Hello all. I have wonderful news to share. I have finally began writing my next story, Forever Together, originally by Magic Basher54986. Hopefully I will have it finished by the end of the summer (or winter for those of you in the northern hemisphere) at which point I will begin posting.
Chapter 14: Blaze of Glory
The interior of the sanctuary was incredible both in terms of grandeur and temperature. Rivers of molten rock flowed within many of the rooms making exploring appear impossible without the assistance of magic. A curious sight was the odd fruit that grew bountifully even inside rooms completely without sunlight, growing as though they received energy from the light emitted from the lava nearby. Picking one resulted in its thick flesh peeling back to expose an orb of cool water that would burst when touched. Perhaps their purpose served to provide hydration for any native wildlife or they had something to do with crossing the magma. Either way it was not the mystery the Peacekeepers had come to solve.
As Groose had predicted, the team stumbled around the temple without the Master Sword's guidance. In the past it had shown them exactly where to go thus enabling them to make better time exploring the temples. Without Link to lead the way, the group had to search every inch of the ancient structure carefully to find some secret that would lead them to their objective, the Fire Medallion. The process was slow and the intense heat was gradually eating away at their patience.
They had been searching for the best part of an hour now without much success. Midna had long since started cursing Link for his stubbornness. 'If he could have just been the bigger man for one measly day, we would already have what we came for and already be out of this hellhole,' she fumed. Her clothes were sticking uncomfortably to her sweating skin and her hair had been frizzed out of its natural smoothness by the heat. She could not wait to be able to take a nice, relaxing cold bath, right after she slapped her idiot boyfriend around a few times the next time she saw him.
Coming out to another open area of the temple only relieved them with a change of scenery. To the left there was a waterfall of lava streaming down, or more appropriately a lavafall. The occasional solid rock fell down the torrent, forming a makeshift stepping stone as it floated along the river. Crossing the magma flow, they come to a brick wall that took Callum's interest for some reason.
"What are you looking at?" Groose inquired. His pompadour drooped from being weighed down by sweat.
"Take a close look at this section here," the man instructed. "Now look at that section over there. If you compare them you can see a slight difference in the brickwork."
Midna examined the wall. She could only just tell that the first section that Callum pointed out appeared to be a different shade of colour to the second, and looked slightly more robust as well.
"So you think that there's some kind of secret hidden behind this thing like in the Temple of Time?" she asked.
If there was any skill Midna had picked up during her time working alone with Link it was how to notice when something was out of the ordinary as that usually meant something important. Although on this occasion the clue was not so obvious. If Callum had not pointed it out, she would most likely have walked right past it.
"Exactly," Callum nodded. "By the looks of it, this part here was built more recently than the rest of the wall. That would mean that someone has done some renovating long after this temple was originally constructed, and I believe I know who and why."
Callum ran his hands over the bricks, trying to find some kind of indentation or protrusion or something that would give an idea on how to pass through. His fingers passed over a red design that sank slightly deeper into the wall. The Peacekeeper pressed on it until a hidden mechanism clicked audibly. With a violent rumbling the bricks began to part, opening to a tunnel that ran further than the outside light could reach.
Conjuring a sphere of light in his palm, Callum lead the others inside. The passageway was barely wide enough for one person to walk through. Groose had to remove his cannon from his back in order to fit on an account of his burly size. The tunnel stretched deep within the mountain, descending at a rate so gradual it was almost unnoticeable. After a sharp turn here and a curve around there, the Peacekeepers entered a spacious cavern the size of a second-story building. Despite being inside a volcano, what they saw chilled their hearts as standing before a lake of magma in the center of the chamber was Ghirahim, black sword in one hand and a red disk in the other.
"What's this now?" Ghirahim smiled arrogantly. "Are you here to congratulate me on my most recent victory? It was nothing spectacular truly, though the medallion's guardian did put up a reasonable fight."
"Hand over the Fire Medallion and this won't have to get ugly," Callum told the demon bravely.
Ghirahim sneered at the man. "As if any of you could possibly be a threat to me. Where is your green friend, the Hero, if I may ask?"
"We don't need him to take care of you," Groose retorted. "A better question would be where all your goons are. What's the matter, couldn't they take the heat?" he challenged with a grin.
"Yes, that is precisely the reason," the Demon Lord answered neutrally, "As is the frailty of humans. It's pathetic really. I mean, how hard is it to find decent help in this day and age?"
Ghirahim paused for a moment then began to walk slowly towards the Peacekeepers. "I suppose since you have gone through all the trouble of coming to this place, I ought to reward you somehow." He stopped halfway across the distance between them. "I am quite generous so I will kill you all here and now and save you the agony of dying at my master's hand."
Callum drew his sword and held it out with both hands. "Get ready you two," he told his young allies, who also drew their weapons. "And hope that none of us die," he muttered under his breath as the Demon Lord charged at them.
Link had been inside the scorching tunnels of the Goron Mines in Death Mountain but they had nothing on this place. It was so hot that, even with him wearing his magical Goron Tunic, his armor was growing very uncomfortable as Scrapper carried him through the fiery mountain range. He had become a little anxious over the possibility of the flying robot accidentally dropping him. Flying above the clouds was one thing, there was plenty of time for Scrapper to catch him before he hit the ground, but here if Link slipped from the robot's grasp he would likely become the special ingredient in a volcanic soup.
He was relieved that he would not need to worry about that prospect anymore as the Hero spotted a man-made structure after they rounded a jagged peak. Making a beeline for the temple, Scrapper then hovered above the ground and unceremoniously dropped his load like a sack of potatoes. Link hit the stone floor hard with a grunt, instantly taking back every nice thought he had recently had about the old android.
"Well, here we are Mister Shortpants, zzzzt!" Scrapper stated. "It looks like your friends have already gone inside so I reckon you'd better hurry up and follow them. Anyway, I'm off. Try not to die in there or whatever, whizzt!" Before Link could reply the tiny robot zoomed off, quickly shrinking until he disappeared behind a cloud of volcanic ash.
Picking himself up, Link examined the scene around him. The door of the temple appeared as though there was meant to be some kind of trap blocking the way but it had already been deactivated. The stairs leading inside descended into darkness, a hot wind blowing up out of the entrance. He drew his sword and held it before him.
"Master, I detect two presences that may be of interest to you," Fi reported, materializing out of the blade. "One of which is Midna, though I am unable to determine her current state of well-being. The other is similar to the Forest and Light Medallions, most likely the medallion that was sealed within this sanctuary. Which of these would you like me to trace?"
Link did not have to think about it. "Midna. We can look for the medallion once we work out if she's safe."
As Fi disappeared from sight, Link had thought about what he would do once he found Midna and the others. He only came out here out of concern for Midna's safety and he was too proud to simply join up with her, Groose and Callum as if he simply had a change of heart. He was still mad at Callum so he was not about to do that. Instead, Link would catch up with them and so long as they were okay he would keep his distance, ready to jump in if something bad happened.
With his plan set, Link pointed the tip of the Master Sword out, triggering the humming glow of the dowsing function. The reading was strong so Midna was not that far away. Not wanting to waste any more time, the Hero of Light sprinted down the stairs two steps at a time, hoping that he was not too late.
Callum's sword locked with the cruel devil blade that threatened to cut him in two. He struggled to fend off Ghirahim as the demon pushed him back. The bloody gash that the Peacekeeper had recently taken made the effort a losing battle however. As such, he had no other choice but to retreat.
"Frost Burn!" he called, summoning bluish fire that streamed out of his outstretched hand. Ghirahim evaded the spell easily with a blurring sidestep. The stream continued on until it hit a stalagmite, encasing the stone in solid ice upon contact.
The Demon Lord smiled condescendingly at his adversary. "You'll have to do much better than that."
Ghirahim rushed forward again. Callum was barely able to defend himself and had to hold his weapon in both hands to block the incoming blow. The Demon Lord kicked out, catching Callum in the gut and sending him flying backwards. As he fell, Callum's head cracked painfully on a rock, knocking him out cold with a grunt. The demon approached the limp body, ready to finish the job when something blasted him from behind. Ghirahim howled in pain then turned to see what had dared to attack him.
"There's plenty more where that came from. Now back off," Midna challenged, black arcs of shadow magic charging in her hand for another spell.
The Demon Lord faced her fully, forgetting his previous opponent for the moment. "You should have joined me when I gave you the chance, girl," he said as he advanced slowly towards her.
"Like I said last time, no thanks."
"More the pity," Ghirahim frowned, "You could have had great power if you had accepted my offer. Now you will die just as your-."
He did not get the chance to finish as he was blasted into the lava pool by something that came from behind with a thundering bang. Midna looked to where the attack had originated and grinned at Groose holding up his smoking cannon.
"You have just been Groosenated!" he shouted triumphantly. "Thanks for keeping him distracted Midna."
"Any time," she giggled.
Her mood dampened when a movement drew her eye to the lake beside her. A shape had begun rising out of the glowing molten rock. Hot liquid streamed down Ghirahim's form in thick globs, his clothes burned away, his skin now black as coal and a murderous glare on his snarling face. A shining orange diamond stuck out on the center of his chest, similar to Fi's blue one, which had previously been obscured from view.
"You think that could have stopped me?" he growled, scooping up blobs of lava in each hand. "Fire is a demon's element!" Ghirahim threw the scalding gobbets at his enemies.
Midna flew out of the way while Groose rolled to evade the projectiles. As soon as the human was upright again he fired another shot at the demon. His target vanished before the shell made contact and reappeared right in front of Groose. With a slash of his black sword, Ghirahim cut the cannon into useless halves. His opponent disarmed, Ghirahim followed up with a blast of dark magic that hit the young man squarely on the chest. Groose screamed and curled up in agony. He was still alive and conscious but Groose was completely unable to defend himself.
Seeing the demon raise his sword over her friend, Midna had no choice but to dash straight into Ghirahim, shoving him well away from Groose. The two crashed onto the stone floor, Ghirahim rolling away from the force behind the Twili's charge. Steadily, they both found their feet again.
"You are starting to become a greater pest than that cursed Hero," Ghirahim growled, his fury almost palpable to the princess. The demon then brought back his weapon. "Now DIE!" he screamed, rushing forward to hack her to pieces.
Midna barely was fast enough to bring out her sword and deflect the incoming blade, thinking not for the first time how her Peacekeeper training had saved her life. Without both arms Midna would not be able to block against her opponent's powerful swings. So in order to fight back she kept herself moving, swatting the evil weapon away from her using the deflecting techniques Sarafi taught her. Thank goodness the rapier was light enough for her to wield single-handedly.
Ghirahim was pretty confident fighting a person who was already wounded. His attacks were almost lazy yet they still gave Midna trouble. After a short series of parries, she saw an opening and struck at the glowing crystal on the demon's chest. Ghirahim howled in pain, staggering backwards. Midna smiled at her accomplishment. 'So this guy really does have a weakness after all. That will be good to tell Link.' She frowned then, 'that's if I live that long,' she thought to herself.
Moving in to attack the orange gem again, Midna swung her sword with all the strength she could manage, only for Ghirahim to recover and grab the blade with his bare hand, involuntarily dropping the medallion in the process. The demon twisted the sword out of her hand and cast it into the magma pool. 'Not good,' Midna thought, watching the molten rock settle over the weapon. "Why the hell did I even bother?". Ghirahim interrupted her mourning as she dodged back from a diagonal slash.
Midna retaliated with a bolt of shadow magic, catching the demon in the chest and sending him flying back. Ghirahim shot back up and fired a sinister red beam demon magic at her with all his rage. Midna hastily erected a barrier to stop the deadly beam, gritting her teeth from the effort at the two energies met. She waited patiently for the attack to end, her strength running down with every second. Five seconds passed, ten, twenty, thirty seconds passed yet the energy beam kept coming.
When it finally did end, Midna collapsed to her knees, panting heavily. Before she could look up, Ghirahim teleported right in front of her and kicked her in the solar plexus. The demon stepped over his winded prey, planting a foot on her good arm then raised his sword skyward. Midna tried to warp but she was barely able to breathe and she was exhausted. All she could do was stare hopelessly at Ghirahim's sword, poised to kill.
'Link,' she closed her tearing eyes, 'I'm sorry.'
Link was mentally thanking each of the golden goddesses as he blazed through the temple corridor. With Fi's directions he was able to follow the most direct route to Midna so he did not need to worry about hitting any dead ends and wasting time. Even more to his luck, all of the traps he had encountered had already been disabled, meaning that Midna had gone down that path previously.
When he emerged out the other end, what he saw astounded him. Right before him was a river of lava, flowing down a cliff like a waterfall. Shaking his head to rid him of distracting thoughts, he pointed out his sword to check where to go. Following the blade's guidance, he crossed the river over floating stepping stones, coming face-to-face with what appeared to be a brick wall.
He had crawled through enough ancient temples to deduce that there had to be a secret passage behind so Link proceeded to grope the surface. His fingers came upon a slight indentation in the brickwork and pressed the hidden switch inward. With a loud rumble, the wall slid out of the way to reveal a dark tunnel that lead deeper into the mountain.
Inside the tunnel, Link thought he heard a strange noise. He closed his eyes, concentrating on the sound. It was the sound of steel striking steel. Link's eyes snapped open, there was a fight happening on the other end and if Midna was down that way then she was likely in danger. Abandoning all caution, Link charged a ball of light in his palm and sprinted down the tunnel as fast as the narrow space would allow, hoping that he would not see any of the dark scenarios that were playing inside his head. Along the way he heard an explosion, then two. 'What the hell is going on down there?' The clash of metal resumed after that, growing louder with each meter that Link cleared.
Relief washed over him as he saw light up ahead. Breaking out of the dark passage, what Link found before him stopped him in his tracks. Blocking his view of what he would have seen of the magma lake, a great beam of crimson energy streaked across the cavern. On one end he saw Ghirahim, palms held out at the source of the flow. Link could not see who was at the receiving end or how they were faring; the attack seemed to envelop everything in its path. Scanning around, he saw Callum on the ground unmoving and Groose writhing on his side not far away. He did not see Midna but ice-cold fear told him exactly where she was.
A black shape appeared when the red beam cut off. Midna collapsed to her knees, bent over and breathing heavily. Link began running again, racing to her aid. She was so far away though and before he made it even halfway Ghirahim popped out in front of her, kicking Midna onto her back. The demon stepped on her arm, raising his sword for the final blow. Anger and desperation consumed the Hero, driving him to run faster, crossing the remaining distance in a heartbeat.
Had he been more aware at the time, Link would have realized he was moving faster than any human had any right to. In the heat of the moment, he had cast Rabbit Dash without its incantation, but his focus was solely on protecting Midna. Link swung out his sword and met the demon's blade as it descended with the ring of steel.
"Where did you..." Ghirahim screamed in shock before Link pushed back the unholy metal away and struck at the demons chest gem, the most prominent spot the Hero noticed.
When Midna did not feel death come to claim her, she opened her eyes to see her Hero standing over her. "Link..." Midna whispered.
"Get the hell away from her, you bastard," Link growled venomously. He charged at his enemy again, his first strike being blocked but his second hitting home after bashing the Demon Lord with his shield. He swung a third time, a fourth, with each attack landing on the precious heart stone. Ghirahim recovered enough to dodge the next swing and return with his own. Link blocked the attack with his shield and made a jab at his opponent. As the two battled it out, Midna scurried over to where Groose was trying to rouse Callum.
"How are you holding up?" she asked. "That was a pretty brutal hit you took back there."
Groose grimaced, his hand clenched at where the curse had struck him earlier. "I've had worse. I'm more worried about Callum." He shook the man's limp body once more. "Come on chief, wake up."
A low moan came from the senior Peacekeeper and slowly he began to stir. His eyes opened slightly a few times only to shut again before they widened fully. Midna and Groose helped him sit up as Callum held his bloodied head. "What happened?" he rasped.
"You hit your head fighting Ghirahim," Midna explained. "Groose and I took over but we didn't last much longer. He was about to finish me off before Link came."
"Link's here?" Callum said before she could go on. He searched around him blindly, his vision still cloudy from his trauma.
"Yeah, and he's fighting Ghirahim now," Groose confirmed. He shook his head, "Guy's definitely a legend alright. We barely lasted ten minutes and Link's been delivering more pain than we did altogether in just two." As he spoke, the Hero easily evaded a long ranged cut of demon magic.
Callum attempted to get to his feet with the young man's assistance. "What about the Fire Medallion?"
Midna scanned the floor for the place she thought she saw Ghirahim drop the artifact. Her eyes came across a dot of red against russet stone. "There," she said. She moved towards the relic, trying not to draw attention to her actions. The battle had moved a fair distance away so Midna's path was clear. She closed her fingers around the medallion, its power warming her very being like a flame, soothing her anxiety and fatigue.
Back at the fight, Link unleashed a mighty spin attack to break Ghirahim's defense. "Thunder Strike!" he shouted, shooting lighting from his shield hand at the Demon Lord's exposed chest. The fiend flew back into a heap stunned. The Hero saw his opportunity and jumped at his fallen foe with sword point down. The Master Sword smashed into Ghirahim's center, causing the demon to scream in pain.
Ghirahim disappeared from underneath the Hero then reappeared further away, standing up and panting heavily. Link could not believe that someone survived his most powerful technique. Even Ganondorf only lasted just long enough to spit his final curses before he bled out. This monster was definitely in a whole other league than the Dark Lord.
Ghirahim threw back his head and roared with unearthly hate. "ENOUGH! I no longer care about that wretched artifact anymore!" Power generated in the demon's hands as he raised them above his head. Without warning, he released the energy in a beam aimed directly at the ceiling. The cavern roof exploded where the beam impacted, cracks stretching outwards like a spider's web. The entire room began to quake as rocks began to fall from above.
"My servants will dig out the key later," Ghirahim boasted maniacally, "along with your flattened corpses. Farewell boy, for the last time." And with that he vanished from the collapsing cave.
Ignoring the demon, Link turned his attention to his friends. "Are you all alright?" he asked them. Midna and Groose appeared battered though Callum looked like he had seen better days with red caking his scruffy black hair. 'At least none of them are dead,' he thought.
Midna gave him her trademark grin and nodded, then held up the treasure in her hand. Before Link could speak, a loud crack sounded from above. Looking up, a large part of the ceiling came loose, threatening to crush them all. Link closed his eyes and pulled Midna close on instinct in a futile attempt to protect her. She too clung to him for dear life.
A crash filled his ears yet he felt nothing. Opening his eyes, rocks surround him at all sides, only kept off of the group by a mystical blue light. He looked to his side to see Callum, hands above his head and struggling as though he bore the weight of the moon on his shoulders.
"We have to go!" Groose shouted. Midna was already ahead of him, creating a portal within the protective field that would lead to the outside.
Link saw that his father had not moved. "Callum, come on," he told him.
Still the man did not move. "I can't. Maintaining Nayru's Love is all I can do right now. Get out of here now before I lose the spell and we all die."
"What?" Link said in disbelief. "We're not leaving you. Midna can move the portal to you then you can escape."
"No," Callum refused. "If I leave then the shield will break and the rest of you won't make it out. Just forget about me. That's an order!"
Link shook his head stubbornly. "If you think I'm just going to let you stay here and die then..."
"Link!" his father stopped him. He gave him a sad smile. "I appreciate what you are trying to do but you can't help me. I'm sorry that I couldn't have been the father you deserved. It's my greatest regret among a list of many. I can never make up for my mistake but let me do this one last thing for you."
"Shut up," Link growled, his heart ripping apart inside his chest. "I'm not leaving you here to die and that's it, got it?"
"Groose, take Link and get him out of here," Callum ordered.
The larger boy grabbed hold of the Hero in a mighty bear hug, lifting him up off of the ground. Link kicked and thrashed to escape but Groose's grip was too strong. All Link could do was stare fearfully at his father as he was carried closer and closer to the portal. Midna stepped onto the black space and broke apart into Twilight particles.
"No! Let me go!" Link protested. "Callum!" he screamed as his body deconstructed and was absorbed into the portal.
Alone, Callum let out one final sigh. "Goodbye, my son." The shield faded and its load crashed downwards.
Part of the mountain crumbled in on itself, dust billowing from any hole or crack it could spew from. Link, Midna and Groose watched in anguish from afar as the thundering settled out of existence. The latter two did not know what to say to their friend, who stared numbly at the smoking temple. They had succeeded in their mission to retrieve the Fire Medallion. But was it worth the cost?
Wow, that ended darkly. This chapter took me the longest to get right and I had to revise a lot of things. Let me know what you thought.
EquinoxWolf.