Author Note: I actually suggest fighting the imprisoned the way I write Link fighting it, This way is so much easier and fun to do than the regular method.
As instructed by Impa, I returned to the skies, deciding to head to Skyloft first to stock up on needed items. As who knows what will happened or what enemies I'll encounter in the future. I went to the bazaar, bought a few potions that were new and fixed my shield at the scrap shop before heading to the Knight Academy next. It was now night time and I checked in with a few people who were awake, namely Pipit and Cawlin who said Groose was still moping about and when I talked to him he just said everything was my fault and he wanted to go rescue Zelda and blah, blah, blah. The last person I wanted to check in on was Fledge as I hadn't seen him in a while and he did give me my adventure pouch which has proved very useful indeed.
I walked into his room and I saw he was doing push-ups but falling down after one or two, so I could tell he was struggling. "Hey Fledge, you ok buddy?" he stood up and smiled at me. "Hey...Link! Yeah, I'm fine, just training.....well trying to. I can't even lift a single barrel.... Pathetic, I know! That's why I want to get stronger. I'm embarrassed about it, though, so I do it at night when no one's around to laugh at me..." Aw, Fledge I feel so bad for him, he tries so hard at everything. "But it's going so well. I'm just too tired. I was actually about ready to throw in the towel..." I pulled out the Stamina Potion I bought the Bazaar and smiled. "Oh! Link, what have you got there? That's not....It's not a Stamina Potion, is it? I don't suppose you would mind letting me have that, would you?" I smiled, "of course Fledge, take it buddy!" I handed it to him and patted his shoulder.
"Really?! Thank you! I owe you one!" He chugged it down and smiled. "Whoo-yeah! I can feel my muscles perking back up already! It's just that....at this rate, I don't know if I'll ever get strong and burly." "Just try your best anyway Fledge! That's all you can do." Right! That's exactly what I need to do. No more whining! I need to push myself. Thank you, Link. I'll make you proud. You'll see! I'll be super burly in no time!" I smiled, knowing he really needed the confidence boost right now and walking out, leaving him to his training. I headed to my room to sleep to morning as I couldn't fly at night.
Exiting the night academy the next morning, I decided now would be a good time to head to the Sealed Grounds to see the old woman. I dived off the edge and called for Ace heading towards the green pillar of light. Skydiving into the area I heard something above me, I looked up and still falling and saw.....Groose above me falling towards me at a breaking speed. I screamed as Groose grabbed a hold of my leg as we crashed landed behind the temple even though I tried to use my Sailcloth to make the landing as smooth as possible. I got up to a sitting position as Groose spoke. "...Ugh, rough landing. I think I mighta broke something. Hey, Link, seriously... Didn't anyone ever teach you how to land without crash--" He stopped at the sight of the birds on his shoe. "WHOA! B-birds? TINY birds?! Wh-what.. ARE they?!" I smiled, chuckling as I stood up and Groose's jaw dropped at the sight of Gorko who had come back to the woods.
"And that is that thing?! But...how... Wh-why... Wha-what... Where am I?!" Groose stood up, came over to me and started violently shaking my shoulders. "What's going on here? Ever since Zelda vanished, you've been zipping in and out of town all in a hurry! So I figured I'd tail you, and you might lead me to Zelda." He pointed back to Gorko standing by some vines on the wall. "But this is.... so wild. Seriously, what IS that thing over there?! And what's with all these trees? There are so many!" He started shaking me again and he was starting to give me a headache. "Just give it to me straight! I can take it. Where are we? Is Zelda here? What's the deal with this place?! If there's supposed to be nothin' below the clouds, what's all this?" I smiled, patting Groose on the arm and beginning to explain.
I told him all about the tornado, the woods, Ghirahim (I left out the part where I have sort of fallen in love with him), told him about Impa, the gates of time, the temples and that the old woman here knew what to do next. He looked up at me in shock as he was now on his knees, collapsed out of disbelief. "Uhhhh.. Whoa....You're kind of imploding my mind right now....but I think I get what you're saying. If I've got this right, Zelda is down here somewhere and she's....Ok?" I nodded, "yes Groose, she is safe with Impa." He smiled, looking up. She's...She OK. Oh, wow! That's so great! Hearing that is such a.....huge weight off my mind. You know Link, it's sort of alright down here. This place needs a name." I rolled my eyes, "it has a name..." He completely disregarded me and continued. "A name fitting for this rugged, adventurous wilderness. From now on, we'll call it....Grooseland!" I chuckled, even in the unfamiliar Groose still manages to centre himself in the conversation.
Groose stood up and sorted his hair, "so lemme see if I've got this right. This old lady living in the temple down the road from here knows where Zelda is? I see....Right, Link. Thanks for getting me here. You've done a good job. You can head home. Big Groose will handle the search for Zelda from here. Yup. I'll track her down, save her and then give her a lift back to Skyloft.... Then when we get back, I'll ask her if she wants to make our whole going-out thing official, and then the two of us will get some quality time together." He chuckled, clearly in his own little world right now, I rolled my eyes as he smugly continued. "Anyway, the point is your work here is done. I got it covered from here! Now it's off to find that old lady you were talking about. Catch ya later, Link!" With that he ran in the direction of the temple, I already know the old lady will not be expecting him and will probably send him away. To avoid conflict between them, I decided to follow Groose to the Sealed Temple.
Inside the temple I could hear Groose as I walked in. "Huh? You gotta be kidding me, Grannie!" Groose looked angry, he was standing in front of the old woman panting, fists by his side. "You're messing with me. Say it again, I dare you!" The old woman did not look up at him as she spoke. "I only speak the truth. You are not the one who will save her. The spirit maiden, your Zelda, can only be saved by another. It has been his fate to do thing and in doing so save us. As it was decided long before you were brought crying into this world." He continued his rant, disregarding her words. "You obviously don't know me well, 'cause if you did, you'd know that if anyone's gonna save Zelda, it's Groose. How could it not be me? Plus, if it ain't me, why would I even be here? Pfft. If I'm not up to the job of being the hero, just who is?" I rolled my eyes and decided to walk up to the old woman and ignore Groose for now. Just as she was about to greet me, Groose spoke.
"Oh....now I getcha. Link, Grannie here has been trying to tell me you're gonna be the big hero who rescues Zelda." I opened my mouth to speak, only to close it as Groose continued. "What a joke! Look, all I've heard so far is a bunch of babbling about destiny, but that's a load of garbage. I know you, and you're no hero, shrimp! You remember what I told you the morning of the Wing Ceremony that because your real parents didn't even want you, you have no one that's why you're so dopey and stupid cause you're a mistake and that's all you'll ever be!" Groose ran out of the temple after shouting at me and from the wobbling of his voice while he yelled I could tell he would be crying once he was out of here. The old woman turned to me and nodded. "Greetings, Link. Were you able to catch up with Zelda?" I nodded. "Yeah, she and her companion who saved her were at the Gate of Time in Lanaryu Desert and managed to escape the demon lord. Zelda also gave me her harp before she left with her companion"
She nodded. "Ah, I see. So the guardians was there as well, was she? The one you saw by Zelda's side is known as Impa." I nodded, even though I knew this already. "She is a being sent forth by the goddess to aid Zelda in her quest. The two have traveled somewhere in order to accomplish the great task destiny has set before them. However, now that Impa has destroyed the gate that they used, there is only one way left to find them. You must make use of the harp given to you by Zelda. Tell me, Link, have you attempted to play that you received?" I shook my head. "Very well, I shall teach you how to play it. Listen well and do as I say. First, ready your harp and prepare to strum it." I pulled my harp out and started to strum it slowly. "Play faster, so that your strums move in time with my braid. I did as told and she nodded. "Good. You learn fast. Now for your lesson. Focus and playing in time with the pulsing of the circle of light. When your timing is right, I shall join my voice to your harp. Listen well, for the I sing will be of great help to you in your journey."
I did as the old woman told me and playing in the middle of the circle of light, matching its rhythm and the old woman sang the song that would help me on my journey. As the song was finished I was told it was called the Ballad of the Goddess and suddenly behind me a large slab of stone appeared. "The harp you hold is known as the Goddess's Harp. It is a divine instrument of the goddess who once watched over this land. The melodies it brings to life have the power to produce a variety of strange and otherworldly effects. The great slab standing before you is known as a Gate of Time. It is the last of its kind in existence.....The only portal binding our world to the one where Zelda now resides. If you manage to open the gate and pass through, you will likely end up in the same place as Zelda. But you will need to endure many hardships and put your self in great danger to awaken the gate from its dormant state. Though your journey will put you in harm's way, Link....You must endure. It is your fate as the chosen hero of the godde--"
The ground and temple began to shake violently. I gasped as the old woman spoke. "This shaking....I fear the seal has been broken. I expected that it would react to your summoning the gate, but I never imagined the seal would break so quickly. Link, there will be time to explain later. Right now, you must hurry to the bottom of the pit outside." Oh no, I think know what's happening. That monster from my nightmares is going to be down there and it won't a hallucination or a dream this time. I quickly made my way of out of the temple and I saw Groose outside standing against a wall quivering as the old woman followed me outside. "Whoa! Wh-what's with all the shaking? The whole ground is heaving....I thought it was supposed to be solid down here!" "Go quickly, Link! Check on the sealing spike at the center of the pit. There is nothing natural about these tremors. That monster could free itself at any moment. Approach the pit with caution!" I nodded, heading down there.
The circle with the spike glowed red and the circle became deeper and a fully black abyss which the monsters from my nightmares erupted from and looked down at me with its jaw open showing all its sharp teeth. The sealing spike was in the top of its head poking out so I guess I gotta push it back in. It roared fiercely and begun to slowly stomp around with its big feet. The old woman shouted down to me, telling I cannot let the beast escape the pit and reach the temple at any cost. I begun fighting by heading to one of the blowholes and catching the updraft, using my Sailcloth to ride up to a level above the beast. I then got in line with it and jumped off the ledge, landing on its head and slashing at the spike until it the monster glowed white and threw me off. I got up, using another updraft to get a level above the beast again and doing the same thing I did before another few times. The beast exploded and its aura was sucked back into the sealing spike as it lowered itself back to the ground in the center of the ground.
"Now, Link! Strike the sealing spike with a Skyward Strike, and restore the seal! Quickly!" The old woman shouted, I nodded and went up to the spike, striking it with a Skyward Strike. It glowed, I had to draw a pattern to complete the sealing and raised my sword before pointing it downwards and thrusting forward completing the sealed as it glowed before it was imprinted into the ground and the sealed grounds was safe again.....for now. I heard Groose and the old woman's footsteps towards me, "Nice going, Link. Though the Imprisoned had only just begun to awaken and break its bonds, I'm impressed you were able to restore the seal keeping it captive. Unfortunately, you have only succeeded in buying us a little more time in which to act. The behemoth you beat back into confinement is a horror of unspeakable power. Judging by what I say, I would not be surprised if the seal gave way again soon. So you are left with precious little time to complete the task with which you have been entrusted. Return to the Sealed Temple, Link. There is much to discuss."
With the Imprisoned sealed away for now, the three of us returned to the Sealed Temple to discuss.