Worlds Apart
Part II
By Miss Lydia


Chapter 22

"Here we are, in a spooky temple, chasing after some ghosts, and we've split up again, like it's logical or something. What a rip." Lydia shut the door behind her and paraded down the hallway, mumbling to herself. "So much for strength in numbers. You'd think a guy like Link would be smart enough to figure that out, but no-o-o. He has to split us up whenever we're in a dangerous situation.  Do I look like Scooby-Doo?! As soon as I see him, I'll have to introduce that cute face of his to my knuckles. Well, next time, I get MY way."

The sorceress was so wrapped up in her complaining that she hadn't even noticed that the hallway she was in had ended three complaints earlier, or that she was now climbing stairs.

A wicked laugh echoed off of the walls and brought her complaints to a dead halt. Thrown back into the here and now, Lydia glanced around her for the source of that almost mocking laughter, but saw nothing but stones. Up at the top of the staircase was another room. She shrugged and climbed the remainder of the stairs.

This new room was completely undescriptive and plain. A stone floor, a stone ceiling, and four stone walls. The only thing remotely interesting in this room was a large candlestick on the far side, just like one of the four the first room of the temple held. There was another quick thing Lydia noticed.

The room was a dead end.

"Okie dokie.....," Lydia said quietly, slowly moving toward the center of the room. "That little bugger with the flame has to be in here somewhere." She reached the center of the room and stood there, and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

And for a change in activity, waited some more.

In the meantime, the sheer quiet of the Forest Temple was starting to dance on Lydia's nerve endings. It was unnaturally quiet. She could hear her own heartbeat waving through the air. Another moment of this, and the sorceress began humming quietly to herself, just to hear something.

After humming every tune she could think of, Lydia lost her patience and made some real noise.

"SHOW YOURSELF!!"

Lydia's challenge to the ghost bounced off the stone walls and vibrated in her ears, but she still waited. The little hairs on the back of her neck were standing up. She was no longer alone, and she knew it. She had an eerie feeling that there was something behind her, but didn't have that sixth sense Link had and couldn't be sure.

Until she heard the faint rattle of a lantern.

There was something behind her.

Lydia jumped to the left as one of the four Poes smashed its lantern onto the ground where she had just been. The sorceress whirled around and laughed at the ghost. "Sorry, I already know that trick! An old codger in the graveyard showed me that one!"

The Poe glared up at her with glowing red eyes, then vanished completely.

The sorceress's mouth fell open. "Oh no. We are not playing this game!" She began to slowly turn in circles. "I know you're here somewhere. C'mon out and play with me! I'll play nice!"

Her eyes darted back and forth as she waited for some noise that would give away the Poe's position. Suddenly, the hairs on her neck went stiff again. She whipped around to find a Poe that didn't know any other tricks than Dampé's favorite. "Elmekia Lance!" In a flash of blue light, the Poe was blasted close to the far wall, and Lydia was on it again before it had the chance to disappear. "Dynast Brass!"

A pentagram of light formed on the floor around the Poe. Lighting formed at the outside, then rushed into the center, zapping the ghost. It shrieked and dissolved into black ash. The lantern it had been carrying fell to the floor and shattered to pieces.

Lydia chuckled to herself and straightened up. "Remember when I said I'd play nice? I lied." A flash at the other wall caught her attention. The tall candlestick that had been bare and lonely a moment before now held the bright flame that the Poe had originally stolen from the first room of the Forest Temple."

"Hmm... If this one is lit now, then the one at the beginning should be lit, too." She balled a fist and held it in front of her chest triumphantly. "Mission accomplished." She dropped the fist down and tapped her thigh with it absently. "I guess now I should head back and wait for the others."

Without further thought, she turned and started back. As she passed the pile of Poe ashes, she swiftly kicked it and scattered the dust across the floor.

Gordon silently closed the iron door behind him, then moved down the narrow, dark hallway. This had to be the only way the Poe could have gone, unless it was moving around in the walls. The very idea of it made the sorcerer curl his lips into a snarl. That would be really typical, now that he thought about it.

He climbed a short staircase, and halfway up, heard a cocky, ghostly laugh echo silently on the surrounding walls. No walls for this Poe; it wanted a straight fight. Gordon smiled smugly. That's exactly what this thing would get! Confidently, he ascended the final length of the stairs in long strides, and ended up in a non-descript, dead-end room with a tall candlestick against the back wall.

The Poe laughed at him again.

Gordon moved swiftly into the center of the room and waited for something to happen.

Apparently, this ghost was far more straightforward than the sorcerer would have ever guessed. Just after he stopped in the center of the room, the Poe materialized right in front of him. Gordon smirked at it in a challenging way, and set his hands in the spell-firing position.

Just then, an identical Poe materialized on his left side.

And another behind him, and yet another on his right side.

All four of them cackled with the same exact laugh, and began circling around him. Gordon wasn't sure if there were really four Poes there, or if it was illusion. Wearily, he unhooked his flail from his belt and swung the spiked ball at the left one. The ball whizzed right through the ghost, and it dissipated into smoke.

He swung at the one in front of him, and that one also dissipated. He whirled around and attacked the one behind him, only to have the same thing happen. Just as the third Poe vanished, the fourth raised its lantern and swung it down on Gordon, who barely moved in time. The lantern clanged harmlessly on the ground, and the Poe vanished into thin air with a cackle.

Gordon's eyes darted back and forth. "So that's it. Illusion. It's a mind trick... So if I can just manage to distract it...so it loses its concentration...."

Four more Poes surrounded him all at once and began circling, just like before. But Gordon was too smart to fall for the same thing twice.

"Burst Rondo!"

Small balls of red light sparked all throughout the room. The diversion spell frightened the Poes and disoriented them. Three of the ghosts wavered and vanished, leaving the real one out like a sitting duck.

"Gotcha! Elmekia Flame!"

A beam of blue light as wide as a tree trunk hammered into the real Poe and pinned it against the wall as it dissolved into black ash. Its lantern fell to the floor and shattered.

Gordon straightened up, rather proud of himself. There was a flash behind him as the lone candlestick lit itself with the colored flame the Poe had carried. The sorcerer trailed to the back of the room and bent down to examine the flame. "This is the same thing as the one in the first room. So maybe... I'd better get back there!"

He turned on his heel and jogged back downstairs, backtracking to the beginning of the Forest Temple.

On his part of the ghost hunt, Link also found himself in a narrow hallway that ended with a spooky staircase and a small, empty room with a candlestick. But his room wasn't as empty as the ones the two sorcerers had found themselves in.

In Link's stone room were four large blocks, each standing a little higher than he was tall. Each side of the block had what looked like part of a picture of some kind, and up on the side wall was a painting of a Poe with a green flame.

The Hylian carefully approached the blocks, which sat in different parts of the room. He reached out and touched the closest one, but nothing happened. He reached up and grabbed the top of the block, then pulled himself up high enough to prop himself up on his elbows.

The top of the block also had part of a picture. Since he was now a little higher, he could see the tops of the other three blocks as well. They were also parts of a similar picture. Link glanced up at the painting on the wall and made the connection very quickly.

It was a puzzle. The four blocks were each part of the same picture, and if they were arranged in a different order than the one they currently lay in, the top of the blocks would form an identical picture as in the painting.

"Well," Link sighed, still clinging to the top of the block, his feet dangling several inches off the floor. "This one's sure unique."

After a moment of quick planning, Link dropped down to the floor again. He pressed his left shoulder into the side of the block and pushed it close to another block across the room until the two blocks touched. He climbed up high enough to check on the tops – together, they now formed the top half of the painting.

Link walked over to another corner of the room and pushed the block that was over there until it touched the other two. This block was part of the bottom half. He sighed heavily from the physical labor of this task. The puzzle blocks were surprisingly heavy.

After moving the last block several feet, he stopped and rested for a moment, with his shoulder still propped up on the block's side. "Is this what I've been reduced to?" he wondered sarcastically. He sucked in a breath and pushed the last block until it was almost into position.

Just before "snapping" this piece of the puzzle into place, he climbed up on top and studied his work. The picture was coming out nicely. This last block, once pushed another foot, would become the last part, and the picture would be complete. Link dropped down again, pressed his shoulder to the side, and gave it a good shove.

The block slid into its place, and something clicked. The blocks sank into the floor and vanished. Where the completed puzzle had just lay, a Poe with a colored flame now floated. In one hand, it carried a lantern. Almost immediately, the poe raised its other arm and aimed something at Link's head. Something shot out, and Link moved his head aside just in time to avoid the chain whizzing past his ear.

In two strides, he was away from the Poe and turned around. The chain that had almost nailed him in the face hit the opposite wall.

"Is...Is that a Hookshot?" he wondered aloud.

But it couldn't be! The chain had easily gone twice as far, and the device the Poe held had a different look to it. He couldn't be sure – he didn't have enough time to get a good look at it before it was aimed at him again. He had to move, and was once again sideswiped by the chain of this weird-looking Hookshot.

This Poe didn't realize early enough that it had a serious problem. Its target was very fast, and every time it used its device, precious seconds were lost. By the time the chain had finished retracting from the second attack, Link had already taken out his sword and sliced the Poe into two pieces.

The ghost vanished in a flash of light and a poof of black ash. The candlestick at the back of the room now bore a colored flame, and the weird device the Poe had attacked Link with fell to the floor.

Now that it wasn't being used to try to re-arrange his face, Link could pick the little thing up and look at it. It seemed to be some kind of Hookshot, but a more advanced version. Link smiled and spoke to the air in the empty room. "Thanks for the souvenir."

The colored flame on the candlestick caught his eye, and he moved toward it for a closer look. He bent down so the flame was at eye-level. ".....This is the same color as the fire that thing took from the first room. Maybe..."

Anxious to get back to see if his theory was right, he pocketed his new toy and jogged back the way he had come.

"I'll show them!" Saria said as she closed the door. "I'll prove to them that I'm useful!" She clutched Link's bow in anticipation and pressed on through the hallway. "I'll make sure they don't regret bringing me!"

The hallway quickly turned into a stairway. As Saria began the climb, the air around her became noticably colder. That ghost thing had definitely come this way. Her steps slowed to a crawl, and something at the top of the staircase caught her eye. It was a picture on the wall. A picture of the same Poe she had chased this way.

As she neared the picture, the Poe in the picture vanished and its laugh echoed off the walls.

Confused, Saria neared the empty picture frame and examined it. It was all black now; there was no longer anything there. Without moving from her place, she turned her head. The stairway was leveled off where she stood, but it curled to the right, and another stairway was there.

The Kokiri girl turned and started up the second stairway. About halfway up, she slowed to a stop. At the top, there was an empty square room visible, and she could see the tip of a tall candlestick at the back. There was no sign of the Poe.

A mysterious shiver traveled up her spine, and impulsively, she turned her head and looked back the way she had come.

The Poe had returned to the painting.

That was just weird. Typical ghost, messing with the heads of those it haunts. Saria reluctantly turned around and started back down the staircase again. As she neared the picture, the Poe again disappeared with a cackle of a laugh.

With a sly look at the empty wooden frame, Saria turned around and again ascended the staircase. She knew exactly what to do.

This time, she climbed to the top and into the empty room, then moved to the side and flattened again the wall, out of sight of the staircase. She turned and slowly looked around the corner and down the staircase with one eye. The wooden frame was visible from here, and the Poe had once again made its nest inside.

Saria smiled evilly. Time to snipe the spector.

She reached behind her to get an arrow. As her hand moved around in the quiver trying to find one, it brushed against a really warm arrow amongst the rest – the one that Mr. Gordon had enchanted for her. That one didn't have its use yet, so she wrapped her fingers around a regular arrow and fit it into the bow string. She moved into the open just enough to fit her arms around the corner, bow at the ready. With a hum of the string, the arrow flew.

It struck home in the center of the Poe painting. The Poe instantly came out of the wall, still carrying the flame it had taken from the beginning room. It floated up the staircase toward Saria. She ducked back into the room and pressed against the wall. The Poe reached the top and flew right past her. When it reached the center of the room, it stopped and turned to face her.

This was it. This was Saria's chance to prove herself to Link and his two friends! Her hand was once again in the quiver, feeling around for that special magic arrow, warm to the touch.

The Poe was moving before she could get a grip on the arrow. It swung is lantern like a ball-and-chain and charged at her. Saria jumped to one side, keeping one hand in the quiver, and the ghost sailed past her and into the wall.

It didn't stop there. Instead of crashing into the stone wall, it went right into it and disappeared from view.

Saria moved to the center of the room, becoming rather fearful. This was not good! The ghost could come at her from anywhere....! ....But she would be ready! She was determined to be ready! Her fingers landed on the warm arrow and she loaded the bow. She raised the weapon and started turning in circles, waiting for the Poe to show itself again.

She didn't have to wait long. The sound of the swinging lantern hit her ears, and she side-jumped as the Poe's attempt to ram her in the back wizzed past her. Saria twirled one one foot, trying to keep her balance. She planted the other foot firmly on the floor and raised the bow. She had to hit it before it disappeared again!

"This one's for the Deku Tree!" she proclaimed aloud. Just when the Poe was about to retreat into the wall again, Saria let fly the magic arrow.

The arrow struck the Poe in the back, and it raised its arms in pain. That's when the magic Gordon had sealed into it was released. White light snaked from the arrow in small strings that wrapped around the squirming Poe. They sealed around the ghost like a caccoon, and exploded in a pillar of white light. When the light faded, all that was left was the shattered remains of the creature's lantern on the floor.

Saria stared open-mouthed. "...Wow!"

There was a small flash of colored light off to her left as the candlestick lit itself. The Kokiri girl recognized the flame as the one the Poe had stolen. The one at the beginning must be lit as well! Incredibly pleased with her success, she turned and started back toward the stairway.

Before she could get out of the room, there was a bright flash of light at the top of the stairs and a puff of smoke from the floor. Saria momentarily shielded her eyes from the bright light. When it dimmed, she lowered her arm and peered into the smoke. She could just make out the outline of a girl standing there.

"M-Miss Lydia...?" she asked hopefully.

The girl who stepped out was not the sorceress. This one was much taller and had long red hair and dark skin. She spoke to the Kokiri with a horribly cold voice. "Ha. You wish."

Saria didn't even have time to cry out before the girl was upon her.

Lydia was the first to reach the beginning room. The first thing she did was look at the four candlesticks in the center.

Three of them were lit.

Her brother appeared from his door seconds later. He too looked at the candlesticks and smiled trimphantly. He jogged over to Lydia and playfully slugged her shoulder. "Good job. Did your ghost give you much trouble?"

The sorceress smiled cockily. "Not much. Its mistake was using Dampé's old tricks on me. Saw right through them and BAM--!"

Gordon smirked. "Mine gave me some problems. It tried using illusions on me."

Another door opened just then, and Link quietly slipped through it. At the sight of the three lit candlesticks, his face brightened and he quickly met with the two sorcerers.

He glanced around the room and his smile faded. "...Where's Saria? Isn't she back yet?"

Lydia shook her head. "I assume all three of us took care of our respective Poes, so three candlesticks have been re-lit. One is left. I wonder if Saria ran into trouble....?"

Gordon looked over at her. "Should I go after her?"

Link, whose gaze was glued on the candlesticks, suddenly raised a hand. "No need."

The two sorcerers looked where he was looking. The fourth candlestick had a small, dim flame on it that was growing slowly. All three sighed with relief.

"She must be okay then," Gordon guessed.

After another few seconds, the fourth flame had grown to full size, and something clicked. A dark square in the center of the room dislodged from the rest of the floor and rose. It became the "ceiling" for a small box with no sides that now sat in the center of the room.

Lydia moved close to this new thing to get a good look. "It looks like an elevator or something," she guessed.

"Probably goes to a lower level," Link said.

"Oh good," Gordon said with a hint of sarcasm. "More fun downstairs." He raised his arms in a broad stretch of fatigue. "Well, we may as well wait until Saria comes back."

The other two nodded in silent agreement, and Lydia was quick to change the subject.

"Annoying things, those Poes," she said to Link. "What crap did yours put you through, Hero?"

Link quickly relayed the story of the puzzle-solving he had done, then reached into his tunic and pulled out the device the Poe had used. "Twice that Poe almost clipped me in the face with this."

Curious, Gordon looked closely at it. "What is it?"

"I dunno, really. It's like a Hookshot, but as you can see, it looks different, and I've seen it in action – the chain is at least twice as long."

Lydia smiled. "So, it's kinda like a LongShot, eh?" She playfully slapped his back.

Link couldn't help but laugh. 'Longshot' probably wasn't the technical term for this thing, but it was a cute anyway. "I guess you could call it that."

"Well, at least you got a new toy as a reward," the sorceress said. Her voice trailed off, and she looked toward the door Saria had disappeared into. "What's taking her? She should've been back by now."

No one said anything, each one thinking to themselves. After another moment, Saria's door slowly opened with a loud creak. Once again, relief swept over the three. Saria was obviously okay.

Saria appeared through the door, but wasn't alone. In fact, she was being held up in the air by a brown arm under her neck, and a scimitar was pointed at her ear.

Nabooru.

Three mouths dropped open in shock. Lydia's mouth recovered quickly and snarled at the Gerudo woman. "Nabooru, you.....you....you!"

Surprisingly, the Gerudo smiled wickedly and tightened her grip on Saria. "Me, me, me?"

"How could you?" Lydia continued. "How could you take a little girl hostage?!"

Gordon's hand curled over her shoulder in warning. "Calm down! You know Ganondorf's got control of her mind! It's not her fault!"

His sister looked at him with a pitiful look in her eyes. "I..I know...but..."

Link spoke up, just as angrily. "Nabooru, she has nothing to do with this! Leave her out of it!"

In reply, Nabooru narrowed her red eyes. "Give me the Triforces of Wisdom and Courage, or this girl dies!"

The other three froze. This was bad. Now Nabooru was bringing innocent others into the problem. They had no doubt this brainwashed Nabooru would kill Saria to get those Triforce pieces.

Without warning, Lydia's overly angry voice echoed off the walls. "Flow Break!!"

Like before, Nabooru was lined in white light, and her eyes changed color, and her balance wavered as Lydia's magic fought Ganondorf's in her head. However, she never loosened her grip on Saria. Saria couldn't squirm away. This, however, was her opportunity to slip the quiver off her back, and toss it and the bow away. She knew it would be best now back in Link's hands.

Nabooru recovered quickly. Her eyes were still red, and she still had an iron grip on the Kokiri. She looked at the three, confused at first, then determined again. "G-Give me the Triforce pieces!"

Lydia sighed quietly. At least now she had forgotten about the killing-Saria part.

After a moment, Nabooru sneered. "No? Then come and see us downstairs. You'll find this girl there. Come and play if you want her back! Master and I will be waiting!" Nabooru disappeared in a puff of smoke and flash of light, leaving the three adventurers alone in the room, all steaming mad.

Without saying a single word, Link silently walked ahead and retrieved his bow and quiver of arrows. He quickly rejoined the other two.

Lydia's eyes were glued toward her feet. "Ganondorf's gone too far this time."

Gordon silently agreed. "It was bad enough just coming after us repeatedly, but now he's foolishly bringing innocent people into the tangle." His fists were clenched so tightly that he could feel his fingernails digging into the skin of his palm.

Link had a sudden thought. "She said 'Master and I'. You don't think......"

The sorcerer looked up suddenly. "Could...could Ganondorf himself be here?"

Link's jaw tightened. "If so, there's only one thing we can do."

Lydia nodded her head stiffly. "We go downstairs, meet with 'Master', and put a few fireballs in his ass!"

The three boarded the elevator at the same time and gave chase into the lower levels of the Forest Temple, determined to save Saria.

Inside the crystal cage, Zelda sat quietly, thinking. She couldn't just sit here in Ganon's Tower anymore. Outside, other people were putting their very lives on the line for her kingdom and her people. While she was trapped here, she was useless.

But....did she have to go to such drastic measures?

Yes. It was the only way now.

With a heavy sigh, the princess gathered up the folds of her gown and found, strapped to her thigh, a long dagger. She had learned from her old attendant Impa to always carry a concealed dagger, even if there was never a need for it. Today, it was finally going to prove itself useful.

She loosened the dagger from the strap and let her gown fall around her legs again. She held the long blade in front of her, and looked at it with deep sadness in her eyes. Zelda looked up at Navi and nodded gravely.

The fairy fluttered her small wings in an understanding manner.

Zelda looked at the dagger again, took a deep breath, aimed the blade toward the front of her dress, and sent it home.