Midna swiftly conveyed him up to the Bridge of Eldin, covering most of the distance to where this rockslide should be, then transformed Tails back to his own form.

"You know wolf boy, there's something I don't get."

"What's that?"

"That giant Goron only just left Kakariko, right? Big as he is, he can't be all that quick. We'll end up getting there before him."

"So it'll give us some time to wait and catch a bit of shut-eye," Tails shrugged. "It'd be nice to actually have a chance to stop and rest, rather than reeling from one dungeon to the next like a drunken sailor."

"If you say so, wolfy. I think-" she paused, looking around from her perch on his shoulder. "Do you hear that?"

Tails half turned, listening.

"A kind of rumbling sound, coming this way?" he asked.

"Didn't think it was just me."

He looked around, then saw a massive goron-coloured rock rolling their way. The ground seemed to quake as it shot past them with a fair turn of speed.

They stared after it for a few moments before either of them said anything.

"Was that..." Tails started, not quite believing what he saw.

"There goes your rest, wolf boy," Midna laughed.

The rolling rock had indeed been Darbus, who had even had time to clear the rockslide before Tails arrived. He warned of a number of Bulbins that had invaded the village. But in his booming voice told him he had complete confidence in his ability to handle them.

The village beyond was not unlike Kakariko in its western styling. Many of the Bulbins were in plain view.

"Wolf time?" Midna suggested.

"Maybe when we're starting to have trouble finding them," he replied, taking out the bow. He took aim and shot at one which had the unfortunate idea to turn its back to him as the arrow flew. Unfortunate for it, because the arrow landed in its behind.

"Nice shooting," Midna muttered. Tails ignored her and shot several more Bulbins, who seemed incapable of figuring out where they were being shot from.

Once the immediate ones were taken out, he started cautiously making his way through the village, glancing into buildings where he heard suspicious sounds. Several times he took advantage of a broken window to shoot one inside, and once even run one through on the sword so he wouldn't waste too many arrows. It didn't take long to root out all those he could find that way, and only a brief sojourn as a wolf was needed to find the last troublesome few.

The village was not as deserted as it had otherwise looked though, as when he returned outside there was an old woman stood outside the one undamaged house. Tails growled at Midna.

"Hm? Oh, right. You can't meet her as a wolf, can you. Strange how people seem to accept you as your normal fox self," she went on, restoring his form, "I mean, you're not really that much different when you get right down to it."

"Hero's clothes," Tails replied shortly, picking his way back down to meet the old woman.

She noticed him before he reached her, prompting the odd remark of, "It's you! The saviour, it's you!"

"Uh, sure I guess," Tails said, taken off guard. "I did just get rid of those Bulbins, so-"

"Excuse me for asking – are you Tails?"

"Yeah, that's me."

"I knew it! My name is Impaz, the last resident of this poor village."

"If she's the last, where does she get something to eat?" Midna wondered.

Impaz ignored Midna, though only because she couldn't perceive her at all."The village was once the secret home of a proud tribe, bound to serve the royal family, but it fell into decline and became infested with dangerous beasts."

"Not for much longer though," Tails pointed out. "But how did you know me?"

"There was a nice girl who was here, she often cheered me up by saying you'd come to help. She worried about me even as I helped her escape from here."

"Ilia," he and Midna murmured together.

"Why not leave with her?" Tails asked afterwards.

"Royal order," Impaz explained. "I can't leave until a certain person arrives, no matter what terrible fate is visited upon it. But that comes later, would you help me with something? Only that young girl, she left this here." She took out a strange item, a little like a horse reed.

"While I believe it kept me safe all this time... it ought to be returned to her now the village is free of monsters again. Let her know... this old biddy was grateful."

"I'll pass it on," Tails nodded, taking the odd item and turning to leave.

"Wait just one moment!" Impaz suddenly exclaimed. "There, on your back – is that... the Dominion Rod?"

"Huh? Oh this old thing?" he asked, pulling it out. "Sure, but it doesn't work any more, why?"

"Then you are the messenger to the heavens! The one I've been waiting for. Tell me, have you also been in contact with one of the Oocca?"

"Uh, I think so. I met a strange creature named Ooccoo."

"Then it is you for sure... That rod was passed down to the Royal Family by the people of the sky – the Oocca – and was only to be carried by the messenger to the heavens when they needed to commune with the Oocca. For generations, my people have guarded the book that, by royal decree, was to be given to that messenger – please, take it. It is written in an ancient tongue, but I have no doubt it will help you."

Tails thanked her again, letting her retreat to the safety of her own home, not that there was anything left to threaten her. There was, however, a faint howling sound in the air, leading him to what by Link's own admission was the final Howling Stone he would encounter, directing him to find Link in the Castle Town somewhere.

"I think it's time we headed back to Kakariko," Tails said.

"You'll have to leave the village first, wolf boy. Something about this place protects it from me."

"Something you can't overcome?" he replied in mock astonishment. "There I was thinking there wasn't such a thing."

"Be nice, or I might decide to leave you as a wolf for a while," Midna told him.

"Y'know, that doesn't actually sound too bad. I wasn't entirely keen on it at first, but I've sort of grown to like it since then."

"Well now what am I meant to do when you bother me?" Midna asked, throwing up her arms. "Come on then wolfy. Let's get this adventure back on the road."

While the fruits of his efforts undoubtedly touched many lives around Hyrule, it never seemed to show much. Kakariko Village filtered into his vision as Midna's portal faded away, exactly the same as it always had been whenever he came to visit.

Tails slipped back into Renado's house without disturbing anyone as it was starting to get late, finding that fortunately, Ilia and Renado were still up.

"You return sooner than we had anticipated," Renado noted in his quiet voice. "I had thought you would only just now be meeting Darbus."

"I've got more concerns on my shoulders than I can count, Renado," Tails laughed. "It encourages me to step right along. Has Ilia remembered anything else?"

"A few memories. The children here from Ordon stopped by to visit her. I have little doubt they helped her memory along, recalling her childhood home, but there is still something missing. Were you able to retrieve anything from the village she spoke of?"

Tails nodded, taking out the odd horse reed belonging Impaz had given him as he moved to join the girl.

"Ilia," he said gently. "You remember Impaz? The old woman who cared for you? She asked me to return this to you, and also said to tell you she was grateful for the care you showed in return."

Ilia took it off him, stared at it for a moment, then suddenly caught him in a tight hug.

"How could I forget you and Epona," she breathed. "My best friend, and the strange fox boy who came so suddenly into our lives?"

"You remember everything then?"

"I do now, thanks to you."

"Would you mind letting me go then? Or at least not hugging me so hard?"

"Sorry Tails," she laughed. "I guess I overdid it a bit. I didn't hurt you, did I?"

"I'm a hero," he replied depreciatingly. "I'm used to much worse."

"Did she tell you she was expecting a hero?"

Tails nodded, "She gave me something I'm going to drop in on Shad, one of Telma's friends, to see if he can give me a hand reaching a far-off place."

"Nose stuck in a book?" she asked.

"That's him."

"He is investigating a strange old owl statue in my basement," Renado told him. "He comes by once in a while to see it every now and again, though it never seems to enlighten him on their purpose or meaning."

"I think I might be able to shed a little light on that for him, and maybe get some help on my own goals too. You stay here for now, Ilia. As soon as I'm done rushing around all over the place, I'll make sure you all get back to Ordon safely, but for now..."

"Don't worry, Tails. We'll be safe here with Renado," she told him.