Across the Divide and Through Valhalla

Talk with Cloud

Chapter 25

When they made it back to the house, Jerry was waiting. He had headed straight over after work. Sherry was more than grateful when he offered to grill for everyone. She took the opportunity to shower quickly and get into some dry clothes. Despite her claim to be unaffected by the sun, she was a little more red than brown when she inspected herself. At least she was sure it would change over the next couple of days. She already had an excellent base from all the time she liked to spend outdoors.

When she walked outside, she saw Caius standing with Genesis and Sephiroth. Zack was trying to help Jerry with the grill. Although it looked more like he was getting in the way. When she didn't see Cloud right away, she asked Kaylan if she knew where he was. Her friend pointed to the trail that led down to the water.

Sherry already knew that he was more of a loner, but she couldn't stop herself from worrying. Out of all of them, he was the most likely to be adversely affected. He had lost the most and was currently faced with the phantom of the man that had caused it. With the addition of his Geostigma, she was sure he had more than enough on his mind.

It didn't take her long to find him sitting in the grass and staring at the brilliant sunset reflecting off the water. She sat next to him but didn't say anything right away. It was several minutes before he finally turned to her. He wore a slight frown.

"I can tell just by the way he is acting that the Sephiroth here is not the same man that I killed, not yet anyway, but that doesn't explain why you have been comfortable with him from the start. You know about my Geostigma. I haven't even told my family. That leads me to believe you do know what has happened. Given that, I cannot understand why you want to help them."

Sherry sighed. She wasn't surprised that this had come up. At least he was willing to ask her instead of clamming up and sulking. She rested her chin on her knees and turned her head slightly to look at him. "Do you know anything about Sephiroth's childhood?"

His frown deepened, but he answered. "I know that he was raised within Shinra to become their ultimate weapon."

Sherry sighed and nodded. "That is part of the truth, but not all of it. Hojo may have claimed to be his father, but he never treated Sephiroth like a son. That maniac treated him as much like a test subject as he did any other specimen. Sephiroth was tortured and conditioned to stand alone. He never had anyone he could talk to or any outlet for his pain or fear. You may believe it is impossible for him to feel those things, but he was a child once, just like everyone else. The difference being that he was never allowed to act like a child. It's a miracle he wasn't broken when he was younger."

She paused and made sure Cloud was looking into her eyes before she continued. "He was a victim. He may not like to think about it any more than you do, but it's the truth all the same. He still is, really. I'm nearly positive that Hojo left all those documents in Nibelheim on purpose. I have a strong belief that it was just one more test to see how his ultimate specimen ticked. It's sickening."

Cloud was still frowning, but he didn't say anything right away. Finally, he spoke again. "You really believe Hojo was responsible for Nibelheim?"

She gave him a nod. "Yes. Since that was where Sephiroth was born, all those documents were there from the days they spent there before his birth. I find it hard to believe that Hojo would just abandon all his research there when they went back to Midgar. Especially since so much of what was there were blatant lies. I mean, all the paperwork says that Sephiroth's mother was Jenova when it was really Lucrecia Crescent. Even if Hojo twisted the truth in his own mind to think of Jenova as the mother, since Sephiroth does have a high concentration of her cells, still, in the end, he had to know that would all be found."