Death of the Brotherhood

Zelda walked ahead to check the first chamber. It was large, but relatively empty. There was a stone staircase, a few odd statues, and a few doors. She could tell from the black blast marks and the remnants of a door on the floor that the left doorway up the stairs was where the explosion had come from. The moment she stepped onto the first stair, she felt a bout of uneasiness that was similar to what she had felt in the forest. She took a step back, growing hesitant about going any further.

"So, which way are we going?" Peach said from behind her. "…Zelda?"

"Oh, sorry," Zelda said, snapping out of it. "I…think our destination is that door up there."

"All right, then," Peach said, beginning to climb the stairs. She glanced back at Zelda who was lagging behind. "Something wrong?"

"…Did you ever get the feeling that the room was angry with you?" Zelda asked, silently cursing how foolish she sounded.

"Don't worry about that," Peach smiled. "All this red, orange, and fire and lava have that sort of atmosphere. I've never been in a lava pit that looked friendly." Zelda quietly accepted her advice and joined her at the top of the stairs. After moving through the next doorway, they were in a chamber with a few platforms floating in the lava. The Boss Door, which seemed to have been melted through, was on the other side. Two hops and they were both across the lava and standing in front of the smoking slag that used to be the door.

Peach was the first to step through, while Zelda was more hesitant. She made a short prayer and stepped through. There was a solitary Goron with spiky blonde hair and hulking arms standing, with his back turned, in the center of a large platform surrounded by lava. There were several holes of lava around the platform.

"Is that him?" Peach whispered.

Zelda sighed heavily and called out, "Darunia."

The Goron turned around. In one hand was the Megaton Hammer. A dragon's skull was in the other. As usual, he had an angry look on his face. What was unusual though was the presence of tears on his face.

"What's the matter?" Peach asked.

"Two Sworn Brothers and a son," he said quietly. "One Brother is lost to the darkness. The other is lost to treachery. And my son…"

"What is it?" Zelda asked.

"You wretched girl!" he roared. "Don't you dare play innocent! First you bring your army here demanding shelter. Then, when we can't accommodate you like filthy lapdogs, you do something so low, I didn't think my Brother was capable of having such a daughter."

"What did I do?" Zelda asked, beginning to well up with tears.

"You murdered my son!" Darunia boomed, causing the room to rumble.

"No! I couldn't have!"

"She was with me the whole time!" Peach retorted. "She couldn't have done it."

"She had a small army invade the city," Darunia said bitterly, "with the sole purpose of striking down my son. Then, she had the nerve to show up just long enough to tell my people to 'think harder before making foolish decisions.' Come to think of it, you were there with her!"

"That's impossible," Peach said.

"No more lies!" he said, crushing the dragon skull in his fist. "Volvagia wasn't the true monster on this mountain…You are!"

"No!" Zelda whispered, stepping back gradually.

"I will avenge my son! I will burn you to ashes, just like Kakariko and the rest of your kind!" The room began to rumble and fire rocketed out of holes in the platform. Darunia took a fighting stance, brandishing the Megaton Hammer.

"Not again," Peach frowned.

"No!" Zelda yelled. She suddenly turned around and bolted out of the room.

"Zelda, wait!" Peach called out to her.

"Coward!" Darunia yelled. He roared and the whole temple began to rumble.

Peach glanced back to him and noticed thorny green tendrils slowly rising out of the platform. Her eyes widened and she ran out of the room as well.

Zelda frantically climbed the ladder to escape the temple. The quaking only increased her fear. Sheik was nearly screaming at her for leaving Peach behind like that. She was too afraid of facing Darunia to stop, though, until she was out of the hatch. Then, she stared down the hatch, impatiently waiting for Peach to appear. When Peach finally did appear, she dangled her Hookshot down for her to grab onto. Peach caught the hint and grabbed on, being pulled up instantly.

Without a word, Zelda ran for the bridge and used her Hookshot to cross back to the ledge. Peach was close behind, floating across. Another burst of fire ignited from the shrine and Darunia rolled out and uncurled himself.

"Zelda, I think we can calm down now," Peach said, grabbing onto her.

"No, we have to get out of here!" Zelda said. She shook Peach away and blasted the bridge, causing it to fall into the lava.

"He definitely can't cross now," Peach said. He suddenly leapt across the gap and landed in front of them. Zelda quickly tossed ash into his face to blind him and pulled Peach to the entrance to Goron City. Several flaming, thorny vines jutted out of the ground, blocking the way.

"Where do think you're going?" a familiar girl's voice echoed.

"Oh, no!" Zelda shuddered. She turned around and saw Saria sitting on a large, floating magic leaf beyond the ledge. She seemed slightly bigger than usual. Her Kokiri Tunic was torn in various areas, but there was plainly a Goron Tunic's material meshed in. Her hair was slightly longer, no longer bound by a hair band. Strangely, her eyes had turned green instead of the normal blue and her skin appeared unusually reddened, even for a person in a volcano.

"But you were eaten!" Peach exclaimed.

"Did you really think you'd get rid of me so easily?" Saria asked mockingly. "I wouldn't give you the satisfaction."

"I didn't do anything!" Zelda screamed, crying.

"RAWR!" Darunia roared. "I'll make sure you never escape alive!" He raised his arms and pounded the ground. The volcano shook and never stopped.

"What did you do?" Zelda said, backing away.

"Oh, he just sealed your fate," Saria said, causing the vines to tear down rocks to completely block the way to Goron City.

"The lava's rising!" Peach chimed.

"I'll make sure you die before it reaches you!" Darunia said, causing jets of fire to burst from the ground. Peach motioned for Zelda to follow her. She jumped a small gap and landed on another ledge. She began climbing the metal ladder there up the wall, with Zelda close behind. The jets of fire singed them, but they continued climbing anyway.

"Just keep moving!" Zelda yelled.

"You hit them high," Saria smirked at Darunia, "and I'll hit them low." The Goron nodded and dropped of the ledge, seemingly committing suicide. He rose up out of the lava holding onto an overgrown thorny Piranha Plant engulfed in flames, letting its large tongue hang out. It arched over the uppermost ground where Peach and Zelda were climbing to and let Darunia off there.

"Ahhh!" Peach screamed upon reaching the top and seeing the two waiting for her.

"What is that!" Zelda screamed, still on the ladder.

Saria floated close to her and said, "It told me it's a Lava Piranha. As you can see, it's perfectly suited to a place like this. I thought you'd appreciate getting used to seeing something like that before Big Brother and I send you to Hell."

"Saria, please!" Zelda cried woefully. "I haven't done anything to you or Darunia!"

"Now, I see I was right to attack you," Saria said, losing her humor. "You killed a child and lied about it. And you tried to kill me the other day and here you lie about it to my face. No one deserves to suffer you…"

"Saria, I…"

"I just feel sorry that Link thought you were such a good person," Saria said. "I'll be sure to mention your death as accident…for his sake. Goodbye, Zelda." A slender vine jutted out of the wall behind the ladder and through Zelda's heart. She could only make a small yelp and stare at Saria as the vine wiggled its way out of her back and wrapped tightly around her neck. The vine continued to flow out of the small hole and raised Zelda up to the upper floor where Peach, Darunia, and the Lava Piranha were. She attempted to reach her sword, but a shake of the tightening vine caused her to drop it.

"Zelda!" Peach screamed, seeing the blood dribble out of her chest. "Let her go!"

"Shut up!" Darunia yelled. One swing of his mighty fist sent her flying into a wall, stunned. The exit from the crater to the peak of Death Mountain was only a few feet away, but her dazed mind was on Zelda.

"Now, this war is one step closer to being over," Darunia said, staring into Zelda's pained eyes. "Finish her."

The Lava Piranha ignited its vine and filled it with thorns, causing Zelda more pain. With a wave of Saria's hand, the vine noose twisted and a distinct snapping noise was heard as Zelda's head was turned too far.

"Nooo!" Peach screamed, as Zelda was dropped with a thud.

"You're next," Darunia said, turning to her. He rolled into a ball and sped toward her, quickly turning into a spiky fireball. Peach dived out of the way, causing Darunia to grind into the wall momentarily.

"Take her," Saria directed the carnivorous plant.

She began to float toward the entrance when Darunia called out, "Where are you going?"

"I have to complete myself before I see Link," she said. "That girl is too weak to be a serious threat to me by herself. My little friend will gladly assist you, though."

"Thank you, Little Sister," Darunia said solemnly. "May your heart heal with time…so you can play that song once again someday." She nodded and floated out. He refocused his attention on Peach, who had gotten a hold of Zelda's sword and was fending off the Lava Piranaha.

The plant was constantly whipping its vines at her, while some of its miniature mouths spat fireballs at her. Darunia noticed that she was near the ledge. He jumped as high as he could and slammed the Megaton Hammer onto the ground. The shockwave was powerful enough to send cracks throughout the ground. The ledge began to slide off the rest of cliff. Peach jumped off in time to get to the cliff. The Lava Piranha took a deep breath and Darunia powered up with fiery energy.

Peach could see that she had a chance to escape, but she refused to leave without Zelda. She could easily see the lava getting dangerously high, and the volcanic explosions were becoming louder and more numerous. She raised her hand and said, "Here I go!" A pink glow emanated from her and hearts began to spin around her just as Darunia and the Lava Piranha unleashed their flames. The entire section where she had been standing was an inferno. Suddenly, all the flames, countered by the Heart Shield, withdrew into a ball of fire in her hand as she ran toward Zelda.

"What!" Darunia balked.

Before either could react, Peach tossed the ball at them, which burst into the aforementioned inferno. During their time of confusion, she dropped to her knees at Zelda's side, despite the growing pool of blood, and raised her arms. "Come Back, Zelda!" An otherworldly light shined onto Zelda's body and a star floated down into her. A few sparkles glittered around her and the blood flowed back into her. She suddenly opened her eyes and sat up.

"Huh?" Zelda said, confused.

"We have to go, now!" Peach yelled, pulling her to her feet.

"Oh, no you don't!" Darunia said, running out of the flames and grabbing Peach by her head, slamming her to the ground. Then, he saw Zelda staring at him and stared back in disbelief. "But how!"

Zelda suddenly disappeared in a green light and reappeared behind him. She put her glowing hand to the back of his head and said, "I'm sorry." She turned her face away and unleashed the Shining Ray.

"Awwwrrrr!" the Lava Piranha growled in her face. She raised the Megaton Hammer and smacked its face with it. It's head, or main flower, fell on the ground in a daze. She began to smash it repeatedly with the Megaton Hammer. When no part of it moved anymore, she blasted it with the Shining Ray. She saw the lava was creeping up onto their level. Peach had fainted on the floor, covered in the gore from Darunia's very fatal wound. Zelda sheathed the sword and made the Megaton Hammer disappear. She picked Peach up and carried Peach up the stairs and out of the crater.

Zelda's hopes quickly sank when she saw that Death Mountain Trail was already covered in a massive lava flow that was pouring out of a vent and down the mountain toward the Shadow Barrier. She could see the glow of lava from the path to the crater grow brighter as more lava built up.

"Hey, who is that?" a deep voice echoed. She saw the massive Biggoron rise out of the side of the mountain and stare down at her. He became enraged when he saw that it was a Hylian. Zelda panicked when he raised his arms above them, preparing to crush them. She and Peach were suddenly snatched from the ground just before Biggoron bashed the mountainside, causing even more lava to bleed through. She looked up and saw that they were being carried away from the mountain by a giant owl.

"It's a good thing I found you," the owl said, holding onto them tightly. "That was a close one."

"You're that owl, um, Gabora," Zelda said, trying to remember what Link had said his name was.

"Kaepora Gaebora, actually," he said. "What's the matter with your friend there?"

"She doesn't handle blood well…Where are you taking us?"

"The safest place for you is Lon Lon Ranch…or Tavern, as it may be." Kaepora dived down the mountainside speedily already nearing the flooded Hyrule Field. He dipped Peach and Zelda into the water briefly and gained altitude.

"Hey, what's going on?" Peach asked, now fully awake and cleansed of the mess.

"Now Death Mountain is erupting even more," Zelda said disappointedly, looking back at the exploding mountaintop. "Now, there's no way we can save Kakariko."

"It will cease in time," Kaepora said reassuringly. "Darunia seems to have severely waned in power."

"That's because…he's dead," Zelda said. "I was forced to destroy him when I could not reason with him. I woke up just in time to save Peach…I don't know how I survived Saria's last assault."

"…You didn't," Peach said meekly.

"How else would you explain me waking up like that?"

"It's another one of my special abilities," Peach said. "Come Back restores life to the fallen."

"…I see," Zelda said humbly. "I'm sorry you had to see all that."

"Why is all this happening? You didn't do anything. I was with you the whole time."

"This appears to be the work of a third party," Kaepora said. "Lately, I've noticed strange behavior in those who have awakened as sages. An ancient madness has taken hold of them, the type of rage I have not seen since the beginning of the Great War. Despite the danger they pose to Hyrule and you in particular, Zelda, you must avoid destroying them. They are still the protectors of the Triforce. Great anger lies in their hearts, yet I have sensed no evil."

"That is true," Zelda nodded. "But how will I be able to reason with them if they try to kill me on the spot?"

"I'm afraid I don't know the answer…" he said as the island of Lon Lon Ranch appeared on the horizon. The water had spread and risen. "Princess Ruto is waiting for you in the Water Temple. That is your next destination. You should take some time to rest in relative safety."

"Where is Saria?"

Peach uncomfortably replied, "She left after you…well, she left early."

The owl let them down at the entrance and landed himself on nearby tree. There was a flash of lightning in the distance, soon followed by crackling thunder. Black clouds were gathering in the sky overhead. "A bad omen…Dark times ahead."