Once again, I apologize for my long absence to my FF readers. However, I think I may have finally defeated my long writers-block. I will most likely be working on this, Crimson Peacock (an FF9 story), and my anthropomorphic character stories (soon to be available on Fur Affinity). The stories mentioned here will also be added to my FA account, so if you don't like reading them on FF, you can read them on FA. Anyways, on with the show then? One more note: You may have noticed a comparable lack of sex compared to some of the earlier chapters. There is a deliberate. I meant it to be a quick encounter, and especially after Malon's ordeal in town, the two won't be making love again for quite some time (like, seven years time). I've also decided to severely cut down dungeon length, because I doubt you all want to spend the time for me to go through every room of every dungeon. I'll be hitting the big points.
Chapter 8: The Lizard's Cavern
Link and Malon ventured carefully into the newly opened Dodongo's Cavern. The heat struck them the instant, but it wasn't utterly unbearable. As they approached a secondary blockade (this time a wall of rock, rather than a strategically placed boulder), the pair quickly scanned the room for any sign of threat.
Link nodded to Malon, who loaded a seed into her slingshot. Thanks to the added strength of the Goron Bracelet, Link had come to learn that he was able to rip these explosive "Bomb Plants" from their patch and use them to his advantage. As the wall to the main cavern cracked and then crumbled against the pressure of the explosion, the true size of the cavern began to dawn on the pair. This was no small cavern dug out by a few lizards to live in. A giant Dodongo skull lumbered on the opposite end of the room from the pair. It was complimented by a circular platform completely surrounded by lava. The only way to cross the lava pits was to use the three pillars at each side of the platform. The fourth side was directly under the colossal Dodongo head.
Navi peeked from underneath his hat. "Link!" she exclaimed, "that lava is hardened, but don't let it fool you. Even though you can walk on top of it, you'll still suffer massive burns to your legs if you do." Link nodded his agreement, and stepped forward.
Link hopped across the pillar, and then to the main platform. He motioned Malon over, but as she moved to jump, the pillars surrounding the platform shook violently and descended into the lava. Link cursed, and held out a hand. "Stay there, Malon. I'll come back for you once I figure out how to get back to the other side," he yelled across the chasm.
Before Link could turn, Malon yelled to him in surprise. He turned, and found himself being stared down by two sinewy lizard creatures. "Link!" hollered Navi, flying out from under his hat and flaring a bright yellow, "These creatures are called Lizalfos. They're very fast and agile, but they're not strong."
Link slashed, but the creatures immediately leaped over his head, across the chasm, and next to Malon. One swept her up, and both leapt high into the air. Malon blindly fired the seed in her slingshot. Through the grace of the Gods, or just blind luck, it smacked the Lizalfos that wasn't holding her and knocked it to the ground. However, it was too late to insert another seed. Her captor smacked the back of her head, and the world went black for her.
Link growled as the second Lizalfos came crashing onto the platform. He jumped forward and slashed its face. He cut off its arms in a blind rage, and then stabbed his sword into its forehead. Link stepped back, and the adrenaline slowly subsided. He realized how incredibly lucky he'd been that the Lizalfos had been recovering from the shock of its fall. Upon further inspection, he also realized that the bottom of its spine was broken from impact, preventing the use of its legs.
He made a mental note to be less reckless next time, and immediately began to look around. Link stepped forward, and the gigantic Dodongo skeleton loomed over him like a God staring down on men. Its mouth was closed shut. Link looked around the room, and quickly traced a path to a doorway that wasn't the entrance to the cavern. He ran forward.
As if on cue, the pillars rose from the lava. He corrected his course to include hopping the pillar, and soon found himself next to the door. With no visible handle, Link grabbed the door and heaved it upwards. To his surprise, the rock door slid easily in and out of place. He stepped into the room beyond, and ascended a small staircase. Atop this staircase lay another door. He slid the door open, and stepped through.
The instant he stepped through the door, there was a loud explosion. The room around him began to rumble. Link's head shot upwards, and he caught sight of a series of rocks falling toward him. Narrowly escaping, he looked back at the door. Link sighed heavily; the rock slide had completely blocked off his exit.
There was a loud screech, and Link turned in time to see the Lizalfos land on the ground. Navi had been correct about their agility. All evidence pointed to an amazing jumping prowess, and the ability to dodge at a second's notice. This one alone had leapt nearly twenty meters into the air, and had just survived a fall of nearly forty meters without so much as an injury. He knew that the only reason he'd gotten the upper hand on the one before was because of the uncontrolled fall that had broken its spine.
Navi crawled from his hat, and buzzed around his head. "Look!" she exclaimed, "In its hand… isn't that…" In its hand the beast held a slingshot, and another bag that was bigger than his Deku Seed bag. He couldn't imagine where the second bag was, or what it had come from, but the slingshot was definitely the Fairy Slingshot that Malon had apprehended from him before entering the Goron Village.
Link stepped forward, and unsheathed his sword. His shield made its way to his right hand. He leapt, but the Lizalfos was faster. It skillfully dodged to its right, and sent its sword towards Link's shield arm. He brought his shield up to block, and then stabbed at the creature's torso. Its lithe frame shifted fully out of the way, but the sword was buried into Link's shield.
He took a moment, and ripped the sword from his shield. He put his shield on his back, and gripped the Lizalfos' sword with his right hand. He stabbed with his right, and then cut at the Lizalfos' leg. He was rewarded as his Kokiri sword met the firm resistance of scales, and then slid through and cut off the creature's leg.
The Lizalfos fell with a thud, and held its shield up to defend itself. But it did no good. Link cut off its remaining leg, and, as the creature howled in pain, sent its own sword through its skull in a manner similar to how its blood brother had died.
Link took his slingshot off of the body, and then grabbed the bag he'd seen hanging from its hip. He was taken aback by the bag's contents: bombs. Judging from the condition, he guessed that they were roughly a few months old, and the pouch was spattered with human blood. "I hope this blood isn't Malon's…" he wondered aloud. Navi flew in front of him and shook her head. "No, Link," she said, "Think about it. This thing took the slingshot, and the bombs. I think that it probably steals stuff from whoever wanders in here. But the cave's been plugged up recently, so the last person who came into the cavern probably had bombs in case the cavern caved in on him. But the Lizalfos killed him before it ever became an issue."
Link nodded in approval of Navi's thesis, and added, "I think it was too stupid to know how to use them, though. This bag has a piece of flint in it, but it's completely full. It also took the slingshot, but not the seeds I gave Malon. Probably didn't know how to use the stuff he stole." Navi tittered slightly, "Didn't she steal those from you?" Link shot her a look, but couldn't help but chuckle himself. Link slipped the seeds and the bombs into his pouch, and turned. He was going to hunt down whatever monster had taken Malon, and make sure it suffered tenfold for everyone minute that she did...
As it turned out, he didn't have to search long. With the defeat of it's guardians, the gigantic stone Dodongo skull's eyes lit red, and its mouth was now gaping. Link took a few stepped through the door that led into the beast's throat. The room he found himself in was hotter than any room he'd entered yet, compliments of a large pool of lava in the center of the room that left only a ring around the center safe to stand on. But he could still bear it. He scanned the room, and quickly found Malon; unconscious against the wall opposite him. Closer observation revealed a gigantic, spiked rock, and the fact that the support of the room seemed to be the stone Dodongo's skeleton.
He turned away from the rock and started moving toward Malon when a deep rumble. Link turned and gasped loudly as the rock unraveled to reveal a massive Dodongo. Navi fluttered to his ear. "That's a King Dodongo! They're supposed to be extinct... I-I don't know what to do Link," she stammered. Link ushered her under his hat as the creature roared loudly at them.
Link did the only thing his mind could command him to do; he ran the other way. The King Dodongo curled up and began rolling after him like a Goron. Link saw Malon up ahead, and realized that if he passed her, it would crush her without a thought. He turned, and as he did the beast slowed, and uncurled. It opened it's mouth, and began to suck in the air around it. At first, Link was confused. Then he realized that the gigantic Dodongo was preparing to breathe fire at them, just like its smaller counterparts.
Link turned tail and ran straight for Malon. He wrapped himself around her unconscious. Link screamed in pain as the fire struck his back and he was engulfed in a heat unlike any he'd ever felt in his lifetime. Malon didn't stir as Link screamed above her.
The King Dodongo seemed satisfied with his new-found strategy and began sucking in breath for another stream of flame. Instinct took over as Link reached into his pouch, pulled out a bomb, lit it, and tossed it at the creature. He heard a gagging sound as the bomb hit the King Dodongo's throat, and it painfully swallowed the bomb whole. Suddenly, there was a muffled explosion, and the King Dodongo went berserk. It roared in pain, and curled up. Link ran, and pushed himself and Malon against the wall as it began to roll around. It smacked into a wall, and went rolling into the large puddle of lava in the center of the circular area. There were sick cracks as the embers popped against the hardened skin of the King Dodongo. It roared as the pain in its innards met the pain of being buried in lava. It quickly sank, and the lava hardened and cooled around it.
Link turned to look, and saw it buried to the neck in solidified lava. He breathed a sigh of relief and picked up Malon. He worked his way towards the shining ring of light. Like in the Deku Tree, he felt himself being lifted, and the world flashed white...