His thoughts finally began to clear away, fleeing, receding into the dark recesses of his mind as clarity pushed its way forth.

Alakai, Fi, Link, and Groose stood watching over Ghirahim's body as Alakai applied the final bit of the solution to Ghirahim's face. Cheeb sat on the table, playing with Ghirahim's limp arm. A pale blue glow was beginning to form around his entire body.

Link had waited long enough to see his friend revived. That word struck him, oddly enough, "friend". Before this adventure had begun, the words "friend" and "Ghirahim" wouldn't have crossed his mind together, but now, Link wasn't sure there was a better word to describe Ghirahim. He felt relieved.

Ghirahim's glow faded. His eyes twitched, the first sign of life in the great demon lord since his spontaneous outburst yesterday. One eye opened, and soon another. Cheeb felt Ghirahim's fingers close around his own flipper. He was moving. He was alive.

Alakai slowly moved in, looking down on Ghirahim's face. "Are you alright? How do you feel?" he asked, bringing a hand up to Ghirahim's face to give a suggestion to his temperature.

Ghirahim's mouth unsealed itself, his lips pulsing excitedly. He breathed in and out softly through his nose. After a few puffs of breath, he finally managed to let out a whisper, like leaves rustling in the wind, a soft voice.

"I… feel…" he said. There was a pause as everyone leaned in to hear him clearer.

With a burst of energy, Ghirahim swung his legs to his face, and shot them out, pushing with his hands on the table, performing an explosive kip-up. Using his new-found replenished reserves of magic, he conjured up several rainbows and lasers shooting out of himself. The three men were swept back in shock, and Fi simply stood her ground. In the process of this flamboyant display, Cheeb was hit with a rainbow laser, sent flying off of the table, and through a window, his petite scream following him as he flew.

"...Fabulous!"

Link was the first one up, running and hopping up on the table to embrace Ghirahim. Groose soon followed, though his hug was more a spear, knocking Link and Ghirahim to the ground. The three erupted in a fit of laughter as Alakai smiled on at this reunion.

"Alright, the party here is over." Fi interrupted. "As most of you know, we need to find the rest of the Triforce pieces. We've got four pieces, plus Cheeb's fifth, plus the one obtained by the anonymous third party. There are two pieces left, plus the trouble of tracking down the third party."

Ghirahim stood on his own two legs and stretched himself out. Finishing this, he walked over to Fi and laid a hand on her shoulder. "It's been awhile, hasn't it, my dear?" he said.

"This is no time for pleasantries. The fate of the world is at stake."

Ghirahim chuckled before playfully flicking his tongue out at Fi, who narrowly dodged it. Working to ignore him, she continued, "According to my calculations, it would be best to find another piece of the Triforce, allow this third party to collect the remaining piece, at which point we could confront them and take it."

Link continued her train of thought, turning to Ghirahim and Groose. "She's got a good point. We'll probably end up fighting whoever has that piece anyway, so why not let them do a bit of the work for us? That's an excellent plan, Fi. The question now becomes where we go next."

Suddenly, the wheels in Groose's mind began to spin out of control. "Guys. We were supposed to go to Eldin."

Link, Fi, and Ghirahim turned to him, looking confused.

"That was the whole point of going to Faron! We were going to go to Eldin, but then we got side tracked and we went to Lanayru instead! Oh my Goddess Hylia, how long have we been bumming around not going to Eldin?!"

Link began to protest before realizing Groose was right. Groose ran over to Alakai and shook his hand. He sputtered out, "Thank you for your hospitality but we need to be going now we'll check in some other time thanks for everything okay bye" before barging out the door.

Link began to walk up to Alakai. "I guess this is it for now." Link said. However, Alakai motioned for Link to follow him as Fi and Ghirahim conversed.

Without hesitation, Link followed the old man to his cellar. Alakai walked to the corner and opened up a large chest. He bent over and began sifting through it. Link didn't think that Alakai had any storage in this entire house that wasn't messed up. But, soon enough, he'd found what he was looking for. He first pulled out a large iron shield, dropping it at his feet before going back for more. Link grabbed the shield and held it up. It was a sturdy shield, for sure. He looked at the face of the shield, which was scratched and dented but otherwise intact. Three blue stripes had been crudely painted, running vertically down the right side.

Link slipped it on his arm. He liked the weight, it felt natural. After this, Alakai pulled out a large bundle of cloth, bound with leather straps. He closed the chest and set the bundle down on top of it. Alakai delicately began to undo the leather ties, letting them fall to the ground. As he unwrapped the bundle, he felt a warm smile of nostalgia.

"What's this stuff?" Link asked as Alakai finished unwrapping his surprise. He held up a lustrous iron sword. Link unsheathed his tooth from the Deku Beast and tossed it across the floor as he took the sword in his hands. Its blade was sharpened to precision, the hilt sturdy, and the grip was laced with blue leather wound around it. It felt comfortable in his hands, and he flipped it around, spinning it before popping it in his own sheath. It fit perfectly.

Alakai looked him in the eyes. "These were my issued weapons from the first Great War against the Demon Tribe. Though I was a field medic, I still saw occasional action. Perhaps you'll get better use out of these."

Link smiled. "Thanks."

Alakai smiled as he watched the group walk out the door. These rugged travelers and adventurers were quite the rowdy bunch, but they were all destined for a great future. Alakai knew as soon as he turned around, he'd see his house left in a state of disorganization. This group would probably leave a path of destruction in their wake no matter where they went, but at least it was for a good cause. Groose, Link, Fi, Ghirahim, Cheeb...

Alakai silently said his goodbyes. He knew this wouldn't be the last of them he'd see.