Saria sighed.
Link had just turned her world inside out.
"The Black Death are the group that is responsible for everything." Link said, reluctantly finishing off the mint tea. He would have to regurgitate it as soon as he left her presence. He didn't want an alergic reaction.
"Taking over Hyrule wouldn't do anything. Eventually, they would lose control. No kingdom lasts for a thousand years. There has to be a diferrent reason behind this." Saria said, noticing Link's discomfort.
"Look, I just need you to promise me something." Link said, looking in her eyes.
She raised an eyebrow. "I need you to promise me you won't get involved."
Saria was shocked. Why wouldn't he want her to get involved? "Not get involved?" she said cynically. "How do you expect me to not get involved? If Time is being changed, the Sages need to know."
"Yes, they do. However, I need them to stay out of it. Everything is under control. If they interfere, it will cost a lot of soldiers their lives."
"Fine." Saria huffed. Link studied her, trying to determine if she was lying. She squirmed under his stare. How does he do this to me? The other Link can't make me squirm like that.
"I'll make sure they don't interfere. I promise."
Link smiled at her, and stood up. He immediatley regretted it, as his stomach reminded him that it didn't agree with what he had consumed.
"Well, I have to go now. If you hear any more funny noises in the forest, let me know." Link cringed in pain, and unclipped a radio from his belt.
"Use this to contact me. It has an unlimited range as long as it has batteries, so make sure to only use it when you have to." Saria nodded, and Link left her house quickly, dashing to the side, and throwing up in the garden. After he had effectively gotten rid of the mint in his stomach, he walked slowly back towards where the team were still talking to the Kokiri.
"Hey, Big Daddy! We gave them some chocolate, and they love it! These kids are hilarious." Kose said as Link approached.
"Well, just keep in mind that these kids are older than most of your great grandparents." Link said, giving his horse a small treat that was packed with energy providing substances.
"What? They couldn't be more than ten years old." Kose said, giving him a confused look.
"Look, I'll explain later." Link said. His stomach as still churning from the mint.
"What's with you?"
"Saria gave me mint tea."
Realization spread across Kose's face, and his mouth made an O shape.
"Well, that would certainly put you in a bad mood."
"I'm not in a bad mood...just a little irritated." Link said.
"Whatever." Wih that, Kose walked off, leaving Link to deal with the funny feeling in his stomach. Link suddenly noticed Aria giving him a look from across the crowd of children that said she knew what he was feeling.
Link just shook his head, and turned to mount his horse. The Kokiri noticed him, and they soon crowded his horse.
"Who are you?"
"You look familiar."
"Did you come from the castle?"
"Do you know the princess?"
Link knelt by one of the children, and gave each one a piece of chocolate.
An hour and twenty chocolate bars later, the team were on their ay, having just crossed the bridge of Kokiri forest.
Vegas rode up to Link, and shifted uncomfortably in the saddle.
"No one told me riding a horse hurt your ass so much." He said, shifting again.
Link smiled, sighing as the funny feeling in his stomach finally subsided.
"Haven't you ever ridden a horse before?"
"Yeah, when I was five." Vegas said, "And it was only for a few minutes."
"You better get used to it, we have a lot of ground to cover, and once we leave the forest, we'll need to pick up the pace."
Vegas gave link a quick salute.
"Oh, that reminds me of something." Link said.
Link urged Shadow to a stop, and turned around to address the Ghosts.
"As soon as we cross this bridge, I want to make something clear to all of you. When we reach Hyrule Field, none of you are soldiers anymore. I don't want to hear any 'no sir', 'yes sir', or any military jargon. No hand signals, either. I know we've been trained to work as a team, but I want you all to act independently. And finally, try to get used to drawing your swords before you draw your sidearms. If we do encounter the enemy, we might be able to talk our way out of a fight. Is this clear to everyone?"
Link received a few nods.
"Whatever." Von said, his lips pursed.
"It doesn't, however, give you permission for insubordination." Link said without looking back.
"Let's go, then." Link said, as he urged his steed through the last few trees and onto the vast plains of Hyrule field. Link breathed in the fresh air, relieved to finally be out of the forest.
"Oh, and while we're out on the open plains, you can talk if you want to." Link said to the team. They immediatley started conversations with each other.
Aria rode up next to Grady and Link, and grinned at him. Link looked at her with a confused look.
"What's so funny?"
"She gave you mint, didn't she?"
"Yeah."
"I can't believe a man who can take down a giant pig and kill moblins with his bare hands is allergic to mint." Grady said.
"It's not my fault. At least ugliness is a recessive gene in my family."
Grady scowled at him. "I'm not ugly." Aria snorted in amusement.
"That's what you think. When was the last time you went on a date?"
"I go on plenty of dates." Grady said.
"Name one." Link said, finally bored with looking at the treeline.
Grady paused. That thought brought back bad memories.
"My last date was Lita." Grady said, his face sullen. Lita Sanchez and Grady were very close, and Grady had been prepared to propose to her, ring and all, before she had been killed by Ganondorf.
The whole team had felt that blow. Lita was the second sniper of the team that had been KIA.
Link and Aria were silent after that, not wanting to depress Grady any further.
It had been six hours, and the Ghosts were very uncomfortable. It didn't matter how tough anyone's ass was, riding a horse for six hours will anyone's ass sore. Aria was the one suffering the least.
"My ass just started to hurt a little while ago. Maybe you're all just wimps." She said, giving Vegas an accusing glance.
"Look, I'm sorry my ass isn't hardened by the all-nighters you and Link pull off. I don't know how you could go that long. I wouldn't be able to hold it back." Vegas said, shifting in the saddle.
Aria blushed, and looked at the ground nervously.
"Actually," Link said, "I don't go that long, she just keeps going after I fall asleep. I woke up one morning and she was still at it."
"I do not keep going after you fall asleep!" Aria said, her face beginning to match the color of a tomato.
"But," she added, smiling, "sometimes he does fall asleep when I'm on top. I've restricted him from being on the bottom." She said, winking at Link. Link didn't seem to notice, as he was staring at the horizon with renewed interest. The team laughed and snickered at Aria's comment.
Link, however, wasn't even listening anymore. He could just make out a shape on the horizon, heading towards their position.
"I think we have company."
He heard the click of an automatic weapon.
"Not unless I give permission, Romero." Link said without looking back. Romero cursed.
The shape had gotten very close to their position, and it suddenly shot up straight into the air, flapping its wings.
"Dragon!" Link yelled, as the beast reared its head to unleash its fiery breath.
Vegas and Romero immediatley drew their swords, and jumped off their horses, slapping their backs to get them to run out of harm's way.
Out of the dragon's mouth came a steady stream of flame, making a scorched line of blackened grass between Link and Grady. The entire team had now sent their horses to safety, and were holding their swords out defensively.
"How the fuck do we kill it?!" Moran yelled.
"Hell if I know." Romero muttered, watching as the dragon swung by for another attack.
The dragon reared its head, but instead of belching flame, it suddenly swooped down towards Aria. Aria saw it coming, and as the dragon neared her, she extended her palm towards it.
"Aria! What the hell are you doing?!" Link yelled.
Aria stood calmly, watching the dragon swoop down on her, and she held her out her palm towards the dragon.Te dragon stopped its savage attack, flapping its wings ferociously to prevent running into Aria.
The dragon managed to slow its descent, and it landed a few feet from Aria's glowing hand. The dragon went into a crouching position, folding its wings behind its back.
Aria cocked her head to the side, still holding up her hand.
Link stared at her, mezmorized by her new trick. He had never seen anything like it. Aria's Triforce gave her the power to control beasts of magic.
"Well?" Aria said, her gaze unfaltering from the eyes of the dragon.
"Well what?" Von said.
"Are you going to kill it? We're not having a staring contest." She said.
Romero and Vegas began approaching the dragon from the sides, and it screeched loudly in protest. The two backed off quickly, more than eager to stay away from the dragon's large claws and razor sharp teeth.
"Dn't get close, it will break the trance. Can't you shoot it with something extremely powerful?" Aria said, getting annoyed.
Hanec however, was already on it. During the entire ordeal, Hanec had been calmly assembling his most prized possession: an M82A1 Barrett rifle. It was essentially an Anti-tank gun, but could be used for infantry also. The gun was massive, weighing no less than forty pounds and standing at four feet from muzzle to butt, it was a monster of a weapon.
Hanec was in a prone position, aiming the monster rifle on a bipod. He pulled the receiver back once, letting it slam forward with a loud crack, chambering a seven inch long round.
The sniper placed the crosshairs gracefully over the head of the ancient beast, and flicked off the safety with his thumb.
The team instinctively covered their ears, shielding them somewhat from the sound of the weapon.
Aria, however, had no clue as to what was about to happen.
Hanec squeezed the trigger, releasing the firing pin. It slammed into the back of the cartridge, setting off the primer. The primer ignited the gunpowder, turning all 1500 grains of powder into a propellent, sending the fifty caliber slug whirling at five thousand FPS toward the head of the unsuspecting dragon.
A thunderous boom sounded, echoing across the canyon for over twenty miles around, causing farmers to look up in wonder. The dragon never saw it coming. its head exploded in a dazzling display of blood and bones, sending tiny bits of shrapnel everywhere.
Aria flinched horribly, covering her ears. Her ears were ringing badly, and she couldn't hear anything.
Hanec grinned, and watched as the headless body slammed into the ground in front of Romero and Von. Hanec safed his smoking fifty caliber monster rifle, and got up from his prone positioin on the ground.
"You smoked his ass." Link observed. Hanec laughed.
"It was his fault. He shouldn't have stayed in one place too long." Hanec said, disassembling the monster rifle.
"I guess we all know which monster is superior here, huh?" Von said, pointing to the Barrett that was across Hanec's back.
Hanec grinned again to himself. Grady peeled back a few of the monster's scales just below its legs. The skin there was glowing on and off. This meant that it was the female. And females always traveled in packs.
Link noticed Grady looking nervous.
"What's wrong?"
"This was the female."
"Yeah, so?" Link said.
Hanec looked at him like he had just seen a ghost.
"Let me tell you something about dragons," Grady said, "the females always travel in packs. This way, they can protect each other from the males, because the males will try to kill the females after they mate."
Link's eyes widened, and he looked at the sky and then at Grady, and turned around to the team.
"Kose! Keep that heat-seeker loaded and ready!" Kose raised an eyebrow,, and put a rocket down the tube of the launcher.
"Listen up people," Grady said, getting their attention.
"There's going to be a lot more of these things, and-" Grady was cut off by a scream from Aria.
Five more dragons had appeared over the tops of the trees, heading straight towards them, with death written all over their bony faces.
"RUN!!" Link yelled, and the team took off towards the edge of the woods, about three miles away.
They finally reached the forest, their horses struggling for breath, and the adrenaline beginning to pump through their veins.
Various clicks and noises resounded just inside the forest as the team got out their weapons. Kose had the heat-seeker shoulder, and was zeroing the sights. However, nothing happened.
The team exchanged confused looks.
"Where are they?" Moran wondered aloud.
"Shh. Dragons have excellent hearing. We're going to have to stay here until nightfall. Dragons can't see very well in the dark." Aria told the group.
As the sun set, Link ordered Von and Moran to check over a hill, to see what was going on in Castleton.
As Santago and Moran headed up the hill, their M4s shouldered, they stayed alert for any people that might see them. As they crested the hill, they were greeted with a site that was magnificent and horrifying at the same time.
Just over the hill, the walls of Castleton were glystening in the setting sun. The gate was closed, and guards were patrolling the top of the walls. Santago pulled thermal imaging binoculars from his pocket and examined the guards and the area just beyond the wall.
"Fuck." Santago hissed.
"What?" Moran asked.
"Look for yourself." Santago said, passing the binoculars to Moran.
"Fuck." moran said after looking at the guards.
Patrolling the tops of the walls were men wearing dark green clothes and carrying AK-47 Kalashnikov assault rifles.
Santago and Moran snuck back to the team, their faces betraying their efforts to keep their emotion hidden.
"Castleton has fallen." Moran said.
Link cursed, and Moran caught something in his eyes that he hadn't seen before. It was a mixture of hate, excitement, and anger all rolleed into one. The look that was on Link's face was enough to scare any man.
"At nightfall, we're going in."
Hey all. Have any of you been getting the Influenza A that's been going around? My entire family has it. Anyway, next chapter will be almost non- stop action. I might not update for a while, as I need to give some attention to the much-neglected The Hunter.
Undertaker out.
Link had just turned her world inside out.
"The Black Death are the group that is responsible for everything." Link said, reluctantly finishing off the mint tea. He would have to regurgitate it as soon as he left her presence. He didn't want an alergic reaction.
"Taking over Hyrule wouldn't do anything. Eventually, they would lose control. No kingdom lasts for a thousand years. There has to be a diferrent reason behind this." Saria said, noticing Link's discomfort.
"Look, I just need you to promise me something." Link said, looking in her eyes.
She raised an eyebrow. "I need you to promise me you won't get involved."
Saria was shocked. Why wouldn't he want her to get involved? "Not get involved?" she said cynically. "How do you expect me to not get involved? If Time is being changed, the Sages need to know."
"Yes, they do. However, I need them to stay out of it. Everything is under control. If they interfere, it will cost a lot of soldiers their lives."
"Fine." Saria huffed. Link studied her, trying to determine if she was lying. She squirmed under his stare. How does he do this to me? The other Link can't make me squirm like that.
"I'll make sure they don't interfere. I promise."
Link smiled at her, and stood up. He immediatley regretted it, as his stomach reminded him that it didn't agree with what he had consumed.
"Well, I have to go now. If you hear any more funny noises in the forest, let me know." Link cringed in pain, and unclipped a radio from his belt.
"Use this to contact me. It has an unlimited range as long as it has batteries, so make sure to only use it when you have to." Saria nodded, and Link left her house quickly, dashing to the side, and throwing up in the garden. After he had effectively gotten rid of the mint in his stomach, he walked slowly back towards where the team were still talking to the Kokiri.
"Hey, Big Daddy! We gave them some chocolate, and they love it! These kids are hilarious." Kose said as Link approached.
"Well, just keep in mind that these kids are older than most of your great grandparents." Link said, giving his horse a small treat that was packed with energy providing substances.
"What? They couldn't be more than ten years old." Kose said, giving him a confused look.
"Look, I'll explain later." Link said. His stomach as still churning from the mint.
"What's with you?"
"Saria gave me mint tea."
Realization spread across Kose's face, and his mouth made an O shape.
"Well, that would certainly put you in a bad mood."
"I'm not in a bad mood...just a little irritated." Link said.
"Whatever." Wih that, Kose walked off, leaving Link to deal with the funny feeling in his stomach. Link suddenly noticed Aria giving him a look from across the crowd of children that said she knew what he was feeling.
Link just shook his head, and turned to mount his horse. The Kokiri noticed him, and they soon crowded his horse.
"Who are you?"
"You look familiar."
"Did you come from the castle?"
"Do you know the princess?"
Link knelt by one of the children, and gave each one a piece of chocolate.
An hour and twenty chocolate bars later, the team were on their ay, having just crossed the bridge of Kokiri forest.
Vegas rode up to Link, and shifted uncomfortably in the saddle.
"No one told me riding a horse hurt your ass so much." He said, shifting again.
Link smiled, sighing as the funny feeling in his stomach finally subsided.
"Haven't you ever ridden a horse before?"
"Yeah, when I was five." Vegas said, "And it was only for a few minutes."
"You better get used to it, we have a lot of ground to cover, and once we leave the forest, we'll need to pick up the pace."
Vegas gave link a quick salute.
"Oh, that reminds me of something." Link said.
Link urged Shadow to a stop, and turned around to address the Ghosts.
"As soon as we cross this bridge, I want to make something clear to all of you. When we reach Hyrule Field, none of you are soldiers anymore. I don't want to hear any 'no sir', 'yes sir', or any military jargon. No hand signals, either. I know we've been trained to work as a team, but I want you all to act independently. And finally, try to get used to drawing your swords before you draw your sidearms. If we do encounter the enemy, we might be able to talk our way out of a fight. Is this clear to everyone?"
Link received a few nods.
"Whatever." Von said, his lips pursed.
"It doesn't, however, give you permission for insubordination." Link said without looking back.
"Let's go, then." Link said, as he urged his steed through the last few trees and onto the vast plains of Hyrule field. Link breathed in the fresh air, relieved to finally be out of the forest.
"Oh, and while we're out on the open plains, you can talk if you want to." Link said to the team. They immediatley started conversations with each other.
Aria rode up next to Grady and Link, and grinned at him. Link looked at her with a confused look.
"What's so funny?"
"She gave you mint, didn't she?"
"Yeah."
"I can't believe a man who can take down a giant pig and kill moblins with his bare hands is allergic to mint." Grady said.
"It's not my fault. At least ugliness is a recessive gene in my family."
Grady scowled at him. "I'm not ugly." Aria snorted in amusement.
"That's what you think. When was the last time you went on a date?"
"I go on plenty of dates." Grady said.
"Name one." Link said, finally bored with looking at the treeline.
Grady paused. That thought brought back bad memories.
"My last date was Lita." Grady said, his face sullen. Lita Sanchez and Grady were very close, and Grady had been prepared to propose to her, ring and all, before she had been killed by Ganondorf.
The whole team had felt that blow. Lita was the second sniper of the team that had been KIA.
Link and Aria were silent after that, not wanting to depress Grady any further.
It had been six hours, and the Ghosts were very uncomfortable. It didn't matter how tough anyone's ass was, riding a horse for six hours will anyone's ass sore. Aria was the one suffering the least.
"My ass just started to hurt a little while ago. Maybe you're all just wimps." She said, giving Vegas an accusing glance.
"Look, I'm sorry my ass isn't hardened by the all-nighters you and Link pull off. I don't know how you could go that long. I wouldn't be able to hold it back." Vegas said, shifting in the saddle.
Aria blushed, and looked at the ground nervously.
"Actually," Link said, "I don't go that long, she just keeps going after I fall asleep. I woke up one morning and she was still at it."
"I do not keep going after you fall asleep!" Aria said, her face beginning to match the color of a tomato.
"But," she added, smiling, "sometimes he does fall asleep when I'm on top. I've restricted him from being on the bottom." She said, winking at Link. Link didn't seem to notice, as he was staring at the horizon with renewed interest. The team laughed and snickered at Aria's comment.
Link, however, wasn't even listening anymore. He could just make out a shape on the horizon, heading towards their position.
"I think we have company."
He heard the click of an automatic weapon.
"Not unless I give permission, Romero." Link said without looking back. Romero cursed.
The shape had gotten very close to their position, and it suddenly shot up straight into the air, flapping its wings.
"Dragon!" Link yelled, as the beast reared its head to unleash its fiery breath.
Vegas and Romero immediatley drew their swords, and jumped off their horses, slapping their backs to get them to run out of harm's way.
Out of the dragon's mouth came a steady stream of flame, making a scorched line of blackened grass between Link and Grady. The entire team had now sent their horses to safety, and were holding their swords out defensively.
"How the fuck do we kill it?!" Moran yelled.
"Hell if I know." Romero muttered, watching as the dragon swung by for another attack.
The dragon reared its head, but instead of belching flame, it suddenly swooped down towards Aria. Aria saw it coming, and as the dragon neared her, she extended her palm towards it.
"Aria! What the hell are you doing?!" Link yelled.
Aria stood calmly, watching the dragon swoop down on her, and she held her out her palm towards the dragon.Te dragon stopped its savage attack, flapping its wings ferociously to prevent running into Aria.
The dragon managed to slow its descent, and it landed a few feet from Aria's glowing hand. The dragon went into a crouching position, folding its wings behind its back.
Aria cocked her head to the side, still holding up her hand.
Link stared at her, mezmorized by her new trick. He had never seen anything like it. Aria's Triforce gave her the power to control beasts of magic.
"Well?" Aria said, her gaze unfaltering from the eyes of the dragon.
"Well what?" Von said.
"Are you going to kill it? We're not having a staring contest." She said.
Romero and Vegas began approaching the dragon from the sides, and it screeched loudly in protest. The two backed off quickly, more than eager to stay away from the dragon's large claws and razor sharp teeth.
"Dn't get close, it will break the trance. Can't you shoot it with something extremely powerful?" Aria said, getting annoyed.
Hanec however, was already on it. During the entire ordeal, Hanec had been calmly assembling his most prized possession: an M82A1 Barrett rifle. It was essentially an Anti-tank gun, but could be used for infantry also. The gun was massive, weighing no less than forty pounds and standing at four feet from muzzle to butt, it was a monster of a weapon.
Hanec was in a prone position, aiming the monster rifle on a bipod. He pulled the receiver back once, letting it slam forward with a loud crack, chambering a seven inch long round.
The sniper placed the crosshairs gracefully over the head of the ancient beast, and flicked off the safety with his thumb.
The team instinctively covered their ears, shielding them somewhat from the sound of the weapon.
Aria, however, had no clue as to what was about to happen.
Hanec squeezed the trigger, releasing the firing pin. It slammed into the back of the cartridge, setting off the primer. The primer ignited the gunpowder, turning all 1500 grains of powder into a propellent, sending the fifty caliber slug whirling at five thousand FPS toward the head of the unsuspecting dragon.
A thunderous boom sounded, echoing across the canyon for over twenty miles around, causing farmers to look up in wonder. The dragon never saw it coming. its head exploded in a dazzling display of blood and bones, sending tiny bits of shrapnel everywhere.
Aria flinched horribly, covering her ears. Her ears were ringing badly, and she couldn't hear anything.
Hanec grinned, and watched as the headless body slammed into the ground in front of Romero and Von. Hanec safed his smoking fifty caliber monster rifle, and got up from his prone positioin on the ground.
"You smoked his ass." Link observed. Hanec laughed.
"It was his fault. He shouldn't have stayed in one place too long." Hanec said, disassembling the monster rifle.
"I guess we all know which monster is superior here, huh?" Von said, pointing to the Barrett that was across Hanec's back.
Hanec grinned again to himself. Grady peeled back a few of the monster's scales just below its legs. The skin there was glowing on and off. This meant that it was the female. And females always traveled in packs.
Link noticed Grady looking nervous.
"What's wrong?"
"This was the female."
"Yeah, so?" Link said.
Hanec looked at him like he had just seen a ghost.
"Let me tell you something about dragons," Grady said, "the females always travel in packs. This way, they can protect each other from the males, because the males will try to kill the females after they mate."
Link's eyes widened, and he looked at the sky and then at Grady, and turned around to the team.
"Kose! Keep that heat-seeker loaded and ready!" Kose raised an eyebrow,, and put a rocket down the tube of the launcher.
"Listen up people," Grady said, getting their attention.
"There's going to be a lot more of these things, and-" Grady was cut off by a scream from Aria.
Five more dragons had appeared over the tops of the trees, heading straight towards them, with death written all over their bony faces.
"RUN!!" Link yelled, and the team took off towards the edge of the woods, about three miles away.
They finally reached the forest, their horses struggling for breath, and the adrenaline beginning to pump through their veins.
Various clicks and noises resounded just inside the forest as the team got out their weapons. Kose had the heat-seeker shoulder, and was zeroing the sights. However, nothing happened.
The team exchanged confused looks.
"Where are they?" Moran wondered aloud.
"Shh. Dragons have excellent hearing. We're going to have to stay here until nightfall. Dragons can't see very well in the dark." Aria told the group.
As the sun set, Link ordered Von and Moran to check over a hill, to see what was going on in Castleton.
As Santago and Moran headed up the hill, their M4s shouldered, they stayed alert for any people that might see them. As they crested the hill, they were greeted with a site that was magnificent and horrifying at the same time.
Just over the hill, the walls of Castleton were glystening in the setting sun. The gate was closed, and guards were patrolling the top of the walls. Santago pulled thermal imaging binoculars from his pocket and examined the guards and the area just beyond the wall.
"Fuck." Santago hissed.
"What?" Moran asked.
"Look for yourself." Santago said, passing the binoculars to Moran.
"Fuck." moran said after looking at the guards.
Patrolling the tops of the walls were men wearing dark green clothes and carrying AK-47 Kalashnikov assault rifles.
Santago and Moran snuck back to the team, their faces betraying their efforts to keep their emotion hidden.
"Castleton has fallen." Moran said.
Link cursed, and Moran caught something in his eyes that he hadn't seen before. It was a mixture of hate, excitement, and anger all rolleed into one. The look that was on Link's face was enough to scare any man.
"At nightfall, we're going in."
Hey all. Have any of you been getting the Influenza A that's been going around? My entire family has it. Anyway, next chapter will be almost non- stop action. I might not update for a while, as I need to give some attention to the much-neglected The Hunter.
Undertaker out.