Worlds Apart
Part II
By Miss Lydia

Chapter 10

"Chosen one....,"

Lydia snapped alert as the voice spoke. Darkness surrounded her. As she tried to figure out where she was, the voice came again.

"Chosen one, it will fail,"

"Huh? What will fail?" Lydia called to the emptiness.

"What you plan to do on your own will fail," the voice repeated.

"What are you talking about?" Lydia yelled.

"Even when all seems lost, the last resort will fail," the voice continued. "Only the power of all will defeat the evil."

"When all.....what? I don't understand what you're trying to tell me!"

"Allies will fall, and evil will rise. Even when all seems lost, the last resort will fail. Only the power of all will defeat the evil. Ultimate power will restore the land."

"I don't understand!"

The voice seemed to drift away as it repeated its warning. "Allies will fall, and evil will rise. Even when all seems lost, the last resort will fail. Only the power of all will defeat the evil. Ultimate power will restore the land."

"Hey!" Lydia shrieked back at it. "Come BACK! Don't confuse me like this! I remember when this happened seven years ago! It only gave me more questions to ask!"

"Only the power of all.....,"

Before Lydia could protest further, the invisible ground beneath her feet dropped away, and she began to fall deeper into the nothingness.

And then she awoke with a start. Her wide eyes stared at the ceiling and her breathing was heavy. She sat up, brushing the sheets away. She sighed heavily and sat quietly until her heart slowed.

She looked across the room. Gordon was completely under his covers, and Link was sleeping soundly.

Lydia grabbed her spell book off the bedside table and opened it, turning it toward the window for the moonlight. She flipped the pages and started to read.

It's almost ready, she said to herself. I don't understand what that dream's little prophecy meant, but I'll have my secret weapon ready for anything that might come.

***

"Hey, where's your sister?" Link asked.

Gordon cracked his spine and yawned loudly. "I dunno," he replied. "Rather odd for her to be up and about so early."

Link pulled his boots on and opened the door. The new day's sunlight flooded in and lit the whole house. Link looked around for Lydia, and found her sitting on the Cucco pen's fence with her eyes locked on Death Mountain. He smiled and waved at her. She took her gaze off the mountain long enough to wave back, then locked her eyes right back north.

Gordon came out of the house, and the two boys joined the sorceress at the Cucco pen.

"You know," Link warned sarcastically, "I wouldn't sit on that fence if I were you. These Cuccos are known to strike at random. They're vicious killers."

Lydia ignored him and changed the subject quickly. "I had a dream," she said quietly.

Gordon crossed his arms. "Was a monster after you?" he joked. To his surprise, his sister didn't hit him or roll her eyes like she usually would. She just kept staring at the mountain.

"Kid," she asked, "Remember seven years ago, when we both had that dream? In it, a voice told us that 'the time had come'."

"Yeah, I remember that. It was really creepy….like something straight out of a movie."

"The voice came to me again," Lydia continued. "Only what it told me was much more serious this time."

"Just you..." he asked. "I wonder why it ignored me this time."

His sister scoffed. "Believe me, you can have it. I'd prefer it going after you, instead. It only confused the hell out of me."

"What did it say?" Link asked curiously.

"It came with a little prophecy which confused me in ways I can't understand."

"What - did - it - say?" Link asked again, more slowly this time.

Lydia took a breath and repeated the prophecy. "Allies will fall, and evil will rise. Even when all seems lost, the last resort will fail. Only the power of all will defeat the evil. Ultimate power will restore the land."

Link scoffed and tapped his boots in the dirt. "You're right. That is confusing."

"Do you have any idea what it means?" Gordon asked.

Lydia shook her head. "I'm not sure, but I have a feeling that something horrible is going to happen. We'll find out as we move along. And our next move is Death Mountain."

One of the Cuccos cawed from inside the pen, right behind Lydia. The sorceress turned and shooed it away with her hand.

"We need to find the dragon Volvagia and kill it," Link said. "The Gorons will die if we don't."

"I don't think we've ever killed a dragon before," Lydia pointed out. "Do you think we can?"

Gordon shrugged. "There's only one way to find out, really."

The Cucco came back and pecked at Lydia's leg, which was right by the fence. Lydia picked the Cucco up and tossed it away in disgust.

"Then let's get going as soon as possible," she said. "We'll find this dragon and together we'll kill it! I'm sure we can do it, especially with two Triforce pieces!"

Link nodded confidently. "We'll probably find Volvagia in the Fire Temple, somewhere in the crater. It's rather hot in there, so we'll need to take necessary precautions first."

Lydia began to stand up, but the Cucco was determined to get its revenge now. The bird hopped up onto Lydia's head and began to peck at her wildly. Lydia shrieked loudly and tried to yank the chicken out of her hair. Her arms flew all over the place as she tried to throw it off. Link and Gordon were laughing so hard that they could barely stay standing.

Finally she flung the bird back into the pen. Lydia pointed her finger in the air, and then brought it down hard.

"Explosion Array!"

The Cucco cawed loudly as it was carried skyward on the pillar of dust and dirt.

Link and Gordon gawked at her. "I thought you couldn't use your magic!" Link said.

"I'm getting there," Lydia declared happily as the dazed Cucco finally hit the ground behind her. "Well, I can't cast anything big yet, but I can handle smaller spells."

"That's a small spell?" Gordon asked.

Before Lydia could answer, the messed up Cucco righted itself and cawed very loudly into the sky. Lydia turned to look at it as it cawed again.

"Um...what's it doing?" she asked.

Link began to back away slowly. "Uh oh....,"

"What? What's it doing?"

Suddenly, beating wings could be heard everywhere. Dozens upon dozens of Cuccos began to fly out of nowhere, and they were all coming right toward the three travelers.

Link turned and sprinted away. "Run!"

The sorcerers followed his example and bolted across town, constantly beating away the attack Cuccos. The crazed birds were dropping out of the sky in all directions, pecking madly at the three as they ran.

Lydia stumbled and went down in no time. As soon as she pulled her face out of the dirt, she saw a wall of Cuccos coming right for her, shrieking hell as they got close.

"Eeek! Bomb Di Wing!!"

The wall of birds was blown in a different direction. Lydia jumped to her feet and caught up to the boys as they dashed through the entrance of Death Mountain trail.

After they were a ways up the trail and clear of Kakariko, the three stopped and leaned against the canyon wall. The trail was quiet, save for their heavy breathing. Link swallowed hard and sighed.

"See? I told you they were vicious killers," he said as he pulled a Cucco feather out of his hair.

Lydia slugged him in the shoulder, then pushed off the wall and started walking.

"It seemed you knew what was about to happen back there," she said. "Do you normally pick on chickens?"

Link shrugged. "I was a curious child, okay? I was trying to play with one and that same thing happened."

"Playing with it? More like you were trying to have it for dinner."

"Okay, you two," Gordon interrupted sternly. "Let's just drop it there."

Lydia shrugged and started up the trail. "The kid's right," she called back to the boys. "The sooner we get moving, the sooner I can stuff my secret weapon down Ganondorf's throat."

Gordon and Link ran ahead and walked on either side of the sorceress.

"You mean it's finally ready?" Gordon asked.

"Maaayyybbeeeee...." Lydia replied slyly.

"Come ON!" Link pestered her, "What is your secret weapon?"

"As the Japanese say, Sore wa himitsu desu."

".....What?"

"That means 'it's a secret'."

"Come on!" Link began to run in tight circles around her, determined to annoy the answer out of her if he had to. "Tell me tell me tell me tell me TELL ME!"

Lydia tripped him as he circled around again, and he went sailing into the canyon wall.

"Link's right, you know," Gordon defended. "You've been keeping us in suspense all this time. What's your secret weapon?"

"Well, I won't tell you everything. I can't risk Ganondorf finding out too much about it."

Link pushed off the wall and caught up to her. "What are you willing to say then?"

"I'll say that it's a spell, and it's a unique Lydia-spell. I've been working on it for a good five years, and it's finally complete."

"Is it really powerful? Like the Dragon Slave or something?"

"I'm not saying how powerful it is or what it does. You never know if Ganondorf may be watching us right now."

"She's right," Gordon said. "He probably is, knowing him."

Link smirked and began yelling to the sky. "We're gonna get you! You hear me?! You're DEAD!!"

Lydia promptly tripped him again, sending him to the ground.

"You wanna wake some Re-Deads or something, Dodongo Buster?" she laughed.

Link raised his head and looked up at her. "Oh no...," he whined quietly. "Where did you hear that name?"

Lydia started laughing loudly. "I heard it from a little Goron while you were sulking in Kakariko. A little Goron named Link. He said his dad....Darunia.....or something....named him after the Dodongo Buster and Hero, Link."

Link grimaced and stood up, brushing the dirt off of his tunic. "You'll never let me live this one down, will you?"

"Nope!"

"Okay, enough, you guys," Gordon scolded. "We're almost to Goron City."

"Yeah, Dodongo Buster!" Lydia teased, lightly tugging on one of Link's ears. "Move faster!" With that, she sprinted up the trail.

Link sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "You'd think she'd grow up a little by the time she was seventeen."

"Why?" Gordon asked. "It's not like you have."

Before Link could absorb that one, Gordon was up the trail like a flash. Link stared after the sorcerers and laughed to himself.

"Those two are really a pair. Can I really survive the rest of this little adventure?"

Lydia's voice boomed from the end of the trail. "Move it or lose it, Dodongo Buster! You're holding up the party!"

Link suddenly sparked an idea. He recalled Gordon told him of a nickname that followed Lydia around, and she hated it. It's payback time, he thought.

"Coming, Litter Box!"

Up ahead, Lydia threw her head back and shrieked, and then grabbed her brother by the shirt collar and began to shake him violently. "You little slime!" she screamed at him. "I told you not to tell anyone!"

Gordon only laughed and played dead, slumping down to the canyon floor.

Link laughed and ran to Gordon's rescue, only to get attacked by the angry sorceress when he got there.

***

"Do you realize you left a bruise on my shoulder?" Link complained.

Lydia looked around the empty Goron City. "Quiet. Call me that again and I'll leave more than a bruise."

Gordon joined her and looked down toward the bottom floor of the city. "Still as empty as it was last time. I don't even see the little Goron anywhere."

"He's probably hiding. If I were him, I'd hide, too."

She looked behind her in time to see Link pull a bright red tunic over his green one.

"What's that for?" she asked him.

"It's heat resistant," he replied. "We're going into the crater, aren't we?"

"Well, Mr. I'm-Always-Prepared-For-Everything, do you have red tunics for us, too?"

"I assumed you had some kind of protection spell against heat. Don't you?"

"No."

"Yes." Gordon intervened quickly.

His sister looked at him. "We do?"

"You're not the only one who's been snooping through the spell book. I have a little spell of my own. I didn't bother to name it, but I made it one really hot summer a few years back. It lasts several hours, too."

Lydia shrugged and walked to the edge of the walkway. "Okay, then. That solves that problem. Now, how do we get into the crater?"

Link thought hard for a second. "Well, we could go in the long way, through the entrance at the top of the mountain. But that won't land us anywhere near the temple, and we'd have to fly over the giant lava pit, and I find that idea to be rather unsettling."

"Is there any other way in?" Gordon asked.

"I don't know..., but I vaguely recall Darunia mentioned some sort of passage to the temple in his room. But I don't remember seeing any type of passage in there."

"Where's Darunia's room?" Lydia asked quickly.

"On the bottom floor."

Lydia turned and jumped off the walkway, toward the center of Goron City. Halfway down, she said "Levitation," and landed softly on the bottom level. She turned and looked up to the top, waving her whole arm at the boys still at the top.

Gordon shrugged and grasped Link's arm. "Whatever works, I guess. Levitation."

Without waiting for them to land, Lydia started through a long hallway that ended in a large room with several lit fire braziers. It was draped with decorations, and there was a large statue against the back wall that Lydia thought to be rather ugly. It looked like a big monkey.

"Find anything?" she heard Link ask as he and Gordon finally followed her in.

"I haven't really looked yet."

"Typical."

"At least I didn't take my sweet time coming down here, like you did, Dodongo Buster."

"Whatever you say, Litter Box."

Lydia snarled and punched Gordon in the arm, making sure to hit the bone with her pointy knuckles.

"You had it coming," Gordon said, rubbing his arm. "….Let's start looking around. If that passage exists, we should be able to find it."

Link glanced all around the room, and then stopped on the giant monkey statue in the back.

"Hey, crazy girl," he said, thoughtfully putting his hand on his chin. "That thing has a striking resemblance to you. Did you know that?"

In a flash, Lydia had Link's collar in her fist and her face was right up to his.

"You've really been asking for it all day, Long Ears. Are you feeling suicidal or something?" she threatened.

"Joke, Lydia," he replied sarcastically. "Do you know what that means? Say it with me, okay? J-o-k-e."

The sorceress jabbed him hard in the ribs and let go. "Let's just start looking."

And so they began combing through the room, checking under all the tables and in all the cracks of the walls. Link eventually came to the big monkey statue in the back of the room. He moved his fingers across it, looking for some kind if switch or something. He didn't find one, but he thought he felt hot air coming from behind it.

"Hey, come here," he called to the sorcerers. "See if you feel hot air over here."

Lydia and Gordon joined him near the statue and moved their hands around the walls near it.

"I think I feel it, too," Gordon announced. "Seems like it's coming from behind this thing."

Link rubbed his hands together and got a good finger hold on the statue. He gritted his teeth and heaved backward, and the statue slid sluggishly away from the wall, revealing a dark passage through the wall.

"Bingo!" Lydia shouted happily. She gave Link a playful slap on the back and ran in, disappearing into the darkness.

"Hey, wait a second!" Gordon shouted after her.

Link smirked and crossed his arms. "Don't worry, she'll be right back."

Gordon looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Now, Link, you know her better than that. She always wants to be first. She's not gonna 'be right back'. We'll just have to –"

Before Gordon could finish, Lydia came charging back into Darunia's room. She leaned on the monkey statue, breathing heavily and fanning herself off with both hands.

Link smirked and looked at Gordon. "Told you."

"It's so HOT in there!" Lydia shouted. "It's like a volcano!"

"......That's what it is," Gordon said. "A volcano."

"Didn't I warn you about that?" Link asked.

Lydia glanced at him, then looked at Gordon. "So, how about that spell now? Otherwise, I ain't going in there."

Gordon chuckled and made a strange movement with his hand. Instantly, Lydia felt like all the heat was lifted away, as if the inside of her clothes was air-conditioned.

"Now we can go in," Gordon said.

The three entered the dark passage. After walking a little ways, the passage opened up into a huge area. They were inside Death Mountain, in the crater. Below them was a huge pool of red magma. Above them, the ceiling opened up to show the sky. Also visible was the red ring of fire that hung above the mountain. Lydia looked around, now that she could stand the heat. Various bridges connected the sections of earth sticking out of the sides of the volcano. Over on the left side was another dark passage. It was very large, and two columns of rock stood on either side of it.

Link saw where she was looking and spoke up. "I'll bet that's the Fire Temple down there," he said.

"Have you ever been in there?" Gordon asked.

"No," he replied, "but it's the only thing in here that looks like an entrance to anything."

"Looks like a cave to me," Lydia announced. "Not a temple."

"Perhaps so," Gordon said, "but I doubted the Fire Temple would be labeled with a big, neon glowing sign or something. The only way to see if that cave over there is where we need to be is to go down there."

"Okay, how do we get down there?"

Link stepped forward and looked down off of the little cliff they were standing on. The cave was also on a cliff, across the lava pit. Connecting them was a tattered wooden bridge that was broken in one place.

"Watch your step," Link advised as he headed toward the bridge. After getting a running start, he sprinted down the bridge and leapt clear over the broken part, landing safely on the other half of the bridge. He straightened up and looked back. Lydia was jumping up and down, absolutely angry.

"You cocky, psychotic idiot!" she shrieked. "You're gonna get yourself killed before we even GET to the dragon!"

Gordon laughed and eyed his sister. "You're just mad that he can jump that far and you know you can't."

"ARGH! I'll never understand boys! You're all insane! You all go and risk your neck just to show off to a girl as cute as me!"

"Who's showing off?" Link asked loudly. "I just don't trust you enough to fly me over the lava. Besides, who says you're cute?"

Without a word, Lydia flew over to the other end of the bridge and landed next to Link. She grabbed hold of his ear and started pulling him toward the cave, just like a schoolteacher would do to a troublesome child. Link moaned and complained the whole way.

"Aw, come on, it was a joke! Let go! Let go! Ow! You're gonna pull it off!"

Gordon still hadn't moved from his place on the cliff. I wonder what lies ahead, he wondered to himself. Can we really defeat a dragon? Tektites and Stalfos are one thing, but a full-fledged dragon?

He continued to question the matter as he flew over the bridge. I sure hope we're ready for this, he thought.

As soon as Lydia finally let go of his ear, Link led them into the little cave. It didn't go in very far. At the end of the cave, there was a hole in the floor.

Lydia scoffed loudly. "Well, no temple here."

"Hang on," Link said. "This may just be the entrance."

He and Gordon went forward to check the hole in the floor. Lydia peered down the hole and saw that it was very deep. Along one side was a very long ladder. There was light, barely visible, coming from somewhere at the bottom.

Link pointed at the ladder and looked at Lydia. "See?"

Lydia sat down on the ground next to the ladder and crossed her legs. "Okay," she said, "that's all well and good. But I have just one question before we go down there."

The boys sat down at the other end of the hole. "What's that?" Link asked.

"How do we suppose to kill this dragon, when and if we can find it?"

Everyone thought for a moment. It was true that they'd never tackled something as big and powerful as a dragon before.

"Maybe," Gordon suggested, "a Dragon Slave will do the trick. Or Lydia's secret weapon?"

"First off," Lydia said quickly, raising a finger. "I'm saving my secret weapon for Ganondorf, and for a good reason. Second, I can't cast any of my big spells, remember?"

Gordon suddenly stuck his finger in Lydia's face. "HA!" he taunted. "So you admit it IS a big spell like the Dragon Slave!"

Link slapped his knee and laughed. "Good one! She sure fell for that."

Lydia pursed her lips and grunted. "I'll temporarily let that one slide," she said. "But as soon as we get back outside, I owe you guys an Explosion Array."

Gordon shrugged. "Whatever you say, Litter."

"A Dragon Slave," Link cut in, "would probably be a bad idea….now that I think about it."

"Why?" Lydia asked.

"Have you noticed how little space we have? A Dragon Slave destroyed almost the entire lower half of Hyrule Field, remember? That spell would not only destroy the entire mountain, it would probably toast Kakariko, too. Not to mention, the three of us would be caught in the middle of it."

Gordon rested his chin on his hand. "Good point," he said. "I guess that idea's out."

"We'll just have to do something smaller," Lydia said, not caring that she was stating the painfully obvious.

Gordon raised his head and glanced at Link. "What about our Triforce pieces?" he suggested.

"Hmmm...," Link thought. "Well, perhaps we could use that power to charge up something, like a weapon."

"Can your Master Sword do the job?"

Link shrugged. "I really have no idea. It's supposedly all-powerful, but against a dragon? I dunno."

Before anyone else could speak, a shadow moved in the corner. Acting completely on reflexes and instinct, Link jumped to his feet and drew the Master Sword. A figure stepped out of the corner. It was a small Goron. His brown coloring had camouflaged him against the cave wall.

Lydia stood and smiled. "Oh, there you are," she said.

Link sheathed his sword and looked at her. "Who's this?"

The sorceress smiled at him. "Link, meet Link," she said. Then she looked at the Goron. "Link, this is Link."

The Goron waddled forward in a flash. "You're the Dodongo Buster and Hero, Link!" he shouted.

Lydia clapped her hand over her mouth and snorted, trying very hard to stop laughing. Link – the Hylian – kicked her in the shin, then bent down to the little Goron Link.

"Where did you come from, little guy?" he asked.

Goron Link smiled, revealing his very large teeth. "I got here just before you all did," he said.

"This place is dangerous," Gordon said. "You were supposed to stay in Goron City."

"I know," the Goron said, "but I was worried about Dad. He went to try to stop the dragon, and didn't come back, so I came to find him. When I heard you all coming, I hid."

Goron Link looked at Hylian Link and smiled again. "I think I know what can help you defeat Volvagia."

Lydia jumped forward and stopped in front of the little Goron. "Really?" she asked excitedly.

"Yeah, I heard everything you guys said. Volvagia lived a long time ago, and was destroyed by the Hero of the Gorons with the Megaton Hammer. With Volvagia gone, the Hero hid the hammer in the temple somewhere. But now the dragon has been revived, so the hammer will have to be used again."

"So," Link said, "we have to find this hammer first. No, the Gorons first, then the hammer, then the dragon."

Lydia straightened up. "Sounds like a plan to me! And a plan is just what we needed! Let's get moving!" Without a second glance, she turned around and jumped down into the hole, ignoring the ladder completely. "Levitation!"

Gordon looked at Goron Link, then Hylian Link, and then jumped down into the hole himself. "Levitation."

Link watched him disappear, and then knelt down to the Goron. "We'll take care of everything. You go home to Goron City, and stay there, okay?"

"I will if you give me your autograph when you come back."

Link smiled and stood up. "It's a deal."

Goron Link waved his enormous arm, then tucked into a ball and rolled out of the cave, back toward Goron City.

Link started down the long ladder toward the temple below. "Well," he said to himself. "I sure hope we can pull this off."

Suddenly, he heard a voice ring out from below him.

"Come ON, Elf boy!" It was Lydia. "Hurry up! I'm ready to kick some dragon tail and you're up there taking your time. Move it!"

Funny, Link thought to himself, I'm beginning to worry less and less about that dragon, and more and more about surviving around this girl. She's gonna be the end of me.