The mining facility trembled in its moorings as a great form clawed its way out of the lava and slate. Heated rock and molten slag rained from above, and so I sought cover beneath an overhanging plateau. One fiery arm grasped the surface, then the other, and soon the full height of Fyrus stood before me.

His head reared around and atop his dark brow sat the transformed Fused Shadow, where its Sauron-like eye glowed an infernal light and stared right at me. The former patriarch's jaw opened like the very mouth of Hell and roared, spewing ash and fire, and it was all I could do not to pass out from the heat and fear.

"Hey, Midna, what's your ETA?" I asked as I ducked a flaming ball of rock.

"My what?"

"Earliest Time of Arrival."

"Oh. Not long, how are you?"

I ran for it, lugging the big Goron hammer thing behind me as Fyrus gave chase. "Well, I got him occupied. No sign of King Dodongo."

"I'll be there as fast as I can. What does King Doodoo look like?"

"Did you just… nevermind. Big meaty lizard, maybe half the size of Diababa. Can tuck into a ball."

"Ah, that's going to be hard to find."

I raced up a metal staircase that led to a tower with several magnets and mining tracks connected to other towers. The magnets were depowered and the tracks had one cart at the ready, but I had no idea how to start it up. "Actually, it might be. King Dodongo hasn't surfaced and I'm guessing he'll blend into the rocky terrain."

"Any ideas on taking this guy down?"

Looking around, I saw several more giant cannons along the facility, as well as tracks connecting them and the towers. The cannons sat on pillars that stood above the lava flow, but they were only accessible by cart. "Well, off the top of my head, we could stun Fyrus with those cannons and then get in close and smash his weak point, but I don't know how to use the cannons."

"I'm almost there. Where are you?"

Fyrus dug his hand into the ground and collected a mass of rock and lava. "Oh shit…" I leapt into a mining cart just as the mass collided with the tower. The momentum from my jumping and the shock of the blast pushed the cart forward, toward a dip. I scrambled into the seat and gripped the edges tight as the cart plunged. "I'm going for a ride…"

Down it went, speeding up enough to activate some sort of engine in the back of the cart. With a fiery hiccup, the cart surged forth and carried me right past Fyrus and around a corner, where the rest of the facility awaited.

Something collided with me and I raised my fist to smack it off, only to see Midna staring back at me. "Hey, I thought I'd catch a ride."

Sighing in relief, I made room for her and pointed to the cannons nearby. "You don't happen to know how to use those, do you?"

"I think you just pull the lever," she replied. "Maybe there's a way to turn them to face the right way?"

"Oh, sure, be logical," I said with a half-smile.

Ker-CLANG!

I felt a tremor and looked back to find a giant spiky ball of rock rolling on the tracks right behind us. Midna and I screamed just as the cart went down another dip and around a bend. I looked up and saw that the track was coming to an end, but the cart was not slowing down. "We gotta jump!"

Midna nodded and dove into my shadow, and I leapt to a nearby platform. Tucking into a ball, I rolled upon landing and then gasped when I felt nothing beneath me. I reached for the edge of the platform, but it was just beyond reach.

I squeezed my eyes shut and braced myself for impact, only for something to grab my hand. I looked up and saw Midna clasping my hand tightly in her hers.

"Uh, thanks!" I squeaked. She giggled and hoisted me up, and I took a moment to let the shivers in my legs stop. "Thanks… really, thanks."

"Aw shucks," she said, "I like you the way you are, not extra crispy." We both turned and looked up at the crash scene. It was not too bad; the cart was in relatively good shape and the tracks were not bent this way and that, but the cart was now dislodged from the tracks and thus was useless. As well, the spiky rock was nowhere to be seen. "What the heck was that?"

I shrugged and brushed myself off. "No idea, but we need to find another cart. We can ride it up to one of those cannons and see if we can get it working."

"Well, you got Fyrus' attention," said Midna. "I don't think we'll have to worry about him causing an eruption, but he could cause some serious trouble with those fireballs of his."

Descending a nearby set of stairs, I nodded. "That's going to be tough trying to turn the cannons without him raining hellfire on us."

"How are you doing?"

"… This is going to sound weird, but I'm actually excited. Scared as all hell, but excited. Like, it's a puzzle. I like solving puzzles."

Midna took the liberty of snapping the new Goron Hammer thing into her pocket dimension. "Whatever keeps you focused, man. I'm not exactly an engineer but I bet we can figure out this stuff."

We entered a chamber lined with mining carts and more hammers, as well as some thin spear-like drills and giant metal balls about the size of beachballs. "Hey, cannonballs. We got our ammo, that's a start." Deeper in the chamber, we found tracks that went outside but no sign of where they ended. One of the tracks already had a minecart set up, so I gathered a few cannonballs and set them inside.

"Hey, this design looks familiar," said Midna, inspecting the cart engine. "Yeah, I think this works just like the magnets. The tracks must be made of some magnetic metal that propels the cart along, and the engine can reverse the polarity so it can go forward or backward. Seems like the tracks begin with a ring of that metal so the carts have a destination to follow."

"…"

"What?"

"Not an engineer?"

"Okay, so I apprenticed for a year, what's the big deal?"

Wiping my brow, I hopped in the cart while Midna continued looking over the engine. "You had time to study martial arts, learn to be a princess, and be an apprentice in just nineteen years?"

"Well, yeah, most Twilians learn a trade by the time they're fifteen."

"Jeez, doesn't anyone have hobbies?"

With a sudden jolt, the cart lurched to life and left the chamber with me and Midna in tow. It was not at nearly so fast a pace as the previously destroyed cart. "Of course we do, we're not all work and no play."

"Okay, so what hobbies do you have?"

"Eeehee, I'll never tell." She tapped her chin as the cart went up an incline. "Actually… I don't think I have any. I usually just spent time with my friends when I wasn't studying… Huh."

The tracks looped back around, and a giant fireball smashed into the rockface above us. "Damn, his aim is good!"

"I'm glad it's not better," yelled Midna, scrambling onto my shoulders.

"Midna! Midna, this is no time to panic!" I looked up and saw another fireball sailing through the air. "Start panicking!"

"Hang on!" With a jolt, the minecart surged with new life and took off like a rocket, gliding along the track like it was not even there. "I fiddled with the propulsion system, made it faster!"

My fingers clenched the inner sides of the cart. I had to shut my eyes to keep the ash and heat away. "I noticed! How do you stop this thing?!"

"You don't!" I felt Midna sit to my left and she squeezed my hand. "On my mark, lean right!"

"What?!"

"I said 'lean right'!"

"I know, but why?"

"Ready?"

"NO!"

"LEAN!"

I hurled myself to the right with Midna smushing herself as hard against me as possible. Metal screamed and squealed, and I felt air flow from both in front and below me. For a moment, everything was weightless. Time held no value, space was irrelevant, and my troubles were forgotten.

That moment ended with a mighty CRASH! as the cart landed on the rocky, uneven ground of Death Mountain. We kept going until the cart hit a large rock, and then it lay still. I opened my eyes and saw we had landed just below one of the rock spires holding a mining cannon. I was numb, my hands were shaking, and I briefly wondered if I had died on the way down.

"Nice landing," said Midna, wiping sweat from her brow. She flashed a smile at me and hopped out of the cart, hands planted on her hips. "Yep, not bad at all. Sorry for the lack of details, that spike ball was coming at us and I saw an opportunity. Thanks for that lesson on unspoken plans."

"Huh? Oh! The Shadow Beasts and the… yeah, I remember that."

"Getting electrocuted across the belly is hard to forget," said she. "Still, bad experience leads to good judgement or something."

I finally found it in me to hoist myself out of the cart. I put pressure on my foot and immediately recoiled. "Ow… I think I sprained my ankle…"

"Drink some… oh shoot, we're out of spring water…"

I waved her off and said, "No worries. I just need to keep off that foot and I'm good."

Midna winced. "I'm sorry, that was foolish of me."

"Like you said, you needed to take a course of action. Could have been worse."

"I'll make you a nice warm meal when we get back to Kakariko," she said right before blushing. "… Well, I'll pay for one. I'm not really a cook."

I raised an amused eyebrow. "Like you're not an engineer?"

"Hey, we had servants for a reason," she replied, laughing. "Anyway, do you think you can climb with that sprain?"

I looked up at the spire. It was not too tall, probably thirty or so feet, and there were plenty of spots to grip and grab. "Yeah, I think so. What are you gonna do?"

"I have an idea," she said. "Unspoken plan guarantee, though."

Zach nodded and inspected the cart. "Well, we still have two cannonballs left. I can't carry it up, though, and it can't fit in my satchel."

"Eee hee, where's your sense of fun?" Midna asked, not expecting a reply. "I'll just give this a little zap and then…" She shot a jolt of orange power at one cannonball and hurled it up into the sky, where it landed as predicted right next to the cannon. "I'll take the other one, we might need a shot from a different angle."

"Aim for the head," said Zach. "The Fused Shadow turned into a headpiece and it has a big glowing eye in the front."

"Thanks." Midna snapped the second cannonball into particles and, after ensuring Zach was climbing with relative ease and speed, made her way to a metal rigging. Up the stairs she went, reminded of how she would explore the water regulators in the Twilight Realm as a child.

"Same height back then, too…"

"Focus, young one," whispered Orochi. "The Twilit Igniter is cunning and not to be taken as lightly as the Parasite."

Midna nodded. She found more tracks and followed them to a boarding station. Several tools and ore bits lay strewn on the floor, but there was no one in sight. Perhaps the miners had escaped and left their belongings behind in the panic…

How many Twilians were caught as unprepared as these Gorons? How many precious memories were destroyed that day? … How many more lives were lost?

"I'm sorry I keep worrying for my people," murmured Midna. "I just… these Gorons, I sympathize with them." Thankfully there was a cart already loaded onto the track. Once again, Midna flicked a switch on the engine and let it carry her forward. From there, she spotted Fyrus on a central island with two wide metal bridges connecting it to either side of the ravine. He turned toward her and she felt the piercing gaze of the Fused Shadow atop his corrupted brow.

"Steel yourself," said Orochi.

Midna took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Zach, are you at the cannon yet?"

"Almost," he said. "I think I can see you from here, and I think I can see Fyrus too. The cannon's facing the wrong way, though."

"That's fine," Midna said. "I'll keep him occupied. You focus on that cannon."

"But—"

"Focus. You can do it, Zach. Hero of Twilight, right?"

"… Right…"

Fyrus scooped up another handful of rock and lava. Midna met his gaze and stopped the cart, standing up with her arms held out as a challenge. "Why do you not attack? Do you realize who approaches?" She laughed, and Fyrus' eyes flashed. "Yes, I think you do. You understand, don't you?" Her hair slithered down and gripped the engine, red-orange sparks arcing between them. "You know you belong to me."

Fyrus roared, spewing smog and embers, and hurled the handful of lava. The bait taken, Midna surged magic into her hair-hand.

"Oh shit, look out behind you!"

Midna chuckled as the cart engine sprang to life. With the extra magic she imbued, the cart moved much faster than it was designed to handle, but that was part of the plan. Fyrus' projectile soared over her and struck the approaching spike ball.

"Ohh, nice! I think that's King Doodoo and it's not happy!"

"Hey, it shouldn't have been messing with me," said Midna. She turned her head and watched as the so-called King Dodongo fell off the track. It uncurled itself and reached desperately for the cliff face, but its claws were built for traversing flat land, not bumpy walls. "Besides, I like the irony of Fyrus resurrecting it only to accidentally destroy it."

Indeed, the so-called King Dodongo tumbled into a trench and, with a not-too-happy roar, rolled off the side of the mountain. After a few seconds, the earth rumbled under the weight of King Dodongo's impact.

"And that's how you make Dodongo pancakes."

"Sounds tasty," said Zach. "I'm impressed, that should have been more difficult."

Midna settled back into her seat. "Don't jinx it, we still have to deal with Fyrus. Have you reached the cannon?"

"As a matter of fact, yes. I just need to turn it but you need to distract him some more."

The Twilight Princess nodded, drawing a deep breath. The cart carried her closer and closer to Fyrus, who only stood in place with a hateful glare. Why did he not attack again? Was he planning to strike up close? He had no weapon, not even another fireball, but his stance was one of patient hunting. Even as the mining cart rolled to a stop at the next docking station, Fyrus had yet to twitch.

"Something's not right, Zach."

"Where'd your gusto go? We got this."

"He's just staring at me."

"What?"

"He's not attacking, he's just standing there."

"MENACINGLY! … Sorry, quote. What could he be waiting for?"

Midna narrowed her eyes and exited the cart. The Igniter stood in the middle of a ravine, it had no weapons, and yet it seemed to be exactly where it wanted to be. What tactical advantage could possibly be worth standing in such an exposed location?

"Okay, I got the cannon aimed right for him," said Zach. "He doesn't seem to notice, so I'm getting ready to fire."

The cannon... no, there was nothing to strike nearby besides Fyrus himself. Zach was in no danger of damaging the Goron equipment.

Midna traced a path from the mining platform on which she stood, her eye following along the railings and causeways. All of the larger mining mechanisms and drills were tucked in the side of the mountain, far from the ravine containing Fyrus. The only purpose his location even served was to cross the river of lava, and on the other side lay only deposits of ore and tools to extract them.

"Okay," said Zach, "Preparing to fire in three..."

Fyrus turned slowly from Midna to Zach's cannon.

"Two..."

The glowing eye on Fyrus' forehead flashed blue.

"One... OH SHIT!"

KABOOOOM!

Screaming in pain, Midna covered her ears and stumbled against the shockwave that followed the cannon's explosion. Shards of super-hot metal flew every which way, piercing rock and metal like they were butter. All Midna heard was a sharp ringing, and she pulled her hands away to find her palms smeared with blood.

"Your eardrums have ruptured," said Orochi.

Midna grasped the nearby railing and fell to her knees. Her head rolled on her shoulders, the whole world spinning around her. "I feel... sleepy..."

"You are going into shock. You must focus, my child, the battle is not yet done."

Shock... such a funny feeling, was it not? It did not feel shocking; it felt warm, like someone had draped a blanket over Midna. If she felt this good, Zach must be in paradise...

"Zach...!" Midna lurched to her feet, but the world tilted against her. She clutched the railing for all it was worth and dragged herself forward, though she only made it a few steps before her knees buckled again. "Zach... Zach... are you okay...?"

… No response.

"Zach... I'm so sorry..." She hoisted herself back into the cart and let it carry her back the way she came. How did that cannon explode? Fyrus had not struck it, King Dodongo could not reach it, so the only explanation was... "He set a trap... he actually set a trap..."

"... clever... girl..."

Midna's heart nearly stopped. "Zach... you're still alive..."

"... in a LOT of pain... but technically... yeah..."

"I'm so sorry... I underestimated him..." She reached up with a trembling hand and wiped the tears from her eyes. "I'm so, so sorry..." The cart finally reached the next docking station, allowing Midna to disembark and descend the stairs, albeit at a much slower pace than before. "Zach, I'm almost at the base of the cannon... where are you?"

"... I don't know... I can't see... a-and I can't move..."

A stab of guilt surged through her. "It's going to be all right, I promise. We're going to figure this out and then we're going to get you into the spring in Kakariko. You'll be all right, I promise."

"There's rocks on me," he whispered, panicked. "I'm not being crushed to death... but they're weighing me down, and I think something stabbed me... I feel woozy..."

"Take a deep breath," Midna urged. She summoned up all the magic left in her and stretched it out, searching for Zach's life energy. "Just breathe... I'm not losing you this soon into our friendship. Not until you get me a birthday present." It was a totally random thing to say, but it helped keep her calm. Maybe it would help Zach as well.

"... it's your birthday?"

Midna gave a tiny chuckle. "No, not for a few months. That should give you plenty of time to arrange a gift."

"... um... what do you want?"

After an eternity, Midna's magic pinged and found Zach beneath a pile of rubble. "I guess your attendance is a good start. I found you, hold on." It was a mess; the only visible sign of Zach was his foot sticking out beneath the debris. Midna used her hair-hand and moved aside the rocks, each one uncovering more and more of Zach until she came to the last one. It was a part of the cannon that had torn loose and pierced Zach's abdomen, right through his chainmail and out the other side, effectively nailing him to the ground, but his limbs were relatively undamaged.

His face was another matter entirely. The explosion had scorched the entire right side of his face, leaving a charred gash that stretched from below his jawline and going up to the top of his head. No wonder he was unable to see, his eyelids had been seared shut.

Midna covered her mouth, shame and guilt roiling within her. "I did this to you..."

"... how bad is it?" His voice was just a pathetic whisper now, and he could only speak through one side of his mouth.

"I did this... I'm so sorry, Zach..." She stroked his hair and pressed her lips to his temple, her shoulders shaking. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!"

"... 's fine..." Zach yawned, his lips chapped and bleeding. "... I'm gonna take... a nap now..."

Midna shook the boy and yelled, "You must not go to sleep, Zach! You need to wake yourself up!" She summoned the bottle of hot spring water she had filled earlier on the mountain and brought it to Zach's lips. Thank goodness the power of the Fire Cloth extended to the bottle, otherwise the water would have evaporated by now. "It's not healing water but drink up."

He blanched at the sound of it. "Don't want... medicine..."

"Zach, it's not medicine, it's water," she said. "Please, just a sip. Please..." It took a bit more begging, but Zach finally took a few sips of water. He smiled weakly and thanked her, and it was all she could do to stay focused. "I'm so sorry, Zach... I'm truly, truly sorry..."

Zach reached up and awkwardly felt his way to her shoulder. His fingers still had strength as they lightly squeezed. "Stop saying you're sorry... We need to get rid of Fyrus…"

"How?" Midna looked up at the spire that formerly held the cannon. The entire top of the spire had been blown clean off. "Fyrus has most likely sabotaged the rest of the cannons, we can't risk using them."

"It hurts to talk out loud... It's like you said, Midna. These Gorons are an industrious people..."

Midna took a deep breath herself. It hurt to breathe, but she imagined it hurt far more for Zach. "Yes, they are. They're very intelligent. Even under the thicket of darkness from the Fused Shadow, Fyrus seemed to understand me when I taunted him."

Zach's chest rumbled in a painful chuckle. "I bet he liked that."

"He reminded me of that other Goron," said Midna, allowing the barest hint of normality in her voice. "He had that same look of 'How dare you speak to me like that!', like his pride had been personally... He understood me..." Maybe it was the adrenaline, maybe it was the ringing in her ears, maybe it was her own mind deciding it was done being rational for the day. Whatever the case, Midna had an idea. It was a crazy, absurd, idiotic idea, but what wasn't these days?

"Don't leave me hanging," said Zach. "What's your plan?"

"We don't have to beat him," whispered Midna. "We don't have to use brute force, Zach... it's just like with that other Goron! When all else failed, words were what saved us!"

"Uh... okay..."

Midna rubbed her temples and paced back and forth, all the while her mind raced with new energy. "I think I have a plan, but I have no idea if it will work. Going by our luck and experiences, that's the best way to go about it!" She smiled at Zach, but his face—half of it, anyway—only had a confused expression. Her smile vanished as the realization dawned on her; she could not just leave Zach alone in his condition. Maybe... "Zach, are you comfortable with me warping you back to the spring?"

"Are you crazy?! We're both in this together!"

"We are, but you're in no condition to argue. You're literally pinned down. Either you stay in this spot and let me handle this, or I send you back to the spring and you let me handle this." She sighed, stroking his cheek. "Zach... you're too critically injured to stay here. Please, for your sake, don't act like a fool."

"But..." Why did he sound so sad? He made it seem like he was getting sent to timeout rather than getting the medical attention he desperately needed. "... okay..."

The rock in Midna's stomach evaporated. "Thank you. I'm sorry but this is the best decision for all of us right now. I'll be there as soon as I can." The boy hero nodded as best he could, and then he disappeared in a hail of Twilit fragments. Just for safe measure, Midna dropped off that new Goron hammer as well. If her idea failed, she would have much more to worry about than not having the right tools.

Author's Note: Damn, this took much longer than I wanted! I hated the original version of this boss fight and it took me forever to add the bits and bobs that I liked. Even now, though, I decided to split it up into two parts to (hopefully) keep it from getting too bloated and so I don't keep you all waiting for too long. That's what happens when you decide to change the boss fight in the middle of writing it, lol. Next chapter should be up in much less time than this one.

Thanks for the favorites, follows, and reviews! I really appreciate them and your patience with this chapter.

Also, please be on the lookout. I had a recent unpleasant conversation with someone named D25steffen5509gmail . com (their actual username here) and they actually asked for permission to take over this fic just because it's been a while. I explicitly said no, but please let me know if you spot any copycats around.