Thanks to all of you that reviewed the last chapter. This one has some psychology in it. Can you believe it? The Undertaker knows a little bad guy psychology. I accidentally forgot the disclaimer in the last chapter, so:
Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda or any of the characters associated with it, Nintendo does. (Rich bastards)
Ghosts of the Past
Link pulled into his safe house downtown and closed the door to the garage. The safe house wasn't meant to be a safe house, it was the workshop that Link worked in as a mechanic. A sheet on the other side of the large garage covered the almost finished Shelby.
Link knew his time there was limited. Link knew by the look on Claire's face that she had recognized him, so in all her wisdom she would probably tell the cops everything about him, and then the FBI would here about it.
They would realize 'hey, this is the guy who tried to kill the President' and from there things would only go down hill.
The FBI would tell the local cops to back off the case, and then they'd have a 'productive interview' with anyone that was close to Link. From there, they would probably learn that Link had a vehicle repair workshop downtown, and they would come to check it out.
By that time, though, Link could have sweeped the place of any prints or sign that he was there, and be halfway across the world to hide in Russia with a KGB associate of his.
Red, Link's friend in the shop, would say he hasn't seen Link for a few days, and then he'd be totally screwed when he found out Link had left the country.
However, Link could always totally fuck over the cops and sweep every place he's slept for the last few years, and clear his dorm of any furniture, which would also totally fuck them up.
Link suddenly thought of Aria, and realized what they would do to her if she didn't cooperate with them. Then again, she might believe the bullshit that they fill her with that they are trying to help him, and then he couldn't hide anywhere on Earth, because she can feel him. It would be tough, but he could dodge her across the globe if need be. A sharp pain in his chest tore Link away from his thoughts and to the large gash on his chest.
"Fuck," Link winced as he peeled off his now bloodstained shirt to look at the wound he had received from the moblin that got a little too close.
The wound was bleeding profusely, and it took all of Link's determination not to pass out from the loss of blood. Link noticed a box labeled 'Electrical Torches'. He got an idea.
Electrical torches were what they used at the shop to work with electrical wires. The torches were relatively weak, but could still fuse flesh together.
Link grabbed the box and hastily opened it, hooking up one of the torches to a propane tank. Link flicked the starter, and the torch sent out hot flame.
Link mentally prepared himself for what he was about to endure.
Link held the torch to his chest, and almost blacked out from the pain. It was something he had done before, but there was no way to get used to pain.
Pain isn't mental; your nerves are warning you that this is potentially lethal. The more blinding the pain, the more Life threatening the cause of the pain becomes.
It took all of Link's will power to keep the torch pointed at the wound. He was slowly bringing the torch up across his chest, effectively closing the wound by fusing the flesh together.
Link finally pulled the torch away from his shoulder, and stared at the long gash that he had just closed. It started at his lower chest and continued up to his shoulder. The pain was nonexistent now, he had blocked it out.
He would have a long scar on his chest for a few months, but eventually it would completely heal.
He put the shirt back on, and looked for the red spraypaint. No one would ask questions if he walked in with a red shirt, but a bloodstained shirt would draw unnecessary attention.
After spraying his shirt completely red, he put it on a hangar in front of a fan.
Link's thoughts returned to the situation. Why were the moblins suddenly attacking? Who provoked them? Or ordered them? That was a scary thought. If there was a new sorcerer in town, Link needed to take him out quick. After a half-hour, the shirt was dry, so he threw it on and hopped in the Murcielago. One thing about the cops, when they were looking for a car, they often went for looks and license plates. Link had hacked into the state records once, and he made a fake license plate, complete with a fake license and place of living and occupation and even credit card numbers for the cops to follow if Link needed time to leave.
On his way to the University, a cop pulled up right next to him. Link had washed out his hair using vinegar, so his hair was no longer black, but a medium blonde. He smiled and waved at the cop. The cop waved back. The cop didn't look any older than twenty-five, so Link decided to mess with him.
He revved the engine, and the cop broke out in laughter. Link smiled, and at the green light, the cop took off ahead of Link, but Link didn't pursue him. The police cruiser fishtailed the corner and disappeared into a neighborhood.
In a few minutes, Link pulled into a space next to Claire's SUV and walked the fifty feet to the University entrance. He punched in a number on the keypad that was used by students to get in after hours, and took the elevator to the third floor.
When the elevator doors opened, the halls were completely darkened. Link walked into the hall to get out of the light the elevator provided, and allowed his eyes to adjust.
He had discovered that his Triforce allowed him to do things that no other human being would ever be able to do. He can jump over ten feet higher than his own height, and he could shoot the flea off of a horse at two hundred yards. He also had a sort of 'night vision' that allowed him to see clearly in the dark.
Once his eyes had adjusted, he took on a crouch and crept silently through the halls.
His criminal justice professor passed a by him, missing him by a few inches, and the professor didn't even notice that Link was there.
Link let out a breath as the professor walked by, and waited until he had rounded the corner to continue. When he reached Aria's dorm, he silently picked the lock with his knife and crept in. When the door had closed, he stood up.
The kitchen light was on, and he could hear muffled voices coming from inside. He picked up part of the conversation, and his heart turned cold.
"We don't want to hurt him, I assure you. We know what happened at the place in the mountains, and we also know why." A voice said. It sounded somewhat familiar. There was silence for a few minutes, until Aria's shaken voice made itself heard.
"You promise you won't hurt him?" She asked.
"Yes. I can assure you that his safety is our highest priority." The voice said.
Aria sighed. "Then what do you want with him? Why did you come here?"
"We need his help. There is a serious problem that has been growing in severity, and we need the help of the Hero of Time."
"What? What problem?" Aria asked, her voice betraying her attempts to hide any emotion.
"Yeah, is there a problem Agent Smith?" Link asked, walking through the entrance to the kitchen. Aria and Smith were standing opposite each other, with half-empty cups of coffee.
Link smiled at Agent Smith. "You look like you've just seen a ghost." Link said with a grin.
"I have just seen a Ghost." Smith replied, his expression returning to normal.
Link led them into the living room, where Link and Aria sat on the sofa, and Smith sat on a chair opposite them.
"Ready? It's quite a story."
"Shoot." Link said, his face showing no emotion.
"After you killed Ganondorf, we had a party with the leaders of every country still surviving. We were celebrating the victory over Ganondorf. There, the President of Hyrule was shot in the shoulder. We never caught the sniper.
A rumor spread through the House of Representatives that the Hero of Time tried to kill the President because the President didn't send any aid to his parents when they were tortured. Before any search was activated, time was somehow reset. The entire world went back in time. Ganondorf had been killed while inside the Sacred Realm, so he was erased from history." Smith paused to let the information sink in.
"However, only a select few remembered what had happened in the alternate universe. A few military Generals, the President, a few agents, and about forty other individuals could recall what had happened. Then, we began to look into the legends of the past. There were thousands of old myths and legends that could come to life at any second and try to take over the world.
We decided to set up a Government agency to prevent things like this. We have Colonel Moretti," Link relaxed a little at hearing an old friend's name.
"Well, at least there's one good egg in a basket of bad ones."
"Link, Moretti found out who shot the President. It was a moblin. That is why the President is still living today." Smith said. He cleared his throat and continued.
"Moretti also discovered something that changed the agency forever." Link raised an amused eyebrow.
"He found the Ocarina of Time."
Aria stiffened, and Link scowled. "Now the government can manipulate time? Great." Link said.
"Yes, but we haven't done so yet. Please, let me finish the story before you criticize the government." Smith said.
The name of the agency would be Genesis. The agency would have its headquarters in Arizona, and would operate independently from any other agency. It is our greatest agency. It has all the capabilities of the NSA, the CIA, and the FBI all wrapped into one. Recently, agents in the agency had discovered where moblins were hiding. These moblins remembered what happened to their leader, and a few agents had begun to uncover a conspiracy to dominate the world.
The problem was that this wasn't your average 'take over the world' scheme that people get. This one involved going back in time, and using modern technology to take over the past Hyrule, so they would be in control in the future. Very confusing at first, but if you think about it, the plan makes sense.
The group responsible is the same group responsible for reviving Ganondorf. Three months ago, Moretti fell into a coma. He won't wake up. The Forensics department didn't find any drugs, which means that someone used magic to put him into a coma. We don't know anything about the magic, but we found someone who does.
His name is Professor Hartinger. He is an expert in the ancient times, and even knows quite a bit of magic. He told us that the form of magic used on Moretti was Black Magic. While he was searching for the anticurse, the group bent on world domination went back in time.
They began to put their plan in action, and as a result people began disappearing as their ancestors were killed in the past. The problem we have is that only the Hero of Time or the Princess of Destiny can use the Ocarina. This means that we can't go back in time to fight them.
Link, we need you and your old team to go back in time and fight them. We can locate all the old members and have them in Arizona by the end of the week. All we need is your cooperation." Smith looked from Aria to Link and back again. "The world needs you."
"We'll do it." Aria said, giving Link a smile.
"Link? Will you help us?" Smith asked.
"Sure." Link said.
"Excellent." Smith smiled. "Here's the number of an informant who you need to call first thing in the morning. He'll need all the names of the team, and anything you'll want when you go back in time." Smith handed Link a folded piece of paper, which he pocketed.
"Get a flight to Yuma, and we'll ship you from there to the base."
Link and Smith stood up, shook hands, and Smith left the dorm. Link closed the door after him, and felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned and found himself staring into the confused eyes of Claire.
"I-I-what-you're-?" Claire stuttered.
"Shh. Yes to everything. It was me at your party. I have the Triforce of Courage. Aria has the Triforce of Wisdom."
"I need to sit down." Claire managed to say weakly.
"Aria, are you going to leave?" Claire asked.
"Yes."
Claire sighed, and looked at Link. "Everyone knows it was you at the party, Link. You're the talk of the school."
"I don't know what to say anymore. I go to a party with a normal friend, and find out I have a magical princess sharing a dorm with me. It's like a fairy tale. I can't even begin to comprehend everything I've heard."
"You heard it all?" Aria asked softly. Claire nodded.
"Look, I don't know how long we'll be gone, but can you pay the rent?" Aria asked.
"Yeah. Hey, if you have the Triforce, does that mean you have that mystical tattoo on the back of your hand?" Claire grinned and pointed at Aria's hand.
"Yeah." Aria smiled.
"Let me see." Claire grabbed Aria's hand, and looked at normal flesh. She frowned.
"Make it appear." She pouted. Aria concentrated, and soon a golden triangle glowed brightly on her hand.
"Wicked." Claire said, staring at it for a few seconds, and then releasing her grip.
Aria laughed, and Link cleared his throat. "Look, we need to think of a cover story to tell the University."
"I'll take care of that." Claire said, smiling. "You go get the bad guys."
Link grinned and thanked her. He left the dorm, and left the two girls to plot their escape.
Link wandered to Grady's dorm, and opened the door, which was surprisingly unlocked.
"Grady? Are you in here?" Link asked quietly. He received a grunt in response.
"What do you want?" A groggy and annoyed Grady asked.
"I need to talk to you first thing in the morning. Come to my dorm, and we'll discuss it there."
"Sure." No sooner had Link closed the door than Grady was fast asleep again. As Link stood outside Grady's dorm, he thought of the team, and what it would be like to see them all again. He walked down the hall towards his dorm with one thought on his mind:
The Ghosts are comin' to town.
The next day, Link awoke to someone knocking at his door. He sat up slowly, and ran a hand through his short blonde hair. The knocking grew persistent.
"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Link yelled as he threw on a pair of jeans and headed for the door.
He opened the door to find a pissed off Grady standing there.
"I've been knocking for the past half hour." Grady said angrily.
"Sorry. Come in, we have things to discuss."
Link closed the door after Grady and motioned for him to sit down. Grady chose Link's desk chair.
"What's up?" Grady asked.
Link sighed. "This is going to take some time to explain."
"Well, our first class isn't for five hours. We've got time." Grady said, looking at his watch.
"How long has it been since you've talked to any of the Team?" Link asked suddenly.
Grady was immediately wide-awake, and he stared at Link. "A few months." Grady kept staring, but his mind was already coming up with a million different scenarios.
"Well, the government wants our help."
"With what?" Grady asked quickly. He was starting to hate the government even more now.
"Well, apparently they set up an agency some time ago called Genesis. Genesis was meant to keep people like Ganondorf from unleashing magic on the world."
"Oh yeah? The government set up an honest agency? Wow." Grady said in mock amusement.
"Oh, it gets better. Recently, they found the Ocarina of Time." Grady's face darkened.
"But, none of them can use it. They need me or Aria to play the Song of Time to be able to screw with time. You remember Moretti?"
Grady nodded. "The guy that betrayed Ganondorf and helped end his reign quicker? Yeah, I remember him."
"Well, he was the head of Genesis. Only problem is he fell into a Black Magic induced coma a few months ago. They have a magical guy that is helping them right now, name's Hartinger. He's working on the anticurse for Moretti's coma."
"Shit. So, they want us to be there delivery boys?"
"No, not really. A few weeks ago, the Black Death went back in time using an unknown method."
Grady knew that name. The Black Death were the ones who had brought back Ganondorf in the alternate timeline.
"Serious? How did they do it without the Ocarina?"
"I don't know, but Genesis wants us to go back and take them out. They are willing to provide us with whatever necessary to take them out."
Grady grinned. "I've got a plan."
"Alright, I say we bring the whole fucking Navy with us. If we just used nuclear submarines, than the old sailboats of the past would never know we were there."
"Well, they don't care if they see big battleships, because we'll outrun them by going against the wind. They can give us anything we want. Air cover, bases, Hummers, tanks, anything." Link said. He waited for Grady's response.
"Fuck yeah." He said, nodding his head. "Let's do it." They both grinned at each other.
"Let's make some calls, and we'll see where it goes from there." Link said.
"I'll call all of squad two. You call squad one."
Hartinger walked down the halls of the underground base, reading a report that was given to him by the Joint Chiefs. Apparently, the Ghosts were on their way. Hartinger smiled.
So, the President's boys were coming after all? Good, the agency needed professionals.
Hartinger walked into the medical room. Moretti was still lying on his back, his eyes in the back of his head, eyelids wide open. He was wearing a sort of cloak, and it covered his entire body up to his shoulders.
Hartinger placed his hand on Moretti's forehead, and he could feel the turmoil inside. He knew why Moretti was like this. He was meditating. He wasn't in a coma, but if the Joint Chiefs knew, they wouldn't let Moretti do it again, and thus Moretti's ability to use magic would diminish.
Hartinger checked to make sure all his life signs were stable, and left the room to go to the cafeteria.
They had called all of the team, and they were all headed to the University on the shortest flights. They would be there in a few hours, and from there Link would go to his classes and explain that he wouldn't be there for possibly a year or two.
Link hung up the payphone and walked over to Grady. Grady hung up the phone, and gave Link a smile.
"They'll be here within three hours."
"Good. We need to go to our classes, and explain the situation to our teachers. You remember the cover story?"
"Yeah, about our family being in danger. I remember."
"Good, see you in a few hours."
Link walked into his criminal justice class a half-hour late. His professor noticed him, and narrowed his eyes.
"Link, you're late." Professor Carlson said. Carlson was a large man, but he knows what he's doing.
"Sorry, but I was on the phone with my mom. The house burned down last night, and I need to go to Arizona as soon as possible." Link said, trying his best to sound sincere.
"Oh, my, I hope they're all right. Well, stay for this class, and I'll excuse you for however long you need."
"Thanks. I really appreciate it."
Link took his seat next to Aria, and everyone stared at him. Link realized that they still remembered what he had done at the party. The professor cleared his throat, and their attention was drawn back to the lesson.
"Now, I realize that—" The professor was cut off by a loud burst of gunfire from the halls.
Link immediately recognized it as the infamous AK-47 assault rifle. There were terrorists in the building.
Two of them busted in the room Link was in, and let loose a burst of 7.62x39 into the ceiling. Everyone ducked under the desks, and the terrorists spoke.
"Get on the floor! Your lives are now in the hands of the Black Death! We decide whether you live or die!"
Their accent was Mexican, but one of the two was black. One of them spoke into a walkie-talkie.
"Are you guys secured?"
"Yeah."
"Yes."
"Affirmative."
"Good, everyone stay put. Remember that we are looking for the Hero of Time. He was seen coming into the building late last night."
Link heard more gunshots from other rooms, and more people screaming. Link presumed from the way the Mexican was acting that he was the leader.
The leader looked at the students in front of him. "Everyone sit on your chairs." No one moved. "NOW!" The terrorist said as he let a three round burst into the air.
Everyone quickly got on their chairs, and the terrorist began to walk through the aisles, until he got to Drake.
"Do you know the Hero of Time? Where is he?" The terrorist asked. Drake's eyes grew wide, and he glanced up at Link. The leader followed his gaze, and stared coldly at Link. Link returned his stare with one of fear. If he made the terrorists believe they were in control, he could get them to relinquish their weapons.
The leader walked up to Link. "How about you, punk. You know which one of these bastards is the Hero of Time?" Link shook his head, trying to look scared. The leader narrowed his eyes, and hit Link in the stomach with the but of his gun.
It didn't hurt in the least to Link, but he made it seem so. He doubled over in pain, and the leader walked back down the steps, to the front of the rows of desks.
"Next time you defy me, I'll kill you!" He shot into the air again for emphasis.
Link slowly got back on his chair, and stared at the leader. He walked towards the black terrorist, and whispered something. The black man finally spoke, as the leader walked out the door. Now was the time for Link to act.
"If your government does not fulfill our wishes within the hour, we will execute one of you. After that, we will kill one of you every half hour."
Link raised his hand. The black man looked at him with uncertain eyes. "What?"
"Uh, I have to go to the bathroom." Link said sheepishly. The black man scowled at him.
"Hold it!"
"Okay, sorry to bother you." Link said. He noticed the man's expression soften a little bit. Link could work on this one. A few minutes later, Link raised his hand again.
"What?!" The man said, obviously annoyed.
"Look, I really have to go, and I don't think you want me to piss my pants. Once the smell gets around the room, you'll be sorry." Link said.
The man sighed. "Fine." The man spoke into his walkie. "I need someone down here to guard."
A few minutes later, the Mexican walked in. "Okay, take him to the bathroom. If he makes any funny moves, shoot him." The black man nodded, and motioned for Link to follow him.
They walked out the door, and Link decided to make conversation. "So, you been with the Black Death long?"
"A few weeks." The man replied.
"I hear Ganondorf got his ass whipped by the Hero of Time."
"You be quiet! Talk about Ganondorf with respect!"
"He sure didn't give me any respect before I put the Master Sword through his skull." Link said, taking a gamble.
The man turned around, and his face had a look of shock on it. Link wasted no time in grabbing the AK from the terrorist, and hitting the man in the leg with the rifle.
The black man fell on his back in pain, and Link stepped on his neck, cutting off airflow.
"Whoops, you blew it." Link pushed his foot down on the man's throat, and broke his neck. The man's body went limp, and Link immediately turned, shouldered the AK, and quietly moved back down the hall toward the room he had just come from.