Part 7: A Son’s Misconceptions

The Nibelheim Incident

 Part 7: A Son’s Misconceptions

 (“Love Theme From The Robe”- Yusef Lateef) Serenity arrives at Nibelheim a few days before Sephiroth. She decides to stay at the inn, but as they learn about a Shinra troop arrival in a few days, she is kicked out. Luckily, a woman in town opens up her home to her. She was a single mother whose son had left to join Soldier.

“When the last time you heard from him?”

“It’s probably been about a year, now. Not too long but a mother worries.”

“I know how you feel, I have two little ones. I’m constantly on edge.”

“I heard some Soldiers are coming to check out our Mako Reactor in a few days. I hope he is among them.”

“Maybe, what is his name?”

“Cloud Strife, have you heard of him?”

“No, I left Shinra probably when he joined.”

“Oh, well there still is hope.”

“Yes…hope.” Serenity makes herself at home.

                A few days later, they arrive. She hears that a local girl will guide them to the reactor. She waits for the right moment to approach Sephiroth. She is nervous but anxious. Night falls and she still hasn’t gone to see him. Cloud’s mother wonders why she is so nervous about Soldier being here, but doesn’t ask questions. Everyone has a past and if she wanted to share it she will have open ears, if not she will not be nosey. (End)

 

               

The date was September 22^nd, 0002. She decides to go to the inn to see him. He has his own room, so they can talk in private. She sneaks by the front desk and quietly goes up the stairs.

 (“Cry me a River”-Julie London) She looks under the doors to see which room he was in. In one room she could see the feet of a person standing in the middle of the room and no commotion was going on compared to the room next door. She knocks on the door ever so lightly. She hears footsteps coming towards the door. She steps back as if she is ready to run away, but her body freezes. The door opens and the light from the room shines into the hall onto her.

“Serenity, what are you doing here?”

“I came here to see you.” He lets her into the room and closes the door behind her, locking it.

“Zack asked me today about my family, if I had one and I didn’t even have it in me to mention you or the children. I haven’t seen your face in months; you couldn’t tell me where you were going or why? You just took off with the kids and haven’t contacted me.”

“Baby, you know I couldn’t contact you. If only you knew what lead up to it.”

“No I don’t. I came back to an empty apartment. Nothing left behind to indicate where you went. Not a letter, or note, or card, nothing. No one knew where you went. It not like I could ask Genesis or Angeal or your parents. I didn’t have anyone to turn to.” He voices becomes shaky. “I thought something had happened to you and the kids. I thought someone had gotten to you. I thought you were dead and they had taking our children away.” He turns away and clenches his fist. She knew he was crying, but he didn’t want her to see. She had never seen him this way. She embraces him from behind, holding him tightly.

“Sephiroth, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to put you through all that. Staying in the Shinra building wasn’t safe. They have some skeletons in the closet that were let out and endangered our family. Someone found out that our kids were just that, our kids and if we stayed terrible things would be done to them.”

Sephiroth turns around to face her, “Shinra. Things are not right within the company. Something is going on and I don’t like not knowing what it is. They caused Genesis and Angeal as well as Lazard to leave. Saying they were traitors, but sometimes I can’t help to think that they were doing the right thing by leaving Shinra. I told my team that depending on how this mission goes, I may leave Shinra. Right now, knowing that they drove you and the rest of my family out of my life, there’s a high possibility that I will not return from this mission.”

“You can come home. I and the kids are living in Destiny Islands, Costa del Sol for now.”

“A vacation, I definitely deserve one.” He embraces her back and they passionately kiss, ironically, as if it was for the last time. She gradually lowers her body until she is lying on the bed. He takes off his coat and climbs into bed with her. They spend their last night together. (End)

(“I’ll be seeing you”- Billie Holiday) In the morning, Serenity is already gone once again. She left in the middle of the night so no one would know she was there. Sephiroth knows Serenity is hiding something, something about his past. He knows it has to do with his parents and he feels really close to figuring out what it is. Serenity heads to the Shinra manor to find out as much information as she can. From one of the widows, she can see Sephiroth, Zack and Tifa taking a picture for the local cameraman. She tried to get out of the way, but she was captured. She heads to the basement to look through the library. In the basement she finds a room with coffins in them. She decides to open one and inside she sees a sleeping man. Something looks very familiar about him. She touches his face to see if he would react, but he doesn’t. She stares at his body and strange clothing; the more she stares the more she feels like she should know who he is.

“Vice…Vann…Vayne…Vince…Vincent…Vincent! That’s your name!” and as she realizes this sees another vision. She sees a woman being denied her child. She screams, “Let me see him just once! He is my son!” Hojo laughs in her face and walks away.

                Conscious, she recognizes the woman as the one she in the cave, as the woman who worked with Hojo on his experiments and did her own research on Chaos and Omega. Lucrecia Crescent is her name and she was Sephiroth’s true mother. She couldn’t wait to tell him everything; she would have to wait a few days.

 

“You know how the rest goes.”

“You met my mother.”

“And you found me in my coffin.”

“I sure did. I finally got to meet Cloud sometime after that.”

“And when was this?”

“The night before Sephiroth would destroy Nibelheim, I went back to his room in the inn hoping to talk with him about the things I’ve found out over the years and the things he found out over the week. When I arrived, he was staring out the window. I asked him why and he said ‘the scenery looks familiar’ and I told him ‘well I hope so considering that you were born here’. He didn’t like the word, ‘born’. He said that he was ‘created here.’ And then went on a rant. I tried to interject, but he just kept talking. When he was finished he turned around and said that he would ‘take back the planet’ for his mother.  He attacked me and next thing I knew I was in the Shinra mansion and the town was on fire. 

I ran to the reactor only to find the Turks and Hojo. Sephiroth was gone and they had taken you,” talking to Cloud “and Zack back to the mansion. Hojo forced me to go with him. He wouldn’t let me go until he got his hands on my children, but when we found out I was pregnant, he only kept me there until Sephira was born; the girl who answered the door when you two arrived. He wanted to create a supreme being- genetically an extraterrestrial being and an Ancient. When she was born, he took her and went back to Midgar. While I was pregnant, though, I kept a close eye on you two to make sure you would be able to escape when the time came. I was happy that you were able to after four years, but I am sorry that you lost Zack in the process.” She takes a long pause. They take in what she said. (End)