The war goes poorly for Shinra. Rufus is dead and their forces are in disarray all across the planet. A new power, Wutai, rises in the west and ruthlessly seeks to "liberate" Gaia. Forced to fight on the Company's side by the destruction of her home and badly wounded in service, Staff Sergeant Tifa Lockhart begins a long and painful convalescence under the care of Doctor Aerith Gainsborough.