;-; I had ALL my replies written and everything... then I accidentally clicked "C2 Manager" while trying to minimize something to the side and I lost EVERYTHING! So screw it! Screw it all! Here's the chapter!

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Chapter 7: To Cross the Threshold

"Aiko?" Link breathed as he lowered his sword. He recognized this girl from before, when he first met Lor. But why was she protecting Kaze now?

"So, Aiko…" Kaze smiled. "You must really have a thing for me to be saving me in battle!" The black-winged girl shot him a glare like ice and frowned. "Dameus' orders were clear. 'Do not let him die'," she informed matter-of-factly. The Gerudo boy huffed and made to shield himself from the rain.

Lor bit his lip and moved forward at a crawling pace until he was positioned beside Link. Aiko matched his advance by taking a step back for every step he took forward. It seemed she had hardly forgotten the horrors Kuro had inflicted upon both her and her brother. "Stay back," she commanded, deciding now to hold her ground. Lor blinked in confusion and tilted his head.

Kaze growled in frustration. "Hey, Aiko," he muttered to the girl. "Let's just report back to Dameus. I can steal the Fire Stone another day, when it's not raining so blasted hard." Aiko nodded and concocted a kind transportation spell. The two were gone in an instant, leaving the remaining people dumbly staring at the rainfall.

---

"The queen has had a troubled mind as of late," Impa explained. The trio had finally located her and inquired her about their predicament with Kuro and now Dameus. "I can sense a minor disturbance in the serenity of the land. It doesn't seem as though it will cause any harm, though," the Shiekah declared.

Hieke shook her head. "But Kaze…" she reminded through withheld tears. Impa sighed. "Kaze is merely following his own path. There is nothing life-threatening about it," she said solemnly. Link averted his gaze. His best friend was on evil's side. His greatest foe was trying to escape. His blossoming love interest was madly depressed. What good could come of the situation?

"I guess we ought to be going," Lor said as he stood, feeling as though someone needed to take charge and it might as well be him. He nodded to his companions and headed for the door. He had a feeling that they needed to be at Lake Hylia. "Wait!" Impa called as Lor turned the doorknob. He paused and turned to the Shiekah woman.

"Certainly you don't plan to fight in such clothing?" she smirked as her eyes fell upon Lor's loose jacket and Hieke's flowing skirt. The two looked at each other, then at Link, then at Impa. "Dress me, Mommy!" Hieke exclaimed as she threw her arms into the air, evoking a nervous chuckle from Impa. Lor giggled and followed the two women into a back room while Link waited, casually observing the woodwork of the room.

After a bit of shuffling and yelling about 'get out of here while I'm changing', Hieke and Lor emerged from the back room with completely different clothes. Hieke had plates of silver armor every here and there with either orange or turquoise cloth covering areas that weren't shielded. There was a leather holster at her side to contain her ax-headed whip. Lor wore an amethyst tunic with silver chain mail beneath for protection. It was obvious the heavy mail was giving him trouble, but he would certainly become accustomed to it.

"Well, now that we've played dress-up," Link began, "where are we headed?"

"We ought to get the Forest Stone before Kaze," Hieke suggested. "That way he won't be able to get all three." Lor nodded in agreement to this logic. Impa, however, seemed to have ideas of her own. She was rooting about on a bookshelf, flipping through miscellaneous tomes and muttering to herself. Upon locating the book she was searching for, she uttered a triumphant shout.

"What is it, Impa?" Link inquired as he gazed over the Shiekah's shoulder at the text on the pages. There were many detailed illustrations of three Great Fairies in their Fairy Fountains, mystical necklaces and gems, and a trio of girls dressed in green, blue, and red. "What is all this?" the hero breathed, shaking his head skeptically.

"The three Spiritual Stones are marvelously powerful when brought together," Impa explained, "but their power is matched, even rivaled, by these three fairies. Link, you'll recall receiving Farore's Wind, Din's Fire, and Nayru's Love from Great Fairies in different Fountains. If you visit them and tell them of your situation, they will give you the Three Gifts. The Gift of Power is a brilliant ruby amulet that will charge you with unfathomable power. The Gift of Wisdom is a gorgeous sapphire charm that, when held, will fill you with knowledge and unrivaled tactics. Finally, the Gift of Courage is a magnificent emerald that will instill you with inner strength, a trait more valuable than knowledge or power. Now, these girls-"

"Those look more like girls from my world than like Hylians," Lor commented. Hieke nodded. "They most certainly don't look like any Hylian I've ever seen," she agreed. Impa shook her head. "But these girls are incarnations of the goddesses, keepers of the Three Gifts," she said. "They belong in Hyrule, in a hidden chamber in the Fairy Fountains."

Lor narrowed his eyes at the picture. "In fact," he remarked, tapping the girl dressed in blue, "I think I know this one. She just doesn't ever wear so much blue at once."

"I guess we know where we need to go," Link sighed as he backed away from the small crowd. The others looked at him with raised eyebrows. "To Lor's world, of course," the green-clad young man said as though it was entirely evident. "That's where these girls are. Besides, I'm curious to see the dimension he's been in for almost seven Hylian years."

Hieke nodded and turned to Impa. "Do you know their names? It would make it a lot easier to find them if we had that," she requested. The Shiekah turned to her book and studied the words diligently. "Nayru's incarnation is called Artemis, Farore's is named Diana, and Din's goes by the name of Isis," she read. Hieke quickly memorized the names and corresponding goddess, and then made for the door.

Outside, the three assigned incarnations. "Lor, once we get to your world, you'll be in charge of locating Artemis," Link announced. "I'll look for Diana. Hieke, you find Isis. Now, how do we get to Lor's dimension?"

"I think we ought to go to Lake Hylia," the black-haired boy suggested, following his instinct from before. "After all, that's where Drakar and I first entered Hyrule from my world. Maybe we can get back that way."

---

There they stood, Hylian hero, Hylian heroine, and Earthling boy, gazing across the vast waters of Lake Hylia. Lor crouched at the shore and touched the gently lapping surface. Instantly the entire lake stilled. Not a breath of wind disturbed its mirror like semblance. The black-haired boy leaned over and met the eyes of his reflection. A soft glow formed where the water met the land, and Lor stumbled backwards. Link placed a hand on Hieke's shoulder and nudged her forward until all three stood at the edge of the glowing waters.

"On the count of three?" Lor proposed. Link and Hieke nodded. "One… two…" the boy counted. "Three!"

There was no splash, even though their bodies should have collided with the lake. They passed through it like ghosts, finding themselves in the middle of a forest, strewn out before a serene pond. Lor was almost brought to tears at the site of this familiar land, the place which had his been his home for the past fourteen years or so. Eagerly he led his companions to the midst of town, which was bustling with people at this time of day.

"Link, you should take the northeastern side of town," Lor instructed, pointing in the direction described. "Hieke, you search the southwestern area. I'll take the central area and check school." The two Hylians cocked an eyebrow at the mention of 'school', but departed in their given directions without objection. Lor stretched his arms and smiled against the sunlight.

"You know, it's true," he said to himself. "There really is no place like home!" With his declaration said, he set off into the crowd towards the building that had been his torture device against himself for so many years. He knew he would find Artemis there.

All righty, and that's that! Reviews now? Yes! YAY! Remember, no use of the word 'awesome'. -glare- It is vile and dispicable. Well, not really, but you get the point.

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