The Crossing of the Paths
By MMM/AJ
Part III: Of Darkness and Light

A/N: Like Part II, I plan on posting this one in chunks as well. This is Chunk TWO. I know that this is still a few pages shorter than my regular chunk length, but I think that the plot developments and cliffhanger here will be more than satisfying! And I'm sorry it took so long to post this, but as usual, school's been an unforgiving bitch. Not only that, but I had a vacation where I got lazy and didn't write, so it's my fault there too. I hope you enjoy!

Chapter II

A soft whispering echo flowed out of darkness and into reality. As time passed silently it grew and took form, at first a hard to distinguish hum, and growing into a deeper and more dimensional sound of waves. And then, the feeling of soft sands suddenly joined the sensory input of the sounds. The one feeling these sensations suddenly felt he had a body, and it was lying on this sand. And then the cold made itself known. Finally, his mind returned to him completely and Mewtwo slowly opened his eyes. The darkness of the night sky them and he realized he was still on the beach.

"I must have fallen over unconscious on the beach, and I've been lying here all day." Mewtwo thought to himself. He didn't even remember the grave or the strange phenomenon he had encountered. Then, as he was about to stand up, his hand touched the familiar surface of the instrument that caused all this, and he remembered what had happened. His eyes suddenly darted around the landscape as wondered where or when he had been taken.

The place he was in was deceptively similar to the one he had left that morning, it was a long sandy beach, but things had changed. Instead of slowly sloping upwards to the field, the edge of the beach was met with a rocky cliff. Outcroppings cut outward from this cliff into the body of the beach, making it impossible to see far down the beach on both sides. Where the stone slab grave had been, there was only bare sand. The blue instrument sat in the sand where it had fallen from his hands after he had blacked out.

Mewtwo groaned and slowly picked himself up, pain was streaking up his back. The place where Darkest had attached the collar to him had never fully healed. The place where it had attached to him had scarred over, and it sometimes bled. Right then, pain was screaming up from it and through his spine. He forced it out of his mind and stood, picking up the instrument as he did. A beam of light suddenly passed overhead, sweeping across the sky and disappearing out over the ocean in a lighthouse-like movement. The source of the light came from above the cliff, and it quickly moved off out of sight.

Even if it was only a seemingly minor oddity, this light piqued Mewtwo's curiosity. He was still too disorientated to keep his mind on track, and the light almost had the same effect as a will-o-the-wisp. He levitated himself upward over the cliff's rim and looked down into the normally empty grassy field. But the field he was so familiar with had changed drastically. In the center a great, glowing city stood surrounded by high stone walls. From the center of the city rose a great stone spire, atop of which a large rotating orb sat. From this orb came the beam of light he had seen, continually sweeping the sky in a circular pattern.

Mewtwo nearly dropped the small blue instrument out of pure shock, it was now clear to him that things had most definitely changed while he was out. The glow of the city was a sharp contrast to the regular dim lights that emanated from the Gerudo village. Thinking of the Gerudos, Mewtwo turned his gaze south towards the swamp. There was no sign of any civilization at the marsh's borders, it was as if the Gerudos had never settled there.

Mewtwo suddenly felt a sharp and cold feeling of being alone. His friends, Ruru, Indiru, the Red Elder, had all disappeared. He simply floated there for minutes, hovering on the verge of tears. As the beam of light passed over his head again, something not too high above in the sky caught his eye. He looked up and saw a malicious, stony face grinning evilly down at him from the surface of some large planetoid. The stare was unchanging and evil, the eyes never moved from their fixation on the field and the city. At the edges of the face were regular looking craters, normal to any moon. If this were a moon however, it was on the verge of colliding with the planet, and its unnatural face looked intent on doing just that. It almost seemed that the entire round mass were moving, inching slowly closer in the sky. It's red eyes glinted, waiting to consume the luscious field and bustling city below.

This time Mewtwo did drop the instrument in shock, and slowly came to rest on the cliff edge. The whole scene of the city, moon and empty swamp was nearly too much for him to absorb. He sat there dumbfounded, unable to find words for his utter astonishment. Then, the strange looking tower in the center of the city burst to life. The orb on top split neatly in two and a clock face on the other side slowly lowered. The orb eventually rejoined, revealing a bowl-like indentation that could be used as a platform. Suddenly, a few scant fireworks crackled up into the sky, as if celebrating some unfamiliar day of independence. When the newly reformed tower was still again and the fireworks ceased, the air hung silent for many moments. The moon still greedily stared down at its prize.

Just as Mewtwo was about to stand up again, an ear piercing scream filled the air. It was a male voice, bellowing for all it's worth as if calling for something. A reply was not made without haste, as suddenly the ground began to perceptively shake. And the moon, which had used to be only seeming to move, suddenly began creeping visibly down through the sky. As it burned through the atmosphere, its perimeter became engulfed in flames and it moved slowly down towards the city out of the night sky. And then, the ground rumbled even harder.

Mewtwo felt a pronounced concussion in the Earth, and suddenly a great rushing of water filled his ears. He jolted his head around to see a monstrously large hulk emerging from the sea. Brown wrinkled skin slowly arose from under the depths as a great giant slowly climbed out of the water. It only took two steps to make it to the mainland, and wind lashed at Mewtwo as its giant foot passed over his head.

Mewtwo ducked instinctively, and looked up after the wind had passed. More giants were walking down onto the field. There were three more, making four total, each coming from a different direction on the compass. They stood in a circle around the city and raised their arms. Their palms met the moon's surface and its great weight caused them to shake and quiver with effort, they were attempting to stop the cataclysm. The moon pushed, and they pushed, and the moon's descent slowed gradually and stopped. The wreath of flame disappeared and the air was suddenly still again. The giants stood there, holding up the moon with their bare hands, and the world seemed to have been put on pause.

Mewtwo stood, his blood filled with new resolve. He reached down, grabbed the instrument, and flew up into the air. He streaked through the still atmosphere straight towards the moon. He suddenly stopped when the moon's face changed. It's previously toothy smiled had opened to a wide hungry mouth, and a small tendril of light crept up into its awaiting jaws. The light disappeared before long, and the moon's eyes glowed with renewed, sinister power.

"I will consume…consume everything!" A booming voice echoed from the sinister planetoid.

Suddenly, the giants trembled under renewed force. The moon pushed down at them with renewed might, almost double of what it had been previously. The giants' arms shook under the stress and their sturdy knees wobbled. Deep throated groans came from them as they tried desperately to save the land. Mewtwo awoke from his surprise and raced forward again, streaking upwards towards the moon's open mouth. He passed through the darkness and oddly, into an open field. It was suddenly sunny, and a lone tall tree presided on top of a hill. Mewtwo didn't notice four children prancing around the base of the tree as he raced toward it. In desperation, he was hoping this odd tree was the moon's heart, and he formed an energy sword, preparing to slice it clean in half. But before he could, the scene changed around him yet again. The illusionary tree and field melted away like a hologram with a melting transition program. Instead of a boundless field of green, walls appeared, all covered in unrecognizable runic symbols. In the center of the room stood a small figure, a child clad in a green tunic and carrying a shield and sword on his back. A colorful, tentacled mask hovered in the center of the room, facing the boy.

The boy looked back to see Mewtwo, and his face suddenly showed that of extreme shock. He drew a small bow out of his backpack and knocked an arrow. He would have fired if the floating mask hadn't suddenly attacked him. The tentacles lashed across him and knocked him flat out onto his face, and he skidded to a halt painfully on the stone floor. Mewtwo decided he didn't want to be a part in whatever battle this was, he needed to find the moon's heart and stop it fast. He cloaked himself and tried to teleport out of this strange room, but a strange energy was flowing through the walls and it prevented his escape. He was forced to turn and watch the battle unfolding between the strange tentacled mask and the green clad boy.

The boy pulled out what appeared to be an "L" shaped piece of wood, adorned with jewels and symbols. He lobbed it into the air, and it curved around and struck the mask sharply, knocking it out of the air. It then continued curving around until it came right back to the boy's hand. The child then drew a gold and silver gilded sword and lunged at the incapacitated piece of wood. He landed a mighty blow that should have cut the mask in half, but it only dented the mask's surface. The mask regained control over its body and lashed out at its attacker with its tentacles. The boy was knocked backwards several feet and tumbled to a stop again on the stone. He groaned once and then stood again.

Instead of attacking again, the child rummaged through his knapsack. He pulled out a normal, non-tentacled mask that bore the face of a white haired, white pupiled man. He eagerly placed the mask on his face and suddenly his body went rigid. Mewtwo could not believe his eyes as the boy's body began to change. The mask seemed to merge with his face, and his body structure was growing into that of an adult. His green tunic turned into a suit of hard leather armor and his hood turned white along with his pupils. The sword he held also split in two and the two split ends curved around each other like fighting cobras. When the change was complete, it was no longer a little boy in green that stood there, but a powerful armor clad warrior.

The threatening mask didn't seem to care, it simple began spinning and lunged at its transformed opponent. But the warrior didn't let the mask pull off the same trick twice, a bolt of energy flashed from the tip of the twisted sword and impacted the incoming mask. A cry of pain screeched from the mask as it fell stunned to the floor again. The warrior then lunged forward and threw all his might into a great cleaving blow. Once again, the mask only dented, but its paint scraped and chipped and somehow, it was crying in pain. The warrior made several blows before the tentacles lashed out and knocked him back. The mask floated back up into the air and began to change.

By this time Mewtwo was used to seeing strange transformations, but he wasn't ready when suddenly two legs, two arms, and a sinister head sprouted from the mask. Upon its head rested one large eye and it suddenly began dancing through the room at an amazing speed. The white haired fighter backed off to a safe distance and pointed his sword at the creature again. Another similar bolt flew out and struck the mask-creature senseless, and the warrior lunged forward and struck the being repeatedly, just like before. It took several blows without breaking before throwing off its attacker. Again it began to change.

The creature's arms and legs bulked up, as if the muscle tissue was multiplying within a matter of seconds. Its arms grew into elongated whips, and it grew a snarling, drooling mouth. It lashed out at the warrior ferociously with its new whips and drove him back to the wall. With little room between the lashing whips and the hard wall, the warrior pointed his sword again and shot the creature with another bolt. It took several shots to knock it down, and when it did fall incapacitated the warrior lunged forth once again. He slashed and beat the creature with his sword, and it cried out in agony. Instead of throwing off its attacker this time, the creature reached up the tip of one of its whips and slapped the warrior directly across his face.

Within an instant the white haired mask was off, it sailed through the air and landed upon the stone. Suddenly it was only a little boy standing over the tentacled beast. The boy cried out in fear and made a mad lunge for the white haired mask, but the other whip came down upon the mask, splitting it in half. A fine white smoke left the broken mask before it suddenly burst to flame and disappeared. The boy slowly turned to face the creature, his face pale with fear. The creature stood, and seemed to chuckle for a moment before it lashed out with its whips.

Mewtwo appeared out of thin air, de-cloaking between the boy and the whip. He cleanly sliced the whip right off with an energy sword he had formed while watching. The beast quivered and screamed in pain, and the young boy's eyes lit up with surprise and relief. Mewtwo landed and smiled to the brave little child and gave him a thumbs-up sign. The boy laughed weakly, and then suddenly shouted something loudly in Hylian, pointing. Mewtwo tried to dredge up his lessons in Hylian again, he wasn't proficient in understanding spoken words, but was interrupted by the beast's other tentacle whip wrapping around his ankle. The beast spun him through the air like a rag doll, and would have thrown him against the wall if the boy hadn't stopped it. The brave child stabbed his now normal gilded sword into the beast's side and it stopped spinning Mewtwo to turn and face him. This was all the time that Mewtwo needed. He sliced the other tentacle clean off with his energy sword.

The beast let out one great cry of pain and lurched forward. It threw all its massive weight into a powerful body slam and fell on top of the boy with a great bang. The floor shook as the boy disappeared under the creature's bulk, flattened while trying to save Mewtwo's life.

Chapter III

The sights, sounds and feelings of another life flashed into Mewtwo's mind. Strange faces, both tender and violent came and went. Wonderful, lush valleys, deep blue ocean-scapes, and a familiar orange desert flashed by. Strange and lustrous smells, wonderful tastes, and infinitely spectacular sights all passed through Mewtwo's consciousness within a moment. By the time it had passed, the horrendous mask beast had stiffened itself and hung in the room in an almost crucifixion position. It's body glowed and disintegrated, letting out one final howl before burning to ashes and disappearing.

Then, the room that surrounded Mewtwo and the boy's crushed body melted away again, first it gave way back to the green field, and then the tree in the center burst into flames which spread onto the grass. A small beam of light emerged from the dark borders of the field behind them, and slowly surrounded them. It lifted them up and out of the field, through a dark tunnel, and out of the moon's mouth. They came to rest back in the grassy field near the city. The moon, now free from its evil influence, slowly changed back to normal and rocketed back up into the sky. Its face gone, it slowly turned back into the familiar white ghostly orb hanging in the distant sky.

Mewtwo crawled over to the unfortunate child who had saved his life. His limbs had been crushed and his neck snapped twice under the Mask Beast's weight. No pulse remained in his still veins. Life had already left him, so there was nothing Mewtwo could do. He could heal any injury with his power, but he could not call back the souls of the dead to return to their bodies. He had been extremely lucky to have saved Ruru back at the Red Village Tower. He noticed something familiar about the boy, and turned him over and pulled off the knapsack. It was indeed the same one that he had found in the grave.

A chill of shock and horror ran across Mewtwo's mind, body and soul. He was responsible for the death of this person, the one who carried the instrument that had taken him here. Mewtwo still clutched the blue flute in his left hand, it was now wet with his nervous sweat. Anxiously, he opened the knapsack and pulled out that very same instrument. Time had indeed reversed itself to bring him here. The two identical flutes glimmered and Mewtwo shuddered.

"I know what it is he wanted done." Mewtwo thought to himself. He then picked up the boy's body and carried it down to the beach. He found the spot where he had woken up earlier and dug a hole where he had seen the grave back in the future. He laid the hero child to rest inside the hole and put the second flute back in the knapsack and set the knapsack in the grave with him. He then pulled a large stone slab over the grave, not realizing it was identical to the one he had pulled off back in the future.

"I only knew you for a moment, before I brought this fate upon you." Mewtwo said, saying a few last words to the little hero. "You fought bravely and valiantly, and you died in an act of courage."

A moment of silence passed as Mewtwo bowed his head over the identical grave, and he began to walk off after he was satisfied with the job he had done. But a strange vibration caused him to turn back and look again. The gravestone was shaking, almost enough to cause it to crack. And slowly, it moved itself back off of the open grave. Mewtwo recoiled in fear, anticipating some sort of zombie horror, but instead a glowing golden light poured out of the open grave. It was blinding, a great radiance that filled his senses as it arose into the air. It slowly floated down towards him, its light fading to tolerable levels.

As Mewtwo's eyes adjusted, he saw a single golden triangle, only a few inches tall and wide, and about a centimeter thick. It floated up to his face and hovered there, emitting a powerful energy essence.

"Courage, the quality of acting despite of one's fear. The Hero of Time was courageous, and as are you. And so you shall take his gift and curse upon yourself. This is your destiny, and the will of the Triforce."

And before Mewtwo could even wonder where the voice had come from, the triangle suddenly sped forward and impacted with his forehead, knocking him backwards and merging with his skull. A strobe of golden light was all Mewtwo saw before his consciousness was swept away from him once again.

A/N: Yep, Mewtwo now possesses the Triforce of Courage. If you thought he was powerful before, wait till you see him next chunk! Whoo! And we'll be seeing more Zelda Characters as well, since Mewtwo is now going to figure out why he was sent to this time period in the first place. Remember, reviews, even unsigned and extremely short, are always what keep me writing!