Chapter 14: Cloud Vs Max

After flying through the night, the Sierra had landed outside WRO HQ just as it was approaching sunrise. Cloud began to stir as sunlight peeped in through the blinds of the window of his and Tifa's room. Cloud slowly opened his eyes and he saw that he was still fully clothed and lying on top of the bed covers. He looked to his right and he saw that Tifa was still asleep. He slid softly off the bed so as not to wake her and he walked over to the window and looked out to see a large building. They were at WRO, Cloud walked back over to the bed and with his hand he gently nudged Tifa.

"Tifa," he whispered in her ear. "It's time to get up, we're here."

Tifa moaned as she stirred, "huh…what?"

"We're at WRO HQ," Cloud said again as Tifa slowly came round.

Tifa sat up and she rubbed her eyes as she looked blearily around the room. "What time is it?" She asked Cloud.

Cloud looked at his watch, "It's seven o clock," he replied as Tifa threw the covers off her and she crawled out of bed and she began to get changed. "Cid said he'd wake everyone up when we got here." Cloud and Tifa listened to the sound of loud knocking and shouting from the corridor.

"Alright! Rise and shine you S.O.B.s! We're at WRO HQ! So get your scrawny asses out of bed!"

Cloud shook his head but he couldn't help but smile, "And cue the wake up call," he stated as Tifa laughed.

"I guess we should make our way to the bridge before Cid throws a fit," Tifa said to Cloud.

Cloud nodded, "you're right," Cloud agreed, "the sooner we can de-brief everyone and talk to Rufus, the sooner we can sort this out and get back to our lives."

Cloud opened the bedroom door and he and Tifa walked down the passage way to the bridge where Cid was waiting for them. Cid turned to face them and grinned. "Well I'm glad you two managed to haul your asses out of bed," he commented. "We just need to wait for the rest of those lazy bastards."

Ten minutes later and everyone was stood in the bridge. "Well it's about time you lazy S.O.B.s got here!" Cid yelled as he glared at everyone.

Cloud merely laughed, "Come on, let's get going." Everyone left the Sierra and they entered the lobby of the WRO HQ.

"Wait here guys," Reno said to the group, I'll just let Rufus and Reeve know that we're here and…" Reno stopped as he heard someone call his name.

"Reno!" Reno turned round to see a young woman in her mid 20s run towards him.

"Emma!" Reno called out the woman's name and he held his arms out ready to catch Emma. As soon as Emma had reached him she outstretched her hand and she slapped Reno hard across the face. "Ouch!" Reno cried out as he held the area of his face that Emma had hit. "What was that for?"

Emma glared at Reno, "That was for missing our date last night!" She yelled as she jabbed her finger into to Reno's chest.

Drogo laughed at this, "Busted!" He shouted jokingly.

Reno glared at Drogo for a few seconds before turning his attention to Emma, he gave her a blank stare. "Our…date…"

Emma nodded, "Yes!" She shouted not caring that everyone else in the lobby could hear her. "Our date!"

"Oh," Reno replied then realisation hit him like a ton of bricks. "Oh…oh I'm so sorry."

"How could you forget about our date?!" Emma demanded, she glared at Reno with accusing eyes.

"But babe," Reno was quick to defend himself, "something came up, it was unavoidable."

"It was your night off!"

"It was an emergency," Reno continued to explain while he was still rubbing his cheek. "I couldn't exactly have turned round to Rufus and say sorry boss but I can't go on this mission because I promised that I'd go on a date with my girlfriend."

Emma gritted her teeth at Reno's attitude towards the situation, "what could've been so important that you missed our date?"

"How about the fate of the world," Reno answered.

"I'm serious Reno!" Emma snapped at him, "But you don't seem to care as much about our relationship as I do!" Emma started to storm off.

"Whoa, whoa! Wait a minute!" Reno ran after Emma and he took hold of her hand, but she snatched it away.

"Get off me Reno!"

Reno ran in front of Emma and she stopped storming off. "Alright look," Reno explained to Emma and he took hold of her hand again, she didn't snatch it away this time. "I'm sorry I missed our date, but we've got a bit of a situation here that's not gonna go away overnight. Do you understand?"

Emma nodded, "I guess so, but that still doesn't excuse the fact that you missed our date."

"I know," Reno replied, "but when all this is over, I promise you we'll go on that date."

Emma's eyes lit up, "Really?" She asked, "you mean that?"

Reno nodded, "yeah, it's an iron plaque promise."

Emma gave Reno a sceptical stare, "you better keep your promise." With that Emma walked off leaving Reno alone. He returned to the group.

"Need I ask what that was all about?" Cloud asked Reno.

"It's best you don't know," Reno replied, "anyway," Reno added quickly changing the subject, "Rufus knows we're here and he's in the meeting room, it's on the third floor, come on."

Reno walked through lobby to the elevator and some stairs. Half the group went up the stairs and the other half went in the elevator. Ten minutes later and everyone was in the meeting room and Reno explained the situation to Rufus.

Rufus stayed silent for a while as he tried to take it all on board, eventually he spoke. "So Sephiroth was at the Northern Cave."

Reno nodded, "Yeah, Cloud and Max fought him, bur he got away before they could finish him."

"And there was a Kitsune woman there as well," he looked at Max as he said this.

"Scarlet, yeah," Max replied his voice was filled with bitter hatred.

"You seem to know her well," Rufus stated not taking his eyes off Max.

"She was my sadistic psycho bitch for a cousin!" Max yelled, "She shouldn't even be here!"

"Anyway," Cait Sith quickly changed the subject and Max calmed down again, "we found her at the passage way leading to the Centre of the Earth, she was looking at the Life Stream."

"Hmmm…" Reeve thought about this, "the Northern Cave is one of the places where the Life Stream is strongest. Thank you Cait Sith."

"Anytime Reeve."

"After I defeated her," Pandora stated staring at the group, "she said that she'd leave for now and that Max and Cloud had defeated Sephiroth."

"Yeah, and Sephiroth said that his accomplice would take care of our friends," Cloud added, "I thought that was strange, as Sephiroth usually worked alone."

"So Sephiroth has an accomplice," Cid cut in.

"Or maybe several accomplices," Lance chipped in, "I mean who knows how many of them are out there."

"I think Balthazar might be back as well," Max replied.

Nightshade stared at Max his eyes were wide with shock, "Balthazar, are you sure?"

Max nodded, "before Scarlet left she said that Balthazar sends his love," Max answered, he cringed at the thought of both Scarlet and Balthazar being back from the dead.

"And we still don't know who's bringing them all back," Tifa added looking confused. "Sephiroth nor Scarlet mentioned their master."

"So what's our next plan of action?" Barret asked as he banged his metal arm on the table.

"What else can we do?" Sunny asked in answer to Barret's question, "we don't even know who's been brining all these people back to life."

"But shouldn't we find out?" Barret questioned and he banged his metal arm on the table again.

"Sunny's right," Drogo replied agreeing with Sunny, "we don't even know where to start."

"But if we don't do something," Barret argued, "who knows what they'll do next time."

"Barret I can understand where you're coming from," Cloud told Barret, "but there's nothing we can do about it now."

"As much as I hate to admit it," Rufus cut in, "but Cloud is right, you've done everything you could for now."

"Why don't we take a break?" Tifa suggested kindly, "it'll help clear our heads and then we can look at the situation with fresh eyes."

"And my agents will let me know if anything else out of the ordinary happens and in turn I'll let you know," Rufus added helpfully.

"Alright," Cloud ordered, "we'll take a break for a while, we may as well all stay here because you never know what might happen. Rufus will let us know if anything else happens."

"Fine," Rufus stated although he wasn't too happy about a large group of people staying at the WRO but he knew that he had no choice. "As long as you don't cause any trouble, we're very busy here, meeting dismissed."

Everyone walked out of the room except for Max who walked over to Reeve. "Hey Reeve?" Max got the man's attention.

Reeve turned round and smiled at Max, "yes Max?" He asked politely.

"I was wondering if you had a chance to look at the teleportation devices."

"Yes I have as a matter of fact," Reeve replied, "I must say I was amazed by the technology. I'm still figuring out how they work, maybe you could give me a hand."

Max nodded, "sure."

"Of course, you don't have to help right now if you're busy. My workshop is in the basement if you want to give me a hand."

Max smiled at Reeve, "thanks Reeve," he said gratefully.

"Anytime," Reeve and Max walked out of the meeting room. Reeve entered the elevator to go down to the basement. Max walked down the corridor, Cloud was leaning against the wall.

"Hey Max," Cloud called out to him as Max walked passed him.

Max turned around and saw Cloud, "oh hey Cloud," Max responded as Cloud leant off the wall and walked over to him.

"I was wondering if I could ask you something."

Max nodded, "sure, what is it?"

"Well," Cloud started as they both walked down the corridor, "I've seen you in battle three times now and your skills are just…wow…"

Max laughed, "well I have been training a lot."

"And it shows too," Cloud complimented. "So I was wondering if I could challenge you to a fight."

Max stared at Cloud, "you want to fight me?" He asked not taking his eyes off Cloud.

Cloud nodded, "I just wanted to see who's more skilled out of the two of us."

Max thought for a bit then he nodded, "ok, I accept your challenge, but it won't be fair if I used my psychic powers in the fight."

"No no…" Cloud quickly cut in, "then it wouldn't be a real challenge because you're not using all of your abilities."

Max stared at Cloud, "you do know that with my psychic abilities I can determine what your next move is going to be before you even carry it out?"

"I know," Cloud answered, "but that's what makes it challenging," Cloud then looks around him. "I don't think Rufus would be too pleased if we were fighting in the WRO HQ."

"I know a place we can go." Before Cloud could say anything Max closed his eyes and focused and the two of them disappeared. Cloud opened his eyes to find himself in a blank room.

"What is this place?" Cloud asked.

"This is my dimension," Max answered, Cloud turned round to see Max standing behind him.

"You're dimension?" Cloud questioned not taking his eyes off Max.

Max nodded, "yeah, this is where I store anything that maybe of value, like my weapons or any item that I may need. Also it's a good place to train without any interruptions and without injuring yourself or anyone else."

Cloud continued to look round, "wow, pretty convenient."

"Yeah," Max agreed, he held his hand out and his sword appeared in his hand and he held it out in front of him. "shall we?"

Cloud took his sword from off his back and he held it out in front of him. "Yeah, let's do this."

Cloud charged at Max his sword was thrust out in front of him ready to strike Max. Max quickly teleported and disappeared out of sight. Cloud stopped in his tracks and looked around him with a confused expression on his face. "Huh?" Cloud asked himself, "where did he go?" Cloud wasn't even aware of what was happening until he swung his sword upwards and parried another sword coming down on him from above, Max back flipped in the air and he landed on the ground in front of Cloud. "How did you do that?"

Max grinned, "I'm psychic remember," he answered not taking his eyes off Cloud, "I can read my opponent's mind to determine what they're going to do next, I can teleport out of the way of my opponent's attack and I can appear anywhere and catch them off guard." At these words he lunged forwards at top speed almost catching Cloud off guard but Cloud easily blocked the attack. "Also," Max added as he talked over the clanging of metal as the two swords clashed against each other. "This is my dimension, so I can do anything I want within it." Max used his telekinetic powers to repel Cloud and send him flying into a far wall. Max then dropped his sword blade first into the ground but instead of hitting the ground the sword disappeared from sight. Max stood still and patiently waited for the outcome.

Cloud slowly staggered to his feet looking dazed he saw Max just standing there not making a move, he also say that Max had no weapon. "You got rid of your weapon?" Cloud asked still staring at Max, Max merely grinned in response as if to say don't let your guard down just yet. Cloud swung his sword round and parried just in time as a sword appeared behind him and attempted to strike him before disappearing and reappearing in the opposite direction. The sword kept disappearing and reappearing in different directions as though it had a mind of its own, and each time Cloud successfully parried the sword. After a few seconds the sword disappeared and re-materialised in Max's hand. Max leapt into the air and Cloud followed suit and they clashed swords in the air both moving with breath taking speed and displaying an amazing amount of skill, both looking for an opening so they can strike their opponent. Cloud finally found an opening, with his next strike Cloud clashed his sword against Max's with a little more strength than usual causing Max to be sent flying backwards. Cloud's sword glowed with energy.

"Blade Beam!" Cloud yelled as he slashed down with his sword releasing the energy in Max's general direction. Max of course had anticipated this having read Cloud's mind before being knocked backwards and he teleported just in time as the energy beam hit the empty space where Max was a few seconds ago and diffused. A dark energy ball zoomed towards Cloud's back. Cloud turned just in time and he deflected it with his sword causing the energy ball to fly back in the direction it came from and it hit the far wall and fizzled out. Max appeared in front of Cloud a few seconds later, his sword was glowing with a dark aura. He had enchanted his sword with dark energy.

"Hell's Blade!" Max yelled at the top of his lungs. The dark energy glowed even more vividly and ignited with dark fire. Max disappeared in a flash of dark energy and he reappeared behind Cloud and was preparing to drive the sword which was now glowing with dark fire into Cloud's back, however Cloud just about parried it. Max then warped in all directions aiming to dig the sword of dark fire into different parts of Cloud's body but Cloud parried against each strike with ease. Cloud and Max landed safely on the ground, they were both panting a little the dark energy in Max's sword fizzled out and disappeared. "Damn your fast," Max stated as he panted trying to get his breath back.

"Thanks," Cloud replied gratefully as he too was in the process of getting his breath back. "That was a powerful move, I could barely block it at first but it got easier with time."

Max grinned, "Yeah, it's a technique I taught myself to use whenever I enchanted my sword with dark energy. Of course it takes up quite a bit of my energy to use."

"I see," Cloud thought about this for a while. "You ready to go again?"

Max nodded, "yeah." Max and Cloud paced round slowly in circles before they lunged at each other again and the fight resumed neither warrior was letting their guard down not even for a second. Max focused hard and read Cloud's mind. "Ok," Max said to himself while thinking up of a strategy. "Cloud's gonna perform a braver attack so I better duck down and swing upwards to parry as he brings his sword down."

Max ducked down and held his sword ready to strike as Cloud leapt into the air and brought his sword behind him. The tip of Cloud's sword glowed as he brought his sword back over his head. "Braver!" Cloud yelled at the top of his lungs. Max rose up and swung his sword upwards as Cloud brought his sword down and there was an almighty clang as the two swords clashed against each other at such a force that it knocked both Max and Cloud back. Max skidded back a few paces before he spread his feet out to balance himself and Cloud back flipped in the air and he landed safely on the ground. Cloud stared at Max, "you knew I was going to do that?" He asked, he wasn't angry, rather he was intrigued.

"I'm psychic remember," Max said again in an amusing tone. "Being psychic is a curse as well as blessing. In battle it's useful as it enables you to see what your opponent's next move is, or even several moves in succession if the telepathy is powerful enough and you can plan your next move. In interrogation situations telepathy allows you to gather useful information from a prisoner without them even opening their mouths and you're more likely to get the truth."

"How's it a curse?" Cloud asked.

Max laughed as he continued with his explanation. "In a normal everyday situation where it has no particular use. You could accidentally end up in the no go areas of a person's mind, which is why telepathy isn't an ability to be taken lightly."

Cloud thought about this and he understood what Max was saying, psychic abilities in general especially the more advanced ones took up quite a bit of mental energy and should be used sparingly. Cloud and Max clashed swords again in the same rapid but steady rhythm, both Max and Cloud exchanged blows at such speed and strength that would've been deadly if they ever struck an opponent. Luckily Max and Cloud were at the same skill level and their main aim wasn't to hurt or kill each other. Max and Cloud fought on in silence each warrior was in a deep level of concentration, they were both acting like they were in a real battle situation neither one showing fatigue. Cloud brought his sword down to clash against Max's sword only to find that his sword was hitting thin air. A few seconds later Cloud could feel a metal blade rubbing against his neck. He turned round to see Max standing behind him hold his sword to Cloud's throat. Max grinned at Cloud, "not bad," he observed not removing his sword. "But if this was a real fight, you'd be dead now." Max brought his sword away from Cloud's neck and he de-materialised it. Cloud sheathed his sword and he turned to face Max who was still grinning at him.

"You're skilled in battle," Cloud remarked, "I'll give you that."

Max bowed his head slightly, "thanks, you also have skill."

"Well I have been training over the years," Cloud told Max.

"Same here," Max stated.

"I think we should call it a day," Cloud said as he noticed his fatigue for the first time.

Max nodded he was also starting to feel exhausted from battle. "Yeah, until next time maybe."

Cloud laughed, "maybe, I'll have to think about that."

Max also laughed. "We better get back, everyone might wonder where we've got to." Max closed his eyes again and focused, and he and Cloud were back in the WRO HQ again.

"That was interesting," Cloud stated as he smiled at Max.

Max nodded he was about to respond when he heard voices yelling outside.

"Hey come on! I didn't mean it!"

"What do you mean you didn't mean it?!"

Max and Cloud walked over to the window and they saw Yuffie running round and round in the yard looking shit scared as Angel chased after her brandishing her blades. Max and Cloud ran down the stairs and they ended up in the grounds, Angel was still chasing Yuffie.

"All I said was that dress didn't suit you!"

"You take that back!"

Yuffie screamed as Angel began to catch up with her and she swung her blades round more frantically. Max and Cloud saw Lance and Cid stood there with a look of amusement on their faces.

"What's going on?" Cloud asked them.

"Yuffie was insulting Angel's clothing choices," Lance answered, "of course with Yuffie already being on thin ice for insulting Angel's accent last time, Angel didn't take it too well and…you can see the result."

"Shouldn't we help her?" Max asked as he stared at Lance and Cid.

"Are you kidding?" Lance replied quickly, he wasn't taking his eyes off the scene that was taking place in front of him. "Yuffie incurred Angel's wrath, she has to live with consequences."

"And it's been amusing us," Cid added not bothering to hide his laughter at Yuffie's misfortune. "It's good to see that someone's finally putting that brat in her place!"

"Cid!" Yuffie yelled desperately, "please help me!"

"Like Hell I will!" Cid retorted, "you made your bloody bed, you lie in it!"

"Cloud, please!" Yuffie turned her attention to Cloud.

Cloud shook his head, "Sorry Yuffie, whatever you've gotten yourself into keep me out of it!"

"Oh thanks a lot Cloud!" Yuffie dodged out of the way just in time as Angel swung her blade round just narrowly missing Yuffie's face.

"Stay still!" Angel yelled at Yuffie as she continued to chase Yuffie. "You're just making it worse!"

Max, Cloud, Lance and Cid continued to watch and laugh as Yuffie continued to get chased by Angel. Cid was almost on the floor laughing his head off. "Oh man…" he said as he was recovering from laughing so hard. "I haven't had this much fun in years. Well as much as I love to see Yuffie getting her ass handed to her I have to see to the Sierra.

"Cid," Max began but Cid immediately cut him off.

"I stand by what I said before Max, the answer is still no! Why can't you get it through that bloody skull of yours? Stop asking me!" Cid stormed off before Max could respond.

"Face it Max," Cloud told Max, "Cid won't even let any of the technicians touch the Sierra. What makes you think you stand a chance of convincing him otherwise?"

"Because I'm probably more skilled than all those technicians put together."

"I know," Cloud agreed with him, "Cid just gets a little protective when it comes to the Sierra."

Max sighed, he knew that Cloud was right, he wouldn't stand a chance of convincing Cid to let him upgrade the Sierra anytime soon. "It's his loss I suppose, anyway, I'm gonna go and find Pandora."

Cloud nodded, "ok," he replied, "I better get going as well, Tifa's probably wondering where I am."

After saying their hasty goodbyes Max and Cloud went their own separate ways. Max found Pandora wondering the grounds, he ran up to her. "Pandora!" Max called out her name as he caught up with her.

Pandora turned round and she smiled when she saw Max, "Max," she replied, "where were you? I've been looking all over for you."

Max laughed ruefully and he ran his hand through his unruly hair. "Cloud wanted to challenge me to a fight so we were in my dimension. I guess we lost track of the time." Pandora placed her hands on her hips and scowled at Max. "I'm sorry Pandora, am I forgiven?"

Pandora continued to scowl at him but then it turned into a smile, she hugged Max and she kissed him on the lips. "You're forgiven," she replied playfully, Max smiled at her and they walked hand in hand through the grounds. It was now getting on for late afternoon early evening. "Hey, Kalm's not that far away from here," she stated as she saw the town in the distance.

"You want to go?" Max asked her.

Pandora thought about this, "well it would be nice, I haven't had a chance to see the whole town, and I'm sure they've repaired the damage by now."

"Ok," Max agreed, "if you want to go to Kalm, then that's where we'll go." Pandora grabbed Max by the waist, she spread out her wings and took off carrying Max below her. Ten minutes later and they landed in Kalm, Pandora released Max and a few seconds later she landed herself and folded her wings. Max looked to his left, "I guess this area of town is still in the process of being rebuilt," he stated. Pandora took hold of his hand and they were about to walk off when three men wearing WRO uniforms approached them.

"Excuse me sir, miss," one of the men spoke, "you're in a restricted area, I suggest you move along." Pandora showed the man her WRO badge, he looked at the badge in Pandora's hand. "Oh, sorry miss, I didn't know you were with the WRO, in that case you're free to go." He then looked at Max, "but I'm afraid you'll have to leave the area sir."

"That's ok," Pandora told the man, "he's with me, we just haven't got round to getting him a WRO badge yet."

The man nodded to show that he understood, "oh, well if he's with you then that's fine, but try not to get in the way of the reconstruction work. After that battle that happened here a couple of nights ago, we've had to close off this area to civilians."

Max ruffled his hair and gave the man a remorseful look, "sorry about that, it was partly my fault."

The man took a closer look at Max, "Hey!" He exclaimed, "you're Max aren't you?"

Max nodded, "yeah."

"Our boss has told us all about you, apparently you and your friends gave Kadaj, Yazoo and Loz a run for their money."

Max grinned, "we've had a lot of practice," he replied, "but I don't think we've heard the last of them."

The man's smile faded, "you don't think they'd come back again do you?"

"Most likely," Max answered, "it only takes one bone to bring a necromical copy back to life."

"I hope they don't come back to Kalm again, we're still in the process of re-building the area."

"Don't worry," Max reassured the man, "if they know what's good for them they won't show their faces for a while."

The man heaved a huge sigh of relief, "well that's a relief, anyway you two have a nice evening." With that the three men left leaving Max and Pandora alone.

Max smiled at Pandora, "it's a good thing you had that WRO badge."

Pandora smiled back, "yeah, we should think about getting you one."

"Yeah, no restrictions."

"Do you think Kadaj, Yazoo and Loz will come back?" Pandora asked Max.

Max nodded, "we haven't heard the last of them, and Scarlet and Sephiroth too, don't worry," Max stroked the side of Pandora's face to reassure her, "Rufus will let us know if there are any problems."

"I guess you're right," Pandora replied, "let's enjoy tonight while we can." Max and Pandora continued to walk round Kalm as the sky became darker the lights flickered and switched on. The town was quite beautiful at night. Eventually they ended up at the top of the clock tower where Vincent was currently residing nowadays. Pandora and Max were sat on the roof of the clock tower looking at the night sky. "It's so beautiful," Pandora commented, "I can't remember the last time we saw stars in the sky."

"Yeah," Max agreed, Pandora rested her head in Max's chest and he stroked Pandora's long hair. "it's good to rest every once in a while." Pandora sighed, Max looked down at her, "what's wrong?"

"Don't you miss home?" Pandora asked him.

Max just stared at Pandora, "of course I do, why do you ask?"

"I guess I'm just feeling a little homesick."

"Pandora, we all miss home. You, me, Drogo, Sunny, Lance, Angel, Nightshade, hell even Isis. But, there's no way we can get home at the moment, Reeve is still looking into fixing the teleportation devices. I'd fix them myself, but I don't have time right now what with everything that's going on."

"I know."

"Scarlet has returned, which means that Balthazar has no doubt come back as well, and we should know more than anyone what they're capable of. We're heroes, we go where we're needed and right now, this world needs us. I don't want Scarlet, Balthazar or anyone else to take away what these people have tried so hard to rebuild over the passed few years since the meteor incident."

Pandora sighed again, she knew that Max was right, Cloud and the others had been so good to them, the least they could do was return the favour. "You're right Max," she stated, "as usual."

Max smiled, "yeah, I know I am." He bent his head down and he kissed Pandora, Pandora wrapped her arms round Max's neck as the two kissed long into the night. They stayed like that for what seemed an eternity to them. The sun rose the next morning and shone directly into Max's eyes. Max moaned as he slowly opened his eyes, he had to squint so he wouldn't get the full glare of the sun. "Have we been here all night?" He asked himself, he looked to his left to find see Pandora leaning her head on his chest fast asleep. Max sat still not daring to disturb Pandora, a few moments later she woke up.

"Uhhh…" She moaned as she began to stir.

Max smiled at her, "morning," he said cheerfully.

Pandora sat up, "it's morning?"

Max nodded, "yep."

"You mean, we've been here all night?"

Max nodded again, "yeah."

"Why didn't you wake me?" She demanded glaring at Max.

"You were sleeping so peacefully," Max answered, "I didn't want to disturb you."

Pandora leapt to her feet, "we better start heading back," she said urgently, "everyone will wonder where…" The rest of her words were muffled as Max stood up and he quickly kissed her on the lips. Pandora fell into it for a few seconds then she pushed him away. "I mean it Max, we have to head back."

Max nodded, "yeah, I guess you're right, let's get going." Pandora and Max flew back to Kalm, ten minutes later and they were back in the grounds of WRO HQ. They made their way back to the entrance where they saw Reno leaning against the wall with an amused expression on his face.

"Well, well, looks like you guys had fun last night."

"Reno," Max stated he wasn't surprised that the Turk was stood there.

Reno leant off the wall and he jumped off the step and he stood in front of Max and Pandora, "you guys didn't get up to anything while you were out did you?" Pandora and Max gave him an evil glare, Reno laughed, "hey relax guys, I was just joking, anyway everyone was worried about you guys, in fact we were about to send a search party."

"Why? What's wrong?" Max asked not taking his eyes off the Turk.

Reno's expression changed to a more serious one. "Everyone's in the meeting room," he told them gravely, "there's been a problem."

Chapter 14 is finally complete yay! This was more of a relaxing chapter, though I use the term loosely. You want to know what happens next, find out in chapter 15 which will be coming up as soon as I have a spare moment to type it up. Just a reminder that I don't own Final Fantasy VII or any of its characters. I do however own characters I created myself.