Final Fantasy VII Storyline
Final Fantasy VII opens up with Cloud Strife, a mercenary who previously was employed by Shinra as a SOLDIER. The SOLDIER were elite and he left with the rank of First Class. He walks through Midgar and has a light run-in with Aeris as he proceeds to meet his new employers that have contracted him; Avalanche. Avalanche is headed by Barret and 2nd in command is Tifa Lockheart, whom Cloud knew as a child. Barret at first does not trust the x-SOLDIER but on Tifa's recommendation Cloud soon becomes a critical part of the group. Avalanche's purpose is to destroy the Shinra Reactors that are draining the life of the planet and are also responsible for the mutation of much of the animal life on the planet. Shinra is an evil corporation headed by President Shinra and they basically dominate most of the world, placing anyone who is not within Shinra in tremendous danger. Avalanche successfully had done small time work against Shinra but taking out the reactors was more difficult. As they successfully detonated a reactor in Midgar, Cloud received advice from an unknown source (most likely Sephiroth) about the reactor being abnormal. Later, the group met up with a flower girl named Aeris who dwelt in the slums. Cloud saved her from being captured by Turks (basically Shinra men in black) and then brought her back to Avalanche headquarters. Later on Aeris was captured by Shinra and she held a secret that she was not entirely human, but instead belonged to an ancient group of beings that humans derived from; the Cetra. Shinra wished to incorporate the girl into SOLDIER but she was not fit for it, so instead they sent her to be studied by Hojo, a sinister mad scientist in their employ and have her locate the fabled "Promised Land" that the Cetra apparantly sought thousands of years ago. Cloud and the group from Avalanche headed to Shinra Corporation's main building on the plate level of Midgar. The plate was above the rest of Midgar and the wealthy people lived on it. They successfully made their way into the building and moved about the floors, found Aeris and also Red XIII, who was a talking lion or wolf type being. His intellect was grand and they were all unsure if he was his own species or a creation of Hojo. Red XIII joined the group but then they were all captured before they could escape. Cloud attempted to leave the prison cell he was in to no avail. When he awoke later he noted that the door was now open and he freed his friends. Finding many security and people deceased, as well as a large trail of blood that spanned throughout the complex, made Cloud suspect an old comrade of 5 years ago. They continued up to the level and discovered a body with no head, named Jenova had been stolen and it was the body's blood that was everywhere. The group moved, unhindered all the way to President Shinra's office and discovered him bent over his desk with a sword plunged into his back. Cloud immediately recognized the sword as Masamune, which was only able to be wielded by Sephiroth. Cloud's nightmare was just beginning. After he fought the son of President Shinra, named Rufus, who declared he would run Shinra more effectively and without any promises to the people of the planet because they were basically a waste of effort and money, now that Shinra's power was secure by his father's work. Cloud failed to kill Rufus but managed to escape before the building detonated. The group then discussed about Sephiroth. Cloud informed them that 5 years ago Sephiroth was his commanding officer and that they were sent to Nibelheim to fix the reactor that was malfunctioning there, as well as to deal with some of the enormous creatures spawning from it being in disrepair. They entered the area and Sephiroth exclaimed he heard voices and then he became quite distant from Cloud. In the area were capsules that held twisted beings within them, and above the stairs was Jenova herself. Sephiroth had been told his mother's name was Jenova but that she had died at birth. His past was a mystery now being unfolded before him. The being within the large chamber, secured in a vat of liquid was not even human in appearance, but something almost in the appearance of a grey fallen angel with black wings. Sephiroth departed from the group, going into the Shinra Mansion back in Nibelheim where he spent his waking moments going through records upon records labeled under the Jenova Project. He discovered some of his past within, that he was truly an experiment conducted and labeled a success. |
