Triforce Warriors (based on "Legend of Zelda")

  "Do you think I should progress alone? It is the Fire Temple, and it houses the Fire Ruby, which is my Triforce gem."

  "That may be…a good idea…It might end…this hellishly long…staircase…"

  "True."

  Link raised his hand in a fist, and the army stopped, leaving Impa to progress down the stairway alone. They waited a few minutes, and they heard her yell to them, "It worked! I'm going to move on. If you guys want to try and come down, you can, but I would stay put for now!"

  Link followed her recommendation and sat down on the step he was standing on. The rest of his army sat down and took a drink from their canteens. It was a good idea for them to rest; he was just worried about Impa.

  ***

  Impa stopped at a river of lava. She looked up and saw a bridge hanging only by ropes. She raised her Naginata and swirled it through the air, gathering flames. She then thrust the Naginata at each rope, scorching and burning them.

  CLANG!

  The bridge fell down to a level that allowed Impa to cross. She looked around, and found herself in the center of a very large stone circle. Lava surrounded it. One bridge led from each the left and the right of the circle, and one led forward, parallel to the bridge she had come from. The bridge leading forward led upwards to a balcony of a stone castle. The entrance on the balcony consisted of two huge doors with a small indentation the size of her fist in the center of each, binding them together. She decided to go right and crossed the bridge.

  She opened the door, and entered. She found herself in a large chasm with bridges, lava spouts, and a slew of monsters wandering about. She crossed the first bridge and, with her Naginata, cut down the Bokoblin that was guarding it. She then stood on a circular platform with two sections made of hardened molten rock that floated on lava spouts, one on each side of her. On the other side of each spout was a platform that, when the lava spout was up, was of equal height to the rock. The platform on the right had a door with a chain across it, a lock keeping the chain together. She went left, hopping onto the rock when the spout came down. She waited for it to rise and then leapt up to the platform. She opened the unlocked door there and entered the room.

  She stood on a rim of a very large crater. The ground was made of the molten rock, so she continued with caution. At the bottom of the pit was a small chest. She went down and opened it, finding a small silver key, most likely fitting into the door on the right platform across the chasm from this room. She began to walk up the crater sides; the rock started to melt. A chain dropped from the ceiling dangling above the chest. Impa climbed onto the chest and leapt up, grabbing the chain. It began pulling her up as the rock melted completely. She gritted her teeth and started swinging to the rim; it melted, too. A large blob of lava burst from the pool and morphed into the shape of a Bokoblin. It climbed up after her, and more lava Bokoblins burst from the lava and started climbing up. Impa soon reached the top of the chain, the nearest Bokoblin only a few yards from her.

  She held onto the chain with one hand and wrapped her legs around it. She pulled her Naginata from her back and pointed it at the nearest lava Bokoblin. She swirled it, and the Bokoblin started to lose its shape, turning again into a mere puddle of lava. It fell from the chain into the pool at the bottom of the room, and Impa kept melting the Bokoblins when they neared her. When they were all gone, the pool hardened, and Impa climbed down the chain. When she reached the bottom, she dropped onto the ground, and headed for the door.

  She entered the chasm, and skipped over the rock to the center platform. She hopped up to the rock on the other side of the room and then leapt up to the platform when the spout rose. She placed the key in the lock, and turned it. The lock clicked apart, and the chains fell down. She entered the room.

  This room was small, probably only eight meters in diameter. It was built unlike the other rooms. The floor was paved with gold bricks, columns lined the edges of the room, and the ceiling had a hole in the center. She stepped closer to the center of the room, and a large Dinolfos dropped from the hole. It bared its fangs and leapt at her, swinging its machete back and forth. Impa backed up and pulled her Naginata from her back. She thrust it at the Dinolfos, stabbing it in the gut. Dark green ooze seeped around its fingers. It reared back and leapt straight for her, clamping its jaws on her shoulder. She cried out in pain and bashed it away. A chunk of flesh was pulled from her shoulder, letting loose a waterfall of blood. She dropped her Naginata and held her shoulder with her now un-armed hand. She fell to her knees and lowered her head for the final blow. The Dinolfos lifted its machete, and Impa spun, sticking her leg out and tripping the Dinolfos. She rolled over and picked up her Naginata with her free hand. She stood up, trying to avoid the pain in her right shoulder; she was already dazed from blood loss. The Dinolfos leapt up and hacked at Impa with its machete. She deflected the attack with her Naginata and spun it in the air, creating a circle of flame around the Dinolfos. It tried leaping over the circle, but the flames grew higher, and it scorched itself as it passed through. It squirmed on the ground, slowly charring. Impa stopped spinning her Naginata and thrust it into the gut of the Dinolfos. It vaporized, and a chest fell into the center of the room.

  She opened the chest and found a bottle with red potion inside, along with short golden cane about a foot long with a red gem on the end. She gulped the potion, and her shoulder began to heal. Within the minute it was as if she hadn't been attacked. She then examined the cane. She remembered tales of the gods creating something like this. It was called the Cane of Pacci, and the gods enchanted it to flip anything its magic beam came in touch with. She swung the cane at the chest, and a red beam of magic shot out of it, flipping the chest over. She hooked the cane on her belt and left the room. She hopped over the rocks to the center platform and walked back to the main room. She now walked down the bridge on the left and entered the next room.

  It was a very large room. It had a bridge spanning the entire length, with hot lava bubbling beneath it. Each wall had several small balconies lining them. Bokoblin archers stood on each balcony, ready to snipe down any passers. The bridge was blocked in the middle by a huge molten mass of rock. Impa pulled out the cane and swung it toward the closest Bokoblin. The beam of magic shot out and smashed into the Bokoblin, flipping it into the lava. She walked further down the bridge, flipping Bokoblins when she neared them before they could shoot her. She stopped at the rock. She pulled the cane back behind her shoulder and whipped it forward, sending a huge beam toward the rock and flipping it into the air. Impa sprinted across the uncovered section of the bridge before it came back down, crushing the middle of the bridge. When she reached the end of the bridge the door opened and a flood of lava rushed out, coming toward her. She turned back, and found herself blocked by the rock. She swung the cane toward the lava, sending it into the air and then splashing down into the lava below. She walked carefully over the steaming bridge, which was free of lava, and walked through the open door.

  The room, filled with lava, had a bridge curving and turning up to a circular platform at the top of the room. She dashed up the bridge, stopping to catch her breath when she arrived at the platform. It was long! At the center of the platform was a pedestal with a small gold sphere the size of her fist. She picked the sphere up walked down the bridge. A boulder crashed from the ceiling, crushing the pedestal. Impa glanced over her shoulder and saw that the boulder had begun to roll toward her. Her eyes widened, and she sprinted down the bridge. She made it down and continued to sprint into the next room until the rock was in her way. She turned around and whipped out the Cane of Pacci as the boulder crashed through the walls and continued down the bridge toward her. She swung the cane at it, and it flipped over her head and slammed down onto the rock, pushing it down into the lava and letting Impa cross the bridge. She sighed in relief and hooked the cane on her belt.

  She entered the main room and walked up the steep bridge. She arrived at the balcony and placed the sphere in the hole in the door. It fit
perfectly, and the doors melted apart. Impa took a deep breath, and opened the doors.

  ***

  "What?" Cia shrieked, as she paced around Volga and Wizzro. "How could they defeat you? I brought you from the dead!" she snapped and pointed her scepter at Volga. "Maybe I should have left you there to save me some time…and you!" She pointed now to Wizzro. "You are a shadow! You live in the fear of people's minds! How in death's name did you not defeat that pitiful army?"

  "We were close," he hissed, "until Volga was beaten by the puny Hero…"

  "I don't want excuses! I want results! SO GIVE ME RESULTS!"

  "Yes Master!" they both whimpered. "We will most certainly get you results."

  "Good! Volga, I believe you will, as your power has only begun to grow. Wizzro, your armies of monsters shall aid him in his fight against the heroes. Now leave my presence. I have a fight to watch."

  Volga and Wizzro vanished from her sight, and she opened up the portal to view the commander of the army.

  ***

  Impa entered a circular room, about twice the size of the one where she had received the Cane of Pacci. It was dark, and Impa couldn't see anything. She turned to open the doors behind her, but the doors wouldn't budge. The room lit, and she spun around to see a chamber lined with gold and silver. Torches hung on the walls, every one now lit with a red hot flame. She stepped to the center of the room, and a rock fell from the ceiling. She picked it up to find that it was a ruby laced with gold. It must be the Fire Ruby! She placed it in her pouch and headed for the doors. She tried opening them again, but they still wouldn't open. She turned; there was Volga standing across the room from her. She went for her Naginata, and he waved his hand.

  "That won't be needed, Commander. See, I have learned my lesson from you Heroes. I will not be fighting you today. My power still grows, though. I will kill you soon and claim the Triforce of power from you. But not today, no, not today. I do have something to give you that will certainly blow you away." Volga slammed his pike into the ground, sending a ripple of energy throughout the floor. "Till we meet again…" Volga vanished, and Impa pulled her Naginata from her back.

  The energy from Volga's pike rippled back to the center of the room and came out of the ground, morphing into a giant dragon. It was wingless and was covered in red and orange scales. Its head was covered in a huge red and orange mask. The dragon burrowed into the ground, and Impa felt the ground rumble under her feet as the dragon moved around beneath her. The ground she was standing on suddenly cracked and began to separate. Impa dived away from her spot and rolled on her shoulder. She turned to see the dragon lift from the ground she had only seconds ago been standing on. Though wingless, the dragon flew through the air, whipping its tail back and forth and smashing it into the ceiling and walls, causing huge chunks of rock to fall from the ceiling. Impa rolled out of the way of each one, careful not to get crushed. The dragon slammed back to the ground and slithered toward her.

  "I AM VOLVAGIA!" it hissed and lunged at Impa. She stepped to the side and whipped the Cane of Pacci from her belt. She swung it at the chunks of rock lying on the floor, and they flipped into the air then crashed down on Volvagia, pinning him down. Impa ran to the dragon and stabbed continually at its mask with her Naginata, cracking it every time she struck it. Volvagia started to wriggle and squirm, and the rock pinning him down fell off his back. He burrowed into the ground, tail whipping Impa into the wall as he did so. Impa leapt to her feet and ran away from the place where she had been standing before Volvagia could come out of it. He flew around the air and came down on Impa, breathing fire as he did so. Impa pointed her Naginata at the dragon's flames, creating a barrier between the two. Volvagia smashed through the barrier, and Impa rolled out of the way. She swung the cane again, causing another chunk of rock to fly at Volvagia. It knocked him from the air and pinned him against a wall when he came down. Impa dashed over to him and stabbed his mask again, over and over. After a few strikes the mask shattered causing Volvagia to shriek in pain. He flipped the rock off his back and flew into the air. Then he smashed down onto the ground and came at Impa, who pointed her Naginata right at Volvagia. He lunged at her, and she stabbed his mouth, impaling the dragon with her Naginata blade; it went through his mouth and out of the top of his head. He wriggled for a second, then burst into ash.

  Impa sighed and fell against the wall. She took a moment to catch her breath before standing back up. She rushed to the door and found that it would now open. She dashed down the bridge and back to the Fire Temple entrance. The Triforce of Power was waiting for her.

  Ch.6.

  “So you lost a chunk of your shoulder," Link said, eyeing Impa's shoulder. She had returned to the entrance and found them waiting at the top of the stairway. They were continuing down the cave path, hoping to find an exit to the non-snow-covered side of the mountain.

  "Yes, the Dinolfos just tore it off," Impa said. Sheik was walking beside them, shaking her head in disbelief.

  "Then why is your shoulder intact and…well…complete?"

  "When I killed the Dinolfos, a chest fell from the ceiling, and in it was a bottle with a red potion, which I hastily drank, healing my shoulde. There was also a golden cane." She pulled the Cane of Pacci from her belt, and Link took it from her hands.

  "What does it do?" Link asked, running his hand along the sides of it.

  "It flips stuff over," she said, and pointed to a large rock that soldiers were forced to step around. Link swung the cane, and the rock flipped over.

  "Hmm…Pretty useful, I guess," Link said as he handed the cane back to Impa. She hooked it on her belt, and they continued down the cave path.

  ***

  Cia swung her scepter, knocking Volga over. "You let her go?" she screamed.

  "I-I had no choice Master…She was too powerful for me…"

  "You could have tried!"

  "I-I did. I left th-the dragon!"

  "No! No you didn't try! If you had tried, she would be dead! I brought you back to life so you could kill them!"

  "I thought we needed them alive!"

  "No! You kill them, claim the Triforce, and be done with it!"

  "What about the Hero of Legend?"

  "Was he there to kill?"

  "No, but…"

  "So you should have killed her!"

  "Master, she was too powerful!"

  "I don't care! You could have at least tried to wound her!"

  "Mas…"

  Cia swung her scepter again, and Volga was thrown backwards. She walked over to him, and pointed her scepter at his chest. He tried looking at her face, but it was hard with her being so close, with her legs open, and her chest…

  "I'm going to give you one more chance!" She threatened, "If you fail me one more time, you will be the one blown away!"

  "Yes Master. I will confront them at the Temple of Power, and I will have Wizzro weaken their army at the volcano!"

  "Good! Remember, Volga, if you fail me, you will only have failed yourself." Volga nodded and vanished. Cia turned, and once again watched the Heroes’ progress.

  ***

  Link, Impa, Sheik, and the army could see a glowing red light in the distance. They all knew that the mountain's exit was near. They were thankful, too. They had been walking for quite a while, and Link planned on having the army stop and rest after they exited the mountain. On their walk Impa had described in vivid detail every second of her experience in the Fire Temple, right down to using a foot-long cane to flip a rock the size of Link's house.

  When they reached the exit Link waited there while the army passed through. Sheik and Impa hopped out of the mountain after the army passed, and Link soon followed. When he landed he struggled to gain his footing. Two soldiers had already rolled down the steep mountainside. When he finally braced himself, he inspected the area they were in. He could see for miles, and the lava didn't seem to get far from the volcano. Little lava poured down the side, and the foot of the mountain was all hills and plai
ns un-scorched by the earth's heat. The only threats he could see were monsters roaming the plains—they could be dispatched easily—and small pools of lava which they would have to avoid.

  They started their descent down the mountain. Link's feet continued to trip over rocks and scatter pebbles down the mountainside. He could now see that the soldiers who h had falledn had dispatched a small group of Bokoblins and were now struggling against a Lizalfos. A few soldiers were brave enough to dash down the mountain—or even slide—to save their comrades, but the majority were too scared or clumsy to go down that fast. When they finally reached the bottom Link and Impa dispatched the monsters terrorizing the soldiers, and Sheik helped heal the wounded.

  Link and Impa sheathed their weapons and headed over to the army. "Take a rest!" Link shouted, and the soldiers quickly sat down. Link sat down on a huge rock, and Sheik and Impa joined him. He pulled a canteen from his belt and took a swig of it. Impa and Sheik both took a sip from theirs, and they waited for Link's command.

  "So how do you think we'll approach the Fire Temple?" Link asked.

  Impa twisted her mouth in decisiveness. "I think…" She took a swig from her canteen."…you guys should be able to come in with me, but I may be wrong."

  "I just hope we don't have to walk down another staircase like the Fire Temple," Sheik said and took a drink from her canteen. She twisted the cap back on and hooked it on her belt. She stood and stretched.

  Link turned his head from her and toward the plains in front of them. He hoped they didn't have trouble crossing them and didn't have trouble with the lava pools. He waited a few moments longer, and Sheik finished her stretching. He put the cap back on his canteen and twisted his back to relieve some of the tension. He stood and shouted out to his army. "Alright! That's long enough for a break! We're moving out!" He started walking down the plain, and Impa and Sheik followed suit. Link avoided lava pools, and when needed, took out stray Bokoblins.

  They came to a stop at a cliff edge. Link hadn't noticed the drop which, at a rough estimate, was probably a few hundred feet. He turned to face his army. He could see a few boulders not too far from the cliff edge, and an idea came to mind. "I want those boulders moved to the cliff edge!" he shouted to his army, and they dispersed, each group heading to a different boulder. He waved a few soldiers over to him, and they jogged to his side.