Worlds
Apart
Part II
By Miss Lydia
Chapter 2
"I haven't seen her this happy in years," Gordon said.
"I know," his dad said. "I'm glad the little mystery has finally been solved."
"Uh huh, it really is a relief. I can't wait until Link tells us what happened. You wanna hear about it?"
Greg looked across the room. Lydia was over there by the door standing next to Link. She was talking to him in very quick, short sentences, hopping up and down during the whole process. Link was laughing and had his hands up; he was obviously trying to calm her down a little.
"Sorry, we can't. I have a board meeting and your mom has an appointment. You can tell us all about it when we get back, okay?"
Gordon shrugged. "That'll work."
Lydia and Gordon soon switched places. Lydia began talking to her parents and Gordon moved in on Link.
Link smiled and shook his head. "Has it really been seven years?" he asked.
"Yes," Gordon replied in a huff. "Believe me, I should know. I live with Lydia and the fact that it's been seven years has been all she talks about lately."
"Seems like only yesterday to me that I pulled this sword."
"This sword? You mean you have it with you?"
Link reached behind him and patted the Master Sword's handle, the only thing sticking out of the colorful sheath.
"Neat!" Gordon continued. "Say, what do you mean by 'it seems like yesterday'? I mean, it's been seven years."
"Well, as soon as Lydia calms down enough to sit still for two minutes, I can explain what happened that day Ganondorf attacked us."
"I don't know how long it'll be before she calms down. You have no idea how happy she is."
Link looked at her, then at Gordon again.
"You have no idea," Gordon continued, "how worried she's been since that day. Mainly about you, I think. I think she's mainly happy to see that you're all right."
"She's been worried about me?"
"Horribly. It's all she's ever talked about."
Link blushed a little.
Gordon changed the subject slightly to save Link some embarrassment. "We've also been really worried about Hyrule. What's happened?"
Link rubbed the back of his head. "Well, I can't tell you what's going on with Hyrule."
"Why not?"
"Because I don't know – I haven't seen it yet."
After their parents had left, Gordon and Link sat down on the big couch in the living room. It took a little doing, but they finally got Lydia to sit, too.
"Okay," she excitedly said, "time for explanations. Link, what happened that day?"
Link leaned back and sucked in a deep breath. "Here we go....," he breathed, and finger-drummed the pillow next to him.
Gordon turned sideways and listened. Lydia leaned forward in her chair.
"As you remember, Ganondorf attacked all of us in the Temple of Time. I paniked and tried to yank the sword out of the pedestal. I was surprised when it slid out so easily."
"I vaguely recall Zelda saying something about that sword," Gordon cut in. "Something about a...Hero of Time....or something like that."
"Right," Link agreed. "Only the Hero of Time can remove the Master Sword."
Lydia gasped quietly. "So that would make you......"
Link nodded. "The Hero of Time."
Lydia put her hands behind her head. "Wow," she laughed. "I guess you aren't completely useless after all! And I thought you'd never accomplish anything!"
Link smirked and suddenly whipped the pillow that had been near him toward Lydia. It hit her square in the face. She fell back into her chair, completely shocked. Gordon nearly fell off of the couch laughing. When Link started laughing too, Lydia reared her arm and threw the pillow back. Link continued laughing and threw it at her again. She threw it at Gordon, and after getting hit, he threw one. Very soon, an intense pillow war had commenced in the living room and had all three of them laughing like children.
Once the war ended--Lydia insisted she won--Link sat back down and caught his breath quickly.
Gordon laughed. "Not the most mature bunch, are we?"
"Anyway," he continued, trying to stop laughing, "I pulled the Master Sword, and that blue light surrounded me. At that point forward, I don't remember anything. I opened my eyes again, and I was in the Chamber of Sages, and met the Light Sage, Rauru. He is the one who told me what happened."
"What did he say?" Lydia anxiously asked.
"When the Master Sword was removed from the Pedestal of Time, there was a powerful energy reaction. Whatever it was, it was so strong that it neutralized the magic that was keeping you two in Hyrule, and you were both thrown back home."
"It had some kind of effect on the Ocarina of Time, you mean?"
The Hylian shrugged. "Some kind of energy overload, I guess."
"Ohhh...," Gordon said. "What did it do to you?"
"Apparently, I wasn't supposed to have the sword yet – the Hero of Time can't be a ten-year-old kid. So just before it sent you two home, it locked my spirit on the Sacred Realm."
"Ah!" Lydia agreed. "That's what happened when you disappeared."
Link nodded. "My spirit was sealed away for seven long years, basically until I was old enough to be the Hero."
Lydia's eyes widened. "You...you mean you've basically lost seven years completely?"
"Yeah. I pulled the sword, and seconds later – to me anyway – I'm in the Chamber of Sages, seven years older than I had been just before."
"But it really wasn't 'just before'," Gordon said. "It was seven years before."
"It's like seven years was just dropped out of my timeline. To you two, it's been seven years since the whole thing in the Temple of Time. To me, it was almost literally just yesterday."
Lydia shook her head. "That's horrible!" she shouted. "I'd want to live through those seven years. I'd be SO mad if seven years were taken away from me."
"What did that sage guy tell you then?" Gordon asked.
"He told me," Link continued, "the worst part of the whole story after that."
Lydia looked up suddenly. "......You mean it gets worse?" she said hesitantly.
"The Master Sword was the final key to the Sacred Realm. We expected to open the door and get the Triforce. What actually happened was completely unexpected. When we got the sword, it sent us in different directions, basically leaving the Triforce exposed. We weren't there to protect it."
Gordon frowned. "You don't mean....Ganondorf?"
"Yes," he said darkly, looking at the floor. "We led him right to the sacred relic."
Lydia jumped out of her chair. "Ganondorf got the Triforce?? What??"
Link nodded slowly. "Rauru said that the power of the Triforce enabled Ganondorf to become the King of Evil, and he's turned Hyrule into a world of monsters."
The sorceress gawked. "Hyrule....? Our beautiful Hyrule...? A world of monsters?"
"How bad is it?" Gordon asked quickly.
"I dunno, I haven't seen Hyrule yet. I'll get to that later," Link replied. "But first, I want to tell you two something interesting.
Lydia sat back down and tried to look as interested as possible, but the horrible pictures forming in her head were distracting, and she had to fight those off.
"Apparently," Link continued, "when Ganondorf touched the Triforce, an old Sheikah legend came true. The three forces – Power, Wisdom, and Courage – weren't in balance in his heart, and the Triforce split into three pieces. Ganondorf only got the Triforce of Power. The two other pieces are hidden within two people chosen by destiny."
"Who?" Lydia asked.
Link shrugged. "We don't know. I'm guessing they're each hidden within someone very wise and someone very courageous."
"So Ganondorf doesn't have complete power?"
"No, but that doesn't mean he can't destroy Hyrule. I'll be surprised if he hasn't yet."
"Now," Gordon said, "you said you haven't seen Hyrule's state yet. Why?"
"Oh yeah," Link said. "After Rauru told me the whole story, I was sent back into the Temple of Time. I came straight here from there. I didn't even go outside. I figured I should find you two as quickly as possible. From what I've seen, I can tell you that the inside of Temple of Time is still the same, at least."
Lydia rested her chin in her palm, falling deep into thought. She looked up suddenly. "Hey!" she shouted. "What about Zelda? Zelda was there, too!"
Link sighed. "Not even Rauru knows where she is."
"You mean she's vanished again? Perhaps Ganondorf has her.....?"
"There's no way to know."
"No, but there's a way to find out!" Lydia shouted as she jumped up again.
Gordon looked up at her and said "What are you thinking of? A way to find out?"
"Elementary, Gordon! We need to go back to Hyrule and investigate things for ourselves!"
Link's face brightened up slightly. "That's why I came here so fast. I want you two to come back with me. I know there'll be trouble, and I'd love your help."
"Right," Gordon agreed. "When do we leave?"
"Now's good."
"And we're even more powerful than before!" Lydia shouted. "I still have that spellbook – it's upstairs. I'll get it before we leave. We've been brushing up on new spells. I even taught Gordon the Dragon Slave last year."
Link's face fell as he looked at her and said, "Isn't that spell dangerous to cast?"
Lydia giggled. "It was seven years ago, yeah. Casting it was nearly lethal for me, and would've definitely been lethal to Gordon, all because of the energy that spell requires. But now, we're both old enough to cast it without too much trouble. I'm sure Gordon can pull it off, and I could probably cast it left and right without a hitch."
Link smiled again. "A spell like that will sure be useful."
"Also," Gordon said, "look there." He pointed to Lydia's necklace and she held it up. The glittering chain shone in the sunlight from the windows, but not so brightly as the red stone that was attached.
"Oh, great!" Link said. "You still have the Sorcerer's Rune!"
"Yeah," Lydia said. "I got tired of carrying it in my pocket, so I had a jeweler put it on a chain. But that won't affect what it can do."
"What can it do? Do you know how to use it?"
She smirked like a know-it-all. "It's a magic amplification tool. A magic talisman. I can use it to make my spells stronger." She paused, then put one finger to her lip. "Rather ironic. Big Nose Ganondorf was going to use this against us, and now we're gonna use it against him. I really like the way this is going."
"Just wait until Ganondorf gets a load of us now!" Gordon shouted enthusiastically.
"The three of us make a team of unbeatable, bone-crushing heroes!" Link said.
"A powerful sorcerer, the Hero of Time, and a crazy sister!" Gordon listed. "We make a real dream team!"
"Hey, you," Lydia scowled. "I'm a powerful sorcerer too! It's two powerful sorcerers and the Hero of Time!"
Gordon retreated. "Fine, fine, have it your way," he said through a laugh.
"Oh, my way? Great! We make a team of the Hero of Time, some weird little kid, and the most beautiful, intelligent, and powerful sorceress in any land!" Lydia beamed proudly.
Gordon jumped up and protested. "I take it back! If that's 'your way', I take it back! You can't have it your way!"
Link's eyes trailed from one sorcerer to another as they bickered playfully with each other. Look at them carry on this stupid argument, he thought to himself. I thought arguing with her was MY job... Well, now that we're together again, if anything can be done for Hyrule, it'll be done. That man is really in for it.
***
"Dear Mom and Dad,
We're gone again. Apparently, Hyrule's still in big trouble – in fact, it's much worse than before. We're talking on the verge of total destruction, here. We'll tell you all about it some other time. Gordon and I have gone back to Hyrule again with Link to do everything we can. I'm hoping we can set things right. We'll be home as soon as possible, but given what I've been told, it may be a while. Don't call the police this time, okay?
See you again soon,
Lydia
Lydia taped the note to the porch door, then jogged away, joining Gordon and Link in the front yard. "At least they'll believe it this time," she said.
"Ready then?" Link asked.
"Yep!" Gordon replied quickly.
"Oh, wait, nope!" Lydia suddenly shouted. "We can't go anywhere without packing! Gordon, are you honestly going to wear that shirt the whole time? We may be there for weeks, like last time."
"We didn't pack last time, and we were fine," came his reply.
"We're older now and can't get by with one pair of pants and a shirt. It doesn't work that way anymore." Lydia turned to face Link. "Link, tell him I'm right."
Link sighed and turned to Gordon. "She's right," he said, almost as if he was forced to.
Gordon scoffed and Lydia laughed. "Of course I am!" shouted Lydia triumphantly as she ran back into the house. "Get in here and pack a bag, Gordon!"
Gordon turned to Link after Lydia ran inside. "Since when do you side with her?" he asked.
Link laughed at him. "Who's siding with who? I just wanted her to shut up."
After Gordon had gathered some clothes and Lydia had packed the essentials, they rejoined Link in the yard.
"Are you ready now?" he asked them.
"Yeah, we're ready," Lydia replied as she adjusted the shoulder strap of her travel bag.
"You're sure this time?"
"Yes, yes, let's go."
Link reached under his shield, then hesitated and looked at Lydia again.
She rolled her eyes. "I said we're ready!"
"Okay," said Link, "just checking."
Link glanced at the sky as he pulled out the familiar blue ocarina that had taken them to Hyrule the first time. Link raised it and played the slow song that would send them there again. The notes flowed through the air as the ground glowed and the blue light appeared. Everything went bright as the ground seemed to disappear beneath them.
"Here we go again....," Lydia muttered to herself.