Part I
A loud pounding came from the opposite side of a heavy oak door and a young man pushed it open, walking into a well-lit office. He had on a sleeveless black shirt that showed tattoos running up and down his arms; battle scenes and swords were inked in great detail. His long, blonde hair was pulled back into a pony tail and he carried an old leather jacket in his hands and a pistol on his hip.
"Why don't you use a telephone like every other person in this kingdom?" he growled, walking up to a desk in the center of the room.
Sitting behind it, an attractive woman scribbled away on a piece of paper, ignoring him. Her flaxen hair was pulled back in a bun on top of her head, showing a Triforce tattoo on her neck. She put down her pen and stood up, looking up at him.
"Because then nothing would separate me from everybody else in this palace," she said, giving him a small smile, "Hi Link."
He glowered at her.
"Telepathy isn't my favorite form of communication."
She walked around to his side of the desk with an envelope in her hands, her black heels clicking on the tile floor. She handed it to him and folded her arms.
"As Head Agent of the Royal Investigative Force, you've been awarded 'Hero of the Year' again," she said, leaning up against her desk.
"Zelda, no…" Link groaned, opening the envelope and seeing gold script across the top.
"Don't start," she scolded, quickly putting an end to any whining, "The ceremony's tomorrow. Get your hair trimmed, and for Goddesses sake, don't wear that old leather jacket. Try to look like a respected agent, not a civilian."
"That's what makes me good at my job."
"And that's why you're being awarded," she retorted.
He rolled his eyes, but kept his mouth shut.
"And please," Zelda said, "Be on time."
He sighed, took one more disgusted look at the paper, and said, "Of course, your Majesty."
She shot him a glare and then walked back around to the other side of the desk.
"I have a meeting with the Council, so you have the morning off," she said, pulling papers and folders into her arms, "But in case I need to reach you, stay close by."
Link headed towards the doors, and said, "I've got some intel to gather. But first I'm going to pick up Epona."
"Why do you still drive that hunk of junk?" Zelda asked, following after him.
"Because," he said, holding the door open for her, "then nothing would separate me from everyone else in this palace."
She smiled humorlessly at him and shuffled down the hallway.
Heavy metal blasted throughout the garage as Link walked in. He waved quickly to the guy behind the desk and walked back to a pair of legs jutting out from underneath an old junker. He tapped on the top of the hood.
"What?" came an irritated voice from beneath.
He leaned over and said, "I'm here to pick up my bike", then grabbed one of the legs and pulled.
A young woman rolled out from underneath. She wore a torn black Indigo-go's t-shirt and her ears were pierced all the way up into the cartilage. Her jeans and boots were covered in oil, and a black bandana kept her auburn hair back out of her face. The irritated snarl on her face quickly turned to a wide smile as she saw who it was.
"Help me up?" she asked, holding her arm up to him.
"Hey Malon," he said, grabbing her and pulling her up.
She wiped her hands on her already filthy jeans and walked over to a tarp near the corner of the garage. Link hit the stereo on their way over, and the screaming of the band singer abruptly stopped.
"Hey!"
He shrugged and grabbed the tarp, pulling it off. Underneath of it sat an shiny, restored motorcycle with black chrome and leather. Along the gas tank, "Epona 5500" was etched into it in silver lettering.
"Your breaks are now fixed," Malon said, running her hand along the leather seat, "Maybe if you didn't wear them down so hard, they wouldn't need replacing every month."
"You try going from a high rated speed to zero in a few seconds and see if you can do it without ruining the breaks," he said, flashing her a small smile.
"I'll put the bill on Zelda's tab."
"You're the best," he said, pushing the bike out of the garage.
Link walked outside into the lot where all of the other cars were being held. As he threw his leg over the bike, Malon, who had stopped by the garage door, said, "You can repay me with a ride sometime." She winked at him and turned back into the garage. He kick started the bike and flew out of the lot and onto the road.
"All I'm saying is that we need to consider all of our options."
A man stood speaking in front of a small group of men and women that sat around a large, round table; one seat sat empty.
"Onox, don't you think we should wait for Princess Zelda to join us?" one of the women said. She had two streaks of blue in her pitch black hair and had round, sea green eyes.
The doors on the side of the room slammed open and Zelda stormed in.
"I believe Rutora is correct. You should have waited for me to begin," she said, walking over in front of the man. "Onox, do I need to remind you that you are not part of this Council and that I can remove you from your position faster than you can blink?"
Although she was shorter than him by several inches, he still shrunk back from her as she drew nearer.
"My apologies, Princess," he trembled, "I was merely sharing my views with the Council."
"Well don't. Just because my father keeps you around doesn't mean I care for what you think," she hissed, then ordered, "Get out."
He bowed awkwardly, and with a growl, he left the room. Zelda waved her hand, closing the doors behind him.
"What was that idiot going on about?" she asked, sitting down in the empty seat.
A bigger man stood up from the table and said, "News has reached us that Termina has surrendered."
Zelda's head dropped into her hands, and a sigh escaped from her lips.
"He suggested we do the same."
Her head shot up quickly. A ball of magic materialized in her hand, whipping wildly like an out of control fire.
The man snapped his fingers and the ball disappeared in a flash of light.
"Thank you, Raurun. You know how I get when I'm angry," she said, breathing in deeply. After a moment of silence, she stood up.
"What do you all think?" Zelda asked.
The room sat silent; the only noise was the squeaking of chairs as some of the Council shifted in their seats.
One of the women stood up. She had long red hair and wore a gold ring in her nose.
"I say that we forget that Onox ever spoke of surrendering. He's a slime, and should never have been allowed in this room," she said, putting her hand on the knife that was strapped to her belt.
Zelda's lips twitched into a smile.
"As always, your input is appreciated, Naboora," she said, nodding her head to the woman.
The other four stood up. A tall, muscular woman with short, silver spiked hair stood closest to Zelda and put her hand on her shoulder.
"I think we all agree with Naboora," she said.
Zelda looked around the table; everyone was nodding their heads.
"Thank you, Impah. Now that we have that settled, we can get back to business," she said, and they all took their seats.
"What's the news from the front line?" Zelda asked, turning to a large, muscular man wearing a red jacket.
"We're holding back G.A.N.O.N's forces, but just barely," he said. "It would help if we had some help from the Kokiri tribe."
The young woman sitting next to him let out an exasperated sigh.
"Darun, we're busy on our own borders. The Grand Alliance of New Order Nations has too many troops near our forest. I can't afford to spread my lines too thin."
"Sa'Ria, you're the only one who can spare any troops. Everyone else is tied up," he said, his voice starting to rise.
Zelda stuck her hand up in the air to silence them.
"Rutora, can you spare some of your troops?" she asked.
She nodded her head, saying, "My navy's holding them back for now. We'll send some soldiers over right away."
"Thank you," Zelda said. "You've all been doing a wonderful job. Keep this up and G.A.N.O.N will be forced to back off."
Link sat at the bar alone, impatiently tapping his fingers against the table. He had been sitting there for almost an hour, waiting for his informant to show up.
"Need another drink?" the bartender asked, taking the empty bottle from in front of him.
"Give me a minute," he answered, running his fingers nervously through his hair.
The bell above the door rang and he turned around quickly. A tall young woman stood in the doorway; she wore a jean skirt and knee-high high-heeled boots. Flicking her hair to the side, she walked over to Link and sat down beside him.
"Hey, Hero," she said, planting a kiss on his cheek.
"Navi," he growled, signaling the bartender.
The bartender placed another bottle in front of Link and turned to Navi.
"I'll take a Princess Peach, hold the ice," she ordered.
"Princess Peach?" Link asked, taking a long swig of his drink.
"Some princess over in another kingdom. Apparently getting saved by a plumber means you get a drink names after ya," she said, popping her gum. "Don't you listen to gossip?"
He snorted.
"No, that's why I come to you."
The bartender brought over a glass filled to the brim with pink liquid. As soon as he left, Navi leaned in closer to Link.
"Hey, Listen," she said, beckoning him with her finger. "I've got some dirt concerning your girl, Zelda."
He leaned forward inconspicuously, keeping his eyes to the rest of the bar, making sure nobody was listening.
"Word on the street is that someone's paying top rupee for her to be black-bagged. She's on everyone's hit list," she whispered, leaning back to take a sip of her drink.
"That's hardly news, Navi. She's the princess of Hyrule; a lot of people want her dead."
She rolled her eyes. "Apparently, it's someone on the inside."
Link raised his eyebrows. "This could be big," he thought.
He threw a few rupees on the bar top and stood up.
"Thanks, Nav," he said, turning towards the door.
"How 'bout you thank me by letting me be your date for your big ceremony?" she said, grabbing his arm and spinning him around.
"How do you…?" he began.
"Everyone's talking about it, honey. And I heard you need a date," she said, squeezing his arm flirtatiously.
"Not gonna happen," he said, pulling himself out of her grasp and walking out the door.