"And who," she asked, "are you? Come on out! And no mysteries, tell me the
game plan until I meet back up with Link.' She was fed up with baby steps.
It wasn't her style. She took an objective and accomplished it her way, no
need for a guide to show her every place she had to go.
A man in a black robe and pointed hat stepped out. "I am Noe, the keeper of
the Triforce. If you have a question, the Triforce can answer it, but first
you must prove yourself worthy. Merely hold your hand to that door and it
should open. As for a plan, I have no idea what that young man intends. I
merely was told to expect visitors."
"You require no special identification?" Samus asked, a bit dubious. This
man spoke too smugly for a guardian of an abandoned building.
"Only a select few can open that door. It is counterpart to the Door of
Time, to the Sacred Seals. It guards the Triforce against those unfit to
wield it. Only the true bearers of the Triforce and those they declare
worthy may enter. All others are turned away."
Now he sounded more resigned, more down-trodden, more like a guard. And who
else would have such a speech, or indeed, even that knowledge? It wasn't as
though any random person on the street could tell you highly sensitive and
valuable information.
"Alright, you win." She held her right hand, still encased in her suit, up
to the main door of the building adorned with nothing but an odd looking
symbol, and waited. She tried to convince herself it was nothing more than
highly advanced DNA scanner, doing a background check. After a few moments,
the door began to shake, and slowly receded into the ground. As it did, she
heard an annoying, high pitched, more like a maniacal giggle than true evil
laughter.
"Tee hee hee! I can't believe you actually fell for that! You must not be
the bearer of the Triforce of Wisdom after all! Which means," he paused, as
a black whirlwind swirled around him and transformed him into a giant eye,
"I can kill you without complications!" The eye shot a laser straight at her
at point blank range, leaving her no time to react. Fortunately, her energy
tanks were full, so she sustained no injuries herself, but it consumed over
half her supply absorbing and repairing a single blast. Another shot that
close would finish her, but Noe wasn't going to get that close again.
With no time to worry about subtlety, she poured a pair of Super Missiles
straight at an exposed part of the eye, and followed up by rolling into Morph
Ball mode and setting off a Power Bomb. While it gave her quite a bit of
distance – the impact knocked Noe back almost forty meters – she could see
no physical signs of damage. She had to hope, though, she had at least
accomplished something. She charged a Combo Beam, hoping it would have more
of an effect than the last shot, but Noe fired again before she could
finish.
The next few seconds were nothing more than a blur as she hit the ground to
avoid the shot, but still absorbed enough of the shockwave to send her into
the air. When her vision cleared, Noe was gone, replaced by Link wearing his
red armor. She managed to pick herself off the ground with no problems, and
a quick check showed no injuries, but she was out almost of energy.
"You cut that too close," she berated him, "Now let's go and do whatever it
is we need to so we can get back to the ship. Link nodded wordlessly and led
her in through the spot where the door had been. Gaid flew after her,
seeming to have something to say.
"Sorry I couldn't help, I was just so scared I froze up. That was Vaati, one
of the most dangerous creatures imprisoned here. He's gone for now, but I
wouldn't count on that lasting very long. I didn't realize it was him at
first, or I would have warned you." Gaid continued to chatter as the three
of them walked ('cept the fairy would be flying) down a long hallway made of some kind of white stone.
Eventually they reached what could only be the Triforce – three golden
triangles arranged in a larger triangle, with an upside-down triangular hole
in the center. "Link, having been named a Hero and wielder of the Master
Sword, wields the Triforce of Courage, but he can use any piece of it." Link
stepped up and touched one of the smaller triangles as Gaid continued her
monologue. "He doesn't talk often, as I assume you've noticed. I guess it
must come from being alone so much, right Samus?" It took a moment for Samus
to realize she was actually being asked to respond to this ceaselessly
chatty thing.
"Yes, I suppose that must be it." And yet, she spoke to herself even when
alone, just to hear a voice, whereas Link would go for up to a full day
without saying a word. Even when he was much younger, he had never been the
type to say more than he needed to.
As if to emphasize Gaid's words, Link turned around and, without a word,
walked out of the room. Gaid and Samus followed, the fairy continuing to
babble and the bounty hunter wondering what, exactly, Link had discovered in
there that he needed, and why he couldn't share with her. "The Triforce, as
you notice, is whole now, which means that we can expect Ganon to return for
it in the near future. I would assume Link has asked you to stay and assist
us with that?"
"Ganon? No, we're tracking something much more dangerous." They had no time
to worry about some petty warlord taking over a backwater planet. She would
pay Link back, though, after they had dealt with the immediate threat to the
galaxy itself.
"We don't have to worry about Ganon, at the moment, then?" asked Gaid. She
seemed almost cheerful about it, but then again, perhaps Ganon was not to be
trifled with. No, she was sure this place could deal with the Anti-Metroids
if they had the guts to come here. No wonder Link had wanted to come back.
They followed Link out of the temple, then he grabbed Samus's arm and pulled
out a mirror. When the vertigo faded, they were standing in Hyrule.