The next thing Link knew, he was standing in front of Faron's spring. As he regained his sense of self and time, Faron called out to him.

"Heroic Link… Do not think that Hyrule is now saved from the spread of twilight… Leave these woods and go to the west, where you will find the land protected by the spirit Eldin. There you will find those you seek…" Link gasped. 'The children?! They're to the west?'

"But know that these lands lie in twilight… They are now a dark realm covered by the clouds of dusk. If you set foot beyond the curtain of twilight, you will revert to your beast form, so be prepared." Link frowned at the idea of being stuck as a wolf again.

"Hero chosen by the gods, leave these woods and go west, to the land of the spirit Eldin." Link nodded, and Midna appeared from his shadow.

"That's better. Searching should be much easier now!" She laughed. "But… Of course, you feel the need to help the other light spirits, don't you?" Link nodded. 'If I'm the only one who can stop the spread of twilight from consuming Hyrule.. Well, it wouldn't be right of me to not do so.'

"Well, don't worry. When you turn into a beast again, I'll take good care of you." Link smirked, rolling his eyes. 'Like I need you to take care of me.'

"The first thing you need to do is find the land covered in twilight. Once you do, I'll help you out." She laughed. "See you later!" Once more, she disappeared into Link's shadow, and he sighed. 'Before I go back to being stuck as a wolf.. Maybe I should go home, and let everyone know that I'm okay.'

The walk back to Ordon was peaceful, giving Link time to enjoy the forest being in daylight once again. The monsters that had patrolled by the spring and by his house were gone, allowing him to enjoy the birdsong and soft wind. As soon as he had finally set foot in the village, he sighed in relief.

The first person he saw was Hanch, still standing on the rock near the hawk reeds. Climbing up the vines, he tapped Hanch on the shoulder, who turned and opened his eyes in surprise.

"Link… You've come back to us?" Link nodded, smiling. Hach smiled for a moment, but then frowned and looked down.

"Have you heard? The children… Those poor children… They were taken by monsters…" Link nodded again, frowning. 'I'm working on finding them.' Hanch looked up to the sky, as if he was in prayer again.

"I'd forgotten how quiet the village is without them…" Hanch sighed, looking back down. "The children… By now the monsters must have…" He looked again to the sky. "Oh, Beth… Daddy's so sorry…" Link offered Hanch a slight smile. 'I'm going to find her, Hanch. I promise.' He climbed back down the vines. 'I should check on Sera.'

Sera was staring at the table, one hand resting on her cheek while the other sat on the table. She almost seemed to be on the verge of tears. Noticing Link, she wiped at her eyes and sat up.

"Link! Are you OK?!" Link nodded. 'I'm okay.' Sera smiled, though it didn't reach the corners of her eyes.

"Oh… Good… That's good, m'dear." She frowned again. "But please, you must tell me! You haven't seen the children, have you?!" Link shook his head. 'Not yet..'

"Immediately after you left, we were attacked by monsters… I hesitate to ask, but I must! Please save the children, Link…" Link nodded. Sera stared into the distance for a bit, before putting on a smile again.

"Oh… I know! Is there anything here you can use?! I don't have much, but please take a look around!" Link glanced at the shelf, then shook his head. Sera nodded in understanding.

"Come back if there's anything you need, OK, m'dear?" Link nodded. "M'dear… Please… We're counting on you to bring the children back…" With that, Sera went back to looking down at the table, and Link left the store.

He soon found himself in front of Jaggle's house. There were some gardening tools sitting on the bench. Jaggle turned around.

"... Link! You're OK! Do… Do you know what happened? You haven't seen the tykes, have you?!" Link shook his head. 'No, but I'm going to find them.'

"These monsters stormed in here and carried them all off! Ilia, the little ones… all of them! Rusl got hurt pretty bad, too." Link frowned. 'Rusl's hurt..?'

"The mayor's gone looking for the kids… but he's getting on in years, y'know? I'm worried for him…" Link blinked. 'Bo.. left?'

"You've gotta search for the tykes! Please, Link!" Link nodded, and turned to leave.

"Huh?! That shield on your back is the gift we were going to…" Link turned around, wincing. 'Jaggle, I'm sorry, I-'

"I thought the monsters stole it… but you got it before them? Boy, talk about a misconception on my part! That's good, though. Good! You never know where or when those monsters might appear, so I hope it's coming in handy for you!" Link nodded, then turned and walked into Jaggle's house.

The family's dog came up to Link, panting and wagging his tail. Link smiled as he reached down to pet the dog, who leaned into Link's hand. Pergie was sitting worriedly on the couch in the back of the house. She didn't even look up when Link walked over to her.

"Link… The children… The children were… By… monsters…" For some moments she was silent. "Oh… What are we to do?" She whimpered. "Talo… Malo… Please! Just be alive…" Link frowned, unsure of how to comfort her. 'I never saw Pergie all that often.. She was always busy taking care of Talo and Malo..' With a sigh, he eventually left the house. 'I need to go see Rusl.. I didn't realize he was injured..'

As soon as he walked in the door, Uli stood up from her seat near the couch, next to an unconscious Rusl.

"Link…!" She sat back down with a relieved sigh. "Oh… At last, a pleasant surprise! You are safe, at least…" Link nodded as he slowly walked over. She frowned, looking down at Rusl, who muttered in his sleep about monsters. "The silence of this village… Does it not chill you as it does me?" Link nodded.

"While you were gone, we were set upon by evil creatures… I suppose you have already heard… but the children and poor Ilia… They were taken… We were all worried that perhaps you had been taken, as well…" Uli sighed. "Oh, but… I am sorry… As much as I would like to give these tidings to my husband… He has just fallen asleep…" She gave a slight smile. "But it truly is a fine thing to see you return. I am sure everyone would be pleased to see you if you were to stop in and say hello!" Link smiled softly. 'I was just doing that, actually.' Uli paused.

"Um… Link… Everyone will return… won't they?" Link nodded.

"I am so sorry… I must believe… If we do not believe, then our children are as good as lost already…"

"Don't worry, Uli. I'll find them." Uli blinked, then nodded, small tears falling from her eyes.

"Thank you, Link…" He offered her a smile, then turned to leave.

"Oh… Link… That sword… The evil creatures stole it from Rusl… but you… You got it back?! How wonderful! I know it is safe in your hands… And you need it now, yes? Please keep using it, Link." Link nodded.

"Well, Link… I hope you will return again to show me your shining face. It does my heart good to see you well." Link nodded again, before leaving Rusl's house. 'With Bo gone, that just leaves Fado.'

As was typical, the ranch gates were left wide open, though the goats were lazily eating grass, hardly even moving. Fado was standing in the back of the paddock, staring down at the reeds he used to call for Epona. As Link walked up to him, Fado turned and his eyes widened.

"Link! Bud! Where'd you get them duds?" Link chuckled. 'It's a long story. Maybe when this is all over, I can tell you.' Fado grinned.

"So… Still in one piece, huh? Good to hear it!" Fado laughed, but then let out a long sigh. "Hoo, bud, we went through a rough time while you were gone. Beasts showed up an' attacked the village! They didn't do much damage to the buildings… but the tots… They took the young tots… Ilia's gone missin', too… They probably… got her, too…" Link nodded, frowning. 'I.. was there.' Fado was silent for some moments.

"Link, if you're runnin' around out there, you gotta go find them tots!" Link nodded. 'That's what I'm trying to do.'

"Rusl had a go-around with the monsters that took the tots, but he took a beatin' doin' it…" Link winced with a pang of guilt. 'If I hadn't gotten knocked out..' Fado looked down.

"An' the mayor's gone lookin', but he's all alone… and old…" Were the subject matter not so gravely serious, Link almost would have laughed. Fado was never a man to mince his words.

"That's why we need you, see? You leave the ranch to me, now! You go find them tots!" Link nodded and made his way back to his house.

He sighed once he reached his house once more. 'I think I'm ready to head west, to Eldin. I just.. I wanted to make sure they knew that I'm alive and that I'm okay.'

Before he left the woods, he stopped to talk to the lantern seller, who grinned and waved to him.

"Say, guy, you been to the Forest Temple yet? Isn't it great? I mean, sure, there've been a couple monsters stirring things up lately, but still… That's just the world we live in right now, know what I mean? Things are rough all over…" Link nodded.

"Say, guy, you going somewhere now?" Link nodded, and the lantern seller grimaced. "You just remember that the world's a mess, guy! Seriously! You watch your back out there!" Link nodded. 'I'll be careful.' Finally, he continued west, under the simple wooden archway that led out of Faron Woods. Along the path, there were a couple of the purple monsters, who easily fell to his sword, giving him a yellow and a green Rupee.

He took some moments to drink in the sight of the wide field stretched out in front of him. The sun had begun to set, painting the hills and trees in a soft orange light. A seemingly long distance in front of him, some kind of yellowish aura spread up from behind the hills and cliffs, far into the skies. As he walked forward, he noticed the faint silhouette of Hyrule Castle beyond the yellow haze. He blinked. 'I didn't realize Hyrule Castle was so close to Ordon. Maybe a couple days of walking, day and a half on horseback?'

As he drew closer to the haze, he noticed that the bottom was a dark smoky black. He frowned as he came to a stop on a bridge over a shallow lake. 'That's.. the curtain of twilight.' All around him, the orange light slowly faded to a soft blue, until at last it was night. He finally continued walking. 'I have to get through the twilight, to save the kids.'

Eerie skeletal dogs rose up from the ground as he walked, and leather-winged birds flew down from the skies to swipe at him, but neither stopped him from making it to his destination. He blinked in surprise as he noticed large rocks blocking his path. 'I.. I thought this was where I was supposed to go?' He frowned. 'Maybe I should have taken a map…' He looked up at the sky, then closed his eyes after some moments. 'I wish I knew how to navigate by the stars. I..' He took in a deep breath to calm himself. '... Dad would've known.' His mouth twisted as he tried to keep himself collected. Then he shook his head. 'I can't think about that right now. I have to save the kids.'

Running alongside the cliffs and the twilight curtain, he soon found himself on a different path, which he followed out of curiosity. 'Maybe Eldin is down this path?' This new path also led closer and closer to the curtain of twilight, until suddenly the world around him began to darken to a tar black. Midna appeared from his shadow.

"Hey, it was much closer than I thought…" She peered curiously at Link for a moment, before continuing.

"You remember, right? You know what this is?" Link nodded.

"If you set foot in there, you might be a wolf again for some time…" Link sighed. 'I know.. But it's the only way for me to find the kids.'

"For at least as long as it takes for you to save the light of Eldin from the twilight, anyway… So, shall we try to go see the light spirit of Eldin?" Link nodded, and Midna disappeared into his shadow until he'd stepped closer to the curtain, the golden markings slowly fading into view.

"Want me to let you into the twilight?" Link nodded, and once again Midna's hair-hand grabbed him from beyond the barrier. Despite knowing it was Midna.. he couldn't help but scream out in surprise.

On the other side of the barrier, he stood up, surprised to still be in his usual form. 'Am.. am I not going to be stuck as a wolf this time?' Just as the thought swept through his mind, he felt the tingling akin to when Midna teleported him away, and the next thing he knew he was a wolf again. Midna landed on his back, gleefully patting his shoulders.

"That's a good boy! Now, you need to listen to what I say from now on!" Link huffed. 'Just because I'm a wolf doesn't mean you need to treat me like a dog…' Midna didn't seem to notice.

"Ahh, look! How lovely! The black clouds of twilight are so fetching today… I feel so much more at ease here…" As if to emphasize her point, she let out a contented, lazy yawn. "And you look so much better like this than in those dusty old clothes, anyway." She giggled, and Link huffed. 'I happen to like those dusty old clothes, thank you very much.' Midna patted on his shoulders again.

"So, let's get going!" Link instead opted to observe the area in front of him, to get his bearings.

In front of him were multiple rock walls, stretching high into the air. Dirt and stone took up much of the way forward, with scattered patches of grass appearing mainly at the foot of the cliffs. The sky was that same sickly yellow, with dark blue clouds rolling and writhing up above. He finally began walking down the path.

However, he stopped when he noticed a strange object sitting in the middle of the path. In the twilight haze, it was hard to see, so he slowly crept closer. He whined once it became clear what the object was. 'That's…'

It was the sword he had allowed Talo to borrow, now broken in two and laying discarded in the dirt. His mind swirled with possible reasons for the sword to be here, and broken. Not all of them were happy possibilities.

'Smell. Senses.' Link blinked in surprise at the sudden return of the images and feelings, which had been silent once he regained his human form. 'That's.. a good idea, actually. Maybe I can use this to find where they went.' He bent down and sniffed at the broken sword, and sure enough a scent filled his nose, along with multiple images of the children.

"See, isn't being a wolf more convenient? Now, hone your senses! You've begun to reawaken as a wolf, I think." Link tilted his head. 'Reawaken? But the only time I've been a wolf was the first time I was brought into the twilight…' Midna laughed.

He didn't have time to ponder over what Midna said. He had to find the kids. Focusing on the scent, he suddenly sprang forward into a sprint across the path, his nose determinedly held to the ground. Monsters snapped at him, but he ignored them until-

He suddenly was unable to move any further forward. Blinking, he suddenly noticed that more of the shadow beasts had appeared. He growled. 'Get out of my way!' With Midna's help, the beasts quickly fell dead into the dirt. He turned to continue following the scent, only to realize with a start that there was a large ravine in his way. The fences and archways in the area implied that at one point there was a bridge, but at that point in time there was none.

"What's this?! That's strange… The bridge is gone…" Link nodded. Suddenly a memory floated to the surface. 'I think I know where it is, though.'

"I wonder if this is the work of those shadow creatures… Ugh… What a pain! Ah well, let's look for it…" Midna paused, as if lost in thought.

"You know…" Link turned his head to look back towards her. 'Yes?'

"Whenever you destroy those creatures from the darkness, a portal opens in the sky above. And.. in those woods we came through…" She cast a spell, and suddenly a faint image of a crude map appeared on the ground near Link's feet. 'Whoa! You could do that the whole time?!'

"I'll use my power to take you to the location of the open portal… Just point to where you want to go." Link nodded, studying the illusory map. 'Let's see… This must be Ordon, down here, which means…' At last he found the section of the forest where he remembered seeing the bridge. With a gentle paw, he scratched at the portal where the bridge should be.

"North Faron Woods?" Link nodded, and at once the tingling feeling of a teleport spread across his body again.

He didn't know how long it had been, but at last he found himself standing in the forest, the bridge off to his right. Midna appeared from his shadow, grinning.

"See! I told you. We're here! You know, most people can't leave the twilight that easily. You'd better be grateful!" She paused. "It's your job to look for the bridge!" With that, she disappeared into his shadow. Link huffed and rolled his eyes. 'Silly Midna, it's right over here.' Sure enough, as he neared it, Midna flew out from his shadow.

"Wow! It's perfect, don't you think?" Link nodded, and Midna chuckled.

"Good little obedient wolf!" He growled slightly. 'Don't treat me like a dog.'

Suddenly orange sparks ran along the length of the bridge. Midna let out a grunt, then a large yell, and the bridge shook violently before it was pulled out of the ground and began floating in the air. Then, once it was flipped around, he watched as it dissolved into black particles which floated away into the night sky. 'Is.. that how it looks when she teleports me?' As if on cue, Link felt the tingling sensation in his ears, and he was again floating on an invisible breeze.

When the teleport ended, Link was back in the twilight, now standing atop the bridge. Midna roughly landed on his back, prompting him to reflexively look back at her. 'Could you please try to do that more gently?'

"See! Just as I thought…" Link rolled his eyes. 'Whatever, I remembered it before you did.

"So, isn't the power of twilight amazing?" Link huffed. Despite her sometimes annoying tendencies.. he couldn't deny that being able to teleport around - and being able to bring large objects with them - was useful. Midna chuckled.

"Call me if you need the power again. It should help you find what we're looking for, don't you think?" She patted his shoulders again. "All right! Let's keep going!" Link needed no encouragement forward. Once he had a path to follow again, he had his nose on the ground again, sprinting to follow the scent trail. Even seeing the monsters speeding past his vision didn't stop him, he was determined to find the children of Ordon.

A large and imposing gate, however, certainly would stop him. Two peculiar monsters stood guard on the other side, as if keeping something inside rather than keeping something out. A large hole conveniently went under the gate.

"Huh… What are they doing there? This is a pretty elaborate gate… What are they trying to keep in? … Or out?" Link huffed. 'They're definitely keeping something in here, and based off that scent trail I'll bet all my Rupees it's the kids.'

"I bet it'll be worth our while to dig in…" Link nodded, and didn't waste any time digging his way through to the monsters. He shook the dirt off, then crept behind the two monsters. Then an idea came to his mind, one that would've had him smirking if he were still human. 'I'll bet that with Midna's help.. I can deal with these guards before they even realize that I'm here.' To his satisfaction, that was the case, and the two monsters fell dead. Then he took off running after the scent trail once again.

He soon came to what seemed to be the entrance to a village of some kind. A large building stood in the distance, with two of the shadow monsters idly looking around. He growled and ran forward to deal with the shadow monsters. With Midna's aid, the monsters fell dead too, and suddenly he heard the voice of a light spirit.

"To the hero… who was transformed into a blue-eyed beast… in the realm of shadows… in twilight…" It paused. "... This way…" Link obliged, running into the water of the spring. 'You must be Eldin.'

"... I am… a spirit… of light… Hero… chosen by the gods… Look for… my light… Gather the light stolen by the shadows… into this…" As with Faron, what resembled a gray bunch of grapes floated down in front of him. With a snap of her fingers, Midna turned the vessel into a bunch of green particles that vanished before Link's eyes.

"... The insects of darkness… They are the form taken… by the evil that attached itself… to my scattered light…" Link huffed. 'I already know this Eldin, don't waste what little energy you have telling me what I already know…'

"In this shadowy twilight… the shadow insects are invisible, much as the people from your light world are…" Link sighed. 'I guess it's in case I didn't already hear this from Faron.'

"Be careful… The darkness… Now hunts you…" Link blinked. 'I thought they were only looking for Midna?' The light spirit said no more, and Link let out a sigh. 'Time to get to work, I suppose.'

As he passed by the building he'd seen before fighting the monsters, he noticed the green glow of a spirit floating in one of the windows. 'Huh.. What's that all about?' A quick sniff showed him that the scent trail of the children led into the building. He walked closer, peering into the window. His senses showed him a brief image, of a man with a metal face mask shivering from behind the window.

"Cripes! How the heck am I supposed to babysit someone else's little brats when I ought to be savin' myself?!" Link growled. 'So he sees the kids as burdens, does he.'

The door into the building very well might have been unlocked, but as a wolf Link was unable to open it. He paced around the building, agitated, until he noticed that there was a hole in the domed roof. 'I wonder if I can get up there with Midna's help?' He ran closer and barked for her attention.

"Hey, you can climb up here!" Link snorted. 'No, really? I thought I'd be able to fly up there?' Saying nothing else, Midna floated up to beckon him to follow, which he obliged. On the roof was a pile of thatch, but as he stepped onto it the material suddenly broke, and he fell through the roof into the building.