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 FIFTEEN. All right people, here it is! The grand finale! The super big ending special! The chunk to end all chunks! The closing of this part and probably the whole series!

Chapter XL

"Your training is complete, you have been found as strong as any other sage." Rauru had said, "Now you may spend the final day before the invasion preparing yourself. Do what you will so that your mind will be able to handle anything in the coming day of reckoning."

And so now Mewtwo was slowly flying over the kingdom, absorbing the natural solitude and relaxing his mind and body. The Kingdom of Hyrule was truly beautiful, the pure flowing waters, majestic trees and the lush greenery were splendorous beyond compare. He found himself floating directionlessly over the pristine lands, slowly entering a state of meditation. Without intending, Mewtwo cleared his mind in the same fashion as his training had taught him to. His mind, tuning into instinctual mode, slowly minimized his energy usage so that he floated in the air by a feather light amount of energy usage. The wind moved him through the sky freely and he didn't care where it would take him. As his mind slowly unified with the environment around him, he began to connect with the life essences of all of the beings in Hyrule.

The pulse of the world seemed to beat within Mewtwo's mind, he saw and felt experiences through the eyes of wild deer, roaming dogs, and traveling Hylian merchants. All was in perfect harmonious balance, time and nature had worked together to create a world unlike any other in the Universe, and Mewtwo slowly began to understand how it all worked. As his mind linked with the world's essence, he was able to see past events with clarity, events that had left marks in the continuum of this world. He saw the beginning of this world's existence, three glowing figures descending from space and creating Hyrule. He saw the Kingdom of Hyrule arise from bloody wars and the unification of the Three Races of the land. He saw Ganondorf's rise to power and his fall at Link's hands. And he saw his own arrival from a small dimensional doorway deep within the lost woods. The existence of the Vile Desert and the Empire's reign were yet to be written into the world's history now, and Mewtwo knew he could prevent them.

And as Mewtwo continued to look into the essence of the world, he saw again the three glowing figures. Each glowed a different color; red, green, and blue. They were holding their hands out to hold on to a long tangled thread, a thread that looped in and around itself and was tied in knots. They smiled as they held the strand, knowing that it would soon be time to let it snap taut, and then the image faded. Mewtwo opened his eyes and saw the sun slowly setting over the Desert, the last day before the invasion was drawing to a close. Mewtwo wisely decided that it would be a good idea to get a lot of sleep before the stressful events that were coming tomorrow. He flew back down to the castle, found his room, and laid his head down to rest.

In his dreams, Mewtwo returned to the alternate future of Hyrule that he had known in those past 5 years, where the burning desert covered the land and the Gerudos struggled to survive. He was taken back to the scene in the tower raid when he and the Gerudos had stolen the food from the Empire. His mind replayed the scene where the Gerudo soldiers were ripped to shreds by the machine guns, and as they laid dead on the floor, the entire scenario froze. And then those dead Gerudos sudden blinked their eyes open and all stared at Mewtwo coldly and emotionlessly.

"Give us a second chance." The bloody faced Gerudos whispered, and then the dream changed again.

The dream accelerated to the Imperial attack on the Blue village, the two silvery tanks slowly and methodically moved toward the village. As Mewtwo watched himself get blasted backward and knocked out, the dream showed him the other Gerudos metting less fortunate fates. He saw them being riddled with bullets, blown apart by the turrets on the tanks, and drawn in by the mind controlling incantation. The scene froze, and all those who had met unfortunate ends stood back up and faced Mewtwo.

"It is in your hands, this doesn't have to happen." They all said.

Again the dream changed, Mewtwo saw Kalana and himself being strapped down in the Imperial torture room. He saw Firetongue gleefully putting them both through physical and emotional hell, and he nearly cried to himself as his dream forced him to relive each and every agonizing torture. And then, he watched as Firetongue gave him the knife and taunted him to throw it. Mewtwo cried out to himself not to throw the knife, but history would not change in hindsight and the knife sailed through the air deadly and true. Firetongue disappeared and Kalana was stuck in the stomach in his stead. As Kalana's last breath finally left her, the scene froze and the strap over her mouth disappeared so she could speak directly to him.

"I forgive you." Kalana said. "It wasn't your fault, and now you can prevent it from ever happening. Don't do it for me as much as for yourself."

And then, the dream faded, and Mewtwo was left with one feeling as his sleep became blank and dreamless; resolution. A hundred ton weight lifted off of his mind and soul, and he felt he could suddenly breathe like he never could after Kalana's death. His sleep then faded away into blankness, and it was one of the most rejuvenating sleeps he had ever had in his life.

For once as Mewtwo was shaken awake, it did not feel like he had only just laid down to sleep. He opened his eyes to see a Zora standing over him, wearing a look of awe. Even with his uniform, pupil free eyes, the Zora conveyed a lot of emotion through his eyes.

"Light Sage Mewtwo, the other Sages have summoned you." The young Zora lad said, standing back in case Mewtwo might lash out at him.

"Thanks, I felt like I was about to wake up anyway." Mewtwo said, standing up.

As Mewtwo walked out into the hallways of the castle, the young Zora boy followed behind him, keeping a good distance out of respect, awe and fear. Mewtwo smiled at the sound of his footsteps behind him and raised his arm to gesture for him to walk closer.

"Tell me, what's your name little Zora?" Mewtwo asked as the young fish boy strode up beside him, still timid.

"Venca Hi'tero, sir." The boy replied, remaining terse with timidity.

"Can I call you Ven?" Mewtwo asked as they reached a flight of stairs.

Venca nodded, looking down at his feet and remaining silent.

"You seem awfully quiet, what's the matter?" Mewtwo asked, curious as to the mind of a child.

"My mother told me that if I were to insult a Sage, I could be whipped and denied a turn in the water today." Venca said, frightened he might be reprimanded for saying this.

Mewtwo remained silent for a moment as the two of them descended the stairway toward the main floor of the Castle. "Sometimes, you need to live for the day." Mewtwo said, smiling at the young Zora.

"Whaddya mean?" Venca asked, looking up at Mewtwo with the somewhat disconcerting Zora eyes.

"Sometimes you have to just have fun today, because life is too short to take it too seriously. It took me a very long time to figure that out." Mewtwo said.

"How long?" Venca asked, glowing with curiosity.

"All of my life, up until last night." Mewtwo said, sighing. "I've been so worried about what my deeds have done in the long run that I've been miserable my whole life. And now that I have learned, it may soon come crashing down upon me…" Mewtwo trailed off at the last part of the sentence.

"Crashing down? What do you mean? Are you going to get a job as a laborer or somethin'?" Venca asked.

Mewtwo smiled sadly at the innocent ignorance of the small child, his parents must have decided to not spoil what could be his last days with worries about his life coming to an end.

"No, I've just got a lot to do now in my future and I might not have the free time to do what I want to anymore." Mewtwo said. They passed through the main hall of the castle and both were silent for a time. "But, you don't have to worry about me, I'm just a silly old Sage and you have your entire childhood ahead of you where you can play all day and enjoy your life."

As the two of them exited the main gates of the Castle, Venca turned away from Mewtwo to go to a different area. Before he went though, he gave Mewtwo a hug on the arm and said; "I hope you can find some spare time outside all your old silly sage stuff! See you later!" And with that, he skipped off down the streets toward the pool where the Zoras were swimming.

As Mewtwo approached the Temple of Time, he found himself wishing he had had a childhood. He had been kept unconscious all of his formative years by the scientists, and because of it he had become the mentally unstable and violent person that he had been for so many years. Odd how the scientist's biggest mistake was not creating him, but not letting his mind learn and grow on its own during the time that he matured. They could have created some sort of simulation program, but they instead chose to leave a black void of unconsciousness and had planted the biggest seeds of negativity in his heart. And now that he recognized them, their roots of blackness in his soul seemed to shrivel.

The portal to the Chamber of Sages opened as Mewtwo pressed his hand against the symbol for Time on the Temple wall. He walked into the glowing light with a mind much more at ease than it had ever been before.

Chapter XLI

"What lies beyond the portal we are about to open even we cannot tell." Rauru slowly said to Mewtwo. "The Sacred Realm was once the resting place for the Triforce, but ever since Ganondorf entered it and caused it to split and enter our world, only the gods know what has happened in that now forsaken plane. Are you ready?"

Mewtwo felt an iron hand of nervousness clutching at his heart, but in his mind he knew that he was ready. "I am. Open the portal now." He said, clutching the Master Sword and feeling his knapsack to make sure he had the Light Arrows.

"There is one last thing I must show you before we can open the portal. You know the emblem of the Sage of Time that you bear on your arm?" Rauru asked.

Mewtwo looked over at his right arm reflexively, wondering what Rauru was going to show him now. "What about it?" He asked.

"I want you to clear your mind again, of everything except this symbol. Hold your hands above your head and concentrate on this Emblem. Do it now." Rauru said.

Mewtwo felt slightly confused, but he didn't ask any questions. He locked his mind onto the symbol and let all other thoughts and feelings fade away. Holding his hands over his head, he felt nothing happen as his mind became empty of everything except the swirling Hylian emblem. And then suddenly, he felt an electrifying tingle and a moderate energy drain on his system. A flash of energy blinked over his head as a small disc appeared out of thin air. He opened his eyes and saw something that threw emotion back into his mind. A small, rainbow colored Medallion bearing that same symbol now floated down through the air and came to rest in his hands.

"That is the Time Medallion, the culmination of the knowledge and power of the Sage of Time. Just as I have the Light Medallion and Darunia the Fire Medallion as the culminations of all our abilities as sages, so do you have your own Medallion now as well." Rauru said.

Mewtwo held the glistening disc in his hands, it cycled in many colors and the energy of every millisecond that permeated the fabric of reality. And as he held it, he felt the pasts of every Time Sage of the past, their lives flickering past his eyes in an instant that seemed to stretch into an eternity. And Mewtwo saw and felt Zelda's life as well. He felt her insecurities and her fears, he felt her joys and sadnesses, and suddenly knew why she had killed herself. And then he felt a portion of himself pass into the Medallion as well, he was being written into the history of this world. And then, the energy slowly faded back to levels of innate normality and time around Mewtwo seemed to return to its regular pace.

"Remember, should you be killed at the hands of another sentient being, they shall inherit this Medallion and it's power. If you die of natural causes however, it will go to the one person you in your heart know is worthy of taking upon the responsibility of Time Sage." Rauru said.

"How will I know who is worthy to receive it though?" Mewtwo asked, still recovering from all the images that had passed into his mind.

"You judgment at heart will determine it, not your conscious thought." Rauru said. "Just be sure that you do not allow someone of an evil nature claim your life."

"No wonder Darkest had control over the Fire, Water, and Darkness Medallions," Mewtwo thought, "He must have killed their sages or the descendants of their Sages."

"The Medallion will only take physical form when you will it to, and it will stay in that form until you will it to dematerialize back into yourself. Know that your power will be diminished while the Medallion is in physical form, and it's own power is innately amplified while in this form. Also, while it is manifested in this solid form, you will be able to lend others your powers by giving it to them."

"I understand." Mewtwo replied.

"To re-absorb the Medallion into yourself, hold it to your body and concentrate all your though into it. It will reunite with you and your abilities will return to their previous state. It is up to you to decide whether to keep it in this form or to keep it inside yourself, either path has its advantages. But we must open the portal soon, we do not know when the in vasion will begin today, it could very well be starting in minutes." Rauru said calmly.

Mewtwo knew the advantage of keeping the Medallion in physical form was a powerful one, he remembered how Darkest had brought them out into these forms to do battle with Lightest those five years ago, but if Ganondorf were to steal the Medallion from him, it would give the King of Evil a major advantage in their battle. Mewtwo reluctantly held the Medallion against himself and concentrated, and as he stood and thought only about it, it slowly melted into the air and disappeared. He felt the same tingling that he had felt while forming it, and opened his eyes. The other Sages looked at him with nearly solemnity, understanding their fates rested in his hands. "I'm ready." He said.

"Now, do as we do, raise your arms into the air and concentrate your mind on opening the portal that lies in the center of this platform. Channel your Sagely energies into the task, and we will all act as one to open the way for you." Rauru said.

Each of the Sages stepped back onto their circular symbol floor tiles and raised their arms, Mewtwo included among them. Each closed their eyes and glowing orbs of energy formed over all of their heads. These balls of light then spiraled up into the air and converged, and then fell down into the center of the platform inside the circle of the Sages. A glowing white circle in the floor flickered to life as the Sages' energies mixed into one, and the doorway was opened. The white circle grew to a diameter of five feet and stabilized. The Sages lowered their arms and opened their eyes.

"Go now, said Rauru, "The Triforce is-" but he was cut off

A bone chilling, sinister laughter poured out of the portal, and the Sages all stared down into it with mixtures of fear and hatred. The laugh was hollow, evil and maniacal, and as it slowed to a stop a hand slowly emerged from the portal. It was of orange Gerudo skin and wore a black spiked gauntlet. It gripped the edge of the portal and pulled the rest of its owner out. Ganondorf's tall sinister form rose from the white void with an evil grin. As he finally completely emerged, the portal closed under his feet and he surveyed the shocked audience that beheld him. He then looked straight into Mewtwo's eyes and smiled the most sinister smirk that Mewtwo had ever seen.

"I do not know who or what you are creature, but I owe you for subduing the Sages singlehandedly and freeing me from my imprisonment. If there's anything I can do to be of assistance to you." Ganondorf said casually.

"Give me the Triforce of Power." Mewtwo said, deciding to let Ganondorf think what he would.

"That item, my friend, is something I would not part with even if it meant my life." Ganondorf said, his smile fading into suspicion.

"Then it will meant your life!" Mewtwo blasted psychically into Ganondorf's mind.

And suddenly, the Sages broke their stillness and silence, lashing out at Ganondorf with their elemental magics. Ganondorf roared in rage and dodged the blasts only to see Mewtwo bearing down at him with the Master Sword in hand.

"So this is the trap you Sages have set for me!" Ganondorf bellowed, and floated up into the air to dodge the blows screaming toward him. "Then I will take this fight to where it will be more balanced!"

Suddenly, Ganondorf disappeared out of the room, having magically teleported. Mewtwo grunted with frustration and followed the energy signature left behind in order to follow him. He too disappeared out of the chamber in hot pursuit. The other six Sages took deep breaths and relaxed. They regained their composure and prepared to follow the two fighters in order to aid Mewtwo in battle, but a sudden shaking in the floor stopped them in their tracks. The Imperial bombardment had begun, and the invasion was now only an hour away.

Chapter XLII

"Welcome," Ganondorf said, "To the Haunted Wasteland."

A sorrowful desert wind howled across the darkened orange sands of the Gerudo Desert on the Western border of Hyrule. The feeling of sand under Mewtwo's feet brought memories back to his mind, but he pushed them aside in order to concentrate on his opponent before him. Ganondorf blended into the darkness of the Imperial night frighteningly well, but his bright yellow eyes stood out in the dark.

"This is the place my people were forced to live in by the Hylians, where many have died in the brutal sun. Here I was born, and I know this land well. Here we will battle, away from all those who might aid you. And what's this I feel?" Ganondorf asked, lifting his right hand up in front of his face. He examined it thoroughly. "The Triforce is resonating yet again; the three pieces are near each other." Ganondorf looked down at Mewtwo with a sudden greedy grin. "This can only mean that you possess the two other pieces I seek."

Mewtwo raised his right hand in defiance. The two Triforce pieces in it shone brilliantly. "I have sought you out in order to complete the Triforce. I will take the final piece from you by any means necessary."

"And I was about to say the same thing." Ganondorf laughed. Suddenly, the battle began.

In the blink of an eye the two fighters closed the distance between themselves and a shockwave blasted through the air as Ganondorf's giant sword clashed with the Master Sword. The two opposing energies reacted and knocked the opponents away from each other, only for them to quickly turn and attack again. Ganondorf's blade glowed with an unholy darkness and the Master Sword shone bright and blue. As blows were exchanged the concussions slowly knocked waves of sand back away from the areas that the two foes met. Crackling electricity filled the air before either side had even pulled out any of their stops.

As it became apparent that neither of them were gaining any ground, Ganondorf decided to try a different method of fighting. He pulled back away from Mewtwo and used his dark magic to hover up into the air. He charged a dark energy ball different from any other that Darkest had used. As it formed, this energy sphere slowly grew spikes out of its exterior. Ganondorf laughed maniacally and thrusted his fist into it, shattering it. Thousands of razor sharp glowing shards peppered the air. Mewtwo raised his shield but they passed right through it unaffected. He managed to teleport out of their way at the last second, and took the fight to Ganondorf once again. He appeared behind Ganondorf and released a crippling kick to his spine. Ganondorf was thrown forward into the sand and lie still for a moment. Mewtwo's nerves were taut as a bridge cable as he waited for Ganondorf to get up and attack him, but something else caught his attention. A red glow was suddenly filling the field around them, and he could feel a monumentous boiling of energy in the air. He looked up to see a bolt of plasma rocketing down toward them from Darkest's ships in orbit. Reflexively, he teleported away safely just as the burning red bolt descended to the ground with an ear shattering explosion.

Mewtwo reappeared a few miles away, and he watched as the sand and dirt settled over the crater where Ganondorf had been. As the smoke and sand finally cleared out of the air, he flew up to investigate, only to find no sign of Ganondorf anywhere. He knew something was wrong, he still sensed Ganondorf's energy. "He must have teleported as well." Mewtwo thought to himself.

And as Mewtwo completed his thought, Ganondorf appeared behind him.

"Guess who!" Ganondorf laughed crazily. He kicked Mewtwo directly on his old battle scar and sent him flying. Mewtwo flew through the air and caught himself just before hitting the sand. He reversed direction in midair and flew back at Ganondorf, who wielded a gigantic trio of energy blasts. Ganondorf tossed these down to intercept Mewtwo, and as they neared him they each split into three more apiece and surrounded Mewtwo. A thin sheath of purple energy encapsulated Mewtwo and Mewtwo raised his shield in order to repel it. The two opposing energies sparked and raw power pulsed through the air. And then Mewtwo thrust the blade of the Master Sword out of his shield and into the thin bubble of purple energy. The imprisoning technique shattered and dissipated at the Master Sword's touch. Ganondorf was then suddenly barreling down at Mewtwo through the air at lightning speed with his giant sword at the ready.

Mewtwo was caught, he had no time to react and couldn't even teleport before the blade skewered him directly through the abdomen. He felt blood surge up his throat and out of his mouth, and his vision suddenly blurred and distorted.

"Now, give me your piece of the Triforce!" Ganondorf shouted.

Mewtwo could not speak since his wind pipe had been severed, but he entered Ganondorf's mind and psychically said as contemptuously as he could; "Never!"

Mewtwo suddenly released a stunning blast of psychic energy into Ganondorf's sword. It traveled up the black tempered steel and into Ganondorf's arms, causing him to lose his grip on the blade and fall back away twitching. Mewtwo then grabbed the hilt of the enormous weapon and with all the willpower he could muster, yanked it out of himself. As Ganondorf watched in sheer shock, Mewtwo focused his power onto the sword and bent it, twisting it into many contorted forms until the blade finally snapped. And then, he melted the metal and let the remains of the once demonic blade fall to the ground with a wet splat. Then, the hole in his stomach slowly closed up as he used his recover ability and restored himself. Ganondorf then knew it was time to go straight for what he perceived as Mewtwo's weakness. He suddenly disappeared, having teleported away.

Ganondorf then reappeared behind Mewtwo and grabbed hiss tail and crushed it into a pulp with his grip. Mewtwo nearly blacked out as the physical pain flooded his every sense. Ganondorf laughed more and gripped Mewtwo's tail in different places, squeezing until it crushed into a bloody pulp. He did it slowly, enjoying every minute. He had guess right, the tail was a weakness.

Mewtwo followed his only choice, he remembered Rauru's training and began clearing his mind. Slowly the pain began to dull as he willed his brain to block it out. Ganondorf's insane laughter suddenly became unimportant; the only thing important was that his body was taking physical harm. Mewtwo's calm mind quickly and efficiently reacted in one smooth motion. He reared both legs back and double kicked Ganondorf directly in the stomach, and wheeled around lightning fast to swung the Master Sword. The blade stuck in Ganondorf's hard armor suit, and Mewtwo reactively reached an arm back, formed an energy blade, and then thrust it into Ganondorf's hip. He then pulled out the Light Arrows, knocked one of them on the bow while Ganondorf was still falling backwards from the last series of blows, and shot it directly into Ganondorf's right hand.

And just as quickly as his first attack had been, Mewtwo shoved the bow back into his knapsack and jumped forward. He yanked the Master Sword out of Ganondorf's chest armor just as he was hitting the ground, drew it back, and drove it directly into the Evil King's heart. And all of this had happened so quickly that Ganondorf didn't even have the chance to see most of it. His body was slowly turned into a shriveled wad of carbon by the evil destroying energies of the Light Arrow and the Master Sword. As all of his earthly bounds were swept away from him, Ganondorf's true self flashed before his eyes for the moment before his death. He saw that he had only ever wanted the Gerudos to live as well as the Hylians, and he saw a growth of evil that had been clinging to his heart slowly melt away. And then, the breath of life left his body and his mind was swept into another plane.

Chapter XLIII

The ground shook and rumbled as the Imperial bombardment continued, and the sands in the Haunted Wasteland shifted from the disturbances. A pile of ashes sat in the center of a small crater amongst the dunes, and sticking from this black pile was one lone arrow and the legendary Blade of Evil's Bane. Standing a few feet away was a battle wearied Mewtwo. He kept his mind clear as he waited for the final piece of the Triforce to emerge.

At first, it was only a faint trace of light, but as a few minutes passed an intense golden glow radiated out from the pile of ashes that had once been Ganondorf Dragmire, King of Evil. The pile was disturbed as the golden triangle emerged and slowly climbed into the air. The other two Triforce pieces shone blindingly in Mewtwo's hand as their final counterpart slowly approached. Mewtwo's cleared mind was not surprised when the other two parts suddenly left his body, they simply pulled themselves out of his hand and flew up to meet the third piece. And with one golden blast of light, the three pieces reunited and merged. The Triforce was completed.

The Triforce hovered there in the air in front of the emotionless Mewtwo, examining his mind, body and spirit. It found his mind to be clear, and therefore balanced between power, courage, and wisdom. As soon as it found this, it spoke.

"You have proven yourself worthy in the four tests of the Triforce." The booming voice of a hundred Gods spoke to Mewtwo's mind. "You have demonstrated your courage aptly over your life, you have shown much wisdom over your journeys, through use of great power you have defeated Ganondorf, and your clean mind has the needed balance between the three attributes. Speak now, what is your wish that the power of the Gods might grant you?"

Calmly and without emotion, Mewtwo replied; "I wish that the evil in my heart and soul would be forever destroyed."

There was a long pause, almost as if the Gods themselves were thinking. And then the Triforce spoke again; "What you ask is impossible young hero, no matter how well intended. What you have witness in the separation was an anomaly in the Galaxy, unique to all of creation. When the greedy and wicked one named Giovanni created you, he created one whose very nature was an imbalance with the natural energy of the Universe. From the moment you were conceived, you were predestined to become the two physical representations of good and evil in the universe. And since this can never happen naturally, it has been creating instabilities in every dimension, big and small. To purify you would only aggravate this imbalance. But, to prevent these imbalances and to correct the time stream and energy of the cosmos, I can seal the evil away in your heart so that it may never escape your body to take on physical or ethereal form."

Mewtwo simply nodded. "Be warned, that the process is long and maddening, it is one of the most physically painful trials that any frail mortal body can endure." The Triforce said.

"I am ready." Mewtwo simply replied.

"Then it shall commence." The Triforce replied. It then flew back through the air toward Mewtwo and hit him directly in the chest, merging with him in whole.

The world as Mewtwo knew it suddenly melted away into nothingness as his senses were suddenly clouded. He saw and felt that he was hovering in a void of black emptiness, but his body still stood on the shaking sands of the Haunted Wasteland. As he looked around this fantasy world, he saw a golden beam of light suddenly shine down from the infinity above him. As it touched his body, hundreds of bolts of pain suddenly wracked his body. The light was slowly isolating the evil inside of him and containing it, and the only way it could was to scour every part of his being clean. Time seemed to suddenly slow to a crawl as Mewtwo's body was put through the wringer. Energy crept through his every nerve and blood vessel, slowly gathering up the evil essence that had been continually growing into what would have become Darkest.

The evil was slowly compressed and deadened, and after what felt like hundreds of years the pain finally stopped. Mewtwo panted and sweated, still hovering in the void. He wondered when he was going to return to reality, and was about to ask when the next phase of the purification began. He felt all his buried emotion pain and trauma suddenly dredged up as the beam of light began to open up the very backs of Mewtwo's mind. Mewtwo lost control of himself several times as he relived every negative experience in his life in complete detail, it was as if his life were flashing before his eyes in extreme slow motion. The six years of memories crawled by and as he finally relived the last of his life to this point, the golden light was able to pry open his subconscious mind. An outpouring of negativity was released; sorrow, hatred, rage, and self loathing was released from the back of the deepest parts of Mewtwo's mind in one tidal wave of tears and bellows. And then, the golden energy gathered it all up and compressed it with the rest of the negativity that it had captured.

And finally, as Mewtwo recovered, the golden light finished the process by placing the everlasting seals on the little lobe of ethereal evil. The essences of each of the sages were printed on the invisible seal, and the symbol of the Triforce itself was embossed onto the seal. And as the seal was seemingly completed, Mewtwo's senses returned to the world and the dark sands reappeared before his eyes. The ground was no longer shaking, but there were flashes of red light in the near East. Mewtwo stood up and stared in bewilderment until a voice caught his attention.

"There is only one task left for you to finish the seal on the evil in your heart." The voice of the Triforce said.

Mewtwo looked down at his chest and saw the three golden triangles embedded there in his flesh. "You must destroy once and for all the physical representation of your evil side. As long as he is in this existence, the seal is unfinished."

"How long have I been out?" Mewtwo found himself asking his chest.

"The process took an hour and a half." The Triforce replied.

"Then I must hurry." Mewtwo said and kicked off into the air to fly toward Hyrule Castle.

Chapter XLIV

The barrier shuddered and slowly flickered away as the Imperial barrage collectively wore down its energies. The citizens of Hyrule had held out for as long as they could, and most of the soldiers had given up their life energies to maintain the barrier. They lie dead on the top of the stone castle wall, simply no life left in them anymore. And despite their sacrifices, the barrier could hold up no longer. As it finally flickered and fell, all Imperial guns fell silent. As Hyrule Castle lie exposed, a sudden silence descended upon the world. That silence was soon interrupted by a hideous laugh. The winged dark form of Darkest slowly descended down through the air toward the helpless Hyrule Castle.

"Another day, another land conquered!" Darkest laughed, coming to a stop just a few feet above the castle wall.

What few Hylian and Gerudo soldiers remained all looked up at Darkest with sheer terror paralyzing every muscle in their bodies. Darkest smiled down at them with his razor sharp teeth and flapped his fleshy black bat wings.

"Now, let's have your energy now!" Darkest said in a low greedy tone. He psychically reached down and grabbed the life essences from the helpless Hylians and Gerudos below. He yanked these energies out of their bodies and absorbed them into his own, relishing the fresh feeling they gave him. The unfortunate victims simply topped over lifelessly, no longer having any life essence left. Darkest looked down at top of the castle wall, which was now covered in limp dead bodies. No one remained alive outside the castle. It wasn't the bodies Darkest was interested in though, he had sensed some other energy, and elemental energy hidden in the corner of the wall. He floated down and landed on the wall, and brushing the bodies of Hylians and Gerudos away like rag dolls, he found the Fire Medallion. It was still embedded in the stone of the wall, almost toally drained of all energy. Darkest reached down to take it, but something else suddenly caught his attention. He wheeled around and looked up into the sky to see a white glowing figure hovering above him.

"Lightest, you're too late! I've already conquered this world!" Darkest roared.

"You're wrong on both fronts." The white figure said. Darkest snarled with anger. "Firstly, this world is far from conquered," the white figure said. There was a slight pause. "And secondly, I'm not Lighhtest."

Mewtwo shot through the air down toward the completely shocked Darkest bearing the Master Sword in one hand and an energy blade in the other. Before Darkest could react Mewtwo attacked with incredible ferocity. He stabbed the two blades into Darkest's body hundreds of times, moving at a speed on the border of physical impossibility. Thick black blood suddenly flowed from hundreds of holes in Darkest's body. And then, as the barrage stopped, Mewtwo stood back for a moment and looked down at his evil half.

"And now, this unnatural war will finally come to an end. You will never exist again in the future, and you will never have existed in the past." Mewtwo said. The energy blade dissipated and Mewtwo swung three final blows. One blow severed Darkest's head, one stabbed him through the heart, and one slashed through his legs and tail all at once, sectioning him perfectly.

A sudden wave of supportive energy surged forward from Darkest's Centurions, intending to heal their Master and power him up. But Mewtwo glowed a brilliant white, using powers he never knew he had to block the energy being sent by the Centurions. There were thousands of them out in Hyrule field, each singly as powerful as him, but suddenly his power surged and grew enough so that he was able to deflect it away from the Dying Darkest. The streams of dark power continued without end however, and Mewtwo could not sustain long. As Darkest's mind slowly clung to life, Mewtwo was coming close to losing all the progress he had made by attacking Darkest in the first place.

Before Mewtwo's power gave out, six colorful light flashed out of the darkness. From the Temple of time came the Six Elemental Sages; Rauru, Saria, Ruto, Darunia, Impa, and Nabooru. They flew through the air and came to a stop over Hyrule field. They glowed brilliantly in each of their elemental energies and cast mighty elemental spells downwards into the swarm of Centurians. Six massive orbs of elemental magic sailed down and hit the ground in the middle of the Imperial army, and the entire field was engulfed in tremendous explosions. Mewtwo suddenly felt the energy fall away and he looked out into the field to see the last burning energies of the explosions slowly fade and clouds of smoke and dust rose into the air. He then looked down at Darkest's body. Darkest's face looked up at him, frozen in shock and fear and still clinging to life.

"In life and death, you always refused to die." Mewtwo said, "Now, it will come to an end." Mewtwo then raised the Master sword and jabbed it down into Darkest's skull. The last clinging hint of life was dispelled, and a small jolt of energy flowed through Mewtwo's body as the seal in his heart was finally completed. The final seventh symbol of the Sage of Time was embossed into the seal, and a sudden gut jerking shockwave shook Mewtwo's body.

An immense shockwave rippled through the time-space continuum as the final trace of the loop paradox that had been sustaining Darkest's existence was erased. Three glowing figures which were holding onto the time stream suddenly let go, and the looped twisted thread snapped taut in an eye blink. Worlds, dimensions, and times all shifted as one. Events passed out of existence, memories were wiped, and balance suddenly returned to the time stream. As all of time was slowly restored back to its old natural form, a small glowing golden trio of triangles shoe through into the time stream. It decided that one small set of non consequential items be unchanged by the time correction. It changed the continuum so that a few select individuals could remember the events that had suddenly blinked out of existence. It dictated that Mewtwo should remember all that he went through during his trials with Darkest, and it dictated that the Six Sages of Hyrule should also retain their memories of these events. And as the three glowing Goddesses worked the last few knots out of the time thread, they smiled at their old creation and said it would be.

Chapter XLV

All the way back in time, Mewtwo reappeared inside the dimensional tunnel that he had traveled through at the very start of his adventure. There in front of him he saw doorway in the dimensional tunnel. It was in perfect balance and harmony with the rest of the ambient energies of the tunnel, and as he examined it his mind was able to partially see what lied beyond. He saw a picture of Hyrule, a green, forested, lush Hyrule unmarked by any Imperial touch.

Mewtwo then decided to fly backwards through the tunnel, away from the portal to Hyrule. He had seen the three glowing figures holding the time stream, and in his heart he knew that he had been returned to his past, but part of him couldn't believe it. Hyrule was balance in the present, there was no time-space energy sinkhole, no Imperial towers, no traces that anything had every happened. As he flew back down the tunnel, he felt that the Triforce was still embedded within his chest. He looked down at it and was bewildered, but a calm soothing voice simply came from it and spoke to him.

"It is a part of the seal on the evil in your heart." A different voice said.

"Who are you?" Mewtwo asked.

"I am simply known as Din. I am the essence of the third of the Triforce that represents power."

"I am Farore, the representation of Courage." Said another voice.

"And I am Nayru, the representation of Wisdom." Said a third.

"We have given you a gift that will last you your entire life. Our essences are forever imbued in you now, and you may use them as you wish." Din's voice said.

"This will be the last time we will ever speak to you, so listen well." Said Nayru's soothing voice.

"As long as you have the Triforce, the seal will remain unbreakable until your death. You will be able to use the powers of the Triforce as your own to a limited extent, but never so much as to jeopardize the seal." Said Farore's voice.

"And finally, know that despite the fact that no one will ever remember your heroic deeds in your universe, they will be immortalized in our realm of the gods."

"Farewell hero, live your life now in peace." Din finally said, and then their voices faded.

Mewtwo wandered for a long time through the tunnel, speechless at what he had heard. The three Goddesses of Hylian lore had spoken to him, and given them their powers. He looked down at the three glowing triangles in his chest, and then at the Sage's Symbol for Time on his right forearm. All of this was hard evidence of his travels that corroborated his memories, but still part of his mind was reeling with shock and disbelief. As he flew through the dimensional tunnel for hours he pondered it, wondering if he had truly saved so many lives. He remembered Kalana, the Red Elder, and Ruru. He wondered if they now lived full, fulfilling lives in a rich prosperous land instead of a vile desert. He wondered if Zelda was now alive again, and if the odd side world of Termina had been restored. But as he contemplated these things, another dimensional door caught his attention.

Mewtwo looked down into a small hole in the wall of the tunnel, letting his mind look into the dimension that laid beyond. He saw glowing human cities, rich forests, vast oceans, and splendorous canyons. He clicked with recognition; he had found his way home. Without hesitation Mewtwo flew forward through the dimensional doorway, wondering if anything had changed while he was gone. And as he reappeared in space just outside the atmosphere of the Earth, he chuckled, reminding himself that in actuality he probably had not been really gone for longer than a few hours.

Conclusion of Part III

Mewtwo smiled warmly as he sat upon the corner of a familiar little apartment building in the middle of Saffron City. In reality he had sat here only days ago, but in his mind it had been six years since he had seen this city and sat in this spot. It was unchanged from the last time, the rivers of light flowed through the streets below him as the humans hurried about their busy little lives. But also, something was radically different, the scene didn't seem as dark or dreary to Mewtwo, and the scenery seemed to look much more beautiful to him. He knew why as well, he was looking at it though a completely different set of eyes from the last time he had been here. Before, he had seen only the negativity in the human's world; the crime, pollution, greed and decadence. And now, here he was a changed Pokemon, and he realized just how beautiful the world was. He still saw the negativity in the world, but it was no longer clouding out everything that was good. His journey had allowed him to overcome the one true evil in his life, misconception. It was misconception that had led him to try and conquer this world before, and it was misconception that had made him such a wounded, sad person. And now that his head was clear and he could see the big picture for the first time in his life, Mewtwo realized that this was the world he loved the most. This world, despite its evils, was filled with goodness.

As Mewtwo sat there pondering this, a sudden familiar energy approached him. He sensed it right away, it was a bubbly, happy little mind that had he had not felt for six years. He craned his neck upwards and saw a small pink bubble floating down out of the sky. He watched as it floated down and came to rest next to him. It popped, and out emerged the small pink cat Pokemon Mew. It smiled at him warmly like a mother smiles at her son.

"So you've finally got meaning to your life! That's great!" Mew said psychically to him, since it couldn't talk like he could. "You've finally gotten rid of all those nasty feelings that were weighting you down! Alright!" Mew squealed in delight.

"I went through the most amazing journey, enduring hells of emotional and physical pain, and I had some of the most amazing experiences of my life at the same time, all in the name of balancing myself." Mewtwo said psychically back to Mew.

"And now, you can see that life isn't meant to be spent only focusing on the negatives, but to be enjoyed and to pursue the betterment of yourself and others." Mew said.

Mewtwo sighed and looked out along the city. "I've better myself and the lives of countless others, but so many parts of my life have been miserable, I've been missing the fun." Mewtwo said.

"Well then , let's get some fun into it now!" Mew said happily, bobbing through the air. "Let me show you how flying should properly be enjoyed!"

Mewtwo smiled and agreed. He followed Mew off into the air and the two of them bobbed, dipped and weaved through the sky in the most whimsical fashion. And Mewtwo laughed with all of his heart alongside of Mew. As he finally found fulfillment and joy in his life, the green haired girl Ai smiled in happiness from another plane, glad to see her friend was finally truly happy.

END

A/N: Well, that was one helluva ending dontcha think? I'd really like to continue writing this series, but I have no ideas for a sequel to this. It's such an incredibly good closing to the entire thing that I might end up letting this be the end.

Let me tell you now though, it has been an honor and a privilege to share this work with you here on this website. I've worked on Crossing of the Paths for almost five years now, and the support that most of you have given to me has been wonderful. There's not a lot I can say to thank everyone who's supported me, so I'll just say this now in case that I don't write anything more on Crossing of the Paths; Thanks so much to everyone who has supported me, I owe you all so much on this story and I hope that you will check out any stories that I might post in the future. Thanks everyone, I'm glad I could share this with you. :)