Harmony of Heroes: Ultimate Multiverse Explorers [Parallel Quest]

by Cyrus Colter

Chapter 13: Death Mountain and The Fire Temple.

In a flash of light, Sweetie Belle, Link and the Bage siblings were back to their older selves in the future/present (depending on one’s point of view), Link having taken back the Master Sword from its pedestal in the Temple of Time.

“Back to when everything is approaching FUBAR,” Rota commented before she glanced at Link. “So where to next?”

“Sheik said that we would have to travel over mountains and under water. I think the part about mountains is obvious enough,” Navi said.

Link nodded. “Death Mountain. As for the water part, it could be either under the Zora’s domain, or Lake Hylia. We should start with Death Mountain, it seems to be the most pressing issue, right now.”

“You’re right. If it erupts, the lava flow will destroy Kakriko village,” Marko said.

Link nodded again before he frowned. "There is just one little problem."

"What is it?" Sweetie and Rota asked.

"I wouldn't be surprised if the Fire Temple is in the crater, but the crater is SO hot! When I went to explore it the first time, I felt like I was burning alive! I couldn't remain here long without risking dying!"

Sweetie Belle raised an eyebrow. "Is it that hot there? I went inside a few volcanoes, and I admit that it's always hot in them, but it was still bearable, and I have fur."

"These volcanoes weren't Death Mountain. It's a real inferno in that place."

"Maybe we will find a solution in the village of the Gorons. They resist the intense heat of the mountain, so they must have something," Navi advised.

"Wait, I remember. In the shop, they were selling some red tunic that was said to be heat-resistant. I couldn't have it however because they only had sizes for adults," said Link as he remembered when he went to the Goron shop as a kid.

“Then we have our solution. Worst case scenario, Sweetie Belle’s protecting you from the heat with her power,” Rota said, recalling the filly claiming to be capable of almost anything.

“You can do that?” Link asked while looking at said filly.

“Yep!” Sweetie responded cheerfully.

"Mmh... I should still go get the tunic. It will be better than having you protecting me all the time."

"Alright," Sweetie replied

”Fair enough,” Rota answered.

”More convenient, at least,” Marko agreed.

At this, they left the Temple of time, exited Hyrule Castle Town (after wrecking the ReDeads here for the third time), and rode Epona to Kakariko Village where they left her at the entrance. Before continuing their journey, they stopped in a potion shop for Link to buy a healing potion as well as a magic-replenishing potion just in case. Link had passed the Lens of Truth to Sweetie Belle because the item took a lot of magic to be constantly used and the filly had a much bigger reserve than the Hylian, but it didn't mean that he wouldn't need the potion because he may need magic for other stuff like using Din's Fire (an item that let Link send a fiery shockwave around him by punching the floor but that used a lot of magic).

Ready, they then exited the village by the path leading to Death Mountain.

The climbing wasn't difficult. There were some Red Tektiles (red spider-like monsters that bounced on their prey to attack them) to kill and some rolling boulders to avoid while climbing slopes, but that was all. They passed in front of the Dodongo's Cavern, continued to climb a little, and eventually reached Goron City midway to the top of the mountain.

Goron City was a circular cavern with several levels, each level having several holes leading to the Gorons' homes. The shop and the room of the leader, Darunia, were both at the bottom level, but they revealed to be closed, blocked by heavy stone doors.

The sight would likely have been more majestic had there been any Gorons frequenting the cavern beyond the clearly young one rolled into a ball defensively and rolling around the place.

"Hey, little one! Stop!" shouted Link to gain the attention of the Goron, but either he wasn't heard or the Goron ignored him because he rolled beside the Hylian without stopping. Rota stepped into the Gorons path and intercepted the child, stopping them after a few feet.

"Wahh! What was that?!" shouted then the young Goron while still curled in a ball and shaking. "I'm warning you! I'm Link! Hero of the Gorons! I don't fear you, minions of Ganondorf!"

“First off, we’re not minions of Ganondorf. We’re here to STOP Ganondorf. Second off, you’re not exactly fooling anyone with the trembling there, kid,” Rota said as she took her boot off the Goron.

Hearing her, the Goron uncurled enough to look at her and Link. Seeing that they weren't what he feared, he calmed down and stood up to face them.

He looked nothing like a human. While having a humanoid appearance, he had stone brown skin with small black spots and a tuft of white hair on his head. He was a little smaller than Link, just about eye level with Rota, but was also larger with a general chubby appearance and he had a rocky back. All in all, he looked... cute.

"Oh. Sorry for taking you for minions of Ganondorf. They are everywhere today. Anyway, I'm Link, son of Darunia. Who are you?"

“Wait, your name is actually Link?" Rota asked before looking at the Hylian of the same name. “Was this kid’s father a good friend of yours?”

Link nodded with a wistful smile at this.

The Goron stared at the Hylian. "Wait... You are Link? The Hero of the Gorons and legendary Dodongo Buster?"

Hesitantly, Link nodded, and suddenly, the Goron had stars in his eyes.

"Oh my gosh! I can't believe I'm meeting you! It must be the Goddesses who brought you back here just when we need you again! Say, can I have an autograph? Sign it: "To my friend, Link of the Gorons"."

Link sweated at this, and Sweetie Belle laughed. "He reminds me of Scootaloo! Come on, Link! Don't make your number one fan wait!"

However, before Link could say or do anything, the Goron calmed down and suddenly looked sad. "Wait, this isn't the moment... You must help us! Everyone has been captured by Ganondorf and his minions! He plans to feed them to the dragon Volvagia, inside the Fire Temple!"

Before Link, Sweetie or Rota could finish processing that horrific statement, Marko was in front of the young Goron with his hands on the boy’s shoulders, looking him in the eye. “Don’t worry, we’ll save them. But first, we need to know about this dragon. What can you tell us about it?”

"Volvagia was a scary dragon who lived long ago who ate Gorons. He was killed by the Hero of the Gorons with the help of a powerful hammer. But now, Ganondorf revived him, and while my dad was away, his followers came and took all the Gorons to the Fire Temple to feed them to him as an example to the other people of Hyrule. When he learned about this, my dad immediately went to the temple to save them. He is the descendent of the Hero, you see, but I'm not sure if he can defeat Volvagia. He doesn't have the legendary hammer, and he may not find it in time." It was then with tears in his eyes that the Goron screamed, "Please! Save my dad! Save everyone! I will give you this heat-resistant tunic so you can go!" At this, he grabbed a red tunic from... somewhere on him and presented it to Link.

"That's exactly what we needed!" said Navi.

Link took the tunic and thanked the Goron while Sweetie Belle determinedly said "You just wait here. We will save everyone and turn this dragon into scaly goods."

This made the young Goron laugh. "A bag made of Volvagia's scales would be really cool."

Meanwhile, Link put on the red tunic. "Let's go, we have no time to lose."

Sweetie Belle and the siblings nodded with Rota saying, “Right.”

"Wait!" the Goron suddenly shouted. "There's a secret passage to the crater in the back of dad's room. It will be faster to reach the Fire Temple from here. You just have to pull the big statue. I will open the room for you."

The heroes thanked him again and, once the room was opened, they entered it and pulled the big statue at the back, uncovering a passage.

They already could feel the heat radiate from it.

After a walk through a long tunnel, they entered the crater, and it was as Link said. The heat was just unbearable! Even for Sweetie Belle and Rota! So she quickly used her powers to protect the two of them from it.

Marko, however, seemed to barely notice the temperature shift. “Glad you didn’t bring the Pokemon with you, Sweets. Doubt any of the ones you caught would last long in these temperatures,” he said.

With a nod from the filly, the group looked over to the entrance of the Fire Temple in front of them. More specifically, across a collapsed bridge from them. However, this was not an issue to Link who used the Hookshot to pull himself across with an arch on the other side, or to Sweetie and the Bage siblings, who simply flew across.

Then, as they traversed the second half of the bridge, Sheik dropped out of nowhere and began another of his lyrical monologues.

"It is something that grows over time... a true friendship. A feeling in the heart that becomes even stronger over time... The passion of friendship will soon blossom into a righteous power and through it, you will know which way to go... This song is dedicated to the power of the heart... Listen to the Bolero of Fire..."

Then, he took his lyre and proceeded to teach Link the song, and darn, Sweetie and the siblings could really feel the intensity in it. Sweetie, Rota and Marko had at least one friend of theirs in mind that really would love to talk to him.

When they were done, Sweetie Belle raised a hoof before Sheik could disappear. "I have a question! How are you resisting this heat?"

Sheik chuckled. "Magic." He then threw a Deku Nut, making everything flash. When the flash was gone, so was Sheik.

Sweetie Belle giggled. "I should have known."

With this, they walked toward the entrance of the temple, moved down a ladder, and entered the temple itself.

---

The entrance hall of the Fire Temple was surprisingly simple, two levels separated with a central staircase connecting them. There were three doors, one at the bottom level at the left of the stairs, and two at the top level at both sides, however the one to the right was locked, and when they went through the door at the left of the stairs, and found themselves blocked by a cell with a Goron trapped in it, and no way to free him from this side. They did spot a switch at the other side however, meaning that they had to do a detour from somewhere else.

This left only one door for the heroes to try: the one at the top level to the left. So they passed it and entered a room separated into several small areas by a pit of lava.

And there, they found Darunia in front of a door that was clearly the one leading to Volvagia, judging by how well decorated it was. Darunia was recognizable thanks to his long spiky white hair and beard.

"Who's there? Is that you, Link...?" he asked upon seeing the two heroes coming. When he recognized Link, he gave him a brotherly smile. "Oh, it really is Link! You've grown so big since I last saw you! And I see you aren't alone!"

"Nice meeting you! I'm Sweetie Belle!" the filly greeted

“Hey, my name’s Rota Bage, and this is my brother, Marko,” Rota said, as Marko nodded in greeting.

Darunia spread his arms in greeting. “Well met, fellow warriors. Though that might seem belittling to those of your caliber, even you, Little One, despite your appearance.” But then, he turned serious. “I would like to talk with you, but there’s no time. Ganondorf is causing trouble on Death Mountain again! That tyrant has revived the ancient, evil dragon Volvagia! On top of that, he plans to feed my people to the dragon as a message to other races that might resist him…”

“We know. Your son explained everything. We’re here to help,” Marko assured.

“I’m glad to hear he’s alright. And I may really need your help. If that fire-breathing dragon escapes the mountain, all of Hyrule will be reduced to a smoldering wasteland! So I will go ahead and try to seal the dragon up while you all go and rescue everyone!”

"But you don't have the legendary hammer!" Link shouted.

“I’m aware, and that concerns me, but I have no choice. It is only a matter of minutes before the dragon escapes without my intervention. Don’t worry about me, I’ll not be killed easily. Meanwhile, I ask you, Link, as my Sworn Brother, save my people. The cells are in the opposite direction. Good luck.” And without another word, he opened the door and entered the dragon’s den despite the hero's pleas to stop.

Then, the door closed behind him, and a golden lock with golden chains appeared, locking it.

Now, Darunia was trapped in here with this Goron-eating dragon, without the weapon that could help him kill it.

"It was a trap," growled Sweetie Belle.

"We must hurry!" shouted Navi in worry.

Link pointed at the left. "There's a cell here."

So, rapidly, they jumped on some platforms to reach the left area of the room where they stepped on a switch to open the cell, freeing the Goron inside who was beside a chest. In thanks, the Goron told them that to reach the room that Durania entered, they had to do something about the pillar stuck in the ceiling, which was obvious as the area couldn't be reached with a jump right now (and they didn't have the Big Key anyway). There was apparently a path leading to a room above the ceiling that could let them reach the pillar. Then, the Goron left, leaving them to open the chest that contained a key.

Done in this room for now, they returned to the entrance hall and used the key to unlock the opposite door, entering another lava room. There was a big bridge leading to a door. However, the door was locked. Thankfully, there were small islands and platforms (some moving, others disappearing into the magma when they walked on them) all over the magma that the heroes could use to reach other passages. They weren't really needed however as, thanks to the red tunic, Link could walk on the semi-solid magma for a time, Sweetie Belle could use her ice powers to skate on it, Rota was able to keep afloat above the magma and Marko just swam through the molten rock like it was water.

They first went to the right where there was an unlocked door that led to another cell that they opened by stepping on a switch. The Goron inside informed them about how the walls that could be destroyed with bombs (or their 'special crops' aka the Flower Bombs) sounded different if Link hit them with the sword. When the Goron left, the heroes opened another small chest containing a key that was inside the cell.

They then returned to the lava cavern, the heroes now regularly hitting the walls with their weapons to see if there were secret passages. The Goron didn't give them this advice without reason, there must be some walls that could be destroyed with bombs in this temple.

They then spotted a Time Block just above the door they just passed and Link played the Song of Time which had the effect of moving down the block so the heroes could use it to reach the upper level and the now uncovered door. It led to a room with a Like Like and some tiles that levitated and charged at the heroes who protected themselves with shields before Rota fed it an explosive energy ball, killing it quickly on detonation so Link wouldn’t have to risk getting something eaten off of him. Once they could move without risking being rammed by a tile, they then went to a chest that they opened to get more bombs.

Back in the lava cavern again, they went this time to the opposite side where they found a suspicious wall that was sculpted unlike the rest of the cavern. A quick knock from Rota revealed that it indeed could be destroyed, so Link threw a bomb at it, discovering a door. The door also led to a cell that they opened, and the Goron in it told them that there were switches in this temple that could be hit with the sword, but their 'special crops' also did the job. The heroes then took the key in the chest that was behind the Goron and returned to the cavern.

There, they used one of the keys to unlock the door at the end of the bridge and entered a room with metal fencing that they could climb. There was also a little pit of magma from which came a powerful ascending hot air current, and further up was a platform with a big block. Seeing what they had to do, Sweetie Belle and the siblings flew to the platform and Rota pushed the block so it fell right on the lava pit. Link then quickly climbed on the block with Sweetie Belle and the siblings before it was pushed high in the air by the air current. Thanks to this, they passed through a square-shaped hole just above, entering a new room. There, they just had to unlock a door with their last key.

The next room had another cell, but they couldn't open it from where they were. Instead, they had to climb on a couple of ledges at the left. After killing two Torch Slugs (giant red burning slugs that attack relentlessly if they spot a prey), they then jumped across a small pit to reach another block that they had to push. There was also a purple crystal behind it that proved to be a switch that made a column of fire on a metal fencing higher up clear. However, it was only temporarily as the switch eventually deactivated.

So they pushed the block and used it to reach the top part of the room from where Link threw a bomb at the crystal. When the bomb exploded, the crystal was activated, letting the heroes reach and climb the metal fencing before the fire reappeared. At the end, they passed a door and entered some kind of maze with giant round boulders that rolled around, the boulders sometimes stopping and changing directions without even hitting a wall, making them less predictable, so Sweetie Belle just turned them into rubble.

Without the boulders, they could peacefully explore the maze, finding a cell with a Goron who warned them of fake doors that would drop on them if they attempted to open them. Said fake doors could be destroyed with bombs, thankfully. Further exploration led them to discover a door leading to another cell with a Goron who told Link that if he was on fire, he could put it out more rapidly by swinging his sword or rolling. Of course, the two cells had a chest with a key.

Back in the maze, they found a locked door that they unlocked with one of the keys they just got. On the floor of the room they entered, only a narrow path leading to two other doors remained. One of the doors was locked, and the other was blocked by bars with an eye-interrupter further above. Not sure where to go first, Link fired an arrow at the interrupter, and they decided to pass the unblocked door first. It was a good decision because the door led them inside a cell in a lava room with a big chest that contained the map of the temple.

"So far, the temple isn't so bad," commented Sweetie Belle.

"But we still have a lot to explore," pointed out Link as he read the map. "It's clearly bigger than the Forest Temple."

"And greater dangers will probably appear eventually," warned Navi.

On that note, the heroes returned to the previous room with the narrow path, and this time, they unlocked the door with the lock, and as if to prove Navi's point, the next room revealed to be the lava room with the cell containing the big chest.

The only way to continue was to walk on a narrow wall allowing them to jump on a metal grating suspended from the ceiling. When they arrived on it, a wall of fire appeared behind them and slowly began to advance, threatening to burn them. So they ran on the metal grating, jumped on another (Sweetie Belle hammering a Red Bubble jumping out of the lava at this moment), and continued, spotting a locked door that they couldn't open yet. They then jumped on another metal grating (Marko knocking another Red Bubble) before reaching a stone path that they just had to climb to reach a door.

This returned them to the maze room, but now, they were on top of the maze walls. Jumping across to the platform in front of them and dealing with a Torch Slug, the Bage siblings sensed a Goron (they were the only things that had life energy capable of withstanding the heat of Death Mountain, from what they could tell) below a portion of the floor that seemed to be ready to collapse. Link destroyed it with a bomb, uncovering a hole with grating they could use to climb down. Following the passage, they reached the cell they hadn't been able to open in the room with the block and the crystal. Opening it, the Goron thanked them by telling them that there were creatures that danced as they attacked that couldn't be hurt by arrows but feared their 'special crops'. They then took the key in the chest beside him.

Back on the walls of the maze room, they jumped on more platforms until reaching another cell. However, the switch was on another platform, so they had to go to it first to open the cell. The freed Goron then told them about playing the ocarina to reach a place that they could see on the map.

He was probably talking about the floating platforms they spotted above them when they entered the maze room from the lava room. No way to reach them except by flying or teleporting.

Link crossed his arms as he thought about it. "I don't think that I have the song to reach them. Unless it’s the Bolero of Fire? It doesn't seem to be Zelda's Lullaby because I don't see any Triforce symbol there."

While he thought about it, Sweetie Belle opened the chest that was behind the now gone Goron and took the key in it before she said, "If you don't have the song, then let me help you reach them."

And so, the filly teleported herself and Link onto one of the platforms, followed soon after by Rota coming out of Instant Transmission with Marko in tow, the platform revealing to be an elevator, leading to a room with grating they climbed to reach a partially destroyed room that was still massive, despite the damage. There, they pressed a switch that deactivated flames surrounding a chest that they had to reach before they reappeared. Sweetie Belle just flew to it, obtaining a golden rupee.

More money was always nice to buy ammunition, potions, and other stuff that they may need.

With nothing more to do here, they returned to the maze room, then to the lava room with the gratings where they opened the locked door they had seen earlier (although they still had to escape the wall of fire). After traversing a hallway, they entered a large room with many skinny pillars sticking out of the floor, and there were also some rotating pillars sending streams of fire and some boulders rolling around. When they approached the little pillars, they saw that they were connected between them by invisible walls of fire that they could see only by approaching them. And contrary to other flames, Marko couldn’t just walk through these, as a barrier seemed to accompany them.

Another maze.

"You know, I really hate mazes," informed Sweetie Belle, to the amusement of the others.

Thankfully, the maze wasn't hard to navigate through, just dangerous for most of them because of the invisible walls of fire that didn't hurt that much anyway, and the boulders and pillars sending streams of fire were quickly destroyed by Sweetie Belle or one of the Bage siblings. They also discovered that there were some of those fake doors the Goron warned them about earlier, so Rota destroyed them with some explosive energy blasts.

They first reached a locked door that led to a small room with a cell that couldn't be opened. So they simply traversed the passage and opened the door at the opposite side, ending up in another part of the fire-maze room. From there, they saw a door further to the right in the outer wall, but they found out that they couldn't reach it from there. Instead of going all the way back, Sweetie Belle flew above the fire wall and went to open the door to see where it led to. Seeing that it just led to a dead end with a big chest, she passed it and went to get whatever was in the chest, finding the compass. It was with a big smile that she passed it to Link.

Continuing in the fire maze, they stepped on a switch that deactivated a big wall of fire at the end of the room. After navigating in the maze some more, they reached it before the wall of fire reappeared. The door here, however, revealed to be a fake one. One bomb later, and the door was no more as well as the wall behind it, revealing the real door (sculpted as a head). When they passed it, bars appeared on it behind them, locking them in the new room.

Meaning that they had to fight something.

That something quickly revealed to be that dancing monster that a Goron warned them about, a Flare Dancer, a monster made entirely from flames, save for the torso. The Goron told them to use bombs against it, but Marko, being fireproof, just tackled the creature, grabbing the torso on his way through, revealing it to be the core of the Flare Dancer, and hurling it to Link’s feet, allowing the Hylian to attack it directly. However, the core didn’t just sit there and let itself be attacked, sprouting little legs to try and escape. Rota cut it off, coming out of Instant Transmission with an axe kick-style stomp, slamming the core against the ground and burying it slightly. Undeterred, the core still tried to jump into the fire on the platform in the middle of the room after wriggling out from under the Saiyan’s boot, seeking to regenerate its body. Sweetie didn’t let it, using her whip to bring it back to her, meeting it with a punch that sent it slamming against the opposite wall, where it exploded.

In the end, the monster was dead before it could even attack. Eh, it was still fun to watch it explode.

With the Flare Dancer’s death, the bars on the door and the fire in the center disappeared. Seeing that there was a square-shaped hole in the ceiling, it wasn't hard to guess for the heroes that the platform in the middle was an elevator, so they climbed on it and let it lead them to the floor above where they immediately passed a door.

The next room was similar to the one with the block and the crystal, without the block this time, and the crystal was just beside the entrance. So Link put a bomb beside the crystal and they quickly climbed the grating at the side to reach the top level of the room where there was the fire surrounding another grating. When the bomb exploded, it activated the crystal, making the fire disappear. This let them reach and climb the grating, and at the top, they passed another door.

The next room seemed to be a more intact twin of the room where they got the golden rupee. This time, the way to reach the chest (a big one) would be through a very narrow path from which Link would risk falling all the way back to the room with the cell they hadn't been able to open yet. There was another, less risky path made of upper and lower platforms, but it would take probably too long to reach the chest passing by this one.

Thankfully, Sweetie Belle had her wings, and the Bage siblings could fly.

After stepping on the switch, and winning a quick game of rock paper scissors between her and the siblings to decide who would open the chest, they simply flew to the chest and she took what was in it: the legendary hammer itself. When Link joined them (having denied Rota and Marko’s offer to carry him up in favor of going on the less risky path), she immediately gave it to him.

“Well, at least we have the weapon, now,” Marko said.

Link didn't lose time to use it on a suspicious slab beside the entrance of the room, making it drop on a hole it was covering. This let them reach a new, empty room with a statue, but no visible exit.

Until they remarked that the exit was behind the statue. They could partially see the door from the right angle.

Without losing time, Link hit the statue with the hammer, breaking it down piece by piece that slid to the side before mysteriously disappearing, letting them pass the door behind.

In the next room, Sweetie Belle and the siblings killed some Keeses while Link went to smash a strangely placed pillar beside some boxes, causing the ground to break down into giant steps leading to a blue switch beside a door blocked by bars. When Rota went to press the switch, it unblocked the door, but as soon as she stepped away from it, the bars returned. So she simply stayed on the switch until the others passed through it, then used Instant Transmission to bypass the door entirely.

Another smashed slab allowed them to return to the fire maze room, simultaneously revealing the slab itself to be a block they used to reach an area that was not conventionally reachable before. There, Link used the hammer to smash a rusted switch that couldn't be pressed simply by being stepped on, unblocking another barred door that led them back in the room with the cell, this time on the upper level.

Seeing that there was a Time Block, Link played the Song of Time, teleporting it down on the lower level in front of the cell to be used as a shortcut. They then jumped across to the other side of the room so Link could smash the switch here, finally opening the cell.

The Goron in it told them that there was a hidden door behind a statue at the entrance hall of the temple.

"And now, we have to go all the way back here," complained Sweetie Belle who was thinking of cheating by teleporting them again.

Link grinned. "Don't worry, I know a shortcut. The fire-maze room is just above the room with the door leading to Volvagia."

"Oh?"

At her questioning, Link gave her the map, letting her see that he was right, and that there was also, indeed, a secret path in the entrance hall beside the one blocked by the cell.

Using the Time Block, they then returned on the upper level after taking the key in the chest that was behind the Goron. When they returned to the fire-maze room, they used the previous block to jump on another platform with a slab that could be smashed. Link made sure to be on it with Sweetie Belle, Rota and Marko before he smashed it, and the slab fell with them on it all the way back to the room where they found Darunia, Sweetie Belle squealing and Rota cheering all the way (and Link couldn't stop a scream too).

The slab then revealed to be the top of the famous pillar the first Goron talked about, opening the way to the door to Volvagia.

But they were still missing the Big Key.

Returning to the Entrance Hall, the heroes followed the advice of the last Goron they talked to, and looked for a statue. Upon finding it, they smashed it to reveal it was hiding a locked door. Luckily the last Goron they talked to also had the key to the door in a chest behind them. Unlocking and traversing the door, the group found themselves faced with Fire Keeses and Torch Slugs that were quickly dispatched, allowing them to continue.

The next room had a setup similar to a previous one, specifically the levitating tiles with a Like Like. After destroying the tiles and killing the Like Like, they entered a room that revealed to be another Flare Dancer arena, which was dispatched as easily as the first one. The Flare Dancer’s death let them continue, as well as made a chest appear on the center platform that, upon opening, held some bombs.

Then, they were in the hallway blocked by the cell, on the other side where they could reach the switch to open it (they had to smash it because it was rusted).

Not only was the last Goron freed, this also allowed them to get the chest, which contained the Big Key! The Goron had no advice to give, however, only requesting that they save “Big Brother Darunia.”

With the hammer and key in hand, the heroes knew they would.

"Time to become a dragon slayer," muttered Link at this moment.

"Hey. Now that I think about it, it's time for me too! I defeated dragons but never slayed one!" said Sweetie Belle.

"Any... advice on how to fight them?" asked Link as Rota and Marko went ahead to the door to Volvagia.

"Well, I don't know yet how Volvagia looks, but if he's your typical fire-breathing dragon, then expect mainly to avoid his fire breath and sharp claws. He may also try to bite, or even eat you. If you attempt to attack him from behind, he will probably use his tail to slap you. And of course, with his big size, he may attempt to ram us or crush us, so watch out. Don't worry. You are fast and already very good with this hammer. I'm sure it will be okay."

Link nodded. "Okay... Thanks."

They then regrouped with the Bage siblings in the lava room and used the pillar to reach the door to Volvagia. After opening it, they then entered the room.

It was a circular lava room with a circular arena at the center. The arena itself had several pits of magma. To reach it, they had to pass by a platform.

Once they were on it, everything began to shake, and the platform they just used disappeared into the lava, leaving them trapped in the arena.

Then, the pit in the center of the arena rustled, and out of it came Volvagia himself.

He wasn't "your typical fire-breathing dragon". He wasn't as big, but was actually a long serpentine red dragon with only two forelimbs. The only part that wasn't covered in red scales was the cranium which was actually covered by a helmet-like exoskeleton with two horns. From his neck, a fiery mane was also streaming behind him not unlike an alicorn mane.

As he came out of the pit, Volvagia revealed to be able to fly despite lacking wings.

The dragon visibly grinned at them before returning inside one of the pits.

The gears were turning inside Sweetie Belle's mind. A hammer... Several pits out of which the dragon could come...

She facehoofed.

This whole fight was just a giant, dangerous game of Whac-A-Mole! Or rather Whac-A-Dragon!

Well then...

Sweetie Belle planted a hoof in the ground before pulling out molten magma shaped like a giant warhammer. The magma then quickly solidified before she turned it into pure iron with some spikes popping out on the head.

Marko summoned his sword and remolded the blade into a hammer head, then began swinging it with the same ease as if it were still a blade. Rota, meanwhile, simply charged a purple ball of energy that she kept hold of in her hand.

When the pit just beside Sweetie Belle and Link began to rustle, the filly then twirled the hammer as if it weighed nothing before she slammed it down on the head of Volvagia just as he was coming out, stunning him.

“Sucks for you that I’m very good at Whac-A-Mole!”

Rota threw her energy ball at Volvagia’s head before the dragon could recover, the detonation knocking his head aside, but as Marko came in for a swing of his own, the beast recovered, parrying Marko’s weapon with an arm and unleashing his flame breath against the human. Only to be shocked when that human to not only withstand his fire breath, but for the flame to be repulsed with a thunderous Shout.

“FUS RO DAH!”

A shockwave of concussive force projected forth from Marko’s cry, pushing the flame aside and sending Volvagia reeling. The beast managed to dive back into a pit, momentarily escaping the onslaught from the heroes.

Suddenly, Volvagia rushed out of the magma, sending blobs of the molten rock flying as he began to circle above the arena. With a flaming roar, the dragon swooped down to burn the heroes with his fire breath, but Rota and Marko strike him from both sides of his head with synchronized punches, their limbs striking as hard as hammers and causing Volvagia to roar in pain. The dragon whipped his tail around, forcing the siblings back, only for Link, thrown by Sweetie Belle, to drop hammer-first on his head. This still wasn’t enough to kill Volvagia, who retaliated by flailing around his mane and tail before retreating once more into the magma.

After faking out the heroes with feigned attempts to emerge from the pits, the dragon suddenly rushed out of one towards the ceiling, slamming it full force and causing pieces of it to break off and fall onto the arena. As Link protected himself from the falling stone with his shield, Volvagia attempted to rush at him, only to be driven into the floor by Marko coming down with a slam of his own sword-turned-hammer onto the top of the dragon’s head. After thrashing around to shake off the human and repel the others, the beast retreated into the pits again.

All the pits then suddenly erupted, causing drops of magma to fall on the heroes and to burn them. Because of the geysers, they couldn't see from which pit Volvagia popped out, and Sweetie Belle found herself grabbed on the tail before she was slammed on the ground. She was then thrown against a wall beyond the arena, but the filly managed to land on it on her legs.

Volvagia growled in frustration when he saw this.

However, because of this, he didn’t see Link coming in, propelled by a boot to the ass by Rota, to smash his hammer on the beast’s head, finally breaking his skull.

Volvagia screeched in pain, holding his claws over the open wound, before he flew into an open pit in panic. The dragon then flew out of the central pit in pain as he began to burn from the inside out. Before long, all that remained of him was his skeleton that fell into pieces all over the arena, with his skull dropping just in front of the heroes.

And the familiar blue light appeared.

Sweetie Belle sighed before throwing her hammer into the lava around the arena. "Well, this fight wasn't what I had expected, but it still worked out well."

Link laughed. "I don't think I will be able to sit anytime soon."

Rota chuckled sheepishly, as well. “Sorry about that.”

"That's something I can't wait to tell to the other fairies," said Navi. "I'm sure this will be a great story that will be passed on for generations."

"Yeah, I'm sure too," deadpanned Link.

They then walked into the blue lighting, letting it envelop them in a crystal before transporting them into the Chamber of the Sages.

---

Like the previous time, they appeared on the center of the pillar with the six colored pedestals. After they landed, a blue light appeared on the red pedestal, and Darunia came out of it.

"Thank you, Brother! I really appreciate what you and your friend did. I thank you on behalf of the entire Goron race! You turned out to be a real man, just as I thought you would! And you three, you hold power beyond that many have seen in this world. I would really like to get to know you. Sweetie Belle, Rota Bage and Marko Bage, right?"

Sweetie Belle and the siblings nodded. "Uhuh. Thanks."

"Thank you, Brother," Link said with a nod.

"Eheh. By the way, I, the wild Darunia, turned out to be the great Sage of Fire... Isn't that funny, Brother? Well, this must be what they call destiny. Nothing has made me happier than helping you seal the evil here!" He gave a very big smile toward Link at this. "Hey, Brother, take this! This is a Medallion that contains the power of the fire spirits-and my friendship.

He then raised his arms, and a red medallion appeared above Link.

While the Hylian grabbed it, Darunia then looked back at Sweetie Belle, Rota and Marko and put forward a fist. Understanding what he wanted to do, Sweetie Belle flew to him then she and the siblings bumped his fist.

"Until next time, Siblings."

And the area was plunged in light.

"Don't forget... Now, you and I are true Brothers!" was the final farewell of Darunia to Link.

---

When Sweetie Belle, the siblings and Link came out of the crater, they saw that the volcano was back to normal.

No more scary fiery clouds circling it.

No more threatening to erupt and destroy Kakariko Village.

Peace was back on Death Mountain.

Author's Note:

Next up: The water temple.

If you've seen the original version.... You know what Lucar dreaded?

Same.

Comments

[Lucar]

Only to be shocked when that human to not only withstand his fire breath, but for the flame to be repulsed with a thunderous Shout.

“FUS RO DAH!”

Oh my god! And now, Sweetie will want to do it too!

They then walked into the blue letting, letting it envelop them in a crystal before transporting them into the Chamber of the Sages.

Oops.

If you've seen the original version.... You know what Lucar dreaded?

Same.

Oh boy, Rota and Marko will face their Dark-selves. Oof...

[Cyrus Colter]

11880295
Yep.

Fixed.

I do not look forward to either of those fights.

Also, sorry if it notifies you twice on the chapter release, Edit and Publish should not be next to each other.

[Lucar]

11880306

Also, sorry if it notifies you twice on the chapter release, Edit and Publish should not be next to each other.

Yeah, it happened to me too...