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!)

32. Chapter 29

Well, well, well. Look at this. A chapter. Way, WAY late, as usual.

I'm so sorry, everyone. I've had a really hectic couple of years, but I'm still working at it! ^_^

My main concern, though, is some panicked e-mails I've received. Most of them go something like this: "Have you stopped writing your story?! NO! Please finish! I must know what happens! Aaahhhh!!"

Let me make this point here and now: I will NOT stop writing this story until I have typed the final sentence of the final chapter. I've worked on it too hard and have too much cool stuff planned to stop now.

To you, the fans that have stuck with me through all the delays, I thank you yet again. Please have faith in me. It may take a while, but don't worry, you WILL know how this story ends.

For now, enjoy the new chapter.

Okay, I hope this doesn't look too freaky. I'm once again experimenting with FanFiction.net's goofy formatting. This is the first time I've uploaded a chapter as a .txt file, so we'll see how that works out.

The paragraphs seem to work just fine... but it seems it's gonna display the HTML tags. EVIL!!!

Anyway, I'm so sorry about that. I don't want to completely take them out, as italics and bold text are quite meaningful, so either go to my website (below) or PRETEND that the HTML is working. For those that don't know... i marks the beginning of italic text, /i marks the end. Same goes for bold text, except with b and /b. If you see anything weirder than that, it's around a spell - it's supposed to color the text. Unfortunately, it only works at my website.

If you desire perfect formatting and HTML tags that are actually functional, read the chapter in the fanfics section of www.zelda-infinite.com. The name it's under there is "Goddess Rinoa".

Love always, and may the Triforce be with you,

Lydia

*~*~*~*

bWorlds Apart

Part II

By Miss Lydia/Goddess Rinoa

Chapter 29/b

Ganondorf paced back and forth in his tower, chewing on his thumbnail, visibly irritated and worried. His cape followed him loyally, curling around his ankles with every step.

"This can't happen anymore," he muttered to himself. "They've gotten too far. The destruction of the shadow is just too much. I must take care of this once and for all!"

As the Evil King continued to pace around and talk to himself, Nabooru watched quietly from a dark corner of the room, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed. She had mixed feelings about the destruction of the shadow spirit in Kakariko. Obviously, her first thought was that it was bad - bad for her master's plan. ...But not soon after, she started to have nagging feelings of relief in her gut. Something kept reminding her that the fact that those three were doing so well was a igood/i thing, not a bad thing. She had absolutely no idea why, but this had been happening to her for a while now. With every day that went past, she felt less loyal to Ganondorf and more tempted to cheer on the Hero and his friends instead.

"All three of them need to be destroyed," Ganondorf continued to rant. "iEspecially/i that damned girl-witch. I've had it up to ihere/i with her. I should go out there right now and just take her head off in a single swipe. That would take care of ithat/i. And then I'll--"

His voice suddenly broke off and he stopped pacing. His hand wandered up to his chin as he started to think hard. His eyes widened slightly and a crooked smile crawled across his face.

Nabooru raised an eyebrow and continued to watch him.

After several silent moments, Ganondorf chuckled softly and started to walk toward the window that faced south. "...I've just been struck with a brilliant idea. An absolutely brilliant idea, indeed." He stopped at the window, then swung completely around and looked at Nabooru excitedly. "Would you like to hear my plan? It's a wonderfully brilliant plan. I'm sure you'll love it!"

The Gerudo woman looked back at him and gave him an indifferent shrug.

"Right, then." Ganondorf turned back to the window and rested his hands on the broken brick sill. "A few minutes ago, I was swearing to myself that I'd kill these kids with my own hands. Oh, how exceptionally satisfying that would be... But just now I thought of something that would be even imore/i satisfying." He chuckled again as he rolled the idea over in his mind. "Why kill them myself when I can get them to kill ieach other/i?"

Nabooru's chest tightened in spite of herself. She thought she had an idea of where he was going with this, and she didn't like it at all. ...See, there it was again - she was having disloyal thoughts toward her master. Why?!

"Hmm...," Ganondorf continued. "I'll never get where I want with this unless I can isolate one of them from the other two. And then I'll have to..." His voice trailed off again. He glanced up at Nabooru, then back down at the floor. His eyes suggested that he was working the Gerudo woman into his plans somehow, whatever they were.

He looked up finally. "Ah, yes... That'll work perfectly. What a great plan this is!"

Ganondorf turned sharply, sending his cape whipping about, and started to walk toward Nabooru. The woman was hesitant to move, so stayed right where she was, watching him come closer. The look in his eyes worried her. He had something sinister in mind, she was sure of it.

The Evil King stopped right in front of her and bent down so that his eyes were level with hers. "Sorry, but I'm going to need my full magical strength for this plan to work. I need to take what you have."

He had barely gotten the last word out before his hand shot up and grabbed Nabooru's forehead. The woman shouted with surprise as he tightened his grip on her face. A surge of magic pulsed through her body, and then she began to feel magical energy being drained from her. As more and more of it left her, she began to see scenes in her head. She saw the person she was before Ganondorf took control of her mind. She saw the girl sorcerer use her own magic to free her from the Evil King's, and then saw him take control of her yet again. She saw the same girl using her magic on her every time they met, repeatedly trying to break Ganondorf's hold on her mind. She saw her getting attacked again and again by Ganondorf's phantom, and remembered all at once her feelings at that time.

Ganondorf suddenly let go of Nabooru's head and she fell to the ground. She sat up and leaned against the wall, staring in fear up at the Gerudo man. He had completely taken away his hold on her mind - she was free again.

"...Why?" she whispered up at him.

The man cracked the knuckles in his right hand. "Like I already said, in order for what I have in mind to work, I'm going to need iall/i of my magic, including what was inside of you. But there's no problem with this. I have no real further need of you. Except for ione/i final task..." He bent down suddenly and yanked Nabooru to her feet. "You're going to be bait."

He smiled evilly at her before sending electricity through her body. Her screams of pain delighted him. When he pulled the magic back, she fell limp. In one swift motion, he draped the woman over his shoulder.

For some unknown reason, he felt compelled to glance out of the south window once more. As he did, he thought he saw something out in the Field. Using his magic to get a better look, he saw that it was a person, draped in a cloak, making tracks toward Kakariko Village. A little more magic showed him that it wasn't just iany/i person, but it was Princess Zelda, foolishly walking about alone as usual.

Ganondorf got excited, almost giddy, at the sight of this. "Oh, this is just itoo/i perfect!" he bellowed. Knowing he'd have to hurry to make it in time, he dashed for the stairway, keeping one arm on Nabooru. "It just gets better and better!"

*~*~*~*

Gordon yawned loudly and glanced at his watch. It was pushing noon already. The sun had moved to a high position in the sky and was no longer sending direct light into the windows.

As he continued to chew on his breakfast, the sorcerer glanced over at the side of the house, at the beds there. Two of them were still occupied, which was no surprise. He hadn't heard Link and Lydia come in until just after sunrise earlier that morning. They had been up all night talking. Gordon chuckled - it was about darn time Link had fessed up. Everyone iknew/i, anyway. It was painfully obvious how he felt about her.

Taking a swig from his mug of water, his mind wandered on to other thoughts. Mainly, the events of the day before. He remembered the nightmare the Dead Hand had trapped him in. Link and Lydia walking off together, Ganondorf waiting for them... him turning back into a little kid. Supposedly, it was his worst fear. ...But what was it? The nightmare hadn't been very clear. What was it that he was afraid of?

It came to him suddenly. Helplessness. He was afraid of being helpless when it mattered the most. He had never realized it until just now. He was afraid of being unable to help, and someone getting hurt as a consequence. Taking another swig of his water, he swore right there that he would never let something like that happen.

Just then, there was a soft knock on the door. Moving slowly as to not wake the sleeping pair, Gordon crept up the door and opened it carefully, squinting at the sunlight that poured in. There was a relatively small person standing there, completely hidden by a worn, beaten-up brown cloak. Before Gordon could even raise an eyebrow, a slender hand came out of the folds of cloth and pulled the hood down. A pair of pretty blue eyes and a lot of blond hair became visible.

Gordon smirked and leaned against the door frame. "You iknow/i you shouldn't be wandering around by yourself," he said.

Princess Zelda smiled shyly. "I'm sorry," she said. "I just wanted to find out how things went... with the shadow spirit... I haven't slept all night. I've been worried..."

The sorcerer smiled. "It was barely a challenge," he lied. "We went in, smote it, came out. It won't be a problem anymore, and Impa is safe as well. She's doing what she can from the Realm."

Zelda sighed with great relief. "That is wonderful news," she said, smiling at Gordon. "I cannot begin to express my gratitude to you and your sister for all of your help all this time. You've been truly invaluable."

Gordon smiled, a bit embarrassed. "Nah..."

The princess leaned into the house just slightly, her eyes landing on the two occupied beds. Her questioning eyes met Gordon's, and she asked, "...They are not ill, are they?"

"No, oh no," he replied. "They were just up most of the night. Talking."

Zelda's eyebrows went up. "Talking?" She paused for a moment, and then smiled girlishly and leaned closer to Gordon's ear. "Link... Did he finally...?"

The boy chuckled softly. "Yeah," he whispered back. "He finally told her."

The princess giggled happily. "That's wonderful! Ah, I'm very... happy for them."

As her voice trailed off, Zelda's eyes went back to the lump of blankets Link was sleeping under and stayed there. It was then that Gordon noticed something. Her feelings of happiness for the two were sincere, yes... but the boy noticed something else in Zelda's eyes. There was a look of longing there, a yearning for something. She was looking at him the way Lydia often did - with soft, gentle eyes and a slight smile on her face.

Gordon's gut wrenched as the realization hit him. Princess Zelda, even though she had never hinted toward it before, and however subtle they were... she also had feelings for Link. Even so, she seemed to have graciously stepped aside for Lydia's sake. But that obviously wasn't ebbing her feelings at all. She was just dealing with it as best as she could. He wanted to say something comforting to her on the matter, but didn't want to let on that he knew, so instead, he set his hand on her right shoulder.

"Are you all right?" he asked softly.

Zelda jumped slightly and looked up at him, as if coming out of a trance. Her eyes met Gordon's. She smiled, and nodded. "Y-Yes, thank you, I am fine," she lied.

The sorcerer gave her the most gentle, comforting smile he could muster up as he began to have an all-new respect for the princess.

Just then, Lydia's lump of blankets shifted. "Mmfhh.. Heey.. Whuz with the noise, huh? Whaz goin' on? People'll are tryin' ta sleep here..." Her face appeared, drooping in sleepyness.

"Sorry," her brother said. "I forgot it was only noon."

Lydia grumbled. "I don't appreciate your sarcasm, little man." She pulled the blankets down and caught a glimpse of Princess Zelda in the door. All sleepyness gone for the moment, she quickly rolled out of bed, still in her clothes from the day before, grabbed her glasses off the table, and shuffled toward the door.

"Where's Malon?" she asked Zelda, slipping her glasses on. "Are you here alone? ...You iknow/i you shouldn't be doing that..."

Gordon waved his hand at her. "It's okay, it's okay - she was just checking up on us."

"Even so," she replied with a loud yawn. "It's still not a good idea. ...Here, if we're all finished talking and waking people up here, I'll walk you back to Lon Lon."

"Oh!" Zelda breathed in surprise. "Th-That's certainly not necessary. I can get back myself."

"I insist," Lydia pressed as she pulled her shoes on. "Link would get mad if he knew I let you go back alone, and he'd bug me about it iall/i day long, telling me all about the chances, however slim, of Ganondorf trying to pull something."

"Speaking of Link," Gordon said suddenly. "Think I should wake him up? He might want to go with you."

Lydia stood back up and glanced over to where Link slept. Her eyes softened and she smiled at him. "...Nah. He deserves a peaceful sleep once in a while." She looked back at her brother, who wasn't convinced. "Besides, I'm a big girl. I'll be ifine/i. I can take care of myself."

"Okaaayyy," Gordon replied, still not really convinced. "Come right back, though. You remember all that jazz about that guy wanting your hide."

"I know, I know, but I'm not exactly afraid of the old man." She clapped her hands together, suddenly remembering something, and pointed at Zelda. "And on the way, I have iquite/i a story to tell you," she said with a smile, of course referring to all the things Din had told her the other night.

As Zelda turned to begin the trek back to Lon Lon, Lydia tip-toed over to her bed. She reached under it and grabbed hold of her duffel bag, and gave it a hard tug. The zipper got caught on something on the way out and the bag unzipped loudly. Lydia cringed, froze, and slowly looked over her shoulder at Link. When she saw that the noise hadn't woken him up, she started to rummage through the stuff in the bag, finally pulling out the hilt of her longsword.

Nabooru's pink ribbon was still tied to it. Lydia's nimble fingers worked at the knot for a moment until the ribbon finally came loose.

Gordon looked on as Lydia stood back up and moved over to the mirror. She picked up her brush and started raking through her hair with it, wincing and cursing every time she hit a knot. After the mass of it was relatively knot-free, she started brushing it upward, then tied it back into a thick ponytail using the pink ribbon.

When she finished, she smiled girlishly and walked back to the door. "It's hot today," she explained. "Thought I should give myself a break."

"U-Um," Gordon stammered as the girls started to leave. "Do you want me to come with you? I...I kinda have a bad feeling about you going alone."

Lydia gave him a really annoyed look. "What... you don't think I can handle whatever's out there? ...Besides, your breakfast isn't done." She waved a finger at him, much as a teacher would at a naughty child. "You shouldn't waste food. ...And don't you dare wake Link up - the guy needs as much sleep at as he can get. If he's not still asleep when I get back, I'm gonna tie you up and drag your skinny white self all over Hyrule. Don't you think I won't, either."

"All right, all right... But, seriously, be careful, okay? You don't want to be eating your words later."

The girl waved him off carelessly. "Whatever. See ya."

With that, she closed the door behind her, and the house was silent again.

Gordon sighed quietly and sat back down in his chair, and started poking at his food again. His sister always got defensive when anyone told her to be careful, but he really had a bad feeling today... He wasn't sure why, but...

*~*~*~*

They were halfway to Lon Lon Ranch before Lydia had finally wrapped up the story about Din and the story of her and her brother's past lives as Hyrulean sorcerers. Zelda was wildly interested the whole time - her blue eyes were wide with eagerness, visible even from under the old cloak's hood, and her fists were balled with excitement.

The newly-reformed Sorcerer's Rune dangled outside Lydia's shirt, catching the sunlight with every one of the girl's steps. She usually kept it tucked into her shirt for safe-keeping, but had taken it out to show Zelda and hadn't put it back in yet. The moment she thought of it, she gently tucked it back into her shirt.

"You showed no hesitation whatsoever in transferring the Triforce of Wisdom to the kid back then," Lydia said, both of her arms behind her head in a relaxed position. "Was it because you knew about Riku and ihis/i connection with it?"

The princess shook her head. "N-No, I didn't really iknow/i... All that happened before I was born. I mean, I learned about the two that were killed trying to stop Ganondorf sometime in my youth, but I had no idea that Riku's soul rested within your brother... or that Maya was within iyou/i..."

"Then why did you give it right to him like that? You didn't even stop to think about it. ...Not that there was itime/i to think...."

Zelda paused for a moment in thought, trying to form an explaination that Lydia would easily understand. When she had found the right combination of words, she started with, "I had a feeling."

Lydia's right eyebrow went up. "Oh?"

"The ones destined to hold the pieces of the Triforce can feel each other's potential. For example, Riku and Maya were killed by Ganondorf because he sensed their ability to hold Triforce pieces. I felt your brother's potential to hold the Triforce of Wisdom in the same way, and knew that it would be safe with him for the time being." She paused again. "Of course, this also means that Ganondorf can feel your potential, just as he felt Maya's. He sees you as a great threat, but according to the Goddess Din, he hasn't figured out iwhy/i just yet. I am certain that when he realizes it is because of your potential to safely hold the Triforce of Power within you, he will do everything he can to make sure it does not happen, perhaps even going as far as...killing you..."

"Yee-iiii-eesshh," Lydia groaned loudly. "That sure puts me in a tough spot. ...We talked about all this stuff yesterday morning, and decided that the best course of action at this point, besides finding the final sage, obviously, is to steal the Triforce of Power from him." She twisted her middle to look at Zelda, who seemed deep in thought. "Does that plan have potential?"

"Hmmm...," Zelda hummed. "...It would be very dangerous... But ipossible/i..."

"Cool," Lydia said, smiling, looking very smug with herself.

"The reason I gave Gordon the Triforce of Wisdom rather than you, for example, is because he was meant for it. If a piece of the Triforce is given to someone who is not well-suited to hold it, it can be easily stolen by just about anyone. This is why, when the Triforce splits, the pieces go only to who is most suited."

She paused to think, then continued.

"But if the person that holds it is imeant/i to have it - Ganondorf - the only way to even have a chance at taking it from them is to have ianother/i person who is meant to have it - you - have a go at it. Link nor Gordon wouldn't have the slightest hope of stealing the Triforce of Power from the Evil King. But iyou/i just might."

"So... For example, since Gordon is imeant/i to hold the Triforce of Wisdom, there's no chance of anyone stealing it from him?"

Zelda's eyes narrowed. "There's a slight chance. If the person trying to steal it had absolutely immense power, it would be possible. But under normal circumstances, no, it can't be stolen from him."

"What are the abnormal circumstances?"

"Ganondorf's power alone wouldn't be able to do it. But, let's say he somehow combined his magical power with someone else's, perhaps doubling or even tripling it. Then he would have a good chance of taking it by sheer force. ...Of course, the chances of something like that happening are slim. I can't imagine anyone would be willing to aid him in that way."

"Anyone with even a single functioning brain cell wouldn't be willing." The sorceress smiled. "I guess we can be thankful for that."

As Lon Lon Ranch started to become visible over the next hill, the princess bit her lip. All this talk about the Triforce pieces was planting unnecessary worries in her head, and she immediately changed the subject to the first thing she could think of. ...Of course, she later regretted bringing it up at all.

"So...," she said with a slightly teasing tone. "I heard you and Link were up late last night italking/i."

Lydia suddenly stopped walking and stared at Zelda, who was grinning at her. After a few awkward seconds, she started walking again, her face twisted into an embarrassed grimace. "God. Gordon's mouth is iso/i damned huge."

Zelda laughed. "I'm...happy for you."

"...Yeah?"

"Yes."

The sorceress smiled, thinking about how warm her heart had felt during that time... about how warm it felt whenever she thought of him.

"Did you expect it at all?" Zelda asked.

Lydia opened her mouth to give some sort of a sarcastic answer, but stopped. After a moment of thought, she said, "You know, now that you mention it... I guess I've been expecting it for a long time. I'm really not as unobservant as people think I am. ...But even though I wasn't really surprised... I still kinda was."

"I understand."

They were silent for a few moments, until Zelda suddenly asked, "Do you feel the same way toward him?"

The sorceress swallowed hard and her face turned red. "U-Uh...," She looked over at Zelda, who was smiling at her warmly, patiently waiting for the answer she knew would come. Lydia stared at her for a moment, and then her face softened uncharactaristically and she looked up toward the brilliant blue Hyrule sky.

"Yes...," she said quietly, as if not wanting others to hear. "...I love him."

"Did you tell him so?" the princess asked.

Lydia was about to say yes, then suddenly remembered how she had reacted. "U-um," she stammered, a bit embarrassed. "I...don't think I actually said it. I... I kinda choked. You know, I was... I was... ...Hmm, I guess I don't have a good excuse."

Zelda smiled again and bent down so that her beautiful Hylian face came completely free from the shadows of the hood. "You should tell him the moment you next see him."

"Huh?"

"Come on now, promise me you will. Promise me."

The princess was being so sweet - Lydia almost wanted to hug her. "...All right, Zelda. I promise."

"Good," she replied. Almost immediately, her face disappeared most of the way again and she set her gaze back toward the ranch.

Silence blanketed the two again for several minutes, and Lydia eventually noticed that most of it was flowing from the princess. The sorceress bent forward just a bit so that she could see Zelda's eyes under the hood. To her surprise, they were thoughtful and... very sad. It was the kind of look that a girl had for a while after getting turned down for a date with a guy she liked.

As if getting hit by a bolt of lighting, Lydia suddenly made the connection and stopped dead in her tracks.

Zelda continued another five or six steps before she realized that Lydia had stopped, and turned around to look at her. "...What's wrong?" she asked. The look on the sorceress's face was unusually sympathetic.

"Zelda," she said finally, "...you..."

"What?" the princess asked, trying to sound genuinely curious.

"Link... You... You like him, too, don't you?"

The princess felt as though she had been punched in the stomach. Had she been ithat/i obvious?! "W-What?!" she choked, trying to sound surprised, if not appalled. "Whatever gave you ithat/i idea?"

Lydia's face only softened further as a result of the princess' poor acting. "Like I said earlier, I'm not as unobservant as some people think I am," she said, walking forward just far enough to stand at the princess' side again. "You like Link, and you're sad because I--"

She stopped suddenly and her eyes fell toward the ground. The loose strands of hair that had worked themselves free of the ribbon did the same. "Oh, God."

"...What?"

Lydia looked like she wanted to cry. "I don't even ibelong/i in this world. If I hadn't come here, maybe you would have..." She swallowed hard. "I... I stole him from you. I..."

Both of Zelda's hands suddenly shot forward and took a firm grip on Lydia shoulders, and then she gave her such a firm shake that the hood of the cloak fell down. "iNO/i," she declared very firmly, her small voice unusually strong. "Don't ever, iever/i say or even ithink/i such a thing again."

The sorceress's eyes came back up and met Zelda's.

"It's true," Zelda continued, letting go of Lydia's shoulders. "I do indeed hold Link close to my heart. ...However, as that is the case, I also find his happiness to be of extreme importance to me. And if there's one thing I know for certain, it's that he will be truly happy if he is with you. And that... That is good enough for me to be happy as well."

Lydia smiled, wiping away at a tear that had managed to sneak past the barricade.

"In return... You have to promise me that you'll take care of him. You have to promise that when you see him next, you'll tell him that you love him, and will always take care of him. ...Can you promise me all that?"

More tears made their way out of home base as Lydia smiled and said, "Absolutely. I promise."

Zelda reached forward and gathered Lydia up into a tight hug. "Thank you. ...Come on, don't cry anymore. It's not like you at all."

The sorceress chuckled. "Heh. It's not, is it?" She pulled away from the princess a moment later and worked on wiping her face clean.

The princess pointed toward the ranch. Her face, instead of thoughtful and sad like before, now looked genuinely and truly happy. "The ranch is just ahead there. Let's go!" Without waiting for Lydia to even respond, the princess bolted ahead laughing.

Lydia pointed after her in a threatening way. "Oh-ho-HO! So it's a race you want? You're on, your royalness!!" She took off at a sprint. "I won't take it easy on you!"

"Even that won't help you, slow-poke!" Zelda shouted back, staying just a few lengths ahead.

The sorceress laughed as she ran, enjoying the sunlight beating down and the wind whipping through her hair and clothes. Today, she knew, she had gained a life-long friend in Princess Zelda. A treasure like that was worth the world many times over.

---

The peace and quiet of the farm was broken by the sound of a door slamming open as Malon practically iflew/i out of the house. Before the heavy wooden door had even finished vibrating from the blow, the farm girl was at Princess Zelda's side, clinging to her arm.

"What in Nayru's name were you thinking, your highness?!" she half-shouted. "You shouldn't just ileave/i! I would have gladly escorted you to Kakariko! I know I can't do much against the likes of Ganondorf, but it's better than being ialone/i!"

"Aaah, it's... all right," Lydia panted. "Nothing... happened. No harm... done."

The exhausted girl looked up at Zelda, who was smiling down at her. Lydia was almost disgusted by how not-winded the princess was after that run. Here she was, bent over and gasping for breath, and Zelda looked as composed as ever.

"I win," the princess said with a smirk.

"Meh," Lydia grunted, continuing to gasp. "I will... always prefer... flying. It's so much... easier on the heart."

"You're just out of shape. Once we defeat Ganondorf, we will work on getting you fit, all right?"

"Aww... I ihate/i exercise."

Malon smiled. "Thank you for walking her back."

Lydia finally straightened up, strength starting to return to her lungs. "Not a problem. ...I'm glad I did."

"As am I," Zelda said with a sweet smile.

"...Right, then, I'm off," the sorceress declared after glancing at her watch. She raised a finger and pointed it at Zelda's nose. "Now, don't you leave by yourself again. Link will be right annoyed when he finds out you turned up in town this morning, but his head will explode or something if you do it again. Okay?"

The princess chuckled. "Okay. Sorry again."

As Lydia turned to leave, the princess suddenly called out to her. She turned her head to look back.

Zelda was smiling. "Remember. ...Remember what you promised me."

The sorceress smiled back. "Right. ...Thanks again, Zelda. For everything." She turned back around and bent her knees, her eyes focused up on the sky. "font color=9966FFbRay... Wing!!/b/font" She leapt upward and took flight back toward Kakariko, quickly leaving Lon Lon Ranch behind.

Lydia stretched her hands way out to her sides and watched Kakariko get larger and larger on the horizon. As she flew toward the town, she started to think about all of that stuff Zelda had told her about the Triforce. She was the only one that had a chance of stealing the Triforce of Power from Ganondorf. That made her feel pretty important, and she smiled in spite of herself.

iI can do it,/i she thought. iI know I can!/i

Her gaze eventually wandered back toward the green grasses of Hyrule Field. Ah... the land looked so pretty from up here. She considered flying south so that she could see the lake from above, but was feeling a bit lazy at the moment and held her course, smiling as the wind whipped through her hair.

As she watched the treetops pass underneath her, her eyes caught sight of something colorful underneath one of them. From this height, it looked like a bed of flowers or something. Curiousity getting the better of her, she bent forward and went into a dive. As she got closer, it became obvious that it wasn't flowers at all, but colorful red and orange clothing. The person inside those clothes was...

Lydia gasped. It was Nabooru. She was slumped against the tree trunk, and even from flight, the girl could see that she was injured something awful. Without even giving herself a chance to think twice, she dove sharply, righting herself just before hitting the ground. She skidded several feet, kicking up dirt in her path, before coming to a stop just in front of the tree.

She bounded over to where Nabooru sat and knelt down, shaking her gently. "Oh my God, what happened to you?? Are you all right?"

As soon as her hands made contact with Nabooru's skin, Lydia suddenly realized that there was no presense of Ganondorf's magic. None whatsoever. Whatever was keeping a hold on her mind was completely gone now.

Nabooru's eyes slowly and painfully opened, and she looked up at Lydia. "...No," she whispered. "...Don't..."

The sorceress could barely hear her. "What?"

"Get away... ...trap..."

Lydia realized what was going on just a half-second too late. Before she could do anything to save herself, a large, strong hand grabbed the back of her neck and released magical electricity into her body. Lydia screamed as it pierced her again and again, and could feel herself blacking out. Fighting the pain and strong grip, she twisted her head just enough to see her attacker. Sure enough, Ganondorf was there, an evil smile of triumph on his face. The symbol for the Triforce of Power glowed on his bronze forehead.

And then everything went black.

*~*~*~

Gordon suddenly felt an almost overwhelming wave of sickness come over him. The Triforce of Wisdom was stirring, but not in the way that it did when Link used the Triforce of Courage in battle. This was different, and it filled him with terrible feelings of dread.

At the same time Gordon got this awful feeling, Link sat straight up in bed, his eyes wide, as if waking from a nightmare. His face twisted into a grimace. He was having the same terrible feeling of dread. The Triforce of Courage was reacting to something.

The two boys looked at each other, and at the same time, half-shouted, "The Triforce of Power!'

They stared at each other for another moment, until Link paused and looked around the room. "...Where's Lydia?" he asked worriedly.

"She... Zelda showed up this morning and she wanted to walk her back...to the ranch..."

"Ganondorf!" Link yelled in horror.

Both boys instantly sprung into action. Link leapt from the bed, throwing the sheets to the floor, and started pulling his clothes on as quickly as he could. Gordon stood up so quickly that the chair he was in crashed to the floor, and hurriedly pulled his shoes on.

"The guy's gotta be up to something," the sorcerer grunted. "And it's gotta involve Lydia."

Link quickly tucked his braid into his hat and started to pull his boots on. "That's the only thing it can be. He naturally wouldn't attack her when we're together, so he waits until she's alone. Rrggh, damn it, damn it, I shouldn't have slept so late!!" He got to the Master Sword in a single stride and strapped it over his shoulder.

"No!" Gordon slammed his fist into the wall. "It's my fault! I am such a god-damned iidiot!/i I can't believe I let her talk me into staying here!!"

"It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter!" Link said truthfully, running for the door. "We can't waste time competing with each other for fault. She'd go alone no matter what ianyone/i said. Let's just hurry and find her before something happens!"

The two boys practically flew out of the house, not bothering to shut the door behind them. Link frantically played Epona's Song on his ocarina as he ran. The horse met them at the Kakariko gates, and Link leapt into the saddle without slowing down the least bit. With a kick, Epona rocketed forward.

"font color=0088FFbRay Wing!!/b/font" Gordon shouted, and caught up to Epona, flying alongside her, scanning the countryside for signs of life.

It was several tense, frantic minutes before they saw anything. It was a dark, bent figure just over the next hill, staggering toward them. Whoever it was, he or she was injured. Link's heart leapt during that fleeting moment when he thought it was Lydia up ahead, but as his horse got closer, it became obvious that it was someone completely different. A few more seconds of high-speed cantering revealed dark skin and long red hair.

Nabooru.

Link yanked on Epona's mane hard to signal her to stop. The horse skidded to a stop, then reared up on her hind legs in protest. Gordon touched down right beside them and stared, perplexed, at the Gerudo woman, who was obviously injured in many places.

Nabooru looked up, as if she had just now become aware of their presense, and oddly enough, looked irelieved/i to see them.

"...By Farore," Link said before he could stop himself. "What happened to iyou/i?"

The woman was about to reply, but fell to a knee instead. Gordon ran forward and gripped her shoulders to steady her. As he did so, he let out a short gasp. Ganondorf's mind-controlling magic... it was...

The sorcerer twisted around and looked up at Link, who hadn't bothered to dismount yet. "Link," he said urgently. "Ganondorf's magic is completely gone! This woman's mind is her own again."

Link blinked with surprise. Ganondorf no longer had a hold on this woman? Had she escaped? ...Or had he released her?

Finally, the Gerudo spoke softly, "...The girl sorcerer is..."

Gordon gasped again and looked at Nabooru. "What? Lydia? Where is she?!"

Nabooru took a pained breath. "...Ganon...dorf..."

Epona got a sharp kick in the sides and quickly moved forward so that Nabooru was completely in her shadow. Link, still holding tightly to the horse's mane, leaned down and looked the woman straight in the eye.

"Where did they go?!" he shouted at her, panic rising in his voice. When she didn't answer right away, he only shouted louder. "WHERE DID THEY GO?!"

"...D...Desert..."

That was all he needed. "iHi-ya!!/i" Epona broke into a sprint toward the West, Link guiding her steadily. The Hylian heard Gordon shout his name, but he didn't care. He didn't care about anything but getting to the desert. He had to get to the desert inow/i if he had any chance of helping Lydia. As he rocketed across the Field, he kept seeing images of her in his head. She was smiling at him in each one. Her smile only made him drive Epona harder.

Left behind, Gordon didn't wait around long enough for Link to completely disappear. Knowing he couldn't just leave Nabooru here, he draped her arm around his shoulders and stood up. He bent his knees and leapt toward the sky. "font color=0088FFbRay Wing!!/b/font" he bellowed, and was in flight again. He altered his course just slightly south, flying as fast as his magic would allow with two people, and then went into a sharp dive as he neared Lon Lon.

As the sorcerer got closer to the ground, he could see two women on the ground. Malon and Zelda. They were talking about something. Malon looked up suddenly and pointed up at him, and Zelda followed her gaze.

Gordon righted himself and slammed into the ground. As the two girls ran toward them, he lowered Nabooru to the ground, into Malon's waiting arms.

"Take care of her," he shouted, straightening up again. "I gotta go!"

"What's happening?!" Malon shouted at him before he could take off.

"Ganondorf got Lydia. Link's already halfway to the desert and I've gotta catch up!"

Zelda gasped loudly, horrified, and clapped her hands over her mouth. "N-No!" she shouted in disbelief.

"Take care of Nabooru!" Gordon shouted again. "font color=0088FFbRay Wing!/b/font" With that, he was back in the air again, having not even waited for further reaction from either Malon or the princess. He bent backward and sharply changed direction once he was high enough, and started to fly straight west. He could ijust/i make out the shape of a horse and rider way ahead. He should have been able to catch up before Link got much farther, but even so, he put all of his energy into the flight, soaring through the sky faster than he ever had before.

*~*~*~

Lydia's head felt like it was going to explode. Stars danced in front of her eyes when she tried to open them. Her entire body refused to move. She couldn't even twitch a finger.

Several minutes and a lot of mental effort helped her become more aware of her surroundings. She was in a slightly dark room. The walls and floor were made of a naturally-colored brick. The room itself was very large, but her immediate area was rather small - several feet ahead was a wall or iron bars. A prison of some sort? ...She soon found a door in the bars, which was open, oddly enough.

Soon after that, she became more aware of herself. She was standing upright, more or less, hanging by her arms, which were secured to the wall at her back with thick chains and shackles.

i...The hell...?/i

Footsteps, quiet yet deafening, started to come closer. From... outside the room? They got closer and closer until a tall, dark figure appeared outside the wall of bars.

"Ah. Awake, are you?" the deep-voiced man asked, showing himself into the prison.

Ganondorf.

Lydia sneered at him. It was the only thing she had the strength to do.

The Evil King walked right up to her and bent down to her eye-level. "Welcome to Gerudo Fortress. ...A bit careless lately, huh?" he said. "You should know better than to wander around alone."

...Those words had a bitter sting of irony to them for the girl.

Ganondorf straightned up again. "Still, I must thank you for doing so - it sure made things easier for me. You're a kind person to take time out of your busy day to walk the Princess Zelda all the way back to that little ranch." Upon hearing Lydia's quiet gasp, he twisted around and grinned down at her. "Yes, yes, I know she's alive. She can stop pretending now. It hardly matters anymore. Now that I have you, she is no longer of any use to me. Just as Nabooru was no longer of use."

"You bastard," Lydia grunted. "You used that poor woman as bait."

"Yes, this is true... It seemed like the right thing to do. I mean, it wasn't like you were going to come to ime/i."

The girl snarled at him. "Well, then... Now that you have me... Why haven't you killed me? What are you waiting for, old man?"

Ganondorf laughed, entertained by her attitude. "Because I had a wild idea this morning," he replied finally. "Of course I wanted to kill off you, that other boy, and that incredibly annoying Kokiri boy. But then, I thought, why should iI/i kill them when -- you're going to love this -- when I can have iyou/i kill them?" He finished the sentence with a mischivous sneer. "It would be iso/i much more entertaining that way."

Lydia stared at him in horror. She suddenly understood what he was going to do, and started to struggle against the chains that held her, no matter how futile it was. "You sick @#$%!! I'll kill you!!"

"My my, such language," the man said. "It's hardly becoming of a lady. And...don't bother with those chains. It'll be a while before you're strong enough to break those." He raised his hand and started to go toward her head. "Here... Let me help you..."

He grabbed hold of her forehead, gathered up all of his magical strength, and released it into her, directing it toward her brain. She whimpered in pain and tried her best to resist. What little resistance she could offer was still surprising to Ganondorf, who didn't expect that much from her in her current condition. But even so, it wasn't enough. He pushed forward, and little by little, his magic started to make cracks in Lydia's wall of resistance and began to seep in...

The wall came down all at once, and the Evil King suddenly saw a wave of images from a time he had forgotten long before. He saw himself... A iyounger/i version of himself. He was standing in the desert somewhere. It was almost dusk... Sand blew all around him in the wind.

He was facing straight ahead, glaring at two figures a ways in front of him, and they were glaring right back. One girl, and a taller boy. Their cloaks flapped in the wind as they stood firm, sizing Ganondorf up for some kind of battle. The images suddenly and unexpectedly zoomed in on the girl's face. It was wide and feminine, yet strong and determined. This girl bore a strong resemblance to the girl Lydia... The same eyes, same nose...

Suddenly, Ganondorf remembered who she was.

His concentration broke with his realization and he recoiled in shock, stumbling backward. Lydia remained hanging on the wall, panting as if someone was squeezing the life out of one of her lungs.

Ganondorf's teeth ground together. He leapt forward and seized Lydia's shirt front.

"So ithat's/i how it is, huh?" he growled at her. "I understand now. You're that same damn girl from that time. I killed her with my own hands, so you must be that girl reborn. No iwonder/i I hate you so bloody much - you're after my piece of the Triforce!" His free hand came up and grabbed hold of the girl's shirt collar. "And I'll bet that other small-eared kid holds the soul of the other one I killed back then. What an iinteresting/i turn of events this is! It's been more than seventeen years since that day, and those two istill/i continue to haunt me!!" His hand let go of the collar and started to go for her neck. "I should squeeze the life out of you right here and now before you can do any more damage!!"

Suddenly, he stopped, let go, and stepped back. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

"Calm down, calm down," he said, talking to himself. "This changes nothing. Just do what you were going to do... It's just going to be far more rewarding and satisfying than you imagined, that's all." He opened his eyes again and looked at Lydia, who was still panting heavily. "Now then... iMaya/i... Where were we?"

His hand shot forward and once again grabbed Lydia's head. The magic came again, once again in full force. Lydia yelled in pain and continued to resist, but the magic started to overcome her. She started to lose control of her limbs... She could feel her mind slipping away. She tried to grab it, to pull it back, but it stayed just out of her reach.

Before long, she had lost herself completely, and finally passed out.

Ganondorf pulled away, quite satisfied with himself. It had been far trickier than it had been with Nabooru, but he had done it. Just as he was about to pat himself on the back, he suddenly felt the presense of the other two Triforce pieces, coming this way, and they were closing fast.

"Looks like the players are on their way," he sneered. He stared at the unconscious girl, thinking hard for a moment. He sparked an idea that made him smile with delight. He reached down in his armor somewhere and withdrew a small dagger. He gently took a hold of Lydia's ponytail and held it straight out. He slid the dagger underneath, just a little below where Nabooru's ribbon was tied, and sliced it. The majority of the ponytail fluttered down to the stone floor, and the ribbon fell into Ganondorf's free hand. When he released what was left of Lydia's hair, it hung limply, a good two or three inches above her shoulders.

He backed out of the prison, slammed the door, and locked it.

The Evil King turned and ran from the room, the ribbon clutched in his hand.

iLet the fun begin!/i

*~*~*~*

Link didn't ease up on Epona for a single moment. He just continued to push her and push her, and wouldn't stop pushing her until they were in the desert.

The grass eventually thinned out and gave way to packed dirt as they closed in on Gerudo Valley. High walls rose up on both sides as he rode in farther. The path took a left turn, and the huge canyon opened up before him. It was a deep gorge, with a single bridge connecting one side to the other. A couple hundred feet below the bridge ran the Zora River on its long journey to Lake Hylia in the south.

He had wandered this far once as a child and remembered it well. But on this second visit, something was different. The bridge had been cut, and was hanging limply against the sides of the canyon.

A rational person would have stopped their horse and tried to find another way into the Gerudo territory, but Link was too angry and too worried about Lydia to be rational. He kicked Epona hard, and the horse charged toward the side of the canyon. Epona gathered up her strength and leapt out into the open air...

Gordon was catching up at this point, and when he saw Link push Epona toward the gorge for a long jump, he thought was going to have a heart attack. As soon as the horse left the ground, the sorcerer dove out of the air as fast as he could, prepared to pull Link out of mid-air when the horse started to fall.

But there was no need. Epona's hooves safely connected with the ground on the other side. The horse took a few steps to the side as she steadied herself, and then continued to rocket forward, her wild-eyed rider intent on the road ahead.

Gordon heaved an aggrivated sigh and continued to dive downward. He leveled off right at Link's side.

"Slow down!" he shouted at him.

But Link seemed to be ignoring him.

The sorcerer reached over and grabbed hold of Link's left ear and pulled hard. "I said slow down!!"

The Hylian yelled in pain and leaned backward, pulling on Epona's mane. She took that as her cue to slow down, skidded to a stop, and stood there, her barrel chest heaving with exhaustion.

Link reached up and clutched his ear protectively after Gordon released the death grip on it. "What the hell was that for?"

Gordon touched down and dispelled his magic. "Didn't you say the Gerudos were Ganondorf's race? Surely they're under his command, one way or another. We can't just rush in there. We have to be stealthy. We certainly can't help Lydia if we get ourselves killed five feet in."

Climbing down out of the saddle, Link sighed, feeling rather stupid. "Yeah... Sorry."

"Come on, let's walk it from here. It can't be much farther."

Leaving the horse behind, the two started walking farther into the canyon, neither saying much of anything. Gordon kept his eyes open, Link listened carefully for signs of life. The canyon curved right, and once they had passed the turn, something ahead of them on the path caused them to stop and stare.

There was a large twig sticking out of the ground. It was iright/i in the middle of path, obviously imeant/i to be seen, not to mention that there weren't any trees out here. Tied to the end of this twig was a familiar-looking pink ribbon.

Gordon swallowed. "Lydia...tied that in her hair...before she left earlier today..."

Link gritted his teeth and walked forward. He bent over and yanked the twig out of the ground. He separated the ribbon from it and tossed the twig aside.

"...She's still alive," he said confidently.

"Huh?"

"She's alive. Ganondorf wouldn't go to this kind of trouble if he hadn't left her alive. He iwants/i us to come after her."

"A trap?"

"Of course. But I don't care. I'm still going in there." He stared at the ribbon for another moment, and then suddenly unsheathed the Master Sword. He forced the blade down into the ground so that the sword would stand upright. Gordon watched as he carefully tied the ribbon around the sword's hilt at the base of the handle, much in the same way Lydia had tied it to her own sword before.

"Heh," Gordon chuckled. "Lydia will get a kick out of that when she sees it."

Link couldn't help but smirk. She really would, wouldn't she? ...She had tied the ribbon to her sword when she swore to save Nabooru from Ganondorf. And now, Link was tying it to his own sword, swearing to save Lydia from Ganondorf. It was the same situation. She really iwould/i like it.

He yanked the sword back up and slid it back in its sheath. "I sure hope that when we find her - and we iwill/i - she's in good enough condition to appreciate it."

Gordon continued to walk forward down the path. "She might think you've gone soft."

"And what's wrong with being soft?" Link asked defensively as he fell into step beside the sorcerer.

"Nothing, I guess. Lydia likes sensitive guys."

"I'm soft, not sensitive."

"They're the same thing."

"Tch."

It wasn't long before seriousness came over them again, and they went back to carefully watching their surroundings. The high walls of the valley continued to tower over them on both sides, making them feel uncomfortably closed in. The only life, it seemed, was the crow-like birds that occasionally flew overhead. They cawed at the boys in a vaguely mocking ha-ha-we're-up-here-and-you're-down-there kind of way.

They were both very on edge - they could faintly feel the power of the Triforce of Power up ahead.

Finally, the valley started to widen, and the path abruptly ended. The valley suddenly opened up into a large clearing. Straight ahead was a gate, blocking the way into the actual desert. To the right was a large brick structure of many doors and windows. It looked like it was arranged like a maze. On the ground in front of the structure, dark-skinned women in loose, colorful clothing patrolled set paths, armed with long spears.

"Gerudo Fortress," Link whispered as the two stepped up behind a large rock.

"This is where Ganondorf is?" the sorcerer asked, peering around the side of the rock.

"I don't know about the man himself... but Lydia might be here."

Gordon paused and looked at the large fortress. They had to find Lydia in there, iand/i be stealthy about it? It would be tricky...

"We should split up," he said finally. "We'll find her faster that way."

Link smiled. "With any luck, Lydia will have already beaten up everyone in there and is just waiting for us to pick her up."

"That's the spirit."

"I'll go this way, and you go that way."

"Okay."

"Be careful."

With that, the two boys split off in seperate directions.

----

Gordon crept along, bent forward so far that he may as well have crawled, using whatever he could as cover. He snuck up behind a large boulder and pressed his back to it. The coldness of the rock penetrated his clothing and sent a chill up his spine.

He glanced over to his left. He would once in a while catch a glimpse of green clothing as Link darted soundlessly from rock to rock. Link paused as a Gerudo guard went his way. Gordon feared she would see him, but she stopped, looked around, then turned around, going back the way she had come. Link took that opportunity. As the sorcerer watched, he paused for just a moment, then sprinted at full speed out from behind the rock.

Gordon was amazed. You'd think that someone running that quickly while carrying all sorts of weapons would make some noise, but Link made none. He soundlessly glided over the sandy ground, all the while keeping one eye on the guard, and then disappeared through a door in the front of the fortress.

The boy twisted his head as to peek around the other side of the rock he was hiding behind. There was another door on the far side, up against the cliff side. Another Gerudo woman was patrolling his side of the yard. A veil covered most of her face, showing only her eyes to the hot sun. They pierced the surrounding area, looking for signs of movement.

Holding perfectly still, Gordon watched her come closer to his rock. The sun glinted off the metal blade of her weapon as she walked, once in a while catching him in the eyes. As she approached, he carefully slid along the rock to further hide himself from her view.

Finally, she stopped, glanced around, then turned around and started walking the other way.

iNow or never!/i

Gordon knew he'd never be able to sprint for that door as quietly as Link had. He was too clumsy to silence his footsteps that much, even if the ground iwas/i soft and sandy. Instead, he crouched down, touching the ground with his hands, like an athlete preparing to run the 100m dash. When the boy was convinced that the guard was far enough away to - ihopefully/i - not notice him, he whispered words of magic as quietly as he could and lifted a few inches off the ground. Suddenly, he propelled himself forward through the air, staying close to the ground, making a break for that dark door on the side. As he got close, he risked a glance to the side. The guard had stopped, and was starting to turn around again...

In a final burst of speed, his body moved up sideways against the cliff side and he ducked into the fortress. He ran along the inside wall for a few steps, then kicked himself off and landed on the stone floor, skidding to a stop. For several tense seconds, he was afraid to move. He stood there, holding his breath, listening to the footsteps of the guard outside. He knew like she was going to walk right into the hallway he was now in any second and was going to introduce him to the pointy end of her weapon.

But then the footsteps stopped, and then started moving away again. Gordon carefully pressed himself up against the wall and edged over to the door. He slowly peeked outside and saw the guard moving away on her set path, apparently unaware of his presense.

After thanking whatever deity that happened to be watching him at the moment, the boy turned and started creeping down the hallway, staying as silent as possible. As his eyes finally started adjusting to the inside darkness, it became obvious that the fortress was constructed completely of stone and brick of a sand color. Various decorations hung from the walls, animal skins and the like. It was very... deserty. There's really no better word for it.

As he moved on, he began to start catching the smell of food - meat or something being prepared. It got stronger as he quietly turned a corner, and even made him feel a little hungry. He soon came upon a doorway and slowly peeked inside and surveyed the room.

It looked like a huge kitchen. There were tables and stools scattered about, enough to seat a couple dozen people. Built into the right-hand wall was a huge fireplace that seemed to be doubling as a stove. A ihuge/i pot hung from an iron rod over the hot coals. Three or four people would probably be able to sit comfortably in that pot. The Gerudo must have been impatient when it came to their meals - no time to cook several batches, so they just cook for everyone at once. But the thing that caught Gordon's eye next was the wide door at the other side of the room, directly in front of him, that led down another hallway. In order to get there, he'd have to cross through the middle of the kitchen.

The kitchen wasn't empty, however. From where he stood, Gordon could see three Gerudo women, armed to the teeth. One was tending to the pot, poking the contents with an overlarge spoon. Another was tapping her foot impatently, whining about how empty her stomach was. The third was leaning against a wall, glancing about the room and yawning from time to time - obviously a guard that was bored with guarding.

There was absolutely ino/i way to get across the room without being seen by at least one of them, and Gordon knew this. He'd have to distract them somehow...

Almost immediately, he remembered something Lydia had done to a campfire on a vacation they had gone on about four years earlier. Young Gordon had, of course, thought it was the coolest magic trick in the universe and wanted to know how to do it, so she had shown him, in return for his share of the marshmallows. It was a good thing he had been curious, because now seemed like a good time to put the trick to good use again.

He whispered a spell under his breath, which was actually a compliation of two or three different spells that rendered a fairly harmless but visually dazzling effect when mixed in this way. The spell was actually one of Lydia's originals - she seemed to have a knack for getting unusual and interesting results from that spellbook of hers.

After a moment, he had a ball of purple light cupped in his right hand. When he was certain that none of the women were looking right at him, he stepped partially out into the kitchen, threw the ball toward the fireplace, then ducked back into the hall and got ready to watch the show.

The little ball of light hovered quietly across the room and disappeared into the hot coals under the pot. Nothing happened for several seconds, and Gordon began to worry that he had done it wrong. But then the red-glowing coals began to slowly dim, then brighten again, glowing a bright violet color. Suddenly, the fire burst up, sending the Gerudo cook running backward in a panic. The ball of bright purple flame encircled the enormous pot and filled the fireplace, sending light of a similar color all over the room, but no heat. It was a cool, harmless flame. The bizarre color and the heights the fire was reaching was the real sight.

"Aaah!" the cook shrieked. "What witchcraft is this?!"

"What the hell did you do?!" the guard yelled, running to the cook's side.

"Hurry and put it out before the whole place goes up!" the third woman shouted.

As the three Gerudos started to try to beat the flame out with whatever they could find, Gordon made tracks across the room, staying low and behind the tables, just in case one of them turned around. Before slipping through the door, he risked a glance at the fire. Its flames curled out of the fireplace and crawled up the wall as the women panicked, running all over the place, arguing over how to put it out. That would be quite a task. That spell would burn for at least an hour, and it would take magic to put it out before then, so they'd have their hands full for a while.

With a smirk, the boy disappeared into the dark hallway and left the kitchen and the sounds of pandemonium behind.

The hall continued for a while, then took a right turn. Farther ahead, there was a hallway branching off from his that went to the left. His hall also continued forward from there. He stood at the fork in the road for a few seconds before finally deciding to venture off down the left hallway.

This new hallway was very dark. At least up until now there had been lanterns or a window here and there. There was nothing here. It felt like he was going into a prison or something - he felt very enclosed.

Luckily, it wasn't long before he spotted a room up ahead. Before he could get close enough to even see how large this room was, a figure appeared in the darkness. It was a Gerudo woman, walking toward him while looking at the floor, seemingly bored. Another guard, maybe.

Gordon's heart almost stopped - there was absolutely nowhere to hide in here. After making a split-second decision, he whispered a word of magic and leapt upward, then flattened himself against the ceiling and held as still as he could, hoping and praying that the guard would pass harmlessly underneath him.

She walked on carelessly through the hallway, yawning loudly at one point. As she stood directly underneath where Gordon was clinging to the ceiling, a voice echoed down the hallway.

"Where do you think you're going?"

A second woman appeared, moving quickly to catch up with the first. "We're supposed to be guarding that girl, remember?"

The first one looked at her as if she were insane. "Forget that. I've heard the rumors about this group. ...I sure don't want to be there when she comes around, do iyou/i?"

"...Not really, but Ganondorf said--"

"I don't care what he said - I don't want to be in the same room when that girl wakes up. Besides... it's almost time to eat. That's a good excuse to leave, isn't it? Let's go and see how they're doing in the kitchen."

"Fine, fine. But if Ganondorf finds out, I'm saying it's iyour/i fault."

As the guard finished her sentence, she threw her head backward, as if to stretch her neck. ...Of course, that also gave her full view of a person plastered to the ceiling. She gasped at the sight of it, which made the first woman look up, too.

The three of them stared at each other for a second, then the Gerudos raised their weapons. Gordon threw his hand down toward them. "font color=0088FFbSleeping!/b/font" he shouted. A small ball of light hit the floor between the two Gerudo women and exploded. They both wavered lazily, then hit the floor, sleeping soundly.

Gordon lowered himself down to the floor between them. "Geez," he said with a heavy sigh. "That was close." Of course, he guessed that the person these two were guarding was his sister, so he broke for that room they came from at a full run without wasting any more time. He ran right into the room without any reguard for what was there.

This room was very dark. There was only one small window on the wall to his left which let a single column of light shine across the floor. There was no way out on the other side - this room was a dead-end.

It was the right side that caught his attention. He immediately recognized the iron bars of prison cells. There were two cells on the wall, and the one closest to the door he was standing in was occupied. The boy moved closer and saw someone chained to the wall, unconscious. It was a person he didn't recognize at first. The glasses were the same... but the hair was much too short... His heart melted when he realized it was indeed his sister... but someone had hacked off even more of her hair, to the point where it was barely longer than his.

Gordon went to work immediately. He pressed his hand against the prison door's lock and concentrated magic on it. After about thirty seconds later, the lock melted out of shape and the door swung free. The boy kicked it open and ran into the cell. Right away, he stopped. ...This cell absolutely ireeked/i of Ganondorf's magic. Maybe the man had done something to his sister.

He braved the thick aura of evil magic and walked up to where his sister hung and moved to touch her. He said her name a couple times, trying to get a response. When nothing came, he gripped her shoulder, then immediately recoiled in shock, as if burned. The source of this evil aura was coming from her. It was exactly like when Ganondorf was controlling Nabooru, only...this was far worse.

Suddenly realizing what was going on, Gordon started to back off. However, not soon enough. Even in the darkness, he could see a smile curling on Lydia's lips.

"...You've come..." she whispered in a dark voice.

She threw her head up and opened her eyes. They were a bright shade of red, glowing with dark energy - the eyes of a monster. With a grunt, she stood up straight and threw her arms forward, snapping the chains that held them as if they were made of paper. Before Gordon could even move, Lydia leapt forward with a scream of rage and grabbed him by the neck. She released dark magic into him immediately, dark magic even more powerful than Ganondorf's. Gordon could only hold onto consciousness for a few moments, but could feel the Triforce of Wisdom lurching in distress.

Everything went black.

----

After making quick work of the yard, Link soundlessly snuck through the dark hallways of the Gerudo Fortress. He had already taken several turns and snuck past a few more guards and was feeling quite lost at this point. The place was like a maze. Since he had come in on the right side, he was trying to work his way to the left side. He only hoped Gordon had the sense to do the opposite.

...Of course, he wasn't really sure what direction was what anymore... He was a bit turned around.

At one point, he had found a flight of stairs leading up and had taken them. This had sent him through another set of hallways and had given him a couple more Gerudo guards, whom he had easily snuck past. Right now he was walking through a hallway that iseemed/i to be going north, but again, it was difficult to tell. As he walked, his sensitive nose began to pick up an aroma of food being prepared, but at the same time, his sensitive ears were picking up the sounds of shouting and panic.

A large room suddenly opened up before him, ibelow/i him rather, and he crouched down to avoid being obvious. He found himself up on a platform near the ceiling with a ramp leading down into this new room on his left. This large room below him looked like a kitchen. There were tables and stools, enough for many people. There was a door on the left wall, and another on the right. In the wall straight ahead was a large fireplace... and the activity there was quite interesting. The large cooking pot was being consumed by a huge purple fireball, and several Gerudo were gathered there, running about. A few were throwing water on the purple fire, a few others were trying to beat it out with rolled-up blankets, and a couple others were just running around aimlessly, yelling a lot.

Link smirked. iThat has "Gordon" written all over it,/i he thought as he quickly made his way down the ramp toward the lower floor. After taking one last glance at the entertaining scene, he ducked into the hallway and moved on, unwilling to waste any more time.

This hall continued for a while before turning right. Even farther along, a second hallway branched off to the left while this one continued on. Link decided to keep going straight - he'd come back and look down that branch later.

It wasn't long before he found himself in a large, open room. The only openings were a few windows on the left side, and another hallway on the opposite wall. Sunlight was visible down that way - it must have been an exit. On the right side of the room were several sets of iron bars - prison cells. One would expect a prison room to be fairly dark, but this one was brightly lit, for some reason, with torches lining the walls. It made it easy for Link to spot the four heavy-set Hylian men in one of the bigger cells. One of them, a large man with a rather ugly beard, was waving one of his ape-like arms at him, beckoning him closer. Annoyed at the distraction, but unwilling to just ignore them, he carefully made his way to the prison door.

"Hey, you're a cute kid!" one of them said.

"You were so nice to come here to rescue us!" the one behind him said, shoving his way to the front to get a better look.

Link raised an eyebrow. He hadn't come here iintentionally,/i ...but they looked so relieved and thankful he couldn't bear to say so. "Who are you four and how did you get in here?" he asked, mostly out of curiosity rather than concern.

The one that had called Link "cute" was first to speak. "We're the famous Kakariko carpenters!"

The Hylian nodded slightly. He remembered them now. When he had visited Kakariko as a child, he had often seen these guys running around aimlessly when they were supposed to be building what would later become Kakariko Tavern. Not exactly role models... but they were good at what they did when they actually worked.

The man that had been waving his arm when Link first came in spoke up. "Our Boss is so strict! He wanted us to rebuild that bridge the Gerudo women cut, but we took off instead, to join the group here. All the while, Boss was yelling about how he would fix the bridge himself, then. But these women are so mean! They locked us up in here just because we're men!

"We don't want to join ithem/i anymore!" the fourth man said.

"Okay, um...," Link began awkwardly. "...Would you be able to get out yourselves if I were to break down the cell door?"

The man with the beard stared at him in amazement. "...You could do that? But you're so scrawny and weak-looking."

Link balled his fists and cleared his throat in annoyance. "I icould/i just walk away, you know."

"Sorry, sorry! Don't do that! ...Yeah, I think we could get out. There's an exit not far from here - it's where we came in."

"Fine," Link said quietly. With that, he reached behind his shield, and produced the Megaton Hammer. The muscles in his arm fought with its weight as he swung it around to his front. He manuvered himself to the side of the door and prepared to swing right at the hinges.

"...When you get back to Kakariko," he said, "you may want to take a look at that Tavern. ...It needs a little attention. Now stand back."

The four large men ran to the farthest corner of the cell, tripping over each other all the way there. Once safely away, they turned and watched the boy sizing up the door, deciding what spot would be most effective to demolish. The man with the beard silently bet one of the other men five rupees that he wouldn't be able to knock the door down.

Link's eyes wandered in their direction, momentarily insulted by the wager being made, then back to the door. He took a deep breath, gathered all of his strength, and sent the hammer flying at the hinges of the iron door as hard as he could.

The iclang/i caused by the impact echoed all through the hallways of this side of Gerudo Fortress, and Link cringed as the sound echoed off the walls. But that sound was nothing compared to the crashing sound that went flying through the corridors as the door fell out of its frame and into the cell, sending up a cloud of dust.

When the echoes finally faded and the dust settled, Link swung the hammer in a half-circle and tucked it back in with the rest of his equipment, and sighed. He couldn't help the proud smirk that crawled across his face as he watched the bearded man hand his friend a blue five-rupee piece.

"Now get out of here," he said with a tired voice, "before someone comes."

The group of carpenters started to move toward the destroyed door, but then stopped suddenly. One of them pointed behind Link.

"Ooh, watch out!"

Link swung around, teeth gritted, as a well-dressed Gerudo warrior dropped down out of her hiding place in the ceiling rafters. This one was clad in a loose outfit made of red silk, similar to Nabooru's outfit, quite different from the rest of the guards in this fortress, and was armed with two quite large curved swords. This was obviously some sort of officer or leader.

And, from the looks of things, she wanted to cut him to ribbons.

Amazed and annoyed that he hadn't noticed her presense, Link drew his own sword as the woman began to circle him. He circled as well and stared her straight in her angry eyes, waiting for her to make a move. Even with all of his concentration on the Gerudo woman, his ears still picked up the aggrivating sound of the bearded man betting his friend twenty rupees that he would lose.

Just as he was considering saying something in an effort to defend his reputation, the woman lunged. One of the swords she had was flying toward Link's face, and he threw his head to the side just in time to save his left ear from getting sliced off. Nimbly, he rolled out of close range as the woman's swords chased him. In one motion, he was back on his feet, facing her in a defensive stance.

The Gerudo stared at him for a moment, realizing that the normal tactics wouldn't work against such a quick opponent. She swiftly changed her stance, holding both arms out to her sides, leaving her torso wide open.

Link wasn't sure what to do. Fighting monsters was one thing, but... How was he supposed to defeat her without hurting her too badly?

Suddenly, the Gerudo charged. Her arms, which had been straight out, went straight up, came together, and brought the blades down toward her opponent's head. Link yelped in surprise of such a quick maneuver, but still managed to effortlessly backflip himself out of her range again, using one hand to propel himself away while the other kept a ready grip on the Master Sword at all times.

The woman was downright angry now. Not once, but itwice/i, the boy had slipped away as if toying with her. She glared at him as he slowly back-stepped away from her, right toward a corner of the room. The Gerudo smirked as she saw her opportunity - if he was backed into that corner, those fancy gymnastics wouldn't be an option for him.

Deciding to act before he moved again, she charged him, her swords at the ready. To her surprise, her opponent suddenly turned and sprinted right into the corner. Just as her swords were about to dig into his back, he sprung up and kicked off the wall on his left, then kicked off an even higher part of the wall on his right, and backflipped right over the Gerudo's head.

Before she could even turn around to face him again, she felt the tip of his sword poking the back of her neck. Realizing that she was completely at his mercy now, she froze, standing in utter amazement of what she had just witnessed. She was one of the finest warriors in the Gerudo race, and she had just been bested... by a iman!/i She would feel shame if it weren't for the fact that she was completely dumbfounded by his grand swordsmanship.

Link swallowed hard, holding the sword steady, waiting to see what the woman would do now. The sounds of whistling and cheers of congratulations from the carpenters reached his ears, as well as the bearded man's loud groan as he handed his friend a twenty-rupee piece.

Finally, the Gerudo woman dropped her swords and held her hands up in the air.

"You win. I give up," she said cooly.

The Hylian carefully lowered his sword and stepped back. The woman turned around to face him, placing a sun-tanned hand on her hip.

"That was quite magnificent swordsmanship. I'm very impressed. I used to think that all men were useless, but now that I've met you, I don't think so anymore." The woman finished that sentence with a smile curling on her lips. "My name is Nervani. I'm in temporary charge of this fortress until Nabooru returns. ...And judging by the look of you, you're the one Ganondorf is after, aren't you?"

Link flinched. This woman was very perceptive. He was afraid to open his mouth, afraid he might say the wrong thing.

Nervani smirked. "I guess I can expect your silence. That's fine." She paused momentarily and stared at Link with furrowed eyebrows, as if arguing with herself.

"I've decided," she finally said, "to let you go. But I must warn you... This whole Fortress knows your description and is under strict orders to kill you on sight, so I cannot guarantee a safe escape for you. Under normal conditions, iI/i would still be trying to take your head off. ...But I'm so awed by your skill that I simply don't have the heart. I respect your abilities too much."

She started to walk away, toward the hallway with the sunlight at the end. "Let's pretend this never happened," she said. "At least for now. ...So long, Sword Boy."

With that, she broke into a swift run and disappeared down the corridor. Link stared after her for a moment, and then at the carpenters, who were in turn staring back at him in awe.

"...Well?" he called over to them. "Get out of here before someone ielse/i happens down this way!"

"Wow, man...," the bearded man said. "This kid got the approval of a iGerudo/i..."

Stunned agreement radiated from the other three men.

Link threw his hands up. "For the love of Nayru, go!"

"O-Oh yeah!" one of the men shouted. All four of them poured out of the cell, tripping over each other, and teared down the corridor with the sunlight and were soon out of sight.

The Hylian sighed loudly. Now that he had been so efficiently sidetracked, it was time to get back on task. He'd have to backtrack through this Fortress until he found Lydia. But where? This place was so big and confusing.

His mental question was answered loudly, in the form of an explosion that rocked the whole Fortress. The walls and floor shook and Link fought to steady himself. The loud sound had come from the hallway behind him, and smoke was billowing from that fork in the corridor that he had passed by earlier. Whatever it was, that was definitely an explosion made by familiar magic, and he only knew two people who were capable of that.

Just as he was about to take off in that direction, the Triforce of Courage lurched more horribly than it ever had before. Link dropped to his knees and clutched his chest with both hands as the pain seared repeatedly through his entire body. Something horrible was happening with one of the other pieces, something that was making the Triforce of Courage cry out in distress.

When the pain finally subsided somewhat, Link found himself curled up on the cold stone floor. The smoke from the explosion was starting to waft into this room. Not even waiting for the pain to completely go away, Link sprung back to his feet and sprinted down the corridor. He reached the fork quickly and flung himself down it. The hallway got darker and darker as he ran, and his lungs burned from the smoke. At one point he fell over something and hit the floor hard. He turned to see two Gerudo guards collapsed on the floor. Too much in fear of what had happened to worry about them at the moment, he picked himself back up and continued his run to the source of the explosion.

The hallway suddenly opened up into a large, dark room. Full of smoke, the room was damaged extensively - the walls and floor were cracked, and the right side of the room was littered with iron bars - the remains of prison cells.

But what caught his attention was the figure sprawled in the middle of the room. Link made for it without even thinking and turned it over to face the ceiling. His heart skipped a beat when he recognized Gordon's face. He was more beat-up than Link had ever seen him. His face and body was bruised and dirty, and one of the lenses of his glasses had cracked.

Most horrific of all, the mark of the Triforce was burning on his forehead. The Triforce of Wisdom, usually occupied, was empty and hollow.

The Triforce of Wisdom had been stolen.

As Link reached down to shake him, he stopped suddenly as he sensed another presense in the room. Just as he turned around, something tore through the air from somewhere near the ceiling and went straight for his head. Link flung himself sideways, and whatever it was hit the floor ahead of him, and rolled a few feet.

Link stood to face his attacker. Whoever this was must be whoever attacked Gordon. As he stood in a fighting stance, the smoke around them started to clear. The thing was starting to stand up now - it was obviously a person. The person stood up, not completely straight - he was bent over slightly. He was also growling at Link like an animal, bearing his teeth and holding his slender hands as if to use his fingernails as claws.

Wait... This wasn't a man. The hair was short, but the body was much too curvy. As the smoke cleared further, two glowing red eyes stared into Link's, chilling him to his soul. They stared at him from behind a pair of familiar-looking glasses.

Link stared in disbelief. His heart sank to his knees, and he limply dropped his sword. The iclang/i seemed to echo for miles as time around him seemed to cease to move.

iNo!! Impossible!/i

Lydia continued to glare at him, hunched over and still growling. The mark of the Triforce was glowing on her forehead, the Triforce of Wisdom occupied. iShe/i had attacked Gordon and stolen it somehow. Her hair hung only a couple inches past her ears, the ends tattered, as if it was sloppily sliced by a knife.

The Hylian stared back, his entire body trembling with emotion and refusing to move. iThis can't be happening!/i, his brain repeatedly shouted. But with those red, evil eyes, it was unmistakable. Ganondorf had taken control of Lydia's mind, just like he had with Nabooru.

"...Lyd..." he said weakly.

As if in response to her name, the sorceress sprang forward with an animalistic shout, her nails poised to claw his eyes out. Battle-hardened reflexes taking over before he could think, he bent down as she sailed over him. He caught her on his back and flipped her away. She effortlessly rolled away and regained her footing quickly in a feat of uncharactaristic agility.

Link tried again. "Lydia, please...!"

But she only continued to growl at him. She glared for a moment, then threw her hand at the wall behind her. A fireball appeared and careened into the cracked wall, causing another explosion to rock the Fortress. Sunlight poured into the room as an enormous hole opened up.

Fighting to see through the fresh smoke, Link watched as the girl he cared for more than anything in the world cast him one last hateful glare before turning and flying through the hole and out of sight.

The Hylian charged after her and stopped at the hole, shrieking her name. Squinting against the bright sunlight, he frantically looked in all directions.

She was gone.

After a moment, Link backed into the destroyed room again. He stood still for some time, then started punching and kicking what remained of the wall, furiously screaming every curse word he knew, not stopping even after his knuckles started to bleed.

He probably would have let his anger carry on for some time longer if Gordon hadn't let out a loud groan of pain just then. Having momentarily forgotten him, Link retreived his sword, then returned to the sorcerer's side. He was still unconscious and was in serious need of some treatment.

First things first. He had to get Gordon out of here.

Link lifted Gordon up onto his back, ignoring his complaining muscles, and leapt through the hole Lydia had blasted through the wall. Being on the ground floor of the Fortress, his feet hit the sand immediately. Taking just a second to orient himself with where he was, he took off toward where he had left Epona.

"Hey, that's him!" a woman's voice shouted.

"The one the great Ganondorf wanted dead!" another voice followed.

"Get him!"

Link looked to the side in surprise, but did not stop. He had forgotten about the guards stationed outside, and there was no doubt that the explosions had attracted even more to this area. There were already several of them charging at him with their weapons aimed.

The boy continued to run, only slightly slowed by Gordon's weight, until a Gerudo woman appeared out of nowhere and headed him off, blocking his escape. He was forced to stop, and defensively backed into a nearby wall, glaring in bitter defiance at his persuers. They formed a half-circle around him, the pointy ends of their weapons aimed at his torso.

As his brain fought to find a way out of ithis/i one, the definite, bold sound of beating hoofprints suddenly started careening in their direction. Epona suddenly appeared, heading straight for them faster than Link had ever seen her run. Using her enormous head and thick neck, the horse threw guard after guard out of the way, clearing a path. Every time one of the Gerudo women tried to grab her reins, the horse would effortless knock the woman away with her strong chest or front legs.

The horse fought and kicked until she had reached Link. She quickly bent over as far as she could, allowing Link to easily drape Gordon over her broad neck, then throw himself into the saddle.

"Go, Epona!!" he shouted.

Epona didn't even wait for him to finish his command before taking off, knocking more Gerudo women down as she ran. The horse ran the way she had come, back toward the Valley. Link kept one hand on the reins, the other on Gordon's back, to keep him from falling off.

As they tore through the canyon, Link's ears caught the sound of persuing hoofbeats. He twisted around and saw a herd of Gerudo, following on their own mounts, bows at the ready. Arrows rained down all around them, and Epona ran even faster in response.

Link kept his head low and concentrated on the path ahead. He had something to worry about other than arrows aimed at him. The bridge had been out last time he came this way. Would Epona be able to jump the gorge again, with the weight of itwo/i people on her back?

The horse seemed determined enough, so Link kept on pushing her that way.

Finally, the gorge came into view, and the sight there lifted Link's hopes a bit. The bridge had been repaired. He remembered one of those carpenters had mentioned that the Boss had threatened to fix it himself if they left. Apparently, he was true to his word.

Thanking his lucky star, Link steered Epona toward the bridge. The horse started across it without hesitation.

As they neared the other side, Link had another horrifying thought. If the bridge was fixed, his persuers could easily follow him into the Field and beyond. What ithen?!/i

As Epona climbed up off the bridge and thundered through the sand on the other side, Link twisted around and watched the crowd of horses heading for the bridge. As they approached, Link's sharp eyes suddenly caught sight of some crossfire in the rain of arrows. As most were heading toward him, he saw a single arrow travel downward in a perpendicular direction from the rest. The rebel arrow sailed right through one of the two ropes holding the bridge up on the Gerudo side of the gorge. Immedately, another arrow followed, and sliced through the other rope. The bridge shook and started to swing away from the wall. The Gerudos yanked their horses to a stop at the edge and started yelling amongst each other, momentarily halting the assailment of arrows.

Link took that extra moment to try to find the source of those two arrows that had cut the bridge ropes. Judging from the diagonal path they had taken, he followed it upward, and saw a solitary figure crouched on a high cliff, clutching a longbow. It was Nervani. She waved a slender arm at him, then turned and fled from the cliff edge to avoid being seen by her comrades.

The Hylian couldn't help but smile before returning his gaze to the road ahead. That was truly a woman of honor.

Just then, the assailment of arrows began again, and falling just short of Epona's hindquarters. The horse didn't stop, even until they were well into Hyrule Field and the angry shouts of the Gerudos could no longer be heard.

*~*~*~*

"So, basically what you're saying..." Link said in a very low voice. "Is that Ganondorf's power alone is not enough to steal a Triforce piece from someone to whom it rightly belongs, so he combined his powers with Lydia's, and manipulated her to attack Gordon and get the Triforce of Wisdom."

"That...seems to be the case," Zelda replied sadly.

They were in Malon's bedroom at Lon Lon Ranch. The room was lit by a solitary lantern - the only thing keeping the night away. The firelight danced across the walls, playing with the shadows. Gordon was tucked into the bed, still unconscious. Malon gently wiped the sweat from his forehead with a damp cloth.

Nabooru was sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall, covered in bandages. She was awake and alert, but stayed very silent as she watched the others in the room.

Link was seated in one of the chairs at the small table, his sword and shield abandoned by the window. He was staying quiet for the most part. What he had just said was the first time he had spoken in over an hour. He had just been quietly listening to Zelda's explainations of why Ganondorf would possibly need Lydia to get Triforce pieces for him. He sat there, with his arms crossed, stewing, becoming angrier with every passing minute.

"And she'll..." the princess continued cautiously, "...probably come after you next."

Link glanced over at Gordon's sleeping form. "...That's what I'm counting on," was his short reply.

Silence blanketed the room again. Gordon groaned in pain once or twice, then calmed down again. Malon appeared to be quite concerned. She hadn't left his side since Link had carried him into the ranch.

"First thing in the morning," Link declared, "I'm going out to look for her."

Zelda's sad blue eyes looked over him, overflowing with pity. "...Link," she began. "I can understand a little of what you are feeling. But you mustn't rush out like that. After all... you have what Ganon wants, and Lydia will certainly come for it. There's no need to be rash."

Link looked up at her suddenly and met her gaze. His eyes were unusually cold. "What do you suggest, then, your highness?"

The princess couldn't help but flinch as his words cut through her. She knew he wasn't angry at iher/i, but his tone still had its effect. "...I suggest going to the Spirit Temple as planned and awakening the final Sage. Hopefully, Lydia will find you at some point. Once Gordon wakes up, I am certain he can heal his wounds, at least partially, with his magic, and can follow you later."

The Hylian said nothing for several moments, but finally nodded. "I guess it would be what Lydia would want me to do. She'd yell at me for stalling if I did anything else..."

Speaking for the first time since Link had arrived, Nabooru said, "Once I heal enough to stay on my feet for more than three minutes, I will also follow. ...I want to help in any way I possibly can. It is the least I can do."

Link smiled at her with genuine appreciation. "Thank you."

With that, he silently stood up and wandered over to the north-facing window. He picked his sword up off the floor and held it in front of himself, and gently began to twirl the pink ribbon around his finger as he gazed toward the dark, forboding castle in the distant north.

i...I know your will is strong, Lyd,/i Link thought, iperhaps even stronger than mine. Just hang in there for a little while. As the hero of this story, it's my job to save you. And I will. I promise you that. Wait for me.../i