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Cloud is the central force around which the narrative is constructed. In the beginning, the player is introduced
to him as a mercenary and former member of SOLDIER that carries a disinterested air about him. During a mission in which he
worked with the anti-Shin-Ra organization AVALANCHE, he encounters a young woman by the name of Aerith Gainsborough, who is
wanted by the Turks for being the last member of an ancient race known as the Cetra. Later, the player is introduced
to Sephiroth, a former SOLDIER 1st Class.
Cloud was born in the sleepy mountain village of Nibelheim, along with Tifa Lockhart. He grew up isolated from
the rest of the village children, feeling himself somehow better than them, though it is implied that he longed for the friendship
of the others. However, when Tifa and the others attempted to climb Mt. Nibel, Cloud followed them, Tifa fell from a bridge
and her father blamed Cloud. He resolved to join Shin-Ra's elite SOLDIER force, hoping to prove to others (and most of all
to himself) that he could be as strong as the legendary Sephiroth. At this point he made a promise to Tifa, vowing that he'd
protect her when she's in need.
However, he was unable to make it into SOLDIER and became an ordinary Shin-Ra guard. In this role he was to
return to Nibelheim, along with first-class SOLDIERs Sephiroth and Zack Fair. Ashamed of his failure, he kept his identity
from the townspeople. They were to investigate a problem at the Mako Reactor on Mt. Nibel, and Tifa was to act as their guide.
When they reached the reactor, Sephiroth discovered Hojo's failed experiments with mako soldiers and his own mother, Jenova.
Early in the game, however, Cloud's past is a mystery. He claims that he was in the city of Nibelheim with
Sephiroth when Sephiroth discovered his true origins as a Shin-Ra experiment, subsequently went berserk, and massacred the
local population. After finding Tifa wounded, Cloud confronts Sephiroth. Yet, when examined closely, Cloud's memories
of these events and others are filled with holes that prevent them from making sense. It all comes together later in the game.
As it turns out, Cloud suffers from a mixture of Amnesia and Mind Control. Although he had been in Nibelheim
during Sephiroth's rampage, he was not there as a top ranking member of SOLDIER, but a grunt under the command of both Sephiroth
and another man named Zack. Following the incident, Cloud and Zack were captured by Shin-Ra and experimented on with Jenova cells
for several years. Upon their escape, Zack was killed, and Cloud was left for dead in a confused stupor, believing himself
to have been the SOLDIER Zack was.
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