Here's chapter eleven! Okay, I need to send shout outs to some people for being awesome. Zelda-Sheik: Your reviews made me feel awesome, and I'm so happy you think it's 'to die for'! Thanks so much! BaJaHea3: I'm glad you think it's cute. That's what I was going for :) NinjaSheik: I absolutely love how you put your reviews in all caps. It makes me feel like I'm special :P : I'm so happy that you don't like Ilia. In case you haven't noticed, I hate her too ;) Marilynn Lake: You care about the Gorons so much! I'm sure they appreciate that. And yes, the bugs are very weak. sprinkleglitz: Zelda is awesome, isn't she? Caroline Kiepe on Facebook: I'M GLAD YOU EFING LOVE MY STORY, BECAUSE I EFING LOVE YOUR REVIEW! sqiushy313: You have no idea how good it makes me feel that you think my chapters are awe-inspiring, so THANKS! Pegasus6644: You already know I love you. Hahaha Call me! LoneMouse444: I don't even have to say anything to you. I freaking live with you. LOVE YA SIS! The Asian: It gets better, don't worry :P I have a shout out to one more person, but their review didn't have a pen name :( So, hopefully, you know who you are, and thanks! Sorry for the hold up haha. Enjoy!

Chapter Eleven: Death at Death Mountain

"What?" Zelda gasped, her heart sinking. Renado's face was pale, and he looked exhausted. Link drew in a breath behind her, obviously just as frustrated as she was. She closed her eyes and thought for a moment, letting Renado's words sink in.

"The Gorons at Death Mountain. Almost all of them have fallen ill to an unknown disease, and they are dying. It is a plague that I have never seen before! It is spreading too quickly, and I fear that there won't be enough time to save all of them." The shaman continued, still leaning against the doorframe.

"When did they start to get sick?" Zelda asked, opening her eyes.

"Only this morning!" Renado was shocked at his own words. Zelda sighed heavily and looked down at the ground. Before she realized it, Link was out of bed and standing beside her, putting his hat back on his head.

"Well, where is everybody? All of the citizens of Kakariko Village?" She inquired. She needed as much information as possible.

"We were all summoned this morning by Darbus to go see what was happening. Everyone has been trying to nurse the Gorons back to health, but…" Renado shook his head sadly as he began to straighten up. "I'm afraid that if we don't see results soon, we must return. We don't want our own people getting sick, especially since this plague seems very contagious."

"I will accompany you back up to Death Mountain." Zelda nodded as she gave him her decision. Renado heaved a sigh of relief, letting himself slump over.

"Thank you so much, Princess." He smiled.

"It is my honor. Now come." She started towards the door, but then saw Link moving with her. She turned towards him with a concerned expression while worry began to overwhelm her senses. There was no way she was going to let Link travel up to Death Mountain after his recent endeavor.

"No. You have to stay here. You don't have the energy to—" She began, but he interrupted by grabbing her hand and staring straight into her eyes. He shook his head gently, and she felt the tingles run through her body.

"I'm coming." He stated simply. For some reason, the princess couldn't argue. She couldn't say anything, though she opened her mouth. Nothing came out, so she succumbed to his declaration and let out a heavy sigh.

"Fine." She averted her gaze, and now she was starting to feel guilty. What if something happened to him? What if he got sick? It would be her fault…

LINK POV

The trail to Death Mountain, covered in geysers, was steep. But it was familiar to Link, and as they trekked upwards, he felt his energy beginning to return. The joy at being human again was indescribable as he smiled softly to himself. His happiness only increased with the sight of Princess Zelda beside him. He found himself instinctively inching closer to her every few minutes, but he couldn't help himself.

Though he was joyous, he was also fraught with worry. Over his journey, he had become close with the Gorons, and he hoped with all of his heart that they would be okay. They had done so much for him and Midna, and now they were getting sick. Link had a strange feeling that he knew what was causing the illness, and his eyes moved to Zelda's cloak, where the orb was hidden.

Renado had stayed behind, for reasons unknown to either of the two teenagers. He had seemed a bit winded, Link thought. It was fine, though, because Link knew this trail like the back of his hand and could easily lead Zelda through it. His only worry was that Zelda wouldn't be able to handle the journey. They were a quarter of the way there, and he already sensed her breathing more heavily and slouching a bit. He made sure to stay close beside her, just in case.

"Link," She said his name softly, and he looked at her with a smile. Her expression was one of worry, but at the same time, he saw understanding in her twinkling blue eyes. "You do know what's causing the plague, don't you?"

Link turned away.

"Do you know what this means?" She whispered, her voice trembling slightly. "This plague isn't only spreading through the Light Spirits."

That was all she needed to say, and Link ran a hand over his face tensely. He knew exactly what was going on. Everything was beginning to make sense in his racing mind.

"We need more information…" Zelda stated, staring straight at him. He felt her eyes penetrating deep inside him, as if she could see right through him. She knew that there was something he wasn't telling her. Link let out a deep sigh and scratched the back of his neck anxiously, avoiding her narrowed eyes.

"Link." Her tone was now stricter. "Tell me."

So, he did. He explained to her the riddles that he'd seen on the pieces of the orb. He told her everything that he deciphered, praying that she would be able to get more out of the perplexing little poems. As soon as he was finished, Zelda gasped and halted abruptly, right beside a geyser. She didn't notice it.

"Returning from ancient!" Zelda cried, her face lighting up. "That's it!" Link stared at her, completely baffled. This was just one of those times when he could never understand anything that was going on in the princess's head, which was a lot of the time, actually.

She opened her mouth to speak again when the geyser beside her exploded, making her shriek and jump back. The look on her face was one of complete shock and fear, and her face became pale while her eyes widened. Link couldn't help but burst into laughter, doubling over and clutching his stomach as he did. Zelda huffed, crossing her arms across her chest proudly and narrowing her eyes at him menacingly. It took Link a while before he could force himself to stop the hysterical laughter, and he suppressed even more chuckles when he saw her angry expression.

He gave her an apologetic expression, but Zelda just rolled her eyes.

"As I was saying," She continued. Instinctively, she gave the geyser a side-glance and stepped back a bit. "What the riddle's saying is that this evil has been before. But the light spirits said that they had never seen it. Which means, this evil must be as old as the spirits themselves, maybe older. It was here at the time of the goddesses." Link was still confused. How was this supposed to help them?

"You still have no idea what I'm talking about." She sighed. "At the castle, we have the library where everything is held. I mean everything. The entire history of Hyrule, from the time of the goddesses to now, is stored in that library. Unluckily for you, it is open only for members of the Royal Council." Zelda took on a mischievous expression. "Luckily for me, I am a member of the Royal Council, and I bet I could get you into the library."

Now he was starting to get it.

"If we look hard enough, we can find the history of this evil, especially since it's been here before. But for now," She paused, staring back up Death Mountain. "I think we have to take on this plague directly. Then, we can return to the castle and get to work looking."

With those words, they started walking up again. Link was still registering all of this information in his mind, but he got what the princess was saying. He thought that there was still more missing, that there was still another puzzle piece to be found. Suddenly, it came to him, and he stopped. He touched Zelda's arm lightly, trying to ignore the butterflies in his stomach as she faced him.

"What about the light spirits?" He asked.

"Oh, yes. The spirits." She rubbed her temples, thinking everything over in her mind. "You're right, they don't have a lot of time." She bit her lower lip anxiously. "I have an idea, but it requires another favor from you. I know it's not fair, but I feel that it's what needs to be done."

Link nodded obediently; he was ready to take on any task she had for him.

"Ok, here's what we'll do. While I—"

Zelda's explanation was interrupted by a loud, booming, bloodcurdling scream. Both of them cringed, and whirled around to face the mountain. The scream seemed to have come all the way from Death Mountain. Link knew it was a Goron, because no other creature's scream could be as loud.

"Let's go," Zelda grabbed Link's hand, and began sprinting up the path. Link followed, furrowing his brow seriously and eager to get up to his brothers, the Gorons.

It took them another ten minutes to get up to the mountain, and by that time, Zelda had nearly collapsed from exhaustion. Link, of course, was fine. He became alert, however, when he saw no Gorons guarding the entrance. And the stench that soon reached his nostrils was repulsive, and he needed to use all of his willpower so that he wouldn't plug his nose. Even Zelda took on a disgusted expression and looked ready to pass out.

He squeezed her hand comfortingly, and slowly stepped forward. What he saw broke his heart, and his jaw dropped. Zelda covered her mouth with her hand, hurt by the sight. All over the ground, Gorons were lying on mats and covered with blankets. All of them were sickly, paler than usual and barely conscious. Some were coughing blood, and others were throwing up into buckets being held by fellow Gorons and citizens of Kakariko Village. They could barely move, and Link struggled to hold in his frustration. It wasn't fair for the Gorons to be suffering like this. They had done nothing wrong.

"This is awful…" Zelda muttered, her eyes filling with tears. Link nodded, stepping closer to her.

"Link, Princess Zelda!" The familiar voice of Darbus, patriarch of the Gorons, caught Link's attention, and they turned to where the large figure was standing. His expression was solemn, and we walked over to them slowly. He looked as if his entire world was falling apart around him, and he was being forced to watch. His eyes were watery, which shocked Link. Darbus, like other Gorons, was as tough as nails. This large creature almost always refused help from humans, and he was usually too proud for his own good. To see him in such shape told Link that everything was truly turning upside down for the Gorons.

"I'm so glad you came." He said, staring down at them. They had to crane their necks to look at him, and the ground rumbled a bit when he walked. Link was surprised to hear such words come from the proud leader's mouth, yet he understood his predicament.

"We'll do anything we can to help." Zelda replied, and Link nodded with a grunt of agreement. Then, they actually saw Darbus give them an appreciative smile.

"Thank you. But I don't see what can be done. We have no antidote, and no way to heal them. Almost all of them are sick, and none of them are getting better." Darbus shook his massive head sadly, and Link felt his heart wrench. That's when he realized that this illness could cause the extinction of the Gorons.

"What was that scream?" Zelda inquired. Darbus swallowed nervously.

"It was the scream of a dying Goron. He was the first one to pass away."

Link felt as if he were going to break down into sobbing. Already one Goron was dead, and things weren't looking better for the others.

"I'm so sorry." Zelda choked, looking away and leaning her forehead against her palm. They were all speechless for a few moments.

"Well, I suppose I should go check on how everybody's doing." Darbus coughed, trying to hide his shaky voice.

"Darbus, I know this is a bad time." Zelda touched his muscular arm cautiously. "But do you have a library up here?" Link threw her a confused glance, but she ignored him. Darbus nodded with a sigh, and pointed.

"Right through there." He said, and Zelda nodded.

"Thank you." Then, she knelt beside the nearest Goron and felt his forehead, concentration written on her features. Link's admiration increased, and he smiled to himself as he watched her. He didn't notice Darbus looking at him. Then, Link got to work.

For at least two hours, they sat caring for the ill Gorons and comforting them. Link couldn't keep his eyes off of Zelda, though he tried his best to stay concentrated on the Gorons. She was completely silent, and Link could tell that there was a lot on her mind.

"Hey Link," Darbus suddenly approached him as he tended to a young Goron. "Take a break. You deserve it. The princess said she's just going to go to the library for a moment. There's somebody I want to show you." He tilted his head toward the entrance to a small room, and Link nodded uncertainly as he stood up. Darbus's voice was even shakier than before, and Link got a bad feeling in his stomach.

Darbus led Link into the small room, and it was completely dark except for a few candles. The eerie shadows made him nervous as he stepped inside, and he had to squint to make out the contents of the room. There was a bed, and somebody was lying in it. For a moment, Link couldn't see who it was. But as he moved closer and his eyes began to adjust, he saw who was in the bed. His heart dropped into his stomach, and he gasped in horror. Sitting in the bed was the Goron who Link had grown closest to: Gor Coron, the expert sumo wrestler and one of the reasons Ilia had recovered her memory. Link was in terror.

"Link…?" The Goron's voice was raspy as he called the hero's name, and Link nodded as he stepped up to the bed. "Ah, young warrior. Have you returned for another challenge?" Gor Coron chuckled, and Link smiled. But the smile disappeared when Gor Coron fell into a fit of uncontrollable coughing, and Link protectively stepped closer.

"I'm… fine…" He croaked, covering his mouth with his fist and coughing into it. "Just… fine… little human." He managed a wink.

"Gor Coron, do you need anything? The little human is willing to help." Darbus asked, his low voice grumbling.

"Yes… yes… the little human with the pointy hat. Do you remember, young warrior? Do you remember that day? It is still clear in my elder Goron mind…" Gor Coron coughed again. Link's queasy feeling augmented.

"I remember." Link nodded, smiling.

"You beat me… in sumo wrestling… ahahaha!" Gor Coron laughed hoarsely. Link chuckled uneasily. "Never… again… will a little human defeat me…"

Those words haunted Link and became stuck in his mind after that moment. He sensed another meaning to those proud words. Goose bumps covered his body.

"No…" His voice was becoming softer, and quieter. "Never… again…"

"Gor Coron," Darbus said his name, but there was no reply.

That's when the tears flowed from Link's eyes, though he suppressed his sobs. He knelt at Gor Coron's bedside, grabbing his limp hand.

"Thank you for everything." He whispered. Gor Coron smiled one last time.

"No, young warrior…" He said. "Thank you."

Gor Coron was the second of the Gorons to die of the plague.

I cried while writing this. Just thought you'd like to know. All right, well, chapter twelve is coming up soon! Maybe we'll find out what Zelda is up to in the library... or maybe not. Hahaha keep on reading and keep on reviewing! Love ya :))) :D