A/N: Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

A Pair of Time

Chapter 14- Dodongo's Red Eyes

Dodongo's Cavern; Day

Breaking open another sealed way with a Bomb Flower, our two heroes find themselves in a room, a harden lava pit underneath, platforms working their way up and down, and a blue structure up ahead representing a Dodongo.

"Well, I've seen better," Link's voice echoes through the room.

"Oh, yes," Malon said sarcastically. "How great of you to compliment after your 'experience' inside the Great Deku Tree."

"Let's see what we can do here," Link said, ignoring her.

They find their way to the right side of the dungeon, into a room where it's completely heated from the pits below. Platforms are spread everywhere, with a waterfall of lava to boot. The metal door behind them bars shut once they entered.

"Oh, great," Link comments. "Something in this room has to do something, then."

"Which is…?"

Two giant lizards leap from the ceiling onto the platforms nearby, wearing light armor and standing on their feet.

"Kill these things off," Link suggests.

One of these monsters draws a short sword, and in a moment, hops to their platform.

"Lizalfos." Navi hovers over to it. "Careful, Link! It's a reptilian swordsman!"

"What am I, chopped liver?" Malon draws her Deku Stick.

"Well…" Link begins.

"Oh, be quiet."

Link draws his Kokiri Sword, just in time to parry the Lizalfos. Malon whips the Deku Stick to its back, sending it running away from them.

"What's the matter?" Malon sticks out her tongue. "Too scared to fight me?"

Behind her, a Lizalfos quickly jumps to their platform and rears back for an attack. Link smacks back its sword, then stabs it, leaving a hole in its stomach. The Lizalfos covers it up with its hand helplessly, then falls to its death in the lava pits.

"Have you ever thought that maybe its other friend would like to surprise you?" Link sheathes his sword.

"Uh, no," Malon answers nervously. "No, that… that hasn't occurred."

Link jumps the platform to the one with the only Lizalfos left. With ease, he finishes it with one Deku Nut and a swift Jump Attack. The barred doors open up, free for access. Finding a switch, the two find themselves on the left side of the dungeon. A large stone structure with neatly placed Bomb Flowers around it is found in a room.

"Wow!" Navi flies out. "Look at all those Bomb Flowers! Is there any way you two can set them all off at once? It might make that structure fall! If it can, we can climb it to up there!"

"Might as try. There's a lone Bomb Flower over there." Link points to it.

After a few failed attempts, they finally make the Bomb Flowers explode simultaneously to its opposite's timing, creating a chain reaction of explosions. The stone structure slowly slides downward, until it stops. The top is a series of large steps upward. Scaling their way to the 2nd floor, they make their way to the right side of the dungeon again. After a while, they meet with two more Lizalfos. Quickly finishing them off, they move on to find the main treasure. Inside is a bag of…

"More Bombs?" Malon said with irritation. "If I never see another one in my life…"

"They're not so bad…" Link assures while he counts his supply of Bombs.

"NOT so bad? Bomb Flowers, baby and adult Dodongos! Urgh! I hate them, fairy boy!"

"Then, I guess I'll handle these, then."

"Oh, no. I know you're gonna set one off and blow us up!"

"Ha ha. Says the farm girl who accidentally picked up that Bomb Flower and nearly blew us up."

"Grr! You're mean! A mean boy, Link, a mean boy!"

"I'm not! Why are you mean to me?"

"Because… you're reckless!"

"So? One has to be reckless in here."

"Well, your recklessness cost you your Deku Shield! It's now a burnt piece of… nothing!"

Link doesn't like to remember that scene. Unfortunately, he switched to his Deku Shield to block the adult Dodongos' tails. And one of them managed to breathe fire right at his shield, burning it to ashes.

"Oh, whatever, fairy boy." Malon gives up. "Let's just go on and clear this place."

They find themselves above the giant stone structure of a Dodongo. On a ledge nearby is a stone object, with it bearing,

'Giant dead Dodongo…

when it sees red,

a new way to go

will be open.'

"Now, what does it mean by that?" Link ponders. "When the giant dead Dodongo sees red?"

"Maybe like you when you go berserk."

"Uh, I never do."

"Why can't you just not be so serious? It's just a joke."

"Well, I don't get jokes like that…"

"Oh, right… How did I forget…?" Malon shakes her head. "Well, let's see. The giant Dodongo thing it's mentioning about is right down there. How are we supposed to make its eyes red?"

Link runs across the bridge over the Dodongo, seeing the gaps of the bridge that leads down to the giant thing. He has no idea how to get the eyes red. Allergies?

"Hey, Link! Try blowing that wall behind you!" Malon shouts out.

A treasure chest is behind the wall, carrying nothing but a Deku Shield.

"It's just a Deku Shield!" Link shows the wooden piece of bark. A nice replacement, but it's not going to help now. Especially the thought of a Deku Shield stuck in an active volcano…

"Shoot," Malon said, feeling her only option slip away.

"Hmm…" Link walks over to the gap above the left eye. "Red eyes, red eyes… How?"

"Hey! Wait up, Link!" Malon runs across the bridge. "I can't seem to- Whoa!"

Malon trips, sending one of the Bombs she's carrying rolling across the bridge, fuse lit. It quickly rolls to the gap above the right eye, then falls down, landing right into the socket. BOOM! The ground shakes, and then the eye turns red.

"Seriously, Malon." Link shakes his head as he takes out a Bomb. "I really wouldn't mind you being the smart one."

"Oh, shush."

Both eyes are now red, sending the floor into a rumble. The mouth of the Dodongo opens up, revealing a door inside. A puzzle involving a little maze to push the block into a switch is done quickly by them. The door nearby is unbarred, and both make their way into the room.

"Where are we?" Malon asks.

"Let's see…" Link checks the Dungeon Map and Compass. "I think the monster of this cavern should be here."

"What do you mean? We just kicked their butts already…"

"Yeah, but there's always a super one."

"And this is where the super monster is supposed to be?" Malon looks around. "Either it's invisible, or it's not here."

"But, the Compass says it's right here…"

"What's this?" Malon finds a square piece on the floor covered in dust. "Hold on…"

Malon dusts off the dirt, finding some writings on it.

"'Place Bombs here'?" Link reads.

Three seconds of silence occupies the room.

"Well, that's convenient," Malon comments.

She grabs and lights a Bomb onto the square.

"Fire in the hole!"

BOOM! A hole appears.

"What does that mean?" Link asks.

"I don't know. Something people say when something's about to explode. I always wanted to say it."

"Okay… Well, the monster should be down here. Down we go!"

Yelling for absolutely no reason, they both fall into a room with a lava pit in the middle, Bomb Flowers in the four corners.

THUMP! THUMP!

"Wh-wh-o-o-a-a…" Malon says as the ground trembles. "Wh-wh-wh-a-a-t's-t's th-th-a-a-t-t-t?"

Link makes no answer. He simply points. Malon follows his finger, to a beast. A Dodongo, a giant one, and he looks real… big. That's all the words that they both can think of. Big.

THUMP! THUMP!

"It's the infernal dinosaur, King Dodongo!" Navi yells. "This is a huge Dodongo that eats anything! C'mon, snap out of it! What are you waiting for!"

"Goddess!" Malon puts a hand to her mouth. "How are we suppose to stop this thing!"

The monster starts to inhale, flames appearing at its mouth.

"Get out of the way!" Link pushes Malon to the edge of the lava pit.

They would have been roasted alive if Link had not done so any sooner. The monster sends a wave of fire in front of it, stopping at the wall. It then curls into a ball and rolls around, stopping to the other side. Link follows it, sword out. He takes a swing, but the sword barely makes a twinge of pain.

"Link!" Navi quickly flies to him. "Give it a shock with a Bomb when it opens its mouth! Then, take it down with your sword!"

"Right!"

Malon follows behind, determined. But, she sees a scene of icy terror. King Dodongo starts to inhale again, and this time, she wouldn't be able to make it to safety. She's about to be fried to a burning crisp of…

"Huh?"

A Bomb pops into the mouth, making the monster swallow it. It blows up inside, feeling the shock and letting down its guard. Link starts hacking away at its face.

"Hey! I want a piece of him, too!" Malon pulls out a Deku Stick and runs up to the monster, giving a good hit.

"You know how expensive and rare those sticks are, right?" Link reminds while slashing.

King Dodongo regains its guard, and curls back into a ball, rolling around again. Again, when it inhales, Link throws a Bomb into its mouth, blowing it up, and leaving it weak. Slashes and whacks and then the monster goes crazy. It rolls around, this time without a sense of direction. This makes it roll into the lava pit. It roars with its pain, as the lava melts its body. But, this isn't enough, so the lava hardens with the dead Dodongo, crisp to where it smells bad. A blue, circular light appears, along with a Heart Container behind King Dodongo.

"Is it dead?" Malon steps on the new rock and looks into the monster's eye.

"I think so. This Heart Container is here, so, yeah, it should be."

Link takes the Heart Container, feeling it cool down the temperature around him.

"Now, what?" Malon said.

"We step into that." Link points to the light. "It should take us out of here."

Into the light they go. The blue shines brightly as the light carries them both.

Death Mountain Trail

The light lands the two just outside the Dodongo's Cavern.

"Hey!" Malon looks around. "We're outside! That blue light teleports, then?"

"Yeah. Outside to the entrance, anyhow."

"Hey, you hear something?"

"What?"

They look around. Nothing seems to be-

"AAAHHH!" they both yell as a Goron falls from the sky, sending them to the ground.

Malon and Link stand up, seeing Darunia with a smile. He pounds his chest, noise vibrating with each of his hit.

"It's me, Darunia!"

"Oh, hello, Mis- ACK!"

Darunia pats, or rather pounds, their shoulders, pushing them to the ground again. He laughs, then beats his chest again.

"Well done, you two! Thanks to you, we can once again eat the delicious rocks from the Dodongo's Cavern until our stomachs burst!"

"You… welcome…" Malon squeaks, her eyes in a painful daze. "Anything… to… make all… of you… feel good…"

"What a wild adventure!" Darunia said after pondering for a moment. "It will make an incredible story… Grr! I can't believe that the Dodongos suddenly appeared in such great numbers!"

Darunia looks around to the cavern.

"And that big rock blocking the cave…" Darunia looks inside. "All this trouble must have been caused by that Gerudo thief, Ganondorf!"

"Oh, yeah… Ganondorf…" Link hears the word. "Don't we… all hate him…?"

"Ha ha ha! Ganondorf. He wanted the Goron's Ruby in exchange for our quarry." Darunia then looks down at their dazed little faces. "You two, on the other hand, risked your life for us…"

Darunia's smile grows wider.

"Ha ha! I like you two!" Darunia puts a hand on Link's shoulder. "How about you and I become Sworn Brothers!"

"Oh, yay…"

"Hey…" Malon said with still the hurtful pain coursing through her body, "what… about me?"

"Ha ha ha! Hylian girl! I like you, too! I haven't forgotten about you! Though it is a strange thing to call you Sworn Sister, you still saved us, so Sworn Sister it is!"

"Yeah..." Malon barely yells. "Let's celebrate…"

"Oh, no. There's no big ceremony involved!"

Thank Goddess… Link thought.

Link gets up, putting a hand on his shoulder. He rolls his head around, cracking his bones. Malon barely gets more than to a sit up.

"Here, Sworn Brother and Sister! Take this as a token of our friendship!"

Darunia brings out the Goron's Ruby, handing it to Link. A red stone encased in a golden frame shines brightly, lighting up the whole side of the mountain. Malon looks straight through the red light, finding the Spiritual Stone of Fire on Link's hand. Link decides that it shines enough and puts it away. Darunia laughs again.

"Brother! Sister!" Darunia pounds his chest with a fist. "You'll keep brushing up on your skills as you travel, won't you?"

"I guess so." Link nods.

Darunia points to the summit of Death Mountain.

"I thought as much. You two should be good enough to get to the top. The Great Fairy lives up there. She will power you up!"

"Thanks, sir… er, Brother."

Darunia cups his mouth.

"Hey, everyone! Let's see off our Brother and Sister!"

Two Gorons fall from the sky, landing next to Darunia. They both stand up, and start to walk slowly towards them…

"You did great!" the first one said.

"How 'bout a big Goron hug, Brother? Sister?" the second one stretches out his arms.

Oh, no… Link thought. He runs off in the opposite direction. He is immediately stopped by another Goron's fall, this one wanting a hug, too. Standing up, his instincts tell his feet what to do, run.

"WAIT! FAIRY BOY!"

Oh, man! Link smacks a hand to his face when he stops.

"HELP ME!" Malon shrieks, three Gorons advancing on her. She's still in too much pain to stand.

Link dashes as fast as his feet would allow. He picks up and carries Malon on his arms, then dashes the same speed as before, up Death Mountain Trail.

"Uh, Big Brother?" the second Goron asks when Malon and Link disappears. "Why did Brother and Sister run?"

"Wouldn't they want a hug?" the first one said.

"Ha ha ha!" Darunia laughs. "I'm not sure if they would want our hug! Ha ha ha!"