Link's hands were balled into fists as he ran. If Groose—Goose—had done anything to hurt his loftwing, he would personally decapitate his pompadour and then make sure that Groose would never be able to ride a bird again, let alone walk right.

Link sprinted furiously, not entirely sure of where he was sprinting to. He had no idea where his loftwing was, only that it was in danger. As he sprinted past the academy someone yelled. Link lost his balance and went careening into the building. Still reeling from the impact, he turned to see who had called.

He saw Pipit. "Over here!" his friend called. "I have some information about your loftwing. Come over here."

Link staggered over to his classmate. "Hey, Link. I was just looking for you. I hear your loftwing has gone missing so I've decided to join the search," the brown haired teenager declared.

Link liked Pipit well enough, but since the older boy had won last year's ceremony, he had become self-righteous and patronizing.

"So. My anonymous source has informed me that Groose and his buddies had a plan to capture your bird and hide him near a waterfall. And let me tell you it was not easy getting that information out of Fledge. He was terrified of what Groose might do to him if you found out."

"Thanks Pipit," Link said slowly. He would need to make sure he really thanked Fledge later.

He wasn't positive but he would have bet a month of cafeteria duty that Groose hid his loftwing in the caves by the waterfall. That might be problematic. Link had been to the caves before. He'd also quickly left the caves with a cloud of red eyed keese following him like creatures out of hell.

Suddenly he had an idea. He hadn't just collided with any school building; he'd collided with the sparring hall. The sparring hall meant swords, and swords meant dead keese. Dead keese were much better than live keese.

Link pushed open the doors and slipped inside. Knight Commander Eagus was standing in an alcove at the back of the room. He was a bulky man and he seemed to fill the niche.

"Hey, it's Link," he said with a grin. Sword fighting seemed to be the only thing Link excelled at, and so he was a personal favorite of the burly teacher. "So you still want to get in some sword practice even though today is the wing ceremony? I'm impressed. The swords are in the back room. I'll be here if you need anything."

Link was genuinely surprised. That was much easier than expected.

He slung the sword over his shoulder and shrugged it into place. He liked its weight. Carrying it just seemed natural. Link opened the window in the back room and climbed out of the training hall. He began to run as soon as his feet touched grass. The caves were across the island, and he had already used too much time.

He sprinted, oblivious of anything that couldn't trip or maim him. He leapt lightly across the river on broad, flat stones. The ground on this side of the river rose steeply and fell off in a jagged cliff on the far side. At the top of the hill was the entrance to the caves. Link kept sprinting, but was panting by the time he reached the opening in the cliff face. He stopped for a moment and leaned against the lonely sign that tried to warn people away. The sign was pointless, since most people stayed away anyway, and the people who didn't stay away, weren't going to be stopped by a sign.

Suddenly, everything went black. He was trapped, screeching, struggling, had to break free.

Link gasped, his eyes wide. He was himself again. Then his face contorted into a grimace. Groose had trapped his loftwing in a stone alcove. That was even worse than just tying him down. To take a creature of the sky and trap it in stone- Groose didn't deserve to fly.

Link drew his sword and looked down into its blade. He could see the contours of his face in its pitted surface. Its edge was jagged his nicks and dents. It was an old sword, and its balance was off. Still, it would have to do.

Sword in hand, Link strode into the cave.

It was dark and dank inside. He took a few tentative steps, his footfalls echoing away. Suddenly something screeched and he stopped. He swung the sword above his head and felt the blade slow as it met something. With another screech, a keese fell out of the air and lay at his feet. He nudged it with his toe. These things were much better dead. He continued, felling every one of those awful, leathery creatures that tried to stop him.

He stopped. He had heard something other than the steady drip of water and the rustle of leathery wings. It was a wet, slurping sound. Then he saw it. It was a teal, gelatinous mass that was squirming towards him. It had a gaping hole for a mouth and little, beady, black eyes. Link had never seen anything like it before. He swung at it, not knowing if his sword could even hurt it. He cut it cleanly in half, and it dissolved into a puddle of goop. Nothing like that had ever been seen on the island before. He made a note to tell the headmaster and continued warily.

…

The end was in sight. He could see light gleaming from the hole in the cavern wall. He sheathed his sword and leapt down. He landed in a puddle. The water splashed up and soaked his pants. He groaned and sloshed out of the cave into the light.

He came out on a narrow strip of land running around the edge of the island. The wind was strong, and he needed to be careful he didn't fall. He walked cautiously along the downward sloping land, hugging the rock wall on his right side. He stopped when he heard his name shouted over the wind. Zelda soared into sight and touched down lightly next to him.

She smiled. "Hey, Link, I was hoping I'd find you here. How's your search going? Any sign of your loftwing?"

Link looked down and shook his head.

She clasped her hands across her chest. "Oh no… Well, let's not lose hope yet. There's a place Groose and his gang are always hanging around. Maybe we'll find something there." Suddenly her brow wrinkled, and she glanced to the side as if she were looking for something. "Who…Who's that?" she asked quietly. "Who's calling for me?"

Link stepped forward and grabbed her hand. "No one's calling for you, Zelda. There's no one else here," he said as he gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.

She turned back to him. "Oh sorry Link," she said, her face brightening again. "I got distracted for a moment. Let's go."

He dropped her hand, but she grabbed his and wrapped her slender fingers through his larger, calloused ones.

Something screeched close by. Link and Zelda both took off running, but soon he was practically dragging her behind him. He stopped short but her momentum carried her farther. She steadied herself and then stood up and gasped. "Look! There he is!" She pointed at a niche in the stone. It had been boarded over with thick planks, against which a huge crimson bird was struggling.

Link wormed his hand out of Zelda's and drew his sword. Zelda looked at it and then raised an eyebrow.

"Eagus gave me permission," Link said defensively. "Sort of." He walked over to the cage and put his hand through the bars. His loftwing stopped struggling and rubbed his hand with its fat beak. "It's okay," he cooed. "I'll get you out." He stepped back and hacked away the ropes keeping the boards in place. They fell with a deep thud, and his loftwing walked slowly out of the little cave. It waggled its tail excitedly and gave Link an affectionate nudge. With a shriek it spread its glorious purple tipped wings and took to the sky.

Zelda wrapped her arms around Link and gave him a gentle hug. "We should hurry, Link. Now that your loftwing is free, you should fly to the ceremony." She drew back; Link saw something flicker in her eyes and her eyebrows pulled together in a worried look. "But before you go, I have to ask you something. I… I heard this voice a few moments ago. Did you hear it too?"

Link shook his head no. She turned and looked out across the sky and he followed her gaze.

"It's been happening a lot lately. It's the strangest feeling… Almost like someone is calling out to me. She looked back at him. "Have you ever wondered what's beneath the clouds? Some say that it's an empty barren place, or even that there's nothing at all down below, but I just have this feeling that they're wrong."

She smiled at him. "Some of father's old texts talk about a place called the surface. The old tales describe a whole world under there, far more vast than Skyloft. The thing is, no one's ever been down there to see it, and our loftwings won't fly through the cloud barrier."

She got a wistful look in her eyes and she grinned absentmindedly. "But I can't help imagining the wild things that might be waiting below. Someday, I want to see for myself." She looked at him suddenly. "Oh, sorry, Link. We don't have time to talk. Let's get going. Look, your bird's waiting for you. Go. He'll catch you this time."

Link smiled at her and nodded. He took a flying leap, diving gracefully into the air, letting himself fall for a moment, the wind whipping past and drying his pants. Then he whistled and his loftwing dove after him. He grabbed the strap around its neck and his feet found their usual place. With a gentle tug he pulled his loftwing out of their dive, his body falling into place on his bird's back.

Zelda had done likewise and was cruising in the air to his left. "How's he handling? Do you think he's flying all right?" she shouted over the wind.

"Yeah, I think he's fine," Link yelled back.

"Well, that's a huge relief. I don't know about you, Link, but your loftwing looks like he's flying great. My father and the others are probably worried about your bird, so let's go give them the good news."