Chapter Fifteen
Escape from the Crater

"So how do you use this thing?" Zelda asked Darunia as she waved the crystal around. Link had telekinetically pulled the crystal to him and crumbled Stalgor's wall. Now that they were free and his wounds healed, their only problem was the locked door.

"You imagine what weapon you want and the crystal will create it." Darunia replied.

"Oh." She focused for a moment and a slender rapier formed out of thin air. "Cool!" She picked up the new sword and swung it around with ease.

"Whoa!" Link cried as he ducked under a close blow.

"Oh! Sorry! Sorry…" She muttered as she slipped the sword into an ornate sheath that had appeared out of nowhere.

"I don't get it… These bars should have disappeared after defeating that Stalfos. Unless there is a switch somewhere…"

"Wait a minute. Can we think up a weapon that'll smash through those bars?" Saria offered helpfully.

"Good idea." Link replied. "Zelda, think of something that can do that."

"Like what?"

"Anything!"

"Oh, right." She waved the crystal and an immense hammer appeared.

"Uh… Darunia?" The Goron moved to the hammer and hefted it with effort. "Wow… must be heavy." Link muttered.

"Approximately fifty tons in fact." Darunia wheezed. With a yell, he swung the mighty hammer into the door. Rather than shattering the bars, the door and the surrounding wall crumbled to rubble. Three iron bars remained standing intact, but useless.

"Well, that works too. Zelda, mind thinking of something a bit lighter?" Impa said, breaking her usual silence. Zelda nodded and waved the crystal. The hammer changed from fifty tons to a quarter ton and Darunia nearly back flipped from the unnecessary force he was exerting on the weapon.

"Yes, much better." The goron grumbled as he got back onto his feet.

"Lets go! This place is too hot!" Saria gasped out. Indeed, the temperature seemed to be rising at an alarming rate again. The normally 5000-degree environment seemed to be approaching the double goron tunic limit of a million degrees! Darunia noted with alarm. The tunics wouldn't help them much longer! His orange-brown skin actually paled somewhat as he finally figured it out.

"Saria's right! We need to go! Death Mountain is about to have a tremendous eruption!" Within two seconds, every one was on the run for the temple entrance. A dull roar echoed through the immense temple as earthquakes began shaking the structure.

"Watch out!" Link pulled Zelda back just as a rock landed on her former position. Saria frantically climbed over the immense rocks. She was at a bit of a disadvantage. Being small, the large rocks blocked her way like boulders.

"Help!" Darunia heard the kokiri's cry and turned around. With rocks raining down on his head, he cleared out the way for Saria and picked her up.

"There it is!" Link and Zelda ran for the entrance. "Aaahh!" Lava began pouring down the well and blocking the exit. Zelda found herself surrounded by flowing lava, her little "island" quickly shrinking. "Help!" Link, who was standing safely on the stairwell, whipped out his hookshot and fired at Zelda. "Aahh!" She yelped more out of surprise than anything else, as she was pulled off the ground. "Ow…" She touched the sharp hook still embedded in her back with a wince.

"Oops, sorry…" Link pulled out the hook as carefully as he could but she still yelped with pain. He gave her a blue potion. "Sorry."

"I've had worse." She pointed out through clenched teeth before gulping down the thick medicine. "So, now what?" They looked around the new lava lake and watched it creep up the steps one by one. The others had arrived about thirty seconds behind Link and Zelda and were staring horrified at the blocked off exit.

"Think the ocarina will work?"

"Uh, you could try, just don't play the Bolero of Fire." Link nodded and pulled out the small blue instrument and began to play. The slow scaling notes of the Serenade of Water rang out from the holes of the ocarina and a blue light spiraled around the group, whisking them away from the melting temple.

"Jolgarnakaslakorthana'ekos!" The Stal-King yelled at the Obsidian Sphere, sending a torrent of magic into the image of Death Mountain. The eruption he was causing was imminent. The explosion would destroy half of Hyrule! He laughed like a madman as the volcano began to explode.

The massive explosion ripped the mountain to shreds, sending a powerful shockwave in every direction. Link and his followers, standing on a small island in the middle of Lake Hylia, stared open mouthed at the enormous pall of smoke and ash in the direction of the former volcano. A minute later, the shockwave ripped through the area, knocking the travelers flat. A small tsunami about ten feet high rose out of the lake and washed them off the island and into the middle of the deep lake.

"Help!" Saria futilely tried to keep herself above the choppy water but her small frame had no buoyancy. She slipped under the water, where she saw Darunia literally dropping like a rock into the depths. Impa was having difficulty swimming as well, burdened by metal armor. Link and Zelda were the only ones able to stay afloat. Saria held her breath desperately, despite their screaming for air. A blue creature flew past so quickly the currents spun the kokiri until she was even dizzier. Her consciousness began to darken and another of the blue swimmers grabbed her and began pulling her to the surface. Then the world went dark.

Darunia tried to move in the liquid environment but it was too dense. He had never particularly thought about the fact the Gorons needed to breathe at least every hour. From the looks of things, he wasn't going to reach air anytime soon! Then hope arrived in the form of several blue swimmers. Zoras! Six Zoras grabbed Darunia by the arms and they began the difficult swim back to the surface.

"Blasted Felgrathaka Zoras!" The Stal-King practically screeched at the sphere. "They are the next on my list!" He growled, his red eyes narrowing to slits. Then the image of a Zora female appearing clicked through his mind. "On the other hand, this could be interesting!" He mumbled with a mischievous grin.

"Hi Link!"

"Oh no…" Link muttered as he recognized the annoying voice.

"About time you came back, I was beginning to think that you were going to leave me at the altar!" Ruto continued. Zelda woke up with a groan and looked up at the Zoras.

"What? What is she talking about?" Zelda muttered to Link.

"Our wedding of course!" Ruto cut in. "I've been waiting for seven years!"

"Uh…" Link muttered something under his breath.

"What do you mean your wedding?" Zelda replied angrily. She put up her hand, her diamond ring glittering brightly in the sun. Ruto gasped and turned to Link who was watching in a daze.

"Link! You can't be engaged to two people at once! You proposed to me first so I take priority! Not to mention your other fiancée is a heartless witch!" Ruto sniffed. Link simply stared agape at the psychotic fish and gave Zelda, who was looking angrier by the second, a helpless look.

"Okay, first, I never proposed to you Ru—"

"Yes you did! You practically yanked the Zora's sapphire from my hands, indicating that you were desperately in love with me!"

"Uh… no… I wasn't, I just needed the spiritual stone!" Ruto simply laughed at him and began calling him adoring names like "cute" and moved way too close for Link's comfort zone.

"Uh… Zel? Some help?" Zelda rolled her eyes and walked up. She tried to pull the psycho fish off her fiancé but Ruto remained determined to protect her prize. After being kicked back by Ruto's swimming enhanced leg, the princess practically was steaming with anger.

"GET OFF HIM!" She charged up a power ball and blasted the Zora princess flat onto her back. Immediately, the other Zoras snapped their fingers and spears appeared in their hands.

"Kelesh Salani Frelesh!" The Zoras chanted in their native language. Determined to protect their princess, they pointed their spears at Zelda and began advancing.

"Oops… Uh… Link?" Link tried to get up to help but Ruto pushed him down to the ground and pinned him with her foot. He used all of his strength to try and get up but Ruto's powerful swimming muscles kept him pinned.

"Darunia! Impa!" Ruto snapped her head around toward the goron and gasped. A beefy arm wrapped around her waist and she was yanked into the air, freeing Link. In a flash, he was on his feet and he ran to Zelda's side. The advancing Zoras halted and looked at each other helplessly. Any harm to Link, the Zora princess would no doubt be furious. Impa also appeared at Zelda's side, brandishing twin sheikah daggers.

"Er, Fasulat?"

"PUT ME DOWN!" Ruto screeched at Darunia who was holding her high in the air.

"As long as you drop your quest for love! We've got bigger problems! See that mountain?" He jerked his head toward the pall of smoke and ash rising from the ruins of Death Mountain, now a dead mountain indeed.

A/N: Hope you're enjoying the story so far. Thank you for your reviews!

R. S. Lee (ch. 14) -- As for Ganondorf being played like a wimp, well, how would you feel if a major source of power that you have been depending on for seven years is suddenly ripped away? Pretty exhausting to do things when you're so used to having more power. Also, the Stal-King has the Triforce of Power, so there isn't much Ganondorf can do with his own natural power.

RPLG (ch. 1) -- Thanks. As for your question, I'm not sure what you're talking about. Link's exhuastion is caused from a lesser effect of what happened to Ganondorf as I explained in response to R. S. Lee.

Next chapter will be up soon!