Chap. 9

The Fire Temple

"Nelson? Come on, man, time to get up." Groaning, the young boy ignored the plea and turned over, trying to return to sleep. And had it not been for the staff continually poking him in the ribs, he might have. "Come on man," he muttered as he got up. "why do we need to get there at six in the morning."

"Number one," Robin began, "it's nine, or at least that's what I think it is. Two, we've got a large fire-breathing dragon to deal with." "Uh Rob, I don't think your winning the argument here." Milhouse interjected. Sighing, Robin said, "Can we just get going? The town fathers said Goron Village is near here." "All right, all right." Nelson muttered as he got to his feet. Thankful that they were finally on the move, Robin finished picking up the rest of their small camp (namely the blankets and lights that Zelda had magically packed for them), and the group began to move.

Nelson did have reason to want his sleep. The day before had not been easy for the heroes. The wagon had dropped them off at the entrance to Karikiko Village, along with Brett, Raven, and Bart. After climbing the stairway, they reached the Vialleg, which was a veritable potpourri of housing and stores. Of course, these stores were not like the one they had known on Earth. Instead of supermarkets and hardware shops, there were magic shops and weapons shops. Robin of course, had wanted to see the weapons, but Brett told them they would have to make tracks to Death Mountain early on. According to him, the Goron Village, which was the only way to reach the Fire Temple, was halfway up the Mountain Trail, and impossible to reach within the confines of a single day. Despite their protests, the bat forced them to agree to get halfway up the night before. Once they had grudgingly agreed(after Brett had promised to buy them weaponry afterwards) the group had gone to the town fathers, and gotten directions for the trail. From then one, they had begun to hike up. Brett left Raven and Bart to get some lodgings for the night, under the explanation that it was suicide for anyone to try to enter the Shadow Temple at night, even its knight. He had followed them up the trail, and given what help he could, until they had reached the midway point and decided to camp for the night. At that point, he had begun to travel back down, in order to prepare for his Temple and the challenge that lay before him. But by that point, the group had been traveling since close to midnight, so they were all dead-tired, even by the time they woke up. Nevertheless, they knew they had no choice, so they continued to march on.

After eating a quick breakfast, which consisted of some dried fruit form Link and candy bar from Milhouses' pocket, they resumed their trek up the trail. Thankfully, their supplies had a very useful attribute. Thanks to Zelda's magic, they would fold up to the size of a dime and could be carried inside their pockets. Of course, if they could have turned into a plane and flown them up them up the mountain, Milhouse would have appreciated it more. He was the least fit of the group, and was having a difficult time with the trek. More then once, he slipped and fell to his knees, which took him at least five minutes to get up from. Finally, after this had happened for the fifth time, he cried out, "Can't we just fly up or something?" "No, we can't." Robin answered. "You know what Link said." During their briefing at the Gerudo fortress Link had warned them not to use their powers until they had reached the Temple. "The demons would sense it, and you would lose the element of surprise." He'd explained. "Believe me, you do not want these things to be prepared for you."

"Besides, we're almost there." Nelson said, trying to sound encouraging. "There's nothing else that could happen." But as he spoke those words, a shadow suddenly grew above him. "Look out!" Robin yelled, as Nelson almost instantly rolled out of the way. The creature landed a moment later. It was about the size of a human child and resembled nothing more then a huge spider, despite its having only four legs. It was colored bright red, and its legs were yellow. Its mouth drooled and bit furiously as it leapt along closer and closer to the group. But before it could come to within two feet of them, a huge rock suddenly fell out of the sky and landed on it, crushing it instantly. Of course, it also sent up a fine spray of bug guts, which splashed the heroes quite nicely. As they looked at themselves in disgust, Nelson asked, "Were we lucky just now?" "Not sure." Robin replied, as he attempted to wipe his shirt clean. "Who threw that thing anyway?" Milhouse asked. He got as answer a moment later, as the rock yawned, and unfolded arms and legs. Standing up, it turned to face them.

The rock-creature had a large, broad, face and a strong looking body. It had no hair, only a grayish point near the top of its head. Smiling at them it said, "Well, good thing I was around, or else that Tektite would had you for lunch!" "Uh thanks, but who are you?" asked Robin. "My name is Ceanria, of the Gorons. I was sent by our Chieftain to find the warriors that the Hero of Time sent here." "That would be us." Nelson said, trying to look as heroic as possible. Ceanria looked them over for a moment, then said, "Well, you don't look like much, but if Link sent you, then it's good enough for us." Motioning for them to follow, he began to walk up the trail to the Goron Village.

The heroes followed the Goron up for another half-mile, and then finally reached the entrance to the Goron Village. Ceanria quickly led them inside, which proved to be an impressive sight. The whole of the village was seemingly a giant hole in the ground, structured with floors and stairs. In the center of the area, attached by three ropes, was a small platform, which Ceanria explained held the Spiritual Stone of Fire, now that Link's quest was over. "Come, we must not keep the Chieftain waiting." The Goron urged as he bounded the stairs. The others followed and were soon at the bottom floor. Once there, they walked to the front of a huge door, emblazoned with the Goron symbol. Ceanria stepped forward and knocked hard. "Chieftain, I have returned with help!" he yelled. Slowly, the door began to cycle upwards, revealing a short corridor. The group walked through it into a large, well-lit room, covered with paintings of Gorons from long ago. In the back of the room was a large statue of a squat, square Goron, and in front of that was a being that could have only been the Chieftain. He was more muscular then Ceanria and far taller. Three stone-like strands of hair curved out from the back of head, and gave him an extremely imposing figure. Even so, he greeted the travelers warmly, giving each one a firm hug,( almost breaking a few spines in the process). Finally, in a large, booming voice, he said, "Link has done well to send me such fine warriors. I am sure that the dragon will not trouble us for long." "Thanks for the confidence…." Robin began, but trailed off, realizing he did not know what to call the Chieftain. Seeming to read his mind, the large Goron said, "Just call me Link." "Don't we already have one of him?" asked Nelson. "Yes, but I am also one of him." Seeing their confusion, the Chieftain began to explain. "My father, Darunia, was the Chieftain when Link first came here, looking for our Spiritual Stone. He was so impressed by his escapades that he made Link his sworn brother and named me after him. Now then, I do have some good news for you."

"What's up?" asked Milhouse. "I recently received a message from the Princess. Link, your alien friend, and…. Him… have managed to free the Forest Temple. However, they have discovered Majora has placed a marker there, which transported them directly to the Phantom Gannondorf. Link believes that there should be one like that around here, so you will not have to transverse through the Temple. You will be taken straight to Volvagia." They stood silent for a moment, and then Milhouse asked, "So what's the good news?" Link laughed at that, and said, "Courage, small one! Did Link not give you the sacred Megaton Hammer? Then you have nothing to fear, so long as you are strong! Now, allow me to equip you." Link reached across to a table in the back of the room and drew out three red tunics. "These are Goron fire tunics." He explained, as he handed each hero one. "They are made from the skin of a Dodongo. So long as you wear them, the heat of the volcano will not harm you." Nodding, they each slipped one on, even Nelson, since he could not activate his powers until they were inside the Temple itself. "Good, now let's get going." Said Robin. "Which way to the Temple?" "This way." Ceanria said. Moving over to the statue, he grabbed it and pulled back, revealing an entranceway behind it. "This will take you directly to Death Mountains' core." Link explained. "Good luck." "Wait, you're not coming with us?" Milhouse asked. The Goron shook his head. "We have had to fight hard, just to keep Volvagia in the mountain. My people are stationed on different parts of the mountain, keeping his evil from spreading. I must remain here and coordinate the effort." "All right then" nodded Robin. "Thanks for your help." "It is I who should thank you for this service warrior. Good luck!" With that, the heroes stepped through the entranceway and into the volcano.

The sight before them took their breath away. Literally. The heat inside the volcano was so intense, that despite their tunics, they found it difficult to breathe for a moment. It passed quickly though, and they took a look around. Lava burst forth from every direction, and the very air seemed to bend around them from the heat. They did manage to see the entrance to the Temple, just as Link had described it. The only problem was that it was on the other side of the volcano, and they had not way to reach it.

"So what now?" asked Nelson. "Look around for some kind of bridge." Robin answered. "If Link could get in here, then we can too." Silently, the three began to scout around the platform, looking for anything that could get them to the other side. Suddenly, Milhouse cried out, "Hey! Over here." Nelson and Robin sped across, to discover a very good find indeed. Once, there had been a large bridge, that had stretched from their platform, then curved down to the very base of the entrance. The first part of the bridge had broken away, but the rest still held. "Do you think you can reach it?" asked Nelson, as he turned to Robin. Nodding, the boy wonder pulled out his grapple, and taking aim, fired it at the bridge portion. It stuck, and drove itself deep into the wood. Robin pulled it a couple of times, testing it's tightness. Finally, he motioned that it was safe to cross. He prepared to swing back, but then Nelson grabbed his arm. "We have to go together." He said. "If you get there alone, it'll retract, and we won't have any way to get across." Robin realized his friends' point and nodded. The two BRATS quickly grabbed Robin's waist tight, and with a push, they swing high against the lava. However, they misjudged the impact their combined weight would cause, and they swung straight into the rock cliff below the bridge. Bouncing off, they twirled around slightly as they shook off the impact. "Nelson?" said Milhouse. "Yeah?' "Next time, don't make an astute judgment." "I concur." said Robin. "Great. Now how do we get up?" Nelson muttered.

Finally, after much pushing, moving, and a couple almost falling off, the three heroes climbed back onto the bridge and made there way down to the Temple entrance. They paused at first, to see the statue of the Temple's Knight, which was right next to the entrance. The Knight's armor was molded after the volcano itself, roxk-like, and covered with the image of flames. The statue held a spear, but strangely, it's face was not that of an animal. It seemed to be a being of molten stone, his face a strange mass of magma with a pair of eyes. Kneeling down, Robin read the inscription on the base. "Firelord, Knight of the Flame." He read aloud. "We've gotta ask Brett about this one." Nelson noted. Nodding, his companions got up and resumed their trek to the Temple.

Heading inside, they found the ladder to the basement and crept down. Finally, they stood inside the Temple. Milhouse and Nelson quickly shifted gears into Scarlet Whimpernel and Heatstrike, which allowed Nelson to strip away the itchy tunic. Looking around, Whimpernel asked, "So where's this marking?" "Maybe it's up there." Robin mentioned, pointing to the upper level of the room, with a giant staircase leaning down. The heroes ascended, to find the same image that their friends had already found in the Forest Temple. "You think this is it?" Heatstrike asked. "Only one way to find out." Robin answered. Checking the hammer on his belt to make sure it was still there, he stepped onto the marker and promptly vanished. Heatstrike and Whimpernel looked at each, then each stepped onto the marker and were whisked away.

They remerged on a large circular platform, in the center of a lava pool. The platform was dotted with holes, which ended directly into the molten rock. "Well, if it's gonna come, now's the time." said Robin, pulling out the Megaton hammer and giving it a few practice swings. Suddenly, Whimpernel cocked his ears. "Something's moving under us.' Before he could elaborate, the ground began to shake. One of the fire holes began to spew lava, and then a huge serpent erupted into the air. It's body was long and sinuous, with blood red scales. It only had two front legs, but they were tipped with long claws. It flew around them, breathing fire and roaring, then it dove back into one of the holes.

"Whimpernel, can you still hear it?" yelled Robin. Seeing his friend's nod, he yelled, "Tell where it's going to come up!" Closing his eyes, Whimpernel strained his ears to the limit, knowing that lives were in the balance. Finally he yelled, "He's by the right edge hole!" just as lava began to gush forth from it. Leaping across the platform, Robin stood in front of the hole, just as the dragon popped up. Attacking solely on impulse, Whimpernel let loose a blast of sound, striking the dragon directly. Reeling from the impact, Volvagia lolled in front of Robin, giving him enough time to bring the hammer up and smash it right into the creatures' head. It screamed in pain, and holding it's head in pain, sank back into the ground. "Remember that for next time." said Heatstrike, impressed with his friend's quick-thinking. Wimpernel nodded, but kept his ears primed. He yelled out, "Heatstrike watch out!" Heatstrike quickly moved, just as Volvagia shot out of the hole.

This time, the dragon flew about the cavern's ceiling, giving out a roar that caused the ceiling to shake and dislodge huge rocks. This time it was Heatstrike who acted quickly, setting a huge field of heat above the island. The rocks melted before they even came close to them. Volvagia roared and dove back down into the earth. The battle continued like this for almost half an hour, with both sides gaining blows, until finally, Robin struck the killing blow. As the dragon writhed in the air, it began to be consumed by flame, until the might dragon was reduced to a pile of bones. Breathing hard, the heroes sank to their knees, their great task finished. "So, is there anything else we have to kill?" Heatstrike panted. "No, young warriors." said a deep voice from behind them. The heroes turned to see the ghostly form of a Goron standing before them. "Link?" Robin asked. The Goron smilied and shook his head. "My boy does resemble me doesn't he?" "Wait,… Darunia?" asked Heatstrike. The figure nodded. " Yes I am Darunia, the Sage of Fire. I thank you for the great deed you have done for my people. I also come to deliver a message. You must go to the Temple of Time and wait there with your allies, until all the Temples have been freed." "Oh man, there's someone else we have to go?" Milhouse whined. "Not exactly. Link was able to travel there through his ocarina, and I think after your heroics, I can certainly take you there myself." The Goron Sage waved his hands, and the heroes were enveloped in a red light…..