It was a rather lazy day in early March 2001, and the LSA and Resistance were indulging themselves in the usual bout of verbal slander and flaming that was commonplace on the boards around then. The winds of change were there as Vegetaman, had just appeared on LTU a mere two weeks before, in the last days of February 2001.
Vegetaman was a very active member of the LSA, another supporter in the war to fight the Resistance and save the board from their terror. That's when a great idea crossed Vegetaman's mind. "If you have one faction to fight the enemy, why not make a second one to fight them." This would make the LZA and LSA have a greater chance at picking up members, and increase the amount of people fighting the Resistance.
So, taking the name from his favorite video game, and tacking the word Army on after it, Vegetaman created The LZA The Legend of Zelda Army. He had no clue that his little venture would become so much more.
Chapter 1.2 The foundations
It was a mere two weeks into March 2001 when it was created, and its roots caught on good and fast. This was mainly due to the fact that the three leaders of the LSA dark33, Choculink, and gjdsj joined up with the LZA to get it moving. The system was exactly the same as that of the LSA, with a catch.
Vegetaman was made a lieutenant of the LSA when he first joined, and thus that is where he started the ranks for the LZA, as it was supposed to be a sub-faction of the LSA. So, with his first members, Vegetaman started lashing out against the Resistance. Several of the LSA members decided that they would like to help out this new sub-faction, so they joined up as well. Within a week, the LZA roster had 14 people, and unlike most new factions a year and a half later it caught on and kept on growing.
Chapter 1.4 The winds of change
Vegetaman kept moving up in the ranks of the LSA, but the ranks of the LZA stayed the same never moving from the lieutenant position and going downward. Vegetaman himself had a 1st Lieutenant position, and filled in the following ranks as people joined. Much like the LSA, if people were doing good work, people were promoted. As time drew on, the LSA started to stagger, and lose a few members, but the LZA kept growing.
It wasn't long before there were many cross memberships of the LSA and LZA, but this wasn't a major problem at the time, as the LZA and LSA were like brother/sister factions. Of course, the tide and winds of change are always moving, and all good things must at some point come to an end
Chapter 1.6 The Tri-Alliance
Not too many months down the road, the Resistance, LZA, and LSA were getting bored of the boards as they were. They decided that it was time for a radical change. Preparing to put their petty squabbles behind them, Vegetaman did his best to work with the Resistance and the newest group, the NNA, to forge this plan.
In all reality, it was more of a quad-alliance But as you will see in the next chapter, something happened. The LSA was part of this in the beginning to, and the LZA was the major advocate. With the plans all set, the four factions were prepared to band together, and go board conquering using the level boards as their home base. The LZA and LSA thought that the Resistance was going to attempt a scheme to boot out the other three factions, just so they could claim the boards for themselves. But, the plan drove onward anyways, until it became shattered by two major events.
Chapter 1.8 The death of the LSA
Now, per Vegetaman's memory of a year ago is good, a quote from Mike8787 set the tone for this time. "Look dark33, the fact that all the LSA members left for the LZA shows that they rather follow Vegetaman's lead than yours." This was one of the key things that helped drive the LSA over the edge to destruction.
This Tri-Alliance was what did it, as dark33 had left Choculink in charge of the LSA, who in turn put gjdsj in charge. Vegetaman was now the first general of the LSA, and still leading the LZA. For some reason, gjdsj flipped on Vegetaman for the Tri-Alliance, and blamed Vegetaman for being a Resistance sympathizer. So, Vegetaman was kicked out of the LSA, and all the cross memberships dwindled as the other LSA members left.
When dark33 returned, his faction was in shambles. Just after this, the TOS was changed so that board invasions could get you banned, after a bad incident between Pokemon and Zelda Social boards resulting in over 100 users banned that several LTUers almost became a part of. Just after this, Vegetaman closed his account and gave the LZA to the other second in command GamingManiac. Within a week, Vegetaman had returned (after re-opening his account), and GamingManiac graciously returned the army to its former leader. On other occasions, Vegetaman left the LZA (and his account) in the hands of gamegirl x when he went on vacations and such.
Chapter 2.0 The Secret Board
Although the exact date of its creation is uncertain, it was around for about a month before Vegetaman wrote his first FAQ. The thing was, the board was Super Battletank: War in the Gulf, for Super Nintendo (SNES). Meaning the board was illegal, and could be moderated at the drop of a hat. Amazingly, it wasn't for two months. The halfway point of the board was 4/17/01, when Vegetaman's first FAQ was posted, for the very game the secret board was on. Also during this time, the Iron Fist division was created by Limit Break, which Vegetaman aptly named Super Iron Fists after a war against the Resistance where the Iron Fists made a kick ass showing.
There were many people on the secret board: Limit Break, gamegirl x, Vegetaman, warner, frostbite911, GamingManiac, and much later thebrain31. This was the beginning of thebrain31's evil roots as a spy for the Resistance, and later for Evolution. He moderated the secret board, getting many of us regular moderations, and getting me a system notification. We were all angry, but we had no clue who did it. Two months of our secret board shot to hell in the snap of ones fingers.
Chapter 2.2 The growth of a madman
Well, thebrain31 confessed to his deed, and Vegetaman gave him a second chance. Amazingly, thebrain31 spied on the LZA yet again, and then followed up by leaving the faction. So, yet again, the Resistance and LZA fought, and factions came and went. Some of these factions were: The NNA, TDO, VDC (of which Vegetaman joined in their last month to try and get them to help the LTUers against the Resistance), Crimson Guard, The Others, The Apocalypse, The Wandering Samurai Guild, LSA, CAFSCB, and lastly the Slackers, which started off as friends of the LZA, but then sided with their Resistance before their epic collapse and downfall.
Chapter 2.4 The new leader
Vegetaman was in a large time of crisis, and having had it secured for so long, he finally did the unthinkable he gave the leadership of the LZA to his loyalist friend ever, Bubba26, and became a regular member. For the next 4 months, it was Bubba's job to lead the LZA, and during the third month of his reign, things started to heat up.
At last Vegetaman had things cleared away, and he returned to find several LZA members attempting to make a coup de tat against Bubba26. Vegetaman then spoke to Bubba26 and flat out told him that something had to happen, or the **** was going to hit the fan. So, Bubba26 turned the reins back over to Vegetaman, and the Holders of the Triforce were created.
Chapter 2.6 More back stabbing
As time drug on, Vegetaman was impersonated on AIM by Singha, which it was later found out that thebrain31 had his hand in this entire fiasco. So, the next straw for the con artist was to re-join the LZA around 10 months after his original attack against the LZA. He was changed, or at least that was the appearance he put on for the board. The LZA, always for democracy, held elections for the Triforce Holders (Power, Wisdom, and Courage). Wiergraf, thebrain31, and Zelda2000 won the three spots. This is where the trouble began
Vegetaman was talking to thebrain31 and DarkPaladin126, and they created themselves as three brothers, or sons of Satan. Between a long and involved history, they started speaking of what was going on with the LZA. DarkPaladin126 were attempting to create a tournament while thebrain31 brought up an odd subject Wiergraf.
Well, it was starting to become obvious that thebrain31 was up to his old tricks again. Saying that Wiergraf was going to use Sin to kill the LZA, and that he was going to overthrow Vegetaman and take power, and all those good lies and plots to bring his newest plot together.
So, Vegetaman began to tell thebrain31 what he wanted to hear. Saying how Wiergraf needed to go, and DarkPaladin126 should've won the Power Triforce position. So, thebrain31 would bring up points about Wiergraf, and Vegetaman would slander Wiergraf in front of thebrain31 and DarkPaladin126.
Time wore on, and thebrain31 showed a small instant message conversation that he said he had with Wiergraf that showed he was going to take over the LZA. So, Vegetaman told thebrain31 to post the conversation, as Vegetaman's own plan to repay brain for all that he had done was forming perfectly.
With thebrain31 posting the conversation, the majority of LTU saw it as a lie, and Vegetaman spoke with thebrain31, as he removed him from the Triforce of Wisdom spot. Unfortunately, something Vegetaman hadn't expected happened. Thebrain31 started to hand out instant message conversations that Vegetaman, himself, and DarkPaladin126 had. Wiergraf left the LZA and went back to Sin, telling Vegetaman straight out that "If you didn't want me to have the position, then you should've just told me."
So, thebrain31 kept threatening Vegetaman, and handing out the conversation. Vegetaman had saved the conversation that thebrain31 was sending out, and when comparing the two conversations, he found thebrain31's version to be altered. It made thebrain31 look more innocent than before, and made the rest of us in the conversation look worse. Of course, this I had expected, so it wasn't much a surprise. Finally the whole matter toppled over, and it became buried in the dirt, and the whole story was never explained as a whole until now.
Chapter 2.8 More factions in the fray
Now is where things got tricky Besides the warring of Resistance, LZA, and Sin, people started to make movements towards reform and fun. A new faction rose out of this, named Evolution. This turned out to get the propaganda machine cranking, as Evolution pushed for Resistance, LZA, and Sin to merger into one effectively creating a one on one battle, just like the days of LZA vs. Resistance, and even LSA vs. Resistance. But not like the VDC, which basically controlled the Veterans board until Brother Reed disbanded it. Even though new faction formed on the Vets board, like AVSI, and new ones on LTU SOKOST, KotR, MLO, and a few others, the four big factions kept at each others throats.
Chapter 3.0 The propaganda machine
The factions struggled to find ways to attack their opponents, and the place where the article was born that started turning the wheels for Evolution, became the hot spot for all the new propaganda. Even though the LZA had its own media network, the VMN (Vegetaman Media Network), it wasn't like the BMN. The BMN, the largest free-press network created, started to get letters and topics about the recent squabble. The LZA reformation article was first posted here, to get the gears turning for everything to kick into gear again, as well as it became a key role to get the wheels turning for many other key fights and arguments.
3.2 The biggest plot ever
Deceit reached deep in the LZA, as thebrain31 began plotting with Xtra, Pulse, and Zelda2000. Zelda2000 came to Vegetaman when thebrain31 first asked him to join in, and I told Zelda2000 to join and keep me informed. And true to his word, Zelda2000 did just that, in return for nothing. Xtra and Pulse didn't tell Vegetaman of their plan, and claimed that it was an anti-brain plot the whole time. When thebrain31 first posted the plot, LTU was in an uproar, as the LZA stayed with Vegetaman, and all but ignored thebrain31's little ploy. Xtra immediately said no, and dropped out, and Pulse posted a single bashing post And the next day, said publicly that he quit.
The entire thing got cranking as Resistance declared war on the LZA, followed by Evolution declaring war on the LZA. Sin was supposed to side with thebrain31, Wiergraf going to sweep in and take Vegetaman down. Unknown to thebrain31, Wiergraf was also doing the same thing Zelda2000 was doing. So, Vegetaman knew exactly what was coming, but was slightly stunned when it happened. It was a mere week and all the flames were put out from it, with Pulse demoted to a regular member from his 2nd in command spot.
3.4 The new impersonation
Unlike the time before when Vegetaman was impersonated on AIM by Singha, this time Mike8787 was at the wheel, changing his username and starting a rumble with the LZA members, and a few of Sin. Unfortunately, this wasn't a good thing at all. Within a day it was cleared up, but in anger, Vegetaman wrote an article for the BMN completely slamming Evolution and the deed that had been done. Mike8787 created a topic that bit back hard, causing Vegetaman to make a small crack about it in his LTU Collage, as Limit Break, chickengobawk, and Vegetaman hounded Mike8787, who did the same back to them.
3.6 The times are strange
Not too long after, in August 2002, Xtra left the LZA for Reborn on Veterans, which had recently merged with Evolution. This caused the ultimate68 to be promoted into his place as leader of the Fighters of Virtue, and the last fiasco saw Bubba26 as the new 2nd in command, with graeme as leader of the Super Iron Fists after CTrunks/Crystal Dragon turned it down, and Zelda2000 as the long-time leader of the Specialists.
With Evolution, Resistance, Sin, and LZA the remaining LTU factions, the propaganda machine keeps cranking, and the LZA keeps working on.
3.8 The New Roster System
The newest LZA thing, allowing the members to make their own captions for the Roster, and Bubba26's awesome plan Boot Camp. Designed to keep inactives and post once and vanish people from doing what they do best. A small council was created for this task, and the LZA seems to be making a swing back to life, thanks also to Vegetaman's recreated LZA Battle School on the Xevious Board for Atari 2600.