Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VII, although I do own a copy of the game

A/N: I'm sorry it took me so long to update! Really, I am! Well anyway, its time to thank my reviewers. First up is KyuuketsukiShounen, Cloti81953, wot wot wark, Shadowz, silvawolf, and Genoscythe. Thank you all for reviewing, and I hope you like the new chapter and don't hurt me because of how long it took me to update.

Chapter Three: To the Reactor...

Cloud was walking past the gates of his hometown with a big grin on his face. He looked himself over to make sure he looked good in his new uniform. He still couldn't believe he had finally made it into SOLDIER. Kepping that winning grin on his face, he walked into the town and saw something he hadn't been expecting, but had been hoping for. It seemed like the entire town was in front of him, with banners up saying "Welcome Back, Cloud!" and other such things and with that big grin still stuck on his face, Cloud joined the people in celebrating his homecoming. After awhile of partying and telling stories, Cloud noticed that their was one person he hadn't seen all day. Tifa. He started to look all over the town for her, but wasn't able to find her anywhere. He saddly decided to join the party again, but wasn't in such a happy mood anymore.

When the party was over and everyone was going home, Cloud decided to sit on the well and think like he had done when he was a little kid. He sat there for nearly an hour, started to feel a little depressed, when he heard someone walking up behind him. He turned and saw the person he'd been looking for all day. With a big grin he scooted over so Tifa could sit next to him. They sat there in silence for what felt like hours, just staring at the stars. Then they both turned to each other like they had something to say, but neither of them said anything, they just looked at each other for a little bit. Then Cloud did something he never thought he could muster the strength to do. He suddenly found himself leaning closer to her, and she wasn't backing off. He couldn't believe this was happening. 'I might be able to kiss Tifa!' he thought as he got closer and closer to her. 'I have to be dreaming' he thought to himself.

"WAKE UP!!!" Cloud shot up in his bed quickly, but was to close to the edge and fell off the bed. He got up off the ground grumbling about being woken up from the best dream ever. With an annoyed look on his face, Cloud glared at the other MP, who was trying and failing to hold back his laughter and left the room to get his uniform on. When he got back, he noticed Zack was still asleep and snoring loudly. "Think we should wake him up?" Cloud asked the MP. The MP just stood there for a little bit like he was thinking, then just said "Nah, let's go" and Cloud and the MP left, both chuckling, knowing Zack was gonna get in trouble for being late. They left the inn and walked over to where Sephiroth was waiting. He noticed them coming, but didn't say anything and they walked past him and waited by the path leading to the mountains.

After just a few moments of waiting, Tifa walked up and Cloud got a suprised look on his face, although you couldn't see it since he was wearing his helmet. He saw her father with her, and heard as they started talking and realized that Tifa was their guide. He was about to say something when he realized it would have looked weird for an anonymous MP to be upset that she was coming with them. Deciding to just keep an eye on her, Cloud kept his mouth shut. Just then Zack ran up, sending an angry glance at Cloud and the other MP, who were both on the verge of laughing. Just as everyone was about to leave someone ran up and asked them if he could take their picture. Cloud and the other MP just stood there watching as Sephiroth, Zack, and Tifa all got their picture taken, and then the small group headed off towards the Nibel mountains.

The group reached the mountains and started walking on the mountain path that lead to the reactor. When they reached the bridge Cloud froze, staring at the place that held one of his worst memories. The others kept going, not noticing that he had stopped. Cloud stood their, memories racing through his head of the time Tifa fell off that very bridge. 'Because I was too weak' he thought, and felt anger welling up inside of him. It wasn't anger at his tormentors like usual. It wasn't anger at the teachers or the instuctors who threw him out of the SOLIDER training program. It was anger at himself.

Suddenly, he was snapped out of his little daydream by something hitting him on the back. Cloud took a look around him and noticed that Zack had hit him and was giving him a worried look. The others had also stopped and turned around, with the MP's expression unreadiable, Tifa looking confused, and Sephiroth keeping his usual cold expression. "You okay" Zack asked him, a hint of worry in his voice. "I'm fine" Cloud said, although he didn't sound like it. Before Zack could inquire more, Sephiroth spoke up "Let's go, we have a mission to do" and he started across the bridge, with the others following him. Cloud was the last one to start across the bridge and was still deep in thought when he heard a sound that sent a shiver up his spine. The sound of rope ripping was forever burned into Cloud's head as something to be feared, ever since he and Tifa fell off the bridge so many years ago. Now, he was hearing this sound again...

A/N: Once again, I like to aplogize for the time it took me to update, but I've got finals and they've been taking my time away. Oh and KyuuketsukiShounen, thanks for the offer to proofread this, but I'm kinda new at this so I have no idea what you mean by beta read it (Yeah I know, you all probably think I'm an idiot now). Well anyway, I'll try to update faster when I get done with finals, but I don't think I'll be able to update until next week (unless I get really lucky).