A/N: Hi all. Here you have a new version of Starting Over. I wasn´t happy with the original, so this is the result. I hope that you like this one better. Enjoy.

Starting Over

Chapter 1

Different

A Perfect Circle - Pet

"Don't fret precious I'm here, step away from the window

Go back to sleep

Lay your head down child

I won't let the boogeyman come

Counting bodies like sheep

To the rhythm of the war drums

Pay no mind to the rabble

Pay no mind to the rabble

Head down, go to sleep

To the rhythm of the war drums."

In the little town of Nibelheim, where snowy mountains cascaded to the sky, screaming in defiance, never however quite reaching said skies a hero and a WEAPON of the planet was born. He was born again, from the remnants of his past life. This is a story about chances to fix what is wrong in Gaia and to survive in the world that is not quite how you think. This is a story about a man.. A man with many powers, all earned with suffering, as the best Heroes are always those who are the most relentless to do these things.

xxx

Nibelheim.. Home to few hundred people. Although they all had something in common. They had a rank. A rank that was enforced by occupation. In towns like Nibelheim, people who lived there were mostly the lowest of the rank, as what can you do to boost your rank in a little town or village? Nothing.

IN Nibelheim lived Cloud. Cloud was a strange boy, even he himself acknowledged this. He had always known that there was something special about in him, but could not quite figure out what. It was strange, like how the unused mako reactor called him, like the old abandoned Shin-Ra mansion seemed familiar and the smell of hospitals, disinfects and medical supplies made him shudder, how a sword felt like it belonged to his hand..

Until Cloud´s 13 birthday, he didn´t know the reason why.. Then the memories came, and so came the knowledge of those lives. He had lived two lives before this. And both of these lives had ended not so well.. He had realized a little too late, what everything meant.

At his first life he had went to Midgar, to be a SOLDIER, one of the elite. Not that he had any chance as it found out. Nope. He had befriended with Zack.. And Reno. Then came the horrid Nibelheim mission, and Sephiroth had gone completely mental. He had tried to his best ability to save everything, but nope.. That just wasn´t meant to be.

Then came his years with Hojo. Those were the reasons for his shudders when near of anything related to medical supplies. Cloud hated him and what he did to him and Zack and Sephiroth. Then they had escaped, the Turks tried to help, but Zack had died.. Leaving Cloud with his dreams and legacy.

Then few years.. Believing he was Zack or Sephiroth.. Even at times Angeal. All the pretending and lies.. But he had not known. Then finally Tifa had helped him to regain his memories. He had seen Aerith.. And suddenly everything was better.

AVALANCHE feared fine and everything went well.. Until Reno had dropped the plate that is.

Then they fought against Sephiroth.. Again. Then came the Geostigma... And finally they defeated Sephiroth and the triplets.. Again.

After that the world was just too damaged to continue anymore. And so Cloud had died.. Only to live his life again.

xxx

On his second attempt to life.. Everything was different. He lived in the Shin-Ra mansion with Rufus, who in this life was his step-brother. Cloud was tested with Sephiroth in the labs all the time; they had gone to the war of Wutai and came back as the winners.

Cloud and Sephiroth had been promoted, Sephiroth as The General, and Cloud as his second in command. The tests continued.. Courtesy of Hojo. This time it was Cloud who went mental. Everything just went wrong. When Sephiroth had defeated him again and again it finally ended. Although now he was living again.

He just hoped that this time everything would go better than before..

Would Sephiroth, Vincent, Reno, Zack and the rest remember him? Would they even be here in this world? Was it always he or Sephiroth that went evil or mad? The others had Jenova and Genesis cells as well.. SO why neither of them ever went mad? Was it some flaw in Hojo´s research? This time he would do everything better - Cloud sweared.

A/N: So here´s the prologue to this.. I hope that you like and that you will R&R. Thanks :) Sorry about the short chapters.

O.B.: Damn, all that work in the 1st go round… Oh well! That happens. Not complaining.