Linked to my steam account, all characters gone.

Hello! I've been playing PoE on the steam client, and recently downloaded the standalone because I've had issues with the steam client causing crashes in the past. However, now that my accounts are linked, I'm finding that I can't access any of my characters from the steam client version. Is there no way to access them through the standalone? Will I have to unlink my steam account, then play solely through the steam client? Any assistance in this matter would be greatly appreciated!