Alright, so i was bored and decided to get straight into the second chapter. Hope everyone liked the first, things will get more interesting, i promise! Anyways, i wont dilly dally... shilly shally dilly dally. Man that sounds so lame! Anyways enjoy the new chapter! -annubis

The Decision Between Life or Death:

A Second Chance

Chapter Two

Tifa woke up to the sound of screaming children. She sprang from her bed and darted out of her room, not caring that she was only in her underwear and a large t-shirt. She was in the hall when she noticed giggles as well. Tifa made an abrupt halt outside Marlene and Denzel's room.

"AHH!! Tifa!" Marlene screeched, giggling. She was being spun in the air over Cloud's shoulder. He came to an abrupt halt, eyes wide. He looked over his shoulder at Tifa, his face red. Carefully he set Marlene down on Denzel's bed.

"Cloud?" Tifa stifled a laugh.

"Um..." Cloud rubbed the back of his neck. He took a step towards Tifa and felt a sudden tug.

"Where's Den-?" Tifa was interrupted as Cloud tumbled to the ground.

"RARGH!!" A young voice roared from under Denzel's bed. Cloud stared at his feet. Two small hands were gripped around his ankles.

"Oh!" Tifa covered her mouth trying not to laugh. Cloud turned his gaze upwards, looking at Tifa. He saw two feet, two bare feet that led to bare calves and then to bare thighs. He turned his gaze away quickly.

'Huh?' Tifa looked down at herself and then realized what Cloud was so embarrassed about.

"Oh!" She hollered again as she tugged on the bottom of her shirt, trying to cover as much of her bottom half as possible. She felt her face burning.

'Gotta leave! Gotta find some...shorts!' Tifa turned and darted out of the room.

"I got you! I got you didn't I!?" An excited Denzel crawled from underneath the bed. He had a strange mask strapped to the backside of his head. Marlene was in a fit of giggles.

"Ya sure did." Cloud laughed nervously.

"Where did Tifa go?" Marlene stared at the empty doorway.

"Was she in her underwear again!?" Denzel laughed.

"Not...anymore!" Tifa entered the room pulling on the waist band of her shorts.

"Well I don't see a difference...those shorts are so short, they may as well be underwear!" Denzel jumped from his bed.

"Denzel!" Tifa grabbed one of Marlene's teddy bears and launched it at the young boy's head.

"Hey! Not my teddy!" Marlene shouted. Her anger turned into another fit of giggles as the bear bounced off the boy's head.

"Ow!" Denzel picked up the bear. "That thing has a hard nose!"

"Serves you right!" Tifa huffed. Her attention was suddenly brought to the blond on the floor. "You gonna sit on that floor all day?" Tifa raised an eyebrow.

"..." Cloud got up quickly.

"What's with all the yelling this morning?" The woman looked at Marlene.

"Cloud scared us!" Marlene pointed accusingly at the grown man. He quickly held his hands in the air.

"I-I -I didn't do such thing!" Cloud's mouth gaped open.

"He did too, Tifa! Cloud's lying!" The boy pointed his finger as well. "He came into the room wearing this mask!" he turned around showing off the scary mask strapped to his head. It was made of wood, painted black with red and yellow stripes decorating the surface. The top was adorned with brightly colored feathers. The face of the mask was contorted and grotesque.

"I was only trying to get them ready for school!" Cloud rubbed the back of his head.

"School?" Tifa tilted her head. "School! Oh I forgot! It's the first day of school! What time is it!?" Tifa pounced onto the small bed in front of her. She grabbed the alarm clock.

"School!" Marlene and Denzel screamed and ran out of the room.

"Ah! They only have thirty minutes to be dressed and at school!" Tifa dropped the clock on the bed. She darted from the bedroom, leaving Cloud to himself. A moment later she was back in the doorway. Her hair was a mess in front of her face. She turned her head quickly, blowing the hair out of the way. "Cloud! Could you please make sure they eat their breakfast and are dressed within the next twenty minutes!?" Tifa didn't leave him time to answer as she ran back down the hall towards her room.

"...Okay." Cloud shrugged.

"Kids! Eat quickly and get dressed!" Tifa's voice was heard throughout the building. Cloud could hear the patter of her bare feet on the wood floor. "AND DON"T FORGET TO PUT YOUR DISHES IN THE SINK!" another shout sounded from the mad woman. The sound of the bathroom door slamming followed.

"..." Cloud stood in the silent room a moment.

'What just happened?' the blond shook his head. He made his way to the lower level of the building where the children were eating sugary cereal by the bar.

'Oh gotta hurry! Gotta hurry! Can't let the kids be late!' Tifa scurried from the shower. She wrapped the towel around her body and wiped the condensation from the mirror. She stared at her reflection. Her hair had grown to the middle of her back. She snatched up her brush and combed through the tangles.

"Ah! Denzel! Stop it!" Marlene slapped the boy over the head.

"Ow! Marlene that hurt!" A muffled voice called from the other side of the foreign mask.

"Stop scaring me!" Marlene flicked the mask.

"Stop fighting...get dressed." Cloud said in a monotone voice as he opened their closet.

"I wanna wear this today!" Marlene reached and tugged on her favorite pink dress.

"You always wear that!" Denzel scowled.

"She can wear what she wants." Cloud mumbled as he handed the dress to the young girl. Marlene stuck her tongue out at the boy.

"Can I wear what I want?" Denzel tugged on an old costume hanging in the furthest corner of the closet.

"Yeah as long as it isn't that." Cloud sighed. 'How does Tifa do this every morning?'

"What!? That's not fair!" Denzel folded his arms.

"Stop being a baby and wear normal clothes you goob!" Marlene rolled her eyes. She finished pulling up the straps to the pink dress and ran to her nightstand to fetch her pink ribbon. "Cloud? Can you put this in my hair?"

"...Sure..." Cloud stared at the ribbon. Marlene turned around as Cloud squatted next to her. He tied the ribbon slowly, watching the cloth loop around his fingers.

"You always gotta wear that stupid ribbon." Denzel scoffed as he sat on his bed, still in his pajamas.

"You're face is stupid!" Marlene screeched.

"Marlene!" Tifa shouted. She came bouncing into the room on one foot. The other foot was in the air while Tifa tied its laces. She had on a pair of Capri pants, a red t-shirt and had a toothbrush in her mouth.

"He started it..." Marlene mumbled.

"All done." Cloud muttered. Marlene turned around quickly and smiled at Cloud. He only stared at her. It looked as if he was in another world.

"Denzel!" Tifa screamed as she put her foot down. "Get dressed!" The woman pointed to the closet as she brushed her teeth vigorously.

"Get your jackets, its gonna be cool today." Tifa left the room.

"Denzel. Grab my coat. I'm gonna put the dishes in the sink!" Marlene ran out of the room.

"Alright." Denzel grumbled as he put on his shoes.

"Are you two always this energetic?" Cloud turned to the boy.

"Huh? Um...I guess so. It's always like this." Denzel shrugged his shoulders. He pulled his shirt over his head. "Well...except today you're here." Denzel gave him a big grin as he pulled out two jackets from the closet, one red and the other blue.

'Except...I'm here?' Cloud stared at the floor.

"Hey! Let's go!" Denzel yelled from the hall. Cloud turned to him quickly. "Before Tifa gets mad!" The boy turned quickly and headed down the stairs.

'She wasn't mad already?' Cloud sighed as he followed the energetic boy.

"Hurry it up! We're late!" Tifa called. "You too, Cloud!" Denzel ran by Tifa but was pulled to a halt. She pulled the mask off from his head. She looked at Cloud and rolled her eyes as she held the item in the air.

"Wutai." He explained. Tifa shook her head.

'Of course.' She set the mask down on the table.

"Yeah! Come on Cloud! You never get to take us to school!" Marlene grinned as she slid on her red jacket. Cloud stopped dead in his tracks. He stared at the young girl. She was wearing a pink dress, a red jacket, and her hair was tied in a braid by a pink bow, Aeris' pink bow. Cloud's eyes met Tifa's.

"Shotgun!" Denzel yelled as he sprinted out the door.

"No fair! You always get front seat!" Marlene tore after him.

"Tifa..." Cloud watched the young girl.

"I know..." Tifa hung her head. She grabbed the keys by the door. Silence over took them. "Come on. We've only got five minutes." Tifa walked out the door.

"Yeah..." Cloud closed the door.

"Denzel! Get in the back! Marlene! Stop hitting him!" Tifa shouted.

"Okay...so how exactly do I do it?" Aeris stared down at the pool of water. "Let's see...maybe if I think of the location I'll be sent there. Or maybe..." Aeris ran her hand through the water of the pool. She had been thinking about this for hours now, but time didn't make a difference in the afterlife.

"But what if it doesn't work? Maybe...if I..." Aeris looked around her. Zack was nowhere in sight. "Okay! Why not! Sure, I'll just try it out and if it works, it works!" The girl played with the braid in her hair. Her metal bangles clanged together.

"..." Aeris looked around once more before climbing over the edge of the well into the pool of water.

'I wonder how deep it-'

"Woop!" The woman fell into the water and didn't hit the bottom. She flailed her arms and grabbed the edge of the well pulling herself out of the surface.

'Is it possible to drown once you're already dead?' Aeris thought to herself as she sputtered and coughed. Whether it was possible or not, Aeris wasn't going to give it a try and find out.

"And I find it hard to believe you would just fall into that pool of water." A cool voice called from the shadows. Aeris gasped.

'Where? Where is he!?' She felt her heart pounding. A whistle sounded on the opposite side of the well.

"Over here." The voice called again.

"Oh!" Aeris turned around, kicking her feet to stay afloat.

'I need to get out of this water! Immediately!' She scampered up the side, trying to get away from the man on the other side.

"Here." A chuckle sounded above her. Aeris looked up to see a hand in her face.

"Sephiroth!" Aeris pushed against the wall. It was no use. She couldn't escape him.

"You don't trust me?" Sephiroth offered his hand to her once again. She stared at it.

"What do you think?" She leaned against the wall.

"Just take my hand!" Sephiroth shouted, this time from behind her. She felt a tug on her jacket as she was pulled from the water.

'I hate it when he teleports like that!'

"Let go!" She screeched. He did as he was told and dropped her onto the marble floor. The woman stood up quickly. Her clothes and hair stuck against her body. She was cold, a sensation she hadn't felt since she died.

"What exactly are you planning on doing?" Sephiroth took a step near her.

"What are you talking about?" Aeris backed against one of the stone pillars in the room.

"No one would take a dip in that pool if there wasn't a reason behind it." Sephiroth chuckled as he neared her again. "You look so vulnerable right now, Aeris." She shivered at the sound of him saying her name. Her thoughts carried her to the past. The pool bubbled, catching Sephiroth's attention.

"Oh? What's this?" Sephiroth stepped to the pool. His eyes narrowed before widening in recognition. "So this is what the pool does! It can reflect memories as well as the living?" Sephiroth chuckled.

"It does more than that." Aeris shivered. The man's green eyes met hers. A smile crossed his lips. "What?" Aeris pushed further against the pillar.

"I make you that nervous?" The silver haired man stared into the pool and laughed. "My, I almost forgot of that night! It sure was fun, wasn't it?" He grinned at her.

"Shut up!" Aeris covered her ears.

"Hmph. You're no fun." He looked back into the pool. His gloved fingers tapped the surface of the stone well. "So are you going to tell me what it is you're up to?" He stepped away from the pool as Aeris neared it.

"I told you I wasn't up to anything! I...just felt like swimming." Aeris stared at the pool of water. She was drawn into the sight. Cloud in her church, sleeping on one of the pews.

"Swimming, eh?" Sephiroth smirked. He appeared on the opposite side of the well as Aeris. "What's the puppet up to now these days?" Sephiroth growled at the reflection of water.

"He's not a puppet." Aeris growled.

"So defensive." The man brushed a few strands of silver hair from his eyes.

"He proved that to you when he killed you." Aeris met Sephiroth's dark glare. She suddenly felt a tight hold around her throat.

"...Want to see is you can die in this life too?" Sephiroth growled in her ear. His arm was wrapped around her neck.

"Get off!" Aeris pulled on his arm. 'Where? Where's Zack!?'

"He's sleeping." Sephiroth muttered in her ear. He watched the reflection of the sleeping man in the pool. "This thing is handy!" the man chuckled manically as he threw Aeris to the ground. She coughed, trying to catch her breath.

"Why do you show up now?" Aeris rubbed her neck.

"Why now? Just because I've been lost in the Lifestream for so long. Because the Ancients keep me from getting here." Sephiroth frowned. "Found you though. All I had to do was think of you!" he laughed again.

"So I have to put up with you for all eternity?" Aeris grumbled.

"Oh no, not for eternity. You see, I'm finding a way out of here." He leaned against the pool. "I'm going to get out of this miserable Lifestream, find Cloud and kill him, kill his friends...your friends and family, Zack's family...oh hell! I'll just kill everyone on the planet!" He raised his arms in the air, laughing.

"How?" Aeris asked.

"Still working on that..." Sephiroth growled.

"Ha! You've got to be kidding! There is no way out of here Sephiroth! There's no way back to life! You're stuck here forever with us angels!" Aeris made her way to him. She poked him in the chest.

"You must be stupid..." Sephiroth growled at her, grabbing her wrist. "You're too brave for your own good."

"You're too selfish for your own good!" Aeris spat.

"And what about you? Watching your friends all the time, there's got to be desire there, yes?" Sephiroth let go of her hand. He turned to the pool, looking at the rippling waves as visions of Cloud appeared. "Oh. I see now. You miss him, don't you? But what about the other one? What about the pain you felt when he died? Do you not love him?" Aeris leaned in, looking at what the pool was reflecting. Sephiroth pinned her hands down with his, his body pressed against her back.

"Sephiroth..." She warned, but he didn't move.

"What was it? You would whisper my name? And then Cloud's? And finally Zack's?" Sephiroth recalled the night he invaded Aeris' room. "Which one is it? You can't possibly love them both?"

"I do!" Aeris turned to face the man. He was still pressed against her. Her heart stopped.

'Too close! I'm too close to this man!' Aeris tried to get away but he kept her from doing so.

"And how's that possible? You can't love more than one? At least not in the way you love an individual intimately." Sephiroth raised an eyebrow.

"You can too." Aeris' voice was low. She was frightened. She needed Zack. The pool bubbled, reflecting and image of Zack holding onto Aeris.

"You seem confused my dear." Sephiroth chuckled in her ear. She struggled under his hold.

"No! You're the confused one! You're not an Ancient! You're human, you should have these emotions as well! You get angry, so why not love!" Aeris put her foot against the man's stomach and pushed. This caused another hearty laugh from Sephiroth.

"There's no one for me to love! You see, I am Jenova's son! Wronged by everyone!" He let go of her and turned away. Aeris took a deep breath.

"Everyone's capable of love! Even you!" Aeris distanced herself from the man.

"Me!?" He gave her an incredulous look. "Fine what if I was capable of love? Who would love such a monster?" He laughed at his own statement. He was humoring her.

"Anyone is capable of love...anyone's capable of loving anybody. You could be loved." Aeris pondered. She folded her arms.

'She's taking this too seriously...' Sephiroth smirked.

"Even by you?" Sephiroth stepped toward her.

"No!" Aeris answered a little too quickly. " I knew you were going to say something like that!" She balled her fists and growled in frustration.

"This conversation is pointless!" Sephiroth shook his head. He didn't want to admit that even he was disturbed a little by it. "You're only gonna get hurt and hurt others for your selfishness." Sephiroth smirked at the woman.

"My selfishness?" Aeris' mouth gaped. "Sephiroth, you should take your own advise." The chestnut haired woman turned away from him and headed out into the darkness.

"And where are you going?" Sephiroth tugged on her arm.

"Let go!" She pulled away from him. "As far as I'm concerned, this conversation is over!"

'This man irritates the hell out of me! There's no way I can put up with him. He's too dangerous and psychotic.' She shivered.

"Tell me when you think of a plan to make it back to the other world." Sephiroth walked across the room, his boots echoed in the silence.

"Yeah right. I already told you there was no way out." Aeris glared at him.

'And even if there was a way...I wouldn't tell you anyway.'

"Well then, I'll just have to keep an eye on you." Sephiroth faded away.

"Leave me alone!" Aeris screeched. There was no sound, no dark chuckle or hands around her throat.

'Finally...' She rolled her eyes.

Aeris made her way to the pool. She stared at the water for a few moments before searching the area. She leaned over the edge and climbed into the pool.

'Ok. I'm going to find out if this works. If it does, I'll just come back and let Zack know...and we can get away from that monster!' Aeris clenched her fists. She thought of the cold water surrounding her and the water in the center of the City of the Ancients.

'This had better work...' Aeris held her breath and dove under the water surface, sinking through the bottomless pit of memories and time.

Tifa sat in her bar. Today was a slow day. Even Reno hadn't been in yet. She sat on the bar stool, daydreaming about the morning with Cloud. He had helped her with the kids and actually took Tifa out to lunch. They made small talk, but it was fun none the less. She was tired of sitting at the bar all day by herself. He had been in his room since, readying orders for tomorrow. Footsteps sounded on the staircase, alerting her from her daze.

"Cloud?" She looked up at the man on the stairs. He had on his boots, dark pants and his jacket. He had a bag full of boxes slung around his shoulder. "You going out again?" She asked flatly. He nodded to her slowly.

"I'll be back late tonight. Don't wait up." He murmured as he headed for the door.

"Alright..." Tifa replied. Cloud stopped at the door. He looked over the few men in the bar and back at Tifa. She gave him a fake smile and nodded her head. He nodded back and left. "Be careful..." She said to no one. Tifa went behind the bar to fix herself something to drink, she rarely did this but lately, she couldn't think of a reason not to. She heard the door open once again.

"Welcome to Seventh-...oh, hi Reno." Tifa smiled as the redhead made his way into his favorite bar. "Where's Rude?"Tifa flung her hair over her shoulder.

"Rude? Ah, he's got second shift again tonight!" Reno huffed. He sat on the bar stool in front of the woman. "Slow night?" He asked looking around at the three other people in the bar.

"Very slow." Tifa handed him a glass of his favorite dark liquid. "Can I join?" The brown eyed woman made her way to the other side and sat next to the Turk.

"Of course!" He raised his glass in the air. "So what's got ya down? Boy troubles?" His raised an eyebrow, his goggles rising with it.

"When are they not?" Tifa sighed.

Aeris felt like ice all over. She had a terrible pain in the middle of her back and directly under the front of her ribcage. She felt pressure all over and couldn't breath. Her mind was numb, it had felt like she had been asleep for years. Her eyes burst open. Bubbles floated all around her as she struggled for air. She had no clue what was going on. What was she doing down here? Where was she? She needed to get out.

'Help!' Aeris screamed in her mind. She tried to flail her arms but they were too heavy. She kicked her legs in a frenzy, trying to stand. She wanted air but didn't want to breath at the same time. The woman managed to get upright; she looked up to see ripples of pale moonlight.

'I'm under water!' Aeris pushed from the ground and tried with all her might to reach the surface before she drowned. Her arms clawed at the water as she neared the surface. She couldn't take it anymore. She breathed in, water invaded her lungs. She coughed underwater as her struggle continued.

'No! I can't die! I can't! I...I have to get out!' Aeris kicked and pushed, her vision was leaving her quickly, but she kept moving. Kick, pull, kick, pull. She felt cold air as she burst from her watery grave. She breathed in the harsh air and coughed violently to free her lungs of the liquid. She searched for the ground so she could swim to freedom. A giant seashell building came into view. She paddled slowly to make her way to safety. Her muscles ached and her body was heavy.

'How long was I under there? Where am I exactly?' She clawed her way to solid ground and collapsed, breathing heavily. 'It feels like I haven't taken a breath in years!' She coughed and sputtered once again. Her hair clung to her body in clumps. Her boots were full of the cold liquid and her dress was skin tight, clinging to her every curve. Aeris tried her best to remember what happened.

"How...did I get here?" She sat up slowly. In a flash her memories flooded her. She remember the feeling of cold steal piercing her body. She felt herself jolt at the realization. She remembered Cloud dropping her body into these cold depths and then the Lifestream her body fell into underneath the sand, the only blessing of the whole situation. If that Lifestream hadn't been there she wouldn't be alive right now.

"Alive...Life! ME! I'm alive!" Aeris laughed. She looked at the moon, grinning gloriously. "Look, Zack! I'm alive!" She threw her arms into the air. She wasn't exactly sure why it worked, but her theory was right. The Lifestream had everything to do with it. Aeris stood up quickly, despite the cold and the pain she felt, she was alive and ready to get away from that deep puddle that had consumed her for so many years. The woman ran down the path towards the sleeping forest. She wasn't going to rest until she had reached her friends.

Far in the distance someone watched the woman in shock.

'She...just came out of the water...and is alive...perfectly fine...' The man had to sit down to let everything sink in.

"N...Not possible..." Vincent murmured to himself.

OK i was going to write a lot more but this was getting long enough. So I'll just continue the rest later. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter as well. And yes Zack will be in the next chapter and will play a big part in this story! Thanks for reading and reviewing! -Annubis.