Hey readers! How iz it?

Moriko: You're an idiot.

Me: When has that been a problem? Don't you like me this way? (teary-eyed)

Moriko: (groan) Ugh...you drive me nuts!

Me: Good! (Chipper again) Anyway, we have an a action-packed chapter ahead of us, so read on, dear readers! Thanks for sticking with me!

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Legend of Zelda concepts, but I do own Moriko and Taiki (and numerous others I care not to name)

Chapter 29: The Temple of Din

Heat blasted Moriko in the face as she climbed down the last of the ladder. Experiencing the smell of sulfur and bubbling lava was like someone shoving a rock down her throat. She gagged multiple times, but it only made it worse. She tried pulling her hat off and covered her mouth and nose, but that only warded the smell off slightly. If only she'd kept Tanner's scarf. That would've worked wonders right now. But she shook the thought away. She didn't need him here. She could do it without his help.

She made a quick observation of the room she'd emerged in. It was tinted orange by the lava that flowed freely in a river, cutting the room in half. There were various cliffs and caves scattered among the higher areas, but that didn't matter at the moment. Gorador had said that Valoo was on the lowest floor, so that's where Moriko needed to go.

She jumped carefully over the small lava river and into the next room. It was bigger than the last one, but there was no solid ground. She wouldn't be able to jump them, once again, without some kind of help. Unfortunately, there wasn't any wind, so she couldn't use the Deku Leaf. It'd probably burn up in the intense heat.

"This is kind of like the Temple of Farore," Taiki said as he fluttered out of Moriko's collar. The blonde sighed, heading through the next doorway.

"Except that was outside, and this is inside," she corrected.

Taiki shrugged, then squeaked at something ahead of them. Moriko turned to look, but was promptly smacking on the side of her head by something stiff. Her vision went black for a second as she stumbled backwards into the door.

When she got it back, she saw a large lizard staring her in the face, wielding a sick-looking saber that was chipped in several places and crusted with dried blood. Its jaws were large and gaping, its eyes were bright yellow with black slits, and its skin was a mishmash of red and green scales. It had feet with three clawed toes that looked like they had springs loaded in the back, but that wasn't the worst part of it. It wore worn and tattered armor, like a warrior, and it had a sharp axe tied to its tail.

It was butt-ugly, that was for sure. Moriko had no idea how well it fought, but between its huge, sharp teeth and axe-tail, it probably didn't leave its victims alive.

It howled loudly, snapping Moriko out of her thoughts, and lunged at her, catching her in the side with its saber. She grimaced as she felt her skin tearing, but she dove to the side and snapped her bow out, firing an arrow at the lizard's unprotected back. It howled again and hopped around the room, trying to reach the arrow stuck in the base of its tail. Moriko took a chance and dispatched the monster, the Master Sword sliding cleanly through its belly.

"What was that?" Taiki asked, reading Moriko's thought.

"It was a Lizlfos," Navi said, fluttering over to the lizard's rapidly disappearing hide. "I saw them a lot when my Link was wandering the mountain. They were the more powerful followers of the Giant Dodongo or something."

"Right. That's nice to know. Are there other monsters like it?" Moriko asked as she assessed the damaged done to her side.

"Well, there are the Dynalfos," Navi said quietly, averting her eyes. Moriko did a quick 360 of the room and groaned.

"Was it here when you first encountered it?"

"No…it was somewhere else, I think."

"Are they in league with lizard breath?"

"Not that I'm aware of."

Moriko shivered and continued through the room, avoiding the bright bubbling lava and dispatching the few Lizalfos along the way. Each room faded into another; it was seemingly endless. The only thing that set them apart was the contraptions that had to be used to open the doors. Moriko was forced to use most of her items to enter the rooms.

Moriko rubbed her arms, which were suddenly covered in goosebumps. It was odd, but the rooms seemed to be getting colder. This one, the last one, was as cold as ice. There were even icicles clinging tenuously to the ceiling.

"I have no idea what's going on," Taiki said, pressing himself to Moriko's neck for warmth. Navi did the opposite, fluttering about the room to get a better look.

"Either we've traveled far from the core of the mountain, or something unnatural is doing this," she suggested, floating a few feet from Moriko's face. Moriko sneezed, shivering slightly.

"Well, let's fix it soon. I can't take the cold."

Moriko stepped forward, staring curiously at a treasure chest encased in ice. She reached out to touch it, but a movement out of the corner of her eye made her freeze.

"We're not alone here," she whispered. Taiki shook, whether it was out of fear or from the cold, she didn't know, and Navi hid herself next to him, watching whatever was circling them with her bright blue eyes.

"Crap," she cursed quietly, "it's a Dynalfos."

"Great," Moriko said with a groan. "Let's get this over with." She moved to draw her sword but a ball of fire singed her hair as it passed by, fizzling out as it rammed against a large mound of snow. Moriko jerked her head in the Dynalfos direction, only to see it aiming a small black rod with a red gem at her. It hissed at her loudly, then fired another bolt of fire at her.

She dodged and unsheathed her sword, noticing Link quickly materializing next to her.

"Well, this sucks," he said simply.

"Yeah? What's lizard breath got there?"

"That would be a fire rod. It emits fire, depending on the wielder's level of magic."

"So that lizard sucks at magic?" she asked, dodging another small ball of flame. Link nodded with a smile.

"Yeah. It really stinks."

The Dynalfos hissed again and took careful aim at Moriko. While it did that, Moriko and the fairies were devising a plan as fast as possible.

"If it's got the fire rod, then why is it so cold in here?" Taiki asked.

"Silly Taiki," Navi said with a grin. "Think 'Balance'. If there's a fire rod, then where's the ice rod?"

"In the chest," Moriko said, her eyes still locked on the overgrown lizard with the black stick. "But how do we get it out? I don't have any fire spells."

"Then we use the lizard's stupidity against itself!" Navi said. Moriko blinked, then it dawned on her.

"Oh, I get it! Yeah, let's try that!"

Moriko ducked another fireball, then turned on the insults. "Hey, lizard-face! You couldn't hit a fifty foot castle wall with your skills!"

The lizard hissed, sending a slightly larger ball of fire at her, she sidestepped it, heading for the chest.

"Man, I have seen blind men with better aim!"

Another large fireball, but this time it was three times its original size. Moriko dodged it again with a grin, moving so she was now positioned in front of the frozen box.

"I've seen cucco with more attitude! You really suck, ya stupid overgrown excuse for a Lizalfos!"

That did it. The Dynalfos fired such a huge bolt of fire at her that she barely managed to dodge it. It melted the ice right off the chest, sending plumes of steam spiraling towards the ceiling. The heat was so great that it melted the lock right off the front and opened it. Inside the chest was a white rod with a bright blue crystal on top, in the shape of a snowflake. Moriko yanked it out of its place and aimed at the Dynalfos. They stood there, facing each other, knowing very well they were at an impasse.

"Link, you know how to use this?" Moriko whispered through the corner of her mouth. Link shrugged apologetically.

"Sorry. Never used it before."

Moriko bit her lip and gripped he rod. Oh, hell, she was in for it. How was she supposed to figure out how to use a rod that no ones ever used before? She began panicking.

"Try anything!" Taiki shouted in her ear. Moriko's grip on the rod doubled, and an odd thing happened. A small white ball appeared at the tip of the rod, but quickly dispersed. Moriko frowned, her fear subsided. She had made the rod work, but how? She looked back to the Dynalfos, who was still pointing the fire rod at her. It was grinning savagely.

It knew she didn't know how to wield the rod. Crap.

It sprang at her, a fireball already forming at the rod's pointing tip. Moriko stumbled out of the way of the fire, but tripped over the lizard's clawed foot. She landed on her back, the wind knocked from her lungs. Coughing, she aimed the ice rod at the lizard's grotesque face, closed her eyes, and thought Please give me ice!

A chill ran through her body, and the air seemed to freeze around her. Something had happened. She opened her eyes to see the Dynalfos staring at her through a foot of ice, its face contorted into a look of pain mixed with surprise. She scrambled out from under it and watched it, waiting for it to unfreeze and come at her.

It never did. In fact, it exploded seconds later, sending shards of ice flying in every direction. The only thing left of it was the fire rod, which had fallen to the floor shortly before the lizard had been frozen.

Moriko picked it up and studied it intently. It was a simple rod of black stone, extremely sturdy with the symbol of the Gorons carved into the flame shaped ruby embedded in the tip. The ice rod looked exactly the same, except that it was made of white stone, and the sapphire gem on top was in the shape of a snowflake, and it had different symbol etched into it. Three crescent moons.

"Let's go. With that, you can freeze anything," Navi said, watching the room revert back to its original, overheated, lava-filled conditions. Moriko willingly obliged, already heading for the door. It was a long way back, but at least the monsters had gone. The doors were all open, and before long, the lava pit was in sight.

"Just aim for the lava and freeze it," Link said.

Moriko nodded and waved the rod over the lava. The red goo ceased its bubbling and stilled, freezing over with a few inches of ice. Navi and Taiki eyed the new glassy floor warily.

"Is it safe?" Taiki asked. Navi nodded slowly.

"Probably. It would be a good idea to crawl on your hands and knees, Moriko."

"Yeah." Moriko sighed and got down on her hands and knees and began her slow crawl across the ice. It was extremely fragile, and slowly began cracking under her weight. Definitely not something you'd want to hear when you're moving over a large pool of lava.

She made it across in few minutes, but it felt like an eternity. She never wanted to do that again. Hopefully, she wouldn't have to.

She turned and looked up at the large stone doors with wide eyes. The doors were engraved with the image of a huge dragon, ferocious and flying. Its huge wings took up the top third of the door. Its eyes were rubies set deeply into the dark stone. It looked as if it would jump out and eat them.

"Come on, Moriko," Navi said. "Let's get this over with. We'll wait out here."

"Alright."

Moriko took a deep breath and pushed the door open, heading into the darkness beyond.

The next room was extremely dark, the only light in the room a flame hung high above that flickered wildly. She held the ice and fire rods tightly, knowing full she wasn't alone in that dark room. She squinted into the darkness, trying to find anything. The only thing she found was the altar, but that was surrounded by a small barrier she could get through.

Suddenly, the light above blazed brightly, briefly illuminating the entire room. It was really big, surprisingly. You could probably fit every house in Ordon in there, and still have room to walk. Moriko did a slow 360 turn, searching for anything moving.

There was nothing there. She blinked, then twisted around again.

"What the? Where's Valoo?"

Suddenly a huge roar resounded throughout the cavern. Moriko covered her ears and cringed as the horrid sound beat against her skull. She felt like it'd explode.

"I am here, child. Let us prove your worth!"

Several gusts of wind tore through the still, humid air, pushing Moriko back against the warm rock wall. She glanced up and froze, her mouth agape. A large dragon swooped down from its perch high above, diving straight for Moriko. She jumped to the side as quickly as possible and watched the dragon twitch its wings and gliding in a different direction around the room.

Valoo was a rather large dragon. He was bright red with white spikes poking out of his spine. His eyes were like the ones of the dragon on the door; scorching red and full of fire. His entire being was proud and dignified, but the one thing that screwed everything up was his face. He had what looked to be a white goatee or beard that fell down his chin in a humorous manner. Moriko stifled a laugh, but jumped out of the way of another blast of fire.

"Moriko of the forest! You have come here to merge the Rod of Seasons with the Master Sword. It is my job to test you, so let us forgo the chivalrous ways of Gorador and begin! Three hits and you pass!" Valoo roared out, his deep voice reverberating off the walls like a drumbeat. Moriko kept moving as the large dragon shot jet after jet of flames at her, barely singing the ends off her hair. She grimaced and spun around, hopping over the small flames that licked the bottom of her boots.

She had to think fast. What could she do to defeat Valoo? Think, think! He's a dragon, and dragons use fire. So they're weak against ice! She pulled out the ice rod and fired a blast of ice at Valoo's exposed, scaly flank. A direct hit!

Valoo crashed to the floor, howling in pain, and spun around, his claws colliding with Moriko legs. She didn't even have time to breathe before she was slammed into the wall. Fireworks exploded behind her eyes as she dropped to the floor like a rock. It took her a few seconds to recover, then she started running unstably around the room, tripping constantly as if she had three left feet.

"Ack, this is worse than fighting the Dodongo. Now, let's see. Ice works, so where should I hit him now?"

Moriko watched Valoo watch her, guarding the patch of blistering skin on his hide with intense anger. Ooh, he's mad now, she thought sarcastically. He was a brute to begin with, but now it's just worse.

She jumped over his tail as it swung low at her, and she fired a bolt of ice at his other flank. He roared again and shot fireball after fireball at her, singeing the cloth off her upper right shoulder. Her skin burned badly, but she ignored it, biting her lip to distract her attention from the pain. She jumped back so she was against the wall. Just one more hit, then everything was done! That was it!

Valoo reared back his head, readying a large ball of fire. Moriko gulped down a huge breath of warm air and readied the ice rod. She had to get this right, or she'd be a pile of ashes. Her shoulder screamed loudly as she ran straight at Valoo's gaping jaws. The dragon opened his jaws as far as they would go, then let loose the biggest fireball thus far, almost ten feet in diameter.

Moriko let loose all her charged magic power, creating a ball of ice just as big. The spheres collided, and an explosion rocked the temple to its foundation. The Gorons felt it, high above in their rocky city. A few tremors even reached Kakariko Village, though they weren't anything serious.

Back in the temple core, Moriko and Valoo both had reached their limit, unable it even lift their heads anymore. Moriko lay on her back, staring at the ceiling through blurry eyes as she struggled to catch her breath. Everything was being distorted again. It sucked majorly, since she couldn't even figure out if she'd landed that last hit on Valoo.

"You…have done well, child," the dragon said, staring at Moriko out of the corner of his eye. "You may fuse the rod and the sword now."

Moriko nodded and pulled herself into a sitting position, then accepted Valoo's help when he hooked her onto his tail so she was sitting in one of the grooves. He lifted her over to the altar, where she hopped off carefully and hung onto him for support. She placed the Rod of Seasons on the altar, followed by the Master Sword.

For a second, nothing happened, then the sword and the rod glowed bright red, merging together in a flash of fire. The sword glowed as if it were red hot, then cooled down and floated back to Moriko. She took the sword and held it up, wondering what its new ability was. She couldn't think of it, so she asked Valoo.

"It allows you to cast a spell that invokes a barrier of fire around you," he said, sitting up. He didn't look like a fierce dragon like that. He looked more like giant, cuddly stuffed animal.

"Huh…that would've helped when I found the fire and ice rods. That place was freezing." She shivered. Valoo snorted, blowing fire out through his nose.

"Your next stop is the Temple of Nayru, somewhere near Zora's Domain," he reminded her. "Something has gone wrong there, as well. Kaiser is throwing the whole world out of balance. If you can't stop him, no one can."

"I know…," she said quietly. She sheathed the Master Sword and headed for the door, but turned at the last minute, throwing Valoo a grateful smile. Valoo returned it, and Moriko disappeared through the doorway.

Moriko crawled into her bed as soon as she got through the massive crowd outside the inn. She was dead tired now, and nothing could keep her up anymore. When she'd rejoined Navi and Taiki and headed back into Goron City, she been greeted yet again by the sight of cheering Gorons. They'd clapped her on the back so many times that she'd developed a large bruise there. It was painful using her arms, especially her right shoulder, but at least the Goron's had helped her heal most of her wounds. They'd taken her to a hot spring in a secluded area outside the mountain and given her the chance to relax.

That'd been the highlight of her night. The stars had been bright above her, and the water had warmed her just enough so she could relax. Even Navi and Taiki had joined her, and they'd had a great time skimming over the water like dragonflies. It had been magical.

After that, she'd been escorted back to Kakariko by Dane and a few of his friends. The villagers had crowded around her, asking her millions of question until roland had come to get her, swinging his giant hammer like a bat.

Now, she was back in her room, already half asleep. She had to go to Zora's Domain tomorrow…yeah…and figure out where…the temple…was…

She closed her eyes, drifting off into a peaceful slumber with her fairies sprawled on the bed beside her.

Takeshi's plan was ready. He'd been working hard with the redheaded woman to collect suitable people for it, and he'd finally found the perfect prisoners. Well, all except for one.

First, there was a postman who was imprisoned in the fortress dungeons about three years ago. He'd been put to work on pulling large blocks with several other men, but he was by far the fastest.

The next man was one of the stronger prisoners. He was really…really buff. He would take care of any obstacles in their way, as well as any monsters they might encounter.

The last person they needed to find was the person who'd been the deepest into the ruins. Even if someone had been in the ruins, they needed someone with a lot of experience to guide them out. Unfortunately, no one ever escaped before, so no one knew the entire way through.

Takeshi sat against the wall facing the prison bars, staring coldly at the stone wall beyond it. He had to get out of here, no matter what might happen. He would never give up, so long as Suzume was still out there somewhere. He had to keep working until the time was right. But still...guide or no guide, he had to go. He shook his head, discarding the thought. He desperately needed a guide.

The guards came and attached him to the chains with the other prisoners, yanking them out of the dungeons and into the sandy wasteland they were forced to work in every day. Today's workload was to be doubled, so they could make it in time for the Day of Reckoning. Apparently, Lord Kaiser had decided on a particular date for the day he regained all his lost power. Takeshi had paid extra attention to those conversations, even though he risked a beating.

"You two!" a nearby guard shouted, pointing to Takeshi and the redheaded woman. "You two will come with me at once!"

Both Takeshi and the woman paled. Had they been found out? They followed the guard quickly, ending up near the entrance to the ruins.

"You two will work here for the day. Stand still."

The guard bent down and unlocked their shackles, but didn't pause when he pushed them into the ruins entrance and closed the gate.

As the redheaded woman nursed her sore back, Takeshi looked around the ruins with keen interest. The walls were covered in pictures of wars and people, probably big leaders from centuries ago. Each picture went on for the entire wall-space it was placed on, which varied from twenty feet long to deep into the dark passages ahead. The distant sounds of grunting prisoners were many in number, causing Takeshi to cringe. He had to fix this. His conscience wouldn't allow him to forget it.

"Shall we go?" the woman asked. Takeshi nodded.

"Let's find our guide, be it man or woman."

"Oh, you're the chivalrous type," she said with an impressed smile. "You wouldn't care if the guide was a woman?"

"Not at all. I am in love with a free-spirited woman myself." He blushed dark red, but thankfully it was almost completely invisible through his sunburn.

The woman's smile faded to sadness. "I had someone I loved once, too. He was a wonderful man…and we had a child. I can hardly remember their faces anymore."

"You've been away from home for a long time?"

"Oh yeah," she groaned. "I miss them so much, but…I lost my husband, and that is why I'm here."

"Don't tell me…"

"Yes…the Gerudo killed him, then tried to kill me and my child. I vowed revenge for him, as well as for the others slain in the Gerudo raids."

It was silent after that, then a large hand reached out of the darkness and pulled both Takeshi and the woman into a nearby hall.

"I know what you're planning, and I want a part of it," a gruff voice said from the shadows. Takeshi stepped in front of the woman and glared at the barely visible man. He had jet black hair and green eyes. He looked almost...predetorial.

"What do you mean? Who are you?"

"You are Takeshi, correct?" the man asked, inching out of the shadows until his face was illuminated by torchlight. "I am a friend. I've been…listening in on your plans, and I think I can help. Let me join you."

Takeshi turned to the woman, who nodded slowly, then looked back to the new man with a nod.

"You can help, but you must swear you will tell no one else of this. Oh, and we can't speak each other's names. If one of us is captured, then the others will be somewhat safe."

"Of course. I am here to help. I have been deeper into the ruins than anyone. I once stayed in here for two days straight, leaving marks and trails all throughout the tunnels. I've almost made it to the end, but I figured something like this might happen." He grinned sheepishly. "Glad to be a part of the team."

Takeshi nodded, knowing full well what would happen next. They would come back the next day, with the others, and they would head all the way through the ruins and into the desert beyond it. All they had to do now…was wait.

Prince Zenith was going insane. Ever since that girl, Moriko, had left, he'd been going out of his mind with worry. Not about her, though. All his attention was focused on his sister. He had to find a way to save her. Heck, he might even be able to figure out a way to wake up that peasant, Suzume.

He wandered aimlessly about the library, trying really hard to take his mind off the subject. He had to find something to do to distract him. Every book he picked up reminded him of his sister, and worse, what she was going to go through. No one knew what would happen once she merged with the past princess, and no one seemed to be bothered by it.

The library door opened, revealing that Tanner kid. He wore his usual practice armor and equipment, but he seemed different. Almost…older, in a way. He dismissed the thought and glared.

"What?" he asked, irritated by the disturbance. Tanner cleared his throat, then spoke loudly.

"I'm heading to the courtyard. I'm inviting you to join me, since you've been cooped up all day."

The princes scoffed at the invite, but closed his book, joining Tanner by the dorrway.

"What do you really want?"

Tanner blinked, then looked at the window on the far wall.

"I'm worried about Moriko, that's all."

"Why her?" Prince Zenith asked angrily. "If you were loyal, you'd be looking for a way to save my sister! She's only thirteen and she's in a coma!!"

"Mind your voice, Prince. There are others here as well."

"I'll mind my voice when I want to!" he shouted, raising his voice. "I am of a higher social status than you, Sir Tanner! Don't you dare talk to me in such a way!"

He stopped to catch his breath when Tanner whispered, "I know how you feel, but there are other things we need to be doing right now. The world ends if the Triforce falls into Kaiser's hands, so let's do something to help Moriko along. She might've found a cure for your sister and Suzume already."

The prince was silent for a minute, then nodded.

"Fine. What do you have in mind?"

Tanner heaved a sigh of relief, then said, "I say we go meet Moriko and help her along. Maybe you'll get to try out fishing?"

The prince scoffed again, but smirked this time. "I've fished before."

"Not out in the wilderness, you haven't. Believe me…it's really fun."

Prince Zenith pondered the idea of fishing, then shrugged.

"Okay. I'll do anything to get out of the castle now."

"Then it's settled. We'll head for…uh…"

Tanner trailed off, then put a finger to his lips.

"You have no idea where she is, do you?"

"Not a clue."

"Great…"

"How about we just head for Lake Hylia? She said she had some friends up there, so maybe she's there?"

"Hey, I'm just tagging along," the prince said, holding his arms up. "I need to clear my head. I'll meet you out front tomorrow at sunrise. Don't be late."

Tanner nodded and took off down the hall, leaving the prince to head back to the infirmary by himself. He needed to say goodbye before he left on the trip. Hopefully it would only take a few hours to get there and back.

He entered the infirmary and went to his sister's side, gripping her hand tightly.

"Zelda, I'm going to be leaving for Lake Hylia tomorrow. I'll be back soon with a cure. Just sit tight for now."

---

He rejoined Tanner the next morning just as the sun peeked over the horizon, a small bag slung over his shoulder.

"Let's get going. I want to be back as soon as possible."

Tanner nodded. They headed through the courtyard silently and ran to the stables, renting two inconspicuous horses; everyone would know it was the prince if they rode the castle horses. They mounted their steeds and cantered as quietly as possible out the west gate, utilizing the thick fog that choked the land around them. It began disappearing as the sun began its rise, but they didn't need it any longer. They spurred their horses into a fast gallop, heading straight for the canyon that led to Lake Hylia.

Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah...boredom...I'm..sorta bored here. Ummm...I watched the Gram Norton show recently. It was absolutely hilarious! It had Marilyn Manson as one of the guests...too funny! I definitely recommend watching it. Wing Out.