloth covering his mouth. The chanting became more of a fast tinkling noise that was omnipresent. The moaning sounds became even more ghostly and strained, as if the souls of the dead were plummeting into a bottomless pit. Peach slipped her finger into the cloth to pull it back and leaned forward.

"Peach, no!" Sheik said, slipping to the side. She turned her head to look at him blankly. "This isn't my body, remember? I don't think Zelda would be very happy with you."

"I don't love Zelda," she said, tilting her head with a disturbing smile. The moaning noises became more punctuated and the tinkling began to fade in and out every few moments. "I love you, Sheik. I want you to love me. I want you to make me yours…forever and ever. Make me yours, Sheik."

"You're acting strangely," he said, backing away. "Did those spirits do something to you?"

"You saved me from them, remember?" she spoke, still walking toward him. "I'm fi…I'm fi…" Suddenly, she fell forward and Sheik caught her. He sat her down to rest.

"You're still weak," he said.

"You are my strength, Sheik," she continued to speak. Her eyelids were halfway open, making her look increasingly unsettling in this creepy atmosphere. She suddenly fell back, and Sheik had to support her with an arm behind her back.

"You have to rest."

"Make love to me, Sheik," she said, suddenly embracing him softly.

"What is wrong with you? Why are you acting so strangely?"

"Promise not to tell," she whispered into his ear. "I like it when I'm rescued like that. I think it's…sexy." As she talked, she grasped his back.

"Now stop that!" he said, standing up. He watched her lie back on the floor. "Get up. We're leaving." She continued to lie there, staring back at him. He frowned and put her onto his back.

"Thank you, Sheik," she said, rubbing his chest. "Such a strong man."

He carried her to the staircase and muttered, "That's metal plating." As he walked into the bedroom and pass the mirror, he stopped when he noticed something strange. Zelda's image was still there, as was Peach's being carried on her back. What was different however, was the unconscious look on Peach's face in the mirror. Her eyes were closed and she looked somewhat distressed. She looked as if she was being used like a puppet. In fact, there appeared to be a misty white blur surrounding Peach. Sheik realized what was going on and set the possessed woman on the bed. She looked up at him and pulled at the collar of her dress slowly.

"Will you have me now?" she asked, slowly loosening her collar.

"Will you do something for me first?" he asked, taking her hand.

"Anything for you," she said, rolling onto him.

"Eh…For every touch I give you, I want you to repeat after me."

"Then, touch me, Sheik."

"Stars," he said, hesitantly patting her back.

"Stars," she repeated, pulling at the cloth covering his face.

"Shine Sprites," he said, pulling her hair softly.

"Shine Sprites," she said, burying her face gently into his.

"Come unto me," he said, holding her back. "Scream it."

"Come unto me!" she screamed ecstatically. Just as she was about to force herself onto him, she paused and looked as if she were choking. She grabbed her neck and gasped for air, stumbling around the room. The house began to rumble and the chanting turned tinkling became cries of horror. Suddenly, Boos melded through the walls and into the room. They all flew straight into Peach's body until her skin was deathly pale and she gave off a whitish glow.

She stopped choking, but still appeared to be in extreme discomfort and looked directly at Sheik. "Foolish Sheikah warrior!" Her demonized voice echoed throughout the house. "Darkness shall consume all!"

"What are you?" he said.

She lunged at him and pinned him to the bed, now attempting to strangle him. She was completely overpowering him. As he struggled, she embraced him and whispered into his ear, "It is inevitable." Suddenly, all of the Boos were blasted out of her by the light of the Power Stars and Shine Sprites in the form of the Shining Star. She collapsed onto him, unconscious. The Boos around them looked very angry and began to swirl into a circle. Sheik picked up Peach and ran back to the main room.

All of the furniture was flying through the air. The rocking chair burst to pieces and the wooden remnants flew at Sheik. He was knocked down and had trouble approaching the entrance because of a strong wind. Pieces of furniture continued to barrage him as he shielded Peach.

"Hahahaha!" there was a cackle. A Big Boo passed through the wall behind him and slowly floated toward him. It was hard to stay away since the wind and furniture was keeping Sheik back. "Your souls are mine! Three for the price of one!"

"Stay back, evil spirit!" Sheik said, crawling toward the door with Peach on his back. The Boo was still moving faster than him, though slow enough to mock him. Soon Peach was within its ectoplasm.

"Got ya!"

"No! Let her go!" Sheik cried, pulling away. As Peach's body was carried out of the ectoplasm, her soul body seemed stuck within the Boo. More and more of her soul was being extracted from her body.

"Just a little more!" the Big Boo taunted.

"Stop it!" Sheik yelled, looking back over his shoulder to glare at the Boo. When their eyes met, the Big Boo became nervous and hid its face behind its flippers, halting itself. Sheik was astounded by the shyness of the ghost, but took the opportunity to pull Peach away. The second he looked away, though, the Boo moved forward and absorbed the rest of Peach's soul.

"Two to go!" it announced. Sheik looked back at it, freezing it again, and could see Peach's soul sealed up in the Big Boo.

"Let her go!" Sheik yelled. When the Big Boo did not budge, he swung his chain to the entrance, where it hooked into the door. He wrapped Peach's body in the chain so that the wind did not push her back into the Big Boo. Then, he reached into the Boo, pushing his soul out through his hand. He grabbed onto Peach's spirit and pulled her back, with some help from Zelda, moving the body back. Once Peach was fully extracted, she automatically returned to her body, and Sheik returned to his. Keeping his eye on the shy spirit, he began to pull the still unconscious Peach and himself to the door. He was tired and bruised after being hit by furniture so many times, but he finally got to the door and exited with Peach.

There was a gentle wind that ended the gale from the open door and immediately shut it. It was still night outside. The clouds had dissipated somewhat. Sheik looked to the Wanderer statue and saw that it had regained its star. However, water was still flowing down its cheeks. Sheik did not know what to make of it, but tried to wake up Peach.

"Peach, wake up," he said, rubbing her forehead.

"Sheik?" she said tiredly. "What happened? Why are we outside?"

"That house was haunted," Sheik said, supporting her head. "Spirits possessed you and attempted to steal our souls. We have to leave."

She slowly got to her feet and stood shakily. Then, her knees buckled and Sheik had to catch her before she fell. "I feel so weak. I don't know what's wrong."

"It's okay," he said, putting her onto his back. "You've been through a lot."

"Thank you, Sheik," she said apologetically. "I don't mean to be so much trouble."

"Don't mention it," he said, glancing once more at the statue. "I'm sure you aren't the only one who appreciates me." Again, she had fallen asleep on his back. It was her passive nature that made him so affectionate to her. The way the ghosts had used her had disgusted him. He did not know when, if ever, he would admit his feelings for her, but it would have to wait.

Judging from the distant sound of a siren, he and Peach's disappearance had been noticed by Bowser. Sheik focused on staying on the move. He had no destination, but just traveling would be better than waiting for the Koopa Clan to find him. Unfortunately for him, the group of raptors returned, walking out of the bushes around him. They had encircled him and, with Peach in no condition to run, fight, or even heal, he was placed in a very grim situation.