The Day the Universes Collided
Chapter Two
Outer Inn
Gallera
Time: 1430 hours
"Welcome to the Outer Inn!" Link said cheerfully as a pair of tourists entered the hotel, luggage in hands. They grinned at him and set the bags down. "Do you have a reservation?"
"Yeah, Oakleys." the man replied as he mopped his forehead with a handkerchief. Link tapped at his keyboard and nodded.
"Okay, you have the single bed for one week, correct?" he asked and when he got a nod, he deftly plucked a set of keys from the board behind him. "Here you are. Room 15 on the second floor, meals are served in the downstairs dining room. Would you like help with your luggage?" he asked. The Oakleys nodded with weak smiles. "Linda! Lerou! Customers!" Link shouted down another hallway.
"Dad! I'm killing the boss!" a boy's voice whined. Link rolled his eyes. "I know you just rolled your eyes at me, Dad! Just gimme a minute!"
"Put the game on pause! Linda! Hurry it up!" he shouted back and, in a few moments, a teenage girl with blonde hair and green eyes walked into the lobby, followed by her younger brother, also blonde with blue eyes. Both were wearing shirts and jeans, Tommy Hilfiger tags marking them as fashionable clothes. "Take this luggage upstairs to number 15, okay?"
"Sure." Linda replied and grabbed a pair of suitcases, "I get paid for this after all." Lerou pouted as he followed his sister, lugging the rest of the bags along. Link watched them leave, then smiled as his wife entered the room with a grin.
"Hey, Leslie, how's it going?" Link asked. Leslie waved her hand and shrugged.
"So far, so good. We're starting to fill all the rooms and the annual City Parade is the cause of our good business." she replied.
"How are the Tiger's Claw pirates?" Link asked as he came around the counter to kiss her on the cheek. Leslie grinned and looked at him coyly.
"Why, Mr. Elfin!" she teased, "Don't tell me you're having second thoughts about the stink bombs you threw at them last week!" Link shrugged and laughed. "They've all gotten over it, but only because they know you can take out the best of them. Regime is keeping them all in good order and business has been good. They've gotten some really good pay out of a contract they got with Skinner Corporation."
"Who'd dare attack cargo ships when the Tiger's Claw pirates are there to protect it?" Link asked as the phone rang. "Hold on, Honey." He grabbed it and answered the call, "Welcome to the Outer Inn, Link Elfin speaking. How may I help you?" he rattled off automatically. After a few moments, his face grew serious. "You're kidding. How the hell did that happen?" he growled. More chatter on the other end. "They're what? No way. Fine, I'll check it out." He hung up and turned to Leslie. "Les, bad news. I have to go. Can you cover for me?" he asked.
"Link, I ran the counter long before I met you." Leslie replied, "What's going on?"
"That was the police. Chief Roku reported that the Skulltulas in Skulltula Mansion are starting to get organized for an invasion." Link replied as he headed for the garage.
"Organized?! But they're just mindless spiders!" Leslie exclaimed, following him as he hit a button on his wristwatch and was engulfed in a bright light. In a moment, he changed from dress shirt and slacks to a green tunic and underalls, a shield and sword on his back.
"I know. That's what stumped me. So they're calling in the Cataclysm Unit to investigate." Link replied as he swung a leg over his motorcycle, a sleek black Futuro, "Glitter! Let's get to it!" A pink fairy flew in from within the building and zipped under his hat. Leslie watched him rev up and speed away down the street towards the spider filled mansion.
"But you are the Cataclysm Unit." she murmured and sighed, returning to the counter.
The man looked up at the sound of a beep and cursed under his breath. Another anomaly. And he had yet to pinpoint the source of the interference. He banged the keyboard, then resumed typing furiously.
"Another one?! Great, this one's in Gallera. Skulltulas with intelligence? This Link has only gone up against two intelligent Skulltulas and both of them nearly killed him. Now he's gotta deal with an army of them? I am so gonna kill the freak who's doing this to my cases." the Watcher growled and scanned the papers. "All right, I'm getting closer. How many more anomalies can possibly happen?" Another beep and the man shrieked in a fury. "All right! So I'll learn to keep my damn mouth shut!" he yelled to no one.