Aerith Gainsborough

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From "Final Fantasy VII"from Wyvern

on Wyvernarchived Oct 25, 2026

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Goofy, Free-spirited, Adventurous. Aerith plaits her long light-brown hair with a large pink ribbon; within the ribbon, she keeps the White Materia orb given to her by her mother. Segmented bangs frame Aerith's face, and she has emerald green eyes. She is 163 cm tall. Aerith's typical attire, first seen in Final Fantasy VII, comprises a shin-length pink dress that buttons up the front and a red bolero jacket. She wears brown boots and has metal bracers on her wrists and around the edges of her jacket sleeves. In subsequent appearances, Aerith's attire is more detailed. Her jacket, button-up in Final Fantasy VII, is zip-up in Advent Children onwards, and has zipper pockets and a belt at the bottom. In Advent Children, she wears leather belts in place of metal bands, and in Remake, her original cord necklace is replaced with a flower necklace Aerith necklace from FFVII Remame merchandise with a pearl in the center on a leather ribbon, and a trio of bracelets (gold, silver, and bronze) replace the metal bracers. Aerith's choice of color for her dress was likely influenced by Zack Fair, who suggested she wear pink whenever they go on a date.

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Last checked on Wyvern: Oct 25, 2026Created Apr 21, 2025Updated Oct 5, 2026Archived since Oct 25, 2026

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Aerith is compassionate, upbeat, and joyful, as well as street-smart with a spunky and cocky attitude. Aerith maintains a hopeful and positive outlook in the face of sadness and danger, cheering the others on when she can, and always tries to see the good in people.[note 5] She is nonetheless still able to identify an unequivocal evil, in the form of Shinra[71] and Sephiroth.[72] Against such threats, Aerith wishes to help however she can, but is morally opposed to violence and sees it as a last resort.[51][73] She is not above harboring resentment for those who wrong her, although she puts on a front of cold defiance and conceals her weaknesses when distressed.[note 6] Aerith loves nature, particularly flowers,[31] and tries to commune with them.[76]\n\nAerith craves freedom and the ability to make decisions for herself. Raised in the slums of Midgar, she is almost entirely unfazed by the danger of monsters or Shinra.[note 7] Aerith is familiar with the slums, imparting her knowledge to Cloud,[52] and has grown to love her surroundings for the few flowers that grow, as well as the passions of the denizens, to the point she wants to stay.[78] In spite of this, Aerith still loves adventure and trying new things,[78] craving one day to ride on an airship.[37] Coupled with Aerith's adventurous nature is her stubbornness, with both Elmyra and Cloud recognizing they cannot talk her out of something after she has made up her mind, regardless of how much danger she is putting herself in.\n\nAerith is quick to make friends, as can be seen with Cloud,[31] Tifa,[56] Marlene,[62] and Red XIII.[79] Aerith supports them and pushes them forward, though also relies on them to have her back when she is unsure of herself.[note 8] This can be seen in her close friendship with Tifa, whom Aerith greatly admires for her beauty and fighting skills[80]: Aerith helps put Tifa's mind at ease when she is distressed,[57] while Tifa in turn promises to protect her and help find a way through her struggles.[65] Aerith is flirty to both Zack and Cloud, and with the latter she is able to see through his hardened persona, and gets him to open up a little more.[note 9] Though Aerith cherishes having Cloud as her bodyguard, she does not appear too reliant on him for physical protection so much as she simply enjoys his company.[77] Aerith has apparent romantic feelings for Cloud, and remarks he reminds her of Zack.[31][53]\n\nIn Final Fantasy VII Remake, Aerith appears to have deeper knowledge of unfolding events before they happen,[note 10] leading Tifa to question her behavior.[57] She emphasizes a wish to live in the moment and cherish the present,[64] and believes that the future is a blank page that can be made right.[57][61] This belief motivates her to ultimately defy the Whispers' fate, despite hesitating due to the potential risks. She hates Sephiroth for his selfish desire to defy destiny without care for the consequences.[72] Aerith acts incensed when insulted over her appearance, though tends to take Cloud's early rude remarks in stride, even reciprocating with her own good humor. She coldly defies Hojo though distressed upon learning of the treatment of her mother's remains. Despite the hardships she endures, Aerith returns to her friends with as much emotional strength as ever before.\n\nAs the last living Cetra, Aerith has many unique powers in her ability to commune with the planet's life force. This leads her to being able to sense the loss of life around the world, seen most clearly with the loss of Elmyra's husband.[9][10] The exact means of her communication with the planet are unknown: though Aerith talks to flowers, she confessed to Cloud they do not simply have a conversation with her, but nonetheless she believed they had something important to say.[76] Aerith's powers also allowed her to reach out to Red XIII and calm him,[79] imparting knowledge to him.[65] Her powers also include an ability to somehow affect the portal to the Singularity to follow Sephiroth, though her abilities are weaker than his as she is unable to control the Whispers as he is. In Final Fantasy VII Remake, it is implied that Aerith has inklings on what will happen in the future.

Aerith Gainsborough - LORE

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Aerith Gainsborough's backstory

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#11 - Backstory
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Aerith was born to Ifalna and Professor Gast Faremis in Icicle Inn[5] on February 7,[1] 1985,[2] making her half-human and half-Cetra. When she was barely twenty days old, Professor Hojo tracked Gast down, killed him, and captured Ifalna and Aerith.[5]

Held in the Shinra Building, Aerith and Ifalna became subject to numerous experiments at the hands of Hojo and Shinra. She had minimal social interaction aside from with a friend named Lonny, a boy two years older than her and the son of Ifalna's caretaker, Marielle. In 1992, Aerith discovered that she had inherited Cetra powers, as her mind was flooded with images overloading her senses.[6] A man named Geddie Bach, who watched over them, witnessed when Aerith's images led her to draw what Geddie interpreted as the promised land, the land of legend that Shinra believed was fertile in mako energy. Lonny instructed her to draw Mideel after seeing it in a magazine, causing Geddie, who was looking to make money, to head there, hoping to find the promised land for himself, where he assumed the identity of Glenn Reiner.[7]

Elmyra and a young Aerith from FFVII Remake Young Aerith in her new home with Elmyra Gainsborough.

Knowing that Aerith had Cetra powers and, thus, was a suitable backup test subject, Hojo began to employ crueler methods when testing on Ifalna. Aerith had to witness Faz Hicks, another scientist, inject Ifalna with painkillers to endure. Hicks ultimately helped the two escape the building.[6] Ifalna, heading for the Sector 5 slums church, took Aerith to the Sector 5 slums, but collapsed at the Sector 5 Undercity Station. Aerith looked around for a doctor, but found Elmyra Gainsborough, who adopted her as Ifalna passed.[8][9][10]

Elmyra gave Aerith a bed at her house, which had belonged to her father-in-law, Gabriel Gainsborough, two months prior.[11] Aerith met people from Gabriel's family business who Elmyra invited over, beginning with Mr. Meguro, who advised Elmyra to claim that Aerith was the daughter of a relative who she was adopting and that Aerith should go by a different name to hide her from Shinra.[12] The two ultimately stumbled on naming Aerith "Ronna", the same name as Mr. Meguro's daughter, in a meeting with another member of the business.[13] The day after choosing the new name, Aerith told Elmyra that her husband, Clay Gainsborough, had died and returned to the planet, something Elmyra rejected as she did not believe in planetology.[14] Following this,[note 2] Elmyra received a letter from Shinra informing her that Clay had indeed passed.[9][10][15]

In February 1993, Carlo Kincaid, from the Gainsborough family business, planned a party for Aerith's eighth birthday. The party would have included others from the business and the Sector 5 House orphans, which excited Aerith, but was cancelled after Mr. Meguro suffered a heart attack.[16] Afterwards, Tseng of the Turks arrived at their doorsteps, revealing that she was a Cetra to Elmyra and attempting to persuade her to return.[17][9][10] Tseng told them that Shinra regretted their treatment of Ifalna and would leave Aerith alone if she told them the location of the promised land. Elmyra struck a deal with Tseng that he would leave her alone if she kept a close watch on her and told them the location if Aerith knew and Aerith confessed to Elmyra that she was indeed a Cetra.[17]

After Elmyra and Meguro handed the Gainsborough business to Carlo, Elmyra was busy around the slums often, but placed harsh restrictions on Aerith, only allowing her to work for the Sector 5 House as an assistant.[18] Aerith at one point confronted Elmyra about being restricted from watching television (a way of keeping her in the dark about the outside world), the restricted zone placed around her, and the harsh rules.[19] Aerith ran away in protest, running to the Sector 5 slums church that Ifalna had told her about years ago, only to run into Faz Hicks there, who chased after her and professed his love of Ifalna and a desire to be with her. Elmyra fought Faz off with a broom and aimed an unloaded pistol at him to deter him away, bringing Aerith home safely when Faz was shot by an unknown firer.[20]

Due to the mako reactors draining the life out of Midgar and the surrounding areas, little could grow around the metropolis. Aerith transplanted some of the flowers to the garden outside her house. The flowers and other vegetation grew well there due to the lifestream-imbued water in the river running alongside her house; that same river runs under the church.

Relationship with Zack I have twenty-three tiny wishes, but you probably won't remember them all, so I put them all together into one... I'd like to spend more time with you.

Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- § Chapter 9 Aerith-chapter-end Aerith in Crisis Core.

In April 0001,[2] during chapter 4 of Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-, a 16-year-old Aerith met Zack Fair after he fell into the church from Mako Reactor 5. After mistaking Aerith for an angel, Zack asked her out to a date, but Aerith brushed him off. Impressed by her flowers in the church, Zack suggested that Aerith sell flowers to make money, as flowers were a luxury item in Midgar. She showed him around the Sector 5 slums and Zack bought Aerith her trademark pink hair ribbon. The vendor who sold it asked if Zack was her boyfriend and Aerith answered coyly that maybe he could be.[21]

The two visited the Sector 6 park and Aerith told Zack that she feared SOLDIER members for being experiments who love to fight, but apologized when Zack revealed that he was in SOLDIER. She added that he didn't scare her and flirted with him, admiring his eyes. Zack promised to see Aerith again after he was called back to headquarters. He also promised to take her to the upper plate, where they could sell flowers together, and Aerith agreed.[21] The two kept in contact for the next two years, with the Turks aware as they were watching Aerith.[22] After Zack's mentor, Angeal's, death, Zack visited Aerith, who held him as he cried.[23] Angeal's will lingered in the form of a canine copy that, in chapter 7, settled at the church and defended Aerith from rogue Shinra security robots.[24]

Zack finally built Aerith a cart afterwards and the two left for the slums to open her business, but it did not initially go well.[24] Aerith asked Zack for "23 tiny wishes" and he had her write them down, which she summed up as "I'd like to spend more time with you".[25] They also promised that whenever they would go on date, she would dress in pink.[26] Unbeknownst to them, this was the last time they would see each other, as later that day, Zack was dispatched to Nibelheim with Sephiroth and never returned. In the coming years, Aerith overcame her fears and ventured above the plate to sell flowers, although she used a basket as the flower wagon had lost a wheel.

In Before Crisis -Final Fantasy VII-, Aerith also sold flowers to Rude of the Turks on his date with Chelsea.[27] On August 9th, 0002,[2] a Turk met Aerith as she exited her house, surprised by the blooming flowers. Aerith told the Turk that she wished to leave Midgar and see the world, as she could hear the wind calling to her. The eco terrorist group Avalanche arrived searching for her and the Turk helped Aerith evade them. Shears from Avalanche defeated the Turk and Aerith was taken to the church to meet Elfe, the leader of Avalanche. Elfe urged her to join them to help them defeat Shinra and protect the promised land, but Aerith heard an "old voice" emanating from Elfe, inadvertently leading to the discovery of the Turk spying on them from the rafters. After the Turk battled Shears and Fuhito, a sudden weakness struck Elfe and Avalanche retreated. Tseng arrived and the Turks allowed Aerith to flee while they distracted him.[28]

VIICC Aerith 2 Aerith in Crisis Core's ending.

Years later, depicted in chapter 10 of Crisis Core, when Zack escaped Shinra custody, the final Angeal copy that was left watching over Aerith was dying and sought him out. It left behind a letter from Aerith. As Zack read it, he discovered that she had been doing well for herself selling flowers in Midgar and, during the four years he had been gone, had written Zack eighty-nine letters, the rest of which he never received. Tseng held the letters and sent the Turks to save Zack before the Shinra army could locate him to deliver the correspondence, but the Turks ultimately failed. Aerith tended the flowers in the church while, outside Midgar, Zack was gunned down by Shinra forces, something she seemed to sense.[29]
#22 - Original Continuity
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On December 9, 0007,[2] in Final Fantasy VII, Aerith met Cloud Strife as he fled the bombing of Mako Reactor 1 during "No. 1 Reactor Bombing". Cloud could either warn her to get to safety, buy a flower for 1 gil, or blow her off.[30] Later, during "The Woman at the Church", Cloud fell from Mako Reactor 5 and awakened on the church flower bed, where the two shared a brief conversation. When Reno of the Turks came to apprehend Aerith, she asked Cloud to become her bodyguard, offering a date as payment.[31]

Aerith took Cloud to her house, where Elmyra insisted that Cloud leave to protect Aerith. He attempted to sneak out early in the morning, but Aerith confronted him and forced him to bring her along. At the Sector 6 playground, Aerith told Cloud that he reminded her of Zack, as Cloud was also a SOLDIER First Class. The pair then spotted Tifa Lockhart, a friend of Cloud, on a chocobo cart headed towards Wall Market. Cloud wished to help her and Aerith chased after her.[31]

In "To Corneo Hall", Aerith suggested that Cloud crossdress in order to infiltrate Don Corneo's mansion and helped him secure an outfit. After finding Tifa, Tifa revealed that her plan was to interrogate Corneo for information on Shinra. Aerith and Cloud agreed to help and, when the group confronted him, Corneo revealed that Shinra planned to drop the Sector 7 plate to crush the current Avalanche's hideout in the Sector 7 slums, a group that Tifa and Cloud were members of.[32] In "Prevent the Fall of the Plate", Aerith, Tifa, and Cloud rushed to the Sector 7 slums to stop Shinra. Tifa requested that Aerith rescue the daughter of their friend and leader, Barret Wallace. Tseng captured Aerith after she had secured the girl, Marlene, and the plate was dropped.[33]

Aerith was taken to the Shinra Building to be experimented on by Professor Hojo to learn the promised land's location. Believing that the research would take at least 120 years and extend beyond Aerith's lifespan, Hojo wished to breed her with Red XIII, a member of a species with extraordinary longevity, to produce a hybrid.[34] In "Storming the Shinra Building", Cloud, Tifa, and Barret freed Aerith and Red XIII from Hojo's lab. Red XIII joined Cloud to defeat Hojo's monsters and help the group escape, though the Turks captured them. Aerith was then imprisoned in the cells with the others.

In "The Nightmare Beginning Anew", Aerith spoke to Cloud, who was held in the cell adjacent to hers with Tifa. When Aerith reminded Cloud of the deal to be her bodyguard for one date, Tifa looked upset before changing the subject to discuss Aerith's Cetra heritage. Aerith believed that she could not find the promised land, even if she wished to, and intended to leave Midgar. The next day, the group awoke to find their cells mysteriously opened, the Shinra Building abandoned, and President Shinra dead. Shortly after confronting Rufus Shinra, President Shinra's son and the new president of the company, Aerith, Barret, and Red XIII evacuated via the elevator while Cloud and Tifa stole vehicles on which the group escaped via the Midgar Expressway.[35]

Aerith joined the group, now led by Cloud, on their quest to hunt down Sephiroth, whom they believed was behind the massacre at the Shinra Building. Having heard that Sephiroth was linked to Cetra, Aerith wanted to know more about her heritage and protect the promised land from him. After running into the Turks in the Mythril Mine, Tseng told Aerith that Sephiroth's reappearance meant Shinra would be off her case and he wished her well.[36] When the group passed through Junon and stowed away on a cargo ship, Aerith told Cloud that she had glimpsed Shinra's Highwind at the airport and wished to fly on it one day.[37]

In Costa del Sol, they ran into Professor Hojo, who was there on vacation. Aerith asked him about her late mother, but Hojo revealed nothing and seemed disinterested. Aerith retreated to the hotel and mulled over the possibility of being the last Cetra in the world.[37] At the Gold Saucer, Aerith attempted to cheer up an angered Barret, causing him to run off alone.[38] Later, after reaching Gongaga, Aerith met Zack's parents. They had not heard anything from him for years and mentioned that Zack's letters to them had mentioned his girlfriend, whom they suspected was Aerith. Aerith then told Cloud that Zack was her first love, but that since it had been years, he had likely found another girl and moved on.[39]

When the group visited Cosmo Canyon, Aerith spoke to the village elders. She learned more about her heritage and came to terms with her responsibility as the last Cetra.[40] When the party later returned to the Gold Saucer, Aerith was a date option for Cloud. During the date, Aerith mentioned how much Cloud resembled Zack, but yet was still different, expressing a desire to meet the "real him".[41]

The party eventually tracked Sephiroth to the Temple of the Ancients, where Aerith used her Cetra powers to help decipher the temple's mysteries and locate the inner chamber. There, Sephiroth revealed his plan to use the Black Materia to call Meteor, the ultimate Black Magic, before the temple itself transformed into the Black Materia. Sephiroth took control of Cloud, forcing him to relinquish it. When Aerith tried to stop Cloud, he attacked her before being knocked out. Aerith left the group, but while Cloud was unconscious, she spoke to him in a dream. As the last Cetra, only she could stop Sephiroth and she promised to handle it.[42] Cloud followed Aerith's clues to the City of the Ancients.

In a temple underneath the Forgotten City, Aerith prayed for Holy, the ultimate White Magic, called by the White Materia that she had worn in her hair, in order to stop Meteor.[43] The party found her, but when Cloud approached her, Sephiroth attempted to control him and make him kill her, but Cloud resisted. As Aerith finished praying and lifted her head to see Cloud, Sephiroth—using Jenova's body as a vessel transformed into his likeness—descended from the ceiling and impaled her with the Masamune. Aerith collapsed into Cloud's arms and, as her hair ribbon unraveled, the White Materia concealed in her hair bounced off the altar into the water below. Shortly after defeating Jenova∙LIFE, the party paid their respects to Aerith and Cloud laid her to rest.[42] Though Aerith had succeeded in summoning Holy, Sephiroth blocked its power and it could not emerge to stop Meteor.[43][note 3]

The party eventually descended to the planet's core and vanquished Sephiroth. After defeating Sephiroth's spirit, Cloud found himself among the lifestream in an out-of-body experience, with Aerith extending her hand to him. As Cloud tried to grasp it, he returned to his body to find Tifa, telling her that he could met Aerith again in the promised land.[45] Sephiroth's defeat allowed Aerith to release Holy, though Meteor had fallen too close and Holy's energy was unfocused by its gravity. Within the lifestream, Aerith commanded the lifestream itself to emerge from the planet and push Meteor back, allowing Holy to focus its energy.[45][44] Thus, in January of 0008, Holy and the lifestream destroyed Meteor and saved the planet.[2]

In Final Fantasy VII: On the Way to a Smile "Lifestream: White", as Sephiroth avoided dissolution and spread Geostigma using the lifestream tainted with his memories, Aerith tried to heal the spirits of the dead and contain the damage being done. Despite the help of the other souls of the Cetra, those infected with Geostigma died faster than Aerith could heal their spirits, so she resolved to contact Cloud and stop the infection on the planet itself. Aerith considered creating avatars similar to Sephiroth, but decided against this as she would prefer to meet Cloud as he remembered her.

In Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, Aerith appeared to Cloud in a vision as he rode to the Forgotten City to save the children of Edge from Kadaj. Standing behind him, she asked his reason for coming. Cloud wanted to be forgiven, prompting her to ask, "By who?" as the vision ended. Aerith later explained that she never blamed Cloud. When he fought Bahamut SIN, he saw a vision of Aerith again as she took his outstretched hand and transferred energy to him to cut through the dragon's attack and destroy it.

After Cloud defeated Sephiroth, who had been reborn from Kadaj, Aerith called down healing rain over the city, curing most of the inhabitants of Geostigma. Hearing Aerith's voice and mistaking her as his mother, the dying Kadaj dissolved into the lifestream, after which his brothers detonated themselves to take out Cloud. Cloud later awoke in the Sector 5 slums church among a pool of Aerith's healing water on her old flowerbed. He used the water to heal the children suffering from the virus. As Cloud celebrated with his friends, he spotted Aerith speaking to the children near the entrance before walking through the doorway, where Zack waited.
#33 - Remake Continuity
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In "Fateful Encounters", Cloud found Aerith on Sector 8's Loveless Avenue, where she was attacked by Whispers. Cloud, unable to see the Whispers, approached her before seeing a vision of Sephiroth. Aerith spoke to him as he came to and, after much disagreement from Cloud, she gave him a flower, telling him that lovers give them when reunited. Cloud warned Aerith to keep her distance, but she was unfazed. When the Whispers attacked Aerith again, Cloud could see them when Aerith grabbed his hand. Cloud drawing his sword attracted the attention of Public Security and Aerith fled the scene.

In "Budding Bodyguard", Cloud crashed through the roof of Aerith's church after falling from Mako Reactor 5. After a conversation, Reno arrived to take Aerith in. She asked Cloud to be her bodyguard, though Cloud had never specified that he worked as a mercenary. Seeing he was confused, Aerith excused herself by explaining that she had guessed it from his sword.[48] After defeating Reno, the Whispers and Aerith stopped Cloud from killing him and the two fled the church while Reno ordered the soldiers with him not to shoot at Aerith.

Aerith and Cloud crossed the rooftops near the church and got to know one another. Aerith took Cloud to the Sector 5 slums to meet her foster mother, Elmyra. The two helped out the locals, starting with children at the Leaf House orphanage. On the way back, Cloud had a vision of Tifa and Aerith asked if Tifa was his girlfriend. Cloud could not explain their relationship. They ran into a Sephiroth-clone whom Cloud momentarily saw as Sephiroth taunting him, though the illusion broke and the clone walked off. Cloud asked if Aerith knew Sephiroth and she replied that she only knew him as a war hero who died five years ago, though appeared troubled when Cloud implied that he may still be alive.[50] After helping the townspeople, Rude, another member of the Turks, blocked their path. Though Aerith requested that Cloud leave Rude alone as she believed he wasn't a bad person, the two teamed up to fight against him until Rude was interrupted with a phone call summoning him to another mission. He urged Aerith to stay home before departing, which she refused.

Elmyra asked Cloud to leave in secret and to never come into contact with Aerith again, causing him to sneak out at night. However, Aerith caught up to him on the way to Sector 6, commencing "The Town That Never Sleeps". She showed him a route back to Sector 7, professing her dislike for Sector 6.[52] At the Evergreen Park, Aerith told Cloud that he reminded her of her first love who was also in SOLDIER, though Cloud's ears rung when she mentioned his name.[53] Even after Aerith showed him a secret passage to Sector 7, Cloud was reluctant to leave her alone in such a dangerous place, though Aerith revealed that she had a safer route home than the one she showed Cloud. The two spotted Tifa being taken by chocobo carriage to Corneo's mansion. After Tifa refused Cloud's help, Aerith insisted that they help her, warning Cloud how dangerous Wall Market was.

Wall Market was an illegal entertainment district run by the crime lord Don Corneo, who invited women to his house to be his "bride". Aerith and Cloud sought the approval of an influential Wall Market member whose opinion the don trusted. Aerith garnered Madam M's endorsement after she and Cloud won the Corneo Cup tournament at the Corneo Colosseum, and Madam M gave Aerith a new dress and a hairstyle. Cloud did not want Aerith to enter Corneo's mansion alone and Aerith informed him that Andrea Rhodea, the owner of the local VIP club Honeybee Inn, wanted to meet Cloud so he can be disguised as a woman. The reluctant Cloud went through the makeover, much to Aerith's delight,[55] and they entered the don's mansion and met Tifa. After the don chose Cloud as his bride, Aerith and Tifa beat up the don's lackeys before confronting him. Corneo told the three that Shinra planned to drop the plate over the Sector 7 undercity and, before they could leave, sent them plummeting through a trap door into the sewers.

Aerith fell into the sewers with Cloud and Tifa, commencing "Rough Waters". She helped defeat Abzu and, with Tifa's guidance, the group navigated their way to the exit. As Aerith and Tifa got to know each other, Tifa noticed that Aerith knew something they didn't. When Tifa was distressed at Corneo's words, Aerith attempted to cheer her up by making her think of what they would do after saving the pillar, with Tifa wanting to go shopping topside with Aerith to buy things for the bar while Cloud carried their things.[57] In "Haunted", the group passed through the haunted train graveyard. Though Tifa was scared and Cloud was alarmed by the ghosts, Aerith was instead empathetic toward them, striving to understand them.[58] Several children had been taken by Eligor, a mysterious soul-capturing demon who also tried to torture Aerith by repeating images of her lonely childhood. Cloud and Tifa rushed to her aid and they defeated the monster together, allowing the children's spirits to find rest.[59]

Upon reaching the Sector 7 undercity, in "Fight for Survival", the group were slowed down by the Whispers before finding the pillar under attack. After helping Wedge recover, Tifa, wishing to help Cloud and Avalanche leader Barret, asked Aerith to look after Wedge and Marlene, Barret's daughter. Aerith volunteered before Tifa even spoke Marlene's name and told Tifa to "follow your heart".[60] While Wedge worked to evacuate the sector, Aerith encouraged him by saying he should never look back on this day with regrets, inspiring Wedge to be more forceful. Aerith informed Marle of the incoming danger, improving the evacuation effort.[61] After many obstacles, Aerith reached the Seventh Heaven bar and found a scared Marlene. When Marlene hugged Aerith, something shocked her so much that she stopped crying. Aerith put her finger to her lips and smiled. As they were leaving, Marlene pointed out the flower that Cloud had given Tifa and Aerith smiled again. She asked Marlene what her favorite flower was. However, they were accosted by Tseng and Aerith gave herself up in exchange for Marlene's safety.

Aerith was taken to Professor Hojo's laboratory in the Shinra Building, where she had lived as a child with her mother. Hojo felt that Aerith sufficed as a specimen, but planned psychological torture and wished to breed Aerith with a SOLDIER of S or G type just in case the experiments kill her.[63] When Cloud stayed at Elmyra's house later, he had a chance of dreaming of meeting Aerith in the garden. Aerith told Cloud she was safe, but was touched that Cloud wished to rescue her and apologized for worrying him. She imparted that everyone dies eventually and that Cloud was better off not falling in love with her, cryptically explaining that even if he thought that he had, it wouldn't be "real".

In "The Belly of the Beast", Cloud, Tifa, and Barret rescued Aerith. Red XIII, another of Hojo's test subjects, was accidentally released when Barret disrupted the locking system by breaking Aerith's containment tank. Knowing he was their friend, Aerith calmed Red XIII by placing her hand on his head, imparting knowledge to him about the Whispers. Cloud passed out, commencing "Deliverance from Chaos". The group reconvened in Aerith's old room, where she told them about her heritage as a Cetra and Shinra's plans. Aerith claimed that there was a greater threat than Shinra, at which point the Whispers swarmed her. She felt lost and unsure and claimed that the Whispers made her lose a part of herself whenever they touched her. Breaking past the Whispers, Tifa grabbed her hand and assured her that they would overcome it together.[65] Shortly after, Wedge and Mayor Domino told the group via a video call that they had secured a route out with the help of an Avalanche HQ helicopter. While making their way to the helipad on the roof, the group fell into one of Hojo's science labs in the Drum, with Aerith working with Tifa to escape.

The group eventually escaped the building, though Sephiroth waited for them at the end of the unfinished expressway, cutting open a portal. Aerith became stern and defiant, but hesitated with how to proceed. She settled on believing that the group should enter the portal and defeat the Whispers, emissaries of the planet itself that wanted to enforce a fixed future and thus had intervened in various ways during their quest so far. She warned that defeating the Whispers would change fate and lead to "boundless, terrifying freedom". After felling a giant Whisper and helping Cloud in a duel against Sephiroth, the group left Midgar, with Aerith lamenting her distaste for the open sky.

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