Vagaries of Fate

Dredging Up the Past

Chapter 26

It was several hours later that the three boys woke, and Clarissa fed them again. Once they were done, she sat them all down once more. "In a few minutes, we will head over to talk to the rest of the people that are here. There are a couple of things I want you to know before we do. First, you are not obligated to tell them anything about what happened. I hope that someday you trust me enough to do so, as it will help you, but I will never force you to. Secondly, no matter what else is decided, I will not be leaving you or letting anyone take you. I will fight anyone who tries."

She knew that they would understand what she was saying, even as young as they were. She could only imagine what their lives had been like, but she could tell already that they had been forced to become more mature than other children their age.

They were looking at her with blank expressions for several minutes. She allowed them time to figure out what they wanted to say. Finally, Kadaj spoke up. "Do you know where mother is?"

Out of all the questions they could have asked, that was the one she had hoped they wouldn't. Although, it didn't surprise her. She took a deep breath as she tried to figure out the best way to tell them, as she didn't plan on ever lying to them. They had enough of that. "The one that you call mother, she spoke to your minds, didn't she?"

Her heart broke a little more when his little eyes narrowed with distrust. He still answered her with a nod. Clarissa sighed. She wanted to hug them all so badly; to take away their pain, but it was something that only time and care would help. She hoped that what she had to tell them wouldn't make it worse.

"I can imagine that it was helpful sometimes when things got bad. Do you mind telling me what she told you?"

The three boys looked at each other again. Clarissa realized at that point that they could probably communicate telepathically, and it didn't surprise her. When Kadaj finally looked back, she hated to see his gaze was shuttered.

"She told us that when we were finally together that we would help her rule this world. We would all be a family and happy together."

Clarissa nodded. It was what she expected, even if she hated that it made what she was going to tell them that much harder. "I thought that might have been the case. She has told others the same thing in the past. The one you call mother was actually an entity from space. Her idea of ruling was to destroy everything and absorb it all. I have no doubt that she wanted to have you with her, but it probably was not in the way you were led to believe."

At her words, all three boys backed away. Clarissa felt her eyes prick with tears at the way they were looking at her. She knew she only had one chance before they refused to trust her; if they didn't already. She swallowed and gave them a nod. "I know that isn't what you wanted to hear. Believing that you weren't alone, that you were destined for greater things, that had to have helped you endure. The last thing I want to do is take that away. As a matter of fact, I would like to help you find a family for yourselves, even if it isn't with me."

Their looks had turned confused. She could tell they were talking together once again, so she sat quietly and allowed them to finish. Kadaj was their spokesman once more. "I heard you tell Brother that we are clones of Sephiroth. Is he the one that Mother told us about? The one that was to take us to her and lead us all?"

Clarissa nearly sighed again but gave them a nod. "Yes. Sephiroth was raised by Hojo too. He was treated as an experiment, as well. The only reason he isn't still in a lab is that they used him to fight their wars. They tried to turn him into a living weapon, but it didn't work."

They communicated silently again, and Clarissa gave them the space to do so. She couldn't hold back a few tears when they turned to her with frowns. "Why should we believe you?"