Hello, greetings, et cetera and welcome back to TTC!

I guess I have the slightest bit of explaining to do - yes, this is an AU, so if any of the characters seem out of character, that would be why. Funnily enough, I had originally planned for the sweet darling princess Zelda to solve crimes in elegant ball gowns with cutesy woodland creatures, but the focus group vetoed it.

(Yep, the sarcasm is strong with this one today. And I don't actually have a focus group.)

So yeah, the characters may seem different. Be forewarned.

And also, after you're been properly forewarned, read on! ;)

Zelda awoke feeling like a legion of soldiers were marching through her brain matter. Groaning, she raised herself from her bed and rubbed her eyes. When she blinked blearily she noticed that her room appeared darker that usual, and a musky smell made her wrinkle her nose. Realization hit her like a slap to the face and she jumped upright, reaching for her pistol, but it was gone, along with her badge.

Scowling, she observed her surroundings carefully. She was in a shabby apartment, with peeling wallpaper and dingy windows that looked like they hadn't been cleaned in ages. Clothes and yellowing newspapers were stacked throughout the room in teetering piles. Curious, she picked one up from the mess and read the headline.

Gerudo Cartel Disbanded. Underneath was a picture of a smiling officer shaking hands with the mayor. The drug gang had been infested in Castle Town for years until a team of officers uncovered their distribution center.

Hinox Murder Baffles Police. She remembered that case, when Kafei had taken point and single-handedly saved an innocent Hinox from a murder charge.

Keaton-Masked Killer Strikes Again. Zelda smirked when she recalled how Anju had accused Kafei of being the Keaton Killer a year ago, then ended up running into the killer himself in an alley.

Each of the articles detailed a crime of some sort, from positively brutal to frivolous. Every so often Zelda would come upon a comment in nearly illegible handwriting, detailing 'clues' or 'ties' to other cases. It was a very intricate operation and Zelda found herself feeling more and more respect for the collector as she continued to read.

Then she saw the bulletin board.

The surface of the board was practically coated in paper. Multicolored thumbtacks stuck each receipt, file and photograph in place, some tied together with string to make connections. Zelda's eyes followed one string to a picture of the victim of her case, Baito. About ten other thumbtacks were linked to it, a random assortment of his things. A water bill, a grocery list, and, strangest of all a calendar page that appeared to be torn from a personal planner. She examined this with the most interest, wondering if Baito had any questionable activity he had recorded. Why hadn't CSU found this at Baito's place?

One cluster of photos was clumped around a copy of the Gerudo Cartel article. A blurry photo was tacked onto the article with a large question mark drawn on. Leader? More evidence. The handwriting was the same as the writing in the newspapers.

The photo that most unnerved her, though, was her own photograph, from Baito's crime scene. Gathered around her photo were similar items to Baito's but what she noticed first were his pistol and badge on the desk below her picture. Quickly she snatched them both up, feeling more secure now that she had a weapon, and turned back to the apartment.

The previous night was still a blur, but she remembered the voice of the man from the crime scene, Link, before she fell unconscious. Did he cart her off after she had passed out? Why hadn't Kafei noticed him? A thousand questions buzzed through her mind and she sat on the bed, releasing a short huff of breath. She wasn't helping anyone by lingering, though, so she started for the door.

Before she left, though, she took detailed photographs of the bulletin board. If the person who had found Baito's personal planner had equally sound information posted, she would need to peruse the board's contents thoroughly.

As she walked to the door a low voice rumbled from the bathroom, "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

In half a second her pistol was drawn and aimed at the figure as it sauntered from the shadows, hands raised in surrender. "Okay, okay, you got me."

"You?" Zelda spat, still keeping her gun raised. Link waltzed out and winked at her, then sidestepped her weapon and walked over to the living area.

"I'm surprised you're surprised. I thought you were smarter than that." He noted, and Zelda felt heat rise to her face as she turned to face him. Reluctantly she placed her pistol back in her holster.

"Wouldn't have done much good, anyways. I removed the bullets." Link pointed to the pistol and she bristled.

"Is there anything you didn't meddle with?" Zelda demanded, crossing her arms.

Link tapped his chin, then walked over to the desk and leaned against it, all nonchalance. "Well, I don't know if you would call it meddling, but I think I'm further in the case than the cops are right now."

"By tampering with a private crime scene." Zelda shot back. "I have half the mind to arrest you right now."

She hoped the threat would subdue the man's cocky attitude, but instead he simply laughed. "That's rich, sweetheart. But you know as well as I do that you need me to solve this case."

"And how do I know that?"

"You saw the board. You know I have leads that would take you weeks to dig up. One of the benefits of not being shackled to the law – you get a lot more leeway. Face the facts, I'm ten steps ahead of you."

Zelda ran over the information in her head, considering Link's advantage in the situation. He did have more evidence, but he also didn't know that she had photographed his clues. All the same, he could be a useful asset... And she would be breaking about a hundred laws.

"What did you find?" She asked, and he gestured to the bed.

"Please, sit down."

"I'd rather stand, if it's all the same to you." Her tone was icy and Link raised his eyebrows, thankfully refraining from an equally snappy remark.

"Your vic, Baito, wasn't as clean as he seemed. One look at his planner showed that soon enough. Personally, I think carrying around a personal planner is equal to handing in your masculinity, but that's beside the point. Lots of various appointments, marked with initials, presumably for clients."

"That's not evidence. He could be a secret psychiatrist for all we know."

Link angled his head towards her, a small smile edging on his lips. "All you know. I know better. I looked into those box labels from the back room of that shop, which is in fact a sleeper cell for the Gerudo Cartel. You might want to go arrest that guy, I have the evidence around here somewhere. Anyways, each of those shipments came from parts of Hyrule Field known for their shifty behavior, especially with growing choice plants, if you get my meaning."

"He was a drug runner?"

Link nodded, turning and rifling through a stack of paper on the desk. "From what I can figure, yes. The initials would be for his clients, of course, and night shifts at the shop would connect him with the Gerudo Cartel. We can assume that's where he received his shipments, and he distributed them during daytime."

Zelda started to pace, committing each fact to memory. "Why the daytime? Wouldn't it be easier to sell at night, in secluded places?"

Link simply shrugged, brushing off her comment. "Hiding in plain sight is a good tactic. Our vic was smart, but not smart enough to keep himself from getting killed."

Rounding sharply on Link, Zelda glared at him, suddenly apprehensive. "Why are you helping me? Why did you drag my unconscious body to wherever we are now? Why have you gathered this evidence, and why are you sharing it with me? Everything comes with a price." Although she wanted to trust Link, she found her hand drifting towards her pistol again.

Link's gaze and cocky attitude both dropped in a second. "Just trying to do my part. You'll let me on now, right?"

"On what?" Zelda narrowed her eyes at Link, who smiled wryly.

"You're going to let me on the case."

Two can play at this game. Zelda matched his smirk and pulled out her pistol, fiddling with the magazine. Sure enough, Link had removed the bullets. "Tell you what, I'll have you consult. But –" She raised a hand as Link leaped to his feet, pumping his fist in the air – "You're going to have to pursue a lead with me. Not everyone was made for field work, and I wan't to make sure you don't soil your pants the first time danger comes around."

"Oh, please. You're talking to the man who vanquished your mysterious attacker. Speaking of him, in our scuffle I must have accidentally snatched some hairs from his head, you know how these things happen."

"Of course." Zelda nodded, unable to keep her expression deadpan.

"It sure would be convenient if I know a police officer who had access to a lab where DNA samples could be tested." Link sighed. "That would be just swell, wouldn't it?"

"Yeah, swell. Come on, let's go run a DNA test."

The sarcasm really is strong today!

All right, now we know that Baito's crooked. Who do you think did him in? One of the Gerudo Cartel members? Maybe even Link himself? You can't trust anyone in a murder mystery... And thus CSI: Clock Town continues!

It would mean a lot to me if you reviewed, and I actually have a request this time: If you do review, would you mind telling me your favorite chapter(s) of TTC? I want to know what you all enjoyed so I can post more like them after CSI is over. Thank you so so much!

Wait... Does that make you my focus group? (Nah, you're still the amazing awesome reader.)

Well, this author's note is getting lengthy, so I'll call it quits for now. Until next time!

(YEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!)