Helena stared out at the islands below, then back to Link. "I dunno about this..."

"Look, if you fall, I'll catch you and set you down on land, okay?" Matt said. "I may not be able to carry you the whole distance, but I can save you if something happens."

"It's all LAKE down there!" Helena snapped, shaking her distressed Cucco.

Oh, yeah. "Hmmm." Matt put a hand to his chin. "I really should've thought this through."

Helena's frown puckered, and she lifted the Cucco above her head. "If I die again, I'm coming back to haunt you."

Ignoring the banter between Matt and Helena, Link held his Cucco up over his head and jumped off the platform, into the air. Immediately, the Cucco began squawking as it flapped its wings as hard as it could, trying to hold aloft with Link's weight holding onto it.

The group watched in amazement as, thanks to the Cucco's efforts, Link actually glided down at a steady pace towards the landmass at the edge of the lake's waters.

"... that man has no fear," Alasea commented. R.D. merely whistled. "Well, your turn, Helena. We'll be right behind you in case something happens."

Helena walked up to the edge of the platform, standing there for a few noticable moments. She closed her eyes and drew in a breath. And Matt would think that she would jump right after she did that, but nope. She just kept standing there, preparing either mentally or through her breathing.

"Do you want R.D. to come back for you?" Matt finally said.

"No," she said.

"R.D., come back for her when you're done with Alasea," Matt said. Helena didn't protest.

"... right," R.D. said, nodding. He quickly scooped up Alasea, ignoring her yelp of protest before he stepped off the edge, eliciting another yelp from the girl in his arms. As he plummeted, he grabbed a hold of Lumiya's wind energies, shoving them below him to slow and guide his descent, following Link down.

Despite clinging tightly to R.D.'s coat, Alasea managed to get a good look at the area. Of the artificial islands, there was one that was mostly blocks stacked on top of each other. The other nearby was a floating house on a platform, with a comically tall roof painted a myriad of different colors. Rafts floated between the two islands, and floating bridges led from the house to an actual island, up to the higher ledges where Link and R.D. were headed.

After several minutes of flying, Link settled down on the wide grassy ledge and set down the cucco, who wandered off. Turning around, he watched as R.D. floated down, until he landed and set Alasea down on the ledge. She didn't face him, still red in the face. "Just... warn me next time," she said, stepping away. R.D. nodded and pulled out a Chaos Emerald, looking back up at Falbi's cliffside platform.

"Well, time to get Helena," he said. He stopped for a moment. "Looks like Ileyna's headed down already. Well, here we go."

"What's he doing?" Link asked, but before Alasea could reply, R.D. used Chaos Control to warp back up into the platform.

"By the way, he can teleport," Matt remarked, flying in with Ileyna and landing neatly on the ledge with a gust of wind. "Told you we were full of surprises."

Hugo growled. "He should've just warped us all here instead of wasting money..."

"He can't, remember?" Alasea reminded them. "Too much of it and he'll overload himself and that'll probably kill us all. That's why we're not just teleporting into the desert either."

"Oh, yeah!" Ileyna exclaimed. "Like in the GGG hanger, remember?"

In a few minutes, R.D. was back down again, setting Helena down on her feet. "There, we're all here now."

"Good. We need to go find Auru," Link said. "I have an idea where he's at."

He pointed up to the higher ledges east of them, where a ladder was. "There's a tower at the far edge of the lake, where the guys at Telma's indicated. We'll try there."

"Now I gotta CLIMB stuff?" Matt complained. "Geez, man, you're just having us jump everywhere today, aren't you?"

"At least you can fly," Helena said, shooting him a glare.

Link and the other boys climbed up the ladder before the girls went, and they found themselves on an expansive ledge offering a breathtaking view of Lake Hylia. Ahead of them was a simple stone tower rising up at the edge of the cliff. They could see someone standing atop it, looking out over the cliffs. Well beyond it, far into the distance, they could see several spires rising up in a circle, each one crowned with what looked to be a disk. The tower would offer a better vantage point.

Ileyna looked off to their right, and immediately pointed. "Hey, what's that?" she asked. Link looked over, and immediately brightened upon seeing the stone obelisk rising up from the ground.

"That's a Howling Stone," he said. "I've been wondering where the next one was." He made his way over to it. As they got closer, they could hear the wind whispering through the hole in the rounded obelisk, where the pupil would be in the strange eye design they saw on it. The wind made it sound curiously like music.

"Helena," Link suddenly spoke up. "You can transform into an animal, right?"

"Yeah," Helena said. "I ran past you during the fight, remember?"

Link nodded. "I remember. You've never met anyone else who can do that?"

She glanced at R.D., looking confused. "Well, I've met dragons who could take on a human form, but nobody exactly like me."

"Well, I'm sure it can cause a problem for you in the public eye," Link said. "I saw it in Castle Town, after all. Just take comfort in that you're not alone about it."

"What do you mean?" Alasea asked, also looking confused.

"Midna?" Link said. "Change me."

After a moment, Link's body was suddenly consumed in black, causing startled gasps and people to back up. His body shrank and contorted, forcing him to stoop down onto all fours. After a moment, the color came back--and in Link's place was a gray and white-furred wolf, with a slightly shaggy mane and an unusual fur pattern on his head. Midna suddenly appeared and landed on the wolf's back, causing him to look back at her for a brief moment before turning around and sit down on his haunches, looking at the group.

"Well, that's new," Matt remarked.

"I didn't know you could do that!" Helena said. She crouched down in front of Link, studying his curious fur and eyes. "Does it hurt for you, too?"

"The first time it did," Midna replied, as Link was unable in this form. "This was the form he took when he first entered the Twilight. Now, though, its because he's using a shadow crystal Zant cursed him with while he isn't holding the Master Sword. We're sure it'll be useful. In the end, Zant only helped us."

"Does everyone who steps into this... Twilight... turn into an animal?" R.D. asked. Midna shook her head and grinned.

"Not at all. Regular people just become spirits, and they don't even know what's happening," she said, chuckling. "Link here is the one chosen by the gods... and that's why he's different from the rest."

Link suddenly turned around to face the Howling Stone, sitting on his haunches again. For several moments, he listened, using powerful senses to pick up the differences in the notes in the wind.

"What's he doing?" Alasea asked, only to be ignored by Midna. She found out soon enough.

Link threw his head back and began to howl. His voice seemed to resonate with each note of the wind, his body rocking slightly with each note. And immediately, both Alasea and Helena felt something in the air. There was something strange about this howling, something subtle and powerful. They just couldn't put their finger on it.

Edited by RisingDragon on February 24, 2010 at 11:59:55.

Helena tilted her head towards the sky, her eyes narrowing. "What is that?" she whispered.

"What?" Hugo asked. "What are you talking about?"

"...it's nothing," Helena said.

After a moment, Link stopped, standing up and walking in a quick circle before facing the Howling Stone. And then, he went stock still, unmoving.

"... and there he goes again," Midna sighed, leaning back. "He always does this at these Stones."

"What's happening?"

"He's communing, with... something. A ghost of some sort. I'm really not sure, I don't get brought along for the ride."

Matt smirked. "You know some weird people, Midna."

"How can a wolf talk to a ghost?" Hugo asked.

"He's a magic wolf?" Helena suggested.

"Don't you start spouting lines like Matt does."

"You'll find out later," Midna said. Suddenly Link came too, shaking his head a bit. "Oh, back to the land of the living, are you?"

Link merely gave Midna a look. The cheeky imp was not affected by it. After a moment, Link was consumed in blackness again, reverting back to human form as Midna retreated into his shadow. "Let's go see Auru now," he said, heading towards the tower.

The others followed. "What'd you see?" Helena asked, running up to Link's side. "Midna said you were talking to a ghost."

"Its... hard to explain," Link said. "Its kind of a spirit world. I was calling to a hero's spirit to let him know that I was ready for more training."

"I just hope you didn't have to train in order to learn how to sit," Matt said, walking ahead of Link and turning around so he was moving backwards. "I had to do that in a game once, and it was very embarassing."

"Trust Matt to make a conversation more awkward than it needs to be," R.D. muttered as they walked towards the tower in the distance. It didn't take them long to arrive there, but they saw that it wasn't going to hold more than two people.

"I'll go up and talk to him," Link said. "Hang out here for now."

With that, he climbed the ladder up, leaving the others to their own devices.

Matt slung his pack off of his shoulder, and he crouched to start rummaging through it. "Welp, time for a snack break. Who wants something?"

"I do," Helena said. She also bent down and dug her hands into the dimensional sack.

"Surprising everyone."

"I thought it was about time for you to arrive..." the man said as Link stepped onto the platform. He had a hood up around his head, and he was using a looking glass to peer out over the hills at the Gerudo Desert. He turned around, revealing a sun-darkened face with a graying goatee. "Master Link, is it?"

Link nodded as the man pulled down his hood, showing he didn't have much hair left, either. "You do know Telma, don't you?" the man spoke. "I am Auru. I am part of the group that Telma kindly allows to meet at her bar. I have heard all about your deeds from her.

"Now.... you being a courageous youth... You have likely heard of the strange events in the desert and come to investigate, no? Or am I mistaken" Auru got a shake of the head from the young man.

"You do know, don't you, Master Link?" Auru asked as Link gazed off at the structures to the northwest, six gigantic spires, each ending with a winged plaque. "The Gerudo Desert once held a prison built to hold the worst criminals this land has ever known... The criminals who were sentenced to death were sent directly to the underworld by a cursed mirror that was kept in the prison..."

Link perked up at that. Could it be that this desert prison held the Mirror of Twilight he and Midna sought?

"Now that prison is condemned, and even the road leading to the desert is impassable. This desert at world's end... It still holds the cursed mirror and the malice of the doomed inmates..." Auru was gazing at it now. "These old bones know that the evil currently plaguing Hyrule is related to this wicked place. So I have come to learn the truth..."

He turned back to Link. "Master Link, I must ask... What will you do now?" He saw a fire in the man's eyes. "Don't tell me you plan to enter the desert and confirm my suspicions with your own eyes?!"

Link nodded. "I do. If that Mirror is there, then we'll have a chance at stopping the evil at its source."

"Ah, is that so... Then let good old Auru help you out... You see Lake Hylia below us? A man named Fyer rusn an amusement ride of sorts there. Give him this."

The old man handed a folded sheaf of papers to Link. "See, long ago, I saved this man Fyer's life, and now he cannot refuse me if I ask a favor. If you leave the rest up to Fyer, all should go well."

"I will," Link said. "By the way, I came here with some friends who are helping me. I brought Telma's wagon with me, so if you would, please take it back with you when you return to Castle Town."

The man nodded, and Link made to depart. "Good luck, Master Link," Auru said farewell to the young man. Link nodded and proceeded down the ladder, rejoining the others.

"What'd he have to say?" R.D. asked as Link stepped down.

"The Mirror of Twilight is in a condemned prison in the desert," Link said. "It was used to send prisoners sentenced with death to the underworld. To the Twilight Realm."

"So we're all definitely headed to the desert," Alasea said, standing up from where she had been sitting by the tower's base. "How are we going to get there?"

Link looked at Matt. "You said that Fanadi said to fly to get there, right? I think I know what she meant by that now."

Edited by RisingDragon on February 23, 2010 at 13:26:00.

Matt suddenly had the awful, inorexable feeling that Link knew something that he would not like at all. "...what do you think she meant?"

"Well, like I said before, there's only one way for people to get to Lake Hylia from Hyrule Field," Link explained, glancing down to the lake and the two artificial islands next to the tall spire of rock sticking out of the water. "And like that, there's only one way of getting back up to Hyrule Field from here. Fyer... he owns a cannon."

"... you can't be serious," R.D. said. "You want to launch us to the Gerudo Desert with a cannon?"

"That can't be safe," Alasea muttered, frozen where she was standing.

"Its safer than it sounds," Link said, knowing their reactions were justified. "I've used it before to leave the Lake, and it hasn't killed me yet."

"After I chickened out with the Cuccos, now you want me to get shot out of a CANNON?" Helena said. "No way." She wiped the air with both hands, like she was killing the matter. "There's gotta be another option."

"And what if there isn't?" Hugo asked.

"Let's worry about that when we GET there, okay?"

They returned to the wide ledge that they had floated down to before, and then proceeded across the bridge towards Fyer's cannon house, growing more and more apprehensive with each step they made. They made out more details of the floating building as they crossed the second, raft-like bridge. The front of the building had a large circular hatch open, partially fenced off. A large music box was resting off to the right, and standing before the fence was a short, dour-looking man, also dressed in colorful clothing and harlequin makeup. They noted that, while outlandish, Fyer did not look nearly as outrageous as Falbi up above.

Link held the memo out to him, who quickly gave it a once over. "Hrrrm... From old Auru, huh... Ah well, I guess I oughta do what the old coot says... Oasis flight... right?"

Link nodded. "For me and my friends here."

Fyer nodded. "So here you go, one of our secret options not available to the general public... This time's all paid for... so whaddaya say? You wanna go?"

Link nodded again.

"All righty then... But remember, next time, you gotta pay!" Fyer said with a wave. "Sweet sailing, buddy of mine. One for oasis... fire in the hole!"

Link turned back to the others. "Just stand back and see how its done. There isn't any other option here, so you'll just have to go with it."

"Easier said than done," R.D. said, stepping back onto the floating bridge.

Link sighed, the stepped into the hatch, which closed on him. Fyer began turning the crank on the music box, causing the fancy diorama on top of it to spin as it spat out a carnival song. He spun it faster and faster, and pretty soon, the entire platform began to spin in the water. Quite suddenly, the building in its center lifted up off the platform, also turning into position as the four sides of its roof fell back... revealing the bulbous-looking cannon as it lined up and aimed itself at the sandy crags of the Gerudo Desert.

And once the building halted, it fired, the entire pontoon rocking back with the force of the shot. They easily heard Link's yell as he was shot out of the contraption.

"Uwwwwhooooooaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"

The voice quickly disappeared as Link was sent careening out of Lake Hylia, and into the desert.

"... and there goes a braver man than I," R.D. commented, watching the flight.

Matt uttered a curse word that he wasn't even sure was real. But it felt mean.

"I don't like it either," Hugo said. "But we don't have a choice."