Chapter Seventeen: The Sage of Fire

Natsu finally got to the top ledge, standing next to the chest that was surrounded by a circle of flames. Giving a signal, another Goron stepped on the switch below him, dowsing the flames and getting them out of the timed race.

He smirked as he opened the chest. People said that he wasn't smart, well he just proved them wrong!

Inside the chest was the Megaton Hammer that the Gorons had told him about. It was giant and polished and very dangerous looking, especially with the low spike that it ended in on the back.

Natsu smiled. Oh yeah, this was his hammer all right. Plus, he finally got a weapon that Erza would be jealous of!

He lifted it up in one hand, testing its weight. It would definitely do some damage. He couldn't wait to bash Gray's face in with it.

"Alright, let's get going!" he called to the Goron Tribe, jumping down to where they waited.

They all moved through the Temple to where the door to Volvagia waited. There was a giant pit of lava separating them, but that didn't matter to a Goron. "Pink-goro, are you sure about this?"

"Duh," he said, "Nothing is stopping me from fighting a dragon. I've always wanted to do that."

"But...this is Volvagia!"

He turned and looked the Goron straight in the eye, "What's your point?"

The Gorons looked at each other in amazement, "Wow Pink-goro!"

"You must be really brave!" one of the children cried.

Natsu smirked, "Just be glad that I'm here and not the ice princess!"

"Well," a Goron piped up, "Wouldn't ice be helpful against fire?"

"Yeah, the princess could just freeze it!"

"Frozen dragon would be great!"

"No, no!" Natsu yelled over their cries, "No it wouldn't! The princess would just melt! He can't handle dragons!"

The Gorons ignored him, still shouting how ice would be very useful against Volvagia. Natsu just shook his head. No use talking to them now. Oh well, he'd just have to show them instead.

The Goron Tribe stopped shouting about ice when they heard the door open and saw Natsu walk into Volvagia's lair.

It only took one moment of silence for a Goron child to whisper to his friend, "Told you princesses were guys." for another argument to start.

Natsu walked into an empty room. Lava was everywhere, like most of the Temple, but a large platform stood across from him. It was very big, with 9 large holes placed in a square in the center. But no dragon.

He looked around a little before jumping to the platform.

Immediately the previous one he had stood on sunk to the ground, cutting off any escape. The ground beneath him began to rumble and shake, causing his motion sickness to kick in. It almost distracted him from the dragon that burst out of the middle hole, right in front of him.

Volvagia was long and thin, having a sinewy body that flew in any direction it wanted, never having any issues. He was a vibrant red, his mane literally made of flames. Natsu barely saw it, but there was something gray on his face. Almost like a piece of armor.

Volvagia dove back under the platform through a hole just as the ground stopped shaking.

Natsu's stomach recovered just as the hole next to him began to shoot up in flames, the dragon's head bursting out a moment later. Natsu found himself staring in amazement a moment too long. Volvagia lashed forward, biting down on his left shoulder and tossing him to the side easily before he went back in the lava.

"Not...cool," Natsu grunted in pain, getting back up. He looked at his shoulder. It was a deep bite, but at least his arm was still attached.

"Idiot!" he yelled out to the silent room, "At least go for my right arm next time! That's my stronger one!"

He lifted his hammer in one hand to prove his point.

As if in defiance of his words, the hole to his right began to shoot out fire.

Natsu barely gave Volvagia time to get his head out of the ground before crashing his hammer down. There was a nasty 'CRUNCH' as the weapon hit home.

Volvagia's head armor cracked but didn't come off. Natsu gave a quick glance to it.

It wasn't armor! It was some type of scales on his head! Oh, that was not fair!

He got in two more hits before Volvagia sunk back down.

Natsu smirked, waiting for the dragon to resurface.

It didn't take long and in minutes Natsu was bashing his head in again.

It took much longer for the dragon to resurface this time, and when he did, it wasn't just his head. Volvagia flew into the air, so high up that Natsu had no hope of reaching him. He opened his mouth and blew a stream of flames at Natsu.

The Dragon Slayer smirked again and opened wide, swallowing the attack as quickly as it came.

Volvagia growled in frustration at him.

"Hey, gimme some more!" Natsu called up, "I'm hungry!"

Volvagia growled again.

Natsu just laughed and held his hammer in the air, "I'm all fired up now!"

Then the shaking started again. Natsu crumbled to the ground immediately as the movement got more violent than ever. Rocks started to fall from the ceiling, landing mostly around Natsu. His Goron body protected him from most of the damage, but pain raced through his injured arm at every slight nudge. It was even more useless and pain-ridden than before.

Natsu didn't know how long it lasted, his motion sickness had sent his mind reeling, but eventually it ended. He looked up and barely made out the flames spurting out of the nearest hole through his dizziness.

He grabbed his hammer, stumbling to his feet as Volvagia emerged. He swung, somehow spinning in a circle from the momentum. But there was a very satisfying 'CRACK' heard, signaling that he had hit his target.

His vision cleared and stomach settled just as Volvagia shot up to the ceiling.

Something was different this time though, Natsu could tell.

The dragon was moving in very erratic patterns, shifting through the air as if he couldn't see. Natsu watched in confusion as he seemed to just stop in midair.

Before Natsu's eyes, Volvagia's head exploded.

"Woah, wait, don't explode!" Natsu cried out, "I still have to ask you about Igneel!"

The dragon didn't listen to him and continued to explode, the entire body disappearing.

"Wait!" Nastu yelled again in a futile effort, "I didn't mean to kill you yet!"

No trace of the dragon could be seen.

Natsu growled in frustration. He was so close! That was the best lead he'd gotten on Igneel since the Grand Magic Games!

As if in response to his anger, a blue circle of light appeared around the center hole of lava.

He glared at it for a while before walking towards it. When he stepped inside, he was suddenly encased in some weird blue crystal. It lifted him up into the air, not upsetting his motion sickness for once. As he rose up, the volcano around him disappeared in a blinding white light.

Natsu opened up his eyes in the strangest place he had ever seen.

For one, there was no ground. He was standing on a floating pedestal with a bunch of strange symbols on it. For another, there seemed to be waterfalls that both came from nowhere and then went back to the same place. And for the last bit, a Goron spirit that Natsu was sure he had never seen before was hovering in the air above one of the symbols.

Natsu himself also stood on one, but his was red and circular with a flame on it, while the Goron was above three triangles stacked like a pyramid.

"Well, well, well," the Goron rumbled at him, "You are not who I expected to see defeat the dragon."

"Why not?" Natsu asked, "Who are you anyway?"

The Goron laughed, head tilted back and hair shaking with the movement, "I'm Darunia! The leader of the Goron Tribe!"

"Darunia?" Natsu's eyebrows scrunched together in confusion, "That sounds familiar...wait, you're the one that the dragon ate!"

Darunia nodded, "Yes, I am, so I suppose the title of leader is passed to my son now."

"I'm...sorry."

"No need to be, young brother." Darunia said, "It had to happen at some point. I only wish I had lived long enough to see Ganondorf to his demise."

"So what exactly happened? Where am I?" Natsu asked.

"You are in the Chamber of Sages," he explained, "A protected room in the Temple of Light. All of this lies inside the Sacred Realm of Hyrule."

"So why am I here?"

"I would've thought it obvious, brother." Darunia answered.

Natsu shook his head.

"I am Darunia, leader of the Goron Tribe, and I was meant to be the Sage of Fire. My soul clings to the Sacred Realm, because of this, but there is nothing I can do in my state. I'm dead. It is time to pass my mantel on. Onto someone alive, to finish what I could not."

Natsu watched in confusion as Darunia lifted his arms above his head, summoning a large ball of red light.

"Natsu Dragneel, I name thee the Sage of Fire."

The ball of light left the Goron's hands and hit Natsu in the chest. Pain exploded in his body as the power was absorbed. It ended as quickly as it began, but Natsu still fell to his knees to catch his breath, rubbing his chest where the burning sensation had been the strongest.

Darunia watched him seemingly waiting for him to say something.

"H-How'd you know my name?" Natsu choked out, struggling to his feet. Vaguely he realized that his shoulder had been healed.

The Goron ignored his question, "Use the power wisely. Find your friends. There is more to do here than you think and it's more real than you realize."

"Hey, old-rock-man, answer me!" Natsu screamed.

"I'm going now. Find the Hero. Add your power to his. It's all real."

The light began to come back and Natsu yelled out his last words, "Wait, what did you mean?! Answer my questions, dang it!"

The light blinded him now, but he heard Darunia's parting words, "Tell Link he is my true brother now."

Natsu felt himself leave the Chamber of Sages, unable to respond.

Professor: Hope you all enjoyed the update! Just wanted to say thank you all for your continued support!