A/N: Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.
A Pair of Time
Chapter 43- Bolero of Fire, Part 3
Fire Temple; Night
"Okay?" Link said. "Just step on this switch when I give the word."
Malon nods. "Yeah, I got it. It's not so hard, fairy boy."
Our heroes in the Fire Temple find themselves in a room where a treasure chest is on the other side. However, it is covered by flames that can only be extinguished by a switch on their side. Normally, a person by his or herself will have to flip the switch, cross the risky obstacles to reach the other side (provided that they don't fall into the large center pit leading down two stories), and open the chest before the flames reappear. But, for such a case for two people like Malon and Link here, Link simply stands next to the chest and Malon steps on the switch when he's close to it. And so they carry out the scenario without any problems.
"What's inside the treasure chest, Link?"
"The hammer we've been looking for." Link pulls with his two hands the hammer out. "The Megaton Hammer."
"Alright! Now we can help Darunia!"
"But first, we must find the Big Key."
Pushing blocks that are in their way and flipping rusted switches with their new weapon, they continue exploring the temple. They soon find the same pillar that they were meant to move.
"So," Malon said, stepping onto the top.
"Um, so, what?" Link asks, following her.
"You forgot? We're supposed to hit this pillar to let it drop!"
"Oh, right. Uh, heh…" Link nervously chuckles.
And so, keeping to their objective, Link rams the woefully heavy hammer down on the pillar. It quakes intensely, emitting a loud groan.
"By the way, how far is it to the room underneath?" Malon asks.
"About two stories… AAAHHH!"
They both scream as they descend along with the pillar. As they fall, their feet leave the top, putting them in a free fall. Link lands first on the pillar stuck in the magma, painfully on his feet. He shakes his head, then looks up at Malon coming down above him. Catch her? Link decides he suffered enough body breaking becoming Malon's pillow, so he steps back, letting Malon land her fair share of pain on the pillar.
"Oooh…" Malon moans a minute later after she landed. "My back…"
"Well, now you know how much I feel when I land on hard ground. Without me landing on you, though."
"Why… didn't you catch… me? I thought… chivalry matters…"
"Yeah, well, a guy can only take so much of the chivalry stuff…" Link sighs.
Opening up a new path with the help of the Megaton Hammer, they encounter another Flame Dancer. Ignoring Navi's persistent pleads to spare its life, they finish it off quickly and move on. Their reward is freeing what seems like the last Goron from his prison.
"I'm free?"
"Yes," Malon answers. "Darunia has asked us to save all of the Gorons held here."
"Oh, I see. I owe you big time! But, if Big Brother has asked you to save us… then…"
"He's dealing with Volvagia."
"Is he? Please, then, help Big Brother!" he said before leaving for the outside.
Finding the Big Key next to the Goron's spot, Malon and Link head back to the room Darunia was in before for the third time. Crossing over to the big door with the help of the pillar, they unlock it and enter into the monster's lair. A chamber filled with magma labels the room. In the middle is an island with nine holes containing even more magma. But, the last thing to add to this is that the room is dark despite the light coming from the molten rocks.
"Darunia!" Link calls. "Darunia, are you there!"
In hope's vain, they don't hear his reply.
"No…" Malon said. "No, he… he can't be gone."
Link jumps towards the island, scanning any sign of his Sworn Brother around. Like before, he lets his hope fade away when there isn't anything of Darunia.
"He's… He's…"
Before Link could complete his sentence, the room suddenly lights up with red. The island starts to quake greatly under his feet. Behind him, the small platform between the island and the platform Malon is on begins to sink.
"What?" Link finds his route out disappearing before his eyes. "Oh, no, not again." It looks like he's going to have to go through this mostly by himself… again. "You got me covered, right, Mal?"
"Yeah!" she replies, revealing her bow. "Just be careful, okay?"
"Alright." Link readies the Megaton Hammer into his hands. "Let's see how tough this dragon is…"
The center hole in the middle starts to spew flames. Out comes a screech as a slender, long, horned dragon with skin of magma flies out of the hole. With flames for manes, the dragon looks like fire that is alive and circling around Link below.
"So this is what Volvagia looks like…" Navi admires. "A subterranean lava dragon…"
Volvagia spits a flamethrower at Link. He freezes, then ducks at the last second.
"Navi, snap out of it!" he yells as Volvagia dives down into the island through a hole.
"Okay, okay! Well, I don't know exactly how to attack it, but if the legend goes correctly, the Megaton Hammer should do the trick! Wait until it pops out of a hole and then lay the smack down on it!"
Link nods, then he notices a hole sputtering flames out. He rushes up to it, finding the dragon poking its head out for an assault. Putting his faith into the hammer, Link brings the Megaton Hammer on Volvagia's head. It howls, signaling shock, while the head shakes and rears back. When the dragon's head hits the floor, Link wildly hits it again. Pain, horrible crushing pain throbs in Volvagia's head as Volvagia grabs it and drags itself back into the pool of magma.
"Well, that was fun," Link comments.
"It isn't over yet, Link!" Navi reminds. "Look! That hole over there!"
Volvagia makes its reappearance out of that hole and soars through the air. Coming at Link, it lays another breath of fire on him. Link rolls forward, barely feeling the torching on his back as he dodges.
"Oh, so you want to play dirty, do you…?" Link said.
SHANK! An arrow from Malon makes its mark on the side of Volvagia's head. SHANK! Another quickly follows. Volvagia couldn't help but shriek and retreat back into the magma.
"All too easy…" Malon mumbles to herself.
Link puts on an alert stance as he eyes each hole for entries. One soon shows, and Link runs up to it. But, as soon as he is a few distances away, the fire vanishes.
What the…
"Behind ya, fairy boy!"
Two holes away, Link finds Volvagia staring down at him with its deep green eyes. Link stands still for a moment, not sure why he's doing what he's doing right now. His body reacts, however, when Volvagia breathes fire at him. Too late to move out of the way, Link feels scorching heat and burning torment when the wave of fire makes contact. His Goron Tunic ensures his physical safety, but it doesn't stop the pain from coming.
"Argh!" Link cries out as Volvagia again submerges back into the magma. "Goddess, that's hot…"
"This dragon has tricks up its sleeve," Navi said.
"… You think?"
Volvagia bursts out another pool, heading for the air again. But, this time it flies far enough to the ceiling. Too high to shoot at, Malon groans as she just watches the dragon swirl around. From Link's eyes, he sees Volvagia scarring the ceiling, causing it to drop several large rocks.
This is so unfair. Link flees from his spot after he saw a round shadow over his. Keeping a close watch on the ground for the boulders' shadows, Link quickly maneuvers between the falling objects as the dragon continues to let loose some more. Having enough, Volvagia dives back into a random hole.
Okay, if it pops out without flying this time, then I could predict its attack pattern.
Surely enough, Link confronts Volvagia despite its fire-mimicking tactic. CRACK! Volvagia's head receives a blow from the legendary hammer. Stunned, it leaves itself vulnerable again. Link proceeds to wham the head a second time, causing excruciating affliction.
Heh heh. This is actually kind of fun, Link thought as Volvagia pulls back into the hole.
Again, the dragon takes flight on its departure. Malon aims carefully, then shoots an arrow right at its nose. It cries, then cries some more as more arrows hit its head.
Hee hee. This is pretty fun, Malon thought.
Repeating itself, Volvagia glides back into a random hole. Wielding the mighty hammer again, Link scans the holes. Three of them in consecutive order emit flames of reentry, but they dissipate at the last second. The fourth one Volvagia rips through, ready to rock. But, it certainly won't be rocking as Link brings the hammer down on its head again, leaving it debilitated. Finally, Link swings the hammer again, crushing the head with all his might. The dragon grabs its head and roars as it retreats back down again. But, when it leaves the hole, Link can clearly see it's dying, as Volvagia twists and turns while it flies. The tail starts to light up in flames, then burns down to its bones underneath. The fire spreads onward, towards the head, incinerating everything in its path. Soon, what Volvagia was before is nothing more than a long skeleton. It breaks into pieces, falling down from the air. The skull lands with impact next to Link, alive for a moment, then stops moving. It disintegrates, leaving nothing of itself behind.
"Hey!" Link turns around to meet a full-on hug by Malon. "You were great!"
"Uh, yeah, sure."
"That was so cool. Whacking the dragon with your hammer over and over again. It was fun to watch." Malon then sighs. "I want to whack a dragon, too…"
"Well, you missed that chance," Link chuckles. "How did you get over here, anyway?"
Malon lets go of the embrace, giving a smile. "I just happened to jump really, really far. Grabbed the island's side just nearly touching the magma."
"Wow. That's…" Link looks over to the distance, "really far."
"Ah, let's not stay in here and just compliment forever." Malon heads for the bright transportation nearby. "After all, this place is way too hot."
Kakariko Village
Outside, the man on the roof of a random house sits idly as he watches an odd thing happening on Death Mountain. It's erupting flaming rocks from the crater. He doesn't know if he should evacuate or not, but decides to take his chance and continues watching. Suddenly, a large earthquake rumbles underneath, sending him off-balanced. He shakes his head, then stands up to get a better view of the mountain. A large cloud of fire expels itself from Death Mountain, then becomes sucked into a vortex above, along with the red clouds circling around the volcano's top. Soon, both are gone, leaving the mountain with white clouds and the peace it once knew seven years ago.
Chamber of the Sages
Coming back to this ancient, sacred place, Link and Malon find themselves facing the platform with the crest of Fire. Light covers it, then reveals a large figure ascending through. There stands a Goron, tall and powerful, and… with a grin.
"Ha ha!" Darunia laughs. "Thank you, Sister and Brother! I really appreciate what you did. I thank you on behalf of the entire Goron race! You turned out to be fine, strong people, just as I thought you would!"
"You're… alive?" Link asks.
Darunia crosses his arms. "What do you think, Brother?"
"Well… you look okay to me."
"Ah, but being a Sage… By the way, I, the wild Darunia, turned out to be the great Sage of Fire… Isn't that funny, Brother and Sister?" Darunia gives another mighty laugh. "Well, this must be what they call destiny. Nothing has made me happier than helping you two seal the evil here!"
"We appreciate it, Darunia," Malon said.
"Hey, take this! This is a Medallion that contains the power of the fire spirits… and my friendship."
With his arms in the air, a red Medallion, embodied with the symbol of the Fire, descends from the endless abyss above.
The Fire Medallion…
The power of the Fire by Darunia…
"Don't forget…" Darunia's voice echoes through the air as white blinds Link and Malon. "Now we are true Brothers and Sister!"