Sherry Barnett

Sherry Barnett (シェリー・バーネット) is a former student at Midgar Royal Spellsword Academy, specializng in researching ancient languages. She was tasked with studying an artifact recovered from a Cult of Diablos base, prompting them to target her. While Shadow saved her, she developed a vendetta against him for killing her adoptive father, unaware he was a Cult member.

Appearance
Sherry is a cute girl of moderate height with peach or pink on both hair and eyes. She has short, shoulder-length hair with a lock of hair sticking out on top and braided on both sides. He has a medium build and slender.

As a student she wears the Midgar Royal Spellsword Academy uniform with a navy blue blazer jacket with white and gold accents, tie, white shirt and skirt with navy blue and gold accents, black stockings, a pair of white high heels, and a black robe with red jewels on the sides.

Personality
"When it's all over, will you listen to my story?"

- Sherry to Cid Kagenou

Sherry is a smart, bright young girl which allows her to decipher ancient languages. However having poured a lot of her time in her studies, this makes her shy and unable to interact or speak properly with others. Even her foster father was very worried about her because she didn't have any friends at school.

In addition, she is very loyal to those closest to her such as like her step-father and Cid. It was only developing a crush on the latter after receiving chocolate from him that she starts to be more actively approach him, in hopes to be closer to the boy. In a few instances, the former student displayed clumsiness when she traversed the campus occupied by Cult members posing as Shadow Garden.

However following the death of her step father, she would drastically change in the anime as she became obsessive against Shadow though she is unaware that he and Cid are the same person.

Background
Sherry, was a kind, cute, but naïve girl, who was in the care of her mother, Lukreia (nothing is known yet, about her biological father). While she spent her childhood next to her mother; who was worked as a researcher, they were somewhat in financial trouble until they received a visit from a mysterious man named, Lutheran Barnett who introduced himself as a good friend, who would help the two in their work and funds for other things. During that time, her mother began to study the artifacts Lutheran gave her, including the "Eye of Avarice" and since then, a very affectionate relationship began to form since then.

However oblivious one night, Sherry secretly witnessed the death of her mother at the hands of a mysterious man (who was Barnett) and was traumatized as a mark of her childhood as she wept for her mother's death. After her mother's funeral, Sherry was taken in by Mr. Barnett who treated her like his own daughter (unaware that he was manipulating her), and Sherry began to try to recover from the event, and decided to continue her mother's investigation and work. Ever since, she spent the rest of her childhood with his adoptive father, Mr. Barnett.

Midgar Academy Terrorist Attack
Sherry and Lutheran Barnett are visited by Princess Iris Midgar and Alexia Midgar. Iris gives Sherry an artifact belonging to the Cult of Diablos and asks her to decipher the text on it. Her father encourages her to do so, stating its a rare opportunity.

During Valentines day as she was researching, Cid non-chalantly gave her a box of chocolates as part of a dare from Po and Skel. Lutheran notices, to which Sherry tells him a boy gave it to her. As chocolate is considered a luxury item, Lutheran surmises the boy must really like her and she must consider her reply carefully.

Sherry went to see Cid at the tournament and checked up on him after his defeat. She gave him cookies and asks if they can be friends, to which he accepts. Learning his name, she realized that he was Alexia's boyfriend and went to speak with her. Alexia explained that they were only pretending to be a couple and happy that she's not interfering in a relationship, she was ecstatic to work even harder to decipher the artifact and left shortly before Alexia seethed and took her anger out on her tea cup.

When the imposters of Shadow Garden attack the Academy, Sherry and Cid determine the artifact can be used to disable or control other artifacts, such as the one that deployed a magic-nullifying barrier around the campus. Cid allows her to head to the gymnasium through the campus' secret tunnel system and deploy the artifact, allowing Rose Oriana, the captured students and the real Shadow Garden to turn the tables on the terrorists.

However, she returns through the tunnels to discover Shadow standing over the corpse of her father, unaware Lutheran had not only confessed to killing her mother but also orchestrating the entire terrorist incident only moments before her arrival. She breaks down in tears over Lutheran's corpse as Shadow disappears into the night.

In the aftermath of the incident, Sherry tells Cid she will head to Laugus to further her research and bids him farewell. It is inferred through her aura that she intends to become strong enough to avenge her father on Shadow.

Bushin Festival Tournament
In the anime, Sherry reads about how Iris and Beatrix chased Shadow off during the Bushin Festival, and Rose Oriana is still missing after she killed her father, King Raphael Oriana. It is also revealed that she has become so obsessed with seeking vengeance that her entire room is plastered with Shadow's wanted poster.

Powers & Abilities
Sherry has an extraordinary ability in her knowledge, her greatest trait is to know of ancient civilizations, which allows her to decipher their language and identify many artifacts by recognizing it during her research.

However her fighting and stealth capabilities were close to non-existent as they were so horrid, Cid had to intervene numerous times to prevent her being captured as she made her way around the campus.

Cid Kagenō / Shadow
Sherry was Cid's upperclassman at Midgar Academy, when the two encountered one another after Cid passed Sherry his chocolate at random. Cid and Sherry had a friendly relationship, although Cid doesn't know that Sherry had developed genuine feelings for him. It was during the terrorist attack at the academy that Cid took serious interest in her, thinking she might be important to the "main plot".

One thing to note is that it's implied Cid genuinely did care for Sherry, as he constantly protected her from the terrorists. This was explicitly demonstrated when he was disgusted upon learning that Lutheran Barnett murdered Sherry's mother as he personally gave the villain the same painful death in retribution. Although, he did not tell the witnessing Sherry about her adoptive father's true nature, thinking it was better she kept her loving view of him and hating his alter-ego Shadow.

In the anime, she is seen to have developed an obsessive vendetta towards Shadow. The said scene is absent in the light novels.

Lutheran Barnett
Lutheran was Sherry's step-father and adopted her after her mother Lukeria's funeral while continuing the latter's work. While working undercover as assistant principal at Midgar Academy, he puts on the facade of a humble man with a close relationship with Sherry. In reality, Lutheran was power hungry and exploited his step-daughter and her late mother to further his own gain unbeknownst to her. Sherry deeply cared about her step-father and is unaware of his misdeeds even after his death.

Lukreia
Sherry's late mother, Sherry spent much of her childhood next to her while working. After her death, Sherry would continue her work spending the rest of her childhood with Lutheran as her step-father.

Alexia Midgar
Assumedly Alexia's former upperclassman, not much is known of their interactions aside from being entrusted to decipher a device founded from the Zenon incident and when she notably talked to the princess regarding Cid. Upon hearing that the two never dated in the first place, she was relieved and reiterated that they weren't dating much to the her ire.

In the game, the princess alongside Nu has expressed jealousy towards the former student when two gave chocolates and cookies to each other respectively.

Iris Midgar
Although a student, Iris has acknowledged her mechanical abilities and entrusted her with the device from a Cult of Diablos base during the Zenon incident. It is unknown whether the two interacted beyond the device.

Trivia

 * Sherry likes to put a lot of sugar and milk in her coffee.
 * In the Manga, Sherry doesn't seem distraught at all over her stepfather's death when she could barely keep it together. In the Light Novel and Anime, this is deliberately mitigated to fit in her hidden sinister personality.
 * In the anime final episode, there is a scene where Sherry developed a obsessive vendetta against Shadow and laughed maniacally after stabbing a news portrait of his face with a knife. Whether this is canon or not is yet to be confirmed due to Sherry's absence after her debut in the first light novel.