To hell and back To hell and back

Chapter 2: The death of hope and rebirth

A/N sorry folks I have very limited web access but more chapters will come very shortly!!!!!! Also please write reviews please!

= = Internal thoughts of cloud

+ + Internal thoughts of Tifa

Cloud was packing up and he couldn't believe how stupid he had been. =So I just burst in to Tifa's life again and I expect her to just accept me and love me. What a fool I am=. Then cloud heard that voice inside him the one that was jenova. How can you love someone when you yourself aren't real? You're just a puppet that's all you are and that's all you'll ever be. He was angry with himself for being so weak. Angry at Hojo for what he had done to him. Angry at the Jenova cells deep within him telling him that he would never be anything more than Sephiroth's shadow, and the worst thing was that he was starting to believe it. So he finished packing and left the motel, paid his bill and was leaving town when he felt a hand on his shoulder, "Out of all the people to see here where the hell have you been for 5 years." It was Reeve, Reeve the Shinra spy that had realized the error in his ways and had joined the team AVELANCHE to save the world but not as him he condoled a cat that used a mogle but for the 2nd time in clouds life he saw the person behind the toy. "It's a long story Reeve, and I would rather not talk about it. I'm heading out of town, but I do have to ask you one thing how come you're here. Last thing I heard was that you were heading up Neo-Shinra." Cloud had heard about the change over while one night in a bar it came over the radio. "Attention all people of the world, my name is Reeve and I am officially declaring leadership of Shinra." At this people in the bar had groaned and cloud was shocked, but then over the radio. "However I am instituting the following changes. 1. All mako reactors are to be shut down immediately as soon as alternate power is set up for each town. 2. I herby rename Shinra in to Neo-Shinra as a company we will offer assistance to any town or village that has suffered because of Shinra. As for Midgar I am in progress of rebuilding it until such time that this can be done we will be using our base in Junnon. For the people that live under junon we will be starting a program with the townspeople to restore the waters and we will be simulating night and day with a series of heat lamps. 3. When Midgar is rebuilt it will have alternate power scores and will not be a city in the sky but a beacon to all mankind. 4 Neo-Shinra hereby releases all control over all cities except for Junnon (upper segment and Midgar. All cities and towns that would wish to join Neo-Shinra will be welcome. I will know announce the new leaders of each section. The head of town reconstruction will be Barret Wallace. The head of alternate power research and the head of deactivating all Mako reactors will be Tifa Lockheart. The head of R&D will be Naniki. The head of the new Turks will be Vincent Valintine. The head of materia and weapons development will be Yuffie Karisagi. The weapons and materia that will be developed will only be used in self-defense. The head of aeronautics and space exploration will be Cid Highwind. The head of SOLDER is Ben Nuliti. And I am the new president of Neo-Shinra. On a personal matter Cid Highwind would like to deliver a message." In the background he could hear reeve telling cid to try not to sear on the air, which was then followed by a long string of invectives S(**& "ill swear if I (&%#( want $$*%%#*% to." Then he heard cid's voice more clearly. This is to Spikey head" cloud instantly lowered his head to try and avoid peoples gazes and put on ah hat but his spikes of hair poked right through, D%*(!!! "Spikey come back to nebrihem we all want to talk" then he heard reeve get back up and say "thank you all. Are there any questions" this was followed by a flurry of questions. "ask a stupid question"! Cloud muttered and walked out of the bar. He had been on his way to Nebrihem but then Hojo had caught him when he was asleep he had managed to defeat most of them but one got in a lucky (very very lucky in his opinion) strike with a bat on his head, and the rest was history. Suddenly he was snapped back to reality as Reeve half shook him, "hey you ok man?" he said with a worried look on his face. "Yeah I'm fine just zoned out for a minuet I remembered your speech you mad when you took over shinra. You've done great with the company. How did the head of solder work out?" Reeve hesitated, "Lets just say that I would rather have you. By the way you don't seemed to have aged at all then again everyone but me hasn't seemed to age either. Were all starting to turn in to Vincent although we all feel emotions. Actually he has married Yuffie and has begun to fell again. Cid has married Shera and their happy. Barret, you, Tifa, and me are the only ones left. By the way we could still use u in solder." Now it was clouds turn to hesitate =I would love the position I should take it. But no what about Tifa were bound to meet each other on a regular basis and I don't think I can bear that. But should I let one person stop me from reaching my goals? Then again that one person is Tifa. = reeve gave cloud time to think but then cloud said, "no I don't think so. I don't think I can.", "why not you would be seeing Tifa on a regular basis and I've always known really that you were meant to be together." At that he blushed slightly. "you see she is the very problem I just went to her a few hours ago and told her how I felt and… … … she hasn't told me yes and I doubt that I could live with that every day seeing her would" and the man who had faced down sephiroth the man who had faced so much pain in his life simply said, "It hurts too much" and with that he walked away with the giant Ultama weapon slung across his back. Reeve was simply astounded he then went to Tifa's house.

When he knocked on the door and waited knocked on it again and yelled Tifa's name. And he didn't hear anything so he tried the door, it was unlocked he walked in the house went in to the living room which was hardwood floor an there was Tifa unconscious. TIFA!! He began to shake her and she didn't wake up so she checked her pulse he was ashen, but thank god he felt a pulse he began to shake her and slowly Tifa began to wake up. "what the hell???!!! Cloud!" Tifa jumped up and ran out of the house and knocked Reeve straight over. She ran straight out to the inn and asked the lady where cloud was, "He checked out an 15 minuets ago and he mentioned. Heading for Nebrihem." Tifa ran out yelling "thanks!!!" As Tifa was running she though + I cant believe that he told me he loved me. But maybe he is lying or maybee he loves me because Aeris was gone+ then she thought about what he had said "I didn't love Aeris the parts of Zack in me loved her and that's who Aeris saw in me and that's why she loved me." And to her that's what made its real to her the love of her life had finaly told her what she wanted to hear for 5 years. Tifa cought up to him after a half hour of riding on her chocobo "Cloud !! cloud!!!"

Clouds POV

He had been walking and crying for a half hour he had lost to of his greatest loves in one day. He didn't think he could handle it so he was going to Nebrihem to talk to Vincent and then to kill himself he had been riding chocobo and was just about to the gold saucer and the memory of Aeris and her death rose, unbidden in to his memory which made him stop and get off a rock altogether and began to sob freely but soon the pain would end but what would it do to die he wouldn't be with aeris and so the anguish would be even worse so he was in hell either way. But then like an angel descending from heaven he heard her voice but then he remembered the past hours and began to cry.

End cloud POV

Tifa ran up to the rock that cloud was sitting by and saw him crying. +did I do this to him? I must have been passed out for a while and he must have thought that me not responding meant that I didn't love him!+ "cloud I'm so sorry as soon as you left I passed out and had a rather long enforced nap but I wan you to know that I love you." Cloud couldn't have been more surprised if his mother appeared in front of him. He then looked up with disbelieving eyes and Tifa as if knowing what was going through his head and nodded. Cloud then stood up and held Tifa in a long embrace. Cloud had so much to ask her but she got on her chocobo and they rode back together. Cloud felt that he had the best part of himself here now and he felt like he was reborn. When they arrived at her house they found reeve the head of Neo-Shinra unconscious.

A/N I know that this so far is rather cookie cutter C/T stuff but it gets better as time goes on. Please please review