Cloud Strife: Background and History

Cloud was a loner when he was little. The other kids would ignore him despite his hard efforts to get them to notice him. He was especially attracted to Tifa.

One day, after Tifa's mother died, she ran up Mount Nibel to mourn. Cloud followed her, and chased her up the bridge. When they both walked onto it, it fell. Cloud suffered only skinned knees, but Tifa was in a coma for seven days. Cloud was blamed for letting the incident happen and he became more aggressive and antagonistic, often getting into fights.

When Cloud was 14 years old, he wanted to talk to Tifa. He met her by the well and told her about his dreams of joining SOLDIER. Actually by doing so he hoped Tifa would notice him. He hoped to become real famous in SOLDIER just like Sephiroth that it's impossible not to be known. Tifa made him promise, that, if he became famous, and she was in trouble, that he could come rescue her and be her hero.

He left Nibelheim, but he failed to make it to SOLDIER. He was an ordinary Shinra soldier. The mission five years ago involving the Nibelheim reactor consisted of a team of Sephiroth, Zack, Cloud in a mask, and one other soldier. This team went within the reactor and found the monsters that Shinra was producing. Sephiroth went mad, believing himself to be an Ancient.

He burned down the town in his rage, killed Tifa's father, and went to the reactor to access Jenova. Tifa got in his way and tried to attack her, but she was slashed seriously across the stomach. At this point, Zack, of SOLDIER first-class, attempted to stop Sephiroth, but he was seriously injured as well.

Cloud, behind a mask all the time, picked up Zack's Buster sword and sneaked in behind Sephiroth. Cloud injured him severely when his back was turned. Cloud then came out of the chamber and carried Tifa to one side before going after Sephiroth courageously for one last effort. However Sephiroth stabbed Cloud through the stomach and lifted him, and it seemed it's the end for Cloud. With a great ounce of strenght, Cloud managed to lower himself and instead swung the Masamune away from him to knock Sephiroth over the bridge to the Lifestream below, where he is believed to have died.

Shinra immediately dispatched troops to cover up the incident as their reputation was at stake. The town was restored, and actors were hired to play a cover-up story. Cloud and Zack were captured and were injected with Jenova cells, in addition to the high-level bombardment of Mako radiation. Cloud showed intense reaction to the Jenova injections. These were the first of the Sephiroth clones.

One night, Zack and Cloud managed to escape, and they travelled to Midgar to work as mercenaries. However, Zack was gunned down by Shinra, and Cloud was left to die beside him. After a few hours, Cloud gathered himself, took Zack's Buster Sword, and went to make a living for himself on the streets.

There, he stole Zack's story about being in SOLDIER, and replaced his deceased friend with his own self. This led to the story of Cloud, SOLDIER first-class that he eventually interlaced himself into so well that he began to believe it himself.

Sephiroth | Cloud | Aeris | Tifa | Barret | Red XIII | Cid | Vincent| Yuffie | Cait Sith