Chapter 11: Reunited

Evil Kadaj and Yazoo grinned at Pandora, they knew that in her weakened state she wouldn't be able to fight back. They walked slowly towards Pandora, they both had their weapons pointed at her, Pandora could only watch as she saw the two men advance towards her. She closed her eyes tightly and she hoped against hope that something would happen that would save her from this fate.

"Max, I hope you can hear me," Pandora pleaded in her head, "please help me."

A stream of gatling gun and handgun fire shot both of the men. Evil Kadaj jumped and sliced the barrels off both the guns while Yazoo took aim at Vincent.

Isis saw this and she turned to Vincent, "Vincent, look out!" She yelled.

Vincent jumped off the roof of the clock tower just as Loz burst his way through the roof he was stood on. He punched Vincent in the chest sending him flying to the ground. Isis dematerialised her damaged gatling guns and she grinned at Yazoo. "Fine," She said calmly, "hand to hand combat is more interesting anyway." Yazoo pointed his gun at Isis and fired, Isis easily dodged out of the way, she materialised a handgun and she pointed it at Yazoo's head. "Is that your best shot?" She asked in a bored tone. Yazoo merely grinned at her and he pointed his gun blade at Isis' face.

Vincent slowly got up and he looked up at the sky as he heard the sound of an engine, he grinned to himself. "Finally some back up," He stated calmly.

Isis and Yazoo stopped what they were doing and they both looked up to see what looked like an airship. "Is that an airship?" Isis asked half to herself.

Meanwhile on the Sierra everyone was looking down at the fight below in Kalm. Max was pacing round looking agitated. "I'm going down there," he said a hint of worry in his voice as he walked off the bridge.

Everyone stared at Max as he was almost out of the room, "hey!" Cid called out after him, "you do know…"

"I DON'T CARE!" Max yelled as he interrupted Cid, he then turned to Drogo. "Drogo," He said to his old friend, "I'm gonna need your help."

Drogo stared at Max in shock, "why?" He asked.

"Because there's a katana wielding maniac down there!" Max answered loudly, "I want to see who's more skilled."

Drogo grinned at this and he tapped the handles of his katanas, "Alright, show me who his and I'll be ready."

"I think that's him down there," Angel replied as she pointed down to Evil Kadaj who was busy fighting off Reno and Rude.

Drogo and Max both ran to the hangar and they jumped off the Sierra without parachutes. Sunny looked at Cid, "shouldn't we help them?" She asked.

Cid shook his head, "Nah," he answered grinning, "I think they can handle it, those are the kind of people I aspire to. They don't ask me to land," He glared at Barret and Yuffie as he said this.

"Hey err guys…" Yuffie spoke up and she sounded ill.

Cid glared at her, "No Yuffie!" He yelled at her, "don't you…" Cid was interrupted by the sound of Yuffie throwing up. "The mop is over there!" He shouted as he pointed to the nearby store cupboard.

"I know, I know!" Yuffie shouted back as she got the mop from the cupboard and started mopping the floor where she was sick. "You don't have to tell me twice!"

"Still," Angel said with a hint of concern in her voice, "we can't just sit here and do nothing." Everyone remained silent as they looked out to see what was going on.

Loz punched Pandora and then picked her up by the collar of her dress and was about to deliver a blow to Pandora's head with his Dual Hound. Pandora closed her eyes and waited for the blow. Max squinted as he got a closer look at Loz and he could barely make out a female figure being held by Loz. "Pandora!" Max yelled at the top of his lungs, but Pandora couldn't hear him.

Max closed his eyes as he went into a trance, he straightened his body out so that he fell faster. Drogo saw this and he yelled to Max trying to get his attention. "Max!" Max's eyes fluttered open to reveal blood red pupiless eyes. His fur changed from sea green to dark purple, his hair changed to jet black with blue streaks, white fangs curled out of his mouth and claws stuck out of his fingers. Pandora felt Loz let go of her as a strong force landed on top of him.

Meanwhile on board the Sierra, Avalanche stared in awe at what they had just seen. "Did you guys see that?" Tifa asked as she looked at the others to make sure she wasn't the only one who saw Max transform.

"Oh," Lance replied, seeing Max transform was perfectly normal to him. "It's nothing special."

Cloud stared at Lance, "What was what?"

Lance was about to answer but Nightshade got there first, "Max's Dark Form," he answered calmly as he walked over to Cloud, Tifa and Lance.

Tifa stared at the Kitsune, "Max has a Dark Form?" She asked.

Nightshade nodded, "Yeah," he answered, "just like me."

Red thought about it for a while then he remembered something, "hey!" He spoke up suddenly and everyone turned to stare at the beast, "that dark aura I sensed in you at Cosmo Canyon," he stated as he took a fleeting glance at Nightshade, "I sensed the same aura in Max."

Nightshade snickered at this, "It wouldn't surprise me," he said, "after all he is my son."

What triggers it?" Tifa questioned not taking her eyes off Nightshade.

Nightshade thought for a little while, "For both of us," Nightshade explained, "it's triggered by the will to protect someone close to us."

Cloud understood what Nightshade was saying, "Max wishes to protect Pandora," he stated knowingly.

Nightshade nodded, "yeah," he agreed, "just as much as I want to protect them both."

Tifa looked out of the window and she saw a shadowy figure standing on top of Loz. "Looks like Max landed on Loz," she commentated as everyone except Cid ran towards the window to take a look.

Max was on top of Loz with his clawed hand on Loz's face holding it down on the ground. Pandora was lay on the ground nearby too weak to move. Max turned to look at her. "Pandora?" He asked his voice was deeper and rougher than normal. "Are you ok?"

Pandora looked up at Max and smiled weakly at him, "yeah," she answered quietly, "I'll be ok."

Max nodded, "Good," He replied and he turned his attention back to Loz, he narrowed his red eyes angrily and he threw Loz up and kicked him back first into a wall.

Drogo flipped several times in the air to lower his falling speed, and he landed gracefully on the ground. He slowly removed his Katanas and he pointed them towards Kadaj. "The jackass with Katana is mine!" Drogo yelled.

"I've got Sir No Brain!" Max shouted not taking his eyes off Loz who had just picked himself up off the ground.

"I'll take on Yazoo," Vincent stated calmly as he changed into Chaos form.

Isis stared from one to the other and then at Pandora, "I'll get Pandora to a safe location," she said as she ran over to Pandora and helped her to her feet.

Max nodded at Isis, "Thanks Isis," he replied gratefully.

"Anytime," Isis responded as she helped Pandora get to safety.

Loz jumped out of the wall and tried to punch Max, but Max was too quick for him and he caught his fist and he began to crush it. "Aaaahhhhhh!" Loz cried out in pain.

"You know, the woman you beat up…" Max started, a hint of anger in his voice, Loz looked into Max's blood red eyes which were now glaring angrily at him. "WAS MY WIFE!" Max kicked Loz up into the air and followed him at break neck speed.

Drogo and Kadaj were already in an intense battle, they were trading blows with perfect precision. Isis took Pandora to where Reno and Rude were and she placed her down on the ground. Reno was staring at Max in awe, "did that guy just throw Loz like he was a fly?" He asked not taking his eyes off Max and Loz.

Isis grinned at Reno, "that's what happened when Max gets pissed off."

Rude stared at Drogo and Kadaj, Kadaj had caught one of Drogo's swords and flipped it out of his hand. Drogo quickly countered and kicked Kadaj buying him time to pick up his sword. Kadaj recovered and he lost sight of Drogo, Drogo jumped off the side of a building and lunged at Kadaj. In a flash of light Drogo was standing with his back turned to Kadaj, Kadaj tried to strike Drogo and with a grin Drogo sheathed both of his Katanas. The second the katanas clicked into place Kadaj exploded from the inside and all that was left on the floor were two halves of a bone. "Hmmm, impressive," Rude said to himself.

"Wow!" Zack exclaimed in Pandora's head, "Did he just…how?"

"Oh...Zack…"

"Sorry," Zack apologised, knowing how weak Pandora was and not wanting to put her through more mental strain by talking to him, Zack fell silent.

"Where's Max?" Pandora asked weakly barely able to stay focused.

The two Turks walked over to Pandora, "he's still fighting Loz," Rude told her.

"Oh," Pandora muttered before passing out.

"Pandora?!" Reno yelled concerned for his new friend.

"It would seem that the Nova Storm spell had taken a lot out of her," Isis calmly informed him.

Max caught a glimpse of Pandora lying unconscious on the ground, he grabbed Loz and he threw him to the ground before summoning two glowing blue flames. "DARK NOVA!" Max yelled as he launched a ball of dark energy at Loz, when the dust cleared all that was left was a skull. Max picked up the skull. "Poor Loz," he said mockingly at the skull, "were it for art not…" He grinned evilly and crushed the skull before he changed back to normal, he ran over to the group. "Is Pandora ok?" He asked.

"She passed out," Isis answered him.

Max took Pandora from Isis and he placed her onto the ground, he knelt down beside her and he placed one hand on her head and the other on her stomach. He closed his eyes and concentrated as he chanted words in a strange language that no one could understand. "Endios bhen dik mathen dern," Max chanted quietly as both he and Pandora were surrounded by a bright white light. When the light disappeared Max opened his eyes and he moved away and he waited patiently. Two minutes later and Pandora regained consciousness.

"Oh…" Pandora moaned as she tried to focus her vision, "Max?"

Max nodded, "Yeah," He answered, "I'm so glad you're safe, you had me worried."

Pandora smiled at Max, "you came back for me."

Max smiled back, "why wouldn't I come back?" He asked not taking his eyes off Pandora.

"When Loz was beating me up," Pandora explained sadly, "I thought you were never going to come. I was already in a weakened state after casting Nova Storm."

Max was about to respond but Reno had got there first, "Whoa!" He exclaimed obviously impressed, "you guys are the flashiest people I have ever met! And Max," He turned to Max as he said this. "Talk about Mr Angry, you beat the crap out of Loz and you took the piss out of his skull!"

Max stared at Reno and then back to Pandora with a confused expression on his face. Pandora slowly sat up and smiled at Max again trying hard not to laugh. "This is Reno by the way," Pandora told Max, "and the guy over there is called Rude." Pandora pointed to Rude who just there with his arms folded.

"Hi," he said blankly.

Reno laughed, "a man of a few words," he joked.

"These guys helped me out," Pandora added as Max helped her to her feet.

Max looked at Reno and Rude and smiled at them, "thanks guys," he replied gratefully.

"Ah you're welcome," Reno brushed off Max's thanks.

Pandora turned to Max, "where are the others?" She asked him.

"They're in the Sierra," Max answered, he and Pandora could hear the whirring of an engine as the Sierra landed on the ground near them and everyone ran off the airship. Max, Pandora, Isis, Drogo, Reno and Rude walked over to the group.

"Are you alright?" Angel asked them.

"What happened?" Sunny asked as she hugged Drogo.

"We managed to kill Kadaj and Loz," Max replied, "Loz got turned into a skull and Kadaj was turned into a bone. Their good halves are currently in the life stream."

"Have you been talking to Zack and Aerith?" Pandora questioned Max in his head.

"They won't shut up," Max complained in Pandora's head.

"I know what you mean."

"I think those were necromical copies of their originals," Max theorised.

"But who's creating them?" Pandora asked.

Max shrugged, "I don't know," he responded, everyone looked up to see Yazoo get sent flying into the roof of a building. Vincent (who was still in Chaos Form) landed on him and unloaded bullets into his head. A rotting bony hand fell to the floor where Yazoo was. Vincent jumped off the building and landed where the rest of the group was.

"I guess that's all of them," Isis stated as Vincent landed next to her.

"I don't think we've heard the last of them though," Max cut in.

Vincent turned back to normal and Reno stared at him. "Well look who decided to show up," Reno muttered sarcastically, "you know you can crack a smile every once in while." Vincent just ignored him.

"We should get out of here," Pandora stated finally, changing the subject.

Max nodded, "yeah," he agreed, "where's the WRO Headquarters?"

Reno stepped forwards, "well seen as we have Cid's Airship," Reno suggested, "we could go to the Seventh Heaven Bar in Edge to have a drink and celebrate our…"

"I don't think that's a good idea," Pandora quickly interrupted Reno.

"Why not?" Reno demanded impatiently placing his hands on his hips and glaring at Pandora.

"Max isn't very tolerant to alcohol," Pandora answered glaring back at Reno.

"Tifa has non-alcoholic beverages," Cloud spoke up.

Everyone turned to stare hopefully at Cid. "What?" He demanded glaring at them all. "Why do you think I'm gonna let you use my…I'M NOT A FRIGGIN TAXI FIRM!"

"Cid!" Angel admonished as she stared at him in shock.

"I really don't friggin care!" Cid shot back, he was in no mood to be told off by Angel.

"So where are we going then?" Sunny asked.

"Cid," Vincent finally spoke and he stared calmly at the pilot. "We need a ride to Edge, I'll be waiting in the Sierra." Vincent walked on to the airship before Cid could reply.

Cid sighed, "fine!" He snapped still glaring at the group, "see how well you get off the ground without…"

Lance grinned and turned to face Max, "Max," Lance interrupted Cid, "looks like you've got the steering wheel."

Max grinned evilly at Cid, "alright, one hotwired airship coming right up."

"Oh no you don't!" Cid yelled glaring at Max, "if anyone's flying you to Edge it's me…shit!"

"Cid!" Angel yelled at Cid again, "Watch your language!"

Drogo, Lance and Max grinned evilly at Cid. Cid merely laughed at Angel. "Oh, how's this for you then?" He asked mockingly, "SHITDY SHIT SHIT BASTARD!" Cid cursed loudly much to Angel's annoyance.

"CID"

"BASTARD!" Cid cursed again, completely ignoring Angel.

"Angel," Tifa spoke quietly to Angel, "no force on Heaven and Earth could get Cid to stop swearing."

Cid grinned, "you see," he told Angel, "she understands me," he stared at Tifa's chest area, "hey Tifa!" He questioned, "did you have plastic surgery?"

It took Tifa all her will power to not knock Cid through the nearest wall, but she just grimaced at Cid. Barret saw the tension and he decided to step in and quickly change the subject. "At least we can make sure that Marlene and Denzel are safe."

Max thought quietly for a while, then an idea hit him. "Hey Cid!" He asked the pilot. "How far is Edge from here?"

"About 20 miles," Cid answered staring sceptically at Max, "why?"

"I bet you we can beat the Sierra on the ground," Drogo cut in grinning at Cid.

Cid turned his attention to Drogo, "how much?"

"I can make your ship go twice as fast if you win," Max answered.

Cid gave Max another sceptical stare, "and how do I know you ain't shitting me?" Cid demanded.

"Remember Barret's old bike?" Max asked Cid.

"That hunk of junk!" Cid replied, "Yeah."

Max nodded, "the bike is currently in the cargo hold of the airship."

"Shit," Cid cursed under his breath.

Max and Drogo stared patiently at Cid, "Well?" They asked him in perfect unison.

Cid grinned at Max and Drogo, "you're friggin on!" He agreed as he, Max and Drogo shook hands.

Everyone quickly boarded the Sierra, Max, Drogo, Sunny and Pandora walked to the cargo hold of the Sierra. Five minutes later Drogo's car and Max's bike were on the ground again. Cid's airship took off while Max and Pandora rode on Max's bike and Drogo and Sunny rode in Drogo's car. The sound of heavy techno music could be heard from Drogo's car. The Sierra was struggling to keep up as Max's bike and Drogo's car were still going strong.

"I think we're going to beat Cid!" Max stated loudly to Pandora.

Pandora laid her head no Max's back and closed her eyes. "I've missed you," She stated quietly.

Max smiled as he felt Pandora's warm breath on his back, "I've missed you too Pandora." Max told her, "so how did Reno and Rude help you?" He asked curiously.

"They found me unconscious in the streets of Kalm," Pandora answered she still had her head resting on Max's back. "When I woke up I was in the WRO Headquarters."

Max sighed as they speed down the highway to Edge, the wind was blowing his hair back making it even more unruly than usual. "I guess I owe them a lot," Max said to Pandora.

Pandora nodded, "yeah," she agreed, "So what about you?"

"I fell through the roof of a mansion and I ended up in the basement," Max explained, "Cloud found me."

Pandora laughed quietly to herself, "I guess I owe him a lot too."

"I owe all three of them a lot for keeping my son and daughter in law alive," Aurora spoke in both of their heads.

"Aurora," Pandora addressed Aurora, "it's good to hear your voice again."

"Hi mum," Max replied, "sorry I haven't spoken to you for a while, things have gotten a bit hectic."
"That's ok," Aurora said kindly.

"I'm guessing you've discovered that Kadaj, Yazoo and Loz were just necromical copies," Max continued.

"Yes," Aurora replied, "but they'll be back."

"And so will countless others," Aerith cut in.

"Oh joy," Max muttered sarcastically, "by any chance are these copies like the same magic in Pandora's birth place?"

"It's similar," Aurora answered, "but more powerful."

"So it's not Pandora's aunt then," Max heaved a huge sigh of relief, "I'm glad she remained dead."

"It's someone much more powerfully than Pandora's aunt," Aurora stated gravely.

"Oh great…" Max muttered sarcastically again.

"Max?" Pandora asked out of concern. "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine," Max answered.

"Do you guys know who it is?" Pandora asked Aurora, Aerith and Zack.

"No," Aurora and Aerith responded.

"Err…no," Zack replied a few seconds later.

"No one knows," Aerith added.

"So no one in the life stream knows?" Max questioned even though he knew what the answer was.

"It doesn't look like it," Zack answered.

"Well," Pandora theorised, "it's probably someone who's so powerful that they can mask their own presence."

"Could it be one of Scarlet or Balthazar's minions?" Max asked Pandora.

"Well, there were some demons who were necromancers," Pandora informed Max, "but they weren't really that powerful."

"So it could be one of Balthazar's followers that you didn't know about."

"It's a possibility."

"Great…"

"This is something we have to discuss with everyone," Pandora stated.

"Ok," Max agreed, "It was nice talking to you mum, I'll tell dad you said hi."

"Thank you Max," Aurora replied gratefully, "we'll be in touch if we find out anything else."

"Ok," Max responded, with that Aurora and Aerith disappeared, Zack was about to leave when Pandora called him back.

"Hey Zack, before you go, I want to ask you a few questions."

"Ok," Zack replied, "Shoot."

"Well," Pandora began, "When you and Cloud were captured by Hojo, what did he do to you?"

"Well," Zack answered as truthfully as he could, "he tried to turn me and Cloud in to Super Soldiers, but I was already one."

"The Jenova Cells…" Pandora questioned.

"I already had them inside me so adding more didn't really make much difference," Zack informed her. "Cloud however became more powerful."

"But he went around thinking that he was you."

"Yeah," Zack agreed with Pandora, "his mind was left wide open, and I told him about one or two of my adventures to pass the time."

"I see…" Pandora understood what Zack was saying. "Weren't you mad at him?"

"Of course not," Zack answered trying to stifle his laughter. "I just found it funny each time he was acting like me."

Pandora laughed at this, "you always make a joke about everything," she stated, "Reno and Rude told me they didn't want to kill you."

"Yeah, but Shinra also wanted me to keep quiet, that could've meant prison."

"They said that if they didn't kill you, you would've killed them."

"That's if I was trying to kill them, but they didn't kill me. I was shot in the head by SOLDIER."

"When?"

"When I reached the outskirts of Midgar."

"Did they snipe you?" Pandora asked curiously.

"They tried to on a truck," Zack replied, "I got shot several times on a hill."

"Wasn't that overkill?"

"It was overkill all the way there."

"What about your parents?" Pandora found herself asking even though she knew that Zack was probably reluctant to answer that question.

"They don't know and I don't want them to know," Zack answered rather quickly and reluctantly.

"But don't you think they have a right to know?"

"Oh gee what do I say?" Zack muttered sarcastically, "Sorry I haven't been in touch with you for the past 12 years mum and dad, but I was a human guinea pig for five years and for the rest of the time I was dead!"

"Max," Pandora turned to Max, "help me out here!"

"I'm driving," Max replied, "besides, if Zack hasn't been in contact with his parents for years and he doesn't want to then who are we to force him."

"But don't you even care about your parents?" Pandora asked Zack.

"They weren't very pleased with the whole SOLDIER idea," Zack responded.

"How come?"

"My hometown weren't exactly fans of the Shinra since the reactor blew up."

"So what made you join SOLDIER?"

"The action, the adventure, the romance…"

Aerith…" Pandora finished Zack's sentence.

"Actually women were flocking to me like geese," Zack stated slyly. "It was great."

Zack!" Pandora admonished him.

"Hey can I help it if I'm a babe magnet?" Zack was quick to defend himself.

"Ah ha…" Pandora replied sceptically. "Anyway, is there a chance that any of the spirits in the life stream can be brought back to life again?"

"Well that would take a miracle," came the reply, "and also I wouldn't be in the mood to come back if Aerith wasn't with me."

"So you're saying it's never been done before."

"Yeah…" Zack replied reluctantly, "let's go with that one."

"But you guys can come back in spirit form right."

Zack coughed as he spoke, "only to…heroes."

"Right…sure…thanks Zack."

"Anytime."

"Ok," Pandora had to think fast, she knew that Zack wasn't that bright and that he could be easily influenced if he was asked in a certain way. "So…is there a way for you guys to be brought back?"

"Well you…" Zack began to answer but he stopped when he realised what Pandora was up to. "Ah ha! I already told you there's no way…"

"I know," Pandora cut in, "but I'll find a way."

"Ha ha!" Zack laughed, "good luck with that."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome."

"Talk to you guys soon."

"See ya," Zack said goodbye before he too disappeared.

"Hold on!" Max warned Pandora as he twisted handle bar fully as the bike pulled a wheelie.

"Whoa!" Pandora cried out as she wrapped her arms tighter around Max's waist. Max saw this and laughed.

"I told you to hold on!" He said to her.

"I was holding on!" Pandora retorted.

The front wheel of the bike set down on the ground with a bump and its speed increased. "Look!" Pandora yelled and she pointed to a city on the horizon, "I can see Edge, we're almost there!"

Max saw the city of Edge and he grinned, "I told Cid this bike was fast," he stated smugly, "the Sierra is half a mile behind us!"

"So we're gonna beat Cid?" Pandora asked Max.

Max nodded," Yeah!" He replied as Drogo lined up next to Max's bike. "Drogo on the other hand…"

Drogo looked at the bike and grinned, he pushed the afterburner button and fire built up in the exhaust pipes at the rear of the car. "See ya!" Drogo yelled at Max and Pandora as the car shot forwards going at a speed of 600 mph.

"Hey!" Pandora yelled after Drogo, "We're supposed to be racing against the Sierra, not each other!"

Max pressed a button next to the handle bar and the bike sped up, the speedometer said 432mph and was still climbing. Pandora gave Max a worried look. "Don't tell me you put nitrox afterburner in the bike."

Max nodded, "yeah, why don't you like it?"

"It's not that…"

"Then what is it?"

"Are you sure it's safe on a bike?"

"Well," Max began to explain, "it didn't blow the bike up and I only used half of what was in a car."

"Oh," Pandora said relieved, "that's ok then."

Max's bike caught up with Drogo's car, Sunny looked to her right and she saw the bike next to her. She waved to Max and Pandora. "It looks like the Sierra is far behind us," she stated and she turned to Drogo.

"Yeah," Drogo agreed, "Max built a fast bike, but I think this car can compete."

"It's good to see that everyone is back together again," Sunny said happily.

"Yeah," Drogo's car passed Max's bike as they got close to Edge.

"Are we almost there?" Sunny asked him.

"Just half a mile left," Drogo told her.

Ten minutes later Drogo, Sunny, Max and Pandora arrived in Edge and they waited patiently for everyone else to arrive. After fifteen minutes went by Cid and the others appeared, Drogo and Max grinned smugly at him. "Alright!" Cid yelled at them, "you win, so what do I owe you?"

"Well," Drogo suggested, "you can by a round."

Cid nodded, "fair enough," he agreed, "that'll cost an absolute fortune for everyone but…"

"Actually," Tifa cut in, "for today only, all the drinks are on me."

Cid grinned at Tifa, "Well that was damn decent of ya, you sick?"

Tifa shook her head, "no," she replied but she couldn't help grinning. "come on, my bar is just up ahead."

Tifa started walking down the street and everyone followed her until they reached the Seventh Heaven. Half an hour later after everyone had gotten a few drinks inside them (except for Max and Nightshade as they had a low tolerance to alcohol, and Max remembering what happened the last time he got drunk decided to steer clear of the stuff) they started to relax and had a good time. Tifa with the help of Sunny (who gave Tifa a few helpful recipes and tips) cooked food for everyone. Barret, Cid, Drogo and Lance were playing poker, Yuffie and Angel were watching them. Drogo who had been playing poker since the age of 13 had a real knack for the game and won, Lance had to resist the urge to use his target sensor to see what cards everyone had. Barret and Cid had no clue what so ever and Cid kept cursing every time he lost.

"What the hell?!" He cursed loudly, Angel had to resist the urge to yell at him. "I swear this game is rigged!"

Drogo laughed at this, "that's loser talk."

Everyone else was busy talking to each other, except for Vincent who was leaning against the wall with his eyes shut and Nightshade was sat in a corner by himself. He was never one to talk unless it was necessary, Cloud noticed this and he walked over to him.

"You shouldn't be alone you know," he said suddenly causing Nightshade to open his eyes and stare at him.

"I'm not really one for conversation," Nightshade stated calmly.

Cloud sat down next to him, "Neither was I, but you can't spend the rest of your life alone, I learnt that the hard way."

"I know," Nightshade told Cloud, "I spent most of my childhood and the passed 17/18 years alone."

"I wonder where Max and Pandora have gone?" Cloud asked Nightshade.

Nightshade grinned at Cloud, "they're outside," he answered, "I think they wanted to spend some time alone."

Meanwhile Max and Pandora were sat on the roof of the Seventh Heaven underneath the angel statue. Pandora had flown Max up there and she now rested her head on his chest and they both looked up to see the stars shimmering in the night sky.

"Wow," Pandora whispered to Max, "they're so beautiful."

"Yeah," Max whispered back, thought he was a little distracted and Pandora noticed this.

"Something on you're mind?" She asked staring up at him.

Max nodded and he looked down at her, "yeah, I was just thinking."

"About what?"

Max sighed, "about what happened today, I have the strange feeling that this isn't over."

"I know," Pandora said, "Cloud said we were gonna have a meeting tomorrow, but for now, let's just relax."

Max released his hold on Pandora and he stood up. "I can't I just have this horrible feeling that…" The rest of Max's words were muffled because Pandora had grabbed hold of him and kissed him. Max's eyes closed as he slowly fell into the kiss, and for what seemed like an eternity the two stood there kissing long into the night blissfully unaware that sinister things were about to take place.

Yay, chapter 11 is complete it took me forever to write this so please go easy on me. The whole gang is reunited, what happens next? Find out in chapter 12 which hopefully will becoming soon, however I start semester 2 of uni this week so I may be busy for a while, but I'll try and write more chapters if I can. Enjoy.