Chapter 61: Warp Ace Goshawhk

Using the golden key, Link unlocked the door at the end of the circular chamber. On the other side was a room full of torches that were lit. Near an alcove stood Goshawhk who turned to face Link. Behind him, Darak was passed out with a stone tablet and a small piccolo made of dark wood with light wood keys next to his feet.

"You finally made it, False Hero," Goshawhk said bluntly. "I can't believe you're the one who's managed to defeat all the Watchmen except for me. In my opinion, they were just weak. I'm actually the strongest member, so be prepared to face my wrath!"

"I'm more than ready to face the likes of you!" Link said as he unsheathed the Master Sword.

"Very well, then let's begin!" Goshawhk said as he vanished and reappeared next to a torch. "I'm going to blow out every single one of these torches. If you can defeat me before all of them are extinguished, then I'll acknowledge you as the strongest. Fail to, and you die. Got it?"

When Link nodded, Goshawhk snuffed out the torch with his gloved hands and reappeared next to another torch far away. Link used the Talon Clasp to grab Goshawhk and pull him closer. Once Goshawhk was in sword's length, Link struck him with several blows and strikes. Yet despite this, no blood was drawn and Goshawhk simply disappeared.

"So that's how it's going to be," Goshawhk said as he reappeared by another torch. "If you want to play rough, then I'll move faster."

Then with that, Goshawhk became more frequent with his warping power and soon more torches were blown out. Fortunately, Link managed to grab him before the last torch was blown out and give him more strikes with his sword. However, Goshawhk still did not bleed and disappeared once more. Link waited for him to appear next to the last torch and just as he did a lively tune echoed through the chamber. This caused Goshawhk to crumble down onto the floor while behind him Darak was playing on the piccolo with the stone tablet right beneath him. Link watched in amazement as Goshawhk was covered in light like the others and then he stopped moving altogether.

Curious, Link walked up to the body and seeing the chest slowly rising and falling he was assured that the person inside was still breathing. Then after sheathing the Master Sword, Link cautiously removed Goshawhk's bird-helmet revealing the person underneath to be Grody. Meanwhile, Darak stopped playing the tune and a circle of light surrounded him.

"Now that I have played the Conga of the Northern Blizzard, I now know that I am the Sage of the North Wind," Darak said as he started to vanish. "Therefore, I shall join my fellow Sages in the Sacred Realm. Call us when the moon is closest to the city on this tune which must be played on the Ocarina of Time."

"But, wait," Link said. "Where is the Ocarina of Time located?"

"Talk to the Professor," Darak replied. "He'll know where it is."

After that, Darak was gone along with the stone tablet which was no doubt the Medley Fragment. Now alone with Grody, Link knew what he had to do. First, he examined Grody's back underneath the uniform. Upon seeing the Shadow Crystal, he took out the bottle with the Tears of Light and poured what was left onto Grody's back. This woke Grody up as he cried out in pain, and then once it was over the Shadow Crystal dissipated.

"How are you feeling now?" Link asked.

"Better," Grody mumbled. "No thanks to you."

Link sighed. "I bet you were the one who persuaded everyone else to trust Zelda."

"Of course I did," Grody said. "Sure, she seemed a little off but I had no reason to not trust her."

"Only because you liked her, right?"

Grody blushed in response. "It was that obvious?"

"Yeah, I noticed that when you first met her. Now where did she take you and the others?"

"Into a dark room, I think. There was this weird helmet that seemed to radiate this black mist. I was the first to be hit by it, and then I don't remember anything else except a sudden pain on my back. But then after that, I felt like I wasn't in complete control of my body as if it were being controlled by something else."

"That's because it was," Link replied. "Zelda, or whoever was pretending to be her, was controlling you with Shadow Crystals obtained from the Twilight Realm before its presence vanished from Skyloft. Now do you remember why Zelda wanted to find the Wind Sages?"

"I think it was to…either protect Skyloft or destroy it," Grody said as he scratched his head. "I'm not sure. Ghirahim would tell us one thing, but then Zelda always said something different. It was hard to discern what was the truth from the lies."

"I see." Link got up and walked to another circle of light that appeared in the room. "Your sister's waiting for you in Fairy Grove, and so is Pip."

"How do I get there from here?" Grody asked.

"You're a Rail Rider," Link said, giving his Talon Clasp to Grody. "You'll find a way."

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The circle of light took Link outside of the Ice Caves, and after that he made his way down Goron Prison and was relieved to see all the Goron and Zora prisoners roaming free with all the Clockwork Policemen dismantled. Ghirahim was nowhere in sight, which Link was concerned about, but he trudged through the snowy wasteland till he got to the train-station. Several Gorons and Zoras got onto the train and were just about to take off when Link managed to hop on. They gave him many cheers and praises all throughout the train-ride till they got to the Goron District where they went their separate ways. While the Gorons went back into Terror Mountain, the Zoras commandeered a Skyloft rail-cart just after a group of tourists left it. So Link joined them and got off just as the rail-cart passed over the Hylian District. Link then made his way to the Hylian University and up to Professor Scarab's office.

To be continued…