This is a fanfic taking place between the original NES Zelda and Zelda 2. As a change of pace, it incorporates no ideas from Ocarina of Time or Skyward Sword. It tells the story of the mysterious Error, taking a goofy concept and turning it into a serious story. And just to tell you now, Link will be mentioned a few times, but will not actually appear in the story. Error is the star here. Please review.
Zelda 2: The Legacy of Error
Bagu jumped in surprise as the wooden door of his cabin shattered with a sound of thunder and a hail of splinters. Through the debris stepped a large, imposing figure. The man wore a thick red tunic with black embroidering, black leggings, and bulky leather boots. His long, dark hair nearly hid his pointed ears and his rather rugged beard complimented a harsh stare and a lumber-jack like physique.
"Error!" Bagu hissed angrily, "I thought I told you never to step foot on my property! Much less kick in my front door you drunken oaf!"
"Where is it?" Error narrowed his eyes and launched a soul piercing stare into Bagu's. Bagu stood up to confront him, but despite his disgruntled body language and challenging stance, Error could see it all contradicted by the unwritten words resonating within Bagu's vein laced corneas. The look in Bagu's eyes conveyed feelings of deceit, cowardice, and fear. Now certain that his gut accusation wasn't a folly, Error slowly approached the smaller, less intimidating man. Despite the rage swelling inside of him, Error knew that he needed to bridle his anger, to release it in a way that would get results and not lead to regrettable actions.
"Where is it?" he repeated slowly, making sure Bagu could feel his hot breath as the two men's faces were mere inches apart.
"Where is what?" Bagu's voice was already quivering with a subtle uncertainty. This was going to be very easy.
"You really are a horrible liar," Error said, "which is surprising considering how much experience you have. Maybe that's why you're so insecure. You know you can't even master a skill that petty, uneducated criminals pull off every day. Pathetic Bagu, absolutely pathetic."
Bagu's chubby face started to boil with rage. He began to tremble as Error watched the redness slowly climb into his cheeks like a volcano on the brink of eruption.
"How dare you!" Bagu finally backed up a step and shouted lividly, "you think you can kick in my front door and make false accusations and insult me? It's desperation, isn't it, Error? You're jealousy is way out of control. I'll have you arrested for this and even your guardianship of the King's Tomb, the only shred of repute you have remaining will be stripped from you!"
Error grinned. Jealousy? Guarding the King's tomb was no trifle, especially considering what had been hidden there, what was now missing. It was funny how liars often project their own feelings onto others. It was so hypocritical, yet so common.
"If you had resorted to being a petty thief just to get at me I wouldn't be making this visit," Error had to keep cool, it was his leverage, "but what you stole is sacred, Hylian property. It's far more than crossing the line, you've taken something as trivial as 'hard feelings' and gone so far as to risk jeopardizing all of Hyrule to discredit me. That is lower than the lowest thug. So tell me where it is before I ransack your entire cabin."
Bagu's face contorted with emotion: anger, pride, and probably the knowledge that everything Error said was true. Without further argument Bagu thrust his fist toward Error's face. Error intercepted the blow with one hand, a simple gesture that firmly asserted Error's physical dominance over Bagu.
"Where is it?" Error asked more viciously, clenching Bagu's fist in a grip of steel.
"Where is what?" Bagu fruitlessly tried to pull his arm free of the stronger man's grasp.
Error's response to this was simple. He twisted Bagu's arm counterclockwise until Bagu was howling in agony. Error continued until he knew that if he applied any more pressure it would snap Bagu's wrist. And he'd do that too if Bagu didn't yield.
"Where is it?" he offered his foe another chance.
"Aargh, It's not here! I swear!" Bagu cried.
"Then where is it?" Error spoke through clenched teeth, he would get his answers if he had to cripple the man.
"I'm not sure!" Bagu was pulling on his ensnared arm with his free hand trying to pry it loose. It was useless, but he was desperate for relief, "I hired some people! I heard a rumor that it was being kept at the King's Tomb and I hired people to find out! That's all!"
Not convinced Bagu was telling the whole truth, Error did not relinquish his grip, "Who'd you hire?"
"I'm not sure exactly who they were," Error pleaded, "it was through an organization out of Mido. They sent their people, I don't know them."
Great. Not only had Bagu stolen two pieces of the triforce, but he'd turned to an organized crime syndicate to help him do it! If they decided to sell it to the highest bidder… no, Error didn't even want to think about that.
"I swear I didn't know they'd actually steal it! I only wanted them to find it! I swear!" Bagu yelled frantically, but Error had no intention of releasing him from his death grip until he knew where to look.
"When you pay criminals to 'find' a treasure worth far more than whatever you're paying them, you'd better bet they're going to take the better value," Error snarled, "who was your contact? How did you find them?"
It had now become a chore to speak over Bagu's screams, but it was necessary.
"Let me go and I'll tell you!" Bagu begged.
"Tell me and I'll let you go," Error presented the counter offer. Bagu's wrist was probably damaged at this point, but Error hadn't felt it snap.
"Okay, okay go to Mido," Bagu panted desperately to try to get the words out, "on the north side of town a man in a blue robe with a hood wanders the streets around dusk. Find him and say 'Dodongo dislikes smoke' and he'll lead you to their hideout."
Error angrily thrust Bagu's fist away from himself. Bagu sighed with relief, and, already on his knees, he pulled his sore wrist between his legs and rubbed it tenderly with his other hand, groaning at the residual pain. His reaction was pretty severe, maybe Error had broken it. It didn't matter, assuming Bagu had told the truth, he had his work cut out for him hunting down the missing triforce. How could anyone be so ignorant? So foolish? So selfish?
"Alright asshole," Error said, "you'd better get down on your knees and pray I find it soon, because if I don't I'll have to tell Impa what happened, and if I do that we both can kiss our asses goodbye."
Error's long standing feud with Bagu had been the result of a misunderstanding more than anything else. After Gannon died, Hyrule had been divided. Impa, as well as the tattered remains of the royal family, had designated prestigious individuals to guard and protect certain areas of importance so that they were kept clear of looters, bandits, and, in theory monsters, although the latter had become a problem since Gannon's minions were gearing up for his resurrection, their numbers increasing by the day. Error was highly esteemed by Impa, and had inherited guardianship over the King's Tomb and its surrounding graveyard. Trusting him intimately, Impa had also secretly charged him with keeping the triforce of wisdom and the triforce of power safe until the triforce of courage could be retrieved from the Great Temple.
During that time Bagu, whom Error had never met, began to lobby for control over the river leading to Death Mountain. Error didn't have anything against Bagu at the time, but his friend, Reese, who was a very trustworthy individual, was the woefully unpopular mayor of Ruto. Reese had been unfortunate to have some very tragic things happen in the town during the course of his term, and had been grievously blamed by the citizens. Their anger began to snowball and Reese soon became Ruto's scapegoat for everything bad that happened in Hyrule. Determined to do his duty, Reese refused to resign, and Error hoped to use his personal influence to convince Impa to grant Reese guardianship over Death Mountain. That would force Reese to move to Saria away from all the harassment he received daily, and give him a new sense of importance to ease his conscience over resigning as Ruto's mayor.
This had naturally put Error and Bagu at odds with each other over the fate of Death Mountain, and Bagu took it as a personal insult. The fact that Error was so adamant about giving Reese the position created an unintended friction with Bagu, who soon turned his campaign against Error and sought to discredit and humiliate him. Error should have backed down then, after all, Bagu eventually ended up guarding Death Mountain anyway, but he had been offended by the personal attacks Bagu had launched against him and struck back. Now, six years later, their rivalry had escalated to the point where Bagu seemingly wanted to permanently scar Error's reputation by stealing what no one even knew he guarded. And once people found out that the triforce had been stolen under Error's watch, he would likely be shunned from society and hated by all. Error also suspected that Bagu had a grandiose plan to make it look like he had heroically recovered the missing pieces to boost his own status, but none of that mattered now. Two pieces of the triforce were in criminal hands, and without them, even were the triforce of courage to be recovered, balance would never be restored to Hyrule and the possibility of Gannon's resurrection would be a shadow over the land for the remainder of time.