Once the party was outside they decided to name Rhek leader of a new band on a mission to end Sephiroth before Shinra can get to him. The first place we visit is Kalm and here is where we really get a good look at what's going on.
Cloud tells a lengthy story to his band of misfits about his past. He recalls being in SOLDIER with Sephiroth five years ago and running his first mission with him at a little town called Nibelheim. This is of course where Cloud is actually from as well as Tifa, but there have been reports of strange monsters about the Mako Reactor there lately. Cloud arrives with Sephiroth and it turns out that Tifa is to be their guide up the mountain. Along the way we find out that Sephiroth's mother was called Jenova and First Class SOLDIER's have been heavily infused with Mako energy.
Once we reach the reactor, we're quick to notice the huge sign that reads "JENOVA" on the top of the reactor. Inside cell about it are humans who have been given extreme doses of mako energy from Dr. Hojo and turned into monsters. Hojo has been trying to carry on the work of the brilliant Prof. Gahst but he's not as bright by a long shot. Sephiroth recalls being raised by Gahst and ponders the coincidence of the mutilated alien creature at the center of the reactor called Jenova.
The local mansion used to be occupied by Gahst and all his research is actually down there. Sephiroth goes into a hiatus and reads night and day for weeks. Cloud finally goes down there to find out what he's doing. What he finds is a crazed Sephiroth who tells him about the origins of their world.
Long ago a race called the Cetra inhabited this planet for a short time but then left. Some few of the Cetra stayed though and rebelled against the ways of the Cetra, cutting off their ties with the planet. They forgot about their origins and few true Cetra remained on the planet. Thousands of years later Prof. Gahst found a frozen preserved body of an Ancient (Cetra) and called it Jenova. From her he learned much about mako energy, materia, magic and the like. She was the source of all new technology which Shinra used to enslave Midgar.
It turns out that Sephiroth is not human at all but was actually grown from Jenova cells in a test tube. This drives him mad and he realizes that he is a true Cetra, Jenova is his mother and that Shinra and the human population is killing the Life force of the planet. Not only that, but Shinra is trying to use Sephiroth and Jenova to find paradise where they believe they will have a vast untapped source of mako energy to harvest for profits.
Cloud leaves the disturbed Sephiroth, there's nothing he can do. He awakes one morning to find Nibelheim burning and everyone dead outside. He rushes out to find survivors and it's here we see Sephiroth in the flames (the most infamous scene in the series and perhaps my favorite still of any villian of all time).
Sephiroth heads to the mountains, toward the Mako Reactor and Jenova. Cloud runs after him and is met by Tifa holding her dead father in her arms. Tifa runs in to try to kill Sephiroth herself and he cuts her down. Sephiroth then goes into the Jenova stasis chamber, opens it up and pulls her body out in another famous cut from the game. Cloud finally reaches him and they square off to fight, Cloud is obviously far weaker than Sephiroth at that point though and will most certainly die. But the story ends there, he can't remember anything else and neither he nor Tifa quite know how she survived his cut. What they do know is that Sephiroth intends to take back the world and rule it with his mother Jenova, and enter Paradise.
After the story the party continues hot on the trail of Sephiroth. Every town we visit we hear tales of a man in a Black Cape who's just passed through. We swung by the Chocobo farm, picked up our first summon materia Choco/Mog and some greens to attract chocobos. We got a chocobo and crossed the marsh toward the Mithril Mines. There before the entrance we see the handy work of Sephiroth. A 200 ft Cave Worm impaled standing up on a wooden stake, blood streaming down.
We go through the mines and make our way to Junon. Cloud goes through his little soldier charade to get on the ship and we stow away with Rufus and his general on board. Half way across we hear an alarm and find a trail of dead bodies on board leading to a store room. We get our first encounter with Sephiroth infused with the cells of Jenova as a hybrid being called Jenova: Birth. After the fight, we see the remains of a Jenova arm on the floor which disappears. We pick up another summon. I don't recall which it was but I have Shiva and Ifrit now as well.
We finally make port at Cssa Sol (or w/e it's called) and we see Hojo on the beach for a short conversation. We leave town after stocking up and re-equiping and try to make our way to the Golden Saucer, but to get there we have to take a high wire transport over the quicksand that surrounds it. Up the mountains we went to finally arrive at a dead town where we find Barret in trouble with some locals. There's some story there which I won't go into, not really important, no offense to Barret but I know the game plot and I don't need him. I already know which six characters I'm going to use to fight Sephiroth at the end so he's gonna fall to the wayside quickly.
Anyway, I've been roaming the Golden Saucer trying to recall what to do, visiting every zone. I took Aerith on the ferris wheel thing, I've decided to go with her; part of my masachism I suppose. I finally decided to visit everyone once more and finally triggered a scene where I happen upon Battle Staduim and everyone's dead. Not Sephiroth though, it's Duane or w/e his name is. Of course they assume my party did it and toss us in a desert jail. Time to regroup and break out. All good stuff but I'm missing some things. I need to find out how to get Yufi, I should have her by now cuz I got a weapon for her in a chest. I know I have to go into a forest but I don't know which one.
I'm really enjoying the game but it hasn't sucked me in yet. I've played through Gold Saucer like four times before so maybe it's just too routine. Hopefully I'll get to some fresh stuff I haven't seen in fourteen years in a couple more hours played.
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