A Note from the Author: You're probably still wondering what Malon was doing taking up an entire chapter last time. You'll find out why I had to include her now. Get ready; you're in for a wild ride.

Zelda stuff (c) Nintendo
Original stuff (c) Me

Part II ~ The Storm

All of the sudden, dishes and cups began raining from the shelves and pantries. The entire house rumbled like there was no tomorrow. I clung to the table to keep my balance, but soon found that it wasn't bolted to the floor and began to slide across the room. I'm not joking when I say this: it felt like all of Hyrule was being shaken and manipulated like a child inspecting a new toy. Fragile objects were falling and shattering on the floor everywhere, and the cuccos went into a giant uproar. Navi had to hide in my hat so as not to be knocked out by the panicking birds.

"Father!" Malon screamed, "What's going on!?"

Talon's voice came from outside. It was loud and desperate, with a hint of terror. "Malon! Link!" he screamed. "Get outside! Hurry, we have to get to safety!" Malon tumbled towards the front door, finding it impossible to walk in a straight line with the floor behaving in such an unstable manner. I know, because it was impossible for me too. We both stumbled as fast as we could to the door and almost jumped outside. Unfortunately, the ground was no better out there. And to top it all off, there was the distinct sound of the land tearing itself apart.

"What's doing on, Talon!?" I demanded, nearly falling on my face. He pointed up towards the mountains, and I could see it instantly.

"It's Death Mountain! She's erupting like crazy!" Those were the only words to describe it, but it was far worse than that. I could see Hyrule Field ripping itself into shreds, great fissures in the earth splitting the plains into islands right before my eyes. Not too far away, Talon's silo was teetering like it was going to collapse any moment. And right in the middle of it all, Death Mountain was glowing the strangest mixture of red, orange, and black I'd ever seen! I picked the perfect moment to look, I suppose, because at that moment a savage roar seemed to unleash itself and echo across the plains and straight into my ears. It was ferocious, the sound of a monster about to rip its prey (or possibly all of Hyrule) into shreds. From the distance I was at, I could still see a long, fiery snake rise from the summit of Death Mountain amongst the rocks and lava already pouring out of its crater. I watched it in a state of transfixed horror as it circled around Death Mountain, flying in the air, and descended upon Kakariko Village, though only to blast a column of fire before returning into Death Mountain from a point that made my face turn cold: the main entrance to Goron City. "By Nayru's Harp, we gotta get out of here, Malon!"

Amidst Talon's cries I instantly began to picture the loveable Gorons being devoured or torched by that monstrous serpent, if they weren't dead already from the lava spewing out of the mountain. On top of it all, my hopes for conquering the evil of the Fire Temple was quickly draining, not to mention the health of the Fire Sage. Somehow, though, I knew that serpent wasn't invincible, and if there was any evil that needed to be conquered at the moment, it was that evil. I couldn't just stand around and see the Gorons be massacred. "Malon, please let me borrow your horse!"

"E-Epona?" Malon stammered. "What did you want her for? To get away faster?"

I shook my head. "No. I need her to get to Death Mountain." Her face instantly turned pale--I could imagine her picturing Epona burning in the lava. "Please, we'll be alright if we could just hurry! There's a whole city in that mountain, and that creature's about to cause serious damage if I don't get my rump on a horse's saddle and stop it!"

"You really think you can do it?"

"Yes. I was able to rid the forest of all the evil inside of it not too long ago. If I have to purify the mountains too, it's now or never."

Malon looked at Talon questioningly. I should have known; it was his ranch, not her's, so it would be his final say as to if I could take a horse or not. I hoped he would let me take Epona; she was really the only horse I could ride. Talon observed me. "Do you really think you can stop that thing from incinerating us all?" I nodded. Talon glanced at Malon for a moment, then back at the ranch. "I think she'd want it this way, Malon," the farmer mumbled. Malon nodded somberly and called for Epona. The horse obediently arrived, appearing loyally despite the panic the rest of the horses were in. Talon didn't have any time for good-byes. "I'm sorry I gotta go, but we can't leave the animals when we evacuate; Ingo and I gotta calm them down!" Talon bolted for the corral faster than any man I'd ever seen running.

I wasted little time too. "I'm sorry you and your horse must part this way," I apologized to Malon, "but I need to go as soon as possible. The longer we wait, the harder it will be to come back alive." I grabbed the side of Epona's saddle and swung myself onto her back. Malon looked like she wanted to say something, but couldn't find the words to do it. "Good-bye, Malon," I waved, "and Epona will be back before you know it!" I patted Epona's rear. "Let's go, Epona!" I ordered. Epona reared up for a moment, then took off out of the ranch.

The wind nearly blew my hat off, and I clung to it if only to save poor Navi inside. Never had I ever moved this quickly in my entire life. As I ushered Epona on, I realized how little time I had. There wasn't any choice; we had to go as fast as we could. "Don't worry, Navi, you'll be okay!" I called back, hearing and feeling her tremble with fear underneath my hat. Ahead, I could see the column of fire that was Death Mountain growing bigger and bigger. Rocks began to rain from the sky, and were it not for their giant, ominous shadows I probably wouldn't have been able to evade them. All the same, it made navigating difficult, and Epona grew increasingly nervous. But we were so close...

I could see the bridge to Kakariko Village a little less than half a mile ahead of us. "We're almost there, Epona!" I assured. The rocks plummeting from the heavens were getting bigger and more threatening. Some were even on fire. People were pouring out of Kakariko, and for that I couldn't blame them. If things were bad here, it must have been insane so close to the mountain. Their evacuation was a gruesome sight all the same. Many were crushed by boulders. This was truly a terrible event.

Suddenly, the ground shaked harder than it ever had before, and we found ourselves flung into the air as if we weighed nothing. The earth we were on had launched itself up into a steep incline, flipping us into the air in doing so, as it ruptured itself away into a great fault. We hit the ground hard, blowing the wind right out of me, and I was sure I broke something. Epona landed on her side, and neighed in pain, but looked well enough to keep moving. That was a very good thing, because if we stood still we'd probably be impaled by rocks or more earthquakes. As soon as Epona got to her feet I leaped on. "What are we supposed to do now?" I groaned, quickly seeing the gorge that now lay between ourselves and Kakariko. Epona seemed to have an idea, though, and started galloping up the steep hill. "Epona, what are you doing!?" I cried, grabbing onto my hat to keep poor Navi safe. Epona neighed back a response. I couldn't understand it, but it didn't take me long to realize what was going on. "By Farore's Book--" Before I could even finish, Epona kicked off of the hard rock and launched herself into the canyon. I screamed, as Navi did too I'm sure, as I wrapped my free arm about Epona's neck for dear life. As we hung in the air, it felt almost as if time had slowed down. I felt that we should have fallen by now, when...BAM! With a hard impact Epona landed on the other side and continued to gallop towards Kakariko Valley. "Epona!" I cried, still clinging to Epona to avoid falling off. "That...That was amazing!"

As we dashed through Kakariko Valley, I caught glimpses of people screaming, houses burning, and more rocks and fireballs raining from the sky in a storm of fire.

It wasn't very long before I steered Epona onto the Death Mountain Trail, the single path up the mountain that wasn't considered an act of suicide. It still felt that way to me, though. Massive boulders were rolling down the mountain, forcing us to zig-zag and dodge them. For a brief moment I lost sense of where we were going, and then I saw it: Goron City. The entrance to the labyrinth of a city was in a little grotto where I was sure Epona would be safe. I left her there before entering the city, but I told her that she could run back to Malon if she so wanted.

-

If anything could have prepared me for what I discovered, I probably would have had second thoughts about coming. The subterranean labyrinth that was Goron City was a mess, a bloody mess. Not a soul was to be found anywhere, save for a single young Goron rolling around the fourth level, but he didn't seem to want anything to do with me. I ignored him for now, but I'd be back as soon as I finished checking the rest of the city. The empty city painted a horrible picture for my eyes to read. There were bloodstains all over the rocky walls, and everywhere I looked there were signs of a struggle. Seven years ago, the lively city was bustling with the sounds of rocks crunching and pottery being fired, not to mention a booming bomb-manufacturing industry (after I helped clean up Dodongo's Cavern, that is). It had turned into a ghost city now, empty and morbid. Shards of fine Goron pottery littered the corners of the tunnels, knocked over in some ghastly chaos. The wares of the Goron Shop were scattered about the ground level, dotted with damaged Bomb Flower plants ripped from their roots in a desperate act to exterminate some danger. Pools of blood swirled on the upper levels, dripping down onto the middle levels. Navi and I couldn't help but stare wherever we walked. A great battle had occured, and we had missed it. Now, were it not for the constant rumbling of Death Mountain above us, the city would be a silent tomb.

I paused in the center of the great pit in the center of the city, on the ground floor, where a giant urn used to spin. All around me were gruesome reminders of the monster I had seen above Kakariko, one that I might have stopped. But I was too late. "Navi," I whispered, my voice shaking more than the mountain itself, "I was too late. And now... They're gone! We couldn't get here in time! It's...it's all over..." I sunk to my knees and stared blankly at all the blood. "They might all be dead by now. It's all my fault, if I only got here in time--"

"Hey!" screamed an angry voice above us. "You'd better not be another bad guy, or...or...I'm warning ya! If you're with that dragon, I'll tear you to pieces!" Broken briefly from my sorrow, I turned my head upwards to find that young Goron from before, leaning over the level's fence and staring directly at me.

"Sir," I stammered, too distressed to even weep, "I came to slay that dragon."

The Goron spat. "Ha! As if! I'm not stupid, I can see right through your lies!"

I stood up slowly and held my hands in a non-aggressive gesture. "No, I promise I mean no harm! I'm a friend of Darunia's, a...a Brother! My name is Link!"

The Goron was silent for a moment. Slowly, he said, "You...you couldn't be..."

"I tell you, I am! Seven years ago, I slayed the King Dodongo in the Dodongo's Cavern! Big Brother gave me the Goron Ruby as a reward!"

"...You said your name was Link?" I nodded cautiously. Did he believe me? "...come up here. I wanna look ya over." I dutifully obeyed his command, and carefully I ascended the tunnels onto the fourth level. If this Goron knew anything about any survivors, he was my only hope to save them. I had to get information, and fast. As I got close, he started backing away. "I was told Link was a boy of the forest, not a Hylian."

"I...thought I was a Kokiri. I've only learned what I really am a few days ago--"

"Prove it! Prove you're him! If you're Link, you'd know my Dad Darunia's favorite song!"

"You're Darunia's son...?" I mumbled. But I didn't want to drag this along any longer than it had to be, so I obediently raised my ocarina to my lips and played Saria's song. The Goron found himself tapping his foot in no time, but quickly got himself together and stopped me.

"Alright, I believe you! My name's Link; Dad named me after you, you know! I'm like, your biggest fan! But this is no time for that; if you're really Link, you'll save Dad and the other Gorons from...it."

"You mean that serpent?"

Goron Link looked straight into my eyes. "For seven long years, we the Gorons have been valiantly resisting the evil hand of Ganondorf. We were foolish though; I kept telling Dad that the Gerudo King was being too easy on us, that something was up, but he didn't listen. And now look what happened..."

I drew closer. "What happened?"

"Turns out, I was right. Ganondorf wasn't stupid, he knew we weren't powerful enough to stand up to him forever. He was using us from the beginning. After seven years, surely the whole kingdom knew our story, about how we refuted his rule of the Dragon Roost Mountains. That's when Ganondorf made his move; he made us a mere display to the whole kingdom on what happens if you say no to Big High-and-Mighty's rule: you get exterminated. Not too long ago, Ganondorf unleashed the vicious dragon Volvagia from our heavy-duty prisons deep in Death Mountain's core. Volvagia's been there for centuries; long ago, it devoured hundreds of Gorons until my father's ancestor stepped up and sealed it away in the mountain. Thanks to being sealed up for so long, Volvagia's out for revenge now! We held our ground for a few days, but today things got really awful. Ganondorf set flaming swordsmen loose in our city not long ago, and they rounded up all the Gorons and herded them off to the prisons at the Fire Temple. Anybody who put up a fight was killed on the spot, and everybody else was locked up in the very prisons Volvagia was held in. It's terrible!" Goron Link began to weep, and I had to put a hand on his shoulder to keep him from losing it. "Now, he's going to feed all the Gorons to Volvagia to show the world what happens when you resist his will! Daddy and I are the only two Gorons that escaped!"

"Big Brother escaped!? Where is he!?"

Now I'd really done it. Goron Link began to wail. "I tried to stop him, but he was too stubborn! Daddy's gone into the Fire Temple to slay Volvagia and free the Gorons, all by himself! And to make things worse, Death Mountain's gone crazy! If Volvagia doesn't eat him first, the mountain will!"

"You mean Darunia's already down there!?" I gasped. "Aw man, I've got to do something! Quick!" I started pacing the floor, wishing to myself that Goron Link would stop crying (Gorons had very obnoxious wails, even though I could understand why the kid was doing it). I had to think of something... "Link," I inquired urgently, "is there any way I could use to get into the Fire Temple?"

Goron Link nodded. "Only one," he sniffled. "There's a secret passage through Daddy's chambers. But you'd melt if you went there how you are now. The temple's inside Death Mountain's crater!"

"Well what can I do!?" I blurted. Things were sounding more and more impossible, yet I couldn't just stand around. "I've got to do something fast, otherwise I might be too late again!"

"The crater is the single hottest place in all of Hyrule. Only Gorons can withstand that heat; unless you wore a Goron Tunic."

I kneeled down and looked at Goron Link sternly in the eyes. "Link," I comforted, "I'm going to save your father. You don't have to worry anymore. Please calm down; everything will be alright. Now, I need you to tell me where I can find a Goron Tunic."

Goron Link, embarrased that he was now being asked to calm down by his own namesake, did his best to get a grip on himself. "A-A Goron Tunic? They sell them at the Goron Shop. I... I bet you might find one down there. It looks a lot like what you're wearing... Except it's red."

I gave Goron Link a hug to reassure him everything was going to be alright, but I wasn't so certain myself. I saw Volvagia; I saw the damage it could do. If it was so powerful that it needed an entire volcano to imprison it... Perhaps I had spoken too soon. Perhaps this was an impossible task. But what else could I have said? This poor guy had possibly lost his father! No... No, Darunia was still alive. I didn't know how, but I could feel it. He was alive down there. I had to find him before that changed. "Don't worry, Link," I whispered, "it'll be alright. I'm going to find your father, and Volvagia will pay for what it has done to your city."

"Th-Thank you..."

"I have to go now... But I'll be back. I promise!" I stood up and ran down the tunnels to the ground floor. I didn't have to search for long; there was a Goron Tunic lying at the back of the store relatively unsinged. I stripped my clothes off and put on the crimson tunic as fast as I could. Almost instantly, I could feel a wave of coolness come over me; things didn't feel as hot as they had before. I looked down at my Kokiri Tunic. Oh, the memories... "Navi," I inquired, "what should I do with my old tunic?"

"I suggest you pack it," Navi answered knowledgably. "There are creatures called Like Likes that devour Goron Tunics... But they can't digest Kokiri Tunics. You should keep your old tunic with you just in case. You wouldn't want to be stripped naked right in the middle of battle."

I blushed. "Yeah, that would be kinda awkward..."

After stowing my green tunic away, I gave one last good-bye to Goron Link and stepped into Darunia's chambers. Darunia was the Chieftain of the Gorons. When I first met him, he was very troubled by the famine going around in Goron City and wanted nothing to do with Hylian affairs, even if I was sent by Princess Zelda herself. That all changed when I learned his weak spot and asked Saria to teach me her song. Darunia was a big fan of her song, which echoed into Goron City through a tunnel leading into the Lost Woods. As soon as he heard me play it, he broke into a dance, and then opened himself up to me. By the time I left the mountain I had been titled "Link, Brother of the Gorons." Though he was very friendly, "Big Brother" happened to be a very stubborn leader, and when he set his mind to something... I knew I wouldn't be able to change Darunia's mind. I'd have to find some other way to get him and the other Gorons out of the temple.

There was a small door in the back wall, behind a statue that appeared to have been moved recently. Even with my Goron Tunic on, I could feel a wave of heat pouring out of the door's cracks. "Link," Navi explained, "I believe this is the secret passage into Death Mountain's Crater. Do you think you're ready for this?"

I nodded. "Even if I'm not, we're running out of time."

-

By Din's Rod, it was unbelievably hot. I felt like I was in an oven. Even with the Goron Tunic on, I was sweating like crazy, and poor Navi had to hide under my hat to avoid heatstroke. I fanned myself with my hand, but it was no good; it was just impossible to have any sensation of "cool" in the infernal crater. The summit of Death Mountain was dominated by the crater, an immense circular pit about a third of a mile deep. The bottom had the endpoint of a tunnel connecting the crater to the very center of our world. Molten rock rose from the tunnel like a drain in reverse, and the entire base of the crater was consumed in a massive lake of lava, twice as wide as Lake Hylia. Narrow bridges of rock were all that kept us from plummeting to our fiery doom. I was fortunate I wasn't afraid of heights; otherwise, I'd probably have died right there. I thanked the gods that Death Mountain was having an intermission in its eruption. I reminded myself, though, that if it started up again, I'd be fried instantly.

A small iron sign directed me to the Goron Prisons, which was subtitled, "Fire Temple." It was on the other side of the lake, though I had trouble seeing it; I'd have to cross the rock bridges to get there. The single wooden bridge connecting me to the rocky catwalks was torched long ago, and I had to use my hookshot to get across. It was there where somebody stopped me. At first I thought it was one of those "flaming swordsmen," but I soon discovered it was only the mysterious "Shiekhah," Shiek.

Shiek was an odd duck. Though he appeared to be and described himself as a man, his voice sounded more like a girl pretending to be a boy. His clothing was far tighter than Impa's (the real Shiekhah, who admitted herself that she was the only one in existence), and his head was wrapped in bandages. I might have thought him a really interesting fellow, but he never spoke kindly to me. For some reason, to him I was always doing something wrong. To make matters more frustrating, he always spoke in riddles and metaphors, some of which I thought existed only to mock me. Though I had to give him credit for telling me Saria was in trouble, I still didn't like him one bit.

For whatever reason, one that I'll never understand, he was able to stand the crater without wearing a Goron Tunic; perhaps he's really a skinny Goron in disguise? In any case, Shiek continued his pattern of dishing out surprises. Last time I met him in the Sacred Forest Meadow, he taught me the Minuet of Forest, the song that allowed me (and Saria's ancestor, apparently) to warp to the meadow whenever I pleased. This time, after talking poetically about the value of friendship and teamwork (values which, though certainly important, really weren't all that important to learn about considering how I was racing against time to save Darunia) he taught me the Bolero of Fire, music to accompany a popular Goron folk dance. According to the Shiekhah wanna-be, the song would teleport me to the crater whenever I played it; I made a mental note never to play the song on my own free will.

As soon as Shiek appeared, he was gone. I really wondered who he really was, but in all honesty I'd be side-tracked from my mission if I stopped to think about it. My job was to enter the Fire Temple.

On the other side of the molten lake, I discovered nothing but the crater's wall and a pile of boulders. I was about to go look elsewhere when I caught a glimpse of a brick altar underneath one of the boulders. I experimented by bombing the rocks, and sure enough there lied the temple's entrance. Underneath the brown rock was a ladder descending into a well that travelled deep into the volcano, beneath the lake of magma. An inscription on the bricks surrounding the well read "Temple of Fire: The Greatest Monster in all of Hyrule is Imprisoned Here. Enter at your own risk." I gulped nervously, but I couldn't convince myself that there wasn't any other way but down. As I climbed down the ladder into the Fire Temple, I wondered if I'd ever see the light of day again. Above me, Death Mountain began to rumble.

A Note from the Author: I'm telling you, Nintendo should have done it; this chapter completely changed how I was going to do the story, and that's why Chapter 1 didn't discuss Goron matters. Originally, Chapter 1 was going to have Darunia in it, but then I was listening to Tales from Earthsea's soundtrack and BAM, I was listening to the totally epic first track, and I pictured Link on Epona's back, racing against time through Hyrule FIeld to save the Gorons. But to do that, I had to give him a horse (hence Chapter 1), and I had to come up with something completely original to happen. And then we completely shift gears and find Goron City more tragic than Ocarina of Time could have even dreamed of depicting on the N64.

Lolz, Link thinks Shiek is a girly boy. What he doesn't realize is that he's actually... A MANLY GIRL!!!

Please don't hesitate to write a review; they're the only things that keep me going these days.