The Crossing of the Paths
By MMM/AJ
Part II: Desert Wind

A/N: I decided to split this book up and publish it in chunks. This is the SECOND chunk. I must apologize profusely for the lateness of this chapter. There is no excuse for being as lazy as I've been, although part of it's been writer's block too.

Chapter VI

As the Vile Desert grew in size, the Gerudo civilization split up into several tribes, each of which went on it's own throughout the desert. The Gerudo tribes were isolated from each other and the Hylians. The fate of the Hylians was unknown; no one living has found any traces of them, or the ancient forests that grew in the Hylian kingdom.

It had been another two weeks since the feast, and now Mewtwo was skilled in speaking. Kalana had also started teaching him how to speak Hylian as well. When he questioned her about this, she replied that their descendants spoke Hylian, and that they preserved the language as their own. What he was speaking was known as the common tongue. He had thrown out his old pen and parchment long ago.

Kalana and Mewtwo were out on a desert patrol late evening one calm day. They were discussing Mewtwo's past. This seemed to be a popular subject with everybody in the village. Even the elder showed no signs of losing interest in his tales of the Pokemon world. Kalana was insisting that he tell her everything he knew about Pokemon trainers and battling.

"So the Pokemon don't die?" Kalana asked.

"No, they naturally fall unconscious before it gets to that point." Mewtwo said. "It is only when an attack is so incredibly powerful that a Pokemon becomes in danger of serious injury." Mewtwo's mind wandered. This talk of the past stimulated his memory, which slowly overtook his mind as he and Kalana strode over the burning dunes.

The image of the clone laboratory rushed back to him. He remembered as clear as day the horrifying orange liquid, the wires stuck to his body, and the demonic looking men looking in at him. He remembered their cold, unfeeling voices as they congratulated each other, and the blackness he felt after destroying the island…

"Are you all right?" Kalana asked. She snapped her fingers in his face.

Mewtwo shook his head. The dunes gleamed orange in front of him, and Kalana was frowning. "I'm sorry, I got lost in memory." Mewtwo said. He tried to shake the memories out of his head, but the vision of the scientists dying slowly and painfully seemed to have implanted itself thoroughly.

Kalana looked at him with a measurable worry. "The horrors you committed are coming back to you?" She asked.

"Yes. I will never forget those days when my heart was filled with a black void of darkness, when I….I…." Mewtwo stammered. He grasped his head and fell to his knees. He saw him again, he saw Giovanni. His black, empty eyes which had sparked so much hatred and evil. Mewtwo felt tears dripping down his cheeks, but was preoccupied with the image of those soulless, evil eyes.

Kalana kneeled down beside him. "Come on, I think we should go back to the village. Screw guard patrol." She said. She lifted him up, and supported him, and they began trudging back towards the village.

Mewtwo sobbed, he was having an emotional release that he had never experienced before. He saw the tattered skeletons of the scientists rising from the ruins of the clone lab. He saw them standing among the flames, tears running out of their eye sockets. Giovanni appeared above them, his face normal, but his eyes were gone, replaced by hollow sockets. Giovanni laughed maniacally, and reached out a black hand, scooping up the scientists and crushing them. "All mine." He said, and threw them into the sea. Mewtwo's sobbing was only broken by one whispered word that dropped from his small mouth: "No."

Kalana tried to snap Mewtwo out if it as they made their way across the dunes. "You know, this is the exact stretch of desert that I found you." She said.

"No……..no……." Mewtwo babbled. He was crying almost freely now, the tears seemed to disappear into the burning sands.

"We'll be at the village soon, come on, snap out of this!" She said. She snapped her fingers in front of his face.

"No……..no……no!" Mewtwo elevated to a shout. His small voice echoed out across the desert. "No! No no no no!" He screamed at the top of his voice. Echoes floated lazily across the sand. The air was perfectly calm, and the sound carried for miles. Mewtwo stopped suddenly, and fell limp.

Kalana strained under the added weight. She bent down and set him on the ground. The echo seemed to just keep going, and she cringed as it hung around the desert like a haze. It eventually stopped, and the desert was eerily calm. Kalana bent over Mewtwo, who had seemed to have passed out. "Come on, wake up! I have a bad feeling about this!" She said.

Her bad feeling was not unfounded either. Kalana didn't notice it at first, but the sand was starting to quiver underneath them. It grew, and a low rumble was heard.

"Oh no," she whispered after finally noticing it, "Sandworm." She whispered softly.

She then pulled out her water bottle and poured some into her cupped hands. She then splashed Mewtwo in the face with it. He did not wake. "Time to go!" She said.

She picked him up, and began running across the dunes. The rumbling was now loud, and the sand a few feet away was rising. The sand suddenly exploded upward, and a hideous worm flew up into the air. It had a large set of saber fangs, and three tiny little beady eyes, which were fixed on Kalana, who was now running as fast as she could while under such a heavy load. The worm flew through the air at a startling speed, and collided with the dunes just a few feet behind Kalana. The sand flew up like a wave and knocked Kalana off her feet. Mewtwo was thrown several feet ahead, and was rolling down the dune. The village was just in sight. Kalana picked herself up quickly, and looked around for Mewtwo. She saw him and the camp a couple hundred feet away. The sand behind her settled, and the rumbling was deafening.

"Only one solution left." Kalana said. She pulled a small horn off her pant leg, brought it up and gave it a mighty blow. The ensuing blast carried over to the village, and soon many horns were heard from the village. Kalana ran down the dune, and picked up Mewtwo. The sand on the dune's peak was moving, and the worm burst through once more. Kalana closed her eyes to keep the sand out, which was raining down from the worm's exit point. She saw the shine of armor up ahead at the village, and another horn sounded. Then the worm came down hard to Kalana's left. She was thrown off her feet again, and Mewtwo was sent flying again. The village was only fifty feet away, and the Gerudo troops were coming up to assist them.

Kalana picked herself up again, and hailed the troops. "Sandworm!" She shouted.

She rushed over and picked up Mewtwo again, and the guards met her and stood by her. The sand rumbled again, and the worm burst up almost a mile away. It was heading straight away from them and the village. It was uttering an awful cry of pain, and landed on top of the sand, having stopped dead in its jump. It just lay there, twitching. Soon the whole village was in arms and out with them. They watch the worm with rigorous anticipation, but it just laid there. It gave them one good start by coughing once, it's whole body convulsing and a large wad of blood filled substance exited its lungs. It had taken its last breath.

Chapter VII

Over the past few decades of Gerudo history, the legend of Hyrule became the myth of the lost kingdom, and is now only known by the oldest tribe elders. It is passed down traditionally to those who are to be the tribe's next elder, along with all of the other legends. Without the tales of the rich and beautiful past, and a promise of a beautiful future, young children would be unmotivated and the Gerudo tribes would stagnate and die off.

"What happened to him?" The Elder asked.

"We were on our guard patrol. I was passing the time by asking him about his past, about the human world, how people and the Pokemon coexisted, and how they battled. He seemed simply dazed at first, but became delusional as we walked along. I tried talking to him, but he recoiled in seeming horror, whispering 'no', over and over again. At this point I decided we should go back, because he was out of touch with reality. I carried him along, and he kept saying 'no' louder and louder, until he screamed it at the top of his lungs and passed out. At this point the sandworm came. I tried my best to flee, but the worm was getting closer and closer with each jump. That's when the guards arrived to help us. Then, as the reports said, the beast fled in terror, and mysteriously dropped dead in mid-jump."

"Very odd." The elder said. She and Kalana were sitting in the village square, and the market shops and houses were eerily silent.

"Did the guards find out what killed the sandworm?" Kalana asked.

"We found the cause of death. The linings of its lungs had swelled up and burst. Poor creature, it was just trying to feed itself. But we never found out why its lungs hemorrhaged like they did. We found no signs of infections that could've caused the swelling, and it seemed like the swelling blew up extremely fast, almost right before it started attacking you. Normally these kinds of ailments slowly and painfully kill, but the worm was in perfect shape before it attacked." The elder said. "How is Mewtwo?" She asked.

"Not well. He is delusional, and has a high fever. I don't know what to do. He just lays there with his eyes scrunched shut, whimpering and groaning." Kalana said.

"That is most worrisome. Have you gotten Fara to look at him?" Elder asked.

"Not yet." Kalana said.

"Then you'd better do it soon." The Elder said.

"Very good idea. I'll get on it now." Kalana said, and then exited the hut.

Mewtwo laid in his straw bed, twisting and turning in his fitful sleep. He saw the same image over and over again in his mind; Giovanni's dead black eyes gazing over the walking skeletons of the scientists that he had killed. "Come back to me, and the world will be ours…." Giovanni whispered, and the scientists reached out to him with their skeletal hands. They grabbed him and held him to the ground, and Giovanni walked slowly up to him carrying the same black armor he had brought before.

Mewtwo struggled, but his powers were gone, and his frail body could not budge the rotting hands. Giovanni held the black helmet over his head and brought it down on Mewtwo with such great force that he blacked out. He laid still in his straw bed back in reality, and finally fell into a peaceful sleep.

Kalana walked in followed by Farah. Farah felt Mewtwo's forehead, which was burning with fever. She saw no other symptoms or indications of severe illness.

"What's the matter with him?" Kalana asked.

"Nothing serious. But he needs fluids, and he's severely delirious. You may want to restrain him if he wakes up." Fara said.

"Very good then. Go tell the Elder." Kalana said. "I'll make sure he's alright."

Kalana looked down at Mewtwo. He was sweating severely, but was now at ease. He no longer twitched and turned over in distress. She reached down and took his hand in hers. She looked down at its strange form. Three fingers ending in suction cups. She felt his skin was covered in a thin, fine hair, almost fur. His fingers were limp in her hand, but she felt life pulsating underneath the skin. She clasped his hand firmly, and shut her eyes tightly, praying to the goddesses that he be alright.

Slowly the mists began to fade, and a foggy picture formed. Mewtwo moaned in pain, he felt like he was on fire. He then noticed the feeling of someone squeezing his paw. He tired to lift his head, but horrid weakness held him down against the straw. He pried his eyelids from their resting places, and saw the insides of his hut slowly came into focus. He looked down and saw the hands holding his, and followed the arms up to Kalana's face. He smiled weakly, thinking to himself; "How many times have I been in this position before?"

"You alright sleepy head?" Kalana asked, looking down into those deep purple eyes.

Mewtwo moved his small lips, trying to form words, but they escaped him, and he was speechless. He felt himself to be on fire, and he squirmed slightly. His bed was soaked in sweat, and he seemed to be scratched by the straw in several places. He tried to sit up, but his strength had left him completely and he fell back into the bed.

"So, what happened to you huh?" Kalana asked.

The memories of the nightmare came back to Mewtwo swiftly. Kalana's sweetness had calmed him for the moment, but the memories flooded back to him. He closed his eyes and shook his head.

"What, what is it?" Kalana asked with a concerned look.

Mewtwo regained his composure and spoke. "You remember I told you my life story right? You remember the horrors I committed? How that scumbag human Giovanni nearly used me to destroy countless lives? I had a horrible nightmare, my head was flooded with horrors of that time. Then it became something more…something much more horrible…I saw the skeletons of the ones I killed rise up, and come for me. I see Giovanni returning, with that same demonic, black armor he tricked me into wearing before. He slammed it down on me, and everything went black." Mewtwo sputtered.

Kalana felt the sheer emotion of horror emanating from Mewtwo's mind and soul. It scared her, and she felt tears in her eyes.

"I remember how the rages felt." Mewtwo said. "I remember the fiery fury that seized my consciousness, and turned my soul into a chaotic inferno comparable to the pits of hell. I remember that my rational thought processes would melt down, like molten lava, and I would completely lose control, until the aftermath, mostly dead bodies, would douse the fire like a raging waterfall. The feeling left afterwards is the worst emotion ever to wrack to mind, body and spirit of any living being. After the anger, an emptiness seemed to fill me. A black, cold void left me sitting in a seeming vast wasteland of emotion, which swallowed everything up and nothing escaped."

Mewtwo paused and took a deep breath. Just remembering these times brought them back to him in full force, and he felt as though he was going to implode on himself and the world was swirling around him. He shook his head hard and continued.

"But it doesn't matter now. I have found a new home. Without my powers here, I am no longer able to harm anyone or anything. No matter how much of an empty desert this place is, it is my home." Mewtwo said.

Kalana squeezed Mewtwo's hand. "It doesn't matter how you feel." She said. "This still is not home!" She shouted. "Home is a place of beauty, where life thrives and plants grow! I was raised on this vile desert, so I cannot justify this outbreak, but I dreamed of it! A land of green, lush trees, bountiful valleys, peaceful lives, and no evil towers rising above the land to suck all the magic essence away!" Kalana said, tears streaming down her face.

"This may seem like a home to you, but I know there's more! There should've been more! But somehow, the entire world is a desolate waste!" Kalana shouted and ran out of the hut.

Mewtwo was shocked. He sat up, and immediately fell back in bed as another wave of nausea washed over him. "This, this world, there's something wrong with it. I must find out what it is." Mewtwo said quietly. He closed his eyes and drifted into another fitful sleep.

Chapter VIII

The final prophecy of the ancient Gerudo legends foretold that the wanderer, who would live amongst the tribes, would seek out the evil in the East, and put an end to what has been known as the time of despair. The time of despair is the time that has stretched beyond count, that the towers have remained standing over the endless desert, and the time when the tribes settled out of their nomadic tendencies and created permanent villages around the towers. The wanderer would go to the East, to never be seen again, and the monuments to evil shall fall on a great day of reawakening for the entire world.

For the first time in almost two weeks, Mewtwo awoke by himself, without help from the clamors of the village market or the horn announcing a raid on one of the mines. Mewtwo wiped some sweat off his brow, and sat up. He felt refreshed, almost like a whole new Pokemon. He stood up and waited for the weakness to come over him, but it didn't. He sighed with relief and walked out of his hut.

A few Gerudos waved at him, and he smiled and waved back. Ever since he had become an honorary member of the tribe, the people in the village gave him their trust. Some even befriended him and followed him around when they had the time.

Mewtwo walked past the marketplace towards the Elder's mud daub house. He had a new purpose in his mind, to find out as much history of this world as possible. And the one Gerudo in the village that he knew was phrased on history and legend was the Elder.

Mewtwo knocked on the Elder's door.

"Not now, I'm busy!" She shouted from the inside.

"It's Mewtwo!"

The door opened and the Elder smiled. "I'm sorry for my rudeness. Please, come in." The Elder said.

Mewtwo followed the Elder inside, closing the door behind him. The Elder sat down on a chair and smiled warmly. "What can I do for you?" She asked.

"I want to know all of the old tales, the legends and the myths. All of them." Mewtwo said.

"All of them? Oh my, there are quite a few. Too many to tell in one day only, I'm afraid. The history of this land is very rich you know?" the Elder said.

"Well, could you tell me one now, just one?" Mewtwo pleaded.

"Oh alright, you talked me into it. Now, we told you about the princess and the warlock, right?" Elder said.

"Yes. That was a wonderful tale." Mewtwo said.

"Oh it's more than just a tale my purple friend. I may not say this much, but I believe that all the legends are true. They are the only explanation for the state of the world these past hundreds and thousands of years. But I'm rambling. By any chance, did you hear the tale about the ancient land of Hyrule?" Elder asked.

"No, I don't think so." Mewtwo said.

The Elder got up, and walked to the back of her house. She pushed open a curtain and ruffled through yellowed and musty sheets of ancient paper. She walked back with an old looking scroll.

"Ah yes, let me take a moment to recall…" Elder said, spreading the scroll out on the floor. The cracked and yellow paper rolled out, almost five feet long and a foot wide.

Mewtwo gazed at the scroll in awe. The scroll rolled out the story of a young boy in a tunic, fighting a horrid monster, and above it all a three tiered Triangle symbol. Mewtwo was interrupted by the Elder snapping out of her trance of remembrance.

"Long, long ago, almost eight thousand years ago, the desert was small, navigable, and neighbored by a lush green land of many wonders. This land was called…Hyrule. Our ancient ancestors, the first Gerudo Tribe, lived in the desert then, neighbored by the tall, powerful, elfish peoples know as Hylians. They coexisted, trading together and peace was a fact of life."

"Now it has always been that in Gerudo society, when a male is born, he is crowned King. One day, a strong baby boy was born by the name of Ganondorf Dragmire. He grew up to be a powerful King of the Gerudo thieves. But at some point in his life, horror and despair burned his soul black, and he became a wicked man, killing for pleasure, and only seeking more power."

"Hyrule had a legend, about a powerful artifact left by three goddesses. It was called the Triforce. Ganondorf sought to obtain this power for himself, and use it to rule the world. He managed to succeed, but only in a costly, half victory, for when he touched the Triforce, it split into three pieces, and only one remained in his clutches. He used its power to conquer Hyrule and the desert for himself."

"A young boy, whose name has been lost in time, rose through time, and with a third of the Triforce, defeated Ganondorf in a Cataclysmic battle. With the King of Evil dethroned, peace resumed. But new tensions arose. The Hylian peoples were in a rage, and they blamed the Gerudos for Ganondorf's evil reign. War was inevitable, and many lost their lives in battle."

"The Hylians, wanting to end the bloodshed, attempted to cast a death curse on the Gerudos, but failed. Some say that it was this curse that caused the desert to expand, others call it unimportant, but I know this is a turning point in history. The desert began to expand."

"After many more years of bloody war, the expanding desert put enough distance between the Hylians and Gerudos that the war ended. The Gerudos, now almost completely killed off by the war, split into several tribes and began wandering the desert. It is here that our knowledge of the Hylians ends." The Elder said, rolling up the scroll.

Mewtwo rubbed his chin. He had formed his own interpretation in his head of how the world had gone bad. A few radical thoughts began crossing his mind. Kalana and the Gerudos had done so much for him, so why couldn't he do something for them?

"Mewtwo?"

Mewtwo shook his head. The elder looked at him inquisitively.

"I'm sorry. I got caught up in thought." Mewtwo said, feeling monumentally stupid. "Do you have any more tales?" He asked.

The Elder turned her head at him. "My you have a curious mind. Of course there are more tales! But we're about to go on a raid against the mine. I don't have time to tell you another." Elder said, putting the scroll back away in the closet.

The Elder opened the door of her house and walked out followed by Mewtwo. As they walked by a small table, the Elder picked a horn off the top and brought it to her mouth. The blast echoed across the dunes, and the previously quiet village burst to life. From every house came an armored Gerudo woman, ready for the raid, carrying a double ended scimitar.

Mewtwo saw Kalana among the ranks. He turned his head in curiosity. "Why is Kalana going along? Isn't she a village guard?" He asked.

"Yes, but this isn't an ordinary raid. This is the last raid we're going to make before the caravan leaves." Elder said. She was pulling on armor herself.

"Caravan?" Mewtwo asked.

"Yes. Every year we travel Far East to trade with another tribe. This raid is to steal enough food and water to sustain us over the week's long trip. It's more than just breaking in, stealing stuff, and running, we need to take control of the entire tower." The Elder said.

"What for?" Mewtwo asked.

"It's not obvious, but below the towers is a vast tunnel network. All the food the people in the tower need comes in through this tunnel. We need to take control of this tunnel, but first we need to destroy their magic draining device," the Elder said, "which is guarded heavily."

Mewtwo shook his head. This 'empire' sounded advanced, most likely having guns. They would need all the help they could get. "I want to go with you." Mewtwo burst out.

The Elder did a double take. "Are you serious?" She said.

"Very. I know that I may not be physically strong or trained, but I feel as though I can make a difference." Mewtwo said.

The Elder shook her head. "If you were a youth, aspiring for greatness, I would firmly forbid it. But you've been seeking a purpose all of your life, and I cannot deny you that." The Elder said.

"Thank you." Mewtwo said.

"Well, I'm not sure if I have any armor that will fit you, but I can get you a scimitar." The elder said. She put her fingers to her mouth and whistled hard.

A small child came up carrying five scimitars and a set of Armor. Mewtwo picked up a scimitar in his hand. He felt it light and strong. The two blades on each side glinted in the harsh desert sun.

The Elder said something in Gerudo language to the child and patted her on the head. The girl smiled and said something in reply and ran off.

Mewtwo found a place in the ranks of the Gerudos, and the Elder walked up the front. "Today, we walk into battle with the empire once again!" She shouted.

The Gerudos shouted out in response.

"We go, not for revenge, and not out of blood thirst, but for our own lives! We take the food, so that we may live!" The Elder shouted. The Elder finished her speech with a spirited shout in the Gerudo language, and all the Gerudos raised their scimitars and shouted a salute.

The ranks started moving, and quickly moved out of the village and into the endless desert. In the distance, the tower of the mine glinted in the sun. Mewtwo panted and stepped in time with the rest of the Gerudos.

"What did she say at the end of the speech?" Mewtwo whispered to the soldier beside him.

"An ancient saying passed down and said before a great test. 'May the way of the Hero lead to Triumph." The soldier said.

A/N: Well, I'm not even going to TRY and guess when the next chapter will come, but I'll try to crank it out before school starts again. Remember, reviews are what keep me going, so if you like this, review, or I won't be able to keep it up!