Lucrecia Crescent

'''This is not FF7 canon. Well, some of it is. Most of it is not. This is mostly me trying to keep my notes straight. Spoilers abound.'''

Born July 22, 1941

Sephiroth's mum

Mrs. Hojo

Dearly Departed

Short Version
Lucrecia Crescent Hojo is best known for her role in the Jenova Project and later the Sephiroth Project. Although she gave birth to Sephiroth, the great success of the SOLDIER program, she did not live to even hold her baby in her arms. She was preserved in mako for over a year by her grieving husband, Professor Hojo. Eventually, Ifalna and Professor Gast convinced him that it was time to let go, and Hojo buried her in the Crystal Cavern behind the waterfall. Like an insect in amber, the mako crystallized around her body, preserving her in a tomb of materia.

Life
Because her work was never published, Lucrecia's academic

achievements are largely unknown. Prior to her marriage to Hojo, Lucrecia worked under Dr. Grimoire Valentine. Both of them were conducting research concerning stagnant or dark mako and the guardian spirit Chaos. Dr. Valentine did not survive the expedition, sacrificing his own life in order to protect his assistant. Lucrecia carried the guilt of her mentor's death with her after that. She did not deal well with the knowledge that she had not only killed her teacher, but also the father of her best friend. It strained her relationship with Vincent Valentine whom she had known for several years prior, and they drifted apart.

Lucrecia attempted to complete her thesis as a way to honor her deceased mentor, but the attempt proved too painful. In the end, she tore up her notes and scrapped all her research, deciding instead to focus on something else entirely. Her reasons for applying to work under Professor Gast were complex. Gast- unlike many of the other senior researchers- was specifically looking for women to assist with the Jenova Project. In particular, he wanted women of child-bearing age. There had been some success in breeding animals once thought to be extinct in the lab, and Gast wanted to do the same with the Cetra. Lucrecia was comfortable with potentially becoming a surrogate. Having cost Grimoire his life, she felt that reviving an ancient race of humans would be an ideal way to atone. The infant Cetra would be raised by the team, so that she would not be the sole caregiver. However, she had not counted on how invested she would become in her child.

Although Gast's long-term plans included a successful pregnancy and birth of a Cetra child, things did not go quite to plan. Hojo had been testing Jenova on himself in secret (Gast was pushing for authorization to conduct Jenova research on adults but had not yet gotten the go-ahead from Shinra), and because of this, Sephiroth was conceived carrying Jenova right from the start. Hojo and Lucrecia confessed what had happened almost as soon as Lucrecia realized she was pregnant. Gast was, to put it mildly, not amused. There was a lot of shouting, but in the end Gast decided they might as well proceed with the project since it was a bit late to back out of it now.

The pregnancy itself was an accident. Lucrecia never spoke of the surrounding events or offered any details, though she did confess her pregnancy to her long-time friend Vincent. He was shocked, but supportive, even offering to marry her himself. This was the last thing she'd expected from him, and it left her so overwhelmed that she could not continue the conversation and fled in tears. Vincent, misinterpreting her reaction, attempted to confront Gast about Lucrecia's role in the project, but Gast had returned to Midgar to finalize some plans for the project, leaving Hojo in charge. That particular conversation marked the end of Vincent's role in the Jenova project. Lucrecia was never made aware of Vincent's eventual fate, and was instead told by Hojo that Vincent was stable and that they had done all they could for him.

Hojo and Lucrecia were married a few weeks later. Although it began as a marriage of convenience- or perhaps necessity- the two did not dislike each other and worked well together. While not a traditional marriage, they made it work and happy together for as long as it lasted. When Lucrecia bled out in the delivery room, Hojo was devastated. He never completely recovered from losing his wife, storing her in a mako pod for over a year until Gast and Ifalna convinced him to lay her to rest.

Death
Although Lucrecia was medically dead, her consciousness lives on. It is not the Jenova in her body that has kept her alive, but the mako. By storing her in a mako pod, Hojo was able to slow her deterioration and reverse some of the damage she sustained during Sephiroth's birth. She isn't dead, but is deep in mako stasis; a state similar to a medically-induced coma. Her bodily functions slowed to a virtual stand-still, she has survived in her tomb of materia for the last twenty-five years.

While the Jenova in her body is not what's kept her alive, it has allowed her to share a unique bond with her son. When Sephiroth was born, his blood mixed with hers. This triggered a seizure and other complications which led to her "death". However, it also allowed her to "dream" of him from time to time. She could either watch him, or witness events through his eyes. This phenomenon happened more frequently when he was in trouble. Although she could not tell if Sephiroth could see or hear her, Lucrecia tried to communicate with her son whenever she dreamed of him. She does her best to protect and comfort him even if it's only in his dreams.