Previously...
Yazoo learned about the strange devices SAKUI was using to control JENOVA's children after removing one from his son Kaibu. After hearing the recent reports at JENOVA Foundation, Yazoo left the building to focus on helping JENOVA stop SAKUI before everyone in the kingdom could fall victim to the deadly control of SAKUI's machines. Meanwhile, Loz was still at Tifa's house enjoying what he assumed was still break time.
Chapter 17: Sacred Encounter
(This section will focus on Loz as the speaker) I had finished having dinner with Tifa at her house. It seemed like the sun was about to set, and everything was in order as far as i knew. We enjoyed a friendly chat during dinner time and i began feeling myself take a liking to her. However, i was too embarrassed to really show it well. I wasn't good with that sort of thing at all in life, and didn't think that would improve easily. I stood up after finishing and said "That was delicious. You cook pretty well, Sister." I heard her laugh behind me but didn't turn around to look. She added "Thanks, Loz. Do you have anywhere you need to be? Maybe we could go outside and train together in the kingdom outlands." Remembering how scared i was there, i quickly turned and said "The JENOVA Kingdom Outlands?! Uhh, no thanks.... maybe you could pick a different place?" Standing up, she approached me and said "Whats wrong, Loz? You like a challenge, dont you?" I nodded, then answered "Of course i do! But that place is, well... a bit too scary. For me, at least..." Tifa gave me a pat on the back and said "I know that place is pretty lifeless, i will agree with that. But if you don't face your fears, how will you overcome them?" Knowing she was right, i lifted my weapon and said "You're right. Let's have some fun out there!" I began to smile the way i always did when i was set to go and give it my all. Tifa smiled at me and said "That's the Loz i know. Let's use our time wisely and get stronger together!" Without going any further, we both left the house and found ourselves outside. Tifa gave me a signal to indicate that she would lead the way this time, and i began to follow her. We both ran close to each other, laughing as we pushed on with pure joy and confidence. However, i stopped short before we got far in silence. Stopping some ways ahead of me, Tifa turned around and seemed confused. She asked "Whats wrong, Loz?" I didn't reply, but gazed at the sky above where Mother's lifestream filled the sky as normal. However, i caught a glimpse of something traveling through it that seemed unusual to me. It looked like a meteoroid that seemed to draw closer and look bigger as it descended. Before long, i immediately saw where it was heading: right for me and Tifa! I quickly shouted "Tifa, run! Something's headed right for us!" Without hesitating, she said "Not without you, Loz!" Tifa immediately ran to help me, lifting me up and took off with her super speed without hesitating. I held onto her as best i could so she wouldn't drop me by accident. Seconds later, we heard a loud crash that sounded barely behind us. Tifa stopped and cried out as the explosion happened. Once it subsided, she let me go and we both turned to look at what crash landed behind us. There was smoke and flames, along with a lot of shattered rock of some sort. Turning to face Tifa, i said "Stay put! I'll go check it out, ok?" She nodded in understanding, and i approached the broken meteoroid. I carefully studied the remains, looking to see if there was anything important to take and give to Brother Rufus at the foundation to study. To my surprise, i found a large a crater where it crashed and saw someone in it unconscious: someone who looked so much like Mother i couldn't believe it. However, this one was clearly male. His face resembled Mother's, he had the same hair as her, his skin was gray just like Mother's. He wore an outfit that looked almost exactly like Sephiroth's but was more robe-like. He also had a two black wings that were very large and feathery. I wanted to carefully step down to see if he was alive. He laid motionless as though he may be dead. As i stepped into the crater, i also saw he had a headgear just like Mother's with an identical code inscribed in small alien lettering. Kneeling down to search for a name on it, i gasped as i read the large name printed across the middle: J-E-N-B-U. It was our Father! Quickly getting to my feet, i shouted "Tifa, you have to see this! Get over here!" She obeyed, then gasped when she glanced at Father who still laid motionless. She started "Who is he? He looks just like Mother!" I stood up and answered "This guy.... is our long-lost Father, JENBU. You see the name on his headgear?" She paused, then said "So we do have a Father.... for so long, i thought Sephiroth was the Family Father, but since everyone calls him Big Brother, i was never certain. Whats going on here?" I kept silent, hoping i wouldn't have to tell her about SAKUI and everything that happened before Mother even came to this planet. Mother ordered us to keep the mission hush-hush as much as possible, and i was supposed to do just that. If i chose not to explain though, i would have to come up with an awfully excuse. While Little Sister and Brother Yazoo did that well, I was bad at that. Before i could think of a plausible excuse, Tifa came up behind me and forced me around to face her. Appearing angry, she said "How do you know thats Father?" I was nervous all of a sudden. I didn't know what to do or how to respond. Suddenly, i heard Mother's voice say Be truthful to her, Young Loz. After that, i sighed and answered "Sister, im sorry i didn't tell you this before, but.... something terrible happened before Mother came to this planet to establish the kingdom, and Father didn't make it alive back then. SAKUI tried to kill both him and Mother, and Father sacrificed himself so Mother could get away.... he took SAKUI with him, and they both died simultaneously. But, he was to regain life years to come, and so was the enemy." Tifa grew serious and said "If there was a crisis in the cosmos years ago, and Father is alive again.... that must mean the kingdom is in danger. Especially since he landed on this planet." I replied "But if thats true, then that would mean SAKUI has also set foot on the Planet... most likely to get revenge on Mother." Tifa said "We have to find a way to tell Mother that Father is alive! If JENBU is like her other half, both he and Mother could be powerful beyond belief if they are brought together. I dont have anything to prove that, but given the years that have passed, anything is possible here." I nodded in understanding, then turned back to Father and kneeled down to see if he was still breathing. I slowly reached for his chest, but before i could touch him he opened his eye and i watched it slowly light up to the same red as Mother's. He noticed me, and smiled, reaching a hand to my face. He started "She did it... she had children... I knew she would save our kind." I felt myself beginning to cry. Father slowly got to his feet and began flapping his wings before helping me up. He reached for his back and revealed a katana just like Sephiroth's and said "Where's SAKUI?! I will stop him with everything I've got to protect JENOVA and her sacred legacy! If she loses control of the kingdom, this entire planet will be nothing but a burning pit. I can't let him bring carnage here!" Of course, neither me nor Tifa had any idea where to start and kept silent. Turning to glance at both of us, Father said "Neither of you know? How do you not know whats at stake here?!" Father seemed very angry and disappointed at the same time but flew off somewhere without doing anything else. Pulling on my leather jacket, Tifa said "Dont just stand there, Loz! We have to help him!" Nodding in agreement, i followed her as we ran through the area to catch up and find out what was exactly going on here. So much for a fun outing to train.
To be continued...
Yazoo learned about the strange devices SAKUI was using to control JENOVA's children after removing one from his son Kaibu. After hearing the recent reports at JENOVA Foundation, Yazoo left the building to focus on helping JENOVA stop SAKUI before everyone in the kingdom could fall victim to the deadly control of SAKUI's machines. Meanwhile, Loz was still at Tifa's house enjoying what he assumed was still break time.
Chapter 17: Sacred Encounter
(This section will focus on Loz as the speaker) I had finished having dinner with Tifa at her house. It seemed like the sun was about to set, and everything was in order as far as i knew. We enjoyed a friendly chat during dinner time and i began feeling myself take a liking to her. However, i was too embarrassed to really show it well. I wasn't good with that sort of thing at all in life, and didn't think that would improve easily. I stood up after finishing and said "That was delicious. You cook pretty well, Sister." I heard her laugh behind me but didn't turn around to look. She added "Thanks, Loz. Do you have anywhere you need to be? Maybe we could go outside and train together in the kingdom outlands." Remembering how scared i was there, i quickly turned and said "The JENOVA Kingdom Outlands?! Uhh, no thanks.... maybe you could pick a different place?" Standing up, she approached me and said "Whats wrong, Loz? You like a challenge, dont you?" I nodded, then answered "Of course i do! But that place is, well... a bit too scary. For me, at least..." Tifa gave me a pat on the back and said "I know that place is pretty lifeless, i will agree with that. But if you don't face your fears, how will you overcome them?" Knowing she was right, i lifted my weapon and said "You're right. Let's have some fun out there!" I began to smile the way i always did when i was set to go and give it my all. Tifa smiled at me and said "That's the Loz i know. Let's use our time wisely and get stronger together!" Without going any further, we both left the house and found ourselves outside. Tifa gave me a signal to indicate that she would lead the way this time, and i began to follow her. We both ran close to each other, laughing as we pushed on with pure joy and confidence. However, i stopped short before we got far in silence. Stopping some ways ahead of me, Tifa turned around and seemed confused. She asked "Whats wrong, Loz?" I didn't reply, but gazed at the sky above where Mother's lifestream filled the sky as normal. However, i caught a glimpse of something traveling through it that seemed unusual to me. It looked like a meteoroid that seemed to draw closer and look bigger as it descended. Before long, i immediately saw where it was heading: right for me and Tifa! I quickly shouted "Tifa, run! Something's headed right for us!" Without hesitating, she said "Not without you, Loz!" Tifa immediately ran to help me, lifting me up and took off with her super speed without hesitating. I held onto her as best i could so she wouldn't drop me by accident. Seconds later, we heard a loud crash that sounded barely behind us. Tifa stopped and cried out as the explosion happened. Once it subsided, she let me go and we both turned to look at what crash landed behind us. There was smoke and flames, along with a lot of shattered rock of some sort. Turning to face Tifa, i said "Stay put! I'll go check it out, ok?" She nodded in understanding, and i approached the broken meteoroid. I carefully studied the remains, looking to see if there was anything important to take and give to Brother Rufus at the foundation to study. To my surprise, i found a large a crater where it crashed and saw someone in it unconscious: someone who looked so much like Mother i couldn't believe it. However, this one was clearly male. His face resembled Mother's, he had the same hair as her, his skin was gray just like Mother's. He wore an outfit that looked almost exactly like Sephiroth's but was more robe-like. He also had a two black wings that were very large and feathery. I wanted to carefully step down to see if he was alive. He laid motionless as though he may be dead. As i stepped into the crater, i also saw he had a headgear just like Mother's with an identical code inscribed in small alien lettering. Kneeling down to search for a name on it, i gasped as i read the large name printed across the middle: J-E-N-B-U. It was our Father! Quickly getting to my feet, i shouted "Tifa, you have to see this! Get over here!" She obeyed, then gasped when she glanced at Father who still laid motionless. She started "Who is he? He looks just like Mother!" I stood up and answered "This guy.... is our long-lost Father, JENBU. You see the name on his headgear?" She paused, then said "So we do have a Father.... for so long, i thought Sephiroth was the Family Father, but since everyone calls him Big Brother, i was never certain. Whats going on here?" I kept silent, hoping i wouldn't have to tell her about SAKUI and everything that happened before Mother even came to this planet. Mother ordered us to keep the mission hush-hush as much as possible, and i was supposed to do just that. If i chose not to explain though, i would have to come up with an awfully excuse. While Little Sister and Brother Yazoo did that well, I was bad at that. Before i could think of a plausible excuse, Tifa came up behind me and forced me around to face her. Appearing angry, she said "How do you know thats Father?" I was nervous all of a sudden. I didn't know what to do or how to respond. Suddenly, i heard Mother's voice say Be truthful to her, Young Loz. After that, i sighed and answered "Sister, im sorry i didn't tell you this before, but.... something terrible happened before Mother came to this planet to establish the kingdom, and Father didn't make it alive back then. SAKUI tried to kill both him and Mother, and Father sacrificed himself so Mother could get away.... he took SAKUI with him, and they both died simultaneously. But, he was to regain life years to come, and so was the enemy." Tifa grew serious and said "If there was a crisis in the cosmos years ago, and Father is alive again.... that must mean the kingdom is in danger. Especially since he landed on this planet." I replied "But if thats true, then that would mean SAKUI has also set foot on the Planet... most likely to get revenge on Mother." Tifa said "We have to find a way to tell Mother that Father is alive! If JENBU is like her other half, both he and Mother could be powerful beyond belief if they are brought together. I dont have anything to prove that, but given the years that have passed, anything is possible here." I nodded in understanding, then turned back to Father and kneeled down to see if he was still breathing. I slowly reached for his chest, but before i could touch him he opened his eye and i watched it slowly light up to the same red as Mother's. He noticed me, and smiled, reaching a hand to my face. He started "She did it... she had children... I knew she would save our kind." I felt myself beginning to cry. Father slowly got to his feet and began flapping his wings before helping me up. He reached for his back and revealed a katana just like Sephiroth's and said "Where's SAKUI?! I will stop him with everything I've got to protect JENOVA and her sacred legacy! If she loses control of the kingdom, this entire planet will be nothing but a burning pit. I can't let him bring carnage here!" Of course, neither me nor Tifa had any idea where to start and kept silent. Turning to glance at both of us, Father said "Neither of you know? How do you not know whats at stake here?!" Father seemed very angry and disappointed at the same time but flew off somewhere without doing anything else. Pulling on my leather jacket, Tifa said "Dont just stand there, Loz! We have to help him!" Nodding in agreement, i followed her as we ran through the area to catch up and find out what was exactly going on here. So much for a fun outing to train.
To be continued...
