Across the Divide and Through Valhalla

Talk with Cloud

Cloud sat up straighter and gave her a shocked look. It took him several moments to figure out what he wanted to say. "There are so many things in that statement that don't make sense. Sephiroth was born in Nibelheim?"

Sherry gave him a curious look. "I thought you knew that. That was the purpose of the labs in the basement at the mansion. At least originally."

Cloud shook his head, and his brows furrowed. "I remember Vincent telling us once that the woman, Lucrecia, had locked herself up out of guilt. I knew she was Sephiroth's mother, but I never realized all that happened in Nibelheim."

Something else must have occurred to him as well since he shot her another confused glare. "You said Hojo claims to be Sephiroth's father. Was he not?"

Sherry shook her head with a grimace. "I don't know. All the official paperwork says that he is, but there are a lot of little clues that point to that only being the case in Hojo's head. Just like he claimed Jenova was Sephiroth's mother. There are a lot of people that believe-" She cut herself off at that point. She had a feeling Cloud wouldn't take it kindly to find out about Vincent's past and the possible connections.

She wasn't expecting him to pin her with a hard look, though. "You don't want to tell me who you believe it to be. Why?"

Sherry sighed and looked back out to the water again. Her voice was soft. "Because it's someone you know and trust. I didn't think you'd appreciate hearing it."

She heard his sharp intake of breath, and his voice was lowered again. "There's only one person I trust that could have been- Vincent is Sephiroth's father!?"

She shook her head and looked back at him. "I told you I'm not sure. He was Lucrecia's lover. She ended up running away when they got too close. She couldn't handle the guilt. She always felt responsible for Grimoire Valentine's death. He sacrificed himself to save her from an experiment gone wrong. It was after she distanced herself from Vincent that she married Hojo. It is my suspicion that she was already pregnant at that time, but I have nothing more than little clues. There is no concrete evidence."

Cloud stood and walked away. He didn't say anything for several moments before he turned back. "I don't know what to think. I always thought Vincent was a friend, but I didn't know any of that."

Sherry shook her head and stood as well. "He is your friend. Just because he still has things that haunt him doesn't mean he isn't. At this point, it really doesn't matter who Sephiroth's father is, does it?"

Cloud was still frowning, but he shook his head. "No, but none of what you have told me is enough for you to be acting so calmly with him. He may have been used, but he still ended up choosing the darker path. I know what it is like to fight Jenova's control, but I didn't give up!"

Sherry gave him an incredulous look. She had to wait for several seconds, so she didn't say something unnecessarily hurtful. Her tone was still hard when she spoke. "Really? You never lost control? At all?"

Cloud's eyes widened before his gaze hardened again. "Yes, but ultimately, I was able to fight her control."

Sherry nodded, but she was having to fight from glaring at him. "True, but you didn't do it alone. You had your friends there with you to encourage you to not give in. They gave you a reason to fight. Sephiroth never had that. By the time he was confronted with Hojo's lies, he had already lost almost all the people he had once called a friend. He felt used and betrayed and didn't have anything or anyone to hold onto when Jenova started whispering in his head. Her promises about love and belonging had to have seemed like a light in the dark to him."

Sherry could tell that Cloud did not like hearing her words. He was glaring outright, but he didn't speak right away. When he finally did, she had to bite the corner of her lip to keep from snapping at him.

"Nothing can excuse what he did. Ever. If you were in my shoes, you would understand. I can see why you want to prevent him from losing his mind, and I agree, but I don't see how you can handle it so nonchalantly. He has evil running through his veins. If you had lost your family and everything you ever loved, you wouldn't be so quick to want to help him!"

Sherry could feel herself shaking and tried to keep from yelling. As it was, her voice dropped into a cold tone when she was finally able to speak. "I will try to keep in mind that you don't know what the hell you're talking about. I do know what it feels like to lose everything. Even my childhood was stolen from me, but I refuse to allow that to dictate who I am. Forgiveness does not mean forgetfulness; it just means that your future is yours alone. It is better to let go of hate and anger because you are the only one it's hurting, no one else. I learned that lesson the hard way, so don't think for a minute that I am blind to what could go wrong. It is a choice I made. I will watch for the bad, but I will not dwell on it. It isn't worth my time."

She could tell that she had shocked him, but she turned and walked away. If she stayed, she would have ended up saying more than she should. She knew it wasn't his fault, and he had every right to be angry, but that didn't mean she had to go along with it. If she had any hope of changing things, she couldn't allow any doubt to take root. She had to believe that all these men were worth saving.