"Hey! Wake up! Naptime's over!" The voice suddenly yanked him out of his dreamless sleep. He stretched, his body simultaneously grateful for the rest and complaining about the location. His eyes slowly opened to the light of morning.

"Ugh, finally! I tried waking you up hours ago, but you slept right through it!" He stretched again as he prepared to stand up. His body was sore - a reminder that his body preferred laying down rather than sitting against a rock wall.

He blinked in surprise as he noticed the Goron standing in the path once more. 'I'm not... gonna have to throw him down again, am I?' The Goron looked at Link and gave a slow, respectful nod, surprising Link. He stood slowly, before cautiously walking over to the Goron.

"Good morning, human. Your companion ensured I did not disturb you during your rest." The Goron paused for a moment. "I have... never been thrown before, much less by a human. You have earned my respect." With that, the Goron again gave Link a respectful nod.

"So... You'll allow me to go to Death Mountain?"

"Yes. But the others will not. You will have to make your way past them as well, Brother." Link blinked. His confusion must have been obvious to the Goron.

"It is how we refer to fellow Gorons, and to those who can best us in a contest of strength." Link wasn't sure how to respond. In the end, he decided to just continue up the path to Death Mountain. He groaned when he saw another Goron rolling down the path towards him. Before he could ask Midna for the boots, they suddenly appeared again on his feet. This time Link allowed the Goron to roll towards him. The boots allowed him to focus on bracing his arms against the impact of the Goron, until he was able to throw the Goron to the side. As soon as he had thrown the Goron, the iron boots vanished again.

As he rounded a corner, another Goron rolled down a small cliff towards him. Like the two before him, this third Goron was caught and thrown to the side by Link. Another corner, another Goron, another throw, until Link realized with a start that he was starting to become familiar with the weight of the iron boots. Up the metal blocks and onto the cliff, another Goron thrown to the side like it was just a goat from Ordon.

As he crested a hill, he noticed one of the portals in the sky, as well as the stone he'd used to call for the golden wolf. The portal was still its calm green color, not the eerie red of the shadow beasts.

He was grateful that no Gorons came barreling down the hills while he avoided the fumaroles. However, what he wasn't grateful for was the flaming arrows that went flying past him. He looked up, almost expecting to see a Goron angrily holding a bow. Instead, he was startled by the sight of the monsters he'd seen riding on boars. For a moment he was uncertain how to continue while avoiding flaming arrows raining down on him. Then he spotted a reed growing out of the ground.

While he doubted his hawk would hear him so far away from Ordon, he decided to at least try the reed. At worst, it wouldn't do anything. The melody echoed in the rock walls, and for a moment the monsters stopped firing the arrows at him. Then he heard it, faintly, over the echoes of the reed - his hawk calling out to him. In a moment, his hawk landed on his wrist. He gently petted the hawk's head, smiling when his hawk leaned into the affection. Then he pointed at one of the monsters, and his hawk flew forward and struck the monster in the face with its claws. He grinned when the monster fell to the ground.

He was about to call the hawk again when he suddenly remembered the slingshot. With two shots, the other two monsters fell dead, and the air was clear of flaming arrows. However, as he made his way up the path, he noticed another two monsters that began firing arrows at him. Two shots later, and they also fell dead. He frowned slightly when he found that the strange statue was still silent. 'Looks like I should keep a lookout for more of these statues.' With that thought he turned and continued up the path, avoiding the fumaroles as he walked.

As he continued, flaming rocks began falling from the sky. He narrowly avoided having one land on his head. He stopped for a moment when he reached the top of a short cliff, nearby where the portal was, looking around. He blinked when he noticed two Gorons gesturing at him from the distance. One Goron curled up, and the other climbed onto the curled-up Goron. Suddenly the curled-up Goron jumped up, throwing the other up onto the platform above him. 'Interesting. I didn't know Gorons could do that.'

To his surprise, when he jumped down, none of the Gorons tried to roll at him. They simply watched him as he dodged the rocks falling from the sky, with what almost seemed to be amusement. Then suddenly they all looked up in surprise. Link followed their gaze to notice a very large rock falling from the sky, directly towards him. He sprinted out of its way, watching as it slammed into the ground, smoke rising from it. A moment later, Midna appeared from his shadow.

"Whoa... This looks dangerous... Is this the traditional Death Mountain welcome?" Midna giggled before she disappeared into Link's shadow again. Link rolled his eyes. 'Somehow I doubt the Gorons did this.' Link did what he could to avoid the rock, its heat intense enough to be felt even at the edges of the small canyon. As he walked towards where Midna had initially helped him, he noticed a small cave in the wall with a rope ladder leading up to it. He narrowly dodged another rock as he ducked into the cave. He frowned when the cave was blocked off by a rock with strange symbols on it. 'So much for this path...'

To his surprise, when he jumped out of the cave, the nearest Goron walked towards him and swung his fist at Link. His shield thankfully blocked the blow, and he slapped the Goron's chest with the flat of his sword, not wanting to actually strike the Goron. The Goron recoiled, rolling up into a ball. Link blinked in surprise before realizing he could use this to get up to the other side of the canyon. He climbed up onto the Goron, who began shaking beneath Link's feet. Suddenly the Goron popped up, and Link was flung through the air and onto the top of the small cliff. He winced as he landed on his feet. To his left was another Goron, and Link sighed and stretched as he walked over. 'This is certainly an interesting way to get up Death Mountain.'

The new path also had fumaroles, as well as the metal pipe that he landed on and carefully jumped off of. He soon found himself standing above the hot spring, where he noticed a Goron selling items from a small shop in the wall. He jumped, carefully falling into the steaming water. The Gorons stared at him from where they sat in the hot spring. Even the shopkeep and the Goron near the shop only barely seemed to notice that Link was there.

"There have been few sumo matches lately... Talk about boring, Brother. I suppose it is because young Gorons these days have no interest in old arts like sumo." The shopkeep sighed. "And former powerhouse Gor Coron is an elder... There is not much we can do, Brother." Then the shopkeep noticed Link, smiling at him.

"Greetings, human. Pick up your hot-spring souvenirs right here!" On the shelf behind the Goron was a set of arrows, a can of lantern oil, a wooden shield, and a ceramic jar of some kind. Link pointed at the jar with a tilt of his head and a raised eyebrow.

"Chugging a glass of milk after soaking in the hot spring is very popular here. Would you like to buy some? Only 20 Rupees!" Link shook his head, and the shopkeep shrugged.

"Stop by whenever you visit the hot spring!"Link nodded and walked away from the shop, noticing another rope ladder leading up and out of the spring. The Goron sitting near the rope ladder simply smiled and waved at Link as he walked over and began climbing up the rope. The same could not be said of the Goron at the top of the cliff he'd climbed onto, however. Link sighed as he blocked the Goron's fist, careful not to actually harm him. He found himself on a ledge with multiple fumaroles, including one that was perpetually blowing. He frowned. 'How am I supposed to get past these...?' Then he remembered what a Goron had said when he had been a wolf. 'The iron boots, maybe?' As he thought that, the boots suddenly appeared on his feet again.

It was a slow and deliberate walk that brought him through the heat of the fumarole, but as soon as he was safely through it the boots disappeared and allowed him to walk again. He sighed and continued on the path, only to see another Goron rolling down at him and destroying some barrels in the process. This Goron was also thrown to the side, as well as the one that rolled down after the first. For some moments he waited to see if more would roll down at him, before he continued up the metal plates, finding himself in front of another set of Gorons that he used to jump up to where the one that had pointed at him had gone to. A cave framed with metal led him on a winding path into a room with multiple Gorons that all stared at him.

As he stepped closer, they all curled into balls, spinning in place as if they were all about to charge at him. He frowned. 'There's no way I can throw all of them at once, even with the iron boots...' He braced himself for the impact of several boulders hitting him, before a voice yelled out "ENOUGH!" and the Gorons uncurled, turning to look at the back of the room where a smaller Goron had appeared, slowly walking into the room

"Is this young one such an imposing enemy that you must all gang up on him? I think not, Little Brothers." The smaller Goron put his hands on his sides as he looked at Link, who slowly walked over while the Gorons stared at him.

"I am a Goron elder, little human. I am called Gor Coron." Link blinked, recognizing the name from the shopkeep in the hot spring. "Because of certain... circumstances, I must lead the Goron tribe in place of Darbus, our tribal patriarch. Tell me, little human, did you come from the village below?" Link nodded.

"You have done well to come this far. You are strong... for a human." Gor Coron narrowed his eyes, crossing his arms. "However... The mines beyond here are sacred to my tribe. Outsiders are not allowed. Unless..." Link's determination must have been clear to Gor Coron, who grinned at him. Link knew a challenge when he heard one.

"I could make an exception... but you would have to beat me in a contest of power. Are you willing to try that, little human?" Link nodded. "Then step into the arena, little human, and we shall have a sumo match." Like with the matches against Bo, Link put his things by the stairs of the stone platform before stepping up to the line. This time, however, the iron boots appeared on his feet as he walked up the stairs. A Goron standing in the back of the room gave the signal, and the match began.

Gor Coron stepped around to Link's side, grabbing him and pushing him backwards until Link was able to push him off. He noticed that the Goron elder was about to slap him, and Link ducked under the Goron's fist before lunging at him and pushing him back. It took Gor Coron some time to push Link off, though the elder was clearly surprised. He lunged at Link, who sidestepped and lunged at the Goron to push him back. At the last second, Gor Coron pushed him off, slapping Link and pushing him backwards. The Goron was about to slap Link again, but he stepped to the side and lunged at the elder, pushing him backwards. Again he pushed Link off at the last minute, this time slapping him and pushing Link back. At the last minute Link pushed him off, stepping to the side to avoid the Goron elder's lunge and to counter with his own lunge. He grunted, and finally he pushed the Goron elder out of the arena. He panted as he finally relaxed into a normal stance.

"Young warrior... You have a strong will... and sharp eyes." Gor Coron, also panting, grunted as he stood. "Fine traits... Want to see how well you can use them?" The elder gestured for Link to follow him to the back of the room. Link nodded, stepping down from the platform and retrieving his items, grateful for the boots disappearing from his feet again.

"You have seen it, I would bet... The mountain, erupting without pause... When the mountain began to rage, all four of us elders and Darbus went inside to investigate its anger. We have a treasure that was entrusted to us by the spirits, and we must protect it. Do you understand?" Link nodded. 'He's talking about the Fused Shadow, isn't he?'

"But the moment Darbus reached out and touched the treasure... everything went wrong. He collapsed... and before our very eyes transformed into an unspeakable monster! He began to rage through the mines, trailing ruin behind him... and the eruptions grew more frequent and more severe." Gor Coron closed his eyes. "We used all of our strength to seal him deep inside the mountain... It... grieved us to do this to our patriarch... but we had no other course of action." Gor Coron opened his eyes. "I ask this favor of you, young warrior... Go to the aid of Darbus! Make no mistake, the spirits have guided you here." Link fought back a scoff. 'It helps that Eldin outright told me the thing Midna wants is here.'

"I, Gor Coron, need your help... On behalf of my entire clan, I ask you for your aid!" Link nodded, and Gor Coron turned to look at the two Gorons behind him. "You two! Let the young warrior pass." The two Gorons shuffled out of the way, revealing a doorway that led into the mountain.

At the end of the path, Link found himself in a cave where fire flowed like water and rose up from the ground. Rock formations jutted up from the fire-water below, and metal pipes snaked their way around the area. 'This must be the Gorons' mine.' Already Link was sweating from the heat, combined with the exertion of the match against Gor Coron. He sighed as he walked down the path. 'No wonder they don't let humans come back here, it's hotter in here than the worst summers back home.'

The heat from the fiery water was beginning to make it difficult to think straight. The haze rising from the flames made it difficult to see, combined with the intense brightness of the fire. The fire and the liquid fire roared, and for a moment he could only stand and watch. Then his vision began to slowly dim.

"Hey! What's wrong with you?!" He could only barely hear Midna's voice over the roaring of the fire, could only dimly see her waving a hand in front of his face. Then suddenly his legs gave out, and he felt himself crumple to the ground. As he lost consciousness, the last thing he heard was Midna frantically telling him to get up.