Worlds
Apart
Part II
By Miss Lydia
Chapter 8
The stars in the heavens above Hyrule twinkled their goodbyes as the mighty sun rose over the eastern horizon. In the village of Kakariko, the morning sunlight gently touched the roofs of the houses. The houses brightened, welcoming the coming of a new day. Inside one of the houses, a small group of adventurers wasn't quite as eager to greet the day.
Lydia sat up in her bed and stretched loudly. Gordon did the same, and after cracking several bones, he rolled out from under his covers. He walked over to the window and opened the shutters, letting the light flood in.
The girl sighed and swung her legs to the floor. Glancing to the bed in the corner, she saw something rather unusual. Link was still in bed.
That's odd, she thought. He's always the first one awake.
She stood silently and traveled to the other side of Link's bed. Link's eyes were open and he was staring blankly at the wall.
Lydia bent over slightly. "Good morning," she said gently. "…Are you feeling any better?"
He replied by moaning and pulling the sheets over his head.
Lydia sighed and reached over to the lump in the sheets. "That's okay," she said as she gave Link's shoulder a hearty pat. "I understand. Listen, you don't worry about anything today. Gordon and I are going to the lake to see if we can do anything there. We'll see you later okay?"
The lump under the blankets shifted for several moments. Then, Link's arm appeared out from under the sheets. In his hand was the Ocarina of Time.
"Oh?" Lydia asked. "For Epona? Thanks."
She gently took the Ocarina from him. His arm quickly disappeared back under the blankets.
Lydia shook her head sadly and met her brother at the door. They left together and started toward Hyrule Field. As Lydia closed the door behind her, she turned to whisper to Gordon.
"Poor Link," Lydia sighed. "He's in such a sorry state. He won't even get out of bed."
"Can you really blame him?" Gordon asked.
"…No, I can't. If I were in his place, I'd probably be worse."
"I just hope we can do something at the lake."
The two sorcerers walked through the gates, Lydia practiced with the Ocarina of Time, trying to mimic the song Link had played for Epona. She was messing it up so badly Gordon couldn't help but laugh. When she finally got it right, Hyrule Field had already appeared in front of them.
Gordon looked around. Epona wasn't where they had left her the night before.
"She probably headed back toward the ranch or something," he suggested. "Try the song. Maybe she'll come back on her own."
Lydia raised the Ocarina and played Epona's Song. When she finished, she glanced ahead. Nothing happened. The field was silent.
She pocketed the Ocarina of Time and swore quietly. She and Gordon began to walk. After crossing the bridge across the stream, they began to hear hoof beats in the distance. They looked ahead as Epona appeared over the hill, charging toward them at top speed.
Lydia sighed. "That's good. I sure as hell didn't want to walk the whole way."
Gordon stamped his foot silently. "Oh nuts," he said under his breath. "I was hoping to pull you through a tree, too."
"What was that??"
"Uh, nothing! Nothing at all."
As Epona neared the sorcerers, Lydia got her brother in a headlock and pulled him to the ground. She stopped when she noticed the horse behaving strangely. Epona had stopped several feet away and refused to come closer.
Gordon raised his head off the ground. "I'll bet she thought it was Link playing the Ocarina. She only trusts him fully, remember?"
Lydia stood up and approached Epona. The horse neighed softly and backed away.
"Hey, come on," the sorceress said gently. "We're friends, remember?" She reached up and gently touched her nose as a reminder.
Epona stopped backing away and stood still. Lydia approached slowly, and Epona stayed in her place.
"I know you expected Link," Lydia continued, "but he's having problems right now. So it's just us. You need to trust us, at least for now, okay?"
The horse backed up a few feet as Lydia approached. Lydia scoffed loudly.
"Look, horse, the only way to help Link now is to trust us, okay? If you want to help him, you have to trust me."
Epona neighed loudly and nudged the girl's shoulder. Lydia smiled and jammed her toe into the saddle's stirrup, and then pulled herself up. Once centered in the saddle, she reached down and stroked Epona's neck.
"That's a good girl," she said softly. "Just like that."
She looked down at her brother. "Let's head for the lake."
Before Lydia could say anything more, Epona suddenly shook her head violently and neighed loudly. She reared up on her hind legs, leaving the sorceress to hang on for dear life. Epona's legs hit the ground again, and then she turned and charged south, with the sorceress on her back screaming the whole way.
Gordon stood where they had left him, watching the horse charge away, almost completely out of the rider's control. He started laughing loudly. "So much for Epona's trust. Ray Wing!"
***
Lydia climbed wearily off Epona's back, her legs shaky and unsteady. She trailed to the horse's head and stared angrily into the big, brown eyes. Epona neighed and nudged Lydia's stomach playfully. The sorceress suddenly started laughing.
"Okay. Very funny, Epona. Very funny."
Lydia reached up and gripped the horse's muzzle stiffly and pulled it close. "Do that again, and I'll kill you," she warned, still smiling.
Gordon came to Epona's rescue. "Leave her be," he said. "She was only playing with you."
Lydia ignored him and turned toward the lake. It was still empty and dreary. There seemed to be no life at all, except for the blue Tektites wandering around.
"Do you have any idea what we can do from here?" Gordon asked.
Lydia shook her head.
"Do you think the lake has just dried up," Gordon wondered, "or maybe it's kept empty with dark magic, like Zora's Fountain was?"
"I don't know. The way things are going, it's probably Ganondorf's dark magic. And without my own sorcery, I can't test that theory."
"If it really is the dark magic at work, the only way to restore the lake would be to cut off the source."
"In other words, defeat Ganondorf."
As Lydia spoke the man's name, a sharp wind blew past them, making a howling sound. The two sorcerers immediately sensed another presence at the lake. Lydia drew her sword cautiously as Gordon surveyed the scene.
Behind them, Epona neighed and reared up. When she landed again, the terrified horse turned and charged away from the lake.
Lydia waved her fist after her. "Hey, horse!" she shouted angrily. "Get back here!"
Before any more words where exchanged, the howling sound grew to almost a deafening level. Suddenly, dozens of blue Tektites started to drop out of the sky, landing around the two sorcerers. Within seconds, they were surrounded by at least a hundred of them.
Lydia raised her sword. "Haven't we done this before?" she asked sarcastically, remembering their first visit to the Zora River.
Gordon boldly threw his hand out. "Bring it on! Fireball!"
About a dozen of the Tektites fell immediately, but they were immediately replaced with new ones.
Gordon backed away from the swarm. "If they were all in front of us, I could kill them all at once. But they're all around us. There's no way to cast a huge spell without getting caught in it ourselves!"
Lydia snarled and swung her sword at the closest monster, killing it. The others responded by jumping at her, knocking her back. Gordon cast several spells, destroying a good number of the monsters, but he too was knocked down quickly. When both of the travelers were on the ground, all the remaining Tektites began to hiss loudly, and they all jumped toward them at once.
There was suddenly a flash of bright light above the battle. The figure in the black cloak dropped down in front of the fallen sorcerers and threw his hands out. Once again, magic spread out in all directions, destroying every Tektite in the area. The mysterious magician had saved them again.
Lydia stood cautiously and approached the cloaked figure. He turned to look at her, and then approached her, as if he wanted to say something.
However, no words where exchanged. The figure suddenly stopped abruptly and looked around defensively, as if he had just sensed another presence. He shot one last look at the sorcerers, then leapt to the sky and disappeared in a bright flash of magic.
Gordon stood, still staring at the sky. "Was that the guy?"
"Uh huh," Lydia confirmed. "That was Mr. Cloak. And once again, I couldn't get any answers. Damn. We're no closer to finding our way out of this dead end than we were yesterday."
Gordon sighed and glanced at the drained lake. "Let's head back to town. There's nothing we can do here."
Lydia pulled out the Ocarina of Time and played Epona' Song. The horse reappeared eventually and met them by the lakeshore. Lydia put the Ocarina away, then playfully gave Epona's head a good shove.
"You coward," she muttered.
As soon as Lydia was in the saddle, Epona decided to play games some more. The horse reared up and charged back toward the field, taking the terrified sorceress along for the ride. Gordon laughed again, and then took off to catch up.
***
Lydia strolled back toward their house with mixed feelings of hope, despair, and eagerness. They had only driven themselves farther into the dead end by going to Lake Hylia. Her head came back from the clouds when she felt Gordon nudge her sharply with his elbow. He pointed ahead, and Lydia followed his gaze.
Link was outside, sitting on the roof of their house. He had his arms and head on his knees. He didn't even seem to notice that they had returned.
Lydia shook her head pitifully as she climbed the stairs next to the house. The side of the roof stood against the ground at the top of the hill, so it was easy to just walk onto the roof. Lydia carefully climbed up to the tip of the roof and sat down next to Link, dangling her legs off of the side. Back on the ground, Gordon turned north, gazing thoughtfully at Death Mountain.
She gently tapped Link's shoulder. His face finally appeared and looked at her. There was deep hopelessness in his eyes. Lydia saw that immediately. She knew that if a person like her could see it, it must be really obvious.
Link turned away and gazed up toward the sun.
Lydia sighed, trying to find the right words to say. She couldn't land on very good ones, and stumbled into the conversation.
"Um..." she began carefully, "Mr. Cloak reappeared while we were at the lake. There was something evil there. Whatever it was sent a Tektite army after us. I couldn't get any answers from the guy, but it looked like he wanted to tell us something,"
Link silently buried his face in his arms again. Lydia sighed and rested her hand on his shoulder.
"Listen, we're going up the mountain to see what's going on there. You don't have to come if you don't want to." Lydia looked at Link hopefully, but she continued when he didn't reply.
"It will probably be another dead end. Still, we should see if we can figure out what's going on with the Gorons. Gordon and I will probably be fine on our own. You can stay here and get your head on straight, if you want to."
Link didn't move. Lydia stood carefully, and before she realized it, she was bent down and her arms were around Link's neck. "Okay, then," she said. "We'll see you around." She straightened up again and moved away. As she started back down the roof, she twisted around momentarily. "I know it looks bad. But we'll pull out of it. We always do. You have to have faith."
She climbed off the roof and waved her arm at Gordon. Her brother met her at the top of the hill. Together, the two sorcerers started up the Death Mountain trail. Back in Kakariko, Link lifted his head in time to watch them disappear around the corner.
***
It was their second visit to Goron City, and it was just as empty as the first time. Except for one thing. The two sorcerers immediately noticed movement inside. A single, small rock creature was rolling around on one of the middle floors.
Lydia and Gordon caught up to him, but couldn't get him to stop rolling around. Lydia saw a bomb flower nearby and chuckled evilly. Link had told her about those once. She yanked it out of the leaves and set it down, right in the little rock's path. The sorcerers retreated as the rock rolled close. The bomb exploded, and the rock stopped.
The two travelers approached cautiously as the rock unrolled and sat up.
"Who are you?" the rock asked them.
"Who are you?" Lydia asked.
"I'm Link, of the Gorons. My father is Darunia."
"Who's Darunia?"
"My dad."
Lydia scoffed. "I got that part, but who is he?"
"The head Goron in Goron City."
Gordon stepped up. "What did you say your name was, little guy?"
"Link."
"We also know someone named Link."
The little Goron suddenly got very excited. "You mean the Hylian Link? The Dodongo-Buster and Hero Link?"
Lydia started laughing really hard. "Dodongo-Buster? Now that's funny!"
"You do know the Hero Link!" Link the Goron said happily. "Could you get his autograph for me?"
"There's something more important that needs to be talked about right now," Gordon said. "Where are all the other Gorons?"
Link the Goron's excitement vanished and he started to cry softly. "Everyone was taken away. Even Dad. They are all prisoners of the dragon Volvagia."
"A dragon??" Lydia asked sternly, but not without excitement.
"Ganondorf revived him and took all the Gorons away. They will be fed to Volvagia as a warning to the other races of Hyrule."
"When will this happen?" Gordon asked urgently.
"It should have happened already. But the Evil King seems preoccupied with something. He was supposed to feed Volvagia at least a week or two ago, but he's suddenly become busy with something else."
Lydia smiled. "Us. He's preoccupied with us. He's busy keeping us out of his hair."
"As long as we keep running around causing trouble," Gordon suggested, "the Gorons will stay safe until we get enough power to kill the dragon."
Lydia reached down and patted Link the Goron on his head. "You just say hidden from Ganondorf and you'll be safe. And don't worry, we'll get together with Link and we'll save the Gorons."
"If the Dodongo-Buster and Hero Link is involved, the Gorons will surely be saved!" the little Goron declared happily. "Please give him my thanks ahead of time!"
The little Goron waved goodbye, then continued to roll around. The two sorcerers started up the stairs again. Lydia suddenly giggled and looked at her brother.
"Dodongo-Buster?" she repeated, and then continued to laugh.
Oh boy, Gordon thought. There she goes.
***
The two travelers made their way down the trail. Lydia couldn't wait to tell Link of this new development.
"It really sucks that the Gorons will be dragon food," she said, "but at least it helps us out of our dead end. Well, at least it does a little bit."
Gordon looked at her. "No it doesn't."
Lydia looked surprised. "Why not?"
"Do any of us currently have the power to kill a dragon?"
The sorceress sighed and looked at her feet. "No, I suppose not. Damn, we're still in the dead end."
"Do you think a Dragon Slave will kill it?"
"It seems that Volvagia is really powerful and nasty. No offense, but your Dragon Slave may not be powerful enough. I could use the Sorcerer's Rune to power one up, but without my magic, we're still stuck."
"Ganondorf is really starting to piss me off," Gordon declared angrily.
"Don't worry," his sister replied, "that lousy son of a biscuit will get his, I promise. Once I finish my secret weapon–"
Lydia stopped short, realizing that she had said too much. Her brother was on her in an instant.
"What secret weapon? Huh?" he kept asking.
"If I told you, it wouldn't be a secret!"
"What secret weapon??" he asked again.
"I'm not telling! It's my little secret! But don't worry, once I finish it, you won't care that I'm keeping it a secret."
Gordon would have pursued the matter further, but suddenly a rush of wind blasted through the trail, and the familiar howling sound followed close behind. Knowing what was coming, Lydia unsheathed her sword and Gordon prepared his sorcery.
Large dinosaur creatures began to rise out of the ground. They each wore armor and had a sword and shield. They reminded Lydia of a Lizalfos, but these definitely weren't Lizalfos. They looked more like Tyrannosaurs than lizards.
The creatures continued to rise from the ground until there were about ten of them. The two sorcerers backed up against the trail wall, completely surrounded again.
Gordon looked at his sister and said, "Whatever it is, I'm sure we could use that secret weapon of yours right now!"
"I'd love to use it, but it's not ready!" she replied. "I haven't perfected it yet! Who knows what would happen if I lost control of it!"
Before she could defend herself further, one of the creatures approached with its sword raised. Lydia raised her own sword and stabbed at it. She hit it once, and the monster retaliated with its own attack, striking Lydia sharply in the shoulder. The sorceress howled in pain and staggered back, cursing her lack of skill with her sword. She quickly regained her bearings and attacked again.
"Fehlzareid!" Spiral rays of light shot out at a group of the creatures that was closing in on Gordon. The creatures recovered from the hit quickly and jumped Gordon before he could react. Even from her side of the battle, Lydia could hear a sickening crack come from the commotion. She stabbed her target, and then ran to her brother's aid.
"Fireball!!" The creatures that surrounded the sorcerer were blown away long enough for Lydia to help him to the edge of the trail. His leg had been broken. Wincing in utter pain, he carefully straightened his leg and began to use a recovery spell to heal the broken bone.
He looked at Lydia sharply. "Hold them off!" he instructed. "This'll take a few minutes!"
Lydia scoffed silently. "'Hold them off', he says," she muttered. Still she raised her weapon at the group of creatures. One of them advanced and raised its sword, preparing to bring it down and destroy them both. Lydia raised her sword, praying that she'd be able to block the attack. The monster roared and attacked.
The monster's sword never made contact. In a blur of green and a clash of cold steel, the Hero of Time sprinted between them and swung at the creature's head, knocking it away. The Master Sword was swung again and the monster was destroyed. The other creatures backed away cautiously.
Lydia's face was brighter than the sun. "Link!"
Link didn't say anything. He only charged forward and slashed more of the creatures. Lydia followed his lead and attacked a few herself, having found new confidence. She had a little more trouble, but the two held the creatures long enough for Gordon to finish healing his leg.
After what seemed like an eternity, all the creatures had fallen. Breathless, Lydia and Link joined Gordon at the trailside. The two sorcerers watched Link carefully, trying to read his sad expression. For the first time all day, Link spoke.
"I'm sorry."
The solemn apology took Lydia off guard. "Sorry for what?" she asked him.
"I'm sorry for being so useless. I'm just...."
"Upset," Lydia finished the sentence for him. "We know, it's okay."
"I wasn't there when you two needed my help. That's really shameful, I think."
As Gordon slowly stood up on his healed leg, Lydia walked up to Link and gave him a friendly hug.
"Hey, don't worry about it, okay?" she said. "You came to our rescue just now. That was very heroic."
Link sighed and rested his chin on her shoulder. "…I thought about what you said back there. You were right. We will find some way to pull out of this. But...that doesn't change the fact that I'm still sorry."
"It also doesn't change the fact that there's no need to be sorry. If you apologize again, I'll knot your ears."
Link laughed heartily as Lydia let go and stepped away. Gordon appeared beside her and smiled at Link.
"Good to have you back," he said.
Before Link could acknowledge, the howling sound started up again, louder than it had been before. Link jumped around and drew his sword again. More of the dinosaur creatures rose from the ground. They once again surrounded the group, only this time, there were about three dozen. They stood close together as Lydia scowled.
"Okay, just so curiosity doesn't kill me before they do," she started, "what are these things?"
"Dinoalfos," Link replied quickly. "Like Lizalfos, but more powerful."
"Crap!" Gordon shouted. "Can we kill this many?"
Before anyone could think about it, the Dinoalfos swarm closed in, making the group's circle of safety smaller and smaller. Link stood ready with the Master Sword, ready to take them all on.
Above the battle, there was a bright flash of magic. Once again, the cloaked figure dropped down in front of the adventurers and blasted his magic. The Dinoalfos army fell to the ground, and none of them stood again.
The mysterious man turned to look at the sorcerers and the Hero of Time. Lydia didn't waste her chance.
"Okay!" she shouted shrilly, pointing at him with her whole arm. "Answers! We want them!"
The cloaked person stepped forward, once again as if to speak to them. However, once again, the person sensed an evil presence and prepared to run away. Before he jumped away again, Navi shot out from under his hood and fluttered near the travelers.
"Everyone!" she shouted. "The Temple of Time! Quickly!"
Before anyone could say anything, both the figure and the fairy disappeared in the ball of light.
Link sheathed his sword. "So that was him?"
Lydia nodded. "Navi said the Temple of Time. Maybe we'll finally get some answers."
Around them, the fallen Dinoalfos began to stir and stand weakly.
"He was only able to stun them!" Link noticed. "Let's get out of here while we still can!"
Without a word from either of them, the two sorcerers charged down the trail, with Link in the lead. Everyone's heart was filled with new hope and determination. The way out of the dead end was in sight!
***
The group charged through Kakariko Village without stopping. As they ran, Lydia reached into her pocket and gave Link his Ocarina. When they reached the field, Link played Epona's Song. Epona appeared over the horizon and charged toward them.
Link climbed up into the saddle and offered his hand to help Lydia on. Lydia stepped back, not wanting to approach Epona.
"What's wrong?" Link asked.
"Your horse hates me," Lydia replied.
Gordon remembered the events of earlier that day and started to laugh.
"She took me on a rather jolly romp through Hyrule Field earlier today," Lydia continued. "I'd rather not get on again."
Link tried a different approach. "Do you want answers from the cloaked guy or not?"
Lydia saw the point and climbed up into the saddle. She wrapped her arms around Link's waist, ready for anything Epona might try to do. Epona neighed with a mocking tone and charged toward Hyrule Market.
***
"There's no one here," Lydia said.
The Temple of Time was empty. The three spiritual stones shone from their place on the altar. The Door of Time stood open.
"That's obvious," Link mocked.
Lydia replied by stomping on his toe.
"Well, I guess we wait," Gordon suggested.
They didn't have to wait long. Above them, the familiar flash of magic announced the arrival of their special guest. The cloaked man dropped down in front of them and rose slowly. Navi appeared and fluttered over to Link.
Everyone stepped closer to the mysterious man, and he approached them. For the first time, he spoke to the adventurers.
"You seek answers. You will get them this day," he said quietly.
The man's sleek hand reached up and released the button that held his cloak in place. Within seconds, the black cloak fell and crumpled around his feet.
Link, Lydia, and Gordon all stared at him with a mix of disbelief and hope in their eyes. No one could believe who that black cloak had been hiding beneath it.