A/N: Thanks again to kelleyj17 for her betaing!

Tifa barged out of the front door and towards the sounds of the sirens. They were close, too close to the bar, and Denzel wasn't home and Cloud was not in the garage. She followed the sounds down the street, and she almost didn't stop when she heard Evan shouting behind her.

"Tifa!"

She looked back but did not stop running. He was catching up to her, and she motioned with her hand to hurry up. He caught up with her after a few moments and huffed while keeping pace with her. "It's one more street over, to the left!"

Tifa nodded and began to follow his slight lead. "What happened?"

"Two kids, witness called it in. Dunno anything else."

Two children. Was one of them Denzel? Was he murdered? Did Cloud do it? Those questions fueled her approach to the crime scene. As they took a left the lights of an ambulance and one of Edge's makeshift police cruisers came into view.

They ran up to the vehicles, and as they stopped near them Cloud came into view from behind the ambulance, arms crossed and a stubborn frown on his face. He looked towards the two, and his face showed his surprise. "Tifa!"

"Cloud, what's going on?" she demanded. He wasn't being arrested? How did he know where Denzel was, if he wasn't the attacker?

A stretcher with a white sheet covering a lump on it left the alley behind Cloud, and Tifa gasped. Cloud looked behind him, then looked back at Tifa with a pained expression. "I was too late...Denzel's friend..." He looked away.

She put a hand up to her bottom lip. "Denzel's friend?"

Cloud looked back up. "Yeah. Jared. I got to Denzel in time, though." He pointed at the back of the ambulance. "He's not talkin', though."

Tifa walked with hesitant steps towards Cloud, Evan following close behind. Denzel was sitting in the back of the ambulance, eyes downcast. He had gauze on his head and a hyphena in one of his eyes. Cloud rubbed his shoulder tenderly, and he looked up at the adults. "I had a Phoenix Down on me, so I used it to get him to come to while I called the cops. Hey, buddy...We'll get you fixed up, okay?"

Denzel blinked, then nodded once before looking down again.

Tifa shared a look of surprise with Evan before looking at Cloud again. He was focused on Denzel. Oddly, he didn't have any of his swords with him. "I guess we'll have to postpone the Corel trip-"

"No." Cloud looked Tifa in the eyes. "He's going to Corel."

Evan tipped his hat back a little while eyeing Denzel. "He's hurt, Cloud."

"There's potions and materia at the bar that'll fix him up faster than a stay at the hospital. That psycho is still out there."

"You saw who it was?" Evan asked.

Cloud tensed and huffed through his nose. "...It was Rui."

Tifa bit her lip. But he lied about what Rui looked like, unless Rui was disguising himself. Maybe that really was it. She glanced at Evan, and he seemed just as unsure as she was.

"Tifa, Denzel should be able to make it back with you to the bar. Just...Just wait for Barret to get there."

"It's rather odd you don't want to take your son to the hospital." Raz appeared from behind the front of the ambulance, sunglasses similar to Cloud's covering his eyes as he looked at the three adults in turn. "He'll need to go in for questioning, too."

Evan raised a brow. "I don't think he'll be ready for that for at least a couple of days."

Cloud shook his head as he glanced at Evan. "He's not going to either the hospital or the police station. It's too dangerous."

Raz scoffed as he rubbed one of his shoulders. "It's probably safer than any other place you could think of taking the poor boy."

Cloud snapped his head towards Raz and glowered at him. "Shut the hell up and stay out of our business."

Evan fidgeted. "This is kinda becoming our business right now..."

"Let me guess, I have to go in for questioning?" Cloud received a curt nod for a reply. He pursed his lips and looked down at Denzel, then looked up at Evan. "Fine. Denzel is going with Tifa, though."

Raz took a step forward and pointed at him. "His testimony is needed. He's not leaving Edge."

Evan raised both hands in an effort to calm the situation. "We can get it later, Raz." He looked back at Tifa. "I'm sure we can get him to talk over the phone in a few days."

Tifa quietly nodded before Evan looked back at Raz. Raz's jaw was tensed and he was looking at both Cloud and Denzel. He hissed an inhale of air through his teeth before turning around. "Whatever."

Cloud picked up Denzel carefully and brought him over to Tifa. The boy sniffled and Cloud tensed his jaw, his eyes filled with guilt and that simmering anger that rarely reared its ugly head; even when he was in one of his jealous bouts in the bar, it was extremely rare to see it quite like this.

Cloud handed Denzel to Tifa, then rubbed her cheek while they were still close. She stiffened a little, but he hadn't noticed. "I'll be back as soon as I can, Teef. Tell Barret I said hello."

Tifa nodded. "...I'll be waiting."

He gave her a tentative smile, the anger in his eyes dissipating before he looked down at Denzel. "Try and have some fun in Corel, Denzel. When you get back, Edge'll be safe again."

Denzel nodded, and Cloud gently squeezed his hand before he turned back to walk up to Evan. The detective looked at Tifa, nodded, then motioned to Cloud towards the police cruiser. Tifa sighed as she watched Cloud hop into the back of the cruiser, then she turned around to go home. Marlene would be worried sick, she thought.

She had left the bar open after yelling for Marlene to watch the front.

"Let's get you fixed up, Denzel," she said as she looked down at him. He was shaking like a leaf in the breeze, and she held him closer. She looked down the street again. "I'll keep you safe until Barret picks you up."

She reached the bar and fumbled the door open. The few customers present looked at her with mild surprise, but said nothing; they had their answer to why she had run out of the bar now. Marlene was behind the counter, serving drinks and a few meals she had been taught to prepare, like cold cut sandwiches.

Marlene looked up from the beer tap and gasped, then walked up to Tifa as she came behind the counter with Denzel in her arms. "Tifa, what happened?"

"...Something very bad, but...Cloud...stopped it," she said hesitantly. What would he tell the police and detectives? Evan said he hadn't told them about Cloud yet, but Raz seemed suspicious. "I'll be downstairs after I fix up Denzel, alright, sweetie?"

Marlene nodded. "I think I'll be fine for a while. The customers aren't upset."

"That's good to hear. Yell if you need me." Tifa walked up the steps to Denzel's room and placed him down on his bed, his feet grazing the back of his suitcase. She looked at it, then Denzel; she supposed she would make them some sandwiches for the trip since it looked like his sack of snacks were forgotten. That was, if he had made it to the shop in the first place.

She thought a moment then remembered the materia in Cloud's office. Tifa went to fetch it, but to her mild surprise the orb was no longer there. She stared at the inside of the drawer for a moment, then went downstairs to the medicine cabinet. They kept all their potions and cures that either Cloud found on his travels or customers gave in exchange for food and drink if they didn't have the gil.

She opened it up and rummaged around. Her fingers fell onto a bottle of X-potion, one of the rarer potions that Cloud would occasionally bring back home. They sometimes sold them to the stores if there were too many and neither of them needed them often, so she grabbed it up and went back up and into his room.

Tifa sat Denzel up and put the potion to his lips. "Drink this Denzel...I know it doesn't taste good, but you'll feel a lot better."

Weakly he parted his lips to allow the magenta liquid to run into his mouth. He began to make a face, but continued to drink it. She felt it fortunate he didn't spit it up; potions could be used externally or internally, but in his case it would be best to drink it to heal up any injuries unseen. He probably had a concussion, and if she hadn't had such a powerful potion or a strong materia she would have had to take him to the new hospital built last year in the middle of the city.

"Feel better now?" she asked as the last rivulet of potion trickled over his tongue. Denzel swallowed several times while rubbing his tongue over the roof of his mouth. He then nodded as he propped himself up on the bed.

He still didn't say anything.

Tifa placed her palm on his jaw and tilted his head up to look into his eyes. The dazed look was slowly disappearing, but he still looked traumatized. "It's okay, Denzel. You don't have to talk. Just rest until Barret gets here, okay?"

He nodded, then laid down with a sniffle. Tifa petted his head and kissed his forehead before leaving to help Marlene downstairs. All the while she wondered in her head, what had he seen? Did he see his friend murdered? Did he see who did it? He hadn't seemed afraid of Cloud at all, so either it wasn't him or Denzel didn't see.

"So what happened?" Marlene asked as the bar began to empty of lunch time customers.

Tifa sighed through her nose as she cleaned a glass. "The killer struck again," she said quietly.

Marlene's eyes grew wide as she took the glass from Tifa to dry it. "They tried to kill Denzel?"

"Yeah. They got his friend, Jared. They almost got Denzel, too, but I guess Cloud got there in time." Or maybe he came to in time. Everything was so strange.

The little girl crinkled her brow. "Jared's dead?" She looked down after putting the glass away. "I didn't know him that well, but..."

Tifa rubbed her back. "I know, sweetie. We're gonna help find who did this while you two are away."

They continued to clean dishes in silence, the squeak of the ceiling fans or the clink of dishes punctuating the silence. Soon a rumble came down the street and stopped in front of the bar. Marlene and Tifa looked back expectantly; a few moments later and Barret opened the door. He had a deep frown on his face that turned into a beaming smile as his eyes locked on to Marlene's, and she run out to hug him.

"Papa!"

He hugged her tight and picked her up. "Marlene! You been a good girl for Cloud an' Tifa?"

She nodded. Tifa walked up to them as they had their little reunion, her hands behind her back. Barret looked at her after another moment of hugs, and his frown came back as he saw the look on her face. "Where's Denzel?"

"Upstairs. The killer tried to get him while he was getting snacks for the trip to Corel. Cloud...saved him, though." She squeezed her fists, still behind her back.

Barret gave her a piercing look; he could tell something wasn't quite right. "Where's Spiky?"

"They took him in for questioning. I'm not sure when he'll be back." She twirled a lock of hair on her index finger. "Oh, he said to tell you hello."

He grunted. "Hope he don't smart off to them too much or they gonna make his life a livin' hell."

Tifa rolled her eyes. "He's dry but under the circumstances I don't think he'll want to do that."

Barret raised a brow. "Under the circumstances?"

Her eyes widened and she blushed. "W-well, he was the only one at the crime scene and they have no suspects."

"You tellin' me he lost the son of a bitch? If that was me an' Marlene I'd've shot the sucka down!"

Tifa groaned and rubbed her face with her hands. "He didn't have his swords on him. Or a gun arm, Barret."

Barret stood there, frowning and his eyes flickering back and forth as he thought. He looked at Tifa again. "You tell him I said he better keep his damn swords on him next time!"

"I'll relay the message..."

Tifa quickly made some sandwiches as Barret went upstairs to collect the children's suitcases. She wondered when Denzel would finally start talking again, and if his testimony would even be needed. Cloud demanded that Denzel should go to Corel; she wondered if there were any ulterior motives or if it was really him trying to prevent tragedy. Maybe he was saving him for last...

"You gonna tear a hole in that slice of bread, Tifa," Barret said from behind her.

She jumped and jabbed the knife into the bread, then she tsked. "Thanks for the warning," came her sarcastic reply.

Tifa finished the sandwiches and put them in a brown bag that she carried out to the truck. Marlene was sitting between Barret and Denzel, who had a faraway look in his eye. He was still trying to process everything, Tifa realized.

She handed the bag to Marlene. "There's a couple for you too, Barret."

He smiled back at her. "Thanks Tifa. I'll call up when we get there!"

Her smile was faint, but genuine. "Stay safe." She looked at the two children. "Cloud and I love you...have a good time, guys."

She waved as the truck slowly took off, her heart heavy. How long would they have to be in Corel? They were supposed to go after Cloud's birthday, and then he and she would have had time to themselves. Tifa sighed heavily, thinking of the day at the beach Cloud wanted to have with her. It felt like it was so long ago now, when Cloud was just Cloud and this shadow of him that could be a serial killer was non-existent.

Tifa headed back into the bar and closed up after another hour or two. There were just a few customers and she was feeling far too anxious for small talk with them right now. She rested her jaw on her hand as she sat at the counter, thinking.

What would the detectives discover? She hoped from the bottom of her heart that they would find him completely innocent. Tifa just wanted her Cloud back, their lives back. She wanted those haunted, sometimes cocky blue eyes to glow contentedly back at her in the dark. She wanted the feel of his skin without the desire to recoil from his touch. She wanted the man that could defeat Sephiroth three times over but could barely cook an egg.

Her cellphone rang an hour later as she cleaned the kitchen, and as she stood from her crouch she noticed it was from Cloud. Her heart found its way into her throat. "C-Cloud?"

"Hey." He sighed a little into his receiver before his quiet voice continued. "They finally let me go."

She blinked. "What happened?"

"They grilled me. It was mostly Raz trying to get me. 'Why do you have all these weird items? Why do you have potions?'" Cloud's voice was mocking. "I told him that unlike him, I have a job that can be dangerous sometimes."

Oh, so he did smart off. But they let him go? "You're lucky they didn't keep you longer."

He snorted. "Not like I had anything else to tell them...Look, after the bar is closed I'll...tell you what happened."

She looked about the bar. "I closed it for the evening."

"Oh, well...how about I get some takeout for dinner? You deserve it. Is Wutaian alright?"

Tifa momentarily raised her brows. She hadn't had Wutaian takeout in a while, and the unease towards Cloud she had felt for who knows how long began to lift. Denzel hadn't freaked out at Cloud's presence, and the police let him go; there was more to this than she knew. "That'd be nice. Thank you, Cloud."

She could hear his smile. "No problem. I'll be home as soon as I can, Teef. Then we can catch up on everything."

"Alright. I'll be waiting!"

They said good bye and she hung up. She stared at the phone for a few moments before putting it in her pocket. So, there wasn't any evidence to link him to Rui, besides the business slips. Rui Coltsfeld...No record of a man with that name at all. Tifa took her notebook out from under the till, and placed it on the counter. She opened it to a fresh page and took out her pen.

She wrote the name out. RUI COLTSFELD

'Maybe it's an anagram?' That could be it. She took out the newspaper from under the till; she sometimes kept it in case a customer wanted to talk about the local news. Tifa looked through the names of criminals and just people in general that could fit the anagram, scribbling them here and there. A few came close as the minutes passed, but they weren't quite right.

She stared at the name, tapping her pen on the counter. Her eyes glanced at the door before returning to the paper. She remembered that dream she had, the names meshed together...

"I am Rui am Cloud Rui Strife Cloud Coltsfeld."

Tifa bit her lip as dread pooled in her gut. No, they let him go. Denzel wasn't afraid. She wrote Cloud's name down below Rui Coltsfeld's and started to line up the letters.

RUI COLTSFELD

CLOUD STRIFE

There was only one extra L. She stared at the two names. He really was Rui. He deliberately gave himself an alter-ego on paper so he could murder and pin it on a fake name! 'He said Rui attacked Denzel...'

He attacked Denzel, which meant someone else stopped him somehow. Maybe they were dead, maybe he had to feign concern as interest grew on his location...

Why didn't Denzel react to him? Was it because he was knocked out?

She entered the garage and immediately went to Cloud's work table. There were materia loose on the surface, resting against a sackcloth. Tifa stretched out a shaking hand and touched them. Seal, Manipulate, Transform, Exit, Time...

Seal could have put a victim to sleep, or silenced their screams. That's why no one heard Millary. Maybe even Harran at one point. Manipulate and Transform could have gotten Cloud into a house or a shop without forcing his way in, or perhaps Galenn was minied and put to sleep before Cloud spirited her away to the ruins. Time could have been used to keep someone from moving, or so he could move quicker. Exit would make sure no one saw him leave...

"Oh, God..."

She heard the door to the bar open up and Cloud's familiar footfalls crossing the bar quickly, too quickly. "Teef? I'm home," he called out.

She bolted out of the garage. He couldn't see the notebook. No, she would put it away before it got his attention, and she could go to Evan in the morning. God, it hurt to think about it, the things he did to people for whatever sick reason!

As she barged into the bar she noticed he had his free hand twirling the notebook towards him as he placed the bag of takeout on the corner before coming behind the counter. His eyes glanced over it, then they looked towards her. His mouth was a thin line and his eyes dropped any pretense of warmth.

"So." Cloud's voice was deadly serious. "This is why you've been acting so strange." He walked towards her, slowly. "You suspected me for a while..."

She took a step back, staring at those sterile blue eyes. Cloud was fast, powerful, deadly. But he was too relaxed, too confident. He approached her and she immediately shoved him back, then used her leg to trip him to the ground. The notebook flew out of his hand and onto the floor next to Cloud as he started to get up from the ground. She grabbed a pan hanging from the wall and flung it at him, hitting Cloud's forehead as he moved his head upward. He groaned as his head hit the floor, but she knew he would recover from the attack quickly.

Tifa charged into the garage and squeezed through the automatic sliding door as it churned open. She heard Cloud call her from the garage door, then boots on concrete after she began running down the dark street. She had a running start.

"Tifa!"