The Legend of Zelda, its characters and locations are all property of Nintendo. Any and all OCs and original locations belong to me unless specifically stated to belong to someone else.

The Voice
20 - Temper, Temper.

Link sat perfectly still, his eyes firmly on his quarry. He was crouching behind a rock, legs straining a little under his weight in this position, muscles tense and ready to spring into action at any moment. His target hadn't seen him yet, its beady little eyes swivelling around slowly, as if it knew it was being hunted. But it hadn't spotted him yet, and Link could wait. He had the patience of an ox...whatever that meant.

Sheik, however, did not. "Will you just get on with it?" he whispered, causing Link to tense, afraid that his prey had heard him.

The Hylian shook his head, not willing to take the chance on speaking. He'd been after this creature for far too long to waste this opportunity. The thing came a little closer, distracted by some sort of flying insect, chasing after it. Link tensed further, waited for his moment, for the exact second it was within range and—

"Hah!" he shouted, throwing himself out from behind the rock, arms outstretched. He landed painfully on his stomach, the hot rock immediately burning his skin, but he didn't care because he could feel the tell-tale squirming between his fingers that confirmed a successful hunt. He shouted with triumph, laughing as he rolled to his feet.

"Yes, yes, you caught the lizard, hurrah," Sheik said with the enthusiasm reserved for dreary Monday mornings. "Now we can get on with it?"

Link hummed happily as he put the last lizard in the small cage, where nine of its cousins were already writhing inside. It had taken him all day to find and catch the little shits.

"Wh-What do you th-think he n-needs th-them for?" he asked, referring to the Hylian tourist (of all things) who'd asked him to procure the lizards in exchange for a suit of armour that warded against the heat of Death Mountain.

It had had grown so bad past the Southern Mine at the current height that the elixirs barely did anything at all, leaving Link a sweaty mess forcing him to go through his whole water supply within minutes, forcing him to turn back unless he wanted to die up there.

"Fuck if I know or care," Sheik said dismissively. "His whole shtick about them being souvenirs is completely crap, though. But it's none of our business whether he wants to pet them, eat them, or do unspeakable things to them as long as he hands over that armour. Now can we please get going? I think there's going to be another eruption soon—the tower's seismic sensors are going off like alarms—and I'm not very keen on being here when the burning rocks start falling."

Link wasn't particularly keen on that prospect either, so he picked up his gear and began trudging up the road, heading back to the Southern Mine.

"...and then you just tighten this buckle here," Kima said, giving said buckle a tug until the chest plate fit tight enough to offer protection, but not so tight that it didn't allow him to breathe. "And you're good to go!"

He'd barely put the armour on, and Link could already feel a noticeable change in temperature. It was almost like the armour generated its own cool breeze that travelled from his front to his back, down his arms, and then back again.

He was curious about how it worked, but he had a feeling Sheik already had the answer to that: Fucking magic.

"Th-Thanks," Link said, nodding to the Hylian, who smiled back.

"And thank you for the lizards, friend," he replied, tapping his helmet. "I didn't have the energy to head all the way back to the city myself, so you came in the nick of time."

"Even though there are plenty of the little bastards along the way down," Sheik muttered.

"Drop by my place in Hateno if you're ever there, yeah? Best of luck on your travels!"

"Y-You too," Link offered, waving the man off as Kima practically went skipping along the path, heading home. "W-Weirdo," he added under his breath.

"Link!" Sheik gasped. "Did you just insult that man behind his back?!"

Shit. He thought he'd been quiet enough for Sheik not to notice. "N-No—"he began.

"I have never loved you more," Sheik said, sniffling.

And who said romance was dead?

"...ever notice how everyone else apart from Sidon are completely helpless?" Sheik asked as Link hopped over a tiny stream of lava skilfully redirected into a forge below by Goron engineering, the view of the Goron City below doing little to improve Link's opinion of the place.

He had nothing against Gorons—in fact, he quite liked the big lugs (their height reminded him of Sidon), and enjoyed how friendly they were, excited at having another visitor, even if the prospect of their hugs scared the living daylights out of him—but their home left a bit to be desired.

Mostly on account of the heat, as the Gorons had decided to build their city inside an old crater, which was filled with a massive pool of lava. The only way in or out of the place was over metal bridges that criss-crossed over said pool. Even with the armour from Kima, Link felt like he was slowly being cooked, and his boots were probably losing layer after layer of leather to the burning-hot metal and ground.

And now they were on yet another errand to rescue some young Goron who'd gotten in way over his head fetching painkillers for the Goron chief from an abandoned mine a little north of the city.

"On the other hand, that means there'll be plenty of work for you even after you've defeated Ganon," Sheik continued. "Only this time you can actually charge them for your services—and add a hefty premium since you'll be the Hero That Saved Hyrule! That can be the name: Hero for Hire - satisfaction guaranteed!"

Link didn't answer, but he found himself agreeing with Sheik. Not about the Hero for Hire stuff, but about people being helpless. Just a little, though.

After all, how difficult was it to just fetch some medicine a mere stone's throw away from the city?

Very fucking difficult, it turned out, thanks to Ganon's minions.

No one had seen the fiery subspecies of Lizalfos coming, and they had quickly overrun the entire area, cutting the young Goron off from the rest of his people. By the time Link finished off the last one and kicked its twitching corpse into the lava lake below, he felt like he was about to pass out from exhaustion...or the heat. Or both.

Probably both. Especially after fighting his way from island to island (jumping over bloody lava), all infested with lizalfos who certainly didn't mind using him for target practice or turning him into that night's dinner.

"All th-this..." he panted, using the slate to generate a bomb, "f-for b-bloody...p-painkillers!" He shoved the bomb into the nearby cannon, which they'd used to bombard him, and kicked the lever so the barrel swung around, smashing the pommel of his sword into the switch just as the barrel was pointing at the small cave (or vault, as they called it, though Link couldn't really see the difference) the missing Goron was trapped in. The cannon fired, and the bomb went flying, detonating just far enough away to clear away the rocks, but not hurting the Goron inside.

Or so he hoped.

Sheik whistled (or made a sound like a whistle). "Huh, I didn't even have to calculate that for you—you just did it all on your own, and on the first try. I'm actually impressed. Am I going to be out of a job soon?"

"Sh-Shut up!"

Link didn't want to admit it, but maybe the heat was affecting him a little bit. He certainly didn't have a very long fuse right now, especially not for Sheik's antics and comments. What was usually just a little grating suddenly had him nearly losing his temper, and he had caught himself nearly muting Sheik at least twice so far, which he felt mildly guilty about...but why couldn't the Sheikah just see why it was a good idea to shut the hell up right now?

"Temper, temper," Sheik muttered, oblivious to his hypocrisy, as Link began to make his way from island to island, heading to the no-longer-trapped Goron.

"Monsters! They're here! They found me! Help!"

Link felt the familiar pressure of a developing headache behind his eyes. It was most likely caused by the heat of the volcano, coupled with dehydration, but the sight of the young Goron (whose fists could easily envelop—and crush—Link's head) panicking and running around the vault in circles, his beady eyes screwed shut, evidently convinced Link was coming to eat him, did not help matters at all.

"Helpless," Sheik whispered.

"I'm n-not here t-to eat you!" Link exclaimed, perhaps a little too forcefully. It had the intended effect, however, as the Goron paused, finally opening his eyes to regard the supposed threat, his large hands coming up to fiddle with the piece of chain that held the scarf in place around his neck. There was something awfully familiar about that piece of fabric, but Link couldn't put his finger on it.

The Goron looked at him closely for a minute before muttering to himself, "Hm, now that I've gotten a good look...whoa, it's a Hylian..." He opened his arms, smiling. "Were you the one who broke through the crag to rescue me, goro? Thanks, brother! But what were you doing all the way out here to begin with?"

"L-Looking for y-you," Link said, trying very hard to keep himself calm, which was hard to do when you felt like you were melting inside your armour. "If y-you're Y-Yunobo, th-that is..."

"Oh, so Boss told you to come find me?" the Goron asked, looking halfway between disappointed and relieved. "I sure am glad you saved me, goro! The name's Yunobo," he said, smiling a little wider. "Everyone calls me...Yunobo. Makes sense, goro."

Was...that supposed to be a joke? Link couldn't find a hint of it in Yunobo's face, so instead of laughing he simply tried to look...friendly. Which was becoming more and more difficult. What he wouldn't give for a swim in the Zora River right now...

Yunobo explained how he'd managed to get trapped in the vault because of a magma bomb that had collapsed the entrance, Link only halfway paying attention, until Yunobo asked how he'd managed to free him.

"Hm?" he said. "Oh, I used a c-cannon."

The look on the Goron's face was hard to interpret—a little impressed, a little horrified, a little disappointed (again). "Huh?!" he exclaimed. "You used Boss' cannon?! That thing is so difficult to use! I thought only he could handle it!"

"Not as long as you have a working brain and depth perception," Sheik muttered.

"Anyway!" Yunobo almost shouted, holding a small glass bottle with a thick-looking liquid inside. "Sorry, but I've gotta run, gotta get Boss his painkiller! But stop by later, okay? He may be gruff, but he always repays a favour! I'm sure there's a reward in it for you, okay?"

Link could do little but nod. "O-Okay."

"Okay, then!" Yunobo announced. "Goodbye for now, goro!"

Link watched him go, the little tuft of blonde hair on top of Yunobo's head bouncing with each step the Goron took, leaving them alone in the vault.

"Well, I didn't think that was possible," Sheik said after a minute.

"Wh-What?"

"To find someone with a more annoying verbal tic than Purah's...and yet, here we are."

"Hm," Link grunted. How did such a speech pattern even develop?

"Still, an interesting individual," Sheik continued, "if only for the Champion's scarf he's wearing."

That was what Link had noticed about the blue cloth around Yunobo's neck—it was the exact same shade of blue as Link's tunic, and had the same pattern detail! But what did that mean? Was Yunobo the new Goron Champion? It seemed a bit strange, to make someone like Yunobo a Champion...but then again, Link supposed, someone had made him a knight and entrusted him with Zelda's safety, so who was he to judge?

"So..." Sheik said slowly when Link made no attempt to talk. "We're in the vault now...what do you say we steal some of their shit?"

"Ah, it's the tiny traveller!"

Link did his best to ignore Sheik's quiet snickering. The short jokes really were getting out of hand...but he supposed all non-Goron travellers were tiny to them, so he let this one slide.

At least the Goron chief was grateful for the help, handing over three fireproof elixirs for rescuing Yunobo, which was a great deal better than being extorted for the damn things by the industrious Goron child Link had encountered upon first entering the city. His outrage had been followed by Sheik's cursing...and then a lengthy lesson on monopolies. Sheik had almost sounded angry about the concept itself, and certainly didn't relish in having to convey it to Link, whose head for business was more or less non-existent.

"Okay, then!" the one-eyed Goron with, frankly, one of the most impressive combinations of beard and completely bald scalps Link had ever seen, said as he smacked his fist into the palm of his hand. "I took my painkiller, so I guess it's time to meet up with Yunobo!"

Link had been disappointed by the lack of Yunobo, wanting to ask the Goron a few questions about his scarf.

"I mean no disrespect to Daruk's legacy," the chief continued, "but if I'm not there to give that Rudania a good walloping..."

"D-Daruk?"

The name had struck a chord in him, and it took Link a moment to remember the Goron Champion's name. The chief's reaction was one of outrage, however. "Are ya really tellin' me ya don't know about Daruk? The Goron Champion!?"

Well, Link knew of him. In as much as that was his name and he was a Goron...but that was about it. The familiar sting of shame at having forgotten everything about his allies reared its ugly head in his chest, but he tried to fight it down as much as he could. There wasn't anything he could do about the missing memories right now, so the best way to honour them was to carry on with the fight, right?

The chief pointed up and behind him. Link turned and looked in the direction he was pointing. "See that statue?" the chief asked. "That's Daruk."

Statue wasn't really a good enough word for the gigantic face carved into the cliffside, depicting a Goron with a large, pointed beard and a broad grin. It was amazingly lifelike, for a face made out of stone, but Link could almost imagine it moving...see it...moving...?

The headache spiked, and he forced his eyes shut just as the feeling of a dam bursting inside his skull overwhelmed him.

"...think I'm finally getting the hang of controlling this Divine Beast!"

"...they better eat their gravel if they wanna keep up with Daruk."

"...may not know a whole lot about this Calamity Ganon thing..."

"...I'll protect this land of ours to the death! Right, little guy?!"

"...really big deal, protecting the king's daughter..."

"...strong personality—so strong she can't see the range for the peaks..."

"...Death Mountain has been quiet for decades, but if the mountain is shivering enough..."

"...forget I said anything..."

He must have been getting used to memories reasserting themselves—for once Link didn't find himself lying on the ground. The headache was there still, but he could handle those. He blinked and rubbed his temples, wondering if the chief had used all of his painkillers for his back—he could certainly use one himself.

"Ya okay, little guy?" the chief asked. "Ya went all still for a while..."

"Mmm, y-yeah," Link said, giving him a reassuring smile. "J-just...admiring th-the s-statue. Incredible c-craftsmanship."

The chief grinned with pride. "That's what we Gorons do!" He clenched his fist. "Yunobo's actually a descendant of the Great Daruk. That's why that slacker can even use Daruk's Protection!"

Link remembered the magical shield Daruk had used back then to protect them both from the rockslide. He could have sworn he'd seen traces of something hovering in the air around Yunobo...that would certainly explain it. Still, it was hard to imagine timid Yunobo being related to someone as...well, large as Daruk.

He'd sincerely enjoyed spending time with the Goron Champion, even if his spine would never fully recover from the (friendly) pats on his back...which might as well have been delivered by sledgehammers.

The Goron Champion had always been more about doing than thinking, which some would have characterised as a lack of intelligence, but that wasn't true at all. Really, it was just a matter of being decisive, which Link—past and present—struggled with. Daruk simply saw his options, and went with the one he thought was best right then and there. Regrets were saved for later.

He'd even given Link advice on how to handle himself in the face of Zelda's personality, which was, according to Daruk, strong.

Link hoped he would remember that too, soon.

I failed you, Daruk, Link thought. But like Mipha...I'll free you as well.

The Goron chief continued speaking, unaware of Link's connection to their beloved Champion. "He uses it to protect himself when we fire him at Rudania. That's the only way we can chase that blasted beast away!"

Wait, what?

"Er, what?" Sheik whispered.

For once, their minds were entirely on the same wavelength. "F-Fire him?" Link asked slowly. "At R-Rudania?"

"With the cannon," the chief confirmed with a grin. "We had no choice because normal cannonballs are no good against him."

Well, that made perfect sense, didn't it? You realise cannonballs don't work, so you grab the nearest thing...which happens to be the Champion's descendant. Link wondered how that conversation had gone...provided there had been a conversation and the chief simply hadn't grabbed Yunobo and shoved him into the barrel. Honestly, the latter was more plausible. Daruk would have loved that idea, if only because it'd take him right to the enemy's face, where he could do plenty of damage. Those fists had been...impressive at work.

"Well, that's enough outta me," the chief said, paying no heed to his guest's quiet horror, "time to go drive off Rudania!"

He made to turn and leave, but the second his torso twisted, Link heard a loud cracking sound coming from deep within the chief. The Goron's expression immediately turned into one of agony, his entire body freezing, his mouth opening to let out the tiniest pained scream Link had ever heard.

"Aarrrgh..."

"Y-You okay?" Link asked.

The black eyes gave him a look that could have killed. "Oh yeah, just peachy," the chief said with the sort of sarcasm that could rival Sheik's. "Dumb traveller, of course I'm not okay!"

"Rude," Sheik commented idly, clearly more amused than anything else.

So much for the painkillers, Link thought as the chief continued to moan.

"Argh...ow...I'm afraid I won't be goin' anywhere today...I hate to put ya on the spot, but could ya go tell Yunobo I'll have to cancel for today? He should be at Eldin Bridge..."

"I'm honestly surprised he can still stand, much less move around," Sheik commented as they climbed the hill to the mine carts that would take them across the city and to the other side of the crater, where they'd hopefully find Yunobo. "Goron physiology is strong, but the way he kept bending over? At his age? That spine should have been pulverised by now."

"Hm..."

"Suppose that just goes to show that you don't become the Goron chief for nothing. Must have been a beast in his younger days..."

"Mhm..."

"Link? You remembered something, didn't you?"

Link paused, taking a moment to lean his weight against a standing stone, letting his body get a little rest. The flamebreaker armour was heavier than the Sheikah one, and far less flexible. The fit wasn't perfect either, meant for someone with a heavier built torso than Link's. It was intensely uncomfortable, and it weren't for the fact that it kept him from melting or catching fire, he'd have ditched it long ago.

Realising Sheik was waiting for an answer, he nodded. "I d-did. D-Daruk..."

He told Sheik about the memory.

"I figured as much," Sheik said. "Your readings went a bit...haywire when you looked at the carving. At least the memory was pleasant? And you handled it a lot better than the first one."

"Y-Yeah...s-small m-mercies?"

"Or maybe you are just growing tougher," Sheik offered. "Don't think I haven't noticed."

"Oh?"

"Yup."

There was no forthcoming explanation after that. Link considered asking, but he had a feeling there wouldn't be anything else to say, because Sheik must have been trying to reassure him...with nothing to back that statement up. He appreciated it, even though he wished it were actually true.

"Yaah! Someone, please help me!"

"You know," Sheik drawled as the two of them watched Yunobo remained within his protective shield, cowering from the pair of moblins that had ambushed him by the cannon, "he should have realised by now that the shield protects him better than any piece of armour. Why doesn't he just roll over them?"

Link shrugged, but he had a feeling he knew why. As Daruk's descendant, Yunobo would have been facing some immense pressure to live up to his lineage. Not easy, if you didn't have a personality that matched. Perfect recipe for insecurity, really. Yunobo was probably a lot gentler than Daruk had been, and had likely not been helped by that pressure. Link could sympathise with that. He felt the same pressure, though in a slightly different way.

Hence why he didn't say anything. Instead, he prepared a remote bomb and hurled it at the first moblin, detonating it right in the stinking creature's face, while charging at the other one from behind with his sword. Too occupied with watching its comrade go flying from the blast (and landing, luckily enough, in the lava), the second moblin never realised it was being attacked before its calves were cut, and Link's blade severed its spine.

"Wow! You're crazy strong, goro! You saved me again!"

Link gave Yunobo a weak grin. Truth be told, without half the tools in his arsenal, Link doubted he'd even make it off the plateau alive. The bombs alone were a godsend. He didn't say this, of course, because...well, it felt nice for someone who wasn't also his lover to have such faith in him.

"I'll just start up his tab then, shall I?" Sheik suggested. "The stuff in the vault barely covered the first rescue."

"Shh!"

"Huh?" Yunobo blinked in confusion. "I could've sworn I heard someone else talk, goro..."

"N-Never mind th-that," Link said hurriedly, regretting that he'd indulged in Sheik's kleptomania back in the vault.

...the diamond was nice, though...

Life takes strange turns sometimes. If someone had told Link, upon his awakening in the Shrine, that he would be firing young Gorons out of cannons for the purposes of lowering a bridge on an active volcano, he'd...well, he'd still be panicking about the awakening bit, to be honest, but he'd then laugh in that person's face...and then go back to curling up in a foetal position.

But here he was, dropping a remote bomb into the smaller barrel of the cannon, which was aimed directly at the bridge that would take them across the river of lava, letting them climb Death Mountain's vent.

"Five rupees say you miss," Sheik said as Link prepared to detonate the explosive that would send Yunobo flying.

"T-Ten says I d-don't," Link replied.

"Ooh, raising the stakes, eh? All right, I'll call it. Fifteen."

"T-Twenty."

"Link, I can calculate where the cannon will hit to within a few inches—are you really sure you want to take this bet?"

"I d-do."

"All right, twenty it is. You can pay me whenever."

"Y-You d-don't even n-need rupees!"

"I need them," Sheik said.

"For wh-what?"

"Stuff," Sheik said vaguely. "And things."

"Uh-huh..."

"Uh, you okay back there, goro?" Yunobo asked from inside the cannon, his voice muffled. "Only, this is kind of uncomfortable!"

"S-Sorry!"

Link detonated the bomb, trying not to be too amused by Yunobo's shriek (which was either from delight or fear, it was hard to tell), and grinned widely at the slate when the improvised projectile slammed directly into the bridge, causing it to drop with a loud bang.

"Uh...do you take IOUs?"

"N-Nope," Link said. "B-But I'll l-let y-you have th-this one on th-the house."

"How gracious of you—I'll win the next one, though."

"N-Never l-learned to quit wh-while you're ahead, huh?"

"You don't play, you don't win."

Where Vah Ruta had been intimidating in its sheer size and how powerful it looked even from a distance, Vah Rudania was different beast altogether. Link and Yunobo watched, transfixed, as the gigantic, lizard-like machine climbed its way along the edge of the Death Mountain crater, scuttling along the rock face like it was nothing.

Halfway across, it stopped and let off a deep, bellowing roar. At the same time, four openings just above its limbs opened up, releasing several flying machines that looked...a lot...like...

Oh, no.

"Oh come on!" Sheik shouted. "You've got to be kidding me!"

The flying Guardians, smaller than the ones around the Citadel, but Guardians all the same, immediately assumed a patrolling pattern around the mountain, clearly aiming to impede Link and Yunobo's way.

"Who s-said that, goro?!" Yunobo shouted in surprised.

"I did, Roly-Poly. Name's Sheik, pleased to meetcha."

As far as greetings went, this was by far one of Sheik's friendliest. Still, it didn't lessen Link's desire to just go flying away with the paraglider.

"Roly-Poly, goro?!"

All in all, the ascent to the top of Death Mountain went...surprisingly easy. Thanks to Robbie's arrows, the flying Guardians weren't nearly as much of a threat as they'd been. Not that hitting them in the heated conditions was a simple task, but Yunobo, coupled with Sheik's projection, proved to work quite well together as distractions, giving Link ample time to ensure his aim was true.

That was probably why Link let his guard down. It was probably the last time he made that particular mistake. He was too busy waving to Yunobo in thanks for another distraction to notice another Guardian emerging from an overhanding cliff further up, its laser immediately zeroing in on him.

Yunobo's hurried shout of "Brother!", coupled with Sheik's "Link!", was all the warning Link had before he noticed the red dot on the chest of his armour. He was barely able to throw himself out of the way before the wall behind him exploded in a shower of fragments of rock, the shockwave throwing him a little further...and almost over the edge of the cliff.

His fingers found purchase, but his legs were left dangling as he hung over (surprise surprise) yet another pool of lava far below. He tried to climb, but the armour was too heavy, his movements too restricted.

"Now would be a good time to climb, Link!" Sheik shouted as the Guardian came closer for a second shot, its eye focusing on him, apparently taking its sweet time in preparing to fire again.

Who said machines couldn't be sadistic?

"Brother, hang on, goro!" Yunobo's voice shouted just as a rock the size of Link came flying over the edge, smacking into the Guardian and causing it to spin around wildly, losing its target. It tried to recover, but a second rock hit it soon after, this one smashing one of its propellers to pieces, causing it to lose control and go spiralling into the lava below.

"I take back everything I said about Roly-Poly," Sheik said.

"M-Maybe d-don't call him R-Roly-P-Poly?"

"Nah, that's his name in my mind."

Yunobo's head peeked over the edge right after, his giant hand reaching down to pull Link back up, like he weighed nothing more than a feather.

"You okay, goro?" Yunobo asked after Link had gotten back to his feet.

"P-Perfect," Link said, smiling. "Th-Thank you, Yunobo."

"Yeah, thanks Roly."

"Anytime, brothers."

"H-Hear th-that?" Link said as he took point once more, leading the way up the mountain. "Y-You're a b-brother too."

"Oh, shush you."

The Beast had had enough—the last impact from the Yunobo projectile caused it to retreat back into the volcano itself, trusting the walls of the caldera to protect it. They wouldn't. Climbing after it, Link and Yunobo were soon looking into the crater, where the Beast had made itself comfortable at the bottom, legs spread wide for stability.

"This is it, goro," Yunobo said. "No turning back now."

"Th-That's right," Link said, assembling his paraglider. Sheik had assured him the thing wouldn't catch fire down there, but he was still quite nervous about this. After all, he was jumping into a volcano this time, not just climbing around one. Anyone who didn't balk at such an idea was clearly on the wrong side of the genius/madness line.

"How do we get down there?" Yunobo asked. "Or out, goro?"

That, luckily, was not something Yunobo would have to worry about. Link patted his arm and gestured to the paraglider. "I'll b-be going d-down th-there—alone."

Yunobo's eyes widened. "What, goro!? Brother, you can't be serious!"

"'Fraid he is, Roly," Sheik said. "That glider will only take his weight."

"But, how will you get out—"

"We have our ways, don't worry," Sheik said. "I suggest you head back to the city—things are going to get...interesting around here. And dangerous."

"I should help, goro," Yunobo said, looking torn, fiddling with his scarf. "Daruk would have—"

"D-Daruk would want y-you to b-be safe," Link said, knowing this for a fact. "Th-Thank y-you f-for the help g-getting me h-here, Y-Yunobo...I'll h-handle the r-rest." He'd failed Daruk, but he wasn't about to put his descendant in needless danger.

"But—"

"Roly, if we fail here, Rudania is going to come back for vengeance," Sheik said. "The city will need you to protect it—the last line of defence, get it?"

Yunobo looked like he wanted to argue, but he finally nodded with a sad look. "Just...be careful, goro?"

"Always," Link assured him, patting his arm again before taking a deep breath, and jumped into the volcano. The glider unfolded and bore his weight, slowly lowering him towards Rudania's back. He had no idea what to expect inside, other than more corruption. He hoped it was cooler inside, because this heat was just unbearable...and it was getting worse with every second.

"'I'll handle the rest'..." Sheik said as they floated down, using Link's voice with his tools. "You almost sounded like a Hero, just then. Are you getting a taste for it?"

Not really. Link really didn't enjoy putting his life at risk in so many ways...but if he didn't, who would? And the least he could do was to keep others out of danger, like Yunobo. If he could save even one life from Ganon...then he'd be content. Not that he'd stop trying to save everyone, but...just one...

His feet hit the platform on Rudania's back, the air down here so hot it was hard to breathe. He quickly folded the glider and put it away, taking a moment to survey the area.

"So," Sheik said, "Shall we begin?"

I like Yunobo, Daruk, and the Gorons...but getting to their Beast is such a boring slog.