Cloud's first mission with AVALANCHE is blow up the Sector 1 Reactor. Cloud and Barret are aided by Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie, and succeed in planting a bomb, disabling the reactor. Cloud meets a flower girl (Aeris) on the way out, who offers to sell him a flower for 1 gil. Cloud heads back with Barret to Seventh Heaven, where they are greeted by Tifa and Barret's adopted daughter, Marlene. [FF7]
Denzel's parents move to Sector 5. [OAWTAS: Denzel]
AVALANCHE carries out a second mission on the Sector 5 Reactor. However, they are visited by President Shinra, who leaves them to be destroyed by a new military robot. They disable the robot, but an explosion drops Cloud through the roof of a church in the Sector 5 slums, where he is discovered by Aeris. [FF7] The explosion kills the parents of Denzel and leaves him homeless, wandering to anyone who will take him in. [AC]
Reno chooses this time to lead a faction of Shinra soldiers into the church in another attempt at capturing Aeris. Cloud helps Aeris escape and they travel to her house, where she introduces him to Elmyra. Cloud asks how he can get back to Sector 7, and is told that Wall Market, in Sector 6, is the only way there. Aeris offers to take him, but both Cloud and Elmyra agree secretly that he should leave without her. [FF7]
Don Corneo, a playboy who lives in Wall Market, is ordered by Heidigger (head of Shinra's “Public Safety Maintenance”, a euphemism for the Turks) to discover Barret's whereabouts. He does so, but Barret finds out from Corneo's assistant about him, as well. He keeps a harem of women and chooses one each night. Barret agrees to let Tifa infiltrate his mansion and extract whatever he knows from him. [FF7]
Cloud makes it through Sector 6 alone, but finds Aeris waiting for him at a nearby playground. Before they can leave to Wall Market, they see a Chocobo-driven coach with none other than Tifa on it; Cloud resolves to find out what's up. They continue to Wall Market. [FF7]
Cloud and Aeris find out about Don Corneo. Aeris offers to go in herself, but Cloud refuses to let her. Aeris decides to dress Cloud up as a girl and have him infiltrate the mansion himself! They do so, find Tifa and rescue her from Corneo's henchmen, and corner him in his room. They find out that Shinra is planning on destroying the entire Sector 7 to get at AVALANCHE. Before they can get there, though, Corneo drops them into the sewers and sics his pet monster on them. [FF7]
They defeat the monster, make their way through the sewers and the nearby train graveyard. They find the pillar which holds up Sector 7 already under attack, with Barret and the other AVALANCHE members in hot battle. Aeris agrees to stay behind to look after the wounded. She finds Marlene there and sends her to her house in Sector 5. However, she is captured by Tseng. Meanwhile, Reno of the Turks activates the destruct sequence for the pillar, keeping Cloud and party occupied while it runs down. Cloud, Tifa, and Barret make it out alive, but the other AVALANCHE members perish in the explosion. [FF7]
Barret finds Marlene at Aeris's house in Elmyra's care, and tells them to move away from Midgar, as it's no longer safe. They listen to him and set off for nearby Kalm Town. The AVALANCHE members travel to Sector 0 via a wire in Wall Market, and enter the Shinra HQ in an effort to rescue Aeris. They're helped by Mayor Domino, who's sick of his office being abused by Shinra. [FF7]
On the 66th floor they overhear a discussion about the destruction of Sector 7 and see Hojo for the first time. They follow him to the next floor up, where Cloud finds the headless remains of JENOVA taken to the HQ after Nibelheim. Nearby, they discover Aeris an a container. Hojo tries to get Aeris and a strange red beast in the same chamber for procreation reasons, but Barret blasts the chamber and a reaction occurs. Hojo quickly opens it, but is attacked by the beast, who turns out to be Nanaki/Red XIII. [FF7]
The five people split up and agree to meet at the 66th floor elevator, but are captured by the Turks and brought to the top floor. President Shinra gives them a long-winded speech, then locks them in jail. However, a Sephiroth clone arrives during the night and slaughters everyone, including President Shinra. It also takes the remains of JENOVA's body during its escape. Rufus, the President's son, takes over as President. Cloud confronts Rufus on the roof while the others escape and Tifa waits for him, but Rufus takes a helicopter out as well. [FF7]
Cloud and Tifa rejoin the others on the main floor; they escape using a motorcycle and a stolen truck. They end up outside Midgar, and Cloud tells them that they must search after Sephiroth. They travel to Kalm Town, where he explains the story (casting himself in the role of Zack, as this is what he believes) and vows to destroy Sephiroth. [FF7]
They catch a nearby Chocobo and travel through a nearby marsh to the Mythril Mines. They meet Tseng, Rude, and a new member of the Turks named Elena, who's taken over while Reno recuperates from his injuries in the Sector 7 pillar fiasco. She blurts out that Sephiroth has been seen in Junon. [FF7]
Cloud and co. travel to Junon, where they rescue a girl named Priscilla and her dolphin friend from a water dragon. They're told that Rufus is arriving soon in the upper levels of Junon. Priscilla lends them Mr. Dolphin to reach the upper levels. Cloud disguises himself as a guard and marches in Rufus's welcoming parade. In the meantime, his other party members disguise themselves as sailors and stow away on a cargo ship, dragging Cloud with them when the parade is over. [FF7]
Sephiroth (or rather, a clone controlled by Sephiroth) shows up on the cargo ship as well, and JENOVA attacks them. He quickly disappears after the battle. [FF7]
Cloud and party end up at Costa del Sol, a vacation village. They meet Hojo, who's on a vacation, but he tells them to go to Mount Corel. [FF7]
They do so, and end up in North Corel, where Barret is accused of causing the fire that afflicted the village all those years ago. Barret gets angry and depressed, and Aeris suggests they go to the nearby Gold Saucer, a huge amusement park, to let off steam. They meet a toy cat riding a toy moogle, calling itself Cait Sith; it is controlled by Reeve, the head of urban development in Shinra; it insinuates itself as a spy into the party. [FF7]
However, Dyne comes up for a visit as well, and butchers a bunch of people near the Battle Arena. A stunned witness claims it was done by a man with a gun on his arm, and Barret is indicted for the crime by Dio, the Gold Saucer's owner. Barret and his friends (including Cait Sith) are taken to the Corel Prison. [FF7]
Barret discovers Dyne in the Prison, and Dyne attacks him. Barret defeats him, and Dyne throws himself off the gorge for the last time. He gives Barret his necklace as collateral for Barret to get back up to the surface. The only way up is to win a Chocobo race, and Cloud volunteers for the job. He wins, of course, and Dio, by way of apology, lends him a Buggy to travel around in. [FF7]
They take the Buggy to Gongaga, a town to the south. They meet up with Reno and Rude, who have been alerted to their presence by Cait Sith. They drive them off, though. They come across a deserted reactor and witness Scarlet and Tseng attempt to take materia from it; the materia is apparently not up to par. Scarlet is looking for Huge Materia (an extremely dense isotope) for a new weapon. They also meet Zack's parents, but Cloud doesn't remember Zack at all. [FF7]
The Buggy shorts out after trying to get past Cosmo Canyon, so they are forced to take refuge there while a repairman fixes it. They are greeted warmly when the townspeople find out that Nanaki/Red XIII is with them. Red XIII introduces them to his grandfather, Bugenhagen. Bugenhagen wishes Red XIII to go with Cloud to defeat Sephiroth, but first intends to tell him the truth about his father. [FF7]
He takes Red XIII and Cloud's party through the sealed corridor (which is now infested with ghosts of the Gi tribe) and to the end, where Red XIII sees the stone visage of his father. Having been told the truth, he resolves to travel with Cloud to defeat Sephiroth. [FF7]
Cloud and party reach Nibelheim. No one there recognizes them, however, since it is staffed by Shinra officers and vegetable-like Sephiroth clones. They descend back into the Shinra Mansion where they are met by Sephiroth (another clone) again. He flies away after mentioning the “Reunion”. [FF7]
SIDE QUEST: Cloud finds the key to the room housing Vincent in the Shinra Mansion and convince him to help him fight Sephiroth and Hojo.
Cloud and party travel through the Nibel Mountains to Rocket Town, where they discover President Rufus and Palmer, head of the space division of Shinra, trying to convince Cid to lend them his Tiny Bronco bi-plane. Cid refuses, and he and Cloud escape on the Tiny Bronco. However, Shinra soldiers shoot it down, and it becomes only good enough for a makeshift boat. [FF7]
SIDE QUEST: If Cloud finds Yuffie in forests near Junon, they fight. After he beats her, she joins him when she realizes he has lots of Materia, and schemes to steal it at her first opportunity. After Cloud gets the Tiny Bronco, Yuffie suggests they visit Wutai. Once there, Yuffie steals all his Materia and runs away. He chases her throughout Wutai, and finds the three Turks on their break there as well. They are asked by Shinra to search for Don Corneo, but refuse. However, Elena and Yuffie become captured by Corneo, and the Turks agree to help Cloud save them and drop Corneo off a cliff. [FF7]
SIDE QUEST: If Yuffie manages to defeat the bosses in the Tower of the Five Gods, including her father Godo, she and he will have a reunion and she will receive the materia to summon Leviathan, who is the protector of Wutai. [FF7]
On the coast of the main continent, a weapon maker in a secluded hut tells Cloud about the Temple of the Ancients, a legendary place housing the Black Materia. The Black Materia has the power to call Meteor, an ancient destructive magic. However, he tells them that a Keystone is needed to enter the Temple. [FF7]
Dio, owner of the Gold Saucer, has a Keystone and is willing to part with it if Cloud fights in the Battle Arena. He does so, and Dio is good to his word. However, the Ropeway connecting to the mainland has been broken, and Cloud and co. are stuck in the Gold Saucer. Cait Sith takes them to the inn in the Ghost Square to meet, talk, and sleep. [FF7]
Cloud is awoken in the middle of the night by either Aeris, Tifa, Yuffie, or Barret (the character depends on how Cloud has responded to each of them throughout the game up to this point, usually it will be either Tifa or Aeris). Cloud and Cloud's date have a night out in the Gold Saucer, partaking in a comic play in the Event Square and seeing the sights in the Round Square. However, they see Cait Sith with the Keystone. He runs away. They chase him to the Chocobo Square, where he throws the Keystone to Tseng, who escapes in a helicopter. Cloud threatens Cait Sith, but he plays a recording of Marlene, captured by Shinra, which stays his hand. [FF7]
Cait Sith pleads to be allowed to follow Cloud to the Temple of Ancients; doubtless Shinra was there first, but they would still need to follow them there to find Sephiroth. Cloud finally agrees. [FF7]
They arrive in the Temple of Ancients to find Tseng wounded by the Sephiroth clone. Sephiroth has continued to the bowels of the Temple, and Cloud and Aeris follow him. Aeris discovers the voices of Ancients telling her things inside the Temple; for starters, about the ultimate black magic Meteor which is kept via the Black Materia. The Sephiroth clone visits them and tells them that if he would call Meteor, the planet would unleash a huge amount of energy to intend to heal it; and if he were at the center of the planet, the energy would all channel into him. [FF7]
They find the Black Materia itself. It's kept in a strange puzzle; a miniature Temple of the Ancients, which itself contains another model, and so on; the Black Materia is in the bottom. However, by reaching it and canceling the models, the adventurer would cause the entire thing to collapse on him. Cait Sith (being a toy robot) volunteers to do it himself. He does so, and the Temple of the Ancients collapses, leaving the Black Materia at the bottom. Somehow, Tseng survives this, either by being carried out by another or his own volition. [FF7]
Cloud finds the Black Materia, but Sephiroth controls him and forces him to give it to another clone, who begins the journey back to the North Crater. Cloud begins deliriously attacking Aeris, but is stopped by Cait Sith #2, who shows up at this point. [FF7]
Now that the Black Materia is in the hands of Sephiroth, Aeris decides to travel to a sacred place, the Forgotten Capital. At its bottom is a water altar where an Ancient can summon Holy to counteract Meteor. Aeris tells Cloud in a dream she's going to the Sleeping Forest, and leaves. [FF7]
Cloud follows her to Bone Village, the entrance to Sleeping Forest. He excavates a Lunar Harp, which allows him to enter the Forest and Coral Valley, which leads to the Forgotten City. They wait until night, when the passage to the water altar opens, and discover Aeris praying there. However, she is given a surprise visit by a Sephiroth clone, who runs her through with his sword, killing her instantly. The White Materia she carries falls into the ocean and begins glowing green, indicating that Holy has been activated. However, the real Sephiroth in the North Crater stops Holy somehow. Cloud “buries” Aeris in the nearby pool. [FF7]
Cloud follows the Sephiroth Clone north through the Snow Fields to Icicle Inn, where they find evidence of Dr. Gast and Ifalna. They are also met by Elena and some Shinra officers, who refuse to let them out of the village. Elena blames Cloud for Tseng's death, and they fight. Cloud finds a snowboard and a map to the Great Glacier, and snowboards down the slopes to reach it. [FF7]
They find their way to Mount Gaea, a huge, cold mountain. An old man named Holzoff offers shelter and advice before they climb it. At its top they finally see the Northern Crater. They continue down to the Whirlwind Maze, where the Reunion is taking place - all the Sephiroth clones are returning to him, where he cuts them down. [FF7]
Rufus, Scarlet, and Hojo arrive in the Highwind, a Shinra airship. They discover the resting place of the Weapons. In the meantime, Cloud, Tifa, and the party find the Sephiroth clone who stole the Black Materia, and fight it out out of him. Cloud, though, is scared that Sephiroth may control him again, so he gives the Materia to one of his party members to hold while he goes ahead. Sephiroth, however, ends up tricking the party member into running after Cloud to the center of the crater. [FF7]
Cloud is given an illusion by Sephiroth intended on confusing him; in fact, Sephiroth is only telling him the truth: that he *wasn't* the SOLDIER at Nibelheim. Cloud's mind begins to deteriorate. The party member arrives on the scene and gives the Black Materia to Cloud. Cloud is unable to resist Sephiroth's mind and throws the Black Materia into the Mako pool where Sephiroth's real body resides. Sephiroth immediately calls the Meteor spell. The remaining party members and Shinra officials quickly escape on the Highwind. The five Weapons are awakened. Sephiroth erects an energy barrier around the Northern Crater, stopping anyone from coming in. [FF7]
Tifa and Barret are arrested and brought to Inner Junon, where Shinra plans on executing them publicly to blame them for the giant meteor on the horizon. Yuffie infiltrates Junon, posing as a reporter, Cait Sith as an official, and Cid and the others attempt to hijack the Highwind. Cait Sith helps Barret escape, but they are too late to save Tifa from the gas room she's been put in. However, before the execution can take place, one of the five Weapons attacks Junon. The giant cannon is put into use and destroys the Weapon before it can do any major damage. It does manage to break the seal of the gas room Tifa is locked in, and she manages to escape. [FF7]
Cait Sith rushes Barret to the Highwind. Tifa manages to elude Scarlet and her Shinra cronies until she reaches the very end of the Junon cannon, where she engages in a slapping fight. Before Scarlet can fire on her, though, Cid and Barret execute a daring rescue and they fly away on the Highwind. [FF7]
Tifa leads the search for Cloud; they find him in the city of Mideel, suffering from extreme Mako poisoning. Tifa decides to stay with him, and Cid takes over as leader. Cait Sith offers news of Shinra's new plan to create a cannon which utilizes Huge Materia as a weapon. Cid decides to stop the plans at all costs. [FF7]
The first of four Huge Materia shipments is at the North Corel reactor. Cid leads a party there; they hijack the train holding it, and manage to stop the train before it crashes into the city. [FF7] [Note: The game allows the possibility of not being able to save the game, but it does not effect any of the other events of the game, except that the party continues to be spurned at Corel]
The second is at the top of Fort Condor, where the people (who are trying to protect the condors at the top of the fort) have been waging war against the Shinra forces trying to take it over. Cid assists them and rescues the condors and the Huge Materia. However, the large condor at the top of the fort dies and leaves an egg, which hatches into a baby condor. [FF7]
Cid becomes worried about Cloud and returns to Mideel, which is suddenly attacked by the Ultima Weapon! The city breaks up and Cloud and Tifa fall into the Lifestream. Here, Tifa and Cloud strive on getting at the truth, and the true version of the past is realized. Cloud remembers himself and he and Tifa escape the Lifestream. [FF7]
Shinra takes the huge cannon from Junon to Midgar, to position it to destroy the barrier around the Northern Crater. [FF7]
Cloud takes over as leader and leads the expedition to rescue the third Huge Materia. They travel to the Underwater Reactor in Junon. They are stopped by Reno, but beat the mechanical monstrosity he sics on them. They hijack a submarine and shoot down the one carrying the Huge Materia, later rescuing it from the wreckage. They then get a transmission to return to Junon (Shinra thinking that the sub is manned by their own troops). [FF7]
The fourth and last Huge Materia is taken on the Gelnika, a Shinra transport, to Rocket Town. It is intended to be shot into space, along with a Materia bomb, to explode at the Meteor. Cid and Cloud travel there and beat Rude (who is guarding the rocket). They are given no warning before the rocket takes off, however (with Shera as its technician). They manage to unlock the Huge Materia and take it with them. However, the rocket is on a crash course for the Meteor and before they can reach an escape pod, an energy tank blows and crushes Cid. He is saved by Shera helping the other two party members, and apologizes to her. He notes that the tank which blew was the same one Shera was worried about during the first launch attempt. They take the escape pod back to Earth. The bomb damages Meteor, but does not disrupt its path (bits fly off it but are kept near the main bulk by magical forces). [FF7]
They return to Bugenhagen in Cosmo Canyon. He tells them that he will watch over the Huge Materia, and reminds them that Aeris is probably the key to defeating Sephiroth. They return to the Forgotten Capital, where Bugenhagen finds reference to a key hidden in the depths. Cloud finds the key by using the Shinra submarine and searching underwater, and brings it back to the Forgotten Capital. It is used to activate a display which teaches them about the White Materia and the fact that Holy is on its way, but stopped by Sephiroth. [FF7]
Cait Sith (i.e. Reeve) learns that the Sister Ray, the huge Junon cannon, is ready to fire, but before they can reach Midgar, the Diamond Weapon arises and heads towards Midgar! Cloud staves it off but can't destroy it. The Sister Ray fires on Sephiroth's barrier, destroying it and the Weapon, but not before the Weapon unleashes a counterattack, which destroys the Shinra HQ and kills Rufus. [FF7]
Reeve finds out that Hojo is powering up the Sister Ray again, this time to full power, intending on sending the energy to Sephiroth in the Northern Crater. Cloud and party parachute into Midgar, intent on stopping Hojo. They are stopped by Elena, Rude, and Reno, and a fight breaks out, but the Turks run away after it. (The fight can be avoided.) They are then attacked by a huge monster piloted by Scarlet and Heidigger, which also fails to stop them. They finally find Hojo, who undergoes various mutations (using injections of JENOVA cells) before finally yielding to Cloud's attacks. [FF7]
Cloud and party finally make their way to the Northern Crater and descend into it, defeating JENOVA and Sephiroth once and for all. Meteor continues falling. Then the Holy spell comes forth. However, it is too late. Meteor is too close and the fierce combat of the two spells results in even more destruction. It seems not only Midgar will be destroyed, but the entire planet. Just then, Lifestream emerges from the Planet, aided by the consciousness of Aeris (and all those who died), and pushes back Meteor, neutralizing it once and for all. This event becomes known as Meteorfall.[FF7]
Vincent and Yuffie lead a rescue operation of Midgar during Meteorfall. Vincent, acting on a hunch, climbs up the tower to discover Hojo is still alive, returned to human form, at the computer console where they left him. Just before Vincent is able to pull the trigger on his gun, the tower explodes, and Vincent manages to escape by jumping onto Yuffie's “hover bike”. Hojo manages to activate the “Fragment Program”, a computer program that injects his consciousness into the “worldwide net” just before the HQ explodes. [DoC]
SIDE QUESTS: (These can happen at any point in the game providing the player has the ability to do them. For example, you will not be able to meet Lucrecia in the waterfall cave if you never found Vincent in the first place!)
Meteor is destroyed, but when Lifestream spreads over the Planet, it carries JENOVA cells with it (because JENOVA was blown apart inside the Planet and its pieces fell into Lifestream). These JENOVA cells are contracted by people and infect the body, which causes the body to fight back with its own spirit energy (the body's internal lifestream). This internal conflict causes the body to overcompensate and causes fatigue, open sores, discoloration of the skin, secretion of black liquid, and eventually death. This disease becomes known as Geostigma and heavily affects the people, though they do not know what causes it, and thus, can't cure it. [AC]
Cloud, Tifa, Barret, Cid, Yuffie, Vincent, Red XIII, and Cait Sith stop once at the Forgotten City to pay homage to their fallen comrade. They all split up as easily as they joined, but promise to reunite one day. [OAWTAS: Tifa]
Midgar is in a shambles. The people decide to stop using Mako, and thus, the Mako Reactors. Shinra Electric Company goes under (moreso) and Midgar is abandoned. [OAWTAS: Denzel]
Tifa, Cloud, and Barret go to Corel and then to Nibelheim. They all decide they can't live in the past and travel to Kalm. There, Barret reunites with Marlene and they tell Elmyra what has happened. Kalm becomes flooded with refugees, and the three decide to go back to Midgar to try and reestablish normal lives. [OAWTAS: Tifa]
The citizens form a city on the borders of Midgar, calling it Edge. They construct a monument to Midgar (a replica made out of debris) in the center of the town. [OAWTAS: Tifa]
Denzel continues staying with people who will take him in, suffering much heartbreak as people around him die of Geostigma. Eventually he joins a group of orphans who are hired to gather scrap material for the building of Edge. [OAWTAS: Denzel]
Barret comes to the house one day with a bottle of Corel wine. After getting drunk he proposes they make a business out of selling the wine. They decide to build it in Edge, and sleep under a plate threatening to fall as they gather the parts to build it. [OAWTAS: Tifa]
The bar is built, and they end up calling it Seventh Heaven again. Barret becomes sort of a bouncer (although most of the time he just sits in a corner drinking wine), and Cloud takes it upon himself to gather the fruits, vegetables, and other goods needed to run the bar. He is having trouble socializing. [OAWTAS: Tifa]
After the first week, Barret says he needs to go on a journey to settle his past, leaving Marlene in Cloud and Tifa's care. [OAWTAS: Tifa]
At some pont during this journey, Barret gets an upgrade to his gun arm, giving it the ability to look and operate like a normal arm. [AC Conjecture: We see Barret has a different gun which can change to look like a normal arm, albeit made of metal]
Months after the bar opens, Cloud buys a bike, and spends most of his free time and money upgrading it. This allows him greater distances to travel to obtain goods. While traveling back and forth, he also starts earning extra money by delivering items for people. Tifa discovers this and encourages him to open up a side-business venture. Strife Delivery Service is formed - Tifa and Marlene take the calls, Cloud delivers the goods, although he can only go places he can reach on his bike. The business is successful, as monsters are still present, and lifestream geysers have ruined many of the roads. The business' success also means Cloud isn't around much anymore, and Tifa's surrogate family finds itself in a rift. [OAWTAS: Tifa]
Eventually, most of the people move out of Midgar to this city, including Denzel's group of orphans. Helpless and hungry, he finds a motorbike and a phone outside a church. He calls the number and accidentally calls Tifa. After a brief exchange, he collapses from Geostigma, and is brought to Tifa's. He lives there helping out in the bar when he is not suffering from Geostigma's ill effects. When she asks Cloud where he found him, she realizes that Cloud is staying somewhere else. [OAWTAS: Denzel and OAWTAS: Tifa]
Denzel treats Cloud as a hero and father figure. Although Tifa is a little hurt by this, it means Cloud stays around more, taking less and less deliveries. Relations between everyone seem to be getting better, and Tifa believes their family has returned. [OAWTAS: Tifa]
Tifa confronts Cloud about where he found Denzel. He confesses that he has been staying at Aeris's church. After that conversation, Cloud leaves. The only way Tifa can get in contact with him now is through PHS phone messages (he never picks up). He does this because he feels guilt and shame for all those who died that he could not prevent, particularly Aeris. Also, he hides the fact that he has contracted Geostigma, which he covers with a single sleeve. Due to his Mako exposure, he has more intense symptoms, with flashes of pain and white light, and spasms in the affected arm. [OAWTAS: Tifa and AC]
Reeve, having the financial backing of an anonymous sponsor (who Reeve suspects “is in debt to the planet”), starts up the World Regenesis Organization, a paramilitary outfit dedicated to cleansing the planet of its ills. Shalua Rui joins them; at this point, she has lost her left eye and arm in unidentified circumstances and uses a robotic arm. [OAWTAS: Denzel and DoC]
Hojo's neural consciousness is fragmented into the world network. When the world network is reactivated, his consciousness reforms. He uses his knowledge of Deepground, and Lucrecia's experiments on Chaos and Omega to formulate a plan. [DoC]
On his journey, Barret looks for alternative fuel sources, coming upon an oil field. [AC]
Reno, Rude, Elena, Tseng, and Rufus Shinra, having survived everything, make base at the Healin Lodge (west of Midgar), where Rufus is recovering from being hit by Diamond Weapon. He also has Geostigma. With all that has happened, he realizes the mistakes of the past and decides he must reform them. Procuring a Shinra helicopter, he organizes a mission to Northern Crater to retrieve the last remains of JENOVA. [AC]
Reno, Tseng, and Elena go to Northern Crater to retrieve JENOVA's remains. The mission goes awry when they discover Loz, Yazoo, and Kadaj there, and they are attacked. Reno is able to get away with JENOVA's remains, but Tseng and Elena are captured by the three, and tortured for information. [AC]
In Edge, Marlene helps Tifa take care of the orphanage, including a boy named Denzel, who has Geostigma. Tifa gets a call from Reno. He has asked her to tell Cloud to meet them in Healin. [AC]
Cloud receives the message from Tifa and goes to Healin via the Wasteland. But he is attacked by Loz and Yazoo, who summon Shadow Creepers (monsters from negative lifestream energy). It becomes apparent that they are looking for “mother” and call Cloud “big brother”. But as soon as they start attacking, they stop, and Cloud makes it to Healin. [AC]
Cloud is briefly attacked by Reno and Rude, who he easily shrugs off and discovers Rufus is alive. He appears confined to a wheelchair and has Geostigma. Rufus asks to hire him for his muscle, as he intends to restore Shinra as a benevolent power and set things right, to reform the mistakes he's made. He tells Cloud about the mission to Northern Crater, but when seeing he is not interested in joining them, he tells Cloud they found nothing. [AC]
Kadaj, after torturing Tseng and Elena, finds Rufus Shinra at Healin, and beats the snot out of Reno and Rude. Kadaj demands to know where “mother” is, showing him Tseng and Elena's bloody ID badges to show he means business. Rufus replies he doesn't know, that the remains they recovered fell from the helicopter. Kadaj reveals his plan to initiate another Reunion, using the Geostigma as the invitation. [AC]
Tifa and Marlene find the church where Cloud is staying and discover a dirty arm ribbon, evidence he is hiding the fact he has Geostigma. Loz enters, looking for “mother”. He and Tifa fight, with Loz as the victor. Just as he's about to kill her, Marlene throws a Materia globe at him from Cloud's big box. Loz leaves, taking the materia and Marlene with him. [AC]
Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo gather together the children affected by Geostigma, including Denzel, saying they are taking them to a place to heal them. [AC]
Cloud returns to the church and finds Tifa unconscious in the flower bed. He suffers a bad attack from his Geostigma and wakes up back in the orphanage. Apparently, he was brought there by Rude and Reno, who go off to find what happened to the children. Tifa confronts him about his disease and why he kept it a secret. Cloud remains tight-lipped and closed off, saying he does not deserve help. Tifa asks him to open up, knowing Aeris is at the back of his mind, but Cloud refuses. Reno and Rude return, saying the children were brought to the Forgotten City. Cloud leaves to pursue them. [AC]
Kadaj takes one of the materia Loz has brought with him and inserts it into his arm. He talks to the children at the pond in from of the Forgotten City. He tells them that “mother” gave them a gift, but the planet is trying to fight it, causing the Geostigma. He wants to heal them, to strike back at the Planet. He permeates the water with his will and commands them to drink. They all do, including Denzel, despite the pleas of Marlene. This activates their JENOVA cells and their Reunion instinct, with Kadaj's hopes that this will lead them to JENOVA's remains. [AC]
Cloud arrives, ready for action, but the kids jump in front of his bike, causing him to skid out. He is attacked by the three, and fights a losing battle, but is saved at the last minute by Vincent. They retreat to a safe place in the forest where Vincent reveals his theory of what Geostigma is and what Loz, Yazoo, and Kadaj are. Marlene appears, asking for him to stop isolating himself from those who are still with him and love him. Cloud decides to stop brooding and try gaining forgiveness. [AC]
In Edge, the children have gathered around the monument to Midgar. Loz and Yazoo prepare to pull it down, believing this is where JENOVA is, but are surrounded by angry parents and summon Shadow Creepers to fend them off and cause chaos. Tifa tries to waken Denzel. Meanwhile, Rufus and Reno fight Loz and Yazoo. [AC]
Meanwhile, Rufus looks at the chaos from a vantage point in a building somewhere in town. Kadaj approaches him, and Rufus asks what motivates him. Kadaj confesses of his jealousy of Sephiroth, who JENOVA really wants, but would do anything for “mother”. Rufus says history will repeat itself, and no matter what, Kadaj and his ilk would be stopped again and again. Kadaj answers back by summoning Bahamut SIN through the materia. Bahamut causes even more chaos in the town, as Kadaj has the ability to control it though the materia. He makes Bahamut rip through the monument with its flare attack. The explosion breaks the hold of the Geostigma on the children. Just as Bahamut is about to attack Denzel, Barret arrives and fends him off. The others arrive too - Red XIII, with Cait Sith on his back, Yuffie, Cid, and finally, Cloud. He says he feels lighter. The group all take turns fighting Bahamut off, jumping from building to building, as Bahamut destroys the place, but they are like ants to it. Cloud dives in with a little more success. [AC]
Back at the building, Rufus reveals he has been holding JENOVA's remains all this time under his cloak, and throws the box off the building. Kadaj dives after it. Rufus dives after him, shooting his gun. [AC]
With Kadaj distracted, his control over Bahamut SIN is released, and Bahamut returns to his default behavior and rises in the air to attack with Mega Flare. Cloud jumps up in the air after it, being propelled by his friends Barret, Cid, Red XIII, Yuffie, Vincent, and Tifa. But it is not enough, as the force of the Mega Flare begins to push him back… until he receives a final hand from Aerith through the flare. Cloud drags his sword along Bahamut's spine and he falls in a giant explosion. [AC]
Shinra and Kadaj are still falling. Kadaj grabs the box, but Shinra shoots it open. Rufus is caught in nets thrown by Tseng and Elena. Kadaj recovers the box and escapes on a bike. Cloud pursues them through a closed-off highway. Reno and Rude wait with a flashy bomb at the end and detain Loz and Yazoo. Cloud and Kadaj jump off the highway, and Cloud loses him in the wasteland. [AC]
Kadaj hides in Cloud's church, opens the box, and screams when he sees the damaged contents. Cloud finds him and drives his bike into the church. They fight again, bringing down parts of the building. Just as it looks like Kadaj has the jump on him, the flowerbed erupts with a geyser of water/lifestream, flooding the church and repelling Kadaj. The water falls on Cloud, healing his Geostigma. Cloud pursues Kadaj outside and the Shera, holding Cloud's friends, hovers nearby (including Yuffie, who has apparently gotten over her motion sickness). Vincent says that Kadaj is a remnant of Sephiroth, a larva. They discuss what to do, but Tifa says Cloud has to fight this alone. The others don't understand, but go along with it. [AC]
Cloud successfully defeats Kadaj, leaving him hanging on the ledge of a building with the box of JENOVA's remains in his free hand. Kadaj falls back, holding the box, merging with the JENOVA cells. Cloud realizes what he's about to do and dives in pursuit. Just as he is about to bring down his sword, he is blocked - by Sephiroth's Masamune. They fight, as Sephiroth tells of what he wants to do, to choke this Planet and turn it into a vessel to sail the cosmos and find a new Planet. Sephiroth summons the spirit energy of those who died from Geostigma to turn the world to darkness. Cloud remembers those who he cherishes and defeats Sephiroth with Omnislash Ver. 5. Sephiroth wraps himself in his one black wing, saying he will never be a memory, and vanishes, leaving Kadaj's form which falls. Rain falls, rain like that from the lifestream that flooded the church. It falls on Kadaj, healing his JENOVA cells, which makes him disappear. Cloud basks in the rain and his victory as the Highwind returns. [AC]
Suddenly, he is shot in the back by Yazoo, who stands with Loz on the building, struggling not to disappear in the rain, using the ton of materia in their arms to sustain themselves. Cloud attacks as they release the power of the materia, causing an explosion. [AC]
Cloud drifts through white space, being observed by the spirits of Zack and Aeris. He wakes up in the church, surrounded by his friends and the children, in the pool of lifestream that has flooded the floor. He pours the water over Denzel, healing him of the Geostigma. All the other children jump in, laughing and splashing around. As they have their fun, Cloud sees Aeris walking out of the church, with Zack in the doorway. Cloud smiles, knowing he's been forgiven. [AC]
3 A.G. (the events of Dirge of Cerberus)
Vincent is text-messaged by Reeve, who asks him to come to Kalm for a meeting. Some sort of festival is taking place; however, it is interrupted by Deepground, who attack again and finally reveal themselves. Shelke finds Vincent there, and she and Azul come after him. However, Shelke faints and Azul takes her away. Vincent meets Reeve, who's pierced by gunfire, at which point his body comes apart, revealing Cait Sith, who'd “dressed up” as Reeve. Vincent later meets with the real Reeve, who tells him Edge is under attack. (It appears that most of the city had evacuated, as Shalua indicates that only 500 people are “still living here”) [DoC]
The WRO tries to protect Edge, but Rosso the Crimson kills the entire squad. No one is left. [DoC]
Weiss broadcasts a message to everyone, telling them the “pure” will be “spared for the cause” (i.e. taken to Omega and sacrificed) whereas the “tainted” (i.e. those with Geostigma) will be hunted down and killed in a variety of nasty ways. [DoC]
Vincent and Reeve are attacked on the way to Edge; Vincent makes it there by himself. He meets Shalua briefly, but their distrust of each other has them go their own ways. Vincent saves a child from the Deepground forces, who helps him reach Rosso. Rosso attacks, but Vincent loses control and transforms into Chaos, blasting Rosso away. [DoC]
Shalua finds Vincent and takes him to the WRO headquarters, where she tells him of the existence of Lucrecia's thesis, “The Planet's Pulse”, regarding the Chaos gene. However, Deepground, led by Azul and Shelke, invade and attack while they're talking. Shelke invades the lab and the two sisters are reunited after ten years, though Shelke should be nineteen and looks nine. Despite Shalua's gushing, Shelke attacks. Vincent uses tranquilizer bullets and Shalua takes her away. However, Azul pursues and attacks, but Reeve and Vincent destroy his Protect barrier with a rocket, and Vincent defeats him in battle. [DoC]
Vincent heads towards the Shinra Manor in Nibelheim to find Lucrecia's thesis; he goes via the sewers to avoid Deepground troops being deployed around it. At the same time, Cait Sith No. 5 is sent to the Deepground base under Sector 0. He sees Deepground's sacrifice of the Kalm residents to Omega, but is destroyed by Nero the Sable before he can do or see anything else. [DoC]
Vincent finds a hologram data disc of Lucrecia in the basement of Shinra Manor (the same place where Sephiroth was eight years ago). The disc cryptically explains that Omega is born of the Lifestream, and its purpose is to usher in the end of days by cleansing the planet of all living things. He finds four more parts of the Omega report (these sections appear to have been written by Dr. Grimoire Valentine, the other four found throughout the game were written by Lucrecia). In the main hall, he is attacked by Rosso the Crimson and a Deepground battle robot. With Vincent weakened from battle, she pulls the Protomateria out of Vincent's body. Without the Protomateria to control it, he transforms into Chaos, but can't move. Just before she can finish him off, Yuffie arrives and spirits Vincent away. [DoC]
Yuffie and Vincent travel back to WRO Headquarters in a truck. Reeve contacts them to let them know his plan - they intend to launch a full offensive on Midgar and Deepground headquarters, deep within Mako Reactor 0. Shelke wakes up in a WRO lab where Shalua has been taking care of her (Azul is also unconscious in another lab). Shelke takes her weapons and prepares to fight her sister, but Shalua challenges her and it's a standoff. Meanwhile Azul transforms into a giant Behemoth-like beast and begins rampaging through WRO HQ. This signals Deepground to attack again. The alarm sounds, heralding Deepground's arrival. The truck reaches outside headquarters, but Yuffie gets a bang on the head and is out for the count, leaving Vincent to deal with the troops. [DoC]
Vincent meets Shelke and Shalua at the same time that Azul catches up with them. Azul attacks Shelke, but she neutralizes his barrier. He turns back into a human and smacks her again, telling her that she's no longer needed, now that the Protomateria has been found. Shalua grabs Shelke and shoves her and Vincent to a door which begins closing. She uses her robotic arm to keep the door open while they get through and apologizes to Shelke for letting her suffer so much. The door finally closes on her arm, crushing it, just Azul is upon her. All we see is liquid from her artificial parts seeping beneath the door. [DoC]
Vincent finds Reeve in a destroyed office after the attack is over. At some point, the WRO find Shalua unconscious and take her to a regeneration tube. As Yuffie is watching over her, Vincent and Shelke enter. Shelke cannot understand why Shalua did what she did, how someone could give their life for another. Vincent tries to explain that she was Shalua's “reason for living”, that that quality is what makes people human. Reeve tells Vincent that the Omega Reports he found in Shinra Manor are incomplete. Shelke says that the data fragments inside her head could be merged with the Omega Reports to complete the information. Just before this, Cid arrives in the Shera and everyone goes onboard. [DoC]
Everyone aboard the Shinra works on preparing for the assault on Midgar. Reeve analyzes the Omega Reports. Shelke works on modifying the Shinra equipment in order to perform a “Synaptic Net Dive” (Shalua has also been moved on board). Cid works on piloting and coordinating the attack on the ground with Barret, Tifa, and Cloud. Yuffie, Cid and the others will attack from the air. [DoC]
Shelke commences a synaptic net dive with Lucrecia's data, merging the information. The Shera's bridge erupts into a hologram of space (evoking images of FF10). Through Lucrecia's voice, Shelke explains that Omega is a sentient being created of Lifestream. Its role is like a Weapon, but, before the Planet is about to end, Omega will awaken to gather all life unto it. When it has finished taking all the Lifestream, it will journey into the stars. So just as souls return to the Lifestream, so too will the Planet return to whence it came. In essence, Omega is a “elaborate safety mechanism designed solely to protect the flow of life”. Normally it poses no threate, but Deepground has been trying to awaken it by sacrificing pure souls to it, convincing the Planet the end is near. Reeve reports that Omega is being created from Reactor 0, which itself is being fed from the other 8 reactors. The air and ground assaults are meant to destroy the other 8 reactors and cut off Omega's supply of Mako/Lifestream while Vincent infiltrates Reactor 0, at the center of Midgar. [DoC]
Before they land, Vincent loses control of Chaos again. However, before anything nasty can happen, an image Lucrecia appears to him and calms him down. Shelke gives Vincent his cell phone back and tells him he can use it to contact her so she can guide him on the way to Deepground. [DoC]
The attack begins, the missiles fly. Yuffie and the first wave fly out the Shera on some sort of “hoverboard”. The ground troops clash and Rosso meets Cloud head on. Azul attacks the airships with a giant rocket launcher, hitting the Shera. Vincent escapes an explosion with the second wave and glides down to Midgar dodging shots. Shelke contacts him and tells him he's missed his target, landing in the Train Graveyard (yep, the same one we saw at the beginning of FF7). Shelke guides him through the graveyard to the center of city, and the central complex. But he finds Rosso at the entrance to the Shinra Building. Midway through battle, she turns into Bloodburst Rosso. He defeats her, but rather than give anyone the pleasure of killing her, she destroys the part of the building she's standing on, and falls into the depths. [DoC]
Shelke tells Vincent that the assault on the other Mako Reactors has not been completed, they are still functioning. From the central complex, the only way to Mako Reactor 0 is to go up into a secret entrance in the President's office. Vincent is again assailed by Chaos, who tries to awaken. Shelke/Lucrecia explains that Chaos exists inside him, but independently. It is the being who will “gather all life” for Omega at the end of the Planet. [DoC]
Shelke's helmet malfunctions and she loses contact. She goes up to the bridge to see what's going on. Cid notices engine levels dropping; Shelke goes to investigate. She finds the engine room half-destroyed, and meets Nero the Sable there. He has already killed the entire crew. Shelke attacks him, but he draws her into his darkness. Shelke survives by using her magic to form a spherical shield against the darkness, but the shield has already begun weakening. [DoC]
Vincent travels through the Shinra building and finds the way to the undercomplex of Shinra HQ. When Vincent tries calling Shelke, he gets “User Not Available”. Immediately after, though, he's then contacted by Cloud, Tifa, and Barret on his cellphone. They tell him they lost contact with the airship and send him a map of the Shinra Building (remember, he wasn't with them when they were there the first time). [DoC]
When Vincent gets on the elevator to take him to Mako Reactor 0/Deepground HQ, he encounters Azul. They battle, the second round Azul turns into Arch Azul - his beast form. Vincent is simply not strong enough to kill him. He then turns into Chaos, and transforms Azul back to human. Then he hurls Azul's own gun right through his chest. Azul laughs and drops into the abyss. Vincent goes unconscious as Nero hovers nearby. He drops Shelke's cellphone near his body before vanishing. [DoC]
On his way through the underground city, Vincent is suddenly engulfed by Nero's darkness, but Shelke tells him darkness cannot control him since he has Chaos and a part of him was born from it. He escapes the darkness unharmed. At the gateway into the reactor, he meets and fights Nero, who drags him into darkness again after telling him that Shelke is in there too. Vincent lets himself be swallowed by the darkness; this time, he finds Shelke and gives her back her cellphone before taking her out with him. Nero attacks again, but Yuffie intervenes just like in Shinra manor, and he disappears. [DoC]
Vincent finds a room with a Mako tube (similar to what Cloud and Zack had in Shinra Manor) and puts Shelke in one so that she can recover. Vincent goes off to find Nero and Weiss, and Yuffie goes after the reactor; however, their paths soon converge. [DoC]
They find Weiss, dead (or unconscious) at the center of the reactor. Nero stops them, though, shoving them into his darkness again. Vincent grabs Yuffie and escapes it yet again. Nero transports Vincent some bizarre realm (think Xen from Half-Life) and transforms into Arachnero. Midway through battle, he transforms into Gorgonero, but Vincent defeats him as well. After it's over, they come back to the reactor room and Nero stumbles toward his brother Weiss the Translucent, who is beginning to awaken. [DoC]
Weiss spears him through his chest, saying he has no more use for him, and tosses him aside. Weiss reveals that he is really none other than Hojo. The “Fragment Program” he initiated at Meteorfall dispersed his consciousness throughout the computer networks, then was brought back together. Now, using Weiss as his indestrucible body, he will merge with Omega to “traverse the cosmos in a blaze of glory”, just as Vincent has merged with Chaos. (His original plan was to perfect his body by injecting JENOVA cells, but we all see how that turned out). Vincent attacks Weiss/Hojo but has his ass handed to him. Lucrecia/Shelke appears to him and urges him to control Chaos rather than letting it control him. Vincent succeeds in doing it, using Weiss's Protomateria to use Chaos's power while still in human form. Vincent battles Weiss Empowered, and defeats him, flinging him into a wall, rendering him unconscious. [DoC]
Nero gets up, having become “Dark Nero” and stumbles over to the incapcitated Weiss/Hojo. Helpless, Hojo watches “Dark Nero” embrace his brother and merge with him. The impurity of the darkness drives Hojo out and he disappears. Weiss/Nero walks to the Mako reactor and the Mako bursts up. Outside Midgar, a giant Weapon begins to form, attaching tubes of Lifestream from the reactors and feeding from it. Omega has awakened, and Vincent has transformed into Chaos. However, Chaos is unable to damage Omega, due to some sort of forcefield. [DoC]
Shelke does a synaptic net dive into Omega, treating the Lifestream that makes it up as a giant network, in order to find the Protomateria. Being restricted by ropes of darkness, she finds a bright light obscuring a woman (Lucrecia) holding it out to her. Shelke (or her astral projection) bursts out of Omega's head, and dives toward Chaos. Shelke shoves the Protomateria in his chest (and an image of Lucrecia bathed in white pushes it in further, before she is wrapped in a black strand and pulled back into Omega's wound, where his head reforms). Lucrecia's memories and true feelings seep into him. Newly invigorated, Vincent/Chaos rescues Shelke, materializes a gun out of midair (known as “Death Penalty”) and tells her that “he has a story to end”. [DoC]
While Vincent/Chaos tries to get closer to Omega, Cloud, Yuffie, and the others finally manage to blow the reactors, separating Omega's ties to Lifestream and some of his strength. With the cheers of his friends in the background, Vincent/Chaos dives into Omega. He works his way through to the core, being hampered by organic security probes. He finally manages to destroy the Omega Cocoon which holds Weiss inside. After freeing Weiss, they scuffle. Then Weiss attaches to a giant machine monster through strands of Mako and becomes Omega Weiss. After his defeat, Weiss sinks into the ground. Outside, Omega crystallizes. His majestic wings become alive and he begins ascending to the sky. Vincent/Chaos soars out of Omega and flies ahead. As the counterbalance to Omega, only he can end it. Vincent/Chaos flies forward into Omega and causes a giant explosion (one that can be seen from space!). However, the explosion apparently harms no one, and the white cloud disappears. There's no trace of Omega or Chaos. The particles of Lifestream disperse, along with a collection of purple fragments (Chaos), and return to the Planet. [DoC]
We also see Shalua's tube standing somewhere in Midgar. The glass is cracked and she remains prone. Her fate remains unknown. [DoC]
One week later, Shelke is adjusting to a normal life and has some coffee in the refurbished 7th Heaven Bar in Edge. Tifa, Yuffie, and Red XIII are also there. Cloud is searching for someone (Vincent or Shalua). But Shelke knows where he is. [DoC]
Vincent is visiting Lucrecia's waterfall cave again and leaves after he says to her “Thank you. It was you. You were the reason I survived.” We see a single tear drop from the crystallized form in the cave. He goes outside to see Shelke waiting for him, watching the cloud-like remnants of Omega in the sky. [DoC]
Underneath Midgar, Weiss lies on a slab of rock, his gun-swords at his side. A mysterious man, known only as G, appears and says “It is not yet time for slumber. There is still much to do, my brother”. His eyes shine with mako and a white wing sprouts out of his left side. He flies off. (This is a a secret scene, only shown if you collected all three “G-Reports”) [DoC]