A shorter chapter, but this officially brings us over the 150k threshold. Enjoy.

Through Fire and Flames (Reprise)

"This place is huge."

Skull Kid was right; the grand entrance here was even bigger than the courtyard that had welcomed them into Forest Temple. The air had cooled considerably as they passed through a short tunnel and into the empty entry hall. Their footsteps echoed in the carved and polished stone chamber. The ceiling stretched high overhead, just barely visible in dim torchlight. The two made their way up a stone stairway and found themselves in front of an intricately carved altar. Fire quietly crackled in stone insets on the alter, casting flickering shadows across the chamber.

Link turned his attention away from the mesmerizing flames, notating two thick, iron doors on either side of them. Curious, he first tried the one on the right, twisting and jiggling the handle. But it wouldn't budge. Locked. Instead of continuing to try breaking through the door, Link shook his head, then turned and walked over to the one on the other side. The handle was nearly at eye-level, clearly created with the height of a Goron in mind.

When he turned this handle it twisted easily, though the door only yielded when he pushed against it with his shoulder, pushing against it with all his weight. The metal felt uncomfortably warm to the touch, and he couldn't help but wince. Slowly it began to open, scraping and screeching against the floor. Skully, finally pulling his attention away from the front alter, bounded over and began to help him push.

A blast of hot air greeted the wooden children as soon as the door was cracked open, and it only grew worse once they pushed it open enough to slip through. There was a walkway in front of them, about three times as wide as the door. A few feet ahead, it dropped off sharply, the edge jagged and crumbled, as if the path had given way or bee n destroyed, leaving only parts of the structure that once support it.

From far below, a red-yellow glow shone, providing the only source of light besides a torch on the other side of the room. Stepping forward, Link could see a river of lava – or was it magma – flowing a long way beneath them; presumably, that was the source of the heat.

As the two adjusted to the change of light, shuffling in the uncomfortable heat, the screeching sound of metal being twisted and scraped and deformed caught their attention.

They weren't alone.

Link placed a hand in front of Skull Kid, motioning for him to stay back as he drew his sword and took a defensive pose. But Skully ignored his signal and sprang forward, drawing magic to warp him ahead.

"Wait!" Link called out. Skully just turned back to give Link a cheeky grin, waving him forward.

The metallic noises stopped. Link tensed.

"Who's there?" A deep, threatening voice called out. Both skull kids froze. Skully's typical carefree, childlike demeanor was swapped for something more cautious. Link, on the other hand, found himself relaxing, recognizing the familiar tone.

"Darunia?" he hesitantly called out.

Movement to his left drew his attention. From an alcove in the corner, a Goron emerged, anxiously looking around. Then a second Goron – who Link recognized as Darunia – emerged behind them, stumbling as he squeezed through bent metal bars.

Upon seeing Link, Darunia blinked a couple times, shocked, before letting out a hearty laugh. "By Din's Fire, it really is you, Link! I thought I was hearing things!" He stretched and took a few steps forward, looking Link over. "Why, you haven't seemed to age a day, brother! Here, you two stand back. Tell your friend there to watch out!"

Link opened his mouth to say something, but Skull Kid had already retreated back to the first platform. Meanwhile, both Darunia and the other Goron had backed up to the far wall and had curled into balls. Before Link had a chance to process what they were doing, two Goron wheels were hurtling towards the edge of the drop-off.

"Wait!" Link cried out, picturing the two falling into the lava below.

But at the last second, both Gorons uncurled, momentum sending them hurtling across the room. The smaller Goron landed on his belly right next to Link with an "oof" and a heavy thud, while Darunia landed at the edge with a neat curl, rolling to a stop near the doorway.

Link blinked, but before he had a chance to react further, Darunia stood back up to his full height and brought a hand down on his head, as if ruffling some non-existent hair. "I can't believe it! How long has it been since I last seen ya? Somethin' like seven years? Time sure does fly. What's a wooden pipsqueak like you doing in death mountain? In fact… why's there two of you?"

Skully let out a huff, crossing his arms. "The flowery guy sent us here." When no one said anything and only gave him confused stares – including Link – he continued. "You know. The guy in blue with the harp, acts all mysterious. Maybe you met him?"

Darunia's brow furrowed as he looked Skull Kid over. But once he was satisfied that he was trustworthy, he focused on the question, bringing a hand up to his chin. "Flowery guy with a harp… Sheik, maybe? Is that who you're talking about?"

"I knew it!" Skull kid cried out, flashing a cheeky grin before pointing a finger at Darunia. "You do know him! You two are totally in cahoots!"

The Goron blinked. "Cahoots? No, no, you have it all wrong. I do know Sheik… because he's been trying to help us deal with this mess." He paused and spread his arms, gesturing to the rest of the room. "If you're here… I take it you've heard about the dragon."

Both Link and Skull Kid nodded.

Darunia started to say something more, but the other Goron interrupted, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Brother Darunia, do you think they could help you out? There's so many of us trapped in here. Maybe… maybe they could help search for the others?"

Waving a hand, Darunia scoffed. "While I appreciate your idea… I don't know. This temple has fallen into disrepair. And it goes deep into the mountain, where magma flows freely. This is no place for forest dwellers."

"No," Link said quietly, yet firmly, catching everyone's attention. "I need to help here. Sheik said I have to help Darunia… oh, that's right! The song." Link let out a little gasp, pulling his hands back before reaching for his bag. But before he could start looking for the ocarina, Darunia reached out and grabbed his hand, stopping him.

"While I appreciate your attempts to raise our spirits, Link, we don't have time for that. If you already know about the dragon, then you should know how much time is of the essence."

Link's eyes flickered; his mouth contorted into a frown. "But I-"

"Link," Darunia said in a firmer, warning tone, "this place is dangerous. My brothers are in danger. If you want to help, you're going to have to listen to me. What would Navi say, if she were here?"

Navi. As soon as the words were out of Darunia's mouth, Link pulled his hand away as if he'd been burned. He said nothing, lowering his head. The sound of Skully rattling, perhaps in anger, followed. But he, too, said nothing.

Darunia frowned, concerned by Link's reaction, but did not press the matter, instead returning to the subject at hand. "The rest of my brothers are scattered throughout the dungeon cellars and in makeshift cells. I don't know the details, but somehow, Ganondorf convinced the Heart of the Mountain, Volvagia, to work with him. He plans to feed my people to Volvagia to make an example of us for defying him."

"Wait. Wait just a second here. He eats people?" Skully stared wide-eyed, involuntarily shuddering.

"He's been known to in the past, rarely," Darunia confirmed. "And that's the threat he made when Ganondorf's forces invaded our city."

"Why is he helping Ganondorf?" Link asked, anxiously scratching at his chest.

Darunia hesitated. "I'm… not certain. The Heart of the Mountain has always been a neutral party, neither good nor evil. He only cares to become stronger. And if Volvagia sees Ganondorf as an opportunity to become stronger, then he may side with him out of convenience. Still… to have only appeared now, after having been secluded for centuries… I can't help but wonder if Ganondorf has some other sway over him."

Link anxiously gripped the fabric of his tunic around his chest. The scars seemed to burn him. They were burning him, they-

A hand on his shoulder snapped him out of his thoughts.

Darunia stared down at Link with a concerned frown, his brow furrowed. "Are you okay?"

I'm… I'm fine," Link lied.

The Goron gave him a scrutinizing look, staring for an uncomfortable amount of time. But finally, he relented, only giving Link a gentle squeeze on the shoulder. "Okay, I'll put my trust in you, then. I'm putting you in charge of finding the rest of the Gorons." He raised a hand up and gestured to the right side of the room. "There's a path across the gap that you two can use to start searching for the others. While you're exploring though, and this may sound odd, keep an eye out for a large hammer."

Link's eyes flickered. "A hammer? Why?"

Darunia let out a deep chuckle. "See, there's a Goron legend about a hero of our tribe that slew one of Volvagia's previous incarnations with it. That old dragon got a little bit too full of himself and, well, we weren't going to stand for it. I hoped to find it before confronting Volvagia but… I can't wait any longer. I'm going to confront him while you rescue the rest of my people. If I win, then everything will be well. But if I fail… well, I know I can count on my sworn brother to help my people live on!"

He gave Link a friendly punch on the shoulder. Which was far too hard of a blow for the skull kid. Link stumbled forward, barely catching himself.

"Don't speak like that!" the other Goron said, turning. "You're the great leader Darunia! No dragon can stop you!"

In response, Darunia flashed a toothy grin. "You have that right! But it doesn't hurt to take care of both at once, does it? Now, you get back to the city. Link and I have got to get moving. Link has people to save, and I need to come up with a key to Volvagia's chamber. You'd think if he wanted to challenge me, he'd just let me in!"

Link opened his mouth to say something, to try and argue, perhaps, but Darunia was already on the move. His hands itched as he started to reach for the ocarina. He needed help Darunia now. But Darunia was already out of the room.

He really hoped he wouldn't regret waiting.

"This seems… extremely unsafe," Link mumbled.

After a short trip back the way they came, Link and Skull Kid found themselves in a wide-open cavern. The floor here glowed red with not-quite-molten rocks, heat rising up and creating waves in the open air. Small islands of solid rock stood just out of reach, dotting the room. They were at the end of a rickety, suspended bridge that went all the way across the room, the other side out of sight in the dim light.

"They should'a let us fight the dragon," Skull Kid grumbled, putting his weight on one foot to test the bridge. Then he raised an arm up to gesture to the rest of the room. "Gorons could travel all this stuff, easy. I don't think these tunics are good enough for that."

Link nodded in agreement, waiting until Skull Kid had taken a few steps before following onto the bridge. The metal slats swung just a bit under his weight, making his stomach twist up in knots.

Silently, they made their way across the bridge. Skull Kid ran ahead at first, laughing and swinging the bridge along the way. Then he remembered Link's problem with magic, and the fact that he likely couldn't save himself if he fell, and he stopped, traveling much more cautiously. For that, Link was thankful.

A platform lined with stone tiles greeted them at the other end of the bridge. Link let out a sigh of relief as his feet touched solid ground, his shoulders sagging. He stepped forward to turn the knob on the metal door in front of them.

It didn't budge.

He tried to twist and tug harder. Still nothing. Locked.

Skull Kid let out an annoyed groan. "Now what?"

Link looked back across the room, and to the rocky precipices that jutted out of the lava, almost forming a path across. If only they weren't so far apart. "Maybe there's another way out?" he suggested, pointing towards one of the not-quite-paths.

Skull Kid followed his gaze. "How are we supposed to reach it?"

"You can warp there," Link pointed out. "I can't though…"

Skull Kid brought a hand up to scratch at his beak, letting out a "hm" noise. "I guess I could go to check it out real quick and see if we can go that way… You stay here 'till I get back?"

To that, Link nodded, and Skull Kid took off at once, dashing across the bridge, light on his feet.

-123

After the first couple of gaps, Skully could easily jump across the rocks, saving on his magic.

As he proceeded, he found that the path led him to another door in the corner of the room. He started to turn back to Link but paused. What good would it do if he couldn't enter? Maybe he should… explore a bit on his own first?

Unlike the last one, this door easily gave way, swinging open to reveal a dimly lit corridor that seemed like it had been carved right out of the rock. Torchlight danced on the walls from somewhere further in and he could hear sounds of movement from somewhere out of sight.

Crouching low, ready to bolt at the first sign of danger, Skull Kid began to creep forward and rounded the corner.

What he found on the other side was a makeshift cell holding a handful of Gorons, the space so tightly packed that there was only room for one or two to sit at a time.

But besides that, there was a familiar face. Two, in fact. Sheik had his back turned and was busying himself with the lock on the bars. Under his breath, he uttered a word that Skull Kid suspected was naughty, a tidbit of information he squirreled away for mischief later.

The second familiar face was the fairy that sat on Sheik's shoulder, watching his back. She let out an alarmed call when she saw Skull Kid's shadow, only for it to die in her throat when she saw the forest dweller himself.

"Oh, it's only Skull Kid," Navi reported.

"You don't suppose he knows how to pick a lock, do you?" Sheik grumbled as he stood up straight and turned around.

Skull Kid shook his head, his body rattling. He knew what lockpicking was, but there were no locks on the open Kokiri houses. They didn't even lock their items away! And he'd never gotten around to trying it out for himself when he had a chance.

Sheik let out a sigh, dusting himself off before rubbing at his temples. "Wish I had more time to practice before coming here. Most of the locks on these cells have been levers, fortunately, but this one just happened to be a traditional lock and key. And none of the keys on this set I found go to it."

Skull Kid's eyes flickered. He wanted to laugh at Sheik's misery, which he thought was hilarious. But he held back, because hilarious as he thought it was, there were other things he was more focused on.

"So now you're going to help us out with this?" Skull Kid asked. He elected to not dwell on how Sheik managed to basically get ahead of them without neither Link or nor himself noticing.

"I'm going to try and help in any way I can, yes. That is my role, to help from the shadows."

Skully crossed his arms. "Well… if you're here, why couldn't you just play the special song?"

Sheik shook his head before returning his attention to the lock. "I can't. It has to be Link, and it has to be with that ocarina."

He didn't really believe that, but he didn't press the matter. Instead, he turned his attention to Navi and gave her a scrutinizing look. "I don't like this."

He couldn't be certain under that bright light, but he thought Navi tensed. "What do you mean?" She asked.

"This!" He uncrossed his arms, gesturing backwards with a jabbing motion. "We – Link and I – We shouldn't be here! This isn't fun."

Sheik sighed, lowering his arms. Navi leaned to the side to give him a little pat.

[note, review scene in forest temple to make sure this section works]

Sheik sighed, shaking his head. "I know this may be… difficult for you to understand, but this isn't supposed to be fun. I know you two are in a lot of danger, but if Link fails, it could mean the death of thousands."

Skull Kid tilted his head up, looked Sheik in the eye, and gave him a cheeky grin. No, it wasn't difficult for Skull Kid to understand. He understood death far too well. And as much as he wanted to brush Saria's off and pretend it never happened… he couldn't. He kept these thoughts locked away, though, and instead replied, "what, so that you could just boss him around and tell him what to do like some stinky adult? No way! I gotta look after him, since she isn't." He jabbed a finger towards Navi. Although his voice and words came out light-hearted and cheerful, they carried an underlying accusatory tone.

Navi turned away, uncomfortable, before fluttering down towards the lock. "Skull Kid, I… I want to be there to help Link. I really do. But I'm needed elsewhere for now. If he were to lose control again…" The unspoken words hung in the air, heavy.

"That's a stupid reason," Skull Kid said bluntly. "Maybe you're stupider than I thought."

Navi said nothing.

"I understand your concerns," Sheik began in an attempt to deescalate the situation, but Link is the only one that can shoulder this burden. If I had a way to take his place, I would. But… until we have a way to deal with Ganondorf, gathering the Triforce pieces into one place is a bad idea."

"Hmph." Skull Kid pulled his flute out from his belt. For just a second, he looked like he might launch an attack on Sheik. But instead, he began to twirl it around his fingers, looking away. "Well… I'm giving you a chance, but only because you helped Link back in the forest. I can play fair, see? But if you give me a reason not to… I might just put walltulas in your bed.

"Is that a threat?" Sheik asked, not even looking up.

"Is it?" Skull Kid grinned and said nothing more.

They went quiet, the silence only broken by the quiet clicks and scrapes of Sheik working at the cell's lock. After a moment, though, he paused and stood back up. From one of his pockets, he retrieved a small ring of keys and tossed them Skully's way. He caught the keys in midair.

"Take those. They should help you get further in. You two don't worry about the Gorons right now; I'll take care of them. There's a hammer deep in the temple that you'll need to face Volvagia. His armor is too thick for normal weapons. Find it and get it to Darunia before it's too late."

Skull Kid looked the keys over, running his finger over the ridges. He could conveniently "lose" them on the way back, but he doubted he could convince Link to give up that easily. "Fiiiine," he finally said, rolling his head in a way that was supposed to suggest he was rolling his eyes. "But don't forget what I said. I can do much worse than walltulas, by the way."

"Get back to your friend. Time is of the essence here." If Sheik was even a little bit intimidated by Skully's threat, he didn't show it. But Skull Kid chose to take his terse statement as a sign of fear anyways.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Skull kid waved a hand dismissively and let out a mischievous giggle before turning, doing a single cartwheel on his way back to the door.

Once Skull Kid was out of sight and Sheik heard the door click, he let out a long sigh, relaxing.

"Um… are you okay, mister Sheik?" one of the Gorons asked.

Sheik let out a huffy chuckle, shaking his head. "I'll be fine, but goddesses, what a handful that one is."

All was quiet for Link for some time, leaving him alone to dwell on his thoughts. For the first few minutes, he paced back and forth, trying to keep himself occupied. But the heat was enough to sap his energy, even with the tunic, so he eventually elected to sidle up against the wall and sit down, taking a few sips of water.

Staring off down the path of the bridge, he couldn't help but let his mind wander. First, he wondered what was taking Skull Kid so long. Then he began to worry about Darunia and the other Gorons, and anxiously thought about how this delay could be costing lives. If Darunia died before he was awakened as one of the sages… what would happen? Would a new fire sage rise to take his place? Or would Link doom everyone with his failure?

Thinking about Darunia's death made him think about Saria… He didn't want to think about Saria. He didn't want to think about everything he'd done wrong and all his shortcomings.

He pulled his knees up to his chest and buried his face, hoping to calm himself in the comforting position. But with the weight of his sword and shield on his back, and the mental weight of his shortcomings, it did little good. He clenched and unclenched his fists, then brought one hand up to trace the unhealed scars on his chest. Tracing the scars made him think back to his lost battle with Volvagia.

If he couldn't beat him then, how was he supposed to beat him now? Especially when he could barely use his sword.

"Sorry for the wait!"

Link was jolted out of his thoughts by Skully's cheerful voice. He flinched, and nearly sprang to his feet. Skull Kid was standing in front of him, hands behind his back, looking at him with his head tilted.

"You okay?"

"Fine," Link lied.

Skull Kid hesitated for a second longer, then shrugged it off, returning to his cheerful demeanor. "If you say so. Sorry I took so long. I had to deal with some dumb dummy. But I got what we needed." To prove it, he held up the ring of keys, jingling them enticingly before tossing them Link's way. "Which one do you think we need?"

The answer was unclear; every single key looked more or less the same: short, shiny, silver pieces of metal, all about the same size. With no way to rule any of them out, Link began to stick keys in the keyhole at random, twisting each one until one finally clicked and the door swung effortlessly open.

The room beyond seemed to be a dead end. A gate of metal chains linked together blocked the way, though fortunately part of it had been cut open at some point. The cut gave the two of them more than enough space to squeeze through, as long as they went one at a time. Not that passing through did them much good. All they found beyond the chain-link fence was a crumbled stone archway that had once gone over a hole. Said hole occasionally released a blast of hot air into the room, making it uncomfortably warm despite the lack of magma or fire.

"Are you kidding?" Skull Kid groaned, throwing his hands up in the air. "That's the last time I'm trusting Sheik. As soon as I find his bed, he's going to get an unpleasant surprise."

Link tilted his head. "What are you talking about?"

Skull Kid shook his head. "Don't worry about it. All you need to know is that adults are dumb dummies that can't be trusted. Especially strange flowery-smelling guys that send you on dangerous quests."

Link had no response to that, so he shifted his attention back to the room. "Well… maybe there's still a way forward. Look, the gate stops somewhere up there. Maybe we can find something useful if we climb?"

Without waiting for a response, Link sprang forward, clinging to the woven metal as if his life depended on it. Slowly, he began to climb, occasionally glancing down to see if Skull Kid was following. He was not, too busy pouting. So, Link quit checking and just focused on dragging himself higher and higher until finally, he found a flat, rigid piece of the chains that he could climb on top of.

"Finally! Took you long enough!"

Skull Kid was already there, sitting on the edge and swinging his legs. He reached a hand down and helped pull Link up, flashing a cheeky grin.

"You can use magic though," Link grumbled, dusting himself off. He quietly took a moment to recompose himself, taking a look around. They were just above the archway now and could easily jump down onto it. From here, he could see a couple old pieces of rope dangling just a few feet above the crumbled stone, hanging from somewhere above. Tilting his head up, he could see a dark hole in the ceiling, though occasionally he caught glimpses of flickers of light further up.

"Huh, think we could use that to climb up?" Skull Kid asked.

"It's worth a shot," Link agreed.

Skull Kid went first, dropping first down onto the stone archway, then jumping to grab hold of the rope. Hand over hand, he began to climb, trying to not make it swing as he went, ignoring the unsettling creaking noise the rope made as he went.

He was already up into the hole by the time Link began his own climb. In spots, the rope frayed more and more just under his weight, pushing Link to climb even faster. He was in the hole now and could better see the light at the top. Skull Kid had already climbed over the edge by now.

He was almost there, so close. He reached a hand up to grab the edge.

The rope snapped.

Skull Kid let out a cry of surprise and swiped down in an attempt to grab Link. He missed.

Link was falling, falling, falling back to the bottom, where he would be dashed against the rocks and his body would break beyond repair, and he would maybe die. Or worse, suffer until someone came along and mercy killed him-

He cut his thoughts off. No, he couldn't think like that! He had to survive!

Instincts took over. Link reached down deep inside himself, calling the wind.

You need me. Give in.

He let out a startled cry just as he vanished, the darkness inside him stirring. Searing pain coursed through his body as the curse tried to grab hold of him.

With a soft rush of wind, Link reappeared on his hands and knees beside Skull Kid. Immediately, he shot his hand up to his broken chest, clutching at the old wound. His eyes flickered dangerously between their normal, soft blue and a tainted purple. He sucked in a deep breath, tensing against the pain.

It would be so much easier if you behaved, the darkness said. You won't hurt anymore if you give in.

Leave me alone! Link shot back, squeezing his injury harder. Tainted purple sap oozed out, staining the front of his tunic.

"Link! Link!" He could hear Skully calling out his name again and again. But he sounded so, so distant.

He couldn't give in. He had to stay strong. For Skully. For Saria. For Zelda. For everyone, he couldn't let himself be a monster again.

But it was so, so hard to fight against the curse…

"Is that all it takes for you to fall to darkness? Pitiful."

That voice. Link gasped, forcing himself to look up from the ground. The world was dark and blurry around the edges, but he could see Skull Kid had turned to look at something. Or someone, rather.

There was an open door in front of him. And in its frame, staring him down emotionlessly, was Volvagia.