As much as she would have liked to say Link made her feel safe enough to sleep through the night, that wasn't the case. About an hour after the two fell asleep, the mage was forced awake and upright by a sound in her dreams that was much too clear. Even after she woke up, she could still hear it faintly—the shambling sound of bones being brought together by an unseen force.

Her breathing slowed slightly when she realized she was home and she was safe, but that didn't mean the fear was gone. She looked around the room, then down to her companion who didn't seem to be having the best time either.

He hadn't woken up, but his expression seemed pain and his body was restless. He twitched often and tightened his grip on the blankets.

...How were they supposed to get through this? Neither of them could even sleep peacefully, and both of them wanted to give up. It wasn't going to get better until it was ended, and who knew how long that would be or what trials they had to face until that point. How were they supposed to get through this?

Tya pulled her knees up only to set her arms against them and prop her head in her hands. She brushed her fingers through her hair, finding brief comfort in the softness of it. Because of this, her fingers found their way to the ends, twisting small clumps between them and brushing out the knots that had been formed in her sleep.

It was a soothing, distracting little task that soon allowed her to lie back down again. At that point, Link's twitching had only grown worse, and was accompanied by small whimpers. He was much braver than she was, fighting through his nightmares instead of bringing them to an abrupt stop…

Tya watched him for a moment, studying the way his expression changed. It was anger and pain, then fear, as if he was trying to close his eyes to avoid seeing something in his dreams.

She slowly moved to rest her hand on his cheek, hoping maybe a familiar touch would ease some of the fear. But the outcome was much different than she expected. Upon touching him, he jumped awake and grabbed her wrist roughly.

She tried to pull back, having been startled, but the grasp he had was much too tight. He looked completely terrified, and his breathing had picked up again, but both seemed to start to calm when he realized he wasn't in danger.

"T-Ty I-I'm sorry."

"It's alright, I'm scor—Sar—" She closed her eyes, pursing her lips tight while she tried to calm herself a bit. "I'm sorry I scared you."

His grip loosened, but he didn't release. The way he held her wrist suggested she was able to pull away if she so wished, but with him calming down, she felt there was no need. When she didn't start to pull away, Link let his hand slip to hers, and lowered it to his own chest.

She could feel his heart beat then. It was racing, but his breathing was slowly leveling out.

Both of them had become fragile. They were going to be broken by the time this was over, weren't they?

She closed her eyes again, lightly squeezing his hand.

At least they wouldn't be broken and alone.

Link slid closer, releasing her hand to check his bandages and then set his arm over her waist. He had to pull her closer so the injuries wouldn't be pressed on, though neither of them seemed to be complaining about the arrangement.

This time she was the one to be held. A nice change in what they seemed to have established as their usual sleeping arrangement.

She was the one to cuddle to his chest, one of his arms being used as a pillow and the other tightly wrapped around her shoulders.

It didn't take her worry away, but it certainly helped.

She waited to sleep until he seemed to fall asleep again, and the pair got a few more hours in before they got out of bed.

After preparing her things and dressing herself in her armor again, they headed back to the academy where Link's things were. He changed as well, and they headed out. Before leaving Skyloft, they decided to at least ask about getting Tya a blade of some sort.

Of course to no avail. The Knight Academy barely even knew her name, so it was to be expected that they weren't going to hand a weapon over to a random citizen, and Tya and Link felt it was best not to divulge too much information about what it was they'd been doing.

They stopped by the bazaar just to restock the pack, and got a bit of food before flying out to the green beam of light.

Everything seemed relatively normal up until they dropped off their birds to descend into the Sealed Grounds.

A few feet passed the cloud barrier, they both seemed to have the same feeling. It was as if they were being followed.

They looked at each other, both with a look of confusion at the feel, but it didn't take long for it to twist into panic as they heard a scream from behind them.

Turning, Link's face turned to borderline horror and he let out a yell in response.

Honestly the mage was afraid to look at that point, but if it was dangerous she needed to—

"Link! HELP!"

Goddess Damn it.

That was Groose's voice.

A quick peek back and Tya got a glimpse of that stupid red hair, but she didn't look long. Her attention turned toward how close to the ground they were—too close.

"Link!" She tried to get his attention, and it seemed for a second she succeeded, but it was quickly ripped away when Groose attached himself to Link and they both went flying to the ground a bit faster than intended.

Link tried to use his sail cloth, and it probably kept them from getting killed, but it wasn't overly helpful.

For once, Tya's landing was better than Link's.

The moment she hit the ground, she tossed her sailcloth down and rushed to where the two had landed.

Groose was pulling himself up, a hand immediately going to his head though Tya couldn't tell whether it was to fix his prized pompadour or actually care for himself.

"Rough landing…" He groaned, looking to Link as he lay on the ground.

"Link, are you alright?" Tya moved to help him up, but he waved her away and nodded his head.

"I think I mighta broken something… Hey Link, seriously didn't anyone ever teach you how to land without crash—" His sentence was cut off by a sharp gasp that grabbed both their attention.

Only for them both to find Groose's eyes locked on some small birds that had landed on his shoe.

When the birds picked up to fly off, a loud sound of amazement left him, and he looked from them to Link. "TINY birds?" He pointed in the direction they flew off. "What are they?!" He continued to look around in amusement, only to catch sight of Gorko as he idly passed. "And what is that thing!?" He got on his hands and knees, watching the Goron carefully.

Perhaps it was the set mission Tya was on, but she really hadn't taken the time to be amazed at what the surface offered. She hadn't thought much of the little birds, but they were pretty adorable, especially compared to the Loftwings back home. Little round blobs of feathers.

She smiled at the thought, looking at Gorko as well. A different species entirely that she hadn't really paid much mind to.

So many plants, trees, and animals that she'd never seen, and her vision of it all had been relatively skewed by the thought that she needed to bring Zelda back.

She'd thought deserts and volcanoes were myths up until that month. She'd thought the surface alone was a myth as well, and yet there she was…

It seemed the sudden amazement was certainly shared, as when she turned her attention back to Groose and Link, she noticed Groose was just frantically trying to find his words. When he finally did, he just shouted "Where am I?!"

He leapt to his feet, grabbing Link's shoulder and shaking him a bit. "What's going on here? Ever since Zelda vanished, you've been zipping in and out of town all in a hurry!" He stopped shaking Link. "So I figured I'd tail you, and you might lead me to Zelda." He drew back, pointing toward Gorko. "But this is… So wild. Seriously what is that thing over there?!" The look of worry on his face actually made Tya feel a bit guilty.

He'd done the same thing she had… Stumbled onto a destiny that wasn't quite his.

"And what's with all these trees? There are so many! Just give it to me straight! I can take it. Where are we? Is Zelda here?" He turned to start shaking Link again, and did for a moment but stopped. "What's the deal with this place?! If there's supposed to be nothin' below the clouds, what's all this?"

There was a pause between the two, then Link smiled and patted Groose's arm. The action seemed to confuse him, but at the same time comfort him. He drew back slowly, and Link looked to Tya.

"Zelda is here." Tya told him calmly, hoping her own tone would help him.

He hesitated a little, letting out a little sound of relief before his expression twisted to worry again. "Is she safe?" He asked quietly, almost helplessly.

"We…" Tya looked to Link, who's smile faded at the question. "We aren't sure. We are trying to find where exactly she went… But to our knowledge, she is."

"W-Welcome to the su-surface." Link said bluntly, calling Groose's attention back to him. The taller man just seemed to sink to the ground, sitting for a moment and looking at Link. As he tried to figure out what was going on, more birds seem to flock to him and land on his shoulders, and one even on the very tip of his hair.

Tya couldn't help but giggle at the scene.

"You're kind of like… imploding my mind right now… But I think I get what you're saying… So Zelda is down here? And She's… She's okay?"

"To our knowledge, yes. We have to go talk to the woman in the temple up there about it."

He let out a stupid sounding laugh, smiling gently at the thought that she was alright. "She's… She's okay. Wow! That's so great!" He moved to touch his face, almost like he was wiping something away, or checking to see if he needed to. "Hearing that's such a huge weight off my mind." He laughed again, shaking his head before sniffling and looking around again. The little birds on him seemed unfazed by his movements, and he smiled at them before looking to the trees.

"You know, guys… It's sort of all right down here. I think this place needs a name. Yeah… A name fitting for this rugged, adventurous wilderness. From now on, we'll call it… Grooseland!"

Even with this discovery, he was still Groose.

He got to his feet again, sniffling once more but playing it off by fixing his hair like he hadn't ever been terrified or upset. "So lemme see if I got this right. The lady living in the temple down the road knows where Zelda is?" The pair nodded their heads. "I see… Right, Link. Thanks for getting me here. You've done a good job. You can head home. Big Groose will handle the search for Zelda from here." His voice turned patronizing, and he nodded his head down at Link. Yup. I'll track her down, save her, then give her a lift back to Skyloft."

Definitely still Groose.

He proceeded go on about what he'd do when he and Zelda returned to Skyloft, and Tya couldn't help but roll her eyes. He laughed a bit, then straightened up and arched a brow. "Anyway, point is, your work here is done. I got if covered from here! Now it's off to find that old lady you were talking about."

He started off, waving back to the pair. "Catch you guys later!"

They both sighed heavily, looking at each other.

"He's going to get himself killed."

"I th-think it's mostly cleared o-out."

"You're assuming he's a lot smarter than he is, I think."

He paused like he wanted to refute that, but he really just nodded his head like he was ashamed of admitting it.

Tya laughed quietly before starting off toward the temple, watching to see if Link intended to follow.

They continued up to the temple, opening the door only to hear a complaint from Groose. Why she didn't expect that, she wasn't sure.

"Huh? You gotta be kidding me Grannie! You're messing with me. Say it again, I dare you!"

The pair approached the old woman and Groose quietly, listening to the conversation being had.

"I only speak the truth. You are not the one who will save her. The spirit maiden, your Zelda, can only be saved by another. It has been his fate to do this thing, and in doing so, save us. As it was decided long before you were brought crying into this world." The woman said calmly, barely even paying mind to Groose at all.

"I'm not meant to be here either." Tya admitted with a gentle shrug. The woman gave a small nod.

"And you've changed your own destiny." She admitted quietly giving another nod, though this one seemed to commend her more than anything. Tya smiled a bit, bowing her head in response.

"I hope that's a good thing."

"As do I."

"Well you obviously don't know me well, 'cause if you did, you'd know that if anyone's gonna save Zelda, it's Groose! How could it not be me? Plus, if it ain't me, why would I even be here?" He scoffed, shaking his head. "If I'm not up to the job of being the hero, just who is?" He turned as if he realized something, looking from Link to Tya, then back to Link.

"Oh…now I getcha. Grannie here's trying to tell me you're gonna be the big hero who rescues Zelda. What a joke! Look, all I've heard so far is a bunch of babbling about destiny, but that's a load of garbage. I know you, and you're no hero, shrimp!"

Tya wanted to respond, insulting Groose in defense but she kept her mouth shut. Even if she had tried to, Groose took off toward the door before she could.

With him gone, the old woman looked up to the pair.

"Greetings…" She said quietly, sighing heavily before continuing. "Were you able to catch up with Zelda?" Their expressions turned sour, giving away the answer before their mouths could. "I see…. So the Guardian was there as well, I'm assuming?"

"She took Zelda through something." Tya said.

The old woman nodded once more. "The one you saw by Zelda's side is known as Impa. She is a being sent forth by the goddess to aid Zelda in her quest. The two have traveled somewhere in order to accomplish the great task destiny has set before them." As she spoke, Tya leaned over and nudged Link. The action caused the woman to quiet down for a moment.

"I'm going to go make sure Groose stays out of danger." Even if she wasn't particularly fond of him, she didn't want him dead. Link nodded in response.

Tya started off, hearing the old woman carry on until she was out the door.

She stepped out, looking around to find Groose. He was out of sight, but she could hear him mumbling and a light pounding off to the side. She headed in that direction, finding him not far from the door. He seemed to be scolding himself, or at the very least beating himself (And the side of the temple) up for whatever reason.

She couldn't quite hear what he was saying, and in all honesty she didn't care. Part of her wanted to berate him for once again being rude to Link, but most of her wanted him to go back to the safety of Skyloft. As stated, she may not have liked him, but every life was worth something and he didn't deserve to lose his.

"Groose." She spoke firmly to get his attention, causing him to flinch and whip around, looking down at her. For once, it was obvious that he was forcing the 'Bully' façade he always had up. "You really should go home."

"No." He refused immediately, shaking his head. Despite the cruelty behind his words, it was obvious that it was a firm decision he'd made. Not because he wanted to do it to spite Link, but for something else. Likely for Zelda herself. It was no secret that he had an obsession with her. "I'm not gonna…" He huffed slightly, shaking his head. "I'm not gonna let that twerp be the one to save her."

"Why does it matter who does it? Why can't it just be important that she's saved?"

Again, he huffed, brows knitting together to make his expression all the more strained. A hand moved up to fix his hair, and he sighed heavily.

"It… It doesn't matter." He admitted under his breath.

"Then why stay here? It's dangerous."

"Why'd you stay here? Why'd you come?"

"Because I want to be sure she's safe, and I want to bring her home as well."

"So then why am I not allowed?"

Tya bit the inside of her lip at the question, looking toward the ground.

"Look, I… I want her to be safe. Yeah, I wanna be the one that does it, ya know, that brings her home, so maybe she'll give me some credit or something, but… Just as long as she's safe. I don't want to go back and wait. I wanna get her home." He seemed ashamed to admit such things. He wouldn't even look up toward Tya. It was evident he didn't want to be speaking to anyone about it, much less her, but for some reason he told her anyway.

This admission made her sigh because she knew the feel all too well. While she and Groose evidently had different kinds of feelings toward Zelda, they both felt deeply for her and only wanted to know she was okay. She couldn't fault him for that. She knew she couldn't very well go home and play the waiting game, not after discovering all this and knowing what it was Link and Zelda were up against.

She could however fault him for being a huge jerk toward Link. "If you want her to be safe so badly, why do you keep going on about how you want to be the one to do it?"

"…Cause." He motioned toward the temple where Link was. "C'mon. Him?"

"He's stronger than he looks, and definitely braver than the both of us combin—"

"That's not what I mean."

"Then what do you mean?"

"That it's not fair. What, he gets to swoop in and save her? This ain't a fairy tale. It's like they were meant to be from the start, no one else gets a chance to come in there, and that's not fair."

Hearing that phrase—'They were meant to be together' brought back that feeling. That strange ache in her stomach. She looked to the ground, her jaw clenching briefly.

Was that what this was?

Was she jealous?

She thought, perhaps she didn't like the idea of someone else swooping her best friend off her feet and taking all her attention.

But when did that start? Groose was sitting there complaining about not being able to do that exact thing, and the thought of Groose doing it wasn't the least bit bothersome.

So it was Link, then?

She was jealous of Link?

Or of Zelda?

Because she had Link?

"It isn't fair, you're right." She replied, causing him to seem a bit surprised. He apparently hadn't expected anyone to agree with such a statement.

He didn't get the chance to say anything more, because something happened.

She couldn't tell what happened, all she knew was the ground felt like it was breaking with how hard it shook.

It very nearly knocked the two off their feet.

There was a moment of time where Tya froze up, not really sure how to react to what happened. She looked up, seeing Groose apparently thought the same thing.

"What was that?"

"I have no idea." She looked back toward the temple, then to the ground. She was hesitant to move forward, but after a second she did so regardless.

Moving toward the temple didn't quite matter, because the moment they got over there, Link and the old woman rushed out.

Another quake, but this one didn't end. After the largest calmed, it continued on as if something was hitting just under their feet.

"Go quickly, Link. Check on the sealing spike at the center of the pit. There is nothing natural about these tremors. That monster could free itself at any moment. Approach the pit with caution!" The old woman motioned toward the massive pit, and Link hurried forward, grabbing Tya's arm to get her to follow.

He ran and leapt over the edge, pulling his sailcloth out before he hit the ground, and Tya did the same.

They rushed to the center, keeping their balance as the hits against the ground became even more powerful.

It was the first time she'd been this close…

That spike gave her a horrible feeling, and thick black smoke that was emitted from it certainly didn't help.

Before Link could even get close, the darkness became more intense, flooding over the ground. She couldn't tell but the ground looked like it was sinking in, and something began to grow out of it.

A massive, black, scaled beast rose from the darkness. It didn't have eyes, yet it seemed to know exactly where they were. It faced them, rows of teeth bearing in their direction. The pair froze, but weren't kicked back into motion until the beast opened its mouth and roared at them.

Again, Link reached back and grabbed Tya's arm, but he released quickly to point toward the ramps that would get them away from this monster.

She nodded, and they both took off toward the ramp, only to have it start to follow.

"The seal has given way. Link! Keep that beast from escaping the pit! It must not reach the temple!" The old woman called to them over the edge.

Tya looked up at her, then back to Link. He didn't seem happy about this new task, but he turned back and looked up at it.

It was covered in the thick scales, but out of them stuck the sealing spike that had held it in the ground. He assumed he needed to get to that.

"Ty, try to sl-slow him down." Link said hastily, taking a few quick steps backwards but watching for her answer.

Tya nodded, though she probably looked quite helpless. She definitely felt it.

This thing was massive, and those teeth. Goddess, please save her. She didn't want to be anywhere near it.

Link took off when she agreed, and she turned back toward the beast that was slowly approaching. She moved back slightly before letting her hands ignite.

The Beast was going slowly enough that she had time to charge the fire. It didn't seem it would really affect any part of him because those scales were so large, and the sealing spike was so high up. But on the only limbs it had, it's legs, were large white bulbs that looked like toes.

She aimed for those, assuming that, even if it failed, she could at least attempt to knock it down by hitting its legs.

The steps were wide, but it was slow in taking them. It hit the bottom of the ramp, and that's when Tya fired first.

The white bulbs went down pretty easily with strong flames. She took out two on one side like that, then moved back to do so again.

As she continued this, firing weaker flames and trying to get the beast down, Link moved to the ramp just above them. It was at the perfect height to get onto the Beast's head, so he leapt across, landing onto it. She couldn't see what he was doing from her angle, but she assumed it had to do with the spike, and assumed that it was doing damage with the way it moved.

It flung its head back, and she saw Link go flying. He used his sailcloth to land safely, but the Beast came forward again. After a second, he started to continue up the ramp.

The nasty bulbs grew back this time, and Tya huffed, but started to fire at them again. She wasn't sure if it was helping, but it was the only part she could cause damage to. Maybe it was slowing him a little.

The process repeated two more times because it kept pushing the spike back out, but The Beast finally fell. Link beat the Sealing Spike back in, and The Beast shook as it tried to hold itself together. It froze in place and suddenly exploded into a burst of light. The scales flew outward, and Tya shielded her head as if that would somehow help. But they didn't cause damage. They seemed to move outward in slow motion, but soon bolted inward, all gathering at the Sealing Spike which resumed its spot in the center of the pit.

"Link!" From above, the old woman got their attention. "Strike the sealing spike with the Skyward Strike and restore the seal! Quickly!"

With that, Link ran forward, leaping over the edge to do as told.

The strike lit up the Sealing Spike, and Link thrust the blade toward the ground. The Spike immediately obeyed, plunging into the ground. The markings that had sealed it before traced themselves out in light first, then faded to dark markings along the grass.

The breathless hero turned, looking first to the ledge the old woman and now Groose awaited them on, then to Tya who was checking him over quite thoroughly from her spot. He didn't seem injured, but that didn't mean anything.

He sheathed the blade again, nodded toward the ramps so they could go.