The Complete History of Final Fantasy VII So Far

THE PLANET AND THE LIFESTREAM

Before Shinra. Before SOLDIER. Even before there were cities in the modern world, all life on the Planet was part of a vast natural cycle. When living things died, their spiritual energy returned to the Lifestream. This vast flow beneath the Planet carried their memories, knowledge and energy before eventually feeding that energy back into new life. To the Planet, the Lifestream represented the collective spiritual existence of everything that had ever lived upon it. One of the earliest civilisations known to truly understand this relationship was the Cetra.

THE CETRA

A nomadic people, the Cetra (Ancients), that was able to communicate directly with the Planet. Rather than settling down permanently, they traveled around the world and cultivated the land. They could also hear the Planet’s voice and manipulate the flow of spiritual energy underneath. In many generations, a lot of these people left their wandering life and decided to settle permanently. Those people became the ancestors of ordinary modern humanity. As time passed, the true Cetra became increasingly scarce, but they maintained a far stronger bond with the Planet.

THE GI ARRIVE FROM ANOTHER WORLD

At some point during the ancient era, another people arrived on the Planet. They called themselves the Gi. The Gi did not come from the Planet's Lifestream. Their own world had been destroyed, leaving them searching for somewhere else to exist. Attempts were made to establish a new life on the Planet. When members of the Gi died, their souls could not join the Lifestream They couldn’t go back to that spiritual energy out of which all the creatures on this Planet were first born. So those dead Gi would forever remain just spirits.

THE GI CREATE THE BLACK MATERIA

As generations came and went without a way of truly dying, the feelings of sorrow which the Gi had felt over countless years turned to hatred. Eventually, the Gi realised there was no other option but to destroy the Planet if they were never able to leave by means of death. In order to accomplish this task, they concentrated all their feelings of grief, anger and yearning for oblivion into one very powerful piece of materia. This materia became known as the Black Materia. It had incredible power, one spell with this materia could call forth an enormous celestial body that was capable of devastating the Planet. Gi’s believed that when the Planet came to an end, they would have freedom from being bound here on Earth! The Cetra could not allow that to happen. So they stole the Black Materia from the Gi. and hid it away where he couldn’t use it! This feeling of resentment was to remain for thousands of years.

JENOVA

Approximately two thousand years before the main story, something arrived from space. The impact devastated the northern continent and created an enormous wound in the Planet that would become known as the Northern Crater. The Cetra set off on its journey north to begin healing all of this. But what was discovered by the group almost completely destroyed their civilisation The creature that arrived was not simply a monster. It could change its appearance and imitate people. It could take the form of someone a victim loved, using familiar faces and voices to get close to them. But at first the Cetra did not realize that this was what they were dealing with. They had been infected by the creature's cells, which caused all sorts of mutations and monstrous events to occur within their populace. Later however, the Cetra would remember it as a calamity from the skies. Thousands of years later, mankind gave it another name. Jenova The devastation caused by Jenova went beyond physical destruction of the Cetra. With its remarkable ability to mimic humans and play with perceptions, entire communities were annihilated, driven apart by paranoia and mistrust. Fighting back, the Cetra eventually contained the creature. Jenova was sealed away and the Planet survived. But despite their best efforts to make things right again, the Cetra didn’t recover. Their population dwindled, leaving the remnants of a civilisation that had once roamed the world as nothing more than a few ruins and scattered survivors and still the wound gaped at the Northern Crater. The Planet continued concentrating huge quantities of Lifestream there as an attempt to heal itself.

Final Fantasy X-2???

Far outside the confirmed history of Gaia, another world called Spira had a young researcher named Shinra. Shinra was a young Al Bhed who became enamored with the sheer volume of spiritual energy contained inside the Farplane, thinking perhaps this could someday serve as a power source. A theory very much akin to what the Shinra Electric Power Company would do when they devised technology capable of harvesting energy from the Lifestream. No story has actually shown Shinra travelling from Spira to Gaia, so there is no confirmed point where the two histories physically connect. If there is an ancestral link between them, it would have to exist long before the creation of the Shinra Company. For the known history of Final Fantasy VII, the story of Shinra begins on Gaia.

THE RISE OF THE SHINRA COMPANY

Centuries later, human civilisation has expanded to such an extent that a weapons manufacturer (the Shinra Company) discovers that the Planet’s spiritual energy can be extracted and converted into electricity What’s more, this processed Lifestream energy takes on another name, Mako. With these mako reactors, Shinra can offer huge amounts of cheap power, and suddenly cities are starting to rely upon the company for their needs. Shinra transforms from a weapons manufacturer to the dominant political, military and economic power on the Planet. To create the greatest city, Shinra built 8 enormous mako reactors called Midgar. It's split with the wealthiest populations living on enormous steel plates, while there are poorer communities underneath those plates called Slums. At the centre of the city stands Shinra Headquarters. As the company's power grows, traditional governments become increasingly irrelevant. President Shinra eventually controls huge parts of the Planet through money, energy and military force. Unfortunately every reactor drains the Lifestream. Shinra burns the Planet’s life energy for its own civilisation!

PROFESSOR GAST DISCOVERS JENOVA

Shinra scientist Professor Gast Faremis commences research into the Cetra. During an expedition to the northern continent, Gast comes across the remains of the extraterrestrial creature sealed away two thousand years ago. Mistakenly believing that this corpse belongs to an Ancient. Gast gives this name to the specimen. The mistake has colossal consequences as Shinra holds on to the belief that injecting human beings with cells of Ancients will produce those capable of displaying the Cetra abilities. The Jenova Project begins.

PROJECT G

In one branch of the Jenova Project became known as Project G. This project was under the guidance of scientist Hollander and involved experimenting on Gillian Hewley. Jenova cells were introduced to Gillian, who’s altered cells would be experimented upon using unborn children. These are some of the most significant children to come out of my writing. Genesis Rhapsodos, Angeal Hewley (Gillian’s son). Genesis was born into another family after he had been exposed to Gillian’s altered cells. They were both healthy. Eventually they developed extraordinary abilities. Project G does contain one little problem though, which won’t be obvious for several years to come.

PROJECT S

Hojo leads one particular branch of the Jenova Project. Instead of using other test subjects to carry out his work, his partner, scientist Lucrecia Crescent becomes pregnant with Hojo's child. While the baby develops within, Hojo injects some Jenova Cells to his unborn child. After birth, this healthy little guy got named as Sephiroth. Unlike Genesis and Angeal, Sephiroth doesn't start his fall until much later. Unlike Genesis and Angeal, Sephiroth does not initially suffer the degradation associated with Project G. Instead Shinra has finally got what they wanted! A human being with extra ordinary physical abilities! And he’ll grow up never having been told of all that’s happened to him

VINCENT VALENTINE

Vincent Valentine of the Turks works as protection for the scientists conducting the Jenova Project. Vincent quickly finds himself falling for Lucrecia, but her emotional weight stems from her tremendous guilt over the death of Vincent’s father, Grimoire Valentine, during his time researching alongside her. In response, she rejects Vincent and becomes involved with Hojo. When Lucrecia finally agreed to allow her unborn child to be part of Hojo’s experiments, Vincent became increasingly horrified. Following Sephiroth’s birth, Lucrecia’s health began to rapidly deteriorate as she suffered from both mental visions and physical effects caused by the Jenova cells used during the experiment. Vincent confronts Hojo over what has been done to Lucrecia and the child. Hojo shoots him, an injury that should have killed him. Hojo then takes Vincent and turns him into something that’s no longer entirely human! Vincent can now turn into various powerful monstrous forms! Lucrecia then uses her own research as a way of stabilising him using the Protomateria, enabling Vincent to bring under control the entity Chaos inside himself. Vincent, however, feels partially at fault for all that has happened to Lucrecia and Sephiroth due to his inability to prevent Hojo's actions when he eventually awakens from this experience. Vincent sealed himself inside his coffin underneath Shinra Manor, where he remained for years.

SEPHIROTH'S CHILDHOOD

Sephiroth grows up while being controlled by Shinra. He was never brought up by Lucrecia nor knows that he is Hojo’s child. He finds out he has a mother named Jenova. Shinra trains him from birth as a weapon. His creator Hojo subjects him to torturous training and tells him compassion and hesitation are weakness. He became extremely powerful, although much of his life was being dictated to him by the company. Meanwhile, Shinra started promoting him publicly as a hero. Inevitably, this created some discomfort for Sephiroth.

GAST LEARNS THE TRUTH ABOUT THE CETRA

At this point, it's revealed that Professor Gast has realized that Jenova was never an Ancient, all of his research regarding the Cetra was based on a catastrophic mistake. With that knowledge, Gast leaves Shinra. Eventually he travels to Icicle Inn and meets one of the last surviving true Cetra, Ifalna. Gast falls in love with Ifalna. Together, they study the Planet and the history of Jenova. Their daughter is born there. Her name is Aerith. She was half Cetra and half human. She inherited the power of hearing the Planet from her mother. For some period of time, Gast, Ifalna, and Aerith lived peaceably together. Eventually Hojo finds them. Hojo wants Ifalna and Aerith for research. Shinra forces attack their home. Gast was killed. Ifalna and baby Aerith were brought to Shinra Headquarters. Aerith grew up under Hojo’s care during the first few years of her life. She was studied along with her mother Ifalna by Hojo himself as he tried to understand the Cetra’s connection to the Planet and how they could be used by Shinra to find their way to the fabled Promised Land. Shinra thinks that the Promised land might contain enormous concentration of mako energy. Eventually, Ifalna escaped from Shinra Headquarters along with Aerith The escape leaves Ifalna mortally wounded. Ifalna arrives at the Sector 7 railway station, accompanied by her daughter. She has been badly injured and knows that she's going to die. At this point on the platform stands another passenger, Elmyra Gainsborough. Waiting for her husband's return from the war in Wutai. Ifalna asked Elmyra for help protecting her child, Aerith. Elmyra took her home and raised her as her daughter. Aerith soon begins demonstrating abilities that Elmyra cannot explain. When Elmyra's husband dies far away during the war, Aerith knows before any official message arrives. She tells Elmyra that he has returned to the Planet. It slowly dawns on Elmyra that she has an extraordinary child in her adopted daughter.

Cloud & Tifa

Though they were friends, growing up away from Midgar, in the mountain village of Nibelheim, Cloud Strife and Tifa Lockhart weren’t quite as close to each other when they were children, according to memories Cloud has made later in life. Cloud was also socially isolated from several of the other kids who lived in the village at the time. He starts developing feelings for Tifa, though he finds it difficult to express those feelings. Tifa, whose mother has recently died, becomes convinced that she can possibly see her mother if she crosses Mount Nibel. Cloud follows her. Tifa fell off of a bridge and was badly injured. Cloud survived relatively unscathed. The adults blamed Cloud. The more he experiences this, the more it solidifies his belief about himself as someone who is weak and inadequate. Cloud decides to leave Nibelheim to become part of the elite organization known as SOLDIER. He wants to be just like Sephiroth,he thinks being someone like him will finally make him special. But before heading out on his own, Cloud requests one last meeting with Tifa. at the village water tower. “I intend to be a famous SOLDIER,” said Cloud. “If you’re ever in trouble, I’ll come and save you!” he promised Tifa. Neither of them fully understands how important that promise will eventually become.

PROJECT 0

The soldiers who later go on to form part of this early expeditionary SOLDIER unit include Glenn Lodbrok, Matt Winsord, and Lucia Lin. Prior to its perfection of the SOLDIER programme that will be associated with Sephiroth, Shinra experimented with some previous ones. Like Sephiroth, these characters are also the results of genetic experiments. However, unlike him, they are normal human beings who have been put into Shinra’s increasing military machinery. Eventually, their experience with Shinra turns them against the company. A recent mission sees Shinra send out Glenn, Matt and Lucia on a journey to the Rhadore Archipelago where they plan to survey the islands in order to establish a new mako reactor. However, due to their experiences of being embroiled in conflicts with Shinra, the Rhadorans view this as yet another invasion. The team meets a young Rhadoran named Rosen, an Eye of Rhadore who watches the natural flow of the Planet's energy and warns his people when something is wrong. Even though they are on opposing sides, Glenn becomes sympathetic toward him. The Rhadoran resistance surrounds Glenn's team. Shinra sends reinforcements. The reinforcement is a teenage Sephiroth. Sephiroth, despite being young, was far more powerful that most of these soldiers around him. After destroying all the rhadoran attacking he took over command of this mission. Glenn, Matt & Lucia noticed this very young kid was quite unique after witnessing what just happened. Raised with only an eye on killing, he's socially inexperienced and very isolated outside of combat. Sephiroth shows them a photograph of the woman he believes is his mother. Hojo told him that her name was Jenova, but Sephiroth knows almost nothing else about her. But there’s much more at stake for Sephiroth than just solving this mysterious riddle of his existence. Not only does this photograph play an important part in his life, but Sephiroth reveals that Shinra’s tales of himself as some sort of great hero are mostly just company propaganda! He longs for an ordinary life and authentic human connections. Shinra gives order for Sephiroth and all of them to wipe out the remaining Rhadoran resistance. The resistance included a number of children as well as some elderly members of that race. This made Glenn sick at first glance of what Shinra was asking his group to do. Shinra has trained Sephiroth to see every potential enemy as dangerous, regardless of their age. Thus, he follows his orders. All Rhadorans are slain. One of the young fighters even manages to wound Sephiroth. Glenn later embraces him and tries to show him that compassion does not make someone weak. For perhaps the first time, someone treats Sephiroth as a frightened child rather than a weapon. The first steps have been taken towards developing this island with Shinra's mako production. The natural energies are beginning to show signs of distress from these developments. On the island a catastrophic torrent of Mako has begun consuming it! Glenn, Matt and Lucia decide to defy orders and try to save Rosen. Sephiroth joins their cause. Rosen comes to learn that almost everyone he knows has died. Rosen asked Sephiroth if he would kill Rosen. He wanted to be able to die among his people, instead of having to remain alone as the last survivor of Rhadore. Sephiroth eventually obliged, reluctantly. All Glenn saw was Sephiroth kill the boy and his anger boiled over. The budding friendship was ruined. Rhadore’s destruction alters Glenn, Matt and Lucia permanently. Having witnessed the effect on whole cultures by Shinra’s hunger for Mako, they ultimately abandon the company and oppose it. Their resistance was joined by larger anti Shinra movements as well as Wutai. Sephiroth remained behind. Those that he'd started to trust were lost to him forever.

WUTAI

Sephiroth becomes an adult and works with another young member of SOLDIER known as Angeal Hewley. This leads them on a mission in Wutai which allows Sephiroth to learn even more about the mysterious past of Shinra and their weaponry. At this time, he also finds the legendary blade with which he would spend much of his life.Masamune. Sephiroth, Angeal, and eventually Genesis go on to become the most infamous of SOLDIER operatives within Shinra’s military for many years to come. And they’re even friends with each other for a little while too! Eventually, this expansion leads to open conflict between Shinra and the nation of Wutai. Wutai resists Shinra’s attempts to dominate and exploit its land and mako supply. A long war ensues. SOLDIER now is becoming one of the most valuable weapons for Shinra. Public image that Sephiroth was an unbreakable hero grew up huge time during this war. That’s why such younger guys like Cloud idolise Sephiroth for being what he thinks a SOLDIER must be. But behind that heroic facade are some pretty nasty means by which Shinra has been trying to win this war lately.

Zack Fair

THE ORIGINAL AVALANCHE

The Resistance Movement against Shinra was getting stronger. A powerful incarnation of Avalanche began to attack the Company. The leader of this group was a young lady named Elfé. Among these people working to guide the organisation was a scientist called Fuhito, who believed that Humanity was damaging the Planet. Avalanche was also much bigger and more militarised than the little band Barret Wallace would eventually take control of. President Shinra’s son, Rufus gets caught up with the Resistance. but for entirely different reasons than environmentalism! He just wants to get rid of his dad, and seize control of the company for himself! He supports Avalanche but tries to keep their part of the story hidden from Shinra. As time goes on things become more complicated with the Turks getting orders to go after the very organisation that he's funding quietly through the heir to the company. Meanwhile, the leader of the Turks learns the truth about the one he calls Elfé, she’s really his long lost daughter Felicia, who died many years ago. And Elfé’s been unwittingly carrying some dangerous materia tied to a powerful summon known as Zirconiade. But Fuhito has some plans using her, including summoning a creature that will ultimately destroy mankind and restore their spiritual energy to the Planet! Members of the Turks decided to go against their employers, Shinra, to protect Veld and Elfé from assassination order. The Turks have gone rogue and are now considered as fugitives. Fuhito continues his preparations for Zirconiade. Fuhito is defeated and Zirconiade destroyed before he could carry out his plans. Rufus' secret involvement with Avalanche is exposed to his father. President Shinra doesn't publicly execute his son. Meanwhile Rufus spends a period under confinement and surveillance.

THE NIBELHEIM MISSION

Shinra gets reports that there have been a series of monster attacks around the mako reactor at Mount Nibel. They send Sephiroth and Zack out with several of their infantrymen to investigate. One of the infantrymen travelling with them is Cloud. He always hoped this would happen when he was a kid, going back to Nibelheim. But now? He feels ashamed. Cloud was too ashamed to face Tifa. He didn't keep his word. By keeping his helmet on around the village people, Cloud makes sure no one recognises him. Tifa is hired to guide the Shinra group to the reactor. She recognises Sephiroth and Zack as SOLDIER operatives. She does not realise that Cloud is among the masked infantrymen who walk alongside them. Inside the reactor, Sephiroth and Zack find horrors they never imagined. Humans are subjected to enormous quantities of mako. Many of the people exposed to huge amounts of mako have transformed into monsters. Sephiroth begins wondering whether his own extraordinary abilities were created in a similar way. Sephiroth searches Shinra Manor hoping to find answers. After spending several days reading the research located below the manor he learns of the Jenova Project. The same idea of Jenova being a Cetra is repeated from before. Sephiroth then puts all this into context, understanding that he had been created through experiments with Jenova. He just gets some details wrong. He eventually believes he is the child of the last great Ancient. Sephiroth starts to regard common mankind as the offspring of those who betrayed the Cetra. Sephiroth decides that the Planet rightfully belongs to Jenova, and therefore to himself. The legendary hero of Shinra is no more. The man at this point believes that he’s found his divine inheritance. Sephiroth walks into Nibelheim and sets the village on fire. Sephiroth walks though the burning village as he kills those who try to hold back his progress. Tifa finds her father mortally wounded next to the reactor. In an effort to take down the villain, Tifa grabs Sephiroth’s famed blade, Masamune, then goes after the killer. Sephiroth cuts her down. Zack has made it to the reactor. He faces off against his former friend. The two First Class SOLDIER operatives battle. Sephiroth defeats Zack. Cloud entered the Reactor. Tifa was severely wounded there. Zack had been defeated. When he finally decides that the infantryman’s fate is to be strong enough to become a SOLDIER, Cloud picks up the Buster Sword. Cloud attacks Sephiroth. He catches him off guard and stabs him with the sword. Cloud checks on Tifa. Sephiroth returns carrying Jenova's head. Sephiroth impales Cloud with the Masamune. He shouldn’t be able to go on. But then Cloud grabs hold of the sword. Using sheer determination Cloud manages to use the blade Sephiroth had pierced his body with to lift himself up off of the ground. Cloud then throws Sephiroth down at the mako beneath them. The mighty creature vanishes into the Lifestream along with Jenova’s head. Cloud has beaten the best SOLDIER there ever was. Nobody will ever know about this! Shinra cover up of the Nibelheim incident. Tifa is rescued by Zangan. Cloud and Zack are captured by Hojo. Hojo subjects Zack and Cloud to prolonged mako exposure and injects both of them with Jenova cells. Zack's SOLDIER enhanced body withstands much of the treatment, but Cloud reacts very differently. Cloud's mind and body are overwhelmed. He and Zack remain Shinra test subjects beneath Nibelheim for years.

ZACK ESCAPES WITH CLOUD

Eventually Zack gets away but Cloud isn't quite consciousness yet. Zack refuses to leave his friend behind. Then he picks up his Cloud and starts going back towards Midgar. Zack also discusses him becoming a mercenary and meeting with Aerith once more. Unfortunately for Zack, Cloud was far too sickly at this time to give a proper response to anything. Eventually Shinra caught up with him outside of Midgar. Zack hid Cloud and fought off an incredible number of infantrymen alone. Eventually things get to the point where there are simply too many of them. Zack is shot repeatedly until he finally collapses. Before dying, he gives Cloud the Buster Sword and tells him that Cloud will be his living legacy. Cloud heads towards Midgar with Zack’s sword, memories, and his identity starting to crack apart around him. When Cloud arrives at Midgar he’s suffering from severe psychological trauma, a result of all things including the Jenova cells within him, mako poisoning, memories of Zack and a deep seeded need to have succeeded as a SOLDIER. He doesn’t consciously decide to “steal” Zack’s identity but, with his damaged mind, Cloud constructs a new version of his past. In this new version, Cloud became a SOLDIER First Class. He puts himself into events which really happened to Zack. Tifa encounters Cloud at Sector 7 Station. Immediately realizes that something’s wrong as Cloud knows things he shouldn’t know. But there are some things she remembers differently. Tifa’s solution? She keeps Cloud around, by convincing Barret that they need his skills on one of their Avalanche missions. Cloud becomes a mercenary working for the group.

Midgar

THE PURSUIT OF SEPHIROTH

Cloud informs the group about the events that took place five years ago at Nibelheim. He described his travels to the town with Sephiroth on the mission as SOLDIERS First Class, and details the incident surrounding the reactor,Sephiroth’s breakdown and the destruction of the village. Most of the events Cloud describes really happened, but he has placed himself into Zack's role. Tifa knows Cloud was not the SOLDIER standing beside Sephiroth. Because she did not understand how he knew all these things, she remained quite silent. The party tracks reports of Sephiroth across the globe. Through the Mythril Mines,Junon and beyond the oceans they track his progress. And even though he seems to be always staying one step ahead! Sephiroth’s physical form remains within the Northern Crater. Many of the figures the party encounters are manifestations created through Jenova's cells and Sephiroth's will. The Reunion has begun.

A journey across the planet

THE TEMPLE OF THE ANCIENTS

AERITH TRAVELS TO THE FORGOTTEN CAPITAL

With her is the White Materia, which contains the Planet’s ultimate weapon, Holy, to counteract any potential catastrophe. Alone she walks the streets of an ancient capital once ruled by the Cetra. She starts to pray. Cloud and the others join her. Cloud meets up with Aerith who’s at an altar kneeling. Sephiroth tries to manipulate Cloud into killing her herself but Cloud resists. Sephiroth descended from above, driving the Masamune down toward Aerith. She died instantly. White Materia falls out of her hair, disappearing into the water beneath. Cloud holds Aerith’s body. He can’t hold back the flood of emotions that have been locked up within because of his wounded sense of self. Cloud carries Aerith’s body to the waters of the Forgotten Capital and lets her go. She physically died, but spiritually has more work ahead of her. She joins the Lifestream once again. She also succeeded praying to the Holy before she died. The Planet has heard that.

THE REUNION

The party heads north towards the Northern Crater where people previously experimented on by Hojo have begun to gather. Their Jenova cells are causing them to be drawn towards Sephiroth. Cloud is affected by the same pull. Sephiroth started to attack cloud’s very sense of self, showing him contradictory pictures of his hometown from Nibleheim that conflicted with the one he remembered. Now Cloud’s confidence starts to collapse Sephiroth convinces Cloud that his memories are artificial. He believes that perhaps he’s not the real Cloud Strife after all. But the truth isn’t as simple as this. Cloud's childhood in Nibelheim is real, and so is his history with Tifa. The SOLDIER First Class identity he built around himself is not. Using that moment of confusion, Sephiroth controls Cloud. Cloud gives the Black Materia to Sephiroth’s real body. Sephiroth used the Black Materia. Meteor appears in the sky. The gigantic celestial body started its travel to the Planet Sephiroth’s intention is for it to be such a bad calamity that the Planet would collect massive amounts of the Lifestream to cure its own wounds. In other words, he wanted to be at the center of this current where he could drink up the strength of the Planet. Sephiroth's goal is to become a god.

WILL THE REAL CLOUD STRIFE PLEASE STAND UP

Eventually the group finds Cloud in Mideel. His body made it through the Lifestream but his mind didn’t! Cloud is barely responsive at this point. Tifa chooses to stay with him no matter what. It doesn’t seem to matter whether or not Cloud was ever really a SOLDIER. She just needs to get her hands on that real Cloud. Another eruption leads to Cloud and Tifa joining forces inside the Lifestream as they explore the broken landscapes made up of Cloud’s own memories. With the help of Tifa he examines these memories closely. The false story began to fall apart. Cloud remembers what happened when he returned to Nibelheim as an ordinary Shinra infantryman. He remembers how ashamed he felt about having to hide under his own helmet. He remembers the reactor. Cloud finally understands what happened. Cloud never did become SOLDIER. And yet he’s really the guy that beat Sephiroth in Nibelheim! The infantryman Cloud was ashamed of himself for being unable to do that kind of thing, but he did remember when Zack couldn’t do things like that. Cloud remembers his childhood with Tifa and the promise they made at the water tower. His own memories and Zack’s are no longer confused. After all these years, for the first time, Cloud knows who he is.

HUGE MATERIA

To begin preventing Meteor, Shinra starts deploying its stockpiles of huge chunks of condensed mako (Huge Materia). A scheme includes packing these Huge Materia into Cid’s old rocket and firing them straight at Meteor. Involving Cloud’s group but against Shinra, this leads to a conflict for the possession of materia. Eventually, the Rocket was launched. Finally Cid entered space. Then The rocket hit Meteor. Meteor survives. During this space mission, Cid finds out the truth about the situation as well, Shera did know what was going on after all, but during her inspection of the oxygen tank, she realized that it was faulty. If she hadn’t stopped them at first and let them go through with their initial plans,they may very well have died. Cid is forced to recognise that the woman he blamed for years had actually been trying to save everyone aboard the rocket. His attitude toward Shera begins to change.

DIAMOND WEAPON ATTACKS MIDGAR

The Diamond Weapon heads for Midgar. Shinra creates the Sister Ray to form a gargantuan mako powered cannon. President Rufus gives the order to fire. The beam hits the Diamond Weapon and goes towards the Northern Crater. Diamond Weapon retaliates before its death and its attack hit the Shinra Headquarters. It’s presumed that Rufus died. Sister Ray blast hits the Northern Crater destroying the barrier that Sephiroth put up to protect himself! The path toward Sephiroth is finally open. Another threat exists in Midgar. Hojo now controls the Sister Ray. Cloud’s group goes back to Midgar. Hojo plans to fire enormous amounts of mako toward Sephiroth. He finally reveals his personal connection to the man he has spent years studying. Sephiroth is Hojo's son. Hojo shows no regret for what his experiments created and remains fascinated by Sephiroth even as the world is collapsing around him. Cloud's group fights Hojo. He mutates through the same experiments he inflicted on others and is eventually killed.

THE FINAL DESCENT

Meteor has yet to make its approach. Cloud and friends move on inside the Northern Crater, diving into the ancient wound. Jenova tries to stop them and they finally destroy Jenova’s physical form. They continue towards Sephiroth. After transforming with the immense power around him, Sephiroth becomes an enormous distorted form called Bizarro Sephiroth. The party defeats him. Then, Sephiroth undergoes another transformation. With that, Sephiroth assumes his more godlike form. He now possesses one black wing extending from his body. This is as close as he will get to the divine entity he envisioned. Cloud fights Sephiroth with his comrades. Cloud and his companions defeat Sephiroth's godlike form. One more fight. The last confrontation of Cloud's spirit. No more parties for Cloud. No more Shinra. Only Cloud and Sephiroth. After spending years manipulating his identity, Cloud's adversary finally confronts him with no questions left about who he really is. In the end, Cloud defeats Sephiroth. Sephiroth dissolves into the Lifestream.

HOLY IS RELEASED

With Sephiroth no longer holding it back, Holy is finally released. Aerith had managed to summon it successfully right before her death (she would've been a much bigger threat if she were alive), but here's the thing, Meteor is already really close! Holy and the Meteor collide. The Lifestream begins to rise. We see streams of spiritual energy coming out of all over the Planet. They gather around Meteor. You can feel Aerith’s presence here. The Lifestream joins Holy. Meteor is stopped. The Planet survives. And Aerith’s prayer succeeded.

THE SURVIVORS BEGIN AGAIN

Meteors fall devastates Midgar. The Shinra power collapse. Edge city starts to build up for survivors of Midgar. Now Cloud, Tifa, Barret and the rest need to build their own lives after all these years of fighting. Cloud and Tifa start to live in with Marlene. They build up a new Seventh Heaven. And Cloud sets out the Strife Delivery Service They take in an orphaned boy, Denzel, whose parents perished amidst the disasters that occurred around Midgar. For a short time Cloud was able to form some semblance of a familial relationship with those close to him. Sephiroth’s body is destroyed, but his consciousness refuses to disappear. Inside the Lifestream, he focuses on Cloud. As Cloud recalls the past events with Sephiroth, he realizes that memories are crucial for him to keep up his identity. In fact, the Anchor of Memory allows Sephiroth to manipulate the Lifestream, as shown when Cloud starts corrupting some parts of it under the influence of Jenova. Aerith retains some amount of awareness within the Lifestream. Rather than fighting against the Planet as Sephiroth did, Aerith seeks to aid its natural processes, helping spirits find their way back on their own, while attempting to halt the spread of Sephiroth’s corruption. Their fight never ends, even though they are both physically dead. A new disease spreads. This disease has been dubbed 'Geostigma'. Those who have been exposed to the contaminated Lifestream will begin developing painful black marks and getting very ill, especially children. Cloud has become infected with the virus. So has Denzel. Even Rufus Shinra, the one who escaped the destruction of headquarters, suffers from this terrible disease. Cloud has been overcome with guilt. He feels responsible for Zack’s death, and for his failure to save Aerith. Denzel has been dying from an illness that Cloud cannot cure. Tifa and the children are now all Cloud can't stand anymore. Eventually he begins to spend increasing amounts of time alone at Aerith's church.

ADVENT CHILDREN

A trio of mysterious silver haired men appear. These three are called Kadaj, Loz and Yazoo. They’re remnants made up of Sephiroth’s lingering will. The desire of these people for finding “mother” arises from this event. The woman that is this mother of theirs is Jenova. Kadaj targets children who have Geostigma, promising them relief. Instead, the kids get subjected to the influence of Jenova. This includes Denzel. He’s dragged back to this conflict by illness and emotion. Kadaj meets with Rufus to discuss the whereabouts of Jenova. Rufus finally reveals this container and flings it down from the building. Kadaj went after it. Kadaj Summons Bahamut SIN. Cloud’s Former Companions Reunite Barret, Tifa, Red XIII, Cait Sith, Yuffie, Vincent and Cid Fight Together Again and they aid Cloud in defeating this creature. Cloud destroys Bahamut. Kadaj gets Jenova's cells. They are absorbed into Kadaj’s body, transforming him into Sephiroth. Sephiroth returns. Sephiroth's ambition hasn't ceased after all this time. His plan involves using the Planet itself as a vessel to sail through space just like Jenova did! Cloud takes on Sephiroth in the ruins around Midgar! Sephiroth tries to break him psychologically just as much as physically. But Cloud will not be broken. He defeats Sephiroth yet again! When Sephiroth disappeared, it began to rain over the city, carrying with it the power of healing that Aerith infused into the waters of the Lifestream. Those stricken by the curse known as Geostigma found themselves beginning to recover. Healing water gathers at Aerith's church. Denzel is cured. Cloud is cured as well. The first time he sees them together, Aerith and Zack don't blame Cloud for his feelings. For the first time, Cloud accepts that surviving was not something he needed to apologise for.

Dirge of Cerberus

Approximately a year later, another crisis begins. After the events of the Geostigma Crisis, an unknown organisation within Shinra's military emerges from under Midgar. Through extreme experiments on soldiers Deepground came into being, and the destruction around Meteorfall buried much of their numbers underground. They now escape from Deepground's assaults on settlements to kidnap civilians. The strongest warriors of Deepground are known as the Tsviets, including Rosso the Crimson, Azul the Cerulean, Nero the Sable and Shelke the Transparent, with Weiss the Immaculate at their head. What’s clear from all this is that the organisation is gathering huge numbers of human lives, which are related to the Planet somehow. Vincent is at the heart of all this conflict since Chaos resides inside of him. Chaos was created as part of an interstellar lifeform called Omega that has been set up to ensure the end of everything by bringing the Planet to an impossible state where nothing can be saved from destruction, leaving Omega to draw the Lifestream into itself to escape the Planet forever. Deepground wants to wake up Omega early. They’re sacrificing those civilians for spiritual energy. The intelligence controlling Weiss is eventually revealed. Before Hojo’s demise, he uploaded a portion of his own consciousness on the worldwide network. It finds its way to Deepground eventually. Hojo takes control of Weiss to continue his experiments on her postmortem. Finally, Vincent comes to accept the powers of Chaos rather than fear them. Vincent controls his transformation. Omega starts collecting the Planet’s Lifestream and tries to get off the Planet. Vincent pursuing it as Chaos, destroys Omega before it escapes. The stolen Lifestream comes back. The Planet survives. A year later, after the Deepground conflict, Weiss’ body remains beneath Midgar. Genesis appears. Former Soldier who vanished from Zack’s battlefield. Is he alive? As he picks up Weiss, this indicates what Genesis will be doing next. What Genesis intends to do next has not yet been shown.

FIVE HUNDRED YEARS LATER

Five hundred years after the fall of Meteorfall, Midgar survives on, albeit as ruins. The red XIII runs through this world with other members of his own species. We arrive at a cliff overlooking Midgar. The mako reactors are silent. The Planet endured.

REMAKE

REBIRTH