Chapter 7
The next morning Mirren woke up feeling a little funny. What Zelda had said to him made him feel like a great deal of magic was running through his veins. He felt like he'd never want to tell it to anyone, but it just made him feel great. He had never felt like this before, it was like that was the only thing he could think about. He thought about it for a little while until he thought of something.
"Do I, love her?" he asked himself. He thought of the question for a little bit before shaking his head. "Of course not! What was I thinking!?" he said to himself again. He got out of bed and left his room. Even though he was saying he didn't, there was that thought in the back of his head saying:
"Yes, you do love her"
He knew that today he'd probably leave with Link for Death Mountain Crater to fight the Evil Phoenix, so he went back into his room and took his scabbard off the wall. He grabbed the handle and pulled out his marvelous broadsword. The blade shining in the sunlight, and the golden hilt shining also. He smiled and put it back in the scabbard and attached it to his back. He then took his bow and quiver off the wall and attached that too. He finally took his knapsack and attached it to his belt. He then left the room and began walking down the corridor to the great hall. He opened up the huge doors, and saw Link, all dressed up ready to leave.
"Glad to see you're ready, want any breakfast before we go?" he asked. Mirren shook his head.
"I'm fine, I have some apples and walnuts in my knapsack, I could snack on those if I get hungry" he answered. Link smiled.
"Good, well, ya ready to leave on our final journey?" he asked again. Mirren nodded
"I'm always ready" he answered with a grin. Link smiled at him.
"You're like no other kid I've ever met" he replied, "and Jarlis won't be coming. I guess he's still a little depressed about his grandfather, and he told me he wanted to stay back and train. The same goes for Mardera, so it'll be just us." Mirren laughed.
"Great" he said sarcastically. Link looked at Mirren a little angry at first, but soon smiled and laughed with his little brother. After that they went and said goodbye to everyone. That being Mardera, Jarlis, Faria, Impa, and Zelda. Link had no trouble saying anything to Zelda, but Mirren was a little nervous. Luckily though, he made it out all right without making any really bad mistakes or saying anything stupid.
For the next hour, Link and Mirren flew Goldenfire all the way through Death Mountain to the Goron Capital, Goron City. They decided it'd be best if they first spoke with Darunia first before they made a mad dash into Death Mountain Crater to fight the Evil Phoenix. Goron City was now much much larger than before. Over the years, the Gorons had carved into the rock and built rooms to sleep in, an armory, an archive, a dining hall, and even more shops. They walked down the numerous stairs and pathways through the city and finally came to Darunia's room. They walked into the torch lighten room, and saw Darunia just standing next to the large, Goron-like pillar in his room.
"Good ta see ya Brother!" he exclaimed mainly to Link, "I've been expectin' you! I see ya brought Mirren!" Link smiled and rubbed Mirren's head.
"Yep, wouldn't go anywhere without my little bro!" he replied. Darunia also smiled and walked to Mirren.
"Yo Mirren!" he said, "Ya know, your brother and me are sworn brothers, and I'd appreciate it if you would become my sworn little brother!" Darunia put a hand out for a shake from Mirren. Mirren could only laugh a little and put his hand out also. They both shook each other's hands and smiled.
"Alright! Thata boy!" Darunia said patting Mirren on the head. Even though Darunia didn't mean to do it though, with four swift pats, he knocked Mirren flat from the incredible strength. "Alright then, I think it'd be best if I show ya something over by the table, come with me!" Darunia spoke again. As he began walking over, Mirren slowly got up and groaned from the pain as he rubbed his head. Link laughed and knelt down by him.
"Hey, don't take it too hard, I only lasted three pats when I was about your age!" he whispered in his ear. He still laughed a little as he walked over to the table where Darunia was standing. Mirren then finally was on his feet but still hurting a little.
"I don't see what's so funny 'bout me almost getting a concussion!" he said quietly. He then walked over to the table and saw on it a beautiful parchment with a spectacular drawing on it. It was a great bird erupting from flames and burning with the fire. Its mouth was open spewing out a beam of fire.
"I found this in an old room in the city. I believe it has something to do with the Evil Phoenix in Death Mountain Crater" he said. Link looked at the picture and nodded.
"Yep, probably does, that's my guess" he replied, "but it'd be better if they were some writing on it!" Darunia now nodded as he searched for some words on the old tapestry, but found none. Mirren then looked at it a little and noticed the bottom was still a little dusty. He blew the dust away revealing Hyrulean Script.
"Aha!" exclaimed Link, "There they are! Nice job Mirren!" He patted Mirren on head again as Mirren smiled. And luckily for him, Darunia didn't pat him; instead he began to read the words on the old tapestry.
"Let's see" he mumbled, "it says; ~The Phoenix of Hyrule, born of Fire, lives off Fire, survives on Fire. The Evil Phoenix has been said to be made of fire, but still that has not been proven true. The Phoenix was trapped years and years ago inside the volcanoes of the crater. The Legendary Hero of the Gorons had driven it into the volcano using the great Megaton Hammer. Once the Phoenix was in, the Hero of the Gorons took a huge boulder and put it on top of the volcano. As hard as the Phoenix would fight to escape from its prison, it could only billow out just smoke. But every once in a while, its fire would escape and create a terrible eruption.~
Link then interrupted Darunia's reading. "So that's why all those eruptions come about!" Link exclaimed, "Man I used to hate those things when I was a kid! All that fire, all that lava, and all those boulders! Darunia growled a little.
"As I was saying." he muttered and then began reading again. ~But even with the many eruptions it had caused, the Evil Phoenix could never escape. But a great seer of Hyrule has predicted that four years after the victory of the Hero of Time, the Scourge's sister would free the Evil Phoenix from its prison and have it ravage Hyrule. Only then would the Brothers of Hyrule defeat it once and for all.~
Everyone was in a serious manner now after the reading from Darunia of the tapestry. They all reflected upon it before Link spoke.
"Well I guess that the Brothers who are supposed to defeat it must be me and Mirren" he said, "and that Emralda is the one who freed it, since Ganondorf is none other than the Scourge." Mirren's face was then one of complete shock.
"Emralda, the woman I saw in my dream, is........ Ganondorf's sister?" he asked fearfully. Darunia nodded and noticed the fear and shock in his eyes. He moved to Link.
"He doesn't remember the battle; does he Link?" he whispered. Link could only shake his head and see the shock and fear on Mirren's face. As the room was completely quiet for a few moments, Darunia folded up the tapestry and broke the silence.
"I think you two should leave for the crater now, you can use the secret entrance behind the pillar" he said. Link nodded and was about to help Darunia move the large statue before they suddenly heard the screams and yells of many Gorons. Link and Mirren instantly took out their swords and dashed out of the room. Darunia then pulled out the huge spear from the wall and followed Link and Mirren into the heart of the city. They got outside, and were shocked at what they saw.
Numerous Dodongos and Dinolfos and were charging into the city and attacking the Gorons. The Dodogos slowly came in on their two legs and began to breathe their fiery breath upon the Gorons and the city. And as they did that, the Dinolfos attacked like mad with their swords. A few Gorons had rushed in and threw a few bombs at the attackers. A bunch was killed, but not enough. They attacked back, and hurt more innocent Gorons. Darunia was as angry as ever.
"Darn those beasts!" he shouted, "I'm gonna kill them all!" A few Dinolfos has rushed down into the middle of the city where the three were, and Darunia beat his chest and charged at them. The first Dinolfos had gone for a cut at his front, but missed and got punched by Darunia's massive fist. Two then attacked him from behind, but were both skewered by Darunia's spear. He kicked both off and stabbed the other to his death. Once he had killed the four, more Dinolfos and even a few Dodongos ran into battle. (Well the Dinolfos ran, but the Dodongos just slowly walked their way through) Darunia charged into battle and Link and Mirren followed.
Darunia literally just destroyed every Dodongo and Dinolfos he saw. Every time he came upon one, he either punched its lights out, or stabbed it to its death with his awesome spear. And as he did that, Link and Mirren fought side by side. Mirren battled off the Dodongos while Link fought the Dinolfos. Link didn't have much trouble, but he'd once in a while be ransacked by one from behind and slashed with their blades. But even when that happened, he'd turn around and slice them to their death. It seemed now it was Darunia, Link, and Mirren against the entire army.
Mirren took out another Dodongo by slashing it at its tail. He then lured another to him and close to the dieing Dodongo. Once the dead Dodongo blew up, he killed the other one too. He grinned at both his success in the fighting, and the complete stupidity of the Dodongos. He then noticed even more of them and even more Dinolfos rushing into battle from the one staircase. He pulled out the Thunder Diamond, and charged it up.
"Fire in the hooooooooooole!" he shouted, and shot the thunderbolt. It hit the area, and blew everything away. "Alright!" he exclaimed. As he jumped up in celebration, Link noticed a bunch of Dodongos coming in from the other staircase.
"Mirren!" he yelled, "go take out those Dodongos, me and Darunia will keep fighting these guys!" Mirren looked towards the opposite staircase and saw the Dodongos. He nodded and ran into battle.
Two of the Dodongos roared and took a deep breath. They then unleashed a spray of fire each. Mirren with his light frame easily dodged them and attacked the Dodongos' tails. The two of them spun around and tried to hit Mirren with their tails. Once again they came up short but charged up a fire spray again. As they did that, two Dodongos began rushing up behind Mirren. He could only grin.
"This is just too easy" he said. The Dodongos then attacked with their fire breath. Mirren again jumped over it and the fire instead hit the other two Dodongos! They roared in pain, and finally fell dead. Mirren then jumped over the original Dodongos and killed them with a cut of his broadsword each. They each let out their own roar, and died. After glowing red for a few seconds, they bodies blew up and blinded Mirren for a second. He coughed from the smoke and covered his eyes, a mistake.
As he protected himself from the blast, a Dodongo let loose a spray of fire upon Mirren. It struck him head on, and knocked him flat. He groaned from the burning pain as two Dodongos began advancing towards his weakened body. He groaned in pain, and got on his knees. He grabbed his blade, and was ready to fight even in his condition. But as they came closer, Mirren noticed a large object falling from above him. He watched it, and soon it landed right in front of him. It was a Minotaur, standing at probably eight feet tall with dark sienna hair, and with two straight golden horns. He was carrying a war-hammer and a double-headed axe, and a gigantic sword was strapped to his back. Mirren's eyes bugged out as the Minotaur roared at the two Dodongos. They seemed to be intimidated by him, and began to back off. But the Minotaur wasn't going to let them escape. He slammed his axe into the one's head, and his war-hammer into the other. They both cried out in pain, and began to glow red ready to explode. The Minotaur then in an incredible show of strength lifted them by their tails and threw them into the gang of Dodongos They exploded when they hit, and killed the others. He watched as the smoke all cleared and when it did, turned to Mirren and walked over to him. He looked at the hurt Mirren grabbed him by the collar. Mirren's eyes bugged out even more as he gulped in fear. The Minotaur then flung Mirren into the air and caught him just before he hit the ground. He stood him upright and finally smiled.
"Hey, my name is Taursus" the huge Minotaur said in a deep but kind voice, "I believe you're Mirren?" Mirren stared at him a little confused since he knew his name, but still smiled.
"Yep, that's me" he replied. As they both smiled, Link finally noticed Taursus.
"Hey Darunia, who's that Minotaur?" he asked. Darunia gored another Dodongo with his spear before he turned to see the huge Minotaur.
"That's Taursus" he answered with a laugh, "he's a great Minotaur warrior who kinda just moved into the mountains a couple years ago. We train together all the time, he's a great warrior! He and I are great friends!" Link smiled at Mirren and Taursus.
"It seems the same way with him and Mirren now" he said. Suddenly Link heard the cries and yells of numerous Dinolfos above him. As he killed two more with his sword, he backed up a little to see what it was. But he didn't need to back up anymore.
Suddenly a huge, crimson dragon crashed through a line of Dinolfos and literally annihilated them! He slashed the first ones to his death and just rammed the rest. As the others escaped, he flew to them and killed two of them with his awesome whip-like tail. He grabbed the others by their necks with his huge claws and began to choke the life out of them. He then flew down into the main part of the city and threw away the dead Dinolfos.
"Hey Darunia, need some help!?" he yelled. Darunia smiled.
"I could use it right about now!" he yelled back. The dragon now smiled and turned to a bunch of charging Dodongos. He sneered at them and unleashed a terrible fire breath. It struck of couple of them and created just a wave of flame. He kept this up until he noticed a Dinolfos sneaking up behind him. He instantly turned around and breathed fire on it. It cried in pain and was just burnt to a crisp.
Link could only stare in awe of this dragon. He was absolutely amazing! He was probably twelve feet tall, and had a yellow underbody. His claws seemed even sharper than the Master Sword! Not to mention his tail was practically a built in whip!
"Darunia, who's that now!?" he asked. Darunia couldn't look at Link directly, but he was still able to answer his question even as he stabbed a bunch of Dodongos to their death.
"That's Rubywing" he answered, "he's been watching and spying on the Evil Phoenix for us lately. He's also helped protect travelers here on the mountains. He's a great help here since he can fly and get around quickly. Like I said, he's the one watching the Evil Phoenix, so I've pretty much got everything I know from him. Besides that tapestry of course!" Link looked at Rubywing and smiled.
"Another ally, another friend" he whispered. As the battle went on, Taursus and Mirren fought together. Mirren had decided to battle the Dinolfos, while Taursus fought the Dodongos. Mirren was doing a great job and taking out many Dinolfos. Even though the Dinolfos were quick and agile, they were a big target, and Mirren could often hit them. Also Mirren had a light frame and he was much harder to hit since he was so small.
Taursus didn't have much trouble either. Every time a Dodongo would come crawling to him for an attack, they'd either be smacked by his sword, axe, or war-hammer. Either way it was very painful. And once they began glowing red, he'd throw them at others to hurt from their explosion.
After only about twenty minutes probably, the remaining Dodongos and Dinolfos realized they couldn't win, and retreated back to their caves.
An hour later, everyone who was hurt was healed by the Goron Medics and rested. The Gorons regrouped from the massive battle and went on to do their normal things. As they did that, Link, Mirren, Darunia, Taursus, and Rubywing were in Darunia's room discussing the battle plan.
"Alright brothers, I'll have ta stay here with the Gorons and make sure they'll be alright, so defeating the Evil Phoenix will be your job" he said. The four nodded.
"Don't worry, there's no one better than you to watch over the Gorons" said Link.
"Yeah, and we'll kick that stinky Phoenix's butt anyways!" shouted Mirren jumping up in the air. Taursus laughed at Mirren.
"I like your attitude kid" he said. Darunia then remembered something important for Mirren. He walked over to a nearby closet and gave Mirren a kid-sized Goron Tunic.
"Here Mirren" he said, "You'll need it when you're in Death Mountain Crater." Mirren looked at the red tunic before smiling and putting it on.
Darnunia and Link then walked over to the huge statue and pulled it out; revealing the secret entrance to Death Mountain Crater. The four began to walk through the passage before Rubywing flew in front of them.
"Let me go first, I'll make sure the coast is clear" he whispered. He then flew into the crater a looked around for any sign of the Phoenix. After about a minute, he flew back to the others.
"Let's go" he whispered again. The four then made their way through the passage and into the hot, steamy Death Mountain Crater. Link then remembered his Goron Tunic.
"Oh yeah, I better put on my Goron Tunic too" he said. He then quickly slipped off his green tunic (away from the others, and put on his red Goron Tunic) He walked over to them as he noticed the still broken bridge into the central part of the crater.
"We, we'll need to get across, I got my Longshot" he said. Rubywing then simply lifted himself into the sky and flew across. And as he did that, Taursus somehow amazingly jumped right across to it! Link laughed a little at the great athleticism and was ready to fire the Longshot before he remembered Mirren.
"Oh yeah, you don't have anything to get across, do you?" he asked looking down at him. Mirren looked a little embarrassed and disappointed. He could look at Link and shake his head. Link smiled. "Well don't worry" he reassured, "Just hold onto me and we'll go together" Mirren now smiled and wrapped his arms around him. Once they were both in perfect position, Link asked "Ready?" Mirren nodded.
"You bet!" he answered. Link grinned.
"Be ready for quite a ride" he said. Link then fired the Longshot to a nearby pole and the two literally just flew across the gap and landed on the other side Mirren yelled a little but managed to land fine. He caught his breath from the excitement before looking up at Link happily.
"That was awesome!" he exclaimed. Link still smiled and rubbed his little brother's head. They both then walked over to Taursus and Rubywing.
"So, where do ya think it is?" Mirren asked. Rubywing looked around strangely.
"I don't know child" he answered, "It should've been awake the second we walked in!" Suddenly the whole crater shook and fire began spewing out from one of the volcanoes.
"I think it's coming out!" shouted Taursus trying to keep his balance. After a few more seconds of spitting lava, the Evil Phoenix erupted from the volcano and let out a terrible screech. It looked down at the four intruders, and screeched again. It then came fully out of the volcano and began flying around the crater as fire followed it. It must've been thirty feet tall. And its wing span was probably over seventy feet long! Its head was that of an eagle, except a bright orange. It landed in the lava near them, and screeched again even louder.
"What I'd do to be in the Water Temple right now" said Link.
Back at Hyrule Castle, it was time for more training. Zelda knew that Mirren and Link would most definitely be back not too long after they defeated the Evil Phoenix, so she and Faria got ready for the challenge they'd issue to Link and Mirren.
"Try this Zelda!" yelled Faria, and used her eye beams. The green beams of energy rocketed from her eyes and soared towards Zelda. But Zelda used her mental energy and destroyed the beams. She grinned at the awe struck Faria and began to get her energy cloths ready. She fired them out from her hands the pink strands of energy flew towards Faria. She knew she had only one chance to escape. She threw her arms in the air and soon brought them down again. Just before the cloths were about to strike her, she teleported away. Zelda was very surprised at this, but proud too that her little sister had finally learned to teleport. Suddenly Faria appeared behind her and shot a large beam of yellow energy at Zelda. Zelda quickly turned around and shot one of her own. These were the beams that Zelda had actually used to paralyze Ganon when Link fought him four years ago after his Tower had collapsed. The two strong female sorcerers put in more and more power by the second. Either beam just couldn't find a way to beat out the other, and soon there was an explosion of energy, and the two girls were knocked down by the power. They both lay on the courtyard ground for a few minutes before getting up and smiling at each other.
"Nice practice Faria, we're gonna do great in that battle" said Zelda. Faria nodded happily.
"I know, they're gonna be sooo surprised when they see us almost stronger than them!" she replied. Both Zelda and Faria let out a laugh.
Back at Death Mountain Crater, the four warriors were basically getting no where fast. Every time they go in for an attack, the Evil Phoenix would knock them flat. Mirren and Link got a couple arrow shots into it, but they didn't do much. The Phoenix kept on shooting beams of fire at them and burning them to a crisp. In fact, Link and Mirren already used their Red Potions since they got the poop beaten out of them already! But they didn't give up. Rubywing often tried to distract it by flying around, but that only resulted in massive pain by the Evil Phoenix smacking him with its wing. After a while, Taursus had about just enough and pulled out his war- hammer. As the Evil Phoenix came diving in, he simply stood there.
"Taursus! Get outta there!" shouted Link. Taursus didn't move.
"What are you brain dead!?" yelled Mirren, "are you missin' some chromosomes or something!? Move!!!!!" Taursus still stood with a glare in his eye on the Phoenix.
"Sometimes boys, you gotta make a sacrifice to hurt your opponent" he said. The Evil Phoenix then was only about twenty feet from his. He roared and jumped at the oncoming Phoenix. He lifted his war-hammer above his head and finally brought it down onto the Phoenix's head. It screeched in pain, and still hit Taursus like a truck, only ten times worse. He grunted in pain and was sent flying. He crashed into the ground, and Link instantaneously ran to his side and began to help him. As he did that, Mirren thought of a plan.
He got his blade ready and jumped on the flying bean plant and began flying in the air on it. He watched as the Phoenix flew around recklessly and waited for a moment. After a little bit, the Evil Phoenix came under him for about three seconds; just enough time. Mirren jumped off the plant and screamed. He got his sword in perfect position and came falling down. He soon landed on the Phoenix and drove his sword straight into its back. It screeched as loud as ever from the incredible pain and tossed Mirren off. He plummeted through the air and screamed on the way down. Link immediately saw this and began running to catch Mirren. He burned across the wide area and was just able to get under Mirren just in time to catch him. Mirren's small body literally just fell into Link's arms and landed fine. And luckily Link wasn't knocked down by the force since Mirren was so small and light.
"What would you do without me?" asked Link with a smile. Mirren shook his head from the dizziness of falling so high and so fast.
"Wuh, what did you say?" he asked back. Link sighed and put Mirren down and walked away. Mirren stood there a little confused.
"No I'm serious, what did you say?" he asked again.
With the Phoenix hurt and flying around recklessly again, Rubywing took the chance to get some more damage in. He flew right in front of the Phoenix and shot a blast of fire at it. It screeched in pain and crashed into one of the sides of the crater. Rubywing then let out another blast of fire and made an avalanche of rocks come down onto the Evil Phoenix. It screeched even more, and fell into the lava. Rubywing watched as its huge body sank into the molten magma and finally flew down by Link and the others.
"Everyone alright?" Rubywing asked. Taursus rubbed his head a little and fully got up on his feet.
"I took a painful hit, but I'm fine" he replied.
"No problems here" Link answered. Rubywing looked to Mirren who only smiled.
"Do I even need ta say it?" he asked. Rubywing and the others laughed.
"I guess not, well that's good, nice job guys, we did it" he said. But Rubywing spoke too soon. Suddenly the Evil Phoenix erupted from the lava and screeched at them. Lava flew out and landed all around them. It slowly got out of the massive pool of magma and fluttered over onto the large area where they stood. Taursus then remembered something. He smacked his forehead.
"How could I have been so stupid!?" he yelled. Everyone looked at him strangely.
"What the matter Taursus?" asked Link. Taursus took his hand off his forehead and looked at the Phoenix instead of Link.
"I forgot that the Phoenix is immortal, every time you kill it, it comes back to life!!!" he yelled. Everyone's' jaws dropped in fear and looked at the mad as heck Phoenix. It suddenly let out a terrible screech and began to flap its wings rapidly. After a few moments, hundreds of flames began to fly from the wings and soar towards the four. Rubywing wrapped himself up in his wings and protected himself. Taursus took out his huge sword and began to spin it around so it deflected the flames. Link was about to pulled out his Hylian Shield before he noticed Mirren had nothing to defend himself with.
"Mirren! Take the shield!" he yelled, and threw it to him. Mirren caught the shield, knelt down, and put it in front of him and began blocking the many flames. As he did that, Link cast Nayru's Love and thought of some way he could stop the Phoenix.
As he thought and thought of some plan that could possibly save them, he realized he needed to think of a plan even faster. It was obvious that Rubywing's wings were all ready burnt badly and couldn't take much more, Taursus's arms were getting tired and one by one flames began to scorch his body, and that the force from the hits was weakening Mirren. He gritted his teeth in frustration and finally thought of something.
"Ice" he whispered to himself. Then whipped out his bow and arrow and loaded up an Ice Arrow. He aimed it at one of the Phoenix's wings, and fired. The arrow struck the large wing and froze it. The Phoenix stopped its terrible attack and stared at its frozen wing in shock. Link fired another and soon both wings were frozen solid.
"Mirren! Use your Ice Diamond and freeze the rest of its body!" Link shouted, "Then call Goldenfire as quick as possible, I've got a plan!" Mirren knew the seriousness of the situation and obeyed his brother. He set aside the shield and pulled out the Ice Diamond. He charged it up, and fired a beam of ice at the Phoenix. It struck its body, and completely froze its head, chest, and talons. He then put the Ice Diamond away and took out his redwood ocarina. He played Goldenfire's melody, and soon that familiar roar was heard. Goldenfire landed next to Mirren, as Taursus and Rubywing stood awe struck.
"What now?" asked Mirren.
"Tell Goldenfire to hold the Phoenix" Link answered pointing to it, "We gotta get to Zora's Fountain as fast as possible! Everyone get on! Besides you Rubywing since you can fly after all." Rubywing and Taursus were still amazed, but did as said. Rubywing lifted himself into the sky as Link and the others hopped onto Goldenfire. He held the frozen Phoenix and flew out of the crater. They soared through Death Mountain and were soon flying over Zora's River. They went over the waterfall and over the water cavern that was Zora's Domain. They soon landed in the cold, glacier filled Zora's Fountain and got off Goldenfire. (Zora's Domain had thawed out by now, but Zora's Fountain was still the same)
"Alright we're here" said Mirren, "now what's the plan?" asked Mirren. Link pointed to the Ice Cavern.
"We gotta get it inside there" he answered, "but in order to do that, we gotta break it into smaller pieces. Then all we gotta do is totally freeze the entrance to it, and the Phoenix shall be trapped forever." Everyone nodded and got to work, they knew they didn't have a lot of time. Goldenfire sliced up the pieces one by one, and Taursus, Rubywing, and Link grabbed the pieces and took them into the cavern. As they did that, Mirren stayed back and began to freeze it wherever it began to thaw using the Ice Diamond. After a great deal of rushing and working as fast as possible, all the pieces of the Phoenix were in the Ice Cavern, and Mirren froze the entrance with the Ice Diamond. They all sighed with relief. The Evil Phoenix was trapped, their mission, was a success.
After the battle, Goldenfire flew away, but Taursus still asked Mirren about him.
"Well ya see" began Mirren, "I met Goldenfire when I was younger, and he actually saved me from a river. After that whole ordeal, him and I began to become great friends. And as I grew older and stronger, I learned to handle him and keep him my responsibility. And I also taught him to come to me whenever I play that song. So I guess you could say me and him are just plain lifelong pals." Everyone laughed as they jumped from glacier ready to leave. But once they got on the last block of ice, a splash was heard, and a familiar voice at that. At least for one of them.
"Yoo hoo! Link!" it shouted. Link froze in fear and gulped. His face went as white as the ice and slowly turned around. He gulped again and was nearly ready to collapse from the fear and nervousness. Out from the water, came his worst nightmare ever, even worse than Ganon; Ruto. The adult Zora Sage ran over to him with pure joy in her face and her arms out wide.
"Link it's you! Finally!" she said. She then jumped at Link and embraced him with the biggest hug. Link tried to escape, but his so-called ex-fiancé kept her hug incredibly tight. Mirren looked at her with surprise.
"You're girlfriend?" he asked pointing her. Link's face now went from white to red.
"OF COURSE NOT!!!!" he shouted. Ruto let go of her hug and looked at Link but with her arms still around him.
"Don't worry Link, I understand it's embarrassing to admit you love someone in front of friends, especially your little brother" she said happily. Link was now white again.
"I do not love you!" he yelled, "~You~ love me! Big difference there Ruto! Big difference!!" Ruto then smiled slyly.
"You know what they say Link, when two people fight, they really ~love~ each other" she spoke. Link gulped even more and tried to back off. He soon did, and broke away from her grasp.
"Listen Ruto" he began, "I like you as a friend, but not as my true love. I would seriously tell you if I did, but for now, just ~friend~." Taursus and Rubywing were on the verge of bursting out into laughter and tears. A sudden gust of wind blew, and it sent a wave flying to the glacier everyone was on. Mirren was right on the edge, and when it hit, it knocked him right forward. He stumbled, and knocked into Link accidentally. Link had no time to react, and also fell forward, into the absolute worst spot he had ever been in in his life.
He fell into Ruto, and his lips planted against hers into an accidental kiss. His eyes bugged out more than ever as Ruto's filled with glee. He instantly jumped away and began spitting like heck, while Ruto smiled with glee still in her eye.
"I knew it Link" she said slyly again with a smile. Link gasped from fear and nervousness before turning around to see Mirren. Instantly, his face was enraged. Mirren smiled nervously and began sweating bullets.
"Sorry 'bout that bro" he said nervously, "I really didn't mean to." Mirren got nothing more out. Link grabbed him by the collar and glared at him.
"You. are.mine!" he said quietly but still mad. Mirren yelled in fright and began running away as Link chased him waving his fist yelling threats of all sorts.
The ride back to Hyrule Castle was a slow, and very silent one. Taursus had decided to come with Link and Mirren to the castle and stay there for a while. He told Rubywing to tell Darunia. He knew Darunia wouldn't mind, but he just wanted him to know what was going on.
Before they left though, Link got his revenge on Mirren and beat the living poop out of him. That's why they were flying Goldenfire so slow, since the only half-conscious Mirren was controlling him. Taursus still didn't understand how Mirren was able to stand or be alive for that matter after the great beating he got from Link, but didn't say anything. Link didn't even bother talking to either one of them. He simply turned from Mirren and rubbed some of his Red Potion on his lips to get rid of the terrible feeling from the kiss with Ruto.
After about half an hour, Goldenfire landed in front of Hyrule Castle and flew away. The three walked into the castle and to the courtyards to meet Zelda and the others. When they got there, they found Mardera and Jarlis training, and Zelda and Faria doing some telepathic exercises. Zelda instantly noticed Link and the others though and ran over to them.
"You guys are finally back!" she exclaimed, "good to see you all!" Zelda then noticed Taursus. She now grinned. "Let me guess Link, another buddy?" she asked. Link smiled.
"I guess you could say that, I hope you don't mind" he replied. Zelda smiled.
"I don't mind at all, the more the merrier!" she said. Taursus, Link, and Zelda then laughed. They laughed and laughed until noticed the semi- conscious Mirren.
"Mirren, are you okay?" she asked sounding concerned, "what happened?" She waited for an answer but really didn't get one.
"Uhhh. something, big fight, in Zora's Fountain. lots of punches smacks. uhh I don't remember" he answered in a dead type of tone not even looking at her. Zelda then knelt down in front of him and put her hands on his cheeks.
"Maybe this'll help you remember" she said. She closed her eyes and her hands began glowing light blue. She used a special healing power just then. After a few seconds, all the bruises and cuts on Mirren were healed and he fully opened his eyes and was now also fully conscious. Zelda then stood up and took her hands off him.
"Now, what happened?" she asked. Mirren thought for a split second and finally said a complete answer.
"Oh yeah!' he exclaimed, and pointed to Link, "that jerk of a brother beat me up just because I ~accidentally~ knocked into him and made him kiss Ruto! All on ACCIDENT!!!" Link went pale again and gulped in fear. Zelda turned to Link and glared at him.
"You ~beat~ him up because of a stupid ~accident~!!??" she yelled. Link gulped again and began sweating bullets from nervousness.
"Well I mean ya can't blame me!" he began saying very nervously, "I mean that stupid Ruto has always been on my case about loving me and wanting to marry me so when he knocked into me and made me kiss her I felt like." Link didn't even get a single syllable out after that. Fed up with his stupid excuse and the fact he nearly broke poor Mirren in half, Zelda took her right hand and slapped him across the face! Link's head turned from the hit as he puffed from the force of it.
Everyone's jaws instantly dropped from shock for the fact that Zelda actually slapped Link! Even Mirren's mouth dropped! Sure he wanted revenge on Link, but Zelda slapping him was nothing he ever planned for! Or wanted for that matter! He then ran over to her and grabbed her arm.
"Okay okay okay Zelda!" he said, "I think that was a little too much! I just wanted you ta be mad at him and maybe possibly me take him on in a one on one fight but that was nothing I ever wanted!" Zelda still glared at him and didn't look at Mirren.
"I understand, but that was something that will make him think!" she said, "The Hero of Time must learn to channel his anger and not beat someone up, especially a little kid like you, for such stupid reasons! And I still believe there should be an apology right now!" Link finally turned his back and put it down in shame.
"Alright" he said, "sorry about that Mirren, I really was an idiot. You can smack me one if ya like" Mirren glared at Link as he balled up his fist ready to punch his older brother for the massive beating he got. He reared back, and let it fly. But surprising, it stopped, and spread out in the form of a hand shake. Everyone looked at it in surprise, even Link did. He stared at the smiling Mirren with complete confusion on his face.
"Don't worry 'bout it" Mirren spoke, "It was actually kinda funny if ya think about the whole situation. I don't care, just as long as you agree to a one on one sword-fight, right here, right now" Link still looked at him in confusion, but soon smiled and shook his little brother's hand.
"You're on" he replied. Everyone cheered as Link looked at Zelda, who was now smiling at him.
The next morning Mirren woke up feeling a little funny. What Zelda had said to him made him feel like a great deal of magic was running through his veins. He felt like he'd never want to tell it to anyone, but it just made him feel great. He had never felt like this before, it was like that was the only thing he could think about. He thought about it for a little while until he thought of something.
"Do I, love her?" he asked himself. He thought of the question for a little bit before shaking his head. "Of course not! What was I thinking!?" he said to himself again. He got out of bed and left his room. Even though he was saying he didn't, there was that thought in the back of his head saying:
"Yes, you do love her"
He knew that today he'd probably leave with Link for Death Mountain Crater to fight the Evil Phoenix, so he went back into his room and took his scabbard off the wall. He grabbed the handle and pulled out his marvelous broadsword. The blade shining in the sunlight, and the golden hilt shining also. He smiled and put it back in the scabbard and attached it to his back. He then took his bow and quiver off the wall and attached that too. He finally took his knapsack and attached it to his belt. He then left the room and began walking down the corridor to the great hall. He opened up the huge doors, and saw Link, all dressed up ready to leave.
"Glad to see you're ready, want any breakfast before we go?" he asked. Mirren shook his head.
"I'm fine, I have some apples and walnuts in my knapsack, I could snack on those if I get hungry" he answered. Link smiled.
"Good, well, ya ready to leave on our final journey?" he asked again. Mirren nodded
"I'm always ready" he answered with a grin. Link smiled at him.
"You're like no other kid I've ever met" he replied, "and Jarlis won't be coming. I guess he's still a little depressed about his grandfather, and he told me he wanted to stay back and train. The same goes for Mardera, so it'll be just us." Mirren laughed.
"Great" he said sarcastically. Link looked at Mirren a little angry at first, but soon smiled and laughed with his little brother. After that they went and said goodbye to everyone. That being Mardera, Jarlis, Faria, Impa, and Zelda. Link had no trouble saying anything to Zelda, but Mirren was a little nervous. Luckily though, he made it out all right without making any really bad mistakes or saying anything stupid.
For the next hour, Link and Mirren flew Goldenfire all the way through Death Mountain to the Goron Capital, Goron City. They decided it'd be best if they first spoke with Darunia first before they made a mad dash into Death Mountain Crater to fight the Evil Phoenix. Goron City was now much much larger than before. Over the years, the Gorons had carved into the rock and built rooms to sleep in, an armory, an archive, a dining hall, and even more shops. They walked down the numerous stairs and pathways through the city and finally came to Darunia's room. They walked into the torch lighten room, and saw Darunia just standing next to the large, Goron-like pillar in his room.
"Good ta see ya Brother!" he exclaimed mainly to Link, "I've been expectin' you! I see ya brought Mirren!" Link smiled and rubbed Mirren's head.
"Yep, wouldn't go anywhere without my little bro!" he replied. Darunia also smiled and walked to Mirren.
"Yo Mirren!" he said, "Ya know, your brother and me are sworn brothers, and I'd appreciate it if you would become my sworn little brother!" Darunia put a hand out for a shake from Mirren. Mirren could only laugh a little and put his hand out also. They both shook each other's hands and smiled.
"Alright! Thata boy!" Darunia said patting Mirren on the head. Even though Darunia didn't mean to do it though, with four swift pats, he knocked Mirren flat from the incredible strength. "Alright then, I think it'd be best if I show ya something over by the table, come with me!" Darunia spoke again. As he began walking over, Mirren slowly got up and groaned from the pain as he rubbed his head. Link laughed and knelt down by him.
"Hey, don't take it too hard, I only lasted three pats when I was about your age!" he whispered in his ear. He still laughed a little as he walked over to the table where Darunia was standing. Mirren then finally was on his feet but still hurting a little.
"I don't see what's so funny 'bout me almost getting a concussion!" he said quietly. He then walked over to the table and saw on it a beautiful parchment with a spectacular drawing on it. It was a great bird erupting from flames and burning with the fire. Its mouth was open spewing out a beam of fire.
"I found this in an old room in the city. I believe it has something to do with the Evil Phoenix in Death Mountain Crater" he said. Link looked at the picture and nodded.
"Yep, probably does, that's my guess" he replied, "but it'd be better if they were some writing on it!" Darunia now nodded as he searched for some words on the old tapestry, but found none. Mirren then looked at it a little and noticed the bottom was still a little dusty. He blew the dust away revealing Hyrulean Script.
"Aha!" exclaimed Link, "There they are! Nice job Mirren!" He patted Mirren on head again as Mirren smiled. And luckily for him, Darunia didn't pat him; instead he began to read the words on the old tapestry.
"Let's see" he mumbled, "it says; ~The Phoenix of Hyrule, born of Fire, lives off Fire, survives on Fire. The Evil Phoenix has been said to be made of fire, but still that has not been proven true. The Phoenix was trapped years and years ago inside the volcanoes of the crater. The Legendary Hero of the Gorons had driven it into the volcano using the great Megaton Hammer. Once the Phoenix was in, the Hero of the Gorons took a huge boulder and put it on top of the volcano. As hard as the Phoenix would fight to escape from its prison, it could only billow out just smoke. But every once in a while, its fire would escape and create a terrible eruption.~
Link then interrupted Darunia's reading. "So that's why all those eruptions come about!" Link exclaimed, "Man I used to hate those things when I was a kid! All that fire, all that lava, and all those boulders! Darunia growled a little.
"As I was saying." he muttered and then began reading again. ~But even with the many eruptions it had caused, the Evil Phoenix could never escape. But a great seer of Hyrule has predicted that four years after the victory of the Hero of Time, the Scourge's sister would free the Evil Phoenix from its prison and have it ravage Hyrule. Only then would the Brothers of Hyrule defeat it once and for all.~
Everyone was in a serious manner now after the reading from Darunia of the tapestry. They all reflected upon it before Link spoke.
"Well I guess that the Brothers who are supposed to defeat it must be me and Mirren" he said, "and that Emralda is the one who freed it, since Ganondorf is none other than the Scourge." Mirren's face was then one of complete shock.
"Emralda, the woman I saw in my dream, is........ Ganondorf's sister?" he asked fearfully. Darunia nodded and noticed the fear and shock in his eyes. He moved to Link.
"He doesn't remember the battle; does he Link?" he whispered. Link could only shake his head and see the shock and fear on Mirren's face. As the room was completely quiet for a few moments, Darunia folded up the tapestry and broke the silence.
"I think you two should leave for the crater now, you can use the secret entrance behind the pillar" he said. Link nodded and was about to help Darunia move the large statue before they suddenly heard the screams and yells of many Gorons. Link and Mirren instantly took out their swords and dashed out of the room. Darunia then pulled out the huge spear from the wall and followed Link and Mirren into the heart of the city. They got outside, and were shocked at what they saw.
Numerous Dodongos and Dinolfos and were charging into the city and attacking the Gorons. The Dodogos slowly came in on their two legs and began to breathe their fiery breath upon the Gorons and the city. And as they did that, the Dinolfos attacked like mad with their swords. A few Gorons had rushed in and threw a few bombs at the attackers. A bunch was killed, but not enough. They attacked back, and hurt more innocent Gorons. Darunia was as angry as ever.
"Darn those beasts!" he shouted, "I'm gonna kill them all!" A few Dinolfos has rushed down into the middle of the city where the three were, and Darunia beat his chest and charged at them. The first Dinolfos had gone for a cut at his front, but missed and got punched by Darunia's massive fist. Two then attacked him from behind, but were both skewered by Darunia's spear. He kicked both off and stabbed the other to his death. Once he had killed the four, more Dinolfos and even a few Dodongos ran into battle. (Well the Dinolfos ran, but the Dodongos just slowly walked their way through) Darunia charged into battle and Link and Mirren followed.
Darunia literally just destroyed every Dodongo and Dinolfos he saw. Every time he came upon one, he either punched its lights out, or stabbed it to its death with his awesome spear. And as he did that, Link and Mirren fought side by side. Mirren battled off the Dodongos while Link fought the Dinolfos. Link didn't have much trouble, but he'd once in a while be ransacked by one from behind and slashed with their blades. But even when that happened, he'd turn around and slice them to their death. It seemed now it was Darunia, Link, and Mirren against the entire army.
Mirren took out another Dodongo by slashing it at its tail. He then lured another to him and close to the dieing Dodongo. Once the dead Dodongo blew up, he killed the other one too. He grinned at both his success in the fighting, and the complete stupidity of the Dodongos. He then noticed even more of them and even more Dinolfos rushing into battle from the one staircase. He pulled out the Thunder Diamond, and charged it up.
"Fire in the hooooooooooole!" he shouted, and shot the thunderbolt. It hit the area, and blew everything away. "Alright!" he exclaimed. As he jumped up in celebration, Link noticed a bunch of Dodongos coming in from the other staircase.
"Mirren!" he yelled, "go take out those Dodongos, me and Darunia will keep fighting these guys!" Mirren looked towards the opposite staircase and saw the Dodongos. He nodded and ran into battle.
Two of the Dodongos roared and took a deep breath. They then unleashed a spray of fire each. Mirren with his light frame easily dodged them and attacked the Dodongos' tails. The two of them spun around and tried to hit Mirren with their tails. Once again they came up short but charged up a fire spray again. As they did that, two Dodongos began rushing up behind Mirren. He could only grin.
"This is just too easy" he said. The Dodongos then attacked with their fire breath. Mirren again jumped over it and the fire instead hit the other two Dodongos! They roared in pain, and finally fell dead. Mirren then jumped over the original Dodongos and killed them with a cut of his broadsword each. They each let out their own roar, and died. After glowing red for a few seconds, they bodies blew up and blinded Mirren for a second. He coughed from the smoke and covered his eyes, a mistake.
As he protected himself from the blast, a Dodongo let loose a spray of fire upon Mirren. It struck him head on, and knocked him flat. He groaned from the burning pain as two Dodongos began advancing towards his weakened body. He groaned in pain, and got on his knees. He grabbed his blade, and was ready to fight even in his condition. But as they came closer, Mirren noticed a large object falling from above him. He watched it, and soon it landed right in front of him. It was a Minotaur, standing at probably eight feet tall with dark sienna hair, and with two straight golden horns. He was carrying a war-hammer and a double-headed axe, and a gigantic sword was strapped to his back. Mirren's eyes bugged out as the Minotaur roared at the two Dodongos. They seemed to be intimidated by him, and began to back off. But the Minotaur wasn't going to let them escape. He slammed his axe into the one's head, and his war-hammer into the other. They both cried out in pain, and began to glow red ready to explode. The Minotaur then in an incredible show of strength lifted them by their tails and threw them into the gang of Dodongos They exploded when they hit, and killed the others. He watched as the smoke all cleared and when it did, turned to Mirren and walked over to him. He looked at the hurt Mirren grabbed him by the collar. Mirren's eyes bugged out even more as he gulped in fear. The Minotaur then flung Mirren into the air and caught him just before he hit the ground. He stood him upright and finally smiled.
"Hey, my name is Taursus" the huge Minotaur said in a deep but kind voice, "I believe you're Mirren?" Mirren stared at him a little confused since he knew his name, but still smiled.
"Yep, that's me" he replied. As they both smiled, Link finally noticed Taursus.
"Hey Darunia, who's that Minotaur?" he asked. Darunia gored another Dodongo with his spear before he turned to see the huge Minotaur.
"That's Taursus" he answered with a laugh, "he's a great Minotaur warrior who kinda just moved into the mountains a couple years ago. We train together all the time, he's a great warrior! He and I are great friends!" Link smiled at Mirren and Taursus.
"It seems the same way with him and Mirren now" he said. Suddenly Link heard the cries and yells of numerous Dinolfos above him. As he killed two more with his sword, he backed up a little to see what it was. But he didn't need to back up anymore.
Suddenly a huge, crimson dragon crashed through a line of Dinolfos and literally annihilated them! He slashed the first ones to his death and just rammed the rest. As the others escaped, he flew to them and killed two of them with his awesome whip-like tail. He grabbed the others by their necks with his huge claws and began to choke the life out of them. He then flew down into the main part of the city and threw away the dead Dinolfos.
"Hey Darunia, need some help!?" he yelled. Darunia smiled.
"I could use it right about now!" he yelled back. The dragon now smiled and turned to a bunch of charging Dodongos. He sneered at them and unleashed a terrible fire breath. It struck of couple of them and created just a wave of flame. He kept this up until he noticed a Dinolfos sneaking up behind him. He instantly turned around and breathed fire on it. It cried in pain and was just burnt to a crisp.
Link could only stare in awe of this dragon. He was absolutely amazing! He was probably twelve feet tall, and had a yellow underbody. His claws seemed even sharper than the Master Sword! Not to mention his tail was practically a built in whip!
"Darunia, who's that now!?" he asked. Darunia couldn't look at Link directly, but he was still able to answer his question even as he stabbed a bunch of Dodongos to their death.
"That's Rubywing" he answered, "he's been watching and spying on the Evil Phoenix for us lately. He's also helped protect travelers here on the mountains. He's a great help here since he can fly and get around quickly. Like I said, he's the one watching the Evil Phoenix, so I've pretty much got everything I know from him. Besides that tapestry of course!" Link looked at Rubywing and smiled.
"Another ally, another friend" he whispered. As the battle went on, Taursus and Mirren fought together. Mirren had decided to battle the Dinolfos, while Taursus fought the Dodongos. Mirren was doing a great job and taking out many Dinolfos. Even though the Dinolfos were quick and agile, they were a big target, and Mirren could often hit them. Also Mirren had a light frame and he was much harder to hit since he was so small.
Taursus didn't have much trouble either. Every time a Dodongo would come crawling to him for an attack, they'd either be smacked by his sword, axe, or war-hammer. Either way it was very painful. And once they began glowing red, he'd throw them at others to hurt from their explosion.
After only about twenty minutes probably, the remaining Dodongos and Dinolfos realized they couldn't win, and retreated back to their caves.
An hour later, everyone who was hurt was healed by the Goron Medics and rested. The Gorons regrouped from the massive battle and went on to do their normal things. As they did that, Link, Mirren, Darunia, Taursus, and Rubywing were in Darunia's room discussing the battle plan.
"Alright brothers, I'll have ta stay here with the Gorons and make sure they'll be alright, so defeating the Evil Phoenix will be your job" he said. The four nodded.
"Don't worry, there's no one better than you to watch over the Gorons" said Link.
"Yeah, and we'll kick that stinky Phoenix's butt anyways!" shouted Mirren jumping up in the air. Taursus laughed at Mirren.
"I like your attitude kid" he said. Darunia then remembered something important for Mirren. He walked over to a nearby closet and gave Mirren a kid-sized Goron Tunic.
"Here Mirren" he said, "You'll need it when you're in Death Mountain Crater." Mirren looked at the red tunic before smiling and putting it on.
Darnunia and Link then walked over to the huge statue and pulled it out; revealing the secret entrance to Death Mountain Crater. The four began to walk through the passage before Rubywing flew in front of them.
"Let me go first, I'll make sure the coast is clear" he whispered. He then flew into the crater a looked around for any sign of the Phoenix. After about a minute, he flew back to the others.
"Let's go" he whispered again. The four then made their way through the passage and into the hot, steamy Death Mountain Crater. Link then remembered his Goron Tunic.
"Oh yeah, I better put on my Goron Tunic too" he said. He then quickly slipped off his green tunic (away from the others, and put on his red Goron Tunic) He walked over to them as he noticed the still broken bridge into the central part of the crater.
"We, we'll need to get across, I got my Longshot" he said. Rubywing then simply lifted himself into the sky and flew across. And as he did that, Taursus somehow amazingly jumped right across to it! Link laughed a little at the great athleticism and was ready to fire the Longshot before he remembered Mirren.
"Oh yeah, you don't have anything to get across, do you?" he asked looking down at him. Mirren looked a little embarrassed and disappointed. He could look at Link and shake his head. Link smiled. "Well don't worry" he reassured, "Just hold onto me and we'll go together" Mirren now smiled and wrapped his arms around him. Once they were both in perfect position, Link asked "Ready?" Mirren nodded.
"You bet!" he answered. Link grinned.
"Be ready for quite a ride" he said. Link then fired the Longshot to a nearby pole and the two literally just flew across the gap and landed on the other side Mirren yelled a little but managed to land fine. He caught his breath from the excitement before looking up at Link happily.
"That was awesome!" he exclaimed. Link still smiled and rubbed his little brother's head. They both then walked over to Taursus and Rubywing.
"So, where do ya think it is?" Mirren asked. Rubywing looked around strangely.
"I don't know child" he answered, "It should've been awake the second we walked in!" Suddenly the whole crater shook and fire began spewing out from one of the volcanoes.
"I think it's coming out!" shouted Taursus trying to keep his balance. After a few more seconds of spitting lava, the Evil Phoenix erupted from the volcano and let out a terrible screech. It looked down at the four intruders, and screeched again. It then came fully out of the volcano and began flying around the crater as fire followed it. It must've been thirty feet tall. And its wing span was probably over seventy feet long! Its head was that of an eagle, except a bright orange. It landed in the lava near them, and screeched again even louder.
"What I'd do to be in the Water Temple right now" said Link.
Back at Hyrule Castle, it was time for more training. Zelda knew that Mirren and Link would most definitely be back not too long after they defeated the Evil Phoenix, so she and Faria got ready for the challenge they'd issue to Link and Mirren.
"Try this Zelda!" yelled Faria, and used her eye beams. The green beams of energy rocketed from her eyes and soared towards Zelda. But Zelda used her mental energy and destroyed the beams. She grinned at the awe struck Faria and began to get her energy cloths ready. She fired them out from her hands the pink strands of energy flew towards Faria. She knew she had only one chance to escape. She threw her arms in the air and soon brought them down again. Just before the cloths were about to strike her, she teleported away. Zelda was very surprised at this, but proud too that her little sister had finally learned to teleport. Suddenly Faria appeared behind her and shot a large beam of yellow energy at Zelda. Zelda quickly turned around and shot one of her own. These were the beams that Zelda had actually used to paralyze Ganon when Link fought him four years ago after his Tower had collapsed. The two strong female sorcerers put in more and more power by the second. Either beam just couldn't find a way to beat out the other, and soon there was an explosion of energy, and the two girls were knocked down by the power. They both lay on the courtyard ground for a few minutes before getting up and smiling at each other.
"Nice practice Faria, we're gonna do great in that battle" said Zelda. Faria nodded happily.
"I know, they're gonna be sooo surprised when they see us almost stronger than them!" she replied. Both Zelda and Faria let out a laugh.
Back at Death Mountain Crater, the four warriors were basically getting no where fast. Every time they go in for an attack, the Evil Phoenix would knock them flat. Mirren and Link got a couple arrow shots into it, but they didn't do much. The Phoenix kept on shooting beams of fire at them and burning them to a crisp. In fact, Link and Mirren already used their Red Potions since they got the poop beaten out of them already! But they didn't give up. Rubywing often tried to distract it by flying around, but that only resulted in massive pain by the Evil Phoenix smacking him with its wing. After a while, Taursus had about just enough and pulled out his war- hammer. As the Evil Phoenix came diving in, he simply stood there.
"Taursus! Get outta there!" shouted Link. Taursus didn't move.
"What are you brain dead!?" yelled Mirren, "are you missin' some chromosomes or something!? Move!!!!!" Taursus still stood with a glare in his eye on the Phoenix.
"Sometimes boys, you gotta make a sacrifice to hurt your opponent" he said. The Evil Phoenix then was only about twenty feet from his. He roared and jumped at the oncoming Phoenix. He lifted his war-hammer above his head and finally brought it down onto the Phoenix's head. It screeched in pain, and still hit Taursus like a truck, only ten times worse. He grunted in pain and was sent flying. He crashed into the ground, and Link instantaneously ran to his side and began to help him. As he did that, Mirren thought of a plan.
He got his blade ready and jumped on the flying bean plant and began flying in the air on it. He watched as the Phoenix flew around recklessly and waited for a moment. After a little bit, the Evil Phoenix came under him for about three seconds; just enough time. Mirren jumped off the plant and screamed. He got his sword in perfect position and came falling down. He soon landed on the Phoenix and drove his sword straight into its back. It screeched as loud as ever from the incredible pain and tossed Mirren off. He plummeted through the air and screamed on the way down. Link immediately saw this and began running to catch Mirren. He burned across the wide area and was just able to get under Mirren just in time to catch him. Mirren's small body literally just fell into Link's arms and landed fine. And luckily Link wasn't knocked down by the force since Mirren was so small and light.
"What would you do without me?" asked Link with a smile. Mirren shook his head from the dizziness of falling so high and so fast.
"Wuh, what did you say?" he asked back. Link sighed and put Mirren down and walked away. Mirren stood there a little confused.
"No I'm serious, what did you say?" he asked again.
With the Phoenix hurt and flying around recklessly again, Rubywing took the chance to get some more damage in. He flew right in front of the Phoenix and shot a blast of fire at it. It screeched in pain and crashed into one of the sides of the crater. Rubywing then let out another blast of fire and made an avalanche of rocks come down onto the Evil Phoenix. It screeched even more, and fell into the lava. Rubywing watched as its huge body sank into the molten magma and finally flew down by Link and the others.
"Everyone alright?" Rubywing asked. Taursus rubbed his head a little and fully got up on his feet.
"I took a painful hit, but I'm fine" he replied.
"No problems here" Link answered. Rubywing looked to Mirren who only smiled.
"Do I even need ta say it?" he asked. Rubywing and the others laughed.
"I guess not, well that's good, nice job guys, we did it" he said. But Rubywing spoke too soon. Suddenly the Evil Phoenix erupted from the lava and screeched at them. Lava flew out and landed all around them. It slowly got out of the massive pool of magma and fluttered over onto the large area where they stood. Taursus then remembered something. He smacked his forehead.
"How could I have been so stupid!?" he yelled. Everyone looked at him strangely.
"What the matter Taursus?" asked Link. Taursus took his hand off his forehead and looked at the Phoenix instead of Link.
"I forgot that the Phoenix is immortal, every time you kill it, it comes back to life!!!" he yelled. Everyone's' jaws dropped in fear and looked at the mad as heck Phoenix. It suddenly let out a terrible screech and began to flap its wings rapidly. After a few moments, hundreds of flames began to fly from the wings and soar towards the four. Rubywing wrapped himself up in his wings and protected himself. Taursus took out his huge sword and began to spin it around so it deflected the flames. Link was about to pulled out his Hylian Shield before he noticed Mirren had nothing to defend himself with.
"Mirren! Take the shield!" he yelled, and threw it to him. Mirren caught the shield, knelt down, and put it in front of him and began blocking the many flames. As he did that, Link cast Nayru's Love and thought of some way he could stop the Phoenix.
As he thought and thought of some plan that could possibly save them, he realized he needed to think of a plan even faster. It was obvious that Rubywing's wings were all ready burnt badly and couldn't take much more, Taursus's arms were getting tired and one by one flames began to scorch his body, and that the force from the hits was weakening Mirren. He gritted his teeth in frustration and finally thought of something.
"Ice" he whispered to himself. Then whipped out his bow and arrow and loaded up an Ice Arrow. He aimed it at one of the Phoenix's wings, and fired. The arrow struck the large wing and froze it. The Phoenix stopped its terrible attack and stared at its frozen wing in shock. Link fired another and soon both wings were frozen solid.
"Mirren! Use your Ice Diamond and freeze the rest of its body!" Link shouted, "Then call Goldenfire as quick as possible, I've got a plan!" Mirren knew the seriousness of the situation and obeyed his brother. He set aside the shield and pulled out the Ice Diamond. He charged it up, and fired a beam of ice at the Phoenix. It struck its body, and completely froze its head, chest, and talons. He then put the Ice Diamond away and took out his redwood ocarina. He played Goldenfire's melody, and soon that familiar roar was heard. Goldenfire landed next to Mirren, as Taursus and Rubywing stood awe struck.
"What now?" asked Mirren.
"Tell Goldenfire to hold the Phoenix" Link answered pointing to it, "We gotta get to Zora's Fountain as fast as possible! Everyone get on! Besides you Rubywing since you can fly after all." Rubywing and Taursus were still amazed, but did as said. Rubywing lifted himself into the sky as Link and the others hopped onto Goldenfire. He held the frozen Phoenix and flew out of the crater. They soared through Death Mountain and were soon flying over Zora's River. They went over the waterfall and over the water cavern that was Zora's Domain. They soon landed in the cold, glacier filled Zora's Fountain and got off Goldenfire. (Zora's Domain had thawed out by now, but Zora's Fountain was still the same)
"Alright we're here" said Mirren, "now what's the plan?" asked Mirren. Link pointed to the Ice Cavern.
"We gotta get it inside there" he answered, "but in order to do that, we gotta break it into smaller pieces. Then all we gotta do is totally freeze the entrance to it, and the Phoenix shall be trapped forever." Everyone nodded and got to work, they knew they didn't have a lot of time. Goldenfire sliced up the pieces one by one, and Taursus, Rubywing, and Link grabbed the pieces and took them into the cavern. As they did that, Mirren stayed back and began to freeze it wherever it began to thaw using the Ice Diamond. After a great deal of rushing and working as fast as possible, all the pieces of the Phoenix were in the Ice Cavern, and Mirren froze the entrance with the Ice Diamond. They all sighed with relief. The Evil Phoenix was trapped, their mission, was a success.
After the battle, Goldenfire flew away, but Taursus still asked Mirren about him.
"Well ya see" began Mirren, "I met Goldenfire when I was younger, and he actually saved me from a river. After that whole ordeal, him and I began to become great friends. And as I grew older and stronger, I learned to handle him and keep him my responsibility. And I also taught him to come to me whenever I play that song. So I guess you could say me and him are just plain lifelong pals." Everyone laughed as they jumped from glacier ready to leave. But once they got on the last block of ice, a splash was heard, and a familiar voice at that. At least for one of them.
"Yoo hoo! Link!" it shouted. Link froze in fear and gulped. His face went as white as the ice and slowly turned around. He gulped again and was nearly ready to collapse from the fear and nervousness. Out from the water, came his worst nightmare ever, even worse than Ganon; Ruto. The adult Zora Sage ran over to him with pure joy in her face and her arms out wide.
"Link it's you! Finally!" she said. She then jumped at Link and embraced him with the biggest hug. Link tried to escape, but his so-called ex-fiancé kept her hug incredibly tight. Mirren looked at her with surprise.
"You're girlfriend?" he asked pointing her. Link's face now went from white to red.
"OF COURSE NOT!!!!" he shouted. Ruto let go of her hug and looked at Link but with her arms still around him.
"Don't worry Link, I understand it's embarrassing to admit you love someone in front of friends, especially your little brother" she said happily. Link was now white again.
"I do not love you!" he yelled, "~You~ love me! Big difference there Ruto! Big difference!!" Ruto then smiled slyly.
"You know what they say Link, when two people fight, they really ~love~ each other" she spoke. Link gulped even more and tried to back off. He soon did, and broke away from her grasp.
"Listen Ruto" he began, "I like you as a friend, but not as my true love. I would seriously tell you if I did, but for now, just ~friend~." Taursus and Rubywing were on the verge of bursting out into laughter and tears. A sudden gust of wind blew, and it sent a wave flying to the glacier everyone was on. Mirren was right on the edge, and when it hit, it knocked him right forward. He stumbled, and knocked into Link accidentally. Link had no time to react, and also fell forward, into the absolute worst spot he had ever been in in his life.
He fell into Ruto, and his lips planted against hers into an accidental kiss. His eyes bugged out more than ever as Ruto's filled with glee. He instantly jumped away and began spitting like heck, while Ruto smiled with glee still in her eye.
"I knew it Link" she said slyly again with a smile. Link gasped from fear and nervousness before turning around to see Mirren. Instantly, his face was enraged. Mirren smiled nervously and began sweating bullets.
"Sorry 'bout that bro" he said nervously, "I really didn't mean to." Mirren got nothing more out. Link grabbed him by the collar and glared at him.
"You. are.mine!" he said quietly but still mad. Mirren yelled in fright and began running away as Link chased him waving his fist yelling threats of all sorts.
The ride back to Hyrule Castle was a slow, and very silent one. Taursus had decided to come with Link and Mirren to the castle and stay there for a while. He told Rubywing to tell Darunia. He knew Darunia wouldn't mind, but he just wanted him to know what was going on.
Before they left though, Link got his revenge on Mirren and beat the living poop out of him. That's why they were flying Goldenfire so slow, since the only half-conscious Mirren was controlling him. Taursus still didn't understand how Mirren was able to stand or be alive for that matter after the great beating he got from Link, but didn't say anything. Link didn't even bother talking to either one of them. He simply turned from Mirren and rubbed some of his Red Potion on his lips to get rid of the terrible feeling from the kiss with Ruto.
After about half an hour, Goldenfire landed in front of Hyrule Castle and flew away. The three walked into the castle and to the courtyards to meet Zelda and the others. When they got there, they found Mardera and Jarlis training, and Zelda and Faria doing some telepathic exercises. Zelda instantly noticed Link and the others though and ran over to them.
"You guys are finally back!" she exclaimed, "good to see you all!" Zelda then noticed Taursus. She now grinned. "Let me guess Link, another buddy?" she asked. Link smiled.
"I guess you could say that, I hope you don't mind" he replied. Zelda smiled.
"I don't mind at all, the more the merrier!" she said. Taursus, Link, and Zelda then laughed. They laughed and laughed until noticed the semi- conscious Mirren.
"Mirren, are you okay?" she asked sounding concerned, "what happened?" She waited for an answer but really didn't get one.
"Uhhh. something, big fight, in Zora's Fountain. lots of punches smacks. uhh I don't remember" he answered in a dead type of tone not even looking at her. Zelda then knelt down in front of him and put her hands on his cheeks.
"Maybe this'll help you remember" she said. She closed her eyes and her hands began glowing light blue. She used a special healing power just then. After a few seconds, all the bruises and cuts on Mirren were healed and he fully opened his eyes and was now also fully conscious. Zelda then stood up and took her hands off him.
"Now, what happened?" she asked. Mirren thought for a split second and finally said a complete answer.
"Oh yeah!' he exclaimed, and pointed to Link, "that jerk of a brother beat me up just because I ~accidentally~ knocked into him and made him kiss Ruto! All on ACCIDENT!!!" Link went pale again and gulped in fear. Zelda turned to Link and glared at him.
"You ~beat~ him up because of a stupid ~accident~!!??" she yelled. Link gulped again and began sweating bullets from nervousness.
"Well I mean ya can't blame me!" he began saying very nervously, "I mean that stupid Ruto has always been on my case about loving me and wanting to marry me so when he knocked into me and made me kiss her I felt like." Link didn't even get a single syllable out after that. Fed up with his stupid excuse and the fact he nearly broke poor Mirren in half, Zelda took her right hand and slapped him across the face! Link's head turned from the hit as he puffed from the force of it.
Everyone's jaws instantly dropped from shock for the fact that Zelda actually slapped Link! Even Mirren's mouth dropped! Sure he wanted revenge on Link, but Zelda slapping him was nothing he ever planned for! Or wanted for that matter! He then ran over to her and grabbed her arm.
"Okay okay okay Zelda!" he said, "I think that was a little too much! I just wanted you ta be mad at him and maybe possibly me take him on in a one on one fight but that was nothing I ever wanted!" Zelda still glared at him and didn't look at Mirren.
"I understand, but that was something that will make him think!" she said, "The Hero of Time must learn to channel his anger and not beat someone up, especially a little kid like you, for such stupid reasons! And I still believe there should be an apology right now!" Link finally turned his back and put it down in shame.
"Alright" he said, "sorry about that Mirren, I really was an idiot. You can smack me one if ya like" Mirren glared at Link as he balled up his fist ready to punch his older brother for the massive beating he got. He reared back, and let it fly. But surprising, it stopped, and spread out in the form of a hand shake. Everyone looked at it in surprise, even Link did. He stared at the smiling Mirren with complete confusion on his face.
"Don't worry 'bout it" Mirren spoke, "It was actually kinda funny if ya think about the whole situation. I don't care, just as long as you agree to a one on one sword-fight, right here, right now" Link still looked at him in confusion, but soon smiled and shook his little brother's hand.
"You're on" he replied. Everyone cheered as Link looked at Zelda, who was now smiling at him.
