A/N: This has been sitting on my drive for a little bit now and I knew I needed to post it. Reviews are welcomed and encouraged; I hope you enjoy this chapter. I hope to have a more frequent update schedule soon!

Phoenix perched himself on the side of a building that overlooked the scene of Shadow's fight. He had a pair of binoculars out and looked down at the officers and paramedics that rushed to help the injured criminals and search the crime scene respectively. His eyes wandered to the various points of impact. It looked like none of the criminals had been successful in the theft of any gems except the Goron Ruby.

The night was colder. Long past was the warmth of the Hylian summer. Autumn had crept up into Castle Town and gripped it with a chilled hand. The stars weren't visible from the city smog and the only light came from dimly lit street lamps.

"No sign of Yuga," He muttered to himself. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a street cop approaching Impa. "Now what are you doing?" Phoenix pulled a small earpiece out of his pocket and placed it in his right ear. The screen on his gauntlet lit up and he pressed a small red button to begin recording. He turned the sensor's input up and began to listen in on the conversation.

"... and we're not sure, but we think this either belongs to the suspect or the vigilante," the street cop said.

"What difference does it make? For all we know, they could be one and the same," Impa said as she looked right up at Phoenix. "Check for prints on the weapons and get me the results as soon as you can."

Phoenix shrunk back a be it. He knew Impa wouldn't give up his location, but he also knew not to mess with the investigation.

"We actually found an alarming number of fingerprints and blood on the weapons. Some of it might be from the vigilante. CSI is working on isolating the specific DNA sequences now," the officer finished.

"Well then. We should have the vigilante detained by the end of tomorrow. I want a full sweep of the area," Impa said with a smile. "Check every block within a two-mile radius. Call in the chopper. No one gets in or out of this area without being checked."

"Yes, ma'am."

Phoenix stood up and looked at the street in a panic. It would be a tight escape if he could escape at all. "Shit," he muttered. "I'll be fine as long as I don't alert them to my location." He took a step backward and slipped on a metal bar. He landed on his back and exhaled sharply when the air left his lungs as the metal bar plummeted onto the sidewalk below. "Shit." He sat up to find himself in the center of at least 5 flashlights. He looked down at Impa sheepishly while she smirked in return. "The Six Sages are out to lunch. Can I take a message?"

"Gentlemen, please escort our visitor down from the roof. I'd like to ask him some questions," Impa ordered.

Officers began to swarm the building. As soon as they had entered the building below him, Phoenix ran to the door that allowed rooftop access. He melted the handle from the door and used it to weld the door to its frame. He ran back to the edge of the building and looked down at Impa, "I'd love to stay and chat, but I have homework." His hands lit up in flames and he lifted off the ground. "Good luck on the manhunt though."

Impa held her smirk and returned to the squad car, "All units be advised, the vigilantes are out tonight. Catch one and I'll give you a paid day off."

A barrage of voices responded to the call and she heard the sirens go off across the city. Impa returned to her own vehicle and started the engine. "Guess I'll just have to show Ravio's group of knock offs why the original is always better."

Link was discharged from the hospital the next morning. He walked out into the cool morning and smiled when the warmth of the sun kissed his face. He was picked up by Ravio and promptly dropped off at the police station for work.

He walked up the pavement to the station and began to smooth over his hair. He rubbed his chin and sighed, "I need to shave," he muttered to himself tiredly. His plan was to simply get his paperwork and work from home for the next two days before the doctors let him return back to work. He entered the building and went to reception to be buzzed in. "Quiet in here today," he remarked to the gentleman working reception.

"You just wait. You'll see how quiet it really is in there," the man remarked.

Link chuckled and heard the familiar whirr of the automatic doors opening into the hallway of the station. Link walked down the hall and found that the main room was in chaos. He tried to flag somebody down, but it seemed that every person was too preoccupied to notice him. He finally found one of the dispatch workers and approached her desk. "What caused this?"

The green-haired woman in front of him sighed deeply. She looked to be in her mid 30's but was actually 55. Link recognized her as the mother of one of his childhood friends. She rubbed her temples in frustration, "I swear Link, I might leave if things don't quiet down." She replied. She realized that his question had not been answered, "One of the Six Sages broke into a jewelry store on Eldin street last night. He left a ton of evidence behind, but CSI can't figure out how to analyze the fingerprints or blood."

"What do you mean?" Link asked curiously.

The woman leaned over her desk towards him and her voice lowered, "Rumor has it that half of the prints on the weapons just disappeared last night. There were still prints matched to the criminals, but half of the evidence just wiped itself away."

Link furrowed his brow and thought deeply, "Did somebody wipe them?" Link asked.

The green-haired woman shook her head, "It's been in under lock and key all night. Nobody has entered the evidence room since it was put in there. The weirdest part about this entire thing is that CSI can't figure out the blood type."

Link's head spun. It was probably from the pain medication the doctors insisted he take. "Do they not have enough of it?"

The woman shrugged her shoulders, "From what I've heard, the blood cell structure matches that of a Twili, but the blood was Hylian."

"Maybe a biracial suspect?" Link suggested.

"Possible, but the blood would be more easily identifiable."

Link thought for a moment more. He finally sighed and smiled at his coworker. "Weird. Thanks for the information Farore. If you come across anything else just let me know." He requested with a smile.

Farore nodded and Link went his way. He put a flash drive into his desktop computer and began to download files for cases. He also had a large stack of folders sitting on his desk that was held together by a rubber band. He was about to leave when an officer rushed past him into the chief's office with what looked like a melted door handle. Link unplugged the flash drive and put it on top of the pile of folders. He didn't notice someone take the drive when he entered Impa's office.

The officer presented the handle to Impa as Link entered, "We found fingerprints on it. These ones didn't go missing either," the officer said as he was short of breath.

Impa looked at the officer incredulously, "It's a door handle. What would you expect to be on it?" She asked sarcastically. "Let me guess, there were a bunch of fingerprints too because it's a door handle?"

The officer breathed heavily, "Actually, that's the best part! The door had been installed the day before the robbery because the old one didn't function correctly!"

Impa's sarcastic demeanor melted into one of relief. Her reaction didn't last long, however, as Impa had regained her steely expression as swiftly as it had vanished, "Well stop standing here and wasting my time and match the prints to everybody who has had access to that door." She finally turned to Link, "You should be resting. This will be here when you get back."

Link rolled his eyes, "Impa, I'm fine. This seems like it's more important than me sitting on my ass at home."

"I don't care how well you think you are right now. I'm not about to risk your life so that you can play the hero."

Link sighed frustratedly, "I'm not trying to play hero, I am trying to do the job you asked me to! And I think I have more experience than anybody else on this force when it comes to the Dragmire syndicate!"

"You should be dead, Link!" Impa shot back. "It's a miracle you and your family survived that explosion. So when the Goddess protects you, don't test Her."

Link rolled his eyes, "The Goddess is a fairy tale. I got lucky."

Impa shot him a look, "I don't care. Go home now. That's an order, detective."

Link huffed dejectedly and returned to his desk where he found Farore, "What's her damage?"

Farore chuckled, "Oh that? She had half of the force chasing the fire vigilante last night. He was cornered from every angle, and then the wind guy just appeared and disappeared with his friend."

"How?" Link asked with a mouth hanging agape.

"Nobody really knows. They just vanished, but we can't let the media know because nobody would ever take this department seriously ever again. She's trying to deal with the stress of keeping the situation contained."

Link nodded and ran a hand through his messy hair. "We really should stop underestimating the vigilantes."

Farore nodded. "I'll say. Some of the stuff they pulled off last night was absolutely incredible. It almost makes you wonder if they have some sort of help."

"That would be interesting," Link replied. "Anyway, I've gotta get some of this stuff done. I'll catch you later."

Farore nodded, "You have a good day, Link."

Link smiled and waved goodbye before he walked out the doors again. Farore turned to the stack of papers she had taken from Link's desk and quietly walked over to the shredder. "Help comes from the most unexpected places."

Farore began to feed the papers into the shredder one by one until they were all but little scrap heaps. She turned off the shredder with one of the pages still sticking out halfway and discreetly returned to her desk. "Unexpected places indeed."

*SMACK*

"Again," Link drilled as he parried the wooden blade away.

Colin grimaced as he again tried to break Link's defense. His blade came bouncing off of his brother's and he sighed in frustration. "We've been at this for over an hour and I haven't gotten any better."

"You aren't going to pick it up in a day, Colin," Link replied. "It is going to take hours of meaningful practice."

Colin threw his blade down in anger and clenched his fists, "Well how were you so good when you started then?"

Link scoffed, "Just because I got lucky in the gene pool doesn't mean you get to complain. And you can ask Ravio how easily he could kick my ass."

Ravio, who leaned against the patio door frame smirked. "Oh, boy was that fun. Hours of beating your cocky ass into the mat."

"Language!" Hilda called from the table inside. She typed away on a laptop while Aryll played with her toys on the ground.

Link chuckled, "You'll get it soon enough, Colin. Pick up your blade and go again."

As Colin did what he was instructed, Ravio moved to the kitchen where the oven's timer had gone off. He took the oven mitts that hung on the wall beside him and pulled out the pan of lasagna. "Mr. Hero, Hero Jr., put away your toys and get to the table pronto!"

Link rolled his eyes at his childhood nickname and dropped his blade. "Let's go."

Collin followed Link into the dining room and sat down at the table.

Hilda closed her laptop and moved to put it on the couch. On her way back, she picked up Aryll and placed her in one of the seats while Ravio put the pan in the middle of the table and began to cut into it. He passed the plates around as soon as he was finished and sat down.

"So, how was everybody's day?" Ravio asked.

Collin rolled his eyes at the same question he was asked every night and shoved his mouth full of food.

"Some of my clients were a bit… extreme today," Hilda cut in. "The others in the clinic assured me it was just the season, but I think the situation around the city isn't helping any."

"Yeah, I'd have to agree," Link said. "Things aren't exactly improving quickly."

Ravio shoved a mouthful of lasagna into his mouth, "Well then, you two will be happy to know that the board has approved my humanitarian fund for city clean up."

Hilda rolled her eyes at her husband's obvious lack of table manners, "I'm sure they were all thrilled by yet another push of philanthropy in the workplace."

A bark of short laughter escaped from Link's lips. "Did they react to this idea better than the time you donated a fleet of patrol cars to the force?"

Ravio smiled slightly, "They thought this idea was almost equally as bad, but there were a few that liked the idea of increased publicity."

Colin gave an exasperated sigh as he played with his food. "I'm going to bed."

Hilda shot the boy a worried expression, "You should at least try to finish your food. Are you feeling ill?"

Colin shook his head and sighed irritably, "I really don't understand the need to make this family seem normal."

Link quietly set his fork down on the table. He breathed in through his nose and after what seemed like an eternity he sighed, "If you want to go so badly, go. Clearly, you don't care, so why should anybody else?"

Hilda looked between the two brothers exasperatedly, "Link you know that's hardly fair-"

"Link has a point, Hilda," Ravio interjected. "Colin obviously wants to make his own choices. Let him, I say."

Colin wasn't sure why, but his stomach sank, "Thanks… I guess." He got up from his seat awkwardly and left without another word.

The tension that followed could have been cut with a knife. Both Link and Ravio wore unreadable expressions while Hilda's was one of sadness.

"I have to get to the office," Ravio suddenly announced and got up from his chair.

"You're always off to the office," Hilda remarked. She wore a bitter smile and a single tear escaped her eye.

Ravio shook his head with a similar bitterness, "Guess that's what happens when your bastard of a best friend leaves you to clean up his mess." Ravio put his hand on the doorknob. "I'll be back later."

Ravio left the house and Hilda began to clear the table. Link sat for a while longer. He stared at the table and opened his mouth, not breaking his gaze, "Maybe I could take some time off to help with Colin and Aryll."

"I couldn't ask you to do that for me, Link. You've established a career for yourself, and the city can't afford to lose you," Hilda said from the sink at which she stood.

"I just wish that I could be around to do more for the family."

"This family fell apart a long time before you got your badge, and giving it up won't fix it."

"I'm really sorry Hilda."

"I am too."