Legend Of Zelda Fan Fiction ❯ Ethereal Wings ❯ Chapter III: The Flames of Friendship (Part 1) ( Chapter 3 )

Chapter III: The Flames of Friendship (Part 1)


The evening was settling in, and the deep pink rays of weak sunlight gave everything around us a feeling of warmth. I packed the last of my few belongings in my bag, but something was weighing on my mind. The weird thing was, I wasn't quite sure what it was. There was a feeling inside of me that was really upset that Aiko and I couldn't get that medallion ourselves. Were we really this weak? I mean, of course our journey has just started… But are we really going to have to get this much stronger to overthrow Ganondorf?

“Zomi!” Aiko shouted from behind, patting me on the shoulder. “You finished packing?” She said, grinning.

“Yup, just finished!” I replied, smiling back. I glanced over at the huge mountaintops that lay past our destination. “It's not that far of a hike, it's actually much closer than Death Mountain is.” I stated.

“Yeah.” She answered me in a soft voice, with a sense of some fear inside.

I gave her a slight but sudden look of empathy, and then abruptly stood up. “So, we ready?” I shouted back at the guys.

“We've only been waiting.” Lee complained with a smirk. “We have to hurry before it gets dark. It shouldn't take us that long.”

“Blah, blah.” I joked as we caught up with them.

As we walked, we got the chance to see Hyrule Field as we never did before. The trees, the wind, everything. Yet, it still wasn't home. Eight hundred yawns and two pit stops later, we finally reached Kakariko, just before the moon rose.

“Wow, this is a quaint little village…” Link replied as we walked up the stone stairway into the entrance, examining our surroundings. There were only a few houses, farm animals, a windmill, and even a spooky old graveyard.

“Ugh…” I pouted. “I hate graveyards, they spook me out.” I added, shuddering slightly.

“Guess the Twilight Guardian ain't all that dark.” Link joked at me, as I gave him a roll of the eyes.
“There's the Inn, guys!” Aiko said, stopping at the front of an intimidating old cobblestone structure.

“Joy.” I replied, less amused.

“It's either this or you can sleep with the chickens.” Lee replied, glancing in our direction, and walking in.

Our room was even less amazing. Four beds, that was about it. Oh, plus the amazing fireplace, which was four stacks of wood in the middle of the room.
I grabbed a few stones lying next to the bed of the fireplace, and sparked up a fire. The warmth felt good after walking outside with the breeze.

Only a moment later, Aiko joined me sitting next to the fire, as the boys unsuited from their armor in the backroom.

“So…did they tell you how they got the medallion?” She asked me, with an expression of curiosity, and even innocence.

I smirked, knowing she would ask this. “You'd be surprised… We're supposed to be the Guardians…, but they seem to know what they're doing a lot more than us.”

She looked at me, expecting to hear more. But truly, what could I say? The memory was blurring for me, as I was almost out of consciousness myself at that time. I remembered Link grabbing me, and running with me from something… But not much else. Before they beat the Phantom, I was already out of it.

Link yawned as he walked in from the other room, and sat beside us, resting his head in his hands. “What's up, girls?” He imposed in a tone, as if he knew what we were talking about. He handed us each some medicine potion, for our wounds to heal faster.

“Umm…Nothing.” I said with a smile. “Just thinking about what we need to do to get stronger.”

“Honestly, you guys did really well for not knowing what to expect on your first time.” He stated in a serious tone. “But these Temples are definitely no playgrounds. We all need each other to help get through them. Remember, we each have a piece of the Triforce with us, without each other, we're like a broken puzzle. We protect this land together…You have no idea how worried I was about you. We thought we lost you both.”

We both nodded, with a sort of embarrassed feeling inside of us. How did we know they still cared so much about us? After six years, we were barely getting to know each other again.

Lee walked in, dropping his armor on the ground beside us.

“I don't ever want either of you to go off on your own again. When we're separated, our weaknesses are exposed. Each of us gainsays each other, as a piece of what is critical to survive. Link and I are the force and defense, Aiko is the healing and magic, and Nozomi is our speed and magic. All of that is important…” He sighed.

 

`Here we go again with `Mr. Statistics…'

Aiko and I glanced at one another, and for a moment, we knew what each other was thinking. They do care. They hadn't forgotten about us after all that time, and us doing that made them feel like they were unwanted by us. Our intentions weren't as bad as they seemed, but it was still a selfish thing for us to have done. I sort of felt like some misunderstood heretic.

Later that night, I lied awake in my bed. I was tired, but there was too much no my mind for me to sleep. This certain knot in my stomach kept seeming to get bigger, but I was still ignorant as to what it exactly was.
Kazu and Jin flittered around the small embers of the fire that once was, I smiled a bit, they always seemed so free. Freedom was the opposite of our caged lives. From that day on, we no longer got to choose our destiny; it was made out for us. I turned over on my other side and sighed, concentrating on the cracks in the walls, blurring them in and out of focus with my eyes. Suddenly, breaking my concentration was a clink sound, like a sword being picked up. I didn't want to turn over, but I had a good feeling I knew who was getting up. A certain Kokiri I knew all too well.

A few minutes passed, and I couldn't wait any longer in suspicion. I quietly but desperately escaped from the room and sneaked outside, where I saw Link sitting on the edge of the hill, staring at Death Mountain, our next destination. A sort of dreamy look resided across his face.
I sat beside him quietly, so as not to disturb his reverie, but right as I sat, he glanced over at me in surprise.

“What are you doing awake at this time of night? You should really be resting, you know?” He said with a certain tone of concern.

“Too much on my mind…” I said with a sigh. “Plus, I'm hoping that Aiko and Lee can be alone to talk about something, something that was on her mind as well.”

Link looked at me with a face saying, `Oh, I know exactly what you're talking about.' The slight smirk and genuine look in his blue eyes gave it away.

“Plus…” I added, then hesitating to decide whether I should finish my sentence.

“Plus what?”

“I was hoping we could catch up on a few things… You know, it's been six years.” I laughed slightly.

“I would like that a lot.” He said smiling at me. “Though, you still seem the same old Nozomi to me.” He laughed back.

I collapsed onto my back, gazing at the twinkling stars in the navy night sky. “You too, cept now you're a foot taller than me.”

Link joined in on the stargazing with me, and for a moment, there was a sort of blissful silence. Then, he looked back at me.

“Tackling Death Mountain won't be easy. But I think we can all do it, if we're together. Aiko and you are stronger than you think; the problem with last time was just that you two had your expectations set too low. If you had known what was coming up, I think you both would have gotten the medallion yourselves.”

“…Really?” I asked. “You believe in us that much? I know it was a dumb idea…but we just wanted to feel like we were important…”

With a chuckle, Link stretched out and yawned. “We all want to feel like we're living up to our goals, it's perfectly fine…”


- - -




Aiko peered out the window into the night sky. She had seen me awake, but at the same time knew what I was trying to do for her. She wanted more than anything to know the reason why Lee left Kokiri Woods six years ago, and only came back when it was her and my time to save Hyrule. She grabbed onto the toy ocarina that was given to her as a child, and let out a deep sigh.

“Still awake?” A deep voice emerged from the shadows of the room.

Aiko jumped at the sudden change of volume. “Y- yeah…” She stuttered. “Tonight isn't a night for sleeping, I suppose...”

Lee sparked the fireplace, creating a small flame just bright enough to give presence to everything visible in the room. “The truth is…We knew about it.”

“Knew about it?” Aiko questioned in a confused tone. “What are you talking about?”

“About you both being Guardians.” He finished. “We knew, because… we snuck out a few nights before you two left, and we saw the spirits…we hid behind some bushes, and listened to what they talked about. They were talking about how it was time for you both to go to your worlds and wait for the day to come where you would set out on a mission to save Hyrule. But they found us, and before we could explain, they already knew who we were. They told us that we'd need to be strong someday, because we'd be the ones who protect the Guardians.”

Aiko kept silent, taking it all inside. “And you didn't tell us?”

“We didn't tell you because…we were confused, and we didn't want you to leave…you guys were the only friends we had. So I decided to leave and get stronger, but when my brother found out I left, he did too. We went our separate ways, but we kept getting stronger, because we knew that we'd need to. That's why I left…and I didn't know how to say it, so I left without saying anything…I figured if you never knew, it wouldn't hurt you.”

Aiko looked down, with a slight smile across her lips, a smile of pain and relief. “That's the very thing though…You didn't tell me. That's the reason it hurt.”

- - -

“Owch! Watch your step…” Link whined as I climbed on his shoulders to peek in on Aiko and Lee. “Your boots are pointy…”

“Hush, you baby. Do you want to blow our cover?” I asked him maliciously, while peering in the dark room, trying to see if my sly plan was working. “Ohhh…I see…yeah…”

“Can you see them? Are they talking?” Link asked inquisitively, looking up at me.

“Mmmhmm…wow…” I continued, trying my hardest to aggravate him.

“What? Tell me!” He whispered loudly.

“Nahhh…I don't think I wanna.” I said with a mischievous grin on my face.

He glared back at me with a sort of playful anger. “Don't make me throw you into the pond.”

“YOU WOULDN'T!” I squealed, realizing my fate was in his hands.

“Yeah, I would.” He flung me over his shoulder and started to walk towards the small pond that resided next to the Inn.

“AIKO!! HELP ME!! LEEEEE!!! AHHH!” I screamed, trying to kick my way out of his grasp. Aiko and Lee hurriedly ran out the door.

“Are you guys o…..k?” She asked, blankly watching me being carried.

“Well DON'T JUST STAND THERE, HELP ME!” I insisted.

“I say you try to throw her in the very middle.” Aiko joked as she caught up to us.

“Good idea!” Link answered in laughter.

“This isn't funny. It's too EARLY FOR THIS!” I cried. It was then, another amazing idea suddenly jolted into my mind.

As we came closer to the pond, I grabbed the handle to my sword. And right before Link threw me in, I pulled out the Moon blade and summoned…

“Nami no Kouken!!!”

A giant wave appeared from the pond, which gracefully also washed in my two friends.

As the three of us simultaneously arose out of the water, I added with a smile, “Guess the joke isn't only on me.”

Aiko glared at me, picking the seaweed out of her hair. “I hate you…with a loving passion.”

“Well, at least we got a cool-off before we get the fire medallion…” Link said as he ringed the water out of his hat.

Lee glanced at us with an amused smile. “Sometimes, I think I'm on this Journey with a bunch of children.”

“You are!” Aiko and I squeaked, as I threw a piece of seaweed on his face, Aiko and Link bursting out in laughter behind me. He tried to look serious, but couldn't help but to let out a few laughs himself. It seems we were finally warming up to each other once more.

Link sighed. “It's too bad we have to change our tune so suddenly when we get up there.” He said glancing at the monstrous mountain.

“I've heard many things about this Temple,” Lee added. “I have a feeling that it won't be easy.”

“Bring it on, then.” I said, standing up and gazing towards it. “It doesn't scare me.” I clutched my swords handle; I knew we could do it together this time.

Aiko stood beside me. “After all, with all of us together, probably nothing can beat us. It's time for us to get stronger, this can be our training.”

The wind blew a gentle breeze across the lands.

“Let's stock up on some potions and equipment before we head out. This time if anything happens, we can be prepared.” Link replied, as he started to walk over to the small wooden shack across the walkway of the town. I followed behind him, curious to see what this shop held.

“I just realized…I'm freaking hungry.” I said, patting my growling stomach as we approached the store.

“Oh gods, me too…” Aiko added. “What about you guys?”

“I agree, we can see if they have anything in here.” Lee alleged, entering the shack.

The inside smelled like dead fish, not to mention all of the weird trinkets around the place. I covered my nose with my sleeve, disgusted, and walked up to the old woman at the counter.

“Do you have anything normal here?”

Aiko butted in front of me suddenly, with some nervous laughter.

“Haha…she means…do you have any potions and such we could use? We're heading towards Death Mountain for an important task… Oh yeah, and food would be nice too.” She giggled.

“Death Mountain, why in heavens name would ye have business up there? It's terribly dangerous.” Replied the old woman, in a raspy yet powerful voice.

“We have to retrieve something important up there, it's a long story.” Link answered as he looked around.

“Well, if ye are goin' anywhere close to this mountain, you'll need these…” The lady went into the back of the store for a moment, and came back with her hands full of what looked like weird looking suits of armor.

“Wha…?” I stared blankly at the odd apparel.

“These are Fire Suits. They normally sell for about 1000 rupees each, but since y'all are just youngins' I'll hack the price in half for ye, 500 each. What do ye say?”

“Two thousand rupees?! Who thought saving the world would break our bank as well?” Aiko huffed, looking around in her rupee pouch. “I only have 650 rupees, so I'll be flat broke after buying mine.” She sighed.

“Are you sure this isn't some sort of scam?” Lee asked, examining the suits.

“Not at all, mister.” The lady insisted. “You can go try to wonder round in that place without em, but I'll doubt ye will come back to see that I was right.”

We all sighed, and with that, left the shop more broke than we even went in.

“…I'm still hungry.” I whined, as we approached the entrance. “Stupid old hag making us spend our food money on a bunch of tin...”

“We'll have to look around for some more rupees, and then I promise we'll get something to eat.” Link said. “As for now, let's just get this part over with.”

“How many hills does this place have?! My legs are killing me…” Aiko stammered.

“WHAT IS IT WITH YOU TWO AND WHINING?!” Lee yelled at the top of his lungs, as it echoed across the creators, amidst the silence he created.

Aiko and I looked at each other, giggling. It seemed we had created a source of amusement for ourselves already. Maybe having the guys here with us was a good idea after all.

“Hey guys, did you hear that?” I asked, listening in the distance. Something sounded like it was falling, something huge.

“Yeah, I wond- uhh…” Aiko paused.

“What's wrong?” I asked, looking at her. She pointed directly in front of us, where a massive boulder was parading towards us at a high speed. We were paralyzed from shock.

Instantly, the guys pushed us out of the way, and jumped out of the way as well. The boulder slid past us, leaving dust all throughout the air in its trail. I coughed and wiped off my eyes, looking up to see that it was gone.

“That was a close one. Next time you see a boulder, don't stare at it, move.” Lee replied, as he and Link helped us to our feet.

“Where did that come from? That's crazy…” I said glancing around the place. “Wait…what's that?” I asked, pointing to another boulder, sitting in front of some sort of cavern.

“Looks like it's blocking something.” Link said. “I'll try to break it, watch out.”

We backed up, and Link pulled out his Sword. Running towards the rock, he struck it in the direct middle, piercing it in half.

My eyes widened. “Since when could you do that with your sword?”

“A little practice goes a long way,” He laughed. “Plus, my sword isn't just any sword.”

I crossed my arms. “Mine coulda done that, too.”

We peered inside the tunnel that was now open. Inside, there was boiling magma around a giant pillar. As we walked further inside, there was some weird plants I had never seen before in my life. They looked like bombs, but they were growing from the ground.

“This place is weird…” Aiko said looking around her surroundings. “What is it?”

“Definitely not Death Mountain…” Lee remarked in response.

“Oh well, lets have a look around!” I exclaimed, jumping from rock to rock, and landing on the center pillar in the middle of the room. Kazu flew around me in circles.

“Careful, Zomi! There's magma all around here…”

Link followed my footsteps, the thud of his landing echoing throughout the cavern.

Something weird was sitting in the middle of the pillar. I walked up to it, curious as to see what it was, when suddenly it opened its…eye.

“Huh?!” I took a step back. I drew out my moon blade, which reflected the heat beam it shot at me suddenly, making it hit the walls at the end of the cavern, causing them to begin to crumble.

“Hyah!” Aiko shot the creature with a magic arrow as it kept attacking me, finally destroying it.

“What the hell was that?!” I said, dropping to my knees from the sudden adrenaline rush.

“I think that's the least of our worries right now, Nozomi…” Link said, turning me around to the side of the cavern that was crumbling. There stood a massive Lizard-looking creature, remaining silent. I covered my mouth.

“Did we wake it up…?” Aiko cried quietly.

“The entrance was blocked off from rocks that fell when the beam hit the wall.” Lee replied calmly. “Either we find another way out, or we'll have to fight that thing.”

It was too late though, the Monster opened it eyes, glaring right at us. It began to move slowly towards us, towering us each immensely.

“So whose bright idea was this again?”

Link and I held up our swords, as Aiko and Lee stood on each side of us ready to battle.

“Wait for it to make a move…” Link whispered. “Then we'll all attack at once.”

It drew in a heavy breath, ready to release something from it's lungs. I knew it, it was going to be fire.

“Midnight Tsunami!” I held out the moon blade, as a giant black whirling tunnel of water hurled towards the enemy. It countered the blast of fire it sent out.

“Nice save, Nozomi.” Lee replied. “Aiko, you should use one of your spells to weaken it, then we can go attack it before it tries to turn us into ash again.”

“Ok then.” Aiko answered. She arched one of her bows directly at the Lizards face. “Spell of…Darkness!” The arrow she arched contained a blinding light, which when it hit the monsters eyes, thoroughly blinded it. Confused, it began to blow flames everywhere.

“Shit!” I grabbed Links arm and used my speed jump to land on the other ledge with Aiko and Lee, as the fire destroyed the one we were standing upon. Aiko held out her arms, covering us with the blue barrier of Nayru's love, which blocked the massive flames.

“Let's go”, I said to Link. “Lets attack it from behind.” He nodded at me, and we jumped out of the barrier. I pulled him behind me as I tried my best to dodge all the flames, jumping from ledge to ledge, until eventually, we ended up right above it's head.

“Are you ready?” He asked.

I shook my head. “No, but more than I'll ever be any other time.”

With that, we jumped on its back. I striked the Lizard several times, as did link, weakening it enough for it to stop releasing its attack. It roared fiercely, nearly throwing me off several times, until I finally flew off it's back and over by Aiko, who helped me up.

“Din's Fire!” Lee's sword embedded it in flames, making it fall to the ground.

Aiko and I nodded at each other. “We'll finish it off.”

“Lunar…Arrow!” I charged up lunar energy from my sword, and struck it towards the enemy, and then Aiko shot an arrow, carrying it with an even stronger force. As it hit the Lizard, it exploded with a bright light and strong wind following it. When the light ceased, there was a sizzling noise.

“Those plants…they're burning…” I said, regaining my posture.

Link looked at me awkwardly. “I think….they're going to…”

Suddenly, they all exploded into flames, completely bursting through the cavern walls. We were thrown into the air, landing harshly on the rubble beneath us.

“Ow…” Aiko rubbed her head. “Where are we now?”

As we looked in front of us, there it stood. The explosion landed us right in front of the Mountains foot. It looked even bigger, being right in front of it.

I wiped the dust from my clothes. “Well, that guy wasn't too hard. Guess that's what teamwork does. That, and send us flying through the air from the exploding ground beneath us.”


“Don't get your hopes up; that pathetic excuse for a reptile wasn't even as strong as the Phantom we faced in the earlier temple.” Lee replied.

Aiko seeing a point for a transition, decided to get us all back on topic.
“Hey speaking of reptiles, look!” she pointed past all of us to the opening that was leading into the mountain crater.

There standing in the tunnel passage was a creature that looked as if it were crossed between a rock and a giant. Its beige skin and dark brown spots looked familiar to Link though as he rubbed his eyes.
“That's no reptile” He shook his head standing up as the group and I did the same, “it's a Goron”

“A Goron?” Lee repeated, but was distracted at Aiko running over to the beast.
“Oh Mr. Goron! Excuse me!” She yelled waving her hand in a greeting trotting to him.
“Ah, Aiko!” Lee and I scolded in unison chasing over to her.

“Pardon me sir,” Aiko started up. The Goron turned his head, revealing dark royal purple eyes and a tan feathered beard.
“But by any chance would this be the—mmpfh!” Lee and my hand quickly snapped over her mouth to prevent anything foolish from slipping out.
“Hehe, we're quite sorry Mr…Goron…sir…OR MISS! Miss Goron…” I excused Aiko's behavior.
“It's a he” Link mumbled.
`What? How do you know?” I asked glancing back at him and then to the Goron, thinking the worst.
“No! He just…seems really familiar”

“Mr. Goron, I'm very sorry, we didn't mean to bother you. We were just dared by some villagers to see if there was such thing as a fire temple, we'll be on our way” Lee lied straight through his teeth.

Aiko steamed under his hand as I let go to talk to the Goron.
“But…is there such thing as a Fire Temple?” I cocked my head innocently, resting my hand on my collar. The animal's chest sucked in and up as if about to talk.
“Yes” He answered in a low broad voice that made the very rocks under us tremble with pitch, “This is the dwelling of the Fire Temple” Aiko broke free of Lee's grip suddenly and popped forward nearer to the Goron.
“Well now that you know why we're here, may I ask why you're here?” She inquired as we all hit our foreheads at her naivety, “This is a really dangerous place. Don't you have a tunic like ours?” Aiko tugged on Link's shirt for an example as the Goron bellowed, causing more rocks to tremor.

“Don't worry about me my young guardians” He addressed as my head shot back and Aiko and I exchanged looks.
`Guardians?' I thought, `But how did he…'
“I am Darunia; King of the Gorons and I am here looking for my kind that Volvagia captured” We all gasped at his title as Lee sneered resting his hand on his sword handle.
`That's how! The sages'
“Volvagia?!”
“Yes, the Lava Dragon that Ganondorf himself controls” The Darunia explained, “He used to be the serpent that resided in Death Mountain's crater and left we Goron's alone” The Goron gazed up into the stars at the opening of the crater way above, “We Goron's are a peaceful yet proud race; So we left Volvagia alone and he did the same. Until recently”

“What happened recently?” Lee questioned seriously.
“Once Ganondorf came and split the medallions across the lands, as you have probably noticed, chaos erupt, even here in Death Mountain” He explained, “The mountain started acting up and we have had earthquakes of all sorts. At night we could hear Volvagia screeching inside the crater and Ganondorf laughing”

“Then one night, the dragon came flying out and snatched some of my kin and took them back here as prisoners”
“Or meals” Link added as I gulped nervously.
“Sounds gruesome” I said gripping my throat.
“So that's why you're here: to find your comrades that Volvagia and Ganondorf kidnapped?” Lee summed up the King Darunia's story as he nodded sadly, “I'm sorry”

Aiko stamped her foot heroically on the ground and rested both hands on her hips.
“Don't worry, team Kokiri is here to help!” She announced as the boys kind of choked at her sudden burst of an idea.
“Team Kokiri?” Link uttered in a lack of imagination.
“To help?!” Lee yelled at Aiko as I grinned performing the same action.
“That's right!” She and I stood back to back, winking and giving the victory sign, “King Darunia, we'll help you find your friends”
“Uh, yeah don't worry about it” Link joined in, leaning his elbow on my shoulder, “We'll find them” He smirked at me as I blushed barely.

The Goron smiled big and jumped up and down, yet again shaking the earth as everyone tried to stay balanced; Aiko clinging to Lee and Link and I dancing about bumping into one another.
“Thank you. Thank you so much young guardians!” He bowed slightly, tilting his head forward and reaching into a side sack of his, “In my gratitude, I'd like to present you with this young guardians”

Pulling his hand from the bag, there was a glowing red light that looked like a flame spitting in his hand. Lee and Link unsheathed their swords at the foreign material, but Aiko and I awed in wonder at the magic. When the flame finally mellowed out, in the King's hands were two golden gauntlets with a large black diamond in the middle and three diamonds surrounding the top edges.

“Woah…” we both murmured cupping our hands as he dropped each bracelet in our palms.
“These will help you bend fire and lift heavy objects that come across your path. Beware their power” He advised beginning to turn his back to the exit from which we came, “if you use the gauntlets too much or exploit their gift, they will drain your energy. But if you use it to protect the ones you love, it will help guide its focus. Good luck.” With a final wave, he faded into the heat reflections rising from the crater.
“Thank you! Goodbye! Bye!” Aiko and I chimed waving as well and turning back to the boys; Link and Lee putting their swords back with stern looks on their faces.

“What was that all about?” Lee broke the happy moment, “I mean: we're here on a mission if you have forgotten so soon”
“Seeing that we're already here, we might as well help” I slipped the bracelet onto my wrist wriggling my fingers freely once it was placed. Aiko easily dropped hers on and flexed her hand to see if it would fall off.
“Yeah, after all” Aiko spun around and stuck her tongue out in a girlish way, “we are guardians. So that means we have to help people, riiight?” Lee huffed and scratched the back of his head as Aiko giggled and walked right up to him.

She took his hand off his side, causing him to jump, but he felt a weight land in it. In the center of Lee's hand was the Goron bracelet.
“Aiko! That was a gift from the Goron King!” Link told her, “He was honoring your and Nozomi's kindness” I put a hand on his upper chest though to signal something.
“I know…” she replied twirling her foot in the dirt, watching it go round, “But, he said that it would protect loves ones.” Aiko looked up at Lee, her eyes sealed shut in a gleeful grin. “I thought you'd need it more than me”

Lee's face was flushed in red as he blinked as Tatl giggled flirtatiously around his head.
“Well” I stretched interrupting the unknown silence as Lee coughed awkwardly, “We'd better split up then” Suggesting the idea, Link agreed.
“How do you want to break into groups?” He questioned.
“We could go in groups of two, or a group of three and one, or just stay in a big group of four” Aiko counted off.
“Okay. We'll take a vote” Lee took charge letting his cool seep back in.
“It's an even number. It might turn out a tie” Link list an obstacle. “Fine; we'll do rock paper scissors on my go” Lee planned, “ready?”

Link and Lee were battling in shapes, hunched over like cavemen as I was in the middle of a yawn. Aiko was doing the same when I heard a loud growling. Glancing over at her, I supposed it was her stomach, but she was looking at me the same way.
“What was that?” I asked as she shrugged. We heard it again, yet this time it was more of a hissing. She and I glared at the boys to see if they noticed. No sign of discernment.

Suddenly, chills flew up my spine as I saw Aiko shivering at the sight behind us. I leaned back to see what caused us to behave like this. Pouring through the cavern exit was a small army of lizards like before.
“Guys…” I raised my voice in warning, but still they were caught up in the choice of group or no group, “Guys!”
“What is it Nozomi, we're in the middle of a decision?” Link lifted his head a bit agitated that we interrupted him.
“I think we've made up our minds”
“GROUP!” Aiko screamed curtailed sidestepping away from the flock of enemies approaching. Lee lead the way as Link grabbed my wrist to pull me ahead.

“Where the hell did those things come from?” He protested.
“How am I supposed to know” I excused, “I just know that we have a big problem amidst us”
“Make that two big problems Zomi” Aiko added peering over the edge of the cliff where we stopped, debris sliding off the border. “There's no bridge” Lee was holding her back as Link's hold on my arm only tightened.

He stared back at the reptiles marching onward and back at the lava.
“There!” He shouted pointing at a small rock island suspended above the lava in the middle of the crater. Propped against it was a wooden frame.
`Just perfect for a grappling hook' I wondered. Sure enough, Lee was already unhooking the item from his belt with all of us waiting eagerly behind him.

An arrow shot by my face, a white light piercing through three lizard warriors.
“Lee” Aiko pleaded readying another arrow, “Hurry” He launched the chain at the wooden post and he felt a chink along his line. It hit. Wrapping his arms around Aiko's waist and pulling her towards him, he took a step back, ready to jump.
“Hold on!” He advised her as she clung to him. The two leapt off the periphery gliding across the summit of boiling lava. After landing safely on the platform, Lee set Aiko down.

“Quick, shoot this back over” He handed her the grappling hook.
“It won't go that far!” She protested.
“We have to try” He stated, zealously, encouraging her as she nodded persuaded. Sitting down, on her rear then leaning back, Aiko placed the bow under her feet and drew back the string, putting the device in her hands. Her palms sweat as she nervously took in a breath while Jin made a straight shot path for her.
“Here goes nothing” She whispered and released the wire.

“Oh god, what are they doing over there?” Link hesitated slinging a rock from his slingshot at the creatures. I tossed my boomerang powerfully knocking down several of them then glancing to see what Aiko and Lee were up to.

“Nozomi!” I heard Aiko's voice echo.
Without notice though, a loud clank caught my attention, and lying at my feet was the grappling hook.
“About time” Link said picking the item up, but a lizard was charging right at us.
“No time!” I shouted pulling my hands back to my ribs as a green light started to form.

“Watch out!” Link took hold of me, with the grappling hook in hand and bound off the cliff. He launched the chain at the frame where his brother aimed, but there wasn't that redeeming click that came before. He began to scream as Aiko and Lee's voice resonated as well.
`No' I thought hard, `this won't happen. Not here, not this way' the green light in my hands still glowed as I covered Link's head and closing my eyes.
“Farore's Wind!” I chanted and the light swallowed us in an instant.

Falling, falling. I could feel my energy wearing from my body as we drifted through blackness. This was bad. I can only use Farore's Wind to go somewhere I have been before, or else I could get lost in time.
“Is…is this what being lost feels like” My thoughts resound into the darkness. Not even Kazu's voice was a luxury I could hear now. A gentle nudge touched my hand causing me to open my eyes alertly.
“Link?” it echoed. There was grumbling and murmurs as I was starting to be able to make our dark and faded shapes and shades of brown, “Link is that you?”

Still no reply, but the shapes were becoming clearer. Large masses of animals sat around me, bending down to examine me as if I were strange to them. Blinking rapidly, finally my sight was back. Sitting up holding my head in a daze I moaned as the creatures backed off slightly still grumbling in an unknown language to me. As my eyes began to adjust totally though, I realized they were Gorons; All of them. There must have been six or seven huddled near me.

Usually I would be afraid of such odd…well, things this close to me, but somehow I felt as if they were trying to help me.
`I wonder how long was I out' I ruminated but gasped, `where's Link?' Tossing my head side to side and about the room, I looked for him, yet he was no where to be found.
`What if these Gorons did something to him? Where did they take him?'
“Ex…excuse me…”I peeped as they all looked my way, “I'm looking for a friend of mine…he's about this much taller than me” I measured about half a foot above, “and is dressed and looks like me. H…have you seen him?”

One of the Gorons nodded and my heart skipped a beat.
`He's okay'
“Where is he then? Is he alright? Please, can you take me to him?” Two other Gorons moved aside to reveal him lying on his back unconscious being watched over by these friendly animals.
`Way to worry Zomi' My conscience rang as Kazu jingled over to where Link rested with Navi twittering above him.

“Nozomi!” Navi called out as I approached his body.
“How is he?” I questioned, slumping down in a pile next to him.
“Fine, just sleeping; we should let him rest a little bit longer” she answered amiably with my smile in thanks.
“How long has he been out…?” I rubbed my eyes, “how long have I been out?”
“For one or two hours at the most”
“The Goron's looked after you and Link for quite a while. They really are a nice species” Kazu informed me as I glanced back to observe them.

They were all gathered together socializing it seemed around the room that was blocked off by iron bars with crates spread out for storage. It was strange.
“You should thank them for their hospitality” Kazu hinted knocking into my back aggressively.
“Alright, alright, I'm going!” I consented getting up and walking towards a group of them.

“Umm…pardon me Gorons” I addressed as they all turned their heads with the general name, “But…a few hours ago, I met your King, Darunia, before I appeared in this cell” the Gorons began to chatter amidst themselves at my short story, “A friend of mine and I made a promise to him to try and help release you from Volvagia's prison. Are you all the only ones here?”

One Goron stood up and hit his chest.
“I am Enoch; worker of the West End in Goron City and these are my only men” He introduced spreading a hand across to the others, “Is it true that you have come from bargaining with the King of the Gorons?”
“That is correct, yes” I reassured. The rest of the Gorons rose behind him as he grinned; his mind starting to turn with plans.
“How may we assist you?”

I got a confident front appeared across my face as I smiled.
“Let's start by trying to bend these bars”

- - -

Aiko walked in a daze holding her arms, still in disbelief at what happened earlier. Lee glimpsed back at her, giving her some distance. Where did they go? Where are they now? How did they do it? Questions were flying through both their minds.

As she stepped upon a certain hot spot, a geyser of boiling water and steam shot forth, almost striking Aiko if Lee hadn't knocked her over and out of the way. Keeping her head below his body, he shielded her until the geyser calmed, residing beneath the earth.
"Aiko, pay attention!" He reprimanded, turning to one side on his arm, "If you don't you could get seriously..."

Lee stopped haranguing her as a shimmering substance was bunching in Aiko's eyes. She was crying. Lee kneeled from his laid position watching her in a puzzled manner.
"Aiko, I didn't mean to yell at you" He apologized with empathy in his voice, helping her up.
"I know..." She choked forcing a smile, her cheeks oddly formed at the requirement as she blinked back the salty substance around her eyes.
"It's not because I yelled at you is it?"

She shook her head rubbing her eye.

"Hey" he sighed, "Hey, look at me" He tilted her chin up so their eyes caught, "They're going to be okay. They're still alive" Her eyes got all teary again and her lip quivered apart as Lee smirked kindly. His train of thought was broken though when he felt a light tug on the back of his tunic and a force leaning into his chest. There was Aiko, sobbing into him for comfort and not letting go. Lee wrapped his arms around her in a warm embrace. She'd never cried so hard, and he'd never held so tightly. She'd never felt this desperate and he'd never felt so needed.



- - -

"That's it now men, keep unloading those boulders" Enoch commanded as I supervised helping here and there. Since they found out I had met their King and made a deal with him, they were very motivated and eager to get all of us out of the cell we were trapped in. With the Goron's Bracelet Darunia gave me before, I was able to lift just as much as the Gorons, but it still made me tired.

During a break as the Goron's kept working, I knelt beside Link, anticipating his awaking. Navi was now lying on his stomach, her wings twitching every once in a while as he'd breathe. Kazu was helping the Gorons push aside mounds of rocks to try and find another escape. I recalled the earlier endeavors.

"Try bending the bars!" I ordered as Enoch and some of his men attempted to manipulate the metal with brute strength.
"It's no use Lady Nozomi" they explained, "The bars are scalding hot from the temperature outside"
'We've been waiting here it seems like forever' I wondered, 'I just feel bad for the Gorons; they must have been in this reformatory for days.
"Look Zomi! He's waking up!" Navi announced merrily as Link groaned opening his eyes.

He stared at me, his lids struggling to adjust from his slumber.
"G'morning sleeping beauty" I smiled, hiding my long lasting worry.
"Mmmm, not you" He joked covering his face as I hit his arm playfully.
'COULD YOU HAVE BEEN IN A COMA ANY LONGER YOU BLOCK HEAD?!' my mind screamed, but the smile was glimmering on my face.
"Where are...what did you do back there?" He changed his question in mid sentence, assuming that I had probably asked the same when I woke up.
"It's called Farore's Wind" I answered crossing my legs as to eliminate the numbing sensation from my knees.

"Fa-rah,rah wha?" He squint his eyes puzzled scratching his sore skull from lying on the stone ground for an elongated amount of time. I giggled at his silly garble of words.

"Farore's Wind" I pronounced transparently, "It's a spell I learned at the Twilight World; it transports you somewhere that you've already been"
"Like a shortcut in time?"
"Yeah, I guess you could say that"
"Well, then how did we end up here?" His other question emerged.

"I don't know" I said personally, "The Gorons said that it was because the bracelet that King Darunia gave me that led me to them. There was a connection between the Goron race and this trinket apparently" I fiddled with the golden wristlet.
"That's enough about the history, then how do you we get out of here?" Link popped another inquisition.
"And that's what we are collaborating about right this instant" I gestured to the Gorons working diligently around us.

Link's eyes widened like mine at the sight of these creatures, but I explained what we already tried to do and some ideas on how to get out.

"Okay, hold on" Link waved his hands to stop me, "King Darunia gave you that bracelet, right?" I nodded.
"He gave the lecture on how Nozomi and Aiko can use its power to their disadvantage and advantage" Kazu quoted.
"Link, I honestly don't see where you are going with this. It doesn't play any significance to how we need it now" As I spoke Kazu dinged from the area the Gorons were un-piling rocks.
"Guys over here!" he drew our attention as the two of us and Navi hustled over to see what the fuss was about, "Aren't these the things that caused the explosion before in Dodongo's cavern?"

"What are they though?" I asked cocking my head at the familiar object.

"They're bomchus my lady" One of the Gorons answered informingly.

"'My lady'?" Link repeat completely lost at my name, but I put a finger in the air for silence. We glanced at each other and back at the plant. Growing from the ground were rounded bombs with red-orange leaves sticking out of the top and green blades of grass reaching from the bottom.

"Everyone" I announced looking over my shoulder at the Gorons and then at Link with a devious grin, "I think we have a plan"

- - -
Lee made his way up a still landslide of rocks, carefully guiding Aiko through. He huffed with exhaustion from moving across the whole crater in search of their comrades. Tatl swarmed around his head encouragingly waiting for the others.
“…Are you sure they're over here?” he asked reaching out his hands to pull Aiko up a large boulder, with help of the gauntlet.
“Mmm-hmm, I can feel it” She replied strongly, Jin tingling in agreement, “I know Nozomi's over here, this time I'm sure”
“Yeah, yeah, that's what you said last time and we nearly got ourselves killed” He objected climbing up another set of rocks, seeing a flat surface near the top.
“I didn't know that fire-bats were going to attack us!” She argued following close behind, “A-anyways, I saved you didn't I?”
“You? Save me? HA! Once, Ai. If I didn't go along this whole adventure, you would have been toast” Aiko's stomach growled as she held in agonizing pain.
“Ugh…could you please not mention food; I'm famished…” She mumbled pouting as he waited for her to meet him upon a boulder.

“Right now we need to focus on finding Link and Nozomi” Aiko crawled atop the rock still feeling it necessary to complain, “See that plateau at the top?”
She nodded.
“We need to get to that; then we'll have an overlook across the whole crater. You ready?” Aiko gave her consent and the two hustled up the rocks quickly.

Step by step, they dashed along the stones maneuvering around hot spots. Lee's foot brushed along one, kicking the cover off a small lava hole. He noticed right away and pointed it out to Aiko.
“Heads up on the lava, it could spring at any moment if you trigger it!” She acknowledged by vigilantly tracing his footsteps to watch for danger.

Finally reaching the top, Lee and Aiko stood over their knees panting from the final length of the climb as their fairies disappeared into their pouches.
“Well…that was a fun expedition, wasn't it?” Lee stated sarcastically as Aiko giggled at his lighter side.
“Seriously; after sprinting up those things, I thought my lungs were about to explode”
“BOOOOOOOM!” Aiko screamed, jumping onto Lee as he caught her. (Thank goodness) A giant cloud of smoke billowed from an immense hole in the side of the mountain. Lee set Aiko down, both hacking and wheezing as they fanned the smoke away.

“Wh-*cough* what was that?” Aiko coughed into her hand, peering through eyelashes to see some figures faintly emerging from the gap.
“I don't know. You okay?” *cough*” Lee questioned.
“Yeah. I'm fine,” She answered stumbling forward a bit trying to get a better look. “But…who are they?” Lee noticed what she was speaking of and squinted through the smog to see many hunched over shadows and then two upright figures coming through. He rubbed his eyes to see who was tripping through the smoke, but it was Link and I.