Dum dum dum… chapter 5! Firstly, I just want to thank everyone who reviewed the past four chapters, you were all so nice and encouraging. And Steeple333, I found your comment on fighting Dark Link highly interesting. I'd heard of the Din's Fire method, but not the Megaton Hammer one. I put the spin attack method in mine because that's what the guidebook hints at… yes, I have a guidebook for Ocarina of Time. --' I check it religiously to make sure I've got everything correct. Call me a geek, I can take it! Anyways… hope you like this chapter as much as you liked the others!

Chapter 5: Trial by Fire – A Test of Wit

At the hottest part of the day, Dark was seated on the wall of Lon Lon Ranch, watching his horse running with the others in the corral, a soft wind blowing through his hair and playing with his cloak. The birds sang and darted in the air, and Shadowmane rushed at the cuccos, making them scatter in all different directions, clucking in panic. Dark allowed himself a small smile at this, amused at the antics of his horse. It made him glad to see a creature that was so tormented acting like a normal horse and moving in and out amongst its fellows.

Presently, Malon walked into the corral, carrying a bucket of chicken feed. She sang sweetly as she tossed some feed to the cuccos, who swarmed over and began to peck at it with lightning speed. All of the horses heard her song and galloped over to her, nuzzling her and butting her as if to say, "Got anything for me?" She laughed and fished a handful of sugar cubes out of her pocket, passing them out amongst the horses. Shadowmane pushed his silky black head in front of the others, and Malon fed him a sugar cube. "Hey," she said. "I recognize you! You came back! And you're being such a good boy!" she added, speaking to him like a mother would her baby. "But, where's your master?" she asked, looking past him, but she didn't see anyone in the corral.

Dark saw her looking around and was suddenly apprehensive. He searched for a hiding spot, not wanting her to see him, but unable to explain why. He saw nowhere to hide, and was considering ducking over the other side of the wall and running away over Hyrule Field as fast as he could, but Malon spotted him. "Hi!" she called cheerfully. He froze as she ran over, a lump forming in his throat. "I was hoping you'd come back," she said when she reached him. "I wanted to apologize, for my father and myself. We judged you too soon. We've had trouble with strangers before." She looked up at him and smiled warmly, waiting for a reply, but Dark couldn't find the words to say. He felt awkward and wanted to disappear.

Finally, he cleared his throat and said, "Well, it's… fine, really. I, um, I get that a lot." Malon laughed, making it seem like it wasn't a big deal, but Dark could tell she'd figured as much.

"Your horse is really nice now," said Malon, eager to change the subject. "I'm glad he found an affectionate owner."

"Oh, well, I…" said Dark, feeling his face grow hot, "I mean, he's been through stuff, and I…" He stopped and stared at his feet, feeling like an idiot.

"…And you wanted to help him," finished Malon. "I think that's really sweet." Dark looked up to see her gazing at him thoughtfully, her eyes twinkling. She knew. He had a gut-deep feeling that she knew he liked her. He smiled, and laughed nervously.

"Um, thanks," said Dark, feeling like a fool. He was amazed at how his demeanor had changed. He usually knew just what to say in any situation, and now here he was, babbling like a simpleton, caught off his guard by a girl.

They spent the rest of the afternoon together, riding around Hyrule Field and resting near the water hole together. Dark didn't have much to talk about, so he let Malon talk all she wanted. She talked about life at the Ranch, about gossip she'd heard in town when she went to deliver the milk, and anything else that was on her mind. She was happy to have someone around who was such a good listener, and Dark was happy to have a friend.

When the sun began to set, Dark remembered the task in front of him, but was reluctant to leave. He and Malon were resting on a wall in Hyrule Field, watching the sun set behind the expanse of red rock that was Gerudo Valley. The sky was painted in vibrant yellows and oranges, and the clouds were tinted pink, but Dark felt his task nagging at him, and couldn't truly appreciate the beauty of it all. He sighed and stood, saying, "I have to go." He whistled for Shadowmane, and then turned to Malon. "Thank you for today," he said to her. "I've never spent time with anyone as nice as you before."

Malon stood as well. "I like it too. You aren't nearly as scary as you look." They stood there for a moment, gazing into each others eyes, and then they embraced. Dark felt a feeling that he'd never felt before. It grew inside him, expanding to fill the old emptiness in his heart that was so familiar to him he'd forgotten it was there. He felt so light, he thought he was going to float up off the ground at any moment. His eyes stung, and as they pulled away at the same time, he felt a tear run down his cheek. He blinked rapidly to force the tears back, then uttered a small "Goodbye," and mounted Shadowmane, who was standing patiently beside him. He urged the horse on, and it leapt forward, and Dark looked back and waved as Malon shrank into the distance. They headed off towards Death Mountain at a gallop, and Dark's spirits were soaring higher than the clouds.

Malon watched him go with a twang of regret. He was so different from the day the first met. She guessed that he and Shadowmane had been good for each other. Malon knew how it was to be lonely. Her mother had died of illness when she was very little, and her father was nice, but he was her father, not her friend. As for Ingo… he was hard to talk to in any mood. She'd never had any siblings, and the only Hylian friend she'd had before was Link, but he was kept busy up at the castle. She was glad that she and Dark could be friends.

Dark reached Goron City just as the sun set fully below the horizon. Darunia was standing at the entrance to the city, along with the two guards, and he had a nasty look on his face. "So, you're here," said the Goron leader. "I was hoping you wouldn't show."

"I am ready to face the task you have planned for me," said Dark. Darunia could sense a change in him. His eyes didn't seem to be quite as cold or as red, and there seemed to be a faint glow coming off him. Darunia grunted. Whatever, he thought.

He started up the mountain, saying, "Follow me," over his shoulder. Dark obeyed, leaving his horse standing at the entrance to Goron City. The mountain air was full of ash and the smell of brimstone from a recent minor eruption, and it was a bit of a hike to get all the way up the mountain trail. After trekking up steep slopes and climbing crumbling rock walls, they reached the entrance to the Death Mountain Crater. Dark was growing uncomfortable with the heat, but Darunia's thick skin protected him, and he walked into the crater without hesitation, leaving Dark to follow with a little difficulty.

The crater was halfway full of lava, and the ruins of some ancient structure were scattered on boulders and plateaus of rock inside it, probably build by some of the earliest Gorons. In the middle of the crater sat two giant cinder cones, which belched black smoke into the air and filled it with the stench of sulfur and brimstone. Darunia looked back at Dark, amused at his sensitivity to the heat. He gave him a nasty, crafty smile, and pointed to the cinder cone on the right. "See that funny black shape on the top of that cinder cone?" He asked. "That's the nest of the Firebird, a beast that only came to Hyrule just recently. There's an egg in that nest, about as big as my fist or your head. Bring me that egg and the stone is yours."

They were level with the nest, and Dark couldn't see the egg. "That's all?" he asked, and he found that his voice was a little strained in the sweltering heat.

"What do you mean that's all?" asked Darunia. "You think it will just be a walk in the park to find a way up there in the first place, and then get the egg down without getting killed by the Firebird? I wouldn't be so confident if I were you; in fact, I'd give my life a good thinking-over before throwing it away so stupidly."

Dark gave him a spiteful look, but he knew the Goron was right. He could tell just by looking that the task would have been easier had he entered the crater through Goron City, but there was no way that Darunia would have allowed that. He'd just have to make due. The ground shook beneath him as Darunia sat down heavily, convinced that this would take a while. Dark ignored him and summed up the situation.

From where he stood, he could only go one direction: there was a plank to his right that lead up to a seemingly dead end, and that was no good, since he wanted to go left. He needed to move the plank, but there was no way he'd be able to do it with his hands alone. He took off his pack and searched through it, hoping to find something of use inside. He found his bag of rupees (which weren't any use to him at the moment), his hat, and one other thing: it was a large metal hook, like the kind a butcher would use to hang meat, and tied to that was a very long rope, slender but strong. Dark looked it over, confused as to how it got in his pack in the first place, and then realized that it was perfect for what he had to do.

He stood and shed his cloak, which was entirely unnecessary and would only get in his way, and tossed it to one side. He moved towards the edge of the platform and ran up the long plank, stopping at the top to lodge the tip of the hook in the soft wood. He walked back down the plank, trailing the rope out behind him, until he stood at the bottom. He got a firm grip on the rope, and then began to pull with all his might. The plank began to skid forward, so he put his foot in front of it. Soon, the other end of the plank began to rise, and Dark pulled harder, straining his muscles to their limit. The plank reached a ninety degree angle to the ground, and Dark gave it a last tug, and then moved out of the way as it fell with a crash.

Dark pulled the hook out of the plank and coiled the rope around his arm. He was certain that it would soon come of use. He then ran over and grabbed the other side of the plank and pushed it to wear there was a smaller ledge sticking out from the ledge he was standing on. The plank fell to the lower ledge, and Dark very carefully pushed up on the plank so that it once again came to be at a ninety- degree angle to the ground. With a final push, the plank fell, landing on the edge of the ledge Dark needed to get to. It skidded back a bit, then became still.

Dark looked back at Darunia, who was laughing softly. "Too bad you're not a Goron, eh?" said Darunia. "Otherwise, you could've just picked the thing up and carried it over there from the start!" Dark was not amused. He scowled at the Goron leader, then went down to the lower ledge and started up the plank, being careful to look strait ahead. He didn't particularly mind heights; he was just uncomfortable with the idea of falling from an old, rotting plank into a pool of lava. Which is reasonable.

He reached his destination without much trouble, and then headed down a rock slope to a broken bridge. Link had conquered it easily with his hookshot, but Dark would have to make due with his new gadget instead.

Letting out a length of rope at the hook end, he held it above his head and began to swing it around in a circle. At just the right moment, he let go, and the hook soared through the air and curled around a wooden beam that was suspended over the bridge. Dark gave it a quick tug to make sure it was secure, and he took a deep breath and jumped. He soared toward the lava, but just when he thought he'd fall into it, the rope went taught, and he found himself slowly swinging back and forth below the bridge, clinging to the rope for dear life. He climbed the rope, hand over hand, until he reached the bridge, then he clambered onto it. He stood and looked up at the hook wrapped around the beam, wondering how to get it back, and gave it a sharp tug, as if to get it down by force. This was the last straw for the beam, and it snapped off and crashed onto the bridge, giving Dark almost no time to jump out of the way. I guess that worked, he thought as he untied the rope. He coiled it round his arm, then turned and walked towards the cinder cones, feeling a bit shaky.

He passed a Triforce disk like the one in front of the Forest Temple. That must be the Fire Temple, thought Dark, looking at an opening that was carved into the side of the cater and seemed to drop down after a few feet. At least I don't have to go in there. He walkedover to the side of the cinder cone and examined it. It was rough, but it was steep and gravelly. Not exactly ideal for climbing with his feet and hands alone. So he used his gadget to hook the mouth of the cinder cone, then wrapped the rope about his own waist and used it aid him in his climbing.

After a tough climb over scorched rock and crumbling debris, Dark neared the nest of the Firebird. He clung to the side and pulled himself up, and there was the egg, a bright orange oval in the middle of a bed of feathers that all shone with the colors of flame. Black smoke filtered through the rocks, making his eyes sting, but he climbed in anyway, eager to get his challenge over with.

He walked up to the egg and laid his hand on it to pick it up, but pulled away quickly with a gasp of pain. The egg was as hot as a live coal. Dark's mind raced, trying to think of something he could use to pick it up. He searched in his pack, seeing how that had worked before, and found that his hat was still in there. He stuck his hand in and pulled it out, and suddenly he lost all feeling in the part of his hand that touched it. Not only could he not feel the heat of the crater, he could not feel the hat. If you had poked his hand through the hat, he wouldn't have felt it, for the hat was made of shadow, and shadows do not feel.

Dark turned the hat inside out so that it made a sort of protective glove, and then touched the egg with his hand in his hat. He could not feel the warmth of the egg, nor could he feel the egg itself, but he knew it was still there. Dark turned the hat right side out over the egg, careful not to touch it, and then picked up his hat with the egg inside. The hat had a large egg-shaped bulge in it, but it was incredibly light. Dark tied off the open end of his hat so that the egg wouldn't roll out and burn him to death, and then stuck it in his pack.

Presently, he heard a screech that made his blood run cold, and looking up, he saw what looked like a flying ball of fire hurtling towards him. He bolted over the side of the nest as the Firebird came out of its dive, snatching at empty air, and realized too late he'd jumped out the wrong side. As he slid down the cider cone, he saw that there was no rock below him, only lava. Opposite him was the rock ledge that Darunia was seated on. Dark hefted his hook and swung it above his head. He was going to have to clear the gap.

As Dark reached the edge of the cone, he jumped, and at the highest point in his jump, he let go of the rope. The hook caught on the edge of Darunia's platform, and Dark's stomach dropped to his feet as he swung across a sea of lava towards a wall of solid rock, hopefully headed for the small opening in the wall, and not the wall itself. His eyes were squeezed shut as he neared the wall, bracing himself for a collision, but it never came. He soared through the opening in the wall and rolled until he hit the back of the shallow cave, and lay there dazed for a moment, wondering how he could possibly still be alive.

The Firebird screeched and flew at the opening, trying to get at him with its beak. He rolled out of the way as it repeatedly attacked him, and then he finally gave it a hard kick and it flew back, stunned. He ran for the opening and jumped at the rope (which was still hanging from the cliff), grabbed it, and swung out away from the wall until gravity pulled him back toward it. He bumped into the wall to the right of the hole and latched on to it, one hand keeping him up while the other held onto the rope. He began to climb, and the Firebird lashed out at him, having regained its senses. He barely dodged it by jumping away to the left, and proceeded to climb with his hands and at the same time jump back and forth over the wall to dodge the Firebird's attacks.

After much toil he made it to the top and pulled himself onto the ledge, pulling his hook out of the rock in the same movement. He dashed towards the exit, and Darunia was right behind him. They charged out of the entrance and onto the mountain path, ducking to either side of the opening as a fiery blast scorched the air, sent their way by the Firebird by its great flapping wings. The bird soon gave up and went away, and Dark, feeling exhausted, fell against the rock of the outside of the crater, then sank into a sitting position. He breathed a deep sigh, and then fought back the urge to vomit.

Suddenly, Darunia began to laugh uproariously, and Dark turned his gaze to stare incredulously at him. What in Hyrule could be so funny? Darunia saw him looking and said, "What a RUSH, eh? I've never run that hard in my LIFE!" He began to laugh harder, then calmed himself and said, "Whew. That was really somethin' back there, kid. I've never seen anyone pull off the kind of moves you just did. That gadget of yours is really somethin' too. You should have that thing patented. You'd be rich!"

Dark nodded, still feeling a little sick.

"Anyway," said Darunia, walking over to Dark, "you still got that egg?"

Dark sat up and reached into his pack. He pulled out the hat with the egg inside, glad to see that it wasn't broken. He untied the hat and opened the brim, showing Darunia that it was still there. He wasn't sure he had strength left to speak.

"Well, take it out and give it to me," said Darunia. Dark gave him a blank stare. After all that, the Goron still wasn't satisfied? He wanted Dark to burn his hands off and give it to him? But Dark was to tired to resist. He struggled to his feet, and then stared at the egg in his open hood. He made a face, but put in a hand and pulled it out.

But this time, it didn't burn his fingers. This time, it shook so hard he dropped his hat and had to hold it with both hands. Cracks began to form in the shell, and they were pierced with golden light. Finally, the shell burst into hundreds of pieces, and Dark saw that the object in his hand was no egg; it was the Goron's Ruby, the Spiritual Stone of Fire.

"There you are," said Darunia, beaming despite himself. "You got the egg, and because you were worthy of the prize, it turned back into the Goron's Ruby." Dark detected a hint of respect in his voice, and in his eyes, the same softness as Malon's: trust. Dark looked at the stone in his hand. It was the size of his palm, a blood-red ruby encased in a two-prong-shaped piece of gold. It was the same shape as the tattoo on Darunia's arm.

Dark felt a sudden sense of pride swell up in his chest, pride for all he'd accomplished. He'd used his brain, outwitted the Firebird, and won the trust of a very untrusting person, all in one day. Not to mention that he'd gotten the Spiritual Stone of Fire. He bowed low to Darunia, saying, "Thank you," then turned and passed out.

To Be Continued

Poor Dark, he just passes out he's so tired. I bet a lot of you wanted Dark to kiss Malon in stead of just hugging her, huh? Well, I'll explain myself: I thought it would be awfully bold for them to kiss the day they get to know each other, especially since they'd only been hanging out for a few hours. Also, Malon was freaked out by him only the day before, so it wouldn't really have made sense. Anyway, yeah, just wanted to clear that up.

Keep reviewing!