After a brief cut scene to set the stage, we are quickly introduced to Cloud Strife, a young mercenary boasting phenomenal physical strength and nerves of steel. As an ex-First Class member of SOLDIER (Mega-Corporation-turned-Totalitarian-Government Shinra INC's armed forces), Cloud is currently working under the terrorist faction AVALANCHE in an effort to stop Shinra from sucking the Planet dry of Mako energy--the very essence of life. Despite the urgency stressed by his employer, Cloud feigns indifference and views it as just another job.
His only motivation to stay with the party besides the paycheck is his childhood friend; Tifa Lockheart is among the ranks of AVALANCHE and owner of their headquarters, the 7th Heaven bar. When not on the job, he is often the subject of her shy prying in an attempt to understand him further. Tifa insists that Cloud stays in the party and that their leader, Barret Wallace, goes to any lengths necessary to entertain his financial desires.
During a mission to destroy one of many Mako reactors, a Shinra killing machine is set on Cloud and his companions. It is easily defeated and makes its final exit with an explosion that takes much of the floor along with it; the debris tumble to the level below and take Cloud with them. Fortunately, his fall is broken by the dirty metropolis's sole flower bed and he makes the acquaintance of Aeris Gainsborough, a young woman from the slums who sells the flowers she nurtures for a modest living. Although sweet as sweet can be, there is an undeniable aura of otherworldly mystery about her that Cloud cannot seem to shake, especially with Shinra's most elite and deadly division, the Turks, out looking for her. Unbeknownst to him, Cloud proves to be something of an enigma to the flower girl as well, and the two quickly reach friendly terms.
After a foray in the slums, Cloud and Aeris meet up with Tifa, and the three discover that Barret has spontaneously launched an all-out attack on Shinra. Racing to quell his rage before too many lives are lost, Cloud and Tifa split from Aeris, leaving the other woman to warn the civilians below of the impending disaster. Unfortunately, this is an ample opportunity for the Turks to snatch their target and haul her off to the scientific branch of Shinra INC Headquarters. In the end, the upper-level of the city collapses, crushing the slums below.
Having passed the point of no return -- their headquarters, homes, and families flattened -- Cloud and the remaining members of AVALANCHE set off to rescue Aeris. They succeed in climbing to the science floor, only to be captured and imprisoned elsewhere in the building. Aeris shares their punishment, as does another "lab specimen", a large lion-like creature named Red XIII.
Just when it seems they have reached the end, Cloud awakens to find his cell door unlocked and the guard lying dead at the end of the hall. The rest of the party emerges as well, unnerved by their sudden liberation and the deathly quiet that has fallen over the building. As they soon discover, they are the only ones left unscathed in a slaughter that showed the Shinra employees no mercy. Especially ill-fated is the pompous president whose body still bares the sword that ran him through: the infamous Sephiroth's Masamune.
A ghost from the past -- the insane ex-general Sephiroth -- has suddenly found new life, and, although his motives are a mystery, Cloud knows better than to put any faith in the man. Even so, Sephiroth becomes a constant presence throughout Cloud's story, leading him and his friends on a wild goose chase of mind games and mass violence, all the while slowly uncoiling Cloud's past little by little, a past that is not what Cloud thought it to be.
And thus the story truly begins.
Source: Final Fantasy VII
