Chapter 38

Ganondorf and Vaati were inside the Fire Temple in Volvagia's chamber. The room was very hot due to the red hot molten lava that covered most of the chamber. There was only one large stone platform and they were standing on it.. Ganondorf was admiring the dragon as it flew by him and Vaati.

"This is perfect! It looks deadly and very strong. What a great way to get rid of the gorons. Don't you agree, son?"

Vaati nodded in agreement. He watched the dragon as it flew around the room. It resembled a very large snake with wings. The top of it's body was a rough looking black scaly hide. It's belly was smooth and orange in color. Volvagia was a lava dragon and after a few minutes of flying around, it grunted and flew down into the depths of the lava. Ganondorf laughed with delight.

"Very soon, the goron race will be wiped off the face of this pathetic world!"

He turned to Vaati. He was looking down into the lava. Suddenly, Volvagia's head popped out. He gasped with alarm and jumped back. Ganondorf started to laugh at Vaati.

"What's wrong? Did the dragon scare you? That was priceless!"

He walked over to the edge of the lava. The dragon's head was still out of the lava. He reached down and patted it gently on the head.

"I've got a huge surprise for you. I'm going to feed you some nice and juicy gorons. What do you think of that?"

The dragon started to lick it's lips in anticipation. Ganondorf smiled at it.

"I know you were defeated by a goron hero many years ago. Now I'm helping you to get revenge."

The dragon roared angrily at the mention of being defeated by a goron hero and it slunk back into the lava. Ganondorf turned to Vaati.

"Are you sure Dark Link is guarding the prison cells well? I don't want a single goron escaping."

Before he could reply, Dark Link suddenly appeared in front of him and Ganondorf. He was out of breath.

"Father, I... need help. Two gorons escaped the prison cells. I m managed to keep the rest of them contained. "

Goron grabbed ahold of him and lifted him off his feet.

"What? You were supposed to make sure that didn't happen you fool! You're useless! You have all that power I gave you, but you let two gorons escape? Why didn't you try and confine them with your powers?"

Ganondorf released him and he fell to the ground gasping for breath. He looked into his father's angry red eyes.

"I'm sorry, Father. I failed you. I tried to cast spells at them, but they were too fast. I believe it was those two goron brothers that gave us trouble earlier. They told me that their names were Drexel and Aurdain."

Ganandorf slowly massaged his forehead.

"I want you and Vaati to get out there and find those two. If they won't come quietly, kill them!"

Vaati and Dark Link Nodded and disappeared in a huge cloud of smoke. Ganondorf cursed angrily.

"Those two better not fail me this time!"

Link, Brad, Argus and the three fairies were in Death Mountain Crater walking back near the rope bridge. All three fairies were bright orange from their heat resistance spell Valerie cast earlier. She was very eager to try out the fire control ability. She looked over at Link.

"Once we get across this bridge, can we practice this fireball spell I obtained? I've got to give this fire control ability a try!"

Link felt uneasy about having his own fireball tossed back at him.

"I don't know. I'm a little nervous about trying that. What if I don't dodge fast enough?"

Navi turned to Valerie and giggled.

"You know, he's kind of right. Remember back in the Forest Temple? He almost got himself eaten by that plant. Do you really want to send his own fireball hurling back at him after that?"

Valerie sighed.

"Maybe you're right.. But who can I practice our new attack on?"

Izzy flew in front of Valerie.

"Try Brad! He's in great shape and he's also got great reflexes. He can dodge almost anything you throw at him."

Behind her, Brad was blushing with embarrassment.

"Come on, Izzy. Cut it out! You're embarrassing me. I'll give it a try. I just hope I can get the fireball ready. It's been a while since I used that spell."

Argus laughed and patted him lightly on the back.

"You can do it, Brad. You can do anything when you put your mind to it. Let's see you cast a fireball."

Brad held up his hands.

"Okay I'll do it. Let's just get across this bridge first. I don't want to fall into the lava below."

Everyone glanced down at the bubbling lava and they saw what he meant.

After they crossed the rope bridge, everyone looked at Brad. He glanced around through the eye slits in his fire suit. Everyone was looking at him and waiting. He nodded.

"Time to get this started."

He started to concentrate on creating a fireball. Before he could concentrate further, a mysterious figure wearing a fire suit appeared in front of everyone. The figure looked at Link.

"Greetings, Link. It's me, Shiek I have come here to teach you..."

Shiek paused and looked at the three glowing fairies circling Argus and Link. Then he looked at Brad. He had his gloves off and he was still trying to concentrate.

"What's going on here? Why are those fairies glowing like fireballs?"

Link stepped forward and tried to explain to Shiek what was happening.

"They are glowing due to a heat resistance spell. The spell has a unique ability to control fire and we were about to test it out."

Shiek gasped in awe.

"I will tell you why I am here later. I must see this."

Brad had a small fireball formed. He started to concentrate harder. After a few minutes, it gradually got bigger. Valerie flew over to where nobody was standing. She looked over in Brad's direction.

"Are you ready, Brad? Toss it at me!"

Brad opened his eyes and threw the fireball towards Valerie. It was hurling towards her at an amazing speed. When it got within mere inches of hitting her, She held out her hands and they began to glow orange. Suddenly, the fireball stopped in it's tracks! It was floating in front of Valerie. It had a bright orange ring of energy surrounding it. She looked at Brad again.

"Here it comes, Brad. Get ready!"

Her eyes started to glow bright orange. Suddenly, the fireball turned around and hurled towards Brad. He gasped and jumped out of its path. The fireball exploded on the ground. Everyone gasped in shock. Valerie grinned.

"If Vaati or Dark Link throw fireballs at us, they're going to in for a huge surprise!"

Shiek nodded in satisfaction.

"That power will surly be useful in the coming battles. Now Link, I've come to teach you a song that will bring you back here whenever you need to This is Called the Bolero of Fire!"

Shiek pulled out his harp and played the song. It echoed all around the mountain. He looked over at Link.

"The song on your ocarina is down, a, down, a, right, down, right, down."

Link pulled out his ocarina and looked at the keys and holes and played the melody for Shiek. He clapped with excitement.

"Bravo! That was perfect, Link! Play that song and you will be warped here instantly. Good luck rescuing the gorons in the Fire Temple. Please try to be careful."

Suddenly, he threw something onto the ground and vanished in a cloud of smoke.

Link and his friends turned and walked towards the entrance to the Fire Temple. Link was hoping he wasn't too late to save the goron race.