Tiphareth

Part One

When experiment specimen one (Sephiroth) was two years old, Professor Hojo, very pleased with the results of his cross-species gene splicing experiments on unborn humans, decided to test how the results would differ if the procedure was done on a female fetus.

He commissioned some of the Turks to find a suitable candidate on whom to perform phase two of his alien/human hybrid experiment. Within a few hours they had found someone, and it seemed the perfect crime. There was a comatose pregnant woman in a hospital in Midgar whose husband, her only family, had been killed in the same accident that had left her in her vegetative state. She was scheduled to be taken off life support soon. Hojo had the woman kidnapped from the hospital in Midgar and and brought to the Mako reactor containing the creature Jenova in the mountains of Nibelheim.

He carried out the experiment just as he had before, exposing the fetus to Mako radiation as well as injecting her with the cells of Jenova. After eight months, the child was delivered by caesarean section, and the mother, who was in very poor health by that time, allowed to further deteriorate until she died and was casually disposed of. A black number two was tattooed on the infant’s right hand and she was called Tiphareth.

Part Two

Tiphareth was raised in ShinRa in much the same manner as Sephiroth. She was kept alone and was being examined and rigorously trained continually. Sephiroth and Tiphareth were carefully kept apart. Hojo noted with some evil satisfaction that they seemed to thrive on isolation. Both thinking they were the only person like them in the world, they were driven and determined to push themselves to the limit of their training and become the best possible SOLDIER. Hojo intended for things to remain this way, possibly indefinitely, but Fate had other plans.

Young Tiphareth was extremely strong, almost as powerful as Sephiroth. She was also given a long sword as a weapon, though not quite as long as Sephiroth’s. The deficiency in length was counteracted by number, as Tiph was to be trained in using two twin Masamune. Before very long both Sephiroth and Tiphareth became too skilled for them to train any further with the simulators with much improvement. Hojo thought about this dilemma before coming up with a genius scheme. He had them train against each other, but after each hour long session, they were given a strong hallucinogenic drug that nearly erased their memory of the last hour’s events. The drugs served their purpose and both Sephiroth and Tiphareth continued to rapidly strengthen and grow, in size as well as in power and skill. Their conscious memory of the training session was lost, and the scientists knew this, but allowed it, knowing as well that the physical training, and strengthening of their skills could not be erased, and also that on a subconscious level, the events of the training hour lingered on. The drug had an unfortunate side effect of blurring their childhood memories. But even with the side effects of the drugs and the near complete erasures of all their encounters with each other, Tiphareth and Sephiroth both possessed superior brain power and genius level IQ’s, and were able to resist the effects of the drugs at least on an unconscious level. They were haunted with deja-vu-like visions of each other, and they visited the other’s dreams frequently.

Part Three

Because Professor Hojo wanted to make both of them appear strong and fearsome, and especially to minimize Tiphareth’s appearing feminine, he had them both dressed in black armored suits, similar in most respects except that Tiphareth’s had to be slightly altered to fit a female body. The material that made up the suits themselves was anything but ordinary. It was uncannily thick, and yet allowed for a very wide range of movements. The sable substance clung to their every feature, and literally conformed to their figures, though why it apprantly had a mind of it’s own was left a mystery. In addition to the suits, they had black capes and boots, gloves, white armored shoulder plates, brown leather straps with gold buckles that crossed their chests in an X, and silver plated SOLDIER medallions directly beneath that, around their waists. There were subtle differences between their suits. Her cape was slightly shorter, falling to just about her knees, while his stopped at mid way between his knees and ankles. The boots were styled differently, as hers were both platformed and had heels. His were simply on a small platform.

Hojo leaned forward until his posture was ridiculously inquisitive, jutting out his chin, beady little eyes narrowing within the cage of thin round metal frames as he watched them training from behind a one-way panel of glass, thought about how similar the two were. The unspoken “Hmm” practically screamed in the silence. Hojo was full of a wide array of similar such scientific gestures, so analytical and methodical was his nature. The trail of thoughts went something like this. Besides their near-identical clothes, they were both extremely bright and acutely introverted. Both were incredibly strong from being exposed to the Mako radiation and injected with the Jenova cells, and though this was not something Hojo was aware of, they could discern what others around them were thinking and feeling when they wanted to, possessing a form of telekinesis which they amplified with time and perfected just as any other skill. They were both cold and unemotional, and spoke and acted as if they were much older than they actually were. Strangely, though they were not related in any way biologically, apart from sharing the same Jenova cells, they even had similar appearances. Both had very pale skin, and delicate graceful features, Tiphareth even more so than Sephiroth. Their hair, though different colors, grew in the same unusual fashion. Both had long locks of bangs that seemed to defy gravity, growing straight up and then curving out and down. The rest was long, thick, and straight, swept back from their faces and always well behaved. Her bangs were blond, standing out when compared to the rest of her chestnut shaded tresses, and effectively making them even more prominent, not merely because of the manner in which they grew. The builds of their figures were similar, though Sephiroth, being male, was built slightly more, and Tiphareth’s figure had something much closer to lean, catlike muscles. She moved with an almost impossible fluidity, seemingly mesmerizing her onlookers or opponents.

Their eyes both had the eerie Mako glow in them, heightened when they were in intense situations, such as the grueling training session they were almost through with now. Beads of sweat glistened on their well-toned bodies as they fought, but neither showed any signs of fatigue, having such superior stamina. Professor Hojo was well pleased with his two experiments. They truly were the ultimate SOLDIERs. Hojo was neither upset nor even conscious of the sick tendency he had of viewing them as haphazard experiments, rather than people, who had started out as perfectly normal human beings, though they were oblivious to that fact. His mind was so warped and twisted that it didn’t even strike him as odd. They were subjects, specimens, a wide variety of classifications.. but never people in his mind.

The hour ended and the official who was observing their session gave them the sign to stop. They both immediately dropped their swords and took meditative positions, concentrating silently while allowing their muscles to relax. As usual, they both wondered about the identity of their opponent. Tiphareth decided to try and read his thoughts. She closed her eyes and concentrated harder. At first she was surprised that it took so much effort to zero in on him. Usually she could instantly read whoever she was interested in. She realized that he must be much more intelligent than everyone else she’d read. She got in finally and was even more surprised to see that he was trying to read her at the same time. She kept the emotion out of her face with a small conscious effort. She concluded that he must have more in common with her than just skill with a sword and clothes and looks. He was wondering about her too. They both figured out that by reading the other, they could have a telepathic form of communication.

“Who are you?” she asked him.

“Sephiroth,” he answered simply. “Who are you?”

“Tiphareth.”

“Where did you come from, Tiphareth?”

“I don’t know. Where did you come from?”

“I don’t know either.”

Their thoughts were interrupted when the official roughly administered their memory-erasing injections. The drug quickly took effect, and before their minds went hazy, they gazed at each other with longing in their shining eyes.

Part Four

Tiphareth was suddenly jerked awake, an all too familiar face haunting her dreams once again. She wondered for the thousandth time who he was, the older boy with silver hair and glowing green eyes. She suddenly resolved to find out, NOW. Tonight! She easily snuck out of her cell, manipulating the internal workings of the lock with her mind for a moment, and then went up a floor without attracting any attention to herself as soon as the latch gave way. She quickly searched the rooms but found nothing. She went up to the next floor and searched again. She wasn’t sure what was telling her that he would be found in the building, but didn’t question it, she only searched with a passion. She repeated the process until she was 17 stories above where she had started from. She stepped out of the elevator and could instantly detect a presence. Not of a guard, doctor, or scientist, but of someone powerful. She slipped into the room and approached the only cell there cautiously. She was slightly excited and nervous. Her emotions only confused her, since she rarely if ever let herself feel anything at all. Her lonely life had taught her to suppress those emotions, which only caused her loneliness to become more painful and her unanswered questions to become more desperate when allowed to go unchecked. She calmed herself and looked at the still sleeping figure on the cot. Long silver hair caressed the plain pillowcase. She knew it was him.

He had awakened to the soft hum of the elevator doors opening. He tensed as he heard someone cautiously approach. The hesitancy in the footsteps puzzled him, as did the obvious fact that the person coming was not an adult, the steps were very faint, and had to be that of an adolescent. He wondered who it could be. He hardened his expression, raising his head slowly, and turned to face whoever it was. He gasped when he saw her peering back through the glass at him. The face from his dreams.. He jumped out of his bed and stood against the wall of the cell. For a long time they just stared at each other. When she finally spoke, it was in a shaky, barely audible voice.

“It’s you! I know you, from somewhere...”

“I know you as well, but from where? I cannot remember.”

Thus began the introductions and an intense conversation that lasted all night. They spoke for hours and slowly came to the shocking realization that perhaps they weren’t as alone as they had previously thought they were. In each other, they discovered a kindred spirit, one person who really understood them, who shared the same unanswered questions, the same unnatural abilities, the same everything practically. The curious thing was that they both had a black number tattooed on the back of their right hands; Sephiroth had a one, and Tiphareth a two, both in Roman numerals. They wondered what it could mean. But before they had the chance to figure anything else out, the sound of footsteps on the cold steel floor silenced them. Tiphareth feared the beating she knew she would get if she was caught there. She breathed a good-bye to Sephiroth and ran out the back door of the room and down the 17 flights of stairs. She had just slipped into her bed when a scientist came in to wake her and order herself to ready for the day’s activities.

Part Five

During her meager and bland breakfast, Tiphareth could not get the boy Sephiroth out of her mind. She knew there had to be a reason for them having lived their entire lives at ShinRa but never once coming into contact with each other, and reasons as well for all of the striking similarities they had in common which were anything but coincidence. They must have been deliberately kept apart, but why? Tiphareth suspected that it had something to do with where they came from, and she was also fairly certain that they both came from the same place. They were too much alike for any other possibility. But where did she and Sephiroth come from? She still didn’t know.

Her brain was still churning as she changed into her armored suit before reporting to the day’s first training session. As she made her way to the floor for armored combat training, she passed by Hojo. She cringed inwardly. She had always despised the man though she wasn’t exactly sure why. She did know that he had a completely evil aura about him. She’d heard about the disgusting experiments he did on people. Whenever she caught him looking at her, he always had a disturbing look on his face, as if he felt he owned her or could do anything he wanted with her or something like that. He had never tried anything but she was wary whenever she was around him. She was completely sickened by the man. As she passed by him, she read him. He was thinking,

“Soon they will both know....”

Tiphareth almost questioned him but decided against it and walked the rest of the way to the training arena. She resolved that if it meant having to talk to the man to figure it out, she had no desire to know why Hojo was thinking that or what it meant.

Part Six

Tiphareth hesitated outside the door. She stood on her toes to look in through the window. Sephiroth was already there, warming up alone on the training platform. Tiphareth almost burst into the room. She checked her watch. Five minutes before the session would begin. But what was Sephiroth doing there at her training session? She finally put two and two together. She had been seeing Sephiroth in her dreams because she had been training against him ever since the simulators no longer challenged her. Then she and Sephiroth both must have been given something that impaired their memory, so that they would forget ever having seen each other. But why? Why had such troubles been taken to keep the two of them separate, and oblivious to the other’s existence? She suspected some dark conspiracy. She tried to find some way to tell Sephiroth all this before she went inside. She knew now that her training sessions were erased from her memory, so that if she went in before she told him, it would just be erased at the end of the session. She started to concentrate on his thoughts. She hoped she would be able to read him from so far away. She got through but then fretted over how to get him to read her without seeing her give him a sign to do so. She intensified her concentration and focused all her energy for a few seconds. She could feel the power accumulating. She released the invisible wave of energies in his direction and read him again to see if he’d felt it. He had. While maintaining the appearance that he was still warming up, Sephiroth started to concentrate on reading her. She told him everything. He understood completely. He suggested that after the session was over, they try to resist the drug’s effects. She agreed. Without breaking the connection, she entered the room, got her swords and took her fighting stance.

Part Seven

Sephiroth watched her as she entered the room, taking a good long look at her. He made a wry amused comment in his head. “That armor looks much more appealing on you than it does on me.” She saw him smirk almost imperceptively as he thought that. She found it odd that they even had the same kind of strange sense of humor. He really did like the way she looked. He had never really paid much attention to girls before. Not that there were many girls to meet in ShinRa. And besides that, Tiphareth was an altogether different kind of girl. She was so much like him. Sephiroth had always felt like he was so separate from all the “normal” people. Different, better, and special in some way, when compared to all the others. None of them understood him. He was too cold, too smart, too strong and too skilled to compare with any of them. Until he met Tiphareth the night before, he’d felt utterly alone. He’d never had a friend before. He’d never had anyone. The new prospect of possibly not being so lonely raised his spirits. The possibility of friendship, and maybe something more intrigued and excited, almost dumbfounded him, simply because it was something he hadn’t ever had reason to imagine up until now. She felt the same way.

The training session was incredible. They were both so focused on the other, anticipating their moves and reacting at lightning speed. Hojo, watching from behind the glass, was very impressed. He knew that something else was going on and whatever it was was adding significantly to their skill. Tiphareth and Sephiroth were enjoying their match thoroughly, trying to outwit and impress their opponent. Training had ceased to be a boring chore and was now almost fun, like a friendly but fiercely competitive game or contest. They didn’t show it on their faces but Hojo noticed. He made a decision then to an argument that he had been pondering over in his mind for quite some time. He would not have their encounters with each other chemically erased anymore. He assumed that if he let them get to know each other, the prospect of having a rival would drive them even further to be the best.

Hojo stepped out from behind the one-way pane as the session came to an end. He dismissed the official as he was preparing to administer the injections and began to speak. “Tiphareth, Sephiroth, you’ve already met in a sense. You are the two best SOLDIER trainees here and will train only with each other from now on. Your skills are too great to train effectively with anyone or anything else. It will be interesting to see which one of you comes out on top.”

Tiphareth had a mischievous thought. “We should give him what he wants.”

Sephiroth agreed. “Let him think he is in control for now.” Tiphareth looked at Sephiroth with disdain. He smirked in mock amusement. Hojo took the bait. He smiled and silently congratulated himself on being such a genius as he turned away from them. Sephiroth and Tiphareth only looked on in amusement, an all-knowing kind of shine in their glowing eyes.

Part Eight

As Hojo entered the room, Sephiroth and Tiphareth continued their rivalry act. They each took their fighting stance and shot each other icy glares. When the automated door was completely closed as he left, they dropped their swords and relaxed. “I almost pity the gullible moron,” Sephiroth said with contempt.

“That bastard doesn’t deserve our pity, Seph.”

If only they’d known the depth of Hojo’s evil and how much it involved them. What would Sephiroth’s reaction be if he found out that Hojo was his father, and had sacrificed his wife and only son to science, used them both to invent the first of a new species of ultimate SOLDIER’s, and had performed the ghastly experiment himself? What would Tiphareth’s reaction be if she discovered that Hojo had killed her mother in the process of infusing the DNA of her unborn child with that of an alien to create another ultimate SOLDIER to further his twisted hybridizations? How would they feel? What would they do? Only time will tell. They have their suspicions, but for now, they remain only suspicions.

Tiphareth and Sephiroth’s friendship grew like a plant left in the dark too long, starved for nourishment and then suddenly brought out into the light and rehabilitated, maturing and strengthening in record time. It grew and intensified with each passing day. They were experiencing great changes in the process, as they learned to care for and depend on each other. They were slowly and timidly allowing their emotions to return, but only in the sole presence of each other. Wisely, they maintained their cold, uncaring demeanors in the face of the rest of the world. Tiphareth found herself telling him things that she had only barely admitted to herself. She was amazed at how easily she could trust him. Sephiroth was also surprised to realize that he told her everything. He had never been able or willing to do that with anyone before, and somehow it just came naturally to him when he was with her. He wasn’t exactly sure of why that was or what it meant.

It was understandably somewhat traumatic for them. Their new state of affairs had them being pried from old habits learned in early childhood and ingrained into their personalities. These old comfortable tendencies had never allowed them to trust anyone or to care for any person other than themselves throughout their entire lives until they’d met each other. It was terrifying because they felt so vulnerable. Needless to say, they were very cautious, and accepting the role of friend took a lot of patience and time. Eventually their need for companionship overwhelmed and overcame their fears of abandonment and sense of distrust. Having everything in common helped a lot. They truly were made for each other. No other bond in the world could ever compare to such a perfect match of souls. A more perfect definition of kindred spirits there never would be known. The two were completely compatible and quickly became the closest and best of friends.

On to section 2 of part 1

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