Zelda fan fic:GateCrash

Prologue and Chapter 1

Prologue

It is a time of science and knowledge
It is a time of wizardry and magic


It is a time of engineers and laboratories
It is a time of knights and castles


It is a time of harvesting the world
It is a time of harvesting the land


It is a time of the future
It is a time of the past


But through a course of events these two worlds will collide through a phenomenon known as...


GATECRASH

Chapter 1 The Beggining

"Roll, can you get me another apple?" Dr. Light's voice came from the small intercom by the door.

The hum of the rod-like carpet cleaner dwindled to silence as Roll shut it off and leaned it against an end table. She approached the intercom and pressed the talk button.

"Right away, Dr. Light," she spoke into it. She would need to return to vacuuming after she had finished fulfilling Dr. Light's orders. Roll turned around and headed out of the comfortable drawing room.

This was one of the few rooms in Dr. Light's mansion that was meant solely for human occupancy. There was soft carpet, comfortable chairs, sofas, a wall-hanging from India, as well as miscellaneous decorative touches around the room, all meaningless and irrelevant to Roll. Even though her insides were made of alloys and metals, on the outside she looked like any other girl. In fact, her blond hair, done up in a ponytail, and her youthful appearance made her quite beautiful.

But being a robot she had no need for comfort or eye-pleasing decoration. However, her prime directive was Dr. Light's housekeeping so she had to visit these types of rooms often in order to clean them. The laboratories where Dr. Light performed his experiments and research needed little cleaning because they contained self-sanitizing systems. About the only times she needed to be in the lab were when Dr. Light spilled one of his chemicals or when he wanted to upgrade her programming.

Roll headed to the house's pantry using her house map program. This was another room frequently visited by her as she was responsible for cooking Dr. Light's meals, a far better alternative to the 'instant ramen' diet he ate before he made her. She entered the small closet behind the kitchen and approached the Food Rehydration Unit, which semi-replaced the large pantry area some decades ago. When food is dehydrated it takes up less space, so it could all be stored into one simple machine for later use. Roll had use for it now and activated the rehydration matrix.

"Apple," she said into the small speaker in front of her. The machine began whirring silently, selecting the proper food from the massive library inside it, rehydrating the apple to the proper specifications, and depositing the red fruit in front of the receiving slot.

A little red door pleasantly beeped open. Roll lifted the hinged glass door up and took the apple from the plate. As she reversed her course and headed down to the lab she realized this was the fifth time Dr. Light had asked for an apple to be brought to him. Her newly installed curiosity program became activated, creating questions and possible theories as to the reason he needed these apples. The primary purpose of an apple was for eating. He could have wanted them for nourishment, as a snack, but logic dictated that he would have wanted more variety than five apples in a row. Another purpose was in order to grow apple trees. But again, the patterns of Dr. Light indicated he had no interest in gardening, especially since apples were already being provided to him. She resolved to ask the roboticst why he needed so many apples when she arrived.

As the doors slid out of her way she saw Dr. Light working attentively behind a large empty metal circle about twice the height of the doctor. Beside the circle was a control box, obviously meant for operating the circle, whatever it did.

"I have the apple you wanted, Dr. Light," Roll said, announcing her presence. Dr. Light hooked his arm on the top of the metal console and hoisted himself up to see Roll standing in front of the door.

"Yes, thank you, Roll. Come in. Just stand over here for a minute." Light went back to tweaking and prodding the control box as Roll stepped up to his side.

Now her interest was peaked. What did five apples and a large metal circle share in common? "Dr. Light, what is this?" she queried.

"I'm glad you asked," he replied enthusiastically, "Not because it shows your curiosity program is working, which is good, but it gives me a chance to practice my explanation when I complete this invention and announce it so that-"

"Dr. Light," Roll interrupted, "You're rambling again."

"Oh, sorry, it's just that I'm excited." Light snapped his head to the circle before him and pointed. "This device is a new type of teleporter. What I'm hoping it will do is improve the range and localization over old teleporters. It should be able to bypass large concentrations of tachyon fields that prevent material being deposited there. You know how when Dr. Wily's robots attack I can only drop off your brother in a very general location. It would be very much quicker if I could transport him directly."

"I see," Roll replied, "And why do you need the apple?"

"Well, I haven't exactly tested it out yet and I need an organic substance so that when it becomes available for human use it won't disintegrate them or anything like that," Dr. Light said amicably.

Roll nodded and held up the apple for her master, all her questions having been answered. The robot scientist took it and placed it on a tool tray beside him.

"Thank you, if I need anymore apples I'll tell you."

Roll nodded and walked out of Dr. Light's laboratory.



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With a stroke of his sword, Link deflected the spear headed straight for his head. He lunged forward and slashed the moblin across its protruding belly. The bulldog-like creature outstretched his arms in panic right before he disappeared in a puff of white smoke. Link switched his attention to the two remaining moblins behind him who were slowly creeping up. He grabbed for his bow slung behind him and held it in ready position. The moblins kept coming and Link fired two arrows rapidly at each advancing foe. Each arrow struck true and vanquished the two enemies immediately.

The intrepid hero wiped the sweat from his forehead and replaced the bow. Reaching for his knapsack he pulled out his canteen and took two great big gulps of water. His work done, he headed out of the woods and back into the open plains of Hyrule, his homeland. The forest was situated close to the Hylian palace so Link took almost no time getting back to his current residence. His boots click-clacked on the lime-green cobblestone walkway leading to the trellis gate. There was a yellow Triforce symbol painted on the walkway and Link stared down at it while waiting for the gate to rise.

The Golden Power, also known as the Triforce, was a remnant left by the gods of wisdom, courage, and power, after their creation of the world. It held the power to grant wishes to anyone who touched it, evil or good. After he had won it back from the evil hands of Ganon, Link dispelled the cloud of evil over Hyrule with its ability. Link wished for many things, all good and all restoring Hyrule to an order of light. Link's great deeds earned him an important place among the people of the palace.

As Link approached the castle's interior, the two armored guards nodded their heads to their great hero. He entered the castle and saw Zelda standing ahead of him, talking to a servant.

Zelda was a very pretty, young girl, about the same age as Link, with reddish-blond hair and gentle blue eyes. She wore a small amulet across her head and a blue and white dress. Her youth showed in her personality, but in no way did she let it prevent her from being an active political leader.

"Link," she said as she looked at his worn form. "Link, what happened?" she rushed over to him.

"Another moblin attack," Link replied. He coughed weakly from the dust he had picked up. Of course, he was no stranger to a battle-weary condition, and he was hardly in pain, but Zelda's doting certainly made things better.

"Again? That's the third time in four days."

"I know. I'm the one who fought them."

"You aren't hurt, are you?"

"No, I'll be all right."

Zelda turned and started pacing around the great hall. "What are we going to do? These 'moblins' never even appeared until several days ago."

"They always seem to stay in the forest though," Link said, trying to reassure her.

"I just hope they stay there. If they get into Kakariko..." The mysterious forest was directly north of Hyrule's largest village. If the moblins did decide to move out of their dark shelter, Kakariko village would most likely be first attacked. This was something Zelda and Link both knew could be devastating for the largest concentration of Hyrule's citizens, possibly destroying its greatest village.

Link breathed a deep sigh. He took off his backpack, which held all his inventory, and sat down on one of the red and gold velvet chairs adjacent to the hallway wall.

"Link, maybe you should go lie down or something, you look tired," Zelda said.

"I'll be fine," Link replied, "I survived getting the Triforce, I'll survive this."

"I'm going to convene a council of elders to decide how we're going to solve this," Zelda suggested.

"Good idea," Link said, "I'll be resting." Recuperating, Link silently amended. Zelda zoomed down the hall, leaving Link alone with his thoughts. Who were these moblins? They attacked in packs of four or five, seeming to just emerge out of the bushes. They wore the armor of soldiers but attacked like animals, organized, and yet frenzied. Where did they come from? What was their purpose? Why did they attack? How were they able to get the jump on him so easily? The answers seemed to escape him, but he knew he'd fight them again before he had an answer.


« Last edited by ox_ygen on Apr 10th 2007 »

Cool, I didn't see any typos but it looks great.

Not bad. I'm reasonably impressed. Personally, I'd have capitalised Moblin, but it's entirely your own choice.

Dr Light... that name sounds familiar...

Thanks man!I'm working on chapter 2, it comes soon :P

Chapter 2: The Prophecy



Roll finished the cleaning of the drawing room and moved into the next. This room was similar to the drawing room, but in here there was a large monitor in the wall for the Hypernet, successor to the Internet, where one could access all sorts of entertainment and information through linked computer networks.

Apparently, Dr. Light had left the monitor on the news page. It was currently showing a streaming video of an anchorwoman giving the top news stories of the day.

"...And the fifth meeting of the United Nations Confederation convened in order to discuss possible revisions to the Laws of Robotics. "

"The revisions would allow for the selective editing of the first law so that robots may do work that has a low probability of possible harm to humans. Several nations believe certain provisions must be made to the statutes to allow for robots to do work that may cause harm to humans, no matter how low probability. General-in-Chief Rutger Gomez is meeting with the Secretary of Technology today in the White House in order to formulate a presentation to the United Nations Council."

"In a related story, Dr. Albert Wily, the leader behind the Robot Revolutions, is now being moved to a maximum security penitentiary in Siberia."

Roll's interest was peaked now. Dr. Wily had been Dr. Light's assistant many years ago before Roll was made. He helped design Roll as well as another robot, her brother Rock. After these two successes the genius duo created six more robots that were designed for various industrial work such as tree-felling and waste-disposal. Unfortunately, Dr. Wily went insane for some reason and reprogrammed all six robots to attack and take over various sects of the world. Wily attempted five more times and after the sixth Robot Revolution, Mega Man succeeded in capturing him and putting him behind bars.

As the news story about the doctor finished, Roll shut off the Net monitor and realized she had not seen her brother in a while. Perhaps he'd like to know about this piece of news. Roll decided that her duties could wait for a little time while she checked in on Mega Man.

After a time of searching through the manor, she finally came to the white laboratory room where she saw her brother sitting before a large terminal with his back to her. He often spent his free time in the computer labs rather than the house, because this was where he felt the most comfortable. Before his transformation he wore normal clothes, but now he wore a blue titanium armor skin. When in battle he wore a helmet, but now his unruly brown hair was free. Two jacks were plugged into either side of his head, in his ears, and he seemed to be staring up at the terminal's monitor, but the screen was completely blank.

Roll strided over to him and looked into his face. She saw that he had his eyes closed and was lying back in his chair, totally still.

"Rock?" she said as she shook his shoulder. "Rock, are you okay?" Roll grabbed the two jacks and yanked them out of his head. Rock jumped up with a start, waving his arms around and shouting excitedly.

"Aaaaaah! What, what?" he yelled and looked up at Roll. "What are you doing? You could have short circuited me."

"I wouldn't have short circuited you," she replied in a satiric tone. "What are you doing hooked up to the computer anyway?"

"I was listening to some music, if you don't mind."

"What kind? More rock & roll?" Roll asked. Dr. Light, in his youth, was heavily into all kinds of music and so he had a habit of naming his robotic creations after musical terms.

"No, Dr. Light suggested I try something else. Something called 'Heavy Metal'."

"'Heavy metal'? What does that sound like?"

"It's sort of like rock & roll, only with a lot more electric instruments and bass."

"Really."

"Yeah. Here, listen," Mega Man picked up the two jacks and handed them to Roll. She carefully injected them into her ears. The bits of information flowed into her CPU, letting her listen to the lugubrious tunes.

"It seems depressing, too." Roll commented, although she didn't have emotions she had enough artificial intelligence to react in an emotional way.

"True," Mega Man replied, "A lot of songwriters and musicians into this type of music took illegal drugs and often died."

"That's terrible," Roll said horrified.

"I know, but that's human nature for you. I'm glad we made it past all that nonsense."

The monitor flashed with an incoming transmission. "Wha?" Rock commented.

He accessed the communication terminal to open the connection. A police officer came on the screen.

"Mega Man, good to talk to you."

"The same, officer. What can I do for you?"

"I have bad news. Dr. Wily escaped from prison this morning."

"What?"

"Oh, for cryin' out loud!" Roll put a hand to her forehead in exasperation.

"I'm afraid it's true. We were moving him from the Siberian CF, but he busted out during the transfer using some sort of explosive device. We have no knowledge of his location or intentions."

"I don't think we need to bother with finding his intentions," Rock mentioned. "Those are pretty common knowledge."

The officer continued. "Let Dr. Light know right away. We'll continue searching on our end."

"Thanks." Rock closed the connection.

"The finest technology in the world and we can't keep one guy locked up," Roll muttered.

"You go find Dr. Light and tell him the bad news. I'm going to make sure the security protocols are set up."

"All right," Roll said and sprinted back to where she was just a few minutes ago.

Rock pulled his chair up to the computer console and accessed the house's security program using the Presspad interface. The first thing he did was change the status to red alert. An escaped Dr. Wily was no blithe matter. The sign on the security gates would display that the mansion was currently at a red level, which meant restricted access to those on the grounds. Laser trip wires were engaged, sonar, anti-trespasser cannons, cameras, and an anti-teleport field. Basically anyone who came in off the beaten path would encounter a nasty surprise. Rock quickly scanned through each of the security cameras to check if there was anything suspicious already in the house. There wasn't. Everything seemed secure for now.

Rock leaned back in the chair and stared at the ceiling. The chances that another Robot Revolution was on the way were incredibly likely. Probably not soon though. Wily would need a chance to build eight new robots like he did every time and send them out across the world's crucial juncture points, like he did every time. It was no wonder Rock could always beat him.

Suddenly the ground vibrated roughly as he heard a muffled explosion. Red lights flashed through the room as a siren erupted in the halls.

"What th'?" Rock yelled.

He pulled up the security cameras to see what was happening. At the front door camera he saw exactly what he didn't want to see.

The entire front wall of the house was destroyed, collapsed into rubble. A gigantic silver round robot-tank was plodding through the living room, breaking up the floor's tiles where it stepped with its huge titanium feet.

On its stomach was a big stylized 'W'.



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Zelda looked out of the window, gazing out at the beautiful countryside. It was amazing how much progress had been made since Ganon's coming and his near destruction of their precious land. His soldiers ravaged the landscape, the imbalance of evil and good combined with the disappearance of the Triforce wreaked havoc on the weather, the land, and the animals, making the whole land barely habitable. Thieves ran amok through the country, hiding in caves and forests waiting for an unsuspecting passerby to cross their paths. But now, with the recovery of the Triforce and the return of the king, Hyrule was once again a land of prosperity.

"So what am I going to do, Impa?" she said as she looked out.

A woman with long, white hair and a haggard, kind face replacing Zelda's bed sheets replied. "Oh, my dear, don't ask me. The only things I know how to do are wash socks and cure a fever." Impa had been Zelda's nursemaid ever since the princess was born.

"You know more than that, Impa." Zelda shied away from the windows. "You've helped me through some of my most difficult times when I was growing up."

Impa stopped folding the sheets of the bed for a moment and looked out into space with a dreamy gaze. "Ahh, you were such a precious little thing when you were young. I remember the time you ran around all the castle hallways without any clothes on."

"Impa!" Zelda said, obviously embarrassed.

"You were taking your bath and I turned to get the soap, and you jumped out and-"

"Impa, that's enough!" she exclaimed, smiling.

knock, knock, knock "Princess Zelda, Princess Zelda!" Impa opened the door, a pageboy burst in, looking exasperated. "Princess Zelda, the three pendants are missing!"

"What!"

The three pendants were the key to unlocking the Master Sword, a sacred weapon forged centuries ago to repulse the powers of evil. When Link had vanquished all his foes and restored the land he put the sword back in its secret place in the lost forest, where it would sleep forever.

"Oh my goodness, what shall we do, what shall we do, we're doomed, we're all doom-" Impa threw up her hands and ran around in circles.

"Calm down, Impa," Zelda said. She was worried too, but she composed herself. "Show me."

At the vault, the doors were open and two people were scouting the vault room. One was the royal investigator searching the floor for clues of a physical nature. The other was a magician, detecting traces of magic energy. Ganymede Noktwor, one of the royal advisors, came up to Zelda. He was a foot taller than her and sported clearly defined features and a long thin mustache. "I took the liberty of ordering a full investigation as soon as I heard the news."

"Well done. Have they found anything yet?"

"Ow," the detective said as he bumped his head on the table. The vizier looked with disdain and turned back to Zelda.

"Unfortunately, our investigative team is somewhat lacking."

"What...?"

"These two are only apprentices. Our wizard has Mountain Flu and the investigator general is on sabbatical."

A fine time, Zelda thought. "All right, let's think about this."

"Dear Zelda, perhaps the Seer shall shed some light on our dilemma," Impa piped up.

Zelda thought for a while about this. The Seer was the royal fortune teller. There were several throughout the kingdom, but the Seer was the one who had shown enough accuracy in his prophecies to be appointed to the service of the royal family. Since Zelda had no other ideas, she thought it would be the best thing to do.

"All right. Find Link, wherever he is. Tell him the news and tell him to come to the Seer with me," she said to Noktwor.

The man quickly bowed his head and hustled off to find him.

Zelda started off to where the fortune teller's keep in the palace was. "Fantastic, first we have a group of monsters terrorizing the people and now this."

"Just don't say 'what else can go wrong'," Impa suggested.

Moments later, Link and Zelda met in the Seer's chamber. It was filled with dusty, old, crumbling books on two walls. A ratted, red curtain blocked their view of the back wall. In assorted areas around the room, there were beakers and jars filled with colorful liquids, and in some cases, animal body parts. Link inspected a bottle bubbling with red potion while waiting. In the middle of the room was the Seer's crystal ball, his chief tool of his trade.

All this was quite familiar to Link. In his quest to save the Triforce he visited many of the fortune tellers in Hyrule for suggestions and directions when he was first starting out. All their buildings looked pretty much the same.

"So where is he?" Link asked.

"Right here," a voice behind them said. Zelda jumped a little from the startling words of the Seer.

"There you are," Link said.

"Oh, yes. I am here. You can always find me here. Here is where we are, and here is where we stay," the foreteller said as he scuttled across the room to his crystal ball. He was a small man, wearing a large hooded robe that cloaked his face in shadow. His long train dragged across the floor. When he moved he made little jerky steps like his feet were tied together. "Now, the problem, always a problem when you come to see me, yes, yes, got to go, got to solve the problem. What's the problem?"

Link looked at Zelda and then at the Seer. "The pendants of the Master Sword are missing."

If the Seer's head hadn't obscured their view, Link and Zelda would have seen his face light up.

"Oooooh, the prophecy of the three pendants. The blade of evil's bane. I was hoping this I would see before I passed on. Yes, the three pendants," The Seer jumped up from his crystal ball and scurried over to the bookcase, fingering the ancient library.

"What is the prophecy of the three pendants? I thought all the prophecies were resolved when Link recovered the Triforce," Zelda asked.

"The future, the future is always changing, always forming. Never is it written in stone." He finally found the volume he was looking for and plucked it out of the rack. "A-ha, here it is," he said flipping through the pages. "The prophecy of the pendants of the Master Sword," he read, "And it shall come to pass - the pendants shall vanish from the hands of the good, and he shall quest for them. And it is written, that the Hero of Cataclysm's Eve shall be joined by a man of metal, with an arm of light, and this man shall not be of this world and he will befriend the Hero, and together, the two will face many dangers... yadda, yadda, yadda," the Seer finished as he slammed the book shut, creating a puff of dust. "You get the picture."

"A man of metal with an arm of light," Zelda wondered aloud.

"Sounds like fun. Where do I start?" Link said.

"Start, got to start, every journey begins with a single step, single step. We must use the crystal ball. The ball will tell us, the ball will show us the way," the Seer answered as he scooted over to the central table.

Zelda was beginning to wish she'd appointed a more coherent fortune teller.

"All right," he said as he sat down to the bluish orb resting on a cushion surrounded by candles. "Let's see what we can see," he began to wave his hands over the ball. "I see, I see leaves... and shadows... leaves and shadows, shadows and leaves, grass, logs, trees..."

"The forest," Link said.

"Bingo! You win the jackpot!" the Seer responded.

"So the quest begins in the mysterious forest," Zelda said as she stood.

"I'll begin packing right away," Link said. The two stood up and began to walk out, "Thank you very much for your insight."

"Oh wait," the Seer interrupted, "I will now take fifteen of your rupees."


« Last edited by ox_ygen on Apr 10th 2007 »

Hmm, not bad! Is this your first fic or have you written others before?

« Last edited by Sotek on Apr 10th 2007 »

Good chapter. That Seer seems quite funny.

« Last edited by Pandaemonium on Apr 10th 2007 »

This is my first fan fic.I'm done with chapter 3 so i'll post it now.Hope you like this one to.

Chapter 3:Rabbit hole


"No way!" Rock exclaimed, "No way Wily could have made it all the way to here from Siberia in that short amount of time." He pounded his fist on the table.

Wily's tank advanced over the concrete debris, swinging his tank's robotic arms, demolishing the house with each step. Rock could almost hear his maniacal laughter from the console. He hadn't the time to comprehend how or why this was happening, only that it was time to do his duty.

Rock activated the comm system on the computer, "Roll, we've got big trouble. Get Dr. Light down to safety right now!"

"What's happening? What was that tremor?" came her disembodied voice.

"It's Wily. No time for details, just get him to the underground shelter right now."

"OK." Click.

Rock jumped up from the chair and sped off to the robot lab.

The lab had various utilities that Light used to improve his humanoid robots, but this lab was special to Rock, because it was where he was changed into Mega Man, and where all his subsequent upgrades were made.

The only upgrade Rock needed right now though was his helmet. It was based on an old war bomber helmet, colored blue, with two metallic receptors covering his ears. He grabbed it from a table and fastened it over his head. Now he was truly Mega Man.

The blue bomber checked his Mega Buster - it was at full power, though there was nothing in his weapon inventory. But he had the home court advantage and the assistance of his battle robots Dr. Light created for him.

Now would be an excellent time for Rush, he thought. Mega Man activated Rush's call and a red dog appeared before him. Rush was created to be Mega Man's friend and multi-purpose transportation as he used a special transformation chip to change into a variety of vehicles, including a submarine and a suit of armor.

"Jet, Rush," Mega Man commanded. The smiling, panting Rush tucked in his legs and flattened his back and in no time had changed to a jet sled. Mega Man stepped on top of Rush's platform back.

"Let's go!" Mega Man yelled. Rush zoomed off into the halls. The flares from his tailpipe lit the hallways amid the circling red sirens. As he neared the front of the building he could hear Wily's tank destroying his home, creating vibrations in the air.

Mega Man burst out of the tunnel at full speed and climbed in altitude. The bright light of day shone down on him from the open air now surrounding the living room. Wily's tank had already demolished a large chunk of their home. Open floors were visible, walls torn off.

Wasting no time, Mega Man began firing at the robot tank. The plasma bursts hit the armor with an ineffective clink and reflected away harmlessly. The entire machine was made out of litanium - plasma proof armor. Mega Man's blaster would be completely ineffective.

But there was always a weakness, there had to be. Some part of the machine had to be vulnerable, usually it was some sort of crystal-like outcropping. Mega Man flew his jet around the robot's circumference, looking for some sort of weak point, shooting at likely places. The slow tank rotated with Mega Man, tracking him. "Grrr," Mega Man exclaimed, not finding anything. "Come on, Wily. Show yourself!"

The armored bubble on top of the robot slid away, revealing Wily in his control booth, furiously pounding at buttons and levers. "Good to see you again, blue bomber," Dr. Wily's voice boomed over a loudspeaker in the tank.

"Yeah, same to you," Mega Man leveled his buster at Wily and fired a charged shot. The blast diffused harmlessly.

"Ha ha ha ha ha..." Wily laughed maniacally. "Anything else you'd like to try?" Wily turned the robot to face Mega Man. "How do you like my new robot design? State of the art armor. Not a weak point anywhere."

"There's always a weak point, Wily. Always."

"Ho ho ho ho... is that what you think? Sorry, not this time, little blue man. I decided instead of waiting for you to come to me, I'd take the bull by the horns."

"Bad choice, Wily. Now you're on my turf, and you're not getting away. Not in that turtle of a robot."

"Ah, but guess what? This robot is not an attack weapon. It's a transport carrier!"

The stomach of the robot burst open and five robot masters poured out - Shadow Man, Elec Man, Magnet Man, Gemini Man, and Gravity Man.

"He's mine!" Magnet Man shouted. The speeding robot jumped like a rocket and fired a trio of magnet missiles from his arm. Mega Man maneuvered Rush out of the way just in time and fired a powered-up buster shot. The shot impacted on Magnet Man's armor and just fizzled out. He fired again and Magnet Man just laughed as the shots dissipated away.

"How do you like my shield, Mega-moron?" Magnet Man said. Mega Man fired at Gemini Man behind him, resulting in the same effect. Mega Man couldn't believe it. Had Dr. Wily invented something he couldn't defeat? No way, he thought, every opponent has a weakness. Mega Man maneuvered Rush to flank Magnet Man and leapt off, tackling him. Both tumbled to the ground and rolled to a broken section of the wall as Wily's robot-tank crashed its arm down, trying to smash the little blue robot. They rolled to a corner and Mega Man landed a right cross on Magnet Man's face. On a robot, this was like pounding sand, but it turned his head for a moment so that Mega Man could grab a broken off girder and drop it on Magnet Man's head. The robot master began to flail his arms around, trying to get it off.

So the shields are only good against plasma shots, he thought. Mega Man jumped off and called back to Rush. Now all the robots began firing their weapons - lasers, missiles, and plasma. He narrowly missed their concentrated onslaught as Rush flew him out of danger back into the house.

"Thanks Rush, I'll get you an extra dog biscuit after this, if we survive."

"Woof," Rush barked in acknowledgment as he zoomed through the corridor, sloping downwards. The blue robot twisted his head and saw all the robots trailing after him. Elec Man was ahead of them, jumping great distances, but limited by the ceiling of the corridor.

"Not zo fazt, Mega Man," Elec Man buzzed.

"Hurry, Rush, try to lose them." Rush barked compliantly and flew left. "Get into that lab, Rush. I've got an idea," Mega Man commanded. The robo-dog pushed his afterburners to the limit. Mega Man knew Rush's power had to be low by now, but he had confidence in his companion. Elec Man was right behind them.

Mega Man flew into the lab and jumped off Rush. He twisted his body around in mid-air and shot out the door panel. Elec Man jumped through the hall and landed in the middle of the doorway. Suddenly, the titanium emergency door came dropping down like a guillotine. He was crushed under the weight and exploded in flashes of energy shooting out.

"Yes! He's hot tonight!" Mega Man exclaimed. He jumped up and spread his arms out. The energy spheres returned and became absorbed through the robot's armor. Mega Man's weapon copy system analyzed Elec Man's weapon - the thunder beam - and added it to the inventory.

It wasn't over yet though. The other robots were on the other side of the wall and began firing on the emergency door. Punch marks started protruding out.

"Better get out of here, Rush," Mega Man said. "I'll call you when I need you."

Rush whimpered, not wanting to follow this order.

"Go! Go to safety," Mega Man commanded. Rush whimpered one final time and teleported away.

Mega Man grimaced. The door was strong, but it wouldn't hold against the combined strength of six robots, and especially not when Wily's tank arrived. The emergency doors began shutting down around him, trapping him in the room.

"Isn't there something I can use?" Rock exclaimed, darting his head around searching for something to reinforce the door or some decoy battle robots he could use. He noticed a large metal circle in the middle of the room attached to a control panel.

"What's this?" Mega Man looked at the control panel, shrugged, and pressed 'on'.

The inside of the circle lit up. Sparkling black and gold filled the space before him, bulging and swelling like waves. Mega Man reached out with a finger and touched the force field, it rippled slightly from the sensation and gave way. It wasn't coming out the other side, he noticed.

An explosion rocked the lab as the door blew out. "Heeeeeeere's Johnny," Shadow Man said.

"No time for answers," Mega Man said as he glanced back at the force field. Mustering his strength he jumped through. The screen rippled outward and Mega Man disappeared.

Gemini Man entered the lab, brushing away the smoke. "Hey, where'd he go?"


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Link set the bulky backpack on the bed. He turned back to his closet and began rummaging for things to bring on his quest: a few magic bottles, his boomerang, a lantern, a sack for magic powder, the fire rod and ice rod, and the invaluable hookshot, of course. Going out into a dangerous place like Hyrule's country meant bringing many weapons, but the space in his backpack was limited. He also had to bring food, clothing, and other life necessities.
knock, knock Link whirled around and saw Zelda behind him. "Packing so soon?" Zelda said.

"There's no time like now," he replied.

"You've got all the provisions you need?"

"Oh, yeah. But I'll probably get more along the way. I always do."

Pause.

"Are you going to be coming back to the castle at all?"

"Probably. I never quite know what to expect on my quests. That's where the fun of it is."

"I suppose so."

"You seem kind of nervous about this."

"Well, adventures always entail some kind of risk."

"No, I mean you seem so down. You must have come in here for something."

"No, no reason."

There was a reason. Zelda cared very much for Link's safety. Whenever he ventured out into Hyrule, she worried, but she would never let Link know that. He would probably chide her for being nervous.

Link hooked the stout backpack under his arms. "Well, I guess I'm ready."

"I thought about giving you a grand parade to see you off."

"Oh, please, no, don't do that."

"I didn't, I decided against it."

"Good, I hate huge parties and galas where I'm the center of attention."

"Well, come on. Finding the Triforce did warrant a huge celebration."

"I guess that was a good exception." Link attached his bag to his belt. "I'm off." Link cleanly exited the room, leaving Zelda alone.

Once outside, Link took one more look back at the palace before turning away. His path led him around the castle to the northwest, over gentle hills and dales, through a sparse grove of trees, and upward to the border of the forest. Green pastures and tall fields of grass littered the way. Link cut through the tall grass with his sword to clear the way. These quests had been a lot more interesting when monsters were prevalent throughout the land. During Agahnim's reign, the evil energy let beasts roam the land freely, made more fearsome by magic. Now there were but a scant few hiding in holes. Entering through the archway of trees he looked skyward. The upper canopy blocked the dwindling sunlight, creating an evening feel, except for spots of uncovered sky. Squirrels and woodland creatures skittered about. The mysterious forest was a much more peaceful happy place now.

Suddenly, Link felt a tap of wood on his shoulder. He quickly turned around and saw a wizzrobe was standing behind him, holding a cane up.

Link's battle mode instinctively switched on, he unsheathed his sword and was ready to come straight down when the wizzrobe shrank back and said "Don't hurt me, I'm only an old woman."

It wasn't a wizzrobe, Link realized, just her dressings made her look like one. Link dropped his sword and resheathed it.

"What are you doing out here in the forest?"

"I was out gathering water for my family and got sidetracked," she replied in a crinkly, weathered voice. "What fortune finds you here?"

"I'm on a quest to find a lost treasure."

The old lady lifted up her hood to get a better look.

"No, it couldn't be, the Hero of Hyrule, oh, in my presence."

Link subtly rolled his eyes back. He liked attention, but when people started revering him like he was a god, then the feeling lost its shine quickly.

"You must come back with me, Sir Link, for shelter."

"Well, I don't really need-"

"There are storm clouds on the horizon. Follow me to my home." The old woman grabbed Link's hand and started walking deeper into the forest. Link followed her. They trudged through the hilly land a few minutes, going into a thick area of majestically aged oak trees and deadwood. The hooded lady approached a hollowed stump and pulled an outcropped twig several times.

"Cursed thing always jams when it rains," she muttered to herself. The front of the stump gave way and revealed a staircase.

Link followed her down the passageway past a torch-filled wall.

"It's just down this way, Sir Link," she said as she took off her hood.

"You can call me just Link."

"Just Link? The one who saved our land from Agahnim? The one who recovered the Triforce? The one who restored the seal of the wise men and returned peace to Hyrule? Wants to be called just Link? My dear boy, 'sir' is the absolute least title I could hope to bestow upon your noble brow."

Link didn't say anything. Who would after such a speech?

"Children, look!" the matron said when she emerged into the cavernous main area. "The Hero of Hyrule!"

"It's Link! It's Link!" the two children's squeaky voices cried as they sprang up from their seats on the floor and scooted up to their beloved idol.

"Oh, Sir Link, we've always wanted to meet you."

"Will you be staying with us?

"Oh, yes. Please stay the night, please."

"Children, children," she clapped her hands "Show some manners now. Let the poor soul rest his feet for a minute." She led him over to a chair. "You just rest there for a bit and I'll get you something warm to drink."

"Thank you," Link replied. The old woman scuttled off to another section of the cave. Link closed his eyes and took a deep cathartic breath. When he opened his eyes he became aware that the two kids were sitting on the floor and staring at him with huge open eyes, never even blinking.

"So..." Link started, trying to break the unpleasant silence, "Um... do you live down here?"

"Uh-huh, we found it."

"We used to live near the pond, but then it got flooded."

"Yeah, he almost drowned."

"No, I didn't!"

"Yeah, you did."

"No, I didn't."

"Yeah, you did."

"Children, children, that's enough now, it's off to bed with you."

"Awww, we want to stay up with Link some more."

"Now, now, I'll hear none of this. Off to bed with you."

The kids got up and skittered into a tunnel shouting "Good night, Link!"

The woman sighed. "They can be trying at times, but I couldn't love them more." She handed Link a steaming round cup. "This is a root drink that grows down here."

"How long have you been living here?"

"Oh, more than half the year now."

"Why don't you live in the villages?"

"We have no trade. My husband died during Agahnim's reign and since then our money dwindled down."

"That's terrible. I'm so sorry."

"Well, I think we've managed to make a good life considering all. But you, you should get to bed. Here, put this blanket on." the lady handed Link a thick woolen sheet.

"Thank you," Link replied sweetly.

"Now, you go to sleep, get a good night's rest, and I'll see you in the morning." She shuffled out of the room, leaving Link alone with the dim glowlight. Link considered the kindness and hospitality of this stranger. How could someone in such an unfortunate situation maintain such a warm motherly attitude. Maybe it was his status as a royal figure that prompted this fresh disposition. He really shouldn't have been so curt, Link disliked it when people treated him like they treated the royal family. He was just a server of them. A highly esteemed server, but nonetheless he was still not royalty.

Anyway, he had to ready for the continuation of his quest tomorrow. Link drifted off to peaceful slumber.

...thunder, lost...
"Hello?"
...grass, rain stings...
..."Hellooooo!"
...barely see, cloudy, faded...
...light, bright, golden...
Triforce
"Get out."


Link woke with a start. The glowlight had been extinguished so he was welcomed by total blackness.

He thought back to the dream. He had been lost somewhere deep within the center of a storm and seen the Triforce. Any dream with the Triforce was powerful and most definitely meant something. The voice had told him to get out. That meant there was no time to lose, Link grabbed his pack and set off to find the cave's exit.

After a deal of groping around for his lantern he used it to find his way back out of the cave and up to the surface. Once there the large, low moon shone through holes in the canopy.

Link came outside the border of the forest and stopped to take a drink from his canteen. The sky was beginning to lighten from the impending sun. He heard a rustling from behind him in the trees and turned around and saw a blue dog-faced beast emerge from the foliage with spear pointing straight at him. Four of his friends came out with him.

"Who invited you?" Link smirked as he dropped his pack and pulled out his sword. "Sorry, this is a one-man quest."

Link jumped forward with sword hilt at his hip. He swiped at the first moblin's spear, knocking it away and then knocking him in the face with the sword's shaft. The moblin bounced back and swiped with his beefy claw, striking Link in the arm. He pulled back, and one of his buddies came up from behind and cracked Link in the back of his head with the hilt of his spear. Resounding pain made Link see white.

"Hey, guys, can we cut a deal here?" Link grabbed the back of his head. The moblins strafed into a circle surrounding Link, holding their polearms at the ready. Red light gleamed out of their eyes. Link held up his sword, ready for a four-way attack.

But they stopped and their faces changed to ones of fright. Link looked behind him.

A giant, swirling vortex was forming in front of him, spiraling and opening up like an iris. It shimmered black and gold and rippled like water. The vortex oscillated violently and with a flash, spit out a body onto the ground. The vortex closed back in on itself as quickly as it had appeared.

Link looked at what the portal had deposited. It was a small man dressed in blue, wearing a bulky helmet around his head. His right arm ended in a thick cylinder the same color as his clothes.

The man stood and looked at Link and the monsters behind him.

"Now I'm in trouble."

It's starting to get interesting. Also, I must request that you don't double-post. If necessary, you can edit your post to add the chapter.

Two words: This rocks!
This does look like its gonna be fun, and interesting as well.

Haha,thanks alot.I'm done with chapter 4 and 5 so I'll post them right away!

Chapter 4: The Meeting
For a moment, the entire assemblage stood motionless. Moblin, human, and robot, all looked at each other with the same quizzical expressions on their faces. If Link had considered it, he wouldn't believe the moblins to bear enough intelligence to be confused. But he would be correct in that the moblins didn't have enough intelligence to be kept that way for long.

One growled a loud challenge and raised his spear, charging forward. The battle re-ensued. Link reawakened as well, fending off two attackers with his sword.

Mega Man saw the strange beast coming at him and ducked out of the way. Since he had no files found in memory regarding the data of such creatures, he couldn't automatically assume they were enemies. They could be humans in a clever disguise, such as a holographic field, for all he knew. This regulation prevented him from taking immediate action against the attackers, since it could result in the violation of Law One. However, judging by the little he knew of the situation, since he saw the lot of them fighting one single human on the other side of the clearing, it would seem that these monsters had malevolent intentions. However, it would not be wise to jump to the conclusion of which side was which yet. It would be optimal if the human in green could provide information as to the happening events.

With this .0002 nanoseconds of environmental processing finished, Mega Man ducked a spear stab from a monster. He could take no offensive action, but he could take defensive action according to Law Three. Ducking blows, he maneuvered backwards to cross paths with the human warrior.

Link bravely defended himself as well. The swish of swords and clang of metal against metal repeated rapidly. Regarding the man in blue, Link thought perhaps he could gain an ally in this struggle, since the moblins had attacked him too. He was defending himself now. Wherever the strange man came from, he could sure use another hand. Moving smoothly, drawing his opponent forward, he stepped back to the center where the blue man was backing up from oncoming monsters.

"Excuse me, what transpires here?" the man in blue asked.

"It doesn't matter, I could use your help."

"What sort of people are these?"

"They're not people, they're monsters."

"Then they're not human?"

"Right."

"All right." That was all Mega Man needed to hear. If they weren't human, the first law of robotics didn't apply. Unsheathing his Mega Buster from within his arm, he immediately unleashed a plasma shot at one of the monsters. The energy ripped through its flesh, leaving a gaping hole where the shot went through. Dumbfounded, the moblin looked down to see his lack of torso, looked up with a rather pathetic face, and vanished in a puff of smoke. Mega Man shot two more monsters, killing them with one blow of the buster. The two other monsters saw this and immediately fled in the opposite direction, disappearing back into the woods.

Link looked on in awe. This had to be the man of metal with the arm of light, undoubtedly. This was the one prophesized to him to help him recover the three pendants. He looked like no one he had ever seen before. A little shorter than himself, he had a helmet of dark blue, and wore a skintight light and dark blue jumpsuit. Rather odd attire for a warrior of this caliber. And the weapon seemed to melt into his arm. If he didn't know this was an ally, he'd be inclined to run the way of the moblins.

Mega Man turned to see who was his fighting compatriot. He looked enough like a human, but he had some rather elf-like characteristics. His ears were pointed, and he had long golden hair raining from his hat, which looked like a stocking cap. He wore a green dress, sandals, and was carrying a knapsack.

"Thank you," Mega Man said.

Link approached Mega Man, sword still out at the ready should he be wrong. He slowly put out a hand. Mega Man looked at it curiously; it wasn't in the proper position for a handshake. Link touched Mega Man on the chest. He felt cold and hard, like the metal that made his blade. This was a suit of armor, yet so thin. How could it be effective? He reached up and touched his face with a pointed finger. It felt soft, like skin, but not exactly, colder. He pushed in, and met something smooth, not irregular like bone. Something melded to the exact shape of his round face.

Mega Man still looked at the elf-boy curiously; he appeared to be ascertaining what he felt like.

"Are you... a man of metal?"

"I am made of metal. Various alloys and plastics as well."

"Do you have a name?" Link asked.

"My name is... Mega Man," Mega Man wasn't sure whether to introduce himself as 'Mega Man' or 'Rock', but for right now, 'Mega Man' was fine until he knew this person better.

"My name is Link."

"What is this place?"

"The Lost Woods... in Hyrule."

Hyrule. No files found. Not only that but he had lost all his telecommunications links, period. That either meant he was in an undiscovered part of Earth, unlikely, or some other planet altogether.

"Is there a name for this planet?"

"What's a planet?"

"A celestial body moving in an orbit around a sun," he said, quoting from his lexicon.

"All right," Link replied warily, completely in the dark about what he just said. "We don't have any of those here. We call this land Hyrule. Just where did you come from?"

"Not here, definitely. I come from Earth in a city. It-"

"What's a city?"

"An inhabited place of greater size, population, and status than a town or village."

"I've never heard of that before."

Mega Man did another scan of Link's attire. It seemed almost medieval judging by his weaponry and clothing. This must have been a lesser developed culture. But when and where?

"What is the deal with your arm?" Link asked.

"The deal?"

"What..." Link wasn't quite sure what to ask. "What is it made out of?"

"It's a plasma energy cannon capable of energy charge with an integrated weapon copy system."

Once again, in the dark. "Okaaaaaay," Link smiled and nodded. Nonetheless, he was still convinced that this was the man of metal.

"I need to recover my telecomm links. I have to get back to where I came from before the robots take total control of it."

"What's a robot?"

"A robot is composed of a mechanical and electrical device that looks like a human being and performs various complex acts of a human being, being computationally programmed through use of circuits and wiring to..." Mega Man stopped as he realized he was sounding too much like a dictionary and Link wasn't comprehending anything. "Robots are other men made of metal. Mechanical men, so to speak."

"Okay." Once again...

"Wait, do you mean to tell me that there are no telecomm links, no robots, no cities, no nothing?"

"Wherever you came from, it's not here." Link felt a strong wind and looked up. Dark gray clouds were moving in from the east. It appeared that the storm of his dream was literal. They were on the edge of the forest and could reach shelter in time if they hurried.

Mega Man contemplated what to do. What was the vortex that was created? Perhaps if he could analyze the traces of the portal, he could find more data and get a better idea of what he was dealing with. Of course he had no tools to do so, so his results would be limited.

"Come on, let's go."

"No, I should stay here and analyze this area to see if there are traces of the portal left."

"We have to get moving. There's a storm coming in. If we start now, we can get to shelter before it comes."

"No, even after my analysis is complete, we must proceed to your leader's home base and inform your sovereign of my situation. Perhaps that person will be able to provide a solution."

"We're not going back to Hyrule Castle," Link replied incredulously. "It's much too far to walk now. I didn't travel all this way just to find you."

"'Hyrule Castle' is the most likely place to have the answers to my questions."

"We can't go backward. We gotta press forward if we want to make it to shelter."

"I have to get in contact with those who have the best chance of assisting me."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"All right, all right, let's compromise, let's go to an inn. The village is near here anyway."

"That's fine. But first I need to complete my analysis."

"We don't have time for your stupid analysis. Didn't you just hear me say there's a storm coming? Won't you rust or whatever?"

"My armor is an airtight-"

"No, no, just forget it. Just hurry up and do your analysis." Link dejectedly walked up to a tree and sat against it. He took out the canteen from his backpack while he waited.

Mega Man scanned the area once all the way around. "Finished."

"What?"

"I'm finished with my analysis."

"Already?" Link hadn't even opened his canteen.

"Yes, we may go."

"Well... all right then." Link picked up his backpack and headed out.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Why did every inn seem to look the same around Hyrule, Link thought. Wine barrels against the wall. Table in the corner. Bar against the wall. A single picture with a portrait of a smiling somebody. And every bar had the same picture of that grinning idiot. Was he the patron saint of alcohol?

Link stepped up to the bar, intending to talk with the barkeeper for anything he might have heard about current events.

Mega Man scanned the scene. In this environment he would stick out like a sore thumb. "What should I do?"

"Ummm... just... try to blend."

"Try to blend?"

"Make some friends, I don't know," he shrugged. "Go over there, meet some people. Maybe they can help you."

Mega Man furrowed his eyebrows and approached a table of male patrons.

Link ignored him for the time and looked at the barkeeper.

"He a friend of yours?"

"Just something I picked up in the woods," Link replied as he took a seat on the stool.

The bartender set out a red drink before him. Free of charge to the Hero of Hyrule. "If you're asking about where the moblins might be comin' from I couldn't tell ya," the drinkslinger said, "Since the news hit the town, most people just hear the word 'moblin' and scatter."

"Not worried about the moblins right now. What've you heard from the thieves' corner?"

"Thieves' guild? I try to stay out of their business."

"I try to stay out of their business too, but it never seems to work. What do you know? Anything about a palace heist?"

"Might know someone who'd be able to help you better than anybody else in town. Goes by the name of Grizzled Jack, used to be part of the thieves' guild. Ornery fellow, lives out in the wilderness, likes to keep selves to selves, if you know what I mean."

"Yeah, I know exactly what you mean." Link stole a glance at Mega Man, who was now sitting at a table engaged in conversation.



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Roll shoved Dr. Light down into the underground shelter, and quickly shut the vault door behind her, sealing the dual-locking system.

"We can only hope Rock and Rush can stop them before it's too late."

"Yeah, that sounds rather familiar," Roll smirked.

Dr. Light smirked back. "Yes, I suppose it does. After all the confidence I've put into Mega Man, he's been in tougher situations than this and survived. I'm sure he'll win the day. But why are we being attacked outright? Wily's never taken direct action against me before, he's always tried to control the world. Why is he just attacking me?"

As if to emphasize his statement, thunderous crashing echoed in the chamber, coming from above. Coming from Wily and his robots destroying his home. Tremendous crashing rang at random intervals, making Light shirk back in fear.

"Oh my precious experiments. I-"

A great crashing, the loudest of all, rang out right next to the door. Roll opened the ultaPyrex eyehole and looked out. All she could see were the granules of a rock blocking her view.

"It looks like we're trapped. There's been a cave-in and it's blocking the door."

The overhead light flickered and died. The hum of generators slowed down to a crawl and silenced.

"The power's gone out," Roll stated.

"Oh, dear, that's bad, that's bad."

"What?"

"This shelter was built airtight. Without power there's no oxygen generators. I'm going to suffocate!"

Chapter 5: Bar Fight Tonight
*TWANG*

*THOK*

The arrow wiggled up and down, embedded in the haystack where it was fired. It was a little off center of the target in the yellow concentric circle. That would be the third 'almost-bull's-eye' she'd gotten today. I must be slipping, she thought. She reached down below for the quiver and pulled out another arrow. Nocking it on the bow, she concentrated and released the string. The arrow flew into the border of the red and yellow circles. Better, she thought. She grasped the bowstring and tugged it. May have to get this tightened though.

Zelda stepped over the door of the stall to retrieve her arrows. Her makeshift archery range was in the castle basement in an abandoned stable, a new one having been built years ago. Dirty and grungy, unkempt for years, hardly a place for a princess to be. But it was just about the only place to find some peace and quiet.

Since Link had defeated Ganon and recovered the Triforce, peace had returned to Hyrule. Nevertheless, Zelda had felt extremely vulnerable during the whole ordeal, having been kidnapped by Agahnim and imprisoned in a crystal within Turtle Rock, she realized just how important she was and how necessary the ability to defend herself would be. It certainly wouldn't do to rely on Link as the sole protector when he was only an 'independent knight' of the kingdom. Although it certainly would be nice if Link would stay at the castle, after all he did for the world it was the least he could do. But Link had politely declined when offered, preferring his house just south of the castle grounds as a residence.

Never mind that though. Zelda shook her head to stop her aimless mind wandering. There was still plenty of practice left. She plucked out each arrow embedded in the hay block, and cradled them in her hand. Stepping over the door of the stall again, much easier to do with her riding pants rather than that incessant skirt she was always supposed to wear, she reset her position for firing. She picked up another arrow and held it at the ready on her bow.

"Keep doing that and you'll get calluses."

Zelda lowered her weapon and looked to her left. Horace, the captain of the guards was standing a little ways down the hall, walking towards her. He was dressed in his basic light chain armor and orange tunic, sans helmet.

"So?" Zelda held her nose in the air and returned to the aim of her bow.

He continued, "It's very unbecoming of a princess to have rough hands."

"I've never been very becoming of a princess. You have my six sisters for that," she said as she steadied her aim and fired. "You came down here for something, I gather?"

"Aye, I've come to give you the report of our findings regarding the theft of the pendants."

Zelda again dropped her bow, and faced Horace. Horace hesitated to speak.

Zelda said, "And?"

"And... I just gave it."

"What? But you said nothing."

"Exactly. There is nothing to report. We haven't found anything."

Zelda grunted in frustration and walked over to a wooden pillar. She hung her head and leaned on it, looking back at her captain. "Well, what are we supposed to do now, I'd like to know. Our only hope is Link out in the field, and he's got as little to go on as we do. Has the king been consulted on this?"

"He has, but has left the decision making up to you. You know the situation better than the rest of us. We could send out the soldiers to scour the land, but..."

"But that would be a highly ineffective waste of resources." Zelda looked down at the stone floor and pondered, scraping some hay off her shoe that she had noticed. "It's so strange. What would someone want the pendants for anyway. The purpose of the pendants is to awaken the Master Sword, but only the Hero can wield the Master Sword. So, what other purpose do the pendants have?"

Horace put a thinking finger to his lips. "Interesting question. I'll have the archivists find the answer to that as soon as possible."

"Good. If we can find that out, we could cut them off at the pass, so to speak."

"There is one other thing I have noticed, off the record. The vizier has been acting strangely as of late."

"The vizier? Noktwor? What in the world would make you think that?"

"Absolutely nothing," was all Horace could respond with. Zelda put a hand on her hip and looked at him like 'you're going to have to do better than that'.

"All I can tell you is his behavior is quite odd. Sneaking around in early hours of the morning. Stammering excuses of where he's been. It's all disconcerted me."

"But nothing you could arrest him for," Zelda said confidently. She was heavily displeased with this lack of professionalism in her guards.

"Unfortunately, other than that, we have no leads, no suspects, no motive, and no clue."

"Fantastic," Zelda sighed. "Very well, if that's all we have to go on. Continue on the best you can. There's always a clue somewhere."

"Understood, princess, I'll tell my men to continue their investigation." The captain bowed graciously and left the stables. Zelda watched him depart, then picked up the bow and an arrow. She knew deep down that these jobs would be delegated down and down until the lowest bidder would be working on it, and she was tired of duties and tasks being shuffled off on someone else's shoulders. It was the very bane of bureaucracy. There was only one thing she could do, she resolved. That would be to return to the scene of the crime and start making her own personal investigation. It was the only way anything would ever be done around here. There had to be something that they missed.

She aimed the bow along her eye line, muttering to herself, "There's always a clue..."

She let go. The arrow hit the bull's-eye squarely.

"Always."



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Link sipped slowly on his deku tea, leaning over the bar and staring blankly ahead at the shelves behind the bar, reading the names on the labels of the bottles: Zora filtered water, poppleberry wine, spiced apple cider, octorok juice, Goron beer, Lon-Lon Milk, aged fairy spirit wines, carbonated caramel water...

"Hey there, the bottles are for drinking, not reading," the bartender glibly said. Link just glared up at him.

He continued, "So who's your friend over there?"

"He's not my friend, he's just someone I picked up on the way."

"Sure has got some funny clothes. I guess bright blue is the new fashion."

"I wouldn't know." Link reset his posture to sit up straight and took another sip of tea.

"Is he your new partner?"

"I don't have partners. I work alone. I never needed anyone to help me before, and I don't need it now."

The bartender hummed in affirmation as he wiped out a beer mug.

Link had been essentially isolated during his quest for the Triforce. From the very start of his adventure he was a wanted man by the royal guard, and in the Dark World, well, the pursuit of him there was self-explanatory. He had learned to fend for himself, because no one else was going to do it for him.

"Looks like he's having a good time, though," the bartender said.

Link twisted around on his stool to see the bright blue soldier sitting at a table playing cards, contrasting heavily with the other roughnecks around him in drab green and brown. Link smiled to himself.

The bartender leaned in closer to Link, "You realize that's the Card Club mafia, right?"

"I do. He can defend himself. If he doesn't, he'll learn." He finished off the rest of his tea.

Suddenly, one of the card players jumped up from the table, kicking back his chair. "That's it, that's the last time you win, punk."

Link's eyes bulged out from the above his mug. "Uh-oh."

Mega Man's attacker pulled a knife from his belt and lunged at him. Mega Man leaned slightly to the side and let the blade deflect off his armor. His attacker fell forward behind him.

"That's some armor you've got there, punk," another said.

"I didn't want any trouble," Mega Man responded. "I just wanted to gather sociological information from you by playing this game. You see, the problem is there's an inherent strategy flaw in the game's rules-"

"I don't wanna hear nothin' 'bout no rules. Youse is cheatin'!" the third card player exclaimed.

"Hold 'im, Gus."

Another sizeable opponent snuck around Mega Man's back and pinned his arms over his head in a full-nelson, leaving him open for attack. "Go for it, Ungar," Gus said in a snide, ratty voice to the big man.

Ungar pounded his fists together, ready to give Mega Man a beating. "Heh, time to show you a little boy shouldn't play a man's game." Ungar took off Mega Man's helmet, unveiling his ratty brown hair. "Take this stupid hat off." He wound up and punched him with a right cross across the face. Mega Man's head slightly bobbed to the side as the punch connected.

Ungar clutched his hand in pain. "OW! You got yourself a hard head there, kid," he said as he shook his hand out. He picked up his switchblade again. "Let's see how it looks all cut up." He pulled his arm back-

-And felt someone clutching his arm from behind. He looked and found Link grabbing tightly onto him.

"Say there, wanna take it a little easy on the kid?" Link asked innocently. "It's his first time in Hyrule after all."

"He knew what he was doing," Ungar responded gruffly, yanking his hand back and facing Link. "Guess they don't make 'em too bright where his kind comes from."

"Well, all the same, I suggest you stop and leave him alone."

"Or what, little man?"

"Or I'll have to get- aaRGH!"

The third card player smashed a wooden chair on Link's back, shattering it to pieces. Link careened forward and landed on his hands and knees.

"Hey, you can't do that!" one of the miscellaneous patrons said, and threw his bottle at Ungar. It missed and smashed against the wall above a booth. A riot began breaking out around them, bottles thrown, fists flying, chairs tumbling along the ground.

Ungar kicked Link in the stomach as he lay on the ground. The Hero of Hyrule dropped to the floor and breathed deeply. The big man laughed heartily, when suddenly Link spun around and kicked his legs out from under him. Ungar fell backwards, landing on his backside. Link propped himself up on his hands and kicked out, smashing him in the face and standing up at the same time. He saw Mega Man was standing placidly in the middle of the brawl like an idiot.

"Idiot! Get over here!" Link called to him as he flipped over the table to use as a barricade. Mega Man picked up his helmet, put it on, and quickly came to Link's side crouched behind the tabletop.

"Well, you'll never be able to show your face in here again," Link said in a deadpan voice.

"What happened? Why did they try to attack me?"

"Don't you know any better than to play with the Card Club? They're hustlers, they'll take your money."

"I was able to play the game without losing any money. You see, there's an inherent flaw in the strategy of the game-."

"Never mind, let's get out of here." Link grabbed the table legs and started dragging his makeshift shield back towards the door.

"Not so fast, punks." Link and Mega Man turned and saw the three Card Club members standing in front of them, the middle one tapping a broken-off table leg against his hand. He swung it down over Link's head. Mega Man's hand shot out lightning-fast and grabbed it in mid-flight.

"You're dead meat," Ungar made several quick knife thrusts at Mega Man's torso, shrieking against metal each time.

"Punch him or something!" Link exclaimed, looking back at him while holding off the two others with his sword. Ungar pulled back his broken knife and looked at it sadly.

Link pushed off the other two with a grunt. "Errgh, enough of this." Link held his sword readied behind him. A trail of sparkling energy traveled up the length of the blade and sparked at its tip. "Take this."

Releasing the magical energy, he spun around in a blazing whirlwind. The card players were blown back as Mega Man ducked under the path of the sword.

"Time to go."

Link and Mega Man made off out of the bar's door. Muffled sounds of fighting and crashing still continued behind them.

"What is your problem!" Link yelled at Mega Man as they headed north. "Are you some sort of peace nut or something? You didn't even tap him! Did you want to get hit?"

"I can't hurt humans."

"Well, you better learn how if you're gonna be here a while."

"No, you don't understand. I mean, I really can't. I'm incapable of causing harm to humans, it's in my programming."

"Your programming? What's that?"

"It's a set of laws in my land that ... my kind have to abide by." He left off the word "robot" as that would have likely started more confusion.

"Well, you're not in your land anymore."

"I still can't break them. They're ingrained in my behavior."

Link looked forward, off into the trail. "But you had no problem fighting those moblins."

"They weren't human, you said."

"They're not."

"So my rules don't apply to them."

"Hmph," Link grunted and kicked a small rock along the road. "I don't get it. If you can't harm humans, then what about all those people in the bar who got hurt in the riot. Didn't you cause them harm? What about if you let them harm others?"

"There used to be another part to the law that said we cannot let humans come to harm through inaction, but that was repealed when they found it was too impractical. We kept preventing humans from doing their work, even if it was slightly dangerous."

"So... does that make you... non-human."

"I told you, I'm a robot."

"Right, right, a human machine, something about complex tasks. Anyway..."

"Anyway are we going back to the castle now?"

"Look, I want to get you back to your own land as much as you do, but right now, I'm sort of on a quest here, and I can't really stop to take you back anywhere. Besides, you've seen the sort of things here, we don't have any of what... you can do. Do you really think there's anything here that can help you?"

"...Perhaps not." Mega Man cast his eyes down at the floor.

"All right, so your best bet is to stick with me, unfortunately. But whatever you do, try not to get in the way. Fine?"

"Fine."

"All right, let's get going."



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Dr. Light sat against the corner of the tiny vault, doing his best not to move at all. Moving meant using up energy, which meant using up breath. Precious oxygen was starting to fade, and he had been in the tomb for hours. Roll had spent that time going over every inch of the vault, looking for weak spots in the wall, testing the strength of the door, trying to find any way out. Unfortunately, Roll, while still much stronger than an average human, was not built for brawn. Tearing down the door was not an option.

"How are you doing, Dr. Light?"

"Fine, dear," Dr. Light rasped.

The sound of Dr. Light's voice told Roll that he was obviously not fine. It wouldn't be too long until he would pass out from lack of air and eventually die. "The weakest spot I've found is on this wall," Roll pointed to a blank, cemented white wall. "I'm going to try to break through it." Roll wound up and started punching the wall at the spot where she pointed. Thunderous vibrations echoed in the small chamber as she repeatedly pounded.

"Roll... no... careful..." Light tried to protest.

"What?" Roll paused her destruction and turned to Light, her knuckles crusted in white dust.

"I... never mind." Light remembered that robots don't feel pain and doused his natural instinct to protect his children. Roll returned to punching. A spider-web of cracks began to appear in the wall.

"Don't worry, Dr. Light. I'll have you out of here in a jiffy." She glanced back at the old man. "Dr. Light?"

Very good, but as Pan has said, do not double-post. Edit it into another post or wait for a reply from someone.

Other than that, Very good for a first fic. I look forward to reading more.

When I said 'don't double-post', I did not mean you should triple-post. My patience is rapidly running out, so if it happens again, I'll take action.

Now that I'm finished ranting, the chapters are quite good.

okay.I'm writing chapter 6 and 7 right now.They're soon finished too.I'm glad you liked them.

Heh, don't annoy the mods. If you finish a couple of chapters at a time, then you might want to consider waiting a day between posting them. it means that if you get writer's block, we're not stuck waiting for weeks at a time for chapters.

Regarding the chapters, I spotted one typo; you'd accidentally put a word in the present tense, but I can't find it again. Apart from that, great story and keep up the good work.

Chapter 6: Grizzled to Perfection


Zelda stopped before she turned the corner and smoothed out a ruffle in her light blue dress. Obnoxious skirt, she thought. Two guards standing in front of the closed vault door waited for her to approach them. They held spears upright and wore helmets that seemed too big for their heads.

"Princess," one of them greeted and bowed his head.

"Good morrow, gentleman. Please open the vault."

"I'm sorry?"

"Open the vault door, please. I assume you know the combination."

"Er, yes, Princess, but why would you want to go in there?"

Zelda's anger level began to rise inversely to her patience. "I want to inspect the scene of the crime for any clues that may have been missed."

The guards looked at each other. "Isn't that a job more for the royal investigator?"

The other chimed in, "Yeah, and hasn't that already been done?"

Zelda held her breath for three seconds. "All right, listen, buddy, I'm the princess of Hyrule, I'm in charge. So you'd better open this door or you will be licking Kakariko Village's main street with your tongues. Understand?"

The guards quickly opened the vault.

Zelda stepped in. The place was exactly as it was left. To the normal eye, it was just a vault for holding the three pendants. Nonetheless, that vault should have been secure with all the physical and magical barriers surrounding it. No one could have teleported into the room. No one could have opened up the vault door. No one had even opened the vault door since the Master Sword was laid to rest and the pendants were no longer needed.

Zelda ran her hands over the mahogany table. There were three impressions made specifically for the pendants. One made of sapphire for courage, one made of emerald for wisdom, one made of ruby for power. They mirrored the three parts of the Triforce, testing the mettle of the Hero who would awaken the sword. She thought maybe it would have been better if they were kept in a lock box or a treasure chest for safekeeping, instead of on display like this. As if anyone would be able to come and see the artifacts like in a museum.

Zelda rubbed her hand along the impression for the pendant of wisdom. Nothing felt suspicious, no hollowed out wood, no invisibility spell traces. She sat down on her back, shifting her dress to a semi-comfortable state, and gripped onto the edge of the table, using it to slide under. Nothing going on there either. The wood was as solid as a rock, so to speak. No holes, no sliding cubbies. She switched onto her hands and knees and inspected the floor. The tiling covering the rock hard cement enclosure was immaculate. No one had ever been in this room at all for a long time. She thought about going over every line of grout, testing every tile, but that seemed fruitless.

No, wait, that's what she would have to do if she was going to make an even more thorough inspection than the previous investigators. And then if she was going to keep her mission statement enforced, she would have to inspect all the walls and the ceiling, make several magic scans, and so on. She growled to herself. She didn't want to do something so tedious, that's precisely why she hated being a princess so much. If the frickin' idiots working for her were doing their job, this wouldn't be necessary. She slammed her hand into the floor in frustration.

A corner of tile popped up next to where she had hit the floor.

Zelda eyed it curiously. Just a triangular edge of the ceramic tile was poking out of the ground. If her eyes hadn't been in straight view she wouldn't have even noticed it. Using her fingernails she delicately caught hold of the corner and scraped it up out of place. She lifted it out of the slot, revealing a hole in the floor leading to some crawlspace. At last, this had to be the way the pendants were snuck out.

"Guards, call the captain! Tell him I've found something," she called to the two outside.

"Yes, princess." She heard them skitter off as she inspected the hole, trying to find anything else, even the tiniest clue. She narrowed her eyes down, trying to increase their magnification. She noticed the corner closest to her had a short purple thread barely hanging off it. Delicately, so as not to let it fall into the hole and disappear, she scooped it into her hand for closer inspection. The vizier has a purple robe, she mused. I wonder.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

*knock, knock, knock*

Link chose to knock on the door, rather than heed the signs nailed to it that read 'BEWARE!', 'GO AWAY! This means you!', and 'Trespassers will be harmed... a lot!'. Waiting for an answer, Link looked back behind him, where he could see the backs of signs posted out in the yard that displayed essentially the same thing. There was a well near the house and a stump for cutting logs with an axe embedded in it. The red wood above Grizzled Jack's door was practically rotted away. Ants and wasps crawled in and out of the termite-bitten holes. The bartender sure wasn't kidding when he said he liked to keep selves to selves.

Dusk was quickly approaching, and it was hardly sound thinking to be outside in the dark in Hyrule. They would need shelter quickly.

"This place doesn't look too structurally sound," Mega Man commented from behind Link.

"Yeah," Link begrudgingly agreed. This area was near where the lumberjack brothers used to live, constantly trying to cut down that tree. But this shack was much farther north. Almost into the mountains.

Link knocked again. The wood even felt soft. "Hello?" he called out. "Is anyone in there?"

While Link stood near the door, Mega Man circled the perimeter of the house, looking for anything else of interest. How anyone could be allowed to live like this was abominable. This was practically living homelessly. In his world, the government had long ago set up affordable housing tracts that were well maintained, with the cheap labor that robots brought in. Homelessness was virtually eliminated.

Rustling from the dark forest that bordered the square of land alerted him. He relaxed when he saw it was nothing more than two birds flying out. When he reached the back of the house he found an animal skin stretched out for tanning on a board leaning against the wall. Mega Man looked at it curiously, deducing it was some sort of a bear creature with leopard-patterned fur and a spinal back. More evidence that this world had no relation to his own. It was a lot like being thrust into the past, but not his past. He came back around to the house's front. "Nothing much back there."

"Hmm..." Link decided to skip formalities and just go in. He'd been waiting long enough and he needed the info as soon as possible. If Jack was home and sleeping or out, Link would just have to wait inside until he came back. He lifted up the handle of the door, which promptly tore off the weak wood. Link stared at it in his hand. "Oops."

He tossed the handle on the ground and pushed open the door. It creaked open slowly, eerily, as Link and Mega Man stood side-by-side, looking in with wide eyes. Dim, orange light gradually streamed into the dank and decaying room.

"Nice touch," Link commented.

He cautiously poked his boot across the threshold. The floorboards creaked with neglect, wide slits permeated the surface. A large pile of paper next to an inkstand sat on a table standing on three and a half legs. A fur rug was crumpled in a corner that had to be Jack's bed and a pile of bones on the other side of the house made the grisly scene complete. Mega Man stepped in as well.

"Please tell me you don't all live like this."

"Hardly. This guy must have some serious issues with civilization." Link squinted his eyes. "You can barely see in here." He fetched out his lantern from his pocket and sprinkled a dash of magic powder in to light it. A moth flew out from the unused lamp.

"What's that?" Mega Man spun around and leveled his arm cannon at it. He stopped short once he realized it was harmless.

"Aaah," Link stumbled back. "Don't point that thing at me!" Link's lack of balance forced him backwards as he stepped onto a metal clutch. The trigger fired and closed the bear trap set on the floor around Link's boot.

Link's eyes burst open with surprise and pain, "YEOWTCH!" He tripped and fell onto the floor. Quickly, he grabbed his foot in pain. "Ow! Ow! Ow!"

Mega Man came over to his side. He was programmed to provide medical aid to humans and that program had just fired up. "How deep is it?"

"Argh, you idiot! I knew you'd do nothing but get in my way. Now I've got this stupid bear trap digging into my leg." Link could feel it penetrating the leather of his boot and blood seeping out of the punctures.

Mega Man took hold of the steel trap in his hands and pried it apart swiftly. Link looked somewhat taken aback at this feat of strength, but it hardly changed his attitude as he glowered up at the blue-clad soldier.

"Let's take that boot off and treat the wound," Mega Man said.

"I'm fine with my boot. The wound didn't go that deep."

"You sure screamed a lot for it not being that deep."

"It's thick leather. It just took me by surprise."

"Just take off your boot, or it'll get infected."

"I like infections. It builds character. I get them all the time."

"Not as long as I'm here-"

"Why don't you just get out of here then. I'm sure you'd have as much luck finding a way back home on your own."

"I don't have anywhere to go! You're the only person I know here who hasn't acted hostile to me."

"Then find someone else, cause I feel pretty hostile right now. I do my questing alone, and I don't need some foreigner stepping on my toes. If it wasn't for that stupid prophecy, I would have left you in the Lost Woods!"

"What prophecy?"

"That spacy Seer said there was some prophecy that I would meet a man of metal with an arm of light and we'd solve the mystery of the pendants."

"That's ridiculous. If the only reason you're helping me is because of some foolish prophecy then I can find help else-"

"Shh, wait... do you hear something."

Mega Man attuned his listening sensors. There was some metallic clinking sound above him. They both looked up. An assortment of knives, blades, axes, all chained up to the ceiling were hanging above them, dangling with the breeze. Most of them were rusty and way beyond safe use.

"Oh, that... that's not good," Link said.

"I don't think civilization's the only thing he has issues with."

A meat cleaver broke off from the chain and plummeted down to the floor, landing right next to Link's leg, wedged into the floorboard by the point of the blade. He could feel the coolness of the knife next to his skin.

"Eep," Link said timidly.

Mega Man whispered, "Try not... to make... a sound."

"Okay." Link's eyes were glued heavenward at the precarious sharp objects. "Get up slowly... and walk towards the door."

Mega Man leaned back and pushed himself up by his knees. Link suppressed a grunt and gritted his teeth as he put weight on his injured ankle. A wind rushed through the trees outside. Link held his breath as he waited for the breeze to come into the house, looking up like a puppy about to be disciplined. The knives dangled back and forth in wider arcs like sadistic wind chimes. Both of them shuffled their feet quietly towards the door.

"What thur blazes are you doin' in ma house!"

Link and Mega Man's head darted to the doorway and saw a great big brutish person holding a wood-chopping axe, blocking the only way out.

Lol, knife dropping, bear traps and mad axemen? I like it! No real suggestions or things to point out, other than keep up the good work.