Advent Children surprised viewers by revealing that Cloud had once taken part in something of a conventional family with Tifa Lockheart and two young orphans: Barret's adoptive daughter Marlene and Denzel, a boy suffering from Geostigma. He is surprisingly good with the kids. True, he doesn't go out of his way to talk to or entertain them; he doesn't kneel down and address them with smiles like Tifa does. However, he does give them his attention. He answers their questions, he accepts their company, and he protects them when he feels they are threatened. Even if his idea of "protection" is a bit warped by the time of the film -- pushing loved ones away to die in solitude hardly sounds helpful -- it still stands that Cloud feels responsible for these children whose home he has shared. Although not necessarily the orthodox father figure, he fills the role as best he can.
Like father, like son
Denzel is especially dear to Cloud. Unlike Marlene who was entrusted in Cloud and Tifa's care by their friend, Cloud finds Denzel unconscious outside of Aeris' church when on a delivery run. This institutes an even greater sense of responsibility in Cloud. Although still not as openly affectionate as Tifa is, he takes more time off work to spend with the children after Denzel is adopted into their family, and Denzel in turn looks up to Cloud.
In Denzel's eyes, Cloud is perfect; he's got the bike, the sword, and the hair of a hero, but most of all, Cloud saved him. Although only eight, Denzel has lost and seen much more than any child should; he was living by himself in the ruins of Midgar having lost his parents in a bombing and two caregivers to Geostigma. But Cloud took him away from all that. Cloud brought him into his home and gave him a place to stay, a warm meal, and -- most importantly -- a loving family. He may be carrying that awful ailment, but now -- thanks to Cloud -- he's surrounded by people that love him and he has a hero to idolize; Denzel fights on.
The parallel between Denzel's boyish hero worship of Cloud and Cloud's own idolization of Sephiroth all those years ago is not a coincidence. Even if the similarities are not vocalized, it is reasonable to believe this is a major contributor in Cloud's eventual abandonment of his family. Every time Cloud could remember experiencing hope and happiness, the source was violently taken away, and the image of his hero was shattered. Therefore, when Cloud learns of his own case of Geostigma, he leaves his family behind.
To Save The Children and Himself
Director Tetsuya Nomura has called Advent Children's story one of delivering the children, a theme that transcends through Cloud's actions throughout the film. Although we do not see him with the children until the finale, Cloud clearly feels for the many orphans of Meteor. Their days -- like his -- are numbered, but Rufus Shinra hits the nail on the head: Cloud wants to see these children -- especially Denzel and Marlene -- smile again. In a cruel world that forced them all to grow up much too fast, he wants them to be children again.
It is never focused on in the film, but it is important to remember the type of childhood Cloud led. He was isolated; when he wasn't getting himself into trouble by picking fights, he was being pulled into it by false accusations. As a teenager, he ran off to join SOLDIER, didn't make it, and instead ended up in a giant tube for the rest of his adolescence. He was deprived of his childhood much like these children were, and that reflection of himself in the orphans is part of what draws him to them. In spite of all the obstacles set before him, Cloud always strove to embody some sort of ideal; when his neighbors shunned him, he wanted to be the war hero everyone loved. After Meteor, although entering the unknown in his New Life, he was optimistic; this was the time for him to have that perfect life, to find his niche, and to be content.
But that didn't happen. All the answers didn't magically become clear after Sephiroth's defeat; he still found himself wandering the Planet, and now he's contracted a terminal illness. By the time of Advent Children, Cloud has given up hope; he feels as if he's missed his chance. Even if these children have effectively received the same death sentence he has, there is certainly a part of him that wishes they could succeed in having that happy, perfect life he had always wanted, even if he is unable to fully identify this desire.
Despite the guilt, he does not act until the children -- including his Denzel and Marlene -- are in immediate danger. When Kadaj and his brothers have rounded up the orphans, making empty promises to heal their diseased bodies and take away the terrible scars, Cloud takes off after them.
Revelation
This instance is a harsh wake-up call for Cloud. Although he still laments his inability to protect anyone, this is the first time Cloud really starts to second guess his actions. Speaking to Tifa before his departure first stirs the doubts within his heart, but actually seeing Denzel and Marlene standing in his path is a big step towards a breakdown. The fact that the boy once so determined to live had given up hope -- enough even to fall for these men's false promises -- is heartbreaking. There's no doubt in my mind that this final fall was triggered by Cloud's unannounced abandonment of his family, and I'm sure this is something Cloud comes to realize as well. He really was Denzel's hero, and he had let him down when it mattered, just as his hero had long ago.
Unfortunately, all is not resolved with this confrontation, as Cloud is knocked unconscious in his fight to save the children and is ultimately rescued by Vincent. He encounters Marlene, who miraculously escaped the enemy camp, shortly after. Although she first runs to him as a source of support as she always has, the moment he asks Vincent to take her home -- effectively removing himself from her crisis -- she tears away from his protective grip. As if to add insult to injury, she tells him that, after everything he's done to hurt his family, she doesn't care about him anymore. Although Cloud tries to reason with her as she hides under Vincent's cape, she stubbornly refuses to budge, and Cloud -- having finally voiced his stance -- begins to realize just how ridiculous his reasoning is.
Although it is a combination of many things that finally helps Cloud get his act together -- thoughts of Zack, Aeris, and Tifa come to mind -- the children he has come to love play a large part in his final decision to fight onwards. Throughout the film, when he has seemingly given up hope, the children are the only ones he rewards with a ghost of a smile. In the end, when the orphans -- including Denzel -- splash around happily in Aeris' holy rain, finally cured of their ailment and free to be children again, he just beams; it's a truly beautiful and well-deserved smile.
