[Note - This piece will be submitted to the FFR storyboard committee, but first I wanted to see how many people agree with my interpretation.]
Final Fantasy VII - Past and Present: Written by Andrew Caluzzi
Two thousand years before the story of Final Fantasy VII was set, an alien lifeform (known later as ‘Jenova’) landed on the Planet. Jenova’s prime mission was to absorb the energy of the Planet, and then continue on with other planets. It is not known why Jenova was absorbing mass amounts of energy, but it can be assumed that it was part of a larger scheme run by extra-terrestrial beings to gain this planetary energy, which could possibly be channelled into some sort of converter for their usage. Once Jenova had reached the Planet, it (genderless, note that) came in contact with the Cetra, the original inhabitants and descendants of the Planet. The Cetra did not see Jenova as being the least bit harmful, and they shared their wisdom and knowledge with it. It was then that Jenova learnt of the Black Materia, the Ultimate Destructive magic. With this immense wealth and power, Jenova could rein hell upon the Planet and in return the Planet would gather all of its energy in the Northern Crater in defence. Jenova could take this perfect opportunity to absorb all of the Planet’s energy, and then move on to the next planet. With this knowledge, Jenova set about trying to obtain this immensely powerful Black Materia, and it released a disease onto many Ancients, killing them off slowly. The few survivors of Jenova’s attack somehow managed to overcome the raging and aggressive alien, and they banished it in the Northern Crater so that it would not cause any more destruction.
One thousand, nine hundred and seventy years later (thirty years before the story of FFVII is set), a Shinra employee by the name of Professor Gast uncovered the body of the alien, which he named Jenova. He believed that Jenova was the last remaining Ancient on the Planet, and upon that assumption he founded the Jenova Project. This project involved extracting cells from Jenova’s body, selecting members of SOLDIER, injecting them with these cells, and then allowing them to grow into powerful fighters that possessed the powers of the Ancients. The only flaw in this project was that Jenova was not in fact an Ancient, and actually caused the demise of the Cetra. Professor Gast was married to Ifalna, a descendant of the Ancients, and they had only one child, Aeris, who received the Ancient genes from her mother.
Hojo, a Shinra scientist and assistant to Gast, was very intrigued by Gast’s efforts, but Hojo had a more sinister and ominous mind than the productive and conservative mind of Gast. Hojo broke into Gast’s house in Icicle Inn, in the Northern continent, and murdered him. Ifalna and her child Aeris managed to escape, and fled to Midgar, where Ifalna died on the steps of the Sector 7 train station. Elmyra, a resident of the slums, received Aeris into her family when she came across the dying Ifalna. Elmyra’s husband was supposed to be on the train, which was bringing him back from the war in Wutai. At this point in time, Hojo began his twisted experiments with Jenova cells. He impregnated his partner, Lucrecia, and then injected Jenova cells into the unborn foetus, and allowing this altered child to grow. Sephiroth was born of Lucrecia, and he possessed an amazing strength due to his inherited Jenova cells. He uses this strength to his advantage, becoming the finest of the elite Shinra troops, SOLDIER, ranking First-Class.
Cloud Strife was born and raised in Nibelheim, which also housed the Shinra Mansion. The Mansion’s basement contained many records of Gast’s experiments, and other Shinra-related material. Cloud and his childhood friend Tifa Lockheart become close while living in Nibelheim together, but Tifa is very saddened when Cloud wants to leave town at the age of 14 and join SOLDIER, and follow in the footsteps of the famous Sephiroth.
Five years before the FFVII story takes place, Third-Class SOLDIER Cloud accompanies the famous Sephiroth and a First-Class named Zack, to the Mt Nibel mako reactor, where they have been sent to investigate after reports of mutated creatures in the area. Tifa is chosen to guide the trio up the mountains, but Cloud stands guard at the entrance of the reactor and does not let her go any further, while Zack and Sephiroth go inside to investigate. It is then that Sephiroth discovers the experiments that Hojo has been conducting; housing people in mako-filled chambers and allowing them to mutate from the exposure to mako. Sephiroth realises that he has been created like this, and he completely loses his mind. He encloses himself in the basement of the Shinra Mansion, and reads up on the records of Professor Gast. Since he was indoctrinated into thinking Jenova was his mother, the records also assisted in backing this up, and then Sephiroth concluded that he was the last remaining Ancient. He decided that he would free his trapped mother, who was being stored in the Mt Nibel reactor, and then they would take over the Planet together, believing to be the rightful heirs to the Planet.
In his infuriated state, Sephiroth burns Nibelheim down to the ground, killing many innocent residents. Cloud, Zack, Tifa and her father all chase after Sephiroth, who is headed in the direction of Mt Nibel. Tifa’s father is killed first at the entrance to the secret mako infusing area, and she follows Sephiroth into the chamber. She and Zack are no match for Sephiroth’s deadly Masamune blade, and are both severely injured. Cloud follows Sephiroth to the Jenova chamber, where he challenges Sephiroth as Jenova is being released. On the bridge of the reactor, Cloud once again challenges his enemy, but Sephiroth skewers Cloud with his sword. Cloud, in a moment of amazing and incredible strength, manages to throw Sephiroth over the edge and down into the pit of Mako. Sephiroth starts to gain knowledge and wisdom of the Ancients while he is in the Lifestream, and he turns up in the Northern Cavern, encased in a condensed sphere of Mako energy. Jenova’s body was left behind at the Mt Nibel reactor, later picked up by the Shinra and transported to the Shinra HQ for further experimentation. However, the head was encased in the giant condensed ball of Mako with Sephiroth. Jenova’s mission had now become a search and destroy one, because there were still experiments that contained Jenova cells, and it needed to destroy all of the test subjects.
Tifa was rescued by her mentor Zangan. Hojo visited the Mt Nibel reactor shortly after Sephiroth’s attack, and took the wounded Zack and Cloud back to the Shinra Mansion, where he injected them with Jenova cells and encased them in chambers filled with Mako, attempting to make clones of the great Sephiroth. Cloud and Zack managed to escape the experiment, and hitchhiked their way out of Nibelheim. When they got to the border, Shinra troops shot and killed Zack. Cloud, in his extremely sick state from over-exposure to the Mako (he was not used to the Mako energy), was left to die near Zack. Amazingly, Cloud managed to survive the extreme Mako poisoning. In his sick state, he tried to recall his past and all his memories, and started to confuse himself with stories that Zack had once told him. He slowly made his way to Midgar, hoping to become a mercenary so he could find and kill Sephiroth for the damage he had done, and the pain he had caused.
And this is where the story of Final Fantasy VII begins. Cloud has joined up with the anti-Shinra terrorist group, AVALANCHE, and he begins to fight with them, blowing up Mako reactors to preserve the Planet’s energy. Cloud meets the sole-surviving Ancient, Aeris, when he falls from a reactor bridge and miraculously survives the fall, landing in the flowerbed of the Church in Sector 5 Slums. After realizing her importance and discovering her location, Professor Hojo sends the Turks to retrieve her for testing. This brings Cloud and the group to the Shinra HQ, where they discover the headless body of Jenova in a test chamber. After stopping the attempted breeding of Aeris and a ferocious looking wolf, both of which are endangered, the group are captured by the Shinra and imprisoned. Jenova breaks free from its chamber, takes the physical form of Sephiroth, and starts to make its way to the Northern Cavern, so it can combine with the head and continue with its original mission. Jenova kills President Shinra, and then disappears. Cloud and the group embark on a mission to find and destroy Sephiroth, thinking all the time that they are following the real Sephiroth, when in fact it is only Jenova in Sephiroth’s form. Jenova is luring Cloud because he has cells inside him, and is to take part in the Reunion, the great gathering of all the Jenova cells that Hojo injected.
When the group reaches the Temple of the Ancients, they see Jenova (as Sephiroth) trying to obtain the Black Materia, which has the ability to summon Meteor. Cait Sith volunteers to relinquish his stuffed body to retrieve the Black Materia, which kills the first person who touches it. But the group does not actually gain the Materia, as Jenova manipulates Cloud to hand it over. The party is left in even more confusion, and Aeris leaves the team, headed for the Ancient Capital in the Corral Valley. The voices of the Cetra she heard at the Temple of the Ancients had directed her to go and pray at the altar of Holy, which is in the hidden shrine underneath the city.
Cloud and the team arrive in time to see Sephiroth (Jenova again) strike from above and kill Aeris. The White Materia (the materia she told Cloud about in the Church) detaches from Aeris’ lifeless body and falls down into the pool of Holy that surrounds the altar, and Cloud releases her body into the pool of Holy to return her to the Planet. Jenova’s torso is defeated for the third time and is destroyed. The Reunion takes place in the Northern Cavern, and the team as well as members of the Shinra witness as the real Sephiroth is released from the ball of Mako, along with the head of Jenova. Jenova and Sephiroth then retire to the Crater, protected by a strong magical barrier. Sephiroth summons Meteor, and the Planet’s natural defense, the Weapons, start to appear. Sapphire WEAPON is destroyed by the Sister Ray Cannon in Junon, and Diamond WEAPON is killed by Cloud’s team when it comes to the Midgar shorelines. The Sister Ray is then transported to Midgar, where Hojo sets it up for firing at the Crater, firstly to penetrate the barrier of the Crater, and then to provide energy to Hojo’s son. The barrier is destroyed, but the team intercepts Hojo and destroys his three forms, and then set off on the final mission: to kill Sephiroth.
Cloud and the others navigate their way through the Whirlwind Maze, where they encounter the product of Jenova and Sephiroth combined; Jenova SYNTHESIS. Once Jenova has been destroyed, Sephiroth transforms into his godly form of Bizzaro Sephiroth with the help of Jenova, and then after his defeat, he draws more of Jenova’s power to become Safer Sephiroth. Once both of these manifested forms of pure evil have been destroyed, Cloud then delves into his own mind, where he fights Sephiroth in his human form. Cloud casts the amazing Omnislash, and slaughters his archrival, freeing the world of evil.
But Meteor is still coming, and nothing the team can do will stop it. As Cloud and the group observe, Meteor plummets towards the Planet, and is stopped by the natural defense of Holy, where it hovers right above the city of Midgar (which is an indication of how much Sephiroth hated his creators). Holy starts to have the reverse effect, and Meteor converts the Holy into its own form of energy, creating an even larger Meteor. All seems ended, until…
Lifestream. Its sparkling emerald-colored strands run throughout the Planet’s surface, all directed at Meteor. In the last attempt to save the Planet, the Lifestream forms a barrier over Midgar, and then engulfs the Meteor, causing a giant implosion. This last-ditch effort, coordinated by Aeris, returns the Planet to its original state, and evil is vanquished forever.
