21

Second Interlude

The sun rose over Edge, pale and weak through the morning mist. Denzel and Marlene sat cross-legged on the pavement, their backs against the wall of the bar. Yesterday, Barret had forbidden them to go outside, so today they had sneaked out to keep watch while he was still asleep. Denzel stared at the place where Red and Vincent had vanished fiercely; perhaps by willing hard enough, he could cause them to materialise again.

Was it magic? How else could they have disappeared so suddenly? Maybe they could return in the same way… or he could use the magic to go and find them.

As this new thought occurred, Denzel stood up. He walked forwards slowly, trying to remember where Red and Vincent had vanished. It had been somewhere to the left of the bar. Both the pavement and the road were deserted; few people were up at this early hour.

"Denzel?"

He ignored Marlene's voice and took another step. A breath of wind stirred. He felt excited, sure that this meant he could go through too – where, he did not know, but that didn't matter. He lifted up his hands, trying to catch the wind – an edge, a spark of magic, something.

Nothing. There was nothing.

He took another step, in case his estimate of the location was wrong. Still nothing. There was only the breeze, ruffling his hair.

"Denzel!"

He looked around at Marlene, who was still sitting down, her arms folded.

"You said we'd wait," she said reproachfully. "What are you doing?"

"Trying to disappear."

Her eyes begged him to stay. "No, Denzel, not you too…"

"Don't you want to find them, Marlene? Don't you want to know where they went?"

She nodded. "But I don't want to lose you too."

He sighed and scuffed at the pavement with the heel of his boot. "Nothing's happening anyway."

Disappointed, he returned to his vigil. He rested his elbows on his knees, deep in thought.

"It has to be magic, it has to be," he muttered. He had used magic only once, when Yuffie had let him handle a materia. They had been playing in the yard; Yuffie was babysitting. She usually acted disdainful towards them, but he had told her firmly that he wasn't a child; he would become a brave warrior like Cloud. She had laughed, saying, "I was already skilled in weaponry and materia magic by the time I was your age. What have you ever done? You look like a scruffy kid to me." Rashly, he had told her that he could already use materia; he used it all the time. And then she had tossed him the materia. "Prove it."

Determined to rise to the challenge, he had held the materia and concentrated as hard as he could. He would never forget that giddy feeling; the rush of magic tingling through his body. Yuffie had been jeering at him, half affectionately, half maliciously, and he wanted nothing more than to shut her up. The Silence spell had cut her off mid-sentence and for the next ten minutes he'd laughed as she mouthed at him silently, unable to voice her indignation.

That seemed a long time ago. Yuffie was missing too. He wouldn't have minded her teasing, if only he could see them all again.

But although he knew what the tang of magic felt like, he couldn't feel it.

Presently, they heard a tumult from inside the bar. Barret was crashing about. He yelled their names over and over again.

"I think he wants us," said Marlene.

"Go see him," said Denzel. He didn't want to leave the pavement for even a minute in case he missed something.

Marlene stood up and unlocked the door of the bar. She cried, "Papa!" Then she vanished for a minute or so, until Barret burst out of the entrance, carrying her. He looked like a bear holding a kitten.

"Do you got any idea how much you scared me?" he roared. "I thought you'd vanished too!"

"Sorry," said Denzel.

"Don't you ever do that to me again! Get inside! Now!" He pointed back to the bar.

"No," said Denzel steadily. "I'm staying out here."

"You're damned well not stayin' out here! You think I ain't got enough to worry about already?"

Denzel kept his gaze locked on the patch of air where Vincent and Red had vanished. Everything else seemed distant in comparison; even Barret's loud yells faded before they reached his ears.

"I'm staying out here," he repeated. "I'm waiting for Cloud and Tifa to come back."

"Please, Papa," said Marlene. "We want to watch for Cloud and Tifa."

"Watching won't make 'em come back any faster, sweetie," said Barret gruffly.

Fat tears welled up in Marlene's eyes. "Please," she repeated, and her voice broke. She pressed her cheek against his face so that he could feel the tears too. Barret hugged her. Denzel turned away and stonily kept watch.

"How long you been out here?" Barret asked. "You must be cold and hungry – it's warmer inside…"

Marlene sniffed. "Could we have breakfast out here? Please?"

"You oughta come inside – you'll catch your death-"

"Just for today," she begged.

Barret grunted. "Well – all right."

So a few minutes later, they were sitting outside on the sun warmed pavement, munching pieces of toast. As time passed, the street grew busier; cars and trucks roared by. The hard pavement made his bones and muscles ache. They took it in turns to walk about and stretch. But still there was no sign of their missing parents and friends, not even a shimmer in the air.

Eventually, Barret disappeared, leaving Cait Sith to look after them. If it were not for the cat, Denzel thought he might have given up long before out of boredom, but Cait Sith kept up a constant stream of anecdotes and jokes for their amusement.

"Cloud went missing before, y'know," the cat said. He told them how Cloud was sucked into the Lifestream – lost, no one knew where, yet they didn't give up. They travelled all over the world in their airship and eventually learned of an island where the Lifestream sometimes erupted like a volcano. There, in Mideel, they found him. The story was supposed to cheer them up, remind them that lost friends could be found and that Cloud could overcome anything. "Wherever they are," Cait Sith finished, "you can bet they're doing jus' fine."

Normally, this tale would have fascinated Denzel. Cloud had told him about parts of his journey, but his memory seemed oddly patchy; he tended to contradict himself and he sometimes forgot whether he had really been involved in an incident or whether it had been Zack. All he had said about the events in Mideel was that Tifa had saved him. But thinking about his parents now was painful.

The traffic was at its peak – it must be late afternoon, Denzel thought – when Cait Sith happened to mention that he had once been a fortune telling machine. That excited their interest.

"Could you tell our fortunes now?" Marlene asked.

"Could you predict what's gonna happen to Cloud and Tifa?" Denzel asked. "When will they come home?"

"Well… to tell the truth, the fortune telling was only a gimmick," said Cait Sith. "But I can give it a go."

He hopped from Marlene's lap on to the pavement, narrowly avoiding being trodden on by a passer-by. Then he closed his eyes and swayed, swinging his arms backwards and forwards and humming to himself. Marlene looked impressed, but Denzel raised his eyebrows sceptically. He looked back towards the vanishing spot. The passer-by walked right through it. Nothing happened. The street was now empty of pedestrians.

"What's that?" Marlene asked, and he turned his head, distracted by Cait Sith. The cat had a slip of paper in his mouth, which he pulled out and handed to Marlene triumphantly.

"There ya go!"

She unrolled the scrap of paper and read the words out slowly. Cloud had been teaching her to read, so he resisted the urge to snatch the paper and scan it himself.

"'A bright fortune. The sun shall always come out from behind the clouds. Seek, and you shall find your heart's desire.'"

"Well read, missy!" said Cait Sith.

Denzel snorted. "What's it supposed to mean?"

"Ya gotta work that out for yourself," said Cait Sith.

He rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to the pavement – and started. A man had appeared, his wide-brimmed hat pulled low over his eyes, taking an unsteady stride forward right in front of the vanishing spot. Denzel had been watching the street only a few seconds ago and there was no way this man could have had time to get here that fast when nobody had been there before… Unless he had just gotten out of a car, but Denzel hadn't heard anybody slow down; the traffic had been steady.

He sprang to his feet. "Hey! Are you all right?"

The man looked towards him. With another jolt, Denzel recognised his thickset features.

"I'm fine, son," said Piet, wiping his hand over his forehead. But he didn't look fine at all; he looked pale and clammy. He drew his coat around him with shaking hands and frowned at Denzel.

"But you just appeared!" said Denzel. "I never saw you walking down the street – did you – did you…?" He couldn't quite think how to describe the phenomenon. Did you appear from thin air? Did you use magic?

"Don't be silly," said Piet. "What are you talking about?"

Denzel gestured helplessly at the vanishing spot. He was beginning to feel foolish; Piet was a patron of Seventh Heaven; he had probably strolled along hoping that the bar might be open – come to think of it, he had appeared the same night that Red and Vincent had disappeared…

Marlene got up, looking between them with wide eyes. "What is it, Denzel?"

"Him," he said, "he just appeared from thin air; he wasn't there a minute ago!"

Marlene turned her gaze on Piet. "Did you get lost like Red and Vincent did?"

"Lost? No, of course not, I'm exactly where I intended to be and if you don't mind, you children are in my way!"

Piet tried to push past them but then broke into a fit of coughs.

"Are you okay?" Marlene asked, alarmed.

Denzel took the opportunity to steady Piet, one hand on his back. Cait Sith hopped around their feet curiously; Denzel ignored him and hissed into Piet's ear, "I saw you! I know you came from – from – somewhere…"

Piet's coughing fit subsided. He looked at Denzel and wheezed, "If you've finished with your nonsense, perhaps you could tell me if Barret is still on the premises?"

"Yeah, he is," said Denzel, "but the bar isn't open."

"No matter," said Piet. "I only wish to ask him something."

"You could ask us," said Denzel. Instinct told him that Piet was hiding something and he didn't like the idea that Piet might tell Barret and ignore him just because he was a kid.

"Oh, and I suppose you children would know where to find Rufus Shinra?"

"Rufus Shinra?" All three of them repeated the name, Denzel in a tone of horror, Marlene in a hushed whisper, and Cait Sith sounding disbelieving. He picked Cait Sith up so that the cat could look at Piet face-on. A stranger would never guess that the toy cat had connections to Shinra, but Denzel was one of the few who knew that Cait Sith was really controlled by Reeve, who had once worked for the President.

"Whaddya want with Rufus Shinra?" Cait Sith asked.

"A talking toy cat," said Piet faintly. "A talking toy cat has the answer I'm looking for?"

"Yup, I do, actually," said Cait Sith. "But ya can't just stroll up to Rufus Shinra, not without an appointment."

"Then how can I arrange an appointment?"

"Try talking to a Turk."

There was a pause, in which Piet passed his hand over his eyes and Denzel and Marlene both stared at him. Then Piet said, "I don't suppose you'd know where I could find a Turk?"

"Nope."

"They come to the bar sometimes," Marlene piped up.

Denzel elbowed her; he didn't want to help Piet – men who did business with the Turks were almost inevitably of the shady kind, but Marlene had already spoken. Luckily, she took the hint, but for Piet it was enough.

"Thank you," he said. "I may come along tonight."

"The bar's closed," said Denzel.

"Oh, yes," said Piet. "Is Tifa still missing?"

Marlene nodded. "And Cloud and Yuffie and Vincent and Red too…"

"What a shame," said Piet. "I hoped to offer my condolences to Barret in person."

"We'll tell him," said Denzel.

Piet nodded. He tipped his hat, said goodbye, and walked off. Denzel stared after him.

"I still think he appeared from the air."

Cait Sith twisted in his arms. "Are you sure, lad?"

"Yeah… and what's he up to, trying to meet up with Rufus Shinra?" Denzel had never seen Rufus himself, at least not in person, but he bore a hatred of the ex-President from a lifetime as a Midgar citizen. No well-meaning citizen consorted with a Shinra. His instincts kept niggling at him – now was the time to take action! He kept his eyes fixed on Piet's receding back and put Cait Sith down.

"What're ya doing?" Cait Sith asked, as he started walking forwards.

"I'm gonna follow him," said Denzel. "Marlene, tell Barret I'll be back soon."

Piet turned a corner and Denzel broke into a trot; he didn't want to lose him. Behind him, he heard Marlene's plaintive cry: "Denzel!" He ignored her. He couldn't let anybody stop him.

"Denzel!" said another, much closer voice. It came from somewhere around his feet. He looked down and saw Cait Sith, keeping up with him. The cat moved surprisingly fast. "Denzel, you can't follow him!"

"And you can't stop me." He checked up and down the road for cars and crossed the street. There was his quarry – walking slowly, his head down and his shoulders hunched. He didn't look back. Denzel kept a safe distance behind him while Cait Sith danced around his ankles.

"Denzel, don't do this! I'm a good spy – let me follow Piet!"

"If you want to come with me, you can," he said. "But I'm going after him. It's not your parents who are missing."

"They're my friends too. They wouldn't want you to risk your life!"

"It's only dangerous if we get caught," said Denzel, ducking behind a rubbish bin as Piet glanced their way before crossing the road. He was inconspicuous: a single orphan child in dull clothes, blending in with hundreds of other homeless children who walked the streets. He could see a few now, hanging around an alley entrance, staring at them wide-eyed. Cait Sith stood out more despite his small size.

"Oh – all right," said Cait Sith. "But be careful!"

Denzel grinned. "Gotcha! Anyway, you're here to look out for me, right?" He scooped up the cat, tucked him beneath one arm, partially covered by his jacket, and then darted across the road after Piet.

They didn't go far. Five minutes later, Piet stopped at the entrance to a block of flats. Stained dark by pollution and rain, they loomed up grim and grey. Denzel knew this part of town. It would not be hard for him to find it again. He hung back by a shop entrance, Cait Sith peeping out, as Piet typed in a code on the keypad next to the door and then walked inside.

"I guess that must be where he lives," Denzel murmured. "How do we get in?"

"We don't," Cait Sith whispered back. "I'll wait here for him to come back out and follow him, how about that?"

"And what do I do?"

"You go home."

"I won't!" Denzel looked back at the flats. He had come this far. He wanted to find out what Piet was up to. Walking home wasn't exactly a suspicious activity; he couldn't go back to face Barret's anger with nothing to show for it but an address.

"Then how will you get in?" Cait Sith asked.

"Any ideas?"

Silence. Denzel scowled; he felt sure Cait Sith was being unhelpful on purpose.

"I'll think of a way myself," he said. This place didn't look like it had much security – no buildings did, in this part of Edge. Half of them were falling apart; patchwork homes hastily put together from scraps of old Midgar. He gazed up at the flats. The windows had iron bar grilles. Drainage pipes ran down from the flat roof right to the gutter below, but he didn't think he could climb them, and someone was bound to notice.

He decided to examine the building more closely, so with a whispered command to Cait Sith to keep quiet, he hurried over to the entrance. The plain door was locked, of course. He had to stand on his tiptoes to peer at the keypad, which was set into an alcove next to the door. Another plaque beside the keypad had an array of brass buttons, all marked with numbers and letters. Denzel frowned for a moment, until he realised that the buttons were doorbells, one for each residence. If he wanted, he could call Piet – if only he knew which room the man lived in.

Well, there was an idea. Denzel pressed on a button at random. A few seconds later, the intercom crackled.

"Who is it?" An irate female voice.

"Hi, I'm looking for Piet… is he in?"

"Piet? You've got the wrong number, you stupid twit."

"How rude," Cait Sith muttered.

"I – I'm sorry," said Denzel. "Could you tell me which room Piet is in?"

"Right at the top, isn't he? Penthouse – well, if you could call this dump a penthouse. Are you a kid?" the voice added. "You sound young."

"I'm his nephew."

"Huh. Well, whoever you are, you're an idiot. Get your uncle to give you the right number next time. I'm bloody sick of idiots getting the wrong number."

The intercom crackled again; the irate woman had gone. "Sour old cow," he muttered.

"A very nice woman, don't ya think?" said Cait Sith.

He laughed. But despite the woman's attitude, they had made progress – they knew where Piet lived. All that remained was to get to the penthouse.

A strong wind blew back his hair. Up here, he was exposed to the elements. Denzel was scratched, dirty and tired – but elated. With Cait Sith's help, he had sneaked around the back of the building and climbed up. Or, more accurately, he had climbed up the building next to the flats, which was a church and thus heavily carved with plenty of convenient crevices, and then jumped on to the window ledge of one of the apartments. He held on to the metal bars to prevent himself from slipping as he edged along.

"Look, a balcony!" said Cait Sith.

He craned his head. Cait Sith was right; above and to his right a balcony jutted out. That had to be the penthouse apartment. If he could just get up there… Cait Sith scrambled from under his jacket up to his shoulder and then his head. Denzel felt as though he was wearing an oddly shaped party hat.

"Hold me up and I'll jump first."

Denzel knew what Cait Sith meant. But picking him up meant that he had to let go of the window bars. The ledge was narrow and the wind buffeted his body, making it hard to keep his balance. He planted his feet wide apart, as firmly as he could. Cait Sith clung to his hair.

"Careful!"

One hand still clutching the grille, he picked up Cait Sith with the other. Tucking the cat against his body was easy enough, but holding him up against the wind one-handed was more difficult. He would have to use both. Denzel twisted, leaning his back against the window. With both hands, he lifted Cait Sith as high as he could. The cat wriggled in his grasp, jumped and landed neatly on the balcony. The sudden shift in weight as he left Denzel's grip threw him off-balance; Denzel teetered for a moment, heart pounding, but managed to pull himself back and grip the iron bars again.

Cait Sith peered over the edge of the balcony. "I'm not sure you can get up here," he said. "I'll go poke about and then report to you, how about that?"

Denzel shook his head. "I want to get up there. I'm going to jump!"

"Wait! Wait just a minute!" Cait Sith disappeared.

Denzel bit his lip. He couldn't tell if Cait Sith intended to come back and help him or if he had gone to spy by himself. His whole body shook as he tried to muster up the courage to leap. But then Denzel made the mistake of looking down – and gulped. Five storeys down. He doubted that he'd survive a drop like that. Perhaps, if he was more like Cloud, he could make it, but Denzel knew he still had some growing up to do before that became possible. Cloud had Mako and materia to strengthen him. Denzel was only a skinny kid, clinging on to a window ledge.

He closed his eyes and took deep breaths to calm himself, trying not to think about what would happen if he missed. Something light and bristly touched his face. Surprised, Denzel opened his eyes, to find a length of rope dangling in front of him. He looked up. Cait Sith held the other end of the rope.

"I tied it to the balcony," said Cait Sith. "It should hold. C'mon now, before I change my mind!"

Denzel grinned. Elation filled him once again – they were in luck. It was as though this mission was meant to be. He climbed up the rope, using the wall of the building to steady his feet, until he reached the curve of the balcony and Cait Sith helped him over. The rope scraped his hands but he didn't care. He jumped down from the wall of the balcony and looked around.

A single chair stood on the carved stone floor. Next to it was an open chest with an array of instruments inside, including a magnifying glass, a microscope and a pair of binoculars. An odd set of objects, but Denzel couldn't fail to notice that they were all of the observing kind. Was Piet a spy?

"Over here," Cait Sith whispered.

He crept over to the balcony doors, where Cait Sith was peering through the glass at the room inside. Gossamer curtains flapped around the glass door and windows. The door was ajar. Denzel kept to one side, hoping that Piet wouldn't spot his silhouette, and stared into the room. What he saw made his heart race.

Piet sat at a desk, his chair swivelled around to face away from it. He was looking at another man, who lay sprawled, bound and gagged, against the bed. The second man's long ragged hair and beard covered most of his face. His arms were forced behind him, tied with rope, and his legs were also tied together.

Piet's mouth moved, and Denzel listened as hard as he could, hoping that his voice would carry beyond the balcony door.

"…Interesting developments back home," Piet was saying. "Interesting… or possibly catastrophic, who knows? Either way, we must proceed faster than we originally intended. My sisters might be needed before the end. I wonder, friend, what do you know about Rufus Shinra? Your notes look incomplete."

Denzel shrank back as Piet got up, but he didn't glance towards the balcony. Instead, he stooped down in front of the second man and removed his gag. The second man's wheezy breathing sounded loud and painful, and then he retched and Denzel's own throat closed in sympathy. A dull thump indicated that Piet had slapped the man across the cheek.

"Come on, friend. Tell me everything you know about Rufus Shinra."

More coughs and splutters followed. Denzel risked peering around the curtain again, to see that Piet was now kneeling by his prisoner, holding a pad of paper and a pen. Denzel was puzzled. Writing instruments weren't exactly dangerous – why didn't the prisoner attempt to fight back or even to move?

The prisoner's voice was as ragged as his appearance. "I wrote down everything I knew."

Piet waved the notebook in his face. "Are you certain? You don't know where he might be found, for instance?"

The prisoner shook his head. Denzel stared at him, still puzzled, and it took him a few more seconds to recognise the look in his eyes. Defeat. This man had been a prisoner for a long time. The poor man, Denzel thought, full of pity. But who was he?

"Have you ever met him?"

"Once," the prisoner answered. "Very briefly."

"And what kind of a man would you say he was?"

"One used to power."

"Yet his government collapsed. What does he do now?"

"I believe he works behind the scenes. He still has influence, though not obvious. Please," the prisoner added, "could I have some water?"

"Not yet, friend. Is Rufus still hungry for power?"

The prisoner shrugged. "People like him always are."

Piet smiled coldly. "I think you're right, friend. I've worked for many of his type. Different world, same people. Human nature never changes."

Denzel turned to Cait Sith beside him. "A different world?" he mouthed. Cait Sith shrugged.

He looked back at Piet to find that he had stood up and was turning towards them. Alarmed, Denzel withdrew hastily from the curtain. Cait Sith hopped away.

"He's seen us!" Cait Sith hissed.

Denzel's heart rate jumped up again. He heard footsteps heading their way; without waiting for Piet to find them, he dashed across the balcony, Cait Sith on his heels. The rope was still tied to the wall. As Denzel leapt on to the wall, Piet shouted, "Hey!"

No need to look back. They had to get away. His fingers found the rope; he held on tight and swung his body over the edge. Piet gave a startled cry. Something like a football hit his head and Denzel cried out too, before realising it was Cait Sith.

"Time to go!" said the cat.

"Gotcha," Denzel panted, sliding down the rope dangerously fast. His feet hit the window ledge and he grabbed for the grille. He risked a glance upwards, but couldn't see anything over the jutting balcony. If he could edge below it, Piet couldn't possibly see him either from that angle… Denzel shuffled along as fast as he could, hoping that his hammering heart wouldn't give him away. Once the balcony above him cast his face into shadow, he stopped. There were no windows here. His hands splayed out across the wall, clutching what they could of the rough stone. He imagined Piet peering out over the balcony, searching for him.

"Do you think he's still up there?" he asked.

"Dunno. I'll go check."

Cait Sith leapt nimbly off his head and scampered along the window ledge, his white face turned upwards. Halfway along, he paused, his tail waving from side to side. "He's gone!"

Denzel sighed in relief, but immediately felt scared again at the prospect of climbing back down. What if Piet had rushed downstairs and was waiting for him? Well, he won't find me, Denzel decided. I'll climb around the other side of the church and get down that way.

Piet's words echoed in his head. Different world, same people. Was that just a metaphor? Denzel didn't think so. It seemed his suspicions were right; Piet came from another place – literally, another world, and his parents were trapped there. He had to tell Barret.