The sun rose over Death Mountain, backlighting the Eldin province in rich shades of gold and copper. Goron City shouldn't be too far off. At the base of the mountain where the temperatures become nearly unbearable, one shall find the race of rock people. Better known as the Gorons. The Goron hot springs were legendary for their healing properties. Hopefully, I'll be able to indulge before we leave. Once we arrived at the gates, everything stopped making sense. It was hotter than the midday sun here, but everything was in ruin. Last I had heard anything, the Gorons were fine. The entire city lay in rubble.

"Luna," I didn't even have to question it. The devastated look on her face gave everything away, "What did he have you do here?"

"I pit the Gorons against each other," Luna confessed, "They destroyed their city. I hardly lifted a finger. They caused the destruction and I went back to the desert. No remorse. No feeling anything. I shouldn't even be coming back here. I have no right."

"You have just as much right as anyone else," I assured her, "That's all in the past. Besides, the Gorons aren't going to realize it's you."

"I hope not…"

The deeper into the city we got, the worse the devastation was. Between the fires from the occasional flare of Death Mountain and the damage the Gorons caused, it was enough to break anyone's heart. Which made me wonder. Where are all the Gorons? Their city is completely destroyed. This is their home. Gorons are creatures of habit. Once they find somewhere, the likelihood of them leaving us nonexistent.

"Link," Luna stopped me, nodding toward the entry to the mine, "I hear voices down there."

"Ok," I led the way. The Gorons trusted me. They know me. If they see a familiar face, hopefully, it'll put them at ease."

"Halt!" Two giant Gorons blocked our path, "No humans are allowed in New Goron City!"

"Please," I begged, "We're here to help. Let me speak with your chief."

"No humans see the chief!"

"Link," Luna spoke softly, "Maybe we should just leave them alone. No sense in trying to help if they don't want us."

"We're here for a reason," I reminded her, "As it is now, the Master Sword is just a sword. We need it up and running for what we have planned."

"You know how stubborn Gorons are," she scoffed, "Unless they want to fight us."

"Are you wanting a fight, tiny human?" the Gorons took and offensive stance.

"Maybe I do," Luna shrugged, not taking their size into consideration in relation to hers, "If we beat you, can we see the chief?"

"If you fight us, you'll see an early grave!"

"Luna, no," I winced, "Don't pick a fight with angry Gorons."

"I'm sorry," she smirked, "But I'm up for a fight. Punching something may not solve our problems, but I know it'll make me feel better."

"Tiny human wants to fight," one of the Gorons approved, "Good to see one of you is man enough to step up."

"Man wishes," Luna drew her bow.

"Wait!" I tried to stop this, but two Gorons against one human would not turn out pretty. I held one of them back, "You can't do this!"

"Hold on," they looked down at my wrists, "Are those Goron bracelets?"

"Yes," I showed off the gold bands on my wrists. These were the only thing keeping them from tearing Luna apart, "They were given to me by your chief a long time ago when King Dodongo roamed the caverns."

"Link…?" another Goron joined us, calling off the others, "Did I hear that right?"

"Yes," I nodded, "Hello, Chief Darunia."

"Link!" he threw his arms up, "It's good to see you again, brother! I'm sorry it's not under better circumstances. Please excuse the mess. Come in!"

"Thank you," I followed him to the makeshift throne room.

"I heard about your princess, brother," Darunia empathized, "I know how close you two are. By the looks of it, you've already moved on, though, so I guess it's not all bad."

"No," I defended, "She's nothing like Zelda to me."

"Gee, thanks, Link," Luna grumbled, "You know how to make a girl feel loved."

"That's not what I meant," I dug myself in a hole.

"I'm just messing with you!" Darunia clarified, "I know no one can replace Princess Zelda. Who's the girl then?"

"This is Luna," I introduced her, keeping her previous title out of this, "She's traveling with me."

"Hello, Chief Darunia," Luna bowed, showing him the proper respect. I'm surprised she knew how to address a dignitary. That must have been Shira's doing. It took Zelda a week with me before I had it down. Although the experience wasn't exactly pleasant, the memory brought a great comfort to me, "It's an honor to meet you."

"No need for the formalities," he excused her, "But they are appreciated. It's been a while since anyone's shown me that kind of respect. I wish we could help you, Link, but we need to take care of us for a while. Our city's in ruin. Everyone hates each other. The Gorons have split into two factions. Either you know what happened on that day or you don't. But everyone has their own interpretation, I guess."

"What day?" I wondered, noticing Luna standing near the doorway, ready to make an escape. But instead of running, she stayed.

"We've been like this since we offered shelter to a human," Darunia spun the tale, "A little Gerudo girl. She was all battered and bruised and tired. We offered to let her into the hot spring, hoping that would've helped her. But by morning, she had left and…well. The rest is obvious. That's when it became brother against brother and we were no longer one. I can only assume you've come to help us."

"Actually, Darunia…" I couldn't leave them like this. It went against my alignment. The Gorons were in complete disarray. Their way of life was crumbling around them. Now wasn't exactly the time to discuss kingdom problems. One at a time, "I'd be happy to help. We'd be happy to help. Right, Luna?"

Luna was off in her own world, unable to decide whether or not she should help. I could see it in her eyes. Like a rubber band snapping, she came back to her head, "What?"

"Helping the Gorons," I repeated, "We can do that, can't we?"

"Sure," she agreed, still a little out of it. Then, she turned on her heel and left the mine.

"Is she alright?" Darunia worried.

"I'm not sure," I got up, "Hold on."

"Be careful of any little Gerudos, brother!" he warned, "They're nothing but trouble. Temptresses! They'll clean you out and leave you hanging high and dry!"

I knew better. If Luna wanted me dead, she would've killed me in the Lost Woods or left me to her moblins. If she was going to rob me blind, she would've done it already. If she was going to come back and destroy the Gorons, they'd be wiped out by now. All I needed to do now was find her. I had to hand it to her. Luna was quite the escape artist.

After a quick search around the crater that used to be Goron City, I found Luna shaking on a rock away from everyone else. She could run off like none other, but Luna's hiding skill was her weak spot. I approached her slowly, "Luna?"

"I shouldn't be here," her voice broke, "I've caused them so much pain."

"Then, consider this your redemption," I sat with her, "You can right your own wrong right here and now. All it would take is for you to help rebuild Goron City."

"Do you know what I did, Link?" Luna still shook. I wish I could offer her a little more comfort, but she won't let me touch her, I drained the hot springs. The Gorons' main export is their spring water. Most of their fighting is over their last remaining spring."

"That wasn't because of you," I assured, "That's because Ganondorf told you to."

"Ganondorf told me to poison the springs," she went on, "But I told him it'd be much worse to keep one of their springs up and running and drain the others. That would've torn them apart. So, he let me. This isn't because of him. That was all me."

"Then, redeem yourself," I reiterated, "I'm not saying to own up to it. You can apologize without saying a single word, Luna. They'll never know you were the one to do it and they'll never see you in that light. Just make up for it."

"You make it sound so simple…"

"Or you're making it too complicated," I got up, "You're more than welcome to come help or you can stay here. The choice is yours, but we really could use all the hands we can get."

"Something tells me," Luna wiped her eyes, "I should help."

"That's called your conscience," I smiled, "Stay. Don't. It's up to you. The source of the springs is deep in Dodongo's Cavern. If I hit on it long enough, I'm sure the springs will come back."

I left Luna on her rock to brood some more and started heading for the cavern. All we need to do is get the water flowing. Then, the Gorons won't have a reason to fight anymore. After that, they can rebuild Goron City and everything will go back to the way it was. At least I hope it will. Once we're done, that's for them to decide.

"Link!" Luna ran after me, "You weren't going to do something stupid like go in there on your own, were you?"

"I did last time," I shrugged, "And I was pretty young then."

"How are you still alive?" she groaned, "Come on. If you're going to do this, you might as well have someone in your corner that actually has some experience with strategy. We don't know if there's anything down there."

"Maybe some red chus and some flame keese," I figured, "But that's to be expected."

"Not to mention, I'm still a fugitive," Luna reminded me, "I have no doubt in my mind that Ganondorf is looking for me. When the time comes, I'm sure I'll make a good bait. Especially if he knows I'm with you."

"Why's that?" I followed her into the cavern.

"Think about it," she put it into perspective, "Would you want your most trusted ally with your biggest enemy? And a guardian of the Triforce?"

"Half a guardian of the Triforce," I corrected her, "As far as what I understand. It makes me wonder where the other half is."

"I'm sure we'll find out soon enough," Luna brushed me off, "Come on! I think I feel a warm spot over here. Stay on your guard."

"Yes, ma'am!" I gave her a salute. It's been a lot of years since I've been in Dodongo's Cavern. This shouldn't be too difficult. Get in there. Hit the source. Get out. Easy job.