Had some bad weather trouble yesterday, but I at least finished this chapter!

Enjoy! ;)

Chapter 4: To Death Mountain!

Kakariko Village is said to have been founded by the Sheikah tribe, who were attendants that serve the Royal Family of Hyrule, and it used to be their village exclusively before Impa, the last surviving member of said tribe since it was now extinct, decided to open up the village to the rest of the people. This place is still an odd little burgh with colorful citizens as of today.

"So this is Kakariko Village…" Navi looked around. "Something about this place is relaxing, I don't know why."

"I'm actually having the same feeling, too." Yoshi threw in.

"Well anyway, let's search for the entrance to Death Mountain." Mario said.

"Right. I'll go talk to the villagers." Link offered.

As Link went off to speak with some villagers about Death Mountain, the Mario cast encountered a distressed woman near a chicken coop. She requested them to gather up her Cuccos that flew off, so by splitting up, they managed to gather them all up and dropping them off into the chicken coop. Some of the locations they found the Cuccos were rather bizarre, such as Toad finding one inside… a wooden crate (in truth, he accidentally rolled into it).

The woman thanked them for reuniting all of her Cuccos and rewarded them with a bottle filled with red liquid, said to have healing properties. That was a Red Potion.

The group thanked her, and just this exact time, Link and Navi had returned.

"How did it go?" Peach asked.

"Eh, they all said the exact same thing." Link replied with a shrug before noticing a path from behind him. "Say, where does this passage leads us to?" he wondered as they all walked to it. "Does it leads us to Death Mountain?" and when they reached the end of it… it led them to the Graveyard.

"Nope, just a graveyard." Toad shook his head.

"G-Graveyard?!" Luigi flinched, seemed to be a bit scared. The reason why he flinched like that? For he knew one thing that loves to haunt graveyards.

Ghosts. Aka, one of his biggest fears. He paled up just thinking about it.

"C-Can we go b-back now…?" Luigi stuttered. "T-This isn't the way to D-Death Mountain, so…"

"I kind of want to check this place out." Link insisted as they walked around the graveyard, with Luigi of course walking cautiously while frowning and shaking in fear a little compared to everyone else.

Link got curious about all those gravestones and decided to pull them. One of them held a deep hole with a treasure chest inside. He opens it up, revealing a Hylian Shield! Except that once he tried it on… it was a bit too big on him. It was a bit heavy too, making him unable to pull it out for defense.

"I think it's a bit too big for you, Link…" Navi commented.

"You tell me." Link replied unamused.

"Hey, at least you can still carry it, right?" Yoshi asked. "Who knows? It might be useful in the future!"

"Maybe you're right."

They kept walking until they spotted a large gravestone. There was a peculiar symbol depicting three triangles on the ground at the front of the gravestone too.

"This symbol looks similar to the Royal Family's symbol… That's it!" Link thought before pulling out his ocarina and playing Zelda's Lullaby.

All of a sudden, it began to rain in the graveyard, and before the group even knew it, a lightning bolt out of nowhere crashed right into the gravestone, knocking all of them backwards as they screamed. A hole in the ground was now replacing where the gravestone once stood.

"How in the world does all of this work?!" Toad questioned.

"…Magic?" Yoshi guessed.

"Well, Impa did say that there are mysterious powers in this melody." Peach recalled. "So that guess wasn't that absurd." everyone walked towards the hole.

"A-Are you sure this is s-safe?" Luigi stuttered.

"There's no way I'm missing out on this golden opportunity!" Link exclaimed. "Let's go!" he immediately went into the hole. The Mario cast except Luigi shrugged to each other before following suit. Luigi gulped in fear before leaping into the hole as well.

They were all now in the Royal Family's Tomb, where the first thing they encountered were a few Keese in a room filled with piles of bones and skulls. Link shot at all of these small bats with his slingshot, causing a door to open. On the other side, they noticed some ugly ReDeads just standing there, not moving at all.

"Oh, they're ugly…" Link grimaced as he and the others quickly made their way around them and not stepping into the green pools while Mario was guiding Luigi, who had his eyes closed.

At the end of the tomb was a stone wall with some sort of inscription on it.

"This poem is dedicated to the memory of the dearly departed members of the Royal Family." Navi read. "The rising sun will eventually set. A newborn's life will fade. From sun to moon, moon to sun… Give peaceful rest to the living dead."

"Well, that's interesting." Link said. "Huh?" he noticed something on the bottom of the stone. "Navi, something else is inscribed on the tombstone…"

"Where? Over there?" Navi flew down to take a closer look. "Oh! It's the secret melody of the Composer Brothers!"

Link was about to take out his ocarina… when suddenly they all heard the sounds of moans and turned around to see the ReDeads they saw earlier slowly walking towards them.

"Oh, crap!" Link flinched. "What now?!"

"You figure out that song, Link!" Mario exclaimed. "We'll take care of them!"

"Got it!"

With that, the Mario cast charged towards the ReDeads… only for them to release their terrifying shrieks, paralyzing our heroes in place.

"W-What's going on?! I can't move!" Mario panicked.

"Those are ReDeads!" Navi warned. "They can paralyze you in place if you get too close to them!"

"Oh, now we've done it!" Toad grimaced, as the ReDeads were getting dangerously closer to them.

"L-Link…! H-Hurry!" Luigi stuttered as he literally started petrifying in fear.

"Oh, not at this time!" Mario exclaimed, seeing what has happened to his younger brother.

Meanwhile, Link was trying out a few notes on his ocarina until he finally gets the song correctly, and he eventually played the Sun's Song.

"Finally!" he exclaimed. Suddenly, he heard groans from behind him along with what sounds like a flesh-like noise. "What was that?" he wondered and exited the room, finding out that the ReDeads had been frozen in place and the Mario cast was able to move again. Well… save that for Luigi, who was now a stone statue. "Uh… What happened to Luigi?"

"He literally petrified in fear." Mario spoke unamused, in which Link could tell that apparently this wasn't the first time this has happened. "But let's hurry and get the hell out of here!"

Everyone immediately agreed and rushed out of the tomb, with Mario dragging his petrified brother by his arm.

Once outside, Mario let go of Luigi and everyone just stared at the latter.

"How are we going to get him out of this?" Link asked.

"Just leave this to me." Mario said, taking out his hammer and whacking the Luigi statue hard enough to shatter him out of his rocky shell.

"Mama mia… That was scary…" he groaned before sighing in relief. "Thanks for getting me out of that scary place, guys…"

"No problem." Link replied. "Although it seems you're afraid of undead creatures."

"Actually, I'm afraid of ghosts and other creepy things…" Luigi admitted with a frown.

"Oh, I see it now…" Link frowned.

"My brother always had this trauma ever since we were little." Mario spoke up, mirroring Link's expression. "So that's why I always make sure that nothing bad happens to him. And to make matters worse, there were two times that I ended up getting captured and secured in two different haunted mansions so Luigi had no choice but to save me, and since they were filled with ghosts, that obviously didn't help."

"Oh dear…" Navi whispered. "I shudder to imagine how many places like this we might end up encountering in our journey that might traumatize Luigi even more…"

"Don't worry too much about me, Navi." Luigi assured. "Sometimes I can hold on to my fear."

"That's right. That's how he was able to save me twice." Mario smiled. "Now let's get to Death Mountain already."

Everyone nodded and walked off, making their way to the upper levels of Kakariko Village, where there was a closed gate and a guard was securing it, not letting them pass through. That is, until Link showed him Princess Zelda's Letter.

"Oh, this is… This is surely Princess Zelda's handwriting! Well, let's see… Hmmm… OK…" the guard said, taking the letter and reading it: "These are Link, Mario, Luigi, Peach, Yoshi, and Toad… They are under my orders to save Hyrule." however, the guard didn't take what this letter said too seriously. "Wah ha ha ha hah! What kind of funny game has our princess come up with now?!"

"Of course he wouldn't believe it…" the heroes thought with annoyed looks on their faces.

"OK, OK, all right. You can go now… Just be careful, Mrs. and Ms. Heroes! Wah hah ha ha hah!" he then opens the gate and the heroes went through.

Death Mountain was a perilous volcanic peak. This once-active volcano hasn't blown its top in ages, but the low rumble of angry lava reminds the people who call it home, the Gorons, that nothing sleeps forever.

"Given this is a mountain, we'll have a lot of walking to do." Navi told everyone. "Let's go!"

They moved on, taking out a few Tektites in the process and also had to avoid some falling boulders. Now they know why this place was called Death Mountain, because it really does its best to keep outsiders away.

Eventually, they made to a sealed cavern on a wall, where they were already tired after climbing so much.

"*pant* *pant* how much more do we have to walk…?" Link panted, leaning on the wall.

"I need a rest…" Luigi groaned, sitting on a nearby 'rock', when… "WAH!" in an instant, the 'rock' suddenly stood up, flipping Luigi over onto his back.

"Hey, this is unusual." the creature who was previously the 'rock' spoke up as it was getting up. "Oh look! Visitors!" he spotted the gang.

"Who… Who are you?!" Luigi blinked.

"I am one of the Gorons, the stone-eating people who live on Death Mountain."

"Oh, so you're a Goron?" Yoshi tilted his head in curiosity.

"Yes. Anyway, look at that huge boulder over there!" he directed to the sealed cavern.

"What's so special about it?" Link asked.

"It blocks the entrance to Dodongo's Cavern, which was once a very important place for us Gorons… But one day, many Dodongos suddenly appeared inside the cavern. It became a very dangerous place! On top of that, a Gerudo in black armor used his magic to seal the entrance with that boulder!"

"Ganondorf…" the group thought upon hearing the words 'Gerudo in black armor'. "So he was here already…"

"Anyhoo, if you want to hear more Goron gossip, head up to our city! Goron City is just a little way up the trail. It won't take much longer to get there, even on foot."

"Well, at least it's not that high."

Despite still feeling tired, the heroes had the strength to reach the place that Goron mentioned: Goron City.

Goron City is the seat of power for the Goron people, always led by a chief. An intimate part of the Death Mountain ecosystem, Goron City has recently fallen on hard times due to a disruption in the Goron food supply.

"Is this the place?" Peach wondered. Mario noticed a sign and walked over to it.

"Welcome to Goron City." he read. "…This is a city?"

"Looks more like an underground cave to me." Toad said.

They then casually walked around this so-called city, passing by Gorons, some lamenting their lack of food, while others were preoccupied about their chief:

"Oh…I'm so hungry…"

"If this problem isn't fixed, we're in danger of extinction!"

"I don't want to die like this!"

"I'm more worried about Big Brother…"

"Too bad he's on a bad mood right now. And you know how he acts when he's like that…"

"Hey, fear not! I know his SECRET."

That last quote caught the attention of the heroes as they carefully listened.

"REALLY?! What is it?!"

"He may not look like the type, but Big Brother loves to dance! If he gets in a rhythm, he'll surely…"

"What kind of rhythm you're talking about?"

"I remember Big Brother used to always listen to the music that comes from the forest…"

That perked the heroes' eyes and eyebrows up before they grinned to each other, knowing exactly what music that Goron was talking about.

"Too bad we're not the forest music type… I wish someone could help us!"

That's where the heroes decided to get their attention by coming out of their hiding spot.

"Excuse me." Link said. "Who's this 'Big Brother' you mentioned?"

"That's our chief, Darunia." one of the Gorons replied. "He has shut himself up in his room saying, 'I will wait in here for the Royal Family's messengers!' Say, are you said messengers? If you were, you would have some kind of proof."

"We definitely have." Link grinned, taking out his ocarina and playing Zelda's Lullaby on it. Eventually, the locked door leading to Darunia's room opened up, much to the Gorons' surprise.

"Oh! You ARE the messengers! Good! Go on ahead!" the Goron exclaimed.

The heroes thanked him and walked on in the room, seeing Darunia minding his own business.

"What the heck! Who are you?!" he asked, not expecting to see strangers into his room. "When I heard the song of the Royal Family, I expected their messengers have arrived, but…why would the Royal Family send measly CHILDREN instead?!"

"We're not children, you know?" the Mario cast thought, seeming a bit offended by Darunia's comment.

"Has Darunia, the big boss of the Gorons, really lost so much status to be treated like this by his Sworn Brother, the king? Now I'm REALLY angry! Get out of my face!"

"Whoa, hold on!" Toad interfered, putting his hands in front of him. "Just why are you such in a bad mood, anyways?"

"I'll tell you why! Ancient creatures have infested Dodongo's Cavern! We've had a poor harvest of our special crop, Bomb Flowers! Starvation and hunger because of the rock shortage! But… This is a Goron problem! We don't need any help from strangers! Now scram!"

Darunia then startled them by punching a rocky wall and pulling out a rock to eat it, but he spat it out in disgust.

"Ack! These taste horrible!" he yelled.

With Darunia distracted, the heroes gathered up in a circle.

"What do we do now?" Peach asked.

"Don't worry, everyone. I got an idea." Link smirked. "Remember what that Goron said previously? Perhaps my friend's song might brighten up the mood in here!" he takes out his ocarina and walks towards Darunia. "Hey, Darunia! Are you a fan of this song?" he plays Saria's Song on his ocarina.

In an instant, Darunia stopped what he was doing… and suddenly began to dance bizarrely with a huge smile of his face. The Mario cast just stared at him in complete bewilderment.

"What… the heck…" Toad deadpanned.

"That's just wrong…" Mario blinked.

"What am I even looking at?!" Luigi questioned.

"He's enjoying it!" Navi beamed. "Keep it up, Link!" Link nodded, opening up one eye while playing the song.

"Oh! Oh-oh! C'mon! Come on! Come on! Come on! HOT! What a hot beat! WHOOOOAH! YEEEEAH! YAHOOO!" Darunia yelled in excitement during his dancing. Soon, Link stops playing the song and Darunia stops dancing. "Heeey! What a nice tune! Just like that, my depression is all gone! Something just came over me! I suddenly wanted to dance like crazy!"

"You don't say…" Yoshi deadpanned.

"Anyways, I am Darunia, big boss of the Gorons! Was there something you wanted to ask me about?"

"We're looking for the Spiritual Stone of Fire and a Platinum Star." Link said. "We assume you have it."

"What? You want the Spiritual Stone of Fire and the Platinum Star too? The Spiritual Stone of Fire, also known as the Goron's Ruby, is our race's hidden treasure… As well as the Platinum Star. But hold on – I'm not going to give them to you that easily. If you want them so badly… Why don't you go destroy the monsters inside of Dodongo's Cavern to prove yourselves you're tough as us?"

"We can take care of that." Mario grinned. "After that, you can give us the Spiritual Stone and the Platinum Star in exchange."

"It's a deal! Actually, I have something for you. I'm not really giving you these in return for anything, but take them anyway." he gave them bracelets… well, actually… he forced them on their wrists. "These are Goron Bracelets. They grant you strength to pull out Bomb Flowers. The entrance to Dodongo's Cavern is blocked off by a large boulder, so you need a Bomb Flower to blow it up."

"Thanks!" Link replied. "We won't let you and your tribe down, Darunia!" he and the others walked off.

Outside, they spotted a Bomb Flower up ahead. Link picked it up and tossed it down, getting the aim right on his first try. Eventually, the Bomb Flower explodes, destroying the boulder blocking off the cavern's entrance… but the explosion also knocked down a sign nearby.

"Oops…" Link trailed.

"Oh, who cares? We don't even need that sign anyways." Toad shrugged.

"Well then, off we go into Dodongo's Cavern!" Navi exclaimed as they all leapt down to the entrance and went inside.

To be continued…

Leave it to Luigi to have all of the butt-monkey moments as usual. Never gets old, I guess. ;P

Darunia dancing to Saria's Song is definitely one of the most memorable moments in this game. It even became his victory animation in Hyrule Warriors!

Next up, Dodongo's Cavern! Until then! Please review!