Author's Notes: Yup, it's definitely been too long. Luckily, I have had more inspiration about how to end this arc, as well as start the next. I need to say, I'm still not entirely sure which crossover to use at the Japan Arc, which is next, but I should be able to figure something out soon.

Ah well. I do hope you enjoy this one!

Chapter 36: Time Warp

"…I didn't know, Mario."

"Pauline…" Mario urged.

"Nobody knew where you vanished to." she said. "I-we all thought that you were gone forever."

The last couple of days had passed by in New York City. The two of them had been talking for a while, resting on a bench in central park. Mr. Scapelli was at work at the time, running his successful plumbing company. Mario briefly glanced over Pauline's shoulder. Junior was there, apparently alone. The teenager was throwing his boomerang around, and catching it, without so much as having to move from his spot.

"Mario. Where were you?" she asked. "You vanish from the face of the earth for a long time, and then you return out of the blue."

"I can explain." Stated Mario. "Really, I-a can."

She starred into his eyes for a moment.

"I was… the day I left, I was at the archeology site near the Brooklyn Bridge. Me and Luigi were underground, trying to find someone, and then-" Mario snapped his finger. "The archeology site! If we go there, I'm sure, I can show you what happened!"

"Isn't this a fun surprise?" Beldam taunted them, starring them down through her new eyes.

"Don't move." Sarah said threateningly. "If you try to go anywhere, I'll fire."

"I'd like to see you try." Taunted Beldam. "That type of weapon isn't even designed to kill, and even if it were, it wouldn't be able to harm me."

Sarah closed her eyes, and shot. The smaller projectile launched forth, proceeding right towards her.

However, it suddenly came to a halt, still suspended in midair, without prompt from anyone. It was as soundless as it was fast, simply floating in the air.

"How many powers do you have?" Sarah asked.

However, Beldam looked just as perplexed. "This wasn't my doing."

"There you are." said a different voice. All of them turned around, to spot the same, unusual robot that had been following Sarah.

"Youdid this?" Beldam asked. "Clever. Are you one Crump's men?"

The robot ignored her question. He placed his metal arms together, and looked at the floating bullet. As he did, it fell back to the ground, landing with a clink of the paved street.

In the midst of the events, Sarah was slowly sneaking her way into the driver's seat of the now unmanned police car.

"You there. How are you doing this?" asked Minda.

"My body is made of a very strong magnet." replied the robot. "I can manipulate anything with magnetic poles."

"Well then, whoever you two are, you won't be getting out of here."

There was suddenly a loud, startling noise. Sarah, as she was closing the door of the car, accidentally turned on the car's sirens, as the lights flashed and the engine revved.

"You can't escape for me!!" Beldam shouted.

Sarah, in a panic, pushed the accelerator, and the car sped off. Midna quickly turned herself in a shadow, and concealed herself in the shadow of the car. The robot held out it's hand at the car. Just as it was riding off, he suddenly slid behind it, and latched onto the back with his metal arm. He was dragged though, and sparks flew the minute he latched on.

Beldam, however, was not so lucky, and was unable to board the car in time, thus it left her alone in the area. She brushed her host's hair to the side.

"…darn it all."

"Nazz!!" Double D shouted, as they rushed into the hospital room where she was. She was on a bed, hooked up to a machine. She was out of consciousness, and the only sound that greeted them was that of her heart monitor beeping.

"Nazz… no." Goombella sighed.

"I'm sorry kids, but I am going to have to ask you all to leave." said the doctor suddenly as he walked in.

Double D rushed in front of Goombella, blocking him from being able to see her.

"Doctor, can you tell us how she is?"

Bloo suddenly rushed in front of the doctor, and pulled on his white lab coat.

"TELL US DOCTOR (deep, exaggerated breath), HOW LOOOOOONG DOES SHE HAVE TO LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVE!"

"Bloo, cut it out." Mac sighed, smacking him on the back of the head.

"Oooow." Bloo whined.

"Listen, I don't know for certain how she will be." the doctor said. "And I'm sorry, but surgery is going to begin soon, so I need to ask you all to leave."

The group slowly herded out of the room. Vivian and Nami both sighed as they walked out.

Double D stopped at the door though, and waited for the rest of his group to leave. Before it shut, he placed his foot in front of it, stopping it from shutting. The doctor looked back, after failing to hear the sound of a closing door like he expected.

"Sodding kid, do I need to tell you again?"

Double D shook his head. "Please, Doctor." he pleaded. "Tell me what's wrong."

The doctor shook his head. "She, Nazz, has a serious injury. But we don't have the recourses to help her right now, since her doctor is in the USA. Nazz's parents are already on a flight, on their way here, with her medical records-"

"They're coming?!" Double D asked.

"Yes, they're coming." the doctor said. "According to the news, you children have been missing for nearly a month. I can imagine you'll have a lot to explain to Nazz's parents when they show up."

"But doctor-"

"I need to work now." said the doctor. "Good day." With that he slammed the door behind him. Double D was left in the hallway, looking down at the floor.

"Nazz…"Double D sighed. He closed his eyes, and was suddenly taken aback…

The leaves of Petalburg blew calmly on that day. In spite of the fact that a dragon had been rampaging that town, it was still relatively calm. It was rather quiet in the Inn, come to think of it.

Nazz was sleeping in the bed. Double D, however, was too anxious to sleep. He was overwhelmed by the amount of work that lay ahead- helping the town from a dragon, saving their friends, finding a crystal star, and apparently looking for a princess. All on the first day.

Double D peered over to Nazz, who was sleeping calmly in the bed. He noticed she was smiling. They were trapped in another world, possibly forever, their friends could have all possibly been forever lost… and there she was, dreaming away, smiling.

Strangely enough, Double D smiled as well. He couldn't help feeling just a little better knowing that she had a little hope…

"I don't know why, but I just remembered that day when we first arrived in Petalburg." Double D thought aloud. "Smiles are contagious, they say. …so then maybe if I smile for now, you will too."

Double D attempted to force a smile on his face. Seconds later, he sighed, and a true smile appeared. "Ok then Nazz. I'll keep fighting. You have done enough. I can't imagine all that you have been through, and you deserve to sit this one out. I'll fight… for you. Just please smile and be ok."

Double D turned around and walked away from the door. However, the door across the hall immediately caught his attention. There was a large window on the door. Two doctors were sitting nearby Eddy and Goombirro, or their statues rather.

"There they are!" Double D shouted. Without thinking, Double D suddenly opened the door, startling the doctors inside.

"Sorry sir." said one of them. "This room is closed off to civilians."

"It's ok, I know them." Double D said, approaching Eddy's statue.

"Youdo?"

Double D ignored the doctors, and placed his ear up to Eddy's. With his right hand, he held the Eye of Wisdom headband. It began to glow, and he listened carefully as he tapped into Eddy's Mind.

"Eddy? Can you head me?" Double D asked.

"DOUBLE D?" Eddy's voice projected from the rock, once again scarring the doctors. "Save me already!"

"I'm working on it, Eddy." Double D said.

"Ghosts!" the doctors shouted. "My word, what is wrong with this place?!" With that, they both ran out of the door. Double D rolled his eyes. "Eddy, can you break out of that state?"

"OF COURSE NOT!" Eddy shouted.

"Eddy!" Goombella suddenly shouted. She ran into the room, with the rest of the group in tow.

"That's Eddy?" Luffy asked, sounding amazed. "Whoooa!"

"NOT HELPING!" Eddy shouted. The statue began to shake. "Somebody save me already!"

"The last time this happened, the Eye of Wisdom was able to negate the effects." Double D said. He placed the relic on Eddy's forehead. The statue suddenly began to glow, turning redder and redder, until-

BANG!

The stone casing broke off Eddy, and he returned to normal, falling on the floor.

"Yeeow!! That hurt!"

"Sorry." Double D said awkwardly. He proceeded over to Goombirro, and placed it on his head too. Seconds later, Goombirro began to glow as well, and he too, was freed from his petrified imprisonment.

"Whoo!" Goombirro shouted. "…no wait, this is bad! Beldam, and Nazz, and Link, and-"

"Link?" Double D asked suddenly. "Who on earth is Link?"

"That swordsman guy." said Goombirro. "He walked into our room right before Beldam showed up. I don't really know who he is, but-"

"What does he look like?" Mac asked.

"Well, he had blonde hair, blue eyes, and was wearing a green tunic and a green hat, kind of like yours, Double D. He had a sword and shield on his back too…"

"That's it!" Double D exclaimed.

"THAT'S IT ALRIGHT!" Nami shouted. "That means that Link has to be Beldam's new host!"

Double D nodded. "Alright then. Eddy, Goombirro, Goombella, Mac, Bloo, Vivian, Luffy, and Nami. We have to find him, and quickly."

"I have a big score to settle now!" Eddy shouted.

It was about then that the ground began to shake. Items in the room began to fall of shelves, and the approaching sirens of a police car could be heard. They looked out of the nearby window, and spotted a police car, with something attached to the back causing sparks to fly off, pass by very loudly.

"What was that?" Luffy asked, peering out the window.

"What are you doing?!" Midna asked, after phasing from the bottom of the car into the passenger seat.

"I don't know!" Sarah exclaimed back, turning the wheel rapidly as she sped down the streets. "I can't drive!"

"Your name is Sarah, right? Let me teleport us out of this car!" Midna said.

"You can do that?" She asked.

Midna nodded. "Just give me a couple seconds."

Sarah looked at the rear-view mirror, finally realizing that the robot was attacked to the back of the car. She watched as the robot began to climb onto the back, and proceed upwards into the top.

"SARAH!" Midna suddenly exclaimed.

She looked ahead, noticing that the River Thames was directly ahead, coming up. The car launched itself into the air, and began it's instantaneous decent towards the water below.

"C'MON!" Sarah shouted.

"Ok, I'm ready." Midna said.

Both she and Sarah suddenly exploded into a series of dark particles. They through the roof and out of the car, into the darkening skies above.

The robot, still clinging to the car, looked up to watch the particles, and then back down to the river he was falling into.

"…ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!"

The red headed child opened her eyes and gasped. They were standing just outside of the House of Parliament. She looked back and forth, and then at Midna, who was just re-appeared beside her.

"How did you do that?" Sarah asked her.

"It's a gift." stated Midna, smiling. "…right then, so…"

"Why are we here?" Sarah asked.

Midna looked up at the Clock Tower. "I brought us here, because this is where Link and I arrived in this world. When we go through those doors…" she gestured to a set of doors near the base of the Big Ben. "We should return to my world, where we can wait and form a plan of some kind."

"Your world?" Sarah asked. "Sheesh, Earth, the Mushroom World, your world, how many other worlds do I not know about?"

"We should hurry." stated Midna seriously. "I don't know how much time we have before the witch and the robot return."

"Are you sure?" Sarah asked. "'Cause that's just a regular door."

"I'm positive." stated Midna. She grabbed Sarah and pulled her along, towards the door. Strangely enough, it looked as though the door didn't belong there. As opposed to the rest of the doors which appeared to be made of wood and showed various royal crests of Brittan, this door appeared to be made of stone. There was another crest on the door, one that resembled three triangles on top of each, forming a larger triangular shape. There was another crest on it, that resembled a large, hieroglyphic bird.

"Come on." Midna said to Sarah, and pushed on the door. It creaked open slowly, revealing a bright, blinding glow behind it. Midna ran into the door, pulling Sarah behind her. As they walked in, the door automatically shut behind them, sealing the two in.

Sarah's eyes were blinded instantly, causing her to squint.

"Geez! Where is this?"

Though she could not see, she could hear fine. It was odd though, since everything sounded distorted. The tolling of Big Ben could be heard in the distance. She could hear various voices talking backwards. Sarah's head began to feel a little heavy, and she grabbed onto it.

Finally, the light, and strange sounding noises faded, and her vision was cleared. She could see the inside of a strange temple. She was standing on a balcony, with stairs directly in front of her leading into the heart of the football-field sized room. The floor was made of marble, the walls looked to be made of a pearl-like substance, which glowed. The ceiling was angular, so that it almost looked like a cathedral of some kind. In the end of the room, far ahead of them, was an open doorway, which led deeper inside, though what was ahead was unclear. Two, strange, stone statues that appeared to be carrying axes stood on either side of the door. There were a series of arced, stain-glass windows on the walls. Sunlight poured in from all directions, making the room look very shiny and bright.

Sarah rubbed her eyes. "…where are we?"

Midna smiled. "This is the Temple of Time. It's the gateway between a lot of dimensions, located in the center of Hyrule."

"The temple of time?" Sarah asked. "Hyrule?"

"There are dozens of dimensions that have doorways that lead here." Midna continued to explain. "It's like a giant hallway in time. And ahead of us is the heart of the temple. Here, we can enter any dimension we so desire, including mine."

Midna began to float down the stairs. Sarah, instinctually, decided to follow.

"So, you can go into any dimension you want from this temple?" quizzed Sarah as she reached the base of the stairs. "And you can go anywhere in any universe?"

"Nope."said Midna. "We can only enter some dimensions. And you only enter from the same place in a dimension."

"And it just so happens to send you to Big Ben?"

"It's the most time-related thing on your planet." stated Midna.

"But why-"

"They will catch up to us if we don't keep waiting!" Midna shouted, floating towards the door.

Sarah groaned. "I thought we were supposed to beat them! Why are we running?"

"If that's true, then why did you get in the car?"

They proceeded through the chamber, racing towards the door on the far side of the room. Of course, they hadn't gotten too far before-

"What is this place?" asked a familiar voice. The two turned around and spotted the same robotic stalker that had been pursuing Sarah for this whole time.

"You!" Sarah exclaimed.

The robot shut the door and proceeded to go down the stairs, all the while staring at Sarah.

"Sarah… I'm not going to make the same mistakes as last time. Please come with me."

"Not in your life!" Sarah shouted.

"Don't you remember me?" it asked.

"She said she won't leave." Midna stated in her defense, floating in between the two.

"Sarah…" the robot stated.

Midna began to grow upset. "I'm doing playing nice."

Suddenly, her orange hair seemed to shoot outwards. It formed a long, orange arm and hand, which reached towards the robot and grabbed it, lifting it into the air.

"Wa-wait!" the robot shouted. "Don't do this!"

Slowly and slowly, he was risen further into the air, as Sarah watched on rather intently.

"Maybe this will finally stop you." Midna commented.

With that, she released her grip. The robot began to fall, right towards the triforce symbol on the floor. After but a second, it made contact with the floor, and broke apart. Several gears and wires broke outwards and metal panels scattered about. Sparks flew from the wreckage, lighting up the area for a small time.

Midna's hair returned to normal and retreated to the top of her head. "Well then." she wiped her two real hands together. "That takes care of that."

"Nice hair." Sarah commented, with a small smile. "You need to show me how to do that someday."

She noticed a particular shining object on the ground. Looking down, she saw a glowing, elegant looking key, about the size of small pencil. She reached down and picket it up.

"He was holding this." Sarah said, taking the key and gesturing to Midna. "I wonder what it unlocks?"

"We don't have time to worry about that right now." Midna said.

Sarah nodded. "Right."

The two of them left the area, headed deeper into the Temple of Time.

"…bravo." stated a voice, the moment they left. A familiar dark figure arrived at that point.

It was Dimentio, who had just warped into the room.

"You sure know how to put on a show, dear boy!" he mocked as he approached the fallen robot.

The robotic creature looked up at the magic jester. "You."

"Hello."

"You guys won't win." said the creature. "I promise you that you're plans… to ruin the world, they won't succeed."

Dimentio laughed. "You sure seem to know a lot about us. Quite an unusual machine, aren't you. Why don't you just tell me who you really are."

"No."

Dimentio flew above him. "Yes, I figured such. I also know you're not of this time. Why don't I just do you a favor and send you back where you belong."

"No!" said the fallen robot, a bit more desperate now. "I'm not done here yet!"

Dimentio laughed. "Sorry, you had your chance. Ciao."

The robot suddenly vanished into the air. All of the pieces that had flown off of him, vanished as well, following the robot back to whence it came.

Dimentio laughed. "The stage is set! The people are all in places! Ladies and Gentlemen, it's time for the show!"

Minda and Sarah reached an area further into the temple. They arrived into a large, chamber. There was an alter, and what appeared to be a sword's pedestal, surrounded by a set of hieroglyphics. Further ahead, was a makeshift ladder, which led up to what appeared to be a normal, stained glass window.

Midna pointed to the ladder. "Up there!"

London's Bell Tower suddenly began to ring. All of the occupants of the Edmobile looked up, spotting a peculiar glowing coming from the direction.

"What is that?" Double D asked. "It's not time for the clock to ring yet."

"C'mon, punch it Sock head!" Eddy shouted. He pointed towards the tower. "That's just gotta be where Beldam is hiding! We got to get her!"

"Cool, is that Big Ben?" Mac asked. "I've always wanted to go there."

"I hope this ends well…" Vivian said, peering ahead.

Luffy held up both of his fists. "I'm going to get my nakama back!!"

Nami nodded.

Goombirro looked to Goombella. "Listen, Goombella." he said. "I promise you that this will end alright. I am going to avenge what happened at the hotel."

"But Goombirro-"

"And if I don't make it out of this, want you to know that I-"

"YEAH, OK, WE'RE GOING TO GO!" Eddy shouted over Goombirro, clearly trying to shout over him.

Rain began to fall in London, and a bold of lighting caressed the sky as they got closer and closer still. Winds increased and beat on the car. The dock hatted driver sighed and turned on the windshield wipers. It was as though a storm had built up specifically over the tower.

"That's ominous." Double D said.

"Yeah." Eddy agreed. "It's very onomis."

"Eddy, it's pronounced- oh never mind."

Sarah rushed ahead of Midna, into the next room. It appeared to be a large, domelike structure. Just like the last room, it was glowing brightly with the brilliant lights cascading from the well-designed stained glass windows. In the center of the room was a strange, circular alter. On it, in the dead center of the room, was a pedestal. At appeared to have formerly been the place for something of high importance. However, if it had been, this object had since been gone. At the very end of the room was a makeshift ladder. It was an odd ladder, made of metal, one that didn't look like it belonged there. The ladder led up to a stained glass window at the far end of the room.

Sarah looked around. "Oh wowzers."

"Yes, Wowzers." Midna repeated. She floated up to the ladder, with Sarah following behind.

"Wait." Sarah said. "What are we going to do, jump out the window?"

As Midna floated towards the window, it suddenly vanished into the air. There was a hallway behind it, which the ladder connected to.

"…whoa." Sarah said.

"It was only an illusion." stated Midna, as she flew up and landed on the platform next to the path.

Sarah looked at the ladder briefly. She noticed that there was a written word on it, appearing next to a logo of what looked like a Jawbreaker.

"UPCO inc?" Sarah asked. "…why does that sound familiar?"

"C'mon, Sarah!" urged Midna.

She nodded, and began to proceed up the ladder. It only took her a few seconds, since her own adrenaline helped her climb. After this, she stood beside Midna, nodded, and ran in.

As they progressed into the hallway, they both noticed that the chamber was much darker. Less and less light was able to reach into the area they were in. After a few moments, they arrived: At the end of the hallway, was a larger chamber. This one was the largest of them all. It looked like the great hall of a marble palace. The roof was very tall, so tall that the darkness of the room hid it away, making it look as tough there was no roof, but instead a dark chasm. At their feet were very organized tiles. They appeared to be very old, but for some reason looked polished, fresh and ready for visitors to behold. The walls were not marble, but instead a clay design, with hieroglyphics streaming on the lower half. Carefully crafted sculptures of monks were on the walls as well, giving it an ornate feel. Directly on either side of them were two large staircases, leading upwards and to a door directly overhead where they were, and in the farthest direction of the room was another doorway, with two knightly-looking statues standing guard. The center of the room, however, was the most peculiar of them all. There was an alter in the center of the room, and hanging above it was what resembled a large church bell, with ancient indecipherable text inscribed on it's golden surface. Oddly enough, it wasn't the room itself that was disquieting; rather it was the sound. There wasn't any. The Temple was remarkably quiet.

Sarah looked a tad uncomfortable. "…this is weird. Is it ok to hide here?"

"It's only a little further up." Midna encouraged her. "On the 7th floor, there is a large room with a portal on it. We will use it to retreat to Hyrule, where it's safe, and make a plan."

"I'm not sure I can do this." Sarah said suddenly. "…I mean, leaving my entire world behind. I've done that before."

Midna paused and looked at her.

"It was 4 years ago. I and my friends were trapped in another world. I don't know most of the story, since I didn't come in until later… but when I arrived there, I lost my memory. A train staff took me in. The conductor, the Engineer, the Cook, the Waitress… I was like their family… but listen, even so, I almost lost everything from my past world when I arrived. What if that happens to me again?"

Midna smiled. "Is that all? Don't worry, I'll make sure you'll be safe."

Sarah nodded and smiled. "Well, ok then. Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Sarah had found new confidence within herself, as she now wore a smile. She laughed, and turned towards the stairs-

"Hi there…"

As she completed the turn, Sarah found herself standing before a sinister figure, which had managed to arrived undetected.

"SARAH!! MIDNA!!' shouted Beldam in Link's voice, booming like thunder. "I AM TIRED OF ALL THESE GAMES!!!"

She drew Link's Master sword and pointed it at a complete stunned Midna. "You are becoming a nuisance! I will end this!!"

With that, Beldam charged at Midna, with sword pointed at her face, screaming.

"Midna!" Sarah shouted. "No!"

Sarah left forth and jumped on Beldam. However, her new host's body was much stronger, and didn't fall as desired. Instead, the witch stopped and threw Sarah to the ground. During this, Midna flew to safety.

Sarah was badly hurt after hitting the ground. She struggled to get up, but her legs had failed her. Midna looked back at Sarah.

"Midna!" Sarah shouted! "Run away!"

"SARAH!"

Sarah smiled. "I've been mean to a lot of people in my life. I need to make amends sooner or later. Now do us both a favor, and run!"

"I won't!"

Sarah got to her feet, seemingly unaware of Beldam's position. She dropped her guard and pointed at Midna. "Please! Do it!"

Midna noticed, that out of the corner of her eye, Beldam was on her next attack, ready to hit Sarah from behind.

"SARAH!!"

"MIDNA! LEAVE ME NOW! LEAVE ME-"

That's all she was able to mutter before the blow reached Sarah's body.

Midna gasped and shut her eyes. "Please work!! Please!!"

Oddly enough, when Midna's eyes were closed, there was no sound of a slash, just a weapon whistling through the air.

"Huh?" Beldam asked. "What now?"

Midna opened her eyes. She noticed that Sarah was no longer there. Midna sighed in relief: her plan had worked.

Beldam peered over to Midna. Midna somehow looked different. This time, she looked completely solid. She was also no longer floating, but on her feet. Her shadow seemed to have changed too. Beldam noticed that it was not Midna's shadow, but Sarah's mimicking Midna's.

"What have you done?" Beldam asked.

Midna looked a tad nervous. "Just before you tried to kill her, I used the rest of my abilities to switch forms with her. I took physical form, and gave her a shadow one. I was able to save Sarah, but turning her into my shadow."

Beldam laughed. She looked at Midna's new shadow, noticing that it was mimicking all of Midna's movements.

"It looks like she isn't as strong as you. As a shadow, Sarah can't do anything. Not talk, not act. She is only able to do exactly what you do." Beldam said. "And if I kill you, then I kill her too. Not to mention that you can't use your flying or phasing abilities right now. Not too bright, are we?" she smirked.

Midna gasped, turned around, and proceeded up the stairs.

Beldam laughed in Link's voice. "And now the final chase begins!"

Author's Notes: I know that the Temple of Time didn't quite have that kind of capability in Twilight Princess, but I still suppose I wanted to give this kind of explanation of how they got there anyway. More action next arc. I will also reveal the identity of some very shocking foes, so don't miss it. Thank you for reading, and please review!