Worlds Apart - Part II

by Miss Lydia

Ganondorf has free reign of Hyrule and is slowly destroying the land. To his surprise, seven years after he gained power, his sworn enemies reappear and strike back! Link and the sorcerers set out to save Hyrule! (Read Worlds Apart - Part I first!)

18. Chapter 18

Worlds Apart
Part II
By Miss Lydia

Chapter 18

With a quick transfer out of the Iron Boots, Link was on his way back to the top floor. As he passed the second floor, Gordon appeared out of a corridor close to him.

"Hey, good timing!" Link called to him. "Are you okay?"

Gordon made a weird face and swam close to him. "A little shaken up, but okay."

The two started up toward the third floor.

"Did you find anything?" Link asked.

"Nah. My floor was all traps. You?"

"I found a path that leads somewhere. That must mean that the other path is on Lydia's floor."

They broke out into the air again, and grabbed the edge of the corridor where they were to meet again. Gordon groaned and pulled himself up onto the platform. Link could see deep sorrow in his green eyes.

"What I found wasn't exactly pleasant, though," the sorcerer said sadly.

Link propped his arms up on the platform, then rested his chin on his wrists. "Me either. This place is really nasty."

Gordon nodded. "It kinda makes you look at things a different way, like—"

"Shh!" Link raised a hand suddenly. "Do you hear that?"

The sorcerer quieted immediately and listened to the air. The sounds of water dripping from the ceiling echoed off of the walls, but otherwise, there was nothing.

"I don't hear anything," he said to the Hylian, who had one hand cupped behind his long ear. "Are you sure you didn't imagine it?"

Link didn't reply, but just kept listening. His eyebrows wrinkled together and he turned to the west side of the temple. "There it is again. I think it came from this way." He pushed away from the platform and swam using long strokes over to the west corridor of the third floor.

Gordon slid in and followed him. He still couldn't hear any noises other than the ones they were making, but he had learned long ago to trust the ears of a Hylian, especially Link's.

Link reached the corridor in seconds and pulled himself in. Staying down on one knee, he peered far into the dark corridor and stayed motionless, listening to the sound.

The sorcerer grabbed the platform and hauled himself out of the water, then crouched down next to Link. The Hylian looked like a statue, like some kind of cat stalking a meal.

"It's definitely coming from this way," Link said quitely, suddenly standing up. He started walking forward, followed closely by Gordon. "It sounds a little bit like...." He stopped abruptly, and suddenly broke into a quick jog.

The sorcerer caught up quickly, starting to get worried. "I still can't hear it! What do you hear?"

Link didn't answer. He kept running, his gaze locked on the corridor ahead.

Gordon perked his ears up and ran as quietly as he could. He still couldn't hear anything. He kept listening as he and Link moved through the corridor. And then, there it was. It was a small sound somewhere up ahead. It sounded like a quiet whimper or a whine.

It sounded like crying.

Lydia.

It was no wonder to Gordon why Link was moving so quickly. His sister may be hurt or in some kind of trouble. He quickened his pace then, as anxious as Link was to reach her, wherever she was.

Abruptly, she came into view. The sorceress was sitting against the wall with her face buried in her arms. Her shoulders moved along with her crying. Link and Gordon slowed to a walk and approached quietly. She looked all right from where they were. Physically, anyway.

She lifted her tear-soaked face and gazed at them with her big eyes. As soon as she saw them, a smile of relief and happiness brightened the hallway, and she jumped to her feet. With a cry of joy, she jumped on her brother and wrapped her arms around his neck, crying loudly into his ear.

"I'm...so...g-glad..you're okay!" she managed to sob. She sprung off Gordon and jumped on Link. "I was so worried about you!" She started crying so hard that her knees buckled. Link held on to her so she could stay on her feet. She buried her face in his tunic and continued to sob. Link gently stroked her hair, and looked up at Gordon with wide, shocked eyes.

"Are you okay?" Gordon asked his sister.

The sorceress nodded.

"Are you sure? I understand that you were worried about me and Link, but you're absolutely in a state of panic!"

"Did something happen?" Link asked gently.

Lydia swung one arm behind her without turning away from the comforting security of Link's shirt, and pointed to a large hole in the floor, several feet ahead of where they had found her crying.

Gordon saw Link swallow hard and narrow his eyes. The Hylian gently passed Lydia over to him. She let go of Link's neck long enough to make the transfer to Gordon's, then continued sobbing. Gordon watched Link move forward slowly. He stopped at the edge of the hole and peered down inside. He stiffened, and after several seconds of awkward silence, turned around and started staggering back. His face was pale and his teeth were clenched together.

Still rubbing the back of his sobbing sister, Gordon was afraid to ask what was down there. Link stopped next to him and held one hand over his eyes. Lydia let go of the sorcerer and moved over to Link again. Link stood there with her and hid his face in her hair. Neither of them said a thing.

Gordon's curiousity got the better of him then. Something simple wouldn't have upset them so much. The sorcerer walked over to the hole. It was a perfectly formed square hole, and the floor that had once covered it was hanging against one wall of the pit. Gordon nervously leaned over the edge and looked down inside.

The bottom of the pit was littered with huge spikes, larger than the ones he had seen. Scattered among them were ten to fifteen Zora skeletons. The spikes poked up through ribs and through skulls, and skeletal limbs were wrapped around them.

A wave of sickness swept over Gordon, and he leaned against the wall with tightly closed eyes. He had only seen one Zora himself, and only a small part of it. And this is what his sensitive sister found?

It seemed then that the whole world had stopped around them. Time itself ceased to flow. No sounds reached their ears. Even the sorceress was quiet. There was no living thing in all of Hyrule, except three scared adventurers in the resting place of the dead.

Lydia broke the silence. "I can't stand this," she whispered.

Link's face reappeared. "I know. I don't know if I can stand it either."

The sorceress shook her head fiercely and pushed away from him. "No, no, I can't be here!" She started crying again. "I don't know if I can handle this! I...I'm really scared! I need to get outta this place! I don't want to do this anymore!" She turned and started to run, but Link caught her wrist. He pulled her back and gripped her shoulders tightly.

"Listen," he said, both gently and forcefully at the same time, "I'm scared, too, okay? If we didn't have to be here in order to save Hyrule, I'd have been long gone already. And you know it takes a lot to scare me, right?"

Lydia pressed her lips together and nodded.

"I know how you feel, and I'm sure Gordon does too," Link continued. "But we'll get through this."

Gordon stood up, and after one last glance at the pit, walked away swiftly. He forced himself to smile, and clapped Lydia on her back. "Sure we will. This temple has been unpleasant for all of us, I'm sure. But we're the bone-crushing heroes, as you like to say, and nothing has gotten in our way so far. What do you say we avenge these poor Zoras and pulverize whatever's in here?"

Link smiled at him. "Well put." He turned back to the sorceress, who was feverishly wiping her eyes with her hands. "Let's at least pretend that this place isn't as bad as it is. Let's pretend that we're not scared. We'll get through faster that way."

Lydia shook her head and laughed in spite of herself. "I'll do better than that. I won't pretend. I'll actually be brave for real, if it'll make you happy."

Gordon curled his hand over her shoulder. "That's the nutball I know! Now, what do you say we get moving? The sooner we go, the sooner we can leave."

He and Link started back down the corridor. Lydia followed several feet behind. She took a final glance back. The death pit was almost completely hidden by the shadows. She could almost hear the Zoras calling to her, begging her to purify the temple once more. Of course, it was just her imagination. ...Or was it? She sighed, turned, and jogged to catch up to the boys.

Up ahead, Link leaned down to Gordon. "Nutball? You're lucky she didn't pound you."

Gordon waved a hand. "Nah. She's not in the mood now. She'll just pound me later."

Lydia shook her head and laughed. "You really know me well, don't you?"

"Naturally."

"You're right, too. You'll get it later. Pow!"

When the main room came back into view, the three stopped inside the entranceway of the corridor and leaned against the walls.

Link cleared his throat absently. "So, Gordon, what was on your floor?"

"Nothing but traps," the sorcerer replied. "Nasty ones, too. Thank God for my magic." His face turned sour. "I also found the remains of a Zora, but just one, caught in one of the traps."

Lydia scowled.

The Hylian sighed loudly. "I found one, too. But...something really doesn't make sense to me."

"What's that?" the sorceress asked, momentarily emerging from her personal gloom.

"The Zora race has never been a greedy group. They live off the land and respect it. They do nothing for profit. I can understand one or two Zoras coming in here after a so-called giant ruby, but here's what baffles me. When those one or two Zoras never returned from the temple, why did so many more go in? They're not idiots."

Gordon glanced into the main room, his expression vacant. "Seems there's more to this story than we know."

"I'm sure there is," Lydia said, "but we won't find out anything if we just stand here. Link, did you find anything else?"

"Actually, yes," the Hylian replied. "One of the corridors on the bottom floor leads to a shallow, misty lake in a large room. We'd better check that."

"One of the corridors up here had two huge double iron doors in it. There was a hollow cavity in one of the doors. It looked like something needs to be inserted there to open those doors."

"...A key, perhaps?"

"That was my guess, too."

"Anything else in there?"

"Nope. Just the doors."

Link pushed off the wall and slipped back into the Iron Boots. "We'd better check out the lake room first, then. We may find something there."

The sorceress snarled to herself. "We'd better find something there."

With quick glances at each other, the trio jumped into the water-filled room, with Link leading the way. The two sorcerers each held on to one of Link's arms as the boots pulled them all down; that would obviously be the fastest way to the bottom.

Once they landed on the sandy floor, Lydia happened to glance off to the side. She saw a wall of spikes at the entrance to a corridor, and impaled on them was a Zora skeleton – apparently, the one Link had said he found. The sorceress grimaced and closed her eyes tightly, not opening them until she felt Link's hand on her shoulder. He nodded his encouragement, then moved away to a nearby hallway, with Gordon alongside him. Lydia gathered her courage and followed the two boys in.

It wasn't long before they hit the wall, similar to the one at the entrance. After heaving themselves up and out of the water, and after a transfer out of the Iron Boots, they moved on. Link walked in front, leading them confidently down the hallway.

Eventually, it opened up into a very large room. The walls were not easily visible, and the floor wasn't at all. The floor seemed to be a six inch deep lake. Mist hung all around the water, making it nearly impossible to find the floor. At the far end of the room was a door, that looked pretty locked up. In the center of the "lake" was a dead tree.

"Creepy," Lydia muttered.

They moved in carefully and quietly. The mist swirled around their legs and the humidity hung heavily. As they neared the dead tree in the center, Gordon started to get visibly uneasy.

"I sense something in here," he said quietly.

"What is it?" his sister asked.

"Can't tell. But it's definitely something. Let's be careful."

They quietly passed the dead tree and closed in on the door. Gordon continued to get nervous. Link was starting to glance about cautiously, as well. Lydia couldn't tell anything, but trusted her companions, and stayed on guard.

They reached the door on the far side, and a quick glance at the chains and padlocks on it told them that there was no going through.

"So much for that," Lydia declared. "Could I just blast through it, or something?"

Link smirked at her. "That's your solution to everything; To make it explode."

The sorceress rolled her eyes and turned around to head back. She took one step and stopped, stiffened, and narrowed her eyes. She reached over and slugged Link's arm.

"Uh, guys?" she whispered. "...What's that?"

The other two whirled around. The room was still empty at first glance. But after a more careful look around the room, they could see what she saw. Something was by the dead tree. It was a dark form, not even fully materialized. It was like a cloud, floating motionless, waiting for something.

"I..." Link stuttered, "...I have no idea what that is..."

The three moved forward, to get a closer look. It could have been some kind of illusion, but as they got closer, the form solidified, took shape, and stepped forward. It was about Link's height, had his build, and had long black ears....

Wits as sharp as ever, Link drew his sword. In turn, the dark form drew a sword of its own. Link, experimenting, took a few steps forward. The form did as well. Link moved to his left. The form moved to it's left. Link swung his sword horizontally in front of him. Again, the dark form mimiked the move.

"Uh huh...," Link muttered to himself. "Thought so."

"Link," Gordon said, "is that.....your shadow?"

"I guess you'd better fight him," Lydia announced. She clapped Link on the back. "What a challenge for you, eh?"

Link's eyes hardened to their classic determined-to-win mode. He took a few steps forward, as did the shadow. As Link moved, the shadow mimiked everything. When Link was a fair distance from the sorcerers, he was ready to make the first move.

He didn't get the chance. Through doing simple mimiking, the shadow charged forward and swung its sword. Link brought his shield up just in time, but was still thrown aside, landing hard on his back.

Gordon reacted without thinking about it. "Digger Vo--"

"No!" Link raised a hand and crawled to his feet. "This fight is mine."

"....But..."

Lydia pulled Gordon back by his sleeve and whispered in his ear. "I know how you feel, but if Link wants to fight this fight alone, let him. After all, we're always the ones doing most of the damage. And you know Link hates feeling useless." Then she slyly added, "But stay prepared."

Content with that, Gordon stood ready, just in case.

Link gathered himself and gripped the Master Sword tightly, raising it threateningly at the shadow, who was standing calmly, watching his every move.

"I see what I'm dealing with now," he said to it. "You're not just a shadow. You can make your own moves. Okay then...."

The Hylian sidestepped one way, then another. The shadow copied his movements at first, then broke free of the pattern and charged Link again. Link side-jumped away and the shadow ran past. Link swung his sword in a wide arc. The shadow did the same, and the two Master Swords hit with a loud clang.

Link swung and jabbed his sword over and over again, and the shadow kept retaliating with the same move. Getting impatient quickly, Link changed tactics.

The two sorcerers watched with their mouths hanging open. Link was now running in very tight circles around the shadow. The shadow was twirling in place, trying to keep up. Link watched as the shadow appeared to be slightly dizzy, then struck. Without stopping, he jabbed its sword right at the shadow's head.

But, being the shadow of Link, it had his agility as well. In an incredible show of reflexes, the shadow suddenly flung its head to one side, and the Master Sword sailed harmlessly past its ear, leaving Link vulnerable. The shadow reared back to strike. Link jumped back as quickly as he could, but he was in a really bad position. The shadow's Master Sword struck the Hylian in the face, leaving a long cut on his cheek.

Link never stopped moving. When the shadow struck him, his temper was officially lost. With a roar of anger, he ran up and thrust the Master Sword forward in a flurry of power right at the shadow's torso. That move was a final attack that would quickly end the battle with just about anyone. Had it been any other creature in Hyrule, that dangerous thrust of the sword would have hit the mark. However, the shadow again used Link's own inhuman reflexes against him. As the Master Sword sailed toward it, it somehow managed to jump up into the air, out of the way, and then it landed on the outstretched sword. Link, still holding the Master Sword out, stared at it, unable to believe what that thing had just managed to do.

Standing atop the Master Sword, the shadow struck again with its dark sword. Link couldn't move fast enough without letting go of his own sword, and received a nasty blow across his chest. He staggered back, and fell to one knee.

At the sidelines, Gordon was shaking with anger, and Lydia was staring, shocked.

"He's...," Lydia muttered. "He's....losing? Link is losing??"

Gordon gritted his teeth together. "I know what you mean. In every single battle, Link has always been unbeatable. He's always been like a machine. Nothing's been a match thus far. But this? This is totally new. He's fighting the greatest warrior in all of Hyrule. He's fighting himself."

The sorceress's face softened with worry. She watched Link slowly stand again, holding his chest wound with one hand and gripping the sword with the other. She wanted more than anything to help him, but she knew he didn't want that. The look in his eyes was something she'd never seen before. His eyes were hard and determined. The look on his face actually frightened her.

The shadow stood there, like a mist, holding its dark Master Sword. It never moved. It just watched its opponent, waiting for the next attack.

"Dammit!" Link cursed. "He can do everything I can. That's not making it any easier."

Lydia took a step forward. It was time to help, no matter what Long Ears said.

"Of course he can do everything you can!" she yelled. "He's your damn shadow! You have to try something different! You have more tricks up your sleeve than your skill with the sword!"

Link gawked at her, then thought it over. Maybe she was right. He glanced over at Gordon, who's face had lit up with understanding.

"You're right," the Hylian said. "I'll try something different."

Swallowing hard, he straightened up completely, then stood in the exact same stance the shadow was in – up straight, shield out, with the sword at the ready.

And then Link sheathed the Master Sword and hung his shield on his back.

The shadow did not.

Link's hopes rose. He reached behind his shield and slowly withdrew the Megaton Hammer. The shadow did nothing. It stayed there, holding its dark Master Sword. Link gripped the hammer with both hands and moved it from one side to the other. The shadow moved its sword slightly, but looked confused. It looked like it wasn't sure how to mimic this.

Link smiled to himself. Bingo!

So that was it. The shadow had his reflexes, his agility, and his skill. But it only had the Master Sword. He would just have to beat it with other weapons. Somewhere off to the side, he heard Lydia's voice.

"Told you so!"

Link raised the hammer and charged forward with a battle yell. The shadow hesitated, then charged forward itself. It raised its Master Sword to bring it down on Link's head, but Link jumped to the side. The dark Master Sword slammed to the ground beside him. Link spun halfway around and swung the hammer as hard as he could. The "800 pounds" of Megaton Hammer slammed into the shadow's side, knocking it away, sending it sprawling.

The sorcerers were beside themselves with excitement.

To everyone's disbelief, the shadow sprung back to its feet with amazing speed and struck at Link again. Link leaned out of the way of its sword and swung the hammer again. But the shadow had learned the lesson, and avoided it this time. The weight of the hammer had Link off guard, and the shadow laid another sword blow on him.

Lydia yanked at her hair in frustration as she watched Link fall to a knee again. "Come on! You can't be Mr. Chivalry in a fight like this! How often do you have to fight yourself, after all? Cheezy shots may be the only way! Cheese him to death if you have to!"

Link only half-heard her. He was staring at the shadow. His eyes seemed to burn right through it. He snarled at it, and stood up again, holding the new wound. He was aching all over, and was very sick of this fight. "Yeah. Time to fight dirty," he said to himself. He turned his head to look at Lydia. "Watch this!"

The sorceress smirked at her brother. "Am I good with words or what?"

Gordon wasn't even paying attention to her. "Hey..what's he doing?"

Lydia looked back and saw Link holding both hands to his side. He stood there in that stance, watching the shadow. "What is he doing?"

The shadow watched its opponent in that odd stance. It raised its sword and charged forward again. With a shout, Link swung his left arm up into the air in an arc, then down at the floor. He spread his fingers wide and slammed his hand on the ground. There was a flicker of red light under his hand, and then a dome of fire expanded around him. It was small at first, then grew around him. The shadow was enveloped in it quickly, and was slammed back. It flew through the air and landed at the other side of the room.

Link straightened up again and brushed the dust off of his torn-up tunic. "That was kinda fun, actually."

The sorceress laughed. "What was that? It was just like one of our fireballs."

"Din's Fire. Compliments of Ruto."

"I thought I'd be damned when she'd ever come in handy."

Gordon laughed, but his face suddenly fell. He cleared his throat and pointed across the room.

The shadow was up again, and it hadn't wasted any time. It already has its dark sword up and was charging.

Link scoffed. "Oh, for the love of Farore...."

As the shadow kept coming at him, Link reached under his shield and produced a bomb. He lit it and set it on the ground on front of him. The shadow stopped in its tracks. It was obviously smart enough to know what that was.

Link stood there and actually set one foot on the lit bomb. "Well?" he taunted the shadow. "What are you waiting for? Don't you want to play?"

The shadow refused to move.

The Hylian took one hand and set it on his chin. "What's that? You do want to play?" He took his foot off the bomb, then reared his leg back. "Let's play then!" With a rush of strength, he kicked the bomb as hard as he could. The thing slammed the shadow in the torso and exploded on contact.

Link raised two fists into the air. "Score! I win! Maybe next time you'll think twice before messing with the Dodongo Buster and Hero."

Lydia, off to the side, rolled her eyes. "That was a pretty cheezy move."

"Hey, you wanted cheese, didn't you?"

"Can't argue with that. I didn't think anyone could cheese that well. …Besides me, of course."

Gordon waved his hand in the air. "Uh, I hate to break up the party, but....," He pointed into the smoke the bomb had left behind. "I don't think it's done yet."

Link was on guard again. He crouched slightly, watching the puff of smoke. How exactly are you supposed to see a black shadow in black smoke? Even his sharp eyesight wasn't helping much.

The smoke at the top suddenly moved, and the shadow appeared. It was flying through the air with the sword raised for a killing shot. Link barely dove to the side in time. The dark sword hit the ground hard. As an instinctive reaction, Link drew his own sword and swung it, clipping the shadow's side.

Unphased, the shadow suddenly unleashed a flurry of stabbing sword blows at a very high speed. Link was only able to block about half of them. The dark sword repeatedly cut into his arms and shoulders as he protectively held the Master Sword.

Link didn't know how much longer he could take this. His body was bleeding and horribly sore.

The shadow kept coming at him, stabbing with its dark sword again and again. All the while, Link's anger continued to well up inside. It kept growing and growing to a dangerous level, like a broken steam pipe. And still, the shadow kept striking.

With an evil battle howl, the shadow stopped the repeated strikings and reared back its sword. Link was too sore to move. The shadow swung hard, slamming into the shield. The force of the blow sent Link flying backward. He lost his grip on the Master Sword, which flew off somewhere. He hit the floor hard and slid for a good distance before coming to a rest. Feeling defeated and hurt, he lay there in the shallow water and stared up at the ceiling. He heard the sorcerers each call his name, but he was having a lot of trouble moving, and couldn't respond.

The shadow appeared and stared down at him. With its free hand, it reached down, grabbed the front of Link's tunic, and hauled him to his knees. Still gripping his tunic, the shadow raised its sword high and gathered strength for the final strike.

"FIREBALL!!"

Both sorcerers shouted out at once, sending a combined double-fireball straight for the shadow's head. It turned and looked at the spell dully. Link saw it coming and tried to squirm out of the shadow's grasp. The shadow let go of his tunic and he dropped to the floor. The shadow turned to the fireball, and when it was close, swung its dark sword hard. The fireball was hit and it flew way off course, slamming into a wall. It exploded there, leaving the wall blackened and smoking.

The shadow turned toward the sorcerers and taunted them with its sword. Link realized that it was going to attack them and tried to stand. That didn't work to well, and he was forced to watch.

Without making a sound, the shadow left Link and charged at the two sorcerers, who yelped and scattered in two different directions. It changed is course and practially flew after Gordon, who was continuously firing spells behind him to try to ward off the dark creature. The shadow carelessly dodged each one, and raised its sword when it was close enough to strike.

"Hya-!!"

The shadow felt something hit it hard in the back of the head. When it turned, the girl was there recoiling her fist for another strike. The shadow snarled at her and gripped its sword tightly. Lydia, realizing now how stupid that was, turned and ran. The shadow closed on her quickly.

As she ran, she tripped over something and fell. Moving too quickly to stop, the shadow tripped over her legs and flew over her head. It did a fancy front hand-spring off the floor and landed softly on its feet. The sorceress glanced back, and saw the hilt of the Master Sword under her ankles.

Link clenched his fists tightly and struggled to get up. "Leave them alone.....," he said quietly.

Gordon flew from across the room and taunted the shadow long enough for Lydia to get away, but she didn't cooperate. Instead, she got up to her knees and grabbed the Master Sword.

The Hylian was up to his knees now. "Leave them out of it.... Damn you..."

Link started to stand, but stopped when he saw the shadow knock Gordon to the ground. Once he was down, the shadow dashed over to Lydia, who wasn't quick enough to escape. It clubbed the back of her head with the handle of its dark sword, and she hit the floor hard.

That was it. The final straw. As his anger and temper exploded, Link was on his feet again. "Damn you!" he shouted angrily. "Damn you to hell!"

The fight was on again. With renewed strength, Link charged forward and was met by the shadow. Link swung his fists with everything he had. His temper set off the adrenilin, and his fists met the shadow's torso and face over and over. The battle was fierce, but short. Although angry beyond reason, Link was too worn to hold out very long. The shadow struck him, and fresh blood soaked the front of his tunic, and he found himself on the floor again. The shadow gripped his tunic and roughly hauled him to his knees. Its eyes flashed red.

Link's body shook from the pain. Is this it? Do I die here? He had fought hard all this time. He had taken on many monsters, and even Ganondorf himself. The three of them had survived so many attacks and dangers. And this was how he was going to meet his death?

No! Link refused to let himself believe it. Not here. Not now. He would never stand for it. The sorcerers, his dearest friends, would never stand for it.

The shadow raised its dark sword.

Glancing to one side, he saw Gordon slowly climbing to his feet, dazed. To the other side, Lydia was up on her knees. With both hands, she held the Master Sword. Tears were flowing from her eyes. Her eyes spoke to him. Do something, they pleaded to him. You can't die on me like this, they said.

No! I won't die here!

With a shriek of rage that echoed off the walls, Link's hands shot forward and slammed into the shadow's chest. The power of Din's Fire was once again released, and an explosion blew the shadow Link away with a howl of pain and shock. It slammed into the nearest wall and hit the floor.

"Link!" Lydia shouted. "Here!" Knowing the Master Sword was too heavy for her to throw, she used all of her strength and slid it across the floor. Link grabbed the hilt as it slid past him and jumped to his feet, his strength once again renewed.

He charged at the shadow, who was slowly standing, leaning its back on the wall for support. It saw the Hylian coming and lifted its sword, then charged to meet him. Link was too determined and his adrenilin was pumping too fast to be thrown back again. Once again, he thrust the Master Sword on front of him – that deadly final attack that always hit its mark.

The Master Sword plunged all the way through the shadow, but Link didn't stop. He was too angry to stop. He just kept running with the shadow skewered on his sword. The sword clanged on the wall, pinning the shadow there against the brick. It shrieked in pain and anquish, and started to dissipate. It slowly disintigrated into a mist that rose to the ceiling, where it mixed with the air in the room, slowly disappearing.

As the shadow slowly dissipated, Link stood there holding the Master Sword against the wall. His legs starting shaking and refused to support his weight anymore. He was too exhausted and torn up. He felt his knees buckle, then the floor came up and slammed into his left side. He heard the Master Sword clang to the ground, then everything went black.

Link forced himself to open his eyes. Light flooded in, and his sight was somewhat blurred. He was stretched out on his back. He couldn't quite remember where he was or what was happening at first. As he lay there and his vision slowly cleared, it started coming back. The water temple...the dark shadow of himself...the fight....

Ignoring the instense headache, he craned his neck and looked around. He was still in the large room with the dead tree. The mist on the floor and up the walls was gone. Lydia and Gordon were each on one side of him, concentrating on their healing spells. The pain from the wounds was steadily fading away.

Gordon happened to glance up. He looked him in the eye, and his face brightened. "He's awake," he announced. Lydia looked up and smiled with relief.

Link groaned and started to sit up, but Lydia put one of her hands on his forehead and pushed him back down.

"We're not done yet. Just relax."

Quick to surrender, Link laid his head back down on the floor. "...How long was I out?"

"Not too long," Gordon answered. "Actually, after the beating you've taken, I expected you to be out longer. I have to give you credit for your stamina."

Link suddenly snapped alert and sat up. "The shadow! Where is it?"

Lydia pushed him back to the floor. "Don't worry. You got it. It's gone. Now will you please hold still for a few little minutes?"

They were silent for several moments as the sorcerers moved from wound to wound. Finally Lydia spoke up.

"Hey," she chuckled. "That was pretty cool, Link. Y'know, with the fire spell to the chest and everything."

Gordon joined in. "Yeah, and when you pinned it against the wall with your sword. That was the coolest thing I've ever seen!"

Link smiled in spite of himself, then reached up and rubbed his sore neck. "Paid the price, though." He slowly sat up again, and this time, the sorceress didn't push him down again. Instead, she placed one hand on his face and worked on the cut there.

"Honestly," she scoffed loudly. "Don't the bad guys of Hyrule know by now that they shouldn't mess with you?"

Link sighed and sat quietly, patiently waiting for the sorcerers to finish. He looked down, and had to laugh at himself. His tunic was torn up and splotched with blood.

"I guess I was kinda careless," he said. "He sure beat the stuffing out of me."

Gordon shook his head. "You weren't careless. You need to consider something. You're the best warrior in Hyrule, and who were you fighting there?"

"....Myself, I guess."

"Exactly." Lydia added. "I don't think you were careless at all. I think you were great. You beat him, right?"

There were a few more minutes of silence, until Link spoke again.

"Thanks for your help, guys."

Lydia chuckled. "What were we supposed to do? Sit there and watch you get all beat up? Uh-uh." She glanced up and saw the look on his face. She cleared her throat and looked down again. "Um..I mean.. You're welcome."

Her brother laughed and shook his head. He took his hands away and cracked his knuckles. "I'm done over here."

"Thanks," Link said. He flexed the arm on Gordon's side. Though the clothing there was all ripped up and stained red, the skin looked fine.

As Lydia finished up, she motioned with her head to the far wall. "Oh, by the way. While you were napping, the chains fell off that door. It's probably open now."

Link craned his neck and looked past her. The door they had found when they came in – the one that was all chained up and covered with padlocks – was bare. On the floor in front of it, the chains and locks lay in a pile.

"That shadow must have been some kind of guardian," he guessed.

Lydia wrinkled her eyebrows. "Why would a temple guardian be a shadow of you, though?"

Gordon stretched and cracked his back. "Perhaps it was actually some kind of entity. Maybe it was supposed to take the form of whatever walked in here, then take care of it."

The sorceress finished the last wound, then folded her hands in her lap. "Can you stand?"

"I think so." Link shifted his weight and slowly stood. He was still a little shaky. Gordon walked off for a moment, then reappeared at Link's side, holding the Master Sword. Link smiled and took it, then slid it back into its sheath. He glanced over at the sorceress to say something, but she had her eyes fixed in thought.

"...What is it?" he asked her.

After a moment, she sucked in a breath and said, "What do you suppose that shadow was protecting?"

The trio exchanged glances, then jogged quickly over to the now open door. Whatever that entity was guarding was probably behind it. Link was the first there. He gripped the handle and carefully turned it. The door swung open with a loud creak. After a final glance into the lake room with the dead tree, they moved inside.

It was a very small, plain room. In the center of the room was a brick altar with a pillow sitting on top of it. Then, the trio caught sight of what was sitting on the pillow.

Three mouths hung open and three pairs of eyes widened.

It was a large, red ruby. It was perfectly spherical in shape and was about the size of a basketball. The color it was giving off was a brilliant red. The ruby was translucent, and looked like a huge, shiny marble.

Lydia gawked. "Oh my God!"

Link stared. "By the fires of Din!"

Gordon took a step forward. "Wow-wow-WOW!"

The young sorcerer was the first there. He bounded up to the alter and looked right through the ruby. He was very tempted to touch it, but his judgement got the better of him. He looked at his sister and friend, who were standing just behind him. "So....what do we do with it?"

Lydia rubbed the back of her neck. "Well, er.... I think Link should have it. After all, he took care of that shadow guy."

Link crossed his arms, snarled visibly, and looked at the ruby as if it contained some infectious death disease. "I don't want it. Many Zoras died because of that damn thing."

The sorceress withdrew and felt very ashamed. "Yeah, I guess. Sorry."

"Well," Gordon hummed, staring at the ruby, "why don't we take it with us? We can worry about what to do with it later. At least that way, no more Zoras will come in here after it."

"I suppose, but I'm not carrying that big thing. Maybe Link will—"

"NO." Link cut her off harshly. "I'm not touching it. That thing's more trouble than it's worth."

She cleared her throat and turned back to her brother. "Looks like you're carrying it."

Gordon shrugged, then placed one hand on the ruby. When nothing happened, he rolled it off the alter into his arms. It wasn't as heavy as it looked, but it wasn't exactly light, either.

Lydia reached up and gave Link a sharp pat on the back. "Okay then. Let's move on."

Gordon followed them out, cradling the ruby in one arm. "Where are we going now?"

His sister looked back at him. "There's something on the top floor, remember? We need to check up there now."

As they trailed back through the lake room, Gordon stared down at the huge ruby under his arm. Maybe Link's right. Maybe this thing is more trouble than it's worth.