Triumph on the Mountain

Link never really yelled before.

He charged at the King Dodongo, his sword raised over his head. Hot tears streamed down from his eyes—they stung as he lunged at the behemoth. He leapt high into the air.

When the King Dodongo burned Jerome, it lowered its head just enough for a counter attack from Link. Link buried his blade into the King Dodongo's brow. Blood gushed from the wound without Link having to pull the weapon out. The King Dodongo expressed its pain, which was surprising given its powerful nature throughout this war.

The forest boy held on for dear life. He was thrashed about by the King Dodongo, but surprisingly held on for dear life. Link didn't let go of his sword's hilt. He felt pain throughout his body, from his palms that grab his weapon's handle to his legs as they dangled high above the lair's ground. Nothing stopped Link from continuing the fight. He didn't care about what made him tired.

The King Dodongo hurt his friend. He wasn't going to let that go.

While in the air, Link managed to look at the rest of the group. Trevor and Sheila dragged the mountain boy to safety in the meanwhile. Trevor's shirt was off, having been used to beat away the flames that consumed Jerome's body. Sheila cradled Jerome as they crouched into a corner. Both she and Trevor were overwhelmed by their own tears. Jerome was hard to look at.

Link's glance was almost a mistake. The King Dodongo shook its head in one more violent thrust. The blade went loose and Link flew. The Kokiri Sword fled from his hands on the way down. Link's body slammed against the hard surface below. He was certain he heard a crack in his ribs. Pain spread across his body, like a scream in the open air. Link grunted, holding back a yelp of his own.

As Link groaned in pain, he heard the Kokiri Sword clatter. He looked at where it landed. It was at the lava pool's edge, meters out of his reach. He had to get up and grab it. He had to survive. Everyone had to, no matter what.

The King Dodongo was fazed from its wound. It staggered in Link's direction, letting out brief grunts. The blood from its injury kept leaking and even dripped from the end of its snout. Dark droplets plopped on the ground, sizzling on impact. Vapors rose from the spills.

Link pushed himself up with one arm. He glanced at the corner behind the King Dodongo. He saw it—the very weapon Jerome wanted to use, the bomb flower he sought so he could save Death Mountain from peril. Though his body trembled, Link rose. He had but one chance to do it right. The opportunity opened itself up for the triumph needed.

There were injuries Link noticed on his body—gashes on his shins, brusies on his thighs—proving the fall from the King Dodongo's forehead was more brutal than he thought. If the fall were any worse, Link's legs could have easily been shattered.

"Link…"

Navi was still nearby, always by her charge's side. Her voice was full of worry. "Link, let me…"

"We have to keep going," Link spoke through clenched teeth. "We're so close."

"Can you actually face it like this?"

"I have to face it like this. There's no time to heal me." Link forced himself forward. His tears kept flowing. "I have to keep going…He saved us, Navi. He saved our lives. I…I have to save them."

Every step was painful. Link's blood kept running, pooling in the soles of his boots. The King Dodongo seemed close to recovering. The bomb flower looked so far away. Link wasn't out of the foe's sight. He was enacting his plan in the open, and there wasn't much of a choice.

C'mon, thought Link. Closer and closer…get closer, curse you…

The King Dodongo roared. Link's turned cold. His blood froze in his veins. Chills crawled on his skin, prickling through the surface into the muscle, into the pain, into his heart and his soul. He could have stopped there.

Memories coursed through his mind. Yes…Link remembered so much of his life before this. He remembered the peace he enjoyed in the forest before it was disrupted. Even the worst days at home were better than the trials he went through outside of it.

He remembered sitting on the balcony of his treehouse.

He remembered walking along the creek in the village, eyeing frogs as they hopped from lily pad to lily pad, getting lost in the newborn blossoms and blooms.

Link remembered the know-it-alls, the Twins, Fado and…Saria.

Link remembered Saria above all. She played the ocarina to help him sleep at night. She sat with him in the gut of a dead oak, watching the rain pass. When he was saddened, she wiped away his tears and let him know that every storm had its passing, its last gasp of thunder, its final moment.

This was a storm. Its last gasp of thunder was coming. The least Link could do was die fighting. It was his vow to do that much for the sake of the mountain boy who fought bravely.

Link ran. He dodged a burst of flame that came from the King Dodongo's mouth. It didn't seem to aim well; the wound affected its ability to hunt, its ability to see its surroundings wholeheartedly. Link reached the bomb flower but he nearly fell again. He propped himself up with both hands and kept going after the bomb flower.

He tore it out of the ground, though he struggled. After picking the bomb flower up, he turned toward the King Dodongo and waited. There was going to be an opportunity.

Bring its fire back to it, Link thought, Navi's words echoing in his mind.

The King Dodongo took another deep breath. Link's heart throbbed as the beast built up its next attack. When it bared its gargantuan rows of sharp teeth, Link knew it was time. He dashed in the King Dodongo's direction as it unleashed more fire.

As he charged, Link picked up his speed. He numbed out his pain and ignored the flame's oncoming heat. With a dive, Link hit the ground and lifted the bomb flower. He felt the stamen burst, turning into a hissing spark.

When Link rose, the King Dodongo's flame died down. Its mouth was still open, a dark cavern of its own. With all his strength, Link stepped forward and heaved the bomb forward. The bomb made its way toward the King Dodongo, a blur as it flew in the air.

When the King Dodongo closed its mouth, Link listened closely. A boom echoed from within the behemoth's body. The creature shuddered and collapsed. Though it writhed about, it didn't seem to be finished.

Link dashed past the King Dodongo and ran for his sword. The lava pool's heat made him flinch, but he fought it off. Once he picked up the sword, he felt the King Dodongo's footsteps. It brought tremors back to the lair. The behemoth towered over Link, struggling for the upperhand.

Before it could do anything of the sort, Link jumped high in the air and aggravated the wound from before. This time, he pulled the sword out and evaded the beast. Link and Navi rushed to their friends, who remained in corner of the lair, hoping for safety. It arrived at long last.

The King Dodongo roared. It rolled into a ball and Link covered all three of his friends in hopes of protecting them from being crushed. There was no need.

What the children saw was an ancient beast going into its demise. It rolled into the lava pool before uncurling itself, as if it realized that death was permanent and not a place it wanted to be yet. The King Dodongo reached up with a claw while the rest of its body drowned into the magma. Soon, the pool hardened, its amber glow getting buried beneath a black rock surface. The lair was quiet. At long last, the King Dodongo was defeated.

Weariness hit Link's body all at once. He sighed in relief, as did Sheila and Trevor. The three of them suddenly wept, unable to handle what just happened to them all. Navi soothed Link, placing a hand on his cheek.

"Oh Link," said Navi. "Everything you have to do to save this world…"

Link peered down at Jerome, who was still breathing. Each gasp for air was a battle for life.

"G…good job." Jerome opened an eye, on the side of his face that wasn't badly burnt. He even mustered a smile.

"Thanks for saving us," Link managed to say. The rest of his words were caught in his throat.

"Isn't it cool?" Jerome asked.

"What?"

"Us…saving the mountain. Saving the Gorons. Helping each other. Isn't it cool?"

Link nodded and clasped his hand over Jerome's. "Someone has to be a hero."

"I'm glad we did it."

"Save your strength…"

Link stared at Jerome's friends. The looks in their eyes said what he didn't want to know—that they were losing him with every moment spent down in the lair. Perhaps he was already gone and it was just a matter of when they would have to say goodbye for the last time.

"We have to help him," said Sheila.

"How?" asked Trevor. "We're trapped down here. Who's going to save us in time?"

Just then, a sound echoed from up above. A wooden board with four ropes attached to it rappelled down the hole up above. A pair of Calvary Gorons came with it, looking around the lair for signs of the children, no doubt. The group called out to the Calvary and the rescue commenced.

All three children carried their fallen loved one to the wooden board. They wanted him to go up to safety first. If this was the last day of his life, he wouldn't spend it in Dodongo's Cavern. It would be in freedom, in the open world outside of the place that killed him. As the board was lifted up, Link looked for Darunia. He was glad he couldn't see his face just yet.

Eventually, Link would. All the children would witness the sadness in Darunia's eyes as he carried Jerome in his arms. He held back his own tears, but the coal-like stare glistened and glossed. Pain defined the expression he carried all the way back to Goron City.

Once they arrived there, Darunia disappeared into the council chamber and closed the door. Men who were able to heal the wounded came with. As time passed, Link started to wonder if he would ever see the boy who mastered fire in this side of existence ever again. To offer Sheila and Trevor comfort, he joined them in holding hands, in soothing any hurt they locked away in their hearts. They waited outside the chamber, hoping for good news about their friend.