"Pull him up, Saria, or you'll both be roasted!"

"I... can't!"

A poor situation indeed, Saria used all the strength her skinny arms had, but with her chest against the rock, she would not be able to maneuver Link on top of the precipice. They boy looked below himself, over at the incoming lava spout, and back at the flowing magma beneath. He knew what had to be done.

"Drop me!"

"What?"

"Drop me!"

"NO! I would never be able to forgive myself if I lost you like this! I won't leave this cave without you!"

"Just do it!"

Torn in two different directions, Saria chastised herself mentally for what she was about to do.

"My princess, forgive me, there was no other way."

"Do what he says!"

With tears in her eyes, Saria released her two handed grip on Link. She pulled herself up, and the wave of magma washed over, consuming the side of the stone she sat upon. No longer able to take her emotional distress, she fell on her back and began to bawl.

"Oh, what have I done! Forgive me Hyrule! Forgive me Link!"

"Saria, quit crying and look out! For the love of Nayru, you're in a lava tube!"

"I don't care, Mari! Why shouldn't the lava take me too? I've failed!"

"It was either him or both of you, there was nothing we could do to change that."

"It should have been me! Now, the demise of Hyrule is going on my head!"

"What?"

"I didn't just flee here, Mari, I was sent here, for HIM! Now, without the Hero of Time, all is lost! Ganon will return, and it's all my fault!"

"I... you lied to me, Saria?"

"Yes, I lied to you, but it was the only way. Now, all my efforts were in vain... and Link is gone..."

"The only way? We're gonna have to talk about this Saria, but first, we need to find the harp and get out of here!"

"But without Link, we'll never be able to get through this mess, what's the point anyway?"

"Hey!"

"What?!"

Did her ears deceive her? Was that really his voice? No... surely... but then he called again, and she truly could not ignore it. She crawled to the edge of her stone platform and looked over it.

"Link?!"

The boy was still alive! He remained mostly unscathed, floating on his shield.

"Oh, jeez Link, you really scared me! Are you okay?"

All the response he gave was a vaguely irritated glare. He was fine, but odds were, he wouldn't last much longer down there. As magma and sulfur splashed up on the shield, Link attempted to block incoming splashes with his sword, but the boy was still getting singed.

"He's not going to last very long with all that stuff, we need to get him out of there!"

"Um, Mari? I don't think that's going to be what kills him."

"What do you mean?"

"Look! Up ahead!"

About a hundred feet off, the lava flow spilled over a cliff, a molten waterfall. If the fire and brimstone didn't take him first, the drop certainly would. The boy helplessly floated along on the sheet of metal, his fate appeared to be sealed.

"Oh heck, I don't think we'll be able to do anything about that, Saria!"

"Well, I'd rather die trying than not try at all!"

In a burst of energy, the girl sprang off the side of her stone platform, and caught herself on another one, further ahead.

"Stop doing that! Is life a big game to you?!"

"Sometimes!"

Saria continued bunny hopping along rocks, hardly taking time to breathe between jumps. She put as much headway between herself and Link as she could, so she could have time to think.

"Put that big head of yours to work, Saria! Think! What would Link do? What would Link do?"

Frantically, the girl dug through her pockets. Surely something of use was in there! But all she could dig out was her wooden ocarina and the boomerang from Mayor Briggi. What if, maybe... Saria spied around the rocks ahead, perhaps there was a lose stone in the fray? Surely enough, right above the lavafall, a bundle of boulders sat idle.

"Perfect!"

Rearing back her shoulder, Saria chucked the boomerang into the air. It clanged into the side of one of the stones with little to no effect, and returned to its sender. She hurled the curved toy again, it smacked into the pile, but only pebbles fell off.

"C'mon, c'mon!"

Again the boomerang flew, and again, and again. Each time it collided with rock, the stones loosened a bit. With each second that passed, Link drifted closer to his demise. With one last throw, a throw so vigorous that Saria nearly threw her arm out of socket, the boomerang sailed into a keystone, and an avalanche started. Several massive pieces of sediment tumbled into the lava flow, and blocked the hero's shield from tumbling over the cliff. Despite having come so close to being crushed, Link was thankful for his stone savior. He climbed atop the rocks, and pulled his shield out of the magma, its front side disfigured and aglow.

"Yes! Oh Link!"

Saria dropped her own shield into the lava, and rode it over to the rock pile. After climbing up, she embraced the boy in a big hug.

"I thought you were gone Link. I don't think I would've been able to lose you, not again."

Link was shocked by the girl's words, but he returned the hug nonetheless. They held it for nearly a minute, until Mari finally caught up to them.

"By the Great Deku Tree himself, you nearly gave me a heart attack Link! Are you okay? Did you get hurt much by the lava? How could you possibly think that was a good idea?"

The two departed from their embrace, and the fairy buzzed around Link, inspecting every inch of his body.

"I see you've got yourself plenty of burns, ah well, nothing a red potion won't fix later. But as for you Saria, you put yourself at risk and nearly crushed Link! Though... you did still save him."

"Heh, yeah, I guess I did."

"I'm not done with you though!"

"Uh oh..."

"How could you lie to me about something so big and important?! For that matter, how could you lie to me in the first place!? I'm your guardian fairy!"

"But I-I-"

Below, down the cliff of the lava flow, the magma began to churn, and the cave began to rumble.

"What was that?"

From the melting pot below, a creature easily the size of Hyrule castle emerged. Lava dripped from its face, though it never really seemed to lose its heated glow. It uttered a deafening roar, so loud that it very well could have been heard from the entrance to the mine.

"Talk about saved by the bell, this conversation isn't over, Saria!"

Saria breathed a figurative and literal sigh of relief, she was off the hook... for now. Link drew his weapons and yelled back at the magma monster.

Author's Note

Well, you didn't actually think I was going to kill Link when there was still three harp pieces left, did you?
I'd like someone's honest opinion about this story so far. Do you think I'm doing it right?
Are there some things you'd rather me change?
Is the whole 'Saria from another timeline' thing cheesy, or do you think it adds another arc to the story?