Link felt the wind rush past him as he fell through the clouds. As he neared the surface, Link could already tell the difference in the terrain; and he hated it. Link passed through the cloud barrier and immediately felt the change in climate. The air was dry and dusty. As he opened his eyes he noticed the scorched earth and some sort of red soup-like substance escaping from a giant hill with a hole in the middle.

Link pulled out his sail cloth and felt his body come to a severe stop. As his feet hit the hard rocky soil beneath him, he knew this would be a completely different experience than the last.

"Master, this is Eldin Volcano. It is an active volcano, rich with the power of the Earth," Fi spoke, looking up to observe the area.

"Volcano? What is that?"

Fi seemed to almost smile at Link's astonishment.

"I see you have not yet encountered this sort of natural wonder, Master. Allow me to explain."

Fi began to tell Link of volcanoes and magma, along with the meaning of eruptions and their natural wrath. Link's eyes widened with each word she spoke.

"You mean, the surface is miles deep? And it's hot enough to turn land to liquid? Hotter than this?" Link asked gesturing to the smoldering air around them. Having only been there for a few moments, his hair was already damp with sweat.

Fi smiled and nodded. "Indeed, Master Link."

"Wow…" Link breathed, speechless.

"I can conclude that your emotions correspond with the word 'shocked' in your language," Fi responded.

"No, Fi. I believe the word you are looking for is 'flabbergasted,'" Link said, laughing slightly.

Fi merely looked at Link with what he concluded to be confusion.

"I don't appear to possess such a word, Master."

Link tilted his head back and let out a much needed laugh. He clutched his stomach until he finally caught his breath. Fi continued to only stare at him.

"I'm sorry, Fi. It's just that if I didn't know any better I would assume you actually didn't know what I was talking about."

"May I inquire as to what such a word in your language pertains to?" Fi asked.

"It means shocked. Stunned. Astonished," Link explained.

"The word has been added to my memory, Master Link," Fi replied.

Link smiled upon remembering the first time he heard the funny word, which was with Zelda.

"Link! Link come here!" Link heard Zelda call from…somewhere.

Link had been on his way back to the academy after an early morning flight. Not many people were buzzing around in Skyloft yet, and the town was mainly quiet. Link was taken aback to hear the teenage girl's loud whisper, as she was trying not to wake anyone up in a nearby house.

"Zel?" Link responded, looking around for her.

"Up here," she called back. Link looked up to see that Zelda had scaled the biggest tree in Skyloft (not that he was surprised), and was perched on a tree branch.

"What are you doing up there?" Link asked, approaching her.

"Climb on up and see! You've gotta see this!" she explained, grinning.

Link quickly climbed up the tree, accepting Zelda's hand, and sat beside her to study what she was so excited about this early in the morning.

"Look at them, aren't they sweet?" she asked.

Link looked down to see a hole in the trunk of the tree, and a litter of baby remlits sleeping. He stared at them in awe, admiring the adorable animals.

"How do you think they got up here?" Link asked, looking at Zelda. "I mean, I've never seen a remlit nest up in a tree!"

"I have no idea! I guess their mother saw the hole in the tree and made her home there. It was smart too, this way no Chuchus can get ahold of them. Isn't it flabbergasting? A mother animal was smart enough to find a spot to keep her unborn babies safe.."

Link stopped thinking about the remlits temporarily and looked at Zelda amused.

"Wait, I'm sorry. It's what?"

"Flabbergasting," she replied.

Link burst into laughter. "What kind of a word is that?" he asked her.

Zelda looked at Link slightly confused. "You'e never heard that word? It means shocking, stunning, astonishing. You know, flabbergasting." She tried to explain without smiling.

"Wow. That vocabulary of yours is a mighty thing to be proud of, Miss Zelda." Link said smiling.

"Why thank you," Zelda replied.

"You clearly didn't catch my sarcasm there," Link said smirking.

"Would you like to hear some other words in my vocabulary? A few corresponding to you come to mind," Zelda remarked, returning his smirk.

"If those words are something like: handsome, clever, or amazing, don't bother. I already know those."

"I see 'humble' was never added to your vocabulary though," Zelda retorted with her eyebrows raised.

Link laughed and assured her he was only kidding. Although he did notice Zelda's hesitance to argue.

He stared at her momentarily to acknowledge the fact that she was in her very casual dress, the kind she only wears around the academy. Her hair was down completely and slightly moved in the breeze the blew her bangs out of her face. Link felt his heart pound at the sight of her so peaceful and pretty.

"What?" Zelda asked, finally noticing Link looking at her.

"What are you doing up so early?" he asked her, covering up his admiration of her. "I happen to know you weren't asleep last night, considering I heard your every move," he added, thinking about how Zelda's room was directly above his.

"I don't know. Just couldn't sleep I guess. Couldn't get comfortable. That kind of thing."

"Well thanks to you, I didn't sleep much either, and you know how much I value my sleep," Link replied, winking at her.

Zelda's face slightly turned red as she mentally scrambled for a comeback.

"Beauty sleep," she corrected him.

"Yeah, well, apparently it's working," Link said smugly as he ran his fingers through his hair.

"Oh shut up, this is getting ridiculous" Zelda said laughing.

"Okay, I'm done, I'm done. That was the last one"

"Link, I happen to know that you haven't brushed your hair in at least three days so don't even pretend to have 'lovely flowing locks,'" Zelda replied, running her fingers through her hair as Link did.

Link laughed as he watched her beautiful figure, flowing blonde hair, and swinging legs. He hoped she hadn't noticed his awing at her now instead of the remlits.

"I can dream can't I?" he replied.

"That dream doesn't make it a reality," Zelda said, winking back at him.

Now it was his face that slightly blushed. He slit his eyes at Zelda, almost sure she'd notice.

Zelda only smiled and asked him, "So what about you? Why are you up so early?"

"Couldn't sleep either."

"Why didn't you come get me? I would've stayed up with you," Zelda replied, looking almost concerned about Link not coming to get her.

"Well I didn't hear anything in your room anymore so I figured you finally fell asleep. I didn't want to wake you," he told her.

"No, I just left my room. I thought you were asleep."

"Since when have you started respecting the fact that I was asleep?"

"Since when have you not been able to hear me sneak out?"

"It's not my fault you don't weigh enough to make a floorboard squeak."

"And it's not my fault you can't hear anything over the sound of your own breathing when you sleep," Zelda said cracking a smile.

"Alright, you win," Link conceded.

Zelda smiled at her victory before taking a hold of Link's hand.

"Come on," she said, taking one last look at the baby remlits.

"Where to?" Link asked her, habitually ready to follow her wherever she wished to lead him.

"Mrs. Henya is probably making breakfast and I don't want to be out when my father wakes up. He worries about my little endeavors, you know."

"Right," Link agreed. He looked down at the hand Zelda held tight.

"Are you gonna jump and force me to injure myself or what?" He asked her through a smile.

Zelda let go quickly before answering. "Habit."

The two of them made their way down from the tree and headed for the academy.

"Master Link."

Fi's voice snapped Link back into reality. And the sweat running down his forehead.

"Sorry, Fi. Lost in thought I guess."

"It is alright, Master. But I do suggest we proceed forward. Zelda has been here, and recently. Her aura emits from the surroundings."

Link's motivation returned upon hearing that he had successfully caught up to Zelda again.

"Perfect, thank you," Link responded. But just before Fi could fly into her ball of light, Link stopped her.

"Fi?"

Fi stopped and looked at him expectantly.

"Would you mind flying alongside me? I might need you frequently and it might make more sense if you just stayed out of my sword. This place looks a lot harder to explore than the last," Link said, thinking about the burning hot lava Fi told him about.

"Of course, Master Link."

The pair continued on the path of Zelda's aura.

"You know, Fi, Zelda was the one who introduced me to that funny word," Link said as he jumped from one platform of rock to another.

"Yes, Master. I could tell your memory was related to Zelda."

Link laughed slightly at his transparentness.

"She was always saying crazy stuff like that," he added. "She introduced me to a lot of stuff. Ever since I arrived on Skyloft, she has drug me around and I've found myself caught up in some sort of stunt, or 'adventure of exploration,' or in some story that she would have me believing to be one hundred percent true until she confessed she made it up on the spot. I never grew annoyed though because it fascinated me how well she could tell a story."

"Indeed, Master Link. The previous human inhabitants and your ancestors who resided in Skyloft have been recorded to have extreme talents in the oral presentation of tales," Fi replied.

"Really?" Link asked, suddenly interested.

"Yes. The legend of Skyloft is an example. There are many truths in the legends that you, in fact, will soon discover."

Link stopped dead in his tracks to find that he had come to the bottom the of ascent of a massive mountain, of which he knew to be the volcano.

"You don't suppose I'll discover a way to get up there quickly, do you?" Link asked.

"Unfortunately, Master, you must continue to climb, as Zelda has done herself. I can detect her aura here. If she has made it up the mountain it must mean that it is physically possible for you to do so as well," Fi explained.

"You mean Zelda made it all the way up there?" Link asked, observing the steep mountain.

He remembered all the times he had seen Zelda climb so easily up a steep obstacle, one like her father's book case in his office.

I always said it would kill her or save her one day, he thought, admiring her physical talents he had no idea she possessed. I guess it saved her today.

Link looked around to find a stream of lava that was between him and the next spot of dry land. As observed the area he noticed a jut of rock sticking up out of the lava. He knew that the only way to make it to the other side would be to jump to the sharp rock, then jump to the other side. He drew his courage as he watched the lava racing underneath him, took a few steps back, and sprinted toward the rock. Link leapt with all his strength. He felt his hands make contact with the rough surface, and he hung on for life. He regained his footing before launching himself to the next piece of land. He thrust his arms in front of him and rolled, standing right back up from the momentum.

Thank goodness for all those times I had to throw myself off of those platforms, Link thought. Maybe I had more physical talents than I knew I possessed…

As he continued on the path, two creatures miraculously appeared from under the ground.

Link stumbled back and drew his sword. He hadn't expected any creatures to actually come out of the ground.

"Hey hey hey!" it shouted. "You mess with our turf and you're gonna pay!"

"What?" Link yelled in amazement. He'd never seen any creature like this. The beings that apparently thrived in the ground were human like in terms of body structure, except for the gigantic shoulders and monstrous hands with claws. But they had long pointed ears and snouts.

"Yo, Ledd, I don't think this chap is like the other guys," the other one spoke.

"What other guys? What are you?" Link stammered.

"Sorry about that pal, these red things have been showing up and messing with our property and it's got us a little on edge."

"Oh, it's alright," Link managed to reply. "But if you don't mind me by asking, who're you?"

"Allow me to introduce myself," the thing spoke. "I'm Ledd, and this here is my buddy Cobal. We are Mogmas, the tribe of this fine province of Eldin," Ledd said.

Link wiped the sweat from his forehead. "Fine indeed," he said sarcastically. "I'm Link."

"So, Link, what brings you here? You looking for treasure?" Cobal asked.

"Something like that," Link replied.

"Well, you can just give it up buddy. No treasure around here and besides, those creepy red guys have taken over. It's not safe!"

Link felt his heart drop at the sound of the words "not safe."

"Hey, buddy, you look kind of pale. You alright?" Ledd asked.

"Oh, sorry. Yes. Listen, I'm kind of searching for something else. So I'll be on my way."

"What are you searching for? Maybe we can help!" Ledd replied eagerly.

"Actually, I'm searching for a friend." Link replied.

"A friend? Well that must've been the person sprinting by here without so much as a glance this direction! It was sort of a blur at the moment so I didn't get a real good look, but I could tell it was not one of those red guys," Cobal chimed in.

"Really?" Link shouted. "She ran by here? Was anything after her? Why was she running? Was she in trouble?"

"Whoa, buddy, I don't know all that. I just saw her run up that way. Why don'tcha follow and find out?"

"I will, thank you."

Link took off toward the path, using his sword to dowse for Zelda all the while. He felt it pulse as he got closer and closer to the center of Eldin. As he ran, he tried hard to forget about the scorching heat. His shirt was sticking to him and his hair became soaked instantly. He took off his hat occasionally to try to free his face of the constant downfall of sweat, only to find that his hat too was soaked. Link continued on through numerous caves and various cliffs as he followed Zelda's path, wondering how in the name of Farore she was moving so fast in this horrible land.

When Link had reached the outside of another cave, he was on the opposite side of where he started. But he knew he was catching up to Zelda, or at least getting closer to her. As he ran down a path, Link noticed another Mogma observing the area. He approached him, careful not to stun the jumpy creature.

"Umm, excuse me," Link said cautiously.

"Ahh! What are you? Stand back!" It shouted at him.

"No no, it's okay. I'm not a 'creepy red guy.' I'm on your side," Link explained kindly.

"Oh, okay. Good. Phew. Another stranger? Boy, I tell you what, things are getting plain weird around here."

"Another stranger? You mean you've seen another human around?"

"Yeah, just up ahead. She went into that hole over there. She was quite the funny dressed character, though."

"Funny dressed? How so?" Link asked.

"Let's see. This person was in some sort of blackish getup. Interesting thing to be wearing in this climate," the Mogma answered.

"Black? Zelda wasn't wearing black when I saw her…maybe she changed or something."

"I don't know any Zelda, bud, but that person went into that hole over there. I don't know how you're gonna get in there but you can try," the Mogma said, pointing to a hole that fell deep into the ground.

"Oh alright, thank you."

Link was utterly discouraged by what the Mogma told him. The hole was in the center of a jut of rock that was placed in the middle of a pond of lava. But with the thought of Zelda mere yards away from him, Link told himself to continue on, no matter how frustrating.

After killing more Bokoblins and being burned at least three times, Link made his way to the other side of the lava pond. He talked to a rather proud Mogma, who in an attempt to rid the area of Bokoblins, plugged up a lava spout. Link immediately realized his way into the hole. In one quick motion, he picked up a bomb flower and threw it toward the spout. Instantaneously, lava began to pour out of the spout once more. Link discovered that the giant rock was actually not just a rock stuck in a pool of lava, but that the Mogma had created the pool when he plugged up the spout. The lava poured out and the hole Zelda, or this person in black who he was certain would lead him to her had gone, was finally accessible.

Link jumped down the hole and continued his search.

He found a camp of Bokoblins under the ground and quickly slaughtered them all in order to protect a Mogma he had encountered. Out of thanks, the Mogma bestowed a pair of digging mitts to him. Link thanked the Mogma and hurried up the path.

Link raced up the path, hurrying to get to the top to where he was sure Zelda was. When he emerged out of another cave, he came to a hard stop. To his dismay, the path had run out, and there was a giant break in the ground between him and the other side. The small part of a bridge sat embedded in the cliff on the other side, but it was still too far for him to reach. He observed the ruins and large archways of stone on the other side, wondering how they even got there. He knew he must be close, as he recalled that Zelda had headed for another temple.

This must be close to the entrance then, just like in Faron, he thought.

Link put his hands to his head in frustration and began kicking the ground with his shoe.

"Dang it, dang it. I'm this close and I can't even get to her! Where is she? How did she get over there? How do I just find her?" he screamed at the top of his lungs.

"Hey, buddy! Watch it!" a Mogma said, digging up from under the ground.

"You!" Link said, pointing to the confused Mogma. "How do I get over there? I need to get to the other side, I have a friend over there, she's in trouble! Please!"

"That?" the Mogma replied, seemingly unphased by Link's panicked state. "We call that drop dead dead end. But hey, chum, I just saw another one of your tribe run through here! Some character dressed in black. Is that the friend of yours?"

"Uhh, yeah, sure. I don't really know what she is wearing but if you say it was another one of 'my tribe' then I need to find her."

"Well, this person came charging through and just danced right over that drop off! Watching a girl jumping over a gap like that, my jaw hit the dirt!"

"So she just jumped over it?" Link asked, wondering how on earth Zelda, if it was indeed she, was able to jump over such a large gap. "There's not another way across?"

"Well, there is one way. There's a switch you have to hit in order to make the bridge go across. But it's on the other side. Seeing as how you're not able to get around though, I don't know how you'll hit it," the Mogma answered sympathetically.

"Thanks anyway," Link answered before the Mogma disappeared under the ground again.

Link ran up to the edge and stared across, longing to get over to the other side. Suddenly, he felt a rumbling in his feet, and saw that the bridge was being moved out from the other side to where he stood.

"How…how is this happening?" Link felt his happiness return, and nearly jumped with excitement.

"You!" a voice called out. "The Goddess's chosen hero!"

Link looked up to see a tall, extremely thin woman standing atop the stone archway high above him. She was dressed in a black cloak that hid most of her face save for her eyes, and draped over the right portion of her body.

"Zelda is ahead…hurry," she said before Link could respond.

Link watched as the woman merely pulled her cloak and jumped off the archway before disappearing.

"Fi," Link said aloud. He instantly heard the chime of Fi leaving his sword.

"Who was that?" Link asked her.

"Master, I cannot register who the woman in black was. However, she does not appear to be an enemy, considering she his helping you across to Zelda," Fi responded while flying next to Link as he raced up the path. He didn't dare waste his time: he could talk and run at once.

"Alright, thank you."

Fi only nodded before flying back into his sword.

As Link continued up the side of the volcano, he came to a steep hill of slick sand. Link sprinted up the hill trying hard not to fall. Inconveniently, there were Bokoblins stationed at the top.

Three of the giant beasts surrounded him, hollering and slashing their enormous blades at him. Link evaded every swipe and attack with ease. He gracefully rolled around two before jumping in the air and slashing his sword into their flesh before they even turned around. The Bokoblins fell to the ground and rolled down into the quicksand. The third Bokoblin ran to Link in haste to rid him. Link thrusted his shield toward the villain, knocking it off balance. He quickly thrust his sword into its flesh and watched the disgusting creature roll down the hill of quicksand just as the others did.

Link made his way further and further inward, evading and disposing of what felt like hundreds of the dreaded ugly beasts before he finally reached the entrance to the temple.

He felt his heart stop when he looked around. The Bokoblins had set up camp right near the entrance, apparently knowing that it was Zelda's destination. Link's stomach grew nauseous as he realized that if the Bokoblins knew where she was, Ghirahim knew as well. But the worst realization was that the Bokoblins were no where to be found. They left camp. There was no need for them to keep watch anymore.

"Because they already found what they were waiting for," Link said to himself.

He looked around for any way into the temple or any sign of Zelda.

And he found it.

On the ground lay a torn piece of white cloth. The cloth seemed to almost glow it was so white. It was only a mere handful of fabric, but it was enough to indicate a struggle. As Link continued further toward the temple, his eyes widened in shock and fear.

There, sprinkled on the ground, were drips of red liquid.

"Master Link," Fi said beside him. He hadn't even noticed her presence. "I have analyzed the specimen on the ground. Zelda's aura is emitting from it heavily. I can conclude this blood belongs to her."

Her blood.

Link felt panic rise within him. His heart pounded in his chest and his head felt dizzy. He saw a trail of blood weave around the area before going into the temple. He knelt on the ground beside the blood and shrieked as he realized Zelda had been hurt.

Or worse.

Fi watched as Link's sanity began to leave him.

"Master…" she said calmly. "I am sorry."

A/N: Okay...first off, I am so sorry for the delay! The Supreme is having some major computer probs and I am having some major time concept probs so put the two together and you get a long overdue chapter. However, I am back and I am almost done with chapter 14 of this story as well so expect that soon! And, for those of you who follow my other story (And All the While I Lay Sleeping), which corresponds to this one, I haven't forgotten about it I promise! I'm in the process of writing that chapter as well, which will hopefully be up this weekend as well. Please stick with me on these stories, as I can assure you all that I will finish them both. I can't just abandon these, so no matter how long it takes, I will finish! Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this chapter, and feel free to leave a review!

Side note: For all you sticklers out there, I am aware that Zelda's room is not directly above Link's in the academy...but for the sake of the story I bent it a little. And I know remlits in a tree are weird, but if you all recall, there aren't regular sized birds in Skyloft, only Loftwings. So I made it remlits. Okay. That's all. Thanks for reading!