Chapter 13: Battle in the Northern Cave

Cloud and the others stared in horror as the man walked out of the shadows, finally revealing himself. Cloud held his head as he began to feel faint, the black clothes, the long silver hair, the Mako green eyes. He never wanted to see this man again and now there he was standing in front of him holding his world famous Masamune sword.

"S…Sephiroth…" Cloud stuttered unable to believe that the man he had killed three times was still alive.

Sephiroth laughed at Cloud's fear, "It's good to see that I can still strike fear into you."

"I'm not afraid of you anymore Sephiroth!" Cloud retorted sounding more confident now that he had gotten over the shock of seeing his old arch enemy again.

"Who's that guy?" Pandora asked.

"That's Sephiroth," Tifa replied as Reno and Rude took a step back.

"We should just leave them to it," Reno suggested, "Things could turn quite nasty."

"We should try and see if there's any survivors," Rude added.

"And try to find out what was going on here," Cait Sith said as he crept back up the spiral path.

"But what about Cloud?" Sunny asked as she gave Cloud fleeting glances.

"I'll stay with Cloud," Max volunteered and he gave the group a reassuring smile, "don't worry, I'll be fine. You guys see if you can find any survivors."

Pandora kissed Max, "Be careful Max, I've heard from Reno and Rude what this Sephiroth guy is capable of."

Max kissed Pandora back, "Don't worry about me, I can take this guy on."

Tifa, Drogo, Sunny, Reno, Rude, Pandora and Cait Sith started to make their way back up the path, while Max walked back to where Cloud and Sephiroth were. The two men were staring at each other and neither of them moved.

"Why are you here Sephiroth?" Cloud demanded not taking his eyes off the silver head man. "Why did you come back this time?"

Sephiroth merely laughed, "you know what curiosity does to the cat."

"Enough of your games!" Cloud screamed at the man as he drew his sword and pointed it at Sephiroth, "you shouldn't be here! You're dead!"

"Humph, that's what you want to think isn't it Cloud?" Sephiroth questioned and he pointed his sword at Cloud, "it doesn't matter how many times you defeat me Cloud, I'll always come back. You can never get rid of me."

"We'll just see about that!"

"Do you honestly want to fight me?"

"I'll do whatever it takes to rid the planet of you!"

Sephiroth smiled, "as you wish, don't worry Cloud, I'll make your death as quick and painless as I can."

"Then you'll have to kill me too!"

Cloud and Sephiroth searched for the source of the voice and they turned to their left to see Max standing there with his sword drawn, he walked over to Cloud's side and he pointed his sword at Sephiroth. Sephiroth stared at his new opponent.

"Two against one," he observed, "things have gotten a little more interesting around here."

Cloud turned to face Max, "Max what are you doing?"

"Helping a friend," Max answered.

"You do know he'll probably kill you right?"

Max smiled at Cloud, "I've cheated death once before, I'm not afraid of it."

Cloud smiled back at Max, there was someone who wasn't even from this world who was risking his life to help out someone he considered a friend. "Alright," Cloud agreed, "then we'll take him together, agreed."

"Agreed."

Max and Cloud charged forwards with their swords thrust out in front of them, Sephiroth also charged forwards and all three swords met with an almighty clang.

Cait Sith led the rest of the group back up the spiral path and they followed the left passage until they reached the fork in the road.

"Now where do we go?" Sunny asked as everyone looked left and right.

"Well," Reno answered and he pointed to each path in turn. "The lower path is quicker, but the enemies are more dangerous. However the upper path leads us through a swamp area, it takes longer but it's safer."

"Couldn't we just split up?" Pandora questioned staring hopefully at Reno.

"And end up meeting anyone else who's gunning for our blood," Drogo replied before Reno had a chance to respond. "I say we stick together as a group."

"Hey!" Reno yelled glaring at Drogo, "who made you the leader?"

"Guys can we just get out of here?" Sunny asked quickly before Drogo could make a witty comeback to Reno's remark.

Cait Sith made his way towards the upper path, "I think it would be best if we take the upper path," Cait Sith stated and he made his way through the passage way. "Come on!" He called out to them from the tunnel.

Reno sighed and shook his head, "since when did we take orders from an oversized, stuffed cat?" He asked, Rude merely shrugged in response, Reno sighed again, "come on, let's go."

Everyone followed Cait Sith through the tunnel and they found themselves in what looked like a swamp. Pandora looked up at the cave ceiling and she couldn't help but chuckle. "A swamp in a cave," she commented with a smirk, "that's something you don't see everyday."

Drogo withdrew his swords and he held them out, "we should be careful, who knows what we'll encounter," he said cautiously, he then turned to Cait Sith. "Lead the way Cait Sith."

Cait Sith smiled, "right you are laddie!"

Cait Sith bobbed along the path and the others followed, strangely enough they encountered no enemies. The gang weren't sure whether to be relieved or unnerved. "I wonder why no monsters have attacked us?" Tifa questioned as she lowered her hands to her sides.

"I don't know," Drogo answered, he still held his swords out in front of him, "something's not right though," he said this with an air of suspicion in his voice and he looked down at the ground and found that it was tainted with blood. "Just as I thought," he stated, "more blood." Drogo knelt down near the pool of blood and he dipped his fingers in it, the tips of his gloves were stained with blood, "still fresh, which means whatever was killed or injured is still nearby."

There was a soft moan coming from nearby as Drogo had examined the blood, the group turned to see a man leaning against the cave wall, he was soaked in blood. Everyone ran over to the man and Reno knelt down beside him and held his head up.

"Hey?" Reno asked the man a look of concern on his face. "What happened here?"

The man moaned again as he turned his gaze to Reno, his eyes were glazed with pain. "Uhhh…Reno…" He gasped barely above a whisper.

"Yeah," Reno answered the man. "What happened?" He repeated his question.

"S…Sephiroth," the man stuttered, he was slipping in and out of consciousness. "he…came back…"

"We know," Reno told him, "we saw him, two of our comrades are fighting him as we speak.

"He…killed most of our men…" The man continued with his explanation, "I…just managed to escape…there was a woman with him…"

"A woman?" Pandora cut in, "What kind of woman?"

The man moaned again and he clutched his stomach even tighter, "I… didn't …really…see her in any detail…" the man answered he turned his attention to Pandora, "All I know is…that she had…short black hair…and she wore a purple dress…"

"Sunny," Reno turned to Sunny, "can you heal him?"

"I'll try," Sunny answered, she stepped forwards and she placed her hands above the man's wound and she concentrated. White light criss-crossed in the wound but it had no effect. "It's no good," Sunny shook her head sadly, "I can't heal him."

Everyone stared at Sunny with dismay, "why won't it work?" Drogo asked Sunny.

"Because he's dying," Sunny replied tearfully, "there's nothing more we can do."

"Did Sephiroth or this woman say anything?" Reno questioned turning his attention back to the man again.

The man shook his head weakly, "he said something about…reclaiming what was rightfully his…he said he was going to take the planet back…the woman didn't say anything…"

"Hmmm…" Tifa thought about what the man said, "reclaim what was rightfully his, that sounds like something Sephiroth would say."

"Please…" the man pleaded with the group, "you have to stop them…you can't let them…" The man gasped his last breath of air as he died in Reno's arms.

"Damn!" Reno cursed as he banged his fist on the ground. He released the man and he stood up, he noticed that he had a blood stain on his jacket but he had more important things to take care of. He reached into his pocket and he took out his phone, a few seconds later and he was talking to Rufus again. "Rufus, our worst fears have been confirmed…he's back, Sephiroth has returned. Cloud and Max are fighting him now, we found another agent who was seriously wounded by Sephiroth's attack, unfortunately he died a few moments ago. He said there was someone else with him, a woman, we're going to check it out. Reno out." Reno hung up on the phone and he put it back into his pocket.

"I guess this means we keep going, right?" Tifa asked as she stared at Reno.

"Cloud and Max are taking care of Sephiroth," Reno answered, "but we still have to find this woman the agent was talking about and how she's connected to Sephiroth."

"Hmmm…"Drogo thought for a minute, "a woman in a purple dress, somehow that sounds familiar," he then turns to Cait Sith, "how much further Cait Sith?"

"Not much further now!" Came the reply, Cait Sith continued along the path and everyone followed, they soon came out of the swamp and they entered what looked like an indoor field.

Sunny walked off ahead and she noticed the snow white flowers in the grass. "Wow!" She exclaimed as she bent down to pick up one of the flowers. "They're so pretty!" Sunny was about to pick one of the flowers up when Drogo stopped her.

"Don't touch that flower Sunny!" He warned as he grabbed hold of her hand and dragged her away from the flower.

"Why not?"

"Because we don't know this area Sunny," Drogo answered, "even those flowers could be dangerous."

"Oh," Sunny replied, unable to see why Drogo would think that something as innocent looking as a flower could be dangerous. Nevertheless, she didn't try to pick one up again.

Pandora stared at Reno and Rude, "how much further?" She asked them.

"Not much further," Reno answered her as he carried on walking, "We just have to cross this field and go through another passageway and then we'll be at the centre of the Earth."

The group carried on walking through the field and they walked through another passageway and they were soon in a large circular cavern, a stream of a sea-green water like substance flowed down the walls and down the hole that lead even further down.

"The Life Stream," Rude muttered quietly.

"So this is the Life Stream?" Pandora asked staring in awe at the water like substance. "It's so beautiful."

"Oh yeah, it's beautiful," Reno agreed with her, "It's spirit energy that courses through the planet."

"Hmmm…" Pandora thought about it and she understood what Reno was saying.

"Most of the time it's underground," Reno continued to explain, "but there are odd places on the planet where it gushes up to the surface, Mideel is one of those places, also Aerith's church in Midgar is said to be the strongest geyser for the Life Stream."

"Hmmm," Rude cut in, "I've always wondered why flowers grow there."

"Hey!" Sunny yelled and she pointed towards the hole in the middle of the ground. "There's someone over there!"

Everyone looked in the direction that Sunny was pointing in and sure enough there was someone standing there. From that distance it was hard to tell whether the person was a man or woman until the person spoke. "Well," it was a woman's voice, it sounded deep and seductive and the group were immediately drawn to the sound of her voice. "It's a wondrous thing isn't it, the Life Stream?" The woman turned to face the group and they were shocked to see that it was a young woman, possibly in her late teens early 20s. She was fox like in appearance, she had fire red fur, golden yellow eyes that gleamed in the dim light of the cavern. She had jet black hair that came to just above her shoulders. She wore a purple Chinese style dress, black elbow length gloves and black knee length boots. She was grinning evilly at the group.

"Long time no see, Pandora."

Meanwhile back down the spiral pathway, Cloud and Max were still fighting Sephiroth. All that could be heard was the sound of clanging as metal clashed against metal. Cloud and Max put up a good fight but they couldn't deal any effective blows of their own.

"Why are you here Sephiroth?" Cloud demanded again as Sephiroth disappeared from view and he reappeared behind Cloud and Max.

"Oh, I'm afraid that's a secret Strife!" Sephiroth disappeared again and he reappeared in front of Cloud and he sent Cloud flying into the rear wall before Cloud could even react.

"Cloud!" Max yelled as he turned round just in time to see Cloud's back slam against the wall.

"Humph," Sephiroth scoffed as he kicked Max in the stomach and sent him flying back first into the same wall as Cloud, both men slid down the wall stunned. Sephiroth walked over to them and he pointed his sword at them both, "I'll have to kill you both if I tell you."

Cloud quickly grabbed his sword that was lying on the ground next to him, dived to his feet and clashed swords with Sephiroth. "I don't think so!" He spat at Sephiroth, "I've killed you three times before Sephiroth and I can do it again."

Cloud and Sephiroth leapt into the air and began exchanging blows at breath taking speed, Sephiroth grinned at Cloud, "Is that so?" He asked curiously as he traded a vicious blow with Cloud almost knocking him out of the air with the sheer force of the blow. "And after I'm finished with you, I'm gonna kill your little friend over there and then I'm gonna take over this pitiful world."

"You leave Max out of this!" Cloud yelled at Sephiroth as he managed to knock Sephiroth out of the air. Cloud brought his sword down underneath him in an attempt to strike Sephiroth from above, but the ex general was too quick for him and he teleported out of the way just in time as Cloud's sword sliced into the ground.

Sephiroth laughed, "Too slow Cloud, you must be losing your touch." Cloud pulled his sword out of the ground and he held it out in front of him. Sephiroth walked towards him and he knocked him back into the wall, Cloud's sword flew out of his hand and landed on the ground five feet away from him. Cloud tried to stand but Sephiroth slammed his foot on to Cloud's chest, he grinned as Cloud struggled to throw Sephiroth on him. "You're weak and pathetic and that's why you can never truly defeat me, and that is your biggest downfall." Sephiroth pointed his sword at Cloud's chest, he held it above his head ready to strike. Cloud closed his eyes as he waited for the final blow that would end his life. A few seconds later Cloud opened one eye and he saw that Sephiroth was still stood there holding his sword out in front of him. He was struggling with some kind of invisible force that was stopping him from striking Cloud. Cloud opened the other eye and he grinned as he saw Max standing behind Sephiroth he was in a state of deep concentration. The Masamune was a powerful weapon to take control of.

Sephiroth had sussed out who was controlling his sword he removed his foot from Cloud's chest and he turned to glare at Max. Max snapped out of his trance just in time as he was knocked flying, Max's back slammed against the far wall. "Aaaaahhhhh!" Max cried out as he slid down the wall and he landed flat on his back. He wreathed in pain as Sephiroth placed his foot on Max's stomach.

"You may have been able to save Strife, but you just gave up your own life." Sephiroth held his sword above his head preparing to strike Max. Max closed his eyes as he waited for the strike. Sephiroth brought his sword down but all he hit was solid ground, Max himself had disappeared from underneath him. Before Sephiroth could get his bearings another sword was pointed at his throat. Sephiroth turned round to see Max standing there behind him holding his sword.

"Sorry Sephiroth," Max replied mockingly, "too slow."

Sephiroth merely smiled at Max, "you're stronger than you look," he commented, "but you can't always rely on your powers to protect you." Sephiroth looked up again and he saw that Cloud was at Max's side also holding his sword at Sephiroth's throat.

"Looks like we win this one Sephiroth," Cloud spat at his former hero.

Sephiroth merely grunted in reply. With one powerful swing he brought his sword round to clash with both Max and Cloud's swords knocking them both off balance. "Very well, I'll leave, for now. My…accomplice will take care of those pitiful friends of yours, farewell." Sephiroth disappeared before Max and Cloud could react.

"An accomplice?" Max asked as he looked at Cloud.

Cloud merely shrugged in response, "Sephiroth normally worked alone, he never had an accomplice."

"He's not the real Sephiroth, don't forget," Max reminded him.

"I know," Cloud replied, "he's a necromical copy of the original, but still. Who's his accomplice?"

"Who knows," Max answered as he put his sword into his dimension as Cloud sheathed his sword. "But it can't be good."

"We should find the others," Cloud changed the subject.

Max nodded, "yeah, you're right," Max agreed, "let's go." Cloud and Max ran up the spiral path as quickly as they could without saying a word to each other.

Pandora, Sunny and Drogo stared in shock at the young woman who stood before them. "Scarlet…" Pandora stated hardly able to believe her eyes, her step sister, the very woman she had grown to despise over the years. The woman who they had defeated was there now grinning at her.

Scarlet's grin grew wider as she walked closer to Pandora and her friends. "We haven't seen each other for a whole year and that's all you can say," Scarlet replied, a hint of sarcasm in her voice. "Then again I shouldn't expect too much from you."

Pandora walked over to Scarlet determined to send the cruel and calculating woman back to the inner circles of Hell. As she walked closer to Scarlet the hatred she harboured for her former step sister bubbled and boiled inside her. Scarlet had caused so much pain and suffering not only for herself and Max but also to her friends and everyone on the world of Terra Firma. Pandora and Scarlet were just inches away from each other. Pandora outstretched her hand and slapped her old arch enemy across the face before Scarlet had a chance to react.

"Aaahhh!" Scarlet cried out as she fell to the ground upon impact, she was rubbing her cheek where Pandora had struck her.

Pandora stood over Scarlet, her hand was still raised. Her body was shaking violently and her scowl turned to a grin. "Damn that felt good!" Pandora yelled in pleasure, she was so pleased with herself that she didn't even see Scarlet kick out at her legs causing them to be swept out from underneath her. Pandora lost her balance and she fell to the ground as Scarlet was stood above her grinning.

"Looks like the tables have turned," she stated smugly not taking her eyes off Pandora. Pandora lay on the ground seething in anger before she suddenly leapt to her feet and swung at Scarlet.

"You bitch!" Pandora shouted at the top of her lungs as she performed a round house kick on Scarlet. However Scarlet was ready for her this time and she grabbed hold of Pandora's foot and swung her round causing her to go smashing into nearby boulders. Scarlet then threw her into the air aiming to smash Pandora's back into the far wall. Pandora was ready for this and she spread her wings out just in time and flapped quickly several times to decrease her speed and she hovered in mid air grinning smugly at Scarlet. "You're forgetting!" Pandora yelled down to her former step sister. "I'm a bat, I can fly!"

Scarlet produced a large fireball in her hand, "Not for long you can't!" She retorted as she lobed the fireball at Pandora but Pandora easily dodged it.

"Is that the best you can do?" Pandora mocked Scarlet from the air causing Scarlet to throw a fit. "Oh and daddy can't help you this time!"

"I don't need my father to take on the likes of you!" Scarlet produced two giant fireballs one in each hand and she threw them both at Pandora which she dodged with ease.

The two women were so busy fighting that they didn't even notice that the rest of the group were just stood there watching them. "I think it's time we left," Drogo said as he took hold of Sunny's hand and started edging towards the exit.

"But what about Pandora?" Reno asked as he stared at Pandora, then Scarlet then back to Pandora again trying to determine who was the better fighter.

"Oh trust me," Drogo answered, "thinks are about to get nasty." Just as Drogo said this a stray fireball went flying towards his head. Drogo ducked just in time as the fireball hit the wall behind him and fizzled out. "And…that's our cue to leave," Drogo continued as he broke into a run dragging Sunny behind him.

"Yeah," Reno agreed as he and the others started backing off and running to the exit. "Pandora can take care of herself." The rest of the group followed Drogo out of the room leaving Pandora and Scarlet alone.

Pandora lunged at Scarlet and she grabbed her by the collar, dug both her feet into Scarlet's stomach and pushed out causing Scarlet to plummet to the ground landing back first. Pandora dived and she thrust her hand out in front of her as she launched into Scarlet's stomach. Pandora started punching and kicking Scarlet in every spot that she could find. Scarlet dragged her feet in and kicked out at Pandora, she then quickly teleported behind her and she grabbed hold of Pandora and put her in a head lock. Scarlet grabbed hold of Pandora's hair and pulled it.

"Aaahhh!" Pandora cried out as she tried to throw Scarlet off her. "That's my hair you slut and you're still wearing my dress!"

"It looks better on me!" Scarlet shot back as she tugged harder on Pandora's hair. Pandora brought the heel of her spiked boot up and she dug it into Scarlet's leg causing her to cry out and release Pandora up on impact.

Pandora leapt on Scarlet and she launched into a powerful punch/kick combo even enchanting some of her moves with fire, ice, earth, lighting etc. All the hatred she felt for this woman was finally coming out and Pandora was thankful for the opportunity to kick the crap out of Scarlet. For what seemed like hours the two women fought, neither was willing to back down, and it wasn't long before their clothing was reduced to rags.

Meanwhile, Drogo and the others had just entered the swamp area of the cave when Cloud and Max ran up to them.

"Cloud, Max!" Tifa called out to them as she ran up and hugged Cloud, "Where's Sephiroth?"

Cloud hugged Tifa back, "he got away before we could finish him, he was still as vague as ever."

Tifa stared at Cloud, "he didn't tell you why he was here?"

Cloud was about to answer but Max got there first. "Like Cloud said he was very sketchy with the details, anyway…where's Pandora?"

"She's back there," Reno answered and he pointed in the direction that he and the others had come from. "Her and this other woman are fighting," he grinned at Max, "and I must say it's the most vicious fight I've ever seen."

"Right, I'm going down there!" Max ran off in the direction that Reno had pointed in. Tifa let go of Cloud and she stared at Max.

"Wait Max!" She called out after him, Max wasn't listening he was already halfway down the tunnel and five minutes later he entered the final chamber that led to the centre of the earth where he saw Pandora fighting another woman.

Pandora grabbed hold of Scarlet and swung her round and round slamming her into every wall, boulder and stalagmite in her path. She eventually threw Scarlet causing her to go flying into the far wall and hit her head. Pandora grabbed hold of Scarlet again and she began smashing her head against the wall repeatedly.

"Pandora!" Max yelled as he started to run up to her. Scarlet's eyes snapped open as she recognised the voice and she teleported herself just before Pandora was about to smash her head into the wall again.

"I must…admit…" Scarlet's voice spoke behind Pandora, she turned round to find Scarlet standing behind her semi-conscious, her dress had been reduced to rags and she was panting. "…you're stronger…than…the last time…we met…" She then turned round as she noticed Max standing behind her, she grinned at her cousin. "And Max…" She continued, "I see you and your spiky haired friend…have defeated…Sephiroth…"

"Scarlet," Max spat the word out like a bitter poison as he stared face to face with his cousin, the woman who had tried to have him killed. The woman who had made his life a living hell. "Why are you here?"

"I'm not about to tell you!" Scarlet shot back not taking her eyes off Max, but you'll find out soon enough. I'll leave for now, but you haven't heard the last of me…oh, my father sends his love."

"Well you can tell Balthazar," Max retorted glaring daggers at Scarlet, "that he'd better enjoy his new life while he can, because I'm gonna kill him again."

"I'm not your messenger girl!" Scarlet yelled, "Farewell!" Scarlet disappeared in a flash of purple light. Max ran over to Pandora who was still kneeling on the ground near where Scarlet was a few moments ago, yet to recover from her blood lust.

"Pandora!" Max called out her name again and he grabbed hold of her, Pandora looked up at him and she smiled.

"Max," she said his name and Max helped her to her feet. "Where are the others?"

"They're further up the passage," he told Pandora and he couldn't help but grin at her, "it seems that your fight with Scarlet scared them off."

Pandora blushed, "oh…" she replied feeling sheepish. "Sorry…"

"Hey!" Max reassured her, "Scarlet deserved it, "I'm just sorry I missed most of it." Pandora laughed and she embraced Max, he then noticed the state of her clothes for the first time. "Need I ask what happened to your clothes…"

Pandora smiled and she shook her head, "it's best you don't know."

"Ah ha, you must be freezing." Max wrapped his arms tighter round Pandora to keep her warm.

"It's a good job I got you to put a spare coat into your dimension," she told Max, he raised one hand into the air and a few seconds he was holding a thick, woolly coat. He wrapped it round Pandora and he smiled at her.

"Come on," Max took her hand and he led her back up the path.

"Where's Sephiroth?" Pandora asked Max as they continued walking.

"He got away," Max answered her, "but I have a feeling that we haven't heard the last of him, or Scarlet."

"But why are they here?"

"I don't know, but we'll find out and we'll put a stop to whatever they're planning."

Max and Pandora continued up the path in silence, a few minutes later and they caught up with the others. Max and Pandora walked up to the group. "What do we do now?" Max asked.

Reno grabbed the phone from his pocket and called Rufus. "Boss, it's me again. Sephiroth got away and so did the woman that Pandora was fighting. But at least we know her name now, she's called Scarlet. No, we still don't know why they were here. We're heading back to the Sierra now to debrief. Reno out." Reno put his phone back into his pocket and he turned to face the group. "Rufus knows what happened, he's looking into it now."

"Meanwhile, we'll get back to the Sierra and de-brief everyone," Cloud added, "let's get out of here." Cloud took the lead and everyone made their way out of the Northern Cave and back on to the Sierra, the group met everyone on the bridge. Angel ran up to them.

"So how did it go?" Angel asked them.

"We'll tell you all about it in the morning," Cloud answered as he yawned. "Right now we're feeling tired. Hey Cid?" Cloud turned to the pilot.

"Yeah," Cid answered in his gruff voice.

"Get us out of here."

"Where to?"

"I don't care!" Cloud yelled, "As long as it's away from here!"

"Alright!" Cid shot back as he took over the controls, "Keep your hair on, I was only asking!"

"Sorry," Cloud apologised, "it's just…seeing Sephiroth again…"

Everyone looked up as they heard the name Sephiroth mentioned. "Sephiroth?!" They all yelled at once.

"I said I'd talk about it in the morning," Cloud reminded them. "Cid, can you take us back to WRO?"

"Sure," Cid replied, "WRO it is, everyone buckle up, this is gonna be a bumpy ride!"

The Sierra took off again and made it's way slowly to the WRO Headquarters, Cid ignored Max's attempts to try and upgrade the Sierra.

"I'm telling you Cid if you just let me…"

"I already told you no!" Cid yelled at Max, "Can't you get it through your friggin skull? I don't want you touching anything on this damn airship, you understand!"

"Yes…" Max sighed as he tried to resist the urge not to tinker with anything. "I understand."

Cloud tried hard not to laugh, he left the bridge and made his way to his room and he opened the door. He walked over to the bed and he found that Tifa was already asleep. He sat down on the bed, kicked off his boots and he gently stroked her hair before he flopped down on the bed where he was and fell asleep without bothering to get changed or to get under the covers.

Chapter 13 is finally complete, this one took me a while to write. Then again I'm back at uni now so I'm even more busy than I was before. Don't worry though, I will get round to writing chapter 14. Sorry the Cloud, Max and Sephiroth battle wasn't nearly as long as the Pandora/Scarlet battle. It's just that I wanted Pandora to give her a good old fashioned butt whopping. Chapter 14 will be coming soon.