Characters
Barret
Barret grew up in the small, coal mining village of Corel. He was a leading advocate in cooperating with Shinra in building a mako reactor in Corel, as he believed that it would lead to an easier life for Corel's people. After the reactor was built — much to the dissatisfaction of Barret's best friend, Dyne, however — anti-Shinra terrorists (also known as "AVALANCHE") attacked the reactor, and — believing that they may have been operating within Corel — Shinra responded to the incident by indiscriminately burning down the town of Corel, killing many citizens, including Barret's wife Myrna. He and Dyne were not in the village as the attack began, and when they tried to return, they were attacked by Shinra troops led by Scarlet. Though Barret survived, his right forearm was hit by gunfire and rendered useless when he tried in vain to prevent Dyne from falling off a cliff. Assuming Dyne to have been killed, he adopted Marlene, Dyne's daughter, and then traveled to Midgar. He also had a gun prosthetic grafted to his arm and began seeking revenge on Shinra, eventually becoming the leader of the second incarnation of AVALANCHE. However, he remained ignorant of the full extremity of the former AVALANCHE.
Cloud
Cloud was born in the sleepy mountain village of Nibelheim, along with Tifa Lockhart. He grew up isolated from the rest of the village children, feeling himself somehow better than them, though it is implied that he longed for the friendship of the others. However, when Tifa and the others attempted to climb Mt. Nibel, Cloud followed them, Tifa fell from a bridge and her father blamed Cloud. He resolved to join Shin-Ra's elite SOLDIER force, hoping to prove to others (and most of all to himself) that he could be as strong as the legendary Sephiroth. At this point he made a promise to Tifa, vowing that he'd protect her when she's in need.
However, he was unable to make it into SOLDIER and became an ordinary Shin-Ra guard. In this role he was to return to Nibelheim, along with first-class SOLDIERs Sephiroth and Zack Fair. Ashamed of his failure, he kept his identity from the townspeople. They were to investigate a problem at the Mako Reactor on Mt. Nibel, and Tifa was to act as their guide. When they reached the reactor, Sephiroth discovered Hojo's failed experiments with mako soldiers and his own mother, Jenova.
RedXIII
Red XIII joined Cloud's group while they were rescuing Aerith Gainsborough from the Shinra building, where Hojo was attempting to breed Aerith with Nanaki in order to preserve what he believed to be two endangered species of animal. When the group later visits Cosmo Canyon, they meet the village elder, Bugenhagan, whom Red XIII refers to as his "grandfather." Here, Red XIII learns the truth about his father, Seto, who had actually fought the Gi Tribe when they were attacking Cosmo Canyon by way of a secret path. He managed to fight and defeat the Gi Tribe by himself, protecting the people of Cosmo Canyon, even as they fired poison arrows into his body, which soon turned him into stone. Finally knowing the truth of his proud heritage, Red XIII, with some encouragement from Bugenhagen, gains the courage to rejoin Cloud's party for the rest of their journey, during which he proves himself to be a valuable asset and friend.
Shortly before the game's ending, the player can return to Cosmo Canyon, where Bugenhagen — having lived to the age of 130 — lies on his death bed. Before passing away, Bugenhagen suggests to Red XIII that he may yet discover a mate, indicating that Red XIII is not the last of his kind. In the epilogue to the game's ending, he is shown 500 years after the events of Final Fantasy VII, looking over Midgar, now aged into adulthood and accompanied by cubs, confirming Bugenhagen's prediction.
