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 FIFTH Chunk. Yes I am back in school again, which explains the slowness of this chapter. This will also be the only chapter we will have again for a long while, mainly for this reason also. So what do I ask in these times of renewed school? Read, enjoy, and review!

Chapter XIV

Not much exploration has ever happened in the East by Modern Gerudos. Not many reasons are given, but a universal fear of the East keeps any and all questions unasked. Only a few dared ventured into the East, and they never found anything but ruins. One of these ruins is particularly noteworthy, however. An eternal monument said to be built to the desert goddess still stands in the East to this day. Only the oldest and wisest Elder's remember its secrets. According to legends, it was one of six temples erected in honor to the gods of the elements. It was called the 'Desert Colossus', and was told to be the hideout of the original Gerudo queen, Nabooru. The aforementioned explorers did not find anything of value in the ruin, but it was noted how the temple seemed to be ageless, still standing almost completely undamaged as if protected by the very Desert Goddess it depicts.

Once again, the caravan left early in the morning. Just as the sun pinched up over the horizon, Kalana and Ruru found Mewtwo asleep on the desert sand. He saw that the tents had already been converted back to covers for the wagons, and everything was packed up once again. He, Kalana, and Ruru all jumped into the headmost wagon so that they could be with the Elder on this small portion of the trip.

The wagons set off, and soon regained their amazing pace and sped across the morning twilight sand flats. Mewtwo rubbed his eyes and yawned. He was still incredibly sleepy, and wanted to lay back and return to the relaxing void. He was rudely interrupted by Kalana's hands shaking him hard.

"Don't go to sleep now!" She whispered. "Early mornings are when the sandworms are out hunting! We need to all stay awake in case we're attacked! " She said.

Mewtwo moaned and shook his head hard, trying to wake himself up a bit more, but to no avail. The sky was still bluish, and only a few streaks of dawn were arcing from the horizon.

"Sis says you used to be nocturnal!" Ruru said, leaning around Kalana. "Boy that changed quickly!" She said, giggling.

Mewtwo smiled. "Oh yes, I was. It only took me the first week to make the actual adjustment, but it took the rest of the month to get used to it!" Mewtwo said, smiling.

Ruru laughed and sat back. She apparently had no problem being up this early, but this was probably because of all the extra sleep she and the other Gerudos had gotten. Mewtwo sat back as well, and nearly drifted off the sleep again. He pinched himself to stay awake, but the cool wind and soft dawn were very relaxing. He was about to give up and doze off when a voice saved him.

"Yes, your eyes are amazing." Said a middle aged Gerudo woman from the front of the wagon. "The deepest purple I've seen in years. Then again, the only purple I've seen in years." She said.

Mewtwo unconsciously looked the other direction. Despite his bond with the Gerudos, he still felt uneasy about his appearance, and shied away when one tried to examine him.

"I see no evil in them either." The woman said. "I understand your appearance is frightening, but it's easy to tell your heart is not evil by a simple glance in your eyes. It's too bad my foolish sisters are too scared of you to look in them, or their delusions about you being evil would be abolished. There's just something about you that is kind and gentle." She said.

"You raise a very good point Madiri." The Elder shouted back from the front of the wagon.

Mewtwo went into thought for a moment. This woman was named Madiri, and it seemed she trusted him as well. He was hurt mildly at the thought of her sisters believing he was evil. He would have to talk to them, but would need their names first.

"What are your sister's names?" Mewtwo burst out, sounding almost vulgar in his tone of voice. The morning air seemed to shudder.

"Why they're Quidiri and W'diri, why do you ask?" Madiri asked.

"Just curious." Mewtwo muttered. He felt like he could slap himself, and almost did for a second. All Gerudo eyes in the wagon focused on him, and he felt awfully awkward.

"Goin' to talk some sense into them?" Ruru asked, poking her head out again.

Mewtwo laughed weakly, and a few mild chuckles rolled around the wagon. The eyes lifted off of Mewtwo and returned to their own business. Mewtwo almost kissed Ruru for the relief. The wagon was silent for awhile, and Mewtwo once again began drifting off. He was interrupted once more by Kalana.

"Oh all right you can sleep!" She said. "But by sleeping consider it giving us license to use any method to wake you up in the event of an attack!"

Mewtwo chuckled. He was not sure what she meant, but he was so incredibly sleepy that he didn't care if he would find out the hard way. He laid back and fell asleep quickly and without disturbance.

Mewtwo was woken slowly but surely by the sun. The heat of the desert and the burning light of the sun filtered down through the wagon's cover and through his eyelids. He yawned, stretched, and sat up. The sun was now above the horizon, but it was still early morning. The Gerudos were all asleep again, except the Elder, who was driving the wagon.

"Well, you're awake again." The Elder said.

Mewtwo turned his head curiously. The Elder had a serious tone in her voice. "Yep. But is anything bothering you?" Mewtwo asked.

"Well, you were sleeping out on the sands! What were you thinking?" The Elder said sternly. She hadn't raised her voice, but was obviously upset.

Mewtwo was no getting into the habit of shaking his head at every bad thought. "It was a nightmare, a horrible nightmare that shocked me awake. I wandered out of my tent to get some fresh air. I must have fallen asleep while I sat and took in the stars." Mewtwo said, omitting his vision of Ai. He was still not sure if it was real or a dream, the way sleep blended with reality.

"I know how you feel. I've had nightmares all my life. But I've never let it get to me." The elder said, pausing. She was silent for a few moments, and then spoke again in a hushed tone. "Do you see a pair of burning crimson eyes etching into your very soul?"

Mewtwo nearly gasped with shock at the coincidence. He could practically see those eyes eating away at his body again. "Yes." He said in a low tone.

"Every Elder has always been plagued by these images in her dreams. From their very birth from the Honorable Mother, to their very last recalled dream, we've all seen the eyes." The Elder said.

Mewtwo shuddered vigorously. The Elder looked back at him. "Never once has an ordinary Gerudo had this dream…But I must take into consideration that you're not an ordinary Gerudo." The Elder said, squelching her face up in thought. "You do have those powers after all." She muttered.

Mewtwo scoffed. "We've already come into the range of another tower." He said. "I couldn't use my powers again if I wanted to." Just to make sure, Mewtwo tried to pick up a box in the back of the wagon. He was greeted with the familiar lack of energy. He felt dry, like he hadn't drunk any water in days.

"Still, I must admit your senses must be more attuned than ours." The Elder said with a quizzical look on her face. "No explanation has ever been given to the eyes, but over time they have been given the name 'The Eyes of the Empire' because you can tell that they come from the Far East where they say the Empire is stationed." The Elder said.

The memory of the Black Mewtwo came back to Mewtwo's mind. Suddenly, a connection snapped in his brain. The Black one also had crimson eyes.

"Wait! Remember when we were attacked by the Evil copy of me in the station?" Mewtwo burst out. "He has red eyes too! He must be the one haunting the Gerudo dreams!"

The Elder turned her head slightly, and then shook it. "It couldn't be. I know about the demons of old, and they could shift shapes with ease. What attacked us was a demon who took your shape in order to frighten the villagers out of their trust in you! I knew something about you was special, but now that a demon has tried to undermine our trust in you, I know you hold some significance!" The Elder said, now in a lighter tone.

Mewtwo feigned a chuckle. "I guess they did the opposite of what they were trying to do then huh?" He said.

"Absolutely. But still, the red eyes correlation is very disturbing." The Elder said.

"So is the name that the Gerudos have given them. Now I feel like the Empire is watching me." Mewtwo said. He shuddered again.

The conversation between them seemed to die right then and there. Mewtwo sat eagerly awaiting more talk to get those eyes off of his mind, but the Elder sat silent. The hum of the engines was no longer soothing, but rather intrusive as his mind roiled in thought. They seemed to take on a higher pitch, which pierced his thoughts as he tried to prod into the mystery of the Empire. He now knew there was a connection between it and the Black Mewtwo, and the nightmare he had, but the noise jumbled his thoughts and he couldn't think straight.

Hours passed, and the sun moved across the sky as the wagons rocketed over the mysteriously flat sands. Noon came and went. Mewtwo couldn't sleep like the Gerudos, who were accustomed to it. His mind wandered by itself, and it seemed to him that whenever it drifted back to the subject of the Empire, his head began to pound. He shrugged it off as stress and thought about something else. Soon the sun was closing on the opposite horizon, and Mewtwo felt like he was going to melt into the wagon. He was incredibly hot and uncomfortable, and his tail was cramping up. The Elder still held on to her iron silence. At one point Mewtwo was sure she had fallen asleep, but this illusion was broken whenever she adjusted the controls on the vehicle. Time itself had seemed to stop, and the large wagon was now royally uncomfortable.

What finally broke the monotony was not welcomed though. A low rumble made itself audible over the droning of the engines. Mewtwo snapped back into reality. He recognized the rumble as the same one made by the sandworm. The Elder looked back at him with a face dominated by shock. "By the gods!" She whispered, and then whipped around and pulled out a horn.

The resulting blast dominated the sound of the engines and the worm. Mewtwo heard a rumbling blast, and looked back to see the sandworm erupt out of the ground almost a mile behind them. It turned to face them and flew towards them in its jump. Another horn rose from the wagon on the left behind them, and soon every wagon followed suit. The sandworm smashed into the sand still about 1000 feet behind the backmost wagon, but it was obviously gaining.

Kalana and the other Gerudos in the lead wagon with Mewtwo burst awake. They rummaged through a nearby box, and pulled out four bows and a quiver of arrows. Kalana, Madiri, and one other Gerudo strung the bows and each knocked an arrow. They stood at the back of the wagon, ready for the worm to emerge.

And emerge it did. It burst out of the sands almost 100 feet away from the rear wagon. Mewtwo was shocked at how fast it was moving. Immediately the three let fly, and the arrows flew straight into the worm. Arrows rocketed up from all of the wagons to find the resting places in the worm. The sandworm didn't let out a sound, but continued on its course until gravity caught it and pulled it down. It burrowed down just ten feet behind the backmost wagon. The impact knocked the wagon forward, and its flimsiness showed when it completely burst apart. Mewtwo gasped in horror. Luckily, the formation was spread wide enough to prevent a domino effect. But the sight of the Driver being thrown and crushed was horrible.

The rumble passed underneath their wagon, and Mewtwo imagined the worm bursting up underneath them, swallowing them all. But it was moving almost ten times faster than them, and it passed quickly. Kalana, Madiri, and the third Gerudo ran up and stood at the front, arrows at the ready.

Soon, the worm burst upwards, nearly fifty feet ahead. It turned and closed distance with the wagons. "Make this shot count!" Kalana shouted. The arrows flew true, up and each of the three into an eye. The worm cried out and swerved to the side. Arrows from the other wagons embedded into its side. It lost its momentum and slammed into the sand on its side.

The wagons slowed and circled the worm. After ten minutes they were sure it was dead. They then turned around and stopped at the remnants of the back wagon that had been destroyed.

Fortunately, it was one of the cargo wagons. The driver was the only one aboard. She had been crushed underneath the wreckage. She had died instantly when a wooden beam smashed her in the back of the neck, breaking her spine. Mewtwo stood over her solemnly. He knew that it would be impossible to resurrect her, even if he still had his powers. He turned and saw that the other Gerudos were moving quickly, salvaging all of the cargo without stopping to pay respects. Soon, everything that was of use was packed up, and Mewtwo was whisked off onto the wagon with Kalana and the others. No one spoke as the wagon's remains shrank into the horizon.

Mewtwo felt sickened. Nobody had even paused to look at the dead Gerudo. Kalana, Ruru, Madiri, the Elder, or any other Gerudo in the wagon with him showed any sign of emotion on their faces. Mewtwo wanted to scream at them. Didn't they just care that one of them had just died? His tail twitched involuntarily, and he had to sit directly on it to keep it still. He blocked out the ensuing pain and tried to shift his thoughts. Unfortunately, he was running out of pleasant things to think about. He felt as though his life was souring again, and the thought of leaving via dimensional portal surged up strong. It danced around his head, taunting him.

A clear voice of reason rose in his mind. "Cowardly! The Gerudos saved your life, took you in and healed you, and you want to leave them like this?" The voice cried angrily. "You are indebted to them! You cannot leave them without repaying them!" it cried.

"And what am I supposed to do?" Mewtwo countered to himself. "It's not like I can just hand them a few thousand yen! Money has never meant anything to me, and it's useless to the Gerudos! Once again, what exactly am I supposed to do?" He asked himself.

"You're being a moron!" the voice answered. "Money? Ha! You're right in saying it's worthless to them. Your actions speak louder than words. You need to do something for them." It said.

Mewtwo wondered if this was even him thinking. It sounded unlike him, but he could sense when someone intruded on his mind, even when he was without his powers. The elder was right, his senses were very acute.

The rest of the drive that day was uneventful. They rode quietly for the rest of daylight, and stopped and camped at sunset. Mewtwo slept soundly, without having any dreams at all whatsoever. The third day into the journey was mind-numbingly boring. Mewtwo sat in the wagon doing nothing the entire day. He envied the Gerudos to the extreme. They slept through almost the whole day, spared from the torturous boredom and heat. The entire day was reminiscent of the inside of a Pokeball, only with a beating sun and horrid heat. Mewtwo slept well after this day of torture.

The fourth day followed the same suit. The boredom and the heat wore at Mewtwo's mind. There was no lack of food and water however, as the cargo car that had been destroyed carried the trading goods instead of the food and water. But still, Mewtwo could not waste the water by pouring it over himself, as he wanted desperately to do. The day seemed to take pleasure in creeping by just to torment him. When the end of the day finally came, the cool of the night was the sweetest thing Mewtwo ever felt in his life. His cool cloth bedstrip was more welcoming than ever when he fell into it.

The fifth day seemed to be a light at the end of the tunnel for Mewtwo. Only two more days of this hellish trip, and he would enjoy the cool comfortable hut interior and some decent grilled meat. For the first time, Mewtwo's mind drifted toward the upcoming instead of the past. He wondered what was going to happen at the Blue Gerudo Village. What kind of ceremonies would occur? What food would they eat? These thoughts kept Mewtwo's mind mostly occupied for the entire day. The heat and boredom were a little more tolerable that day. Still, the bedstrip was a welcome sight.

The sixth day was a polar opposite of the fifth. Mewtwo was now becoming insanely impatient. He knew they would arrive tomorrow night, but the anticipation was driving him mad. It didn't seem possible, but it was even hotter that day than any of the others. Mewtwo panted and gasped in the heat. The flimsy cloth cover seemed powerless against the merciless sun. Mewtwo longed for water, but they were starting to run low and were rationing. That night, the chill and the bedstrip were more welcoming than they had ever been.

Chapter XV

The Gerudos have always been skilled in the arts of the staff and the blade. When a young Gerudo came of age, she would first receive training in the ways lf the staff. Then, after mastering the staff, the Gerudo would train with the sword. If she makes it this far, she then receives her own double ended scimitar. It is vital for all Village Elders to have these skills, because the Elders aren't only wise leaders, but powerful warriors that lead the Gerudos into battle.

Mewtwo awoke to the sound of a Gerudo warning horn. He sprung up and ran out of his tent without thinking. The camp was enflamed with activity. Buzzing everywhere were Gerudos with scimitars. Suddenly, the horn blew again, twice in quick succession. The bustle reversed direction towards the sound of the horn. Mewtwo followed with the crowd, still not fully awake. A few wooden staffs were lying on the ground, one of which Mewtwo grabbed as he passed. He didn't have any special training with it, but he didn't want to go unarmed.

The crowd of Gerudos congealed around the Elder, who had blown the horn. Mewtwo pushed his way to the front to get a good look at what was going on. The Elder and Kalana were restraining an unfamiliar, wild looking Gerudo who had a large scar across her forehead like a tiara. She was struggling hard and growling something in Hylian.

"What we have here is a lone thief." The Elder proclaimed loudly. "Kalana caught her stealing a red silk slip from one of our cargo wagons." The thief struggled to no avail, and looked over the crowd. She saw Mewtwo, and let out a shrill scream, shattering the calm.

"Demon! Demon!" She cried. A few Gerudos in the crowd murmured, and suddenly Mewtwo was no longer being crowded. The Gerudos around him stepped away.

"Silence!" The Elder cried. "Mewtwo is of no concern to you! He has proven himself to us and there is no need for you to interfere with our matters! Now, name your tribe!" The Elder said with a tone of rage and contempt in her voice.

"I don't belong to any of your so-called 'tribes'!" The thief sneered. "I don't follow the Empire!"

"Neither do we!" The Elder blasted, fire in her wise eyes.

"Liar!" The thief snarled. "There's proof of it right there!" She cried, pointing at the bewildered Mewtwo.

"ENOUGH!" The Elder exploded, holding her scimitar to the thief's neck. The word echoed across the sands, and Mewtwo winced. "Another word and I will personally see your head rolling on the sands!" the Elder growled.

"Word!" the thief whispered, and moving quickly, kicked her left leg with her right leg. A sword jutted out of her right pantleg and embedded in Kalana's leg above her knee. Kalana cried out and let go of her grip, and all in the same second, the crowd gasped, Kalana cried out, and the thief broke free. The thief pulled the bloody sword out of her pants and charged at Mewtwo.

"Let my sisters free!" She cried zealously, and swung her sword. Mewtwo blocked with the staff he was now happy he had picked up. The blade cut two thirds through the staff, and it started to bend. Mewtwo looked into the thief's eyes, and saw the same intense, black hatred he had felt when he went into a rage. Then, the thief's eyes went glassy and she fell limp on the ground. Standing behind her was Ruru holding a staff of her own.

The wagons left late the morning of this seventh day. The thief was left alone, tied up with only enough food and water for one day. This was practically a death sentence this far out in the desert. Mewtwo felt sorry for her. He related to her, simply because she too was a misfit in her own world, and felt the same rage as he did. He doubted why he even let them leave her like that after a while.

This little incident also shook Mewtwo's sense of security as well. He knew that his appearance was frightening to the Gerudos, and not all of them trusted him, but this little brush with the rogue was a shocking reminder, like a bucket of cold water after acclimating to the heat.

After the wagon had reached its cruising speed, Fara climbed forward and sat next to Kalana and unwrapped her bandage. The wound was deep, and pierced several layers of muscle. Kalana groaned and panted. Fara shook her head and produced a bottle of red liquid that Mewtwo recognized right away as the same potion she had given him almost two months ago. Kalana gulped it down greedily. A few minutes later, the wound was gone and she was fine.

As the wagon rolled on over the day, Mewtwo became more and more restless. The lone thief's raid hadn't delayed hadn't delayed them too much, but it would be nightfall by the time they arrived tonight. The day passed slowly, but Mewtwo was thankful that it wasn't as hot as it had been yesterday. Instead of sleeping, the Gerudos meditated all day.

When Mewtwo asked about this, Kalana replied, "It's for the festival games."

"Festival games?" Mewtwo repeated.

"Yes, in celebration of the union of the two tribes to share resources and fight the Empire." Kalana answered.

"Are we actually going to fight the Empire?" Mewtwo asked.

"Well, yes and no. If you mean 'Are we going to war?', then no. But at the end of the Two Week's Festival, both tribes go on a joint raid against the tower." Kalana said.

Mewtwo turned his head, thinking. If one tribe of 40 Gerudos could take a tower, then imagine what 80 could do! Suddenly, a new set of questions leapt into Mewtwo's mind. How can the Gerudos keep defeating such an advanced force? He remembered the bullet-proof armor they had, but even that couldn't make them invincible?

Just then the wagon hit a bump, jolting Mewtwo back into the real world. He looked back and saw a rock in the sand trailing behind them. "How odd" He thought to himself.

Hours passed, and Mewtwo surveyed his dismal little pseudo-family. Everyone was meditating except the Elder, who was driving, and Ruru. Mewtwo decided to strike up a conversation.

"So, thanks for saving me." He said softly, as not to disturb the meditators.

"We're even now!" The smiling Ruru said with a wink. Her face was beaming, ever excited about the festival.

A small pause ensued, and Mewtwo tried again. "So you're skilled with the staff?" he asked.

"Mom is training me with it. I'm not really good with it though." Ruru said, her smile fading a bit.

"That's silly! Look how bad I did, and you pulled my tail out of the fire!" Mewtwo said.

Ruru giggled while daring a look at Mewtwo's tail. "You're so nice!" She said, her smile back with full force. After another short pause, Ruru broke into a question. "Hey, why aren't you preparing for the games?"

Mewtwo sighed heavily. "Looking the way I do? I would scare the other tribe away!" He said forlornly.

Ruru frowned. "I wish people wouldn't judge other people by how they looked." She said, her chin in her hands.

"No matter how hard you try to get away from it, there's always prejudice and hatred wherever you go." Mewtwo said longingly. There was silence. When Mewtwo finally realized what he had just said, he felt a warm feeling inside himself, almost like becoming whole, and for the first time, he fell asleep during the drive.

Swirling galaxies spun through space, and Mewtwo gazed at them, reaching out and touching them. Suddenly, they fell away, and he was shaken awake. The inside of the wagon and Kalana's face emerged from the black mist. Mewtwo rubbed his eyes and yawned, sitting up. He saw that the sun was nearly gone on the horizon behind them. He had slept the whole day! He was amazed, he had never slept so soundly, long, and without disturbing dreams. He took a deep breath, held it, and let go slowly. He felt renewed, purified almost, and his head was clear for the first time in days.

"I guess it was your turn to sleep in today huh?" Ruru said, cutting Kalana off when she was about to say something.

"Please remember to speak in turn?" Kalana said sharply.

"Sorry." Ruru said, a hurt look on her face as she sat back.

Kalana shook her head and spoke. "We're almost there, about half an hour left."

"That's good," Mewtwo said, "But weren't you a bit mean to Ruru?" He continued in a low voice.

"I guess you're right." Kalana said with a guilty look on her face. "She went through three months of living hell as an Imperial slave and here I am snapping at her for interrupting me."

Kalana finished her sentence, then turned around and gave her sister a crushing hug. Ruru made fake choking noises, and then they both laughed. The other Gerudos in the wagon, not meditating anymore, smiled at this heartwarming sight, and even the Elder looked back and smiled. Mewtwo felt like he was a part of the family again, and even Madiri smiled.

After thirty minutes, it was now completely dark. Out just a few miles in the distance glowed great bonfires. Mewtwo knew that they were now approaching the Village. The Elder downshifted the engine, which whined and coughed painfully. The same sounds issued from the wagons behind them.

Suspiciously, the noises from some of the wagons behind them went quiet. Before anyone could look back, a whizzing noise and a thump were heard from the front of the wagon, and the engine sputtered out, dead.

A/N: I've taken down my review responses in this Author's Note due to further specifications against interactivity.