Born a Weapon

A Twilight Princess Fan story

Chapter 24

Death Mountain

The ride back to Kakariko was quiet, the loudest sound being the pained breathing coming from Link. Blood flowed steadily from the arrow in his side, soaking Epona's fur, but she didn't seem to mind. She ran so fast Midna wondered if the animal somehow knew its riders were injured. The ride took them back through the scene of Link's battle, and without the rush of battle, he noticed how many bulblins lay dead. Pushing the thought from his mind, Link urged Epona to go faster, desperate to get Colin help.

When a thundering sound once again echoed across the walls of Kakariko, its inhabitants were hopeful but nervous. They hoped the sound was Link returning and not more bulblins and were pleasantly surprised when they saw Epona enter the village. Renado opened the door to check on Link and the boy he saw in his hands as Link dismounted Epona, swaying slightly but using Epona to stabilize himself.

"Hey, are you ok?" his shadow whispered, emerging but staying out of sight. She placed her intangible hand on Link's wound, examining the blood leaking from it. "Don't bleed out on me. I still need you, remember?" Midna wasn't concerned with Renado seeing her but returned to Link's shadow when the children, excluding Malo, burst through the door and charged Link before swarming him with questions.

"What happened?!"

"Did you kill that thing?!"

"What happened to Colin?"

"IS COLIN DEAD?!"

"Children, let me through," Renado demanded in a calm but stern voice, pushing past Talo and Beth. Link handed Colin to Renado, who took the boy and examined him. Colin had a cut on his head from where King Bulblin struck him, which may have given him a concussion, but aside from that, he seemed fine. "Colin will be fine, but he will need rest." Renado turned his gaze to the green-clad hero before him. The blood on his tunic did not escape him. "Come with me," he said calmly, not saying why for the children's sake.

Beth and Talo followed Renado, asking him questions about their unconscious friend. Link lingered for a bit longer, so the children were far away enough to not notice his wound before following with his right hand covering his bleeding side. He staggered slightly when he entered the inn but steadied himself on the doorway. The sound caught the attention of Malo, who was following Renado at a distance and had yet to climb the stairs. The boy's eyes widened when he saw red liquid soaking Link's side.

"Malo, go with your friends," Renado said soothingly as he descended the staircase, and the boy slowly nodded before heading upstairs. "Luda is seeing to Colin. Now tell me what ails you," Renado said as he offered Link his hand.

"I got hit with an arrow." Link said, his voice pained. He had avoided speaking since his return so the children wouldn't hear the pain in his voice, but they were all upstairs now.

"He snapped the head off while it was still in him," Midna said, emerging. "I don't know if I should yell at him for that or not."

"It wouldn't have made much of a difference since he was hit in the side," Renado said, leading Link up the stairs, keeping him steady.

"I didn't want to fight with an arrow sticking out of my side!"

Renado led Link into the room he had left earlier that day and seated him back on his bed. He instructed Link to Remove his layers, which he did with pain and a little help from Midna. Renado was silently thankful that he had thought to move the rest of his equipment into the inn after it was decided everyone would reside there. Renado returned to Link with a strange metal device, bandages, spring water, and the same medicine he used to numb Link's wound when stitching it.

"Link, I am going to remove the arrowhead, and it is going to hurt," the healer said as he applied the medicine to Link's wound, causing him to hiss in pain.

"Wait, how are you going to do that?" Midna asked. She had taken off the Fused Shadow, exposing both eyes, which betrayed her emotions. Renado picked up the metal tool, and Midna realized with horror what the shaman was planning. "Are you nuts?!" she demanded, grabbing Renado's hands, "first you stab him, and now you're going to-"

"We do not have time for this! He is losing too much blood!"

Midna wanted to argue against plunging something into Link's body, but Link gently grasped her hand and freed Renado from her grip. He had a brave expression on his face, but she could see the truth in his eyes. He was scared. How could he not be?

With a final warning he was about to begin, Renado inserted the metal tool into Link's flesh. Link gritted his teeth and tried to stifle a scream but failed. It felt like someone was pouring lava into his wound, and he could feel the metal move inside him, searching for the foreign object. He had not let go of Midna's hand, and she returned his intense grip with her best attempt at a comforting one, placing her other hand atop his.

It only took a few seconds to extract the arrowhead, but it felt like hours to Link. He felt lightheaded and numb, and his throat hurt from screaming. So much for trying not to scare the children. There was no way they didn't hear that. Link did his best to keep himself from collapsing as Renado applied spring water and bandages to his wound, but soon his head fell onto the pillow, and he released Midna's hand as he slipped into unconsciousness.

Renado had informed Link when he awoke that since he had aggravated his previous wounds and gotten a new one, he would have to wait even longer than before until he could leave. Link expected an outburst from Midna, but to his surprise, she was quiet, with nothing but a distracted but thoughtful look on her face. The day went by without anything of note, both adventures distracting themselves with books Renado had provided while resting on one of the beds in the large room. Link dove into whatever he could find, eager to take his mind off the pain, but Midna was still lost in thought, holding a book but not reading it.

"Link…" Link turned his head to see Midna blankly staring at the pages of her book. "When you went after Colin…" She seemed to be struggling to find words and even a bit unsure if she should say this at all. "You could barely stand. You couldn't walk right… why…" She shut the book she wasn't reading, looking Link in the eyes, "why did you do it?" The question caught Link off guard, and he took a minute to reply.

"Well, I had to save Colin."

"But you were hurt! You were weakened! You only had a fraction of your strength! But…" Midna's gaze fell from Link's face to her hands, which had begun gripping the sheets tightly, "but you still charged into battle without hesitating. Why?" Silence fell in the room for several seconds. "Weren't you scared?"

"Yes, but it was probably nothing compared to what Colin felt. He knew he had no way to protect himself, but he threw himself in the path of that monster to save Beth. I couldn't do nothing just to save myself. He needed me." Midna clutched the sheets in a death grip, and her breathing picked up speed. Link couldn't see her face, but he had a feeling there was at least one tear on it. "Midna… are we talking about me or someone else?" Midna stiffened for a second, and her breathing halted in surprise.

"Just…" Midna's voice was strained. She was trying desperately to keep the emotion out of her voice. "Just forget I said anything." Midna opened her book again, turning away from Link, who felt he had somehow said all the wrong things.

Several days had passed. Renado had told Link he was healing well and would be back to normal very soon. He could easily move around without significant pain and was confident he would return to normal by the next day. Link had been visited by the children several times throughout his recovery. Their high spirits always managed to make him smile, and he was delighted when Colin had recovered enough to visit him. Despite their joy, Link knew they had been through very traumatic events, and he hoped they would be able to heal from it.

When Link wasn't spending time with the children and Midna wasn't hiding from them in Link's shadow, the two adventures spent time chatting with each other and reading the books Renado provided. Most topics of conversation were about things they had experienced together since Midna was very reluctant to share anything about her past, and Link couldn't remember his.

"What's wrong with this book?" Midna wondered aloud as she turned it upside down and sideways as she hovered near the stack of books. Link walked up behind her and peeked over her shoulder at the writing on the pages. "It's full of gibberish!"

"Let me see that," Link said, taking the book in his hands and looking at the cover. "Metals and Minerals," he read before examining the book's pages.

"You can read that?"

"It's Goron writing."

"The Gorons have their own writing?" Midna said as she floated behind Link, now peeking over his shoulder to see the book.

"Writing, culture, all that stuff. All the different species do."

"Wait, Species?!" Midna said, turning her gaze to Link. "The Gorons are a different species?!"

"Yeah," Link said, putting down the book and searching for the one she gave to Midna back in Ordon.

"What is this even about anyway?" Midna asked, picking up the Goron book.

"It's about the different ores and metals you can find in Death Mountain."

"Death Mountain?! There's a place called Death Mountain?!"

"Yup," Link said, finally finding the book and flipping through its pages, "and that's where we're going."

"Great..." Midna said, facepalming.

"Here," Link said, handing Midna the open book, "that's a Goron."

Midna examined the picture before her. Drawn in detail was a yellowish-orange creature. It had two arms and legs like a human but had a large round back that seemed to be made of rock. A quick skim over the accompanying text told her that Gorons were made of rock and at least twice the size of a human. Despite the intimidating build, the Goron in the picture had a friendly and welcoming smile.

"And I thought humans looked weird."

"You look weird to us, too."

"Yeah yeah, whatever."

"I'm going to ask Renado if he has a map of Death Mountain," Link said, opening the door. Midna only responded with a get out of here wave, her face buried in the book. "Try not to miss me too much," Link said sarcastically before closing the door.

The following day Link stood before the base of Death Mountain. He looked at the looming volcano with concern. He had expected this next part of his journey to be easy, but Renado had warned him that the Goron had suddenly changed recently. They had begun denying entry to Death Mountain, threatening to forcibly remove anyone who tried to enter.

Link looked down at the map Renado had given him. It showed him the mountain and the city resting on it, but nothing inside the volcano. Link hoped he wouldn't have to see inside it anyway. He was also concerned about getting close to a volcano, even if it was dormant, so he talked with Eldin, who assured him the hero's tunic was created with extreme situations in mind and would protect him from the heat. He was worried about Midna, but she told him she would be fine as long as she stayed in his shadow.

The thought of going against a Goron nearly made Link reconsider the whole hero thing. Not only was the average Goron twice the size of a human, but they also possessed at least twice the strength, and despite what some stereotypes in stories might say, being extremely strong doesn't make you dumb. But there really was no choice, so Link trekked up the mountain, hoping he could talk his way around a confrontation.

The walk went on for a long time without anything significant happening, but Link got his first sight of a real Goron when he climbed up a steep wall with a destroyed ladder. The tall, imposing rock creature looked just like what he saw in the book, but unlike the drawing, there was no welcoming smile.

"Ah!" the Goron gaped in surprise when he spotted Link before quickly composing himself. "No humans allowed! These lands belong to the Goron tribe!"

"Wait a minute," Link said, holding his hands out in a placating gesture, "I know there's a problem. I can help!" The Goron seemed unsure what to do, but only for a moment before his gaze hardened.

"The elder said no humans may pass!" Before Link could say anything else, the Goron curled into a ball and began rolling towards Link dangerously fast. With the equivalent of a large boulder about to smash him, Link quickly tried to think of a way out of his predicament that didn't involve being sent flying. There was no way to stop the Goron, so he had to get out of his path. The area was not big enough to move in, so Link ran straight at a wall. Mimicking what he did to get past the gate at the start of the Forest Temple, Link used his momentum to run up the wall, and the Goron flew past Link with a surprised yelp and tumbled down the path. Link dropped back onto the ground and let out a sigh.

"Geez, I thought you were going to get crushed…"

"Parkour," Link said, turning to face his shadowy companion, "useful skill to have."

"I'll say. But do you really think you can scurry up a wall like a bug every time you see a Goron? This place is supposed to be full of them."

"Well, do you have any ideas?" Link asked as he walked past Midna, annoyed at her wording.

"As a matter of fact, yes, 'hero,'" Midna snapped. While you were chatting around with the other light dwellers, I was reading that book."

"All right," Link said, spinning on his heel with his arms crossed, "what is it?"

"Gorons respect strength, dummy! If you show off some of your 'hero talent,' they'll let you walk right past," Midna said with a smug smirk.

"That's your idea?" Link said with a scoff. "What do you want me to do? Wrestle a Goron? To them, I'm about as light as a pebble. They'd toss me around. And even if they couldn't, there's no way I'm stronger than a Goron." The realization that Midna's idea had such an obvious flaw immediately wiped the smug off her face. "So, unless you have any other ideas," Link said while walking backwards before turning his attention back to the road ahead, "I think I'll stick to 'scurrying up walls.'"

"Fine!" Midna snapped as she returned to Link's shadow, "see how long you last!"

Link ran his hand down his face. What was it with Midna? She always seemed to be able to piss him off, and it was very random. Sometimes she seemed like she almost enjoyed his company, and other times she reminded him that she didn't care about him or his world at all.

Link trekked up Death Mountain at a slow but steady pace. He had run into several Gorons on his way but managed to dodge all of them, and each time they tumbled away in surprise, not expecting the human to be so agile. By the time they recovered, Link had already run ahead.

Just as another Goron spotted Link and he began trying to figure out how he would dodge this one, the ground started to shake. The Goron tucked into a ball but did not roll forward, and Link barely heard Midna shout something about wanting to know 'what the hell was going on' before he saw bright lava spew out of Death Mountain, sending several objects flying.

Link ran underneath an overhanging cliff as pieces of rock began to crash around him. Several smashed into where he was standing, a few hitting the nearby Goron but not damaging his thick hide.

"What was that?!" Midna shouted as she emerged right in front of Link's face.

"It looks like Death Mountain erupted, but it's supposed to be dormant!"

"What the hell does erupted mean?!"

"It's- I'll tell you later!" Link shouted as the Goron began to charge him.

Link had been walking for a very long time. He had dodged countless Gorons and falling pieces of rock and was getting sick of it. He emerged into a large opening with nothing in it, but the wall at the back had several levels with many Gorons. Link watched as many Gorons on several levels noticed him. He must have made it to Goron city.

The hero stepped forward, and two Gorons at the bottom of the ledge moved to intercept him, only to stop and stare in shock at something above him. Link whipped his head up to see another portal above him and a shadow beast falling towards him with its arm drawn back.

Link dove to the side to avoid being crushed and silently cursed as he watched five shadow beasts land before him. He had never fought these things in human form before, which posed a slight problem. Although Link was better in his human form, he could not use Midna's dash attack to hit all his enemies at once.

The beast Link dodged wasted no time rushing the hero, flailing its limbs against his metal shield. It hadn't occurred to Link just how strong the shadow beasts were until he felt the impact of the punches and saw a nearby Goron struggling to overpower one. Despite the intense clashes, Link held his shield steady and rolled past his opponent to assist the Gorons, not wanting to risk them being killed or, worse, turned.

Link's worst fears were realized when a shadow beast grabbed one of the Gorons, and he saw the arm begin to turn black. Unlike when Midna was in the same situation, the transformation was faster, but luckily so was Link. The hero cut through the shadow beast's arm, and the transformation stopped. Without any reaction to losing its arm, the beast began attacking Link as he shouted to the Gorons.

"Get out of here! You can't let them touch you!"

The Gorons didn't want to leave Link, but fortunately, the uninjured Goron realized it had to prioritize evacuating his hurt friend and helped him limp away. The shadow beasts did not pursue the retreating Gorons, focusing all their attention on the hero before them, determined to end his life. The closest shadow beast stumbled after Link as an arm regenerated from the stump where it used to be, and the limb lying on the ground burst into particles.

"What are you going to do?!" Midna shouted from Link's shadow, painfully aware she could do nothing to help.

"I'll think of something!"

The five shadow beasts encircled Link and attacked from all directions. If it weren't for Link's agility, he wouldn't have been able to slip past them to avoid being killed. Link had managed to kill three shadow beasts with much effort and was trying to find a way to finish off the last two simultaneously. During his struggle, his heart nearly stopped when a shadow beast grabbed his arm, but he immediately cut off the limb.

Link resorted to trying to be fast enough. He lured the two beasts as close as possible and drove his sword through one's chest. Link flung his shield into its face when the other drew in breath to stun it. The beast staggered back and halted its cry and Link quickly rushed it, but just before he could kill it, the ground shook again, and a massive chunk of rock erupted, heading right for Link and forcing him to break off his attack.

"I swear this mountain is shooting at me!" Link snarled as he tried to ignore the pain the shriek caused. The beasts were on top of Link almost immediately, and he did not have his shield to help protect himself this time. Despite Link's best efforts to dodge, several blows began to connect. The strikes wore Link down, and it wasn't long until he was desperately cutting limbs that grabbed him.

"Link! Get out of there!" Midna cried helplessly. Link tried to move, but every time he freed himself from one beast's grasp, another took its place. Link felt a hand grasp his left arm, stopping him mid-swing. Hands grabbed him from all over as Midna screamed, and Link tore his arm from the shadow beast's grasp, only for another to take its place. Whatever Midna was screaming fell on deaf ears as Link was forced to the ground, and all hope of escape evaporated. The shadow beasts pinned him as they each began to use their dark magic to transform their victim.

But Link did not change. Instead of his body turning inky black, a brilliant golden glow appeared from his left hand, blinding everyone. The shadow beasts shriek as if they were in pain, and even from within Link's shadow, Midna had to shield her eyes. The inhuman shrieks were ended by the sound of metal slicing through flesh, and when the light finally died down, allowing Midna to see again, she saw Link standing over the body of the shadow beasts. Link took in heavy breaths as the bodies of his enemies burst apart, leaving nothing behind.

"Stupid eruption," Link grumbled as he sheathed his sword. Link moved against the wall and slid down it. He was in the shade, so Midna emerged from his shadow and claimed the portal before grabbing Link's hand and scrutinizing it. Link didn't pull away, and after not finding anything, Midna released him.

"What was that?"

"I'm not entirely sure," Link said, "I think its something to do with being the hero. It protected me from a shadow beast before, remember? When you were watching me?"

"I couldn't see much from that distance. Well, that was lucky. You almost died."

"So, the usual," Link said as he stood up and began walking away. Midna quickly dove back into his shadow, wondering just what his hero abilities were.

Link climbed up the wall and saw several Gorons, but they did not attack. Link could see mixed feelings in their eyes. They were told no human could enter the mountain, but the human before them just saved two Gorons' lives. Link was thankful that he might not have to fight them anymore, but he needed to talk to the one in charge.

"Where is the elder?" Link asked. He was met with silence for a moment before one Goron spoke up.

"At the top of this mountain," the Goron said, pointing to a path a few levels higher. Link nodded to the Goron and proceeded towards it, Gorons parting to let him pass. Link met no more resistance on his way up the mountain and occasionally overheard some Gorons explain to others what he had done.

"Why aren't they attacking anymore?" Midna whispered.

"It's like you said, they respect strength, and not just the physical kind."

"So I guess that means I was right then! Eee hee hee!"

Link stopped for a moment when he saw a Goron with a black arm. The black was slowly receding, but much slower than it did for Midna. Were Gorons more susceptible? No, it was more likely the Fused Shadow protected Midna. It was a powerful magic relic. Well… at least it had finally done something good, then. If it wasn't for the Fused Shadow, Link would have been too late.

Link soon stood before a doorway carved into the peak of the mountain. It was close to the volcano itself, and looking closely, Link could see a large portion of rock connected it. Link stepped through the doorway and looked around the interior. It was a medium-sized room with large pickaxes and helmets resting along the wall, clearly made for Gorons, and a single doorway at the back with a small staircase leading up to it. Above the door was a sign written in Goron that read Goron Mines. Two Gorons flanked the entrance, and several others in the room were surprised a human had entered. The Gorons were tense, unsure if they should attack.

"Calm yourselves, little brothers," a voice sounded from behind the guarded doorway, and the two Gorons protecting it stepped aside. Another Goron emerged from the door, clearly much older than the others. The older Gorons rocky skin seemed to sag and seemed to be balding, and Midna was wondering how that was possible if they were made of rock. "I am a Goron elder, little human. I am called Gor Coron."

"Are you in charge?" Link asked.

"Because of certain… circumstances, I must lead the Goron tribe in place of Darbus, our tribal patriarch. You have done well to come this far. I ordered no human may pass, so you must have had to fight many Gorons to make it here. Many of my people are surely shocked that you accomplished this," Gor Coron descended from the small staircase he was on and led Link to the other side of the room, away from the other Gorons. "But I recognize that tunic. I know the legend of the hero well."

"Then you must know why I'm here."

"Clearly, more has been going on than we realized. A crisis has occurred here, and that is why I ordered no one be permitted to enter the mountain. I could not place anyone else in danger."

"Tell me what's going on. I think it's related to what I'm doing."

"Very well," Gor Coron said with a nod. "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 the mines to investigate its anger. We found a strange artifact inside, but the moment Darbus reached out and touched it… 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 severe. 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." The elder seemed visibly upset at the memory, which was entirely understandable.

"That sounds like what I'm looking for. If I can get in there, I'll do everything I can to help your patriarch."

"Before you go, the mines have somehow been invaded by bulbins. I have no clue how they entered the mines without our knowledge, but they are there, nonetheless. We have tried to remove them, but to no avail, and I cannot spare any more lives to try. There is something that may help you. We have a historical treasure, a bow, gifted by a past hero. Though it functions like any other, it is no normal bow and has not decayed."

"That would definitely help."

"One last thing." Gor Coron's tone shifted. Before, he was stoic and severe, but now he sounded concerned. "If the time has come for another hero, Hyrule must be in peril. What has happened? Are the humans in Kakariko village safe?" Link had trouble maintaining eye contact, hating being the bearer of this news.

"No, Hyrule has been conquered, and all but three of Kakariko's inhabitants are gone. I'm sorry." The Goron tried his best to keep a composed face, but it wasn't enough, and his eyes filled with sorrow.

"I see… I will… get your bow. Wait here." As the Goron elder left, Link heard one last thing before he was out of earshot. "We should have been there…"