Author Note: Last chapter was my longest ever chapter. Oh, my God. Well thanks for the reviews from "cloudfarron" they were nice. Well, I originally had no idea how I was gonna finish this off but now by playing Final Fantasy XIII and VII all over again I have finally figured it out! Hope you guys enjoy how this story folds out.
We can't allow the world's worst leaders to blackmail and threaten,
Freedom-loving nation's hostage with the world's worst weapons.
Cloud looked around the city, the lights flashing at every glance, momentarily blinding him until his eyes got used to the bright lights. He looked to Serah, who was gawking at all the scenery around her. She felt so happy but something in the pit of her stomach made her realise she wasn't going to get the Vegas experience like everyone else right now. She looked to Cloud who was now looking around the city.
The train had left them in the desert so they had to walk a few hours to Las Vegas. Serah was exhausted and Cloud was feeling quite fatigued himself. He smiled and began walking to a large hotel. Serah ran up beside him and gawked at the large building, a fountain spurting out water in a choreographed fashion. Serahs' eyes lit up at the spectacle she was witnessing. She clapped her hands together and laughed. Cloud crossed his arms and laughed as well.
"Let's go," smiled Cloud, putting his hand on Serahs' shoulder. She smiled back and began walking beside her friend.
The lobby of the hospital was more magnificent than the fountain outside. She gasped and looked to Cloud.
"How are we going to afford a room in here?" gasped Serah.
"I have a credit card," smirked Cloud.
"I will not let you get billed for this!" growled Serah.
"Serah, we're risking our lives and you think I'll be bothered with a large credit bill?" asked Cloud.
"That's not the point," replied Serah, crossing her arms and turning away from Cloud. Cloud hushed a few words to the lady at the desk.
"Too late now," he laughed, casually patting Serahs' back. She groaned and followed Cloud to the elevator. Inside the elevator was clear, see-through glass, allowing passengers to see the elevator beside it. As it lifted Serah stared out towards the city, seeing the moon and the lights of all the buildings nearby. She smiled, not wanting the moment to end as the elevator went further up. It suddenly stopped and Cloud tapped Serahs' shoulder. She turned around and went speechless at the room in front of her. She stepped out of the elevator into the room and nearly fell. It was like a majestic throne room in a castle in a fairy tale Lightning used to tell her. Shining white walls were lined with sparkling gold. A 52" black HD TV was mounted into the wall and white leather couches sat around a large gold table. At the side of the room, by the window was a large Jacuzzi. Cloud ran and leapt onto one of the couches, flicking the TV on. He turned channels until he found an anime that he liked.
"Hey, they have SOA (Sword Art Online)," grinned Cloud.
"Forever a child," laughed Serah, "I'm going for a shower." She walked into the bathroom and turned the hot tap on. She stripped her clothes off and threw them out the room, "wash them please."
"Yes, your highness!" yelled Cloud, jokingly and picked up her clothes. He threw them into the washing machine and turned it on.
"Amazing, a hotel room with a washing machine which is also a tumble dryer," he laughed. He stripped his clothes and threw on a robe. Shoving his clothes into the washing machine beside the one with Serahs' clothes he leapt back into the couch. He got himself comfortable and Serah walked out with a towel wrapped around her body, covering her 'special parts'. Her hair was wrapped in a towel and sat beside Cloud, leaning her body on his. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and she sniffed.
"Eugh, you need to shower," laughed Serah, playfully slapping Clouds' arm. He laughed and got up to go for a shower. As soon as she heard the water rushing she sneakily walked up to the door, opened it slightly seeing Cloud hidden behind the shower curtain, unaware of her presence. She grabbed the robe and the large towel, took the towel from her head and put it up in exchanged the clothing articles. She silently closed the door and hid the clothes. She sat back on the couch and waited. Not long after she'd sat down she heard cursing from the bathroom. The door swung open and Cloud stood there, holding the towel, which barely covered his 'special parts'. Serah burst out laughing and Cloud looked angry. She quickly noticed how defined his abdominal muscles were, that six-pack, muscular arms and tight frame. Serah quickly found herself blushing at her best friends' body. A droplet of water fell from one of his blond spikes and dribbled down his chest. Serah found her cheeks becoming very warm from blushing. Turning her head, she pointed to the wardrobe in the bedroom and Cloud quickly walked to the bedroom. Serah turned her head back to Cloud in time to see his ass as he entered the room.
"Oh, sweet baby Jesus," gasped Serah quietly and Cloud slammed the door. He returned with a proper towel wrapped around his waist and Serah smiled. He sat beside Serah and leaned against the side of the couch, his arm on top of the couch. Serah leaned on him again and sat her hand on his body, feeling the muscles underneath her palm. She smiled, blushing as she laid her hand on him. Clouds' arm came to rest on Serahs' shoulder, fingers just trailing her collar bone. She looked up to him and he looked down to her, their eyes staring into one another's. Serah moved closer, inching towards her friend's face, his cyan eyes becoming more intense as they came closer to her.
"Serah, we shouldn't…" Cloud trailed off as Serah pressed her lips onto Clouds'. He deepened the kiss and she wrapped her arms around his neck. Suddenly the TV began flashing, taking both of their attention. On the screen was a man in a blue suit with blood stains on it. A man in a black bodysuit with a gas mask walked on screen beside the man.
"Ladies and gentlemen of the United States, it seems we have a problem here, said a synthesised voice, "there is a pair of youngsters that have something we want and we just can't seem to find them. I implore your help to apprehend these young adults, should I say? Ladies and gentlemen, if you can bring them to me I will do no further harm to your-" he cut himself off and pulled off the black mask of the man in the blue suit, "-President."
The camera zoomed out and the President of the United States was tied to a chair, his face bloodied, nose broken, lip burst and eye swollen.
"Mr Cloud Strife and Ms Serah Farron, either hand yourself in or your President will suffer dearly for it." The video turned off, leaving the pair bewildered. A woman appeared on-screen and a picture of Serah and Cloud from school flashed up on the corner of the screen.
"Oh god," groaned Serah, climbing off the couch. She ran to the washing machine, which had now finished both sets of their clothes. She hurriedly took the clothes out, which were nice, warm and dry. She threw Clouds' clothes to him and she quickly put her clothes on while he was throwing his on. They both ran to the elevator and waited for it to open its doors. They ran into the lift and impatiently watched the city lights go down with the elevator. As the door opened a large security guard appeared in front of them. Serah backed up whilst Cloud took the opportunity to punch the guards stomach, winding the man. Cloud booted the man's knees and he crumpled in pain. He took Serahs' hand and ran towards the exit. Another man stood in their way and Serah pulled Cloud back, kicking the man's groin. Tears formed in every man in the room's eyes as the man in front of them crumpled in pain like his friend by the elevator.
"That wasn't nice," scoffed Cloud as Serah took to running again, pulling him along. They leapt down the stairs at the front door and slowed down as a large group of men, holding truncheons, walked around the fountain. Cloud and Serah looked around; looking for a way out of the mess they had gotten themselves into. Cloud grinned and sprinted, still holding Serahs' hand, straight through the fountain. He knew they would come up against the resistance of the water and threw a ball of ice, which he had formed with his free hand, and threw it at the water behind them. The group ran onto the ice and started slipping, landing on their backsides. One of the group climbed to his feet and quickly slid near Cloud. He looked down and a gush of water blasted the man's face, sending him backwards. He smacked his head off the ice and was knocked unconscious.
After running for quite some time, Serah and Cloud stopped by an alley to catch their breath. Cloud straightened up and felt someone grab him into the alley. He tried to yell but someone covered his mouth and threw him into a van.
"Shout and you'll get someone who you don't want to mess with over here," said a girl, pointing to a large man in a trenchcoat and large hat, covering his face, who was just walking into a casino across the road from the alley.
"You're going to hand us in, aren't you?" asked Serah, tears forming in her eyes.
"No, we want to help you," smiled the girl, her chestnut coloured hair falling down her face. She used her hand to wipe away the stray hair and her emerald green eyes shined in the low light, "my name is Kira and I know everything you know."
"What do you mean?" asked Cloud, running a hand through his blond spikes.
"We know all about the New World Order, only thing we don't know is who is the leader."
"You know their plans then?"
"Well the name gives it all away; they want to take over the world." Serah scoffed at the thought of someone taking over the world, "got something to say, girl?"
"Yes, we're under threat for our lives and you go on about someone wanting to take over the world. If you really know what's going on then why haven't you been blacklisted for capture or even worse, death?" said Serah, angrily.
"We haven't broadcasted what we know or that we have powers! Or, to top it all off, blew up Area 51! There could've been information, vital to our cause, in there!" growled Kira.
"You mean this?" asked Cloud, handing over a brown folder.
"What's this?" asked Kira, flipping through the pages.
"It's the real information of JFK and 9/11."
"We have to get you back to headquarters," said Kira, motioning for the driver to go. The van pulled out of the alley and sped through the streets of Las Vegas.
Not much was said on the way to the headquarters but looks of concern and encouragement were given between Serah and Cloud. The van pulled to a halt and the door opened, flooding the back of the van. Kira stepped out and Cloud saw she was wearing very short shorts and an orange hoody. They stepped out of the van into a large warehouse filled with computer servers. Kira walked on in silence but motioned for the pair to follow her. They looked around and Cloud saw a man in red sitting beside a large window, twirling a large gun in between his thumb and forefinger. A pigeon began fluttering away and within a second the man had flipped the gun into his hand and fired, the shot echoing through the warehouse and a thud as the bird hit the ground, dead. The shot fired hit through the birds head.
"He's got a good shot," smirked Cloud, impressed with the mysterious man.
"Vincent Valentine, ex-secret service before someone decided to experiment on him. Now, he's a cold, ruthless man who doesn't ask questions before shooting," said Kira, "we're here."
The room the group were now in was filled with computers and people typing furiously on keyboards. A small girl in a red dress ran up to Kira and handed her a sheet of paper. Kira scanned the paper and turned to Cloud and Serah.
"First, we need to get you out of those clothes. Second, we've got the location of the men who are holding the President," she smiled, handing the sheet of paper to Cloud.
"This is where they are?" Kira simply nodded in agreement.
"Where are they?" asked Serah, becoming impatient.
"How about we go to the Eiffel Tower?" winked Cloud.
We are not the same persons this year as last; nor are those we love.
It is a happy chance if we, changing, continue to love a changed person.
Author Note 2: I hope you are enjoying this, please review.