Chapter 8: Onward to Snowhead

Author's Note: This will probably be the end of the first Anju/Kafei story arc. The main Anju/Kafei story arc is still to come. Also, Snowhead is starting this chapter as well.

Night of the First Day

50 Hours Remain

"We should deliver Anju's message to Kafei," suggested Tatl.

"Yeah," added Link. They rushed to the Laundry Pool and knocked on the door of the backroom. Kafei opened it.

"Ah. It's you again. Come in," he said. The two of them walked inside, while Tatl floated inside.

"I have a message from Anju," informed Link.

"What is it?" inquired Kafei.

"Try to make it home tomorrow," stated Link.

Kafei nodded. "I'll try…If I can just get the Sun's Mask back…Oh…"

"If you can't get it back…then just meet her. She'll forgive you. She has already forgiven you. I explained the situation, like you asked. All that matters to her right now is that you make it back to her…Kafei, the moon is going to fall at 6 AM, on the dot, the day after tomorrow," stated Link. "Spend as much time with her as you can…it's very limited."

"…You're right…Yes, I lost my engagement mask…but what's important is that I make the most of these last two days…Thank you, Link. Come on, let's go," said Kafei, as the two of them headed for the door. "Wait…One more thing."

"What's that?" asked Link.

Kafei removed his Keaton Mask. "I want you to have this."

Link nodded, and placed it in his bag. The three of them headed to the Stock Pot Inn. Link knocked on the door.

"Anju?" he asked.

Anju opened the door.

"Please let the three of us in."

Anju nodded, and she shut the door behind them.

"Anju…" Kafei said. "It's me, Kafei."

Anju gasped.

"You're so short…" Anju teased him.

"Anju…" sighed Kafei.

"I'm just kidding! So…you don't have the Sun's Mask?"

"Unfortunately, no…" said Kafei sadly.

"It's okay…You couldn't possibly have known that you'd be robbed…or that any of those other things would happen…We've been worried sick…Well, me, your mother, and your cousins have been…"

"Cousins?" asked Link.
"Cremia and Romani, the twins over at Romani Ranch, are Kafei's cousins. But my mother seems to think that Kafei and Cremia have run off together…She doesn't even know they're related! She's so blind to that fact, and she's so opposed to me and him getting married…" Anju sighed. "But now that Kafei is back, my mother will stop complaining…"She smiled.

"How's your grandmother doing?" asked Kafei.

"Getting worse…She still thinks I'm my father," replied Anju. "In fact, she's becoming even more senile…Link, thank you so much for your help…"

"No problem," replied Link. "Tatl, can we talk in private?" he whispered.

"Yeah…" replied Tatl.

They headed over to the bathroom. A hand reached out of the toilet.

"Pa-Pa-Pa-Paper, please!" a voice begged from within the toilet.

Link and Tatl screamed. Anju and Kafei rushed into the hallway. "What's wrong?" asked Anju.

"There's…a…hand…in….the…toilet…" whimpered Link.

"Sir! Are you all right?" inquired Anju.

"No…Please help me…" moaned the hand.

"Who are you?" asked Kafei.

"That doesn't matter," replied the hand.

"Yes, it does," pointed out Tatl.

"What do you need help with?" questioned Link.

"Paper…"

"I'm sorry…I have none," sighed Link.

"Wait here," said Anju, rushing into the other room. She returned with a piece of paper and handed it to the hand.

"Thank you…Take this…" The hand gave a Piece of Heart to Link.

"Gee, thanks," replied Link.

"Link…Thank you for reuniting me and Kafei," said Anju.

"You're welcome," responded Link, smiling.

"As a sign of our appreciation, please take this. It's a shovel," remarked Anju, handing Link a rather large shovel. Link somehow managed to put it in his bag.

"I must go now. Onward to Snowhead…But first, I need to get some Bombs."

Link made his way to the Bomb Shop and purchased the Bomb Bag and the Big Bomb Bag. Fortunately, it came with bombs. How convenient.

Link and Tatl rushed out to Termina Field.

The sun rose in the sky.

Dawn of the Second Day

48 Hours Remain

The two rushed towards the north, only to discover their path was blocked by ice.

"Link! Remember, you have a Bow!" pointed out Tatl. "Look up!"

Link glanced up to see some icicles suspended from the top of the path. He took aim and fired several arrows at each one. They came crashing down and smashed open the ice blocking their path.

"Thanks for the suggestion, Tatl."

"No problem."

The two of them headed further north, but found there was a massive blockage of ice that couldn't be destroyed with falling icicles. They noticed a grotto nearby. Link leapt down into it. Tatl followed him irritatedly.

They were in a small cavern underground. It was a tunnel that had another warp on the other side. The two rushed towards it, but then a rockslide blocked the path.

Suddenly, the ground began to shake, and a familiar fire-breathing dragon burst out of the floor.

"No…" said Link. "It can't be…"

Subterranean Lava Dragon

Volvagia

The dragon began to coil around and then roared, breathing fire into the air.

"Damn it, can't you stay dead? I killed you!" exclaimed Link angrily.

A maniacal voice began to laugh. "Oh, but that was the future…This is a test…if you can defeat this foe…you will receive a great reward…" the voice said.

Link grabbed his bow and took aim, repeatedly firing arrows at Volvagia. Eventually the dragon collapsed, stunned.

Link realized what he needed to do from memory. He grabbed the Megaton Hammer and repeatedly hit Volvagia on the head. The monster struggled to get up, but Link knocked it back down with more arrows, then hit it again and again with the Megaton Hammer.

"Only a sacred blade can defeat this beast…" said the voice.

"But I have no Master Sword…" remarked Link.

"No, but you still bear a sacred blade."

"Oh! The Kokiri Sword is sacred to the Kokiri!" Link exclaimed, drawing his sword and stabbing it straight into Volvagia's head. The dragon reeled back, and then began to coil in on itself. It began to fall apart, and once again, its head landed on the ground. Its head promptly vanished in a puff of smoke, as the rock barricade blocking their way through the tunnel vanished as if it was never there. A chest appeared where Volvagia used to be. Link opened it to find a small version of the Goron Tunic he had long ago.

"Why do I need this?"

"Just because it's cold outside the mountain, does not mean within the mountain it will be cold as well…" said the voice. "Farewell."

Link decided to don the Goron Tunic.

"It looks good on you, Link!" commented Tatl.

The two of them used the warp on the other side to exit the tunnel. The ice had thawed somehow, and a familiar owl was sitting on a tree branch nearby.

"Hoo hoo! Link, look up here!" Kaepora Gaebora commented, and Link looked up to see him sitting on the tree branch.

"What brings you here?" Link inquired.

"I could ask the same of you, but it's rather self-explanatory at this point," Gaebora replied.

"Who ARE you, anyway? It's been so long, and you haven't ever revealed who you are," remarked Link.

"Hoo hoo! Link, you couldn't tell?"

Link shook his head.

Kaepora Gaebora turned his head upside down. "What does my face remind you of now?"

"Rauru?"

"Yes, my boy! I am Rauru!" exclaimed the owl. "I came here to test you. I was the voice you heard in that tunnel…You needed that tunic. The floor of the basement of the Snowhead Temple is scalding hot. It's covered with magma…That Goron Tunic will come in handy, I assure you. I revived Volvagia to test you. Perhaps I shall test you again sometime…Hoo hoo!" said Kaepora Gaebora, flying away.

"…Who's Rauru, Link?" asked Tatl.

"The Sage of Light…one of the Seven Sages of Hyrule…"

"Oh," replied Tatl.

The two of them rushed towards the village, and walked inside the cabin.

"Ugogh! Ugor ugoh ughor?" yelled a brutish man.

"Shaddup! Just when I was having a good dream..." scolded another man lying on the couch nearby. He sat up. "Oh! Welcome to the Mountain Smithy, where we take our time to make a good point. I am Zubora, the owner. Pleased to meet you."

"Ugo-oh! Ugo ugo!"

"Shaddup over there! That huge fellow is my assistant, Gabora. He's all brawn and about as smart as a Deku Stick. Say...Did you come to have your sword sharpened?"

Link nodded.

"Unfortunately, we're not doing any business right now. It's because of this abnormal cold snap we've been having."

Zubora motioned to the frozen hearth nearby.

"See? Our hearth has been frozen over! The way things are going now, I won't be able to do any business until spring... If I could just do something about that frozen hearth...

"Ugo-oh! Ugo, ugo!" yelled Gabora.

"Eh? What's that? You say if we had hot water, we could melt the ice off the hearth? Don't act like you know what you're talking about, you Deku Stick!" scolded Zubora.

"What do you mean?" asked Link.

"Oh, he believes a rumor that says long ago there were hot springs somewhere in the mountains near here. Bah! I don't believe such rubbish."

"Ugoh-oh! Ugoh ugo ugo?" replied Gabora.

"Eeesh! You're so loud! You've gotta understand, I have to melt this ice off my hearth before I can go to work. Come back in the spring after the ice melts," said Zubora.

"I have a solution," replied Link.

"What's that?" questioned Zubora.

Link retrieved his Megaton Hammer and smashed the ice off the hearth.

Zubora and Gabora both stared at him in shock.

"Ugoh-ooooh! Ugoh! Ugo-a-go-go!" Gabora said panicking.

"Gabora! Huh? Oh! You've done me a great favor! Now, then... This hearth can finally go to work for me! Heh-heh-heh-heh... Thanks. Gabora, fetch our customer some coffee, quick-like. Now then, let me take a look at your sword."

Link handed the sword to Zubora.

"Hmmm...All right...To reforge your sword, it will cost you 100 Rupees. It'll be ready at sunrise. You'll have to let us hold onto your sword until then. "

Link handed the sword to Zubora.

"Thanks for dropping in. Now then, I'm straight off to work! Come back tomorrow morning."

Link sighed. "Can I wait in here?" he said, shivering.

"Sure," replied Zubora.

And so, a day passed.

Dawn of the Third Day

24 Hours Remain

"I kept you waiting...But it's done! See?" said Zubora, handing it to him.

"Now here's a secret...If you bring me gold dust, I'll be able to make it the strongest sword around. You got that? Gold dust!"

Link nodded.

"So, uh…we're not taking any more orders for today. See ya," replied Zubora.

Author's Note: So, I did a little bit of a change here. The Razor Sword no longer loses its edge after 100 hits or if you go back in time. It's just a stronger Kokiri Sword in this version. Also, the Goron Tunic will have a use. Remember Kaepora's quote, "Just because it's cold outside the mountain, does not mean it will be cold inside the mountain." Next chapter: Snowhead, Part 2.