Worlds Apart
By Miss Lydia

Chapter 16

"Gordon, wake up!"

Gordon was shaken in his sleep and mumbled incoherent nonsense. "Mmph...It's Saturday...I don't hafta go to school...," He rolled over and stuffed his face into his pillow.

Link scowled. He grabbed Gordon's shoulder and shook him again. "Wake up! It's important!"

The sorcerer finally opened his eyes and squinted in the morning sunlight. Link was standing over him, still in his wrinkled nightshirt.

"What's going on?" Gordon asked sleepily. "It's barely dawn."

"Gordon," Link said, tugging nervously on his braid. "We have to go. Lydia's gone."

Gordon sat upright quickly and looked across the room. His sister's bed was empty. The sheets were bunched up at the foot of the bed and her pajamas were on the floor.

Worry set in. Gordon jumped out of bed and pulled his clothes on. "Where could she have gone?" he wondered out loud.

"I don't know," Link replied as he pulled on his green tunic. "But after last night, I don't think we should just wait for her to come back."

"This isn't like her at all," Gordon fought with his left shoe and tied it quickly.

Link strapped on the Master Sword's sheath. "It must have been that dream she had, whatever it was."

"It must have been horrible. I've never seen her that panicked in my whole life. Did she say anything about it to you?"

"No, she fell asleep on my shoulder before she could even speak."

Gordon stood and opened the door. "C'mon, we have to find her fast!"

Link grabbed his shield and they ran outside. Link pulled out his Ocarina and charged toward Hyrule Field.

"I'll search the ground. You search by air."

Gordon nodded. "Ray Wing!" He disappeared over the Kakariko walls and flew south.

Link sprinted down the steps to the field, playing Epona's Song as he ran. The horse appeared almost immediately. Link was in the saddle in a second and Epona raced down the field. He skimmed the horizon from where he was, but didn't see anything.

As he rode past the broken drawbridge to the market, he yanked Epona to a stop. She reared up, then pawed at the ground anxiously. Link gazed into the dark market. He could feel the aura of the Redeads, even from the field.

She wouldn't be crazy enough to go in there.....would she? I suppose we should look everywhere....

The very thought of Lydia going to Ganon's Tower alone sent a shiver up his spine. Reluctantly, Link slowly climbed down and walked toward the broken drawbridge. He waded through the moat and started in toward the Market. But Gordon's voice stopped him.

"I found her!"

Link whirled around as Gordon touched down beside Epona, who nickered quietly and nudged her nose into Gordon's arm.

"You did? Where is she?"

"At the crater!"

Link's eyes narrowed and he leaped back over the drawbridge. "Death Mountain Crater? What could she want at that place?" He climbed back up on Epona and turned her back toward Kakariko.

Gordon jumped in front of the horse. "No, no, not Death Mountain Crater. She's at her Dragon Slave crater."

This only confused Link more. "That's even more strange. What's she doing there?"

"Nothing, literally. She's just sitting there."

Link looked up and gazed south. Lydia's old Dragon Slave crater was too far to see from here, but it covered most of southern Hyrule Field. "It seems she's still upset. Let's go talk to her. Hiyaa!" He gave Epona a sharp crack of the whip. The horse sprinted away from the castle, with Gordon flying alongside.

***

It's so quiet here, Lydia thought. So peaceful. And to think I may be a danger to this peace...

Lydia had quietly left the house as soon as she woke up. She had to get away from there. She had to be by herself for a while. She's wasn't sure why, but her wandering eventually landed her in her old crater from seven years before. It was partially eroded, and grass was finally beginning to grow inside it, but it was still a pretty big eyesore on Hyrule's overall beauty.

The sorceress was sitting right in the center, thinking to herself. Her pearl-handled longsword was stuck into the dirt next to her.

"Ugh. My head hurts. I've never thought so hard in my whole life." She sighed loudly and hugged her knees. "But last night's dream meant something, and I need to be careful. No matter what the boys say, I won't give in. They have to be weary of me and my magic. Who knows what kind of damage I could do... ....Maybe it would be best if I stopped using my magic completely."

She heard a noise off in the distance, coming from the west. Glancing up, she saw the figure of a woman, standing at the edge of the crater. The woman, at the sight of the sorceress, starting running toward the center of the crater.

Lydia rested her head on her arms. "Oh, come on. Why now?" she moaned out loud.

The woman skidded to a stop a short distance from Lydia. It was the Gerudo woman again. She slid her scimitar from her belt and pointed it at the sorceress.

"There you are, witch girl!" Nabooru called. "Prepare to die!"

Lydia looked up at Nabooru with such dull eyes that the Gerudo was almost shocked.

"Just go away, all right?" Lydia moaned loudly. "I'll play with you later. I don't feel like it right now."

Nabooru hesitated, not really sure what to do. This sorceress was supposed to get mad and yell, and that just wasn't happening. She backed off slightly, but Ganondorf's orders prevailed, and she advanced again.

"My apologies," she said sarcastically, "but I've been ordered to get the Triforce piece, and you are in the way. I'll destroy whatever is in my way."

Lydia groaned. "Same old line again.... I told you to go away."

"Stand and fight me, sorceress! Did you not say that you wanted to fight me? I'll go easy on you so you die slowly, of course. That is, unless you're—"

"Explosion Array."

Nabooru disappeared in a column of dust and debris. When the dirt settled again, the Gerudo was sprawled on her back, quite a distance from the center of the crater. Lydia sighed and hid her face in her arms again.

"I thought I was annoying."

No sooner had everything become quiet and peaceful again, the sorceress could hear hoofbeats in the distance, growing louder with each passing second.

"Here they come...," Lydia mumbled quietly. She sighed sadly. "This is gonna be difficult."

"Hey, what was that explosion?" Gordon asked out loud.

"It sounded like one of Lydia's spells."

"But she was alone.... See? You can see her now!"

Link stopped Epona at the edge of the crater. He could see the sorceress sitting in the very center. Not very far from her was the Gerudo woman, lying on her back.

Gordon saw her, too. "At least, she was alone when I saw her."

The Hylian shook his head with pity for the Gerudo. "Wow. She sure picked a bad time to try to kill her again. Doesn't she know it's a bad idea to bother Lyd when she's upset?"

Link climbed down from his horse. Epona nickered and nudged his side. He reached up and rubbed her nose. Gordon landed next to them and stared into the crater.

"Should we go talk to her?"

Link looked down at the sorceress, who didn't even seem to notice they were there. "Of course. I don't think she'll blast us like Nabooru. Besides, I think at a time like this, she needs to talk to someone."

Without further words, the two boys slid down the steep edges of the crater, until it leveled-off enough that they could walk. Link moved forward and walked in front of Gordon. As they got closer, Gordon held back a little, and eventually stopped. He knew that if even if his sister didn't feel like talking, the one person that could get her to talk would be Link.

Link stopped and looked over his shoulder at the sorcerer. Gordon nodded and waved him on. "I'll be right behind you," he said quietly.

Link nodded back and continued. He stepped on the ground loudly, so Lydia would know he was there. She was easily startled, and the last thing he wanted to do was startle her. When he was within ten feet of her, she looked up at him with strangely serious eyes.

"Get back," she said sharply.

Link stopped dead in his tracks and stared at her.

"Just....," she continued, more quietly, "stay away from me." A sob caught in her throat.

The Hylian stepped back with hurt feelings. "O-Okay...Was it something I did?"

To his surprise, Lydia began to cry again. She shook her head. "No, it's not you at all. Or Gordon. It's all me."

Link stepped forward again. "It's about what happened last night, isn't it?" By this time, Gordon was walking just behind him.

Lydia nodded slowly.

"....Are you ready to tell us about it?"

Tears flowed freely from Lydia's eyes, but she kept enough composure to tell the boys about the horrible dream. They looked more and more worried as she spoke. The sorceress had to pause when she reached the part about attacking Link, but she managed to get it out.

When she finished the story, she wiped her tears away angrily, but new ones just replaced them. She looked up at Link, whose eyes were overflowing with pity. "I..," she started to say, "I think you should just...keep clear of me. And I am going to stop using my magic before I hurt someone." She sobbed loudly. "I don't want to hurt anyone!"

Link stepped closer, and Lydia snapped at him.

"I said stay back, damn you! Do you wanna get killed?" She started sobbing again.

Completely defiant, Link only stepped even closer.

"You both need to keep clear of me.....," the sorceress muttered. "I care about you both too much, and I may end up hurting you."

Gordon also turned defiant. He went as far as to sit down on the ground next to the sorceress. "We care about you, too. That's why we won't stay away."

Standing over them, Link smiled. "After all we've been through together? No way."

"But...," Lydia stuttered, still crying, "I don't want to hurt you.... Link...I don't want you to die....and certainly not by my hands."

Link sat down on her other side. "Hey...do you really intend to kill me?"

Lydia gave him a shocked look, and shook her head so hard that she whipped her hair around. "No, no, no, no!"

"Then you won't." He smiled and put his arm around her shoulders. "And, no, I won't stay back. Don't worry, we'll work through everything."

Gordon hugged his sister, as she cried loudly. She smiled and wiped more tears away.

"Okay," she said, half crying, half laughing, "but don't say I didn't warn you." She hugged the two boys happily. "Where would I be without you two?"

Gordon laughed. "You'd be stuck at home, reading books all day."

"I...I'm still going to ease off on the magic."

"No, you shouldn't do that," Link said. "We need your help. All you have to do is be careful."

Lydia sighed and looked at the Hylian. "The dream meant something. What bothered me most was..." Tears started to fall again. "....was the fact that I was completely helpless. I watched myself hurt Gordon. I watched myself attack you...and, even though I tried to stop, I ….killed you…"

"It was just a dream," Gordon said. "Maybe it meant something. Then again, maybe it didn't. There's always the chance that you ate something bad yesterday. But, even if it does mean something, Link and I will stick by you."

Lydia smiled again. "Thanks guys. That means a lot."

It was quiet for several moments. Link heard the Gerudo woman moan in pain. He snickered quietly.

"I guess she learned a lesson today," he said to the sorceress.

"Hey, I warned her," Lydia replied, her voice once again ringing with the old confidence, "but nooooo, she had to annoy me. But I went easy on her. After all, she's under Ganondorf's influence. She'll be fine."

Right on cue, Nabooru stirred and sat up. She saw the trio and frantically crawled around, digging through the dirt.

Feeling confident again, Lydia laughed and called to the Gerudo. "Hey!" she shouted. The Gerudo looked up at her. "It's over there!" The sorceress pointed to the hilt of the scimitar, sticking up out of the dirt on the other side of the crater.

"Uh... Of course!" Nabooru called back, then she jumped up and sprinted toward her sword. She yanked it out of the dirt and started running back. She stopped a few feet of the trio, who were finally standing up.

"Now then!" the Gerudo said. "Prepare to die!"

Lydia laughed and rubbed the back of her head. "You know, you're not really cut out for the killing business."

Nabooru scoffed and raised the sword. "Don't make fun of me, witch! I'll do whatever my master commands me to do! Do...do you think this is some kind of joke?"

"I'm one of the most unobservant people in the world," the sorceress continued. "And even I can tell that you don't really want to do this. You seem like a more decent person than that. Even now, you seem more reluctant to kill me than you did the first time we met."

Gordon nodded. "She's right. You don't seem like you really want to work for Ganondorf."

Nabooru wavered, and gripped her scimitar with both hands. "I'll always serve my king. I will always be loyal to him." The hint of uncertainty in her voice was painfully obvious.

"Is that really true?" Link asked. "That's a lie, isn't it?"

"I...I..." the Gerudo stuttered.

Lydia smiled. "It isn't true. You don't really want to do this. You're not evil, are you?"

Nabooru slowly lowered her scimitar. Then she shook her head.

"Mm-hmm. I thought not." Lydia walked forward until she stood right in front of the Gerudo. She reached up and placed a hand on her shoulder. "So, come on. Why don't you fight on our side? Ganon's power is growing, and we could use more help. I like your spirit, and you have a good heart."

Several feet away, Gordon leaned up to Link's ear. "It looks like she's getting through to her."

Link nodded and kept watching.

Nabooru looked ready to cry. "He...Ganondorf....has some kind of hold over me. I can't help but follow his orders. I...I have to get the Triforce of Courage for him...."

Lydia grabbed both of the Gerudo's shoulders and shook her hard. "No you don't! Don't let him control you like that!"

The Gerudo looked at her, and a single tear fell. "Please....help me... I've been like this for years…"

The sorceress smiled again. "I'll do everything I can. I promise. You shouldn't be on the side of evil. You don't belong there."

Nabooru smiled. "You are right, sorceress. .....Thank you... I..I don't know what's wrong with me."

"Ganondorf's wrong with you. I promise that the three of us will do everything we can to help you. And, Ganondorf'll be defeated in the process."

The Gerudo slid her scimitar into her belt. "And in return, I will fight by your side, aiding you in any way I can. I will no longer follow the Evil King's orders." Nabooru raised one of her arms, which had several ribbons tied around it. She untied a bright pink colored ribbon and held it out to Lydia.

"I'm afraid I do not have much, but please accept this...as my thanks."

Lydia smiled and took the ribbon from her. "You've picked the right team to play with."

Nabooru smiled. "I...I'm sorry I...tried to kill you...,"

The sorceress laughed and slapped the Gerudo's back. "Hah! Forget it! You're okay now, and that's what counts."

Just after the sorceress spoke, the sky rumbled like thunder and turned dark. Everyone struggled to keep their balance as the ground began to shake. Through the thunder, they heard the voice of Ganondorf himself.

"You will not get away from me so easily, disobedient minion!"

A bolt of black lightning shot down and struck Nabooru. Lydia was blown down by the energy. She lifted her face off the ground and looked at Nabooru. She was on the ground, smoke rising from her body.

"Nabooru!" Lydia jumped up and moved forward. At the same time, Nabooru also stood up, but kept her eyes to the ground.

"Oh my God," Lydia breathed. "Are you all right?"

Nabooru looked up at her. Her eyes glowed bright red and her face turned savage. Lydia didn't even get a chance to move before Nabooru had her arm up. She swung down and struck the sorceress in the jaw, sending her to the ground. Lydia recovered quickly and watched as Nabooru drew her scimitar with incredible speed and raised it into the air.

"Die, sorceress!!" Then she brought the sword down. Instinctively, Lydia raised her arms in an attempt to block the attack.

There was a sound of metal crashing against metal. The sword hit Lydia was expecting never came. She lowered her arms slowly. Link was standing over her, holding Nabooru's scimitar at bay with the Master Sword.

"Back off!" he shouted.

With unnatural strength – an effect of Ganondorf's magic – Nabooru used her sword and forced Link out of the way, badly cutting his sword arm. The Gerudo then charged at Lydia again, striking Gordon with a fist as she ran past.

Lydia, trying hard to hold back panic, scrambled to her feet and jumped out of the way, just as the blade of Nabooru's sword struck the dirt. She recovered quickly and chased after the sorceress, swinging her sword madly. Lydia bolted toward her sword, and yanked it out of the dirt as she ran by. She whipped it around and held it up just in time to meet Nabooru's scimitar. However, her lack of skill with the weapon proved costly.

Nabooru struck down on Lydia's sword again and again as the sorceress was standing under it, not knowing what to do. Everything was happening so fast. She couldn't think quickly enough to keep up. She was acting completely on adrenilin.

With an unnaturally strong thrust of the sword, the Gerudo forced Lydia to the ground, slashing her shoulder open in the process. Her sword went flying and landed in the dirt. Ignoring her wound, she scrambled to her feet and tried to dive out of the way, just as Nabooru swung her scimitar at the ground. It was so close that Lydia felt a tug on her hair and the wind of the swing on her back. The Gerudo swung again. The sorceress barely dodged the swipe, and the momentum of the quick move caused her to lose her balance and hit the ground hard. Lydia curled up and clutched her shoulder in pain. She looked up in time to see Nabooru raise the scimitar for the fatal blow.

And once again, it never hit. Metal clashed on metal, and Lydia found Link standing over her again, holding Nabooru back with his sword. Blood flowed freely from the wound on his arm, but he seemed to be ignoring it completely.

Gordon appeared again out of nowhere, having recovered quickly from that sucker punch. He ran up behind Nabooru, who was trying to cut through Link again to get to the sorceress.

"Laphas Seed!"

A ring of white magic slid down quickly around Nabooru, then pinned her arms at her sides like ropes. She kept a firm grip on her scimitar, even though she could no longer swing it.

Lydia stood carefully, then stepped forward. "Nabooru...you....you really are controlled by Ganondorf."

The Gerudo's red eyes flared, and with another feat of strength, broke through Gordon's spell. The ring of magic shattered, and she once again lunged at the sorceress. She only ran a few steps before Link tackled her to the ground. He held her down with his knee and twisted her arms behind her back. Underneath him, Nabooru kicked and squirmed around, trying to get away.

Link looked up at the sorcerers frantically. "Is there anything either of you can do for her?"

Lydia and Gordon looked at each other. Neither of them knew what to do, and their eyes showed it. Before either of them could say anything, they suddenly heard Link cry out.

Nabooru had broken out of Link's grasp and was standing again, and she was holding him off the ground, across her shoulders. She grabbed a hold of his wrists and flipped him over her head. The sorcerers dove out of the way as the Hylian landed hard where they had been standing.

All right, that's it. Lydia ran forward with tears in her eyes. I really don't want to do this, Nabooru! Forgive me!

"Dust Chip!"

Dozens of tiny ice arrows blasted in toward the Gerudo, striking her many times, leaving small cuts behind. Nabooru stopped dead in her tracks and winced at the pain. That spell was designed to weaken an enemy's will to fight, but it was hard to tell whether or not it had done its job. The Gerudo still wore an expression of hatred.

Nabooru shot Lydia a look that sent shivers down her spine. It was a look that said "Count your blessings. You'll be dead soon." The Gerudo turned and took off toward the western horizon with her flight speed, and disappeared. Above them, the sky slowly cleared and turned blue again.

Link sat up, and from the sudden sting of pain, finally paid attention to the wound on his arm. Gordon stared at the horizon where Nabooru had disappeared. Lydia sat down in the dirt next to Link. She opened her hand, and found Nabooru's pink ribbon still in her palm. She clenched her fist around it so hard that her hand trembled.

"Yet another victim of Ganondorf," she said through clenched teeth. She took Link's arm and began to heal his wound. "The woman who tried to kill me wasn't Nabooru. Nabooru is an innocent, decent person. Ganondorf has her under some spell. The first time she attacked us, the spell was going strong. But it started to decay over time. When she came to us this time, the spell had decayed almost completely." She opened her free hand and looked at the pink ribbon again. "When she gave me this, she was herself again...."

Gordon knelt down and started to heal Lydia's shoulder as she contined to work on Link's arm.

"I promised that I would help her," she continued. "And I'll keep that promise."

Link looked at her with admiration, as did her brother. "You know," Link said. "you may be crazy, and eccentric, and hyperactive....but you have a kind heart. I've seen a change in you since we first met."

Lydia shook her head. "Nah. I don't change. Rock hard."

Gordon looked north, toward Ganon's Tower. "He's just doing more and more to Hyrule. When will he be satisfied...?"

"He'll know when he's satisfied," Lydia barked. "He'll know it when I shove my secret weapon up his—"

Gordon smiled at his sister and cut her off. "I'm happy to hear you talk like that again. All that crying wasn't like you at all."

Lydia waved a hand. "Whatever you say, kid." She finished with Link's arm and smiled at him. "Thanks. You seem to have saved my butt again. Are you all right?"

Link patted his healed arm. "Sure. No problem."

"Good."

Gordon finished with his sister's shoulder and gave her an enthusiastic pat on the back.

Lydia stood and started to walk to where her sword had fallen. Doing this finally gave the two boys a good look at her back. The sorceress heard Link make a weird noise, one of shock, and she whirled around. Link and her brother were both staring after her. Their faces wore expressions of shock and even a little fright.

"Wh..What are you guys looking at me like that for..?" she asked timidly.

Gordon slowly looked past her, where her sword was, then back at her. "Uh...," he began, but couldn't finish. Instead, he pointed past her.

She turned back around. Her brother seemed to be pointing right to her sword, but then she saw exactly what he saw. A large pile of brown hair was sitting on the ground, several feet from her sword. She absently reached behind her neck and gathered her own hair, then pulled it in front. It no longer hung down almost to her waist. It was shreded up and only hung about three inches past her shoulders.

Too shocked to speak, she wandered over to the pile of hair and picked it up. It was hers, all right. Then it hit her what had happened. When Nabooru swung her sword and she had tried to dodge, she had felt a sharp tug on her hair as the sword whipped past her back. The sword had cut off her long hair.

Link looked at Gordon, and Gordon looked back. Everything had happened so fast when Nabooru attacked that neither of them had seen the Gerudo slice off most of Lydia's hair. Then fear set in as they watched Lydia slowly stand, still clutching her hair. They could only imagine what she would do now – she was probably really angry, and anger with her always meant destructive magic.

"Hey, listen," Link called to her uncertainly, "it doesn't look as bad as you may think! It's just shorter...that's all! It actually looks pretty good that way! It just needs...a little trimming up...and it'll look great!" He glanced hurriedly down at the sorcerer. "...R-Right?"

Gordon slapped on a fake smile. "Of course!" he replied loudly.

Lydia suddenly tensed up and started snarling loudly, muttering various curses. Instinctively, Link jumped behind Gordon and Gordon threw up a defense barrier to prepare for whatever was coming. Lydia continued to tense, and fire magic began to swirl around her.

But the anticipated explosion never came. The magic slowly disappeared and fell completely. Link slowly looked over Gordon's shoulder as he dropped the barrier.

Lydia was still standing where she had been. Her hands were balled into fists and she was still growling. Link cautiously stepped back in front and called to her.

"Are you all right now?"

The sorceress relaxed and turned around. After a moment, she smiled. She held the hair a little higher and looked at it. She threw it over her shoulder and laughed. "Ah, I needed a haircut anyway...," she said, her voice cracking. The boys could tell she didn't really mean it.

"Y'know," Link said, "it really doesn't look that bad. It just looks like a sloppy haircut. A little trimming and fixing up here and there and it'll look fine."

Gordon nodded. "That's right. It just looks...different. But still good. You can even go home now and fix it up if you want."

Lydia sighed and shook her head. "No...there's something more important to do now."

The sorceress turned and went to retrieve her sword, which was half buried in the dirt. She brushed the sand away and stuck the blade into the ground. She shook the sand off of Nabooru's pink ribbon, then tied it around the hilt of her pearl-handled longsword. It was a long ribbon, so two ends hung off the hilt and fluttered around in the wind. She heaved a loud sigh, then yanked the sword out of the ground and slid it into the long sheath that was still attached to her belt.

She shifted her gaze to the south. "I'll keep my promise, and to do that, we need to get moving." She raised a fist in the air cheerfully. "Come on, guys! To the Water Temple!"

The boys looked at each other, then raised their fists up, too. "Yeah!" Gordon grabbed Link's arm and took off toward south. Link looked up at Gordon.

"I can't believe she's just shrugging it off like that," he called.

Gordon shook his head and laughed. "Hah! I've known her too long – she can't hide it from me."

"Hide what?"

"She seems like she's 'shrugging it of', but she's really pissed. It took her years to grow all that hair."

"Well, at least she didn't blast the rest of the field. Let's...just be nice to her until she gets over it."

"Yeah."

Back on the ground, Lydia stood on her toes as if to fly away, but held back. She looked down and ran the pink ribbon through her fingers.

"I'll keep my promise, Nabooru. Just hang in there for a while longer. Ray Wing!"