Time.

[Tara Fenix]

“You said that you weren’t going to use this anymore!” Sabin pleads. His voice is lower in tone, but you can hear the insistence that is behind his words.

Tara walks just a step ahead of him with her newborn, Lilith, cradled in her arms, and fast asleep… the reason for Sabin to try to restrain himself from being too loud. Tara glances down at the perfection of her daughter, but bites down on her bottom lip before looking up at a cord that dangles below a particular section of the ceiling.

“I did not think that I would use it again… But I have to be ready for the fight of my life,” Tara explains. She holds Lilith carefully with one arm, and reaches her other arm upward to pull on the cord that brings a staircase down as a faint white glow illuminates from the attic.

“You don’t need to do this to get back in shape, Tláa. You know that you are more than capable of getting yourself ready for this fight against Shelly, and more importantly, you know that you can beat her! Even on your worst day, you can–” Sabin argues, but his voice in desperation becomes a little bit higher which triggers Tara to meet him with her gaze. The bright blue eyes; the coldness behind them; she may be his mother, but he knew that he still did not wish to cross her.

“I could not beat her before I was forced to step out of the ring…” Tara says, and turns her attention back toward Lilith who coos slightly whilst remaining in a deep slumber, “I would not be using this if I did not think that I needed to. I would rather spend all the time that I can with my daughter, but this–” Tara sighs, “–this is what I do.” She says and nods her head. “But I am not going to be able to get back in shape in time between now and the event, so I need this…” She says.

Tara adjusts slightly to ensure that she has Lilith secured in her arm, then holds the staircase railing to ascend. Sabin is right behind her, and he lets out a heavy sigh… the type of sigh that knows he is defeated, that knows that there is no point in trying to argue with her on the subject: her mind is made up. Tara stands at the top of the staircase momentarily, and shifts her focus to a doorway; the source of the white light… The light peeks around the frame, through wherever it can. Sabin reaches the top of the stairs and joins his mother in gazing upon the doorway.

“Mother…” Sabin says, and gulps, “We still do not know the side effects that the hyperbolic time chamber could have on us. That is why we decided it was not worth the risk…”

“I have no choice, Sabin,” Tara mutters, “Believe me when I say that I have exhausted all other options. This is the only way that I am going to be ready in time…” Tara adjusts her arm again, and cradles her daughter in both arms; she stares at her longingly, and a smile comes to her face. Pure joy, and pride that she has in the creation of her daughter. She gives a gentle tap on her nose, a boop, “Watch your sister…” Tara says, before handing Lilith over to Sabin. Sabin cradles her carefully in his own arms, and Tara turns toward the door that was unveiled to lead to the hyperbolic time chamber, something that would be impossible in the real world, but you know what? This is fictional writing, and enough people wanted to cry over fake characters getting pregnant, and not adhering to the rules of reality. So this writing has been a full “fuck you” to all of the “realists” out there who are ruining the game for everybody else, and I’m going to tell you here and now: stay in your fucking lane, and out of mine, and everybody else. You do not get to tell anyone how to enjoy the game, or how to play the game.

“I will not be long…” Tara says, while turning her head toward the doorway. “At least… here.”

Tara walks toward the door, and opens it; there is nothing beyond the door except for a blinding light. Tara walks into it and closes the door behind her. She knew that the moment she walked into this area, all of time and space had a different set of rules: time did not exist in the traditional manner. What could be years for her would be mere minutes. End. Nobody knew that Tara had a hyperbolic time chamber; not even Angel. She would continue to keep it a secret for as long as she could.