A/NWell, finally got around to finishing the editing for this chapter. School has been kicking my butt. But with the end of the Semester in sight, hopefully it'll be less than two months between this and the next chapter. Until then, enjoy.


The Firestorm


The man and the trio stared at each other for an uncomfortably long time, no one daring to speak. Slowly, the Goron began to back up from the edge, pulling back Link and Skull Kid a second later.

"We can't go back to where everyone else is right now," the Goron warned, his voice barely a whisper. "We'll just have to find somewhere to hide until he leaves."

"Until who leaves?"

The Goron let out a yelp and instinctually curled up. In just the short time since they'd backed away, the man had already climbed up to their level. Up close, Link could get a better look at the man. He was tall, at least as tall as Darunia. His armor was primarily a deep, crimson color, with a few patches of black or gold here and there. The helmet he wore was not fitted for a human and just sat atop his head. It was structured like a lizard's skull, with long horns that curved backwards, and emeralds sitting in the eyesockets. A bright plume of red and yellow hair escaped from the back. And on his back was strapped a wicked pike, nearly as long as he was tall.

The man took in a long breath through his nose, looking the three over, then proceeded to – with lightning speed – place his foot on cowering Goron and shove him, sending him tumbling down the edge into the lower level. He ignored both Skull Kid and Link, reaching for his pike as he jumped, sliding down the steep slope towards the Goron, who was now sprawled out on his belly, trying to recover.

He was on him in an instant. The man used his foot to roll the Goron over, then planted it firmly on his soft stomach. With both hands on the pike, he pressed the tip against the Goron's throat.

"Tell me, Goron," the man growled, the tip digging into the Goron's skin. "Where is Darunia? And where are the rest of your people hiding?"

The Goron said nothing, his eyes wide and panicked. He tried to reach his hands up and push the pike's tip away, but it didn't budge an inch.

A sick, horrified feeling filled Link as he watched. Shaking with anger, his hands quickly went for the bow, nocking an arrow and pointing it in the man's direction.

"Hey! Leave him alone!"

The man's head jerked up, looking back at the skull kid he had previously ignored. Although it was impossible to read his expression, he did not seem concerned by the threat. Surprised, maybe.

Then he laughed. "Do you really think you can hurt me with that flimsy bow, little monster?"

Monster? Link visibly flinched, his fingers trembling. "Don't… don't call me that! I'll shoot this, I swear!"

The stare down continued, neither party relenting. But they didn't move, either. If the man made any movement, link would shoot. But if Link shot, he'd kill the Goron, for sure. And although Link was at a disadvantage, the man still held steady. For the moment.

Skull Kid slowly began to back up until he was out of sight, then vanished in a flurry of wind. He reappeared just behind the armored man and dashed forward, wrapping his arms around his waist, tugging uselessly in an attempt to pull him away from the Goron.

The man let out a guttural growl and shifted, twisting just enough to elbow the skull kid in the face. Distracted as he was, however, it gave the Goron the chance to push the pike away and struggle free. He curled up and began to roll away. At the same time, Link released the arrow.

It clattered harmlessly against the man's armor. He looked up towards Link with an unreadable expression.

Link quickly shifted to put the bow on his back and instead reached into the bag for his hookshot before skittering and sliding down the cliff to face the man, who looked him over once again. Skull Kid, still close to the man, warped once again, reappearing beside Link. As soon as his friend was clear, he shot the hookshot. It rattled through the air, but at the last second, the man dodged the deadly spike.

"Is that a challenge, little monster?" The man asked.

Link's face twisted into a snarl. "Not a monster!" The hookshot's spike quickly retracted as he readied it once again.

The man smirked, twirling his pike before crouching with it ready behind him. "I, Volvagia, Heart of the Mountain, accept your challenge."

Link shot out the hookshot, sending the spike whizzing through the air once again. The man, Volvagia, dodged it with practiced ease, and dashed forward, closing the distance in mere seconds before Link could retract the hookshot, let alone react. He swung his pike, catching Link on the side of the head with the flat side of the weapon. Link cried out, sent sprawling from the bow alone.

As he turned to sit up, Link found the tip of the pike hovering mere inches from his chest. "You'll never win using a weapon like that," Volvagia growled. For one reason or another though, he pulled back, giving Link just enough room to sit up.

Skull Kid took the opportunity to rush in, aiming a punch for Volvagia's stomach. But the man sidestepped this as well, letting Skull Kid sail on by. Quickly, he turned, but before he could attempt another attack Volvagia delivered a swift kick to the gut, knocking Skull Kid back.

"Stay out of this fight if you want to live," he warned with a growl, now pointing his weapon at Skull Kid.

Link scrambled to his feet, feeling his pockets and his bag for any sort of weapon. He no longer had the slingshot - not that it would have done any good. And he had no bombs in the old sack. The boomerang was still there, but it would have the same kind of issues as the slingshot. And the bow had already proved useless.

That only left the Master Sword.

With a gulp, he tensed, reaching back for the blade of evil's bane.

Evil.

When he grabbed it this time, he felt a painful jolt. A jolt far more painful than he remembered it being. He let out a cry, paralyzed in place as the sword rendered its judgement on him. Burning. It was burning his hands, the pain crawling up his hands. It hurt so bad, he wanted to cry. Why did it hurt so much more now?

Still, he remained standing, trembling as Volvagia watched.

"Link!" He heard Skull Kid cry out. But he did not answer. His mouth opened and closed as if he was tring to form words, but he could not answer. It took all his strength to stay standing, to keep the sword in his hands, raised defensively as he waited for Volvagia to make a move.

Even now, the man watched him, his expression stony and unreadable. Whatever he was thinking, Link couldn't begin to guess.

At some point, the pain seemed to subside, though whether it had actually stopped, or he had grown used to it was uncertain. Carefully, he shifted his weight from one foot to the other, and found that, though exhausted, he could still move. He could still fight.

And so, he charged forward, thinking quickly about how he could approach Volvagia. Thinking quickly about how he had to protect the Gorons. Thinking quickly about how to fight a human. Thinking quickly about how to kill a human. Thinking quickly about how monsters killed humans-

He faltered, stumbling as his hands began to burn again. Volvagia didn't miss the opening. Link dipped to the side, the tip of the pike slicing a chunk of bark from his shoulder. In a clouded moment of panic, he dropped the Master Sword, leaving him weaponless as Volvagia spun around with practiced ease, catching him with the flat side of the pike once again.

The world spun, spiraling out of control. Then he hit the ground hard.

Before he had a chance to recover and climb to his feet, he felt a heavy boot step on his back, putting painful pressure right between the shoulder blades. Just above that, he felt the tip of the pike dig into his bark, threatening to puncture right through.

Volvagia let out a long breath of air, the pressure of the pike on his back worsened; he was certain that if he had the flimsy skin of a Hylian or a Kokiri, he'd already have been pierced through.

"How… disappointing," the man growled, digging his heel into Link's back. "And here I was hoping you'd pose a challenge, especially with that holy blade of yours. But you weren't even worthy enough to wield it, let alone to face me."

"Link!" Skully called out from somewhere behind him. He heard Skull Kid race a couple steps forward, only to stop short. He couldn't see why he did form his position, but he felt a burst of hot air pass over him and heard the roar of flames.

"I could kill you right now," Volvagia said, turning his attention back to his captive, "but what would be the fun in that? Besides, you've intrigued me, spirit. I think I might keep you around for a while…"

Link let out a gasp as the weight of Volvagia's boot was lifted from him, only for him to reach down and lift him up by his tunic. He struggled and kicked, trying to wiggle free or strike Volvagia and make him drop him or do anything, but the man kept him at arm's length. From this vantage point, he could see Volvagia looking him over with narrowed eyes. But he paid little attention, trying to instead reach for his bag.

But before he could, Volvagia suddenly dropped him. He landed on his feet and stumbled, but a swift knee to the gut - he swore he heard something crack - made him double over in pain.

"Something is… off about you, spirit."

He felt a hand - a clawed hand - reach down and grab his chin, tilting his head so that he had to look at Volvagia as he continued to study him. With his other hand, the man traced a line down the side of Link's face, quietly examining his bark.

"Curious…" the man mumbled. He sniffed a couple times, then reach his hand further down to pull Link's tunic back just a little, so that he could see the old, unhealed cracks in Link's chest, where Ganondorf's magic had struck him. Further still he dug a finger into the crack, pushing through the tainted purple sap to feel inside, as if he was trying to learn about Link's very soul. Link felt like he was going to be sick, the touch feeling uncomfortable and making him weak in the legs. They crumpled underneath him, but Volvagia quickly caught him by the tunic, holding him up as he looked him over just a moment longer.

"Very curious indeed. You carry that holy weapon, and yet… you smell of him."

Without thinking, Link flailed, his open hand managing to catch Volvagia in the face. The man hissed, flinching, and reactively clenched the hand that was still inside his wound. Link's vision blurred. Red-hot pain blossomed out from the points where Volvagia's claws dug into his wooden body. He let out a scream, flailing and trying to pull away.

He heard something rip, he felt a searing pain, and suddenly he tumbled to the ground. As he recovered and looked up, his vision flickering in and out, he could see a scrap of red cloth still in Volvagia's arms. In his desperate attempts to pull loose, the Goron tunic had ripped, a long tear going from about a quarter of the way down the front all the way up to the neckline. Loose threads stuck in fresh sap that oozed out of his chest.

By the time he recovered enough to sit up, Volvagia was already calm, barely a scratch on him.

"What are you, little pawn, some construct made of forest magic in attempts of fooling that sword? Ganondorf is getting sloppy if he thought that would work…" The man paused, let out a growling noise, and then shook his head.

He looked up to the air, ignoring the spiteful look Link gave him as he slowly climbed to his feet. "But why are you here? Did he send you to bring me the sword? Or else, did he think I couldn't finish the job myself?" He turned his attention back to Link. "Tell me, construct. Why did Ganondorf send you here?"

Link's eyes flickered nervously. He glanced over to Skull Kid, who stared back, waiting for him to answer. Finally, he turned back, speaking the only thing that came to mind. "I don't work for Ganondorf! I'm here to wake the sage."

Volvagia stared at him for a moment longer. But then he began to laugh. His laugh was hearty, like a Goron, but there was a hint of cruelty to it, too. "You're here to wake the sage? By Hylia, I never thought Ganondorf would bother giving his creations a sense of humor."

"Ganondorf didn't make me!" Link called back.

"Yeah," Skully Added. "We're from the forest. Not from some stinky man like you!"

Volvagia's laughter subsided to a chuckle. "Really, now. Then why do you smell of his magic?" Then even his chuckles subsided, replaced by a contemplative look. "Unless… Well… I suppose the other one lacks his stench. That would mean…"

"I've had enough of you!" A fist connected with Volvagia's face, followed by the sound of a sickening crack. While Volvagia had been busy with Link, the Goron had taken the chance to recover and sneak up on him. Now, the man reeled, giving the Goron a chance to stand between Volvagia and Link.

He glanced back for just a second. "Get out of here, brother!" the Goron called out, nodding to the two skull kids. "I'll hold him off. Get back to the others and ask them to help you reach the fire temple. That's our only hope!"

Link hesitated for just a few seconds. He could see blood dripping from Volvagia's nose now, dipping down his face, but the man was quickly recovering. Before he had time to dwell on it, though, Skully grabbed his wrist, pulling him away. "Come on, we gotta go, Link!" In a bit of a daze, Link let himself be dragged off, the Goron nodded to him once more, then curled and rushed at Volvagia.

As he ran, Link's gaze drifted to the side, to where the Master Sword had haphazardly landed. Without thinking about it, he turned and to detour towards it. No, he couldn't leave the sword behind. He couldn't risk losing it.

"No, Link! We have to take cover!"

Volvagia barely dodged out of the way of the speeding Goron, the rocky wheel just barely knocking into his shoulder.

The Goron kept going, accelerating as they rushed towards the wall. From there, they bounced off before beginning to build up even more speed. Suddenly, spikes burst from their rocky back, tearing up the ground and walls as the bounced around, forcing Volvagia to spring out of the way again and again. Skull Kid and Link sheltered in the stairway, tensely watching the action unfold.

"Enough!" Volvagia shouted. The two forest spirits were forced to duck back and shield their eyes as the man suddenly lit up with a bright burst of flame. When the light died down and they felt safe to peek out, the man known as Volvagia was gone.

In his place was a red, serpentine dragon. Bright orange tendrils of hair flickered with embers, swinging wildly as the dragon whipped its head around to stare down the Goron racing towards it. It huffed out a bit of smoke, then reared its head back, sucking in air. The Gordon raced closer, closer, closer still. But at the last second, the dragon spat out a ball of flaming stone, striking the ground with a deafening boom.

The explosion was enough to throw off the Goron's attack throwing him backwards and onto his back once again. He groaned once, tried to get up, then went limp, unconscious.

With one push of its mighty claws against the damaged ground, the dragon took to the air, flying with surprising speed towards the prone Goron. Claws wrapped around him as it passed by before spinning to raise higher into the air.

"I will not wait any longer!" the dragon boomed, his voice making the entire city shake. "Tell Darunia to face me in the Fire Temple, or else his people shall face extinction!"

The dragon – which Link realized was Volvagia – let out one final roar, then spun in the air and flew out the exit to the mountainside.

An eerie quiet set over the abandoned village, only the distant pitter-patter of rain keeping it from total silence. Skull Kid and Link remained in their hidden shelter for a few moments longer, tense. A distant roll of thunder made them jolt and jump. and only then did they dare to reemerge.

Neither of them said anything. Slowly and hesitantly, Link approached the spot where the Master Sword had landed. He began to reach down for it, then flinched, as if he expected it to strike him like a viper. His hand trembled for a second. Then he forced himself to grab it.

Pain flared through his arm, threatening to paralyze him again. He gasped and fought the urge to scream. As quickly as possible, he sheathed the weapon on his back. Relief flooded through him as the pain slowly began to subside.

When he looked up, he caught sight of Skull Kid watching him, his hands held up to his chest, curled up to clutch the fabric as he nervously waited for Link to say something. When Link said nothing, Skull Kid spoke instead. "Now what?"

Link looked back up to the cavern entrance. To the place Volvagia had disappeared through. Even in the form of a man, Volvagia had absolutely trashed him. And his words cut far deeper than Link would have liked.

He should have been able to stop him. But no. He was just a weak, useless-

A hand squeezed Link's shoulder. He turned back to see Skully staring at him, eyes flickering with concern. His gaze was surprisingly serious, possibly more serious than Link had ever seen it. "Are... are you okay?" Skull Kid asked.

Was he okay? Of course he wasn't okay! He was a monster! In all of the time he'd spent trying to help people, he'd only brought more harm. He'd failed to help Zelda, and - in control or not - he felt responsible for Saria's death. And the one weapon that was supposed to help him refused to let him wield it, hurting him. In fact, it seemed like it had begun hurting him more since he'd... since he killed...

He shuddered, forced himself to calm down and gave Skull Kid a simple, one-word answer: "No."

Averting his gaze, he shrugged Skull Kid's hand away, then began to walk back up towards the stairs. He paid little attention to where he was walking, and nearly tripped in the gouges left behind from the fight. His mind drifted back to Skull Kid's first question. Now what? What could he do that wouldn't just get more people hurt? He had to wake the sages, sure, but...

How was he supposed to do that if he couldn't fight? If he couldn't beat one man?

He heard Skull Kid's footsteps racing to catch up.

Staying still for a few seconds, he waited until Skull Kid was right beside him, then kept walking. Neither of them said a word as they made their way back to the hidden chamber. They paused outside, Link giving Skull Kid a worried glance and a tilt of his head. Previously, they'd had to push away the heavy stone. But now they had no one to let them inside.

"How are we supposed to get inside now?"

Skull Kid considered for a moment. "Wait here. I'll take care of it." A second passed, and then he disappeared with a small gust of wind. A moment passed. Link shifted on his feet, uncomfortable thoughts racing through his head. What if Volvagia came back for him? Would he be able to fight? If even the Gorons failed defeat him and his army, how was Link supposed to do any better?

He heard the grating sound of heavy stone scraping against stone. A moment later, the stone in front of him parted, revealing a Goron that had pushed it aside, and Skull Kid hanging just behind him, who gave him a cheeky wave.

Wordlessly, Link shuffled his way inside. Skull Kid scooted up beside him, standing by his side as they wordlessly made their way back to the hidden chamber.

Link could feel all eyes on him, a thousand unspoken questions on their tongues. He kept his gaze on the ground, afraid to meet anyone's gaze.

Finally, once the exit was sealed again, one of the Gorons spoke up.

"What happened?"

Skull Kid answered for Link. "Oh, it was terrible! There was this big ugly guy and he turned into a big ugly dragon and took the Goron away. What a jerk, right?"

Link stole a glance at the room. Several of the Gorons shared uneasy glances but said nothing.

"I-it's going to be alright though, right?"

Turning his head, Link spotted the other Link in the corner of the room. More eyes turned to the kid. He shuffled his feet nervously before continuing. "Dad will make it all better. He's gonna find that special hammer and then he'll show that mean old dragon what it means to be the Goron Chief!"

Again, several uneasy stares were shared, but no one said anything to discourage the young Goron.

"Oh!" he continued, turning to look at Link. "And Link could help! Just like he helped with the dodongos!"

More gazes turned back to him. Link quickly dropped his back to the ground. What was he supposed to say? That he couldn't do it? That wouldn't be right. But...

He had to go to the Fire Temple. He had to awaken the sage.

Because if he didn't… he didn't want to think about it.

He silently looked up and gave the Gorons a slow, solemn nod.

The room broke out int hearty cheers, cheers praising Link for helping them once again. Cheers of how Link would fix everything.

He really hoped he could fix everything.

One of the Gorons suddenly spoke up. "But first! We need to patch up that tunic of yours. Look at it, it's all torn. We don't want the magic weakened by that. Not so deep in the mountain."

"And your friend is going to need one too, isn't he?"

Link turned his gaze to Skull Kid for just a moment. Skull Kid stared back before giving him a slow nod. "I'm not letting you go alone," he confirmed.

"I can take care of that," one of the other Gorons said. "It might be a little big, but there's a few in the back of Dori's shop. I'm sure he won't mind us, um… borrowing it for the greater good. He's not here to argue it anyways."

Skull Kid snorted. "Ya know… for an adult and all, I like the way you think!"

With a plan now in mind, the room burst into a flurry of activity. Two Gorons left to retrieve the other tunics, while Link retreated to a corner, removing the rough tunic and replacing it with the lighter Kokiri tunic for the time being. After handing it off to another Goron, he took a seat in the corner, pulling his knees inward as he sat to think. A couple other Gorons tried to get Skull Kid's measurements but gave up when he got antsy and bit one of them.

There was nothing else Link could do for the moment. So, for now, he waited.

-123123-

"This is the way down to the Fire Temple."

A few hours had passed now. Link, now in a repaired Goron tunic, nodded as the Goron pulled a heavy stone statue out of the way within Darunia's chambers, revealing a secret exit.

They walked down the dark tunnel for some time. It was quickly growing hotter though. And soon, Link could see an orange glow at the end of the tunnel.

He had to pause when they emerged. They were on a stone walkway that lead deeper into the mountain. High overhead, through the smoke, he could see the unnaturally gray sky. The path curved downwards, towards a flat, stone platform just a few feet above slowly flowing magma.

Skull Kid didn't seem to notice any of this scenery. Instead, he was uncomfortably tugging at the Goron tunic he'd been given, which was just a bit too big for him. "I don't know how you put up with this," he grumbled to Link.

"I have to leave you here, for my safety," the Goron said, pausing. "Follow this pathway. You'll come to a metal bridge that leads down to that platform. The entrance to the Fire Temple is there.

Link leaned forward just a bit, as if doing so would help him see better. But from here, he couldn't make out the entrance. He turned back to nod at the Goron, then turned again and began to slowly make his way down the path, Skully trailing just behind.

The two were surprisingly quiet and somber along the way, Link dwelling on the situation, on how badly he'd already failed and on how badly things could go. Skull Kid was unreadable.

Link paused as he stepped onto the stone platform, an uneasy feeling bubbling up in his stomach. Skull Kid came to a stop just beside him. Without thinking about it, Link reached for the hookshot and whirled around, fully expecting to see Volvagia standing behind them, blocking off their path.

Instead, he saw a flash of blue as Sheik hopped back out of attacking range.

There was a tense one, two, three seconds before Link realized who it was and lowered his weapon. Sheik stepped forward. Link noticed that Skull Kid shifted uncomfortably beside him as the man did so.

"So… I take it you already know," Sheik said. "About the Heart of the Mountain. And about the Gorons."

Link nodded slowly, putting the hookshot away.

"Then you must have realized by now that your friend, Darunia, is already inside the temple, preparing to defeat Volvagia."

"I… he is?" Link's eyes flickered, then he reached up to smack the side of his head. Of course he was! It was so obvious in hindsight.

"He is," Sheik confirmed. "Which means you must hurry. The time you have left to awaken the sage grows shorter and shorter. You must find Darunia - the Fire Sage - before he faces Volvagia. He's grown too powerful for the Goron to take on alone."

Link was silent for a moment, his gaze dropping as Sheik's words sank in. Darunia. His friend. He was in danger. And if something happened to him...

Sheik cleared his throat, snapping Link back to attention. "You're worried about him, aren't you?" He waited for Link to nod before continuing, speaking as he reached for the harp at his hip. "The song you need to awaken the Fire Sage, the Bolero of Fire… it's a song dedicated to the power of the heart."

Link reached into his bag for the ocarina and held it at the ready. Sheiks fingers hovered over the harp strings, but he hesitated for a moment. "Power…"

"Hm?"

Sheik looked up for a moment, looking to Link, then to Skull Kid, then back to the entrance to the Fire Temple before returning his gaze to the harp. He shook his head. His voice came out quiet, but even and firm.

"It is something that grows over time... a true friendship. A feeling in the heart that becomes even stronger over time… The passion of friendship will soon blossom into a righteous power and through it, you will know which way to go…"

"What do you-" Link's question was cut off by the plucking of strings. The notes that came out rang in the air in a quick, clear, and steady rhythm. Eight notes and a pause, eight notes and a pause, eight notes and a pause, then a stream of notes that raced towards the end. Again and again, Sheik played the notes, Link repeating as he tried to memorize the tune to heart until finally, only that one, long note at the end hung in the air.

Confident now that he had the song down well enough, Link turned to Skull Kid and gave him a nod. He turned and began to walk towards the temple. But then a question formed in his mind, and he turned back to Sheik. He took just a couple steps forward. "Sheik-"

Sheik took a couple steps back, silencing link by raising his hand. "Link… I'll see you again."

Before either skull kid could react, sheik threw something to the ground. There was a bright flash as flames burst forth from whatever he threw. Link let out a shriek, startled by the sudden fire. By the time the flames had settled down, so that he could see beyond him. The Sheikah was gone.

"What's his problem?" Skull Kid muttered, grumbling and shaking his head.

Link opened his mouth to say something, then closed it and shook his head, electing to not dwell on it for the moment. Instead, he turned his attention back to the looming temple entry way. Darunia was there. Volvagia was there. And the only way to cure his curse was there too. With one last glance back, he reached back for his bow and quietly stepped inside.