Otherworld:Tala-3-Tala's Gift



Chapter 3 - Tala's Gift


Tala sat there in the dark, not knowing what she was waiting for. She had obeyed a compelling inner voice. In the distance, the watch tolled the hour -- midnight! As the last bell sounded, she felt a strange sensation and waves of dizziness washed over her. The girl lay down on the blanket, curling into a fetal position. There was a strange pulling, but there was no pain. Then as suddenly as it started, the feeling stopped and Tala sat up. She heard a rustle behind her and turned to look into a mirror of her own eyes. "Hello, my sister," came a deeper version of her own voice.

	Tala stared in disbelief. Sitting on the blanket with her was a male version of herself. The hair and eyes were the same. Everything was the same except that he was male and she was female. "Who are you?" she asked, then added, "What are you?" "I am your twin brother."

"How?" Tala could not comprehend what had just happened. How could she suddenly have a twin brother? Her mind would not wrap around the idea. She began to pull on her clothes, suddenly feeling the need to cover herself. "You absorbed me into your body when we were only tiny embryos in our mother's womb. You protected me until it was time." "Time? Time for what?" "For our father's plan to begin." He took hold of her arms, holding her tightly, his eyes alive with excitement. "This is our father's gift. He could make many into one. You can make many from one." "You are not making any sense! What gift? Father? Are you talking about Naraku? I want nothing from that evil man!" "Our father was the most powerful demon to ever exist. He was beyond good and evil." "No one is beyond good and evil! No one is above the law!" Tala cried, now terrified. What had Naraku done to her? "Our father could absorb demons into himself - many became one. You have the power to create many like me - one will create many. You are the mother. It is your destiny!" His eyes had the same insane gleam that Naraku's once held. Even though Naraku was dead and his soul gone from this plane of existence, the plan he had put into play before his death was just now coming to fruition. "What you are saying is not possible. I am not a mother." "You will be the mother of Naraku's sons. From now on, once a month, at midnight of the full moon, you will create a male duplicate of yourself, a brother and a son. All your body needs is a spark of life and I will give that to you before I leave. And the next Tala will do the same. Each Tala will give you a spark before he leaves."

	"A spark? What are you talking about?" She drew away from him, suddenly very afraid of this male version of herself. He smiled - a cold, cruel smile - Naraku's smile! And grabbed her arms, drawing to closer. He pushed her downward until she was on the blanket once more and then covered her with his body. His hand muffled her cry as he pierced her maidenhood and then pushed himself inside her body. Over and over he thrust until he released his seed - giving her a spark of life as his seed joined her egg, then he moved off of her and started to dress.

She moved as far away as possible, pulling her open kimono closed. "I will never let this happen! I will stop the pregnancy! I will go to Kaiba!" "No, you won't." He fingered the embroidery on the lapels of his coat. "You do such beautiful work." "What makes you think I won't?" Tala asked. "Because you do not control your body; the male inside you controls it -- just as I controlled your body when I was inside of you. You are only the vessel. You will not tell anyone and you will not stop his creation. You have no free will -- no choice. You are the mother -- whether you like it or not!" His voice lowered until it became a growl. "Now get up and dress. Return to your room before you are missed." Tala obeyed him, not because of some inner voice, but because she was terrified of him. Together they walked to the stairs to her balcony and went inside her room. He kissed her forehead like a loving brother, then her mouth like a lover, and then went to the door. "Where are you going?" "To my fulfill my destiny. Goodbye, sister." Although Tala looked for her brother in the Castle, she never saw him. How had he managed to make his way through the castle unseen? Even though he looked like her, he still looked like a man. Two days later, her family left for home. Just as her brother had said, she told no one what had happened. She tried, going several times to Kaiba's tower, but once there, she forgot why she had come and returned embarrassed to her room. After a while she remembered and tried again, always with the same results. Finally she gave up and instead tried to get rid of the monster growing inside. She had enough knowledge of herbs to know what to mix and she prepared the potion many times - but never drank it. Her brother was right -- the thing inside was controlling her body. She could only go so far, but never take that last step. At midnight of the next full moon, she walked into the forest, careful to stay away from the wolf patrols, carrying her blanket and more male clothes. As before, there was a pulling sensation accompanied by dizziness and a male Tala emerged behind her. Unlike the first one, this Tala said nothing to her, just pounced on her, pushing himself inside painfully and then seeded her, preparing her for the next Tala.

	After dressing, he left her sitting alone in the dark, walking quickly away. She had no idea where he was going - but like the first one, he seemed to have a preordained agenda. Somehow Naraku had given them all missions to fulfill. Or perhaps it was just a burning desire for revenge on those who killed him. Otherworld needed to be warned but she couldn't tell anyone. Her life had become a constant nightmare.

Tala was no longer the happy, loving girl that everyone had known. She was withdrawn and quiet, but when anyone asked, she replied that she was fine. She soon found that her skills with the sword, the bow and the horse were gone. The males now had those talents. She only had her healing, her sewing and her cooking left. All too soon, another month had passed and tonight was the full moon. She looked up at it as she walked through the forest. Once she loved the moon, drawn to its power and beauty; now it brought ruin and despair. She spread her blanket and took off her clothes, sitting there in the chill night, waiting. At exactly midnight her brother/son emerged. And again, this one uttered not a word to her, just grabbed her to copulate. After he finished, he dressed and walked away into the darkness. Miserably, Tala dressed, and then picked up the blanket to go home.

Miroku was walking down the road, hurrying to get home. He had gone to a neighboring village to vanquish a minor demon and had not expected to be gone this long. Even though the demon was small, it was elusive and it had taken the monk many hours to capture and kill it. But it had not been in vain -- another shard had been retrieved! He would send it to Kurama the next time Hiten made a trip to the Castle. He was keeping his eyes on the road in order to not stumble in the dark. Rounding a bend, he collided painfully with someone, looking up to mutter an apology. His eyes widened when he saw who it was and he stumbled backward in surprise, loosing his footing on the edge of the road and tumbled down the steep side of the hill. At the bottom, his head hit a rock with a resounding crack. Miroku lay still and blood began to pool on the ground beneath his head. Tala stood on the road looking down at the monk for a moment, then continued down the road without a word.