Taker here. Sorry I haven't posted for a while. I don't really have an excuse this time…….I just got lazy.
Ghosts of the Past
The Pentagon was getting impatient. They had been notified of the new insider in the University, and a select few knew whom the 'Ghost' was. General Garrison was currently talking to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, explaining to them that the Delta Force needed to be deployed. The truth was that he was actually trying to buy Link some time.
"The Delta Force was originally created for anti-terrorist situations, but we haven't taken care of a single one in thirty years, much less have been deployed on one." Garrison said to the council before him.
"Look," a large man with glasses in front of him said, "the Delta Force hasn't been used because we haven't needed them. The local or national SWAT teams have always taken care of any terrorist situation that might arise."
"That may be true, but I still think that Delta needs to be deployed on this. They can get the job done quickly and efficiently, with little to no casualties. Please consider my offer."
"We will not-."
"I agree with him on this situation. We can't be assured that the local authorities will be able to take the mental pressure of a situation like this." The President of Hyrule stated, glaring at the large man.
"Deploy your forces right away, General."
"It will be my pleasure, sir." The fifty-year-old General saluted the President, and walked out of the Joint Chief's office with a grin plastered on his face.
O'Hara didn't know whether to trust this new person or to ignore him. It seemed to be a lose/lose situation. He was relieved when a handful of military trucks arrived, packed with Delta troops armed and ready-to-rock. A senior officer walked up to O'Hara and offered his hand.
"I'm General Garrison." He stated in a Texas accent. "Are you the cop in charge?"
"That would be me, yes." O'Hara stated, shaking the General's hand.
"What do we know about the terrorists?" Garrison asked, looking at blueprints of the building that were sprawled on the hood of a car.
"Well, there are quite a few of them. Thirty minimum. We patched into the cameras inside the building, and we've been watching them from there. Dr. Harris over there has been recording all of their movements. You should talk to him to see what you're up against."
"Doctor Harris?" Garrison inquired to a gray-haired man talking to another cop.
"Yes?" The doctor said, turning around.
"I'm in charge of the situation now. What can you tell me about the terrorists?"
"First, did the government release the requested people from prison?"
"No. They refused."
"Good. That is not their objective. There is a higher motive to all of this. You see, they said that they would execute a hostage every five to fifteen minutes. That is completely unreasonable, and they knew it."
"What are you saying? They had an unstated objective?"
"They didn't just pick the university because of the large number of people inside. They were looking for something. Or possibly someone. Something went wrong in there. They were expecting quick in and out, but they fucked up. They know that they are going to die or go to prison. They will give their lives before they are taken to prison."
"I think we should plan for an assault on the side of the building. Is that where you said they were being held?"
"Yes. When the terrorists first came into the building, they put all of the people into one of two rooms. This one on the West side of the building, or this one on the north. They also have people in the office and.…" Doctor Harris stopped speaking.
His eyes were transfixed on the screen of the laptop, which was displaying the inside of the office.
"What in the bloody hell happened in there?" Garrison said to no one in particular. The place was a slaughterhouse. There were at least six or seven bodies in the room, all with blood pooling around them.
"Looks like they decided to screw with the wrong man." Garrison said, taking a cigar out of his pocket and lighting it.
"The wrong man? We don't know if this was done by one man or fifty….unless there's something you aren't telling us." The doctor inquired, narrowing his eyes at the General.
"The man that did this used to be a Navy SEAL team leader. He left the service about six years ago, and started college at this University. He's a tough bastard. He's been known to take out entire squadrons in seconds. He does it so quietly that you could hear a pin drop. Taught his team to do the same. After the team's success in the Middle East, they were nicknamed 'The Ghosts'."
"I'll take over from here, gentleman. You are relieved." Garrison picked up his Comm and started talking quietly into it. Then he glanced up to a section of the building, and the helicopter began circling closely again.
"He saw us." Link said. He ducked under the window with Grady.
"Now what?"
"Now, we have to wait until the helicopter shows up. We have to jump onto the helicopter so it can take us to ground level." Link said.
"Are you psycho? We can't jump onto a helicopter. Too many things could go wrong. We have to find a different way."
The two sat there for a moment, pondering their situation. Before they could decide, however, there was a series of screams from the rooms that the students were in. Grady and Link glanced at each other with raised eyebrows.
"There were no gunshots." Link said after a moment.
"And they don't have suppressors." Grady said quickly. They were both thinking the same thing.
They jumped to their feet and ran towards the rooms. Link motioned for Grady to cover one, and Link took the other.
Grady leaned against the door, and heard people crying, and footsteps. He backed off, and ran at the door, kicking it off of its hinges.
"Down! Down! Out of the way!" He yelled, running inside. His expression immediately turned to one of fear when he saw what had caused the commotion.
The three terrorist bodies that Link and Grady had dispatched earlier were right where they had fallen, but in a completely different state. There was no form to the pool of blood and organs that was in front of Grady, and he walked slowly over to it. What was left of the body was steaming, and being eaten away by something. It smelled strongly of onions, and the carpet was melted away where the body used to be. The other two bodies were in the same state.
Grady walked out of the room, and went into the other classroom. It appeared that those bodies were in the same condition. Link turned around, and shook his head at Grady.
"He's back. I can't believe it. I thought we killed that motherfucker. How did he come back this time?" Link wondered aloud.
"Who's back? How did this happen?" Grady looked more confused than ever.
"Ganon. He's back. Only a strong magic source could have cast this spell. We have to get these people out of here and into the commons. We have to get a hold of Garrison too."
"Let's get moving then." Grady walked out, and leaned against the wall for a moment. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. They had gone through so much to kill that bastard, and he was back? A good friend of theirs had given her life so that Ganon could be killed. Grady shook the thought from his head, and focused on the present. He had a job to do. He walked into the other room.
"Ladies and gentleman, could I have your attention please? We need to go to the commons. Follow me, please." Grady began to walk out, but a voice stopped him.
"Who died and made you leader?" A snobbish voice said.
Grady turned to see a sophomore looking at him with a superior expression on his face.
"I ain't goin nowhere until the cops come."
Grady stared at him with a blank face, and finally spoke.
"Who's got the gun here? Me or you?" He said, shooting in the air once. A light sparked and turned off, a 7.62mm bullet ending its life.
The sophomore cringed, and nodded. Grady turned back around, and motioned for everyone to follow him. They did, and were on their way to the commons.
The commons was just a large white room with tables and vending machines. It was large enough to hold the entire school if necessary. A few minutes later, Link showed up with the other half of the University.
"How did it go?" Link asked as he approached Grady.
"Relatively well. One person argued, but my AK convinced him otherwise. How about you?"
"No one argued. I think they're afraid of me after what I did to the terrorists."
"I would be too if I saw someone take down a few terrorists without blinking an eye." Grady said with a serious expression.
Link laughed, and turned towards the students.
"Listen, the cops will be here soon. I want everyone to stay here. Nobody leave or go to your dorm rooms. I need some people who will volunteer to be the spokesperson for the class."
The room fell silent, and Aria raised her hand.
"I'll do it. Can I talk to you Link?"
"Yeah, hold on a sec." Link again addressed the congregation.
"Look, you've been through a lot since this morning. Everyone just sit down, and try to think things through." Slowly, people began to sit, and those who couldn't find a seat just sat against the wall. Link motioned for Aria to come with him, and she followed. When they were out in the hall, Link turned to her and was assaulted with a fierce hug.
"I'm so glad you're okay." She said, tears forming in her eyes. Link hugged her back.
"Shh. It's okay. They're dead. They won't hurt me or you." Link said softly. Aria broke away, and smiled weakly.
"I'm not in second grade. You don't have to play that game with me." She said, giggling softly.
"Sorry." Was all Link could manage.
"That's okay. Anyway, I brought you out here because of what happened to those terrorists."
"I know. He's back." Link sighed. "I'm feeling some guilt now about Lita. She shouldn't have sacrificed herself so that we could defeat Ganon. We could have done it without her sacrifice. Now she's died in vain."
"Not necessarily, Link. Someone else could have performed that spell."
"But who?" Link said quickly. "Only Ganon could have performed something that complicated."
"Still, I'm pretty sure it wasn't Ganon. I can't feel the Triforce of Power, which means it's still banished to the Sacred Realm."
"Yeah, I guess. Look, I have to go now. You tell the police the story. I'll be back, and when I do, I'll have the Ghosts with me."
He turned to walk away, but Aria stopped him. He looked into her eyes for a moment, seeing the fear and hurt that she has gone through over the past few years. Suddenly, she pulled his lips to hers, and the two locked in a fiery embrace. He broke the kiss after a while, and stared into her hazel eyes.
"I love you." He whispered quietly. That one, simple phrase had a great impact on her. He saw the fire return to her eyes, and the fear and hurt swept away by the soldier inside of her.
"I love you too. Now, go Ghost hunting." Link grinned, and saluted, before walking back inside to get Grady. She watched him leave, and then went inside to wait for the authorities.
Grady had seen the whole affair outside the commons. When Aria had kissed Link, Grady felt all the pain of love from his alternate past resurface. Memories, painful and joyous, flashed before his eyes.
The first kiss between him and Lita. The hoots and hollers of the team when Lita had told them they were engaged. The deep hole in his heart when Ganondorf's army had captured her. The knife going through his heart when she sacrificed herself so that Ganon could be defeated. All these things flashed through his mind.
He felt tears coming, but refused to let them be seen. He was a soldier. One of the best, in fact. He wouldn't let emotions get in the way. He suddenly noticed Link walk back in, and he hurried inside, lest Link discover him eavesdropping.
He stood near a table, looking bored, when Link noticed him.
"We need to go. Aria's going to take care of the police for us." Link said quietly.
"How are we going to get out without somebody noticing?" Grady asked.
"We'll warp. Remember the songs that we used to get out of numerous sticky situations back during the second Imprisoning War? We can still use them."
"I hated that. It always left me with this numb feeling in my hands. But, it's the only way out of here, so we had better get moving." Grady said, sighing. He put his hand on Link's shoulder, and Link took a harmonica out of his pocket. He played a tune, and the scene began changing. Suddenly, they were enveloped in a blue light. The world began spinning incredibly fast, and there was a great roaring sound. Then, as suddenly as it had begun, it stopped, and they were standing on the beaches of Lake Hylia.
Grady took a few steps, and then beat his hands against a tree.
"I've got the same damn numb feeling."
Link laughed, and the two began walking towards a bus stop. They sat down on the bench, and began to think out their situation.
"Alright, the government had to have kept tabs on the guys, so if we could get into their database, then we could find where they were. Isn't that right?" Link asked, glancing over at Grady. Grady was staring down the street, with sad eyes.
"Grady, I know it's hard to lose a loved one. My parents were killed when Ganondorf invaded. It hurts, but you have to get on with life. If you keep dwelling on what could have been, you'll wither away, until there's nothing left inside that head except a picture of Lita. Let her go. That's what she would have wanted." Link said sincerely, giving him a pat on the back.
"Yeah…I guess." He said after a while.
"What were you saying?" Grady asked, looking back to Link.
"Well, wouldn't the government know where the other guys were? Could we hack into their databases and find out?" Link wondered.
"We don't need to hack into their databases. I know where they all are. It's just a matter of picking up the phone and dialing a number." Grady grinned, and stood up when he heard the distinct noise of the brakes on a bus.
"I like that." Link said, nodding his head. "I'll call squad one, you call squad two."
"Yes, sir." Grady said, standing up and saluting him.
"That's lieutenant to you." Link said smiling.
"You'll get over it." Grady said, walking up to the bus when the doors opened. Link chuckled softly, and followed Grady. The bus driver was a large African American woman.
"Where y'all headed?" She asked.
"Downtown. East Pavilion square." Grady said, handing her a five-dollar bill.
"Take a seat." She said, motioning to the back of the bus. Link and Grady sat down, and closed their eyes, welcoming the sleep that was lingering at the back of their minds.
"Fellas. Wake up. This is where you get off." The driver shook Link and Grady, and they slowly awoke.
"Wha? What do you want?" Grady asked, obviously annoyed at having been woken up.
"We're at Pavilion Square."
Realization struck, and he immediately sat up.
"Oh! Link, wake up." He said, punching him in the ribs. Link sat up slowly, but his eyes flew open when he saw the driver.
"We're at our destination?" He asked the driver. She nodded.
"Thanks." Link mumbled, and walked off the bus. Grady followed, and it rumbled off a few moments later.
"Now what?" Grady asked.
"We go to the garage. There'll be phones there we can use."
"I have the numbers in my wallet." Grady mumbled as they walked down the street. They came to a fairly large building, and Link unlocked the door.
Grady followed him inside, and they went into an office of sorts, with papers strewn all over, and three phones sitting on the desk.
"We'll use these to call them, and then we'll hitch a ride over to the FBI headquarters to talk to Garrison." Grady picked up a phone, and dialed a number. In a few seconds, someone picked up on the other line.
"Hi, is Austin available?"
Well, I hope it was good. I've been throwing an idea for a fic around my head for a few days, and just posted the first chapter. Its called Legend of Zelda: The Hunter. Go read it and review it and this!