A/N: Chapter 2 has been in the oven for a while now and I thought it best to take it out so you could enjoy it while it is warm. i should point out now that fencing in this universe is not like what we have, but rather actual sword fighting to honor the hero of legend.
"It's over majesty," the smooth and menacing voice sounded.
Link couldn't make out the face of the person talking to the woman with long chestnut hair: the woman he recognized as Queen Lanayru Hyrule. As much as he tried, he couldn't do anything to stop the events. He screamed at Lanayru to run, but it seemed she couldn't hear.
"I will not bow down to you, nor will I subject myself to your father. If I perish here for that, then so be it. But know, Dragmire, I will have retribution in one way or another."
Link watched as the slim figure ran his black blade through the queen's stomach. His heart began to pound in an erratic rhythm as the figure cackled maniacally. Pounding… pounding… pounding...
Pounding. It was the first thing that Link both heard and felt the next morning after he was awoken from the nightmare. The first source of pounding was from his head, the second however-
"Link!" A somewhat shrill and high pitched voice sounded from the other side of his bedroom door. "Link let me in! Aryll is trying to do my hair again!"
Link sighed deeply, putting his head in his hands as he sat on the edge of his bed, "Just give the kid what she wants. It's too early for this."
"But Liiiiiiiiiiink," the voice whined. "What if the other kids see it!"
Link dragged his hand down his face slowly in annoyance, "Collin, it's not a big deal. Just get Ravio to deal with her."
Collin screamed in frustration at Link's refusal to open his door, and Link only laughed at his antics. Link decided to get up, stretching as he did and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. Immediately he fell forward and set to work on his daily core exercises before getting up to shower. After finishing said task he threw on a pair of navy blue jeans with a jade colored shirt and walked out of his room across the carpeted floor until he arrived in the tiled kitchen.
He smelled bacon and eggs, but more specifically, he smelled his coffee and smiled. He went over to the pot and poured more than a healthy share of the steaming liquid into a mug before sitting at the kitchen table and drinking the caffeinated beverage with a small smile.
Link's smile vanished swiftly however as he heard his older brother screaming purposefully off-pitch lyrics from the kitchen, "Rav it's not even 8:30, can you not?" Link shouted.
"No," the voice called back from the kitchen. "You can't stop art, Link!"
"Oh, is that what they're calling art now?" Link retorted, now smirking as he sipped his coffee.
"You know, they say a dog shouldn't bite the hand that feeds it!" Ravio called back.
Link didn't have a retort for his brother's comment and instead pulled up the daily news broadcast up on his phone.
"In a tragic turn of events, Queen Lanayru Hyrule passed away last night," the green haired reporter stated. "Details of her passing are still vague, but we will bring you more on the event as the day goes on. We go live now to a broadcast from Princess Zelda Hyrule herself."
Link almost choked while swallowing his coffee. He did so and started coughing while still trying to continue the broadcast. His head began to spin as he recalled the nightmare from earlier. His heart began to pound again.
He shook his head in an attempt to clear it and put it off from himself. He heard a shout from his brother in the kitchen.
"If you'd stop smoking we wouldn't have this problem!" Ravio shouted from the kitchen.
Link ignored his brother's rather stupid comment and turned up the volume up on his phone, watching intently. An elegant woman with long blonde hair stood on a stage behind a podium.
"I would like to first thank you all for being here. Mother's death takes a heavy toll on the people of Hyrule, however that is not the reason I called you here," she stated calmly. "Mother was not one to dwell on the past, even when my father died. She would not have this people dwell on her passing either. Mother would rather that we, as the citizens of Hyrule, honor her legacy and create a better world for the future."
Link sighed deeply as the broadcast cut back to the green haired reporter, who started talking about funeral preparations. He got up from the table to refill his coffee cup and locked his phone.
"You're moodier than usual," Ravio stated as he turned to his brother. Link got a better look at the bright purple apron which starkly contrasted his clothes, and read 'Kiss the cook'.
"Just gonna be a long day," Link replied. He didn't want to ruin his brother's chipper attitude with such depressing news.
Ravio shrugged and went back to flipping pancakes as Link refilled the coffee mug. Ravio turned the stove burner off and distributed the food among five separate plates.
"Come and get it!" Ravio called out to the house as he set the plates on the table.
Collin ran into the room with a girl right on his heels. She was immediately scooped up by Ravio, who placed a kiss on the button of her nose.
"Are you causing trouble already, little miss?" Ravio asked his daughter as he placed her onto a chair. "It's not even nine o'clock yet!"
Aryll giggled and smiled cheekily at her father. "I wanted Cawwin to look pretty, daddy," she replied.
"Well he's certainly very pretty without the braids," Ravio replied.
Collin shot daggers at his eldest brother and sat down with a huff. Link took a seat next to his younger brother and ruffled his younger brother's hair, who in turn pouted and sank lower into his chair.
"Dear, please stop pestering the poor boy," a tall woman with long ebony hair and porcelain skin requested as she entered the room. She was fixing an earring and wore a purple and white sleeveless blouse with black leggings and a violet shawl.
"Morning Hilda," Link greeted his sister-in-law. He continued to sip his coffee as food was placed in front of him. He waited for all to be seated before he began to eat.
Ravio took a large bite out his toast and turned to Collin. "So what are you up to today, kiddo?" he asked with his mouth full of food.
"Manners please, Dear," Hilda stated as she picked up a piece of egg.
As Ravio ignored his wife, Collin turned towards his older brother, "I don't have much," he replied quietly. "I was hoping to try out for the fencing team I guess…"
Ravio raised an eyebrow, "The fencing team?" He repeated. "Good to hear. Maybe Link and I can teach you a thing or two."
Link looked at his younger brother and smiled, "We'd be happy to. What time are tryouts?" Link asked.
"2:00," Colin replied.
"What's fen-i-cing?" Asked Aryll innocently.
"Fen-cing," Hilda corrected. "Fencing is swordplay, dear." Aryll still looked confused and Hilda sighed with a smile. "It's what knights do with the evil kings in order to protect their princesses."
Aryll's tiny face lit up at the comparison, "Cawwin is gonna protect a princess?!" She cheered.
Link chuckled at his niece, "And that's why we can't braid his hair. The princess might not like it."
Aryll adopted a serious demeanor, "I won't let anyone touch his hair!" She exclaimed.
Link chuckled at the little girl and continued to eat his food in silence. He was content to be with what was left of his family.
All of a sudden, the young Hylian felt a buzzing in his pocket. He excused him from the table and entered his bedroom and answered the call, "Hello?"
"We found a body in front of the Time Corp. building," Impa's serious voice responded.
Link was slightly taken aback, "What did you say?"
"It looks like a homicide," came the matter of fact voice on the other end of the line. "The suspect, whomever they might be, left a long trail of evidence we'll need to sift through. That's what worries me."
Link sat down on his bed and ran a hand through his hair, "It's too convenient?" He asked.
"Exactly. I need a fresh set of eyes. Preferably the eyes of a Faron or two," Impa replied.
"Ravio and I will be there shortly," Link replied. "I'm gonna need a badge."
"I have your old one here; it'll be ready when you arrive."
"I'll see you soon," Link said as he ended the call. He threw on a light jacket and put his phone back in his pocket. He entered the kitchen and made direct eye contact with his elder brother, "Put a suit on. Something came up."
Ravio listened to Link's tone and decided that it wasn't the best time to be cracking jokes. He did as he was told and returned to the kitchen wearing a black suit with a deep purple tie. "We'll be home soon," he informed his wife.
The two brothers turned to leave but were stopped by a sudden outburst from Collin.
"What about fencing?" He asked frustratedly.
Link looked back towards his younger brother, "I will help you when I get back, I promise!"
The two brothers exited the home, which left Hilda, Collin, and Aryll.
"That's what you say every time…" Collin muttered under his breath as he watched his siblings leave.
Link and Ravio got into Link's Pegasus Fusion and sped off as the siren's let out its long whine.
Many officers would describe Impa Harkinian as a no nonsense cop with an unwavering sense of justice and right. She would describe herself as a morally grey person trying to do her best for those around her. Her record wasn't completely clean despite her constant efforts to make it seem like it was. She was a police chief who ran a fight operation with little room for error or excessive failure.
She analyzed the scene on which the dead body was found and considered the possible suspects. Her immediate guess was not one she liked for multiple reasons.
She heard the wails of a siren, which signified that a new unit had entered the scene. She turned to see the Faron brothers enter the scene. Link was allowed through without any need for clarification, but the officer in charge of crowd control looked back to the chief to confirm that Ravio needed to be there.
Impa nodded to the officer and Impa walked towards the two new arrivals. "Link, Mr. Faron, thank you for coming on such short notice."
Ravio nodded, "How can I be of service Chief?" He asked.
Impa sight and handed Ravio the folder that she had been holding, "The victim is one Ezlo Picori. It seems he was experimenting with a new sort of technology of his own design. The estimated time of death is somewhere between 12-3 AM last night. He was just getting off of work for the night," she stated.
"Do we have any suspects?" Link inquired.
"The only people that were close to Picori were his brother Melari, or his apprentice turned rival business man, Vaati Dragmire," Impa explained.
Ravio shook his head in though, "I don't think Dragmire would risk losing his pardon after all of his war crimes, but you could question both suspects."
Impa looked to her left and then her right before leading the two to a more closed off area of the crime scene, "There's also a third suspect, or a group of suspects that we've yet to hear anything else on."
Ravio's interest was piqued, "And what group of suspects would that happen to be?"
"I'm sure you're both familiar with our resident vigilantes," Impa replied.
Link raised an eyebrow at the statement, "I thought that the vigilantes didn't leave bodies behind."
Impa nodded, "Normally they don't, which is what has me worried. Whoever did this did a good job in recreating one of their crime scenes, and without solid evidence that it wasn't them, this trail will lead right to a vigilante group that has done nothing but try to help this city," she stated simply.
"So if we don't find a suspect," Link continued, "we have to hunt a fairy tale and never solve this case."
Impa nodded, "Which is why I'm hoping you can question Mr. Dragmire and see if he can give us any possible leads," she told Link. "Mr. Faron, I'd also appreciate if you could find out any information from Melari Picori and get back to us."
Ravio nodded, "I'll go and get started on that."
Ravio left the two officers and entered the doors of his company. He found his private elevator and took it down to the lab.
Link sighed, "I'll go see what Vaati knows, but I highly doubt that there is much. He spent enough time trying to clear his name. I doubt he would follow his father's path like that after all he has done for Hyrule," he stated.
Impa simply nodded, "It is better to be on the safe side nonetheless."
Link nodded and began to head towards his vehicle when he was again stopped by the chief's voice.
"You'll need this," she exclaimed before she tossed a police badge at him.
Without a thought, Link raised his arm and caught the badge in his left hand. He looked at it and then back to the chief, "Thanks," he replied. He then made his way to his vehicle and drove off.
"It's the least I can do, hero," she said to herself.
"We should expect to turn a profit as soon as our merchandise hits the shelves," the pale purple haired man stated. He had crimson eyes and wore a violet suit.
"And the kinstone app?" A board member asked.
The man in front smiled, "Kinstone will no doubt be turning a more than generous profit for Minish Industries," he affirmed. "As soon as the new Gossip Stone product is released, we will be building revenue to rival that of the Time Corporation."
A small applause emitted from the board members. A blue haired woman came into the room and whispered something into the man's ear.
"Thank you Lana. Please ask him to take a seat in my office," the man replied. He turned to address his board, "I believe that will conclude today's meeting."
The various members of the board began to leave the room. The man followed the business clad individuals out into the reception area and broke off from the group. He turned down the hallway and made his way to the mahogany double doors of his office. He pushed one open and greeted by a view of the city and one Detective Faron.
"Detective Faron!" He exclaimed. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"
"Hello Vaati," Link greeted. "I wish I came on better terms."
Vaati's demeanor turned sour, "This is about Ezlo, is it not?" He asked disappointedly.
Link nodded, "I'm sorry for your loss. I can only imagine what he meant to you."
Vaati walked over to a cabinet and opened it, revealing a shelve of glasses. He took one off and looked back at the young detective, "Would you like anything to drink, Link?"
Link shook his head. "Thank you for the offer, but I don't think I should be drinking this early," he stated.
Vaati nodded and picked up a crystal container of alcohol. He poured a generous amount into his glass and took a sip. He walked over to his desk and took a seat. Link followed suit in a chair on the other side of the desk.
"He only ever wanted to help people, you know," Vaati said. "He prided himself on using his technology for the betterment of society. That is after the war anyway."
"Do you know anything about his current project?" Link asked.
Vaati sighed, "As a matter of fact I do. He called me a few nights ago. He kept saying that the Dragmire syndicate was onto him, but he refused to call the police."
"Any reason why?"
"The technology he was working on was experimental and not for the public eye. He wouldn't even tell me what it was," Vaati stated. He chuckled a bit, "Ezlo didn't like his secrets being loosed."
Link pondered for a moment, "So you think that the Dragmire syndicate is behind the attack on his life? Did anything else happen that would point the crime to them?"
"The Dragmire syndicate and it's master are a cunning, venomous, and parasitic plague on the people of the world. They leave scenes clean and kept with a long trail of evidence leading away from them.
"But they always leave one specific calling card that points right back to them," Vaati went on. "A detail so minute that it would seem completely adenine to go looking for."
Link looked at the pale man curiously, "What might that be?"
"A small biochip within the left hand in the shape of an upside down triforce. I still don't know why. My father wouldn't ever tell me."
"How small is it?" Link asked.
Vaati thought for a moment. He set his glass down and went to his desk and began searching through the drawers. He eventually found one of the biochips and tossed it to Link who caught it with one hand.
Link examined chip methodically, "Doesn't make much sense…" Link trailed off.
Vaati looked out the window distractedly with a spiteful eye, "Knowing him, there is some perverted reason to it. Ganon wasn't one for pointless theatrics despite his eccentric tastes."
Link closed his eyes and tried to piece together any sort of motive for Ganon's reasoning. Eventually he sighed and stood from his chair. "I should be heading out. Hopefully Ravio found something within the lab. Thank you for your help, Vaati."
Vaati smiled at the young detective, "Of course, my friend. I had hoped it would be under better circumstances that we crossed paths again, but it was good to see you nonetheless." He offered a hand out for Link to shake.
Link smirked and pulled him into a short one handed hug, "Me too buddy, but I promise to come and visit at some point. Especially if you get me hooked up with a new phone!"
Vaati chuckled, "Of course you'd say that. Always trying to steal everything I create."
Link laughed, "See you, Vaati!"
"Take care Link," Vaati replied kindly. As soon as Link left the office Vaati took a seat at his desk and picked up the phone. He dialed a number and reclined in his seat. The phone rang three times before he heard the other voice on the line.
"Hello?" A woman's voice on the other end answered.
"Call an emergency meeting," Vaati replied. " If we can't prove it was Ganondorf, the crime will be pinned on us."
The voice on the other end of the line sighed deeply, "Vaati, it's probably nothing. All of Hyrule isn't gonna turn on us because Dragmire killed a scientist."
Vaati's eyebrows narrowed and his voice became cold, "Call in the meeting Rutala. I'm not asking." Without another word he hung up the phone and went to stand by the window. He looked over the bright and sunny castle town with a clear view of Hyrule Castle. So much had changed in the countless millennia he had been sealed away.
Link sighed as he and Ravio pulled up to the house after getting done with detective work. It was now three in the afternoon and the two had returned home with little other leads. Link put his vehicle in park and shut off the engine.
"Home sweet home," he muttered tiredly. Link opened the door of his vehicle while his brother did the same. He locked the vehicle and started up the sidewalk to the front door. He tried the knob only to find the house locked.
"Do you have your keys?" Link asked.
Ravio shook his head, "No. I didn't think I would need them," Ravio admitted. "What happened to your spare?"
"I dropped it in the gutter when I was plastered last night," Link replied sheepishly.
Ravio laughed, "Still in high school are we?"
"If memory serves me right, and it does, I distinctly remember you throwing the parties to begin with. I just got in trouble because I couldn't hide my hangover," Link retorted.
"You couldn't hide your Zora girlfriend either."
Link blushed bright red, "That's not funny. It was one time. And it technically didn't even happen!"
Ravio laughed even harder at his flustered little brother, "That's only because Ruto didn't want her reputation ruined by some drunk Hylian kid. The fact that you were dating her sister probably didn't help either."
Link resigned himself to silence at his brother's words, and that was mostly because of the truth that resonated within them. He instead sighed and sat down on the front steps, "I guess we'll just have to wait for Hilda to get back with Aryll and Colin."
Link sat in silence for a moment before his eyes widened and he jumped up, "Shit!" he exclaimed. "We forgot about Colin!"
Ravio had a much calmer demeanor, "Well we shouldn't keep him waiting any longer than. I wouldn't worry too much though; Colin is a Faron. Fencing is in his genes."
"You'd better hope you're right," Link shot back as he unlocked his vehicle and opened the door. He started the engine and waited for Ravio to get in the vehicle. Link sped off as soon as his brother had buckled his seatbelt and tried to find any sort of shortcut to get to the highschool.
"Slow down!" Ravio laughed. "It's just high school fencing."
"I know!" Link replied with a frustrated sigh. He cut off another vehicle in order to get into the other lane and sped up. Link soon heard the sound of sirens behind him and sighed as his brother laughed hysterically in the passenger's seat. He turned on his signal and pulled to the side of the road.
Fencing, as Colin had figured out, was not, in fact, in his genes. He struggled as he was continually battered with his opponent's blade. He tried to land a few hits only for Talo, his opponent, to continue to hit him. He attempted a parry, but because of the lack of force in his blow, Colin's blade was knocked out of his hands and Talo's wooden blade came to his neck. Talo's foot connected to Colin's stomach and he went sprawling to the ground.
"Give up yet, loser?" Talo asked.
"Not a chance!" Colin replied angrily. His eyes burned with rage and tears. He stood up and gripped his sword harder before running at Talo in a blind rage.
Talo smirked and stuck his foot out as he sidestepped and Colin went sprawling.
"Dude, are you actually crying right now?" Talo mocked. "You're not gonna make the team. Give up." He kicked Colin in the side just to prove his point.
Link and Ravio sat down next to Hilda just as Colin was knocked back, "See, what did I tell you, Link? Colin is kicking that kid's ass," Ravio said smugly.
"Language," Hilda said sternly. "And that is Colin dear. He's been at this for over an hour against different opponents and he's taken loss after loss.
"Colin get up!" Link shouted. "Pick up that sword!"
Colin heard his brother's voice and his mind went hazy with rage. He grabbed his wooden blade and jumped to his feet. Talo was taken by surprise when his blade was knocked out of position. It was almost as if his opponent had become a new person. Talo brought his blade back up and attempted to strike back, but his blade was again knocked away. Talo brought his blade up again and began to back away in defense until he had reached the edge of the sparring ring.
Colin put everything he had into smacking against Talo's sword- he looked at it as if it were his brother's face, and he slammed his blade against it until he finally broke it and knocked Talo to the ground.
"I yield! I yield!" Talo cried out as he shielded his face from any further damage. The kids on the bench began laughing at both Talo and Colin. Colin threw the blade on the ground and stormed out of the gym.
Talo got up and started after him, "Get back here, freak! I'm not finished with you!"
Hilda quickly went after him and Ravio picked up Aryll to follow her. Link however approached the coach who beamed at him, "My best athlete came to visit! What a surprise."
Link in turn smiled, "It's good to see you Bo. How is the team looking this year?"
Bo crossed his arms and looked over to the sparring teenaged boys, "Well I wouldn't know about the girls, but I think with the right leadership, this could be one of the best teams I've ever had the privilege of coaching." He pointed to Talo, "Talo has an ego that needs to be knocked down a few pegs. Gulley is gonna to have to pull his weight as the team captain this year. That brother of yours has a spirit that I've only ever seen in Rusl. With the right training that kid will be as unstoppable as you were."
"Well that's good to hear," Link responded. "I at least know that Collin is in good hands."
Bo laughed and smacked Link's back, who in turn stumbled forwards. "I see that footwork still isn't perfect," he joked. "I could use an assistant coach if you're interested."
It was Link's turn to laugh, "Of course you do. Maybe I'll give it a shot once I'm settled in at work. I'm not making any promises though."
At that moment a fist fight broke out in between the team and Bo sighed, "We've got a lot of work to do. I'll see ya later kid. I reckon I should stop 'em."
Link laughed and waved to Bo. He turned on his heel and began to leave the gym. He walked through the double doors and into the parking lot. He was about to leave in his vehicle, but noticed Colin screaming at Ravio. He jogged over to see what the problem was.
"Hey, hey, hey!" Link interjected. "We're in public. Knock it off."
"So now you're gonna care about what I do?" Collin said sarcastically as he glared at Link. "Because I could've sworn you weren't gonna show up 10 minutes ago. As usual."
Ravio looked at the boy incredulously, "What do you mean 'as usual?' If it weren't for him, you would have had your ass kicked again!"
"Maybe I wouldn't have in the first place if my family actually supported me and followed through when they said they were gonna teach me!" Collin shot back.
"You know damn well why Link couldn't be there!"
"No I don't! Nobody ever tells me what's going on!"
Unbeknownst to the bickering siblings, an arrow hit the top of Hilda's vehicle and began to blink rapidly. Link's eyes widened and he pushed in between the two of them and instinctively brought up his left hand which began to glow with a golden aura. Ravio's eye's flew to the source of Link's panic and pulled the three remaining members of his family into a shielding embrace. The bomb arrow exploded and the vehicle went flying towards the golden shield that emanated from Link's left hand. As soon as it had, both Link and the vehicle were blown in opposite directions, leaving Ravio and the others safe.
Link hit the asphalt and clutched his arm in anguish. He rolled on the ground in agony as his clothes had been set ablaze by the blow. The last thing he heard before unconsciousness took him away was the shouts of panic that came from his siblings.