Blah blah blah. Me pi2. Read story. Blah blah blah. Review it.
Disclaimer: Yak yak yak.
Chapter 6
Skull Kid looked around. He was in the entry hall to the temple. It was a rectangular room with small pillars affixed to the walls and a very odd looking sense of décor. Right in front of Skull Kid was a staircase leading up to a platform with a door on either side. In the middle were three tiki-style faces with flames in their mouths. Lining the path to the stairs were arcing fingers of stone and ice. Now here's the weird part. The left side of the room was done in stone, with normal orange fire and elaborate stone carvings, but the right side seemed cold and icy, with no carvings on the walls at all. The flame in the tiki torch was blue. The largest tiki head, the one in the middle, was split, with both orange and blue fire. Fire and Ice Keese flapped around the room. White Boes were hiding behind the arcing fingers. "Whoa…" said Skull Kid. "This place is split right down the middle. One half is fire, the other is ice."
"That's a result of the merging of the two temples." Said Tael. "One half is like the original Fire Temple, while the other is a mix of Snowhead and Fire. We have to choose which door to go through."
Skull Kid walked towards the stairs, easily killing the White Boes and Keese. At the top, he looked at his door options. A lock made of ice sealed the one on the right. The other door was unlocked. Skull Kid decided he had no other option so used it. He was in a square room with several stone platforms and a floor covered with lava. At the far end was a treasure chest. Skull Kid used his hookshot to pull himself across to the chest then opened it. It looked like a small key. "Oh great, not these again!"
"Skull Kid, wait! This is no ordinary small key. Look at it! It's made of silver, and has an icy sheen to it. This is the Ice Key. It is a reusable key that can unlock all icy doors in the temple." Said Tael.
"Really? Cool! Finally, a reusable small key. Well, except for that one back in Forestfall that we used to raise and lower the flower, but that was different." He turned around and realized he had no hookshot target to use. He would have to carefully jump from pillar to pillar, unless…he put on the Goron Mask and jumped into the lava, wading through it to get back to the door. He pulled himself back up to the main platform and went back through the door, reentering the entry hall. He walked across to the icy door, trying not to slide on the slippery floor. Taking out the Ice Key, he opened the door and entered what looked like the main room of Snowhead Temple. It was big and round, with five stories (not including the basement.). He was standing on a ledge that ran to his left across the wall of the room. Two doors were on the ledge, one of which was ice-blocked. Just next to the ledge was a caged in platform with a Goron Switch in it. A stone bridge led from the first, open door across the top of the huge pillar in the middle of the room. Two other stone bridges led away from the pillar top. One led to another ice-blocked door, while the other led to a smaller ledge with a staircase leading up from the basement and an ice- locked door. Ice Keese flew around the higher levels. Skull Kid looked around, not sure where to begin. Since he could see the basement by looking down from the edge of the ledge, he could tell there was nothing down there. He decided to take the normal door on his current ledge. He walked over and went inside, finding a room with a large block stuck in the wall and a lowered floor area to move it around in. Skull Kid walked over to the block and pulled it out. Using his Goron muscles, he moved the block to the farthest point on the track. When he reached it, the block sank into the ground. A treasure chest appeared. Inside was a golden key. "Let me guess, this is the Fire Key and can unlock fiery doors in this temple?" he asked Tael.
"Yeah, how'd you know?"
"Lucky guess. Let's see what's in those other rooms." He reentered the tall room and walked across the bridge and pillar to the icy door. He unlocked it and found himself on a ledge high above a lava pit. The ledge went to his right and straight forward onto a pillar in the middle of the lava. There was nothing on his right except two Freezards. To the left of the pillar was another ledge with a staircase on it. The Freezards were too far away to hurt him, and he didn't want to look for trouble. It was obvious that a Goron could never make the jump to the stairs, so he pulled off the mask, walked to the pillar, and made a running jump to the stairs. He walked up them and found a square tall room. There was a platform in the center and a treasure chest to his left. Higher up was a ledge that covered two walls and jutted out a bit towards the center of the room. The edges were lined with spikes. An eye switch rested on the wall above the ledge, a Freezard just below it. A Real Bombchu scampered around on the floor. Skull Kid ran over to the treasure chest and opened it, revealing…the Dungeon Map! "Oh great. A worthless piece of paper." Muttered Skull Kid. "Link said he never needed these things during his quests, but he never got rid of them." Curious, he took a look at the map and discovered the room he was in was the only chamber on the second floor. It didn't help much, but it was slightly interesting. There was supposed to be a door on the upper ledge leading to the third floor. He stowed away the Map and ran over to the Real Bombchu. When it noticed him, it squeaked and charged. Skull Kid deflected it with his shield. The giant mouse bounced onto its back and exploded. Skull Kid stepped onto the platform and looked at the eye switch. The Freezard was blocking it. He really didn't want to waste arrows, but he would never be able to activate the switch if he didn't get rid of the Freezard. It took four shots, but the Freezard finally shattered, allowing Skull Kid a clear shot at the eye switch. Skull Kid shot the switch with another arrow. The platform he was standing on elevated to the height of the ledge, allowing Skull Kid to jump to it. He made a running jump to the ledge to make sure he didn't hit the spikes. Once on the ledge, he went through the door in front of him. He was back in the main chamber, on the third floor. In front of him was a frozen bridge that went partway across the room, then ended in a ramp. Across the gap was another frozen bridge that also had a ramp. Since the bridges faced each other, it was likely that they had once been the same bridge until something rose up from below and broke the bridge. The only thing that was in the space between and below the bridges was the pillar on the first floor, but it didn't look like it could get any taller. Or could it? At the other end of the room, at the end of the broken bridge, was an ice-locked door. To Skull Kid's right was a ledge that had been covered in a snow bank. A net was placed beneath the bank for people who fell off it. The net and ledge went a quarter of the room's circumference, then stopped on the side of another broken frozen bridge that also once bridged the room and had a continuing segment across the gap. On both sides of the bridge were doors. The one at the end of the snow bank was blocked with ice. A ladder led out of the net onto the bridge with the frozen door, but there was no ladder on Skull Kid's bridge. Skull Kid wanted to find out what was behind the door at the other end of his bridge, but there was only one way to find out. He put on the Goron Mask.
Tael noticed. "Uh, Skull Kid? What are you doing?"
"I'm going to cross the bridge."
"But how? It's broken and…you don't mean…"
"That's right. I'm going to roll across."
"But Skull Kid, are you sure you've had enough practice to use the Goron Roll properly?"
"I'm pretty sure. Besides, if we fall, we'll just climb back up. It's not that long a drop, and since I'm curled up, it won't hurt much."
"I guess you should go ahead then…" said Tael uneasily. Skull Kid backed up to the wall, aimed himself at the door on the other side, and curled up. He began to roll. The ice on the bridge helped speed him up, until he finally sprouted spikes and rolled super fast. He reached the ramp at the broken end of the bridge and rolled over it, launching himself across the gap. He flew through the air for a few seconds before landing on the other bridge and rolling for the door. Before he could uncurl, he hit the door. At full speed, it kind of hurt. He moaned and uncurled.
"Whoa, that was so cool!" he said, slightly dazed.
"You okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Come on, let's go." He was about to unlock the door when Tael stopped him.
"Don't you think you should take the mask off first?" asked Tael.
"Oh yeah." He pulled off the mask and unlocked the door. Inside was a square room with gold-colored bricks covering the walls. Tiles covered the floor. In the middle of the room was a design similar to that of the pillar Skull Kid had used on the second floor. In each corner of the room was a large brick platform with fire shooting from the top of it. The top of each platform had a clear area in the middle of the flames. This clear area was a strange blue tile. Skull Kid walked onto the tile in the middle of the room. He heard a noise. He turned around just in time to see iron bars block the door. Suddenly, from the platform in the top-left corner of the room, a strange creature appeared on the blue tile. It had arms and legs made of wire, each one flaming. It had another flame with a wire frame shaped to have horns, a jaw, and fangs for a head. Its body was a metal sphere with little green eyes and red markings. It also had a pair of legs. In its right hand, it held a large wand/staff with a red flame burning atop it. It cackled, then danced around the room, flying from platform to platform before vanishing back into the blue tile it had showed up on. "Tael, what was that thing?" asked Skull Kid.
"That was a Flare Wizdancer," said Tael. "A combination of a Flare Dancer and a Wizrobe. It dances from flame to flame, throwing fire spells at you, and…HE'S RIGHT BEHIND YOU!"
Skull Kid whirled around in time to see the Wizdancer spinning on one of the platforms, just before it hurled a massive blast of fire at him. Skull Kid barely missed the blast. The Wizdancer cackled as it vanished into the blue tile. Skull Kid turned around, trying to see where it would pop up next. "So, how do I attack?" asked Skull Kid.
"Whenever the Wizard pops up, it spins around on its tile for several seconds before throwing a spell at you. While it's spinning, shoot it with an arrow, then grapple onto its core with your hookshot. Once you have it, stab it repeatedly. I'll target him for you whenever he pops up. He's over there! Get your crossbow!" Tael flew over to the Wizdancer, who was spinning on its tile. Skull Kid shot it with an arrow. The monster screeched and stopped dancing for a moment, its flames dissipating, causing the core to fall to the ground. Skull Kid quickly switched his crossbow for his hookshot and grappled the monster's core, pulling it towards him. While it was confused, Skull Kid pulled out his dagger and stabbed the core repeatedly, thought it tried to get away repeatedly by running on its little legs. But it was too slow when it came to turning, and Skull Kid was always able to stab it some more. Finally, the core managed to get away from him. It jumped back onto one of the platforms, vanishing onto the tile. Skull Kid pulled out his crossbow and panned the room. As he did, the flames turned from orange to blue. The Wizdancer popped out of one of the tiles and started spinning. "Watch out! His spin is shorter now, and he throws ice spells!" shouted Tael as he flew over to the monster.
"No problem." Said Skull Kid, squeezing off another arrow. While the Wizdancer was stunned, he grappled it off its platform and repeatedly stabbed it, running around it whenever it tried to get away.
Finally, it jumped back into the fire, vanishing on another tile. As Skull kid panned the room, the flames turned green. The Wizdancer popped out of another tile, green as well. Instead of spinning, it created a copy of itself that danced from platform to platform while the real monster prepared its spell. Before Skull Kid could even raise his bow, the Wizdancer finished its spin and threw a lightning bolt, which the imp barely dodged. As the monster vanished once more, Skull Kid decided to shoot the instant e saw the Wizdancer next time. Both Wizdancers, the copy and the real one, appeared on different platforms. As the fake danced, Skull Kid shot and grappled the real Wizdancer. He stabbed it again and again and again, until finally, it jumped into the flames once more. A minute later, it reappeared on another tile, still in green flames, and jumped off the platform, screeching as it hit the floor. All the fire in the room was extinguished. The blue tiles combusted into purple flames. The Wizdancer's core swelled, growing really big. Then, it exploded. Skull Kid was out of the way by then, so he didn't need to worry. The door unlocked. A treasure chest appeared in the middle of the room, on the weird tile. Skull Kid ran over and opened it, expecting another key. He found something else. It was a bag of fifty strange devices. Each device had what looked like a digital screen on its back, with sticky pads on its front. A remote control was included with a few buttons on it. All of the devices bore an emblem of a large fish hovering over a giant island. "What are these?" asked Skull Kid. "That emblem looks familiar as well."
"That's the emblem of Atlantis! These must be some of the machines from there." Skull Kid immediately understood. In the Mesmorian library, he had read much about the true history of Atlantis. It was a giant island, really more of a small continent. It was inhabited by a powerful race of Zoras, with a civilization dating back to the age before humans had evolved. They were incredibly advanced. Nobody but fairies had ever been to Atlantis, which was why the Mesmorians knew about it. The Atlanteans had tamed the monsters of the seas and the land using mind-control devices. They had erected huge cities and vehicles. They had a guard of sea monsters to keep out trespassers. They even had robots; machines that walked, talked, and acted like people. Atlantis was also known as the only place on the planet where dinosaurs and other prehistoric beasts (aside from Dodongos) still roamed the world.
"Do you know what kind of machine it is?"
"Let me see…I remember seeing a picture of these back home…oh yeah! These are a more advanced form of bomb. They can be attached to any surface using those sticky pads on their underside. You can also set a timer for detonation, or leave it off and use that remote control to automatically detonate a bomb. The bag protects the bombs from the control's radio signal, preventing them from blowing up. The signal will detonate any bombs in a room when activated. You can even attach them to your arrows to blow up stuff far away."
"Now, this is a useful weapon." Said Skull Kid. He put the advanced technology into his pack and left the room. It looked like he would have to cross the bridge again. He put on the Goron Mask and rolled across the bridge. He then jumped into the net and walked across to the other side, where he climbed out and examined the frozen door. "Hey Tael, how do you think we can melt these doors?"
"Well, we would need something hot, like a Fire Arrow. Too bad we don't have one, or something similar."
"Yeah, too bad. Well, let's cross this next bridge." Skull Kid curled up and rolled across the bridge the same way he had done the last two times. On the other side, he unlocked the icy door and found himself in an odd corridor. Just like the entrance hall, it was split: one half Snowhead, one half Fire. A fiery lock sealed the door at the other end. Skull Kid used his Fire Key to unlock the door and entered the next room. It was just as big as the room he had left, but not nearly as tall. It was also round. Fire Keese flew around the area. In the middle was a huge pillar, the same size as the one back in the Ice side, but raised. A wall came from the back of the pillar, separating the two halves of the room in that direction. Skull Kid was on a platform with stairs leading down to the room. Directly in front of him was a floor grating that overlooked the room where he had found the Ice Key, with a square pavilion in the middle. A block was in front of that, in front of a platform jutting from the pillar. Around the room were various flame-thrower pillars, fake doors, and small pillars that concealed walls of fire. Boulders rolled around throughout. Skull Kid tried to explore the room, but kept running into concealed walls of fire. As a Goron, they didn't hurt him, but they did impede his progress. After several minutes, he determined that crossing the right side of the room would be impossible. He tried the left. After several more minutes, he made it to a door leading inside the pillar. It was hollow and had no top. He was in a passage between two high platforms. A treasure chest was in the middle of the room. He could see another room far above him, but he could not reach it. He opened the treasure chest to find…a compass. He grumbled to himself that whoever had put out all this stuff could have been a little more considerate. He saw another door across from him, so went through it. He found himself in the right side of the room, in a position to go somewhere. After several minutes, he found a door and a switch, but they were on a platform surrounded by fire. He found a switch nearby that would lower the flames, but it was on a timer. That meant he would have to run. And his Goron form couldn't take that. As an imp, the fire would hurt a lot, but he had bought a few Red Potions back in Kakariko just in case of an emergency. He scouted the way to the platform, memorizing which spaces between pillars didn't have walls of fire. Then he went back to the switch took off the Goron Mask, and stepped on it. The wall of fire lowered. He quickly ran back to it, jumping onto the platform just before the fire re- ignited. Relieved that he had made it, he walked up to the door and tried to open it. It was a fake door and tried to fall on him. He barely jumped away in time. He took out his Blast Mask, faced the door, and raised his shield. He concentrated on the Mask's power. It exploded, destroying the door and the fake wall behind it, revealing the real door, which was fire- sealed. Before using the Fire Key, Skull Kid tested the switch. It lowered the wall of fire, permanently switching it off. Skull Kid unlocked and entered it and found himself in an octagonal room, with a small pillar in each corner. It was done in the same basic style of the rest of the Fire side of the temple. In the center was a platform with a short set of stairs leading up to it. The platform's edges were flaming, and a blue tile was in the middle. "Oh no, not another one." Groaned Skull Kid. Iron bars sealed the door behind him. Another Wizdancer appeared on the blue tile and cackled. Tael flew out, ready for targeting. "Tael, I don't think I'll need you for this battle. There's only one tile, so he can't trick me. I can handle it."
"Okay." Said Tael. Skull Kid prepared to fight the Wizdancer. True to his word, he didn't need any help with this one at all. He easily defeated the Flare Wizdancer. "Hey, nice job!" said Tael. "Maybe you don't need my after all."
"Don't be silly." Said Skull Kid. "Look, the flame on the platform's extinguished. And there's a hole on the ceiling that looks like the platform fits into. There's probably a correlation." He hoped onto the platform. It started to rise into the ceiling. Tael quickly flew after Skull Kid before the platform could get too far out of reach for him to rejoin Skull Kid. They ascended a tall shaft and finally reached a corridor. They walked down the corridor, unlocked the fire-sealed door at the end, and entered a big round room with blocks and a stairway leading to an elevated platform just behind and above the door with a treasure chest surrounded by a wall of fire. The room had a big hole in the middle. The hole was actually the inside of the pillar where Skull Kid had gotten the compass. This was the room he had seen from below. A switch was in front of him. Skull Kid stepped on it. The fire around the chest extinguished. A timer started ticking. Skull Kid knew he could either race up the narrow stairs and risk his life at the very edge of the top of the hollow pillar, over a drop that would kill him if he misstepped in an attempt to get to the chest before time ran out, or he could just hookshot to it. He chose to hookshot. He pulled himself to the chest, then ran around to the front and opened it before the timer could run out. Inside he found something really cool. It was a large, heavy metal hammer with the symbol of the Fire Medallion on the face of the hammer's blunt end. "Wow, what is it?" asked Skull Kid.
"It's the Gigaton Hammer! It's like the Megaton Hammer, but smaller and more powerful. It also weighs less. You can activate Goron Switches without having to change form, and when you slam it on the ground, it unleashes a wave of fire that melts any ice and burns anything in a twenty- foot radius." Said Tael.
"Cool. This is definitely useful." Said Skull Kid grinning. "Now, how do we get back to the Ice side? There must be a shortcut. The old Fire Temple did."
"Check your map." Suggested Tael.
Skull Kid did. "Oh no! There is no shortcut! We'll have to walk all the way back to the Ice section." He was correct, of course. One hour later, he and Tael managed to make it back to the third floor of the Ice half, where they had started. Skull kid paused a moment to catch his breath. After that, he put on the Goron Mask and rolled over the bridge.
When they got to the other side, he walked past the ice block, heading for the snow bank. "Aren't you going to melt the block?" asked Tael.
"I will, but not until I melt the blocks on the first floor as well." He curled into a ball and rolled across the snow bank. When he reached the other side, he entered the door. He jumped down to the second floor (the pillar elevator had reset), took off the mask, and ran down the stairs to the first floor. He hopped to the pillar, then ran across the bridge to the main chamber, first floor. He ran across the pillar to the block that was straight across from the main door to the chamber and struck the block with the Gigaton Hammer. Nothing happened. "Tael, I thought you said this thing made waves of fire."
"It makes waves of fire if you hit the ground."
"Oh, right." He raised the hammer and brought it onto the ground. A wave of fire shot out, melting the block of ice. He walked in and entered a cave that curved around part of the main chamber. The other frozen door from the main chamber led to this room as well, but at the other end. It was a deep cavern with several pillars rising from the ground below. The floor extended to the 'basement' part of the temple. There was a door that led to the 'basement' of the main chamber and a frozen yellow Deku Flower that would provide access back to the rest of the room. The pillars were close enough together for Skull Kid to jump across them. Scattered around the pillars were three Freezards and three unlit braziers. Along the wall facing the main chamber, closer to the other frozen door, was a barred door on a ledge. Skull Kid figured he had to kill all the enemies in the room, or light the braziers, or both. So, he went to it. He hopped across the pillars towards the nearest Freezard. When he was in range for him to use the hammer, but just far enough away to avoid the Freezard's ice breath, Skull Kid hit the ground with his hammer. The Freezard was melted by the wave of fire. Skull Kid repeated the process with each Freezard then used the hammer to light the three braziers. When he was finished, the unfrozen door was unbarred. Skull Kid pillar-hopped over to the door and opened it. He was inside the caged alcove back in the main chamber, with the Goron switch. Skull Kid knew he could just transform into a Goron and slam it, but he had a different idea. He stepped onto the switch, raised his hammer, and smashed the switch into the floor. The entire temple shook as the giant pillar in the middle of the chamber rose from the ground, going all the way to the fifth floor, perfectly fitting in the gap between all the broken bridges. When it reached the gap on the fifth floor bridges, plugging it up, Skull Kid and Tael stared in amazement. "I…think it's time to melt that block on the third floor." Said Skull Kid.
"Yeah…yeah, let's go." Said Tael. Of course, this was easier said than done. The pillar's rising had blocked the bridges on the first floor from each other, meaning they couldn't just walk across to the room with the staircase to the second and third floors. Fortunately, after a moment of puzzling over the map, Skull Kid had a solution. They went back into the room they had entered from, the one with all the pillars, and jumped to the basement. Then they went through the door to the main chamber's basement. They skirted past the lava pools and made it to the staircase to the first floor. Once there, they easily made it to the room with the second floor staircase. Once on the second floor, Skull Kid stood on the platform and shot the eye switch, reactivating the lift. He then exited to the third floor. The pillar was now blocking the way to the Fire side and the Wizdancer's room, but there was nothing left there anyway. Skull Kid jumped into the net, walked over to the other side, and climbed out. He used the hammer to melt the ice block, revealing a staircase. Skull Kid ran up the stairs and found himself on the fourth floor. The pillar was still in the way. A normal brick bridge ran across to the pillar, stopping in front of it. Another brick bridge ran out to the pillar from a ledge with a door one- quarter of the way across the room to Skull Kid's right. A ledge with a snow bank led down to it. Skull Kid turned into a Goron and carefully rolled across the snow bank. When he reached the other side, he uncurled and pulled off the mask. "Hey Skull Kid, why don't you stay as a Goron?" asked Tael.
"I don't know. I guess it's my imp nature. I prefer to be small and fast. Being a Goron is cool, but they're too slow." He looked up at the pillar and saw a covered bridge leading towards the pillar from the wall. It was directly across from the bridge he had entered on. He wondered how he could get there. It looked like the only way would be to lower the pillar somehow. He turned around and walked through the door. Inside was a small oblong room with several rock pillars. There were two weird snowman monsters, one big, the other little. Skull Kid recognized them as Eenos, yeti made of snow that hurled big snowballs. Of course, since they were made of snow that meant they were weak against fire. Before either Eenos could make a move, Skull Kid used his Gigaton Hammer to melt them both. At the other end of the room was a door frozen in a block of ice. He melted it and found a staircase. He walked up it to the fifth floor. He was in an irregularly shaped room with a pair of Dinolfos, the fire-breathing type. Skull Kid pounded the ground with his hammer, turning both Dinolfos into roasted lizard. He exited through the door at the other end of the room and found himself back in the main chamber. He was at the top. He could see the ceiling not too far above him, made of reflective ice. He was on a bridge leading to the top of the pillar, which bridged the gap to another bridge with a ledge going to the left. Straight ahead was a door. On the end of the ledge was another door, this one barred. Above him were two more bridges, at right angles to the one he was on now. He saw no way to reach those bridges. At least, not yet. A Goron switch was now on top of the pillar. Skull Kid headed across to the door, ignoring the switch. He would hit it later. He entered the room behind the door. It was rectangular, with two wooden platforms a person could climb up on. To Skull Kid's left was a barred door. Scattered throughout the room were five very familiar-looking platforms with fire spouting from the edges. "Oh no." said Skull Kid. Iron bars sealed the door behind him. A Flare Wizdancer popped out of one of the blue tiles and cackled. Skull Kid sighed. "Tael, I think I'm going to need your help on this one." Several minutes later, Skull Kid had disposed of the Wizdancer. Both doors opened. He went through the one on the left. He was in a small room with an ornate treasure chest. He opened it and found…the Boss Key! Now he could get into the chamber where the boss was and save the mountain! Of course, it would help if he actually knew where the boss room was. He exited through the door at the back of the room and was in the main chamber once again. He had an idea of what he had to do. He walked back over to the pillar top and stood on the Goron switch. He raised his hammer and smashed the switch into the ground. The temple rumbled again. The pillar lowered, stopping when its top was even with the bridges on the fourth floor. Skull Kid now had access to the covered bridge. It was full of snowballs, but he easily got rid of them using the hammer. At the back of the bridge was a stairway. He ran up it and found himself on the highest bridge in the temple, the one he had seen a little while ago. Straight across the gap was the other bridge, which ended in a ledge with an ominous-looking locked door. Skull Kid put on the Goron Mask, curled into a ball, and rolled across the bridge. He uncurled on the other side and pulled off his mask. He unlocked the door and went inside. He was in a large round chamber with a domed roof, covered with very sharp icicles. The room was like a huge track encircling a pool of lava. A fence to keep people from falling in surrounded the pool. Hanging above the pit by two chains descending from a single metal ring were two blocks of ice. Inside each block was a Goron. They looked quite similar. Skull Kid recognized the one with the longer beard as Darunia and the one with the shorter beard as Darmani. That meant Darmani was the next Sage, though he had already expected that. He wondered where Goht was, and how he was going to get the Gorons down.
"Skull Kid?" Wait! Maybe he could use those new bombs as arrows like Tael had mentioned. "Skull Kid?" Yeah, he could blast out the supports on the chains suspending the blocks of ice. The lava would melt them, and they'd be saved! "Skull Kid?"
Skull Kid sighed, losing his train of thought. "What is it Tael?"
"Skull Kid, I think you should look to your right. Now."
Skull Kid turned to his right. He wished he hadn't. Standing there was a thirty-foot tall beast, made of metal. It was like a giant, mechanical goat. Its belly was covered in brown plates, except for the middle of the chest, which was a mass of cables with a single gear at the front. Its back was covered in purple plates with a one, a zero, and another one painted onto each plate. Several spots on the back and sides were not covered with plates, and had gears sticking out. The joints connecting the legs to the body were more big purple plates. These plates had an empty spot in the middle with more gears. The plates behind the neck jutted out and had red bird-like symbols painted on them. The legs were a mix of brown plating, cables, and gears, with hooves made of iron. The plates just below the knee joints were red and had strange markings on them. The neck was covered with brown plates mixed with cables and a few gears from below, and covered by purple plates from above. Each neck and leg plate was jointed to allow flexibility in movement. Its head was the most intriguing part. First of all, even though it was a mechanical goat, it had horns like a bull. They were great, pointy horns, very strong. The head was shaped like a long red triangular wedge decorated with symbols. Above and between the horns was a large, yellow-red jewel set in the forehead. But most puzzling was the machine's face. Instead of being like that of a goat, it was like that of a human. It had a jutting purple chin, a mouth in an open frown, a hard nose, wrinkles, and angry, empty eyes. It was Goht, the mechanical monster, one of Majora's demons. Skull Kid backed away in fright, not sure how to begin the battle. He recalled Link saying that the first time he had fought Goht, he had done so as a Goron, but had used arrows on his second try. However, the door had no alcove for Skull Kid to hide in. He was about to put on the Goron Mask when he noticed something. The robot was not moving. It was just standing there, inanimate, like the hunk of metal it was. Skull Kid sighed in relief and walked over to the machine. "I think it's all right Tael, it's turned off or something."
Tael sighed in relief as well. "I'm sorry, I just thought it was going to attack or something." He flew over it, looking at every nook and cranny. "Hey, I had a thought. If Goht is a demon, how can he be a robot?"
"Good question. Majora didn't tell me during my possession, but I suspect Goht is actually more of a vehicle. The demon is the pilot that drives the machine. The Atlanteans have many robots that work that way as well."
"Wow! I wonder if the Atlanteans have any robots to rival this."
Skull Kid snorted derisively. "Better? From the stuff I saw in the history section, the Atlanteans have robots that would put this one to shame. The Atlantean war robots, hell, the Atlantean monsters that serve their army could reduce this machine to scrap."
"Tell me about it." Grumbled a voice from behind them. Skull Kid and Tael whirled around to find a strange creature that hadn't been there before. It was short, only about as tall as Skull Kid's waist. And since Skull Kid was only as tall as your average ten-year-old was, that didn't say a lot for this creature's size. It actually looked a lot like a frog. It had muscular folded legs and a black pair of shorts. It was bare-chested and had what looked like ice crystals growing from its back. It had thick, muscular arms that reached to the ground. In its right hand was a trident. It had a short cape over its back. It had a large throat sac and a little goatee. It was pure white in color, with blazing blue eyes.
"Um, hi, who are you?" asked Skull Kid.
"I am Goht!"
"No, that's Goht," said Tael, pointing to the huge inert robot goat behind them. "You're just a weird looking Gekko."
The creature seemed to take offense to that. "I am no mere Gekko! I am a powerful demon, servant to Prince Majora himself!"
"Oh." Said Skull Kid. He slowly and carefully reached for his holy dagger. "So you're the demon Goht? Then what's the thing behind me?"
The demon paused. "All right, my name isn't Goht. I am the demon Quagmire, the one who built and controls Goht."
"Why did you build him?" asked Skull Kid.
"I was bored. I had already done all my torturing for the day and had nothing else to do. It started as a hobby, but eventually turned into an obsession. I wanted to build an invincible war machine, but couldn't. So I just built a really powerful one instead. When Prince Majora and his brothers were readying their invasion on the mortal worlds, I was selected because of my mechanical skills. When the mission in Termina failed, the Golden Goddesses made me one with my own machine, sealing both into a mask. When Majora finally returned with you as a host, he was able to partially free me from the mask, but I was still trapped inside the machine. Then your friend, that stupid mortal, managed to defeat me in my weakened state. He later exorcised me from the mask, sending me back to Hell. I was still trapped in the machine/mask, until the prince was restored to full power. I was then completely freed, along with the others who had been imprisoned." He grinned. "And I now stand before you, whole once again, along with my machine. It is now at full strength. Let me assure you, arrows will not damage it. You will not be able to use that tactic at all. My robot is almost invincible, and as soon as I kill you, I can put those Gorons back to work on mining the ore."
"What do you want with the ore anyway?" asked Tael.
"The ore will be used to upgrade Goht's armor, as well as build an army of other robots like him. Once this army is completed, we will be able to storm the continent of Atlantis."
"How come Majora doesn't just go there and do it himself? Or maybe bombard them with meteors?" asked Skull Kid.
"The Atlantean continent is too well-defended. Not even a demon could manage to penetrate the defenses. They have hundreds of holy weapons with which to protect themselves from my kind. But once I am able to begin construction of the army, Atlantis will fall! And it won't take long either. I already almost have enough ore to build the army. It should only take a week or two to make."
"Why have you just told us all of your evil plans?" asked Tael.
"Because I'm about to kill you for trespassing in this temple, and for slaying Odolwa. And I want to boast my plans to somebody who doesn't already know them. Now, prepare to die!"
"I don't think so!" yelled Skull Kid.
He lunged at the demon, his dagger drawn. Quagmire leapt over Skull Kid and hopped onto the top of Goht. He opened a hatch on the top of the robot's head and climbed in. There were several noises, clanks and clunks and grinding. Then, the head shook from side to side. One of the hooves tapped the ground. The robot shuffled the ground, snorted, and charged! Skull Kid barely jumped out of the way of the robot's iron hooves. Quagmire laughed, his voice coming from Goht's mouth. "Well little imp, let's see how you like being trampled to pieces! Hahahahahaha!"
1.1 GOHT/QUAGMIRE: DEMON-OPERATED MECHANICAL MONSTER
Goht started running around the track in a counter-clockwise fashion. The machine was pretty fast, but would take a few minutes to make a complete lap. Skull Kid tried shooting an arrow, but Goht was too fast. He tried to think about what to do. He stood there, waiting for the machine to come by. When it came around the bend, Skull kid shot it with his crossbow. Goht did not react, showing the arrow had no effect. Goht responded to his attack by firing lightning bolts from its horns. Skull Kid was able to block them with his shield, but the robot kept firing. Skull Kid rolled out of the way of the goat's hooves, barely missing a small thunderbolt. Goht kept running. Skull Kid had an idea. He put on the Goron Mask, changing into a Goron. He curled into a ball and started running after Goht, picking up speed until he managed to spike out and match Goht's speed. As he caught up to the robot, he swerved under the legs and went right beneath the belly, trying to damage it with his spikes. Sparks shot out from the impact of metal on metal. "Heheheh. Your attack is nothing compared to my robot's armor! It is made from an alloy composed of brimstone and…what is this? You're actually causing damage! How is this possible? Argh! I knew I shouldn't have exposed those cables. Oh well, it's only superficial damage, and I know how to stop this!" Skull Kid immediately backed up, his spikes causing scars on the armor plating. He barely got out from underneath Goht before it stopped and slammed its belly into the ground. If Skull Kid's instincts hadn't told him to get out, he would have been crushed. But Quagmire had just given him a perfect opportunity to attack! He rolled forward, his spikes ready to inflict more damage. He could tell that the purple plating was not as strong as that of the brown, since the monster was too tall for an overhead attack unless one could fly or was in a tree. He smashed into it several times, causing it to buckle and dent. Since Goht was trying to get up, each blow from Skull Kid knocked it down again. Quagmire was confused and astonished. This pathetic imp had actually discovered a flaw in his defenses! He shouldn't have been overconfident and used stronger ore for the bottom plating. It was time for him to use one of his emergency measures. As Skull Kid backed away, ready to inflict another strike, A bomb dropped from a hatch on Goht's rear. As Skull kid raced towards the downed machine, he struck the bomb. It exploded, uncurling him. He groaned and held his head. It hadn't really hurt, but he had a fair- sized migraine. Goht got up. Just before it started running again, it kicked a large chunk of turf at Skull Kid, knocking him down. Goht started running faster than before, hitting the ground harder. The impact of his hooves on the ground shook the room, causing icicles to fall from the ceiling in his wake. As Skull Kid pulled himself up, he saw Goht coming right for him, its head down, its horns ready to gore him. Skull Kid stood up and waited for the monster. He had a plan, but he had to time it perfectly or he would die. He let his mind drift, allowing his instincts to take over. Under his instinct's guidance, he reared back his fist and punched, his mighty fist connecting with the goat's face, smashing it in. Goht stumbled back, wobbling. It staggered, its internal machinery malfunctioning as a result from the punch. Even Quagmire was hurt, for his cockpit was right behind the face. After staggering around for a few moments, Goht finally fell to the ground, its internal damage too great. As Quagmire frantically started up the auto-repair mechanism, Skull Kid climbed onto Goht and ran over to the panel he had damaged from before. He curled up and performed multiple Goron Pounds, denting and damaging the plate even more.
Suddenly, Goht got back on its feet and continued running. The only thing that kept Skull Kid from falling off was that he managed to grab onto the edge of the heavily dented and wrecked plate, hanging on for his life as Goht ran around the room, dropping bombs and making more icicles drop. Skull Kid managed to pull himself up onto Goht's back. It was large enough for him to walk across. His Goron form's weight and mass didn't make it easy for him to be shaken off. He needed an inspiration. "Tael, got any ideas?"
"Hey, maybe we could use some of those new bombs?"
"Great idea! Let me change back." He pulled off the mask and almost fell down. He was now smaller, so his mass wouldn't keep him on balance. He fell onto hands and knees, gripping the armor. He took out one of the Atlantean bombs and slipped it into a crack between the plate he had damaged and the robot's innards. He crawled up the hull, looking for more joint spots to plant bombs. He found several seams in the armor, planting bombs at each crack. He found a spot to plant a bomb at the spot between the neck and the head. He was about to plant one, went he saw the hatch to the cockpit. And he suddenly had a much better idea of where to plant the bomb. He carefully crawled up the neck and climbed onto the head. This was the hardest place to stay on, since it shook the most. The stomping of Goht's hooves covering him, Skull Kid popped open the hatch.
He looked down into the cockpit. It was a small, cramped place with several cables and flashing lights on the walls. Quagmire was sitting in a tiny chair in front of a screen that projected the picture of what could be seen through Goht's eyes in front of him. He was grumbling to himself. "Where could he have gone? I've made several rounds now. Where is he? He can't be fast enough to be right behind me, but not attack, can he? Then again, he could be slowed down by all of the things I've left for him. Maybe I should stop or turn around? No, no…" While the demon mused, Skull Kid considered stabbing him from behind, ending his threat, but decided the cockpit was too cramped for any attack. Instead, he planted the bomb on the inside of the hatch and closed it.
He crawled back over to the robot's back and put on the Goron Mask. "Here we go…" he said to himself. He curled into a ball and rolled off Goht. He ricocheted off the wall, struck Goht on the side (causing it to wobble) and hit the ground. Goht kept running, still dropping bombs and icicles. Once the machine was far enough away (and the dropped bombs had exploded) he pulled off his mask, whipped out the remote, and pressed the button. All of the bombs on Goht simultaneously detonated, wracking the robot's body with explosions. The panels of armor on the robot's body were violently ripped off by the explosions, throwing them around. Stunned, Goht fell to the ground. However, there was no explosion from the cockpit. The head remained attached to the robot's body. "Tael! Why didn't the head come off?"
"I told you that the remote detonates every bomb in the room you are in. the cockpit counts as a different room, so the bomb didn't explode. But look on the bright side! Now you can do major damage to the robot directly!"
"Good point. I doubt a normal arrow will do the trick, but what about a Bomb Arrow?" he said, grinning. He pulled one of the bombs from his pack and affixed it to an arrow. Aiming with Tael's targeting, he shot the arrow across the lava pit, lodging between some gears. Skull Kid activated the remote, causing an explosion inside of the robot's inner workings. It thrashed for a few moments, but then got up! It came charging at Skull Kid, faster than ever before! Quagmire was really angry, and he was going to mow down Skull Kid! Skull Kid knew he had to think of something, for Goht would be there in a few seconds. Suddenly, he remembered how he had been able to use Odolwa's Mask, turning the insects against their master. He reached into the mask, pulled out Goht's Mask, and put it on. He concentrated, trying to activate whatever power it had. Goht was only yards away, ready to squash the impudent little imp. Skull Kid found the mask's power and focused on it. The horns on his mask glowed and crackled, firing a bolt of lightning at the robot. The robot reacted, swerving away from Skull Kid. Without the shockproof armor that Quagmire had installed, the monstrous machine was horrendously damaged by Skull Kid's lightning bolt. The robot was wracked with more explosions, the electrical current running through its entire body, making its way through the cables to the cockpit. Quagmire screamed in pain as the lightning coursed through his body and the entire cockpit. But it did more than just that. It also triggered the bomb Skull Kid had planted on the hatch. It exploded. The head was ripped from Goht's neck, careening through the air until it sank into the lava pool. The headless body of Goht ran around out of control. It smashed into a wall and kept running, even though it was going nowhere. All of its surplus bombs either dropped from their chute or explode in their holding container. Either way, the construct was wracked with explosions, causing the ceiling to cave in on it, burying the metal monstrosity. A moment later, the rocks were thrown away as what was left of Goht self-destructed. Skull Kid pulled off the mask and did a little victory dance. However, the dance was cut short when Quagmire leaped out of the lava pool and charged Skull Kid, screaming and waving his trident. Skull Kid pulled out his knife just as the demon reached him. He ran right into Skull Kid's knife, impaling himself. The demon gasped and fell to the ground, his body combusting into flames. Skull Kid finished his victory dance.
"You da imp!" said Tael eagerly. They high-fived. Skull Kid mopped his brow, and not just because of the heat from the lava. That had been a very tough battle.
"That was much harder than the fight with Odolwa. Well, it's time to wake up the Sages. Look! A portal thingy to the Temple of Light has opened. Tael, please target the base of the chains so I can blast them." Tael flew up to the metal ring. Skull Kid attached another bomb to an arrow and fired. The chains exploded, dropping the ice into the lava. A few minutes later, the two Gorons rose to the surface, spluttering and looking confused. "Over here!" yelled Skull Kid.
The Gorons swam over to him and bashed the fence down. They walked over to Skull Kid. Darunia frowned. "You look familiar."
"Yeah, haven't I seen you before?" asked Darmani.
"My name's Skull Kid. You saw me a couple of weeks ago back in the Chamber of Sages."
"Oh yeah! You're that imp who looked like he was dying of boredom." Said Darunia.
"Like you weren't?" muttered Tael.
Darunia frowned. Before he could retort, Darmani stopped him. "Hey, Brother, shouldn't we be heading to that Temple of Light place to reward this kid for all his hard work?"
Darunia smiled. "Yeah, I forgot about that. Come on kid. Let's go." They walked into the portal, disappearing into the Sacred Realm.
Skull Kid found himself in the Chamber of Sages once again. Rauru was on the Light platform, smiling and applauding. Saria and the Queen were not on their platforms. The platform next to it (which looked like a mix of the symbols for the Fire and Water Medallions) glowed as Darunia and Darmani appeared on it. Rauru grinned and stopped clapping. "Well done, m'boy. Well done indeed. You have accomplished half of your quest to save the Sages. Now, I believe your new friends would like to say something."
Darunia cleared his throat. "I would like to personally thank you for freeing me and my 'brother' from staying frozen. You have saved my mountain and my people. Please, accept this Fire Medallion as my thanks." He raised his arms. There was a flash, high above. The Medallion twirled down.
Skull Kid raised his hands in order to grab it. The Medallion missed his hands and hit him on the head. "Ow! That hurt!"
"Oops. Sorry." Said Darunia. Skull Kid rubbed his forehead and picked up the Medallion from where it had landed. He examined it. It was red, with a Triforce symbol on one side and the Fire symbol on the other, like a red, three-toed claw. He stowed it away in his pack.
Darmani coughed. "My 'brother' here has pretty much summed up my feelings on this. Thanks to you, the mountain, the Gorons of Hymina, and both of our sons are safe. How would you like to be my Sworn Brother?'
Skull Kid shrugged. "Fine by me."
"Great! Then as a symbol of our brotherhood, please accept this Ice Medallion." He tossed it into the air. Skull Kid caught it. He examined it. It was white, with a symbol of the Triforce on the back and a symbol of a delicate snowflake on the front. He put it away.
Rauru got Skull Kid's attention. "Now that that's over with, let's get to business. Your next stop is Zora's Domain. The temples of Water and Great Bay have merged, forming Great Water Temple. There really isn't much history to tell you anymore. By now, you must have figured out that all the current Sages are the descendants of the temple builders. I'll just mention the Water Dragon, tell you where the Domain is, and send you back to Hymina. The Water Dragon's name was Aquarius, and was formed from water molecules. To find Zora's Domain, find a river and follow it to its source." Rauru raised his arms. "Good luck." There was a flash of light and then nothing.
Another chapter in da bag! Will our heroes find Zoras Domain and save it from whatever evil is going down there? Find out!
Disclaimer: Yak yak yak.
Chapter 6
Skull Kid looked around. He was in the entry hall to the temple. It was a rectangular room with small pillars affixed to the walls and a very odd looking sense of décor. Right in front of Skull Kid was a staircase leading up to a platform with a door on either side. In the middle were three tiki-style faces with flames in their mouths. Lining the path to the stairs were arcing fingers of stone and ice. Now here's the weird part. The left side of the room was done in stone, with normal orange fire and elaborate stone carvings, but the right side seemed cold and icy, with no carvings on the walls at all. The flame in the tiki torch was blue. The largest tiki head, the one in the middle, was split, with both orange and blue fire. Fire and Ice Keese flapped around the room. White Boes were hiding behind the arcing fingers. "Whoa…" said Skull Kid. "This place is split right down the middle. One half is fire, the other is ice."
"That's a result of the merging of the two temples." Said Tael. "One half is like the original Fire Temple, while the other is a mix of Snowhead and Fire. We have to choose which door to go through."
Skull Kid walked towards the stairs, easily killing the White Boes and Keese. At the top, he looked at his door options. A lock made of ice sealed the one on the right. The other door was unlocked. Skull Kid decided he had no other option so used it. He was in a square room with several stone platforms and a floor covered with lava. At the far end was a treasure chest. Skull Kid used his hookshot to pull himself across to the chest then opened it. It looked like a small key. "Oh great, not these again!"
"Skull Kid, wait! This is no ordinary small key. Look at it! It's made of silver, and has an icy sheen to it. This is the Ice Key. It is a reusable key that can unlock all icy doors in the temple." Said Tael.
"Really? Cool! Finally, a reusable small key. Well, except for that one back in Forestfall that we used to raise and lower the flower, but that was different." He turned around and realized he had no hookshot target to use. He would have to carefully jump from pillar to pillar, unless…he put on the Goron Mask and jumped into the lava, wading through it to get back to the door. He pulled himself back up to the main platform and went back through the door, reentering the entry hall. He walked across to the icy door, trying not to slide on the slippery floor. Taking out the Ice Key, he opened the door and entered what looked like the main room of Snowhead Temple. It was big and round, with five stories (not including the basement.). He was standing on a ledge that ran to his left across the wall of the room. Two doors were on the ledge, one of which was ice-blocked. Just next to the ledge was a caged in platform with a Goron Switch in it. A stone bridge led from the first, open door across the top of the huge pillar in the middle of the room. Two other stone bridges led away from the pillar top. One led to another ice-blocked door, while the other led to a smaller ledge with a staircase leading up from the basement and an ice- locked door. Ice Keese flew around the higher levels. Skull Kid looked around, not sure where to begin. Since he could see the basement by looking down from the edge of the ledge, he could tell there was nothing down there. He decided to take the normal door on his current ledge. He walked over and went inside, finding a room with a large block stuck in the wall and a lowered floor area to move it around in. Skull Kid walked over to the block and pulled it out. Using his Goron muscles, he moved the block to the farthest point on the track. When he reached it, the block sank into the ground. A treasure chest appeared. Inside was a golden key. "Let me guess, this is the Fire Key and can unlock fiery doors in this temple?" he asked Tael.
"Yeah, how'd you know?"
"Lucky guess. Let's see what's in those other rooms." He reentered the tall room and walked across the bridge and pillar to the icy door. He unlocked it and found himself on a ledge high above a lava pit. The ledge went to his right and straight forward onto a pillar in the middle of the lava. There was nothing on his right except two Freezards. To the left of the pillar was another ledge with a staircase on it. The Freezards were too far away to hurt him, and he didn't want to look for trouble. It was obvious that a Goron could never make the jump to the stairs, so he pulled off the mask, walked to the pillar, and made a running jump to the stairs. He walked up them and found a square tall room. There was a platform in the center and a treasure chest to his left. Higher up was a ledge that covered two walls and jutted out a bit towards the center of the room. The edges were lined with spikes. An eye switch rested on the wall above the ledge, a Freezard just below it. A Real Bombchu scampered around on the floor. Skull Kid ran over to the treasure chest and opened it, revealing…the Dungeon Map! "Oh great. A worthless piece of paper." Muttered Skull Kid. "Link said he never needed these things during his quests, but he never got rid of them." Curious, he took a look at the map and discovered the room he was in was the only chamber on the second floor. It didn't help much, but it was slightly interesting. There was supposed to be a door on the upper ledge leading to the third floor. He stowed away the Map and ran over to the Real Bombchu. When it noticed him, it squeaked and charged. Skull Kid deflected it with his shield. The giant mouse bounced onto its back and exploded. Skull Kid stepped onto the platform and looked at the eye switch. The Freezard was blocking it. He really didn't want to waste arrows, but he would never be able to activate the switch if he didn't get rid of the Freezard. It took four shots, but the Freezard finally shattered, allowing Skull Kid a clear shot at the eye switch. Skull Kid shot the switch with another arrow. The platform he was standing on elevated to the height of the ledge, allowing Skull Kid to jump to it. He made a running jump to the ledge to make sure he didn't hit the spikes. Once on the ledge, he went through the door in front of him. He was back in the main chamber, on the third floor. In front of him was a frozen bridge that went partway across the room, then ended in a ramp. Across the gap was another frozen bridge that also had a ramp. Since the bridges faced each other, it was likely that they had once been the same bridge until something rose up from below and broke the bridge. The only thing that was in the space between and below the bridges was the pillar on the first floor, but it didn't look like it could get any taller. Or could it? At the other end of the room, at the end of the broken bridge, was an ice-locked door. To Skull Kid's right was a ledge that had been covered in a snow bank. A net was placed beneath the bank for people who fell off it. The net and ledge went a quarter of the room's circumference, then stopped on the side of another broken frozen bridge that also once bridged the room and had a continuing segment across the gap. On both sides of the bridge were doors. The one at the end of the snow bank was blocked with ice. A ladder led out of the net onto the bridge with the frozen door, but there was no ladder on Skull Kid's bridge. Skull Kid wanted to find out what was behind the door at the other end of his bridge, but there was only one way to find out. He put on the Goron Mask.
Tael noticed. "Uh, Skull Kid? What are you doing?"
"I'm going to cross the bridge."
"But how? It's broken and…you don't mean…"
"That's right. I'm going to roll across."
"But Skull Kid, are you sure you've had enough practice to use the Goron Roll properly?"
"I'm pretty sure. Besides, if we fall, we'll just climb back up. It's not that long a drop, and since I'm curled up, it won't hurt much."
"I guess you should go ahead then…" said Tael uneasily. Skull Kid backed up to the wall, aimed himself at the door on the other side, and curled up. He began to roll. The ice on the bridge helped speed him up, until he finally sprouted spikes and rolled super fast. He reached the ramp at the broken end of the bridge and rolled over it, launching himself across the gap. He flew through the air for a few seconds before landing on the other bridge and rolling for the door. Before he could uncurl, he hit the door. At full speed, it kind of hurt. He moaned and uncurled.
"Whoa, that was so cool!" he said, slightly dazed.
"You okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Come on, let's go." He was about to unlock the door when Tael stopped him.
"Don't you think you should take the mask off first?" asked Tael.
"Oh yeah." He pulled off the mask and unlocked the door. Inside was a square room with gold-colored bricks covering the walls. Tiles covered the floor. In the middle of the room was a design similar to that of the pillar Skull Kid had used on the second floor. In each corner of the room was a large brick platform with fire shooting from the top of it. The top of each platform had a clear area in the middle of the flames. This clear area was a strange blue tile. Skull Kid walked onto the tile in the middle of the room. He heard a noise. He turned around just in time to see iron bars block the door. Suddenly, from the platform in the top-left corner of the room, a strange creature appeared on the blue tile. It had arms and legs made of wire, each one flaming. It had another flame with a wire frame shaped to have horns, a jaw, and fangs for a head. Its body was a metal sphere with little green eyes and red markings. It also had a pair of legs. In its right hand, it held a large wand/staff with a red flame burning atop it. It cackled, then danced around the room, flying from platform to platform before vanishing back into the blue tile it had showed up on. "Tael, what was that thing?" asked Skull Kid.
"That was a Flare Wizdancer," said Tael. "A combination of a Flare Dancer and a Wizrobe. It dances from flame to flame, throwing fire spells at you, and…HE'S RIGHT BEHIND YOU!"
Skull Kid whirled around in time to see the Wizdancer spinning on one of the platforms, just before it hurled a massive blast of fire at him. Skull Kid barely missed the blast. The Wizdancer cackled as it vanished into the blue tile. Skull Kid turned around, trying to see where it would pop up next. "So, how do I attack?" asked Skull Kid.
"Whenever the Wizard pops up, it spins around on its tile for several seconds before throwing a spell at you. While it's spinning, shoot it with an arrow, then grapple onto its core with your hookshot. Once you have it, stab it repeatedly. I'll target him for you whenever he pops up. He's over there! Get your crossbow!" Tael flew over to the Wizdancer, who was spinning on its tile. Skull Kid shot it with an arrow. The monster screeched and stopped dancing for a moment, its flames dissipating, causing the core to fall to the ground. Skull Kid quickly switched his crossbow for his hookshot and grappled the monster's core, pulling it towards him. While it was confused, Skull Kid pulled out his dagger and stabbed the core repeatedly, thought it tried to get away repeatedly by running on its little legs. But it was too slow when it came to turning, and Skull Kid was always able to stab it some more. Finally, the core managed to get away from him. It jumped back onto one of the platforms, vanishing onto the tile. Skull Kid pulled out his crossbow and panned the room. As he did, the flames turned from orange to blue. The Wizdancer popped out of one of the tiles and started spinning. "Watch out! His spin is shorter now, and he throws ice spells!" shouted Tael as he flew over to the monster.
"No problem." Said Skull Kid, squeezing off another arrow. While the Wizdancer was stunned, he grappled it off its platform and repeatedly stabbed it, running around it whenever it tried to get away.
Finally, it jumped back into the fire, vanishing on another tile. As Skull kid panned the room, the flames turned green. The Wizdancer popped out of another tile, green as well. Instead of spinning, it created a copy of itself that danced from platform to platform while the real monster prepared its spell. Before Skull Kid could even raise his bow, the Wizdancer finished its spin and threw a lightning bolt, which the imp barely dodged. As the monster vanished once more, Skull Kid decided to shoot the instant e saw the Wizdancer next time. Both Wizdancers, the copy and the real one, appeared on different platforms. As the fake danced, Skull Kid shot and grappled the real Wizdancer. He stabbed it again and again and again, until finally, it jumped into the flames once more. A minute later, it reappeared on another tile, still in green flames, and jumped off the platform, screeching as it hit the floor. All the fire in the room was extinguished. The blue tiles combusted into purple flames. The Wizdancer's core swelled, growing really big. Then, it exploded. Skull Kid was out of the way by then, so he didn't need to worry. The door unlocked. A treasure chest appeared in the middle of the room, on the weird tile. Skull Kid ran over and opened it, expecting another key. He found something else. It was a bag of fifty strange devices. Each device had what looked like a digital screen on its back, with sticky pads on its front. A remote control was included with a few buttons on it. All of the devices bore an emblem of a large fish hovering over a giant island. "What are these?" asked Skull Kid. "That emblem looks familiar as well."
"That's the emblem of Atlantis! These must be some of the machines from there." Skull Kid immediately understood. In the Mesmorian library, he had read much about the true history of Atlantis. It was a giant island, really more of a small continent. It was inhabited by a powerful race of Zoras, with a civilization dating back to the age before humans had evolved. They were incredibly advanced. Nobody but fairies had ever been to Atlantis, which was why the Mesmorians knew about it. The Atlanteans had tamed the monsters of the seas and the land using mind-control devices. They had erected huge cities and vehicles. They had a guard of sea monsters to keep out trespassers. They even had robots; machines that walked, talked, and acted like people. Atlantis was also known as the only place on the planet where dinosaurs and other prehistoric beasts (aside from Dodongos) still roamed the world.
"Do you know what kind of machine it is?"
"Let me see…I remember seeing a picture of these back home…oh yeah! These are a more advanced form of bomb. They can be attached to any surface using those sticky pads on their underside. You can also set a timer for detonation, or leave it off and use that remote control to automatically detonate a bomb. The bag protects the bombs from the control's radio signal, preventing them from blowing up. The signal will detonate any bombs in a room when activated. You can even attach them to your arrows to blow up stuff far away."
"Now, this is a useful weapon." Said Skull Kid. He put the advanced technology into his pack and left the room. It looked like he would have to cross the bridge again. He put on the Goron Mask and rolled across the bridge. He then jumped into the net and walked across to the other side, where he climbed out and examined the frozen door. "Hey Tael, how do you think we can melt these doors?"
"Well, we would need something hot, like a Fire Arrow. Too bad we don't have one, or something similar."
"Yeah, too bad. Well, let's cross this next bridge." Skull Kid curled up and rolled across the bridge the same way he had done the last two times. On the other side, he unlocked the icy door and found himself in an odd corridor. Just like the entrance hall, it was split: one half Snowhead, one half Fire. A fiery lock sealed the door at the other end. Skull Kid used his Fire Key to unlock the door and entered the next room. It was just as big as the room he had left, but not nearly as tall. It was also round. Fire Keese flew around the area. In the middle was a huge pillar, the same size as the one back in the Ice side, but raised. A wall came from the back of the pillar, separating the two halves of the room in that direction. Skull Kid was on a platform with stairs leading down to the room. Directly in front of him was a floor grating that overlooked the room where he had found the Ice Key, with a square pavilion in the middle. A block was in front of that, in front of a platform jutting from the pillar. Around the room were various flame-thrower pillars, fake doors, and small pillars that concealed walls of fire. Boulders rolled around throughout. Skull Kid tried to explore the room, but kept running into concealed walls of fire. As a Goron, they didn't hurt him, but they did impede his progress. After several minutes, he determined that crossing the right side of the room would be impossible. He tried the left. After several more minutes, he made it to a door leading inside the pillar. It was hollow and had no top. He was in a passage between two high platforms. A treasure chest was in the middle of the room. He could see another room far above him, but he could not reach it. He opened the treasure chest to find…a compass. He grumbled to himself that whoever had put out all this stuff could have been a little more considerate. He saw another door across from him, so went through it. He found himself in the right side of the room, in a position to go somewhere. After several minutes, he found a door and a switch, but they were on a platform surrounded by fire. He found a switch nearby that would lower the flames, but it was on a timer. That meant he would have to run. And his Goron form couldn't take that. As an imp, the fire would hurt a lot, but he had bought a few Red Potions back in Kakariko just in case of an emergency. He scouted the way to the platform, memorizing which spaces between pillars didn't have walls of fire. Then he went back to the switch took off the Goron Mask, and stepped on it. The wall of fire lowered. He quickly ran back to it, jumping onto the platform just before the fire re- ignited. Relieved that he had made it, he walked up to the door and tried to open it. It was a fake door and tried to fall on him. He barely jumped away in time. He took out his Blast Mask, faced the door, and raised his shield. He concentrated on the Mask's power. It exploded, destroying the door and the fake wall behind it, revealing the real door, which was fire- sealed. Before using the Fire Key, Skull Kid tested the switch. It lowered the wall of fire, permanently switching it off. Skull Kid unlocked and entered it and found himself in an octagonal room, with a small pillar in each corner. It was done in the same basic style of the rest of the Fire side of the temple. In the center was a platform with a short set of stairs leading up to it. The platform's edges were flaming, and a blue tile was in the middle. "Oh no, not another one." Groaned Skull Kid. Iron bars sealed the door behind him. Another Wizdancer appeared on the blue tile and cackled. Tael flew out, ready for targeting. "Tael, I don't think I'll need you for this battle. There's only one tile, so he can't trick me. I can handle it."
"Okay." Said Tael. Skull Kid prepared to fight the Wizdancer. True to his word, he didn't need any help with this one at all. He easily defeated the Flare Wizdancer. "Hey, nice job!" said Tael. "Maybe you don't need my after all."
"Don't be silly." Said Skull Kid. "Look, the flame on the platform's extinguished. And there's a hole on the ceiling that looks like the platform fits into. There's probably a correlation." He hoped onto the platform. It started to rise into the ceiling. Tael quickly flew after Skull Kid before the platform could get too far out of reach for him to rejoin Skull Kid. They ascended a tall shaft and finally reached a corridor. They walked down the corridor, unlocked the fire-sealed door at the end, and entered a big round room with blocks and a stairway leading to an elevated platform just behind and above the door with a treasure chest surrounded by a wall of fire. The room had a big hole in the middle. The hole was actually the inside of the pillar where Skull Kid had gotten the compass. This was the room he had seen from below. A switch was in front of him. Skull Kid stepped on it. The fire around the chest extinguished. A timer started ticking. Skull Kid knew he could either race up the narrow stairs and risk his life at the very edge of the top of the hollow pillar, over a drop that would kill him if he misstepped in an attempt to get to the chest before time ran out, or he could just hookshot to it. He chose to hookshot. He pulled himself to the chest, then ran around to the front and opened it before the timer could run out. Inside he found something really cool. It was a large, heavy metal hammer with the symbol of the Fire Medallion on the face of the hammer's blunt end. "Wow, what is it?" asked Skull Kid.
"It's the Gigaton Hammer! It's like the Megaton Hammer, but smaller and more powerful. It also weighs less. You can activate Goron Switches without having to change form, and when you slam it on the ground, it unleashes a wave of fire that melts any ice and burns anything in a twenty- foot radius." Said Tael.
"Cool. This is definitely useful." Said Skull Kid grinning. "Now, how do we get back to the Ice side? There must be a shortcut. The old Fire Temple did."
"Check your map." Suggested Tael.
Skull Kid did. "Oh no! There is no shortcut! We'll have to walk all the way back to the Ice section." He was correct, of course. One hour later, he and Tael managed to make it back to the third floor of the Ice half, where they had started. Skull kid paused a moment to catch his breath. After that, he put on the Goron Mask and rolled over the bridge.
When they got to the other side, he walked past the ice block, heading for the snow bank. "Aren't you going to melt the block?" asked Tael.
"I will, but not until I melt the blocks on the first floor as well." He curled into a ball and rolled across the snow bank. When he reached the other side, he entered the door. He jumped down to the second floor (the pillar elevator had reset), took off the mask, and ran down the stairs to the first floor. He hopped to the pillar, then ran across the bridge to the main chamber, first floor. He ran across the pillar to the block that was straight across from the main door to the chamber and struck the block with the Gigaton Hammer. Nothing happened. "Tael, I thought you said this thing made waves of fire."
"It makes waves of fire if you hit the ground."
"Oh, right." He raised the hammer and brought it onto the ground. A wave of fire shot out, melting the block of ice. He walked in and entered a cave that curved around part of the main chamber. The other frozen door from the main chamber led to this room as well, but at the other end. It was a deep cavern with several pillars rising from the ground below. The floor extended to the 'basement' part of the temple. There was a door that led to the 'basement' of the main chamber and a frozen yellow Deku Flower that would provide access back to the rest of the room. The pillars were close enough together for Skull Kid to jump across them. Scattered around the pillars were three Freezards and three unlit braziers. Along the wall facing the main chamber, closer to the other frozen door, was a barred door on a ledge. Skull Kid figured he had to kill all the enemies in the room, or light the braziers, or both. So, he went to it. He hopped across the pillars towards the nearest Freezard. When he was in range for him to use the hammer, but just far enough away to avoid the Freezard's ice breath, Skull Kid hit the ground with his hammer. The Freezard was melted by the wave of fire. Skull Kid repeated the process with each Freezard then used the hammer to light the three braziers. When he was finished, the unfrozen door was unbarred. Skull Kid pillar-hopped over to the door and opened it. He was inside the caged alcove back in the main chamber, with the Goron switch. Skull Kid knew he could just transform into a Goron and slam it, but he had a different idea. He stepped onto the switch, raised his hammer, and smashed the switch into the floor. The entire temple shook as the giant pillar in the middle of the chamber rose from the ground, going all the way to the fifth floor, perfectly fitting in the gap between all the broken bridges. When it reached the gap on the fifth floor bridges, plugging it up, Skull Kid and Tael stared in amazement. "I…think it's time to melt that block on the third floor." Said Skull Kid.
"Yeah…yeah, let's go." Said Tael. Of course, this was easier said than done. The pillar's rising had blocked the bridges on the first floor from each other, meaning they couldn't just walk across to the room with the staircase to the second and third floors. Fortunately, after a moment of puzzling over the map, Skull Kid had a solution. They went back into the room they had entered from, the one with all the pillars, and jumped to the basement. Then they went through the door to the main chamber's basement. They skirted past the lava pools and made it to the staircase to the first floor. Once there, they easily made it to the room with the second floor staircase. Once on the second floor, Skull Kid stood on the platform and shot the eye switch, reactivating the lift. He then exited to the third floor. The pillar was now blocking the way to the Fire side and the Wizdancer's room, but there was nothing left there anyway. Skull Kid jumped into the net, walked over to the other side, and climbed out. He used the hammer to melt the ice block, revealing a staircase. Skull Kid ran up the stairs and found himself on the fourth floor. The pillar was still in the way. A normal brick bridge ran across to the pillar, stopping in front of it. Another brick bridge ran out to the pillar from a ledge with a door one- quarter of the way across the room to Skull Kid's right. A ledge with a snow bank led down to it. Skull Kid turned into a Goron and carefully rolled across the snow bank. When he reached the other side, he uncurled and pulled off the mask. "Hey Skull Kid, why don't you stay as a Goron?" asked Tael.
"I don't know. I guess it's my imp nature. I prefer to be small and fast. Being a Goron is cool, but they're too slow." He looked up at the pillar and saw a covered bridge leading towards the pillar from the wall. It was directly across from the bridge he had entered on. He wondered how he could get there. It looked like the only way would be to lower the pillar somehow. He turned around and walked through the door. Inside was a small oblong room with several rock pillars. There were two weird snowman monsters, one big, the other little. Skull Kid recognized them as Eenos, yeti made of snow that hurled big snowballs. Of course, since they were made of snow that meant they were weak against fire. Before either Eenos could make a move, Skull Kid used his Gigaton Hammer to melt them both. At the other end of the room was a door frozen in a block of ice. He melted it and found a staircase. He walked up it to the fifth floor. He was in an irregularly shaped room with a pair of Dinolfos, the fire-breathing type. Skull Kid pounded the ground with his hammer, turning both Dinolfos into roasted lizard. He exited through the door at the other end of the room and found himself back in the main chamber. He was at the top. He could see the ceiling not too far above him, made of reflective ice. He was on a bridge leading to the top of the pillar, which bridged the gap to another bridge with a ledge going to the left. Straight ahead was a door. On the end of the ledge was another door, this one barred. Above him were two more bridges, at right angles to the one he was on now. He saw no way to reach those bridges. At least, not yet. A Goron switch was now on top of the pillar. Skull Kid headed across to the door, ignoring the switch. He would hit it later. He entered the room behind the door. It was rectangular, with two wooden platforms a person could climb up on. To Skull Kid's left was a barred door. Scattered throughout the room were five very familiar-looking platforms with fire spouting from the edges. "Oh no." said Skull Kid. Iron bars sealed the door behind him. A Flare Wizdancer popped out of one of the blue tiles and cackled. Skull Kid sighed. "Tael, I think I'm going to need your help on this one." Several minutes later, Skull Kid had disposed of the Wizdancer. Both doors opened. He went through the one on the left. He was in a small room with an ornate treasure chest. He opened it and found…the Boss Key! Now he could get into the chamber where the boss was and save the mountain! Of course, it would help if he actually knew where the boss room was. He exited through the door at the back of the room and was in the main chamber once again. He had an idea of what he had to do. He walked back over to the pillar top and stood on the Goron switch. He raised his hammer and smashed the switch into the ground. The temple rumbled again. The pillar lowered, stopping when its top was even with the bridges on the fourth floor. Skull Kid now had access to the covered bridge. It was full of snowballs, but he easily got rid of them using the hammer. At the back of the bridge was a stairway. He ran up it and found himself on the highest bridge in the temple, the one he had seen a little while ago. Straight across the gap was the other bridge, which ended in a ledge with an ominous-looking locked door. Skull Kid put on the Goron Mask, curled into a ball, and rolled across the bridge. He uncurled on the other side and pulled off his mask. He unlocked the door and went inside. He was in a large round chamber with a domed roof, covered with very sharp icicles. The room was like a huge track encircling a pool of lava. A fence to keep people from falling in surrounded the pool. Hanging above the pit by two chains descending from a single metal ring were two blocks of ice. Inside each block was a Goron. They looked quite similar. Skull Kid recognized the one with the longer beard as Darunia and the one with the shorter beard as Darmani. That meant Darmani was the next Sage, though he had already expected that. He wondered where Goht was, and how he was going to get the Gorons down.
"Skull Kid?" Wait! Maybe he could use those new bombs as arrows like Tael had mentioned. "Skull Kid?" Yeah, he could blast out the supports on the chains suspending the blocks of ice. The lava would melt them, and they'd be saved! "Skull Kid?"
Skull Kid sighed, losing his train of thought. "What is it Tael?"
"Skull Kid, I think you should look to your right. Now."
Skull Kid turned to his right. He wished he hadn't. Standing there was a thirty-foot tall beast, made of metal. It was like a giant, mechanical goat. Its belly was covered in brown plates, except for the middle of the chest, which was a mass of cables with a single gear at the front. Its back was covered in purple plates with a one, a zero, and another one painted onto each plate. Several spots on the back and sides were not covered with plates, and had gears sticking out. The joints connecting the legs to the body were more big purple plates. These plates had an empty spot in the middle with more gears. The plates behind the neck jutted out and had red bird-like symbols painted on them. The legs were a mix of brown plating, cables, and gears, with hooves made of iron. The plates just below the knee joints were red and had strange markings on them. The neck was covered with brown plates mixed with cables and a few gears from below, and covered by purple plates from above. Each neck and leg plate was jointed to allow flexibility in movement. Its head was the most intriguing part. First of all, even though it was a mechanical goat, it had horns like a bull. They were great, pointy horns, very strong. The head was shaped like a long red triangular wedge decorated with symbols. Above and between the horns was a large, yellow-red jewel set in the forehead. But most puzzling was the machine's face. Instead of being like that of a goat, it was like that of a human. It had a jutting purple chin, a mouth in an open frown, a hard nose, wrinkles, and angry, empty eyes. It was Goht, the mechanical monster, one of Majora's demons. Skull Kid backed away in fright, not sure how to begin the battle. He recalled Link saying that the first time he had fought Goht, he had done so as a Goron, but had used arrows on his second try. However, the door had no alcove for Skull Kid to hide in. He was about to put on the Goron Mask when he noticed something. The robot was not moving. It was just standing there, inanimate, like the hunk of metal it was. Skull Kid sighed in relief and walked over to the machine. "I think it's all right Tael, it's turned off or something."
Tael sighed in relief as well. "I'm sorry, I just thought it was going to attack or something." He flew over it, looking at every nook and cranny. "Hey, I had a thought. If Goht is a demon, how can he be a robot?"
"Good question. Majora didn't tell me during my possession, but I suspect Goht is actually more of a vehicle. The demon is the pilot that drives the machine. The Atlanteans have many robots that work that way as well."
"Wow! I wonder if the Atlanteans have any robots to rival this."
Skull Kid snorted derisively. "Better? From the stuff I saw in the history section, the Atlanteans have robots that would put this one to shame. The Atlantean war robots, hell, the Atlantean monsters that serve their army could reduce this machine to scrap."
"Tell me about it." Grumbled a voice from behind them. Skull Kid and Tael whirled around to find a strange creature that hadn't been there before. It was short, only about as tall as Skull Kid's waist. And since Skull Kid was only as tall as your average ten-year-old was, that didn't say a lot for this creature's size. It actually looked a lot like a frog. It had muscular folded legs and a black pair of shorts. It was bare-chested and had what looked like ice crystals growing from its back. It had thick, muscular arms that reached to the ground. In its right hand was a trident. It had a short cape over its back. It had a large throat sac and a little goatee. It was pure white in color, with blazing blue eyes.
"Um, hi, who are you?" asked Skull Kid.
"I am Goht!"
"No, that's Goht," said Tael, pointing to the huge inert robot goat behind them. "You're just a weird looking Gekko."
The creature seemed to take offense to that. "I am no mere Gekko! I am a powerful demon, servant to Prince Majora himself!"
"Oh." Said Skull Kid. He slowly and carefully reached for his holy dagger. "So you're the demon Goht? Then what's the thing behind me?"
The demon paused. "All right, my name isn't Goht. I am the demon Quagmire, the one who built and controls Goht."
"Why did you build him?" asked Skull Kid.
"I was bored. I had already done all my torturing for the day and had nothing else to do. It started as a hobby, but eventually turned into an obsession. I wanted to build an invincible war machine, but couldn't. So I just built a really powerful one instead. When Prince Majora and his brothers were readying their invasion on the mortal worlds, I was selected because of my mechanical skills. When the mission in Termina failed, the Golden Goddesses made me one with my own machine, sealing both into a mask. When Majora finally returned with you as a host, he was able to partially free me from the mask, but I was still trapped inside the machine. Then your friend, that stupid mortal, managed to defeat me in my weakened state. He later exorcised me from the mask, sending me back to Hell. I was still trapped in the machine/mask, until the prince was restored to full power. I was then completely freed, along with the others who had been imprisoned." He grinned. "And I now stand before you, whole once again, along with my machine. It is now at full strength. Let me assure you, arrows will not damage it. You will not be able to use that tactic at all. My robot is almost invincible, and as soon as I kill you, I can put those Gorons back to work on mining the ore."
"What do you want with the ore anyway?" asked Tael.
"The ore will be used to upgrade Goht's armor, as well as build an army of other robots like him. Once this army is completed, we will be able to storm the continent of Atlantis."
"How come Majora doesn't just go there and do it himself? Or maybe bombard them with meteors?" asked Skull Kid.
"The Atlantean continent is too well-defended. Not even a demon could manage to penetrate the defenses. They have hundreds of holy weapons with which to protect themselves from my kind. But once I am able to begin construction of the army, Atlantis will fall! And it won't take long either. I already almost have enough ore to build the army. It should only take a week or two to make."
"Why have you just told us all of your evil plans?" asked Tael.
"Because I'm about to kill you for trespassing in this temple, and for slaying Odolwa. And I want to boast my plans to somebody who doesn't already know them. Now, prepare to die!"
"I don't think so!" yelled Skull Kid.
He lunged at the demon, his dagger drawn. Quagmire leapt over Skull Kid and hopped onto the top of Goht. He opened a hatch on the top of the robot's head and climbed in. There were several noises, clanks and clunks and grinding. Then, the head shook from side to side. One of the hooves tapped the ground. The robot shuffled the ground, snorted, and charged! Skull Kid barely jumped out of the way of the robot's iron hooves. Quagmire laughed, his voice coming from Goht's mouth. "Well little imp, let's see how you like being trampled to pieces! Hahahahahaha!"
1.1 GOHT/QUAGMIRE: DEMON-OPERATED MECHANICAL MONSTER
Goht started running around the track in a counter-clockwise fashion. The machine was pretty fast, but would take a few minutes to make a complete lap. Skull Kid tried shooting an arrow, but Goht was too fast. He tried to think about what to do. He stood there, waiting for the machine to come by. When it came around the bend, Skull kid shot it with his crossbow. Goht did not react, showing the arrow had no effect. Goht responded to his attack by firing lightning bolts from its horns. Skull Kid was able to block them with his shield, but the robot kept firing. Skull Kid rolled out of the way of the goat's hooves, barely missing a small thunderbolt. Goht kept running. Skull Kid had an idea. He put on the Goron Mask, changing into a Goron. He curled into a ball and started running after Goht, picking up speed until he managed to spike out and match Goht's speed. As he caught up to the robot, he swerved under the legs and went right beneath the belly, trying to damage it with his spikes. Sparks shot out from the impact of metal on metal. "Heheheh. Your attack is nothing compared to my robot's armor! It is made from an alloy composed of brimstone and…what is this? You're actually causing damage! How is this possible? Argh! I knew I shouldn't have exposed those cables. Oh well, it's only superficial damage, and I know how to stop this!" Skull Kid immediately backed up, his spikes causing scars on the armor plating. He barely got out from underneath Goht before it stopped and slammed its belly into the ground. If Skull Kid's instincts hadn't told him to get out, he would have been crushed. But Quagmire had just given him a perfect opportunity to attack! He rolled forward, his spikes ready to inflict more damage. He could tell that the purple plating was not as strong as that of the brown, since the monster was too tall for an overhead attack unless one could fly or was in a tree. He smashed into it several times, causing it to buckle and dent. Since Goht was trying to get up, each blow from Skull Kid knocked it down again. Quagmire was confused and astonished. This pathetic imp had actually discovered a flaw in his defenses! He shouldn't have been overconfident and used stronger ore for the bottom plating. It was time for him to use one of his emergency measures. As Skull Kid backed away, ready to inflict another strike, A bomb dropped from a hatch on Goht's rear. As Skull kid raced towards the downed machine, he struck the bomb. It exploded, uncurling him. He groaned and held his head. It hadn't really hurt, but he had a fair- sized migraine. Goht got up. Just before it started running again, it kicked a large chunk of turf at Skull Kid, knocking him down. Goht started running faster than before, hitting the ground harder. The impact of his hooves on the ground shook the room, causing icicles to fall from the ceiling in his wake. As Skull Kid pulled himself up, he saw Goht coming right for him, its head down, its horns ready to gore him. Skull Kid stood up and waited for the monster. He had a plan, but he had to time it perfectly or he would die. He let his mind drift, allowing his instincts to take over. Under his instinct's guidance, he reared back his fist and punched, his mighty fist connecting with the goat's face, smashing it in. Goht stumbled back, wobbling. It staggered, its internal machinery malfunctioning as a result from the punch. Even Quagmire was hurt, for his cockpit was right behind the face. After staggering around for a few moments, Goht finally fell to the ground, its internal damage too great. As Quagmire frantically started up the auto-repair mechanism, Skull Kid climbed onto Goht and ran over to the panel he had damaged from before. He curled up and performed multiple Goron Pounds, denting and damaging the plate even more.
Suddenly, Goht got back on its feet and continued running. The only thing that kept Skull Kid from falling off was that he managed to grab onto the edge of the heavily dented and wrecked plate, hanging on for his life as Goht ran around the room, dropping bombs and making more icicles drop. Skull Kid managed to pull himself up onto Goht's back. It was large enough for him to walk across. His Goron form's weight and mass didn't make it easy for him to be shaken off. He needed an inspiration. "Tael, got any ideas?"
"Hey, maybe we could use some of those new bombs?"
"Great idea! Let me change back." He pulled off the mask and almost fell down. He was now smaller, so his mass wouldn't keep him on balance. He fell onto hands and knees, gripping the armor. He took out one of the Atlantean bombs and slipped it into a crack between the plate he had damaged and the robot's innards. He crawled up the hull, looking for more joint spots to plant bombs. He found several seams in the armor, planting bombs at each crack. He found a spot to plant a bomb at the spot between the neck and the head. He was about to plant one, went he saw the hatch to the cockpit. And he suddenly had a much better idea of where to plant the bomb. He carefully crawled up the neck and climbed onto the head. This was the hardest place to stay on, since it shook the most. The stomping of Goht's hooves covering him, Skull Kid popped open the hatch.
He looked down into the cockpit. It was a small, cramped place with several cables and flashing lights on the walls. Quagmire was sitting in a tiny chair in front of a screen that projected the picture of what could be seen through Goht's eyes in front of him. He was grumbling to himself. "Where could he have gone? I've made several rounds now. Where is he? He can't be fast enough to be right behind me, but not attack, can he? Then again, he could be slowed down by all of the things I've left for him. Maybe I should stop or turn around? No, no…" While the demon mused, Skull Kid considered stabbing him from behind, ending his threat, but decided the cockpit was too cramped for any attack. Instead, he planted the bomb on the inside of the hatch and closed it.
He crawled back over to the robot's back and put on the Goron Mask. "Here we go…" he said to himself. He curled into a ball and rolled off Goht. He ricocheted off the wall, struck Goht on the side (causing it to wobble) and hit the ground. Goht kept running, still dropping bombs and icicles. Once the machine was far enough away (and the dropped bombs had exploded) he pulled off his mask, whipped out the remote, and pressed the button. All of the bombs on Goht simultaneously detonated, wracking the robot's body with explosions. The panels of armor on the robot's body were violently ripped off by the explosions, throwing them around. Stunned, Goht fell to the ground. However, there was no explosion from the cockpit. The head remained attached to the robot's body. "Tael! Why didn't the head come off?"
"I told you that the remote detonates every bomb in the room you are in. the cockpit counts as a different room, so the bomb didn't explode. But look on the bright side! Now you can do major damage to the robot directly!"
"Good point. I doubt a normal arrow will do the trick, but what about a Bomb Arrow?" he said, grinning. He pulled one of the bombs from his pack and affixed it to an arrow. Aiming with Tael's targeting, he shot the arrow across the lava pit, lodging between some gears. Skull Kid activated the remote, causing an explosion inside of the robot's inner workings. It thrashed for a few moments, but then got up! It came charging at Skull Kid, faster than ever before! Quagmire was really angry, and he was going to mow down Skull Kid! Skull Kid knew he had to think of something, for Goht would be there in a few seconds. Suddenly, he remembered how he had been able to use Odolwa's Mask, turning the insects against their master. He reached into the mask, pulled out Goht's Mask, and put it on. He concentrated, trying to activate whatever power it had. Goht was only yards away, ready to squash the impudent little imp. Skull Kid found the mask's power and focused on it. The horns on his mask glowed and crackled, firing a bolt of lightning at the robot. The robot reacted, swerving away from Skull Kid. Without the shockproof armor that Quagmire had installed, the monstrous machine was horrendously damaged by Skull Kid's lightning bolt. The robot was wracked with more explosions, the electrical current running through its entire body, making its way through the cables to the cockpit. Quagmire screamed in pain as the lightning coursed through his body and the entire cockpit. But it did more than just that. It also triggered the bomb Skull Kid had planted on the hatch. It exploded. The head was ripped from Goht's neck, careening through the air until it sank into the lava pool. The headless body of Goht ran around out of control. It smashed into a wall and kept running, even though it was going nowhere. All of its surplus bombs either dropped from their chute or explode in their holding container. Either way, the construct was wracked with explosions, causing the ceiling to cave in on it, burying the metal monstrosity. A moment later, the rocks were thrown away as what was left of Goht self-destructed. Skull Kid pulled off the mask and did a little victory dance. However, the dance was cut short when Quagmire leaped out of the lava pool and charged Skull Kid, screaming and waving his trident. Skull Kid pulled out his knife just as the demon reached him. He ran right into Skull Kid's knife, impaling himself. The demon gasped and fell to the ground, his body combusting into flames. Skull Kid finished his victory dance.
"You da imp!" said Tael eagerly. They high-fived. Skull Kid mopped his brow, and not just because of the heat from the lava. That had been a very tough battle.
"That was much harder than the fight with Odolwa. Well, it's time to wake up the Sages. Look! A portal thingy to the Temple of Light has opened. Tael, please target the base of the chains so I can blast them." Tael flew up to the metal ring. Skull Kid attached another bomb to an arrow and fired. The chains exploded, dropping the ice into the lava. A few minutes later, the two Gorons rose to the surface, spluttering and looking confused. "Over here!" yelled Skull Kid.
The Gorons swam over to him and bashed the fence down. They walked over to Skull Kid. Darunia frowned. "You look familiar."
"Yeah, haven't I seen you before?" asked Darmani.
"My name's Skull Kid. You saw me a couple of weeks ago back in the Chamber of Sages."
"Oh yeah! You're that imp who looked like he was dying of boredom." Said Darunia.
"Like you weren't?" muttered Tael.
Darunia frowned. Before he could retort, Darmani stopped him. "Hey, Brother, shouldn't we be heading to that Temple of Light place to reward this kid for all his hard work?"
Darunia smiled. "Yeah, I forgot about that. Come on kid. Let's go." They walked into the portal, disappearing into the Sacred Realm.
Skull Kid found himself in the Chamber of Sages once again. Rauru was on the Light platform, smiling and applauding. Saria and the Queen were not on their platforms. The platform next to it (which looked like a mix of the symbols for the Fire and Water Medallions) glowed as Darunia and Darmani appeared on it. Rauru grinned and stopped clapping. "Well done, m'boy. Well done indeed. You have accomplished half of your quest to save the Sages. Now, I believe your new friends would like to say something."
Darunia cleared his throat. "I would like to personally thank you for freeing me and my 'brother' from staying frozen. You have saved my mountain and my people. Please, accept this Fire Medallion as my thanks." He raised his arms. There was a flash, high above. The Medallion twirled down.
Skull Kid raised his hands in order to grab it. The Medallion missed his hands and hit him on the head. "Ow! That hurt!"
"Oops. Sorry." Said Darunia. Skull Kid rubbed his forehead and picked up the Medallion from where it had landed. He examined it. It was red, with a Triforce symbol on one side and the Fire symbol on the other, like a red, three-toed claw. He stowed it away in his pack.
Darmani coughed. "My 'brother' here has pretty much summed up my feelings on this. Thanks to you, the mountain, the Gorons of Hymina, and both of our sons are safe. How would you like to be my Sworn Brother?'
Skull Kid shrugged. "Fine by me."
"Great! Then as a symbol of our brotherhood, please accept this Ice Medallion." He tossed it into the air. Skull Kid caught it. He examined it. It was white, with a symbol of the Triforce on the back and a symbol of a delicate snowflake on the front. He put it away.
Rauru got Skull Kid's attention. "Now that that's over with, let's get to business. Your next stop is Zora's Domain. The temples of Water and Great Bay have merged, forming Great Water Temple. There really isn't much history to tell you anymore. By now, you must have figured out that all the current Sages are the descendants of the temple builders. I'll just mention the Water Dragon, tell you where the Domain is, and send you back to Hymina. The Water Dragon's name was Aquarius, and was formed from water molecules. To find Zora's Domain, find a river and follow it to its source." Rauru raised his arms. "Good luck." There was a flash of light and then nothing.
Another chapter in da bag! Will our heroes find Zoras Domain and save it from whatever evil is going down there? Find out!