The Hero Returns To Hyrule
Chapter 12: The Fire Temple: Part 1
A/N: Wow, I still have people reading this fic! I will try to make this fic continue a high quality for every chapter. The Fire Temple awaits Malon and we will find out if she is up to the challenge.
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Malon found herself lying on a small platform. She looked over the edge and found that the path sloped downwards at a very steep angle. "I have nowhere else to go." She said as she dropped off the platform and slid down the path.
After what seemed like an eternity, Malon found herself at the base of the path. She was in a huge room. The wall was lined with torches every five feet both vertically and horizontally. At the very top of the room, dead center was a hole that served as the only other way out of the room. The only problem was the fact that the room was nearly forty feet tall.
The room was lined with numerous pillars that each stood nearly ten feet in height. Surrounded by a circle of fire in the center of the room was a treasure chest. No switches were in sight.
Malon cautiously approached a nearby pillar. As soon as she stepped close to it a wall of flame popped out of the ground. "Not that way." Malon noted as she headed towards another pillar. This one also had a wall of fire sprout out of the ground when Malon approached. This same result occurred at every pillar Malon could reach.
"If I can't walk across the floor, I'll have to find a alternate way across this room." Malon headed over to a nearby torch and placed her hand on it. She tried to pull herself up on top of it, but the torch began to move.
The next thing she knew, the flame of every torch in the room became extinguished. In their place, the fire of the pillars sprang to life. But, there were some pillars that did not light. These pillars made a perfect path to the chest, which no longer was surrounded in fire.
Malon quickly made her way to the chest and opened it. Inside was a coiled spring attached to a hook. With it was a sheet of parchment. "This here is the Ultimate Longshot. Aim at the targets and fire. The hook will attach to the target and pull you towards it. Love, Zelda." Malon read aloud.
"So that must be how Link gets all of his items. Princess Zelda has been providing him with them." Malon concluded.
She looked through the hole in the ceiling. Indeed, there was a target on the roof of the room on the other end. Malon aimed the Longshot at the target and pulled the trigger. The spring uncoiled itself as the hook was launched. Malon felt a quick tug as the hook lodged itself into the target and began pulling Malon up.
The Longshot released itself as soon as Malon was safely above the hole. The girl rolled to the side as the target collapsed, plugging up the hole. Malon found herself at the end of a passage. Every couple seconds a blast of fire exploded from the holes in the walls. The timing of the blasts was offset just right to give someone time to run through the gauntlet.
Malon braced herself against the wall as she watched the fire bursts. "Fire one, fire two, fire three, fire one..." She counted to herself. Malon made a mad dash through the fire streams. She made it through safely, but pushed it a little close as the third fire jet nearly caught her.
The farm girl stopped herself at the corner. The passageway continued into another room. Inside, Malon could see two large Lizardfols protecting a chest. On the other side of the room was a locked door. Malon could only assume that the key to the door was inside of the chest.
Malon silently removed her katana from its sheath. Maybe she could get a sneak attack on one of the two guards before they noticed her. Malon took a step forward and grimaced as an iron gate slammed down behind her. The two lizards immediately spotted her and drew their weapons.
One jumped forward, taking a huge swing at Malon. The girl rolled aside and struck back. The creature collapsed against the feet of its comrade. The remaining lizard cautiously began to circle around Malon. Malon made a motion to one side, causing the Lizardfols to move to the opposite direction.
The two combatants continued to encircle each other. Malon accidentally stumbled over the fallen body of the first Lizardfols. The surviving one was its chance and unleashed a fire blast. Luckily, the body protected Malon from the fire. Malon jumped to her feet, with Longshot in hand. The hook snaked across the room and buried itself into the chest.
As Malon was carried towards the chest, she struck out with her sword. The blade made contact with the lizard's leg, causing it to collapse to the ground. Malon opened the chest, retrieved the key, and returned her attention to the suffering Lizardfols. Malon swiftly plunged the blade into the quivering body and held it there until the body moved no more.
The key fit perfectly into the lock. The door swung open and Malon entered the next room. Atop a platform in the center of the room was a dancing flame. The fireman jumped down from its perch and began spinning around. Flames burst from the dancer and fell across the room.
Malon aimed the Longshot at the fireman and fired. The hook lodged itself into the black head of the dancer and pulled the solid ball from the flames. Malon swung her sword and struck the head.
The head jumped back into the fire atop the platform. This time the dancer was a new color. Malon repeated this process twice more and destroyed the creature. The flames died away, granting Malon access to the platform. The girl quickly climbed onto the platform which began to descend deep into the earth.
The platform deposited Malon on a ledge over a pit of lava. A wire grate covered the large pit of lava. Across the room was a door to another room. "Too easy." Malon exclaimed as she stepped onto the grate.
Suddenly, a wall of fire sprung to life behind Malon. Quite a few goblins dropped from the ceiling onto the grate and charged Malon. The firewall slowly began to creep across the grate, destroying everything in its path. One goblin came running towards Malon but tripped and fell into the fire. A horrible shriek emerged from the creature as it was burned alive. The other goblins began laughing hysterically at the other goblin's horrendous demise.
Malon silently crept by the creatures. She made it safely across the grate and onto the floor by the door. "Guys, you might want to watch out for that fire." Malon called as she left the room. The goblins looked at each other in surprise and then at the fire. Malon could hear the death cries of the goblins as the fire consumed them.
"I don't know why Link finds these temples so difficult." Malon said as she headed towards a large gold and blue treasure chest in the center of the room.
"Are you sure that it is a good idea to let Malon collect all of the shards so easily?" Ganondorf asked Zelda.
The two villains were gazing into a large cauldron that was showing them Malon's progress. Zelda nodded her head. "Of course it's a good idea. Since evil cannot touch the Master Sword, we will let Malon collect the shards for us. If she has an easy time doing so, she won't be much of a problem for us to defeat."
"And why do we want the Master Sword?" Ganondorf inquired.
Zelda sighed. "I'm tired of explaining it to you, Ganondorf. If we have the Master Sword that means that a hero doesn't have it. And if the hero doesn't have the Master Sword, we can't be defeated."
"I understand. Brilliant." Ganondorf began chuckling at the idea of Malon doing this pointless quest that would only end up helping him. "Good thing that you told me that Link and Malon were heading through the temples. It gave me time to withdraw my strongest minions and replace them with worn out useless creatures."
"It's all part of the alliance." Zelda replied with a smirk.
Malon approached the chest and swung the lid open. Inside was a large key and another sheet of parchment. "Use this key to enter the lair of Volvagia, the fire dragon." Malon read and looked up. Before her was a large locked door.
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A/N: Next chapter is Malon vs. Volvagia! So we learn that Zelda has gotten Ganondorf to fill his temples with weak creatures. Is it possible that Zelda is still somewhat on the side of good, despite killing Link? Or is it all a scheme for her to get her hands on the Master Sword. Find out next time.