Chapter 12: Twili District

"How is this possible?" Link wondered as he and Zelda drifted through the air.

"It's my Wind Parasol," Zelda answered. "Another invention I made a while back. It allows one to float along the air currents for a certain length of time."

"Which is how long?" Proxi asked, noticing that the spinning parasol was starting to falter.

"About…two minutes," Zelda said, and noticed an orange cloudy haze with black rain falling onto an area that consisted of tall buildings carved from stone suspended on floating rocks with stone bridges between them that was coming up below her and Link. "We should be able to make it to the Twili District before the parasol loses power."

"What's the Twili District?" Link said as they approached a hazy dome-shaped barrier that was dark with orange-colored designs which seemed to cover the entire area Zelda was describing.

"A section of Skyloft that is consumed by the Twilight Realm," Zelda replied. "A race called the Twili live here, and from what I've heard they openly oppose Ganon so we should be safe there."

"I hope you're right," Link responded.

The parasol lost power, and the two found themselves falling into the barrier. Fortunately, Zelda's parasol was able to lighten the fall and she landed perfectly on a stone bridge. Link wasn't so lucky and fell flat on his face.

"Are you all right, Link?" Zelda asked as she knelt at his feet.

"Yeah, I'm—

Suddenly, Link cried out in pain.

"What's wrong?" Proxi asked.

"I'm not sure," Link responded through his teeth. "Something's wrong."

"Link! Your hands!" Zelda cried.

Link looked at his hands and noticed they were slowly shifting into paws. He tried to get up but couldn't move. His eyes shifted and his body seemed to vibrate. Zelda watched with wide eyes, but she did not move. Proxi flew away from Link and tucked herself in the folds of Zelda's satchel. Then abruptly Link howled up at the sky as his whole body changed from that of a boy to a large gray wolf with a white underside and a pattern resembling a diamond on his forehead. When the transformation was complete, Link panted heavily and then he passed out on the bridge. On his right paw, a small triangle-shape lit up for a moment and then faded away. The same thing happened to Zelda's hand, which briefly distracted her for a moment.

"Well, look what we have here."

Zelda looked up from her hand and saw several figures approaching her and Link. They looked to be human, but their bodies were light gray with patches of black, their eyes were bright red, and their ears were pointy. Clothing-wise, they wore black robes and loose-fitting pants with intricate designs on them.

"Um, excuse me," Zelda said, trying to sound polite. "Something's happened to my friend. He's turned into—

"A wolf?" said the figure who spoke first, who was shirtless and ginger-haired. "Yeah, that kind of thing's bound to happen…

"…To anyone who enters the Twili District," another figure said, who was much chubbier than the first one and wearing a black-hooded garment. "But you, Miss, seem to be unaffected. I wonder why that is."

"I'm not sure what you're talking about, but my friend needs help," Zelda responded. "Is there some way to change him back?"

"Sure," replied the first guy. "Just leave the Twili District and never come back. We don't like trespassers, especially Hylians."

"But we can't leave," Zelda said frantically. "Ganon's after us, and we need somewhere to stay for the time-being."

"Then your friend's stuck as a wolf indefinitely," the other guy said.

"But wait a minute," a third figure said, this one being female with spiky blonde hair wearing a hoodless robe. "Doesn't Midna have something that can make one immune to the effects of the Twilight Realm?"

"You mean the Shadow Crystal?" the first guy asked.

"Yeah, that's the one," answered the female.

"Are you sure? I heard it curses people," said the second guy. "Didn't Zant use it to curse Midna before she overthrew him?"

"How should I know?" the first guy said. "I wasn't there when it happened."

"Then let's find out by taking these Hylian scum to Midna herself," said the second guy as he took a step toward Zelda. "I'm sure she'll give us a huge reward for doing so."

"Stay back!" Zelda said, holding her parasol out. "Don't come any closer!"

"Relax, dear, we're not going to hurt you," the female said grinning menacingly.

"We just want to take you in is all," added the second guy.

"Then you leave me with no choice," Zelda said and pressed the stones on her gauntlet which lit up. Next, she adjusted a compass-like device on her wrist causing electrical pulses to emanate from the gauntlet.

The Twili backed away slowly as Zelda punched the air in front of her causing a blurry image to appear. Instead of a castle with red-tiled roofs, the image showed a sun rising over an empty desert covered in ruins. Afraid, the Twili ran away.

"So it is true that the Twili are afraid of light," Zelda said triumphantly.

The image faded away, and the shadows became prominent once more.

"Now to find this 'Midna' person and see about that Shadow Crystal they mentioned," Zelda said to herself. "If it really does null the effect of the Twilight Realm, you'll be back to normal in no time, Link."

Zelda grabbed Link by the scruff of his neck and dragged him across the bridge in the same direction the Twili went. On the other side stood a building with no windows and very high walls. Leaving Link by the entrance, Zelda ascended the stairs and entered the building after the Twili did. Inside, it was pitch-black though the stones on the gauntlet provided Zelda with some light. She heard movement, but couldn't see anything. Then Zelda felt something hit her from behind and she lost consciousness.

To be continued…