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 FOURTEEN. Arrggh! I hate writer's block! I DESPISE writer's block! Writing this chunk was an exercise in horrendously hard block grinding, where I would sit and write for a few hours and only accomplish a few paragraphs. It felt like my faucet of inspiration had been rusted up and clogged, and writing this was like getting a hammer and chisel and pounding on it until I had chipped the block away. Sorry it took so long to write this, because it was quite a lot of work.

Chapter XXXVI

Hidden away in the confines of Hyrule castle, in a small nondescript room on a rickety wooden bed, an emotionally ravaged Mewtwo had laid down his head to rest, and had fallen asleep. Elsewhere, the Sage of Light was brooding over his argument with Mewtwo and pacing like a lion. And farther away, in the planet's atmosphere, thousands of dark ships lurked, preparing to launch the massive invasion. It was in this setting that hope was seeming to flicker on the verge of disappearing when again a simple message was all that was needed to turn the tide.

As Mewtwo slept, a simple dream formed, his sight was suddenly turned toward a small country town. It was a sleepy little town, only a few hundred residents and it was surrounded by farmlands as far as the eye could see. Mewtwo's view shifted down to a small ranch house in the center of a miniature forest. It was small than all the other houses, and it contained a family that was disproportionately large compared to its capacity. A father and mother were raising 6 children, 4 girls and 2 boys, as well as giving the mother-in law a home. Mewtwo didn't know how he knew this, the dream put the information into his mind and he watched in fascination as the young children of ages 4-12 listened to the old grandmother's tales. Particular attention was paid to the oldest son, Marcus, who was 13 and seemed to live in his own world. As Mewtwo watched, time suddenly accelerated to the next day and the family woke up early to go out onto the fields and work. All but the youngest daughter worked the fields in excruciating heat and came home sore and covered with sweat. They rested and went to bed, and time accelerated again.

Weeks, then months, then years seemed to pass as Mewtwo watched. Marcus and his siblings grew, and the parents began to gray and become tired. After 5 years had passed, the acceleration slowed down in order to portray an event. The parents went out alone to go to a party, and were abducted by an invisible form in the darkness right before Mewtwo's eyes. A few days accelerated past and a vicious snow fell over the town as winter came, and the police searched the town and its surroundings for miles without success. Suddenly grandmother was the guardian of the family, and Marcus became the man of the house. His sisters and brothers, who were nearing their middle teens, were filled with grief and sorrow. Time accelerated a few months past and the bodies of Marcus' parents were found, deformed until almost unrecognizable, they had been hidden under a deep drift of snow. The police were mystified and nobody did any further investigation. Marcus trudged on with his life as the will of his father had left him the whole farm.

Three more years passed again, and as Marcus reached the age of 21, their grandmother passed away from old age. His siblings were all nearing their adulthood, and 4 of them volunteered to stay on the farm to help him run it. The youngest of them all, Margaret, went to work in a factory in the middle of town and to live with her boyfriend. Another 2 years passed, and Margaret had a young baby girl. Marcus, his other brother and his three other sisters were running the farm well, they were making steady money and expanding their land. They hired more hands to help them care for the land, but something odd was happening in the community. More people were disappearing during the winters, only to be found mangled and dead after the spring thaw. Everyone was becoming frightful, and people were beginning to move out of the town. Another three years cycled by, and Mewtwo wondered whether he had been washed into another dimension altogether.

Margaret's three year old daughter gleefully played in the winter snow for an entire day, and as nightfall passed, Margaret came outside to call her inside, only to find her missing. A search party was called up, but no trace was found of the unfortunate girl. Marcus began to hear strange and disturbing sounds outside the house at night, and he advised his family to stay in at night. Something incredibly evil was lurking in the small town and he could feel it. Every passing day he could feel its presence grow stronger, and every passing day brought news of another odd disappearance. The dream cycled the rest of the winter months away, and come the spring thaw, the body of Margaret's daughter was found in a pile along with several other missing persons, all sharing the same grisly fate. Marcus had enough of it, he left the house one evening and went to the real estate agent, he had agreed with the rest of the family to sell the house and to move out of town.

It was an especially long meeting with the real estate agent, and as he got in his truck and left the last few bits of twilight faded into the sinister darkness of night. He shivered in fear as he passed through the deserted streets, the town he had spent his entire life in suddenly felt like a ghost town. And as he reached the halfway home point, the engine in his ancient truck finally gave up the ghost and sputtered to a halt. He fished a flashlight out of the glove box and reluctantly stepped out of the truck and into the inky darkness. The spear of light from his flashlight was the only thing that kept the total blackness from closing in on him out in the open country, and he opened the hood and shined it in over the engine. An essential series of tubes had completely burst, and the alternator had literally fallen to pieces. The many times he and his brothers had stuck it back together could not last long. He would need a lot of light and time to fix this, so he slammed the hood shut and began to walk the lonely road the rest of the way home.

As the complete silence was only broken by the light padding of Marcus' boots on the grass and his low breathing, the air felt oppressive and evil, there was not even the lightest flutter of wind. The light from his flashlight gouged a trail into the ink ahead of him, but it had little dispersement and the darkness hugged his sides and back. And a sudden, low rustle caught Marcus' attention. He stood dead still and held his breath, listening with every nerve in his body on end. At first there was only complete and total silence, and then the clear rustling of leaves was heard to Marcus' left. Marcus began to slowly move the flashlight beam toward the source of the noise when another sound became audible. It was eerily familiar, the same dull guttural growling that he had heard outside his house every winter for the last six years. His face turned pale as he heard the growl grow in intensity and was joined by another. They were coming from the same exact location as where the rustling noise had come from. He slowly settled the flashlight beam on a bush where the noises were coming from, and the dull green leaves rattled and rustled as something moved inside the bush.

Marcus felt his heart was pounding like a great drum, going hundreds of miles an hour. Sweat was pouring out of every pore on his body, and adrenaline coursed through him in rivers. He slowly and jerkily reached down to grab the pistol on his belt, clicked it to a loaded slot, and aimed at the bush. More horrifying growls were heard, and Marcus' breath was in clouds in front of his face as the air suddenly chilled a bit. And just as his heart reached a pace that could be described as too fast for a hummingbird, a hideous form leapt out of the bushes toward him. Eight hairy legs and many glowing eyes rocketed toward him through the dark air. His pistol rang out in the darkness, bursts of light and loud reports that echoed over the seemingly deadened town. The gigantic spider screeched and fell, it's legs curling up as the bullets completely separated it's monstrous head from its bulbous body. And suddenly, Marcus was gone, he had bolted like a deer and ran faster than he had ever ran before. He was not pursued by the spiders, which could have easily outstripped him. They instead were busy feasting on the body of their unfortunate comrade.

As soon as Marcus got home he roused his siblings and farmhands. He instructed the farmhands to leave town and told them they were fired, and had his brothers and sister pack their things immediately. They had emptied the house before morning and were gone as the sun rose. As the dream suddenly began to fade, Mewtwo was left with the vision of the spiders consuming the town, devouring the last few occupants until no-one was left. He awoke covered in cold sweat, wondering why he had seen what he had seen, and suddenly feeling very morose and sad. He left the small hideaway in the castle that he had found and walked until he found a window. There was no sun through the sinister black clouds that covered the planet, but Mewtwo knew he had slept through the rest of the night. He now only had 2 days left before the invasion.

Chapter XXXVII

Rauru had never seen such incredible improvement in any of those he had taught before. As Mewtwo sat completely still on the floor of the Chamber of Sages, Rauru assaulted his mind with insults and other mental distractions. He sent violent images, heart rending emotions, and messages of blame and hate to Mewtwo's mind, but Mewtwo was completely unaffected. As he slowly sent all the images, Rauru performed one final test. He sent a message blaming Mewtwo for Kalana's death once more, and then threw the fastest punch at Mewtwo that he could muster. Mewtwo simply remained clear and was able to easily lean to the side a few inches in order to dodge the punch.

Rauru stood back and smiled. "I do believe your training is done. You may leave the clear minded state." Mewtwo ignored him now, still expecting another attack. "No, I am not testing you on my honor. Come now, and tell me how you achieved this vast improvement."

This time Mewtwo slowly released the iron stated mind and let his thoughts come fluttering back. "A message came to me in a dream." He began, remembering the dream as if it had still just happened to him. He recanted the entire tale to Rauru in great detail. Although Mewtwo had to explain how trucks worked, Rauru still understood the general premise of the message that had been encoded in this vision. Mewtwo spoke one more time before letting Rauru explain his thoughts; "I think it is clear, something or someone was trying to show me what would happen if a hero did not arise and stand up against a growing evil."

"And I would agree with you completely. Through your tales you have told me of many times when fate has intervened on your behalf, and it is obvious now that this has happened once again. Destiny has something in store for you yet that neither you nor I can see, but one thing is for sure, it does not want you to fail, there is no doubt about it." Rauru said, still grinning. His meaty face shone like a small pale sun.

"But what of me without all these little messages, little interferences and guidances? Had they not happened, I would be nothing. No, I would be worse than nothing, I would have turned into a villain worse than what currently lurks outside the atmosphere of this world. If it weren't for that small boy who sacrificed himself before me, I would have killed billions of innocents. And even now I need help from beyond to stay on track." Mewtwo said, suddenly feeling despondent.

"Stop putting yourself down, all of us have our dark times. I certainly would not have become the Sage of Light without certain interventions from Destiny. None of us are purely good or evil, even the divided versions of yourself. From what you have said, if it took Lightest's death to truly purify Darkest, that meant that there was some hint of goodness in his shriveled heart, no matter how miniscule and deeply hidden, and there was always some bitterness and negativity in Lightest, no matter how well he repressed them. Pure good and evil cannot exist naturally, and for them to is dangerous to the order of the universe for them to do so. And no matter what horrifying deeds you have done in your past, as long as you make an effort to replace them with good ones, it will make your life that much more of a positive effect on the world. Look at the life of the young hero clad in green, the adventurous Link. After he defeated Ganon, Zelda performed an act of healing by returning our world seven years back in time. By doing so, she gave Link his boyhood back and erased seven years of horrific memories from the people of Hyrule. And now, the people do not have any memory of Link's deeds whatsoever, except for the other Sages, Zelda and I. Although almost all of our people will not remember the gifts Link gave to them, we Sages and Zelda always will, and it is the difference they have made in all our lives that count. Even if you can only make a positive change in one person's life, it is still all the difference in the Universe." Rauru finished and sighed, still smiling at Mewtwo who was now deep in thought.

"Now, I propose we go and find ourselves something to eat, it's half an hour past lunch time and I'm starving!" Rauru said merrily, patting his enormous jiggling belly.

The food in the Castle was delicious as usual, but there was an Empty spot at the table where Zelda used to sit. Mewtwo and the other sages sat and ate silently, grief still hovering over them like clouds threatening to release a deluge of tears. No-one talked or laughed, and the delightful culinary wonders seemed dulled to the pallets of the saddened Sages. Only a small black handkerchief remained in Zelda's seat, folded neatly and set on the shining silver dinner plate. Impa, the seeming façade of stone that almost never showed any emotion, was slowly holding back her tears. The gray haired woman had been Zelda's attendant for years, tucking her in as a child and taking her on walks in Kakariko Village by the foot of Death Mountain. Now as she sat, poking a prime rib on the lavish silver plate, a small teardrop rolled down her angled cheek and landed on the meat of the steak. She suddenly pushed the plate aside, not wanting to eat anymore.

As everyone at the circular table finally either finished their food or stopped eating, Rauru stood up to make an announcement. "Fellow Sages, I understand these are hard times, and that some of us are still in mourning for the late Princess, but evil is pressing ever closer and we must act soon before much more is lost. The Triforce must be reformed, and now as Mewtwo holds two of the three pieces, we are 2/3 done with the task. But we are still far from our goal, and Zelda's sudden death has left us with a hole in our Circle of Sages. We have need of a new Sage of Time, and the one who possesses the Triforce of Wisdom is the one who shall take her place." As Rauru finished, the eyes of all the Sages turned to Mewtwo, who suddenly felt inadequate and ashamed.

"How can I be a sage? I'm not worthy!" Mewtwo protested, not feeling worthy of the tast set out before him. "Look how many times I have dangerously flaunted the stability of the Time stream! The lad of Termina looked to be on the verge of collapsing when I left it!"

"But you my friend, have more real life experience with the ebbs and flows of the Time Stream than any of us or any other person in Hyrule. And you've been through time enough times that you know not to fool with its continuity, and that is what stands out about you. You have proven your worth by expressing your own concern about your actions in time, and that caution and concern is the best attribute that any Sage of Time needs." Rauru said.

"Here here!" Darunia said heartily, standing up and clapping his meaty hands. And then all the other Sages showed their approval and stood as well, clapping their hands in unison.

"Come here and I will give you the mark of a Sage." Rauru said, standing up as well and gesturing toward the still hesitating Mewtwo. "Come now, it is a gift for me to give to you, and you shall receive it for good or evil."

Mewtwo slowly stood and walked past the other Sages who were eagerly watching him with anticipation. Again Mewtwo felt the need to find a solitary place and to be away from all the attention. As he approached Rauru, Rauru reached out a hand that was now glowing bright white. He grabbed Mewtwo's left hand and pressed the glowing energy into Mewtwo skinny forearm. A slight stinging was all that Mewtwo felt in his arm, and as Rauru let go the feeling vanished as well.

"It is done, you have become the new Sage of Time." Rauru said.

Mewtwo looked down at his left arm where Rauru had held it, and a small circular symbol had been imprinted into his flesh. It was the Hylian Symbol for "Time", and it seemed to be embossed into him.

"Now, you have been trained in the art of clearing your mind, and your power at manipulating energy is unmatched by even us, but there remains one more skill you must train in before you can face Ganondorf. You must become a master at the blade, and the one who will train you shall be the Spirit Sage, Nabooru." Rauru said.

Nabooru stepped up to Mewtwo with a wry smile that reminisced of the ones Kalana used to give him and said; "I have heard many good things about your skills from the Hylian soldiers, they told me they saw you defeat a Stalchild master outside the gates of the Castle the first night you came to this land. They also told me that you used the blade from a Peahat as well, a weapon remarkably flimsy and fragile when compared to the finely crafted weapons of the Gerudos. But know that when I train you, I will hold back nothing due to our lack of time. You will need to learn quickly the many techniques that Ganondorf took from his life with the Gerudos, and what you can do to counter them. I have fought him before, and I can teach you quickly how to stand up to him. But just know, I will give you the same amount of leniency as Ganondorf will, so be prepared."

Part of Mewtwo smiled inside, the familiar pride of the Gerudos was familiar and it made him feel a bit more at home. "I am ready for anything you can throw at me." He said.

Chapter XXXVIII

"You're a skilled fighter." Nabooru grunted, pushing back against Mewtwo with an extra long double ended scimitar.

Mewtwo held her back with the Master sword, his feet digging into the dusty ground painfully. He used a burst of strength and threw Nabooru away. Nabooru kept her balance and used the momentum to spin around with another attack from her scimitar. Again Mewtwo blocked, and following Nabooru's example, used the momentum from the clash to swing around to Nabooru's other side. Nabooru blocked, but the blow had come close to finding its mark. She jumped back and prepared the next round.

"As are you, although it is a given with your years of experience." Mewtwo said, drawing the tip of the Master Sword through the dust.

"You fight a lot like a Gerudo," Nabooru began, "Have you been trained by one of my people before?"

Mewtwo had indeed been taught well by the Red Elder, but he knew not to let Nabooru know of his past with the Gerudos. "No, but I have watched your people fight many times before."

"You learn very fast then." Nabooru said, holding her scimitar slightly off balance, preparing for an attack.

Fires blazing on individual torches filled the Castle Courtyard where Mewtwo and Nabooru were sparring. The normally grassy ground of the Courtyard had been purged of plant life by the extended darkness, and as people came and went the ground had turned into a large patch of dust. The light from the torches danced across the stone walls of the courtyard and played tricks on the eyes of both competitors, making it hard to see movements and judge distances. The air was totally still as both of them watched for a move from the other, and Nabooru smirked in the dark as she decided to take the initiative. She silently leapt into the air, sailing toward Mewtwo with the blade of her scimitar rushing to meet his skull. Mewtwo saw and heard it coming, and sidestepped to allow Nabooru to plant her blade in the dirt. As the blade was stuck in the ground, Mewtwo stopped the Master Sword right next to Nabooru's face, and Nabooru smiled. She now knew that flamboyancy would not intimidate Mewtwo, and his fighting style was absolutely no-nonsense and efficient.

"Seems like a bit of a careless attack." Mewtwo said, drawing the blade back in order to allow Nabooru to finish pulling her blade out of the ground.

Nabooru did not reply however, she was too busy pulling a page from Mewtwo's book. As soon as her scimitar was freed from the ground she rushed at Mewtwo in a blindingly fast quick attack and stopped it just in front of his face.

"Touché." Nabooru said, winking.

The two fighters returned to their starting positions and began again. Mewtwo watched as Nabooru began the preparation for a warmly familiar attack that he remembered well to this day. Nabooru gripped the middle of her double ended scimitar and held it horizontally against her body so that the two blades were perpendicular to her body and extended out from her at a perfect ninety degree angle. She then stepped backwards two thirds of a step and jumped forward, springing her back leg in order to giver her entire body a spin. The two blades rotated like a tornado and slashed through the air toward Mewtwo, who knew easily how to counter the attack. The Gerudos he had known in the future used this technique almost to the point of overuse, and he had figured out an easy way to stop the attack. He raised the Master Sword and held it vertically in front of him. As the tornado attack reached him, the Master sword caught the spinning scimitar and the force of the collision threw Nabooru's spin off completely. The scimitar was flung out of her hands, spinning to a stop on the ground a few feet away. The impact also knocked the Master Sword out of Mewtwo's hand, and as Nabooru landed, her hair was a complete mess and she looked impressed.

"An interesting way to block the attack, leaving us both unarmed." Nabooru said, smiling at Mewtwo. "But should your opponent have a second blade," and in the middle of the sentence, Nabboru slipped out a dagger and dashed at Mewtwo, stopping it in front of his neck. "Then you would be completely defenseless."

"Good point." Mewtwo said, backing off. He began to feel in the darkness for the Master Sword, but Nabooru interrupted him.

"Care for some unarmed sparring?" Nabooru asked him, sheathing her small curved dagger."

Mewtwo frowned and sighed. He knew that by now after all his training, his arms were not as skinny and weak, but they were still short, and Nabooru had significantly longer arms than his. "Ok, but if either of us feels that a hit is too hard, we should stop." He said.

"Very good." Nabooru said, stepping back and raising her fists. Before Mewtwo could react, she was on him, throwing fast but weak punches in a flurry.

Mewtwo was decenty at dodging punches, but the confounding speed at which Nabooru attacked was keeping him in the physical defensive. He took the blows to his arms with small tinges of pain, thankful that Nabooru wasn't hitting hard. When his arms felt that they had had enough of this treatment, he decided to try and return a few punches, but they fell drastically short. Nabooru simply leaned back and all Mewtwo connected with was air. His shorter arms were a major disadvantage and he tried as hard as he could to think of an alternative as Nabooru returned to the offensive. A sudden change in her attack patterns caught his attention, she stopped throwing large amounts of weak punches, she instead began to put some power in her blows. The punches suddenly became much slower as she threw her body into them, giving Mewtwo enough time to actually dodge most of them for once. Clouds of dust rose from the ground as the moved sporadically through the Courtyard, Mewtwo still not making any offensive moves.

As Nabooru threw a particularly slow and powerful punch, Mewtwo finally found the opportunity to return a few blows. He sidestepped and grabbed Nabooru's arm as she pulled back to maintain her balance, and then landed a decent punch in her stomach. Before he could attack again however, Nabooru snapped out of his grip like lightning and punched him equally hard in the chest. He felt a good amount of wind knocked out of him, but he stayed on his feet as he saw another opportunity arise. As Nabooru moved forward to punch him yet again, he swung his tail around and wrapped it around her feet. He then yanked her feet out from under her, causing her to fall onto her back. She recovered quickly, and leapt back onto her feet in one fluid motion. Right as she landed on her feet she also managed to grasp Mewtwo's tail in her hands and pulled on it hard, causing him to shout out in pain. He recoiled with a powerful back kick, catching Nabooru directly in the stomach and knocking her backwards off of her feet. She flew a few feet through the air from the power in the kick, losing her grip on Mewtwo's tail completely.

Nabooru climber to her feet, not leaping up gracefully as she had done last time. She spoke in an almost labored voice; "That was very impressive, you completely knocked the wind out of me. You are very good at defending yourself without the sword, shall we train with weapons once more?"

Mewtwo felt accomplished, he smiled and said; "Yes, if you're ok. I kicked you too hard and maybe we should take a break before starting again."

"Do not do me favors, it is Gerudo honor to take blows as hard as you give them, and offering me respite when I have hit you just as hard is insulting." Nabooru said, frowning.

Mewtwo didn't remember Nabooru hitting him that hard, but he was recoiling a bit from the bite in Nabooru's voice and decided not to speak up. He found the Master Sword lying on the ground and picked it up again. Nabooru found her scimitar and dusted it off a bit.

"Now, I want to see from you the most opportunistic fighting that you can give. Do not just attack with the blade, punch and kick as well, but do not use your powers. That would render this training pointless. Now, be offensive! Come at me! Attack!" Nabooru said, gesturing for Mewtwo to attack her.

Mewtwo did not like being the first to attack, his fighting style worked better when countering the attacks of his opponent. He felt awkward rushing up to Nabooru and swinging at her head, and his feelings were justified when Nabooru dodged to the side perfectly. As he tried to see where she had stopped, she landed a kick to his left leg and he stumbled forward onto his knee. He felt the cool steel of Nabooru's scimitar touch the back of his neck and scowled. Without letting any dialogue pass, Mewtwo countered the compromising situation by swinging his tail up to knock the scimitar away from his neck. He then spun around and swung the Master Sword in a liquid smooth movement, catching Nabooru by surprise. She leapt back barely in time in order to avoid getting disemboweled. Mewtwo pressed the attack by kicking at Nabooru before he had even finished swinging the Master Sword, and he caught Nabooru's right leg and knocked it out from under her. He brought the Master sword back and stopped it in front of her face. It was another flawlessly executed touché and Nabooru was impressed.

Again, Nabooru took a page from Mewtwo's book and threw the standstill off without a pause, kicking Mewtwo in the arm with her other leg, causing the blade of the Master Sword to fly away from her and leaving Mewtwo exposed. She jumped up, dropping her scimitar, and reached her arm around Mewtwo's neck in a stone solid headlock. Mewtwo simply dropped the Master Sword and grabbed both of her shoulders, lifting his leg and kneeing Nabooru in the stomach. Nabooru fell backwards, releasing the headlock, and grabbed her Scimitar off of the ground. She brought it up and blocked a sudden blow from Mewtwo, who had taken the moment to pick up the Master Sword once more. And then Mewtwo swung his tail around and knocked the scimitar out of Nabooru's hands. He stopped the Master Sword in front of her face once again.

"I think," Nabooru began, "That your tail has given you the advantage over me, and it will give you one against any other sword fighter you will meet."

Mewtwo eased back and panted, he was tired and he did not feel up for any more sparring. "Do you think that I need more training?" He asked.

"I think that if you were to fight someone with blade alone, without using your tail, you would be an excellent fighter. With your tail, you can defeat me and any of my tribe's best fighters. I don't believe that there's anything more I can teach you."

Mewtwo wiped the sweat off his face and sighed with relief and accomplishment. As he shook hands with Nabooru, a part of him felt happier and this time period felt a lot more welcoming. And the part of him which constantly cried that he could not match Ganondorf in combat was now suddenly quieted.

A/N: We return to training once again, and all it takes is a simple message to motivate Mewtwo to succeed. The final confrontation is rushing up at extremely high speeds, it will be here VERY soon! Keep your pants on kiddies, the ride's about to really kick into high gear!