Worlds
Apart
Part II
By Miss Lydia
Chapter 23
As Ganondorf climbed the circular staircase up to his tower, his fingers twitched nervously. Those kids were getting too far. The traps he had set long ago in the Water Temple should have made mince meat out of them. How is it that they've managed to survive everything?
The Evil King was very tempted to go and finish them off himself. With the Triforce of Power....no, even without the Triforce of Power, he was strong enough to kill them all. So, he wondered, why hadn't he? Why was he just staying in the confinement of his tower, throwing things at them from afar? Why doesn't he just walk up to them and smash them?
As he continued up toward the tower, he thought about that. After a few moments, he knew the answer, and even so, had a hard time admitting it to himself.
The Hylian, called Link if he remembered correctly, was not of much concern. True, he possessed the legendary relic, the Master Sword, and the Triforce of Courage, but that was nothing to worry about. The young wizard boy, who he guessed had the Triforce of Wisdom, wasn't a worry, either. There was that large spell he had used that had demolished the Temple of Time, but other than that, his magic was not a point of concern.
So the reason he avoided the group of meddlers was.... Was it...? Yes....
It was the girl.
That she-devil of a sorceress was what he was worried about. Something about her made him very uneasy. She has no Triforce piece.... could it be the fact that her magic was very formidable when used to its full potential..? ...No, that wasn't why.
He wasn't afraid of this girl, either. Not in the least. Yet there was something about her that put him on edge. Whenever he saw her or thought of her, some bell in the back of his mind always started going off. It had always been that way, ever since the very beginning, and even more so when the group reunited after seven years of dormancy. Was there some hidden connection between himself and the girl? There couldn't be.....
Whatever the problem was, Ganondorf knew he wouldn't have to deal with it much longer. He had sent one of his most powerful minions to the kids' current location, the Forest Temple. It was a phantom in his own image. This was a powerful ally of his own creation that had managed to kill off that troublesome Deku Tree of the Kokiri people. He had sent Nabooru as well, to find a way to lead them to his servant in the Temple. They would never leave the Forest Temple. Once the job was done, he wouldn't have to worry about the witch girl anymore, or the other two for that matter. He'd just have to go the Temple and pick up the two Triforce pieces.
Finally, the Evil King reached the top of the tower, where he was still holding Princess Zelda captive. He took a small bit of comfort in the fact that he had a good slab of bait to lure those three kids here, should it ever come to that.
One look at the purple crystal cage told him otherwise.
The princess was slumped at the bottom, with a dagger in her stomach. The front of her dress was stained red, and her right hand still had the handle of the knife in a weak grip.
"Damn," Ganondorf huffed. "That's no fun. She's done my work for me."
With a wave of his hand, the crystal cage slowly vanished, and the limp princess tumbled to the floor like a rag doll and lay still.
"That's just great," the Evil King continued. "Now I don't have my bait. I'll just have to wait for them to come on their own ...Well, I suppose I may as well get rid of her. Can't leave her there...."
A sly voice rang through the air and echoed off the walls. "Master?"
Ganondorf looked up toward the ceiling. "Yes, Nabooru?" Her minion was reporting to him through telepathic communication, even though anyone in the room with him would be able to hear. It didn't matter if Zelda heard this. She was dead.
"I've captured a companion of those three kids, and am using her as bait to lure them to the guardian of the Forest Temple.. I have no doubt they will come - it was obvious that they care for this small girl very much."
The Evil King nodded with satisfaction. "Well done, minion. Listen well now. When those kids reach the guardian, they will no doubt be drawn into battle with him. Do NOT interfere. When it is over and they are taken care of, notify me and protect the Triforce pieces until I can get there."
"Yes, Master. Your wish is my command." Her voice faded as the telepathic link was closed.
Having one worry off of his mind, Ganondorf sighed loudly. He turned and walked to where the princess lay, and picked her up. Carrying her under one arm, he walked to the window and looked down at the lava pit that lay below his castle. Yes, that would be the perfect grave.
With a good heave, he threw the dead princess as far as he could out the window, and immediately turned around and walked back into his tower. He had seen bodies melt away in lava before, and had grown bored with it. There was no point in watching.
The body of Princess Zelda fell several stories down the length of the tower. The wind carried her close to the edge of the lava pit as she fell. Another few seconds and there wouldn't even be bones left.
Suddenly, her arm lashed out and grabbed a jutted part of the side of the cliff, stopping the fall. The rest of her body swung and hit the side of cliff, where her other arm found a handhold and held on.
Zelda's eyes opened wide and looked down at the steaming lava, then up at the top of the cliff. It wasn't far up. Slowly, labored, she began climbing, taking the time to find secure handholds. It was a slow process that made her hands very sore, but after several minutes, Princess Zelda crawled to safety at the top of the cliff.
She sat on her knees and breathed heavily. After a short moment of rest, she reached up and gripped the handle of the dagger, and slowly pulled it out. The blade was completely clean and unused. The red blood stain the front of her dress suddenly reduced in size, and actually started moving. It got smaller and smaller as it moved up her dress. It traveled up the front, and then down one of the sleeves. From the sleeve, Navi appeared, glowing an unnatural red color.
The small fairy fluttered back and forth as she slowly returned to her normal white color. "You're so clever, Princess! Your plan worked perfectly!"
Zelda gathered the folds of her dress and replaced the dagger to its strap on her leg. Yes, it had worked well.
When she had thrust the dagger toward herself, she had inserted it at a sharp angle, so that it went in the front of her dress, but went to the side, out of reach of any flesh. Navi had hidden in her dress and turned herself red, making the appearance of blood.
Zelda had never been expected to be thrown out of the window like that, but that turned out well, too. Her hands were sore and there was a hole in her dress, but she had escaped with her life.
Now she could finally help her friends.
The princess looked up at Navi. "We must make haste! Nabooru said that Link and the others are at the Forest Temple!"
"We have to get to them!" the fairy shouted.
Princess Zelda stood up and charged away from Ganondorf's Castle, toward the ruins of Hyrule Market, followed by the small white fairy.
Up in the window of the Tower, sitting on the windowsill with a hand on his chin, Ganondorf watched them go.
"Hmmm...," he whispered to himself. "Maybe this will work out even better. Yes, run as fast as you can, tricky Princess Zelda. Go ahead and seal the fates of your friends for me." With an evil chuckle of confidence, Ganondorf stood and disappeared back into the darkness of his castle.
The cramped little elevator had landed the three adventurers in a lower level of the Forest Temple. Ahead of them was long, dark hallway with a high ceiling. At the end was a large, golden colored stone door.
The trio nodded at each other. They didn't even need to say it. Their opponent was in there.
They set a quick pace through the hallway, staying close to each other, keeping their focus on the door ahead.
Without slowing, or ever turning his head, Gordon said, "Do you think Ganondorf could be in there?"
"If he is," Link replied, "I think we have a few things to say to him. We owe him something."
The sorcerer nodded. "We owe him a severe punishment."
Lydia cracked her knuckles and passed Link to walk in front of the group. "That's not the only thing," she said. "If Big Nose Ganondorf is in there, this battle is going to be rough. We should at least make a good entrance, to intimidate him and let him know that we're no longer afraid of him."
Link smiled. He knew exactly what she meant. She didn't want to open the door. She wanted to go through it.
Her brother knew it, too. "I think you deserve to do the honors." The sorcerer slowed down and walked beside Link.
Up in front, the sorceress rolled her sleeves up and smiled cockily. "Now you're speaking my language!"
She quickened her step to increase the distance between herself and her companions, and to narrow the distance to the door. "Wind which blows across eternity, gather in my hands and become my strength!" She swung her whole arm at the door. "Bram Gush!"
The pressure in the hallway increased to a high level, then released all at once as a huge column of wind energy blew a huge hole through the stone doors.
All three adventurers quickened to a sprint and charged through the smoking hole. Immediately inside, to the right, was a stairway. At the top, they found themselves in a circular room. The room was completely empty. No sign of Saria, Nabooru, or her Master.
The strange feature of the room was immediately obvious. On the wall was a painting of a lonely forest road. And next to that, another painting that was exactly the same. And another, and another. In fact, the whole circle was lined with copies of the same painting.
Lydia couldn't help but sneer. "What lame decorations."
"It is rather strange," Link agreed.
The group moved into the center of the circle and waited. There was nowhere else to go past this point – this room was a dead end. The next few moments were very uneventful, but each of the three repeatedly found themselves staring from picture to picture, for some uncanny reason.
At one point, Link whispered, "Too strange."
They continued to wait, but Lydia's patience was long gone. "I know you're in here!!" she shouted out loud. "Come on out!"
Nothing.
The sorceress felt Link's hand land on her shoulder. "We should look elsewhere. I don't think they're here."
She looked at him, surprised. "That sounds funny, coming from you."
And then, something in Link's eyes changed. He gave her a really meaningful look that almost said I know what I'm doing. Deciding to trust him on this, she and her brother turned around, and they started back the way they had come in.
As they approached the entrance to the room, spiked brass bars shot out of the floor and blocked the path.
"Wh-What the?" Gordon stuttered.
Behind them, back in the room, a horse snorted.
All three adventurers whirled around and saw an enormous armored black war-horse, standing taller than even Epona. On its back was the Evil King Ganondorf himself, staring down at them with a cocky smirk. Under his left arm, he held little Saria, who was kicking and trying to break his grip.
Lydia and Gordon almost instinctively threw their hands into spell-firing position. "It's YOU!" Lydia shouted at him.
Link unsheathed the Master Sword. "I knew it! He was in here the whole time, just waiting for us to turn around!"
From atop the war-horse, Ganondorf waved a hand over his face, and a horned mask materialized there, and his eyes glowed. "Today, you die," he said evilly. He kicked the barrel of the horse, and it jumped and hung in the air, floating there for a moment longer before flying across the room. One of the paintings dispelled into a portal, and the horse flew inside.
The portal closed, and the group watched Ganondorf ride off down the lonely forest road in the painting.
"What the hell?" Gordon half-shouted as the horse disappeared into the picture's horizon.
They continued to watch the painting, but once the horse was gone, there was nothing. Suddenly, Link's voice rang out and he pointed to the left. "There!"
The black horse was charging toward them, from an entirely different painting. The trio gathered in front of the picture and waited for him to come out, all ready to attack.
At the last second, the horse turned around and ran back the way it had come.
"He's..," Lydia muttered, "He's running?"
Behind them, the sound of a portal opening was only heard by Link in the confusion. He twisted his neck in time to see the black horse jump out of yet another painting. Before he could warn the sorcerers, Ganondorf raised his lance and lighting charged across the room, hitting Lydia square in the back, sending her sailing into the wall.
And before anyone could retaliate, the horse flew into a painting and vanished again. Gordon kept his eye on the paintings, waiting.
"Damn it!" Link shouted as he helped Lydia stand again. "What happened?"
Gordon shook his head, indicating that he didn't know. He raised an arm warningly as the horse appeared in a new painting, riding toward them.
Once Lydia had convinced him that she was all right, Link moved closer to Gordon and prepared to attack Ganondorf once he came out.
The sorceress's voice pierced their ears suddenly. "What are you two doing?? He's over there!"
They turned and looked where she was pointing. Another Ganondorf on horseback was riding toward the room from a second painting.
There were two of them.
The first one they had spotted turned around and ran back into the painting, but the second one shot out of a portal and swung its lance again, spreading electricity as it flew over. Another bolt of lighting struck Lydia, and she hit the ground again. None of them had time to attack before Ganondorf was in another painting and gone.
Right away, he was riding back through a painting. Each time, it was happening faster. Two Ganondorfs approached, one turned back, and one shot back into the room. With a swing of the lance, another attack slammed Lydia into the wall. This time, she didn't get up.
From the sidelines, hidden mostly by magic, Nabooru watched the drama unfold from the shadows. Such silly people. Master Ganondorf's phantom was going to finish them off. She remembered that Master had told this phantom to concentrate on the female whenever it attacks. She had asked why, and he had said that he had a "funny feeling" about the girl and wanted her dead. It pleased her to see that Master Ganondorf's plan was working very well. That girl wouldn't be able to take much more of this punishment.
But, at the same time, some little voice in the back of her mind nagged her. She stood there, watching the witch girl being hammered, as Master Ganondorf had ordered...and each time she got hit, something was yelling at Nabooru to step in and help. As if she had some sort of reason to help the girl that Master Ganondorf wanted destroyed so badly. Why did she feel so...angry...to watch this girl get attacked?
Nabooru immediately scolded herself. How stupid! She wanted the girl destroyed as much as Master Ganondorf did! She wanted all of them destroyed! ......Didn't she? Why did watching this bother her so?
The Gerudo woman continued to watch. She watched the young wizard boy preparing to attack, looking around him frantically. She watched the Hylian tend to the girl, visibly upset that she was being hurt so much. She watched the phantom fly out of a painting again, still carrying the small girl in green that she had captured for him. She watched the phantom attack the witch girl with electricity once again.
What's this? Did that Hylian actually jump in the way and take the attack in her place? How is it possible that he could have just done that? Master Ganondorf told her that these people were vile creatures that didn't care for anything, let alone one another! What was this behavior she was witnessing?
Now the human boy was with the other two. They all seemed to be discussing something. After a very short moment, the girl painfully stood up. Nabooru felt slightly relieved to see her stand again.
WHAT? Relief?? WHY would she feel relieved? That girl must have done something to her with her magic! It was warping her mind!
Now all three of them were on the edges of the circle, separated into a triangle. What were they doing?
"Ready?" Link shouted.
"Ready!" the two sorcerers replied.
Gordon held a ball of light between his hands. Lydia, holding her wounded side with one hand, used her other hand to summon a spell of her own. Link sheathed the Master Sword, and crouched on the ground, ready to pounce.
Again, two Ganondorfs appeared in paintings. One turned back, and the second flew out of its portal and across the room. When it reached the center of the room, the trio set their thrown-together plan into action.
What happened next all happened in the span of less than two seconds.
Lydia threw up her arm. "Dark Claw!" Small insect-shaped balls of black light shot from her palm and rocketed through the arm Ganondorf was holding Saria with. The Evil King didn't seem to notice the pain, but his arm reacted to it and loosened, allowing the Kokiri girl to fall.
That's when Link made his move. In a single bound, he flew through the air and grabbed Saria as she fell. Link hit the ground and rolled clear of the lighting attack, holding Saria protectively.
Before Link had even landed after his jump, Gordon had leapt from his place at the perimeter of the room. Once Link had rolled clear, the sorcerer reared his arm back. "Fireball!" He hit Ganondorf at point-blank range, right in the head. Ganondorf was knocked clear off the horse, and took to just flying up near the ceiling. The war-horse continued its flight across the room and disappeared into one of the paintings.
Gordon landed on the ground near the other side of the room, keeping one eye on Ganondorf, who was hovering motionlessly near the ceiling. Their plan, while very slapped-together, worked perfectly. Now Saria was safe, and they didn't have to hold back. But Link's angry shout put a damper on the success.
"Oh, dammit!"
The sorcerer turned and immediately found the source of the Hylian's anger. The plan had worked almost perfectly. Ganondorf, in the middle of the high-speed attacks, had thrown his own lighting attack, and it had been directed at Lydia once again. She hadn't been able to move in time. She was down, and this time out cold.
Link was there first. Saria squirmed out of his grasp and tried to shake the sorceress awake again. Gordon was there quickly, as well. It was quite obvious that his sister was badly hurt.
Ganondorf's attack pattern was obvious. All of his attacks had been directed at her. Just her! Why?
The sorcerer looked up at Link. His blond hair was hiding his eyes, but his teeth were clenched and his fists were trembling with anger. He loosened his jaw just enough to speak. "Take care of her."
While Gordon started using a healing spell, Link stood stiffly, and angrily yanked the Master Sword free of its sheath. He stood protectively in front of the other three, and looked at Ganondorf in a very challenging way.
Ganondorf was lower now, and was raising his lance to attack.
Link didn't move at all.
The Evil King raised his lance, and a small ball of black light formed at the tip. He brought the lance down, and the ball screamed through the air toward them.
Link still didn't move.
Gordon got worried. That energy was coming closer, and Link wasn't doing anything! He knew he couldn't stop this healing spell mid-way to throw up a defense barrier for him! God, Link, do something!!
Just as the ball of black light was about to hit, Link suddenly let loose a loud shout of anger, and all of his adrenaline pumped into his arms as he swung the Master Sword. The blade hit the black ball head on, and actually deflected it. Link followed through with the swing and sent the small attack sailing into the far wall.
Gordon, Saria, and Ganondorf all stared. What an incredible move!
Not wasting a second, Ganondorf prepared another black ball and sent it sailing toward Link. The Hylian swung the Sword and sent the ball straight back. But this time, Ganondorf swung the lance and hit it back again. Link hit the ball back as well. Gordon and Saria watched with open mouths as Link and Ganondorf played tennis with this ball of black energy, until Link worked up some power and slammed the ball past Ganondorf and into the wall.
The sorcerer had never seen anything so impressive. Link's anger was being converted into vicious attacks! Still using one hand to hold the healing spell and using the other arm to hold his sister off the floor, he felt her stir slightly.
Ganondorf's color seemed to change completely, and he threw the lance to the side. He threw both of this arms in the air and generated a much larger ball of energy.
As Saria hugged his waist in fear, Gordon felt ready to panic. There was NO way Link would be able to deflect this, and he couldn't stop mid-spell to help him! They were all in serious trouble!
Link knew this, too. When Ganondorf reared back both arms and threw the huge spell down on them, he crossed his arms in front of his face, preparing to take the attack head on.
He felt a sudden rush of wind, and the spell was deflected into several directions just before it hit. Up near the ceiling, Ganondorf grunted in anger and surprise. Link slowly lowered his arms in time to catch the fading light of a magical defense barrier in front of him.
He turned around and saw Lydia, half-awake and sitting up. One arm was planted on the ground to support herself, and the other was extended toward him. A little ball of light was in her palm, slowly dimming as the magic dissipated. Once it was gone, she passed out and collapsed into her brother's arms again, completely exhausted. Her brother continued the healing right away.
Link's mouth fell open. She was nearly killed and she STILL tries to protect me!
A fire lit in Link's gut just then, and it grew to an inferno as Ganondorf prepared an identical spell above them. He turned back toward Ganondorf with fiery eyes, and held the handle of the Sword so tightly that his knuckles turned white under the gauntlets.
Ganondorf reared his arms back to throw the spell. With an almost animalistic roar, he threw the energy down on them.
A light flashed, and Link's hair blew away from his forehead. The symbol for the Triforce of Courage was glowing there, and the Master Sword was covered in a thick coat of white light. He swung the sword hard, and the blade sunk into the spell momentarily. Link followed through, and the spell sailed right back into Ganondorf, knocking him down to the ground. In a flash, Link was on him again, leaping into the air with the sword held high.
"Dddiiiieeeee!!" he bellowed with anger, and brought the Sword down, releasing the power of the Triforce of Courage. The entire room was filled with yellow energy, and in the midst of it all, Ganondorf roared in pain and anguish.
When the light dimmed, Ganondorf was on the ground, slowly disintegrating. In the center of the room, a purple-black portal appeared on the floor and Ganondorf was slowly being sucked into it.
Then, everyone heard Ganondorf's voice.
"It seems you kids may be gaining some slight skill..." he said. "But you have defeated only my phantom. When you fight the real me, it will not be so easy." The phantom was now being sucked completely into the portal. "What a worthless creation that ghost was! I will banish it to the gap between dimensions!" In another flash, both Ganondorf's voice and the phantom Ganondorf were gone, and the portal disappeared.
The room was completely quiet, except for the quiet humming of Gordon's healing spell and Link's heavy breathing.
"After all that," Link whispered, mainly to himself, "that was only a phantom?"
Suddenly, he heard Lydia's voice.
"Yeah, be glad you're not here!" she shouted, apparently at Ganondorf. "You'd be getting a taste of my secret weapon right about now, you bastard!!"
Unable to hide his relief, he spun around. Lydia was sitting up again, shooing Gordon's hands away as politely as possible. "Thanks, man. You're tired. Take a break – I can handle it from here."
All in one movement, Link sheathed the Sword, bounded over, dropped to a knee, and wrapped his arms around Lydia, so relieved that his attempt not to cry was failing slightly.
Gordon smiled and backed off a bit. Saria was looking at them wide-eyed. The sorcerer took her hand and whispered to her. "Why don't we wait over there?" he asked, pointing toward the center of the room, where the all-too-familiar circle of blue light was beginning to appear. Before Saria could even answer, he pulled her away.
Lydia, on the other hand, was so shocked that all she could think to do was hug him back, even though it really hurt to do so. Gordon's healing spell had probably saved her life, but she was still hurting. Link was obviously hurting inside.
"Thank the goddesses, you're all right," he whispered in her ear.
That one hit Lydia almost like a punch in the gut. He really does care! She thought quickly. "Uh, of course I'm all right," she replied, almost cockily. "It takes more than that to....." Without finishing the sentence, her voice softened. "Thanks."
Gordon stood with Saria next to the blue light, watching them with admiration. He felt Saria tug on his shirt. Her face was turned up toward him, and she was smiling. "Miss Lydia.....is she Link's girlfriend?"
The sorcerer smiled back at her. "Sometimes, it's hard to tell."
Saria looked down again and watched them. "I don't think it is."
The two watched as Link finally let go of Lydia. The sorceress placed her hands in front of her own chest and activated a small ball of sparkling white light – a healing spell. Link slid one arm around her back and the other under her knees, and lifted her off the ground. He walked over and joined the two that were waiting for them.
Gordon, still smiling, waited another moment before saying anything. Finally, he gestured toward the blue light. "Mission accomplished. Shall we go?"
Saria kept a tight grip on Gordon's hand as all four crammed into the blue circle and vanished from the room in the Forest Temple. Everything faded to white.
The white light soon faded, and the group found themselves once again in the center of the Chamber of Sages. The seemingly endless "wet" room stretched out around them in all of its beauty.
Gordon immediately noticed something funny about his hand. He looked down at it, and found that Saria was no longer gripping it. In fact, she had disappeared completely. "Wh-Where's Saria?" he asked openly.
Link twisted around, looking around for her. Saria was gone! "Wasn't she right with us?"
Lydia, still holding her healing spell in place, was smiling and looking over to the side. "Oh, don't worry. She's right over there."
The two boys looked where she was looking. Standing atop the medallion of the Forest Sage was little Saria, smiling from ear-to-ear.
Gordon couldn't help but smile, too. For some reason, he wasn't really surprised.
"Saria?" Link called. "You're the Forest Sage?"
The Kokiri girl nodded slowly. "I knew you all would be able to help me. Link, I expected no less from you."
Link had one of those aw-shucks smiles cross his face.
"Now that the curse on the Forest Temple is broken," Saria continued, "the monsters filling Kokiri Forest will decrease in number and power, but the Forest will never be fully the same again unless something is done for the Deku Tree. The Deku Tree was the power behind the eternal peace of the Forest. So I ask of you all, if anything is possible for the Deku Tree, please help him." She smiled again. "Miss Lydia, please get well. Mr. Gordon, I hope I see you again soon." Everything around them faded to white again as they were transported out of the Chamber of Sages. Saria's voice lingered behind them. "Link, I will always be your friend..."
In the dark Tower, Ganondorf watched the shadows slowly retreat from the east side of Hyrule. That stupid phantom hadn't been able to defeat the kids in the Forest Temple. He couldn't even complete the main objective of killing that witch girl. She HAD to be killed! She was a key to the whole thing somehow!
Behind him, he felt the presence of a piece of his own magic. Nabooru materialized in the room, walked close, and bowed in a troubled manner.
"...Master..." she began, but was cut off by Ganondorf.
"The phantom failed, I know," he said darkly.
"And...And the girl managed to survive, Master. But when I left the battle, she had been badly hurt. She was helped by..."
Ganondorf cut her short again. "The girl is not invincible. If she had been alone, she would have died. As long as she's accompanied by those other two, I'll never be able to kill her! I have to go after her when she's alone, and least expecting an attack. The timing will be very tricky." He frowned sharply. "Something inside of me is warning me about her. She must die."
Slyly, Ganondorf's mouth tugged up into a smile. "Princess Zelda, you are the key to the girl. Do me a favor while you're out there, and separate the witch from her friends. Seal their fates for me!"
Ganon's Tower almost shook from the magnitude of his insane laughter.
The Forest Temple in the Sacred Meadow was now quiet once more. The giant Moblins that had patrolled the maze had disappeared with the destruction of the phantom Ganondorf. Dark shadows that haunted the area were slowly retreating. Outside of the Temple, on the elevated Triforce platform, a blue column of light settled.
Gordon, Link, and Lydia dropped from the sky and settled gently on the platform. Lydia was finishing up with her spell as the two boys stepped off the platform. Gordon was rather troubled.
"What could we possibly do for the Deku Tree?" he wondered aloud. "Mido said he's been dead for a few months now. Do we have the power to help?"
Holding the spell firmly still, Lydia smiled at her brother. "You should know by now, sir, that the three of us have the power to do almost anything!"
Her brother turned and smiled at her. "Gotta love that can-do spirit of yours."
His sister smirked, and slowly, the white healing spell faded and disappeared. She looked up at Link, who looked like he knew what she was going to say. "I think I'm okay now. You can put me down."
Link's whole forehead wrinkled up. "Are you sure you're all right now?"
Lydia nodded. "I think so. I wanna walk."
The Hylian gently set her down, and kept a grip on her arm as she tested her weight on her legs.
Gordon suddenly thought of something else as he watched his sister recover. "I know it's already painfully obvious, but that phantom attacked you, and only you. Does that strike you as odd?"
Link snarled and looked at the ground. The thought of what happened in the Forest Temple was still angering.
The sorceress rested her chin in one of her hands. "It is rather odd. Ganondorf wants us all dead, I know that. But all those attacks were concentrated on me...as if he suddenly has some serious grudge against me."
Before the matter could be discussed any further, a small voice suddenly rang out in the distance, back in the maze. "Come on, almost there! The Forest Temple is just ahead!"
Link's mouth fell open. "That....That sounds like..."
Lydia finished for him. "That sounds like your bug!"
"Navi?" Gordon asked aloud.
Sure enough, Navi appeared at the end of the maze and fluttered near the top of the huge stairway that had once been guarded by the huge Moblin with the club.
"But....," Lydia said, "Wasn't Navi with..."
A figure, bent in exhaustion, appeared at the top of the stairs, and froze when it saw the trio standing there. The trio, the fairy, and the figure all recognized each other at the same time.
It was Princess Zelda.
No words were exchanged. Just a bustle of tears, laughter, and group hugs. Zelda clung to the three adventurers like a security blanket. Over the commotion, Gordon shouted happily. "How did you escape??"
Zelda laughed and hugged him again. "I tricked the Evil King! He believes me to be dead!"
The princess quickly told them the story, and in turn, the trio told Zelda all that they had done up this point after she had been captured.
Lydia smiled happily. "This day would be perfect if we could just fix the Deku Tree!"
Zelda suddenly stopped. "The Deku Tree? Yes! Yes! You can help the Deku Tree! You can!"
"How?" Link asked. "He's been dead for—"
"It doesn't matter! We have two Triforce pieces on our side! Please, let's go!" The princess turned and ran back toward the forest maze so quickly that the trio had no choice but to follow her.
The Kokiri peeked out of their houses, still afraid to come out. They watched the four people dash out of the Lost Woods, then through their village. They disappeared through a path. Wasn't that the path to the Deku Tree?
Slowly, shyly, the Kokiri emerged from their houses. The monsters were much fewer in number and easy to avoid. The Kokiri gathered into a group and all followed the four people toward the Deku Tree, feeling very protective of his remains.
Mido led the group. He had recognized all four of those people, and reassured his fellow Kokiri that they wouldn't do any damage. Still, the Kokiri followed them down the path, overcome with curiosity.
The trio, now quartet, stood below the half-rotted Deku Tree. It was a pitiful sight, especially for Link, who was used to seeing him alive and healthy. Lydia walked forward a bit, still limping slightly. "What can we do, Zelda?" she asked.
Zelda wasn't looking at her. She was looking back to where they had come from. "It seems we've attracted a crowd of spectators."
The other three turned. The entrance to the Deku Tree's small meadow was jammed with Kokiri. All of them had followed them in to watch.
The princess turned away from the small Kokiri and concentrated on their task once again. "Listen closely. You must each concentrate your energies on the remaining life energy left in the Deku Tree. Only by seizing the remains of this energy and sharing your power with it will you help the Deku Tree. Link, you must use the Triforce of Courage. Gordon, the Triforce of Wisdom. Lydia, use the power in your rune. It won't be quite the same, but it will certainly help."
The trio nodded confidently, understanding well what they had to do. They stood apart in front of the Tree, each concentrating.
The symbol for the Triforce of Courage shone on Link's forehead. Gordon's head bore the symbol of the Triforce of Wisdom.
"Lord of Darkness and the Four Worlds, I call upon you, grant me all the power you possess." From her end of the event, Lydia's Sorcerer's Rune shone with light of brilliant colors.
From each of the three, a column of light rose high into the sky. Columns of their magical energy. The light rose and focused into one point high above the Deku Tree. It all gathered into a brilliant ball of magic and light, which slowly dropped into the Deku Tree's branches.
The effect was absolute. Immediately, the branches of the tree began to thicken and sprout new leaves. The trunk of the great Tree solidified and slowly turned to a healthy color. Small fairy life forms began fluttering around it, announcing the presence of life in this meadow once again.
Behind the group, the Kokiri were going wild. They were cheering, jumping, and carrying on with excitement. Their home had been saved! The Deku Tree was living again! The small people ran up to the group and mobbed them with hugs and thanks of appreciation.
Gordon and Zelda worked on herding the kids up and shooing them out of the meadow. "The Deku Tree is still very weak and needs to rest," Zelda told them. She wasn't lying, either. It would take time for the Tree to recover completely. They had just given him a head start.
Link and Lydia remained behind, still looking up at the newly revived Deku Tree. Link's teary eyes were locked up on the Deku Tree, the one that had saved him when he was an infant, taking him in to raise him as a Kokiri. The one that had cared for him so much back then was alive again. "I..I just don't believe it! He's....he's really okay...."
Lydia smiled happily. "And now the day is complete." Without further words, she reached over and held Link's hand.
Near the entrance of the meadow, Zelda smiled as she watched them. She leaned over to Gordon and whispered, "So that's how it is, huh?"
This time, Gordon replied to that question with more confidence. "That's how it is."
After another moment, Lydia bounded over to them, happy as a clam, with Link close behind. She threw her fist in the air and shouted. "Three temple monsters have been trashed and Princess Zelda is safe! There's no way we'll lose this fight now! We've got Ganondorf on the run! Let's keep up the pace, everybody, and we'll save Hyrule!"
The other three threw their fists up as well and contributed their own shouts of enthusiam. The Kokiri had herded back into the meadow, and were crowding around them. They all joined in by jumping and shouting along with them.
The sun began to set on the revived Deku Tree and the whole world seemed to quiet. Slowly and steadily, bit by bit, peace was returning to the land of Hyrule.