The teenage girl wandered the quiet forest, looking for her twin brother. “Kadaj!” she yelled. Her twin, and their two older brothers, had run when a group had gone through the Sleeping Forest, their home. “Tara! Over here.” Kadaj called out from behind some trees. “About time. Remind me why we ran? We have every right to be here. They are the intruders here.” Tara pointed out to her brother. “You really want a conflict? With Him around here? Who knows what would happen. Sephiroth is hostile. He may not want us to interfere.” Kadaj pointed out. Tara shook her head. “I don’t understand this connection you, Yazoo, and Loz feel to ‘Mother’ and Sephiroth. I know he’s our father, but sheesh. Give me a break.” she sighed. Kadaj sighed too. “Tara, I don’t think you’ll ever understand. I think Father chose to teach you the opposite of what instincts he gave us, his sons.” “Okay, well, I don’t care anyway. But why do you address this person, or is it thing, as Mother, when we live with our mother? None of you boys have ever called her that.” Tara said. “By birth, she is our mother, but we have a genetic Mother, who has given us a purpose to fulfill.” Kadaj replied. Tara shook her head, confused. “Fine. Let’s go find those idiots, then. The crybaby and the other one.” “You need to stop calling Yazoo that. He can’t help what he looks like. And that’s mean to Loz, to keep that up.” “Since when are you so fair?” That night, Tara was stalking the woods again, her family trait of silver hair shimmering in the darkness. She came upon the lake outside of the church of the Forgotten City. There was a pretty large group gathered by the lake, one man standing in the center, holding a woman. He’s handsome. . . And she’s dead. Going by the look on his face, she must have been important to him. Wait, I sense something. . . It’s so fuzzy. . . Sephiroth? Could it be? . . . He must have done this. There’s not much of any other explaination. Where is he? Could he be watching me right now? Tara’s imagination kicked into overdrive. As one of the young women called to the man, bringing him out of the lake and the group made their way out of the Forest, Tara searched the immediate area. Soon enough, she heard a stick snap, and heard a chuckle of maniacal laughter.
“Sephiroth!” Tara hissed as her long lost father stepped out of the shadows. “Ah, Tara, right? The only girl, you must be. Been out enjoying my handiwork, have you?” Sephiroth asked. “Not really, I chanced on that scene. What are you doing here?” “Beginning the Reunion. Taking the Planet back to the Cetera.” “Cetera?” Tara was confused. “The rightful rulers of this world. As soon as Cloud, and Lisa Strife are out of my way, I will be able to manipulate the Lifestream and rule the Planet. . . Tara, I have something to give you.” Tara tensed, not knowing what to expect. Her head was spinning. Sephiroth handed her the brother of the masamune. Sephiroth’s own sword. The comamune was almost as long, and was just as unbreakable. She hesitantly took the new blade, scared of what was probably coming. “Now, let’s see if you have a knack for swordsmanship. You and I will have a duel, right now. If you win, we both just walk away. If you lose, which is much more likely, I will kill your mother.” Sephiroth said darkly.
Tara tensed, also trademark green eyes blazing. The father and daughter clashed brutally. Crashing through the trees, the pair were doing more damage to the Forest for a while. Then Sephiroth broke the stalemate. He rushed Tara and slashed her arm lengthwise. Yelping from the close contact with the huge sword and the master swordsman, Tara was thrown to the ground. “Tsk, tsk. You have much to learn before you can carry the Cetera’s promise. Now, for me to keep my end of the bargain.” Sephiroth unfolded his feathered wing and rose above the trees, flying in the direction of Tara’s mother’s house in the Forgotten City. “No!” Tara hissed, unlike her brothers, she had formed a clumsy bond with her mother. She bolted through the trees, only to crash into something hard, barring her path. “Loz!” she snapped. Loz, Yazoo, and Kadaj stood in front of her. “What is it, Tara?” Yazoo asked. “What do you think?! Sephiroth’s gonna kill Mom!” Tara yelped. “He doesn’t know where she is, does he?” Loz asked the others. “Maybe he does. But that means Mother favors him. . .” Kadaj said.
Tara clenched a fist. She finally punched Loz right in the gut, and elbowed her way between Kadaj and Yazoo. She was too late. The scene there was bloody and it was obvious what exactly had happened. Tara vowed revenge on Sephiroth, turned, and left. The next day, Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo announced they were leaving. “We’re going after Mother, to start the Reunion. You can join us if you feel the pull.” Kadaj told her. Tara had felt a bond with Kadaj, since they were twins, that made sense. So, she was sad to see him go. But she had always beaten up Loz and Yazoo, so they didn’t matter to her. “Bye, then. I might see you again.” Tara said, walking away. For a year afterward, she wandered. Eventually, she came onto Wutai. There, she met a girl with green eyes and a brown ponytail. “Uh, do you need anything?” the girl asked. “No. Who are you anyway?” “Deanna. I work here at the weapon’s shop. . .” “Then maybe you can do something for me. I need a materia slot on this sword. Be careful with it though. It’s special to me.” “Okay. I can do that. Give me a minute.” Deanna said, taking Tara’s sword. Tara sat down in the shop and waited, tired. “Where am I supposed to go? I can’t sense the creep.” she muttered, running a hand through her hair. “Maybe you should stay here overnight. You look like something the cat dragged in, to be honest.” Deanna offered.
Tara looked up. “You’re suggesting I stay here?” she asked. “Yeah, there’s a spare bed here.” “. . . Okay. Thank you.” Tara stuck around til her sword was done. Then she thanked the sword smith and left town. Later, she felt when Kadaj died. Slightly smaller patches of emptiness told her that Loz and Yazoo were gone too. “I guess I’m all that’s left. . .” she muttered. A day later, while she was back living in the church of the Forgotten City, the same group she had seen that one day two years before came in, along with the swords smith girl. “Will they recognize me?” she wondered as she turned to square off with them.
~The End~
