I had such a hard time with this. idk why, but thats probs why its do dang long. anyways sorry for the wait and enjoy! some serious ish is about to go down.
A new color had appeared on the young hero, Link. One that Volga did not like at all. Since acquiring the Master Sword, Link had very noticeably become extremely cocky and reckless. To Volga, it appeared that Link now thought himself invincible. Volga glided lazily above the troops while these thoughts played through his mind. He had been avoiding the hero, if he was to be honest. His new attitude annoyed Volga to no end. The moment before, before Link claimed the Master Sword, he and the hero shared a something. Some sort of understanding that required no words. Volga knew, although he dare not say a thing, that he felt something for Link in that moment. A sense of longing, peace and well- happiness. Those emotions were rare to Volga and as precious as gold. He wanted more, he wanted Link. But not as he was now. Link had let a darkness into his heart that could end up hurting them all. If only the hero could see that.
Hyrule's army was now trekking towards Cia's strong hold. The Temple of Souls. Volga had never been there himself; Cia much preferring to go there alone, but he had known its whereabouts for a long time. It was too opulent and large to keep hidden. The dragon suddenly noticed a dark glow off in the distance. Pressing forward, Volga flew far ahead of the troops to investigate the sight. Sure enough, the Temple of Souls lay in wait. Volga turned back and dived towards the Princess. He landed on two feet with a thud.
Zelda raised her fist and the thundering footsteps stopped. "Volga, what did you see?" The Princess asked. Volga made sure to only look at Zelda, even though Link was right next to her.
"The Temple of Souls is just ahead. We should make it by nightfall at this pace." His voice was even and professional. Zelda nodded and turned to Impa.
"Right. We should rest for a bit before continuing. We need all our strength for this battle."Impa nodded in agreement. "Spread the word. We will reconvene in one hour."
Volga turned and leaped into the sky before anything else could be said. He didn't stay airborne for long, finding a tall tree to land on full of bushy leaves. The shade provided by the leaves made him instantly cooler. Volga took off his helm and after a few uncomfortable moments, unhooked the pauldrons from his shoulders. The battle ahead was going to be tough, tougher than anything the dragon had face so far. This moment of relaxation was important.
"Soooo this is where you're hiding."
Volga jumped at the voice. He looked around and quickly saw the bright blue hair of Lana. He rolled his eyes and let out a puff of smoke in frustration.
"What do you want?" He groaned.
"Nothing really." Lana swung her legs back and forth in a very playful manner. "You weren't with the rest of the group, so I went looking for you."
Volga said nothing and rest his head against the rough bark of the tree. He closed his eyes and imagined Lana was elsewhere.
"What's that mark across your eyes?" She asked suddenly, sounding a bit like a child.
"It's just my skin. I have the same mark on my scales." He answered without opening his eyes.
"Are there many Dragon Knights?"
"Yes, though most prefer to stay in their beast forms."
"Are fond of Link?"
"Ye- wait what?" Volga suddenly sat up and faced Lana. She had a mischievous smile playing her lips and her eyes were wide.
"You were about to say yes! Impa was right!" Lana shrieked.
"Wh-what so you and the Sheikah gossip? Aren't there most important things to be discussing." Volga felt a rush of embarrassment and confusion. He hated showing his age. Just how young and fickle he was…
"To be honest, we were concerned. At least I was…" Lana grew quite, and Volga noticed a familiar look in her eyes.
"Concerned? About the Hero?" He asked, ignoring her sad eyes.
"Yes. He's changed since he got the Master Sword. Impa pointed it out to me. At first I thought it was good for Link to get little confidence, but then I realized that it had grew. Into… what's the word-"
"Arrogance." Volga finished for her. Lana nodded and the two sat in silence for the better part of their break. The dragon had never seen the little sorceress so calm. He always imagined her being a whirlwind of energy even off the battlefield. Seeing her now, he rather enjoyed her silent company.
"Our time is up." Lana sighed as she stretched her arms above her head. Volga sighed and agreed, slowly putting his armor back on. Just as he was about to put on his helm, Lana turned to him. "You know, you never denied it."
"Denied what?"
"Your feelings for Link. You really are fond of him, aren't you?" Lana giggled. Volga recoiled from the girl; the unusual feeling of heat rising to his cheeks made him even more confused.
"Wh-what are you saying!? Listen, Blue-"
"Don't worry. I won't tell." She had an annoying smirk on her face. "You're not the only one, y'know."
And with that Lana glided down from the tree top, a giant leaf letting her ride the breeze. Volga stared after her, trying to decipher her words. He let out a puff of smoke in annoyance and leaped into the sky. Such thoughts were pointless when there was a battle to be fought. But if Lana and Impa had noticed his feelings, did that mean that Link did too?
Volga could smell the sweet scent of roses long before they came into sight. The magically grown plants looked almost comical next to the members of the Hyrulean army. The roses posed a problem though; with their thick fragrance, Volga couldn't smell anything else. Pin-pointing Cia was impossible.
"I am sorry, Princess. It seems that my senses are no use here." Volga apologized for the third time.
"It's fine, Volga. We just have to rely on other means of winning this. Besides, your strength is far more valuable to our fight than your nose." Zelda surprised the dragon once again with her kind words. They continued to walk, in a sort of tense silence as the Temple of Souls grew around them. Thick stone walls corralled them to the entrance where odd yet familiar statues began to dot the garden.
"Is that… wait minute, that's you, Link!" Proxi's little voice rang out amongst the group as she swirled towards a stone statue of a young boy playing an ocarina. Link stared at the figure, confused.
"That's not Link, Not our Link anyways." Lana stepped forward and placed a hand on the stone. "This is the Hero from another place in time. And over here…" she jogged ahead a bit to another, taller figure. "Is a yet another Hero. You remember when Cia opened the gates to different times? Well these are the Hero's from those ages. This is one is from the Era of Sky, that one from the Era of Time and that one over there is from the Era of Twilight."
Lana pointed to a statue, not of a person, but of a fearsome looking wolf. A light came on in Volga's head. That's why Link had such a wild look in his eye. At one point in time, he was actually an animal. Volga wasn't sure how to feel about that piece of information. Before anyone else could speak, a low rumbling noise caught their attention. Volga turned to face the temple entrance and was greeted with a grim sight. An overwhelming army of bobokins was marching to meet them. They poured out from the temple entrance, grunting and snarling like hungry animals. Standing above them, surrounded by a strange dark mist, stood Cia. The witch looked at Link with hungry eyes before noticing Volga a little ways away. Her face immediately contorted with rage.
"How DARE you show your face here dragon! After your betrayed me!" Cia's voice seemed unnaturally loud and haunting. Volga stepped forwards to address his former mistress.
"I did not betray you, witch! I never swore fealty to you or your cause. You forced me to help you!"
"I gave you such immense power! Power any sensible knight would have killed to have. But you spurned my gift and sided with these pathetic things instead-"
"Your so called 'gift' robbed me of all the free will had!"
"A small price to pay. See where your poor choices have landed you. Have fun dying!" and with a maniacal laugh, Cia turned and strode back into the temple. The rush of bobokins kept flooding the courtyard and were growing ever close to the Hyrulean army. Zelda bellowed orders to her knights, preparing them for victory that might not come. Without any other thoughts, Zelda and Impa lead the charge, with Link, Lana and Volga not far behind.
The first clash was a messy one. Although the bobokins were a weak race, their overwhelming numbers gave them more advantage then anyone could have imagined. Every time the dragon knight took down and enemy, five more would be ready to take its place. The little creatures blunt clubs were laughable at first whenever they managed to hit him, but after a while the blows began to bruise all up and down his body. Volga plunged deeper and deeper into the fray, surrounded by the Hyrulean army and Cia's. But eventually he realized that someone was missing.
"Hero?" Volga jumped back into his comrades, scanning the area. Without even realizing it, he had fought his way into the entrance hall of the temple. Volga quickly spotted the princess and her guard. The two women were standing shoulder to shoulder charging the enemy with encouraging vigor. Lana's bright spot of hair was a little ways away in the middle of one of the staircases. Her strange magic cut a path for her troops to climb a little higher every few seconds. But where was Link. Volga stood rooted to the spot; an odd and uncomfortable feeling began clawing it's way up his throat. Its wasn't possible. The golden boy could handle himself. He had the Master Sword after all.
"VOLGA!" the dragon attention was pulled back to the battle. Lana was leaping up and down trying to get his attention. Volga looked at the girl, confusion clearly painted on his face. She kept pointing? What could be more important than the battle in front of them? Volga followed her arm and what he saw made his stomach drop. It was Link, alone in a room with Cia. Several dark shadows crawled out of the ground around him, all of them took on a surprisingly familiar shape. Volga could see from here Cia's confident sneer and Links look of surprise and despair. The dragon knight wasted no time. He leaped into the air where he transformed into his beast form. The high ceiling wasn't high enough, and he crashed into the stone ceiling and watched parts of it fall. Volga flew as fast as the compact space would allow. The doors were closing, and Link was surrounded. The entrance was getting smaller and smaller, but no! He needed to get in there. He needed to help…
The door closed swiftly, and Volga crashed into the heavy stone. As he fell to the ground, he changed back into his human floor. Volga laid on the polished floor for a moment, dazed and slightly broken. Very slowly, he sat up and wretched off his helm. It had served its purpose and cracked down the center; it's magical properties protecting him even in his other form. Volga hissed in pain at the movement. Something else was damaged. But there was no time to find out what that was. Volga jumped up, ignoring his bodies protests and began pounding on the door.
"Hero! Can you hear me?! Hero!" the rest of the battle seemed to fade away. "Link! Answer me! What's going on?! Link!"
"Don't waste your breath, Volga." mocked Cia. Volga spun around and was met with Cia's staff pressed against his throat. The small witch proved to have unnatural strength as she force all the breath out of the dragon.
"Shhh… don't struggle. It only makes your death more pathetic."
Volga tried to speak, but Cia just pressed harder on his windpipe.
"Don't worry little dragon, I'll make it quick. For Link anyway. For you unfortunately, I plan to make you suffer. You are fond of him aren't you?" those last words seemed to be extremely important to Cia, her eyes flashing with a strangled desperation. Volga stared back into her eyes, unsure of what to do. His vision had begun to blur and his lungs began to burn unlike his normal fire. Cia turned her head to the side, as if trying to understand a foreign concept. She stepped back and released Volga, letting him drop to the floor. Volga tried to brace himself, but his weak shoulder simply crumbled and he fell face first. He greedily sucked up as much air as he could coughing and sputtering.
"Why is it, after all this time, I can't get what I want…" Cia had her back to Volga now. Talking more to herself then the dragon. Her voice seemed distant and almost sad. The change was startling. "I deserve him. I-I…"
"W-what are you talking about, witch?" Volga wheezed. Cia snapped back into her usual demeanor and turned.
"Nothing that concerns you. Looks like you have a little extra time. I have another matter to fix." Acting completely on instinct, Volga leaped at Cia and latched onto her as she disappeared. The uncomfortable sensation of teleporting almost made Volga let go, but he held fast for what felt like eons. The two reappeared inside the sealed room where Link was battling a small group of his own shadows. The Hero and the shadows were both momentarily distracted as Cia and Volga came crashing out of nowhere and landed in a heap on the floor. Cia shoved the injured dragon off her and stood in a visible rage.
"You- stupid- meddling- beast!" Cia reached for the top of her staff and revealed a long mace hidden in the weapon. She lashed out at Volga, trying unsuccessfully to land a blow. Volga rolled out of the way, unable to stand from the fast blows. His luck ran out as Volga leaned on his bad shoulder. Momentarily distracted by pain, Cia was able to land a crushing blow to Volgas chest. The dragon knight grunted in pain as he skidded across the ground. Cia laughed a shrill haunting sound and closed in to finish her prey.
"I told you I'd make you suffer!" she raised her staff, alight with her familiar purple magic and aimed. Before she could strike a Dark Link crashed into her, sending them both flying to the side. Volga looked over and saw Link, the Master Sword glowing slightly in his hand. He was breathing hard, his tunic and chain mail torn in some places. A deep gash appeared on his cheek and blood was dripping from his hairline. Volga's stomach gave a little lurch, but still he was relieved. He was alright, Link was alive and he looked okay. Battered, yes, but nothing serious. Link hurried over to Volga and helped him up. Despite his best efforts, Volga couldn't hide the pain from his face. His breast plate was cracked, caving in on his chest making it a little more difficult to breathe. Link was looking up at him, his eyes a mixture of worry and relief.
"How d-did you-?" he stammered.
"Call it instinct." Volga huffed trying to adjust his armour.
"But why?" Volga turned to Link now, something he had been avoiding for days now. For the first time in a while, he truly looked at the little Hylian. An overwhelming emotion filled every piece of the dragon. The feeling, although very different, filled him to the brim like Cia's magic had once done. This feeling though… it was warm and kind. It was light. Volga put his hand on Link's shoulder and without really thinking, pulled the Hero close to him. Link didn't protest, didn't question the gesture, but instead almost sank into the tall dragons embrace. Volga wrapped his uninjured arm around Link and let his head fall against his.
"I was scared…" when he spoke Volga's voice was barely above a whisper, but Link heard. The young Hylian dropped the Master Sword with a clang and wrapped his free arm around Volga's waist.
"I had a feeling you wouldn't let me die."
And then it happened. Without any thought, without any regret, without any hesitation; Link pulled himself closer to the dragon and kissed him. Volga felt like hatchling again. Nervous and full of energy. It wasn't long, it wasn't graceful by any means, but that little kiss was all either of them needed to express their true feelings. They pulled away and looked at each other with a new sense of happiness.
"NO!" Cia's booming voice drew them back to their plight. The Dark Link's had seemingly vanished, but their creator was still standing and ready to fight. Link bent down and picked up the Master Sword which seemed to be glowing even brighter. Volga stood, momentarily annoyed because he'd only now realized that his Dragon Pike was left in the hall outside. He rolled his good shoulder and prepared for hand to claw combat.
"YOU CANNOT WIN!" Cia raised her staff and five more Dark Link's appeared out of thin air. Neither Link nor Volga were worried. Volga turned to his new partner and saw a different kind of confidence wash over him. Instead of the arrogant air the power of the Master Sword gave him, Link was back to his old self. A courageous boy with a heart full of light. The Dark Link's charged and the two young men stood ready to fight. Just before they could begin, a blinding blue light enveloped both of them sending the dark figures reeling back. Volga opened his eyes to see their comrades now standing with them. Zelda, Impa and Lana stood surrounding them all looking rather relieved.
"Hiya!" Lana's cheerful voice almost seemed out of place in this situation.
"Blue? But how did you-?" Volga started.
"We couldn't let you two have all the fun, now could we?" She smiled as did the others. "Don't worry about things out there, we've gotten everything under control."
Cia hissed in anger. Clearly outnumber and beaten, she took a step back. But she wasn't going to give up that easily.
"You all are fools!" Everyone turned back to the sorceress, their smiles gone. "I will have my victory. I will have EVERYTHING!" her eyes darted to Link. Volga took that as a personal blow. "NOW DIE!"
The air around Cia swirled into a purple whirlwind. Suddenly it became full of a terrible, bubbling dark energy. Lana cast a protective bubble around them, but Volga knew it wouldn't be enough. The now towering wave of dark magic threaten to consume them. With one last look at Link, Volga grew into his dragon form and wrapped himself around his friends covering them with his wings. After a moment, Lana's protection began to crack and Volga prepared himself. The magic poured over him and seemed to burn his entire body. It wasn't a hot burn like he was used to, but an icy wave that weaved its way between his every scale. Volga roared and roared, unable to keep quite. His mind began to go numb, his whole world was just pain.
When it was finally over, when the darkness had run its course and Cia had disappeared, Volga unwound his body and shrank back down to his two-legged form. The last thing he remembered was Link running to him and the hard clank the remains of his armor made when he hit the floor.