Sorry I'm late, guys… I didn't know my first fic would be so popular so quickly! Onto the replies!

Egyptiangirl01: Thanks, and don't think I don't know who you are. ;)

Lil-dragon-blue: I'm getting all kinds of odd glitches with mine. Don't feel left out. Thanks for reviewing!

Girl that um reads stuff: Heh, I get that a lot. (I KNOW YOU TOO!)

Lil-dragon-blue: I thought Link said something… maybe I forgot that. –is confuzzled as well- XD Nice exit, by the way!

Rathsgrlalwyz: You must have a fetish with reviewing in a different name each time or something. O.o Whatever, as long as I get mah reviews! Thanks for reviewing and I'm glad you like it!

Lil-dragon-blue: Heh, I'm tired too. I reply so quickly because I'm always online and this story is totally finished; I'm just posting it little by little. And I don't really mind the quality of your reviews as long as I get mah reviews! Thanks! …and you're quite welcome with the links; it's no problem at all.

Minemineallmine: Not everyone can be as good a singer as you… and might I suggest that you pick one name and stick to it? Thanks for reviewing, though.

Jana+Anthony: AGH! I can't believe I missed that! Thank you for telling me, I'll get around to fixing it eventually… Keep in mind that I do most of my writing after midnight… And… I like chocolate and pecan pie as well! Those are my favorites.

Gina: Here's your update!

(no name): You forgot to put your name… Yeah, well, I don't really like Zelda that much. XP She'll live.

Someone mysterious: Aww… you should read the story, not just review because someone told you to! XP

Zeldafreak123: What a coincidence! I was watching Tomb Raider too… Thanks.

Dragon-Charmer16: It doesn't matter if you aren't first. This time, you all get a cookie! (gives everyone who reviewed a cookie) Also, double quotation marks are normally used to identify a quote, and I use single quotation marks when I write a quote within a quote. But you can do whatever you want, 'cause your story is awesome as it is!

EvilRobotZombieLoofaOverlord: Thank you!

Many more thanks to everyone who reviewed! (gives everyone another cookie, gives Dragon-Charmer16 an apple pie) I love you all so much! Now… onto the story!

Chapter 5: Flames of Determination

Link led Hieke through the Lost Woods towards the entrance to Death Mountain. They traveled in silence. To Hieke, the forest looked even brighter than it did before. Because Rose is free, all the plants are healthier, she explained to herself. It then hit her the intensity of the good they were doing for the world, as well as the intensity of the evil that would befall them all should they fail.

"We bear the weight of the world on our shoulders," Link said as though he had been listening to Hieke's thoughts. The Hylian girl laughed. "Don't you mean 'fate' in place of 'weight'?" she giggled. Link blinked.

"Do I?"

Hieke shook her head, still chuckling. The soft laughter was soon replaced by silence, at which point Link again deemed it as his responsibility to make conversation. "So… If you don't mind my asking, what was your relationship with Lea?" he asked as he tried to decide which tunnel to take to reach the Death Mountain entrance. Hieke stared into the sky lazily.

"Lea found me outside the Valley when I was much younger. As the leader of the Gerudos, she chose to take me in and raise me as a Gerudo. She always said that with Nabooru gone, I would inherit leadership when the time came," she explained. "Lea was like a mother to me. Then one day I was out with a few of my friends and we were captured by Hylian soldiers. After that, well… Let's just say it was an eye-opening experience."

"What happened?" he said and took the passageway to the right.

Hieke sighed. "The soldiers took one look at me and told me that I was free to go, since I wasn't a Gerudo. The princess, Zelda, asked me what I was doing with the Gerudos. After I gave my answer, she looked appalled. She showed me the havoc and destruction that was sown across the land as a result of the Gerudos' pillaging. I was disgusted and abandoned the name Lea gave me. I sought to help people who had been hurt by the transgressions of my people. After I had helped them recover, I felt guilty for deserting Lea and the others. So… I returned. When I entered, I could see some of the guards making a big fuss, probably over a new prisoner. And you know the rest."

Link nodded. "I'm glad you made the right choice," he smiled. Hieke grinned back, blushing lightly at the compliment. "Is this it?" she asked, looking through the large hollow tunnel they had stopped at. Link nodded again in assent and led her inside. They came out on one of the higher levels of Goron City. Link turned to Hieke. "Ready to find yourself another Guardian Spirit?" he smiled. Hieke returned the grin and jumped down to the bottom level of the city in a single leap.

"Big deal!" Link yawned as he leaped down equally as agilely. Hieke huffed just slightly, a little peeved that she shared talents with her companion. "Is it always this quiet?" she asked, changing the unspoken subject. Link shook his head as he glanced around, as though looking for something. "No," he said hesitantly. "The last time it was this quiet was when Volvagia had all the Gorons locked up in the Fire Temple."

Hieke chewed on her lower lip for a short time, then knocked on one of the stone doors. "Is anyone there?" she called as she searched for a mechanism to open the door. Link studied the slate thoughtfully. "It's locked," he concluded. "Hello in there! This is Link, friend and Sworn Brother to the Gorons! Open up, please!"

There came the muffled and inaudible conference of a few gruff voices, then the door slid open with the sound of stone grinding against stone. Hieke peeked in nervously as Link entered the fire-lit chamber. There was a large Goron with a rather angular head standing in front of a strange statue. Many other Gorons littered the area, lounging lazily on the plush carpets.

"Brother! Long time no see!" the large Goron smiled. Link held out his hand in greeting. "Nice to see you too, Darunia," he said as his obvious friend take the hand and shook it heartily.

The assumed Darunia turned to Hieke with a wide grin. "Finally got someone for yourself, eh Brother?" he said jokingly. Hieke turned to study some tapestries on the walls and pretended that she didn't hear Darunia's comment. Link rolled his eyes. "Now's not the time for that," he objected. "Do you know anything about the Guardian Spirit of Fire?"

Darunia did a bit of "hmm"-ing and eventually came up short. "Sorry, Brother. Never heard of it. But if fire's your thing, why not check out the Fire Temple?" he suggested as he moved out of the way and pulled the large statue, revealing a secret entrance.

Link gave his thanks and led Hieke towards the rocky passageway. "Wait, Brother!" one of the Gorons said as he leaped to his feet. "It's hot in there! A pair of soft-skins like you can't go in there without one of our specialty heat-resistant tunics."

Link smacked his forehead as he remembered that aspect of the Fire Temple. It was incredibly hot in there and he needed protection in order to proceed. "Do you have any tunics to lend us?" Hieke inquired, tilting her head to a side in a way that made her come off as an innocent child. Link smirked. She was aiming to get the tunics for free. The Goron blushed, an action that was strange in itself. "Well, I suppose I could check the shops," he said with a grin. Hieke smiled cutely, which only made Link all the most amused.

Moments later the Goron returned and delicately placed a pair of crimson tunics in Hieke's hands. She gave him one last smile, then turned to Link and handed him one of the garments. He quickly tossed the shirt on over his Kokiri Tunic. Hieke, on the other hand, first took off her orange jacket and set it down in Darunia's room for safe-keeping. She then scampered through the entrance to the Death Mountain Crater.

Link paused in front of Darunia. "Why were you all locked up in here?" he asked with concern in his cerulean eyes. The Goron stared off into space. "The Mountain is dying," he stated coldly. "All our resources are dissipating, right down to the bomb flowers. The rocks we once ate without fear of depletion are dwindling. Not only that, but it is growing increasingly cold. It even went as far as to snow where Biggoron is! Snow! On a volcano! Something is definitely wrong…"

"Don't worry," Link assured. "I know exactly what's going on. Hieke and I will fix it." It wasn't a lie, either. There was no doubt in his mind that the cause was the capture of the Guardian Spirit of Fire. Without this spirit, slowly all the warmth in Hyrule would die away, causing a perpetual winter. Such a thing could not be allowed to happen. Link ran into the Crater, calling for Hieke to wait.

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Next chapter: The search for the Fire Spirit! Okay, so it's NEXT chapter where things start to heat up (pun not intended). R&R, please. As usual, five reviews to the update. Just let me remind you that if at any point you encounter an error or even just a sentence that doesn't make sense, please tell me and I'll correct it as soon as I feel like it. XP Also... I need a more interesting summary so more people will read it... Any ideas? I'll credit you if I use your summary! Thanks for the reviews, all, and review more if you want Chapter 6!