Early Material File Scenarios and Scripts – p. 528-529 of the Final Fantasy VII Ultimania Omega (Part 2)

With the zerg rush of new Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete news being released, hitoshura’s been a bit busy but here’s some more of the Early Material Files translations from the Final Fantasy VII Ultimania Omega, focusing on Cloud and his origin. Enjoy!

-=Cloud’s Return=-

Expanded map, after the cave-in on the eastern island of Mideel. Cloud and Tifa have nearly drowned. They are rescued by the party. Barret checks on Tifa. Tifa wakes up, but Cloud’s heart has stopped. Everyone is dejected. Tifa gets up.

Tifa: “CLOUD!! Cloud, you idiot! Why, after you finally realised who you are! Everyone’s worried about you! Going off on your own… I’m not going to let you do something so selfish!”

Tifa starts to perform a heart massage and artificial respiration. See the event in Under Junon. But this time it isn’t comical. The party watches over. Cloud’s monologue is overlaid on top of the scene. A sort of out-of-body feel.

Cloud: “… When I came to, I was in… a white room. Bright and…”

(White out. The following is voice only)

Voice: “No: 00048, Type/YM, serial number 397808”

Cloud: “Who’s voice was that. That’s right… Hojo.”

Hojo: “And what about you, then? Hmph… what beautiful Mako eyes. Can you speak?”

“Uh…. a…. ah”

Hojo: “Do you feel something? Can you hear someone calling you? Do you want to go somewhere?”

“…… I want to go…. home….. Mom…. Tifa….”

Hojo: “Hm…. this one’s a failure. Just dump him in the mountains or something.”

– Zack and Cloud escaping from the Shin-Ra mansion
– Zack talking in the back of a truck heading to Midgar
– Just before reaching Midgar their pursuers attack, and Zack runs out of strength. Cloud takes his sword

☆

Cloud: “Tifa, thank you. I’m coming back.”

Cloud is resuscitated (guaranteed). Everyone is overjoyed.

[ After Returning to the Party in Mideel ]

Tifa: “Why didn’t you tell me when you came back to the village?”

Cloud: “I was disappointed in myself. When I left I made a promise, said I’d make it into SOLDIER, but I was just a regular grunt. I couldn’t bare to have to people in the village see me like that, so pathetic.”

Tifa: “What do you mean? It doesn’t matter if you didn’t make it into SOLDIER, as long as you tried your best.”

Cloud: “But I hated seeing myself like that. And I couldn’t stand myself even more for trying to hide it. Sephiroth hadn’t erased me from existence. Maybe I was already gone, ever since I tried to hide myself from my childhood friend. Sephiroth just took advantage of that…”

~omission~

Yuffie: “Before, Cloud said that Sephiroth took over his mind, right. Does all that paranormal stuff really exist?

Vincent: “I remember now… Cloud… that name. You were a test subject in the Jenova Activation Sephiroth Project…”

Cloud: “That’s right… I came to Midgar dreaming of being a SOLDIER. And I was brought into Hojo’s experiments… That was the Jenova Activation Sephiroth Project.”

Vincent: “Sephiroth Project… the case I once investigated.”

Cloud: “SOLDIER doesn’t just involve mako injections. They’re also composed with Jenova cells.”

Vincent: “All of SOLDIER are injected with energy from Jenova in some form or another. Sephiroth is an example of a successful subject. But we were totally against that, toying with human life… Because of this the Sephiroth project was suspended, as far as the public was concerned, but Shinra continued with the experiments in secret. Those involved implanting Jenova cells into an adult human being.”

Cloud: “That’s SOLDIER. And me too. But since, unlike Sephiroth, our bodies have already fully grown, we couldn’t become Jenova life forms as perfect as Sephiroth. The human spirit wins out in the end. So even though Sephiroth’s spirit laid hidden within my mind, it was held back by Cloud’s personality. But my complexes covered up the present Cloud personality. So my memories of the past… Sephiroth started to take control over me.”

Vincent: “Within the hearts of those who sense a weakness of will within themselves, Sephiroth gradually awakens… That was a side-effect of the project.”

* At first the Reunion concept didn’t exist, and Cloud was Sephiroth’s alter ego. Also, the things in the crater were not the WEAPONs, but evil monsters created by Sephiroth.