Final Fantasy VII timeline

This is a timeline for the events of Final Fantasy VII. This timeline works assuming that the events of the game take place in late 0007, which was sourced from the Ultimania Guide, and also pieced together from information presented in the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII.

Over 2,000 Years Ago

 * The Cetra begin their long journey to heal the Planet.
 * A being known as "Calamity from the Skies" crashes into the Planet's northern polar icecap on a meteor, gravely injuring the Planet. The Cetra gather at this location so that they may heal the Planet.
 * The Calamity from the Skies emerges from the crater left by the meteor, bringing with it deceit and treachery as a great pestilence falls upon the Cetra and the Planet.
 * The Planet creates six powerful weapons to combat the Calamity from the Skies: Jade Weapon, Sapphire Weapon, Diamond Weapon, Ultimate Weapon, Ruby Weapon, and Emerald Weapon.
 * Having nearly wiped out the entire Cetra race, the Calamity of the Skies is finally defeated and sealed in a geological stratum. Due to this, the Weapons remain dormant as they have never had to act.
 * The Cetra's numbers continue to dwindle as time goes on, eventually being swallowed up by the ever-growing human population. Over time, the Cetra assimilate into human civilization, but still maintain their ancient knowledge and powers.

[ μ ] – εуλ 1867

 * Bugenhagen is born.

[ μ ] – εуλ 1950

 * Professor Hojo is born.
 * Lucrecia Crescent is born.
 * October 13 – Vincent Valentine is born to Grimoire Valentine.

[ μ ] – εуλ 1959

 * Nanaki (Red XIII) is born to Seto in Cosmo Canyon.
 * Cosmo Canyon is attacked by the Gi Tribe. During the battle, Seto leaves the front lines to hold off a group of Gi Tribe forces that plan to use an underground cave to sneak into Cosmo Canyon and flank its defenders. Ultimately, Cosmo Canyon is victorious against the Gi Tribe, but Seto, having been shot with many poison arrows during his defense of the cave, is eternally petrified.
 * September 23 – Shinra Manufacturing Works discovers Mako energy.
 * October 10 – Professor Faremis Gast unearths the Calamity from the Skies from the geological stratum. Gast gives the Calamity the name "Jenova" and misidentifies it as an Ancient (Cetra).

[ μ ] – εуλ 1967

 * July 2 – During its construction, Jenova is sealed inside of the new Mako Reactor Nibel Mountains.

[ μ ] – εуλ 1968

 * Shinra Manufacturing Works completes construction their first cost-effective Mako Reactor in the Nibel Mountains.
 * February 22 – Cid Highwind is born.

[ μ ] – εуλ 1970

 * Professor Gast Faremis becomes head of the Shinra Science Department.

Circa [ μ ] – εуλ 1970

 * Shinra scientists Grimoire Valentine and Lucrecia Crescent, having done extensive research into an ancient legend surrounding two entities born of the Planet known as Chaos and Omega, make new progress in their research when they discover the Crystal Cave, the place where Chaos is said to awaken at the appointed time. After mistakenly awakening Chaos's malevolent spirit, Grimoire is killed while protecting Lucrecia from the attacking Chaos. Shortly after, the Shinra Science Department scraps the project.

[ μ ] – εуλ 1972

 * Reeve Tuesti is born to Ruvie Tuesti.
 * December 15 – Barret Wallace is born in the coal mining town of Corel.

[ μ ] – εуλ 1976

 * The Shinra Electric Power Company begins the construction of a Plate above the city of Midgar as a location to centralize the Company with a modernized headquarters at the heart of the Plate.

Late 1970s

 * Unique experiments begin in the secret department beneath the Shinra building, known as Deepground.

[ μ ] – εуλ 1977

 * Azul is born.
 * The Shinra Science Department begins the Jenova Project, with the goal of further studying the unearthed being so that they may learn more about the Ancients and their powers as well as the possibility of implementing these powers into humans. The project his headed up by Professor Gast Faremis, with help from fellow Shinra scientists Professor Hojo, Dr. Hollander, and Lucrecia Crescent.
 * As the Jenova Project advances in its stages, the scientists of the project decide to attempt to genetically engineering a human with cells from Jenova. However, Professor Hojo and Dr. Hollander have differing methods for how this process should be carried out. In the end, the two scientists establish two different projects for this under the Jenova Project: Hojo establishes Project S, which based in Nibelheim's Shinra Mansion, while Hollander establishes Project G, based in Banora Village. Vincent Turk.jpg
 * The Department of Administrative Research, also known as the "Turks," assigns Vincent Valentine to protect the Shinra scientists for Project S as they carry out their research in Nibelheim, much to the surprise of Lucrecia.
 * Dr. Hollander uses Shinra Science Department Employee, Gillian Hewley as a test subject for Project G (which is named after Gillian herself), injecting Jenova cells into the woman's body.
 * Using Gillian's DNA, now infused with the Jenova Cells, Dr. Hollander seeds the genome of a fetus with Jenova cells.
 * As a part of Project G, Gillian becomes pregnant, her child inheriting the Jenova cells present in her body.
 * Genesis Rhapsodos is born, yielding the results of Hollander's attempt of incorporating Gillian's DNA with a human fetus. When it is discovered that Genesis only has the ability to create clones but not to incorporate others into him, he is labeled a failure and given over to the landlord of Banora, so his family could raise him as their own.
 * Angeal Hewley is born to Gillian Hewley as a part of Project G. Unlike Genesis before him, Angeal is labeled a success, having the ability to make clones of himself and incorporate others into himself. However, due to Shinra's lack of support, and ultimate abandonment of Project G, Angeal was left in the custody of his mother to be raised as a normal boy.
 * During their time in Nibelheim, Vincent and Lucrecia start to get romantically involved. However, this later comes to an end when Vincent discovers that Lucrecia not only knew his father, but was involved with his death. This causes Lucrecia to distance herself from Vincent, seeking comfort from her colleague, Hojo, to whom she later bears a child.
 * Hojo convinces Lucrecia to use their unborn child as a test subject for Project S by injecting Jenova cells into the fetus.
 * Sephiroth is born to Hojo and Lucrecia. He is taken away from Lucrecia immediately following his birth so that he may be studied. The presence of the Jenova cells is apparent in the boy's body from an early age, therefore labeling him a success.
 * Lucrecia becomes ill from the experiments that are performed upon her, the Jenova cells now coursing through her own body as well. When an enraged Vincent confronts Hojo about this, the scientist shoots him. Hojo then performs experiments upon Vincent, which increases his body's durability, halts his body from aging, and gives him the power of metamorphosis. However, Vincent ultimately dies during the experiment.
 * Lucrecia uses Vincent's body in an experiment to make him a vessel for Chaos. She is able resuscitate him by infusing pure mako into him, and successfully merges Chaos's spirit with Vincent's own essence, putting the Protomateria in his chest to keep Chaos under control. Shortly after this, Lucrecia leaves Nibelheim, hiding away from the rest of the world in the Crystal Cave.
 * Vincent awakens in the basement of Shinra Mansion, where he changes into the Galian Beast. Horrified by this, Vincent thinks this to be punishment for his failure to stop Lucrecia from allowing herself and her unborn child to be experimented upon. He finds a room full of coffins in a room in the basement of Shinra Mansion and shuts himself away inside one of them as punishment for his actions. Because of Hojo's experiments, Vincent is able to stay asleep inside of the coffin without aging or even having to sustain himself.

[ μ ] – εуλ 1978

 * Rude is born.

[ μ ] – εуλ 1980

 * Professor Gast leaves Shinra, setting out on a journey across the Planet in order to find answers to the many questions he has about Jenova, the Ancients, and the Planet in general.
 * In Gast's absence, a power struggle occurs within the Shinra's Department of Scientific Research between Professor Hojo and Dr. Hollander over who the new department head will be. In the end, Hojo obtains the position, his achievements in Project S being more recognized by Shinra than Hollander's Project G.

Early 1980s

 * During his travels, Gast visits Cosmo Canyon, home to a group of people who know much about the Planet. During his time in Cosmo Canyon, Gast provides Bugenhagen with scientific equipment so that he may better monitor the Planet.
 * Professor Gast meets a woman named Ifalna, one of the last Ancients on the Planet. Initially, he takes an interest in her, wanting to know more about her people and the Planet. However, they eventually fall in love and retire to Icicle Inn, on the Northern Continent.

[ μ ] – εуλ 1982

 * Reno is born.
 * Rufus Shinra is born.

[ μ ] – εуλ 1984

 * Zack Fair is born in Gongaga.

[ μ ] – εуλ 1985

 * February 7 – Aerith Gainsborough is born to Gast and Ifalna in Icicle Inn.
 * February 27 – Hojo tracks Gast down to his home in Icicle. Professor Gast is shot to death by the troops accompanying Hojo, who then takes both Ifalna and Aerith into custody at the Shinra Building in Midgar.
 * Rosso, the first genetically-engineered child to be infused with Genesis' genes, is born in Shinra's Deepground facility.

[ μ ] – εуλ 1986

 * Shalua Rui is born.
 * August 11 – Cloud Strife is born in Nibelheim.

[ μ ] – εуλ 1987

 * Nero is born in Deepground as the result of experiments involving the injection of stagnant mako into fetuses. As he was born, a void of darkness formed around the infant's body, pulling his mother into it, never to be seen again. Nero is the only successful result of these stagnant mako injection experiments.
 * May 3 – Tifa Lockhart is born in Nibelheim.

[ μ ] – εуλ 1990

 * Midgar begins construction of the Plate — eight sectors built above the smaller settlements on the ground, which in turn gradually become nameless slum areas.

[ μ ] – εуλ 1991

 * Shelke Rui is born.
 * November 20 – Yuffie Kisaragi is born to Kasumi and Godo Kisaragi in Wutai.

Circa [ μ ] – εуλ 1992

 * The Wutai War begins between the forces of Wutai and Shinra when Wutai, the last major land free of their influence, denies Shinra permission to build a Mako Reactor on sacred Wutai grounds. Among the Shinra troops deployed to Wutai are Elmyra Gainsborough's husband and Sephiroth, now a SOLDIER 1st Class.
 * Sephiroth's unparalleled strength and skill gains recognition during the Wutai War, quickly becoming a world-famous war hero.
 * Deepground SOLDIERs are secretly charged with recovering the injured from the battlefield in Wutai, and returning them to Deepground where some are nursed back to health, and others fall victim to the torturous experiments that took place there. SOLDIER Unit 14: Lost Force specializes in these extractions throughout the war.

[ μ ] – εуλ 1992

 * Elmyra receives a letter saying that her husband is coming home on leave. Anxiously awaiting his return, Elmyra goes to the Sector 7 train station every day after receiving this letter in hopes of being reunited with her husband.
 * Ifalna and Aerith escape from the Shinra building, fleeing to the Sector 7 Slums by train. Upon arriving at the Sector 7 train station, Ifalna collapses, then dies. Elmyra, having been at the train station when this happened, takes Aerith into her home. The young girl adapts to her new home fairly quickly.
 * Elmyra's husband is killed in action. Aerith is somehow able to sense his death and tells Elmyra, but she does not believe her. A few days later, Elmyra receives a notice saying that her husband has died.

[ μ ] – εуλ 1995

 * Tifa's mother dies.
 * Grieving over her mother’s death, Tifa climbs Mt. Nibel, believing that she will find her mother waiting for her there. In the process, she falls from a suspension bridge along with Cloud, who had been following her up the mountain. Suffering severe injuries, Tifa remains in a coma for seven days while Cloud, miraculously, suffers only minor injuries but is blamed for the accident. The guilt that he feels from this causes him to become somewhat more aggressive, constantly getting into fights with other kids, often for no apparent reason.

[ μ ] – εуλ 1997

 * Determined to join SOLDIER, Zack Fair leaves Gongaga and heads off to Midgar.
 * An anti-Shinra activist group lead by a man known as the "Death God of the Battlefield" meet with a weapons dealer to negotiate a deal with him. Unbeknownst to them, however, the weapons dealer betrays them and they are attacked by Shinra. Only the leader survives the attack.
 * Tseng, a young rookie member of the Turks is sent Costa del Sol to investigate the kidnapping of a Shinra infantryman from one of Shinra's Mako Reactors. Finding him aboard an unmarked ship in the harbor, Tseng learns from the infantryman, who was being tortured for information about the reactor, that the people holding him are a part of an anti-Shinra militant group that has been stockpiling weapons aboard the ship from a black market weapon seller. Not wanting to leave the infantryman for death, Tseng abandons his mission and rescues him, instead of investigating the ship further like he was ordered.
 * Several days after Tseng's mission in Costa del Sol, Veld, the commanding officer of the Turks, tells Tseng that he has failed in his duty as a Turk by choosing the life of the Infantryman over protecting company secrets. In order to correct this mistake, President Shinra orders the Turks to destroy all the weapons and data that the anti-Shinra group has and to locate the leak within the company that is providing the black market weapon seller with information. Tseng is included in this mission, much to his surprise.
 * Tseng once again arrives in Costa del Sol, this time with Veld, as they infiltrate the ship. While Tseng deletes all the data on the ship's computers, Veld investigates the weapons that they have. Before Tseng can delete all of the data, anti-Shinra operatives manage to make off with a hard copy of the data. In the Cargo hold, Veld discovers an army of Proto Golems, a robotic weapon developed by Shinra. Tseng is forced to choose between helping his mentor or upholding his duty as a Turk and retrieving the data. Choosing to stick to the mission, Tseng tracks down the operatives and eliminates them, successfully recovering the data in the process. Tseng then goes onto help Veld fight off the Proto Golems, but after they are all defeated, an explosion goes off within the ship. Tseng finds himself trapped under some wreckage as he insists that Veld leave him and report back what they've found to Headquarters. Not wanting to abandon one of his men, Veld finds himself abandoning his duty as a Turk to save Tseng, and is able to make it out alive with him. During the escape, Veld sustains a scar on his face, which he will carry for the rest of his life.
 * Tseng awakes days later in intensive care, where he is commended for uncovering stolen weapons plot. During this time, he learns from Veld that the Shinra leak originates from Kalm.
 * Kalm is firebombed by Shinra to eliminate the company leak. This order is given by Veld, who was unhindered by the fact that Kalm was his hometown and that his wife and daughter, Felicia are there. During the destruction, Veld loses one of his arms.
 * The survivors of Kalm's destruction, including Veld himself, are taken to the Shinra Mansion in Nibelheim. There, they are all used as experimental test subjects, which results in most of them dying. Veld is only given an experimental prosthetic arm with a Materia slot and is allowed to go free. He is told that both his wife and daughter, Felicia, died in the bombing, but in reality, Felicia was alive and being used as an experiment in which a unique Materia is grafted into the back of her hand.
 * Veld assists Shinra in covering up the destruction of Kalm, not letting his personal feelings of losing his entire family get in the way of his duty as a Turk.

November

 * November 10
 * Tseng meets the Legendary Turk, who turns out a former anti-Shinra activist, Death God of the Battlefield, whom Tseng had previously crossed paths with. Tseng is to oversee the Legendary Turk's mission to Wutai.
 * The Legendary Turk arrives at a secret Shinra military base in Wutai where he must rescue a Shinra weapons trader and eliminate the anti-Shinra operatives occupying the base before any information about the secret base can be leaked. After planting bombs all over the installation, as part of his mission, the Legendary Turk goes to rescue the dealer where he finds that he's being guarded by a former comrade from his anti-Shinra days. The Legendary Turk defeats his former comrade, and as he dies, he tells him that the one responsible for betraying him at the Mako Reactor back in 1997 was the weapons dealer. The Legendary Turk then recognizes weapons dealer that he is supposed to rescue as that same weapons dealer that had betrayed him. The Legendary Turk demands that the dealer admit that he was the one that sold him out, but he refuses to do so. Because of the weapon dealer's unwillingness to admit his betrayal, the Legendary Turk leaves him inside of the building as the bombs go off.
 * The Legendary Turk is put under house arrest in Costa del Sol for abandoning his mission to rescue the kidnapped weapons dealer. He is able to avoid a more serious sentence due to the fact that he still carried out his mission to protect the company's secrets.

[ μ ] – εуλ 0000

 * Shinra discovers the existence of Shelke Rui, a young orphan with an extremely rare gift known as Synaptic Net Diving (SND), who had displayed great ability as a child with the technique which allowed her to interact with different planes of existence such as digital currents and the subconscious thoughts and memories of others.
 * Shelke Rui is kidnapped from her sister Shalua by the Turks to be taken to Shinra Headquarters to be inducted as a SOLDIER so that they may develop and harvest the ability for a new generation of warfare.
 * Thinking that Shelke's abilities would be of better use to Deepground, President Shinra orders a top secret mission to be executed by the Restrictors to take Shelke to Deepground.
 * While Shelke was being transferred to Midgar by the Turks, the convoy of Shinra soldiers accompanying her are attacked and annihilated by Deepground SOLDIERs led by a member of Lost Force. Unbeknownst to anyone but those involved, Shelke is then taken to Deepground.

Late Summer

 * Sephiroth, Genesis, and Angeal, now comrades and friends (all three 1st Class), go into the SOLDIER training room for some sparring. During the training session, things get out of hand when Genesis challenges Sephiroth to a one-on-one battle, forcing Angeal to intervene. As a result, Genesis sustains serious injuries, while the training room sustains major damage.
 * During his treatment by Dr. Hollander, Genesis is told the truth about his birth and the secrets of his body. He also learns that the cells in his body are beginning to degrade, and he does not have much longer to live. Upon hearing this, Genesis agrees to ally himself with Hollander, so that he may find a cure for his degradation
 * Hollander contacts the Director of SOLDIER, Lazard, and informs him of Genesis' origins, proposing they use the SOLDIER's abilities for an uprising against Shinra. Holding a great deal of enmity towards Shinra, Lazard agrees to help the scientist, secretly providing him with the necessary funds to put this plan into motion.

October

 * Mass SOLDIER Desertion Incident – Genesis is dispatched to Wutai, as the country's war with Shinra rages on. Upon arriving in Wutai, Genesis puts Hollander's plan into motion, leaving Shinra in the line of duty and taking a multitude of 2nd and 3 Class SOLDIERs with him. Genesis Copy.png
 * Hollander steals classified documents from the Department of Scientific Research and disappears.
 * SOLDIER, 1st Class Angeal Hewley and his protégé, SOLDIER, 2nd Class Zack Fair, are dispatched to Wutai to carry out what was supposed to be Genesis' mission: capture Fort Tamblin.
 * Angeal and Zack succeed in capturing Fort Tamblin. During the raid of the fort, a third party gets involved: Genesis Copies, the missing SOLDIER members, now turned into mindless puppets. In the ensuing fight between Zack and the Genesis Copies, Sephiroth shows up on the battlefield. After eliminating all of the Copies, Zack and Sephiroth realize that Angeal has disappeared.
 * The Wutai War ends in a Wutai surrender after the capture of Fort Tamblin. Only rebel forces remain and are dispatched one by one by SOLDIER.

Late November/Early December

 * Denzel is born to Abel and Chloe in Midgar.

December

 * Rufus Shinra assumes the position of Vice President of the Shinra Electric Power Company. Shortly after, he leaves on a long-term business trip. Genesis at Banola Village.jpg
 * Zack and Tseng go to Banora Village in search of Genesis. Upon arriving, the village appears to be completely deserted, with the exception of Gillian Hewley, with Genesis having turned the village's warehouse into his stronghold. Gillian kills herself out of guilt for her involvement in Project G. With both Angeal and Genesis having fled town, Shinra destroys Banora in an air raid to get rid of all evidence of the events that had transpired there.
 * Cloud asks Tifa to meet him out at Nibelheim's water tower at night. There, Cloud tells Tifa about his plans to leave Nibelheim for Midgar so that he could join SOLDIER, aspiring to one day be like Sephiroth. That night, Tifa makes Cloud promise that if she's ever "in a bind" that he would have to come and save her.

January

 * January 10 – Veld sends Tseng to Costa del Sol to enlist the services of the Legendary Turk to help the Turks with any trouble that might arise from the aftermath of the Wutai War. The Legendary Turk refuses Tseng's offer to rejoin the Turks, saying that during his house arrest, he has come to enjoy living his life without conflict.

February

 * The Wutai War ends.
 * February 30Before Crisis Sector 8.jpg on his first mission as a Turk.]]
 * 2:15 am – The Wutai-based anti-Shinra organization, AVALANCHE, launches an attack on from the sewers Midgar Sector 8, lead by a man named Shears. The newest member of the Turks is ordered to patrol Sector 8 that night and encounters some AVALANCHE operatives. The Turk, along with Reno, fight off the AVALANCHE operatives and stop them from blowing up the Sector 8 Reactor. During this time, Reno and the Turk encounter and are defeated by Shears. Tseng informs Veld of the identity of the group that attacked them and tells him that their next target is Junon, where President Shinra is visiting for military inspections. Fuhito, one of the commanding officers of AVALANCHE, orders Shears to rendezvous with the rest of their forces in Junon while Veld orders Reno and the Turk to go to Junon to protect the President. Before Crisis Junon.jpg
 * Reno and the Turk arrive at the hotel in Junon that President Shinra is staying in, with AVALANCHE operatives arriving shortly after, lead by an AVALANCHE special operative. The AVALANCHE operatives easily make it past the guards, the special operative making it into the President's room, but only to be taken out by Reno and the Turk. Veld arrives on the scene and informs President Shinra that AVALANCHE has nearly overtaken the entire hotel. After clearing the hotel of AVALANCHE operatives, Reno and the Turk begin escorting President Shinra out of the hotel. After getting separated from Reno, the Turk is ordered to escort President Shinra to the Junon Branch Shinra Building, for his press conference. Fighting off AVALANCHE operatives along the way, the Turk is able to get President Shinra to the Junon Branch Building safely, where they meet up with Reno. The building is then hit with a blackout, with Fuhito coming onto the scene shortly after, fighting the Turk to the point of exhaustion before leaving the fatigued Turk behind. After Fuhito escapes, the Turk receives a call from Veld saying that AVALANCHE has seized the Mako Cannon and are planning on firing it at Midgar. As the Turks and President Shinra focus on taking back the Mako Cannon, Fuhito is able to slip into the press room and shoot the President. President Shinra, however, is not killed by this and orders Veld to call in Sephiroth.
 * 3:30 pm – Security in Junon is moved from A to S level, in order to stop AVALANCHE from using the Mako Cannon. Reno leads some troops as they go to take back the Mako Cannon from AVALANCHE, while the Turk takes an underground passage to get to the cannon's control room so that lockdown sequence for the cannon can be finalized. The Turk arrives in the control room, only to find that not only has the Mako Cannon been shutdown, but the room is littered with corpses of AVALANCHE operatives. The Turk is then attacked by Elfé, the leader of AVALANCHE but is saved at the last minute by Sephiroth. Knowing that victory cannot be achieved with Sephiroth present, AVALANCHE retreats from Junon.

March

 * Angeal and Genesis are officially announced as being killed in action.
 * President Shinra decides to bring in SOLDIER to deal with AVALANCHE. Due to the shortage of SOLDIER operatives since the Mass SOLDIER Desertion Incident, the Turks are ordered to recruit SOLDIER candidates. Veld sends out Reno, Rude, and the Turk to find these recruits.
 * March 16 – With Reno and Rude having already successfully recruited a number of SOLDIER candidates in Costa del Sol (most of them by force), the Turk heads to Club Duel seeking some additional recruits. After defeating a number of challengers, the Turk is able to subdue Club Duel's King, taking him and the rest of Club Duel's patrons to a cargo ship bound for Midgar. On the ship, one of the candidates, Azul, starts causing a commotion, violently attacking the other recruits in the hold. The Turk attempts to subdue Azul, but he is ultimately taken down by Rude, who intervenes during their fight. Before they are able to set out, a group of AVALANCHE operatives, lead by Shears, infiltrates Costa del Sol, intending to release the SOLDIER candidates from the ship. The Turk and Rude are able to hold off the AVALANCHE troops on the ship, but Shears releases the candidates from the cargo hold. Rude attempts to fight Shears on his own, but is easily defeated. Reno and the Turk attempt to recover some of the escaped SOLDIER candidates. After recovering most of the Candidates, Reno knocks out the Turk, heading to AVALANCHE's ship so that he may settle his score with Shears, tagging along with Reno along the way. Once the Turk wakes up to find Azul has returned, deciding to join SOLDIER of his own free will, so that he may become stronger. Meanwhile, Reno and Rude take on Shears together, overpowering the AVALANCHE operative by attacking him together and forcing him to retreat.

April

 * April 1
 * Zack is promoted to SOLDIER 1st Class.
 * Following the mysterious theft of confidential documents from the 45th floor of Shinra Headquarters, Reno and Rude are sent to guard the document room. During this time, the alarm suddenly goes off and the building's security robots start malfunctioning and attacking anyone on sight. Veld sends Cissnei to look into the problem and orders Reno and Rude to continue their investigation into the missing documents. At this time, Reno and Rude spot Dr. Hollander and realize that he must be the thief. The Turks pursue Hollander, but he manages to escape from the building. Reno and Rude are then informed that the malfunctioning robots have made it out onto the streets of Midgar and are now attacking civilians. As the Turks try to deal with the robots, Genesis launches an attack on Midgar with his army of copies, and Zack is dispatched to help the Turks fight them off. During the battle, Zack meets Cissnei, after coming to her rescue. Meanwhile, the Reno and Rude pursue Hollander into the interior of the Sector 8 plate, but they end up losing him when they are intercepted by Genesis copies. Zack is able to catch up with Hollander at the Sector 5 Reactor but encounters Angeal, who attacks him and sends him falling to the Sector 5 Slums below.
 * April 2Zack and Aerith CC.jpg
 * Zack's fall to the Sector 5 Slums is broken by a bed of flowers growing inside of the Sector 5 Church. There, he is woken up by Aerith Gainsborough whom he credits for saving his life and offers to repay her with a date. On their date in the slums, he buys a pink ribbon for Aerith. Their date, however, is cut short when Zack receives a call to return to Midgar help defend against an attack on the Shinra Headquarters.
 * Zack receives some help from Angeal as they both head back to Shinra headquarters, where Zack must defend Professor Hojo from Genesis. During his attempt on the scientist's life, Hojo tells Genesis that Hollander would not be able to cure his degradation. He then flies off to Modeoheim with Angeal in hot pursuit. Zack inherits the Buster Sword.jpg
 * Cissnei of the Turks undertakes a top secret assignment to keep Zack under surveillance.
 * In order to find Genesis and Hollander, Zack and Tseng go to Modeoheim along with some Shinra infantrymen, among them being Cloud Strife, whom Zack befriends. Zack finds Hollander and Genesis inside of a Mako excavation facility, where he fights and defeats Genesis, who then throws himself into the depths of an excavation site. Zack then goes up against Angeal, who fuses with several other Angeal monster copies to become Angeal Penance. Zack defeats Angeal, who gives him his Buster Sword with his dying breath.
 * Zack secures Hollander and hands him over to Shinra. He is detained in Shinra's Junon branch office.

June

 * While stationed in Junon, Cloud Strife, still only a Shinra infantryman, is sent out to Midgar for a new assignment.
 * June 27 – Fuhito receives word from an informant that Professor Rayleigh, a Shinra scientist who carries a disk containing highly classified information on Shinra and SOLDIER, will be arriving at Midgar Station early in the morning of the following day. AVALANCHE operatives to the Midgar Station, supplemented by Fuhito's new special troops, the Ravens.
 * June 28 Raven2.jpg
 * 6:00 a.m. – Cloud and two other Shinra infantrymen are assigned to protect Professor Rayleigh. Upon arriving at Midgar, the Turk joins them to ensure Rayleigh's safety, however, they are attacked by AVALANCHE shortly after their arrival. While protecting Rayleigh, the two Shinra troops protecting Rayleigh are attacked by a Raven. Cloud jumps onto the train that the AVALANCHE operatives take the captured Professor Rayleigh onto, separating him from the Turk, who stays behind to fight the Raven. After defeating the Raven, the Turk uses some service tunnels to catch up with the train, arriving just in time to save Cloud from certain death at the hands of AVALANCHE. With more Ravens coming in pursuit of them, the Turk sends Cloud and Professor Rayleigh into the next train car, disconnecting it to keep the Ravens from reaching the professor or, more importantly, the SOLDIER data that she carries. The Turk takes out the three Ravens and heads back to the car that Cloud and Rayleigh are in, having now rolled to a stop. The Turk makes it to Cloud and Rayleigh just in time to save them from another Raven. Cloud then joins the Turk in a fight the some additional AVALANCHE troops lead by another Raven, wielding the sword that the fallen Raven had been carrying rather than his rifle. Cloud and the Turk are able to defeat the AVALANCHE operatives, but during the battle the Raven that the Turk had supposedly killed earlier stands up and steals Professor Rayleigh's disk.
 * Fuhito deciphers the lock on the disk, which supposedly could only be unlocked by Professor Rayleigh herself, granting him complete access to all information on SOLDIER. Fuhito tells Elfé that they will now need Professor Hojo to carry out their plans further.

December

 * December 22 – Reno orders the Turk to tail Rude in Midgar to see what he is up to. The Turk follows Rude to a bar where he meets a woman named Chelsea for a date, who is actually a spy for AVALANCHE sent to get close to Rude.
 * December 23 – Veld orders the Turk look into a massive outbreak of monsters in Sector 8. The Turk finds that Kimara Bugs are nesting sewers, but is unable to handle the situation on his own, forcing him to return to headquarters. Meanwhile, Rude meets up with Chelsea again, this time being tailed by Reno. During their date, she attempts place a wiretap on Rude's phone, but cannot bring herself to do so. After their date, Reno continues to follow Chelsea and sees her meeting with a man from AVALANCHE, learning the truth about who she was, but perplexed as to why she did not place the wiretap when she had the chance.
 * December 24 – Reno confronts Rude about Chelsea, although Rude seems to imply that he already knows her secret. Reno receives a call from Veld telling him that monsters are still running rampant in Sector 8, and orders him deal with the problem. Reno and the Turk venture into the sewers of Sector 8, successfully eliminating the Kimara Bugs and their nest. After destroying the nest, the Turk sees Chelsea and follows her into the sewers, where she meets with three AVALANCHE operatives. The operatives attack Chelsea when she tells them that she does not want to continue to deceive Rude, but is saved by the Turk. Chelsea then decides that she and Rude cannot be together, leaving the Turk to tell Rude this as he waits for her at West Park.

January

 * January 14 – SOLDIER operatives Essai and Sebastian are sent to Icicle Inn to look into the loss of communication with the front line base there, thinking it to be nothing more than a monster extermination mission. Upon their arrival, they are ambushed and captured by AVALANCHE Ravens, who take them to a nearby base where Fuhito performs experiments upon them in order to genetically transform them into Ravens as well. Veld sends the Turk to as well as another Turk investigate the situation. The Turk successfully infiltrates the compound in which AVALANCHE has occupied and finds the two SOLDIER operatives contained in liquid-filled capsules. The Turk frees them, then is attacked by AVALANCHE Raven, Tears. After defeating Tears, the Turk flees the compound along with another Turk but is once again attacked by Tears, then by Fuhito. They are then rescued by the Turk Martial Arts (Female), who drives them away in a truck. When President Shinra sees the data gathered on the compound, he orders for Zack Fair to be called in to deal with the situation.
 * January 16 – Shinra sends in troops to take out AVALANCHE's Icicle base, Zack, Essai, Sebastian, and the Turk being among them. On their way to the compound, Zack and the Turk get separated from the others while the rest of the party is ambushed by AVALANCHE. All of the Shinra infantrymen either killed or incapacitated in the ambush, while Essai and Sebastian are dispatched by the Raven, Kyneugh, and taken back to the AVALANCHE base and put back into the capsules. When Zack arrives at the scene and learns what happened, he rushes off to the compound alone with the Turk following after him. The Turk finds Essai and Sebastian and frees them from the capsules, only to suddenly be attacked by both of them, forcing the Turk to fight the two brainwashed SOLDIER operatives. During the fight, Zack comes onto the scene, causing Sebastian and Essai to attack him on sight. However, Zack is able to and bring them to their senses, only to have them slip away and die shortly after. As the base's self-destruct sequence is initiated, the Turk flees while Zack stays behind to fight Kyneugh, easily defeating him. Zack and the Turk escape from the base just as it explodes. The Turk heads back to the Shinra base while Zack stays behind and makes grave markers for Essai and Sebastian.
 * Back at Shinra Headquarters, President Shinra relieves Veld of his duties as head of the Department of Administrative Research, placing the part of the blame for Shinra's security leak upon him. Veld is transferred him to a different department, telling Tseng that he is now in charge, as he leaves.
 * Heidegger takes over command of the Turks, ordering them to patrol Junon in preparation for a potential attack by AVALANCHE.

February

 * February 1 – AVALANCHE launches an attack on Junon, just as expected, popping up in various locations around Junon without warning. Heidegger orders the Turks to just distract the AVALANCHE operatives until the army arrives, but because of his insistence to not let them coordinate their strikes against AVALANCHE, the Turks are quickly overwhelmed, with the AVALANCHE beginning their assault on Junon's airport. Monitoring the situation, Veld contacts the Legendary Turk and convinces him to come to the aid of his fellow Turks. Veld then goes to President Shinra and blackmails him to give him command of the Turks for this operation, threatening to divulge classified information to the public. Taking command of the Turks once again, Veld orders the Turks to deal with the situation at the airport. The Turk heads to the landing strip to deal with the operatives aboard the airships, encountering the Kyneugh, still alive and well, upon arriving. However, the Turk is able to defeat the Raven. The rest, along with the help of the Legendary Turk, succeed in pushing back AVALANCHE's attack on Junon. Back at Shinra Headquarters, President Shinra and Veld begin to suspect Professor Hojo as the source of the information leak.
 * As Veld congratulates the Turks on successfully completing their mission in Junon, he reveals to them that the Legendary Turk had assisted them during this mission, much to their surprise. Realizing how much he has come to miss the battlefield, the Legendary Turk decides to rejoin the Turks.

Early Summer

 * Lazard disappears, believing that it is only a matter of time before his secret communications with Hollander are exposed.

June

 * June 17 – AVALANCHE launches an attack on Shinra Headquarters, releasing monster test subjects from Hojo's laboratory to wreak havoc upon the building. Due to the classified nature of the monster research project, only the Turks can deal with this situation. The Turk deals with the monsters on the 65th, 66th, and 67th floors of the Shinra Building. Upon arriving at the 68th floor, the Turk finds Kyneugh, Shears, and Fuhito in Hojo's laboratory. Fuhito attempts to coax Hojo into leaving Shinra, offering him the chance to study AVALANCHE's Ravens. The Turk attempts to intervene, once again having to fight off Kyneugh, but the Raven is able to recover more quickly this time and attacks the Turk again. Hojo, interested by the Raven's strength and regenerative abilities, agrees to go with Shears and Fuhito. Realizing that the only way to defeat Kyneugh for good is to destroy his body, the Turk uses Gravity magic to push him into the furnace, incinerating his body. When Veld informs President Shinra of the situation, he orders Sephiroth to be brought in to deal with it. The Turk pursues Hojo and his captors up to the roof of the Shinra building, but is unable to make it before they board a helicopter and take off. Tseng and the Turk give chase the chopper on the highway in a truck, keeping up with it until Shears parachutes down and takes out the road with a bomb. The Turk is able to make it out of the truck, but Tseng is nowhere in sight. The Turk then attacks Shears, putting up a better fight against him than before, but ultimately being overpowered by the AVALANCHE operative, who again spares the Turk so that he can make his getaway. The Turk tries to follow the chopper, but is attacked by one of Hojo's research specimens, a dragon. The already-weakened Turk is mortally wounded by the dragon, but is ultimately saved by Sephiroth. Sephiroth then hits the helicopter with a long range attack, damaging it enough make it come crashing down to the ground. Fuhito manages to get away, but Hojo is recovered from the helicopter and taken back to Shinra HQ.
 * Back at AVALANCHE's base, an unknown person chastises Elfé, Fuhito, and Shears for raiding the Shinra Building and trying to capture Hojo without his authorization. He then informs them of their new target: The last surviving Ancient, a young girl who Shinra has had their eye on for quite some time. They intend to take her into their custody so that they may learn the location of the Promised Land.

August

 * August 9 – After a night of drinking, the Turk wakes up in a bar in the Sector 5 Slums, having been left behind by the other Turks. While wandering around, the Turk comes upon Aerith Gainsborough's house, scaring the young girl and making her run away when she sees the Turk's uniform. As she flees, however, she runs into some AVALANCHE operatives who are looking for her. In a panic, she runs back in the direction of the Turk, who takes out the AVALANCHE troops and, not knowing who Aerith is, protects her as more AVALANCHE operatives come after them. While fleeing from AVALANCHE, the two of them eventually find an empty house to hide in to wait out the AVALANCHE operatives. However, their cover is blown when Shears spots the Turk outside of the house retrieving Aerith's dropped Materia, a gift from her mother. The Turk engages Shears in combat once again, and yet again fairs better against him then before, but is still ultimately defeated by the him. Shears then takes Aerith to the Sector 5 church, where AVALANCHE is using a temporary field post, so that she can meet with Fuhito and Elfé. Aerith tells Fuhito that she has no knowledge of the Promised Land, but somehow seems to recognize something about Elfé, saying that the voice inside her is familiar. Shears then spots the Turk, who had tracked them to the church. The Turk fights off some AVALANCHE specials in the church's rafters, but is forced to fight Shears, and is again bested by him when he knocks the Turk off of the rafters into the church below. The Turk, however, is fortunate enough to land in the bed of flowers inside of the church, and is attacked by both Shears and Fuhito, much to the dismay of Aerith, who pleads that they do not trample the flowers during their fight. Suddenly, Elfé collapses to the ground, forcing Fuhito, Shears, and the rest of AVALANCHE to flee so that she may be treated. As they leave, Fuhito tells Aerith that Elfé has an illness, and the only way for it to be cured is for them to find the promised land, leaving the young Ancient girl behind, telling her to consider their offer. The Turk then encourages Aerith to leave Midgar, so that neither the Shinra, nor AVALANCHE could find her. But Aerith declines, saying that if she left, the flowers would not have anyone to care for them and it would just make Elmyra worry. As Aerith and the Turk leave the church, they see Tseng, prompting the Turk to tell Aerith to run back home. As she runs, the Turk pleads with Tseng not to chase after her, but says that he has no intention of doing so. He then tells the Turk that even though Shinra wants to capture Aerith at any cost, Tseng has been trying to convince her to come back to Shinra of her own accord, wanting Aerith's cooperation in helping make the world a better place for everyone. Back at Shinra HQ, Veld informs President Shinra of an emergency situation at the Nibelheim reactor, in which all the employees stationed at the reactor have disappeared without a trace. President Shinra orders for the situation to be dealt with immediately, not only because the of the Nibelheim reactor's significance as Shinra's first reactor, but also because it is where Jenova is being kept.

September

 * Zack sent on leave from SOLDIER and heads to Costa del Sol for vacation. While on the ship to Costa del Sol, he runs into Cissnei, claiming it to be coincidence that she is taking a vacation in Costa del Sol as well. In reality, however, she is still under orders to keep Zack under surveillance.
 * While Zack is on vacation, Costa del Sol is attacked by Genesis Copies. During this time, several other cities are attacked by Genesis Copies as well. After taking care of the clones in Costa del Sol, Zack is called in to Junon, where the majority of the Genesis clones seem to be present. The Turks aid in the evacuation of Junon while Zack is ordered to guard Dr. Hollander so that he will not take this opportunity to escape. However, Hollander is able to slip out of the Junon branch building before Zack can get to him. Pursuing Hollander throughout Junon, Zack is finally able to catch up with the scientist, but he ultimately escapes when two winged Genesis clones come and carry him off. Sephiroth shows up shortly after to update Zack on the situation, telling him that Genesis clones have started appearing in Midgar as well. Before leaving to head back to Midgar, Sephiroth informs Zack of the possibility that Genesis is still alive, but unbeknownst to them, Genesis is standing atop the Mako cannon in Junon at that moment.
 * September 21
 * The Turk is sent to Nibelheim to investigate the cause of the disappearances of the workers in the town's Mako reactor. Tseng brings the Turk to the Nibelheim Mountains via helicopter, meanwhile, Tifa Lockhart chases her wandering cat around the mountainside. The Turk jumps from the helicopter, but lands far from the reactor due to a gust of wind. On the way to the Mako reactor, the Turk happens upon Tifa being attacked by some Kimara Bugs. After defeating the bugs, the Turk heads to the reactor, telling Tifa to wait where she is so that they could go back to Nibelheim together, for her own protection. The Turk arrives at the reactor to find it being blocked of by a multitude of dragons, prompting the Turk to call Tseng and updates him on the situation. Tseng orders to the Turk to go back to Nibelheim and await further instructions. The Turk and Tifa head back to Nibelheim via a secret ropeway known only to Shinra employees, but are attacked by a dragon which destroys the ropeway. The Turk and Tifa are able to survive, but Tseng tells the Turk that with the Ropeway broken, they will need a guide to get the investigation team to the reactor. The Turk asks Tifa if she can be their guide, she is hesitant at first, but once she learns that Sephiroth will be among the investigation team, she decides to accept his offer.
 * Zack goes to the Sector 5 church to visit Aerith and finds an Angeal Copy inside of the church with her. Zack is followed into the church by one of the robotic weapons deployed throughout Midgar to rid the area of Genesis Copies. Unable to discern Genesis copies from SOLDIER operatives, the robot tries to attack Zack, but is destroyed by the Angeal copy. The Angeal Copy appears to be weakened from degradation but does not seem intent on harming either Zack or Aerith. Zack then helps Aerith build a flower wagon to help her sell the flowers that grow inside of the church, but is called away by Tseng. Back at headquarters, he is briefed by Sephiroth on their next assignment regarding an incident at a Mako Reactor involving the disappearance of all the workers in the reactor and it being overrun by monsters. Sephiroth tells Zack to g and prepare for their departure, and Zack goes back to tell Aerith goodbye and help her sell some flowers. Zack is later retrieved by Tseng and returns to headquarters, where he learns that Cloud will be accompanying him and Sephiroth on their next mission, which will be in Nibelheim, cloud's hometown.
 * September 22 – Upon reaching the Western Continent, the Nibelheim investigation team, lead by Sephiroth, makes their way to Nibelheim by truck. As they near Nibelheim, a dragon attacks their truck, but Sephiroth easily dispatches the beast. When they arrive in Nibelheim, Cloud keeps his helmet on to cover his face, not wanting anyone to know that he was back in town because of the shame he felt for not making it into SOLDIER. Tifa, who had anxiously been awaiting the arrival of the investigation team, approaches Zack to ask him if any other members of SOLDIER aside from he and Sephiroth were with them. When Zack tells her that he and Sephiroth are the only SOLDIER operatives on the team, she figures this means that Cloud isn't with the team after all, and is a bit disappointed because of this. Zack and Cloud also meet up with the Turk again outside of the inn. When Cloud learns that Tifa will be guiding them up Mt. Nibel, he asks the Turk not to tell Tifa that he has come back. Mako Monster.jpg
 * September 23 – Early in the morning, the investigation team prepares to leave for Mt. Nibel, meeting up Tifa, their guide, at the edge of town near the Shinra Mansion. Before leaving, a local photographer takes a picture of Zack, Sephiroth, and Tifa in front of the Shinra Mansion. Upon reaching the reactor, Zack and Sephiroth go inside to investigate, refusing to let Tifa come inside with them due to top secret nature of the facility, leaving Cloud outside to guard her. Inside of the reactor, Sephiroth isolates the problem when he finds that a broken part in the reactor had been causing it to create brutal monsters that ran amok. He has Zack close the valve, he then finds that the pods inside of the reactor are holding Makonoids, creatures created by Hojo from high levels of mako energy. The knowledge of these experiments that Shinra has conducted begin to make Sephiroth think if these experiments are somehow related to him and his unusual strength and power as a SOLDIER operative. Genesis suddenly appears, and tells Sephiroth that he is not human, but a monster created from the Jenova Project. Sephiroth, who was only ever told that his mother was named Jenova, is told by Genesis that Jenova is, in fact a creature discovered by Shinra and used for experiments. Genesis then goes on to tell him that both he and Angeal were created from the Jenova project too, but Sephiroth is different from them because he is unable to copy himself onto other creatures and therefore will not suffer from degradation. Genesis asks Sephiroth to lend him his cells, so that he may stop his degradation. Sephiroth is unsure whether or not to believe Genesis, but he refuses his old friend's request, not seeming to care if he degrades. Zack pursues Genesis outside and finds that Tifa and an injured Cloud are surrounded by monsters. Zack fights off the monsters, and escorts Cloud and Tifa back to town. Upon their return, the Turk asks Sephiroth about their findings, but he just stays silent, and locks himself in his room at the inn. Later, he seems to just disappear somewhere in town.
 * September 24 – Tifa informs Zack that Sephiroth is inside the Shinra Mansion. As he and Cloud head over to the mansion, Zack receives a call from Aerith, promising that he will come see her once the mission is over. Inside the Shinra Mansion, Zack finds a secret passageway leading to the basement of the mansion where he finds Sephiroth in the library reading over all the records for the Jenova Project. The more he learns about Jenova, the more he begins to doubt who he really is. Zack leaves Sephiroth in the Library, where he continues to read over the records
 * September 25 to 30 – Sephiroth stays inside of the Shinra Mansion, reading over every record he can get his hands on for seven days straight, the light inside of the basement not going out once. During this time, the Turk receives a call from Tseng, asking about Sephiroth. After informing Tseng that Sephiroth still seems troubled, he orders the Turk to keep an eye on him and to let him know if his be behavior changes.

October

 * October 1 – The Nibelheim Incident Nibelheim Burns.jpg
 * Zack goes back down to the Library to check on Sephiroth, finding him laughing menacingly to himself. Sephiroth tells Zack all that he has learned from the records in the library, about the Ancients, their journey to heal the planet, and how at the end of their journey, they would settle in the Promised Land, a land supreme happiness. He then goes onto blame the non-Cetran humans for stopping their migration and for hiding after disaster struck the planet while the Cetra sacrificed themselves to save it. Still thinking that Jenova is an Ancient and unaware of the fact that she was, in fact, the disaster that struck the planet 2,000 years ago, Sephiroth tells Zack about how he was created from Jenova, and comes to the conclusion that he must be an Ancient as well. Sephiroth then leaves the Shinra mansion saying that he is going to see his mother. Upon leaving the mansion, Sephiroth sets fire to the town, and kills many of the villagers, also incapacitating Cloud in the process, with Cloud's mother being among those killed in Sephiroth's rampage. Zangan, Tifa's martial arts teacher, is able to save some of the people from the burning buildings. The Turk calls Tseng to tell him of this development as Sephiroth starts heading for the Mako Reactor. With Tseng saying that he will soon be arriving with backup, the Turk follows Sephiroth up Mt. Nibel to the reactor, Tifa and Zack also make their way up to the reactor separately. Later, Cloud also regains consciousness and makes his way up to the reactor as well. At the reactor, the Turk confronts Sephiroth, but is easily defeated by the mighty SOLDIER. Sephiroth then kills Tifa's father, who is also in the reactor, leaving his Masamune sword embedded in him. Tifa sees her father's body as she enters the reactor and takes up Sephiroth's sword, intent on killing Sephiroth in her rage. At the entrance to Jenova's chamber, Tifa madly charges at Sephiroth, but is easily disarmed as Sephiroth takes back his sword and cuts down the girl, then enters the chamber. Soon after, Zack arrives at the reactor, forcing his way into Jenova's chamber as Sephiroth tears off the mechanical doll attached to her containment tube. Sephiroth is overjoyed as he looks upon his "mother" for the first time, declaring that he will take back the planet with her. Zack confronts Sephiroth inside of the chamber and the two battle, but Zack is ultimately defeated as Sephiroth lands a powerful blow that throws him out of the chamber. Then Cloud arrives at the reactor, his blood boiling with rage as he takes up Zack's Buster Sword and rushes into the chamber. Cloud catches Sephiroth off guard as he admires Jenova and takes this opportunity to thrust the sword into Sephiroth's back, impaling the mighty SOLDIER and leaving him mortally wounded. Cloud leaves the wounded Sephiroth and comes to the aid of the Turk and Tifa, making sure that both of them are still alive. While at her side, the barely conscious Tifa sees Cloud's now unmasked face, and realizes that he has kept the promise he made to her two years earlier. Meanwhile, the weakened Sephiroth breaks into Jenova's containment tube and tears off her head, knowing that Jenova can become whole again with just a single part of her body, and attempts to escape. Cloud-Lifts-Sephiroth.jpg Sephiroth tries to leave Jenova's chamber, Cloud takes up Zack's sword again and rushes at him, but Sephiroth blocks the attack, tossing Cloud back into the chamber. Meanwhile, the Turk, having now regained full consciousness sees that Tifa's cat has come to the reactor along with Zangan. Zangan tells the Turk that he had followed Tifa's cat up the mountain to the reactor, the cat somehow knowing that she was in trouble. Knowing that Tifa will need to get immediate treatment if she is to have any chance to survive, Zangan carries Tifa out of the reactor so that she may find the help she needs. The Turk runs upstairs to Jenova's chamber as Sephiroth skewers Cloud with his Masamune and suspends him up in the air. It is then that Cloud is suddenly overcome by some sort of strength that had been laying dormant within him as he takes the blade of the Masamune in his hands, bringing himself back to the ground and lifting Sephiroth up in the air as he proceeds to toss both Sephiroth and his sword into the Mako pit below. The severely wounded Cloud collapses on the floor as the Turk, having witnessed Cloud's amazing feat, comes to his side. The Turk calls Tseng, telling him that Sephiroth has fallen into Mako and is now probably dead. In reality, however, Sephiroth is still alive within the Lifestream, able to maintain his individuality from the countless consciousnesses within due to him being created from Jenova. Seeing this as an opportunity to gain the knowledge and power of the Lifestream, Sephiroth starts plotting his revenge against the planet. HojoLastOrder.jpg
 * Hojo, Tseng, Reno, Rude, and Veld arrive in Nibelheim to help cover the events that had occurred here. The plan is to rebuild the town and populate it with Shinra employees to ensure that the truth behind the Nibelheim Incident is never known. The townspeople who survived Nibelheim's destruction are to be used as test subjects in Hojo's new research project where he will perform experiments to test his Jenova Reunion Theory, including Zack and Cloud. While Veld and the Turk are in the Shinra Mansion destroying documents and testing the machines for Hojo's experiments, they fall victim to illusions created by the monsters in the mansion, illusions that project things that happened in both of their pasts. In the first illusion, they find themselves in Midgar, Sector 8 on the morning of February 30, 0001, the day of the Turk's first patrol for the Turks, with Dorky Faces disguising themselves as AVALANCHE operatives. The second illusion that Veld and the Turk experience is when Veld's hometown of Kalm was bombed by Shinra, an even that happened years before the present day. Veld reveals to the Turk that not only did he have knowledge of Kalm's destruction at Shinra's hand, he was the one who ordered it and helped cover it up afterward. He then goes on to tell the Turk that those who survived the destruction of Kalm were taken to the Shinra Mansion in Nibelheim, including himself. In spite of losing an arm, Veld ultimately survived the ordeal, and received a prosthetic arm with a materia slot in it. All of the other townspeople, however, died, including his wife and daughter. After escaping the illusion, Veld tells the Turk that this is what being a Turk is about, carrying out duties, even if it means killing ones family. When they reunite with the others, Hojo tells the Turks to start bringing the survivors into the mansion for his experiments. Reno, Rude, Tseng, and the Turk are so appalled by all of this that they are reluctant to do it, but Veld tells them that they do not have to do it, that he would take the survivors into the mansion himself. Zangan sees all this going on as he leaves town, and decides to take Tifa far away from Nibelheim, not wanting her to be involved with all that was going on there.
 * At Shinra Headquarters, Veld informs President Shinra that Wutai will be AVALANCHE's next target, a place full of anti-Shinra sympathizers. He then tells President Shinra that identity of the informant leaking information to AVALANCHE: Rufus Shinra.

January

 * January 3 –
 * Rufus informs AVALANCHE of the Turks' plans to attack their headquarters in Wutai. In Wutai, the Turk saves Yuffie Kisaragi from an AVALANCHE operative, who then goes on to tell her about Materia. The Turk infiltrates AVALANCHE HQ to plant a bomb in the building. While inside, the Turk must fight AVALANCHE's Four Elite Divisions: the Hand-to-Hand Combat Squad, the Sniper Squad, the Magic Squad, and and some Ravens. Along the way, the Turk runs into Yuffie again, who is unaware that the Turk works for Shinra. Just to be mischievous, Yuffie steals the Turk's detonator and accidentally sets off the bombs. Realizing their plight, Yuffie helps the Turk escape from the pagoda as the Turk protects her from AVALANCHE operatives along the way. Before being able to escape, the Turk is confronted by Elfé, Shears, and Fuhito, and is forced to take them all on so that Yuffie can escape. After defeating the three leaders of AVALANCHE without much trouble, none the wiser to the fact that they were all merely Ravens using Materia to disguise themselves as the leaders, the Turk is able to escape from AVALANCHE HQ and rendezvous with Tseng. Although Yuffie made it out safely as well, she comes to realize that the Turk works for Shinra, angrily telling the Turk to get out of Wutai.
 * Veld informs President Shinra of AVALANCHE's apparent destruction. With the primary threat to his organization seemingly out of the way, Shinra turns his attention toward preparations for the launch of world's first space rocket launch, Shinra No. 26.
 * Rufus meets with Elfé, Shears, and Fuhito in secret, proceeding with his plans to use AVALANCHE to dispose of his father. Their intentions are to take advantage of Shinra's false sense of security in AVALANCHE's apparent destruction and assassinate him at the rocket launch ceremony in Rocket Town.

Late Winter/Early Spring

 * Marlene is born to Dyne and Eleanor.

April

 * April 11
 * On the day before the planned launch of Shinra No. 26, Rufus arrives in Rocket Town, along with the Turk as his escort, and meets with Cid Highwind as he rehearses for the launch. Shortly after arriving, an AVALANCHE operative attempts to steal Cid's airplane, the Tiny Bronco, but is thwarted by the Turk. With his plan to steal the Tiny Bronco failed, Shears puts his backup plan into play: to steal Shinra No. 26's oxygen tanks, which would cause the launch to fail on live television, after which they will assassinate President Shinra. As the AVALANCHE operative sabotages the Shinra No. 26, Cid gives Rufus and the Turk a tour of the rocket. During the tour, they are alerted to the presence of an intruder and Rufus sends the Turk to find them. The Turk eventually finds and apprehends the intruder, only to find out that the rocket's oxygen tank has been stolen. Rather than delay the launch, Cid convinces Shinra that he and his mechanics will be able to replace the oxygen tank in time for the ceremony, in spite of the risks involved.
 * Cid's Mechanics are able to install a new oxygen tank before the night's end. Although Cid is satisfied the new tank, one of his mechanics, Shera, runs various tests on it, much to Cid's annoyance. As the rest of the crew retires to their homes for the night, Shera stays behind to work on the oxygen tank, as the results of tests she did on the tank were not satisfactory. Shera continues to work on the oxygen tank throughout the night and well into the next day.
 * April 12 – As the time for Shinra No. 26 to launch comes closer, Cid suddenly goes missing. The Turk eventually finds him pursuing an AVALANCHE operative that tried to interfere with the launch. After helping Cid take out the operative and seeing him off to the launchpad, the Turk is incapacitated by a second AVALANCHE operative. Meanwhile, Rufus is forced to abort the planned assassination of his father due to Veld's insistence to stay by his side. As the countdown to the launch begins, the Turk regains consciousness, having to quickly get clear of the launch pad so as not to get caught up in the blast from Shinra No. 26's ignition. With only seconds left before the launch, Cid discovers that Shera is still in the engine room, having only now finished preparations on the oxygen tank. Although Shera insists that Cid proceed with the launch, he aborts just as the rocket begins to launch. Although his dreams of going into space seem to be crushed, Cid still vows that he will make it into space with Shinra No. 26, but he is unable to forgive Shera for her part in this.
 * Tseng receives intel that AVALANCHE has occupied the Mako reactor in Corel.

May

 * May 8
 * 8:30 AM – The Turk arrives in Corel to stop AVALANCHE from destroying the Mako reactor. Upon arriving, the Turk meets one of the locals, Barret Wallace, and informs him of the situation. Believing that the reactor was Corel's future, Barret helps the Turk by using a shortcut through the mines to get to the reactor quicker. The Turk parts ways with Barret at the reactor and is confronted by Rufus Shinra upon entering. Tseng, Reno, and Rude join the Turk inside the reactor as Veld suddenly appears, ordering them to apprehend the Vice President for conspiring with AVALANCHE. When they are all ambushed by AVALANCHE, Fuhito appears to tell Rufus that he and his financial support are no longer needed for AVALANCHE and orders his men to dispose of him and the Turks. The Turks are able to fight off AVALANCHE and begin their escape from the reactor while escorting Rufus. During the escape, the Turks run into Elfé, Fuhito, and Shears. Upon seeing Elfé, Veld instantly recognizes her as his daughter, Felicia, whom he thought to be dead. Not wanting to lose his daughter again, Veld leaves the Turks to pursue Elfé, an act of treason punishable by death. The Turks flee the reactor with Rufus, knowing that Fuhito will blow it up at any moment. On the way, they are attacked by AVALANCHE operatives, forcing the Turk to stay behind and fight them off so that the others can escape with the Vice President. Right as the reactor explodes, Fuhito pushes Shears over into the depths of the reactor, taking the Turk as they both fall.
 * Upon learning that the Corel Mako reactor has been destroyed, President Shinra sends Scarlet to Corel to deal with the situation.
 * The Turk wakes up in the lowermost part of the reactor along with Shears. When they discover that they are surrounded by monsters, both the Turk and Shears decide to call a temporary truce. As they journey through the depths of the reactor, being attacked by Ravens along the way, Shears reveals to the Turk Fuhito's ultimate goal: to destroy all life on the planet, returning it all the the Lifestream so that it can live longer. He plans on doing this by using the materia implanted in the back of Elfé's hand. Shears tells the Turk that he now wants to stop Fuhito so that he may not do any more harm to Elfé. In the end, Shears helps the Turk is make it to safety, but he is too injured to do so himself. As the structure collapses, the Turk is knocked unconscious. Corel Burns.jpg
 * In order to cover up the resurgence of AVALANCHE, Shinra blames the explosion at the Mako Reactor on Corel, dispatching a Shinra Security unit, lead by Scarlet, to attack the mining village. Barret and Dyne try make their way back to the village as this happens, but are attacked by Scarlet and some Shinra troops. During the attack, Dyne slips and falls off a cliff, Barret tries to pull him back up, but his hand is shot, forcing him to let go as Dyne falls into the ravine. As a result of his wound, Barret is no longer able to use his right hand any more. In the end, Corel is burned to the ground and the survivors of the attack flee to North Corel.
 * Barret is able to make it back to Corel after the attack and digs through the rubble, with only one working hand, to see if he can find any survivors. Although he is unable to find his wife, Myrna, nor Dyne's wife, Eleanor, alive, he is able to find Marlene. Barret decides to raise Marlene as his own daughter and swears revenge against Shinra for what they've done.
 * The Turk is found in the ruins of the Corel Reactor unconscious, and is taken back to Midgar. It is determined that the Turk was exposed to large amounts of Mako during the destruction of the reactor, and has slipped into a coma as a result.
 * Dyne somehow manages to survive the fall into the ravine, but finds that his left hand, like Barret's, is now useless. Driven mad with despair at the destruction of his home and the death of his wife and daughter, unaware that Marlene is still alive, Dyne comes to hate everyone and everything in the world.
 * Rufus is indefinitely detained in one of the Turks' offices, with President Shinra and the Turks being the only one aware of his detainment and his connections with AVALANCHE.
 * After Tseng gives his report on what happened at the Corel Reactor, President Shinra decides to link up the Turks with second division. The president also appoints Tseng as the new leader of the Turks, giving him orders to find Veld and kill him in order to eliminate any security breaches that may result from his sensitive knowledge of the company.

[ ν ] – εуλ 0004

 * The Gongaga Reactor explodes, killing many of the townsfolk.

October

 * After being in a coma for three years, the Turk wakes up. Still being in possession of Shears's Materia, the Turk is updated on what's been happening in the past three years by the other Turks, and is shocked to learn that the Turks are trying to find and kill Veld.
 * October 29 – Fuhito comes to Cosmo Canyon, seeking information from Bugenhagen to further his plans.
 * October 30 Deneh in Before Crisis.PNG
 * 3:00 PM – Reno and the Turk are sent to Cosmo Canyon to capture a specimen for Hojo, on the eve of an annual fifty-year festival held in the canyon to appease the Planet, an important rite involving Nanaki and Deneh, the only last remaining of their species and the Turks' targets. Nanaki however, does not wish to take part in the rite, because he knows that it means that Deneh will be taken away from him for a very long time. During their search of the Cosmo Canyon, the Turks run into Bugenhagen, from whom they learn that Veld had recently came through the canyon in search of Elfé. They also learn from him that Elfé's Materia embedded in her hand is a special Materia that calls a summon beast that will burn all life on the planet asunder, and that although Fuhito still needs another Materia to summon the beast, the Elfé's Materia will still continue to feed off her life force as long as it remains incomplete. The Turks are then attacked by Ravens, the first attack on Shinra by AVALANCHE in quite some time. Reno and the Turk find that the Ravens are much stronger than they were before. Meanwhile, Fuhito meets up with Bugenhagen again, who threatens to extract additional information from Bugenhagen by force, intending to use Nanaki and Deneh as leverage. The Turk and some Ravens eventually come across Deneh, resulting in fight as they both try to claim her. The Turk is eventually able to corner Deneh, but is confronted by Nanaki, who attacks the Turk so that Deneh can escape. The Turk is able to defeat Nanaki, but allows him to take part in his rite with Deneh before they take him. In the end, the rite is complete and Deneh is placed on an alter, where she will remain for several years. With the rite now complete, Reno and the Turk take Nanaki with them back to Midgar.

December

 * December 18
 * Zack and Cloud have now been held in Shinra Mansion for just over four years, being subject to various experiments in injecting them with Jenova's cell's from Sephiroth. Zack, having already be exposed to Jenova cells when he joined SOLDIER—being qualified as able to resist an negative effects of Jenova cells before joining SOLDIER, as all SOLDIERS were—and growing used to their presence in his body overtime, Zack was completely unaffected by even a large dose of Jenova cells in his body, making him useless for Hojo's experiment to test his Reunion theory. Cloud, on the other hand—having been rejected by SOLDIER due to his lack of resistance against Jenova cells—shows no resistance whatsoever to the Jenova cells as his body immediately accepts them. Hojo becomes quite hopeful of Cloud's potential, eager to find out what role this seemingly-ordinary boy, who was able to single-handedly defeat Sephiroth, would play in the Reunion. This is all short-lived, however, when Cloud suffers from a complete collapse of his psyche and is reduced to a catatonic state. Hojo is so furious with this that he labels him a failure and doesn't even bother giving him a number. Both Cloud and Zack are then kept inside of holding tubes, being kept in a state of constant sedation for a long period of time. Then one day, Zack receives some sort of vision of Angeal and is able to regain consciousness and break out of his holding tube, and releases Cloud from his as well, who is still in a catatonic state, forcing Zack to have to drag his body along with him. After fighting off the Shinra security troops stationed in Nibelheim, Zack gets Cloud out of his clothes, fearing that he might have Mako poisoning and that his clothes may still have some Mako attached to it, and finds a 1st Class SOLDIER uniform in the mansion for him to wear. It is at this point that Zack discovers that he has a note in his pocket from Aerith, saying that the only thing she wants, more than anything else, is to spend more time with him. With this, Zack decides to go back to Midgar with Cloud. Zack waits until night, then leaves Nibelheim with Cloud, fighting off scores of Shinra troops along the way.
 * Tseng is notified by Rude about the escape of the two research specimens from Nibelheim and puts out a Priority 1 recovery order for them.
 * December 19
 * 2:00 AM – Cissnei is dispatched to Nibelheim to capture the two escaped specimens. Wanting to recover the specimens before the Shinra troops do, Cissnei has to sneak past the troops patrolling the area. Cissnei eventually finds Zack and Cloud at the edge of a river, where Zack begs her to pretend that she didn't see them. Initially, Cissnei ignores Zack's plea and attacks him, but he proves to be too strong for her and she's unsure if she can win against him. Zack leaves with Cloud, telling Cissnei not to Follow them. Although Cissnei does initially try to follow them, she notices Cloud, and realizes that it was the experiments that were done on him that made him this way. Being racked with guilt over what Shinra has done to them, and the fact that the Turks even had a part in this, Cissnei calls Tseng and tells them that the targets got away, also informing him that one of the specimens was Zack. Zack thanks Cissnei for letting them go, and Cissnei gives Zack the keys to a Shinra motorcycle for him and Cloud to ride back to Midgar. BeforeCrisis-VincentEncounter.jpg
 * The Turk decides to go back to the Shinra Mansion, determined to find out just what went on their after the Nibelheim incident. Upon arriving at the mansion, the Turk runs into Veld, who is trying to figure out a way to save Elfé, with Shinra Mansion being the place where she was fused with the Materia. The Turk refuses to kill Veld, and instead agrees to help him. Veld reveals to the Turk that he's discovered the only way to get the Materia out of Elfé and save her is by gathering four other Materia that, when gathered in the same place, will provide the Materia in Elfé's body with enough life force so that it will stop draining her own life force, and can thus be removed from her body. The Turk already has one of the four Materia, the one obtained from Shears in the Corel Reactor, leaving them with two more to find. They then stumble upon a record stating that a valuable research sample is sealed away behind the door in the basement. Thinking that they might find something useful to them behind the door, they search the manor for the numbers to the door's combination lock. Upon unlocking the door, they find a coffin inside and open it to find Vincent Valentine sleeping inside of it. Veld and Vincent instantly recognize each other, having worked with each other back when Vincent was a Turk. After helping the Veld and the Turk fight off some AVALANCHE operatives inside the Shinra Mansion, Vincent tells them that the Materia they seeks is elsewhere in the mansion, then returns to his slumber so that he may continue to atone for his sins. Veld and the Turk are able to find the Materia in the mansion only to have it stolen by Fuhito. Before Veld Pursues Fuhito, he realizes that Shinra troops are nearby, so he incapacitates the Turk to divert suspicion. Upon waking up, the Turk finds that Veld left a note saying that Reeve Tuesti knows the locations of the other two Materia.
 * When the Turk informs the other Turks of what is going on, they all decide to stand by Veld, intent on helping him and Elfé, knowing that there's no turning back when they do this. Scarlet quickly finds out about this and informs President Shinra. Shinra does not want to take any rash actions, as they are still holding Rufus, so instead he plans a mission to capture Veld. Genesis Chapter10.jpg
 * While on the road, Zack is ambushed by Genesis Copies lead by Genesis himself. Knowing that he had been used by Hojo in Project S, Genesis hopes to use the Jenova cells from Sephiroth that were injected into Zack to cure him of his degradation. One of the copies steals some strands of Zack's hair, devouring one of them as Genesis leaves. Although Zack's cells are unable to halt the Genesis Copy's degradation, it does end up mutating it into a Genesis Eliminator. After defeating the Genesis Copy, Zack is still unsure of where to go from here, but ultimately decides to continue on his way to Midgar.

February

 * Reeve and his robotic cat, Cait Sith, arrive at the Turk's secret headquarters to help them find the third Materia to save Elfé. Cait Sith tells them to look for the Materia in Gongaga Village, and Reeve suggest that they get there by submarine, so that they can travel in secret.
 * The Turk and Cait Sith infiltrate Junon and hijack a submarine, using it to make their way to Gongaga Village. They eventually emerge close to the village and travel the rest of the way on foot.
 * February 10
 * 1:00 PM – The Turk and Cait Sith arrive in Gongaga Village and make their way to the ruined Mako Reactor to find the Materia. When they arrive at the reactor, they are attacked by a monster, which happens to possess the Materia that they seek. The monster badly damages Cait Sith, rendering him immobile. After reassembling Cait Sith, the Turk and Cait Sith go into the ruined reactor to find the Materia, the Turk having to control Cait Sith manually in Reeve's absence. During their search, they find that AVALANCHE is also after the Materia. When the Turk finally obtains the Materia, it is stolen by a Raven, then Shears shows up, alive and well, and steals the Materia back. The Turk and Shears then meet up with Veld, whom Shears has been working with. Now with only two other Materia to collect, including the one that Fuhito has, Veld and Shears tell the Turk that when the Materia is all gathered together, even though it will save Elfé, it will end up calling the summon, Zirconiade, the one who will burn the world asunder. Veld and Shears then explain their plan to use a different method of summoning Zirconiade, without the use of Elfé's Materia. By summoning Zirconiade this way, it will be incomplete, thus able to be destroyed. Once the summon is destroyed, Elfé's Materia will be rendered useless and no longer drain her life force.
 * President Shinra finds out that the Turks are working with Veld. Upon learning this, Shinra decides to have all of the Turks killed in addition to Veld. Hollander Chapter10.jpg
 * On his way to Midgar, Zack comes to his hometown, Gongaga Village. Although hesitant as to whether or not he should go visit, as Shinra troops would likely be there waiting for him, he at least decides to go give it a look. While deciding whether or not he should go, he runs into Cissnei again. Cissnei advises him against visiting, telling him that there are troops in the village waiting for him. She also tells Zack that Angeal has recently been sighted in the village. As Zack and Cissnei part ways for one last time, Cissnei reveals to Zack that "Cissnei" is not her real name. Zack then spots who he thinks is Angeal and follows him, but is attacked by Genesis Copies. After dealing with the Copies, he is confronted by Hollander, who has injected himself with a small amount of Genesis Cells to keep Genesis from killing him. Although now he is suffering from degradation, just as the other Copies, and he is now seeking S-cells as well. Genesis shows up shortly after as they both tell Zack that the infantryman that escaped with him, Cloud, has the last pure S-cells in his body. Zack rushes to save Cloud, who is ultimately saved by Lazard, who has been injected with some of Angeal's cells and now physically resembles him, including a single wing that grows out of his back. After killing Hollander and the Genesis Copies, Zack learns that Lazard helped him because Angeal's will lives on inside of him, and wishes to help Zack stop Genesis, and hopefully even save him. As they try to figure out where Genesis' current location is, Zack realizes that he must be back in Banora.

September

 * Zack arrives in the ruins of Banora, with Cloud still in tow, followed by Lazard. Upon arriving, they can see Lifestream shooting out of the ground, where Banora once stood. Zack jumps into the hole that the lifestream is shooting out from, journeying into a vast series of caves deep beneath Banora. He eventually finds Genesis, now close to death as the degradation overtakes his body. With Zack acting as Angeal's successor and having apart of Sephiroth inside of him, Genesis sees Zack coming as being reunited with his old friends, just as in LOVELESS. Now, Genesis is intent on killing Zack, so that he may return to the planet along with him. Genesis transforms into his ultimate form, Genesis Avatar, but Zack is able to defeat him. Genesis reverts back to his human form, his body now seemingly free of any signs of degradation. He then challenges Zack to one more dual, but is ultimately defeated, as he falls, he realizes that he was wrong all along: The Gift of the Goddess is not the S-cells, as he had thought, it is his pride as a SOLDIER, as a warrior. As he realizes this, he has a vision in which he meets the Goddess of the Planet, Minerva. As the Goddess looks into Genesis' soul, she sees his unselfish desire and will to "complete his duty as as SOLDIER," and revives him as a reflection of the will of the Lifestream.
 * Zack returns to the surface of Banora with a weakened, but still alive, Genesis. Upon returning, he finds a wounded Lazard, who had fought off Shinra troops that had come for Cloud, along with the Angeal Copy from the Sector 5 Church, who also helped protect Cloud but had lost its life in doing so. Lazard also passes away shortly after. Although initially angry, Zack thanks both of them for protecting Cloud. Zack eats a Banora White.jpg
 * In an attempt to fulfill a wish that Genesis had to eat Banora White apples with Sephiroth and Angeal, Zack gathers Cloud and Genesis, along with Lazard's Body around a Banora White tree. with Lazard serving as a stand-in for Angeal, and Zack and Cloud—with Sephiroth's cells—serving as a stand-in for Sephiroth, he gives each of them a Banora White apple. Genesis then cryptically tells Zack what the true Gift of the Goddess is, although he doesn't understand what he means. Genesis then expresses gratitude for seeing his dream fulfilled and slips into a deep slumber. At the same time, Lazard and the Angeal Clone wither away and return to the Lifestream, as Zack notices that the Angeal Clone was carrying a letter. He finds that the letter is from Aerith, the last letter that she ever wrote to him, and that, at the time this letter was written, four years had past since the Nibelheim Incident. Now more determined than ever to get back to Midgar and see Aerith again, Zack takes Cloud and leaves Banora, leaving Genesis to slumber in peace. However, shortly after Zack leaves, Deepground SOLDIERs Nero and Weiss come to retrieve Genesis, taking him back with them to Deepground.
 * Tseng changes his focus to finding Zack, mobilizing all of the Turks on a Priority S mission to find them before Shinra does. Tseng has in his possession, the other 88 letters that Aerith wrote to him over the past four years, which he intends to deliver to Zack once they find him. Zack's Fall.jpg
 * Late September – As Zack draws close to Midgar, he hitches a ride in an old man's truck to take him and Cloud the rest of the way. Along the way, Zack tries to figure out what they should do when they get to Midgar, and eventually comes to the conclusion that he could be a mercenary, using his skills as a SOLDIER to make a living taking on any job that he is asked to do. They suddenly come under sniper fire from Shinra troops, forcing Zack to get off of the truck with Cloud in the middle of the Midgar Wastes. Zack hides Cloud as he scouts ahead, only to find an entire legion of Shinra infantry waiting for him. Refusing to back down, Zack draws his sword, putting up a valiant fight as he fights off wave after wave of Shinra infantrymen from all sides. But in the end, the SOLDIER is overwhelmed, falling to the ground from multiple gunshot wounds as the Shinra troops leave him there to die. It is at this time that Cloud recovers from his Mako poisoning, coming to the side of his fallen friend. With is last breath, Zack gives his Buster Sword to Cloud, telling him that he now must live both of their lives. After mourning the loss of his friend, Cloud promises that he won't forget Zack, then heads off toward Midgar. As Zack lays there dying, he thinks about Aerith, hoping that Cloud will somehow find her and take care of her for him. As his spirit starts to return to the Planet, he wonders if he was able become a hero, like he'd always dreamed.
 * In spite of his promise to Zack, Cloud soon finds his mind in a state of confusion. Suffering heavily from the trauma he's endured from watching his hometown burn to the ground and seeing his best friend die right in front of him, Cloud's mind is in a very fragile state, and the presence of the Jenova cells in his body only make things worse. Cloud continues to wander around Midgar in this confused state for an extended period of time.

October

 * October 1
 * 6:00 PM – Shalua Rui sees AVALANCHE operatives infiltrating Corel Prison, surprised to see them still around after four years. She also notices that something about them is strange, as if they are zombies.
 * The Turks find out that AVALANCHE moving in on Corel Prison, likely to retrieve fourth support Materia to summon Zirconiade needed to summon Zirconiade, which they know to be there. Tseng sends the Turk to Corel Prison to handle the situation.
 * October 2
 * The Turk arrives in Corel Prison to intercept AVALANCHE. Although AVALANCHE seems to be inexplicably absent, the Turk does manage to find Shalua Rui, unconscious and dehydrated
 * Scarlet notifies President Shinra that they now know where Veld is. Knowing that now's the time to strike, the President sends Scarlet and her troops to Capture Veld.
 * Shalua regains consciousness, but is surprised to find that she has been rescued by a Turk. After nursing Shalua back to health, the Turk searches Corel Prison for the support Materia, eventually finding it in the possession of a monster. The Turk retrieves the Materia from the monster, and goes back to where Shalua is so that they can leave together. However, Shalua refuses to accept the Turk's help, attempting to leave on her own, in spite of her current condition. They are then attacked by AVALANCHE operatives, but the Turk is able to fight them off. Shalua's suspicions about the Turk being a Turk are confirmed as she holds the Turk at gunpoint, demanding to be told where SOLDIER candidates are taken. This is interrupted as they are attacked by more AVALANCHE operatives, all of them completely under Fuhito's control now without any free will left in them. As Shalua and the Turk start getting overwhelmed, they are saved by Veld and Shears. Veld has Shears leave with Shalua, as he and the Turk stay behind. Scarlet pursues Veld and the Turk using her newest weapon to hunt them down. When she eventually corners the Turk, Veld turns himself over to her so that the Turk might be spared.
 * Tseng learns from Rufus, using his access to the Shinra network, that Veld and the Turk have been captured by Scarlet. Knowing that Shinra would likely use Veld to manipulate the Turks into giving up Rufus, Tseng leaves for Corel Prison, even though he knows he might not make it on time.
 * Tseng and Reno arrive in Corel Prison and rescue the Turk, now intent on rescuing Veld as well.
 * President Shinra and his executives come to a unanimous vote to officially disband the General Affairs Division Investigative Department (the Turks) and schedule to have Veld executed on October 5th.
 * Tseng, Reno, and Rude attempt to hack into Shinra's database to find out where Veld is being held. So far, their attempts have met with no success as Veld's execution date grows closer
 * October 4
 * 5:00 PM – The Turks gather in a bar in Wall Market, where Gun's younger sister, Elena, works. After angrily leaving the bar, Elena sees some Ravens attacking Shinra infantrymen. Not wanting to depend on the Turks for help, she observes the situation as the Ravens steal the infantrymen's uniforms and wear them as a disguise. Meanwhile, Shears and the Turks decide to divide the three support Materia that they have among themselves, so that the enemy will not be able to get all three of them at once. As Elena continues to trail the disguised Ravens, Tseng is still unable to hack into Shinra's database. Just then, Rufus hacks into Tseng's terminal and is able to show him a security feed of where Veld is being held. Elena eventually gives up on following the Ravens, but then a Raven starts trailing her. Meanwhile, the Turk is attacked by some Shinra Troops as well as some of their new robotic weapons. Back at the Turks headquarters, Rufus tells Tseng that he will provide them with the information that they need to find Veld, but only if under a condition that he discusses with Tseng in private. After obtaining the information needed, Tseng orders the Turk to secure and escape route for the rest of the Turks. Meanwhile, Tseng, Reno, and Rude go to where Veld is being held: Midgar's waste processing area. Back in the slums, the Turk, with the help of some advice from Elena, manages to get onboard a Shinra truck, disguised as an infantrymen, to make it past a security checkpoint. While on the truck, the Turk finds Elena, tied up and in a bag and realizes that a Raven is driving the truck. The Turk attempts to fight off the Ravens in a truck parking lot, but while doing so, the truck with Elena in it drives off. Back in the waste processing area, Tseng, Reno, and Rude are being overwhelmed by Shinra Grunts, but still manage to pull through. At the same time, Shears, who is attempting to rescue Elfé, is confronted by Fuhito, holding Elfé hostage with him. He demands Shears to hand over the support Materia that he has, concerned for Elfe's safety, he complies, but is promptly beaten up by Fuhito. Meanwhile, the Turk follows Elena's captors to a train heading for Midgar, where they tell the Turk to hand over the support Materia for Elena. The Turk initially complies, but then attempts to take the Materia back by force, but is thwarted when the Raven that took the Materia jumps onto a passing train and escapes. The Turk calls Shears, who reveals that in order to summon Zirconiade in its complete form, Fuhito will need to forcefully remove Elfé's Materia from her body, which will kill her. While the Turk heads over to Shinra Headquarters to commandeer a helicopter to recover the stolen Materia, Tseng, Reno, and Rude's are able to locate and rescue Veld. As all of this is going on, President Shinra decides to use this opportunity to recover Rufus from the Turks' Headquarters, which they now know the location of, so that the Turks will no longer have any leverage. Using a commandeered helicopter, the Turk pursues AVALANCHE down a highway in a desperate attempt to recover the support Materia, but is unable to get to it before it makes it into Fuhito's hands. Fuhito begins to activate the four support Materia as it reacts to the Materia in Elfé's body. Fuhito's begins summoning Zirconiade as the sky turns red and the ground begins to quake, but the Turk is able to stop the summoning by pulling Elfé away from the Materia. As the Turk and Fuhito fight, the four support Materia are somehow still able to react with Elfé's Materia, making it come out of her body on its own. The summoning continues as the Turks all gather before where Zirconiade is being summoned, intent on destroying the beast before it can do any damage.
 * October 5 Zirconiade.jpg
 * Zirconiade has been summoned, but is still incomplete, and will remain that way until Fuhito can give the Materia that was in Elfé's body to the beast. While the Turk tries to stop Fuhito before he can do this, Shears, having successfully rescued Elfé, brings her to the meeting point where they will meet up with Veld. Elfé, feeling a deep sense of guilt over all that is happening, wants to go and help destroy Zirconiade,. Because she is too weak to fight, Shears goes in Elfé's place, allowing her to stay behind and finally be reunited with her father, Veld. As Tseng, Reno, and Rude prepare to take the two of them to someplace safe, they are suddenly ambushed by Shinra Troops.
 * 5:00 PM – All of the remaining Turks, Rod, Gun, Two Guns, Shotgun Martial Arts (Male), Martial Arts (Female), Katana, and Cissnei, gather at the pathway leading into Zirconiade's domain, an inter-dimensional plain that allows no one on the outside world to see the beast. In order to defeat the Zirconiade, the Turks must destroy four pillars of energy that give the summon beast its form, then destroy Zirconiade itself. In addition to this, they must also recover the Materia from Fuhito. The Turks split up into teams of two to find him, each of them having to fight through scores of powerful monsters guarding the pathways.
 * Back at Shinra Headquarters, Rufus gives his Father a proposition to ensure future of the Turks in the Shinra Electric Power Company. ZirconiadeFuhito.jpg
 * On the path to Zirconiade, the other Turk that the Turk is paired with stays behind to fight off some Behemoths while the Turk confronts Fuhito. Although initially unable to stand against Fuhito, Shears soon comes to the aide of the Turk, having also come to the aide of the Turk's partner moments before. The Turk and Shears fight Fuhito and are able to defeat him, but before they can retrieve the Materia, Fuhito merges it with his own body and gives it up as an offering to Zirconiade. In doing this, Fuhito is transformed, endowing himself with the powers of Zirconiade. After incapacitating Shears, the Turk engages in battle with the newly-transformed Fuhito. During the fight, Shears regains consciousness and once again comes to the Turk's aid and helps defeat Fuhito and destroy the Zirconiade Materia, but he also loses his life in the process. With the threat of Zirconiade vanishing now, the Turk continues onward toward Zirconiade, so that it may be destroyed for good.
 * Rufus is successful in convincing President in overlooking the charges against the Turks, but only on one condition: They must execute both Veld and Elfé. Although Reno and Rude are unable to accept these terms, Tseng accepts them without hesitation. Knowing that his duty, above even his loyalty to his commander, is to preserve the Turks so that they may continue to serve Shinra, Tseng takes a gun from one of the Shinra infantrymen and fires it at Elfé, executing her. As he prepares to Execute Veld, he tells Tseng that he has made the right choice, showing that he truly has what it takes to be the leader of the Turks. Tseng then executes Veld as well as Reno and Rude look on in horror and disbelief. ZirconiadeArt.png
 * The Turk makes it to Zirconiade, but finds that none of the other Turks are there, meaning that the Turk has to take on Zirconiade alone. As the Turk comes to be overwhelmed by Zirconiade sheer power, three of the other Turks make it just in time to help take on the summon beast. They all give it their best in fighting against Zirconiade, but the three Turks end up falling in battle, leaving the Turk to fend off the beast alone once again. As the Turk faces off against Zirconiade alone, the memories of all the people that the Turk has met come to mind: Cid, Nanaki, Yuffie, and Aerith… Realizing that all these people's futures hang in the balance, the Turk attacks with a powerful Limit Break, destroying Zirconiade for good. As Zirconiade's domain shatters, sending shockwaves throughout the sky, which ends up destroying part of Sector 6, Reno and Rude wonder if the other Turks made it out okay. Back in Midgar, Aerith sees the shattered particles of Zirconiade's domain fall to the ground, thinking that it's snow.
 * The Turks manage to survive the destruction of Zirconiade and go into hiding all over the Planet, while Tseng, Reno, and Rude stay with Shinra, waiting their fate to be decided.
 * Due to the ecological imbalance that the destruction of Zirconiade creates, the Jade Weapon awakens from the Planet. Deeming the Turks that destroyed Zirconiade as a threat to the Planet, the Jade Weapon starts hunting down each one of them.
 * Since the destruction of Corel, Barret, now with a gun in place of his damaged hand, has put together an anti-Shinra group made up of like-minded anti-Shinra sympathizers: Biggs, Wedge, Jesse, and Tifa. Having stumbled onto one of AVALANCHE's former hideouts, Barret decides to adopt the name for his group, although unlike their predecessors, this group's ultimate goal is simply the destruction of Shinra. It is in this hideout that the new AVALANCHE finds plans for a powerful bomb that the old AVALANCHE made. During this time, Tifa finds Cloud wandering about in the Sector 7 Slums. Although relieved to find that he is still alive, Tifa is a bit troubled by the fact that Cloud seems to be acting strangely, almost as if he were a different person. Cloud also makes claims that Tifa isn't entirely sure are true, among them being that he made SOLDIER 1st Class. Wanting to keep a close eye on him, Tifa invites Cloud into AVALANCHE to work as a soldier-for-hire.

December

 * December 9 JadeWEAPON.jpg
 * The renegade Turks are forced to come out of hiding to fight for their own survival as the Jade Weapon tries hunt them all down and kill them. After nine long battles with the powerful weapon, chasing it all over the Planet, the Turks are eventually able to destroy the Jade Weapon once and for all. With the threat on their lives now eliminated, the renegade Turks go back into hiding.
 * An Executive hearing is held to determine the fate of the remaining Turks, Tseng, Reno, and Rude. Scarlet suggests that all three of them should be executed for their indiscretions toward the Shinra Electric Power Company. But before President Shinra can pass this sentence, Rufus intervenes, telling him that it would be a mistake to get rid of the Turks, as they had already proven their loyalty by executing Veld. The President decides to take his son's advice, and clears the Turks of all charges, allowing them to continue serving under Shinra. Reactor Go BOOM!!!.jpg
 * The new AVALANCHE launches their first attack against Shinra as Cloud, Barret, Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie stowaway aboard a train bound for Sector 1 of Midgar, determined to blow up the Sector 1 Mako Reactor. Although they run into some resistance along the way, including a Guard Scorpion robot, as well as a strange voice that cloud hears inside of his head, they are ultimately successful in planting the bomb in the reactor's core and blowing it up. The resulting explosion, however, is much bigger than they anticipated and results in more civilian casualties than expected.
 * Tseng thanks Rufus for defending the Turks at the hearing, but Rufus simply tells Tseng that he didn't do it for their sake, but for his own. As they leave, an alarm sounds, reporting an emergency situation at Mako Reactor No. 1. Later, Rufus files an official report stating that Elfé and Veld were assassinated by the Turks and that the Turk was killed in action.
 * During AVALANCHE's Escape, Cloud runs into Aerith and buys a flower from her. He is then able to make it out just in time to rendezvous with the rest of the group on a train back to Sector 7. Once they make it back to AVALANCHE's hideout in Tifa's Seventh Heaven bar, they start making plans to blow up Mako Reactor No. 5 while Cloud attempts to take his pay and leave. But when Tifa reminds Cloud of the promise that he'd made to her years ago, he decides to stay around for the next mission.
 * AVALANCHE proceeds with their attack on Mako Reactor No. 5, this time with Tifa accompanying them. Although a security lockdown on the train that they're on forces them to jump off, Cloud, Tifa, and Barret are able to make their way through the interior of the Sector 5 Plate and into Mako Reactor No. 5. After planting the bomb inside of the reactor and preparing to leave, they are confronted by President Shinra himself as he sends an Air Buster robot after him. After defeating the Air Buster, the resulting explosion destroys the platform that Cloud is standing on. He tries to hold on, but the reactor's explosion sends him falling below to the Sector 5 Slums, right into Sector 5 church, his fall being broken by Aerith's flowers.
 * Cloud again experiences a strange voice in his head as he is awakened by Aerith. As he talks to her, Aerith immediately takes to Cloud, as he reminds her so much of Zack. At this time, Reno shows up with some Shinra infantrymen, as the Turks are now being pressured to get Aerith back for the company no matter what. After "hiring" Cloud as a bodyguard, he helps Aerith escape from the church and takes her back to her home in the Sector 5 Slums, although Aerith keeps from Cloud the truth about why she is being chased by the Turks. Cloud stays at Aerith's house for the night, who promises to take him to Sector 7 in the morning so that he can get back to Seventh Heaven. However, her adoptive mother, Elmyra, tells Cloud to leave early in the morning before Aerith, fearing for the girl's safety. That night, Cloud is again visited by the mysterious voice in his head.
 * Upon returning from their mission, Barret and Tifa spot suspicious-looking man hanging around the Sector 7 Slums. Suspecting him to be a spy, Barret squeezes him for information until he mentions Don Corneo, a crime lord who resides in Wall Market in the Sector 6 Slums. Sensing that there might be more to this than they think, Tifa decides pay a visit to Don Corneo.
 * Cloud wakes up early and attempts to make his way to Sector 7 without Aerith, as Elmyra requested, only to find her waiting for him at the entrance to Sector 6. Cloud and Aerith make their way through the ruins of the Sector 6 Slums, until they eventually come to the still-intact Sector 6 park where Aerith and Zack used to spend time together. As Aerith spends some time with Cloud in the park, she is reminded of Zack even more. They are then interrupted as they see a chocobo carriage come out of the Sector 7 gate carrying none other than Tifa as it makes its way to Don Corneo's place in Wall Market. Cloud and Aerith follow the carriage to Wall Market and attempt to get into Don Corneo's mansion, but are denied entry, being told that at the moment, the Don was only allowing ladies into his home. Aerith then devises a plan for both her and Cloud to get inside of of Corneo's place by dressing Cloud up as a woman. After obtaining all the necessary components from around Wall Market, a disguised Cloud and Aerith gain entry into Don Corneo's Mansion and meet up with Tifa. After explaining her situation to Cloud and Aerith, Tifa explains that she's in a bind because she has been selected to be one of the girls that the Don will choose to spend the night with, and Cloud and Aerith were now among these "girls" as well, but they decide to go along with it until they are able to get Corneo in a position to make him talk. After looking over the three "girls," Corneo chooses one of them, and lets his men have the other two. After beating up the Don's lackeys, the three of them confront Corneo, threatening him with castration unless he talks. He reveals that Heidegger hired him to find out where Barret was and where he was running his operations. Corneo had sent his men out and found out that Barret was in the Sector 7 Slums. With this information, Shinra plans to break the main support beam holding up the Sector 7 Plate and destroy AVALANCHE for good. As three of them prepare to leave so that they can stop Shinra, Corneo triggers a trapdoor and drops them all into the sewers below.
 * At Shinra Headquarters, President Shinra and Heidegger finalize their plans to drop the Sector 7 Plate onto the slums, Heidegger having assigned the Turks to this mission. Reeve voices his opposition to this plan, but his please ultimately fall on deaf ears
 * Abel hears from one of his co-workers at Shinra about a possible attack on the Sector 7 pillar by AVALANCHE. Fearing for his Family, Abel tries to get his wife, Chloe, and son, Denzel, out of Sector 7. When Chloe insists on running off to warn all of their neighbors, Abel sends Denzel off with one of his co-workers to take his son to their new house in Sector 5 while he goes to look for his wife. Sector7 destruction.jpg
 * In the sewers, Cloud, Tifa, and Aerith must fight off Don Corneo's "pet," Aps. After defeating the monster, escaping the sewers, traversing the Train Graveyard, and finally arriving in Sector 7, they find that Shinra has already started going through with the plan. AVALANCHE had already been trying to hold off Shinra at the pillar, but are overwhelmed as Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie are all mortally wounded, leaving Barret to fend for himself at the top of the pillar. Cloud sends Aerith to get Marlene out of Sector 7 as he and Tifa make their way up to Barret. Right as they make it to the top of the pillar, Reno arrives and sets the pillar to detonate. As Reno fights with Cloud, Tifa, and Barret, Tseng is finally able capture Aerith, forcing her to come with him after threatening to hurt Marlene if she doesn't cooperate. When Reno is forced to retreat from the battle, Tseng confronts Cloud's group with a captive Aerith at his side. As he leaves, the pillar starts to collapse, forcing Cloud, Tifa, and Barret to escape from the Sector 7 Slums by using a long wire pulley device to swing from the top of the pillar and safely into the Sector 6 Slums right as the Sector 7 Plate Collapses, killing hundreds of people both on the plate and in the slums including Biggs, Wedge, Jessie, and as well as Denzel's parents.
 * An enraged Barret mourns the loss of his comrades and his daughter, Marlene. However, when he learns that Marlene might still be okay, they make their way to Aerith's house where they find her alive in well. While there, Elmyra tells the group all about Aerith and how she is really an Ancient, whose powers the Shinra Electric Power Company seek to exploit. Barret leaves Marlene in Elmyra's care as he decides to go with Cloud and Tifa as they try to figure out a way to rescue Aerith.
 * Cloud's group uses the debris left from the destruction of Sector 7 and climbs up onto the upper plate of Midgar. Upon making it to the top, Cloud and the others infiltrate Shinra Headquarters, having to fight through the building's security while conning their way into obtaining security clearances needed to reach the upper floors of the building. When the three of them make it to the executive floor of the building, they spy on a Shinra executive meeting from the vents where they learn that Shinra is planning to use Aerith to find the location of the Promised Land. An old Cetra legend, Shinra believes the Promised Land to be a fertile land rich in Mako Energy, and it is there that they plan to build a new city, Neo-Midgar. As the meeting adjourns, Cloud's group follows Hojo, where they see him observing Nanaki. Here, Cloud finds Jenova's body, having been moved from the Mt. Nibel Reactor and into Shinra Headquarters. Jenova Headless.jpg he peers into Jenova's holding tank, the Jenova cells in his own body react and cause him to briefly lose control of himself as he seems to suffer from a panic attack. After recovering, they make their way up to Hojo's lab, on the next floor. They arrive to find Hojo attempting to use Nanaki to crossbreed with Aerith. Barret shoots at the containment unit, allowing Aerith and Nanaki to escape. Nanaki introduces himself to the Cloud's group as Red XIII, the name that Hojo gave to him, and decides to join them in their escape. Hojo sends his experiment, Sample:HO512 to take care of Cloud and his friends, but, with the help of Red XIII, they are able to defeat it. Just as they prepare to escape from the building, all five of them are caught by the Turks. All of them, except for Aerith, are then brought before President Shinra, where he tells them of his plan to find the Promised Land and build more of their Mako Reactors to suck up the land's Mako energy. They are then locked away in the building's detention area, along with Aerith. During their time in containment, Aerith reveals that not even she's sure if the Promised Land really exists, where it is, or even what it is. Eventually, all of them drift off to sleep. FFVII Crazy Motorcycle.jpg
 * After five years of patiently waiting, recovering his power, Sephiroth calls out to Jenova's body at the Shinra Headquarters. Compelled to reunite with Sephiroth as well as Jenova's head, as theorized by Hojo in his Reunion Theory, Jenova's body comes to life and starts to wreak havoc in the Shinra building, leaving a trail of death in its wake as it makes its way to the top floor, eventually taking on the form of Sephiroth himself. Upon reaching the top floor "Sephiroth" kills President Shinra, driving his sword into the his back. Sephiroth then leaves Shinra Headquarters and Midgar, making his way to Kalm. After all of this unfolds, Cloud awakes to find his cell door open, all of the guards dead, and monsters running wild through the building. After freeing the rest of his comrades, Cloud and the others follow the trail of blood from the Jenova holding tank, up to President Shinra's 70th-floor office, where they find him dead, with Sephiroth's unmistakable Masamune Blade sticking out of his back. After Palmer, who had been hiding nearby, confirms that it was Sephiroth that did this, Rufus Shinra arrives on top of the building by helicopter. Now the new President of the Shinra Electric Power Company, Rufus tells Cloud and his comrades how he plans on controlling the world through fear, and not through money like his father did. Cloud takes on Rufus alone, while the others attempt to secure an exit, only to find the outside of the building swarming with Shinra Infantry. After Rufus retreats from his fight with Cloud, they all escape from Shinra Headquarters by stealing a Shinra car and Motorcycle on display in the building, with Cloud on the motorcycle. Cloud fights off Shinra troops from his motorcycle as they make their way to the edge of Midgar, where they are confronted by the Shinra robot, Motor Ball. After they defeat the machine, Cloud's group uses a crane to escape from Midgar and onto the ground outside, where they decide to split up and rendezvous in Kalm.
 * Sephiroth leaves Kalm and makes his way toward the Chocobo Farm. FFVII Cloud flashback.jpg
 * Cloud and the others meet up at Kalm Inn, where Cloud tells them about the Nibelheim Incident. However, because of his altered memories, Cloud tells them different version of the story where he was the 1st Class SOLDIER that accompanied Sephiroth on the mission to Nibelheim, with Zack being absent from the story entirely. His fabrication of the events that took place become somewhat evident as, while telling the story, he has a difficult time remembering certain things, such as whether or not he went into Tifa's house or whether or not he ever went the town shop. He couldn't even get through talking about visiting his mother without it all being very fragmented and a bit confusing. But these minor inconsistencies are generally ignored until he gets to the end of the story, where he faces off against Sephiroth in Jenova's chamber, but is unable to recall what happened next.
 * Sephiroth passes through the Chocobo Farm on his way to the marshes, Choco Bill tries to warn him about venturing into the dangerous swamp, but is ignored as Sephiroth makes his way to the Mythril Mine.
 * Cloud's party arrives the Chocobo Farm, where they learn that Sephiroth was spotted going toward the Mythril Mines, which is beyond a swamp where vicious Midgar Zoloms reside. In order to avoid encountering any of these powerful monsters, Choco Bill teaches the group how to catch chocobos so that they may safely traverse the swamp. FFVII-MidgarZolom Death.jpg
 * Cloud's party is able to make it across the swamp to the Mythril Mines by way of chocobo, but once across, they find a Midgar Zolom impaled on a broken tree, undoubtedly the work of Sephiroth.
 * Sephiroth leaves the Mythril Mines and makes his way to Junon.
 * As Cloud and the others make their way through the Mythril Mines, they encounter Tseng, Rude, and the Turks' newest recruit, Elena. They have been assigned to track down Sephiroth, and tell Cloud's party to stay out of their way, but during this time, Elena lets it slip that Sephiroth is heading for Junon.
 * Sephiroth arrives in Junon.
 * After leaving the Mythril Mines, Cloud's party is ambushed by Yuffie while venturing through the forests of the area. Upon defeating the ninja, she shows interest in joining their group and Cloud allows her to tag along, unaware of her real intentions to steal their Materia the first chance she gets.
 * Cloud's party visits Fort Condor, where they learn about the plight of its inhabitants, who are trying to hold of the armies of Shinra from capturing the Mako Reactor at the top of the fort, where a Condor, an gigantic bird, has made its nest. The inhabitants of Fort Condor revere the condor and will not allow the Shinra to disturb its nesting ground, but their funding and resources have grown thin. Cloud and the others decide to help Fort Condor to fight against their common enemy, giving them financial and strategical support as Shinra launches first attack on Fort Condor (the first since Cloud and the others came to the aide of Fort Condor).
 * Cloud's party arrives in Lower Junon, only to find that access to Upper Junon is currently restricted due to an increase in security for Rufus' inauguration parade. While in Lower Junon, they come upon a little girl named Priscilla and her dolphin friend, Mr. Dolphin, who is attacked by Bottomswell, a mutant sea monster made from the waste of the Junon Mako Reactor. After defeating the monster, Cloud administers CPR to Priscilla, who is taken home by her grandfather. For rescuing Priscilla, the townspeople allow Cloud and the others to stay in Lower Junon for the night. That night, Cloud is again visited by the mysterious voice in his head, this time asking him questions that makes him wonder why Tifa wasn't there to greet him in Nibelheim five years ago when he first arrived with Sephiroth.
 * Cloud tries to ask Tifa about where she was when he first arrived in Nibelheim five years ago, but she evades his question, claiming that she can't remember, then changing the subject and taking Cloud over to Priscilla's house. Priscilla is now completely recovered from the events of the previous day. To thank Cloud for saving her life, she shows Cloud how she's trained Mr. Dolphin to jump on command when she blows a whistle. Priscilla gives Cloud her whistle so that he can use Mr. Dolphin to get to Upper Junon.
 * Shinra launches its second attack on Fort Condor.
 * Shinra launches its third attack on Fort Condor.
 * Using Priscilla's whistle, Cloud rides on back of Mr. Dolphin as he jumps high enough to allow Cloud to grab onto a structure that leads up into Upper Junon. Cloud climbs the structure up to the airport and makes his way into the barracks, where he is mistaken for a Shinra infantryman and is forced to dress up in Shinra military attire and takes part in Rufus' inauguration parade, which is being broadcast on live TV all over the world. After the parade, Cloud witnesses an exchange between Rufus and Heidegger, where he learns that Rufus plans on leaving Junon by ship. He also hears one of the other infantrymen talk about a man in a black cape roaming Junon. Later, after taking part in a sendoff for Rufus at the dock, Cloud spots Red XIII, who had also made it into Upper Junon by way of Mr. Dolphin along with the others, and they were now all stowed away on the ship. Cloud also stows away on the ship, but unbeknownst to him, so does Sephiroth. Jenova BIRTHFFVII.png
 * Onboard the ship bound for Costa del Sol, Cloud finds Yuffie, Aerith, Tifa, and Red XIII all aboard the ship and in disguise. Cloud also finds Barret spying on Rufus and Heidegger, only to be interrupted by an alarm going off as intruders are reported on the ship. Fearing that they may have been discovered, Cloud and Barret regroup with the others, where they realize that the intruder must be Sephiroth. Cloud and the others make their way down to the lower-deck of the ship, where they find that Sephiroth has killed everyone as he appears before them. Displaying unnatural powers as he seems to pass through solid surfaces and fly through the air. Although not seeming to recognize Cloud, Sephiroth leaves him with some ominous words as he detaches a piece of Jenova's body, which still serves as the host to his current form, which transforms into Jenova∙BIRTH. Cloud's group is able to defeat Jenova∙BIRTH. After the battle, Cloud begins to ponder about just what Sephiroth is planning on doing.
 * The ship docks at Costa del Sol, where Cloud and the others decide to take a brief break. While there, Cloud and Aerith spot Professor Hojo on the beach and confront him. Finding that he is simply on vacation, Hojo shows some interest in Cloud, asking him if he's ever felt like he's heard something calling to him, like he had to go to some place, curious as to whether the Jenova cells in him are still active. When Aerith asks the professor about whether Jenova and Sephiroth are really Ancients like her, Hojo goes silent, only mumbling "head west" to them.
 * Sephiroth Copy 1 is seen in North Corel.
 * Cloud's party leaves Costa del Sol, making their way to Mt. Corel. After traversing the mountain, they arrive in North Corel, where the Corel refugees immediately recognize him. A group of them chastise Barret, blaming him for what happened to Corel, as he was biggest advocate of bringing Mako Energy to Corel and letting Shinra in. When his comrades show concern over this, Barret tells them about what happened in Corel four years earlier. They then board the gondola to the Gold Saucer, an amusement park built over the ruins of Corel since its destruction.
 * Sephiroth Copy 1 arrives in Gold Saucer, where he asks Dio, the owner of the Gold Saucer, if he has any Black Materia. Meanwhile, Cait Sith, having been sent by Reeve at the orders of Shinra, waits in Gold Saucer for Cloud's party so that he may infiltrate them, serving as a spy for Shinra. For this mission, Reeve has supplied Cait Sith with a robotic Moogle doll for him to use as a mount, increasing his strength and performance in battle situations. Gold Saucer outside.jpg
 * Cloud and the others arrive at the Gold Saucer, where they decide to take a break from their journey. Barret, still emotionally distraught about Corel, angrily leaves the group as the rest of them split up to visit Gold Saucer's attractions. Upon arriving at the Wonder Square, Cloud runs into Cait Sith, who stops him so that he may tell his fortune. After giving Cloud a rather vague and somewhat ominous fortune, Cait Sith joins Cloud's party under the pretense that he wants to see how this fortune will turn out. Later, in the Speed Square, Cloud runs into Dio, who tells him about how a "boy" his age had asked him about something called Black Materia. After learning that this "boy" had been wearing a black cloak, Cloud asks him where he went, but Dio is unable to remember. Around this time, Dyne shows up in the Battle Square and kills everyone in the lobby. Cloud and the others show up shortly after Dyne's rampage, fearing that it might be the work of an enraged Barret when he hears one of the dying people mention a man with a gun on his arm. When Dio shows up and sees Cloud and his comrades, he assumes that they are the ones responsible and drops them down into Corel Prison. Barret Confronts Dyne.jpg
 * Cloud and his two comrades, among them being Cait Sith, find themselves in Corel Prison, where they run into Barret. Although he insists that they all leave him alone, the group follows Barret to an abandoned house, where they all meet up with the rest of the group. Still suspicious that Barret may have been the one behind the murders at the Battle Square, Barret tells them all that his friend Dyne is still alive, and that he had also gotten a gun grafted to his arm. Now the "boss" of Corel Prison, Dyne has apparently been the source of much trouble, as well as the murders in the Gold Saucer. Barret confronts Dyne, trying to reason with his old friend, only to find that he has gone mad in his despair, wanting to destroy everything, just as everything he loved was destroyed. Barret tries to calm Dyne by telling him that Marlene is still alive, but he simply replies by saying that he intends on killing her so that she can be with her mother. Dyne then attacks Barret, leaving him no choice but to fight his friend in order to stop his madness. Upon defeating Dyne, Barret tries to reason with him once more, telling him that Marlene is waiting for him, but he just replies by saying that Marlene wouldn't even remember him and that his hands are too blood-stained to hold her. Wanting to put an end to his despair once and for all, Dyne gives Barret Eleanor's pendent so that he may give it to Marlene, then he takes his own life by jumping off of a cliff.
 * With Dyne dead, Cloud's party now has to deal with the issue of getting out of Corel Prison. They meet with Mr. Coates, the warden, to try and negotiate their freedom, with Barret trying to muscle him into giving into their demands. In spite of this, Coates tells them that he has no authority to release them, and that the only way a prisoner can gain their freedom is to win it in one of the Gold Saucer's chocobo races. Cloud agrees to participate in the races, and is then approached by Ester, a renowned chocobo racing manager, who had overheard his situation and offers to be Cloud's manager. On the way to the track, Cloud explains to Ester what really happened at the Battle Square, and she agrees to talk to Dio and negotiate his freedom along with his comrades. Upon arriving at the track, Cloud finds that he will be racing against chocobo racing legend, Joe, but in the end, he is able to come out victorious in the race. After the race, Cloud receives a letter from Dio apologizing to him for the misunderstanding and giving him and his friends a full pardon. As an apology for the inconvenience, Dio also gives Cloud a buggy for his party to use in their travels. Dio also says that he recently met Sephiroth, apparently not being aware that he is a wanted criminal and no longer a war hero, and that he saw him heading south, toward Gongaga. With this information, Cloud's party departs from the Gold Saucer and continue their search for Sephiroth, making their way to Gongaga in their new buggy.
 * Shinra launches its fourth attack on Fort Condor.
 * Cloud's party arrives in Gongaga to find the Turks waiting for them. After fighting off Reno and Rude, Cloud and his comrades wonder how the Turks knew that they would be in Gongaga and suspect that there might be a spy among them, but Cloud quickly dismisses this notion. The group makes their way to the ruined Gongaga Reactor where they see Tseng and Scarlet arrive by helicopter to investigate the reactor. Staying out of sight, Cloud overhears the Scarlet asking Tseng about Huge Materia and also hears her mention something about an "ultimate weapon" that Shinra is working on. After Tseng and Scarlet leave, Cloud's group passes through Gongaga Village, where they meet Zack's parents. They ask Cloud if he knew their son while he was in SOLDIER, and although he denies knowing him, his memories about Zack still intertwined with the memories of his own life, Aerith and Tifa seem to instantly recognize the name and react in a very emotional manner. While Aerith admits to Cloud that Zack was her old boyfriend, Tifa refuses to say anything about it. With no sign of Sephiroth, they all depart from Gongaga and continue onward.
 * After their buggy breaks down while traversing rough terrain, Cloud and his comrades make their way to Cosmo Canyon to seek help. Upon arriving, Cloud learns that Cosmo Canyon is Red XIII's home, where he is known as Nanaki, and that he is a member of a tribe tasked with protecting the Canyon. Cloud's group is allowed into Cosmo Canyon, where they can stay until their buggy is fixed and they can continue their search for Sephiroth, although Red XIII does not intend on coming with them, as his only reason for tagging along with them was so that he could make it home. While in Cosmo Canyon, Cloud's party learns more about the Planet from the elders and from Red XIII's grandfather, Bugenhagen. In his holographic observatory, Bugenhagen explains the cycle of life on the Planet, how the consciousness of all living things return to the planet when they die and converge to form the Lifestream, which is then used to bring new life into the world. He then goes onto explain that the Shinra's Mako Reactors are feeding off the Planet's Lifestream, using the spirits of living things as energy diminishing them to nothing, and how it will eventually lead to the death of the Planet. Later, when Cloud's party is gathered around the Cosmo Candle, the fire at the center of Cosmo Canyon, Red XIII shares with Cloud the anger he feels toward his father, whom he believes abandoned him and his mother as well as the Canyon when the Gi Tribe attacked. Bugenhagen overhears this, and invites Red XII, Cloud, and one of his comrades to follow him.
 * Shinra launches its fifth attack on Fort Condor.
 * Bugenhagen leads the group into Cave of the Gi below Cosmo Canyon, which has been sealed off ever since the war with the Gi Tribe. As they make their way through the cave, they must fight off the undead spirits of the Gi Tribe, including the leader of the Gi Tribe himself, Gi Nattak. Upon defeating Gi Nattak, Bugenhagen leads the group out of the caves to a narrow pass, where they see the petrified body of Red XIII's father, Seto. Bugenhagen goes on to tell Red XIII the truth about his father, that he was not a coward that abandoned him and his mother during their time of need, rather he was a hero who bravely held off wave after wave of Gi warriors, keeping them from using the caves to infiltrate Cosmo Canyon, which would have allowed the Gi Tribe to easily overrun Cosmo Canyon. Bugenhagen then tells Red XIII that he wants him to continue his journey with Cloud and the others to save the Planet, explaining the even though he does not think it possible to prevent the eventual destruction of the Planet completely, it would be the least they could do, as apart of the Planet, to help it in its time of misery. As Cloud's party prepares to leave Cosmo Canyon in their now-repaired buggy, Red XIII catches up to Cloud so that he may continue on his journey with him.
 * Shinra launches its sixth attack on Fort Condor. FFVII Vincent Joins.jpg
 * Cloud's party arrives in Nibelheim, surprised to find the the town is still standing, as if the fire never happened. They are further perplexed when they find that most of the town's citizens are dressed in black cloaks and babbling incoherently about Sephiroth and a "Reunion," each one of them having a tattoo of a number on their body. The only sane people in Nibelheim seem to be the merchants and business owners, but they deny that any of the events that occurred in Nibelheim five years ago actually happened. Seeking answers, Cloud's and his comrades go into the Shinra Mansion. As they explore the mansion, they find some notes by Hojo that give clues to locations within the mansion where they can find addition notes made by him which, when put together, will provide them the combination to a safe in the mansion. After figuring out the combination, they open the safe, and are attacked by one of Hojo's experiments, Lost Number. When they defeat the monster, they find a key inside of the safe, along with a tome that teaches the powerful Cosmo Memory technique. Using the key, Cloud and the others are able to open the locked room in the basement, where the find Vincent's coffin, waking him up as they open it. Vincent is initially hostile toward the group, telling them to leave the mansion, but when he hears Cloud mention Sephiroth, recognizing the name of Lucrecia's child, he decides to hear him out. After Cloud tells Vincent all about Sephiroth, Vincent feels even more guilt for not being able to stop Lucrecia from taking part in the experiment that created Sephiroth and attempts to go back to sleep. They are able to convince Vincent to give them more information, telling them about himself and about Sephiroth's human mother, Lucrecia. After this, Vincent shuts himself into his coffin again and refuses to come out. Cloud and the others proceed to the library, where they find Sephiroth. Sephiroth asks Cloud if he intends on taking part in the Reunion, which only elicits a confused response from Cloud. He then goes on to refer to Jenova as the "Calamity from the Skies," implying that Jenova is not an Ancient, as they thought she was. Sephiroth tells Cloud to follow him north, past Mt. Nibel if he wishes to find out about the Reunion, then he flies away. As they prepare to leave the mansion, Vincent catches up to them and asks if he would meet Hojo if he came with him. Cloud answers by telling him that they may possibly run into the professor sooner or later and Vincent agrees to come with them, seeking vengeance against Hojo for what he did to Lucrecia and himself.
 * Cloud's party crosses over Mount Nibel, where they must fight the Materia Keeper. They then make their way to Rocket Town.
 * Cloud and the others arrive in Rocket Town. When they spot the Tiny Bronco in Cid's backyard, they realize that it might be useful to them in their hunt for Sephiroth. Shera notices Cloud and his comrades looking at the plane, and tell them that they will need to talk to Cid if they want to use it, also mentioning that Rufus is scheduled to come to Rocket Town to meet with Cid.
 * Shinra launches its seventh attack on Fort Condor.
 * Cloud meets with Cid as he is tinkering with the Shinra No. 26 rocket. After the captain explains to Cloud about the rocket and the Shinra Space Program, Cloud asks Cid if they can borrow the Tiny Bronco, to which he promptly refuses. Back at Cid's house, Shera tells Cloud's group about how she was responsible for crushing Cid's dream of going into space. Rufus arrives in Rocket Town, along with Palmer, but Cid is disappointed to hear that their only reason for coming is to borrow the Tiny Bronco to aid them in their search for Sephiroth. Palmer goes to prepare the Tiny Bronco for flight, but is confronted by Cloud and the others. Panicked, Palmer pulls out a Mako gun and tries to fight them off, but decides to retreat, only to be hit by the truck that the Tiny Bronco was to be loaded onto. During the fighting, the Tiny Bronco's engines fire up and it starts to move on its own. Not knowing how to stop it, Cloud and the others jump onto the plane as it takes off, Cid also jumps on with them Shinra troops open fire on him. Although they manage to escape, tail is damaged by the gun fire, and makes a crash-landing into the ocean. Having finally gotten fed up with Shinra, and undoubtedly added to their wanted list, Cid decides to join Cloud's party, if, for no other reason, than to get back at Shinra. He allows them to use the Tiny Bronco, although now unable to fly, as a seaplane, it can still be used as a boat. Cid also mentions that Rufus said something about Sephiroth going to the Temple of the Ancients, although Yuffie requests that they go north first, but does not reveal why.
 * Shinra Launches its eighth attack on Fort Condor.
 * Using the Tiny Bronco, Cloud's party arrives in the Wutai area. Upon arriving, Yuffie's behavior becomes even more suspicious, but just when they confront her about it, they are attacked by Shinra Grenade Combatants, during which Yuffie flees. Once they defeat them, they realize that not only is Yuffie gone, but so is their Materia. Realizing that Yuffie had only used them to get their Materia, Cloud and the others pursue her so that they can get their Materia back.
 * After trekking through the wilderness of the Wutai Area without any materia, Cloud's party arrives in Wutai Village. Upon arriving, they immediately spot Yuffie, but she flees them once again leaving them to search the village for her. During their search, Cloud and the others run into the Turks at Turtle's Paradise, but they do not attack them as they are currently on leave and do not want to be bothered. During their search they meet a man named Godo, who turns out to be Yuffie's father and neither of them seem to be on good terms with each other. Eventually, Cloud's party is able to corner Yuffie and she surrenders. Meanwhile, the Turks are informed by a Shinra troop that they have confirmed that the now-wanted Don Corneo is currently present in Wutai. Reno and Rude, however, have no intention of pursuing the Don while they are off duty and refuse to help. Elena is angered by her senior Turks' lack of enthusiasm and decides to assist the Shinra troops. Back at Yuffie's House, Yuffie tries to explain to Cloud the reason why she stole their Materia, but Cloud does not show her any sympathy. After tricking Cloud into triggering a trap, she flees again but only be captured by Corneo along with Elena. With the capture of their comrade, the Turks decide to get involved with the search for Corneo and call a temporary truce with Cloud's party so that they can rescue Elena and Yuffie. Cloud and the others are able to find the Corneo along with Elena and Yuffie at the top of the Da Chao Statue, but as they corner him they are attacked by the Don's new pet, Rapps. In spite of their lack of materia, Cloud's party is able to defeat Rapps, but Corneo uses the girls as a shield by threatening to drop them using remote-controlling rig that they are tied to the statue with. The Don's plans are foiled, however, when Reno and Rude show up and knock him off of the statue to fall to his death. After freeing Yuffie, she finally returns all of the materia she stole to Cloud's party, but still insists on coming with them on their journey.
 * While in Wutai, Yuffie decides to take on the challenge of the Wutai Pagoda, where she must fight Wutai's five masters on the five levels of the pagoda. As Yuffie ascends the pagoda, she is able to overcome Gorkii's speed, Shake's strength, Chekov's magic, and Staniv's weapon mastery. Upon reaching the top of the pagoda, she is surprised to find out that the fifth and strongest warrior is actually her father, Godo. Not hesitating to fight his own daughter, Godo gives Yuffie her final test as the two of them battle. Yuffie ultimately emerges as the victor in this battle and Godo acknowledges her skill by giving her the Leviathan materia. But Yuffie angrily lashes out at the five warriors, telling them that they could be using their strength to fight Shinra. Godo acknowledges that it is his fault that Wutai is now under Shinra rule and that although he has the strength to fight Shinra, he has not been determined to do so. He praises Cloud's party for both their strength and determination and encourages Yuffie to continue to aid Cloud and the others in their fight against Shinra. Before she leaves, however, Godo tells Yuffie to bring back all the materia that they have once their battle is over.

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 * January 21 – Meteor destroys Midgar.
 * Geostigma begins to infect the Planet’s population.
 * Early Spring – Edge is constructed by the inhabitants of Midgar, and the WRO are founded by Reeve (and funded by Rufus).
 * Denzel is found by Cloud just outside of Aerith's church.

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 * The Events of Advent Children.

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 * After three years of being trapped beneath Midgar due to the devastation caused by Meteor, Deepground makes its presence known to the world by launching attacks on Kalm and Edge. This commences The Events of Dirge Of Cerberus.

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 * 500 Years After the End of Final Fantasy VII – Final scene of the game, wherein Red XIII (and his children) view the ruins of Midgar.