This is my first AU. Thanks for checking it out. If you haven't already, read my Skyward Sword sequel story. It's called "Zelda: Skyward Sword- The Birth of Hyrule."

This story will have no OCs. The characters will be mostly taken from Skyward Sword, Twilight Princess, and Ocarina of Time. Link and Zelda in this story are based on their Skyward Sword appearances, for the record.

This story takes place in modern day, with technology and gadgets and the like. I will focus on ZeLink romance and action. Don't worry: it's NOT a cliché high school love story. I typically don't like those.

Oh, and this is a common thing. I give song suggestions for you readers to listen to while reading, and I specify when you should listen to which song. The songs will come from games like Ocarina of Time, Twilight Princess, Skyward Sword, and even Hyrule Warriors.

Song Suggestions: Backstory- "Fi's Theme (Piano Lament)" / Misc.- "Guilty Feeling" (Skyward Sword OST, Hyrule Warriors OST, respectively)

Disclaimer: I don't own anything regarding The Legend of Zelda. I wish I did.

Feel free to leave a Review, Follow, and/or Favorite!

Chapter 1: Prologue

0650 HOURS.

HBI HEADQUARTERS, CASTLE TOWN.

68 DEGREES INSIDE.

"Link!" Pipit yelled to me. "Get up, man!"

My eyelids snapped open and I saw my brown-haired friend looking down at me. I was laying on the tile floor beneath my desk, files and worthless papers scattered around. I slowly propped myself up on my elbows, squinting at the bright lights hanging down from the ceiling.

"Look," he scolded, "just because you're the 'legendary hero's descendant' doesn't mean that you get to sleep on the job. You're lucky that the great Ganondorf didn't kill you immediately upon learning your identity." He sighed. "Now get up. We still have a case to crack." He offered me his hand, and I took it willingly.

Once I was at eye level with Pipit, I said, "Yeah… what was that, exactly?"

Pipit put a hand to his face, groaning. "Oh my Hylia, Link. Sometimes I wonder how you even got into this honored agency." I ignored his comment and looked at him for further explanation. Pipit sighed. "Some Ordon villagers are stealing from Castle Town."

"What are they stealing?" I asked, yawning and rubbing my tired eyes.

"Plague medications. They're stealing from the higher class. That's enough to send them to their graves," Pipit said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"If the plague doesn't do that already," I muttered under my breath.

"What?"

I shook my head. "We're not going to kill them, are we?"

Pipit ran his fingers through his hair. "…If push comes to shove, then yes."

"Pipit, Ordon Village used to be my home. We can't do that!"

"Link, let go of the past!" Pipit yelled in my face. "So what if you used to live in the slums of Ordon? You were drop dead broke! Now look at yourself! You're a top-notch agent for the HBI, serving the great Ganon himself. Forget about that past life, okay, Link? Me picking you up off the streets was the best thing that ever happened to you." I nodded, grateful for my friend.

I was thrust into a memory of the past that I wasn't too fond of.

Shortly after my (unfortunate) birth in Ordon, both of my parents died. I raised myself. I lived alone in a tree house that I had crafted with my fine woodworking skills. Unlike the rest of the kingdom, blessed with lights, heat, and electricity, the Ordon Province was the poorest province. The roads weren't paved; instead they were dirt. If you touched anything rather than your own clothes and home, you'd be infected with the plague. I often wandered the streets with a mask pulled over my mouth and nose, hoping to find something useful. However, most of my necessities were located in the forest behind my tree house, such as fruit, firewood, and clean water. My neighbors weren't strong (and/or smart) enough to search for their needs in the forest like me, due to their plague-infected bodies and fears of monsters lurking in the trees.

Despite terrible living conditions, I still had friends. There was Talo, an action-driven boy who loved adventures. Malo was a grumpy, quiet human being who always tried to sell me stuff that I didn't need. I was cautious with the few rupees in my wallet. And then there was Ilia… sweet, innocent Ilia… who had the plague and tried to kiss me to get me infected.

What a bitch.

I was fifteen, wandering the streets looking for work to gain some more rupees. That's when a magnificent black steed galloped up to me. When the rider in his dark yellow tunic saw me, he slowed the horse to a stop. The black stallion reared up on its hind legs, kicking its front legs outward.

"Greetings," said the man, who looked to be my age. I studied his tunic. On the right breast was a patch that had three letters on it: HBI.

"Greetings returned," I said respectfully.

The boy had a good-sized pistol on his waist, making me shift uneasily. Strapped on my back was an iron shield that I had welded, which should easily block the bullets that could shoot out of that gun. I put my arm over it, ready to whip it out if needed.

"I hear talk of an Ordonian prodigy, such as myself," he said. "Tell me… what is your name?"

"Link." I began to back up slowly, but stopped to show that I wasn't afraid. "And you?"

"They call me Pipit," he said. "I am the Eldin Province's prodigy. If you haven't noticed by my badge already," he pointed at it with a proud smile, "I am in the HBI."

"Yes, I saw it." Okay, this guy was freaking me out. Since when does Hyrule ever care about the slums of Ordon? Why would they send an HBI agent to our village all of a sudden? "Uh… What brings you to Ordon, Pipit?"

"Ah, do not worry. No one here is in trouble with the law." Pausing, Pipit rethought his last comment. "…Yet," he added slyly. "Nay, I have come to recruit another prodigy… Do you have any idea who that person could be?"

I shrugged. Truthfully, I knew I was Ordon's prodigy. Every province had one, which would form today's HBI (a small agency, for the record. It only has five agents so far). Here's how prodigies are found:

Every year, all children at age eleven from every province would board a bus to Castle Town, Hyrule's largest, most magnificent city. The buses lead to a government facility, where every child takes an "anonymous" assessment, required by Ganondorf to find good soldiers to help fight against the Lorule Provinces (the rebellion). The assessments record physical, mental, and strategical ability. Though Hyrule claims that these tests are anonymous, they inscribe tattoos on every child's arm, displaying their score in bold, black ink. A perfect score is a 900. Only prodigies get 900's. Those people get sent to the HBI without a moment's notice, where they will be trained to become Hyrule's greatest agents.

"Are you infected with the plague, Link?" Pipit asked.

I shook my head. "No. I am very cautious."

Pipit nodded, a smile forming on his lips. "May I see your right arm?"

I hesitated, thinking. Did I want to stay in Ordon with my friends, and possibly die? Or did I want to work for an agency for the kingdom that I didn't give a shit about?

Finally, I made my decision. I walked up to the boy on the black stallion, pulling back my long brown sleeve.

Pipit smiled at the perfect 900 tattoo, realizing he found his guy.

"You're right," I told Pipit.

"Damn right, I'm right!" Pipit exclaimed with a grin, patting my shoulder.

The HBI was supposed to be a top-secret location, and it was, save for we members, Ganondorf, and one other person: Zant.

Zant was known as the descendant of the Usurper King, ruler of the Twilight Realm, who somehow made it back into the world of light. The portal to the Twilight Realm was destroyed many years ago, so it was a mystery as to how this generation's Zant is living in the world of light.

Anyway, Zant was a successful entrepreneur who owned a massive skyscraper in Castle Town, and was loyal to the king. So, he agreed to give the top floor of his business to us, the Hyrule Bureau of Investigation. (Zant's business was selling historical artifacts that were scattered around Hyrule; most said artifacts were the items and gadgets my descendants had used back in the uncivilized days of yore. Anyway, he named his business "Zantland" for narcissistic reasons.)

My job was downright awesome. My desk was right by a window, overlooking the entire city of Castle Town. The view was amazing. The only downside of working in the top floor of a skyscraper was the painfully long elevator ride up.

Our facility had seven desks, but only five were occupied by agents. The remaining two were left empty for the next prodigies to reveal themselves.

Pipit and I had gotten to work early, determined to finish this case for King Ganondorf. That's why I had fallen asleep; it was only 7 a.m.

I heard the ding of the elevator, and I knew that we were about to be joined by a fellow agent. In came Groose, Lanayru Province's prodigy. The broad-shouldered Gerudo boy marched in with a spring in his step. He wore a pair of dark sunglasses, which each agent had been issued. He took them off and peered at us. "You two are in here early," he said.

"We could say the same for you," I said.

"Shut it, Ordonian! I ain't doin' nothin'!" Groose retorted.

I looked at Pipit, confused. I honestly didn't know how Groose got a perfect 900 on the exams… I was actually quite surprised he even passed. I thought he cheated, which was virtually impossible. Groose wasn't very smart, but somehow he managed.

"Calm down, Groose," Pipit said. "Link wasn't accusing you of anything."

Groose rubbed the back of his neck, looking down at the blue carpet. "Yeah, okay. You see… the reason I came here was…" Groose began snickering, staring off into space and letting his imagination take over.

"Go on, Groose," Pipit urged.

The muscular boy snapped out of his dream world. "Right! The reason I came here was because… Malon and Fledge found the next prodigy! Fledge said it's…" he began snickering again, "a girl."

I rolled my eyes. "Dammit, Groose! If you scare this one off with your creepy flirting, I swear-"

I was cut short by another ding of the elevator. The metal does opened, revealing three figures. Fledge and Malon, prodigies from Faron Province and Lake Hylia respectively, walked in. A blonde girl followed.

The girl stepped inside the facility, her blue eyes locked with mine. Her skin was slightly pale, but it didn't affect her beauty in any negative way. She wore a white dress ending slightly below her knees. Her golden hair was held together on either side of her face by purple hair bands, with matching bracelets and shoes. She was, in all honesty, beautiful.

Malon, the cute girl from Lon Lon Ranch beside Lake Hylia, said, "Pipit, Link, Groose, I'd like you to meet the prodigy from Castle Town-"

I knew who she was. I never met her, but I easily recognized her. That's why I didn't let Malon finish her sentence.

"Zelda."

Yeah, it was short. But they'll get longer as I go along. Please check out my other story, "Zelda: Skyward Sword- The Birth of Hyrule".

Since I can't put a picture here, allow me to type you up a brief geography lesson:

In the kingdom of Hyrule, there are seven provinces. Directly in the middle of the map is Hyrule Castle (NOT A PROVINCE). North- Eldin Province (volcano). South of Hyrule Castle is Castle Town (skyscrapers, metropolis). East- Faron Province (forest, but civilized). South- Ordonia Province (the ghetto). West- Lanayru Province (desert). Northeast- Snowpeak Province (snowy mountains). Southeast- Lake Hylia (plains, lake, river).

The Lorule Provinces are far south of Ordon Village, but I'll get to explaining those in the future.

Anyway, I hope you like this AU. I am going to make it a lot longer, if it's well-received.

To be continued.

Until then, Review, Follow, Favorite, eat sausage, do whatever your heart desires. Just make sure it's legal.

~SausageLink43