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Final Fantasy VII Sequel Draft

Well, here are my reasons as to why FF8 will be some sort of sequel to FF7, whether it be direct or indirect. I have a habit of making long messages, and this is no exception. Read it yourself. I've repeated Aeris' hints because they're so pivotal. Some hints may involve quite a bit of speculation, but here goes: Aeris Will Return You're all aware of all those 'hints' of Aeris coming back. I find it hard to believe they're only there to make us think the theme of FF7 is about Life, as Aeris says she'll be 'coming back'. Her words, especially in Cloud's dream, are quite specific. I'll summarise all the hints below: #1. Before the dating sequence in the Gold Saucer, your group gathers in the lobby of the Ghost Hotel. You discuss on what to do next. During this meeting, Aeris begins to say something and abruptly leaves. Why? Because she wants to announce she's going to die but is too scared to say so. Then, if you're nice to Aeris, your date with her begins. Afterwards, at the end of the date, Aeris says "Next time we come here, let's take our time and go on more rides." Yet she knows she's going to die! Doesn't that seem strange at the least? She knows she's going to die, and yet believes she and Cloud will return to the Gold Saucer in the future. Don't tell me when Cloud dies, they'll go together in spiritual form!!! #2. In the Temple of the Ancients, during one of the puzzles, Aeris says "Just hang in there. Someday we'll look back at these hard times and laugh." This has a few interpretations. 1.she may mean the afterlife, or 2. she may mean when she returns. You choose, though I personally believe when she returns. #3. Also while in the Temple of the Ancients, if you're nice to Aeris, Cait Sith predicts a 'great future' between the two of you. There's no 'great future' after she dies, so for this prediction to be fulfilled, she must return in FF8. #4. Then there's Cloud's dream after he beats up Aeris at the Temple of the Ancients and gives the Black Materia to Sephiroth (and before she dies). I took the pleasure of writing down what she said, so I'll retype it FULL for your scrutiny: Aeris: "Cloud, can you hear me?" Cloud: "Yeah, I hear you. Sorry for what happened." Aeris: "Don't worry about it." Cloud: "...I can't help it..." Aeris: "Oh... Then why don't you REALLY worry about it? And let me handle Sephiroth. And Cloud, you take care of yourself. So you don't have a breakdown, okay?" Cloud: "What is this place?" Aeris: "This forest leads to the City of the Ancients... and is called the Sleeping Forest. It's only a matter of time before Sephiroth uses Meteor. That's why I'm going to protect it. Only a survivor of the Cetra, like me, can do it. The secret is just up here... I feel it. It feels like I'm being led by something. Then, I'll be going now. I'll come back when it's all over." Cloud: "Aeris?" Aeris runs off into the light. Then Sephiroth appears from out of the trees. Sephiroth: "Hmm. She's thinking of interfering? She will be a difficult one, don't you think? We must stop that girl soon." ====== So, Aeris says she'll come back. She was pretty specific about it too. And in case you're thinking she only says that because she doesn't know she's going to die yet, think again. In the Gold Saucer (before this dream occurs) she hints at her death by her reluctance to speak (look at Hint #1). Therefore, she knows she'll die, and yet says she'll come back. #5. Now, the 'Next time' hint, which is the most powerful hint in the game. I'll retype it below. This is while you take Bugenhagen on board the Highwind to the Ancients' City, I think. My notes are sorta muddled. On board the Highwind: Tifa: "I wonder what Aeris felt... when she was on that altar...?" Cloud: "I'm sure she wanted to give her life for the planet..." Tifa: "Really? I wonder? I don't think that's it at all. I think she didn't think she would die at all, but that she planned on coming back all along. She always talked about the 'Next time'. She talked about the future more than any of us." ====== Notice the words 'coming back', which coincides with Aeris' words in Cloud's dream. Okay. Put the pieces together and you can be damn sure Aeris will return. I'll also put up a couple of 'half' hints. They're sort of speculative, but no matter: #6 Aeris's body is still in pretty good condition. Sephiroth only stabbed her. Sure, some major organs may've been damaged, but at least its nothing unrepairable like Aeris's head getting decapitated or something worst. Therefore, we can pretty much say her body is resurrectable. #7 During Bugenhagen's lecture in Cosmo Canyon when you first meet him, he says "Children are blessed with Spiritual Energy and are brought into this world. They die and return to the Planet. Of course, there are exceptions, but this is the way of the world..." What does he mean by 'exceptions'? While he doesn't delve into the matter, I personally believe that the 'exception' means that when people die, they do not necessarilly return to the Planet. Who knows, they can be brought back. Somewhat speculative, I know. #8 There may also be another reason behind Aeris smiling when she dies. Sure, she may be happy giving her life for the planet, OR, she knew she was coming back all along. Therefore, her death would only be a short 'recess' from Cloud. That's why she smiled, for she knew she was going to see him again. #9. Remember when Tifa finds Cloud in a vegetable state in Mideel after being washed up by the Lifestream? Well, here's one sentence that Cloud mumbled: "A billion mirror fragments... small... light... taken... angel's... singing voices... zeno... gias..." Guess who the angel is? Yep, more than likely Aeris. Either Cloud is reliving the death of Aeris in his delirium, or perhaps Aeris contacted him as he travelled in the Lifestream. Perhaps Aeris told him something important (the words 'zeno' and 'gias' may be words of the Ancient's language). If Aeris did tell him something, he'd be unable to remember it, perhaps until FF8. The doctor at the Mideel clinic said: "An immense amount of Mako-drenched knowledge was put into his brain all at once...No normal human being could have survived it. It's a miracle he did." Yet, when Cloud recovers, he doesn't seem any smarter, despite obtaining 'Mako-drenched knowledge'. #10. While on the cargo ship from Junon to costa del Sol, you can promise to take Aeris on board the Highwind. I don't know whether it's one of those questions that determines who you got out with at the GS, but the question itself is peculiar. You only get the Highwind after Aeris dies, so is this foreshadowing something? The last five hints are somewhat speculative and can easily be countered. But, those are just my thoughts. Moving away from Aeris, there are also a bunch of other mysterious hints and events that occur, possibly hinting at a sequel: Jenova While Holy did stop Meteor (so I think), did it also kill Jenova as well? Remember, Jenova cells never die. Think about it. The Ancients defeated Jenova 2000 years ago, and yet weren't able to kill her. Their best efforts were only to confine her. 2000 years passed, and you'd think she would've died from old age or suffocation, but alas! Jenova lived. We know Jenova lived because she escaped from the Shinra HQ at Midgar. Those injected with Jenova cells are hard to kill to. Yes, I'm talking about Sephiroth. It was thought that Cloud had killed Sephiroth at Nibelheim 5 years ago. This is how it occured: On the walkway towards the reactor core, Sephiroth stabbed Cloud in the chest. With all his strength, Cloud used Sephiroth's sword in his chest to swing Sephiroth off the walkway, and to his doom in the chasm below. (this is shown when Tifa helps Cloud regain himself in the Lifestream). No one could have survived that. Yet Sephiroth did, because he had Jenova cells. As well, remember Lucrecia, Sephiroth's human mother? She had Jenova cells injected into her when she was pregnant with Sephiroth. When you take Vincent to see her in the secret cave, she says she attempted to kill herself but the Jenova cells in her refused her to die. So...Jenova cells never die. Therefore, when Holy was activated, did it also get rid of Jenova and all of her cells? We don't know. If it didn't, then Jenova will surely return... We must also remember Professor Hojo's Jenova Reunion Theory: "Even if Jenova's body is dismembered, it will eventually become one again. That's what is meant by Jenova's Reunion." If the Jenova cells weren't eliminated by Holy, then it'll only be a matter of time before they regather again. And who are our candidates of becoming the new Sephiroth? There are only two people with Jenova cells inside them: Cloud Strife and Lucrecia, Sephiroth's mother. Perhaps in FF8 Lucrecia will want to take revenge against Cloud for killing her son (during the sequence with Vincent, she said she loved Sephiroth very much, despite knowing he's a monster). And still talking about Jenova, there is also another mystery in the game. Remember Professor Gast's videos in the Icicle Town? In the 'Original Crisis' video, Ifalna describes the person that gave the virus to the Ancients as a 'he'. But Jenova is a 'she'. We know Jenova is a 'she' because Sephiroth calls her mother and by the 'interesting' FMV sequences we see of her. So, did the Ancients make a mistake? If not, then who gave the virus to the Ancients? Sephiroth? Who knows... Bugenhagen Bugenhagen's 'death' is surrounded in mystery. In fact, did he actually die at all? We don't know, as we don't see him dieing. All we have are Red 13's cryptic words which have multiple meanings. This is what happens after Cloud leaves Red 13 alone with Bugenhagen. Cloud and a party member sit outside around the camp fire in Cosmo Canyon, when Red 13 appears after seeing Bugenhagen: Cloud: "Red 13, is Bugenhagen...?" Red 13: "...Grandpa told me that he's going away again!" Cloud: "Away?" Red 13: "It seems like he really liked the Airship. He told me he couldn't stay still and just zipped out of here! He even gave me a gift, look! (Red 13's ultimate weapon Limited Moon) Wait a minute. Aren't you supposed to give gifts AFTER you come back? Ha ha... Grandpa sure is strange! Haa... ha ha... ha..." Cloud: "Hmm... so maybe we'll run into him again somewhere." Red 13: "Yeah... maybe... Thanks, Cloud..." After reading this, I didn't know what the hell to think. If Bugenhagen did indeed die, then where's his body, and why wasn't there a funeral? It's my suspicion that Bugenhagen may still be alive, but maybe faked his illness or something. Here's another peculiar thing about Bugenhagen's 'death'. Here's what one of the elders had to say after Bugenhagen disappears: Elder Bugah: "Where is the Promised Land...? Maybe Bugenhagen knows." Coincide this with Cloud's "maybe we'll run into him again somewhere" and perhaps in FF8 Cloud may find Bugenhagen (or stumble on some of his notes) and indeed find where the Promised Land is (and resurrect Aeris). The Promised Land This is somewhat speculative, but just where is the Promised Land? We assume its the Lifestream, but the game never specifically says that. Aeris says to Tseng in the Temple of the Ancients: "The Promised Land isn't like what you imagined." Shinra believed that the Promised Land is abundant with Mako (like the Lifestream), but Aeris says this isn't so. So, what is the Promised Land, and where is it? Maybe Cloud'll search for it in FF8? Another note that is also somewhat speculative. As Diamond Weapon makes it way to Midgar, on board the Highwind, Cid says for no particular reason: "That reminds me, there was a test rocket that landed in the slums of Midgar long ago. I remember I was relieved when I heard it never blew up." So what's the point of Cid saying this? I don't know, except that travelling in space again remains a possibility. Midgar survived Meteor, didn't it? Therefore, a rocket would be lieing somewhere in there, waiting to be used again... speculative, I know, but interesting nevertheless. So there you have it. I tediously and painstakingly replayed FF7, gathering notes and information. It is my belief that Square intentionally left FF7 open to a sequel. Maybe they initially didn't plan to create a sequel until they tested how successful FF7 was. If it was popular enough, then maybe they'll make a sequel. And they could easily sidestep that 'Every Final Fantasy is unique' problem by calling FF8 FF7 part 2 instead. Well, I personally think FF8 will have a female character as the bad guy (Lucrecia). She loved Sephiroth very much and wanted to hold him, but Cloud killed him. With the Jenova cells manipulating her, she'll seek out and destroy Cloud and/or attempt to regather Jenova again and resurrect Sephiroth, maybe. It'll make a gripping game anyway as Lucrecia must overcome her motherly instincts and the Jenova cells inside her to see the truth about Sephiroth. U reading this Tseng and Hmaht? Yeah, there's a great deal of speculation in what I'm saying, but as u can see, there's just too much mystery and unanswered questions remaining in the game. There's still plenty of life in it to create a sequel.

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