!SPOILER ALERT! At the end of FFVIIR when we see Zack walk with Cloud, Cloud is clearly still out of it.. However in the OG Cloud should have woken up around the time just after the battle by the cliff.... WHAT DOES IT MEAAAAAAAAN?!!?! Is my bb Cloud still gonna be comatose in the "alternative timeline" or whatever the heck is going on there?? My heart can't take it.
Hoo boy do I have theories about this, but to be honest, I can barely articulate them because of all these unknown variables and avenues things can go, also the plot holes I run into when expanding on the ideas.
My HOPE is that Cloud is still comatose and we get to see some D O M E S T I C Clack interactions, like Zack finding an apartment for them and caring for Cloud. ;u; Hopefully we’ll get to see a little bit of how Zack cared for Cloud on their journey, like Zack moving his limbs to keep things working, feeding him, wiping his face of food, watching over him as Cloud “slept.” Oh man, now I’m imagining Zack walking Cloud around the slums and sitting him down on a bench and kind of Weekend-at-Bernie’s-ing him about to A) keep Cloud as active as possible to prevent further atrophy; B) because at this point Zack is so used to hauling Cloud around that it just feels weird without him.
Then at this point I feel like Zack will run into Tifa down in the Sector 7 slums. He’ll begin doing mercenary work, while Tifa cares for Cloud (which runs along canon since she finds him slumped over at a train station and thus begins Cloud’s journey with her).
Zack will either be captured by someone (from Shinra or AVALANCHE), leaving behind his sword and not being around when Cloud finally comes back from being so mako-muddled. Maybe this Cloud doesn’t remember that Zack is alive. Maybe this Cloud believes that Zack is dead. Tifa might not want to divulge him in the truth because that could make things worse for Cloud’s memory; he needs to remember things on his own lest things get more confusing for him. This sets Cloud on the path of the canon game and things progress as normal up until a certain point when PLOT TWIST Zack is revealed in some way shape or form. One theory I have is that he is either the head of AVALANCHE or is involved in some way.
Zack being alive will undoubtedly alter Cloud’s role and character. This is the UNKNOWN JOURNEY that SE hints at end game. This is where I lose all semblance of articulation because all the possibilities bombard me and make it so that I cannot FOR THE LIFE OF ME put things down into words.
One theory I have is that maybe Zack being alive is what truly did happen, but Cloud is so confused and remembers it wrong. Maybe Zack never did die, and Cloud in timeline A (canon) is just so screwed up that he perceived the bloodbath that was Zack’s stand against Shinra as being so horrific that there was no possible way Zack could have lived. Cloud could get the Buster Sword because Zack leaves it behind for him if he’s captured with my main theory above.
Another theory is that there are two or more planes of existence for these characters, which is how Aerith sensed Zack being alive at the very end. Perhaps Zack and Cloud in this other timeline are working together as a team and heading AVALANCHE. This Cloud will not be the same Cloud we know. He could be similar to his Crisis Core self since Zack is still alive. Sure, he has his trauma from being tortured by Hojo for four years, but perhaps this Cloud is friendlier, more relaxed and open. Maybe he smiles and laughs, and embraces the true dork that he is.
Maybe there are other Clouds in more timelines than we realize. In the original game after Cloud gets mako poisoning and is washed ashore in Mideel, there’s that scene with Tifa where she goes around Cloud’s subconscious, piecing his memories back together with various forms of himself. Perhaps something similar will occur, but Tifa will have to have all of the different Clouds from different timelines converge and have main game Cloud get to know all his other selves to help piece him together. Who knows, honestly.
But sadly, Zack and Aerith cannot outrun their fate. I have a feeling they both will die to set things back on the original timeline to finish out the installments. Maybe they won’t die in the same way as the original game, but they cannot exist for long. This opens up another can of worms of theories I have about the Whispers and Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie’s roles in the game. But honestly I can’t right now. I just can’t get into it without losing my mind.
