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 EIGHT. Whoa, this chunk was exciting and fun to write, it got my blood pumping and I hope it does yours! And know that I won't be posting a chunk nightly, I'm not THAT fast of a writer, even when school's out. A more reasonable expectation would be every other day minimum, more likely every 2 or three days. And that is considering I don't have any major events planned. I'm going to be doing a real live Role Playing Game with foam swords and all with one of my cousins this weekend, and it's going to be seven hours long! If other events like these pop up often, they will cause delays in my writing. But still, enjoy what I post when I post it!

Interlude

"How and why it is, I do not know, but I find myself free. Free from his influence, free from his thoughts. I am almost totally rid of him in mind and body, yet a small amount still remains. It shouldn't be possible, but it is happening and it is most beneficial to me and my plans so I will not question the unknown workings of the universe until I become powerful enough to probe into them myself. I will also move back my major offensive plans significantly, I need to see if the link is truly severed as it feels. My scouts found a planet rich with innate energy and some powerful artifacts. Powerful enough even, to make my victory that much swifter. I have began the softening process and soon I will find out if he will come to stop me or not, and if the link is truly broken. End log recording."

Chapter XV

Days passed over Hyrule with no sign of invasion, but an ominous cancer seemed to be brooding over the land. What had started as a simple cloud layer at the impact of the meteor was now a roiling black blanket of sodden clouds that completely blocked out the sun. Night was indistinguishable from day, and as the last of the Hylians, Zoras, Gerudos and Gorons all packed into the Castle, tensions ran high among the people. Every few hours a man or woman would run through the streets, screaming and babbling in complete insanity. The endless night and the now widespread fear of the invasion was playing havoc with the minds of everyone who drew breath.

As Mewtwo slept one night, his dreams took on a black element again, he saw Hyrule castle implode in his dreams and more and more clearer pictures of the invaders appeared to him over time. He saw glimpses of oddly shaped feet, demon horns, black armor as smooth as plastic, and thousands upon thousands of greedy red eyes moving in unison through the darkness.

And with each new morning that dawned, it seemed the sky grew into more of a solid black ceiling and the people broke down more and more often. Food began to run low, and soon Zelda allowed farmers to leave the castle to work on plots outside the walls of the castle. Their work was tedious and hard in the dark, but they provided a necessary source of food. As for the Gorons, they seemed in much more of a predicament. Every other goron had carried a large boulder down from Death mountain on his back, and their supply was already getting low. Zelda tried to get them to eat other rocks that were outside the castle, but apparently their diet consisted of rocks only from the mountain. And the Zoras were no longer supplied with fish to eat, they were forced to eat breads and grains like the rest of the Hylians, and it was not good for their digestive system. A good number of them got and stayed very sick as the days passed. Unrest began to ripple through the crowded streets, and talks of anarchy and betrayal flustered through the legions of soldiers that were cooped up with the distrusted Gerudos. Every day the tension rose, and every day Zelda brought to the center of the Castle more and more small trinkets.

"They're very potent magic charms." She explained to him, "I'm hoping that even the smallest little items like these can make a difference." She piled them in the Heart of the Castle, where all the Elemental Medallions had now been relocated. The Master Sword remained in the pedestal in the Temple of time.

Oftentimes the Sages would meet again in the Chamber of Sages, discussing the current situation and trying to plan out their course of action. Soon a very likely plan formed, they would use the six Medallions as nexuses at different points around the castle to sustain the barrier. The Sages themselves would stay in the chamber during the invasion, where their powers are amplified and easier to direct. As soon as the first invading ship was sighted in the sky, the barrier would be raised by watchtower guards and the Sages would rush to the chamber.

Almost a week passed this way, until tensions among the people reached a boiling point. It happened when a Zora fell over dead one day, suddenly ill from an allergy to Hylian food. Other Zoras, on the border of insanity and also ill, began to riot and took torches to homes inside the castle town. The Gerudos then joined the mob and began to loot markets and set fires. 12 Hylian soldiers were killed attempting to put down the riot, and it took Ruto Nabooru and Zelda's appearance to finally stop the chaos. Ruto then decided it was time to call a meeting of the Pact Members. They met impromptu in the Chamber of Sages that night.

"I'm beginning to wonder when this invasion will come, the situation is getting desperate for us. I'm losing my authority over the Zoras and there's nothing my father can do either." Ruto said, frowning.

"They're trying to break us." Mewtwo said. Once again all attention came to him. "They see that our defenses are strong and that they would take losses if they attacked us at full strength. So they're letting us sit and suffer, blacking out the sun and letting us slowly run out of food and go insane."

"They are doing very well." Ruto said, still not any less upset at these thoughts. "Very soon the Zoras will rebel and flee from the castle to get back to the river."

"We can't afford to let that happen." Zelda said, "We need all the magic power we can get to hold the barrier."

"I know that, but with so little water and no more fish, we're getting sicker and sicker, and soon my people will reach a point where they have to choose between rebellion and a slow death. We need to return to the river, or else send someone out to bring back fish and fresher water. The water in your pools is becoming less than fresh and it is disgusting to swim in and breathe."

"We should send bands of soldiers out to catch fish and haul water then." Zelda said, "And we should send a band up Death mountain to carry rocks down for the Gorons to eat."

"I don't understand this," Nabooru said nastily, "Why can't you eat just any rocks? There are plenty around the grounds and outside the walls of the castle."

"Other rocks do not agree with us." Darunia said. "Not only do they taste horrific, but our stomachs have gotten to the point where they cannot handle rocks of any other varieties outside of those found on the Mountain."

"Quit arguing about it! It is already decided! We will send out rock carriers!" Zelda said.

"It is a rash and idiotic decision, you're weakening the common defense!" Nabooru snapped at Zelda.

"And how would you like it if we made you scavenge for your own food outside the castle and kept our stashes for themselves!" Zelda yelled.

Nabooru leveled her scimitar at Zelda. "I would have my people loot and pillage every storehouse before that!"

"SILENCE!" Rauru roared, and the Sages all fell silent and stared at him. "I will not have the alliance fall apart! We will hold out together and as one to the bitter end!"

"And what if the Gerudos don't want to slowly die of starvation while waiting for this invasion that seems to have been delayed indefinitely?" Nabooru said, pointing her scimitar at Rauru.

Mewtwo acted before Rauru could respond, he entered Nabooru's mind and pushed an old set of memories on her. He forced onto her mind the time when he and the Gerudos were infiltrating the Imperial tower. He showed her the mindless slaves toiling without respite, and he showed her the scene from when they reached the top of the tower. The memory of the Gerudos being shredded by the machine guns flooded his and Nabooru's minds. Nabooru's scimitar clattered to the ground and she gripped her head, crying out in fear and sadness, and as the memory ended as did the link.

Nabooru was crouched down, face to the floor and panting. Everyone stood and stared, waiting for a reaction. She slowly stood, still staring at the floor, and sighed heavily. She turned to face Mewtwo, and an abrupt concussion shook the chamber. The water flowing down the walls of the Chamber shuddered as the floor vibrated wildly.

"It's begun!" Zelda shouted. "Bring up the barrier!"

The Sages dashed to their places over their symbols and held up their arms. Mewtwo suddenly felt the floor melt underneath him as a portal back to the Temple of Time opened underneath him. He sank quickly and saw elemental energy pouring from the Sages into the air before disappearing through the portal. He knew what he had to do.

Mewtwo dashed out of the Temple and looked up into the sky. A great hole in the clouds had appeared where something had blown through, and he smelled the thick scent of burnt Earth floating in the still air. Glowing red and blue lights were swarming out in space outside the hole, and many pulses of light were forming and moving downwards. As he stood looking, a ball of blinding crimson energy as large as a house emerged from the clouds and struck Hyrule field near the river. The impact was much closer, and the ground heaved under Mewtwo's feet, knocking him down. He jumped back to his feet and filled his lungs with air.

"They're here!" He screamed into the city. "The invasion is beginning!"

Chapter XVI

A thin and powerful veil of energy slowly rose from the ground just inches from the outside of the Castle Town's border walls. Multicolored light formed into a extremely strong wall of energy. It rose upwards just high enough to cover the tip of the highest tower of the castle. The people ran in the streets, screaming in fear and stampeding. The Gorons curled into balls that resembled rocks themselves and the Gerudos ran toward the outer walls along with Hylian soldiers in order to take up the defense. Mewtwo ran amongst them, helping them organize and prepare. Swords, spears, scimitars, bows, and many more weapons were brought to the ready, but in Mewtwo's mind he doubted they would work. If the barrier was breached anyway, none of them would live long enough to swing a weapon. He knew the battle would be fought at the barrier and at it alone. As all of the soldiers finally got to their defensive posts, Mewtwo relayed to them the message that their duty was to contribute all their magic energy to the barrier, even if it meant giving away their life energy. Then he ventured back into the town to get the people who were unfit to fight into safety.

The ground shuddered and often heaved under their feet as Mewtwo lead the people toward the inner walls of the castle, down through the gates and into the catacombs underneath. The people were almost panicking in fear, and the Zoras who were about to get their water when the invasion started began to wheeze. He led them through the stone tunnels to the deepest point and told them to remain there. He told them that if any of them had magic power or energy to spare that they too should send it to the barrier for the common defense, and explained the consequences should the barrier fall. The people, Goron, Zora, Hylian, and Gerudo all alike nodded in grave understanding and controlled their fear. Mewtwo than ran up out of the tunnels and into the castle. He ran up countless flights of stairs until his sides burned from exhaustion, not stopping until he reached the center room. He pushed the rickety wooden door open and walked inside.

The room was filled with all sorts of items, glowing amulets and talismans, enchanted weapons, potions, spell books and other items. In the center of the room were the six Medallions, they glowed brightly in the semi-dark room as they lied on top of a simple wooden desk next to a sputtering lantern. Following Zelda's instructions, Mewtwo took the Medallions, and searched for another artifact somewhere in the room. He smiled when he saw the familiar sight, a simple looking bow lying on top of a quiver with only one arrow. He took them as well and stowed them along with the Medallions. He then ruffled through a stack of musty looking books filled with runes until he found the one he was looking for, it had a blue color and the Triforce Symbol adorned its front. Its spine read in Hylian Characters "Invoking the Power of the Sages"

Mewtwo again sprinted through the castle, up more stairs until he reached the tip of the tallest tower. He set his bag of artifacts down on the table in the center of the room and looked out the narrow window. Through the transparent barrier he could see the clouds were thinning, the night sky became clear and the glinting of hundreds of thousands of Imperial ships filled the entire sky. All were red now, their flaming blue engines had gone silent and they sparkled menacingly in orbit just outside the atmosphere. Pulses of light charged from their weapons arrays and moved down through the atmosphere, striking the world at seemingly random places. They were peppering the entire planet with plasma before going in, but so far none had struck dangerously close to the castle. In fact, there was a relatively wide berth around the castle walls where the ground was untouched. The stone shook under Mewtwo's feet as another bolt struck out in the desert, and he wondered why they hadn't tried to knock down the barrier with one of their blasts. The red lights of the ships were still in the sky, undisturbed as they lobbed the plasma down at the helpless world, there was no sign of any other ships fighting them. And none of the ships were moving, they held absolutely still in the sky, poised on the verge of striking.

Mewtwo watched and waited, but the ships did not descend. The Earth shook again and again as the plasma bolts turned Hyrule field into a smoldering wasteland. The once beautiful grassland was being pulverized and burnt into oblivion, and part of Mewtwo cried inside as the majestic land was slowly turned to smoking ruin. Something strange was going on though, the Forest had not suffered a single hit, not unlike the Castle . There were wide untouched areas around the forest as well, none of the bolts ever came close. Mewtwo was baffled as to why this could be, it was mystifying. If Darkest were as chaotic and evil as he remembered, burning down this ancient forest would have been a joy to him. Yet it remained pristine amid the smoky air. An hour passed before the barrage finally fell silent. The entirety of Hyrule field was now nothing but a great scorched crater with patches of glistening glass where the heat of the plasma had melted the ground together. The pulses no longer formed, and the air around the world fell eerily silent. Mewtwo swallowed hard, looking out into space to watch for the slightest movement.

As the peace and Silence continued, Mewtwo stepped backwards and fumbled with the knapsack full of magic items. He got the Medallions out and spread them onto the table in a circular pattern following Zelda's instructions. He then placed the Bow and Light Arrows inside the circle. Then he picked three other bow and arrow sets off of the wall where they were hanging and laid them around the Medallions. He opened the spell book and turned to page 1367 as Zelda had said. The Ancient Hylian runes were almost unreadable to Mewtwo; they were very different than the modern ones that were used all over Hyrule during this time period. He found the passage needed and read aloud while tracing the lines with one of his large fingers.

"Light's power, be multiplied," He began, slipping on the Ancient dialect. He cursed and started again, knowing perfect pronunciation was needed. "Light's power, be multiplied and bless these bows, for they are chickens." Mewtwo cursed again, the change of one syllable in the Dialect had completely ruined a whole word. He sighed and restarted.

Many tries later, Mewtwo finally finished reading the whole passage perfectly. "Light's power, be multiplied and bless these bows, for they are willed so by the sages to become holy in this time of need. Let their auras repel evil and forever remain holy."

As Mewtwo finished the passage, the Medallions began to glow brightly. Sparks of energy licked outward into the air, and the three mundane bows began to glow as well. Bolts of energy leapt from the Medallions and into the bows, and a strong wind swirled around the room. The entire tabletop was suddenly bathed in white light, and Mewtwo turned to protect his eyes. He felt a concussion discharge from behind him and the light faded. He turned and looked, and the Medallions' glow had returned to normal. The bows all three looked the same. He picked one up and knocked an arrow, testing it. The arrow began to glow bright white, and Mewtwo smiled weakly in satisfaction. He returned the arrow to its quiver and set the bow down, his work done.

Mewtwo's next job was tiring. He took the four light bows and gave them to Hyrule's four Commanders at the corners of the Castle Walls. According to Zelda, they would be able to shoot through the barrier back at the invaders, and the extra sets of Light Arrows would make their defense all that much easier. He ran as fast as he could through the abandoned streets, panting and grasping his side as he traversed the entire Castle and enclosed town, giving each commander a bow. And also, at each corner of the walls he was also to place one of the Six Medallions in the Corners of the Wall. They would be used to strengthen the barrier. As he reached each corner he set the glowing Medallions into special slots for the specific purpose. He placed the Medallions for Forest, Water, Fire, and Spirit in the four corners of the Castle, and then proceeded back inside and up into the Castle again. He slapped his forehead, knowing he could have placed the last two Medallions in the Castle Earlier, and that he wouldn't have had to climb all the way up back to the tower to place them.

Covered with sweat and hyperventilating, Mewtwo reached the top of the tower again, and found the last two engraved slots, and placed the Darkness and Light Medallions into their correct place. He looked outside again, and the barrier glowed many times brighter now. He replaced his knapsack on his back and walked back down to the magic item store-room.

Opening the creaking wooden door again, Mewtwo entered the dimly lit magic room and walked over to the spell book pile. He set the Blue Spell book back in the pile and rifled through to find another one. He pushed aside almost 40 books before finding a simple, thin, green book entitled "Channeling inherent energy" He opened the cover and blew a thick coat of dust off of the pages. He flipped to page 345, wiped the grime off and found the passage on channeling energy from large numbers of items.

"Let all your energy be free, and let it be used for the purpose at hand. Power the Barrier." Mewtwo said, now feeling more confident in the Ancient Dialect.

The first sentence he had uttered was used to extract the energy from all the magic items in the room, and the second was the use. All the items in the room began to shine brightly, each individual charm, book, or weapon glowed its own unique color and the room became blindingly bright for a moment. Then the light flew through the walls and out of the castle. Mewtwo set the spell book down and left the room, only needing to complete one more task.

The sky remained motionless as Mewtwo ran toward the Temple of Time. Still the ships refused to move, and Mewtwo was grateful for whatever was delaying them and giving him the time he needed. He padded through the quiet streets and through the open door of the temple. Taking a quick turn around the pedestal with the Spiritual stones and through the door, he stopped in front of the Master Sword sticking out of the floor. He remembered Zelda telling him that he was taking up Link's responsibility as the Hero, so he needed to take up his sword as well. He grabbed the Master Sword's hilt, felt the smooth blue stone ridges under his fingers, and yanked upwards as hard as he could. At first the sword only moved a tiny bit, but he pulled harder and harder until the blade emerged from the polished marble with a clean ringing. He felt a momentary flash of power, and the sword felt light and strong in his hands. He looked into the polished steel and saw his face, one eye was blue and one eye was red. He blinked and they were both purple again, like normal. He shook his head and set the blade by his side.

Mewtwo reached into his knapsack and pulled out the old plant blade that he had used earlier. It seemed small and weak compared to the Master Sword, and part of him felt attached to it. He gently laid it on its side on top of the stone where the Master Sword had been placed. He then put the Master Sword in the slit in his knapsack, only to hear to his dismay the sound of it slicing through and clattering to the ground. He sighed and picked it back up, wondering where he would get a sheath. He walked slowly out of the temple and looked up to see the ships in the sky were moving. The lights were getting bigger, the ships were moving in.

Chapter XVII

Mewtwo sprinted toward the Castle walls as fast as his awkward legs could carry him. As he dashed through the dark and soundless streets of the Castle Town, he periodically craned his head to look upwards through the barrier. The lights in the sky were uniformly moving downwards, into the atmosphere. He saw flickering yellow and orange as the hulls roared through the atmosphere, the friction flaming and twinkling in the dark sky. By now the cloud layer that had covered Hyrule was completely gone, and as Mewtwo approached the outer wall the bell tower of the Temple of Time suddenly rang to life. The bell tolled sorrowfully, the sound hung alone in the completely still air. It chilled Mewtwo to the bone, he had never seen any rope to ring the bell inside the temple, and it was empty anyway. He couldn't turn around and go check however, time was suddenly a luxury. He bounded up the stairs to the top of the outer walls and the Hylian soldiers opened a space for him among their ranks. He held the Master Sword in his hands, suddenly feeling eager to drive it into someone's skull. The Triforce Piece in his right hand glowed a little bit but did not hurt. The ships continued to burn through the atmosphere, picking up speed and getting closer and closer.

Mewtwo looked at the faces of the Hylian soldiers standing next to him. He wondered how many families would lose their husbands and sons. Fear was evident on all of their faces, and their armor glinted dully in the torchlight. The barrier shimmered idly and a soldier coughed. Still the air stood deathly still except for the tolling of the bell.

A faint rumbling noise was the first signal that the ships were close. Mewtwo saw the balls of fire growing in size as they rocketed downward. He frowned and wrapped his fingers tighter around the Master Sword. The rumbling sound grew into a roar, and one of the fireballs grew to the size of an autobus and fell down to strike the field. The ground shook violently and some soldiers fell onto their knees in their heavy armor. A cloud of dust and smoke filled the air where the object had hit the field, and Mewtwo squinted out into the distance. As the clouds slowly dissipated, he saw a jet black, ovular object with chitinous pods across its hull. It had 2 main engine pods, which were each adorned with curving sinister spines. The engines were silent, and the object lay still for the moment. Then, it suddenly shook and began to move, a door slid open on its side and four familiar vehicles emerged. They were tanks of the same design that Mewtwo remembered attacking the Blue Gerudo village those five years ago. They emerged slowly, hovering a foot off of the ground and moving to encircle the ship. Three more vehicles emerged, all without any turrets or other weapons, these must be Personnel Carriers. They hovered out of the opening and stopped alongside the tanks.

Another dropship hit the ground while Mewtwo was observing the unloading vehicles, and the concussion surprised him and threw him to his knees. He nearly cursed in aggravation and stood back up to see another cloud of smoke where the ship had landed. He looked up and saw numerous ships getting very close, all of which were losing altitude and burning brighter. He theorized that this must be the first wave, and that the larger ships must not be able to enter atmospheres. He saw a number of ship lights remaining still in the sky, and sighed with a small amount of relief. Another impact jolted him as a third ship collided with the field. Seconds later, yet another hit, and seemingly instantaneously yet another struck the scarred ground. The ground shook like an Earthquake, and more and more dust drifted into the air. Mewtwo strained to see through the clouds, wondering what was going on.

More and more dropships rocketed down and rammed into Hyrule, Mewtwo lost count at 34. Soon the field's craters were ten times bigger and deeper than the ones that were created by the plasma bombardments. It had been fifteen minutes when the last ship finally crashed into what used to be Hyrule Field. Mewtwo looked through the fading dust and saw hundreds of tanks and hundreds of personnel carriers milling about their landing sites, not making any moves toward the Castle. It was incredibly suspicious, they should be charging into battle.

Mewtwo and the Hylian soldiers stood on the very tips of their toes, their nerves as taut as bowstrings. When someone a few feet down the line accidentally dropped their sword and it clattered to the ground, Mewtwo nearly jumped in surprise. Someone else mumbled a few rather unkind words just out of the sword dropper's audible range. Mewtwo let out a drawn out sigh and continued watching the Imperial forces as they idly roamed around their landing sites. And suddenly, the tolling of the Temple's bell fell silent. Another dull roar made itself heard and everyone looked upwards at once. Another ship was passing through the atmosphere, and as they watched it began to slow. The fires slowly burnt out as it neared an altitude of 4000 feet, and its massive bulk finally came to a stop only a few hundred feet above the landing sites of the dropships. It was approximately 200 feet long and 50 feet wide and thick. The engines on its back cooled and their blue glow faded as its hover drives took over. It became perfectly still in the air, and no wind was generated by its hover drives. Minutes passed and nothing happened. And then, ports opened up on its bottom and more ships emerged from inside. These ships were larger than a dropship, and looked like bunches of folded robotic arms. Their thrusters glowed blue against their jet black hulls, and they slowly descended through the air. As they neared the ground, legs extended, unfolding like the legs of a spindly spider. They touched down inaudibly and their thrusters were darkened. They moved slowly, walking towards each other and as they touched, the merged and formed into something completely new. As their horrendous forms merged, they slowly turned into great and demonic walkers, covered with laser turrets and missile racks. Mewtwo swallowed hard.

As the final walkers completed their mergers, more objects emerged from the bottom of the ship. They appeared to be simple rectangular boxes with thrusters on the bottom, but their shapes changed as they descended. Wheels emerged out of slots on their bottoms and their tops opened. One by one they landed on their wheels and gigantic cannon barrels emerged from their opening tops. Legs extended out of their sides and suddenly speared into the ground, anchoring them sturdily. Three or four support beams adjusted the cannon's angle of projection, and as they dug themselves in, the cannons all aimed their barrels at Hyrule Castle. Sweat began to form on Mewtwo's brow. The Master Sword suddenly felt a bit heavier.

Mewtwo sighed with a tiny amount of relief as the ports on the bottom of the carrier ship slid shut, and he looked down at the massive Imperial army, half hoping that there would be no more surprises. The tanks and APC's were lining up to form ranks, moving in front of the walkers and emplaced cannons. As the lines were finished, all activity fell still. Not a single vehicle moved. The carrier ship remained motionless in the air. A Hylian soldier a few feet away from Mewtwo whispered a silent prayer to the Goddess Din. The horrendous pause choked the spirits of the defenders, and their fear rose in their throats almost to the point where they wished to vomit. The Hylians, unfamiliar with this technology, thought that these vehicles were great lumbering beasts, monsters that could rip right through the barrier. Mewtwo realized though, that it was not with their physical size that the Empire would win, but through their combined power. The cannons began to charge, and their barrels glowed crimson with energy. They glowed brighter and brighter, until each one was like a blood red star in the darkness. And when they let fly, 50 glowing red orbs of chaotic energy rocketed forth, covering the distance in a split second, and Mewtwo was only able to close his eyes in time before they reached the barrier and struck.

Chapter XVIII

There was no sound or concussion from the impact of the energy artillery on the barrier, and Mewtwo slowly opened his eyes to see ripples flow across it like those on a pond. No holes had been punched, and the shape and form of the barrier had not been distorted by the impacts. It was if someone had dropped a handful of pebbles on a vast bowl of Jell-o. The barrier rippled a slight more before becoming still, hardly affected at all by the barrage that it had experienced.

"Yes!" Mewtwo shouted at the top of his lungs, jumping and kicking his heels together. Hylian and Gerudo soldiers turned and stared at him like an idiot, but it was not enough to spoil his relief. If these cannons couldn't do that much damage to the barrier, then surely the rest of their weapons would be just as ineffective, if not more. He was almost joyous in his relief, and the soldiers around him, not understanding the significance of this event, scowled at him and wondered if he had gone insane. Mewtwo calmed himself down and just stared out onto the Imperial army, now mockingly arrogant. "Let's see what you're made of" He thought to himself, almost laughing as the cannons charged again.

And then, as the second bombardment from the energy cannons glanced off of the barrier ineffectually, the tanks, APC's and walkers burst to life. The tanks and APC's, which hovered a foot or so off of the ground, moved extremely quickly, closing the distance with the barrier dangerously rapidly. Mewtwo's smile faded and he came back to grips with reality.

"Ready arrows!" A Hylian captain shouted, and thousands of bows were knocked at once, four of which glowed bright white. "Aim for the turrets!" Mewtwo shouted, and the Hylians and Gerudos grumbled in confusion, wondering what a turret was. As the tanks came within firing distance, a volley of arrows screamed through the air. They passed through the barrier with ease, and soon after clinked harmlessly off of the black steel surfaces of the vehicles. The four white arrows however, burrowed through the black steel and four tanks suddenly erupted into red flames, their turrets flying off helter-skelter and hitting other tanks. Three more tanks and an APC were caught in the ensuing explosions and were blown to bits as well. The lines did not break, the advance did not slow, and as the tanks got close enough their turrets glowed a deathly purple-black. They suddenly stopped on a dime when they reached minimum firing distance and let their cannons fire. Orbs of blackness hurled forward and struck the barrier, disappearing into the multicolored light and causing hundreds of ripples in the energy. The barrier shuddered a small bit, but showed no signs of serious weakening. Mewtwo decided it was time to act, and pointed the Master sword downwards at the line of tanks and APC's. Using the sword's innate energy itself, Mewtwo fired a bolt of pale blue light down through the barrier and directly into a tank's turret. The tank rattled and glowed a bit before violently exploding and hurling chunks of steel into other vehicles. Hylian soldiers cheered.

Mewtwo could not cheer at all however, he saw something new emerging from the carrier ship that was hovering over the battlefield. He blinked as another barrage from the emplaced cannons caused the barrier to ripple wildly, and saw ports opening up on the carrier all over its hull. Explosions rocked the ground as another volley of light arrows caused multiple tanks to erupt in flame, and Mewtwo squinted to see tiny little fighter ships swarming out from inside the carrier. He swallowed hard as hundreds, and then thousands of the gnat-like one man fighters streamed out of the carrier and buzzed through the sky like a plague of locusts. Their engines glowed orange and they moved like flies, darting through the air without direction. When almost 2500 of these fighters filled the sky, only their glowing orange engines visible like fireflies, they formed together into "V" formations and began to make patrols through the sky. As the action raged on back on the ground, they made passes over the barrier and peppered it with small, piercing laser bolts. By now the barrier was quivering from all the impacts, and Mewtwo began to worry about its stability. He felt he needed to do some action to support it, so he set the Master Sword down, pulled out the Green Potion, and uncorked it.

With three long gulps Mewtwo downed the entire potion at once. His esophagus felt like it was being electrified and his mouth almost seized up from the raw energy. His veins tingled and stung with the power that was flowing through them, and he seized all of it together at once. It was enough to create an energy ball the size of five or six SUV's but instead of balling it up for attack purposes; he sent it directly to the barrier. Shimmering white light exited his body and merged with the barrier, which suddenly stopped trembling and stood stronger than it had before the attack had begun.

Mewtwo suddenly felt extremely weak and tired, and the Triforce piece in his hand shrieked with excruciating pain. It felt like his hand was shriveling and being pierced with hundreds of needles. He groaned and tried to pick up the Master Sword, but his hand wouldn't respond at all. He looked at it and saw it was grey like that of a dead man's, and the Triforce piece glowed bright green. Mewtwo picked up the Master sword with his left hand and looked down over the wall to find another target. Wave upon wave of regular arrows spent themselves harmlessly on the undamaged tanks, and every few seconds a light arrow would fly out and detonate a tank or APC. As Mewtwo's eyes focused, he saw something terrifyingly familiar. The APC's were beginning to open up, and out of them stepped the walking monstrosities that haunted Mewtwo's memory. They were exactly identical to him, only jet black and blood red, covered with Giovanni's armor and their eyes glowed crimson without intelligence, only a thirst for warm blood. They emptied out of the APC's in swarms, and Hylian and Gerudo soldiers shuddered in fear. Some stopped firing altogether, and the ones who stood next to Mewtwo suddenly looked at him in distrust. He saw hatred of him in their ayes and one drew his sword at him. As a response, Mewtwo aimed the Master Sword and direct it's energies to form a bolt. The bolt flew down through the barrier and struck one of the Imperial Centurions. The Centurion suddenly turned stiff as a board and fell over forwards, and the suddenly exploded in chunks of gore. The others around him greedily bent over his body and devoured it like ravenous beasts. Mewtwo turned to look at the Hylians, and they frowned disdainfully and returned to their futile arrow firing.

As the Centurions finished climbing out of the APC's they grouped together right up next to the barrier and lined up orderly. Mewtwo finally saw an opportunity for the mundane arrows to be effective as the Centurions formed their ranks.

"Fire at the ones who look like me! Do not waste any more arrows on their vehicles!" Mewtwo shouted at the top of his lungs. The Hylians and Gerudos nodded in general understanding and knocked a new volley of arrows. Just as the ranks of the Centurions were about to be completed, the arrows were let fly. They whizzed through the barrier and collided with the lines. There were mixed results, some arrows clattered off of the Centurions' armor, but a good number of them found places embedded in the soft flesh between the seams in the armor. Hundreds of Centurions gripped their injured limbs and fell, and chaos broke through their ranks. The barrier shuddered again as a barrage from the emplaced cannons struck in unison with a barrage from the tanks and a combined strafing pass from the fighters. Mewtwo had a lump in his throat, all the energy he had contributed had been used up already. He fumbled with the cork on the blue potion and drank the entire bottle.

Again, he sent all of the energy into the barrier, and it returned to its previous strength. The fighters flew unopposed through the air while chaos raged on the ground, and they happily continued to pepper the barrier with laser bolts. Meanwhile, another volley of arrows was made ready to fire at the centurions. But before they could fire, the lines were completed and Mewtwo suddenly sensed a horrendously large amount of energy collect around the castle. The centurions all raised their arms in unision, and each one formed a black energy sphere six feet in diameter. They then all threw this energy in unison, forming a black tide of evil that crashed into the barrier violently. Fear gripped Mewtwo and the rest of the defenders as the barrier shook wildly, bending slightly and flickering like a candle about to go out. "Come on, fire those accursed arrows!" A Hylian captain practically screamed. The soldiers came to their senses and let the arrows fly. Mewtwo watched them, his hopes riding on the need for the Centurions to be disposed with. His eyes followed them all the way down to their striking points, a few feet in the air above the Centurions.

"No!" Mewtwo cried, seeing the arrows splinter on psychic shields that the Centurions had raised. The barrier shook again, another barrage from the emplaced cannons was now all it took to shake it. The top of the barrier where the fighters were staffing it was now starting to become thin, and the Centurions held up their arms again to form their energy blasts.

Where the energy came from, Mewtwo didn't know or care. He suddenly found himself flying through the air, passing through the barrier and charging two gigantic energy blasts in his hands. The Triforce piece ceased to pain him, in fact it suddenly reversed and sent power to him. The Centurions all craned their necks and looked up at him, too dumb to know what was going on. Mewtwo's energy grew and grew, fed by the Triforce and his anger and fear. The two spheres in his hands grew to monstrous proportions, each the size of a house, and he cried out in elemental anger as he threw them down into the ranks of Centurions and tanks.

The barrier trembled to maintain in the explosion that followed. A humongous ball of deep purple fire engulfed hundreds of Centurions and Tanks, evaporating them instantly. The shockwave caused all tanks within a twenty foot radius to erupt into their own blossoming explosions and Centurions were pulverized into biomatter and contorted steel armor by the concussion. Mewtwo fed even more anger into the blast, laughing maniacally at the destruction. The explosion fed off of him and grew, enveloping more and more vehicles and Centurions, and the barrier bent dangerously inwards, almost to the point of breaking. And then, the sudden anger faded away, the energy receded, and the blast slowly ran its course, fading away. The crater that was left was almost 90 feet wide, not a trace of any of the Centurions or tanks within the radius remained. The tanks around the explosion had been turned into firecrackers, popping into balls of flame by the concussion. Hundreds of more Centurions lie dead, crushed by the concussion. All fell silent on the battlefield, the few remaining Centurions simply stared up at him, the cannons stopped firing, and the tanks stood still. The flying fightercraft suddenly receded back towards the carrier and milled around it. No more arrows flew from inside the barrier. Mewtwo, bereft of all energy, fell out of the sky like a shot bird, plummeting toward the stone wall. He fell hundreds of feet, whizzing through the air half conscious and only partially knowing of a painful death awaiting him. But as he passed through the thin and weak barrier, it slowed his fall down enough so that when he hit the stone wall, it only bruised his back. He smiled as he flitted in and out of consciousness, knowing he had saved the battle and all of their lives.

A/N: Hmmm, what was this interlude, you might ask? Well, it was something that I couldn't just stick in a chapter because it's out of place. And I'll let you figure out yourself whose log it was and its significance. Know that later on you'll look back at it and go "Oh yeah!". And I do hope that you know that it's still far from over, there's still much that can happen! Read, Review, and enjoy!