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

A/N: I decided to split this book up and put it up it in chunks. This is the SEVENTH chunk. I hope you guys had some happy holidays, as mine were quite busy. I barely had time to write with all the trips and family visits I had, but I still found enough time to write this chunk to the standard ten pages, plus a few extra! Enjoy the First part of the Festival Games!

Chapter XX

"To win a battle, it is important to know yourself and to know your enemy. But to truly know the Empire is twisting to the mind and blackening to the soul."

-Eighth Elder of the Yellow Tribe, infamous for going insane and slitting her own throat.

A cold wet blast jolted Mewtwo back into reality. He shook the icy water off his face and sat up. The Elder stood over him, holding the same water bottle as before. A concerned look painted her weathered face.

"What happened? Are you all right?" She asked in an urgent tone.

Mewtwo took a quick assessment of himself. The back of his head and his head-back connection were throbbing forcefully where they had hit the shelf. He winced with every beat of his own pulse. He also felt decidedly feverish and weak. His stomach burned with nausea and he felt overall awful. When he explained all this to the Elder she frowned woefully.

"I will go fetch Fara, don't move." The Elder said. She slammed the door shut and slammed the outer door as well. Mewtwo laid back on the sand floor and resisted the strong urge to use his recover ability to heal himself. Time bent itself seemingly to prolong his torture, and he was about to pass out again when he heard the outer door open. He expected to see Fara and the Elder standing over him, but instead a young Gerudo child in blue clothes stood about 5 feet over him. She looked like a seven year old by human standards, and she looked down on him without a trace of fear on her face.

"I…I'm not a demon." Mewtwo sputtered, his speech skills degrading under pressure. He wondered why the little girl didn't look afraid.

"You aren't a demon, you're the wanderer." The girl said without any detectable emotion.

"What?" Mewtwo asked, completely confused.

"You're the dark wanderer, whom the legends say will fight the Empire and free the world."

"But that's impossible! I'm just one Pokemon! How can I defeat such a large force?" Mewtwo asked incredulously.

"Nothing is as it seems." The girl said. "You should know well enough the power one can have."

Mewtwo's memories flashed back to Ash, the one trainer who single handedly brought truth to his eyes and saved countless lives from a violent death.

"But why me?" Mewtwo asked, his mind befuddled.

"Before you were even created, before life flowed through your veins, your destiny was intertwined with ours. It was no fickle fate that brought you here, and the same force that did will no doubt grasp you in its grip again before this is over."

"How do you know all this?" Mewtwo asked.

"I see as you see." The girl said, and she promptly turned and briskly walked out. The outer door thumped closed gently before Mewtwo could even try to comprehend what had happened. The heat in the room and the pain in his head drowned out any attempts at ruminating.

After another miniature eternity passed, the Elder and Fara appeared. They looked down on him with worry and concern.

"It looks like the old fever." The Elder whispered to Fara. Fara nodded and frowned harder. Mewtwo wasn't listening to what they were saying, and the rest of their dialogue was lost to him. Then a small itching sensation tickled on the inside of his small nostrils. Before he knew it the itch multiplied and he burst forward in a satisfying sneeze. At that same exact instant a can of asparagus on the shelf next to them burst open, splattering all three of them with chunks of the moist vegetable. The Elder swore in Hylian and waved her walking stick around the room, seeking an invisible foe. Mewtwo sniffed his nose, felling another itch, and sneezed again. Five cans on the shelf to his right flew off of the shelf, and the Elder and Fara ducked as they whizzed past and slammed into the opposing wall. The Elder waved her walking stick, and the air seemed to gel around them. A thumping sound emanated from the tip of her stick, which now more resembled a staff.

Mewtwo, still not realizing what was going on, sneezed again. A red glow shined from his head and Fara flew backwards into the main room, as if tossed by an invisible hand.

"Quickly, cast an anti-sneezing spell!" Fara shouted from the other room as she got up from the sandy floor.

The Elder touched the tip of her staff to Mewtwo's face, and he felt the itching wear off. Fara rushed up and conversed with the Elder about a new course of action. While they were talking Mewtwo realized he had caused all this, and it needed to stop now. He had already been discovered by the little girl half an hour ago, so he might as well use his recover power now. He did so, concentrating hard through the feverish mists. Slowly the toxins were cleansed out of his system and the fever came down. He sat up, feeling much better, and the Elder and Fara turned their heads to stare at him.

"Simply amazing." The Elder said quietly.

With these words, someone came bursting in behind them, shouting "What is going on? What was that strange magic?"

An old looking Gerudo in blue walked up behind Fara. She looked directly at Mewtwo and a jolt registered on her face. "DEMON!" She screamed, pulling Fara back away. She reached for a sword hanging on the wall when a hand appeared on her shoulder. It belonged to the same child that had visited Mewtwo half an hour earlier.

"No mother, he is not a demon. He is the one whose destiny shall free us from the grip of the Empire. He is the wanderer."

Chapter XXI

Sandstorms have become commonplace over the vile desert, and are accepted as everyday occurrences. One of the largest sandstorms in Gerudo history flared up right before the day of great evil, and ended before construction began on the towers. The only explanation the Gerudos have is that the weather is random and unpredictable.

Mewtwo awoke this morning feeling stressed, downtrodden, and tired. Yesterday and last night had been hectic. After being discovered by the Blue Elder, there was quite a bit of explaining to do. The word of his presence had spread like lightning, quickly and with electrifying results. He changed in the eyes of hir Red Tribe Companions, nobody doubted the girl's declaration of Mewtwo being this 'wanderer'. A crowd had formed around the house and there was silent awe. The silence didn't last long, both Red and Blue Gerudos surged towards him with questions. It didn't stop until it was time for the feasting to resume that afternoon. Later that evening, Mewtwo had prepared a speech which had went over with a standing ovation. He was proud of this accomplishment, but the nervousness he suffered for it had been almost intolerable. Then, after stuffing himself silly alongside the Gerudos at the feast, he had gone to bed and slept like a rock.

But for some reason he didn't wake well rested in his new private hut, rather he still felt tired and stressed. He found it difficult to get up and see the Gerudos were still dancing and feasting like they had been all night. He pushed his way to the tables and picked through the assorted platters to assemble his breakfast. He sat down outside the square and savored the strange meats.

After finishing, Mewtwo took to wandering through the village absentmindedly. Since all the Gerudos would do is dance and eat without stop, he had no company. Kalana and the Elders all invited him to join them, but he knew what would happen if he tried to dance on those wobbly legs of his. So he walked and walked, ruminating, until he came upon Ruru sitting in the sand and looking incredibly bored.

"Hey Mewtwo." She said dolefully.

"Hey, what's wrong? Why aren't you dancing with the others?" Mewtwo asked her.

"I sprained my ankle and now I can't dance on it." She said, staring listlessly at the sand.

"Well maybe I can help you." Mewtwo said. "Which ankle did you sprain?"

"The left one." Ruru said.

Mewtwo sat down next to Ruru and put his paw on her left ankle. Warm blue energy radiated from it, but only a few moments. Mewtwo stood back up and gestured for Ruru to do the same. She stood up cautiously, and when pain came, she jumped up and down with an expression of glee.

"Wow, that's so neat! How'd you do that?" She asked in a giddy tone.

"Magic!" Mewtwo said with a sparkle in his eye.

Ruru giggled and danced happily. "You're so cool!" She said grinning.

"You think that was cool, watch this!" Mewtwo said, taking Ruru's hand. He used his power to lift them a few feet off the sand, hovering in midair.

"We're flying!" Ruru said half in fear, half in glee. She kicked her legs in the air, trying to touch the ground.

Mewtwo flew them higher into the air, above the heat of the desert, and until the village was a pattern of squares and the villagers were like ants below. The desert blared orange in the bright morning light and a strong wind pulled at them both. The monotony of the horizon was broken by the Imperial Mining Tower out in the distance. A blink of light shone from the lake of water it was belching from pipes sticking out of its sides. The tips of several other towers were visible as well, almost in pattern across the desert surface. An ominous dark feeling was also reeking over the Eastern Horizon, and Mewtwo squinted. It almost looked like the sky over the East was a shade darker than the rest of the sky. Mewtwo turned his gaze away, shuddering, and spotted a small structure maybe twenty miles east of the Village, and beyond that, the Horizon tinted a shade darker before curving away.

"Umm, can we go down now, I think I'm afraid of heights" Ruru said, drawing Mewtwo out of his ominous ruminations.

"No problem." Mewtwo replied, taking one last look at the odd stone structure before letting their altitude slip away. The village shot back up at them, and they landed on the exact same spot as they had been standing before.

Nobody had seemed to notice Mewtwo and Ruru's little flight, and Mewtwo spent the day pondering what could be in the East as Ruru joined the others in dancing the day away. Mewtwo's mind dwelt on that lone stone structure he had seen, wondering where it came from, if it was occupied by some living being, and how old it was. As the day passed, his mind drifted into other planes, wondering where the Gerudos had gotten all this food. Either they had pulled off quite a raid at the tower, or there was a lot of magic being used. He still didn't quite grasp the concept of magic, wondering where this kind of omnipresent energy came from. He knew that the Towers drained it out of the environment to power themselves, and so the nearest tower must be offline right now. There must be a group of Gerudos over in the tower now keeping it offline. Maybe they even went so far as to destroy it. H knew the Empire had resources and energy to build another one if they had a network so vast across the desert.

The next few days slid into somnalescent repetition, and Mewtwo found them almost comparable to the wagon ride. All the Gerudos ever did was eat and dance. Either they had incredibly one track minds, or this was the only leisure they would get for a long time and were savoring it to the last drop. And suddenly one day, Mewtwo woke up to find the feast tables were completely gone. Long boundaries ran through the square, and Mewtwo knew they were racing lanes for the first segment of the Festival Games. The Games were beginning today.

Mewtwo was quite unsure about his ability to compete, but the Blue Elder insisted that he participate in every game. He wanted to avoid public display, he was already the subject of intense scrutiny without being put on a pedestal. This legend of the wanderer had made him sort of a star to the Gerudos, and none of them showed any fear to him, despite his appearance.

The games started early in the morning, and Mewtwo was up in time to watch the Gerudos dashing down the square and back, testing their speed against one another. Methodically the slower Gerudos were eliminated and the best of the best rose higher in the ranking. Before it was Mewtwo's turn, the Blue Elder approached him.

"Traditionally, magic is not allowed in any event except the test of magical prowess." She said to him as he leaned against a hut. "If you try anything like that, I'll know."

There was a cheer as another race reached its completion, and Mewtwo heard his name shouted out above the din. The Blue Elder winked at him and hurried him off to the starting line. The crowd fell silent as Mewtwo approached the thin painted line, and Mewtwo felt all eyes on him. He cursed in his head, wondering what they will all think of him after this race. Kalana stood in the other lane, and she gave him a thumbs-up sign before settling into starting position. Mewtwo knew he didn't stand a chance, Kalana was one of the Red Tribe's fastest. Still, he needed to be a good sport, so he didn't say anything as he awkwardly got into starting position. Still the crowd remained silent.

"Prepare!" The Red Elder shouted, and a few seconds later, "GO!" rang across the village.

Kalana rocketed forward, gracefully bounding across the stone of the square. Mewtwo wobbled onward, watching as Kalana gained easy distance. He was going a quarter of the speed she had attained, and he was dog tired after only a few seconds of running. As he panted along a rock caught on his foot and he tumbled forward. He caught himself and got back on his feet, trying to regain his pace. After he made halfway across the Square, Kalana passed him on the return. He didn't look back to see her reach the finish, but rather kept at it with dogged determination until he reached the end of the square. On the return he doubled his pace, going as hard as he could until he reached the finish, dripping with sweat.

The Gerudos clapped him on the back and complimented him on his being a good sport, but the cheering went to Kalana and Mewtwo felt dejected as he found a place among the spectators to watch the rest of the races. The Red Elder came over and stood next to him after a few minutes.

"You did pretty well for someone so disadvantaged in such a contest." She said reaffirmingly.

Mewtwo felt genuinely better and smiled warmly. "There wasn't any doubt in my mind that I'd lose with these legs of mine." He said.

"Not to mention you were up against the fastest in our Tribe." The Elder said. "You didn't give up, and that's what counts. Good job." She said.

"Thanks." Mewtwo said meaningfully.

"Besides, imagine how well you'll do in the Test of Magical Prowess?" The Elder said in a mischevious tone.

Mewtwo soaked that sentence in, and smiled deviously. He knew the day after tomorrow was going to be most interesting.

Chapter XXII

The ancient land of Hyrule, and the vast, immeasurable desert are everything the Gerudos have ever known. Even the Gerudos themselves have lost track of the desert's bounds, and forays into new lands have been unheard of and never suggested. The Gerudos have become so complacent in their lives that they have not even thought to travel past the reach of the mining towers of the Empire. Lack of foods and supplies is a major factor in this, but it is partly because many Gerudos know can only call their small villages home, even in this age of the decline.

The next day, the second test went underway as early as the first had. Mewtwo awoke to find Gerudos testing the balance by standing on poles of decreasing diameter. Complete silence was traditional to this event the Blue Elder told Mewtwo later, and that he should not talk unless at a significant distance from the balancers. So Mewtwo ate his provided breakfast in silence, watching as Gerudos perched and fell off the poles one by one. In the test, a competing Gerudo had to stand successfully without outside support on each successive pole for thirty seconds. More experienced Gerudos balanced successfully on the skinniest pole, so that all but fifteen had been eliminated. This fifteen had balanced perfect on every pole for a minute, twice the required time.

Mewtwo's turn was the last of this round, and he stumbled up onto the first pole. Already he noticed that one of his feet was too big to stand on even the thickest pole, and he only held his balance for four seconds. Once again, the Gerudos congratulated him on his good sportsmanship, but the real cheers went to Kalana, who stood on the skinniest pole for a minute and a half. It was only midday by the time the first round was over, and Kalana and the other fourteen waited while the second half of the test was set up.

The next test was twice as difficult as the last. A new series of poles was set up, all of equal height and closely knit in a path. They were all the skinniest width as well. The fifteen contestants had to jump from pole to pole without falling, until they reached the end and slid down. The poles were about 10 feet tall, and a fall would be humiliating and painful on top of that. The first to tackle the pole course was the Blue Elder.

The Blue Elder leapt from pole to pole gracefully, moving like a swan through the afternoon sun. She reached the end of the pole course in forty seconds and put up quite a dazzling show. There was quite a lot of coordination and muscle power hidden beneath her wrinkled façade. The Red Elder went next, and put on just as impressive a show as the Blue Elder had. She finished the course in just under forty seconds, and the Red clad Gerudos cheered merrily as the Red Elder slid down the pole.

Kalana was next up, and she seemed a bit uneasy about the height. She struggled up the first pole and gained a foothold. The same grace showed in her as in the first round, but she wobbled in her jump and almost fell halfway through. She finished in one minute straight. A few other Gerudos were eliminated, and Fara and the Blue Medicine Woman were needed to heal some broken bones from the falls. When the final round was over, it was bordering on twilight. The Gerudos scurried to complete preparations on the final round.

With only 9 competitors left, the final round was rigorous. Poles were placed between huts, and the Gerudos had to jump from a pole to a hut's roof and then to another pole. You had to choose your route wisely, as huts with straw roves tended to collapse under one's weight. If you caused a hut to collapse you were disqualified. The fastest routes to the end of the course were those that included straw roved huts, so one had to gauge one's weight versus their speed in order to win.

Kalana stepped up first. This course was not as high up as the second one, so she was more confident. She deftly hopped from hut to pole and completed the course without errors in a minute and ten seconds. A few other Gerudos ran the course, and four of them underestimated their weight and collapsed huts. When it was the Blue Elder's turn, she lightly alight on all the grass huts without collapsing a single one, finishing the course in fifty seconds. The Blue Gerudos cheered at this lowest time, and the Red Elder climbed up. She followed a path through the village that had already been collapsed by previous competitors, but leapt across the collapsed hut to the next pole. This was a nine foot jump, and she finished the course in forty-five seconds flat. The Red Gerudos cried 'huzzah' and several chants in Hylian, this was the second event they had won. Mewtwo knew in his mind they would also win the third one, magic prowess, with him on their team. He smiled discreetly as the Red Elder shared merriment with the other Gerudos as the sun set and darkness fell over the village.

Chapter XXIII

"Only when the times grow dark,

And the world flies under imperial mark,

Will a hero arise to free the land,

For old and new he shall make a stand,

For all the wrongs he makes a right,

A bright new day for each dark night,

A mote of light for each grain of sand

Until the world holds no brand,

To bear witness to this dark hour,

In which we live, times of sour,

Forever he wanders, lamenting sin,

Fighting his own darkness within

He finds our world great darkness in,

Mirroring his mind and soul within,

He lashes out in rage and spite,

Clearing the darkness, purging the night,

His anger cleanses the awful blight,

And opens the path for a whole new light,

His tale holds true now for all to see,

How anger is not always negativity,

For his anger shall free us all,

Harnessed, anger lead to evil's fall."

-Ancient Poem, known as the legend of the Dark Wanderer

Mewtwo awoke extra early this morning, fully excited about the third test, the test of Magical Prowess. He knew this was one test he could excel in, if not dominate. The sun was still peeking over the horizon as he crawled out of his hut, and he saw the Gerudos were still preparing for the start of the event, no magic had started flying yet. He watched as a ring was drawn over the stone of the square, and he inspected the area thoroughly. It was approximately 10 feet in diameter, what he guessed to be bounds for the magic fight. He guessed there must be a few extra rules, so he looked for the Blue Elder to tell him of any. It didn't take long to find her, she was patrolling the perimeter of the square, getting sleepyheads out of bed for the contest.

"What can I do for you?" She asked as he walked up to her.

"I want to know, what are the rules for the test of Magical Prowess?" Mewtwo asked eagerly.

"The way you win is simple. You can either force your opponent out of the ring with a barrage of spells, knock them unconscious, or force them to surrender. You are not allowed to kill your opponent. You may knock her out or force her to surrender, but killing will not only get you disqualified but banished from our village. We need all the arms we can keep. Also, no actual physical contact between you or your opponent is allowed. You need to save that for tomorrow's test. You are not allowed to blind your opponent or allow any of your spells to harm anyone outside of the ring. And there are a few spells that are against the rules. No invisibility, no teleportation, and no curses of a permanent nature. You will obey these rules today?"

"Of course. This is a test I know I can win, so why would I want to cheat?" Mewtwo asked.

"You have great power and potential my friend," The Blue Elder said, pausing, "But do not let it get to your head. Arrogance has been the downfall of many of our sisters, including my daughter…" The Blue Elder trailed off at the last part of the sentence, and then corrected herself. "Shall we start?" She asked briskly.

"Of course!" Mewtwo said, his spirit undampened. He knew he was being slightly foolish by acting so superior, but the rush of excitement over victory within his grasp was making him ecstatic. He knew in his mind that this was his chance to truly prove himself to all of them, even though he was already accepted.

Soon the sun was above the horizon and preparations were complete. The Gerudos crowded around the white drawn ring, and a new air of excitement hovered in the air. Several Red Gerudos told the tale of their venture to the mine before their trip, and how Mewtwo had demonstrated his powers so amply there. The first two Gerudos, of very young age and still training, stepped into the ring. The both held staffs, and when the Blue Elder shouted "Begin!", they waved their staffs and muttered incantations. Little bolts of electricity flew from the tip of the staff held by the Gerudo on the left, and a small fireball answered from the girl on the right. Neither had enough punch to do serious harm, yet they both found their marks and the girls fell back in pain. Mewtwo wondered why they hadn't dodged. When one got up, she pointed her staff at the other and muttered another spell. A wave of energy blasted out, and the other girl still on the ground rolled out of the bounds of the ring. The Blue Elder shouted a word in Hylian and both girls bowed to each other and left the ring. The first elimination had gone pretty quickly.

After two more rather unimpressive rounds, Mewtwo was called up to face a familiar face, Madiri, whom he had sat near on the wagon.

"Time to show your mettle!" She said, raising her staff and pointing it at him.

They stood facing off until the Red Elder shouted, "Begin!"

Mewtwo let Madiri have the first move, curious at what she would throw at him. She shouted in Hylian, and Mewtwo knew this was a powerful incantation of sorts. The tip of her staff glowed white and Mewtwo raised his psychic shield. It glimmered blue in the morning sun and the Gerudos stared in awe. Madiri's staff emitted a rather large electric bolt, which struck Mewtwo's shield hard. He absorbed it easily and threw a sphere of raw unfocused psychic energy at her. She dodged to the side and flung her hand at him. A large fireball sped out of her open palm and collided with Mewtwo's shield. He deflected it effortlessly and stood back, charging a shadow ball in both hands. Not wanting to overdo it and kill Madiri, he only charged it to quarter-power before flinging it at Madiri. It arced through the air, cutting a jagged and unpredictable path, and Madiri chanted a protection spell. A small magic shield formed around her and took the blow. The impact knocked her off her feet and out of the ring. The Gerudos stood in awe, and the Red Elder clapped loudly and appreciatively.

Another Gerudo whom Mewtwo did not know the name of stepped into the ring with him. She attacked him repeatedly with powerful force spells, but Mewtwo deflected them with ease. When he grew bored with this he cast a psywave at her and knocked her clean out of the ring with one strike. Once again the Gerudos stood speechless. Another Gerudo unknown to Mewtwo stepped into the ring with him, staring at him with a reproachful look. He almost thought she was looking at him as a man looks at an ant before he crushes it. Before the match started, a lone voice called out over the heads of the crowd….

"Go get him W'diri!" the woman shouted from the back of the crowd. Mewtwo chanced a guess that it was Quidiri who had shouted this, knowing that these two of the three sisters thought little of him.

"Begin!" The Red Elder cried.

Before Mewtwo could react properly a fireball impacted his right arm. It threw him off balance and he fell to his side. He instinctively raised his shield and several other fireballs impacted it forcefully. He stood up and glared at W'diri, disliking her style of attack. The skin on his arm was blackened and pain screamed up his arm. He panted and grumbled, not noticing his anger was rising. He used his recover ability and new skin formed on his arm, the burned crust flaked off.

"Let me play your game for a minute." He said maliciously, and picked her up with his psychic power. He held her in the air to let her panic and watched the fear play over her face. A part of him laughed before he dropped her outside of the ring. The Gerudos again were aghast and silent. Mewtwo had now publicly displayed his healing abilities, and many were still staring at the crisp husk laying on the ground that had once constituted all the skin on his arm. The Red Elder frowned and called the next competitor and Mewtwo smirked. He was starting to feel very smug.

This smugness vanished when he saw Kalana step into the ring. She smiled a devious and yet friendly smile at him, and he knew she wouldn't pull out any stops despite their friendship. She wanted to win, and it showed in her aura of sheer confidence.

"Begin!" The Red Elder shouted.

"Lanciamos!" Kalana shouted, thrusting her staff forward, and a spear of energy sped toward Mewtwo at high speed. Mewtwo raised his shield and the point of the spear struck powerfully. Its point bent his shield inwards, and Mewtwo concentrated hard on pumping more energy into it. After a few seconds of this struggle, the shield maintained its original shape and the energy lance shattered. Mewtwo looked to Kalana for shock, but he saw her smiling that same mischievous smile. She shouted a long sentence in Hylian that Mewtwo couldn't decipher and a bolt of red energy flew from her staff and met his shield. Instead of a forceful impact however, Mewtwo felt a sudden strangeness, and his shield fell away. He saw this and panicked, trying to raise it again desperately.

"You'll find impediment curses are quite nasty." Kalana said. "Especially that one, which will keep your magical defenses down long enough to end this."

"Not if I end it first!" Mewtwo said, and he charged a shadow ball to full power in a split second. He threw it straight this time, avoiding the standard jagged power-up arc. It flew straight at Kalana, who raised her own magic shield. It rammed the shield with full force and blasted her twelve feet out of the ring where she collided with the crowd. Fara and Dera, the Blue Medicine Woman, rushed forward to assess any injuries. Mewtwo stubbornly tried to raise his shield again, but it refused. Kalana stood up and gestured her hand toward Mewtwo. His shield burst back to life again.

"Good job, I didn't expect that one." Kalana said, brushing the dust off of herself.

"I didn't exactly expect that shield breaker either." Mewtwo said, smiling with a new respect for Kalana. They shook hands and Kalana threw him another glancing smile. He chuckled to himself and wondered how the crowd was feeling now.

Many hours passed, and Mewtwo's opponents became more and more skilled as the matches passed by. Yet each new opponent he faced was no match. No matter how many clever tricks they tried, he found some way to go around them. The crowd of Gerudos was no longer full of awe, but enthusiastic of Mewtwo's performance. By the time it had reached afternoon however, he was facing the older and more experienced Gerudos. His matches with them took longer and expended more energy, but he was still pulling in victories by the time he was facing his last two opponents, the Red and Blue Elders.

"Behold, the final test of Magical Prowess. He who has proven himself more than worthy and able shall face one last challenge of mighty valor and difficulty. Having defeated all others in both tribes, Mewtwo shall face The Red Elder and I in a two on one duel. The same rules apply, let the Eldest heirs of Both tribe lines come forth!" The Blue Elder cried.

Kalana and a familiar little girl stepped up to the ring. Mewtwo realized that this was the same girl whom had recognized him as the 'Dark Wanderer'. He also thought that she was a bit young to be the Eldest heir of the line. He had also learned her name was Indiru. Kalana and Indiru presented their mothers with their staffs and stood back. "Ready, BEGIN!" Kalana and Indiru shouted at the same time.

Mewtwo knew that the Elders would be no pushover, and he knew they would probably be very powerful, but he did not half expect the severity of the punishment they dished out. Within a second they bombarded him mercilessly with all manner of elemental energy, and Mewtwo only raised his shield barely in time. The raw power bent it inward dangerously, and he bellowed loudly and poured most of his energy and concentration into maintaining it. As the barrage continued, Mewtwo felt his energy was being used up rapidly, and he knew he needed to act fast. He flew himself high above the ring and the spells whizzed past each other and flew at the Elders on their opposite sides. The Elders blocked with their own magic shields and were only knocked back a few inches.

More fiery orbs, bolts of energy, and shockwaves followed Mewtwo up into the air, and he swerved and dodged them with ease. He charged a shadow ball to full, and then pumped even more energy into it. He wasn't satisfied until it was almost five feet in diameter. He knew the Elders could handle a lot more than this. He tossed it down in the standard jagged power-up arc, mostly to make its impact position more unpredictable. It hit the stone between the two Elders and the explosion engulfed the ring. When the sand and dust cleared, the Elder's protective auras shone undamaged. Mewtwo expected it, and another volley of spells lashed up after him.

Mewtwo charged a powerful psywave and released the powerful energy wave down towards the Elders. Their shields reflected the wave back upwards and Mewtwo raised his shield. The Elders must have amplified the wave, because it came back three times as forcefully as he had sent it. His shield bent and gave way, and the blast knocked the wind out of him and shook his insides sickeningly. His skin crackled and burned from the raw energy and he began to fall towards the stone of the square. His instincts didn't let him stay in shock for long, he caught himself and flew back upwards, clutching his stomach. He used his recover ability to ease the energy burns on his skin and turned back to the Elders to see two more waves speeding toward him. They obviously knew his power could do a lot more than this, and wanted to test it.

This time Mewtwo had time to dodge, and he flew hard left as the sonic disturbances whizzed past. More destructive energies followed and Mewtwo weaved gracefully between them, charging one of the attacks he still remembered from his Pokemon world, the Hyper Beam. Only dragons had used it back then, but he had been able to copy its resonant energy patterns and energy types. He formed the correct synchronization of fluctuations within the charge, necessary stabilize the extended beam. Once he had correctly synchronized all the energy he needed he threw his hands forward and the twisting pulsating column of energy screamed down at the damaged stone of the ring. The beam itself was only a few inches in diameter, but when it struck the ground between the Elders, fire erupted violently and the stone was thrown up from the ground in a violent explosion. The Elders, still holding their shields, were thrown backward and the ring itself was blown upwards in a maelstrom of fire. They skidded to a stop unharmed, and the stones from the explosion fell back to the ground with dull thuds. The crowd had been knocked backwards off of their feet by the shock of the explosion.

When he landed next to the remnants of the ring, he found the Gerudos were thankfully unharmed from the explosion. The Elders approached him with upset looks on their faces as the crowd dispersed slowly as murmurs were exchanged.

"So, did I win?" Mewtwo asked, feeling suddenly apprehensive under the glares of the Elders.

"Let's talk about it." The Red Elder said soberly with a frown, and the Blue Elder grabbed Mewtwo's arm and pulled him along towards a hut. Once again he had a sinking feeling and he knew there was a hell of a lecture on its way. It would not be a pleasant afternoon.

A/N: I know this took way too long, but the holidays were the epitome of hectic for me! At least four interstate trips and four family visits mean very little time. I hope you will still take time to review though!