NAME: Cloud Strife

GENDER:  Male (Despite rabid fangirls going far out of their way to make him look and act like a girl in fanworks)

AGE: 21

HEIGHT: 5'8" (despite fanboys thinking Cloud is a six and a half foot tall jock)

AFFILIATION: Avalanche, formerly of Shinra

JOB: "SOLDIER"*

WEAPONS: Swords.  Big, compensatory swords.

STATUS: Alive at end of game.

HISTORY:  Cloud was born and raised in the town of Nibelheim, along with Tifa.  It bears noting that Cloud and Tifa, although neighbors, rarely talked.  Cloud was shy and withdrawn, no doubt due in part to his father's absence (he died when Cloud was very young).  One day, Cloud decided to do something about his introversion and actually try hanging out with Tifa and her friends.  However, that happen to be the day Tifa's mother died, and she went for a random stroll through the mountains to clear her troubled mind.  When she fell off a cliff, however, Cloud tried to rescue her, but failed.  Tifa wound up in a coma for a week, and Cloud was blamed for the accident.

Deciding that he was too weak, Cloud started toughening up, and getting in fights with the other kids.  This seemed to have gotten Tifa's attention, but Cloud had an even loftier goal: to join the elite SOLDIER program of Shinra, inc.  But his dreams didn't end there: He wanted to be just like the legendary Sephiroth, the greatest warrior alive.  Being a bit of an attention whore, he called out Tifa to the town well one night to declare his intentions.  In an about-face in attitude on her part, Tifa made Cloud promise that if he succeeded in this, that he would come be her "knight in shining armor" if she ever needed it.  Cloud agreed, just as a shooting star sealed the deal that he would have to make good on this promise.

And he would.

Later that year, at 14, Cloud went to Midgar to enlist.  While there are no in-game details of what happened during this time, we know that Cloud did NOT make it into the program, and instead served as a Military Policeman.  He befriended Zack, a SOLDIER from Gongaga, though it seems obvious that he was spiteful towards the goofy, slacking nutball for his success.  Cloud DID have some professional interaction with his hero, Sephiroth, but that was about as close as he ever got to his dream.  It was two years later that Cloud would return to his hometown.  But instead of a warm welcome and parade like he may have wanted, Cloud was there on a mission with Sephiroth and Zack, and ashamed of his failure, he kept his MP mask on, hiding the fact that he was there from Tifa, who, unknown to him, had been waiting for him when she learned that SOLDIERs would be visiting the town.  

Cloud had to admit his failure to his mother, but that was only the beginning of his problems.  Tifa was assigned as a guide for the group to the Nibelheim Reactor, which had been malfunctioning, and was the reason for the SOLDIERs visit. It was due to this that Cloud couldn't even talk, in fear that the blossoming young woman would recognize him.  Unknown to him, bigger troubles were brewing: Sephiroth had just come to the realization that he may be some kind of monster.  Sephiroth's ensuing search for knowledge led him to the Nibelheim Shinra mansion, where he digested tome after tome of knowledge, learning of the Ancients, Jenova, and the experiments which were done in order to "produce" him.

Sephiroth went postal and destroyed the town, killing the most of towns people, including Cloud's mother.  Cloud himself was wounded, but got himself together to pursue Sephiroth, who had retreated to the reactor.  By the time he arrived, Tifa's father was dead, Tifa herself gravely wounded, and Zack was incapacitated.  Not caring that a level 1 MP stood no chance against a level 50 SOLDIER, Cloud grabbed Zack's sword, and sliced Sephiroth while he was turned around and messing with the Jenova tank.  Cloud came to his senses and retreated, carrying Tifa out of the way as Sephiroth strode past, the head of Jenova in his possession.  Sephiroth was about to make his exit, but Cloud was determined to stop him.  Sephiroth responded by nonchalantly gouging Cloud and lifting him up into the air.

In an act that defies even the most wonky and surreal of fictional physics, Cloud grabbed the Masamune blade, anchored himself, and swung Sephiroth thirty feet into the air, and down into the Mako pit below.  This took every last drop of energy he had left, though, causing him to collapse.  But his bad luck wasn't over.  Hojo came, aiming to collect "subjects" for an "experiment", finding Cloud and Zack (but no Tifa, as Zangan had come to get her).

The two friends spent roughly the next five years in stasis tubes.  During this time, Cloud received Mako and Jenova Cells as part of an experiment to duplicate Sephiroth's power.  However, this was also the same procedure used to create SOLDIERs, which would help serve to lead Cloud down a twisted road of mistaken identity.  Zack eventually gathered enough wits and strength to pull off a break-out, but Cloud was suffering from Mako poisoning, rendering his ability to use his body nonexistent.  (I wonder how he was able to use his fingernail to scratch "We have to get out of here" into the tank if he couldn't even think or move...)

Zack and Cloud spent some time traveling back to Midgar, during which time Zack gave Cloud a spare (if not a little smelly) SOLDIER uniform (another factor leading to Cloud's self-delusions), and told the younger man of his exploits as a SOLDIER.  It was while the two had hitched a ride that Zack came up with the brilliant idea of becoming a mercenary, which, even though Cloud seemed comatose, seeped its way into his brain.  Everything Zack did, said, began to help shape who Cloud would eventually subconsciously try to become.

The two finally reached Midgar, but were met with a less-than-friendly welcome.  Zack fought off their attackers, but when he tried to check on Cloud, he dropped his guard, allowing a small battalion to get the best of him. After finishing Zack off, the group left, thinking Cloud to already be a goner.  No sooner than that did Cloud begin to stir.  He picked up Zack's sword...

...and somehow wound up, while still out of it, at the Sector 7 train station.  It was at this time that Tifa found him, which snapped Cloud out of his stupor.  Cloud half-lied, half believed that he had been in SOLDIER, but was now a mercenary.  But Tifa found something odd about her former acquaintance, though would not get the chance to confirm her suspicions.  With the last link to her childhood about to just up and go, leaving questions unanswered, Tifa insisted that Cloud take on a job with AVALANCHE.  The rest is... the game.

ANALYSIS:

A psychiatrist would have a field day with Cloud.  A Freudian would cream their pants.  Cloud, mixing his memories up with Zack's, also seemed to have inherited Zack's skills and quirks, allowing him to act and fight like a SOLDIER really would.  This may be due, in part, to Cloud's J-Cells (Long story short, they allow their users to shape-shift... maybe Cloud just willed his muscles to be bigger so he could use his giant-ass swords?).

Cloud also suffers from a unique kind of clairvoyant schizophrenia.  Throughout the game, Cloud hears voices in his head and hallucinates memories, but the identity of this person is never really revealed.  True, it could be Jenova, or Sephiroth (Whomever you believe to be in charge among the two) just effing with Cloud, however, the voices seem empathic towards Cloud (so it'd be his friend, Zack), and sometimes it's as though a part of Cloud, his "true self" as represented by Cloud as a 14-year-old, is talking to this new Zack/Cloud/J-cells hybrid.  Or it could be the Planet speaking with him... The only thing we know is that the voice/presence does its best to convince Cloud that his life of having been in SOLDIER is a lie.  So, who IS this entity?  Let's take it line-by-line.

Instance 1: Reactor #1.  What happens: Cloud hears a high pitch whine, and suddenly hears "Watch out!  This isn't an ordinary reactor!".  Now, this cannot be "Young/true Cloud", as Cloud was only an MP, and probably didn't have access to that kind of information.  Jenova?  Not likely.  This is the same creature who tries to kill you like, four times.  Sephiroth?  Maybe.  He sure is privy to that sort of info... HOWEVER... Sephiroth does not know who Cloud IS at this point.  Refer to the line on the Shinra boat when you see Sephy for the first time: "Who are you?"  So, No.  So that leaves... Zack?  As a part of Cloud's consciousness, a bit of Zack is obviously floating around in there someplace.  Zack, also being Cloud's friend, would WANT to warn him of such a potential disaster.  SO I'd say it was definitely Zack.

Instance 2: Reactor #5.  Cloud collapses, and has a flashback of seeing Tifa crying over her father's dead body while he's prone on the floor.  This cannot be Sephiroth (or at least, one of Sephy's memories) in Cloud's head, as Sephy was in the Jenova chamber at that time.  Jenova, by that same extension of logic, wasn't a part of that scene, either.  This also cannot be Cloud himself.  Know why?  Because Cloud wasn't in the reactor at that point.  He was just getting there, after Tifa and Zack had been KOed.  So that leaves... Zack.  hmm...

Instance 3: Aeris' church.  A voice beacons Cloud to get up, despite having fallen over 50 meters.  For you English-measurement peoples, that's about a THIRD of a MILE.  Anyways, the voice says "Back then, I only got scraped knees".  Well, let's cut to the chase on this one.  Sephy nor Jenova would be bitching about scraping their knees.  Zack wouldn't, either.  Young Cloud though, has.  When he fell all the way down Mount Nibel after Tifa, and reports to Tifa later on "I only got scraped knees".  These two comments echo each other, and proves that in this instance, the voice belongs to Young/true Cloud.

Instance 4: Shortly thereafter, Reno comes to nab Aeris.  Cloud, confused, has a flash of memory and knows that Reno is a TURK.  One could make an argument for any of the five possible forces, though I'm leaning more towards Zack or True Cloud.

Instance 5: On the playground, Aeris asks what rank Cloud was in SOLDIER.  Confused, he thinks for a moment, and after a flash, says "First Class".  This was knowledge he was taking from Zack, no two ways about it.

Instance 6:  Cloud visits the honeybee Inn, and encounters a ghost of himself, who asks wtf he thinks he's doing messing around.  This is kinda ambiguous, and could be Jenova/Sephy taunting Cloud, or true Cloud himself.  I doubt it's Zack, as Zack would seem to ENJOY wandering around a whorehouse, wouldn't you think? =P

Instance 7: On the way back to Aeris' house after the destruction of Sector 7, Cloud has a flash, and hears: "In my veins courses the blood of the Ancients.  I am one of the rightful heirs to this planet!"  Cloud collapses, and mutters Sephiroth's name.  To argue that it's anyone else would be simply retarded.  However, this could just have been a memory... BUT, Sephiroth doesn't say this line in any flashbacks... hmm...

Instance 8: The team is at Kalm, and Cloud tries to relate the story of what happened five years ago in Nibelheim.  His memory flashes around a lot, as though he's unsure of what happened.  This could be because Cloud's own memories conflict, as he's also trying to remember things from Zack's point of view.  However, given that the flashback stops right as Sephiroth kicked Zack's ass out of the Jenova chamber (plus that Cloud was assuming the role of Zack for the most part) would seem to indicate that he was drawing on Zack's memories, as there were some things that Cloud wasn't privy to, which he knew about anyway (Such as Sephiroth's speech in the Jenova chamber).  So in this case, Zack is definitely playing the more active role.

Instance 9: Lower Junon, after the battle with Bottomswell.  Cloud starts talking to someone in his sleep, who pesters him as to why he didn't talk with Tifa while he was supposedly at Nibelheim.  Now, it's hard to tell whether this voice is being malevolent and trying to undo Cloud's perception of reality, or if the voice is trying to benevolently convince Cloud that he needs to acknowledge the truth.  So in this case, it's an equal-opportunity toss-up between any of the possibilities, in my opinion.  The line "you'll find out soon enough" though makes me want to lean towards Sephiroth, as Cloud would really have no way to find out if it's the lifestream, or Zack, or whatnot.

Note:  On the Shinra boat later on, Sephiroth doesn't seem to know who Cloud is, and leaves the hero and his friends with a Jenova monster to fight.  If one wants to assume Cloud was being called to the reunion by either Sephiroth or Jenova, one must answer the questions presented by this scene.  Questions such as "If Sephiroth is controlling Cloud, why doesn't he know him?" and/or "If Jenova is controlling Cloud, why does she fight him?".  I bring this up as counter evidence to either Sephiroth or Jenova either being the dominant voice in Cloud's mind, or that either is directly controlling him as many fans speculate.

Instance 10:  Nibelheim, rebuilt.  While Cloud himself does not hear any voices, you run into several caped entities, each with a numeric tattoo on their hand, who mull around, chanting about Sephiroth.  One of them asks Cloud "Can you hear the voice of Sephiroth?",  meaning that these entities are also hearing voices, or rather, *A* voice: That of Sephiroth.  Again, while Cloud does not hear any voices at this time, this is important to note for completists sake.  Note that they make no mention of Jenova.

Instance 11: Inside the Temple of the Ancients, Cloud starts going nuts after hearing Sephiroth's plan.  His form literally becomes two, which go into an array of poses, until finally Cloud snaps out of it.  While there's no actual "inner voice" present at this time, We see for the first time the possibility that Cloud literally is at war with himself.

Instance 12:  After the ToA is turned into the Black Materia, Sephiroth shows up.  After Cloud refuses to give up the MAD (Materia of A lot of Destruction), Sephiroth goes "Hmm, I wonder.  WAKE UP!"  (Which Cloud hears in his head). And with that, Cloud loses it.  Cloud starts heading towards Sephiroth to hand over the Black Materia, while a younger version of Cloud, controlled by the player, tries to get in his way and make him stop.  Obviously, this is futile, as Sephiroth's control over Cloud's body is too much for Cloud to counter.  This scene proves that Cloud hears Sephiroth's voice, AND that Cloud's inner-self, in child form, plays some role, as well.

Instance 13: Cloud has a vision about Aeris, and she tells him she's headed to the Ancient forest to stop Sephiroth.  Since when is Aeris telepathic?  But, wait, Sephiroth enters Cloud's dream, as well, saying "We must do something about that girl."  My money is on Sephiroth orchestrating the whole thing, but that's just a theory to prevent us from having Aeris being a voice in Cloud's head, too!

Instance 14: Once at the city of the Ancients, Cloud finds his way to Aeris, where he starts losing control (The player his/herself can only bring Cloud closer and closer to trying to kill Aeris before the rest of the team intervenes.  Granted, this isn't a "voice", but rather just more information to prove just how out of it Cloud is.)  After the Jenova battle which ensues, Cloud hears Jenova completing a sentence that "Sephiroth" had begun before he flew away: "You are a puppet."  This is the only line actually attributed to Jenova in the game, and it seems to take place in Cloud's head.

Instance 15: The team wonders where to go from the City of the Ancients, and Cloud has another mental attack, this time seeing an image of Sephiroth walking up the northern path away from the city.  One could argue this is Sephiroth's way of calling Cloud in the right direction.

Instance 16: The big one.  the team is traveling through the crater, where they find "Sephiroth" dispatching a couple of the clones for apparently no reason.  The team confronts him, but then he disappears.  Suddenly, Cloud hears a voice, to which his companions are oblivious: "Our purpose is to deliver the Black Materia to our master."
Cloud: "Our...?"
Voice: "Those with Jenova's cells"
Cloud: "...master?"
Voice: "Of course.  Sephiroth.  Heh heh heh."

Now that's big.  So now we DEFINITELY know that at least one of the aspects of Cloud's consciousness is the Jenova cells inside of him (perhaps the Clones share a hive-mind mentality like the Borg from Star Trek?) as commanded by Sephiroth.  While this does not discount other possibilities as ALSO being present, we now know for a fact that Sephiroth and some aspect of Jenova are there, as well.

Instance 17:  The team comes across an illusion of Nibelheim burning down, where Sephiroth tries telling everyone that Cloud never WAS at Nibelheim, and in fact never really existed.  This eventually gets the better of Cloud, who eventually figures out that he never actually GOT to join SOLDIER, and his mind completely succumbs to Sephiroth's will.  The question becomes, just WHY did Cloud ever think he was in SOLDIER?  And if he WASN'T in SOLDIER, then where did all of his SOLDIER-imbued skills and memories come from?  The answer lies anywhere between Zack actually being a PART of Cloud, to Jenova's cells giving cloud the power to make real his delusions (which he alludes to later, during his speech on the Highwind)

Instance 18: In the Materia cavern, Cloud is completely lost to Sephiroth, and flies up to the Mako crystal holding Sephiroth's body to give him the Black Materia.  Not only is Tifa's voice blocked out of Cloud's consciousness, but at one point, Sephiroth says to Cloud "Come on... the Black Materia", Cloud responding with "Please!! Just a little longer!!".  This is definitely Sephy talking to Cloud.

Instance 19: In Tifa's flashback, she finds Cloud, outfitted in a SOLDIER uniform and carrying the Buster Sword.  He doesn't even know who he is at first.  His mind flashes, and he recognizes Tifa, who then says "Cloud!".  Cloud's mind flashes again, and he says "Yes, I'm Cloud."  All this is done in such a way as though he were drawing his memories from somewhere, and not as if he's remembering these things himself, much like in instances 4 and 5.  He also holds his head and shakes violently while Tifa turns away. He concedes to being Cloud, but ACTS like Zack.  I dare wonder what would happen if Tifa accidentally said "Zack"? =P

Instance 20: While Tifa is helping Cloud put his mind back together, she is assisted by several aspects of Cloud's personality, including the child-version who tries to fight him off during the ToA debacle.  So we at least know for a fact that Young cloud WAS a force in Cloud's mind, though not a strong one.

Conclusion: Based on the above, it would seem as though Cloud took his conscious knowledge of things from what he knew of Zack, though Zack himself probably wasn't telling him things.  Meanwhile, "True Cloud" and Sephiroth were waging a silent war over Cloud's sanity; They didn't fight each other, but rather both tried to tell Cloud different things to get their desired results (Sephy wanted to break Cloud's will so he'd be easier to command, like all the other clones; True Cloud probably wanted his mind and body back, as well as not fall under Sephy's control).  Jenova and the planet are non-players, pretty much.