Final Fantasy VII Characters

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Aeris Gainsborough

Vital Statistics

Age	22
Height	163cm
Occupation	Flower Merchant
Weapon	Rod
Birthdate	7 February
Hometown	Icicle Village

Biography

Aeris is a young flower girl living in Midgar’s slums with her mother, Elmyra. When you meet her, she is neing chased by Shinra’s very best unit, the Turks. The reason given by the Turks themselves for that state of things is that she is the last Ancient. At her demand, Cloud will protect her as her private bodyguard. She will then join you on your quest.

While not very strong, Aeris has great healing powers, and can be a valuable asset in battle. However, she needs to be protected a lot from harm’s way to be able to do that.

Additional Information

Aeris is a predominant character throughout the game, and her story is a dramatic one. In fact, a great deal of the story centers around her and Sephiroth, while another as important part centers around Cloud’s past, Tifa and Sephiroth.

Aeris’ real mother isn’t Elmyra, as she admits clearly when you spend the night over at her place. Her real mother is Ifalna, who was the last Ancient left. The Ancients were a race older than humans, who lived in harmony with the planet.

Aeris’ father was Professor Gast, a Shinra scientist. He met Ifalna while researching the Ancients. Eventually, as she revealed more about the Ancients and herself, they fell in love. Gast and Ifalna decided to flee from Shinra, so that she wouldn’t become a test subject. During this time together, they had a daughter, and named her Aeris.

The little family managed to stay away from the Shinra’s clutches, but not for long. Professor Hojo, a brilliant but crazed scientist, jealous of Gast’s success, found them and tried to abduct Ifalna and Aeris. Gast, while protecting his wife and daughter, was shot. Ifalna and Aeris managed then to escape from Hojo for seven years, until he finally caught them. After that, the two escaped once more, but it cost Ifalna’s live. With her dying breath, she gave Aeris to Elmyra, who promised to watch over her.

From her mother and father, Aeris remembers very little. She does however have an heirloom from her mother, in the form of a white materia. She can’t use it, though.

During the time she spent in Midgar, Aeris met another protagonist of the story: Zack, the young member of the SOLDIER sent with Sephiroth to investigate the Nibelheim Reactor. While it didn’t last long for obvious reasons (see Zack’s bio for further information), she has good memories about it. When she meets Cloud, he reminds her of her ex-boyfriend, because of the glow in his eyes.

At the beginning of the game, Aeris is very much wanted by Shinra’s troops, who are obeying Hojo’s orders. The reason is that she is connected to Sephiroth, because of the Jenova project. Hojo’s hypothesis was that Jenova was an Ancient (while Gast knew, thanks to Ifalna, that she in fact was not). Hojo’s attempt to make another Sephiroth led him to the search of Ifalna and aeris. However, when Sephiroth returned, he lost his interest for Aeris, so that Aeris became safe from direct danger (she was still seached for being a member af AVALANCHE, but not because she was the last descendent of the Ancients).

In the Temple of the Ancients, a little more is revealed. When searching for the Black Materia and Sephiroth, Aeris found memories of the previous Ancients, but she is at the moment unable to understand what the Ancients memories are trying to tell her. After getting the Black Materia, hoping to keep it from Sephiroth, he shows up anyway to take it. He reveals his plan to summon the Meteor using the Black Materia, in order to benefit from the energy that the Planet will gather to heal itself. He then takes the Materia from a mind-controled Cloud, and Cloud passes out.

In his sleep, Cloud dreams of Aeris. She tells him that she is going to take care of Sephiroth, alone. Sephiroth then disrupts the dream, and tells Cloud that “they” need to stop her soon. Aeris’ motives for going after Sephiroth alone remain at that time unknown.

When the group find her again, she is at the Ancient City, apparently praying. Cloud approaches her, and loses control of his body once again. He resists Sephiroth’s control at the last minute, but it’s already too late: Sephiroth himself appears and kills Aeris. A little pearl of white materia falls from her hair and sinks into the water. After a battle, Coud cast her body in the pool at the center of the Ancient City.

The meaning of Aeris’ and Sephiroth’s actions are discovered later. When Cloud and the others decide to try and protect the planet from the growing threat of the Meteor, they come to Bugenhagen. The wise old man tells them to search in their heart, and all of them think about Aeris. Wanting to know what she intended to do, they all go back to the Ancient City with Bugenhagen. There, the old man devises from the knowledge of the Ancients that only the power of “Holy” can be opposed to the power of the Meteor. However, he doesn’t know where to find it.

Using the Key of the Ancients, the group replays the scene of Aeris’ death, and find out the truth: Aeris knew about Holy. It was in fact the White Materia she inheritated from her mother who could summon it (something she probably learned during the events in the Temple of the Ancients, but didn’t understand until later). Furthermore, she had the time to use it: the materia gives away a greenish glow in the replay, clearly stating that Holy was summoned. The group comes to the conclusion that Sephiroth is blocking Holy in order to achieve his masterplan. A very correct conclusion, which is confirmed just before the very last battle against Sephiroth, where you can clearly see a white glow, enclosed in a dark red cage.

In the end, after Sephiroth’s death, Holy is released, and appears as a white light aiming at the Meteor, ready to crash on Midgar. When the two powers collide, they run havoc on Midgar, and Holy seems to not be enough to protect the Planet. Then, whisps of greenish light comes from all around the planet, and rush towards Midgar. The Meteor is finally beat, and the calm and soothing face of Aeris appears, smiling back at you.

“Holy... the ultimate White Magic. Magic that might stand against Meteor. Perhaps our last hope to save the planet from Meteor. If a soul seeking Holy reaches the planet, it will appear.”

With your help, Aeris was able to save the planet.

More About Aeris Gainsborough

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