A/N: Sorry for my absence. School is killer. And I was kinda unallowed to write things for here because I was told I had to get my own personal project completed before that. EDIT: I finally finished it...in August. That's why I've been quiet for forever.
And to those of you who have ideas for the Fire Temple that you would like to send me, now would be a good time. I already have ideas about the Megaton Hammer, but feel free to add suggestions. I'll consider them and try to put them in. As usual, I do not own Nintendo or The Legend of Zelda.
Twilight Princess Link's Perspective.
Chapter Fifteen
The Fire Temple
The first thing Link had to do was unlock the door directly opposite the one he exited. The Hero of Time had already killed the Keese for him, only to point insistently at the lock, knowing that Link had the key to it. Hiding his bitterness for still having to keep secrets from his friend, the Hero of Twilight had approached the door, throwing the small key into the lock and feeling slightly satisfied as he watched the chains collapse in a heap on the ground. The Hero of Time watched patiently behind him as he turned the handle and walked into the new room.
As he entered, he was aware that he was standing on a platform of bricks. Before him stretched a wooden bridge that spanned the lava gurgling below. What appeared to be chains suspended the planks in the air. Several sections of earth rose out of the lava, forming pathways in case either Link fell off and landed in the magma. Fire Keese zipped around in the air, trying to compete with Navi in their obnoxiousness. Link glared at them, then noticed a stone path that wrapped around the left side of the volcanic cavern.
"I suppose we need to go forward, then," Navi said, fluttering forward. She seemed to notice the Fire Keese as well, and she made a disapproving jingling noise in response to their movements.
Link took a step forward, only to realize something. He glanced to his side, surprised to see the Hero of Time making a mad dash for the small stone path. The other Hero's eyes were on a room located on the left side of the expansive cave-like location they were currently inside. The Hero of Time didn't even seem to notice the lava that covered the entirety of the floor.
"Link!" Link called after his friend, but apparently the Hylian Hero had more Triforce of Courage than the Hero of Twilight.
The Hero of Time leapt off the stone path and onto a slope clinging to the wall. He somehow avoided slipping off, and continued running forward without a second thought. His right boot skidded off the wall for a mere moment, touching the lava.
Link winced. That would definitely leave a mark.
The Hero of Time kept sprinting. He didn't even flinch at his red-hot boots. In fact, he pushed himself away from the wall and began thundering across the lava as if it weren't a problem. He leapt forward, then returned to the incline on the wall. He climbed onto a platform of bricks and stopped, before turning around and grinning.
"Who needs a bridge?" he called. "We have delightful paths carved out of the land!"
Link frowned. He studied the path, then looked to the lava, then back to the path. It was shorter than the bridge, which was nice, but he really didn't want to travel on something so unsafe.
"Let's keep moving then," Navi said, fluttering over to join her Hero.
Simple for her to say, Link thought, walking along the path. She's capable of flight. He stepped onto the wall, involuntarily curling his toes in his boots for some nonexistent extra grip. He pressed himself against the wall, his cheek scraping the steaming rock as he sidled along. He stepped onto the larger incline and began to ascend it before approaching the bricks and hoisting himself up.
The Hero of Time grinned. He pointed to the door. "Are you ready?"
Link rolled his eyes: another trick he had learned from Midna. When he did that, he spotted something that puzzled him.
"What's that?" he asked, pointing to the blue cube that rested just above the door. It was large enough for him to fit inside, even while standing. It was marked by the familiar symbols he had seen in the Temple of Time.
"We could warp it," Navi suggested to the Hero of Time, leaving Link completely in the dark about what they were talking about. Since when could those two warp things?
The Hero of Time rubbed his imaginary beard thoughtfully. "But the door…I want to explore there, first!" he protested.
"Let Link handle that!" Navi commanded, bouncing up and down to emphasize her point. "He can explore the door, and you can move the cube!"
The Hero of Time frowned, then looked at Link. "I suppose she's right. You go on ahead. I'll see what this block is for."
Link nodded. He ran to the door, disappearing beneath the ceiling that the cube was supported by. He grabbed the handle and entered the room.
He was greeted by the crackling of a torch, but the flame was not visible from where he stood. The dim light made it hard for him to see, but he was aware that he was standing in a room made of cobblestone. A path branched off to the right just in front of him, and he could see the pale glow of firelight ahead. He walked forward carefully, trying to ensure that he wouldn't run into anything menacing, like a Skulltula.
Link rounded the corner and spotted the flames blazing from stone torches mounted to the walls. The light illuminated the dirty iron bars before him, as well as the Goron that trembled behind them. He spotted the switch in front of it, so he stepped on it. The distinctive click and whir of machinery rose to his ears.
The Goron looked up and rose to its feet as the bars slid into the right wall. It waited there for Link, as if it believed it needed his permission to leave.
"Are you releasing me? Am I free to go?" the Goron asked as Link drew near.
Link nodded. He pointed to the way he had come. "There is a door you can leave through. Follow the right wall and pass through the first entrance you encounter. Descend the stairs to the left, and you will return to Death Mountain Crater."
The Goron chuckled. "You are kind for telling me this, but I remember the way. Most of us do, actually, as we believed that these walls would be the last thing we ever saw, so we replayed the scene over and over, memorizing the walk we thought would be our last."
"Oh…" Link said.
"But, as thanks for saving me, I'll tell you a secret! A wall that you can destroy with the Goron's 'special crop' will sound different than a regular wall if you hit it with your sword." With those words, the Goron quickly walked past Link. The door opened, allowing the Hero of Twilight to hear three notes before it closed: the first sounded slightly low in pitch, with the second being even lower, and the final note being the highest.
Link turned around and walked toward the chest that had been locked away with the Goron. He kicked it open.
"Another key," Midna noted, remaining in his shadow.
Link retrieved the treasure and began to walk along to the far wall, heading back to the entrance. He threw open the door, only to be met with absolute blackness. He stopped in his tracks, only to flinch when the door closed. The sound was so loud, as if something had blocked the way and stopped the vibrations from escaping the room he entered. He couldn't even hear the strange gurgling of lava anymore.
Link stepped forward tentatively. Had he walked into a new room without even realizing it? No…there were no other paths. He took another step, then reached into his pouch and dug out his lantern. Fumbling with it in the dark, he managed to hold it exactly as he liked, and swiped it in the air, causing it to magically ignite. The light was so bright it seemed like the sun. It pierced the darkness, but caused his shadow to become jet black.
"That wasn't here before…" Midna rose out of Link's shadow, dimming it. She touched her small hand to the surface of the object, feeling its warm, stony surface. She traced her fingers across the insignia of the Temple of Time, a frown tugging at her lips. "You don't suppose Link knew this would happen…do you?"
"It's probably just a misunderstanding," Link responded. "I'd imagine that he believes there are other rooms in this dungeon branching out of this one. He may think that we're exploring, rather than trapped here. He'll return to move this…perhaps…"
"Perhaps…" Midna agreed half-heartedly, rapping her knuckles lightly on the cube that Navi had instructed the Hero of Time to move previously.
"But just in case…" Link began, knowing that he couldn't do anything without the block being moved again. "HEY, LINK!" he shouted. "YOU LOCKED ME IN! HELLO!?"
Midna grinned, her eye seemingly glowing in the darkness. "Why not try to force this out of your way?"
I suppose it can't hurt…Link thought hesitantly, backing up and placing his lantern on the ground. He relaxed his shoulders, then sprinted forward and slammed his left one into the blue block. His vision turned black upon impact. When he blinked, it returned. He stepped back and shook his head.
"I think it moved," Midna encouraged.
"Really?"
"Whatever you do, don't head-butt it, or I may have to start calling you a blockhead."
Link gave her an unamused look. Then, ignoring her comment, he said, "I will examine where this cube is on the wall. If it budges with my next attempt, then I'll keep trying until I'm out. Agreed?"
"Agreed."
Link ran his finger along the bricks that disappeared behind the cube, calculating the position of the blue block. He walked away, took a deep breath, and then sprinted forward and leapt, shoulder ready to collide with the block and push it away. However, before his body made contact with the stone, the cube glowed blue and a halo-like circle of light cut through it, causing it to become almost transparent.
Link's eyes widened as he came to the realization that he wasn't ever going to hit the block. He landed on his shoulder and skidded across the ground as the stone completely disappeared before him. Light flooded his vision, and he squeezed his eyes shut, feeling as though he had been blinded.
"It's so ho-o-o-o-o-o-o-t…" Link heard the distinctive voice of the Hero of Time whine. "Put that lantern out before I die…"
Link sat up and stared at his friend. The first thing that dawned on him was that the other Hero was wearing his green tunic, instead of the Goron Tunic he had been given. He was also back to sweating and looking miserable.
Link snatched his lantern from the floor and stuffed it into his pouch, automatically snuffing out the flames. He rose to his feet.
"You appear as if you are truthfully dying," he noted.
"He is!" Navi exclaimed. "I calculate that he will perish in thirty-seven seconds!"
Link's eyes widened.
"Get me out of here…" the Hero of Time muttered breathlessly.
Link tore off his two belts and dropped them on the ground, consequently dropping his sword, shield, and pouches. He quickly pulled off his red tunic and handed it to the Hero of Time.
"But you…!" the other Hero protested.
"I don't need it!" Link snapped. "You're dying! I'm immune to heat!"
But even as he said those words, he was aware of his own strength being sapped by the immense heat that clung to his entire body, as if he had been dropped into an oven.
His resistance had to have come from the Hero's Tunic; that was the only thing that was keeping him from passing out from the heat. Surely whoever owned it before him had managed to remake it so that it would be able to resist extreme temperatures. That would also explain why he was able to withstand snow, but not immensely chilly temperatures. It would also explain why his Zora tunic doubled the amount of pain he suffered; it had no resistance to the elements, unlike his green garb.
Even so, despite knowing that the Goron's Tunic was impervious to every single hot thing Link had touched so far, he did not hesitate to offer his own to the Hero of Time. As long as his companion didn't wait around and bicker with him, he would be able to put on his green clothes again and go back to being able to ignore the heat.
Gratefully, the Hero of Time accepted the Goron's Tunic from Link and flung his own green one on the ground. He put the red one on and sighed. "How in Hyrule are the effects of this thing instant?"
"Not dying anymore?" Link asked, slipping the Hero's Tunic on and retrieving his belts from the ground, buckling his equipment back to his body.
The Hero of Time shook his head.
"Excellent." Link grinned, already feeling relief as his own clothes chased away his weariness from the excessive heat. "Then let us depart." He pointed to the tan stone cubes floating in the lava before them. If the Heroes jumped onto the platforms, they would be able to run along a path of rock jutting from the magma. After that, they would need to leap onto more floating cubes. Then, they would arrive at what appeared to be a door, but it was difficult to be certain of what it was from their distance.
Link, seeing that the Hero of Time was ready to get moving, took off running, boots thudding on the bricks. He leapt forward and landed on the platform, doing his best to keep from sliding off or rolling. However, much to his surprise, the cube trembled beneath him, shuddering uncontrollably.
"Are you fooling me?" Link demanded, sprinting off and landing on the rock protruding from the lava. "I don't weigh that much!" He rolled on the hot stone, then turned and beckoned the Hero of Time to join him.
The Hero of Time snickered. "Having some weight issues?" he asked as the cube rose back out of the lava, steaming. Its surface was washed in red because of the light and the magma. Regardless, the other Hero had no qualms with leaping onto it. He strutted across it, as if to say, See, it can hold my weight. However, he was forced to speed up and jump off immediately before it dropped back into the lava.
Link smirked at him. "You need to go on a diet, too, it seems."
The Hero of Time snorted. "Good thing I have a fairy who offers dietary advice. What should I eat, Navi?"
"More broccoli," Navi replied from the other Hero's shoulder.
The Hero of Time's face flashed with horror. "No-o-o-o! Anything but that!"
Link raised an eyebrow. "Broccoli?" he asked.
"I keep forgetting you live from some distant land outside Hyrule. It's this small plant… It…it looks like a tiny tree about this big." He indicated a three inch gap with his fingers.
Link was skeptical. He placed the back of his hand on the Hero of Time's forehead and said, "You feel well, but I'm certain the heat is still affecting you. Do you want to go out and cool off for a short while?"
The Hero of Time batted his hand away. "I'm not crazy! I bet you have some strange foods in your land that I've never heard of! But anyway…" He sprinted toward one of the other platforms floating in lava and leapt onto it, avoiding more questions and discussions with Link. They did have an adventure to go on, after all. Talking wasn't supposed to play much part in it.
Beneath the Hero of Time, the cube shot to the left, propelled by a blast of heat strong enough to fry a Cucco. The Hylian Hero was carried to the side, which then allowed him to leap onto another section of stone above the lava. He ran up a long wooden plank onto a higher section of stone, then sprinted along it. A winged skull leapt out of the magma toward him, engulfed in a bubble of flames.
The Hero of Time ignored it and jumped off the stone, landing on a moving cube, then climbing onto a stationary block. As the others had done, the cube trembled and began to sink into the lava, disappearing beneath the magma as he jumped off it and onto a section of stone jutting out of the wall.
Link waited for the cubes to appear back out of the lava before he pursued the Hylian Hero. He trotted across the stone wall, only to join the Hero of Time on top of a brick platform.
"Link, we have a problem," the other Hero stated.
Link could see the problem. The supposed "door" was actually just a wall of bricks. The two had perceived it as an entrance due to the fact it was more faded than the surrounding area around it.
Didn't that Goron say something about this…? Link wondered, approaching the brick wall and placing his hand on it. The stones felt warm to his touch: hot enough to cook an egg. He withdrew his hand, only to place it on the handle of the Master Sword. Walls that sound different…
He immediately pulled the Master Sword from its sheath and jumped at the wall, startling the Hero of Time into stumbling back.
"Whoa, Link, there's no call for that," he said.
Link's sword rang out against the bricks, sounding strange, as if they were echoing. He then swiped his blade to the side, smacking it into the rest of the darkened wall. He staggered back, Master Sword trembling and ringing in his hand in response to striking a solid object.
The rest of the wall sounded completely solid. Only the faded part didn't.
Link turned back to the Hero of Time and asked, "Do you know what the Goron's 'special crop' is?" he asked.
The Hero of Time considered it, once again rubbing his nonexistent beard. "I suppose that would be bombs," he replied. "They're grown by the Gorons for reasons unknown. Perhaps so they can access sections of Dodongo's Cavern to get food…"
"Bombs?" Link repeated.
"Yeah."
Link turned back to the wall, grinning mischievously. He reached into the pouch on his belt, fumbling around for his explosives. He found a bag of them, then pulled it out. He fished around in the sack for a moment before pulling out a single explosive. It instantly ignited the moment it was exposed to the outside air.
The Hero of Time's eyes widened.
"I don't know why I have always wanted to do this," Link began, placing his bomb in front of the bricks and pulling his shield off his back, holding it in front of him to protect him from any shrapnel that might seek his face once the explosive detonated. "This will be good."
The bomb exploded. Pieces of metal fractured off it, flying into the wall and whacking Link's Hylian Shield. He was blasted back slightly, and black smoke drifted into the air. Whatever explosive powder Barnes used to make the bombs filled Link's nose, reminding him of Kakariko from present-day Hyrule. He was looking forward to returning home. Only four more dungeons remained before he could return to finish saving his own land, as well as complete his contract with Midna and no longer be a servant.
The smoke cleared, revealing a door embedded within the wall. The bricks that once barred access to it were now lying in small, broken fragments on the floor.
"So we've gone from being pottery-smashers to wall-blasters?" the Hero of Time asked as he followed a very smug Link into the new room. The new location looked exactly like the last prison Link had to rescue the Goron from, except that there was no bend in the wall. The switch was directly in front of the two Heroes, as well as the barred wall containing the Goron.
"After you," Link offered.
The Hero of Time jumped onto the switch, slamming it into the ground and causing the bars to slide into the right wall. The Goron looked up at them, then rose to his feet. The Hylian Hero approached him, while Link ran behind him and emptied the contents of the chest he was expecting to be there. As usual, he pulled out a key.
"Are you releasing me?" the Goron asked the Hero of Time. "Am I free to go?"
The Hylian Hero nodded enthusiastically.
"I'll tell you a secret for saving me!"
"Ooh! Secret! I love secrets," he encouraged.
"There are switches in this temple that you have to cut to activate. But you can also use the Goron's 'special crop' to do the job." With those words, the Goron quickly made a dash for the door, disregarding both Links and leaving them to figure out what those words meant. He disappeared from their sight, but both of them were alright with that.
"Why do they always refer it as 'special crop'?" Link asked. "It's almost as if they don't want us to rescue them. What if I hadn't asked you what the crop was? Then what would they do?"
"Maybe they want to ensure that we aren't servants of Ganondorf, since the monsters aren't smart enough to understand what a 'special crop' is," the Hero of Time supplied. "Plus, they might actually be trying to see if we have any intelligence and aren't leading them to their deaths."
"Solid point. Let's go and find these switches we need to blow up, shall we?"
"You're just eager to destroy more things, aren't you?"
"You're the one who decided to blow up Link the Goron, earlier. Not me. I just blow up doors and switches."
"Well…fine, you win this round." The Hero of Time dashed back over to the door, joined by Link as he walked outside. The Hylian Hero jumped down onto the stone jutting out of the ground. He trotted along, traveling across the lava in certain sections. He reached the stone section again and walked along a wooden board that formed a bridge for him. He turned around and waited for Link to join him.
Link began to also walk along the red hot stone, only to be forced to stop as the ground receded into the wall, preventing him from going any further. He wasn't sure his boots could take him over the magma, especially since the stone blocks themselves couldn't withstand the lava.
"Come on, Link!" the Hero of Time called.
Link took a step forward, only to instantly withdraw his foot. Fire sparked over the leather, threatening to melt it. His eyes widened and he took a step back.
"I can't walk on this without the Goron tunic!" he shouted in reply.
"Then what are you waiting for? Jump it!"
"Obviously," Navi added.
Link frowned. "Very funny," he muttered. He sprang forward, then slammed into the wall. He slowly pulled himself away from it and shook his head, then held his nose. "Ugh." He walked along the stone and up the wooden plank, joining the Hero of Time at the chained door.
"You have the key for this, don't you?" the Hylian Hero asked.
Link now had a new reason to be smug. He pulled two keys from his pouch and said, "Which one would you like to use first?"
The Hero of Time snatched the one on the left and threw it into the lock, causing the chains to retract into the padlock. He opened the door, followed by Link.
The first thing the two Heroes noticed was the giant column of fire launching from out of the ground in front of them. The blast of heat rose to the ceiling, bright yellow in the center before dulling to a faint red at the edges. Link could feel its heat from where he stood, which made him wipe away the sweat forming on his brow. Beside him, the Hero of Time tapped his feet on the tightly packed bricks, then trudged forward, unfazed by the heat.
As Link wordlessly pursued him, his eyes scanned his surroundings. To his left, the floor glowed red with heat, and on his left, the brown dirt gave way to lava. Standing tall between him and the massive column of flame was a diamond-lattice fence with iron rims. An opening had been cut into the front of it, allowing him access to the second part of the room, where he could see two large broken pillars. A wooden plank joined the ground on which he stood to the dirt floor with the blast of flame.
The Hero of Time set one foot on the board, only to slip. He waved his arms frantically, then sat down hard, skidding across the makeshift bridge. His boots touched the ground and he immediately rose to his feet, grinning sheepishly.
"Oops…" he said.
"Klutz…" Navi muttered, fluttering in front of him and sizing up the fire as the flame died down and sunk into a round hole filled with lava.
Link cautiously stepped onto the plank, then walked down, completely unfazed. He grinned smugly, staring at the Hero of Time, who was rubbing the back of his Goron tunic.
"Ack! Splinters…" the Hylian Hero winced, examining his hand.
"This is why you should avoid skittering down strange boards that were crafted Hyrule-knows-when," Link supported.
The Hero of Time snorted, then trudged over to the hole to see why no more blasts of heat were coming from it.
"What do you think happened to the fi—" he began, only to be pulled back by his shirt by Link as the column of flame launched into the sky, ready to melt the face off anyone who dared come close to it.
Both Heroes looked up, staring at the concentrated rising flames. Navi had landed on the Hero of Time's shoulder and was now snuggling into his Goron tunic for protection from the heat. She watched silently as the heat died down again, and the two Heroes stared accusingly at the ground, waiting for the fire to reappear.
"So…" the Hero of Time trailed off, his eyes wandering up and catching sight of a block on top of the pillar to their right. He pointed. "Look!"
Link stared up as well, spotting the enormous cube resting precariously on top of the stone. He began to walk around the pillar, disregarding the blast of flame that continuously erupted from the lava pit. He squinted, trying to locate a ladder, but finding none. He placed his hand on the stone and then attempted to leap onto it so he could climb it. He failed, and ended up skidding back off, boots sliding on the flawlessly-carved pillar.
"Not that way then…" the Hero of Time said. He turned and looked back at the entrance, then grinned smugly.
Link also tossed a glance over his shoulder as he repeatedly leapt onto the stone and slid back off, but he didn't see whatever it was that was making his companion appear so content.
What? Link wondered. Do you presume that there may be something we missed, or…
He watched, wide-eyed, as the Hero of Time daringly sprinted back toward the entrance, then shot to the side and leapt onto the fence, only to heroically begin climbing the diamond-lattice. The entirety of the Hylian Hero's hands could fit in the holes, but he didn't seem to care about that. Instead, he delightedly continued ascending, pulling himself onto the top of the fence and balancing there almost as precariously as the cube.
"Come on, slowpoke!" the Hero of Time called, gesturing for Link to follow him. He pulled his Hookshot out of his pouch and shot two Keese with Navi's help, then began to cautiously walk across the top of the fence.
Link ceased his attempts to climb the pillars; it wasn't working anyway. He turned to the diamond-lattice and began to ascend it, looking just as heroic as the Hero of Time. However, there was a major difference between them.
Link was slower.
The Hero of Time waited excitedly for him to catch up on top of another section of fencing, which was more like a catwalk than anything else. After just a moment of anxiously bouncing on his heels—which then transitioned to picking some unknown grime off his Ocarina of Time—the Hylian Hero grew impatient. He stretched and adjusted his shoulder belt, then tapped his foot on the catwalk lattice, being careful not to let the toes of his shoes slip through the gap. He looked around, bored, then sighed.
"Hurry up, Link!" the Hero of Time urged.
"I'm coming!" Link protested, grabbing the top of the lattice and pulling himself up effortlessly, slinging his leg on top of it and standing up. However, he had miscalculated the size of his space, as well as his own balance, and ended up slipping off the other side and grabbing the top.
The Hero of Time glared up at the ceiling.
"Hey!" Navi called. "We don't have all day, Link!" She zipped over to Link and landed on his hat as he pulled himself up. He looked up at her and swiped her off his garb, only to slip off the other side again.
"Hyrule, this is tedious!" he complained. "Why am I incapable of remaining on my feet atop this?"
On top of the pillar, the Hero of Time began to struggle pushing the cube forward, having decided that he was tired of waiting around. His fingers dug into the coarse surface of the stone, and he grunted, his feet skittering on the ground as he forced himself to move forward. He almost pressed his head into the stone, which had an odd-looking face engraved into the surface, but he decided against it, instead focusing all of his energy on his arms and fingers.
"I keep slipping off!" Link complained, unable to pull himself onto the lattice and remain there. Navi's constant reminders to "Listen" weren't getting him anywhere, either.
The Hero of Time smiled mischievously as he gave one swift push and sent the cube tumbling off the pillar and onto the circle of lava below.
"Now, we don't have to worry about that trying to turn us into fried Cucco," he said, dusting his hands.
Link glanced back to see what he was talking about. At that very moment, the fire beneath the cube activated, and the stone was sent flying into the air, which almost smacked the Hero of Time in the face.
The block launched upward, slamming into a perfectly-sized square hole and scraping across the walls as it lodged there.
Both Heroes stared at it, wide-eyed and horrified. Even Navi was stunned.
The fire ceased, and the block shuddered in the wall before sliding down and plummeting to the ground far below.
Neither Link had anything to say about that. The Hero of Time seemed to be regretting his life decisions, and the Hero of Twilight had already begun to sling himself around the fence and pull himself onto the catwalk from the other side.
Link trudged across the catwalk, mentally complaining about his stupidity for not trying to crawl over to the other side and haul himself onto the thicker ground. He jumped down and landed beside the Hero of Time, almost knocking over his solemn companion.
"I'm…certain they won't mind," Link assured, resting a hand on the Hylian Hero's shoulder. "It's not like anyone visits this Temple anymore."
"Y…yeah…" the Hero of Time agreed, watching the block rise and fall with every blast of heat. "No one comes here…I'm sure they won't mind if I just…made…" His head tilted up, then looked back down, only for his gaze to return to the square hole in the ceiling. "An elevator…!"
"A what?" Link asked, but the gears of his own mind were turning in the same direction as his companion's. He grinned, then patted his friend on the back. "Congratulations, Link; you are intelligent."
The Hero of Time beamed as the block fell back to the ground. "Well, come on, then, Link! Let's go!" He raced forward and jumped, then somehow halted midair and came crashing down on top of the cube. He beckoned Link to join him from his place.
Link peered down at the cube, then dragged his toe nervously across the pillar he stood on. "I…believe I shall wait here. Do you not remember what happened the last time we joined one another on a moving 'elevator'?"
The cube beneath the Hero of Time trembled as the flame began to ignite. He wouldn't stop grinning.
"Yeah, Navi called us fat!" he said. "But that's okay; she offers dietary advice to go with it!"
"I do not trust flaming 'elevators'…" Link muttered, but he still remained in his place, continuing his conversation with the Hero of Time at the edge of the pillar.
The cube was launched into the air, and the flame beneath it roared. The Hero of Time didn't even flinch with the sudden movement, but instead grinned more broadly and extended his hand.
"Come on, Link!" he encouraged.
Unfortunately, Link didn't get much of a choice. Before he could even grunt in surprise, he was torn from his place and forcefully pulled onto the cube by his friend, and the two were sent even higher into the air.
"What if there's only a roof at the top?" Navi asked. "You two will be crushed!"
"Why didn't you tell me to look before I leap?!" the Hero of Time demanded. "You always tell me to look before I leap! Now you neglect to do so, when there's a chance I could be crushed?"
"You never listen anyways…" Navi defended. "So what if you're flattened? See that collection of Heart Containers and Pieces you've been accumulating? Those will save you."
Link looked up, watching the ceiling rapidly approach, the bricks growing larger. However, he could also see the edge of the floor they were growing close to, so he knew they wouldn't be flattened if the flame depleted before it reached the ceiling of the new floor.
As he speculated, the fire beneath them that propelled the cube wasn't tall enough to cause their elevator to slam into the ceiling and crush them into a green-and-red rug. The cube slid to a halt, lodging in the small space available and allowing the two Heroes to step off in a room made of perfectly square bricks. Directly in front of them, breaking the simple square pattern, a greenish wooden door with iron bars and glass panels stood proudly. A set of chains gleamed over the frame, binding the door in place.
Link reached into his back pocket, stepping off their ride and approaching the door. He grabbed the hot metal padlock and slid the key into the hole, then turned it, listening to the strangely satisfying click as the sequences of links retracted and the lock dissipated into nothingness.
He grabbed hold of the handle, the Hero of Time bickering with Navi behind him about how breaking legs was nicer than being crushed. Shaking his head and allowing himself a slight chuckle, he allowed himself into the new room.
They remind me of Midna and myself, Link thought, entering the new location. In the days when I hated that imp and wanted to drown her in Ordon Spring.
His quiet laughter faded to absolute silence as he looked up and spotted a Goron shuddering behind greenish iron bars. Immediately, his heroic senses took over, and he charged forward. His eyes glanced left and right in a split second, taking in the square brick wall to his right, and the vast open space to his left that lead to an interesting dirt path. He jumped onto a greenish platform of bricks and ran over to the Goron.
There was no switch to open this door. As Link glared accusingly at the bricks with fire symbols in them, he realized that the mechanism to open the door and allow the Goron out was completely absent.
The monsters have grown smarter…Link thought, relenting and backing away from the bars. The poor Goron in front of him was so scared that it couldn't even see him. He needed to go find the switch that would open the bars. Doubtlessly, it would be in another room; monsters didn't move devices two feet out of the way; they moved them eighty. It was common knowledge.
The Hero of Time, seeing Link turn away from the Goron and begin running along the path of bricks to the left, chose to also disregard the Goron and join his companion. He climbed up on a raised section of the floor pressed against the wall. A slug monster with its slimy back set ablaze was slowly crawling around on top of it, so neither one of them was worried about getting attacked for their audacity.
Link pulled himself up first, then glared at the monster. He ran over to it, and it spotted him. It stiffened, rising two feet in height, icky body increasing in heat.
Link poked it with his sword. The monster's demeanor instantly changed and it shrank back down to its normal height, turning grey as its fire sputtered out. He sliced it in two, and it burned up in blue flames, disappearing into oblivion and leaving nothing behind but an interesting-looking green pouch as big as his boot.
The Hero of Time continued onto a higher section of ground and killed whatever slimy thing was on top of it, then looked back to see what was taking his friend so long.
Link lifted up the green pouch and examined it, sniffing it curiously before snorting out the strange smell. He turned and held it up for the Hero of Time to see, and he shook it slightly to emphasize it.
"What is this?" he asked.
The Hero of Time frowned, leaning against a blazing pillar to support himself.
"It's magic, Link," the Hylian Hero replied. "Don't they have that where you come from?"
Link stared at the bag, then pulled it open to see its contents, only to find colorless powder that glowed green. That made no sense.
So…if this is magic, he began contemplating, and the Dominion Rod is ancient magic, then that would explain why the staff's magic is green; it's composed of this light powder, but condensed into a solid orb. I would imagine that, if I formed this into a sphere and threw it, it would perhaps be able to imbue inanimate objects with life.
Link stuffed the pouch into his inventory, then joined the Hero of Time on the tallest raised section of floor.
Now, reunited with his friend, the Hero of Time turned and leapt forward, catching the section of floor that jutted out before them. He pulled himself up, then turned to the stone block on his right and began to push it off the path.
Link sprung forward as well, only to be greeted by a solid wall. He held his hands out in front of himself to prevent smashing into the bricks.
"Today's not a good day for you, huh?" he was aware of Midna faintly whispering from his shadow.
Unfortunately, Navi just so happened to be meandering around while her Hylian struggled against the block. She turned to Link and fluttered over to him.
"Did you say something?" she asked, hovering in the air in front of him, her body glittering and shedding small sparkles of light.
"I don't believe so," Link replied, taking a step toward her and placing his boot on his shadow, trying to draw attention on himself and away from the ground. "What did you hear, Navi?"
The fairy was probably eyeing him suspiciously, but it was impossible to tell because of her size. He may have been her friend, due to the fact that he and the Hero of Time were companions, but she knew he was hiding something. She knew it. And she wasn't going to give up until she learned what it was.
"I'm not sure what the words were. They sounded strange," the fairy replied. "'Zee, keyorr mess, what ebaub into hyn' is what it sounded like."
Link decided to play dumb. He scratched his long ears and then leaned back slightly. "I've…never heard words like that. Are you sure you didn't hear Link grunting, with the noise distorted by the crackling of the flames from that fire?" He pointed to the blazing pedestal opposing them, adding emphasis to his words.
"Well, Link doesn't make high-pitched grunts, but if you were to mock him, it would be in a high tone, would it not?"
"Navi, I do not mock those who work hard; I may be forced to do their work for them."
"Mmm-hmm," she muttered, fluttering back to the Hero of Time as he pushed the block off the path. He brushed his hair out of his eyes, then looked around.
"Shouldn't there be something like ivy here, to climb up with?" he asked. He stared at a face-shaped marking embedded in the ground level where he pushed the block, and he frowned. "Oh." He sprung off the raised ground, then spun around midair and grabbed the block, pulling it back and forcing it into place. He climbed on top of it and then leapt onto another section of brick, disappearing from Link's sight.
A few seconds later, as he was about to join his companion, Link heard, "Hey! Can you cut that switch down there for me?" The Hero of Time sounded as if he was right above Link, so the Hero of Twilight looked up and spotted his friend.
"This?" Link asked, poking a diamond-shaped object on a silver pedestal with his sword. The blade whacked the stone with enough force to cause the inside to glow yellow, and strange liquid moved around in it.
The roar of a flame died down, and Link heard the Hero of Time call, "Thank you!"
Link looked up, spotting his friend climbing up another lattice-like fence. He turned and began to sprint forward, heading for the stone he had allowed the Hero of Time to move for him. He skidded on the ground, then launched onto the block, turning and jumping onto another extension of brick. He scrambled up the wall, his fingers locking around another hot metal lattice.
As he pulled himself to his feet, he was aware of a circle of fire, which began to blaze around the base of the next lattice he needed to ascend in order to reunite with the Hero of Time.
"Come on, Link!" Link heard the Hero of Time call.
"Allow me a moment!" he replied. "Continue on without me!"
"Alrighty, then!" the other Hero shouted. His footsteps grew fainter as he walked away.
Link heard the distinctive click of a door opening, then the thud of it being slammed closed. He nodded appreciatively.
"So, um, what next?" Midna asked. She rose out of Link's shadow, solidifying and resting on his shoulder, staring up at the lattice which led to another floor that the Hero of Time had disappeared on.
"I'm almost positive that the flames died down when I cut the switch," Link replied, walking to the edge and dropping down slightly. "And I remember the Goron telling me that a 'special crop' would work as efficiently as my sword." From out of his pouch, he drew a single bomb, which immediately ignited as it was subjected to the air. He dropped it in front of him, then turned to face the bottom of the fiery lattice the Hero of Time had climbed.
Behind him, near the switch, the bomb exploded, and the switch clanged.
The fires that warmed Link's cheeks immediately sputtered out, and he smirked. He grabbed ahold of the lattice and began to painstakingly ascend.
"Good thing you sent Link on ahead of you," Midna said. "You take forever to climb."
"Thank you for your support, Midna."
"You're my Hylian; I support my slaves however I want to."
Link grinned as he pulled himself onto the next floor and approached the door. Midna disappeared back into his shadow just in case the Hero of Time might be lurking just outside the entrance. She caused his silhouette to flicker slightly as he opened the door, but after a few seconds of shuffling, she settled down.
The first thing Link saw as he pulled the door open was a stone face leering at him, and bricks spreading out on the walls to his left and right. Then, a mere second later, he felt a stinging pain erupt in his entire left half and he was thrown to the ground with a grunt of pain.
The next thing he knew, his vision had turned black, and he heard the distinctive sound of his Heart Containers cracking.
. . . . .
A/N: I kinda did some things here where I just exaggerated the Links' actions as they do stuff. And, is it just me, or is TP Link the adult in this crowd? Haha, sorry OoT Link fans! Also, the reason TP Link couldn't balance on the lattice is because, in-game, he can't precariously balance on anything unless he's a wolf. OoT Link can tight-rope walk (as seen in Goron City where the Goron's Ruby would be on display), but TP Link has to transform into a wolf.
And Philowen Aster, you are correct, but if OoT Link does ask to see this "weapon", would TP Link be able to pull the stone out of his pocket and be like, "Here's my weapon"? I don't think he would—partly because Midna has it, and partly because it would instantly transform him into a wolf. Also, I want to inform you, but I'm afraid I must have a few tricks up my sleeve. Rest assured though: he will definitely reveal himself to OoT Link in past-day Hyrule. It'll come soon…maybe.
