User Profile

As the leading male protagonist in the series, Cloud’s history is a detailed story of many hardships, surprises, and deaths. He is what many would probably consider reclusive, talking only when spoken to and rather difficult to get close to, mostly because of his past experience with others while growing up as a child and the natural fact that he is simply reserved. This is not to say that he is completely anti-social, on the contrary, once he develops a bond or friendship with someone there is no limit to what he will do to preserve it. Whether rescuing them from the clutches of perverts or dressing as a woman, Cloud is perhaps more caring than most give him credit for. Like any human, he does have his bouts of insecurity, often questioning his leadership and even his own capabilities or strengths. Failure can hit him rather hard at times, especially if it was at the cost of someone’s life. Yet when confronted head on in situations that call for his leadership, Cloud’s fierce determination shines through, hiding any and often all his doubts, fears, and hesitations for the sake of his friends and those he loves.

His story begins in Nibelheim, a town located in the outskirts of the mountains. As a reserved child growing up, Cloud spent the majority of his childhood being isolated, ignored, and ridiculed by the other children in his hometown. The only one who ever gave him any regard was his childhood crush, Tifa Lockhart. Yet due to her popularity amongst the rest, it was difficult to ever get her attention. That is until she was involved in an accident putting her into a coma. Try as he may, he did attempt to rescue her but was disappointed when he failed and felt tremendously bad when the rest blamed her injuries on him. Despite this, the near-death experience had actually brought them closer together, changing their acquaintanceship into a full friendship. She would learn the details of his plans to leave and become a respectable member of SOLDIER. Determined to prove his worth, he and said his last goodbyes to his crush with a promise to return as the knight in shining armor he hoped to be for her.

However, despite his determination, Cloud’s dreams were ultimately shattered when failed the exam, excluding him from the ranks of SOLDIER. Yet determined to make some worth of his trip here, he stayed to work as one of the grunts of the Shin-Ra’s infantry. Not exactly the respectable position he had dreamed for, but hopefully a wedged door in the right direction. Along the way, he later met and befriended a 1st Class SOLDIER Zack Fair—an incredibly extroverted and energetic young man who remarkably lifted a bit of Cloud’s spirits. He admired him a great deal, from his swordsmanship to his rank; it was only natural that he’d look to him as a bit of a role model of what he hoped to be in the future.

Yet as luck would have it, life took an unexpected curve when Sephiroth’s sanity was broken after the findings of his history. Confusing himself as one of the last cetra, Sephiroth took revenge upon Cloud’s hometown, murdering all in his path and burning the remainders of it to nothing. Zack attempted to stop him but was defeated by Sephiroth. Taking him by surprised, Cloud ambushed Sephiroth from behind in hopes to finish the job. This however was not enough to stop Sephiroth from leaving with just Jenova's head, but determined to put an end to his antics, he continued to pursue Sephiroth in combat until he eventually dropped into the Lifestream.

Injured from battle, Cloud laid collapsed from battle and was later collected and held captive for many years in the Shin-Ra science department. Reduced to a vegetative state, Cloud spent many years undergoing grueling tests and exposures to Mako and Jenova cells in which he reacted poorly on. Hojo gave little mercy to the blond as he performed these tests, determined to prove that it was possible to re-create a clone of Sephiroth. By some luck of fate, Zack had managed to break the two of them out, managing to escape to the outskirts of Midgar only to meet a grueling encounter with ShinRa’s men. Cloud could only watch in horror as his friend gave his life to protect him, bestowing him with the Buster Sword and a final smile before passing away.

As time passed, Cloud made a slow recovery, the effects of the experiments destroying his memories and wiping them to a clean slate. For the sake of his sanity, he took on Zack' image and memories so that he could move forward and returned to Midgar. Later in life, he was reunited with his childhood friend Tifa and was convinced into joining AVALANCHE. Together he and his new companions fought a raging war against the Shin-Ra, a corporation destroying the planet with their mako-extracting operations and reactors. Throughout his expeditions, Cloud would encounter a number of allies who would later become some of the most important people in his life, relying on them as much as they would later rely on him. One in specific that played a large role in his life was named Aerith Gainsborough. A then flower girl when he had first met her, he would later learn of her history detailing being the last of her kind—the Cetra. Playing as her ‘bodyguard’, she would join them as they pursued Shin-Ra’s tactics head on. It was in their quest did their goal to stopping Shin-Ra eventually turned into stopping Sephiroth himself, the true menace behind everything.

With this discovery, Cloud’s life took yet another dive as he was left to watch Aerith meet her demise by the hands of Sephiroth and his Masamune. In her attempt to bring about Holy to counter Meteor, she was stopped with a clean stab through the back from above, ending her efforts there on the spot. Devastated and left with only the haunting words of being nothing more than a ‘Puppet’, Cloud gave Aerith a proper burial by returning her to the earth and continued onward. Pushing forward, Cloud and his allies continued their pursuit in stopping Sephiroth and his plans. Yet even after seizing the Black Materia needed for the Meteor summoning, he was reduced to a mere puppet on strings when Sephiroth used his will to retrieve the item and fell lost into the lifestream. He was later recovered by AVALANCHE, suffering in a vegetative and disoriented state. This time, however, Tifa decided to try and help him recollect his lost memories and succeeded. No longer having to live in the shadows of someone else’s history, a renewed and confident Cloud took on Sephiroth in his final resting place. With his allies at his side, Cloud defeated the transfigured villain. In his defeat, Holy was awakened and took on Meteor in a triumphant final confrontation that would devastate the city of Midgar in sacrifice of the planet’s safety.

Two years gone by and Cloud along with several of her friends set up their new home in Edge, a new town that lied just outside Midgar. It was here he decided once again try and pick up from where she left off, beginning a new life by living in Seventh Heaven. Yet grieved by the death of Aerith, he spent the majority of his time asking for her forgiveness, in fear that his inability to prevent her death was entirely his fault. In the end after the arrival and departure of the three remnants, he recovered from both the Geostigma and grief left in his heart.

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