There's A Wolf In My Heart REWRITE Chapter 1, a final fantasy vii fanfic

Author's Note ;; Hello everyone! It's been quite a while, has it not? Since I am studying at university now, I've had little to no time to myself. However I am determined to continue this story. I'd like to thank all of my devoted fans and followers for their continued support, and especially thank StrawberryHollow, Jollybigsis, and Zetran for requesting I continue the story. Not a lot will be changed in the rewrite storywise, but my writing style has differed and so I hope to make the currently posted chapters a lot more fantastic and unique. Again, I am ever grateful for your continued support. Thank you. -Nightfall

Plot Summary - After the world is destroyed by Jenova and her infected, Cloud Strife is given a second chance. Sent back into a world he once believed he knew, only to find things were never as they seemed. Having lost everything, will Cloud be able to truly save everyone, or will he fall to the darkness once more?

Pairings - Sephiroth x Cloud (main) Zack x Cloud, Angeal x Genesis

Warnings - YAOI, Violence, Language, Angst, Death, Time/Dimensional twists.

PROLOGUE

For nearly ten years, the world and people of Gaia coexisted in a near complete harmony, a living, breathing peace treaty between man and planet established after the fall of the primordial being Jenova, who had sought to destroy the planet itself through corrupting the lifestream, and the souls of those who dwelled within it. Through her chosen son, the beautiful, iridescent monster Sephiroth, Jenova attempted to destroy humanity entirely, to take the lifestream for herself. But with the combined powers of one Cloud Strife, a Jenova clone himself, along with those who followed him in battle time and time again, the murderous archangel, and his archaic alien 'mother', were brought to their knees and defeated, despite how many times each tried to rise up again. And in their efforts, the champions of Gaia were rewarded. With the planet's life forces slowly restoring, those who had stood against Jenova could return to their own lives, heading back to their homes and families who had waited restlessly for them. Some became leaders in their own right, while others simply went back to their previous lives before the Jenova crisis.

But not even their leader, the sombre blonde who had once believed himself to be one of ShinRa's mighty SOLDIERS, only to later become the greatest fighter the planet had ever seen, could prepare them for what was to unfold.

Because despite their efforts to defeat her, Jenova would not die.

As long as her cells still existed upon Gaia, Jenova could never fully be eliminated from existence. Akin to that of a cancerous tumour, Jenova would cling on till the very end, until all traces of her poisonous essence were cut away, removed from the very core. After nearly ten years of silence, she rose up again, turning her DNA against the one who still unwillingly retained her cells, the very one who had given his entire being to fighting against her.

Cloud. The one who had spent so long fighting tirelessly to protect his homeland, who had lost nearly everything, now became the catalyst which brought about the great virus itself. Through him, Jenova infected the world once more, only this time, she turned her sights from the lifestream, to the inhabitants of Gaia themselves, infecting them with her hateful disease. A new breed of the Geostigma disease, the tainted lifestream flowed through the planet's creations, undetected by nearly all until it was too late. Those infected with the virus retained no humanity, at first developing sociopath like states, then slowly, their very beings contorted into twisted, hideous monsters. In less than ten short years, the entire population of mankind became infected. That was, all with the exception of the planet's champions. Yet despite their best efforts to defend themselves and their families, Jenova's children could not be defeated. In one last, final stand, the champions readied their weapons to fight for their lives, surrounded by millions. And one by one, they fell, their blood staining the lands they cherished, until only two still held their ground, their fallen comrades scattered before them.

With agonizing breaths, Cloud Strife and Tifa Lockhart stood at the edge of the lifestream itself, weakened to the core from months of endless battle, their friends and families gone. Yet neither of the two childhood friends would fall to their knees and beg. They would stand and fight, even at the end, till their wasting bodies could go on no longer. Even as the world collapsed around them, illusion and reality colliding to become one, Cloud would keep his promise to the girl who held his heart. A promise he had made to her when they were no more than children, sat beneath the night skies of Nibelheim. A promise he would forever keep, even after death. His flesh torn into, his body beaten and broken, he still clung onto that legendary buster sword of which he had been given from the closest friend he had ever had, the one who had given his life to protect him from the world itself. Cloud simply grit his teeth down at the pain, mako infused eyes blazing, a yell of defiance echoing from his lungs as he threw himself forward into battle for one last time.

CHAPTER ONE

A thin trail of glistening sapphire broke through the temporary darkness, cracked lips parting to take in the bitter sweet air around his fallen body. He struggled to lift himself, fingers still tightly clenched around the handle of his weapon, the buster sword his dearest friend, and the man he had looked up to above all others, had given him with his dying breaths. No, Cloud would not repeat that scene. Not if the entire universe fought against him. His ears ached, ringing over and over with a dulled rhythm, the repeated, distant cries of 'Cloud, get up!' piercing his conscience, keeping the blonde from losing himself to the muse of which reality so dwindled upon. It was as though he was on the very edge of losing his mind to insanity itself, the warm, crimson tide seeping from his wounded ribcage, a darkened bruise having developed across his skin at the banks of that horrific wound of which he had lost nearly all of his strength trying to subside. Now a pale comparison of his old fighting self, Cloud Strife retained his willpower to drag his aching body upward, staggering to the side but for a moment before raising his sword, defiance glistening in those seemingly ancient blue eyes.

In the distance he watched his childhood companion thrust a single fist upward into the lower jaw of an infected, shattering bone and bringing the eight foot monster crashing down, yet Tifa was also weakened. They were not the young warriors they had once been, fighting against the very world side by side; they were old, weak, and so painfully tired. Yet the brunette retained her ever confident demeanour, even till the end, sending Cloud a soft smile through her bruised features, to which he responded simply with one nod, his upper lip held stiff despite his nerves sending jolts throughout his body to try and regain full control of his muscles. The monsters drew closer to him, blocking his view of the woman and redirecting his attentions to the armies before him.

Swinging the buster sword up through the concrete, creating a blaze of sparks and bright blue power, the man's strike emanated enough power to send around ten of the monsters back, their bodies falling apart in a grotesque display of scarlet rivers and heavy, blackened tissue. Around them the lifestream poured out from the planet's core into the dark abyss above, the planet crying out to it's surviving champions, begging to be cured of the infection coursing through her very veins. Two hundred and fifty pounds of pure metal collided with each opponent, buster sword slicing across the air as an extension of the swordsman's arm, until Cloud's golden locks became drenched, his worn face thickly glossed over with the sickly sheen of bright green, Jenova infected blood. But no matter how many monsters he defeated through using his mastered materia and iconic weapon, the armies of Jenova just kept coming, the entire populace of humanity having fallen to her genocide. Narrowly avoiding a clawed hand raking through the air, aimed for his face, Cloud twisted to the side and stabbed upward, cutting through the throat of what once was a human alike him, a person whom he had tried to protect, who he had failed, along with countless others. Blood running down his body alike that of a mako shower, the blonde turned his obstinate gaze to the next opponent, only to find the monsters withdrawing, circling at a distance, their sights now turned to the brunette who Cloud cherished with every waking moment.

Slumped to the side, struggling to keep her fists raised, Tifa visibly grimaced at the newly received wound dangerously close to her throat, her ragged breaths mixing with the hideous, inhuman hissing escaping the razor lined jaws all around her. Teeth and tongues in every inch she looked, drowning her sight, it was only the flash of gold rushing before her to hack open a pathway before them, albeit for a short moment, that brought the brunette back to her senses. Cloud pulled her up to her feet, shaking her in an attempt to clear her blurred vision, yet Tifa simply fell into his arms, Cloud dropping his weapon to support her.

"Tifa! Stay with me! Tifa!" clinging onto the now limp woman, Cloud slowly lowered her to the ground, getting onto a knee to support her, caring not that the infected still circled them, drawing closer. One dared to rush forward, leaping over them with the intent to tear into the two surviving humans. With an outraged yell Cloud swung his right arm to the side, a blaze of fire erupting from the mastered fire materia, scorching through enemy flesh. He whipped his head back round to gaze down at Tifa with watering eyes, desperately shaking her.

"Cloud…" her eyes parted slightly, that ever present smile making it's way across her fast becoming cold lips, "I can't…go on…"

"No!" hearing another whispering hiss dangerously close, Cloud cast barrier around them, holding the shield unsteadily while trying to revive Tifa. His last potion, what could have been the last potion in the world, for the amount they had gone through during this war, he had given to Nanaki, who himself had fallen to the monsters shortly after his clan, in a similar fashion to that of his legendary father Seto. Cloud had bitterly forced the memories of his friends' deaths to the recesses of his mind, desperately clinging onto the hope that at the end of the war, he could bring them back, but after losing each of his close friends, Denzel, Marlene, Reeve, Vincent, Yuffie, Barret, Cid, Nanaki…

And now, Tifa.

No. He could not lose her. He couldn't be alone. Not again, not after Zack… Cloud shook her again, "We'll get through this, I… I wont let you die, Tifa!" a tear trailed down his cheek, breaking his resolve which he had fought so desperately to retain, his solemn mask now cracking at the edges, shattering completely at the sight of his closest remaining ally motionless in his arms, "Tifa!"

"Cloud…" closing her eyelids, her heartbeat echoed through their ears, the shadowed creatures still circled them, alike wolves awaiting the inevitable death of an injured stag. With weakened breaths, Tifa tried to reply to him, to settle his nerves, to give him hope, "I…prayed to the planet…" she coughed slightly, Cloud brushing a lock of hair from her eyes, staring down at her with a sickening realisation, "to save…you…"

"No…No! Tifa, you'll be ok! Just hang in there! You'll… we'll get through this!" the shield around them wavered again, letting out a strained moan, the lifestream still streaming out into the celestials above them, escaping the planet while it still could, Jenova's taint pouring down upon them. The skies were literally raining fire.

Suddenly the woman in his arms jolted, coughing loudly, parting her lips to expel thick, blackened blood from her insides. Clenching her fingers down into Cloud's arm slightly, the blonde's mako infused eyes widened at the sight of Tifa's skin fast becoming pale, her softened stare rippling with a strange, bright green glow, her ink black pupils sharpening into feline like slits. Cloud became motionless himself as she began to twist in his arms, coughing louder, releasing a loud snarl, then a cry of pain, turning her head away from him.

"Don't… look at me… Cloud…"

"Tifa…" tears openly pouring down his battered face, Cloud pulled the infected woman into his arms, holding onto her with shaking arms. Physical pain was nothing compared to this, to witnessing the change from human…into monster.

The infection at first had been somatic, contaminating the people through the water supply beneath the mountains, which came into direct contact with the tainted lifestream itself. Around a third of the human population was brought down by this, this population consisting of those far from the metropolis city of Edge, mainly consisting of the inhabitants of Wutai. The first signs of the virus were near impossible to detect - narrowed pupils, paled skin, a slight tinge of green within each iris. Most did not even notice this change in their physiques, and even when the vomiting, nausea and restlessness took hold, the ignorance of humanity still prevailed. Struck down by night terrors, reality and fantasy soon became one. Stories of men killing their families, losing their minds to insane fits, entire villages burning to the ground as the result of petty squabbles, soon reached the ears of those in the middle continent. While most dismissed these as simple scare mongering rumours, Cloud and the others knew. Travelling to the Ancient City, they called out to the lifestream, asking for her guidance, yet were met with a stricken silence.

However, despite so many being infected, it was not until the virus became air born that the rest of humanity fell. Three years after the rumours from Wutai and the Northern continent began, the borders were closed by the government, travelling across continents becoming prohibited. Soon daily checks were a routine, with every individual in Edge having to attend scans. These took place out on the streets themselves, and while it seemed the virus was not present in the city, it had already began to infect all of them. Having evolved into an even deadlier strain, one that human machinery could not detect, only those who had been in contact with the untainted lifestream previous to the virus outbreak were immune to the air born strain. Cloud, Tifa, and their comrades, champions of the lifestream, having fought against Sephiroth in Northern Crater, became the only creatures who survived the second outbreak.

Yet even with this, the longer the companions were in contact with the tainted lifestream, the closer they came to becoming infected themselves. The first to fall had been Denzel, a teenager at the time, he had given his life to give Tifa the time to save Marlene and an unconscious Reeve from the burning Seventh Heaven. Edge had become overrun by the hoards, the slightest sound made becoming a call for the infected to hunt them down, driven by a seemingly endless hunger. A single drop of cutlery onto the floor by Marlene had awoken the hoard, the horizon drowned out by the sound of wailing, screeching, hissing. As Tifa and Marlene struggled to take Reeve's limp body out through a hidden exit below, Denzel had grabbed onto a sword to fight, determined to prove himself worthy to the blonde leader of who he admired above all others. The bar fast became overrun, yet the teenager had fought them back, only drawing away to escape himself when he was sure the others were safe. But in this heroic act, a single bite was inflicted upon his human body, sealing his fate. Denzel had seemed fine for a few hours, even laughing off his psychical pain for a while, however, it soon became clear Denzel no longer existed as a human being, his hair shifting to a bright silver, body contorting into that of a monster. Cloud had been the one to end his suffering, leaving Tifa and the others to mourn in silence in the abandoned ShinRa complex, fearing for the lives of their friends and families. Vincent had taken Cloud aside and warned him that even they could not win this, not with the entire world against them. Yet Cloud had refused to back down, to retreat. He could not let the world fall, he would not run. He would take on the armies of Jenova, even if he had to do it himself.

For nearly five years they had fought. Each of them falling, one by one, until it came to this final battle. Yet Cloud Strife still could not give up fighting. When once he had been tired, refusing to battle unless he had no other way, now he could not stop. He could never stop. Jenova had taken everything he had fought for, turning the human civilisation into her infected armies. Every moment of his life was now spent defending others, protecting himself, blood meeting steel in an useless tourniquet. He could not, would not stop fighting. Not until the world was safe once more.

You couldn't save them.

Seeming to ignore his cries, Tifa simply tried to pull her lips into another weakened smile, ignoring the trail of black liquid running down the corner of her mouth, dripping down onto the concrete beneath them. Raising a hand to Cloud's cheek, her eyes still retained their characteristic softness, understanding the dilemma the blonde she loved so dearly was going through.

You can't even save yourself.

"Cloud…it's time…to stop fighting…" watching as his stare contorted into one of confusion and disbelief, she moved her other hand to the pommel of his blade, which he had began to reach out for and clung to.

"Tifa…" he shook his head, sapphire irises swelled to the brim with salted water, openly trailing tears down his cheeks, "I… I couldn't save you…I…"

"Cloud, no one…could have…stopped this…" she coughed harder this time, clenching her teeth to try and alleviate the agonising twisting of her muscles, the infection spreading closer to her heart, "you…have to run…"

"No…I wont leave you!" his hand reached out to the freezing palm against his cheek and held it dearly, shaking his head, the barrier around them beginning to fade. The infected started their approach towards the two sole surviving humans once more, claws clattering heavily upon the concrete of the decimated road.

"You…have…too. Please, Cloud…" Tifa reached her hand away from his buster sword, stopping by the ribbon on her arm. She untied the thin pink material and held it out to him with wavering movements, the last of her strength leaving her, "I will…always love you…" her eyes now shut completely, bruised, bloodied lips parted to take in one last gasp of air, "live…for me…"

Cloud stared down at the limp brunette in his arms. Boiling tears pouring from his sapphire eyes, he shook her, whispering her name, begging her to get up, to say something, not to leave him. Clenching his teeth down into his lower lip, drawing bloody almost instantly, he threw his head back, letting out a scream. The monsters took this moment to rush forward, swarming the fallen pair, blocking out the glistening green light from the lifestream above in their shadows. As they disappeared beneath the writhing bodies, claws and teeth tearing into flesh, the lifestream released another waning moan, turning abruptly and rushing down, pouring it's essence across the infected, drowning them in it's spiritual light, the planet slowly beginning to crack away into fragments and collapse within the blackened abyss.

Jenova had won.