9. Through the Fire and the Flames
Shout out to Magus Neon, Cnelson117, and darkman101 for reviewing and providing input, I appreciate your time and effort. Also for the people who are here for that M rating, the next chapter will have it.
With every step Link took as he trekked the path up Death Mountain, his thoughts cursed the situation he was currently wrapped up in. Climbing an active volcano to get a book from a castle which he assumed was filled with dragons if the name was anything to go by so that he could get help from the princess to find his brother.
"Ganondorf better appreciate the pain in the ass this has been." Link muttered as he began to feel the heat rolling off the volcano. The path he was on seemed to be carved from the stone leaving the walls at least 20 feet high on both sides. If nothing else this location was easily defensible even if there wasn't much to see aside from a set of steel steps laid into the path further a head next to a steep ramp. Although before he could question it a boulder rolled past him and up the slope with ease before uncurling and revealing the boulder was a Goron.
"Hey brudda didn't mean to rush by, you okay?" The Goron called over to Link with a worried look. To Link the Goron didn't have many distinguishing traits besides that his back seemed grayer than most like coarse stone.
"Yeah I'm alright, it's no problem." Link waved towards the Goron with a light smile.
"Alright good on ya brudda, have a safe climb to Goron City." The Goron in question grinned and wished Link a safe journey before curling up again and continuing up the path with great speed. Link couldn't help but chuckle a bit under his breath finding the Goron entertaining and rather hospitable despite that Link didn't know him. Although he had to admit, Link was just the slightest bit jealous of their mode of transportation it would make this climb so much easier.
After passing through a a large area filled with steam geysers Link found himself at a split in the road, in the cliff before him there were directions were etched into the stone telling him to the left was the way toward Goron City and the famed Goron Hotsprings. On the right hand path he could barely make out Highpeak crossed out with 'Warning! Dragon's dwell here!" etched under it. Link silently read that again and then once more.
"Bitch sent me somewhere infested with dragons..." The hylian muttered under his breath before looking at the path to his left again, it looked fairly simple and even, the path to his right however began to slope upward and looked more rugged, like the stonework hadn't been kept up for years.
A long deep sigh escaped his lips as he tilted his head back staring up the cliff face and the smoke that filled the sky above the volcano. First it was the village, then a spider god, now a volcano filled with dragons... "Mom is gonna kill me if I make it back..."
"Well that doesn't sound very nice." A deep voice came from beside Link making him turn so quick he almost got whiplash as he saw another Goron that gave him a wide grin. "Sorry to eavesdrop, I was about to ask if you were okay before you spoke."'
"Oh, it's alright sorry to worry you, I'm heading up toward Dragon's Keep or Highpeak, whatever its called." Link explained with an embarrassed smile however the Goron's grin faded and was replaced with a very worried look now as his deep blue eyes raked over Link. At this moment Link noticed a canvas backpack on the Goron's back and a tool belt over his shoulder with multiple hammers and tongs slotted along the black leather.
"That isn't a good idea, You'll end up roasted before you step foot inside." The stone-kin said quietly after appraising Link's condition.
"Hey I'm not exactly a klutz I can get in before a dragon sees me." Link declared feeling like the Goron's words were a sleight.
"No no, you misunderstand, Dragon's Keep is surrounded by lava flows, the heat will immolate you in no time flat." The Goron explained to Link as his bravado fell away and his gaze drifted to the ground now at a loss. How was he supposed to get a book from a castle that in all realty should have burned up the book. "Hold on, are you Link by chance?"
"Y-Yeah, that's me." The blonde answered confused looking at the Goron whose face quickly brightened up.
"In that case I have a delivery for you." The Goron replied before swinging his ba down from his shoulder and flipped the top open moments before producing a sheen of glittering metal which Link instantly recognized.
"My chain-mail." Link said with a faint smile as he accepted it from the Goron seeing that it was flawless, hell it almost looked better than before like all the metal rings were brand new.
"Heh why yes Renado asked if I would repair this armor for a hero that had saved Kakariko from the spiders and far be it for me to refuse the opportunity to aid a young hero." The Goron told Link as the boy lifted off his Tunic and slipped the chain-mail back on over shirt fitting like a glove before returning his green tunic to it's proper position.
"Thank you, it means a lot to me, I didn't catch your name mister?..." Link inquired wanting to use his name since he was kind enough to repair the gear that, for all intents and purposes, was his fault for damaging.
"Oh I am Daroos, happy to make your acquaintance young hero." The Goron happily replied before bowing which brought a faint shade of red to Link's face.
"N-No just Link, please." The flustered blonde caught the Goron's arm and stood him back up.
"Of course of course if you insist." Daroos said with a great deal of mirth about him however he seemed to become rather pensive before reaching into his bag again searching for something before producing a bottle to Link.
"What is this?..." Link asked curious as he accepted the bottle and tilted it around seeing that a thick pale blue substance resided within.
"To make a long story short, it's a Heat Resistance potion, it will allow you to reach Dragon's Keep." Daroos explained to Link as he swung his bag back up on his back.
"Wow that's awesome! But I don't have any money on me right now I'll pay you back for this though I swe-" Link began to promise but was swiftly cut off by the booming voice of the so far soft-spoken Goron.
"NO. It's a gift for what you did, I've become very fond of Kakriko and it's people so I don't want you to feel that you owe me a single rupee for my help. Be wary though the potion will only last until nightfall if you reach Dragon's Keep quickly, be out by then." Daroos said with a voice like the most resolute steel. Link could never have expected this and didn't know what to say so he bowed his head silently before feeling a heavy hand on his shoulder. "Be safe, Renado didn't stitch ya up for nothing."
"I will be, hopefully I can be in and out." Link answered the Goron as Daroos nodded and began to head down the mountain.
"Oh and their war with the Lizard-kin should distract them from you, probably." The Goron called out with his parting words but it only made Link's eyes widen. Great, now there's a gods damned war going on too! Link's eyes slowly narrowed before he turned to head along the path to Dragon's Keep.
"Why not!" The blonde yelled out to the volcano as he stomped his way along the path which eventually rose from the ground becoming ledge as he climbed further up. Although his journey ended not long after he had started his ascent, right when he ran out of road. It seemed like a boulder had fallen and wiped the path a head of him from the face of the volcano.
"None of this is going to be easy... Is it?" Link silently questioned as he began to look along the cliff both ahead and above him. The sheer stone left little for Link to use as a hand-hold let alone anything more. As his blue eyes continued along the ridge he spotted a fairly large stone that sat over the opposite side of the chasm in front of him. A faint scratching sound then reached his ears and Link swiftly pulled his sword while pressing his back to the cliff looking back and forth for the sound but nothing was there. The sound was there again but now it was from below, carefully Link peered over the edge when the sound came again now behind him. It was then that he could tell it was coming from his bag. After sheathing his blade he quietly opened his bag looking inside when a flash of green and black shot out latching onto his right hand and wrist.
"Ah what the hell!?" Link yelled and flicked his arm trying to get it off before realizing that it was the hookshot, or what became of the hookshot. It now had a slightly skeletal and spider theme looking more like a cage around his fist as he turned it over looking at it as the green flickered slightly. The bladed hook from before was now replaced with a three pronged blade and was far thinner looking like it was meant to pierce. It didn't feel like it was doing anything to him so he wasn't sure if he could consider it harmful, though he didn't really have the time to consider that. After Link secured his bag once more he took aim at the stone with the spidershot before tensing his fist and a green thread shot out and punched its way through the anchor with surprising ease.
"Damn... Got more punch than it seems."Link quietly looked at the taut spider silk line that attached to the stone and prepared to use it to swing over but just before he did, a tingling shot up his arm stopping him just in time before the rock beneath the stone gave way sending the huge stone falling as well. The sight made Link's heart jump scared that he'd be pulled down along with it but the line of spider silk retracted the blade like it was nothing leaving the stone to crash far below.
"Well... That's going to be so useful." Link mused as his gaze found its way to the cliff again. This time he felt like he was seeing it clearer, the spots that wouldn't support his weight, spots that were porous and would break away then he saw a section just short of the path. At this point beggars can't be choosers so he leveled his arm and shot at the spot where the blade sank into the cliff with a solid thunk. After a couple of test pulls to make sure it was stable Link ran for the cliff and jump swinging down along the face of the cliff. This moment was probably his most frightening experience he had willingly chose to take but at the same time his heart was beating so hard he could hear it in his ears. Once he was close enough the hook came free from the cliff allowing his momentum to launch him over onto the other side of the path safely, albeit shaken up a bit.
"Wh-Whoa! Damn... That was awesome! Not doing it again but it was awesome." Link exclaimed with a grin as he looked back over the gap with a sigh. Now that he had survived his first near-death experience of the day he raced along the ledge continuing up the cliff feeling the air become thinner and hotter. Before long it had grown darker but it wasn't because it was late, it was the smoke blacking out so much of the sky.
"Guess it's time, down the hatch." Link breathed out while getting the potion from his pocket and opening it. He expected the same off-taste as before but when the chilly substance touched his tongue it was sweet, like some kind of berry. Now that it didn't taste like some kind of medicine Link easily gulped down the contents of the bottle before he felt a chill run down his spine and his skin was slightly paler as the effects of the heat disappeared leaving him feeling as if he was standing in the forest back home.
"If everything tasted like that they would sell medicine better." Link mused as he set the bottle back in his pocket feeling almost at 100% if it wasn't for the climb itself. Regardless of that he wasn't far from the edge of the crater, ash now coated the path leaving the once red stone covered in gray. A few moments later he could see a flow of lava traveling down the face of the cliff beside him so thick that it still flowed slowly, with that he pushed further up until he finally came to the end of his climb looking across the blackened surface of the stone.
A massive castle stood placed what he assumed was the edge of the crater before the wall broke and now two rivers of lava flowed along side the keep, but that was just the beginning. A literal army of humanoid lizards were in the middle of a battle against real dragons, granted while the dragons were outnumbered they made up for numbers with shear power. Streams of blue fire ripped through the lizards leaving their bodies crumbling to ash but their cinders were replaced within moments. Larger lizards were also in the mix, some on two legs with massive maws, other in armor giving orders. While streams of fire could also be seen in the sky where wyrms wrapped around thee castle's towers were taking out flying lizards keeping them from entering from the sky.
"...I'm gonna kill her..." Link quietly cursed the princess as his left eye developed a twitch. He debated going back down and storming Castle Town rather than walking straight into the shit storm ahead of him but he had gave his word. And she was kinda cute.
A deeply irritated sigh escaped Link as he readied his shield and spidershot, he doubted he would be able to do much with arrows and even his sword would take a while to damage a dragon. From the path he had taken Link was positioned far to the left of the castle which faced North where the Lizard-kin were approaching from. Link began to move forward along the cliff leading to the castle while using his black iron shield for both cover and as a disguise hiding behind it and blending in with the scorched stone outcroppings that filled the area.
As Link came to roughly be ten feet away from the lava flow on one side of the river he heard a screech from above and readied his shield as he looked up. One of the winged lizards had been clipped by a wyrm's fireball and was now falling toward him with a smoking stump in place of it's left wing. The sight made it seem like time slowed as Link quickly tried to figure out what to do, there was no way that the wyrm wouldn't check to make sure the lizard had been felled but if it fell on him he wouldn't have time to hide or fend off the reptile.
"Screw it." Link muttered and brought his shield arm back waiting for the lizard to reach him and just before it hit him he swung around smashing his shield into the flying lizard hard flinging it into the lava before crouching down behind his shield before the worm turned toward him. To the beast it would only seem as though the lizard had crashed into the lava and it then turned back to the skies to fry more of the lizard-kin.
"Way too close..." Link sighed before aiming the spidershot at a window on the second floor of the castle and firing feeling the thunk of the blade transfer down through the line to his arm. As he flexed his fist the line retracted pulling him from the ground to the window in a matter of seconds allowing him to safely travel across the lava. Now that he was inside he could take a breath, or so he thought before a low hiss came from his right.
Link quickly turned in time for his shield to deflect the blade of a lizard as it came down with an incredible amount of speed, in truth if he hadn't blocked it the swing would've took his arm. After the ring from of iron and steel the beast leaped back creating space between the lizard and link as its head twitched from side to side taking in Link and appraising him. The creature in question was roughly a foot taller than him and covered in green scales with a white underside while it's off-yellow eyes darted to and fro, for the most part he could mistake it for an overgrown lizard if it wasn't for the long curved blade it wielded in its right claw ending in solid black talons.
"Well, still better than fighting a dragon." Link breathed out while drawing his sword form his back however the lizard's eyes narrowed staring at Link like it understood what he had said before swiftly dropping to all-fours and rushing Link closing the gap in the blink of an eye. Link's instincts were all that saved him from the wicked rising slash delivered by the lizard as he twisted his body to the side. Responding in kind Link countered with a downward slash striking clean through the lizard's arm at the elbow disarming it and leaving the creature with a bloody stump. Link almost felt bad until he saw it's dismembered arm vanish in a puff of black smoke, signifying to him that the beast was a monster like the others.
As the creature reeled in pain reaching for the arm it no longer had Link pulled back his blade before driving it straight into the creatures chest where its heart was. With a sickening croak the beast went silent before its body went limp and slid down the wall. With a sharp twist Link meant to pull the blade free but the lizard vanished in a cloud of smoke, while link should've expected it part f him had hoped he would be able to get in and out without earning the ire of either side of this war that he had been sent into... Still mad at her.
"Better keep to the shadows..." Link muttered as he stayed close to the walls while the sounds of roars, metal ringing, and... explosions filled the air. In truth he had no idea where he was going so he needed to find a way to get his bearings in the castle, maybe a map or something. The gravity of the situation pressed on him further as every moment made him realize how under-prepared he was for this venture. He struggled to repress an agonized growl as he looked around the corner of the stone hallway seeing it lead to a large open area with a chandelier. Link moved forward and slid pressing his body against the rail that lined the balcony of the large room he had entered staying low as he looked through the gaps of the rail. The room itself looked like a foyer as it was decorated with long gold and red banners tarnished gold ornaments like the chandelier above.
Below on the floor were a group of lizards hissing together, Link could see one of the larger more wicked looking lizards giving orders to three like the one he had just taken out while there were three separated from the group that looked completely different. One had red and orange stripes and two curved horns atop its head while it held a greatsword that glowed with flame, the next had purple and blue stripes with two forward facing horns similar to a bull and held a sword dripping mist from its icy edge, the last had yellow and green stripes a single curved blade-like horn and wielded a spear glowing yellow and arcing with electricity.
'Never gonna be easy...' Link mused to himself as the normal lizards raced off down different paths before the older lizard regarded the three horned ones, it seemed like those three were the leaders of the group and the other lizard was next in command. The three responded before the older lizard raced toward a corner of the room and into a hole surrounded by fresh red earth, it seemed like they had tunneled in to avoid being caught by the dragons outside. The three horned lizards then proceeded to go down one of the other halls that the first three lizards didn't leaving the hall empty. Link quietly stood up looking around the hall to be sure finding himself stuck between a rock and a hard place.
"Great I don't know where to go and now there are murderous lizards crawling all over a dragon's den." Link groaned while running his fingers through his blonde hair. "Well... At least I'm not on fire..."
The hylian shook his head before trying to find a way to go, in his mind he expected to find a library in a large open room on the ground floor so that the books and shelves wouldn't compromise the structure so that means check the first floor, filled with murderous lizards. Great.
With narrowed eyes Link headed along the balcony and down the stairs which lead him down to the floor of the grand foyer with four large halls splitting off from it and a massive set of steel double doors blocking the entrance. Well now he had a choice to make and frankly he chose one without three enemies in it. After reaching the ground floor he turned right and went down the corridor while keeping his guard up. Suits of armor decorated the hall and old portraits hung from the wall but he stayed focused knowing a lizard went down this path. Eventually he could see a golden light a head of him drawing him into a room filled with treasure, gold laying in a massive pile glittering from the light of torches ringing the room.
"Whoa... Guess the stereotype is true, dragons love their treasure." Link spoke to himself as he walked into the room leaning down and looking over chalices, saucers, crowns and the like until he saw what looked like not gold. As his fingers brushed over the metal he couldn't what kind of metal it was but he took a hold and pulled it free from the golden sea before him. Once he could hold it up to the light he saw that it looked like a shield, one made up of many parts and with a symmetrical design like wings making up the face.
"Wait where's the lizard..." The realization hit Link and he quickly tossed aside the shield before raising up his shield and turning around with his own just in time as the lizard he had been tailing crashed into him hanging onto the iron shield and trying to snap at him with its jaws. Given the situation he couldn't pull his sword without falling over or taking one of the lizard's attacks so Link instead turned his body and toss his shield flinging the lizard against the stone wall disorienting it just long enough for Link to pull his black iron blade and prepare for the lizard's next attack however it didn't come as that side of the room exploded sending Link flying back into the treasure. While many royals dreamed of swimming in gold it wasn't all it's cracked up to be, if it wasn't for the newly reforged chain-mail Link was positive he would've been impaled by a gods damned fork.
"What the hell was that?..." Link coughed through the debris of obliterated stone that filled the room and once it cleared enough Link almost jumped. What had caused the explosion was actually the head of one of the worms crashing through part of the keep, and under it was a crimson splatter from where the lizard had stood that now began to hiss as black smoke. However Link himself jumped as the wyrm moved but it wasn't getting ready to attack, the wyrm was dead, what made it move was whatever pulled the serpentine dragon from the room and into the lava beyond the castle.
"Oh that is a lot of nope right there..." Link heaved as he got up seeing the trail of crimson from where the dragon was dragged but then noticed something was missing. He quickly searched all over and even the bloody rubble before him but found the broken handle of his shield coming to the conclusion that it had been dragged along stuck to the wyrm's head after crashing into it and the lizard.
"Shit... Ganondorf is going to kill me..." Link quietly muttered looking over the bloodied handle of the shield that had saved him from so many things that he couldn't imagine not having it now. With an aggravated growl the Hylian kicked a bowl sending it skittering out across the black earth outside the castle before picking up the metal shield he found early. Granted it was lighter but it didn't feel like it was anywhere as sturdy as Ganondorf's shield as Link slipped it onto his arm feeling a great sense of loss at losing the shield his brother had made for him.
However he didn't have much time to grieve as a low hiss drew his attention to the opening that he had kicked the golden bowl out of. Another winged lizard like the one he had tossed into the lava earlier stared him down before leaping with its wings outstretched. Between it's jumping ability and wings its glide crossed the distance in a matter of moments leaving Link only a moment to react as he jumped out of the way letting the winged lizard crash into the pile of gold. Using the opportunity Link leveled his arm and fire the spidershot at the beast but it rolled out of the way as soon as it heard the click of the blade firing leaving it to sink into what looked like a large golden dinner platter.
"Of course it missed..." Link breathed out as the lizard looked at the line connecting back to Link before rushing him, however Link wasn't as stuck as it seemed, using what he could Link pulled back hard on the line tugging the gold platter free with a great amount of speed as it raced toward him and slammed into the back of the lizard's skull with a loud metallic clang, the impact alone impaled the platter on the lizard's horn while freeing the spidershot from it. Now with the creature dazed Link leapt into the air bringing his blade down across the creature's torso cleaving through flesh and bone with the dense black blade.
With the final blow dealt the lizard split in twain before bursting into smoke leaving Link heaving in a kneeling position as he watched the creature's blood hiss and disappear from his blade. A breath slowly escaped from his lips as he stood up and grabbed the metal shield form the corner of the room before heading back towards the grand hall, not much had changed but he could see that more of the red earth had piled up around the hole the older lizard had escaped through. That alone made him come to the conclusion that more of the reptiles had invaded the castle and considering what had just happened Link wasn't feeling too enthusiastic about more lizards.
"I'm just gonna close this up." Link quietly said to himself while reaching into his bag until he found his bomb bag. After retrieving it he took out one and held it under his arm before proceeding to dump the whole bag into the tunnel. After what sounded like a group of confused hiss Link lit the bomb he still had and drop it in as well before walking off toward the next hall he intended to search just before the explosion went off collapsing the tunnel and burying the lizards within.
With that bit of violence out of the way Link quietly hummed while traversing this hall feeling accomplished as he checked the rooms along the way, most were simple rooms with the stones pulled up so that the dragons could create beds or nests. Scratch marks, shells, and hay laid along the ground so he wasn't sure what else they used it for. With a shrug Link continued further along until he heard banging from around the next corner. He moved close to the wall before peering around it seeing one of the Lizards with a large two-legged one beside it, this new lizard was at least half as tall as Link was with glittering gold and green scales lining its body while it rammed its head against a steel door. However the two didn't seem to get along as every time the normal Lizard tried to direct the hulking one it roared at the first with massive jaws that looked like it could bite the reptile in two.
Given that Link had just used his bombs he didn't have much else to do besides fight directly which wasn't his usual style. Silently Link stowed his sword and shield while pulling out his bow and an arrow pulling it back while looking around the corner. The larger reptile had a bare crimson tail, it could be a weakness or an old wound, given the two lizard's dispositions Link figured if he could piss the big one off it could eat the other one and make the fight easier on him so he shrugged and leaned out just enough to make the shot. With a quick thwip the arrow flew piercing into the beast's tail and causing it to roar in pain, Link swiftly ducked back around the corner and waited for the carnage to begin while the other lizard made worried and confused noises until finally there was an explosion.
Wait... explosion?
Link quickly looked back around the corner to see that there were two smoldering bodies, although one was half blown apart. Link didn't quiet understand how that happened but at least it took out both of them. The explosion itself ripped the door form its hinges ironically opening the way they had meant to go, Link put away his bow assuming that there would be no lizards inside given the situation however it took a while before he could see through all the black smoke and into the dark room. Within it seemed like a simple room with a small nest, roughly the size of Link, a water basin, and a food plate? Could be a trough, the plate had fresh met though some of it scorched.
"Why were they trying to get in here? There's nothing her- OH MY GOD!" Link begin to say before a bright flash of red filled his vision and he felt scales cover his face and what felt like scratching on his neck. It was kinda ticklish...
"DIE YOU STUPID LIZARD! YOU'LL ALL DIE FOR WHAT YOU DID!" A voice screeched out but it was young, younger than Link himself and that made him realize what was going on. Link reached around the flaps encasing his head and gently pulled them off and away from his face as he looked at the small crimson dragon glaring at him with eyes raging with flames as its breathed rush from it's small body the size of a cat. There was more than that though, streams fell from it's eyes.
"Hey now hold on, I'm not one of them." Link tried to explain while shifting the dragon to hold it in his hands but it's tail tail quickly whipped out against his cheek with a harsh crack, in truth that hurt him more than the bites the dragon tried to give him.
"LIAR! WHY ELSE WOULD YOU BE HERE?!" The young dragon roared at him as Link finally managed to hold it in a way that wasn't uncomfortable.
"Listen. I came here because someone asked me to find a book, they didn't even till me what was happening here." Link quietly said being tolerant of the dragon's anger knowing that it was a product of the war around it.
"So you're a thief!" The dragon spat with a growl still directing it's rage at the blonde.
"No I wanted to try and work a deal out but then I found out all this was going on." He said while looking at the dragon seeing most of the anger disappeared it still watched him in anger. "Look... I'm Link, what's your name?"
"...Volga, the 13th born of the great dragon Galovia!" The dragon proudly proclaimed while straightening his posture, however immediately after his gaze fell to Link's tunic but he was looking far further away. "I'm the last of my brothers and sisters... My mother locked me in here for my safety but I can't just sit here while they're attacking."
"I... I'm sorry for your loss, but I'm sure your mother just wanted you to be safe." Link tried to calm the young dragon while petting the scales atop it's head not sure to handle a dragon let alone something so young. "Well you won't be safe in here, I can keep you with me until we find your mother if you're alright with that?"
"You'd take me?..." Volga quietly asked while looking up at Link however his eyes hardened and his head snapped forward as he shot a small missile of fire past Link's head followed by an explosion. Link quickly turned around confused as he saw a tiny version of the large creature he had blown up earlier fall to the ground and curl up before bursting into smoke. "Stupid Dodongos... The minerals they consume make their body similar to gunpowder regardless of how aggressive they are."
"What?..." Link silently asked looking at the dragon as it climbed up his arm and folded its wings laying around Link's shoulders.
"I'm young, not stupid, tons of books here remember?" Volga quietly teased as Link gave him a look before sighing and beginning to leave the room before he felt an intense heat around him bringing him to his knees as he began to gasp for air. The potion must have worn off and now Link was almost literally in the frying pan.
"Link?! What's going on- oh humans can't normally be here because of how hot it is, I can fix that." The dragon moved it's position before lightly biting Link's neck which actually pinched this time but slowly the heat began to fade away again. "The dragon's blessing, makes anyone bestowed with it immune to heat for roughly 3 hours."
"Thank you... I would've burned alive without that..." Link gasped taking huge gulps of air now that every breath didn't scorch his lungs.
"Don't mention it, think of it like you're my vassel, now onward!" The dragon claimed oh so royally before Link chuckled and climbed to his feet. It was cute in a way though Link had no doubts it would wear off eventually, the cuteness that is. Now that he could breathe Link traveled back down the hall while Volga silently looked around at the castle seeing how little and how much had changed. As they reached the grand hall again his head tilted seeing the still smoking crater in one side of the room before looking at Link.
"They dug in and I blew up the hole." Link shrugged avoiding the dragon's gaze.
"Eh it's fine. This place is sturdier than it looks." Volga commented while Link looked around the room knowing the ways he had been through already, though he now had a different goal.
"Where do you think your mother would be? I didn't see a huge dragon when I made my way inside." Link asked while Volga sniffed the air before recoiling.
"Ick lizard stink, um she should be in the courtyard waiting to crush anything that managed to reach the deepest part of the castle." the dragon chirped while looking at the hall for a few moments before realizing Link didn't know the way. "Oh it's through the upper hall on the right, then its a straight shot the- AAAAHHH LET ME GO!"
"Volga?!" Link quickly turned as he felt the dragon pulled from his shoulders and Volga's voice pierced the air. The dragon hung in mid-air like it was flying but his wings were still closed, slowly color begin to appear, a long pink muscle spanned upwards about ten feet before revealing a maw and crimson scales around it, then orange and twin curved horns, it was the fire lizard he saw earlier. The creature let out a creepy chuckle as it opened it's jaws and began to pull Volga up towards its mouth.
"NO!" Link called out as he readied his bow and reached back for an arrow, however the lizard saw his actions and fired a ball of flame into his quiver destroying his arrows in a single act. Link's gaze grew hotter as rage boiled within him, he wouldn't let this happen to someone he had just promised to protect! As his blue eyes scanned the room they finally found something, Link turned and rush for the destroyed hole before reaching down and grabbing a stone roughly the size of his fist and hurled it straight for the creepy laughing lizard's mouth. Link heard the effect before he saw it, a loud crack as the lizard fell from the balcony holding its mouth as blood and broken teeth laid across the stone floor. More importantly Volga was safe.
"Volga let's go!" The hylian called out to the dragon mid-sprint however he felt like he had just slammed into a wall as he was sent sprawling back on the stone. Before Link color started to emerge again, this time blue and purple, the ice lizard had blocked him.
"LINK!" Volga's voice snapped the blonde's attention to it's location as Link saw the lightning lizard carrying him off down the hall the lizards had taken earlier with the fire lizard following close behind it. The ice lizard however stared Link down before following after them, Link quickly got to his feet before rushing after them and down the hallway as he drew his sword and shield. A fire was burning inside him now, after everything that dragon had gone through Link would NOT let him perish like his brothers and sisters.
However as he passed a suit of armor he felt that he was suddenly grabbed by the shirt and pulled behind it. This time he was ready to act although he wasn't ready for the touch of soft skin against his lips. This time when color emerged he saw deep blue and white cloth with a somewhat familiar red eye-like design though he couldn't place it. What sparked his anger was the pale skin, crystal blue eyes, and blonde hair framing the face of the woman who had sent his ass up here to begin with.
"Shh, keep your voice down or they'll find us..." The 'figure' quietly said while peering out around the corner to see if the coast was clear but Link was far past stealth.
"What the hell do you mean keep my voice down?! Why the hell are you even here when you sent me for your stupid book?!" Link's voice was ringing off the walls now and while most people would probably recoil after being yelled at Zelda just blinked in shock.
"W-Wait how do you know it's me?" She asked her voice stuttering slightly but that did nothing to quell Link. "And you were taking too long so I came and got it."
"I took too long? It's barely nightfall! And I can tell it's you because I'm not a retard from the country! You have the same pale skin, the same blonde hair, the same blue eyes, and the same lack of an ass or tits!" Link yelled as he finally had enough of the princess's games, he didn't care anymore if she helped him, she threw him into a volcanic castle that was in the midst of a war between dragons and lizards and then she decided to come get the book herself because he was taking too fucking long?!
Zelda acted rather nonchalant at his reaction to her being there but his opinion didn't matter, although the next part as he listed her characteristics didn't stun her and sure enough as she checked her eyes she was missing the color enchantment she used for her disguise. The last part however about her not having an ass or tits turned her face beet red and she brought her hand back aiming to slap him as hard as possible.
"HOW DARE YOU! YOU INSUFFERABLE PEASANT WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE CALLIN-" Her words were cut off as soon as Link grabbed her wrist staring her down with the eyes belonging to a beast, not those of a simple farm boy.
"I. Do not. Give a damn. About how you are. I'm tired of your fucking games. Take your precious book and get out now before you get caught." With that Link shoved her back making her fall on her lack-of-an-ass though it was on the red carpet before he walked past her stopping only to glare back at her. "I can't believe such a worthless person is the heir to the kingdom. Enjoy your stupid book."
Link took off not wasting another second as he went after Volga cursing the time the 'princess' made him waste. Zelda however stared after him with hands and lip trembling, she couldn't believe that someone had actually talked to her like that. False anger rose up in her but she simply sighed, she would have troops sent to hunt him down and bring him before her but he wasn't wrong, she wasn't in any position to rule the kingdom and maybe she never would be but she was trying as hard as she could to claim her birthright dammit!
"Heh, let's go." The rough voice of Impa pierced the air as she stood leaning against the wall beside the princess still hidden by the magic the two were using to infiltrate the castle.
"...I can't believe you let him do that to me." Zelda quietly muttered before climbing to her feet and reactivating the spell.
"I just got here, I have no idea what you're talking about, did you find the book?" Impa was obviously lying finding the whole exchange rather amusing in regard to the woman's ward. Maybe that boy would be the one to make her see what she needed to, Wisdom comes from within.
"Yes I found it, hopefully this tome will teach me what I need." Zelda mused but Impa could only shake her head out of sight. Maybe not.
"VOLGA!" Link braced his shield as he ran into the double doors at the end of the hallway slamming into it and forcing it open making the lightning and fire lizards jump just as the lightning one was about to eat Volga. "Drop him now!"
The lightning lizard only rolled his eyes before holding Volga out for the fire Lizard to hold, while it did the Fire lizard was still rubbing its mouth from the broken teeth Link had caused earlier. The lightning lizard grabbed it's spear, sparking with electricity as it moved closer to Link tapping the tip to the ground making sharp zapping effects as an intimidation tactic similar to how ranchers would use a whip to herd animals. Link wasn't having it though, once the lightning lizard was close enough Link darted in using his sword to bat away the spear without touching the electrified spearhead then raise his new shield slamming it into the lower jaw of the lizard lifting it clean off the ground.
The blow shocked the fire lizard causing him to lose his grip on Volga's mouth allowing the dragon to speak. "Link they're Lizalfos! These three can use fire, ice, and lightning, they can also camoflague themselves to become invisib-"
Volga was cut off as the Fire Lizalfos grabbed his mouth again but that was enough for Link. Before he could deal a finishing blow the Lightning Lizalfos jumped back hissing through its broken and blood maw as the Ice Lizalfos made a short sound like a chuckle at seeing it's kin being beaten. This time the Lightning Lizalfos reared back and threw its spear straight at Link, given the nature of the weapon Link turned his body out of the way rather than blocking it and risk being shocked. Though in that same instance the Lightning Lizalfos was already right in front of him. Reacting on a dime Link brought his blade across his front aiming to deflect an attack but he actually cut off the Lizalfos' horn sending it skittering across the stone floor as the lizard crashed beside Link feeling for its horn. Taking the chance Link brought up his blade and sank it straight down into the Lizalfos' neck, a few moments later the lizard faded away as black smoke.
"Who's next?" Link breathed after pulling his blade free from the stone ready to keep fighting as his gaze darted back and forth between the fire and ice Lizalfos'. They each took a look at each other before the Fire one threw Volga to the Ice who caught it and watched as the Fire Lizalfos lifted its greatsword and moved toward Link. In contrast to the Lightning, the Fire was slow and menacing as it came closer, Link slowly stepped back watching it getting ready to move when he saw an attack. However when it did attack Link wasn't expecting it, the creature leaned forward and launched a ball of flame from its maw forcing Link to leap to the side and that was when the Fire Lizalfos swung the huge fire blade in a wide arc aiming to cleave Link in two with a single blow and it would have if it wasn't for the shield he had. Although the force of the blow still sent him flying across the stone floor.
With the wind knocked out of him Link slowly moved to his feet as he gasped feeling his side making sure his ribs were still intact. Once he was sure he got back to his feet watching as the Fire Lizalfos stared him down. Now that Link understood how it fought he could counter it, This time he dashed in closing the distance fast and watched for his opening, it was when the beast opened it's mouth and that was when Link threw his shield right into the Lizalfos' mouth making it's throat bulge and glow from the fire within. That moment was all he needed, Link plowed straight into the Fire Lizalfos impaling the creature on his blade.
"Link move!" Volga called out as Link turned to see the Ice Lizalfos grab a hold of him in a bear hug while the Fire Lizalfos burst into smoke.
"Ah shit..." Link gasped as he felt the cold body of the reptile clinging to and crushing his own, that wasn't all though ice began to spread across his body from where the beast was holding onto him if he didn't find a way out he would be shattered. It was then that he felt something welling up inside, but not within himself it was beneath him inside the volcano. The cold seemed to disappear as the pressure built up and Link felt the heat surging beneath and around him.
"Get. Off. OF ME!" Link roared as an inferno burst from his body erasing the ice that had been coating his body and trapping the Ice Lizalfos in the inferno as Link projected the flames of the volcano through his body. The wildfire around him was like a tempest of heat as he turned to see the Lizalfos blacken then crumble away freeing himself before the flames finally ceased. Although with that surge of power Link had to have exhausted most of his mana and he fell tot he ground heaving but he understood what happened a bit more this time. "F-Fire... Magic..."
"Wow... That was so cool! I didn't know you could do that, you should have told me!" Volga happily yelled flying over to Link and looking him eye-to-eye, the dragon looked genuinely happy and impressed with his 'vassel' so Link just gave him a grin and reached up to pet his head earning something between a coo and a purr. Link slowly pulled himself up into a sitting position feeling the exhaustion of using so much mana in one go, though now as he looked around he realized he was in the library, the irony isn't wasted.
"I couldn't do it until now, are you okay?" Link said as he looked at Volga what had climbed back up his arm to his shoulders.
"Yeah... Thank you for saving me." Volga replied quietly seeming to swallow his 'royal pride' but Link was just glad he was okay. While Link appreciated their moment of peace it didn't last long, the entirety of the castle began to rumble before half of the library seemed to collapse filling the room with dust and making the two cough. When enough of the dust had cleared to where Link could finally see it looked like a wall had fallen from an upper level, until it began to move.
Slowly the obstruction moved revealing that it was actually the back of a massive dragon easily the size of the keep itself. A gigantic dragon covered with dark, red scales and it's lower body beige in color, with noticeable scars on it's stomach and neck. It's back had multiple black spines reaching down from the back to the end of it's tail. It's eyes glowed in a yellow hue blocking any detail Link could make out. Although the massive bat-like wings and fangs that looked more dangerous than any warrior's blade caught his gaze when the beast looked his way.
"Volga? YOU DARE TRY TO TAKE THE LAST OF MY KIN?!" The dragon roared at Link it's massive maw beginning to glow bright with flames.
"MOTHER NO! HE SAVED ME!" Volga's voice echoed in front of him as the crimson dragon swiftly moved around and spread his wings out in front of Link defending him. Despite that Link couldn't imagine her hearing her son of the roar of her flames her maw closed and her golden eyes looked over her son and the Hylian.
"If what my son says is true, take him from this place and protect him. GO NOW!" After the dragon had given her orders she rose up from the ground and turned back to her battle. Once Galovia had taken to the sky again Link saw the carnage that had transpired, most of what used to be the keep had been demolished and sank into the lava that was pouring from the volcano. However it wasn't the volcano, something in the lava was attacking, molten globs flew from the glowing rock aimed to strike down the mother dragon though they missed Link could see them lose their glow and become shiny as they fell back to earth.
"Lava that shoots metal... K I'm fine with leaving." Link decided forcing himself to his feet ready to leave but Volga hovered there watching his mother. Link wasn't blind, he could see the desperation in the dragon's eyes, he wanted to do something he needed to do something to fight along side his mother. "You aren't leaving are you?"
"No. But I don't know what to do either..." It was in that last word that Link heard the dragon's voice crack and he made up his mind.
"Well I'm a bit winded but lets see what we can do, and if we survive please tell your mom not to eat eat me for disobeying alright?" Link playfully teased Volga as he held out his arm.
The dragon just stared at Link not knowing what to say and dropped onto his arm moving up to his shoulders. "Alright lets do it."
Once Volga was safe Link raced out through the way that Galovia had created though he almost fell now that the platform they were on was at an angle. Once they were outside The mass of lava climbed out of the lava and roared with a force the shed the lava form it's body revealing a massive creature somewhere between a lizard and a dragon. The creature had massive legs and was hunched forward with a long tail and wickedly clawed arms, along its back were twin rows of what looked like crimson crystalline spines dividing roughly at its hips where the spines grew into larger shield-like plates, its head was simple and resembled the other large lizards Link had seen except for the small silver horn jutting from it's snout as the lava illuminated revealing dark blue and silver scales covering its body.
"The Dodongo Queen..." Volga breathed out quietly as a shiver went through the dragon's body. "They're rarely ever seen besides in situations where they mean to take over territory that the other Lizard-kin can't, they eat ore veins exposed by the lava in their breeding grounds making them far more resistant to heat but also vulnerable to physical attacks so they-"
Before Volga could continue the queen began to gag and lean its body up before it finally spit out molten metal along its own body and as it slowly cooled it's body became covered in armor from the cooled metal. "-So they make armor by throwing up the molten ore... So gross."
"So a massive lizard that can coat itself in armor... Great..." Link quietly muttered while he gripped his sword and shield tighter. "I could really use some arrows right now..."
*Command Accepted; Entering Requisition Mode." A voice chirped out from Link's right arm.
"...What?" Link silently asked as he looked at his shield watching as it begin to whirl and shift, the face of the shield split open becoming wings while the core of the shield became a bird like machine. Before Link could say anything or react further the mechanized bird leapt from his arm and flew off away from the battle. "...Why not? Fucking incredible."
"What was that?" Volga asked quietly looking from him to the bird vanishing in the distance.
"I have no idea I found it in the treasure room after I lost my shield." Link sighed so tired of how things had been going.
"Well... The better to swing your sword with?" Volga offered with a wry smile however the look Link shot the dragon made him quickly look away.
"Yeah I've got my sword..." Link said quietly looking at the black blade his brother had made for him. "The sword is enough, I just need to find a way."
Volga looked at Link confused before looking at the sword, the Hylian however pushed off the ground running for the collapsed castle and leaping up the stone bricks that stuck out like stepping stones. Once he had reached the roof he ran along it until he reached the edge and jumped reaching out for Galovia's tail managing to get a hold of it before she flew higher into the air avoiding the queen's next barrage of molten metal.
"The hell are you doing?!" Volga squeaked as he clung to Link thinking the blonde had lost his mind as he began to climb up the dark red scaled of his mother. It took a fair amount of time and the dragoness's aerial maneuver certainly didn't make it any easier.
"Well if all I have is my sword, I need a way to make my sword more effective and right now that means trying to stab it as far into that thing's face as I can." Link grunted at the dragon's lower back now. Volga remained quiet for the remainder of the climb until Link stood on her shoulder getting a grip of her scales just before she fired a stream of white fire in a torrent that ripped the armor from the queen making it roar before beginning to gag again.
"Mother! We need your help!" Volga called out which shocked Link and caused Galovia to turn her head and look at the two of them with narrowed eyes.
"I told you to leave!" Her voice boomed shaking Link as Volga climbed down his arm looking her face to face.
"We don't have time, trust us! We can beat the queen!" Volga roared back just as the Queen Dodongo began to coat itself in molten metal once more. "Blast off the armor and throw us at it!"
"Wait throw?" Link asked but was drowned out by the flapping of the massive wings as Volga wrapped himself around Link's forearm.
"...Very well my son." Galovia quietly accepted reaching up to take Link in her claws hand before looking back at the queen as she began to launch another flurry of molten metal at the dragon. Her glowing eyes narrowed with resolve as she gathered a large breath followed by a wicked roar of flame as the pure white fire crashed into the Queen Dodongo tearing off it's armor again. Once the beast was stripped Galovia brought back her arm and threw Link and Volga straight down at the massive reptile.
"Focus your fire! I'll amplify your mana!" Volga's voice echoed through the rushing wind and Link did as he said channeling his fire down along his arm and his blade then something unthinkable happened, volge merged into his arm and crimson flames shot up his sword changing it and turning it into a great red and orange blade with a flame pattern edge. "Do it now!"
"Right! No giving up!" Link said as he pulled his blade back not having time to be dumbstruck by what happened as the golden triangle on the back of his hand glowed brightly out of view lending it's own power to the blow. Moments before making contact Link turned his body and swing down the fire blade with as much force as possible yelling as the blade struck and the stream of flame exploded piercing straight through the Queen Dodongo as Link shot down along its back running between the two rows of spikes before finally leaping off the lizard's tail.
'Brother... Did you see that?' Link silently thought to himself while he fell to the ground below. As his body hit the stone he tried to roll to minimize the impact but he didn't time quiet right as he hit the ground hard.
"Ahh! Fuck..." Link winced dropping the sword and Volga instantly reformed moving up to Link's head checking on him before the two heard a crack. They both looked at the Queen to see it frozen in time with a glowing gold line spanning from it's snout to half way down it's tail, nothing moved until the silver 'horn' that had sat in it's head landed point first in the shattered piece of the courtyard. From there the ground began to splinter breaking off the section they were on and sending it floating with the rest of the lava stream created by the battle between queens.
"Well... Killed a massive lizard and now I'm gonna die by lava..." Link sighed to himself feeling himself being carried on the chunk of earth.
"Don't be so quick to accept your fate mortal." Galovia's soothing voice came from above as she reached down to take him form the piece of rock.
"Yeah you're right..." Link smiled quietly with his eyes closed before getting up and heading towards Galovia's hand but he heard something that made him turn around looking at the wreckage, the lava, the silver shard. Link couldn't tell what it was but it was like a whisper filling his mind.
~You'll... With me... Right?...~
~Link... I... See you later...~
The words all seemed to blend together like wind but the voice felt familiar as Link held his head and moved toward the shard grasping it before pulling hard to dislodge it from the ground. The voices all stopped once he had pulled it free but the platform broke again now into many more bits of rock but before he could fall in Galovia caught him lifting him into the skies.
"mortals and their shiny things... I suppose we have that in common." The dragoness mused as she glided down the volcano to the point in of Death Mountain where Link had met Daroos and taken the path to Highpeak. "I thank you for your assistance Hylian, may I have your name?"
"Um... it's Link... ma'am." Link quietly answered her as he slid form her palm to the red earth and looked back up to her as she handed him his sword.
"Well thank you again Link, I deem you worthy of the title Dragon-kin, bear it well." Galovia declared proudly while Link took his blade, the shard in his other hand smiling up at the mother dragon.
"I don't know what to say, I just gave Volga my word." Link said before looking to the red dragon happily curled over his shoulders.
"Well one's word is more precious than gold these days it seemed, now than Volga it's time we find another home." Galovia said looking to her son whose head drooped a bit not wanting to make eye contact.
"Mother... I'd like to travel with Link for a while..." The young dragon declared between the three of them surprising Link to say the least but Galovia's tail whipped against the stone cracking it.
"...Are you sure?" Her words seemed tempered as she wanted to be a mother but in the same vein she wanted to give her son the freedom to live how he wanted especially with the war that he suffered through finding his part in it through Link.
"Yes, I want to see more of this place and learn more." Volga finally looked up to meet his mother's eyes proud and resolute.
"Very well, if that is what you wish." Galovia let out a breath and leaned down to kiss her fledgling on the head and then Link. "Link, my 14th heir, watch over your older brother."
"Older?..." Link asked confused as Galovia lifted off into the sky heading back up the cliff to salvage their old home. "Older brother?"
"Heh yeah, I'm 312, we recently came back to Hyrule our kind used to live here a long time ago." Volga informed Link while watching his mother go until she disappeared into the smoke ring around Death Mountain.
"...She put me in charge." Link quietly said before sheathing his sword and stowing the crystal then turning to head down the path back into Kakariko.
"N-no, but... I'm older!" Volga whined as he flew after Link.
~X~
Ganondorf breathed a heavy sigh as his blade clashed with his trainer using his strength and force to push back against him caught in the sword clash. Despite Ganondorf's large powerful build, his mentor's build was just the opposite; thin and unassuming, so the fact that he could hold off he beast of a man in a clash of swords with little effort baffled the mind.
It was late now and it was Ganondorf's decision to continue sparring into the night to better himself going blow for blow with his mentor in the cool night air. However it was then that a golden blink caught his attention far to the East amidst the smoke of Death Mountain. 'Link?'
"Gotcha~" The voice punctuated the mistake as his master swept Ganondorf's legs out from under him and putting him on his back. "Always be mindful of your surroundings in battle, your enemy will capitalize on any moment's hesitation~"
Ganondorf grumbled under his breath but sighed and took his mentor's hand when it was offered to him climbing back to his feet. "You're right, I guess that's enough for tonight. Thank you again for dedicating so much of your time to training me, Master Ghirahim."